budget

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News/Politics 5-7-15

What’s interesting in the news today?

Open Thread

1. Oh look, the Senate is actually doing it’s job again. With Harry Reid no longer in charge, they actually have a budget for the first time since 2009. 

From HotAir  “Republicans promised to restore order to a dysfunctional Congress in the midterm elections. Yesterday, they delivered on that campaign promise, passing the first regular-order budget framework since 2009. It didn’t come easy, though:

The 51-48 vote capped weeks of work by Republican leaders in the House and Senate, who shepherded the blueprint through a messy debate over defense spending that at times threatened to split their conferences. …

Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell had ripped Democrats for years over their failure to pass a budget, and said Tuesday’s vote shows his GOP majority is getting the Senate working again.

“No budget will ever be perfect, but this is a budget that sensibly addresses the concerns of many different members. It reflects honest compromise from many different members with many different priorities,” the Kentucky Republican said on the Senate floor.

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2. About those charges against the Baltimore police officers…..

https://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=rqKoemmkR0g

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3. The corruption of bi-partisanship. 

From TheAtlantic  “People say they want more bipartisanship. In poll after poll after poll, they decry the polarized atmosphere in Washington and say they want their leaders to work together.

To which the people of New York and New Jersey might reply: seriously?

It’s indictment-and-arrest season in the tri-state region. Monday morning, New York State Senate Leader Dean Skelos, a Republican, and his son Adam were arrested on federal charges of extortion, fraud, and soliciting bribes. It’s been just three months since State Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver, a Democrat, washimself arrested on federal corruption charges. Meanwhile, across the Hudson River in New Jersey, Bridget Anne Kelly and Bill Baroni, two former top allies of Governor Chris Christie, pleaded not guilty to nine counts apiece including wire fraud and conspiracy in the George Washington Bridge Scandal. On Friday, David Wildstein, a Christie appointee, pleaded guilty to two conspiracy charges in the same scandal.

What New York and New Jersey share, besides oft-imitated accents and embarrassing reputations for political corruption, is bipartisan governance. It wasn’t that long ago—before the bridge scandal, credit downgrades, and collapse of Atlantic City—that Christie seemed like a model of a Republican who could work with Democrats and achieve his priorities. Christie forged an alliance with Jersey Democratic boss George Norcross and his protege Steve Sweeney, the Democratic president of the State Senate. Christie even managed to gain many Democratic endorsements in his 2013 run for reelection. In fact, prosecutors say it was his aides’ overzealous attempt to squeeze an endorsement from the Democratic mayor of Fort Lee that led to the bridge closure that now threatens to undo his career.

Something similar was going on in Albany. Governor Andrew Cuomo, a Democrat, became extremely close with Silver and Skelos, even though Skelos was a Republican. In his January State of the State address—the day before Silver’s arrest, it turned out—he described his relationship with the two as “the three amigos.” The alliance drove some other New York Democrats nuts. Even though Cuomo had delivered two major progressive priorities in passing gun control and legalizing gay marriage, he governed far too close to the center for liberals’ taste on economic issues. But that allowed Cuomo to run the state government smoothly and implement his agenda.”

Careful what you wish for.

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4. More on that “safe space” nonsense. 

From USAToday  “Christina Hoff Sommers has been speaking on college campuses for two decades challenging students to embrace what she calls “equity feminism” over “gender feminism.” In her view, the former is focused on legal equality between men and women, the latter on disempowering women by portraying them as perpetual victims of the patriarchy.

This heretical view now requires campus security.

Prior to a mid-April lecture at Georgetown University, the American Enterprise Institutescholar was deemed a “rape apologist” by campus feminists for challenging statistics that she says overstate the rate of rape on campus. “The postings were so frantic that Georgetown sent undercover security into the audience,” Sommers told me.

An Oberlin College lecture a few days later met the same fate. The Oberlin Reviewpublished an open letter, “In Response to Christina Sommers’ Talk: A Love Letter to Ourselves” two days before Sommers’ visit. Usually people wait to offer a “response” until after an event has occurred, but not so in our Brave New World. The students wrote that Sommers’ presence on campus was “harmful,” and lamented that “her talk is happening, so let’s pull together in the face of this violence.”

In case you missed that: A differing viewpoint is an act of violence.

A sign outside the lecture read “Rape Culture Hall of Fame” with the names of past and present members of the libertarian and Republican student group that invited Sommers. The Oberlin Review reported that “activists organized a safe space … (that) was attended by approximately 35 students and one dog” as Sommers spoke.”The irony is (the complaining students) postings were so extreme that the administration provided me with security,” Sommers said.”

And now you know why Rush refers to them as Femi-Nazis. 

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by

News/Politics 2-6-15

What’s interesting in the news today?

1. Islamic State selling, crucifying, burying children alive in Iraq: UN

From ZeeNews  “Iraqi boys aged under 18 are increasingly being used by the militant group as suicide bombers, bomb makers, informants or human shields to protect facilities against U.S.-led air strikes, the U.N. Committee on the Rights of the Child said.

“We are really deeply concerned at torture and murder of those children, especially those belonging to minorities, but not only from minorities,” committee expert Renate Winter told a news briefing. “The scope of the problem is huge.”

Children from the Yazidi sect or Christian communities, but also Shi`ites and Sunnis, have been victims, she said.

“We have had reports of children, especially children who are mentally challenged, who have been used as suicide bombers, most probably without them even understanding,” Winter told Reuters. “There was a video placed (online) that showed children at a very young age, approximately eight years of age and younger, to be trained already to become child soldiers.””

Monsters are real.

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2. If the Obama admin is looking for someone to arm, these would be the ones, although it’s a little late.

From Alarabiya  “Several Iraqi Christian armed forces will “soon” join the fight against the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS) in an attempt to regain control of their in the northern Ninveh Plain after they were seized by the militant group last year, a Christian lawmaker said Wednesday.

“The objective is to liberate their land in Nineveh Plain and to take charge of security in these areas afterward,” said Yaco Jacob, a Christian parliamentarian at the Kurdistan Parliament.

Jacob is member of the political bureau of the Assyrian Democratic Movement (ADM), which is one of the country’s Christian political parties, with two deputies in the Iraqi parliament in Baghdad and two representatives in the Kurdistan parliament in Erbil.

The ADM has operated paramilitaries since the 1980s, when it allied with the Kurds to wage an insurgency against Saddam Hussein’s regime. The Christian force currently has 2,000 men who volunteered to fight ISIS.

Christian groups began rebuilding their armed forces in August 2014, a week after the Ninevah plain exodus, seen by some as the worse disaster to have ever affected the Iraqi Christians.”

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3. The president is coming after retirement accounts, and he has other middle class hurting proposals in his budget.

From MSN  “President Barack Obama’s fiscal year 2016 budget was unveiled Monday to the American public, along with the Department of Treasury’s Greenbook, which provides further explanation and details of the proposals in the president’s budget.

