Christine O'Donnell Investigation: Criminal Probe Into Campaign Finances Reportedly Underway: "BALTIMORE — Federal authorities have launched a criminal investigation to determine whether failed U.S. Senate candidate Christine O'Donnell broke the law by using campaign money to pay personal expenses, according to a person familiar with the investigation.
O'Donnell, the Delaware Republican and tea party favorite who scored a surprise primary victory this year only to lose badly in the November general election, denied the charges and suggested they were being driven by her political opponents on the right and left, including Vice President Joe Biden."
Wednesday, December 29, 2010
Monday, December 27, 2010
START APPROVED!
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Sunday, December 26, 2010
Robert Gibbs: 'It's Going To Be A While Before' Guantanamo Closes
Robert Gibbs: 'It's Going To Be A While Before' Guantanamo Closes: "Get Politics Alerts
If there was one macro-lesson to be learned from the process -- painful as it was -- of overturning the military's 'Don't Ask, Don't Tell' policy, it's that major legislative change can take time.
The Obama administration followed a process, entrusted Congress, and endured the (justified) impatience of the gay-rights community. Ultimately, it worked.
But it doesn't always go according to the legislative plan. And while the president followed through on his promise to overturn DADT, his failure to do the same on another campaign pledge -- the closure of the detention center at Guantanamo Bay -- remains conspicuous, and no closer to any apparent resolution.
On Sunday, White House Press Secretary Robert Gibbs was asked when Gitmo was going to be closed, as the two-year deadline for the president's initial closure promise nears. 'It's going to be a while before that prison closes' he told CNN's 'State of the Union.'
From the station's transcript:"CANDY CROWLEY: The first is, we are a month away from being a year late in closing down Guantanamo Bay prison. When is that prison going to close?
GIBBS: I don't -- it's certainly not going to close in the next month. I think it's -- I think it's going to be a while before that prison ...
CROWLEY: Another year?
GIBBS: -- closes. I think part of this depends on the Republicans' willingness to work with the administration on this.
The White House's inability to follow through on Gitmo's closure may be more about legal hurdles than a lack of political will or strategic missteps. But it also underscores how the president has been dependent on a compliant Congress. The administration, even in the most opportune of climates, couldn't find Republican backers (beyond the John McCain-Lindsey Graham nexus) to support Guantanamo's closure.
If there was one macro-lesson to be learned from the process -- painful as it was -- of overturning the military's 'Don't Ask, Don't Tell' policy, it's that major legislative change can take time.
The Obama administration followed a process, entrusted Congress, and endured the (justified) impatience of the gay-rights community. Ultimately, it worked.
But it doesn't always go according to the legislative plan. And while the president followed through on his promise to overturn DADT, his failure to do the same on another campaign pledge -- the closure of the detention center at Guantanamo Bay -- remains conspicuous, and no closer to any apparent resolution.
On Sunday, White House Press Secretary Robert Gibbs was asked when Gitmo was going to be closed, as the two-year deadline for the president's initial closure promise nears. 'It's going to be a while before that prison closes' he told CNN's 'State of the Union.'
From the station's transcript:"CANDY CROWLEY: The first is, we are a month away from being a year late in closing down Guantanamo Bay prison. When is that prison going to close?
GIBBS: I don't -- it's certainly not going to close in the next month. I think it's -- I think it's going to be a while before that prison ...
CROWLEY: Another year?
GIBBS: -- closes. I think part of this depends on the Republicans' willingness to work with the administration on this.
The White House's inability to follow through on Gitmo's closure may be more about legal hurdles than a lack of political will or strategic missteps. But it also underscores how the president has been dependent on a compliant Congress. The administration, even in the most opportune of climates, couldn't find Republican backers (beyond the John McCain-Lindsey Graham nexus) to support Guantanamo's closure.
Wednesday, December 22, 2010
House Democrats Push For New Foreclosure Regulations
House Democrats Push For New Foreclosure Regulations: "279
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Email Comments 262 Several key House Democrats are circulating a letter urging support for new regulations that would crack down on what critics say are rampant foreclosure abuses in the nation's banking system.
The letter, authored by Rep. Brad Miller (D-N.C.) encourages federal banking regulators to rein in practices at bank divisions called 'mortgage servicers.' Servicers are responsible for collecting and processing payments, charging late fees, negotiating with troubled borrowers and implementing the foreclosure process. Servicers have been criticized for committing widespread fraud in recent months, charging improper fees and incorrectly evicting borrowers."
views Get Business Alerts
Email Comments 262 Several key House Democrats are circulating a letter urging support for new regulations that would crack down on what critics say are rampant foreclosure abuses in the nation's banking system.
The letter, authored by Rep. Brad Miller (D-N.C.) encourages federal banking regulators to rein in practices at bank divisions called 'mortgage servicers.' Servicers are responsible for collecting and processing payments, charging late fees, negotiating with troubled borrowers and implementing the foreclosure process. Servicers have been criticized for committing widespread fraud in recent months, charging improper fees and incorrectly evicting borrowers."
Monday, December 20, 2010
Haley Barbour's Account Of Civil Rights Era In Mississippi Assailed By NAACP, Historians
WASHINGTON -- Mississippi Gov. Haley Barbour (R) has set off a firestorm of controversy over his comments on the civil rights era in his hometown of Yazoo City, and now the president of the state's NAACP organization is calling his remarks "offensive" and akin to revisionist history.
"It is quite disturbing that the governor of this state would take an approach to try to change the history of this state," said Derrick Johnson, president of the Mississippi NAACP. "It's beyond disturbing -- it's offensive that he would try and create a new historical reality that undermines the physical, mental, and economic hardship that many African-Americans had to suffer as a result of the policies and practices of the White Citizens Council."
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2010/12/20/haley-barbour-civil-rights_n_799365.html
"It is quite disturbing that the governor of this state would take an approach to try to change the history of this state," said Derrick Johnson, president of the Mississippi NAACP. "It's beyond disturbing -- it's offensive that he would try and create a new historical reality that undermines the physical, mental, and economic hardship that many African-Americans had to suffer as a result of the policies and practices of the White Citizens Council."
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2010/12/20/haley-barbour-civil-rights_n_799365.html
Where 'Don't Ask, Don't Tell' Goes From Here
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'Lie of the Year': Government Takeover of Health Care
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Saturday, December 18, 2010
Shepard Smith Unloads On Blockers Of 9/11 Responders Bill: 'How Do They Sleep At Night?' (VIDEO)
Shepard Smith Unloads On Blockers Of 9/11 Responders Bill: 'How Do They Sleep At Night?' (VIDEO): "Shepard Smith excoriated the Senators who are holding up the so-called 'Zadroga Bill' to assist 9/11 first responders who suffer from medical problems as a result of their time at Ground Zero. The bill, which provides $7 billion for the responders, passed the House but is being held up by Republicans in the Senate.
Speaking to Fox News colleague Chris Wallace on Friday, Smith asked, 'How do they sleep at night after this vote on Ground Zero first responders from 9/11? Are they going to get that done, or are we going to leave these American heroes out there to twist in the wind?'"
Don't Ask, Don't Tell Repeal Passes Senate 65-31
Don't Ask, Don't Tell Repeal Passes Senate 65-31: "6,6294,263
views16,009 Get Politics Alerts
Email Comments 15,930 WASHINGTON -- The Senate voted 65-31 on Saturday to end Don't Ask, Don't Tell, defeating a 17-year policy of banning gay and lesbian service members from serving openly in the military. Six Republicans initially crossed the aisle to vote against the policy: Susan Collins (R-Maine), Lisa Murkowski (R-Alaska), Mark Kirk (R-Ill.), Scott Brown (R-Mass.), Olympia Snowe (R-Maine) and George Voinovich (R-Ohio).
The Senate vote is a vindication of Obama's decision to push for congressional repeal as opposed to unilateral executive action, though activists note he could have done both. The Senate will make a final vote on ending the policy at 3 p.m."
views16,009 Get Politics Alerts
Email Comments 15,930 WASHINGTON -- The Senate voted 65-31 on Saturday to end Don't Ask, Don't Tell, defeating a 17-year policy of banning gay and lesbian service members from serving openly in the military. Six Republicans initially crossed the aisle to vote against the policy: Susan Collins (R-Maine), Lisa Murkowski (R-Alaska), Mark Kirk (R-Ill.), Scott Brown (R-Mass.), Olympia Snowe (R-Maine) and George Voinovich (R-Ohio).
The Senate vote is a vindication of Obama's decision to push for congressional repeal as opposed to unilateral executive action, though activists note he could have done both. The Senate will make a final vote on ending the policy at 3 p.m."
Friday, December 17, 2010
Extended exposure to Fox News makes voters stupid, university study finds | Raw Story
Extended exposure to Fox News makes voters stupid, university study finds | Raw Story: "The troublesome record of spin by conservative television station Fox News has long been a cause for concern to many Americans, who frequently allege that the nation's most viewed 'news' network has the effect of dumbing down voters.
Turns out, they were right.
A University of Maryland study (PDF) published earlier this month found that people in the survey who had the most exposure to Fox News were more likely to believe falsehoods and"rumors about national and world affairs when compared to those who paid attention to other news outlets.
In a summary carried by Alternet, the following falsehoods were most relayed by Fox News viewers:
91 percent believed the stimulus legislation lost jobs;
72 percent believed the health reform law will increase the deficit;
72 percent believed the economy is getting worse;
60 percent believed climate change is not occurring;
49 percent believed income taxes have gone up;
63 percent believed the stimulus legislation did not include any tax cuts;
56 percent believed Obama initiated the GM/Chrysler bailout;
38 percent believed that most Republicans opposed TARP;
63 percent believed Obama was not born in the U.S. (or that it is unclear
Turns out, they were right.
A University of Maryland study (PDF) published earlier this month found that people in the survey who had the most exposure to Fox News were more likely to believe falsehoods and"rumors about national and world affairs when compared to those who paid attention to other news outlets.
