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News/Politics 12-11-12

What’s news this morning?

Let’s start with this. I’m amused and scared at the same time. Sure it’s funny now, but what happens when one gets behind the wheel to chase the mailman down the street? Then it’s scary, and hilarious!

From France24.com

“A pair of highly trained canines guided a modified car along a New Zealand race track Monday, passing their doggie driving tests with flying collars on live television, despite the odd off-road detour.

In a heartwarming project aimed at increasing pet adoptions from animal shelters, a group of cross-breed rescue dogs from Auckland were taught to drive a car — steering, pedals and all — to show the potential of unwanted canines.

Footage of the motorised mutts learning their skills has proved an Internet sensation but their ultimate test came on Monday, when the two best performers, Monty and Porter, were put through their paces on national television.”

And yes, there’s video!

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McCarthy? Really? Talk about irony.

From Breitbart

“A House GOP source has confirmed to Breitbart News that House Majority Whip Kevin McCarthy was the one who drafted the secret criteria list House Speaker John Boehner used in his purge of conservatives from House committees.

The source, someone with inside knowledge of how Boehner conducted the purge, told Breitbart News that McCarthy crafted the list, which included a scorecard of where several conservative members stood on certain votes. According to the source, it’s unclear at this time whether McCarthy made the list of his own accord or if he did so at the request of somebody else in GOP leadership – like Boehner or House Majority Leader Eric Cantor.

The source alleges that McCarthy brought the criteria list to the House GOP Steering Committee where it was used to purge four conservatives from their House committee spots.”

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Meanwhile, over in the Senate….

From SenatorTomCoburn

” U.S. Senator Tom Coburn, M.D. (R-OK) today released an oversight report, “Safety at Any Price: Assessing the Impact of Homeland Security Spending in U.S. Cities.” The report is based on a year-long investigation of the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) grant programs and the Urban Areas Security Initiative (UASI).

More than $35 billion has been spent on DHS grant programs since 2003 with the intent to make Americans safer from terrorist attacks. However, 10 years later, DHS has been unable to establish goals or metrics to ensure that funds were used to make Americans safe, and cannot accurately measure how much safer we are today after spending $35 billion.

“At a time when our $16 trillion national debt is our greatest national security threat, we must make sure that all programs, especially those meant to prevent terrorism, are achieving their mission. This report shows that too often so-called security spending is making our nation less secure by directing scarce dollars to low-priority projects and low-risk areas,” Dr. Coburn said.”

And no, still no budget.

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Now this one. C’mon, you didn’t really think they’d not do something like this, did you? They know what’s coming, so they’ll cash in now.

From Bloomberg

“The wealthy look set to enjoy a windfall in the closing weeks of the year as companies push money out the door to beat the higher tax rates advocated by President Barack Obama.

More than 150 companies, from Costco Wholesale Corp. to Las Vegas Sands Corp. (LVS), have declared special dividends totaling about $20 billion this quarter to avoid anticipated tax increases in 2013, according to data compiled by Bloomberg. Others, including law and private-equity firms, probably will pay bonuses, partnership distributions and commissions early for tax reasons, according to Lou Crandall, chief economist at Wrightson ICAP LLC in Jersey City, New Jersey.”

“Much of that will go to upper-income Americans, the very people Obama has targeted to pay higher taxes, including Las Vegas Sands controlling shareholder and Chief Executive Officer Sheldon Adelson.”

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The Obama Phone Part II

From the SFGate

“Homeless and other poor people in California are on track to soon get  virtually free cell phones and service so they can keep in touch with family,  potential employers and others crucial to improving their lives.

The cell phones would be handed out through a federally funded Lifeline  program – already operated by service provider Assurance  Wireless in 36 other states – that is likely to win final approval in the next couple of weeks from the California  Public Utilities Commission.

State PUC officials have been reviewing the Lifeline proposal from Assurance  Wireless for three years. Word came Thursday that all but a minor detail had  been approved, ending years of effort by advocates for homeless people.”

Sure, what’s one more entitlement program gonna do? They’re already broke.

🙄

33 thoughts on “News/Politics 12-11-12”

  7. Chas, it worked for me. Frustrating to read, however. Democrats are loving libertarians — as much as conservatives loved Ralph Nadar a few years ago.

    It’ll be interesting to see if conservatives can get their act together in the next year or two. So far, very few signs of that happening, I’m afraid. It’s a movement that’s now splintering, thanks to libertarianism — which is a guarantee of lost elections to come.