In truth, the president’s budget is really more of a wish list than anything else, but it’s a good indication of where the administration is headed.

This year’s version of the budget includes a number of provisions targeting retirement accounts. That’s no surprise, as provisions aimed at retirement accounts have been a regular feature in budgets in recent years. What is a surprise, however, is how many proposals are targeting retirement accounts and how many new proposals there are. All told, this year’s budget features over a dozen provisions that, if they were to become law, could directly impact your retirement savings.”

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4. And there’s a college loan bomb hidden in his budget too.

From Politico  “In obscure data tables buried deep in its 2016 budget proposal, the Obama administration revealed this week that its student loan program had a $21.8 billion shortfall last year, apparently the largest ever recorded for any government credit program.

 The main cause of the shortfall was President Barack Obama’s recent efforts to provide relief for borrowers drowning in student debt, reforms that have already begun to reduce loan payments to the government. For more than two decades, budget analysts have recalculated the projected costs of about 120 credit programs every year, but they have never lowered their expectations of repayments this dramatically. The $21.8 billion revision—larger than the annual budget for NASA, or the Interior Department and EPA combined—will be tacked onto the federal deficit.

“Wow,” marveled Steve Ellis, vice president of Taxpayers for Common Sense. “Whether or not it’s good policy to help borrowers with their payments, it’s obviously costly for taxpayers.”

The 40 million Americans with student loans are now saddled with more than $1.2 trillion in outstanding debt. And with higher education costs rising much faster than inflation, the already massive program has been growing at a spectacular clip; direct government loans alone increased 44 percent over the last two years despite an aura of austerity in Washington. The Obama administration has tried to ease the burden for some borrowers by reducing their payments to 10 percent of their income and forgiving their loans after 20 years; this year, the Education Department plans to make all borrowers eligible for that “pay-as-you-earn” relief.”

22 billion shortfall in just one year.

More here, from HotAir

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5. Some charities are refusing donations from Bill Clinton’s disgusting pal.

From TheDailyMail/Reuters  “Some charities that have received money from U.S. financier Jeffrey Epstein said they are reviewing their relationships with him or will decline to accept any future gifts from him in the wake of recent allegations he forced an underage girl to have sex with Britain’s Prince Andrew and other powerful men.

Epstein, 62, who pleaded guilty in 2008 to procuring an underage girl for prostitution and served a year in a Florida jail, has long burnished his reputation as a philanthropist through a series of foundations that he says have given millions of dollars to institutions ranging from Harvard University to a New York junior tennis league.

The allegations involving Epstein became a tabloid sensation on both sides of the Atlantic after lawyers for one of Epstein’s accusers made them in a court filing just over a month ago. It prompted strong denials from Prince Andrew and from prominent U.S. lawyer Alan Dershowitz, who was also accused of having sex with the girl.

The filing has also renewed questions about Epstein’s once close links to former U.S. President Bill Clinton, though there are no allegations of any wrongdoing by Clinton.

In interviews with Reuters, three recipients of Epstein’s money said they would accept no more gifts, at least while the recent allegations are under review. They are a cancer researcher at New York City’s Mount Sinai hospital who with colleagues received $50,000 in seed funding; a mentoring program for young Swedish businesswomen that got $30,000; and Ballet Palm Beach in Florida, which declined to say how much Epstein gave.”

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But at least one Rutgers professor thinks it’s no big deal. These people are sick.

From TheDailyCaller  “A Reuters exclusive published Monday explores the conundrum faced by nonprofits that have received money from Jeffrey Epstein, the billionaire financier arrested and convicted for child prostitution.

But buried in the report is an insane statement from a Rutgers professor saying that he didn’t think he should return the money… because he didn’t think Epstein did anything all that bad.

Professor Robert Trivers told Reuters that Epstein was “a person of integrity who should be given credit for serving time in prison” and for settling civil lawsuits brought by underage girls. ”Did he get an easy deal? Did he buy himself a light sentence?” Trivers asks. “Well, yes, probably, compared to what you or I would get, but he did get locked up.”

But more to the point, Trivers didn’t see what the fuss was all about, since girls mature earlier nowadays. ”By the time they’re 14 or 15, they’re like grown women were 60 years ago, so I don’t see these acts as so heinous.””

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6. Hackers have infiltrated the system of the US’s  second largest insurer. Millions of people’s personal info has been breached.

From Cleveland/CBSLocal  “Health insurer Anthem said hackers infiltrated its computer network and gained access to a host of personal information for customers and employees, including CEO Joseph Swedish.

The nation’s second-largest health insurer said it was contacting customers affected by the “very sophisticated” cyberattack and was working to figure out how many people were affected.

The company said information the hackers gained access to included names, birthdates, email address, employment details, Social Security numbers, incomes and street addresses of people who are currently covered or have had coverage in the past.

CBS News reports hackers may have stolen up to 80 million records.”

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by

News/Politics 4-12-13

What’s interesting in the news today?

There’s a lot to choose from, that’s for sure.

We have some scary stuff, from TheCSMonitor

“That was the bombshell out of a House Armed Services Committee hearing Thursday.

It came when Rep. Doug Lamborn (R) of Colorado began quoting from what he said was an unclassified version of the DIA report, which has not yet been made public.

Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Gen. Martin Dempsey, the nation’s top military officer, appeared caught off-guard. The Pentagon has in recent days sought to strike a balance between words of warning to the North and attempts to calm the situation. General Dempsey’s reaction suggested that he was not pleased to have the DIA assessment made public, as it could further stoke anxieties over what is already a enormously tense international standoff.”

Greaaaaaat….. 🙄

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We have Dems pretending to be European Socialists by behaving badly….. from Heritage

“One would naturally think it impossible that anyone would hesitate – even for an instant – to honor the woman who tackled communism head on as prime minister of Great Britain. Lady Margaret Thatcher was a principled politician who helped to foster the special relationship between Great Britain and the United States that we all benefit from today.

A Senate resolution to honor Lady Thatcher was supposed to pass last night.  However, per well placed sources on the Hill, Democrats have a hold on the resolution.”

I’m not shocked at all. And they’re not pretending either I suspect.

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The President’s Priorities, from TheWallStJournal

“President Obama is pitching his new budget proposal as a fiscal peace offering to Republicans, but the details suggest everyone should expect more conflict. The fiscal 2014 plan he released Wednesday is a very slightly modified version of his previous budgets that reduces the deficit by raising taxes and trading defense cuts for more domestic spending.

The real news is that his budget ratifies much of the spending increase of the first term and tries to lock it in. He wants the feds to spend $3.78 trillion next year ($11,944 per American), which would still be 22.2% of national output nearly four years into an economic recovery. Before the financial panic in 2008, the government was spending about $1 trillion less, or closer to $2.7 trillion a year and an average of 20% of GDP—and President Bush was no slouch as a spender himself.”