In a summary carried by Alternet, the following falsehoods were most relayed by Fox News viewers:
91 percent believed the stimulus legislation lost jobs;
72 percent believed the health reform law will increase the deficit;
72 percent believed the economy is getting worse;
60 percent believed climate change is not occurring;
49 percent believed income taxes have gone up;
63 percent believed the stimulus legislation did not include any tax cuts;
56 percent believed Obama initiated the GM/Chrysler bailout;
38 percent believed that most Republicans opposed TARP;
63 percent believed Obama was not born in the U.S. (or that it is unclear
Right Direction or Wrong Track - Rasmussen Reports™
Right Direction or Wrong Track - Rasmussen Reports™: "Just 23% of Likely U.S. Voters now say the country is heading in the right direction, according to a new Rasmussen Reports national telephone survey taken the week ending Sunday, December 12. Down three points from last week, it’s the most pessimistic finding since January 2009.
Confidence that the country is moving in the right direction is down to 42% among Democrats from 59% the week before Election Day."
Confidence that the country is moving in the right direction is down to 42% among Democrats from 59% the week before Election Day."
Thursday, December 16, 2010
Nixon Stereotypes Jews, Blacks in New Tapes
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Tax Bill Passes Senate
Tax Cut Bill Passes Senate On 81-19 Vote:
Email Comments 2,556 (AP) WASHINGTON — The Senate Wednesday overwhelmingly passed a sweeping tax package that would save millions of Americans thousands of dollars in higher taxes while also reducing their Social Security taxes and extending jobless benefits.
President Barack Obama swiftly urged the House to pass the $858 billion bill without changes, a slap at Democratic liberals eager to toughen a part of the measure that permits up to $10 million to pass to heirs estate tax-free.
A wide array of tax cuts enacted under President George W. Bush is scheduled to expire on Jan. 1 – just two weeks away – affecting taxpayers at every income level. The bill passed by the Senate, 81-19, would extend those cuts for two years"
Email Comments 2,556 (AP) WASHINGTON — The Senate Wednesday overwhelmingly passed a sweeping tax package that would save millions of Americans thousands of dollars in higher taxes while also reducing their Social Security taxes and extending jobless benefits.
President Barack Obama swiftly urged the House to pass the $858 billion bill without changes, a slap at Democratic liberals eager to toughen a part of the measure that permits up to $10 million to pass to heirs estate tax-free.
A wide array of tax cuts enacted under President George W. Bush is scheduled to expire on Jan. 1 – just two weeks away – affecting taxpayers at every income level. The bill passed by the Senate, 81-19, would extend those cuts for two years"
Wednesday, December 15, 2010
Bachmann Creates Constitution Class, Scalia Join
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She needs to learn that on her own time.
Tax Bill: Is Obama Ditching His Base?
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Tuesday, December 14, 2010
Holbrooke's Last Words On Afghanistan Clarified As Being Part Of A Humorous Exchange By Obama Administration: "205894
views2,225 Get Politics Alerts
WASHINGTON -- The Obama administration said Tuesday that the reported last words of veteran diplomat Richard Holbrooke, its point person on Afghanistan and Pakistan who passed away this week, were meant as humor.
Administration officials sought to clarify that, according to people who were present, Holbrooke's final words, 'You've got to stop this war in Afghanistan,' were part of a jovial back-and-forth with the medical staff.
'At one point, the medical team said, You've got to relax,' State Department spokesman P.J. Crowley told reporters on Tuesday, relaying what he said he had heard from people who were in the room with Holbrooke at George Washington University Hospital. 'And Richard said, I can't relax, I'm worried about Afghanistan and Pakistan."
I do not think Holbrooke said that and I will tell you why on the show.
views2,225 Get Politics Alerts
WASHINGTON -- The Obama administration said Tuesday that the reported last words of veteran diplomat Richard Holbrooke, its point person on Afghanistan and Pakistan who passed away this week, were meant as humor.
Administration officials sought to clarify that, according to people who were present, Holbrooke's final words, 'You've got to stop this war in Afghanistan,' were part of a jovial back-and-forth with the medical staff.
'At one point, the medical team said, You've got to relax,' State Department spokesman P.J. Crowley told reporters on Tuesday, relaying what he said he had heard from people who were in the room with Holbrooke at George Washington University Hospital. 'And Richard said, I can't relax, I'm worried about Afghanistan and Pakistan."
I do not think Holbrooke said that and I will tell you why on the show.
Al Franken: The Hardest Vote I've Taken
Al Franken: The Hardest Vote I've Taken: "A lot of people are unhappy that the president punted on first down, and I'm one of them. Extending the excessive Bush tax breaks for millionaires and billionaires will explode our deficit over the next two years without doing anything to help our economy. I think it's simply bad policy.
But for Minnesota's middle class, struggling to get by in a tough economy, there's a lot in this bill that will really help: tax cuts for working families, a payroll tax holiday, energy tax credits, and the extension of Recovery Act initiatives that are already making a difference."
Well history will record whether it was good or not.
But for Minnesota's middle class, struggling to get by in a tough economy, there's a lot in this bill that will really help: tax cuts for working families, a payroll tax holiday, energy tax credits, and the extension of Recovery Act initiatives that are already making a difference."
Well history will record whether it was good or not.
Allen West: Government 'Should Be Censoring The American News Agencies' That Collaborated With WikiLeaks
Allen West: Government 'Should Be Censoring The American News Agencies' That Collaborated With WikiLeaks: "1,249498
views7,975 Get Politics Alerts
Rep.-elect Allen West (R-Fla.) may have proven himself a prime pupil for fellow Rep. Michele Bachmann's forthcoming constitutional classes, when he recently displayed selective reverence for the Tea Party's most sacred document by calling for American news outlets to be censored for running stories based on the recent WikiLeaks cable dump.
Here's the transcript of what the soon-to-be congressman said on a conservative internet radio program last week, via ThinkProgress:"
Now I thought The Tea Party were the freedom of speech folks. Was I wrong?
views7,975 Get Politics Alerts
Rep.-elect Allen West (R-Fla.) may have proven himself a prime pupil for fellow Rep. Michele Bachmann's forthcoming constitutional classes, when he recently displayed selective reverence for the Tea Party's most sacred document by calling for American news outlets to be censored for running stories based on the recent WikiLeaks cable dump.
Here's the transcript of what the soon-to-be congressman said on a conservative internet radio program last week, via ThinkProgress:"
Now I thought The Tea Party were the freedom of speech folks. Was I wrong?
Monday, December 13, 2010
Boehner Cries During CBS Interview
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What would happen if a woman did this?
Health Care Reform Provision Is Unconstitutional, Federal Judge Rules
Health Care Reform Provision Is Unconstitutional, Federal Judge Rules: "9412,352
Email Comments 18,081 RICHMOND, Va. (AP) -- A federal judge declared the foundation of President Barack Obama's health care law unconstitutional Monday, ruling that the government cannot require Americans to purchase insurance. The case is expected to end up at the Supreme Court.
In his order, U.S. District Judge Henry E. Hudson said he will allow the law to remain in effect while appeals are heard, meaning there is unlikely to be any immediate impact on other provisions that have already taken effect. The insurance coverage mandate is not scheduled to begin until 2014.
Even so, Republicans in Congress celebrated the ruling as validation of the arguments they had made for months while the law was pending. Rep. Eric Cantor, R-Va., issued a statement urging the White House to agree to expedite a final ruling by appealing directly to the Supreme Court without first stopping at an appeals court."
Thursday, December 9, 2010
Wednesday, December 8, 2010
Republicans reject bill to give $250 to seniors | wfaa.com | Home Page
Republicans reject bill to give $250 to seniors | wfaa.com | Home Page: "WASHINGTON (AP) — House Republicans on Wednesday thwarted a Democratic effort to award $250 checks to Social Security recipients facing a second consecutive year without a cost-of-living increase.
President Barack Obama and Democrats have urged approval of the one-time payment, saying seniors barely getting by on their Social Security checks face undue hardships without the COLA increase.
But Republicans contended that the nation couldn't afford the estimated $14 billion cost of the payment, and that the COLA freezes in 2010 and 2011 come after seniors received a significant boost in 2009.
The measure was brought up under a fast-track procedure that required a two-thirds majority for passage. The 254-153 vote in favor of the bill fell short of that.
House Speaker Nancy Pelosi said the financial aid was critical to seniors facing rising costs and falling home values and was fiscally responsible. 'But unfortunately, congressional Republicans overwhelmingly chose to oppose it.' Twenty-six Republicans voted for the bill, while 141 opposed it. Democrats were in favor, 228-12.
COLAs are set automatically each year by an inflation measure that was adopted by Congress in 1975. More than 58 million retirees, disabled people and surviving family members receive Social Security or Supplemental Security Income checks. The average monthly check is $1,072."
I wonder how the Seniors feel that voted for them?
President Barack Obama and Democrats have urged approval of the one-time payment, saying seniors barely getting by on their Social Security checks face undue hardships without the COLA increase.
But Republicans contended that the nation couldn't afford the estimated $14 billion cost of the payment, and that the COLA freezes in 2010 and 2011 come after seniors received a significant boost in 2009.
The measure was brought up under a fast-track procedure that required a two-thirds majority for passage. The 254-153 vote in favor of the bill fell short of that.
House Speaker Nancy Pelosi said the financial aid was critical to seniors facing rising costs and falling home values and was fiscally responsible. 'But unfortunately, congressional Republicans overwhelmingly chose to oppose it.' Twenty-six Republicans voted for the bill, while 141 opposed it. Democrats were in favor, 228-12.
COLAs are set automatically each year by an inflation measure that was adopted by Congress in 1975. More than 58 million retirees, disabled people and surviving family members receive Social Security or Supplemental Security Income checks. The average monthly check is $1,072."
I wonder how the Seniors feel that voted for them?
Tuesday, December 7, 2010
GOP Wants A Crisis
Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) said Tuesday that if Democrats cede ground on the tax package now, it will come back to haunt them in the 112th Congress, adding that he will do "anything and everything" to stop the recently-reached deal between the White House and Republicans from going through.
"This is only the beginning," said Sanders of what he referred to as the Republican's "right-wing" agenda. "They want a governmental crisis. Then they're going to shut down the government."
The package opposed by Sanders would allow the Bush tax cuts for the highest-earning Americans to be extended for two years in return for GOP cooperation on the reauthorization of unemployment benefits for just 13 months.
Sanders told a roomful of reporters at the Capitol Tuesday that his main objective in opposing the package is to guard against future cuts in social welfare programs by not significantly increasing the national debt to give tax cuts to the rich.