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  8. CB,

    OK. I read the link. I also checked my cell phone bill. I am paying the UFS charge, so I’m funding it. As are all Verizon, and many other cell company customers. So what do you call that? A TAX. So yes, we are paying for it, and it’s not by choice. And who does the cell company forward that money to? The govt. It’s still a tax, and we’re paying for it. So yes, it’s an entitlement program.

    Now I know it’s Christmas, and liberal guilt is strong around the holidays, but resist you must. You must resist the simple explanations to complex issues that the Dark(Left) Side of the Force offers. They seek to decieve you, so you miss the obvious. Plus, they lie, and there’s always more to the story.

    🙂

    And yes, most are already aware that Reagan implimented the program. But what Reagan started isn’t what exists today at all. In 1996 the program was overhauled. Let’s see, who was President then?……Clinton. And yes, Obama is largely to blame for the current state of the program. Just like with the exploding food stamps and SS disability rolls, Obama has made it his own, and vastly expanded the number of users.

    http://www.forbes.com/sites/kellyphillipserb/2012/09/28/crazy-for-obama-phones-but-are-they-for-real/

    “It was a great sound byte. But it’s deeply flawed. The “Obama phone” program she’s touting doesn’t give out free phones to minorities. And it wasn’t started by President Obama. And this rumor isn’t new.”

    “The federal program wasn’t started by President Obama. It dates back to 1996, as part of the Telecommunications Act of 1996. The Act did a number of things, including increasing internet access to doctors and patients in rural hospitals (for consults with specialists); subsidizing internet and phone coverage for schools and libraries and providing free or subsidized coverage for families who can’t afford it so that they have links to emergency and government services. The Act was not taxpayer funded… exactly. Taxpayers do pay for coverage but not via federal income taxes. Instead, the Act “mandated the creation of the universal service fund (USF) into which all telecommunications providers are required to contribute a percentage of their interstate and international end-user telecommunications revenues.” So that little fee on your phone bill labeled USF? That’s what you’re paying for.”

    Now Forbes and Snopes seem to want to give Obama a pass, but they leave out relevant info like this.

    http://educationviews.org/1-million-ohioans-are-slaves-to-obama/

    “But the size of the program in the state — and profits to the increasing number of cellphone companies involved — has exploded in recent months, according to a Dayton Daily News analysis of program data.

    The program in Ohio cost $26.9 million in the first quarter of 2012, the most recent data available, versus $15.6 million in the same timeframe in 2011. Compared to the first quarter of 2011, the number of people in the program nearly doubled to more than a million.”

    “Growth in the program is fed by the 2008 decision to extend it to prepaid cellphone companies, which get up to $10 every month that someone is subscribed. The number of cellphone companies offering the service in Ohio grew from four in 2011 to nine currently, with seven more awaiting approval from the Public Utilities Commission of Ohio.”

    And that’s just one state.

    Here’s more,

    http://www.breitbart.com/Big-Government/2012/06/13/Spending-Off-the-Hook-Free-Phones-Costing-Taxpayers-2-1-Billion-Per-Year

    “Lifeline was started in the mid-’80s to reduce the cost of phone service to rural and needy customers. The program’s costs are covered by a tax included on every monthly phone bill called the Universal Service Charge. The program eventually grew to include discounted cell service but took off in 2009, partly because TracFone announced a new program whereby eligible individuals could get a free phone and free monthly minutes. As a result, participation in the program (and costs) skyrocketed:

    Program participation was stable from 2005 to 2008, from 6.9 million to 7.1 million participants, but increased to 8.6 million in 2009. Likewise, support payments were relatively stable from 2005 to 2008, from $802 million to $823 million annually, before increasing to approximately $1 billion in 2009.”

    “The rapid growth of the program has continued since then. In 2011, the FCC estimated the cost (page 153) of the program would be $2.1 billion and said it would reach $3.3 billion by 2014 absent major reforms. The FCC also found that part of the problem with the program was rampant fraud:”

    More,

    http://www.foxnews.com/politics/2012/09/28/viral-video-touting-obama-phone-puts-spotlight-on-16-billion-federal-program/

    “A family of four with an income of about $30,000 can qualify for a subsidized line, according to Bloomberg News. The program is available to consumers in every state, territory, commonwealth and on tribal lands.

    In 2008, there were 7.1 million Lifeline accounts nationwide. There are 12.5 million today, according to Bloomberg News. About half of those are mobile phones sold by Miami-based TracFone, Sprint and hundreds of smaller regional companies. The government pays those carriers up to $10 per month for each program subscriber. Users, in turn, get free phones and 250 minutes of monthly airtime.”