“On the other hand, debt held by the public as a share of the economy will continue to climb—to what the White House predicts will be a peak of 78.2% of GDP in 2014. As recently as 2008, U.S. debt was 40.5% of the economy. Mr. Obama has nearly doubled it. (See the nearby chart.) With a modicum of spending restraint and faster growth, the debt burden will start to decline. The danger is that there’s no room to avoid Southern European debt levels if we have another recession or an interest-rate spike.”

Good thing we don’t have a spending problem huh? 🙄

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So how exactly did that bi-partisan gun deal come about? Why in typical DC fashion of course. From TheWashingtonTimes

“Sen. Mark Kirk says the real driving force  behind the gun deal that was hatched by bipartisan work was booze and boat  retreats.

The Illinois Republican said to reporters that visits to the Black Tie, a  yacht owned by Democrat Sen. Joe Manchin,  played a large role in the Democratic-Republican come-together over background  checks and other legislation related to gun control, Roll Call reported.”

“You guys really ought to go out to National  Harbor and see the Black Tie, which has been much of the reason for much of  the bipartisan cooperation around here,” he said, as quoted in Roll Call.”

You can look, but don’t touch it. They don’t like the commoners touchin’ their stuff.

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Next we have a serious case of judicial, and I suspect liberal, stupidity. From FoxNewsBoston

“The illegal immigrant who was drunk driving when he hit and dragged a Milford man to his death has been ruled incompetent to stand trial.

Judge  Janet Kinton-Walker says Nicolas Guaman’s “unique cultural background” and language barrier means that he doesn’t understand the court process. The court  also said that he lacks the ability to consult with his attorney properly.”

“FOX 25’s Melissa Mahan asked Maloney whether she believes Guaman does not understand the court process in the United States because of his language  barrier.

“No, I don’t believe it,” said Maloney. “In the past, he’s had other run-ins with the law. He’s been in court multiple times on other charges prior to all this in August 2011 and a Spanish interpreter or no interpreter was used for those hearings and he’s always managed just fine.”

Sure. And does he keep breaking the law because he doesn’t understand it too? Oh well. Let’s face it, the DoJ and INS would probably just release him anyway, what with Sequester cuts and all. 🙄

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These last 3 are all education/indoctrination related. We have some doozies today.

First, from the hallowed halls of higher learning we have the Clown Prince of Professors, from FoxNewsRadio

“For two years the University of Southern California student had listened to the classroom ranting of liberal professors. So it wasn’t much of a surprise when Darry Sragow, his political science professor, launched into an anti-Republican tirade on the first day of class.”

“The 20-year-old political science major bought a hidden camera disguised as a shirt button. And that’s how he was able to secretly videotape every single lecture delivered by Professor Sragow.”

““On the first day of class he talked about how Republicans prevent blacks from voting,” Talgo said. “He also said that he used to work for Democratic candidates and it was his job to kill Republicans.”

““They’re really stupid and racist,” Sragow said at one point. “The Republican party is increasingly the last refuge of old, angry white people who don’t like what’s going on in this country.””

And yes, there’s video at the link. But with a  CONTENT WARNING!!!  for some cussing.

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Next we have the further indoctrination of public school kids, disguised as education of course. Gotta get ’em young. From NationalReview

“One doesn’t need to be a global-warming skeptic to be appalled by a new set of national K–12 science standards. Those standards, developed by educrats and science administrators, and likely to be adopted initially by up to two dozen states, put the study of global warming and other ways that humans are destroying life as we know it at the very core of science education. This is a political choice, not a scientific one. But the standards are equally troubling in their embrace of the nostrums of progressive pedagogy.

Students educated under the Next Generation Science Standards will begin their lifelong attention to climate change as soon as they enter school. Kindergartners will be expected to “use tools and materials to design and build a structure that will reduce the warming effect of sunlight on an area” (perhaps this is what used to be known as “building a fort”) and “develop understanding of patterns and variations in local weather and the purpose of weather forecasting to prepare for, and respond to, severe weather.” Things get even scarier by the third grade, when students should be asking such questions as: “How can the impact of weather-related hazards be reduced?” The standards don’t mention protesting the Keystone pipeline as a possible “real-world” answer to the question of how to reduce “weather-related hazards,” but rest assured that the graduates of America’s left-wing education schools will not hesitate to include such hands-on learning experiences in their global-warming-politics — oops, make that “science” — classes. By high school, students are squarely in the world of environmental policy-making, expected to “evaluate a solution to a complex real-world problem based on prioritized criteria and trade-offs that account for a range of constraints, including cost, safety, reliability, and aesthetics, as well as possible social, cultural, and environmental impacts.””

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And the last of the bunch is also from a public school, again, get the kids. From EAGNews

“Eighth-graders in Wisconsin’s Union Grove school district were assigned to fill out a “Liberalism vs. Conservatism” crossword puzzle, and they learned some new and very questionable “facts.”

Students learned conservatism is “the political belief of preserving traditional moral values by restricting personal freedoms … ”

Conversely, they learned liberalism is “the political belief of equality and personal freedom for everyone, often changing the current system to increase government protection of civil liberties.”

“On the back side of the crossword puzzle was a political survey students were required to fill out to identify their beliefs, something Varebrook believes is equally troubling.”

That’s how they figure out who the free-thinking trouble makers are. Can’t have ’em influencing the collective with their conservative values. You know how radical 8th graders are. Best to identify ’em early.

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by

News/Politics 4-11-13

What’s interesting in the news today?

This morning we go fast and furious. We won’t be running guns, but we will talk about them. Since there’s so many, I’ll try to be brief. 🙂

First the expanded background checks. Seems mostly reasonable, but any attempts to limit rights make me nervous. I just don’t trust ’em to leave it at this. From TheHill

“The proposal would expand background checks to cover all sales at gun shows and  over the Internet. Those background checks would have to be accompanied by  records proving to law enforcement officials they took place.

It would exempt gun sales and transfers between friends and acquaintances  without the help of an online intermediary.”

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Meanwhile more than half of Colorado’s Sheriffs have signed on to a lawsuit against that state’s new gun grab laws. From FoxNews

“The Denver Post reports that 37 of the state’s 62 sheriffs will sue to  overturn laws passed in March that set limits on ammunition magazines and expand  background checks for firearms.

Weld County Sheriff John Cooke told the paper that the proposed lawsuit would  argue the laws violate Second Amendment rights. He said the lawsuit would likely  be filed within the next few weeks.”

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Now on to the President’s idea of a budget. Or as I like to call it, DOA. From TheDailyMail

“Early analysis: Obama’s 2014 budget numbers are based on bad math, phantom  revenues, imagined spending cuts and a middle-class tax hike”

“White House promises $1.8 trillion in  deficit reduction, although similar previous claims have been  debunked

New method of measuring cost-of-living  increases will lower benefit payouts and push middle-class earners into higher  tax brackets

Speaker Boehner’s spokesperson: ‘Any deficit  reduction will come exclusively from tax hikes’

Administration’s formula depends on cost  savings from Obamacare, which may be more costly to implement than previously thought”

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ObamaCare savings? I think not. From Bloomberg

“The $1.3 trillion U.S. health-care system overhaul is getting more expensive and will initially accomplish less than intended.