"We are protecting the middle class by waging this fight and saying, 'You can't grow the national debt so that the Republicans can come back and slash benefits or move toward raising the retirement age or making other cuts in Social Security,'" said Sanders.
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2010/12/07/bernie-sanders-tax-cuts_n_793405.html
"This is only the beginning," said Sanders of what he referred to as the Republican's "right-wing" agenda. "They want a governmental crisis. Then they're going to shut down the government."
The package opposed by Sanders would allow the Bush tax cuts for the highest-earning Americans to be extended for two years in return for GOP cooperation on the reauthorization of unemployment benefits for just 13 months.
Sanders told a roomful of reporters at the Capitol Tuesday that his main objective in opposing the package is to guard against future cuts in social welfare programs by not significantly increasing the national debt to give tax cuts to the rich.
"We are protecting the middle class by waging this fight and saying, 'You can't grow the national debt so that the Republicans can come back and slash benefits or move toward raising the retirement age or making other cuts in Social Security,'" said Sanders.
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2010/12/07/bernie-sanders-tax-cuts_n_793405.html
Let's Make A Deal
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Monday, December 6, 2010
Sound Bite Sunday
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Saturday, December 4, 2010
Why probe Charlie Rangel -- but not Mitch McConnell?
The House Ethics Committee is far from concluding its investigation of Rep. Charles Rangel, despite his resignation from the Ways and Means chairmanship, as the Republicans will no doubt remind everyone repeatedly in the months ahead.
Near the top of the ethics docket, they are sure to mention, are allegations concerning the Harlem congressman's fundraising for the Charles B. Rangel Center for Public Service at City College of New York, a $30 million project at his alma mater. Rangel has acknowledged using his congressional stationery to solicit funds for the center, a violation of House rules. But he has denied more serious charges -- based on an investigative report in the New York Times -- that he may have exchanged legislative favors for corporate donations to the center.
When ranting on about Rangel, however, what the Republicans surely won't mention is that he's not alone in questionable fundraising for a vanity academic institution that bears his name. Leaders on both sides of Capitol Hill have done likewise for years -- notably including the odious Trent Lott -- but the most troubling example is none other than Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, who now holds Lott's former post. If the term "Senate Ethics Committee" weren't an oxymoron, he would be enduring an intense investigation, too.
McConnell is a graduate of the University of Louisville, a place of higher learning that he is seeking to transform into a display case for his limitless narcissism (as well as that of his wife, former Bush Labor Secretary Elaine Chao). Lots of nice things at the university are named after him, but above all there is the McConnell Center for Political Leadership, a special program much like the Rangel Center at CCNY. In such places, young and idealistic scholars are introduced to the tradition of public service represented by these great men, etc.
According to Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington, which has named both Rangel and McConnell to its annual lists of the "most corrupt" legislators, the list of donors to the McConnell Center was kept hidden by university administrators. When the Louisville Courier-Journal sued to obtain the names of those donors, the Kentucky Supreme Court handed down a curious decision. Future donors to the center would have to be revealed, the court ruled in August 2008, but 62 past donors could remain anonymous.
SEE : http://www.salon.com/news/opinion/joe_conason/2010/03/05/mcconnell
Near the top of the ethics docket, they are sure to mention, are allegations concerning the Harlem congressman's fundraising for the Charles B. Rangel Center for Public Service at City College of New York, a $30 million project at his alma mater. Rangel has acknowledged using his congressional stationery to solicit funds for the center, a violation of House rules. But he has denied more serious charges -- based on an investigative report in the New York Times -- that he may have exchanged legislative favors for corporate donations to the center.
When ranting on about Rangel, however, what the Republicans surely won't mention is that he's not alone in questionable fundraising for a vanity academic institution that bears his name. Leaders on both sides of Capitol Hill have done likewise for years -- notably including the odious Trent Lott -- but the most troubling example is none other than Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, who now holds Lott's former post. If the term "Senate Ethics Committee" weren't an oxymoron, he would be enduring an intense investigation, too.
McConnell is a graduate of the University of Louisville, a place of higher learning that he is seeking to transform into a display case for his limitless narcissism (as well as that of his wife, former Bush Labor Secretary Elaine Chao). Lots of nice things at the university are named after him, but above all there is the McConnell Center for Political Leadership, a special program much like the Rangel Center at CCNY. In such places, young and idealistic scholars are introduced to the tradition of public service represented by these great men, etc.
According to Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington, which has named both Rangel and McConnell to its annual lists of the "most corrupt" legislators, the list of donors to the McConnell Center was kept hidden by university administrators. When the Louisville Courier-Journal sued to obtain the names of those donors, the Kentucky Supreme Court handed down a curious decision. Future donors to the center would have to be revealed, the court ruled in August 2008, but 62 past donors could remain anonymous.
SEE : http://www.salon.com/news/opinion/joe_conason/2010/03/05/mcconnell
Trade Deal US and Korea
pp
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Friday, December 3, 2010
Tax Cuts: 'Chicken Crap' or Compromise?
pp
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Obama Issues Pardons
WASHINGTON -- President Obama, who had gone nearly 700 days without using his clemency power, finally issued nine pardons on Friday afternoon to a very minor rogue's gallery of small-time felons who long ago did their time, if they did any at all.
Far from sending a message about the excesses and errors of the judicial system, Obama picked minor and sometimes ancient offenses -- such as a 1963 conviction for "mutilation of coins" -- to forgive. He also chose not to commute any sentences at all.
P.S. Ruckman Jr., the editor of the Pardon Power blog and a political science professor in Illinois, told HuffPost he was struck by the minor nature of the crimes that Obama selected.
682 days into his presidency, Barack Obama, the slowest Democratic president in history to exercise the pardon power, has finally discovered the dark corners of Article II of the Constitution by granting 9 pardons. We expected as much since 1 out of every 2 pardons granted over the last 39 years has been granted in the month of December. The offenses addressed in the 9 pardons are from the following decades
1960s (2)
1970s (1)
1980s (3)
1990s (3)
As a result, the average distance between each sentence and the subsequent pardon is a whopping 28.3 years! The smallest distance is over 11 years. Poor Russel Dixon ... his liquor law violation was more than 50 years ago! As Samuel T. Morison has pointed out, increasingly pardons are granted to people who need (or benefit from) them the very least.
In addition, six out of the nine pardons were granted to individuals whose violations were so minor they were not even given a prison - or even a jail - sentence. Instead, they were merely placed on probation.
James Bernard Banks (1972) UT, illegal possession of government property (2 years probation)
Russell James Dixon (1960) GA, liquor violations (2 years probation)
Laurens Dorsey (1998) NY, false statements (5 years probation, restitution)
Ronald Lee Foster (1963) NC, coin mutilation (1 year probation. fine)
Timothy James Gallagher (1982) AZ, cocaine (3 years probation)
Roxanne Kay Hettinger (1986) IA, cocaine (30 days, 3 years probation)
Edgar Leopold Kranz, Jr. (1994) military (24 months)
Floretta Leavy (1984) IL, cocaine/marijuana (1 year and 1 day)
Scoey Lathaniel Morris (1999) TX, counterfeiting (3 years probation, fine)
Kind of weak wouldn't you say? But on the bright side it is something.
"Six out of the nine pardons are for people who didn't even go to prison," he said.
Some observers had hoped that, as a constitutional lawyer by training and the first African-American president, Obama might issue pardons and commutations that made a powerful statement about the justice system past and present.
Far from sending a message about the excesses and errors of the judicial system, Obama picked minor and sometimes ancient offenses -- such as a 1963 conviction for "mutilation of coins" -- to forgive. He also chose not to commute any sentences at all.
P.S. Ruckman Jr., the editor of the Pardon Power blog and a political science professor in Illinois, told HuffPost he was struck by the minor nature of the crimes that Obama selected.
682 days into his presidency, Barack Obama, the slowest Democratic president in history to exercise the pardon power, has finally discovered the dark corners of Article II of the Constitution by granting 9 pardons. We expected as much since 1 out of every 2 pardons granted over the last 39 years has been granted in the month of December. The offenses addressed in the 9 pardons are from the following decades
1960s (2)
1970s (1)
1980s (3)
1990s (3)
As a result, the average distance between each sentence and the subsequent pardon is a whopping 28.3 years! The smallest distance is over 11 years. Poor Russel Dixon ... his liquor law violation was more than 50 years ago! As Samuel T. Morison has pointed out, increasingly pardons are granted to people who need (or benefit from) them the very least.
In addition, six out of the nine pardons were granted to individuals whose violations were so minor they were not even given a prison - or even a jail - sentence. Instead, they were merely placed on probation.
James Bernard Banks (1972) UT, illegal possession of government property (2 years probation)
Russell James Dixon (1960) GA, liquor violations (2 years probation)
Laurens Dorsey (1998) NY, false statements (5 years probation, restitution)
Ronald Lee Foster (1963) NC, coin mutilation (1 year probation. fine)
Timothy James Gallagher (1982) AZ, cocaine (3 years probation)
Roxanne Kay Hettinger (1986) IA, cocaine (30 days, 3 years probation)
Edgar Leopold Kranz, Jr. (1994) military (24 months)
Floretta Leavy (1984) IL, cocaine/marijuana (1 year and 1 day)
Scoey Lathaniel Morris (1999) TX, counterfeiting (3 years probation, fine)
Kind of weak wouldn't you say? But on the bright side it is something.
"Six out of the nine pardons are for people who didn't even go to prison," he said.
Some observers had hoped that, as a constitutional lawyer by training and the first African-American president, Obama might issue pardons and commutations that made a powerful statement about the justice system past and present.
Tuesday, November 30, 2010
Morning joe Mans Up Against Palin
Former Republican Congressman and current MSNBC host Joe Scarborough is out with a vicious new post encouraging Republicans to "man up" and take Sarah Palin down a peg. As if trying to get the ball rolling, he precedes this suggestion with a few choice volleys of his own.
"Republicans have a problem," Scarborough writes at Politico. "The most-talked-about figure in the GOP is a reality show star who cannot be elected."
Scarborough's main beef with Palin seems to be that, in his view, she just is not serious enough to be considered a viable GOP candidate for president in 2012, and despite the supposed general acceptance of this as fact, Republicans sit idly, afraid to speak out, while Palin basks in the pre-campaign limelight.