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  9. And speaking of expanding govt……..

    http://news.investors.com/politics-andrew-malcolm/121012-636426-americans-figure-out-public-employees-have-it-better-than-private-workers.htm

    “You may have noticed some economic difficulties across the country in recent years among family, friends, neighbors, colleagues. One sector is doing quite nicely, however, under Barack Hussein Obama.

    In the 1,420 days since he took the oath of office, the federal government has daily hired on average 101 new employees. Every day. Seven days a week. All 202 weeks. That makes 143,000 more federal workers than when Obama talked forever on that cold day in January of 2009.

    Under Obama the total federal workforce has surpassed two million for the first time since the first Clinton term, now sitting about the 2.2 ,million level.”

    Thank ObamaCare kids.

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  10. Interesting piece on what has been (largely) the one-sided coverage of the gay marriage issue. From the post:

    “… Also interesting was that the only other next-day story from the New York Times was reported by five reporters and was outspokenly only about one side of the debate. The headline is ‘Worry Tempers Joy Over Gay Marriage’s Moment in Court.’

    “The entire article is just quote after quote after quote after quote of people who, like those in the New York Times newsroom, all think the same thing about what the definition of marriage should be. And that’s fine, I guess, but isn’t it weird to not have an article about those people on the other side of the debate? … ”

    http://www.patheos.com/blogs/getreligion/2012/12/pod-people-same-sex-marriage-on-the-march/

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  14. Aj,

    Yup. Lifeline is a cash cow for corporations. Are you really supporting a cut in a subsidy for job creators? You are a mean one, Mr. Grinch. 😉

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  15. Uhm, Aj, did investors dail also note the cutting of fed contractord which W used to hide the size of govt and which are more expensive than fed workers?

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  17. The Republicans should just go ahead an start the process of passing the bills, with a 1% tax’s increase and removing the tax’s write off and cuts that they want and then send it to the Senate and tell the the ball is in your court.

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  20. Been trying hard not to comment on the gay posts but I do have to say Roy, if churches or organizations disagree with Westboro or Brian Fisher then they should say so.

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  21. The Christian Churches have been open about the bigots found at Westboro, the problem is it makes no difference in the eyes of the GLBT Community and their hate for the Christain Church

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  22. Roy

    There are a number of LGBT individuals who regularly attend Christian churches, It may be that you do not recognize their faith and that’s your choice. But to say the LGBT community hates the church is untrue of all of the people in that community.

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  23. The GLBT Community uses these bigots to paint the Chistian Church in the same light in order to play the victim and to get their moral values, views and ideas the law of the land.

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  24. “It may be that you do not recognize their faith and that’s your choice. ”

    If they are openly involved in the sinful nature of the Gay Life Stlye it is not me that does not recognize their faith, it is God’s Word that does not recognize their faith.

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  26. NO, CB the Word of God is clear on what is a sexual sin. An I am sorry but any sexual behavior out side of marriage which is between one man and one woman is called a sexual sin.

    If people who gay are involved in sexual sin, and believe that God is ok with it is believing a lie.

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  27. CB, does it bother you when people grab the worse of Gay Pride parade pictures and use them as examples of the gay lifestyle. If we did that wouldn’t you call us on it?

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  28. And Drivers video at 4:18pm is a little payback for all those weak attempt to falsely paint the Tea Party movement as a bunch of violent thugs. Go to the Huffington post version of the same story and read the comments. Interesting to see the same people who called the Tea Party violent and dangerous are now cheering and excusing this behavior.

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  29. CB, I think Kbells (#27) makes a good point.

    Putting aside the larger issue, this news clip was an unfair representation of those who, by thoughtful religious conscience, hold to the man-woman marriage position. They see it as something that is divinely ordained but also something that most benefits society, religious or secular.

    Some of us realize we’ve probably lost this battle. So be it.

    But the troubling aspect for me as a member of the media is the what seems to be the complete denial that there even is “another” side of the debate.

    At least grant that a legitimate argument exists, as wrong-headed as you (and the majority now) think it may be.

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  30. The growing popular depiction of one side being “right” and reasonable and the being driven (only) by sheer bigotry & hate is just not the case. 😦 Let’s at least recognize there’s a dialogue to be had.

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  32. The fact is God’s Word has the only say for what is a sinful life stlye, and Christian are to obey and follow God’s Word. Not change and follow parts of God’s Word.

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  33. Kbells and Donna

    yes, it does and it is done with regularity on the right. But that does not cause me to judge all of the right as hateful. As an example I readily distinguish between your posts and the posts of others.

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