Costs for a network of health-insurance exchanges, a core part of the Affordable Care Act, have swelled to $4.4 billion for fiscal 2012 and 2013, and will reach $5.7 billion in 2014, according to President Barack Obama’s budget sent to Congress today. Spending would be more than double the projections, even though less than half the 50 U.S. states are participating.”

So if all states participate, it’s even worse. Savings? Please. It’s working out just as we said it would. And just think, all this, with no benefits yet. Just imagine how far off they’ll be once they actually have to start paying out benefits.

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Even some Dems are catching on to the fact that they created a monster. From TheWashingtonExaminer

“Decrying the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act as way too complex, he warned the acting Medicare director that Obamacare is “so complicated and if it isn’t done right the first time, it will just simply get worse.”

“”I believe that the Affordable Care Act is probably the most complex piece of legislation ever passed by the United States Congress. Tax reform obviously has been huge too, but up to this point it is just beyond comprehension,” said Rockefeller.”

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Looks like they’d like to use the same rush tactic on immigration that they used for ObamaCare. From TheWashingtonExaminer

“Sen. Mike Lee, R-Utah, faulted Senate Judiciary Chairman Pat Leahy, D-Vt., for limiting the committee review of the gang of eight’s immigration proposal to just one hearing, scheduled for next week.

“A single hearing scheduled so quickly to discuss legislative language that is not yet even available is completely inadequate for Senators or the American people to get answers to the many questions a bill of this magnitude will inevitably raise,” Lee said in a statement. “We could not possibly have a meaningful hearing with a substantive discussion of what will surely be over 1,000 pages of provisions we haven’t even yet seen.””

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Just one more reason to dislike the IRS. From TheHill

“The Internal Revenue Service (IRS) has claimed that agents do not need warrants to read people’s emails, text messages and other private electronic  communications, according to internal agency documents.

The American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU), which obtained  the documents through a Freedom of Information Act request, released the information on Wednesday.”

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And since we’re on the subject of unconstitutional power grabs and abuse of power, we’ll stay with it. From TheWashingtonExaminer

“A bill aimed at pressuring the Boy Scouts of America to lift its ban on gay members by making the organization ineligible for nonprofit tax breaks cleared its first vote on Wednesday in the California Legislature.”

“The Youth Equality Act, sponsored by Sen. Ricardo Lara, D-Long Beach, would deny tax-exempt status to youth groups that discriminate on the basis of gender identity, race, sexual orientation, nationality, religion or religious affiliation.”

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Another example? Really? I see a pattern here. From FoxNews

“The Environmental Protection Agency acknowledged Tuesday that it released  personal information on potentially thousands of farmers and ranchers to  environmental groups, following concerns from congressional Republicans and  agriculture groups that the release could endanger their safety.

According to a document obtained by FoxNews.com, the EPA said “some of the  personal information that could have been protected … was released.” Though the  EPA has already sent out the documents, the agency now says it has since  redacted sensitive details and asked the environmental groups to “return the  information.””

Sure, after the horse has left the barn.

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And to finish, some words from Clarence Thomas on the decline of black communities. From TheObserver-Reporter

“Thomas spoke to an appreciative audience at Duquesne Law School in Pittsburgh. The crowd of about 1,200 people responded with both applause and laughter as he discussed politics, the makeup of the Supreme Court, race, and his own struggles to find his path in life.”

“If I was going to have hard feelings, it’d be mostly on race issues,” Thomas said. “My heart is broken because I worked in the inner cities.”

He said he’s seen terrible decline in some black communities over the years and today “virtually every crime is drug related.” Many young people have no families and no education and numerous anti-poverty programs have failed to make a difference, he said.

“We should at least fess up and say something is wrong,” Thomas said.”

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by

News/Politics 4-6-13

What’s interesting in the news today?

The President’s proposed budget is taking heat from the left.

From TheHill

“Progressive groups and lawmakers, including Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.), are  blasting the Obama administration for cuts to Social Security and other programs  expected to be unveiled in the president’s budget next week.

One  progressive group, Democracy for America, is threatening primary challenges to  those Democrats who support the cuts.”

““The Senate just last month went on record in opposition to the president’s  approach. In poll after poll, the American people are overwhelmingly against  cutting Social Security. And organizations representing a broad spectrum of  millions of Americans from the AFL-CIO to the American Legion to AARP to NOW  have urged the president not to make this terrible mistake,” Sanders said in a  statement.”

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The White House is fighting a subpoena from the Catholic Church on the birth control issue.

From Reuters

“The Obama administration has gone to court to try to block a subpoena from the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of New York seeking White House documents about the government’s requirement of insurance coverage for birth control.

The subpoena requesting documents from President Barack Obama and his senior advisers would be burdensome to fulfill, the administration said in a lawsuit filed in U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia.

Citing U.S. Supreme Court precedent, the suit also argues that civil subpoenas of the president’s executive office are inappropriate except in extraordinary circumstances.”

Not surprising. There’s a lot they don’t want seen.

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The new unemployment numbers are out. While the rate lowered, things are actually worse. More fuzzy math and disappeared workers.

From CNSNews

“A record 89,967,000 Americans were not in the labor force in March, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics. That is an increase of 663,000 from the 89,304,000 Americans who were not in the labor force in February.

Since President Barack Obama was first inaugurated in January 2009, 9,460,000 people have dropped out of the labor force.”

Here’s some nice Tweets to put it in perspective for ya’.

James Pethokoukis@JimPethokoukis

10.98%: What the unemployment rate would be if labor force participation was the same as in January 2009

8.3%: What the unemployment rate would be if labor force participation was the same as in March 2012

Recovery? Anyone?

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Jake Tapper states the obvious.

From TheWashingtonTimes

“Mr. Tapper quoted the president as saying, “It is possible for us to create  common sense gun safety measures that respect the traditions of gun ownership in  the country, and hunters and sportsman, but also make sure that we don’t have 20  children in a classroom  gunned down by a semi-automatic weapon — by a fully automatic weapon in that  case.”

Mr. Tapper corrected Mr. Obama, pointing out that the weapons used in the  Newtown, Conn., massacre were semi-automatic. He also reminded his audience  about an interview on ABC’s “Nightline” just days after the shooting in which  Mr. Bloomberg described the weapons used in the attack with characteristics only  fully-automatic weapons possess.

“It might help the advocates of gun control if, in their advocacy for  stricter measures, they seemed more familiar with what they are trying to ban,” Mr. Tapper said.”

They have no clue. Most don’t even seem to have a basic understanding of what they’re talking about.

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Trayvon Martin’s parents have settled a civil suit with the Homeowners Association.