To make matters worse, Scarborough prods, Palin does all of this while demeaning the legacies of GOP standard-bearers that many hold dear, people such as former presidents Reagan, whom she casually downplayed as "an actor," as well as George H.W. and Barbara Bush, whom she deemed "blue bloods."
Goooooooooooooooooooooooooo Joe!!! Palin splits the vote and does the party no good.
"Republicans have a problem," Scarborough writes at Politico. "The most-talked-about figure in the GOP is a reality show star who cannot be elected."
Scarborough's main beef with Palin seems to be that, in his view, she just is not serious enough to be considered a viable GOP candidate for president in 2012, and despite the supposed general acceptance of this as fact, Republicans sit idly, afraid to speak out, while Palin basks in the pre-campaign limelight.
To make matters worse, Scarborough prods, Palin does all of this while demeaning the legacies of GOP standard-bearers that many hold dear, people such as former presidents Reagan, whom she casually downplayed as "an actor," as well as George H.W. and Barbara Bush, whom she deemed "blue bloods."
Goooooooooooooooooooooooooo Joe!!! Palin splits the vote and does the party no good.
GOP Blocks Ban On Earmarks
By a nearly 3-2 margin, the Senate voted Tuesday to let lawmakers keep sprinkling bills with home-state pet projects like roads, bridges, water treatment plants, grants to local police departments and special interest tax breaks. But with anti-earmark GOP reinforcements arriving in January, the curtain may soon come down on the practice.
Most Democrats and a handful of Republicans joined in a 56-39 majority to reject a ban on funding for home-state projects not included in the budget proposal that the president submits to Congress each year.
Earmark critics, nonetheless, rejoiced in the vote, noting their side had increased by 10 senators since they lost a 68-29 vote on the same question earlier this year. Any votes next year should be closer because a band of anti-earmark Republicans will join the Senate in January. Earmark opponent Jim DeMint, R-S.C., predicted his side will have 45 votes next time.
Senate Republicans bowed to tea party activists after the midterm elections and passed a party resolution declaring GOP that senators would give up earmarks. House Republicans who took 63 seats away from Democrats on Nov. 2 to become the majority in January also have given up the practice.
Most Democrats and a handful of Republicans joined in a 56-39 majority to reject a ban on funding for home-state projects not included in the budget proposal that the president submits to Congress each year.
Earmark critics, nonetheless, rejoiced in the vote, noting their side had increased by 10 senators since they lost a 68-29 vote on the same question earlier this year. Any votes next year should be closer because a band of anti-earmark Republicans will join the Senate in January. Earmark opponent Jim DeMint, R-S.C., predicted his side will have 45 votes next time.
Senate Republicans bowed to tea party activists after the midterm elections and passed a party resolution declaring GOP that senators would give up earmarks. House Republicans who took 63 seats away from Democrats on Nov. 2 to become the majority in January also have given up the practice.
Tax Cuts Again and Unemployment Blocked by GOP
President Obama suggested Tuesday that a group of congressional leaders he has asked to work out a compromise on expiring tax cuts will also try to work out a compromise on expiring unemployment benefits.
"We discussed working together to keep the government running this year -- and running in a fiscally responsible way," Obama said. "And we discussed unemployment insurance, which expires today. I've asked that Congress act to extend this emergency relief without delay to folks who are facing tough times by no fault of their own."
Obama first asked lawmakers to reauthorize extended unemployment benefits at the beginning of October, but Congress has failed to prevent the benefits from lapsing at least temporarily. Now it looks as though a deal crafted by the four members of Congress tasked with compromising on tax cuts may be the only way.
Senate Democrats asked Tuesday afternoon for a yearlong reauthorization of Emergency Unemployment Compensation and Extended Benefits programs, which together provide up to 73 weeks of benefits beyond the 26 weeks provided by states. Republicans blocked the request, leaving no clear path forward for a reauthorization. (Democrats blocked a counter-request to reauthorize the benefits while offsetting their deficit impact with spending cuts.)
"We discussed working together to keep the government running this year -- and running in a fiscally responsible way," Obama said. "And we discussed unemployment insurance, which expires today. I've asked that Congress act to extend this emergency relief without delay to folks who are facing tough times by no fault of their own."
Obama first asked lawmakers to reauthorize extended unemployment benefits at the beginning of October, but Congress has failed to prevent the benefits from lapsing at least temporarily. Now it looks as though a deal crafted by the four members of Congress tasked with compromising on tax cuts may be the only way.
Senate Democrats asked Tuesday afternoon for a yearlong reauthorization of Emergency Unemployment Compensation and Extended Benefits programs, which together provide up to 73 weeks of benefits beyond the 26 weeks provided by states. Republicans blocked the request, leaving no clear path forward for a reauthorization. (Democrats blocked a counter-request to reauthorize the benefits while offsetting their deficit impact with spending cuts.)
Monday, November 29, 2010
President Barack Obama announced a proposal Monday to freeze pay for federal workers over the next two years, one of several "very tough decisions" coming from the administration as it attempts to rein in government spending and address the looming federal deficit.
Multisource political news, world news, and entertainment news analysis by Newsy.com
President Barack Obama announced a proposal Monday to freeze pay for federal workers over the next two years, one of several "very tough decisions" coming from the administration as it attempts to rein in government spending and address the looming federal deficit.
"In these challenging times. we want the best and brightest to join and make a difference, but these are also times where all of us are called on to make sacrifices," Obama said in a statement at the White House. "And I'm asking civil servants to do what they have always done. Play their part."
The freeze, which requires congressional approval, applies to civilian federal employees -- including non-military personel serving at the Department of Defense. The White House says the move will save $2 billion during the rest of the current fiscal year and $28 billion over the next five years.
Obama noted the difficulty of the decision in his remarks Monday, saying "this is not just a line-item on a federal ledger. These are people's lives."
Sunday, November 28, 2010
Cheat Sheet - Breaking News, World, U.S. & Entertainment - The Daily Beast
Cheat Sheet - Breaking News, World, U.S. & Entertainment - The Daily Beast: "Once again, it looks like “don’t ask, don’t tell” is here to stay. Republican Senator Lindsey Graham said today on Fox News Sunday that a bill to repeal the controversial ban on gays in the military “isn’t going anywhere.” Graham continued: “I don’t think there’s anywhere near the votes to repeal DADT on the Republican side.” Representing the other side of the aisle, Missouri’s Claire McCaskill, who serves on the Senate Armed Services Committee, said a repeal would have no negative affect on the military.
Read it at Politico"
Read it at Politico"
Cheat Sheet - Breaking News, World, U.S. & Entertainment - The Daily Beast
Cheat Sheet - Breaking News, World, U.S. & Entertainment - The Daily Beast: "Charlie Rangel thinks the House is being just a little too harsh on him. The 80-year-old Democratic representative, who was found guilty of 11 ethics violations by a House panel, is fighting against the censure which the committee recommended as punishment. In a handy document to be passed around by his staff, “10 Reasons Why Charles B. Rangel Should Not Receive Censure,” the congressman argues that censure, in which a guilty House member is made to stand up in front of the entire assembly and receive a verbal rebuke from the speaker of the House, is too serious for the types of infractions he has been found guilty of. Instead, he wants a less serious reprimand to be issued—and the chance to address the full House beforehand.
Read it at Politico"
Read it at Politico"
Romney Could Beat Obama In 2012
Multisource political news, world news, and entertainment news analysis by Newsy.com
Saturday, November 27, 2010
Fred Karger would be the first gay candidate to run for president from a major political party
Multisource political news, world news, and entertainment news analysis by Newsy.com
Wednesday, November 24, 2010
Vet, 77, Busted For Obama Death Threat | The Smoking Gun
Vet, 77, Busted For Obama Death Threat | The Smoking Gun: "NOVEMBER 24--A 77-year-old South Carolina man whose home was stocked with an arsenal of guns told Secret Service agents that he wanted to shoot Barack Obama “for what he has done to this country,” according to a criminal complaint charging him with threatening the president’s life.
Michael Bowden allegedly first spoke of killing Obama last week during a “routine check-up” at a Veterans Administration clinic in Spartanburg. Bowden, pictured in the mug shot at right, told a nurse that he “was thinking of traveling to Washington, DC, to shoot the President (Obama) because he is not doing enough to help African Americans,” according to an affidavit sworn by Agent Mark Booth.
In an interview last Wednesday with three federal investigators, Bowden acknowledged threatening Obama’s life at the VA facility."
No I am not kidding. But is this necessary?
Michael Bowden allegedly first spoke of killing Obama last week during a “routine check-up” at a Veterans Administration clinic in Spartanburg. Bowden, pictured in the mug shot at right, told a nurse that he “was thinking of traveling to Washington, DC, to shoot the President (Obama) because he is not doing enough to help African Americans,” according to an affidavit sworn by Agent Mark Booth.
In an interview last Wednesday with three federal investigators, Bowden acknowledged threatening Obama’s life at the VA facility."
No I am not kidding. But is this necessary?
The Two Most Essential, Abhorrent, Intolerable Lies Of George W. Bush's Memoir
The Two Most Essential, Abhorrent, Intolerable Lies Of George W. Bush's Memoir: "WASHINGTON -- These days, when we think of George W. Bush, we think mostly of what a horrible mess he made of the economy. But his even more tragic legacy is the loss of our moral authority, and the transformation of the United States of America from global champion of human rights into an outlaw nation.
History is likely to judge Bush most harshly for two things in particular: Launching a war against a country that had not attacked us, and approving the use of cruel and inhumane interrogation techniques.
And that's why the two most essential lies -- among the many -- in his new memoir are that he had a legitimate reason to invade Iraq, and that he had a legitimate reason to torture detainees.
Neither is remotely true. But Bush must figure that if he keeps making the case for himself -- particularly if it goes largely unrebutted by the traditional media, as it has thus far -- then perhaps he can blunt history's verdict.
It may even be working. Extrapolating from the response to the book, former vice president Dick Cheney on Tuesday told a crowd gathered for Bush's presidential library groundbreaking in Dallas that 'judgments are a little more measured than they were' and that 'history is coming around.'
The 'Decision' to Go to War"
What a Guy!!!
History is likely to judge Bush most harshly for two things in particular: Launching a war against a country that had not attacked us, and approving the use of cruel and inhumane interrogation techniques.
And that's why the two most essential lies -- among the many -- in his new memoir are that he had a legitimate reason to invade Iraq, and that he had a legitimate reason to torture detainees.
Neither is remotely true. But Bush must figure that if he keeps making the case for himself -- particularly if it goes largely unrebutted by the traditional media, as it has thus far -- then perhaps he can blunt history's verdict.
It may even be working. Extrapolating from the response to the book, former vice president Dick Cheney on Tuesday told a crowd gathered for Bush's presidential library groundbreaking in Dallas that 'judgments are a little more measured than they were' and that 'history is coming around.'
The 'Decision' to Go to War"
What a Guy!!!
Monday, November 22, 2010
Barbara Bush Jabs Sarah Palin: 'I Hope She Stays' In Alaska (VIDEO)
Barbara Bush Jabs Sarah Palin: 'I Hope She Stays' In Alaska (VIDEO): "Barbara Bush has shared her thoughts on Sarah Palin, and it sounds as if she hopes the former Alaska governor decides against running for president.
'I sat next to her once, thought she was beautiful, and I think she's very happy in Alaska,' Bush said, before adding, 'and I hope she'll stay there.'
The former first lady made the comments in an interview with Larry King, which will air Monday night on 'Larry King Live.'
Barbara Bush is not the only prominent Republican woman to speak poorly of Palin in recent days. On Monday, Alaska Sen. Lisa Murkowski, whom Sarah Palin vociferously opposed during the state's most recent -- and still ongoing -- Senate election, said that the former governor lacks the 'leadership qualities' and 'intellectual curiosity' necessary to be president.
In the interview with Larry King, Barbara Bush also said that she 'loved' her son George W. Bush's new book.
When asked about the Tea Party in the same interview, former President George H. W. Bush said that 'some of [their] ideas make a lot of sense,' but added that he is 'confused by it' and said he does not 'know what it really is.'"
'I sat next to her once, thought she was beautiful, and I think she's very happy in Alaska,' Bush said, before adding, 'and I hope she'll stay there.'
The former first lady made the comments in an interview with Larry King, which will air Monday night on 'Larry King Live.'
Barbara Bush is not the only prominent Republican woman to speak poorly of Palin in recent days. On Monday, Alaska Sen. Lisa Murkowski, whom Sarah Palin vociferously opposed during the state's most recent -- and still ongoing -- Senate election, said that the former governor lacks the 'leadership qualities' and 'intellectual curiosity' necessary to be president.
In the interview with Larry King, Barbara Bush also said that she 'loved' her son George W. Bush's new book.
When asked about the Tea Party in the same interview, former President George H. W. Bush said that 'some of [their] ideas make a lot of sense,' but added that he is 'confused by it' and said he does not 'know what it really is.'"
Sunday, November 21, 2010
Merry Christmas For The GOP
pp
Now does this mean that crime will go up? Of Courrrrrrrrrrrssssssssssssssssseeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee!
Now does this mean that crime will go up? Of Courrrrrrrrrrrssssssssssssssssseeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee!
Saturday, November 20, 2010
Friday, November 19, 2010
Poison vote looms for tea party freshmen: Raise the national debt limit? - Yahoo! News
Poison vote looms for tea party freshmen: Raise the national debt limit? - Yahoo! News: "Washington – Even though a vote to raise the national debt limit – now just under $14.3 trillion – is months away, House Republican leaders are already preparing their caucus for what could be the toughest vote for a bumper freshman class.
About half of the 85-member Republican House freshman class ran with backing from tea party groups – all of them on a platform to curb or cap government spending. Many of these candidates slammed Democrats they defeated for previous votes to increase the debt limit – votes, they said, that enabled big government spending.
Now, they face the other side of the issue: A vote against raising the debt limit means the government could run out of money. Will fiscal responsibility look so appealing if the government essentially shuts down?"
About half of the 85-member Republican House freshman class ran with backing from tea party groups – all of them on a platform to curb or cap government spending. Many of these candidates slammed Democrats they defeated for previous votes to increase the debt limit – votes, they said, that enabled big government spending.
Now, they face the other side of the issue: A vote against raising the debt limit means the government could run out of money. Will fiscal responsibility look so appealing if the government essentially shuts down?"
Millionaires to Obama: Tax us - Yahoo! News
Millionaires to Obama: Tax us - Yahoo! News: "Anti-tax activists everywhere have been loudly arguing for an extension of George W. Bush-era tax cuts for the wealthiest Americans in the United States. Now a group of millionaires is arguing the opposite.
More than 40 of the nation's millionaires have joined Patriotic Millionaires for Fiscal Strength to ask President Obama to discontinue the tax breaks established for them during the Bush administration, as Salon reports.
'For the fiscal health of our nation and the well-being of our fellow citizens, we ask that you allow tax cuts on incomes over $1,000,000 to expire at the end of this year as scheduled,' their website states. 'We make this request as loyal citizens who now or in the past earned an income of $1,000,000 per year or more.'
The group includes many big-time Democratic donors such as Gail Furman, trial lawyer Guy Saperstein and Ben Cohen of Ben & Jerry's ice cream (pictured). The list remains open to millionaires who want to sign on."
More than 40 of the nation's millionaires have joined Patriotic Millionaires for Fiscal Strength to ask President Obama to discontinue the tax breaks established for them during the Bush administration, as Salon reports.
'For the fiscal health of our nation and the well-being of our fellow citizens, we ask that you allow tax cuts on incomes over $1,000,000 to expire at the end of this year as scheduled,' their website states. 'We make this request as loyal citizens who now or in the past earned an income of $1,000,000 per year or more.'
The group includes many big-time Democratic donors such as Gail Furman, trial lawyer Guy Saperstein and Ben Cohen of Ben & Jerry's ice cream (pictured). The list remains open to millionaires who want to sign on."
Thursday, November 18, 2010
ThinkProgress » Boehner’s Home State Tea Party Slams His Secret Plot To Kill The Congressional Ethics Office
ThinkProgress » Boehner’s Home State Tea Party Slams His Secret Plot To Kill The Congressional Ethics Office: "This November, the future House Speaker John Boehner (R-OH) rode the Tea Party rhetoric to power, promising to gut “business as usual” on Capitol Hill. Touting an earmark ban and public access to bills as clear moves toward transparency, Boehner seemed demonstrably clear on another accountability issue – congressional ethics. “I think the American people expect that their members of Congress should be held to a high ethical standard,” he said in August.
In spite of that expectation, Boehner is threatening to axe the Office of Congressional ethics. Established in March of 2008 after the Jack Abramoff scandal, the Office of Congressional Ethics is responsible for “launching investigations of wrongdoings by House Members” in order to “stiffen the spine of the House ethics committee.” Operating as an inspector general of sorts, the OCE has “won praise for reviving the House’s notoriously moribund and secretive ethics process.”
Despite strong conservative support for OCE, “GOP leaders are gearing up to kill the fledgling” OCE. In doing so, Boehner is clashing head-on with the rhetoric of many newly-elected Republicans and the driving force behind them — the Tea Party. In Boehner’s home-state, the Tea Party has not only noticed this fact, but has issued him a warning:
The Ohio Liberty Council, the main umbrella organization for 58 Tea Party groups in the state, supports efforts to strengthen the OCE and is warning House GOP leaders that any attempt to weaken it will upset Tea Party activists"
In spite of that expectation, Boehner is threatening to axe the Office of Congressional ethics. Established in March of 2008 after the Jack Abramoff scandal, the Office of Congressional Ethics is responsible for “launching investigations of wrongdoings by House Members” in order to “stiffen the spine of the House ethics committee.” Operating as an inspector general of sorts, the OCE has “won praise for reviving the House’s notoriously moribund and secretive ethics process.”
Despite strong conservative support for OCE, “GOP leaders are gearing up to kill the fledgling” OCE. In doing so, Boehner is clashing head-on with the rhetoric of many newly-elected Republicans and the driving force behind them — the Tea Party. In Boehner’s home-state, the Tea Party has not only noticed this fact, but has issued him a warning:
The Ohio Liberty Council, the main umbrella organization for 58 Tea Party groups in the state, supports efforts to strengthen the OCE and is warning House GOP leaders that any attempt to weaken it will upset Tea Party activists"
Republican Push To Defund NPR Fails (VIDEO)
Republican Push To Defund NPR Fails (VIDEO): "WASHINGTON -- The Republican campaign to take away all federal funding from National Public Radio (NPR) was over before it began, with GOP lawmakers' procedural trick to force a vote on the issue failing on Thursday. It was the first GOP-ordered House vote since the election.
The proposal to defund NPR was the latest winning item on the Republicans' gimmicky YouCut site, which allows the public to pick the cuts they would like to see receive an up-or-down vote on the House floor. In order to get these votes, they try to make a procedural vote on an unrelated piece of legislation the vote on the YouCut item.
'This week's winning YouCut proposal is sponsored by Rep. Doug Lamborn (R-CO), and would terminate all taxpayer funding of National Public Radio (NPR), saving taxpayers potentially tens of millions of -- perhaps even over a hundred million -- dollars,' read a release from Rep. Eric Cantor's (R-Va.) office. 'Implementing this initiative would signal that the days of bailing out irresponsible decision-makers at taxpayers' expense are over."
The proposal to defund NPR was the latest winning item on the Republicans' gimmicky YouCut site, which allows the public to pick the cuts they would like to see receive an up-or-down vote on the House floor. In order to get these votes, they try to make a procedural vote on an unrelated piece of legislation the vote on the YouCut item.
'This week's winning YouCut proposal is sponsored by Rep. Doug Lamborn (R-CO), and would terminate all taxpayer funding of National Public Radio (NPR), saving taxpayers potentially tens of millions of -- perhaps even over a hundred million -- dollars,' read a release from Rep. Eric Cantor's (R-Va.) office. 'Implementing this initiative would signal that the days of bailing out irresponsible decision-makers at taxpayers' expense are over."
No Plans In Senate For A Vote On Unemployment Benefits
No Plans In Senate For A Vote On Unemployment Benefits: "Senate Democrats have not figured out a way to get around Republican opposition to reauthorizing extended unemployment insurance for the long-term jobless.