From FoxNews

“Trayvon Martin’s parents have settled a wrongful death claim for an amount  believed to be more than $1 million against a Florida homeowners association  where their teen son was killed, Fox News confirms. ”

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This one I find personally insulting, as I’m sure will many other vets. This is what happens when liberals with agendas run the military. The Army claims it was an isolated incident. And where did this govt employee get this info on scary terror groups like us? Why the SPLC of course. Disgusting.

From FoxNews

“A U.S. Army training instructor listed Evangelical Christianity and Catholicism as examples of religious extremism along with Al Qaeda and Hamas during a briefing with an Army Reserve unit based in Pennsylvania, Fox News has learned.

We find this offensive to have Evangelical Christians and the Catholic Church to be listed among known terrorist groups,” said Ron Crews, executive director of the Chaplain Alliance for Religious Liberty. “It is dishonorable for any U.S. military entity to allow this type of wrongheaded characterization.”

The incident occurred during an Army Reserve Equal Opportunity training brief on extremism. Topping the list is Evangelical Christianity. Other organizations listed included Catholicism, Al Qaeda, Hamas, the Ku Klux Klan, Sunni Muslims, and Nation of Islam.”

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And lastly this. I linked to something on this before, but then the judge issued a gag and the subject was dropped. Needless to say, prosecutors sought to keep this info from the record. And the public.

From HotAir

“In a revelation that may have Colorado voters rethinking their state’s push on gun control, court documents revealed that the mass shooting in Aurora that killed 12 and injured 70 more could have been prevented by law enforcement.  The psychiatrist for suspect, James Holmes, had warned campus police that Holmes was dangerous and homicidal a month before the shooting took place.  Lynne Fenton even told the police that Holmes had begun to stalk and threaten her, and yet no action was apparently taken:

Lynne Fenton, a psychiatrist at the Denver campus, told police that Holmes had also “threatened and harassed her via email/text messages” in June 2012. He is standing trial for the July 20 shooting rampage that killed 12 and injured 70 during a midnight premiere of the latest Batman movie. …

Soon after the shooting, university police said they had not had any contact with Holmes, a graduate student doing neuroscience research. But a search warrant affidavit released Thursday revealed that an officer had told investigators that Fenton had contacted her to report “his danger to the public due to homicidal statements he had made.””

“The prosecution had tried to keep these records sealed, and it’s not difficult to see why.  (They can be viewed at KUSA’s website, where they were posted last night.) The narrative from political and law-enforcement leaders in Colorado has been that this could have been anyone with a gun who just flipped out, and a society without gun control cannot hope to stop it.  But Holmes didn’t just flip out shortly before the murder, and police had ample warning of the danger he presented.”

More gun laws wasn’t the solution to this. The police enforcing existing laws may have prevented it. There were plenty of laws broken that would warrant arrest. Yet he wasn’t even interviewed. Amazing.

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News/Politics 3-21-13

What’s interesting in the news today?

Open thread, you decide.

Here’s a few from me, and we have some doozies. 🙄

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We’ll start with this one. The light bulb 💡 finally goes on over at the WaPo. Now they get it….. 🙄

From TheWashingtonPost

” The evidence was incontrovertible, captured on video and posted on YouTube for all the world to see. During a demonstration against the Syrian regime, Wael Ibrahim, a veteran activist, had tossed aside a banner inscribed with the Muslim declaration of faith.

And that, decreed the officers of the newly established Sharia Authority set up to administer rebel-held Aleppo, constitutes a crime under Islamic law, punishable in this instance by 10 strokes of a metal pipe.

The beating administered last month offered a vivid illustration of the extent to which the Syrian revolution has strayed from its roots as a largely spontaneous uprising against four decades of Assad family rule. After mutating last year into a full-scale war, it is moving toward what appears to be an organized effort to institute Islamic law in areas that have fallen under rebel control.”

Strayed? No. This is what it’s always been, you just ignored that aspect until now.

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The Budget from Senate Dems has died in the House, as it should have.

From TheHill

“The House on Wednesday rejected the Senate Democratic budget in a 154-261  vote, with 35 Democrats voting against the blueprint from their upper chamber  colleagues.

The Senate Democratic budget was one of three budgets cast aside in a series  of votes Wednesday after a debate in which Republicans excoriated President  Obama for failing to offer his own budget plan in time for the votes.

House Democrats were instructed to vote for the Senate Democratic budget, but  35 of them defected.”

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Cuomo’s gun restrictions are off to a great start. First they had to re-write portions because they forgot to exempt police, now it’s got other issues. Not very well thought out, but then again, it was always emotion based with little to do with facts or common sense. But like ObamaCare, I guess they had to pass it to find out what was in it. 🙄

From TheUticaObserverDispatch

“Cuomo and legislative leaders in state budget talks plan to change the law that was passed in January before a provision kicks in banning the sale of 10-bullet magazines. The gun measure outlaws the purchase of any magazines that carry more than seven bullets, the nation’s most stringent limit. That would have put a severe limit on the sale of guns with industry standard 10-bullet magazines when the provision of the law went onto effect on April 15.

“There is no such thing as a seven-bullet magazine. That doesn’t exist, so you really have no practical option,” Cuomo said. He told reporters that any suggestion this will be a rollback of the law is “wholly without basis.”

“Cuomo said the state needs to allow the sale of handguns and rifles with 10-shot magazines, but New Yorkers will still be required to keep no more than seven bullets in them, except at shooting ranges and competitions. Violating the seven-bullet limit is a misdemeanor, but a violation if the magazine was in the owner’s home.”

I need a head shaking, face-palm smiley. Sure 7 rounds. Got it. 🙄

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And now it goes down hill. We have no money for tours for school kids, but we’ve got plenty to waste on garbage like this.

CONTENT WARNING!

I’m not sure if it’s for the duck anatomy references, or because it’s so offensive what they waste our money on. Maybe both.

From CNSNews

“The National Science Foundation (NSF) has awarded a $384,949 grant to Yale University for a study on “Sexual Conflict, Social Behavior and the Evolution of Waterfowl Genitalia”, according to the recovery.gov website.

The grant description says,“The project examines how reproductive morphology covaries with season, age, and social environment in a diverse sample of duck species that differ in ecology, territoriality and breeding system.”

The grant was made available through the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act, better known as the stimulus package.”

🙄 I’m just speechless here, which is probably for the best.

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And PETA shows once again why many consider them to be frauds. It’s about the cash and the show, but not the animals.

CONTENT WARNING! because PETA likes to use scantily clad and naked people in their ads.

From TheDailyMail

“Animal rights charity PETA killed almost 90 per cent of dogs and cats placed in the care of the shelter at its Virginia  headquarters last year, it has been revealed today.

The charity, well-known for attention  grabbing publicity campaigns such as the ‘I’d rather go naked’ anti-fur  campaign, euthanized 1,647 cats and dogs last year and only placed 19 in new  homes according to the data submitted to the Virginia  Department for Agriculture and Consumer Services.

PETA told Mail Online that the animals they  take in at the center are ‘unadoptable’, however 89.4 per cent of pets is much  higher than their own approximation that half of animals taken to shelters end  up being euthanized.”

Maybe they should protest their own headquarters.

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News/Politics 3-14-13

What’s interesting in the news today?

There’s a lot to choose from today.

I guess we’ll start with the new Pope.

From TheWashingtonTimes

“Pope Francis is first Catholic pontiff from the  Americas; he is known as a humble intellectual.

As Argentine cardinal, he clashed with President  Cristina Fernandez over her liberal policies.

Pope Francis is the first ever from the Americas, an austere Jesuit intellectual  who modernized Argentina’s conservative Catholic church.”

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Next we have a not at all shocking update on ObamaCare.

From TheTaxProfBlog

“Following up on Tuesday’s post, House Holds Hearing Today on The Tax-Related Provisions in the President’s Health Care Law: Tax Foundation, Obamacare Tax Increases Will Impact Us All:

The Joint Committee on Taxation recently released a 96 page report on the tax provisions associated with Affordable Care Act. The report  describes the 21 tax increases included in Obamacare, totaling $1.058  trillion – a steep increase from initial assessment. The summer 2012  estimate is nearly twice the $569 billion estimate produced at the time  of the passage of the law in March 2010. …

More from CNSNews

“The nation’s big health insurers say they expect premiums — or the cost for insurance coverage — to rise from 20 to 100 percent for millions of people due to changes that will occur when key provisions of the Affordable Care Act roll out in January 2014.

Mark Bertolini, CEO of Aetna Inc., one of the nation’s largest insurers, calls the price hikes “premium rate shock.”

“We’ve done all the math, we’ve shared it with all the regulators, we’ve shared it with all the people in Washington that need to see it, and I think it’s a big concern,” Bertolini said during the company’s annual meeting with investors in December.”

Nothing is as advertised. Not surprising, after all, nothing is free.

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Well we finally get a look at the Democrat’s budget proposal. As expected, lot’s of tax increases. As well as a 62% increase in govt. spending over the next decade. Also not surprising. Tax and spend is their solution to everything.

From TheWeeklyStandard

“Senator Patty Murray, the Democratic chair of the Senate Budget Committee, finally released a budget today. Year over year, in this proposed budget, spending jumps dramatically.

For instance, from this year’s budget to next year’s proposed budget, spending would increase by $162 billion. This year, the federal government will spend $3.599 trillion; under Murray’s budget, the federal government would be on track to spend even more.

Over the next decade, spending under Murray’s budget would increase by 62 percent.”

From 3.6 trillion this year to over 5.7 trillion in 2023.

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Someone should tell Captain Obvious here that the suit needs to be back by 5, or he has to pay for another day’s rental.

From CNSNews

“The “Arab spring” has benefited Islamists rather than  democracy advocates, while political transitions and unrest in the  region have provided opportunities for terrorists to mount attacks  against U.S. interests, Director of National Intelligence James Clapper  told lawmakers Tuesday.

Delivering the intelligence community’s  annual report on threats facing the United   States, Clapper gave what  amounted to a downbeat assessment of the upheavals that many initially  viewed as a promising movement towards greater democracy in a region  dominated by long-ruling autocrats.

“Islamist actors have been  the chief electoral beneficiaries of the political openings, and  Islamist parties in Egypt, Tunisia and Morocco will likely solidify  their influence in the coming year,” he told the Senate Select Committee  on Intelligence in a written statement.”

Wow, such brilliance. Like everyone didn’t already know this. And yes, this is exactly what many of us told these clowns would happen. It was never Democracy.

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I like this one, but liberals sure won’t. So yeah, Double Bonus!  🙂

Once again, Texas shows how it’s done.

From TheAmericanStatesman

“The Senate Education Committee this morning approved a bill to ban Planned Parenthood from providing sex education materials or instruction in public schools in a 6-2 vote, after little discussion.”

“Public school districts that opt to provide sex education must make all course materials available for public review and allow parents to exempt children from any portion of the course without penalty.”

“Supporters of the bill accused Planned Parenthood of placing an improper emphasis on sexual freedom and abortion rights that is inappropriate for school-age children. Opponents accused Paxton of attempting to place unneeded restrictions on local instruction that would force some school districts to drop sex education despite high rates of teen pregnancy.”

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by

News/Politics 3-13-13

What’s interesting out there today?

How about the Dueling Budgets? I guess it’s only fair to start with the Senate proposal, since it’s the first in 5 years. Slackers. And not surprisingly, it calls for a trillion dollar tax increase. Oh wait, I’m sorry, the new term is “increased revenues”. My bad. 🙄

From Politico

“Sen. Patty Murray’s new budget plan calls for raising tax revenues by nearly $1 trillion while  cutting spending by roughly the same amount over the next decade, according to  people familiar with the proposal.

The Budget Committee chairwoman briefed fellow Democratic senators over the  new proposal in a closed-door lunch Tuesday that President Barack Obama also  attended. Committee deliberations will begin Wednesday, and the panel expects to  vote on the plan Thursday before floor debate next week.”

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The House plan, from Ryan, is nothing to get real excited about either. But at least it won’t increase taxes. Allegedly.

From TheWallStJournal

“America’s national debt is over $16 trillion. Yet Washington can’t figure out how to cut $85 billion—or just 2% of the federal budget—without resorting to arbitrary, across-the-board cuts. Clearly, the budget process is broken. In four of the past five years, the president has missed his budget deadline. Senate Democrats haven’t passed a budget in over 1,400 days. By refusing to tackle the drivers of the nation’s debt—or simply to write a budget—Washington lurches from crisis to crisis.

House Republicans have a plan to change course. On Tuesday, we’re introducing a budget that balances in 10 years—without raising taxes. How do we do it? We stop spending money the government doesn’t have. Historically, Americans have paid a little less than one-fifth of their income in taxes to the federal government each year. But the government has spent more.”

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Meanwhile the White House finds time for more important things.  Who needs budgets anyway, when you can have “increased revenues”? I guess that’s how they plan on paying for increased entitlements.

From TheWashingtonExaminer

“President Obama policy aides attacked a Republican bill that would block the Department of Health and Human Services from waiving the work requirements associated with the 1996 welfare reform bill, even as the White House continued to deny that it had authorized such waivers.

“With respect to the provision in H.R. 890 to limit State flexibility to strengthen the Temporary Assistance to Needy Families (TANF) program, the Administration notes that this flexibility was requested by Governors on both sides of the aisle to allow States to test new, more effective ways to place more people on a path to self-sufficiency,” the White House Office of Management and Budget said in a policy statement today. “The Administration is disappointed that the bill includes this unnecessary bar to innovative welfare-to-work strategies.”