'We are still in the process of trying to establish the schedule of the lame duck session, in terms of the remaining days of the session, so no specifics, but think we all understand that this is something that is going to have to be done,' said Sen. Jack Reed (D-R.I.) during a conference call with reporters on Wednesday.
The benefits are set to expire at the end of the month, jeopardizing a lifeline for two million people during the holidays. But it's not likely the benefits will be reauthorized before they lapse, since Congress will go home for Thanksgiving next week, meaning this week is the last chance to prevent an interruption in benefits. Reed said there is no plan for a vote."
GOP plans a not so merry christmas for many.
'We are still in the process of trying to establish the schedule of the lame duck session, in terms of the remaining days of the session, so no specifics, but think we all understand that this is something that is going to have to be done,' said Sen. Jack Reed (D-R.I.) during a conference call with reporters on Wednesday.
The benefits are set to expire at the end of the month, jeopardizing a lifeline for two million people during the holidays. But it's not likely the benefits will be reauthorized before they lapse, since Congress will go home for Thanksgiving next week, meaning this week is the last chance to prevent an interruption in benefits. Reed said there is no plan for a vote."
GOP plans a not so merry christmas for many.
Paycheck Fairness Act Fails to Win Key Votes from Maine Senators
Paycheck Fairness Act Fails to Win Key Votes from Maine Senators: "Sens. Olympia Snowe and Susan Collins both backed last year's Lilly Ledbetter Act, which lifted the statute of limitations on wage discrimination cases. But this time, they filibustered with their party, and the bill fell two votes short of the 60 needed to advance. The tally was 58 to 41.
'We're disappointed in the vote in the Senate--both the votes of our individual Maine senators, who can really make a difference and in others who have failed to stand up as well,' says Sarah Standiford, executive director of the Maine Women's Lobby. She says the bill's failure not only hurts women, but families struggling in a recession.
'The recovery of the American middle class really begins and ends with well-paying jobs, and women are increasingly the sole breadwinners for their famlies,' she says. 'So it's really not just a matter of fairness, but also the key to a family's ability to make ends meet that women bring home the pay that they deserve.'
The federal government reports that women make 77 cents for every dollar earned by men. The bill would have made it easier for women to file class action suits against employers, and would have lifted the cap on damages. It also called on businesses to share salary information with the government.
But Maine's senators sided with the business community in opposing the measure, saying it would add to their costs."
I guess no fair pay for women is still in fashion.
'We're disappointed in the vote in the Senate--both the votes of our individual Maine senators, who can really make a difference and in others who have failed to stand up as well,' says Sarah Standiford, executive director of the Maine Women's Lobby. She says the bill's failure not only hurts women, but families struggling in a recession.
'The recovery of the American middle class really begins and ends with well-paying jobs, and women are increasingly the sole breadwinners for their famlies,' she says. 'So it's really not just a matter of fairness, but also the key to a family's ability to make ends meet that women bring home the pay that they deserve.'
The federal government reports that women make 77 cents for every dollar earned by men. The bill would have made it easier for women to file class action suits against employers, and would have lifted the cap on damages. It also called on businesses to share salary information with the government.
But Maine's senators sided with the business community in opposing the measure, saying it would add to their costs."
I guess no fair pay for women is still in fashion.
Wednesday, November 17, 2010
Hispanic lawmakers seek DREAM Act vote
Hispanic lawmakers seek DREAM Act vote: "WASHINGTON — Congressional Hispanic Caucus leaders huddled with President Barack Obama on Tuesday to discuss immigration issues and the lame-duck Congress, but no clear strategy emerged.
Obama and Hispanic Democrats reiterated their support for the DREAM Act, which would provide a path for citizenship for immigrant youths illegally brought into the United States before they were 16, and both called for the House and Senate to vote on the measure before Congress adjourns for the year.
“We need a clear Democratic commitment in order to persuade Republicans, who are needed to get us over the finish line, to step forward,” said Rep. LuÃs Gutierrez, D-Ill."
The Development, Relief and Education for Alien Minors Act (The "DREAM Act") is a piece of proposed federal legislation in the United States that was first introduced in the United States Senate on August 1, 2001[1] and most recently re-introduced there and the United States House of Representatives on March 26, 2009. This bill would provide certain inadmissible or deportable alien students who graduate from US high schools, who are of good moral character, arrived in the U.S. as minors, and have been in the country continuously for at least five years prior to the bill's enactment, the opportunity to earn conditional permanent residency if they complete two years in the military or two years at a four year institution of higher learning. The alien students would obtain temporary residency for a six year period. Within the six year period, a qualified student must have "acquired a degree from an institution of higher education in the United States or [have] completed at least 2 years, in good standing, in a program for a bachelor's degree or higher degree in the United States," or have "served in the uniformed services for at least 2 years and, if discharged, [have] received an honorable discharge."[2] Military Enlistment contracts require an eight year commitment.[3] "Any alien whose permanent resident status is terminated [according to the terms of the Act] shall return to the immigration status the alien had immediately prior to receiving conditional permanent resident status under this Act." [4]
There are issues with this!
Obama and Hispanic Democrats reiterated their support for the DREAM Act, which would provide a path for citizenship for immigrant youths illegally brought into the United States before they were 16, and both called for the House and Senate to vote on the measure before Congress adjourns for the year.
“We need a clear Democratic commitment in order to persuade Republicans, who are needed to get us over the finish line, to step forward,” said Rep. LuÃs Gutierrez, D-Ill."
The Development, Relief and Education for Alien Minors Act (The "DREAM Act") is a piece of proposed federal legislation in the United States that was first introduced in the United States Senate on August 1, 2001[1] and most recently re-introduced there and the United States House of Representatives on March 26, 2009. This bill would provide certain inadmissible or deportable alien students who graduate from US high schools, who are of good moral character, arrived in the U.S. as minors, and have been in the country continuously for at least five years prior to the bill's enactment, the opportunity to earn conditional permanent residency if they complete two years in the military or two years at a four year institution of higher learning. The alien students would obtain temporary residency for a six year period. Within the six year period, a qualified student must have "acquired a degree from an institution of higher education in the United States or [have] completed at least 2 years, in good standing, in a program for a bachelor's degree or higher degree in the United States," or have "served in the uniformed services for at least 2 years and, if discharged, [have] received an honorable discharge."[2] Military Enlistment contracts require an eight year commitment.[3] "Any alien whose permanent resident status is terminated [according to the terms of the Act] shall return to the immigration status the alien had immediately prior to receiving conditional permanent resident status under this Act." [4]
There are issues with this!
Steele Isolated At His Own Committee, Harshly Rebuked By Former Staffers
Steele Isolated At His Own Committee, Harshly Rebuked By Former Staffers: "WASHINGTON -- Republican National Committee Chairman Michael Steele's already rocky tenure got even more turbulent on Tuesday after the committee's political director quit his post and then penned and leaked a stinging letter rebuking his former boss.
The five-page letter, authored by longtime GOP operative Gentry Collins, accused Steele of gross mismanagement of RNC finances, failure to manage Republican Party operations, and misfiring on key elections during the 2010 cycle. The RNC responded in due course with a statement touting the major -- indeed, historic -- advances that the party made during the just-completed cycle.
But by the time that response was put out for public consumption, the bruises were hard to cover up. Cindy Costa, an RNC member who has long been a Steele critic, called the Collins memo both 'disconcerting' and an affirmation of her position that a new chairman is needed."
About Time!
The five-page letter, authored by longtime GOP operative Gentry Collins, accused Steele of gross mismanagement of RNC finances, failure to manage Republican Party operations, and misfiring on key elections during the 2010 cycle. The RNC responded in due course with a statement touting the major -- indeed, historic -- advances that the party made during the just-completed cycle.
But by the time that response was put out for public consumption, the bruises were hard to cover up. Cindy Costa, an RNC member who has long been a Steele critic, called the Collins memo both 'disconcerting' and an affirmation of her position that a new chairman is needed."
About Time!
Sarah Palin Thinking of Running for President, and Tells Barbara Walters She Could Beat President Obama in 2012 - ABC News
Sarah Palin Thinking of Running for President, and Tells Barbara Walters She Could Beat President Obama in 2012 - ABC News: "Sarah Palin says she is seriously considering a run for the White House, and she believes she could beat President Obama in 2012, the former Alaska governor told ABC News' Barbara Walters.
'I'm looking at the lay of the land now, and ... trying to figure that out, if it's a good thing for the country, for the discourse, for my family, if it's a good thing,' Palin said in an interview scheduled to air in full Dec. 9 on ABC as part of Walters' '10 Most Fascinating People' of 2010.
Asked Walters: 'If you ran for president, could you beat Barack Obama?'
'I believe so,' Palin said."
Surprise!!
'I'm looking at the lay of the land now, and ... trying to figure that out, if it's a good thing for the country, for the discourse, for my family, if it's a good thing,' Palin said in an interview scheduled to air in full Dec. 9 on ABC as part of Walters' '10 Most Fascinating People' of 2010.
Asked Walters: 'If you ran for president, could you beat Barack Obama?'
'I believe so,' Palin said."
Surprise!!
Tuesday, November 16, 2010
Dick Cheney: History "Beginning to Come Around" on Bush - Political Hotsheet - CBS News
Dick Cheney: History "Beginning to Come Around" on Bush - Political Hotsheet - CBS News: "At groundbreaking ceremony in Dallas for the George W. Bush Presidential Center today, former Vice President Dick Cheney said 'history is beginning to come around' to a more positive view of former President George W. Bush.
Cheney said that Mr. Bush, whose approval rating upon leaving office was just 22 percent, always understood that 'judgments are a little more measured' with the passage of time. He added that Americans 'can tell a decent, goodhearted stand up guy when they see him.'
Cheney lauded Mr. Bush as a president who refused 'to put on airs,' stating that he was thrilled to find that the most powerful person he knew was 'among the least pretentious.' He said Mr. Bush was someone who could 'walk with kings, yet keep the common touch,' added that 'there were no affectations about him at all - he treats everyone as an equal.'
He spoke admiringly of Mr. Bush's actions in the wake of the Sept. 11th attacks, telling the former president that 'because you were determined to throw back the enemy, we did not suffer another 9/11 or something even worse.'"
Cheney said that Mr. Bush, whose approval rating upon leaving office was just 22 percent, always understood that 'judgments are a little more measured' with the passage of time. He added that Americans 'can tell a decent, goodhearted stand up guy when they see him.'
Cheney lauded Mr. Bush as a president who refused 'to put on airs,' stating that he was thrilled to find that the most powerful person he knew was 'among the least pretentious.' He said Mr. Bush was someone who could 'walk with kings, yet keep the common touch,' added that 'there were no affectations about him at all - he treats everyone as an equal.'
He spoke admiringly of Mr. Bush's actions in the wake of the Sept. 11th attacks, telling the former president that 'because you were determined to throw back the enemy, we did not suffer another 9/11 or something even worse.'"
John McCain Attacks Rand Paul's 'Isolationism' In Willingness To Cut Defense Spending
John McCain Attacks Rand Paul's 'Isolationism' In Willingness To Cut Defense Spending: "Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.), the ranking member of the Senate Armed Services Committee, expressed concern Monday that some new Republican legislators would be defined by their 'protectionism and isolationism,' two views that the Vietnam War veteran feared would result in a butting of heads within the party on Afghanistan and defense spending.
'I think there are going to be some tensions within our party,' McCain said during a conference put on by Foreign Policy Initiative, a DC-based think tank. 'I worry a lot about the rise of protectionism and isolationism in the Republican Party.'
A prime example, McCain continued, was Rand Paul, Kentucky's next U.S. Senator.
'I admire his victory, but ... already he has talked about withdrawals [and] cuts in defense,' McCain said.
Indeed, Paul appears to have taken after the more libertarian side of foreign policy issues, much like his father, Texas Rep. Ron Paul (R)."
'I think there are going to be some tensions within our party,' McCain said during a conference put on by Foreign Policy Initiative, a DC-based think tank. 'I worry a lot about the rise of protectionism and isolationism in the Republican Party.'
A prime example, McCain continued, was Rand Paul, Kentucky's next U.S. Senator.
'I admire his victory, but ... already he has talked about withdrawals [and] cuts in defense,' McCain said.
Indeed, Paul appears to have taken after the more libertarian side of foreign policy issues, much like his father, Texas Rep. Ron Paul (R)."
Social Conservatives Spar With Tea Party, Gay GOP Groups
Social Conservatives Spar With Tea Party, Gay GOP Groups: "Social conservatives are hitting back Tuesday at a recently released letter by a coalition of Tea Party and gay Republican groups encouraging incoming Republican legislators to forgo a lofty social agenda in place of one focused on fiscal conservatism.
'Social issues should be at the very top of the list of priorities for the new Congress, along with sensible fiscal policies,' Concerned Women for America leader Penny Nance responded in her own letter. 'I'd like to know which one -- support for the No Taxpayer Funding for Abortion Act, eliminating taxpayer dollars from funding embryonic stem cell research, or defunding Planned Parenthood -- the signers of the GOProud letter have a problem with.'
On Monday, a letter signed by the leaders of 16 Tea Party groups and GOProud was sent to incoming Republican leaders asking them to announce a cease fire on their pursuit of social and cultural issues."
It is going to heat up!
'Social issues should be at the very top of the list of priorities for the new Congress, along with sensible fiscal policies,' Concerned Women for America leader Penny Nance responded in her own letter. 'I'd like to know which one -- support for the No Taxpayer Funding for Abortion Act, eliminating taxpayer dollars from funding embryonic stem cell research, or defunding Planned Parenthood -- the signers of the GOProud letter have a problem with.'
On Monday, a letter signed by the leaders of 16 Tea Party groups and GOProud was sent to incoming Republican leaders asking them to announce a cease fire on their pursuit of social and cultural issues."
It is going to heat up!
Sunday, November 14, 2010
Jim Swilley, Georgia Megachurch Pastor, Comes Out To Congregation After Gay Teen Suicides
And I think the issue here is that there are more gay people out there then most think. I think we should have equal rights for a change. You know the one nation under God thing, with justice and liberty for all. Where did I read that?
Jim Swilley, Georgia Megachurch Pastor, Comes Out To Congregation After Gay Teen Suicides: "Jim Swilley, the pastor of a Georgia megachurch, recently revealed to his congregation that he is gay. The 52-year-old father of four said that his wife, to whom he was married for more than 20 years, encouraged him to come out years ago, but at the time, he told her: 'These words will never come out of my mouth.'
However, the recent spate of teen suicides, particularly that of Rutgers student Tyler Clementi, prompted him to change his mind. 'For some reason his situation was kind of the tipping point with me,' Swilley told CNN's Don Lemon this weekend.
'There comes a point in your life where you say 'How much time do we have left in our lives? Are we going to be authentic or not?''"
Jim Swilley, Georgia Megachurch Pastor, Comes Out To Congregation After Gay Teen Suicides: "Jim Swilley, the pastor of a Georgia megachurch, recently revealed to his congregation that he is gay. The 52-year-old father of four said that his wife, to whom he was married for more than 20 years, encouraged him to come out years ago, but at the time, he told her: 'These words will never come out of my mouth.'
However, the recent spate of teen suicides, particularly that of Rutgers student Tyler Clementi, prompted him to change his mind. 'For some reason his situation was kind of the tipping point with me,' Swilley told CNN's Don Lemon this weekend.
'There comes a point in your life where you say 'How much time do we have left in our lives? Are we going to be authentic or not?''"
Saturday, November 13, 2010
Jack Johnson Hid $80k In Wife's Bra As FBI Listened In
Jack Johnson Hid $80k In Wife's Bra As FBI Listened In: "ANNAPOLIS, Md. — A married pair of top officials in a Maryland county is accused of tampering with evidence after FBI agents said they recorded the husband telling his wife to flush a $100,000 check from a real estate developer down the toilet and to stuff almost $80,000 in cash in her underwear.
Prince George's County Executive Jack Johnson, whose second term expires next month, and his wife, Leslie, who was recently elected to the County Council, were charged with witness and evidence tampering and destruction, alteration and falsification of records in a federal investigation.
The charges grew out of a 5-year-old investigation into allegations of real estate developers in the county offering rewards to county officials in exchange for personal and business favors."
Prince George's County Executive Jack Johnson, whose second term expires next month, and his wife, Leslie, who was recently elected to the County Council, were charged with witness and evidence tampering and destruction, alteration and falsification of records in a federal investigation.
The charges grew out of a 5-year-old investigation into allegations of real estate developers in the county offering rewards to county officials in exchange for personal and business favors."
Sarah Palin's Unfavorability Numbers Hit New High, Survey Finds
Sarah Palin's Unfavorability Numbers Hit New High, Survey Finds: "The number of Americans viewing Sarah Palin unfavorably has hit the highest point since she burst onto the national stage over two years ago, according to a poll out Friday.
The Gallup survey conducted in the days after the Nov. 2 election found more than half of Americans -- 52 percent -- hold a negative opinion of the former Alaska governor. Only 40 percent viewed her favorably, which ties her lowest score from about a year ago.
Palin, the GOP's vice presidential candidate in 2008, is among Republican names being floated as a possible presidential pick in two years time. The poll found she might have a good chance of capturing the nomination: fully 80 percent of Republicans have a positive opinion of her."
The Gallup survey conducted in the days after the Nov. 2 election found more than half of Americans -- 52 percent -- hold a negative opinion of the former Alaska governor. Only 40 percent viewed her favorably, which ties her lowest score from about a year ago.
Palin, the GOP's vice presidential candidate in 2008, is among Republican names being floated as a possible presidential pick in two years time. The poll found she might have a good chance of capturing the nomination: fully 80 percent of Republicans have a positive opinion of her."
Thursday, November 11, 2010
Another GOP Civil War Brewing In 2012 - Hotline On Call
Another GOP Civil War Brewing In 2012 - Hotline On Call: "Just a week after Election Day, Republicans are already chomping at the bit to get the ball rolling for 2012 Senate contests.
And judging from the number of Republican contenders who have already floated their names out there, it looks like the GOP could be facing another busy and stressful, primary calendar -- both in races where they are challenging Democrats and in states where they will be defending seats.
The GOP faces a wide playing field in 2012, as 21 Democrats and two independents who caucus with Democrats are up for re-election. With only 10 Republican held seats up, that gives Republicans ample opportunity to win the seats necessary to gain a majority.
But there are early signs that the same intra-party feuds that limited huge pickups in the Senate in 2010 are re-emerging for 2012. Members who would be likely locks for re-election - Indiana Sen. Richard Lugar (R) and Maine Sen. Olympia Snowe (R) -- could well face serious primary challenges from Tea Party candidates. And Democratic members who look vulnerable - like Montana's Jon Tester - could benefit from ideologically divided Republican fields.
If crowded fields do, in fact, form, they will present the possibility of a sequel where candidates favored by the National Republican Senatorial Committee -- like those seen this year in Delaware, Kentucky, and Colorado - end up losing to less-electable candidates. In those states, establishment Republicans ran into problems as their endorsed candidates went down in primaries. Republicans believe they could have comfortably won the Colorado and Delaware Senate races if their favored candidates prevailed."
And judging from the number of Republican contenders who have already floated their names out there, it looks like the GOP could be facing another busy and stressful, primary calendar -- both in races where they are challenging Democrats and in states where they will be defending seats.
The GOP faces a wide playing field in 2012, as 21 Democrats and two independents who caucus with Democrats are up for re-election. With only 10 Republican held seats up, that gives Republicans ample opportunity to win the seats necessary to gain a majority.
But there are early signs that the same intra-party feuds that limited huge pickups in the Senate in 2010 are re-emerging for 2012. Members who would be likely locks for re-election - Indiana Sen. Richard Lugar (R) and Maine Sen. Olympia Snowe (R) -- could well face serious primary challenges from Tea Party candidates. And Democratic members who look vulnerable - like Montana's Jon Tester - could benefit from ideologically divided Republican fields.
If crowded fields do, in fact, form, they will present the possibility of a sequel where candidates favored by the National Republican Senatorial Committee -- like those seen this year in Delaware, Kentucky, and Colorado - end up losing to less-electable candidates. In those states, establishment Republicans ran into problems as their endorsed candidates went down in primaries. Republicans believe they could have comfortably won the Colorado and Delaware Senate races if their favored candidates prevailed."