Rep. Dave Camp, R-Mich., introduced the bill. “Nothing in current law prohibits a State from strengthening its work requirements and moving more individuals from welfare to work,” Camp said during a hearing last week.  “Instead, a waiver would only be needed to weaken the work requirements, as the Administration wishes to do, pure and simple.”

And paying for yet another needless Czar and his staff.

From JudicialWatch

“Keeping with his race-based ideology, President Obama has named the nation’s first African American education czar to focus on improving the academic performance of black students and countering the discrimination that persists in public schools around the country.

The official title is Executive Director of White House Initiative on Educational Excellence for African Americans and the task is to reduce “racial isolation and resegregation of elementary and secondary schools.” Despite decades-old desegregation laws, “substantial obstacles” to equal educational opportunities still remain in America’s public school system, according to the president. Therefore the academic performance of black students has for decades lagged behind whites and other ethnic minorities.”

“So last summer the commander-in-chief issued an executive order to create a special White House Initiative on Educational Excellence for African Americans. The goal is to tackle a rampant crisis of perpetually low academic performance and high dropout rates among black students. African Americans lack equal access to highly effective teachers and principals, safe schools and challenging college-preparatory classes and they disproportionately experience school discipline and referrals to special education, according to the executive order.

President Obama also threw this often-cited statistic into his race-based educational excellence executive order: “African American males also experience disparate rates of incarceration.” Presumably, his new initiative will bring the numbers down. The effort includes the creation of a new President’s Advisory Commission on Educational Excellence for African Americans and a special “working group” consisting of senior officials from the departments of Justice, Education, Labor and White House Domestic Policy Council.”

I’m so glad we finally have a post-racial President. 🙄

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And Sharyl Attkisson asks a good question over at CBS.

“Six months later, where are the Benghazi survivors?”

“Today marks six months since the September 11, 2012 terrorist attacks on the U.S. compounds in Benghazi, Libya in which four Americans were killed, including U.S. Ambassador Christopher Stevens. Some watchdog groups, members of the media and Republican members of Congress are asking: Where are the more than two dozen U.S. personnel who survived the attack but haven’t been seen nor heard from in public since? There were also an undisclosed number of witnesses at the U.S. compounds in Tripoli but they also have not spoken publicly.

In a recent press report, Secretary of State John Kerry said he visited one survivor at “Bethesda hospital,” and referred to him a “remarkably courageous person who is doing very, very well.” Kerry added, “I’ve called his wife and talked to her.” But the identities, condition and testimony of the survivors and witnesses have been closely held from the public.

Republicans demanded more information about Benghazi in recent weeks before they would agree to allow Obama Administration nominees to move forward in the Senate. A source familiar with material turned over to the Senate Intelligence Committee by the Obama Administration in response tells CBS News that long sought-after FBI transcripts of some survivors were included but had been “blacked out” or redacted. Three Senate Republicans including Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., say they want the survivors to be made available for interviews about what happened the night of the attacks.”

I guess the answer is “What difference does it make?”

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by

News/Politics 3-11-13

What’s interesting in the news today?

Open Thread.

Here’s a few to start off.

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But…but…. the Sequester…..  They had to cancel those tours it was so bad.

Or was it all just a fraud?

From NationalReview

“We are now firmly ensconced in the brutal Age of the Sequester, and things in America are grave. The federal government, we learned on Wednesday, is so strapped for cash that the president has been forced to cut off the People’s access to the home he’s borrowing from them. He didn’t want to have to do this, naturally — “particularly during the popular spring touring season.” But then Congress just had to go and acquiesce in measures that the president himself had suggested and signed into law. How beastly! We axed 2.6 percent from a $44.8 trillion budget, and now the president can’t even afford the $18,000 per week necessary to retain the seven staff members who facilitate citizens’ enjoying self-guided tours around the White House.

The executive mansion is not in that much trouble, of course. It’s certainly not in sufficiently dire straits for Air Force One ($181,757 per hour) to be grounded, or to see the executive chef ($100,000 per year) furloughed, or to cut back on the hours of the three full-time White House calligraphers ($277,050 per year for the trio), or to limit the invaluable work of the chief of staff to the president’s dog ($102,000 per year), or to trim his ridiculous motorcade ($2.2 million). If Ellen DeGeneres wants another dancercize session or Spain holds another clothing sale, the first family will be there before you can say “citizen executive.” Fear ye not, serfs: Austerity may be the word of the week, but the president is by no means in any danger of being forced to live like the president of a republic instead of like a king.”

“The current annual cost of the White House — just in household expenses, not the policy operations for which it exists — is $1.4 billion: Annually, presidential vacations cost $20 million (the low estimate for one presidential vacation to Hawaii is $4 million, but the true cost is probably five times that); the first family’s yearly health-care costs are $7 million; more than $6 million is spent on the White House grounds each year. Transporting the president cost $346 million last year. But as Michelle Obama might say, America is basically a downright mean sort of place, so the tours will just have to go. One hopes at least that the calligraphers were recruited to sign the docents’ pink slips.”

Yeah, pretty much.

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Catholic Bishops are claiming that the new Violence Against Women Act undermines religious liberty.

From CNSNews

“The new act expands its coverage beyond women to homosexuals,  bisexuals and transgenders, and includes language refering to “sexual  orientation” and “gender identity.”

“These two classifications are unnecessary to establish the just  protections due to all persons,” the bishops said in their statement.  “They undermine the meaning and importance of sexual difference. They  are unjustly exploited for purposes of marriage redefinition, and  marriage is the only institution that unites a man and a woman with each  other and with any children born from their union.”

The bishops also objected to the fact that the new act does not  include conscience protections for organizations providing care to  victims of human trafficking. Because of this, they say, the law  undermines religious liberty.”

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The Ninth Circuit get’s one right, but only partially.

From CNetNews

“U.S. customs officials must have a reasonable justification before snatching your laptop at the border and scanning through all your files for incriminating data, a federal appeals court ruled today.

The Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals ruled that Homeland Security’s border agents must have “reasonable suspicion” before they can legally conduct a forensics examination of laptops, mobile phones, camera memory cards, and so on.

Today’s opinion (PDF) is a limited — but hardly complete — rejection of the Obama administration’s claim that any American entering the country may have his or her electronic files minutely examined for evidence of criminal activity. Homeland Security has said the electronic border searches could detect terrorists, drug smugglers, and people violating “copyright or trademark laws.””

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This one is just wrong. She’s an old woman for cryin’ out loud.

From News7WSVN

“A South Florida woman claims a security guard forced her to exit the  Metrorail last month for refusing to stop singing religious hymns.

The incident involving 82-year-old Emma Anderson and the guard occurred Feb.  20 at the Brickell Metrorail station, was caught on cell phone video. The  footage shows the guard approaching Anderson, who was singing loudly on a corner  seat and tapping her thigh with a rolled-up piece of paper to keep time with the  music.