Wednesday, November 10, 2010
Debt Commission Report Targets Social Security, Medicare
Debt Commission Report Targets Social Security, Medicare: "Today's upcoming report by the White House's fiscal commission is expected to include recommendations to raise the retirement age for Social Security and cut Medicare benefits -- two policy prescriptions that will be met with deep opposition from Democrats and some Republicans -- according to a source who has been briefed on the proposal.
The chairmen of the commission will unveil their overarching recommendations for debt and deficit reduction on Wednesday afternoon, weeks before the official unveiling is expected.
The findings are not the final report of the commission, officially known as the National Commission on Fiscal Responsibility and Reform. Rather they are the specific suggestions of its two chairs, former Sen. Alan Simpson and former White House Chief of Staff Erskine Bowles. The ultimate findings will require the support of 14 members of the 18-member commission. And at this juncture it is unclear if the votes are there, sources familiar with deliberation say.
In the process of pursuing their reforms for Social Security and Medicare, the commission chairs are expected to suggest that the end result will be a 70 percent cut in benefits and 30 percent increase in revenues, according to the source familiar with the upcoming announcement.
'What a crazy proposal, what a crazy proposal,' said a Democratic source briefed on the findings. 'I expect that the White House is going to distance itself big-time from this, saying this is just the chairman not the commission.'"
The chairmen of the commission will unveil their overarching recommendations for debt and deficit reduction on Wednesday afternoon, weeks before the official unveiling is expected.
The findings are not the final report of the commission, officially known as the National Commission on Fiscal Responsibility and Reform. Rather they are the specific suggestions of its two chairs, former Sen. Alan Simpson and former White House Chief of Staff Erskine Bowles. The ultimate findings will require the support of 14 members of the 18-member commission. And at this juncture it is unclear if the votes are there, sources familiar with deliberation say.
In the process of pursuing their reforms for Social Security and Medicare, the commission chairs are expected to suggest that the end result will be a 70 percent cut in benefits and 30 percent increase in revenues, according to the source familiar with the upcoming announcement.
'What a crazy proposal, what a crazy proposal,' said a Democratic source briefed on the findings. 'I expect that the White House is going to distance itself big-time from this, saying this is just the chairman not the commission.'"
GOP: Pork for Everyone!! Give me that bacon!
We are talking big bucks and few are going to turn them down!
Bring on that PORK. See what your state did at the link below.
http://www.cagw.org/reports/pig-book/2010/rankings.html
Multisource political news, world news, and entertainment news analysis by Newsy.com
Bring on that PORK. See what your state did at the link below.
http://www.cagw.org/reports/pig-book/2010/rankings.html
Palin Lashes Out At WSJ Reporter, Misquotes Story
If she had a friend, they would help her get it straight but who would listen?
Palin Lashes Out At WSJ Reporter, Misquotes Story: "In what can only be called a valiant effort, Sarah Palin has defended her monetary policy remarks from the Wall Street Journal's pointed criticism.
On her Facebook page, Palin claims the WSJ reporter who has pointed out a factual error in her speech is himself in the wrong. 'Do Wall Street Journal Reporters Read the Wall Street Journal?,' her Facebook note asks.
In remarks delivered at a Phoenix convention, and first leaked by the The National Review, Palin criticized the Federal Reserve's quantitative easing policy, in which the bank will purchase up to $600 billion of new U.S. government debt (as part of a plan that could reach $900 billion), and urged Fed chairman Ben Bernanke to 'cease and desist.'
As HuffPost's Shahien Nasiripour noted Monday, the Federal Reserve operates independently of any other government body, and so political criticism of it is unusual."
Palin Lashes Out At WSJ Reporter, Misquotes Story: "In what can only be called a valiant effort, Sarah Palin has defended her monetary policy remarks from the Wall Street Journal's pointed criticism.
On her Facebook page, Palin claims the WSJ reporter who has pointed out a factual error in her speech is himself in the wrong. 'Do Wall Street Journal Reporters Read the Wall Street Journal?,' her Facebook note asks.
In remarks delivered at a Phoenix convention, and first leaked by the The National Review, Palin criticized the Federal Reserve's quantitative easing policy, in which the bank will purchase up to $600 billion of new U.S. government debt (as part of a plan that could reach $900 billion), and urged Fed chairman Ben Bernanke to 'cease and desist.'
As HuffPost's Shahien Nasiripour noted Monday, the Federal Reserve operates independently of any other government body, and so political criticism of it is unusual."
Rep. Jason Chaffetz (Utah), a rising star in the GOP Not Affraid of Bush
The GOP is going to have a war over this!
Rep. Jason Chaffetz (Utah), a rising star in the GOP recently elected to his sophomore term, said Tuesday that he would have no problem adding a probe of potential torture authorization under the Bush administration to a growing checklist of investigations drafted by newly empowered Republicans.
Here's the conversation from his talk on Tuesday with MSNBC:
RATIGAN: How far back do you think is appropriate? Because the one thing that's not on this list would be, for instance, a torture investigation.
CHAFFETZ: Well, it may be on the list as well. I'm not afraid of going after the Bush administration. I wasn't brought here by the establishment. When I ran for congressman in 2008, I'm just a freshman year, George W. Bush, Orrin Hatch, and Bob Bennett, three Republicans, they campaigned against me. So I don't mind going back and looking at 'em. So I don't have any hesitation there whatsoever.
Rep. Darrell Issa, who is likely to become chairman of the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee, spoke earlier this week about just how ambitious his plans for the panel were.
"I want seven hearings a week, times 40 weeks," Issa told Politico.
Rep. Jason Chaffetz (Utah), a rising star in the GOP recently elected to his sophomore term, said Tuesday that he would have no problem adding a probe of potential torture authorization under the Bush administration to a growing checklist of investigations drafted by newly empowered Republicans.
Here's the conversation from his talk on Tuesday with MSNBC:
RATIGAN: How far back do you think is appropriate? Because the one thing that's not on this list would be, for instance, a torture investigation.
CHAFFETZ: Well, it may be on the list as well. I'm not afraid of going after the Bush administration. I wasn't brought here by the establishment. When I ran for congressman in 2008, I'm just a freshman year, George W. Bush, Orrin Hatch, and Bob Bennett, three Republicans, they campaigned against me. So I don't mind going back and looking at 'em. So I don't have any hesitation there whatsoever.
Rep. Darrell Issa, who is likely to become chairman of the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee, spoke earlier this week about just how ambitious his plans for the panel were.
"I want seven hearings a week, times 40 weeks," Issa told Politico.
Obama officials moving away from 2011 Afghan date | McClatchy
Not good news!
Obama officials moving away from 2011 Afghan date | McClatchy: "WASHINGTON — The Obama administration has decided to begin publicly walking away from what it once touted as key deadlines in the war in Afghanistan in an effort to de-emphasize President Barack Obama's pledge that he'd begin withdrawing U.S. forces in July 2011, administration and military officials have told McClatchy.
The new policy will be on display next week during a conference of NATO countries in Lisbon, Portugal, where the administration hopes to introduce a timeline that calls for the withdrawal of U.S. and NATO forces from Afghanistan by 2014, the year when Afghan President Hamid Karzai once said Afghan troops could provide their own security, three senior officials told McClatchy, along with others speaking anonymously as a matter of policy.
The Pentagon also has decided not to announce specific dates for handing security responsibility for several Afghan provinces to local officials and instead intends to work out a more vague definition of transition when it meets with its NATO allies."
Obama officials moving away from 2011 Afghan date | McClatchy: "WASHINGTON — The Obama administration has decided to begin publicly walking away from what it once touted as key deadlines in the war in Afghanistan in an effort to de-emphasize President Barack Obama's pledge that he'd begin withdrawing U.S. forces in July 2011, administration and military officials have told McClatchy.
The new policy will be on display next week during a conference of NATO countries in Lisbon, Portugal, where the administration hopes to introduce a timeline that calls for the withdrawal of U.S. and NATO forces from Afghanistan by 2014, the year when Afghan President Hamid Karzai once said Afghan troops could provide their own security, three senior officials told McClatchy, along with others speaking anonymously as a matter of policy.
The Pentagon also has decided not to announce specific dates for handing security responsibility for several Afghan provinces to local officials and instead intends to work out a more vague definition of transition when it meets with its NATO allies."
Kathleen Parker - The GOP can't be led by Sarah Palin. But can it live without her?
The GOP is going to have to find an answer. Good Luck!
Kathleen Parker - The GOP can't be led by Sarah Palin. But can it live without her?: "She who can rouse the base like none other is now She to Whom Respect Must Be Paid. Like it or not.
Many within the so-called party establishment don't quite know what to do about Palin. She's adored by Tea Partyers, to whom she conveniently attached herself as soon as she sensed a shift in the air. A rogue like Palin isn't going to let a rogue movement fill a stadium - or a desert - without her.
She also had some luck with her gambles on midterm endorsements, at least in the U.S. House and a couple of state elections, notably South Carolina Gov.-elect Nikki Haley. Palin's Mama Grizzly shtick, which followed her pit bull-with-lipstick shtick, apparently was effective. She had a less-stellar record in the Senate, with only six of her 11 anointed ones winning.
Thus, Republican Rep. Spencer Bachus of Alabama recently had the audacity to assert what heretofore had been relegated to whispers behind closed doors: 'Sarah Palin cost us control of the Senate.'"
Kathleen Parker - The GOP can't be led by Sarah Palin. But can it live without her?: "She who can rouse the base like none other is now She to Whom Respect Must Be Paid. Like it or not.
Many within the so-called party establishment don't quite know what to do about Palin. She's adored by Tea Partyers, to whom she conveniently attached herself as soon as she sensed a shift in the air. A rogue like Palin isn't going to let a rogue movement fill a stadium - or a desert - without her.
She also had some luck with her gambles on midterm endorsements, at least in the U.S. House and a couple of state elections, notably South Carolina Gov.-elect Nikki Haley. Palin's Mama Grizzly shtick, which followed her pit bull-with-lipstick shtick, apparently was effective. She had a less-stellar record in the Senate, with only six of her 11 anointed ones winning.
Thus, Republican Rep. Spencer Bachus of Alabama recently had the audacity to assert what heretofore had been relegated to whispers behind closed doors: 'Sarah Palin cost us control of the Senate.'"
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