The guard asked Anderson several times to stop singing before grabbing her  cart and escorting her off the train. “You’re getting off here, let’s go,” the  guard is heard telling Anderson, who was heading to the Brownsville station.”

And the poor woman fell while being tossed. Yes, there’s video.

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This last one? HYPOCRISY ALERT!!!

Especially considering how he and his wife have spoken out against these sort of weapons. I guess he just means WE shouldn’t have them, but it’s fine for our ruling class elites, like them.

From Breitbart

“Mark E. Kelly, gun-control proponent and husband to former Congresswoman Gabby Giffords, recently purchased an AR-15 (an “assault weapon,” he called it)—which he now says he intended as an illustration of the need for more stringent gun laws.

Kelly reportedly bought the AR-15 and a 1911-style semi-automatic pistol at a gun store in Tucson, Arizona.”

“Kelly and Giffords founded their own advocacy group to restrict gun rights, Americans for Responsible Solutions, in January. On its website, ARS wrote: “High capacity magazines are a deadly factor in gun violence.” A 30-round magazine is considered a high-capacity magazine.”

And then, like most weasels, he makes up a story days later to cover it up. Says he only bought it to turn over to the Tucson PD. Sure, ‘cuz people do that all the time. 🙄

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by

News/Politics 3-1-13

What’s interesting in the news today?

Open thread, so feel free to chime in.

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The Scarequester nonsense continues. The Democrat proposed bill was as bad as you’d think. How does adding to the deficit solve anything, other than just maintaining the status-quo? It deserved to fail.

From NationalReview

“The sequester replacement bill proposed by Senate Democrats, and endorsed by the White House, would add $7.2 billion to the federal deficit over ten years, according to the nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office (CBO).

“CBO estimates that S. 388 would increase direct spending by $62.4 billion and revenues by $55.1 billion over the 2013–2023 period. Thus, the cumulative deficit would increase by $7.2 billion from those changes,” CBO wrote in a report.

The Democratic bill would replace the $85 billion in automatic cuts scheduled to take effect on Friday with a mixture of tax increases and spending cuts to defense programs and farm subsidies. However, those spending cuts would be phased in over a ten-year period, whereas the sequestration cuts would occur this year.”

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The Republican bill which would keep the sequester in place, but allow Obama discretion in implementing the cuts, failed as well.

From IBTimes

“A sequester will go into effect Friday, after a Republican measure to offset the automatic, across-the-board spending cuts associated with the budget act was rejected by Senate leadership Thursday. A Democratic proposal also fell short of the 60 votes needed.”

“The GOP’s bill that would have given President Barack Obama the flexibility to implement the $85 billion in spending cuts was rebuffed 38 to 62. The measure was struck down by both Democrats and tea party members. On the other hand, the Democrats’ proposal failed 51 to 49 and wasn’t popular among Republicans, as expected.”

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Meanwhile, the fear-mongering and scare tactics continue.

From CNSNews

“Rep. Donna Edwards (D-Md.) said that if the  sequester goes into effect, women who are victims of domestic violence  will be “forced to stay in their homes with their abuser” at the “hands  of the GOP.””

““The harm is real,” Edwards said.  “230,000 victims will be calling  crisis hotlines and those calls will go unanswered.  230,000 calls to  crisis hotlines around the country.”

“So can you imagine that in the middle of the night a woman is being  battered, she has her two children, she wants to get to safety, she  places a phone call to a hotline and that line goes unanswered,” she  said.  “That’s what sequestration means to victims of domestic  violence.””

There’s plenty that can be cut without touching stuff like this. Unless Dems and Obama chose to do it. This doesn’t need to be near as painful as they make it sound. Waste is everywhere, start there and with redundant programs.

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Stuff like this is a good place to start, along with Cowboy Poetry.

From TheWashingtonTimes

“The White House budget office has told  federal agencies to slow down new hiring, curtail travel and conferences, and to stop doling out bonuses unless absolutely required to by law, according to a new memo released late Wednesday.

Budget office controller Danny Werfel  also warned agencies not to use outside contractors to try to get around the new limits on hiring.

The  limits on bonuses and trips are unlikely to make a big dent in   the $85  billion that agencies will be required to cut over the rest of   this year. The  Asbury Park Press, a New Jersey  newspaper, reported  last  year that the  federal  government paid out $439 million in  employee  bonuses in 2011.  Meanwhile,  the House oversight committee  said that   big-dollar  conferences amounted to $267.6 million in 2012.

But federal travel is a bigger cost, totaling $14.8 billion in 2012, the  oversight committee said.”

Next we can have the President and his wife stop taking separate and numerous vacations on the taxpayer dime. That’ll save millions a year.

This isn’t nearly as hard as they’re making it.

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You won’t find much sympathy for these folks I’m guessing. And really, 5-7 days of furlough is the end of the world? Just be thankful you still have a job. Maybe they should have thought of the costs when hiring 16,ooo new IRS agents to enforce ObamaCare.

From TheWallStJournal

“The Internal Revenue Service plans to require  five to seven days of unpaid leave for many of it employees through September, but it won’t begin the furloughs until the summer  in an effort to avoid disruptions in the April tax filing deadline.”

““If sequestration occurs, we will continue to operate under a hiring freeze, reduce funding for grants and other expenditures, and cut costs in areas such as travel, training, facilities and supplies,” IRS Acting Commissioner Steven Miller wrote employees Thursday. “In addition, we will need to review contract spending to ensure only the most critical and mandatory
requirements are fully funded.””

Shouldn’t that be the norm instead of the exception? Critical and mandatory requirements should be all they do.

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And while Democrats and liberal members of the press attack Woodward for telling the truth, others have come forward.

From WeaselZippers

“First Bob Woodward, then Lanny Davis.

Now Ron Fournier of the National Journal reports being verbally abused and threatened by a “senior advisor”.”

“USA Today also contributed to the tide today :

It’s almost like there’s a pattern or something. 🙄

They don’t like it when the truth gets out.

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This one? Well sure it’s nice that we could, but should we? Sure it starts with something small, like with a pigeon, but then somebody does something stupid and dinosaurs are all over the place. I’ve seen Jurassic Park. I know how this ends. 😦

From SanFranCBSLocal

“Speaking from the prestigious TED Conference in Long Beach Wednesday, Sausalito activist Stewart Brand said scientists are developing the ability to reassemble an extinct animal’s genome, and even recreate the animal itself.

Brand, who gained fame after he campaigned to have the original NASA space photos of earth published, and subsequently created the Whole Earth Catalog, said Wednesday that “de-extinction” could be used to help restore organisms and habitats damaged human activity, according to a report in the Marin Independent Journal.

A team of Harvard geneticists are currently working to bring back the passenger pigeon, which has been extinct since 1914, according to the TED website. The passenger pigeon is considered a keystone species because it aided the survival of the buffalo, according to TED. Researchers believe it may now be possible to alter the genetic makeup of a close relative, the band-tailed pigeon, to re-engineer the passenger pigeon.”

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