Gordon's On It First

Texas tornado damages homes, storms cause flooding

2012-03-20T16:13:00Z

The National Weather Service confirmed a tornado touched down late Monday about 25 miles southwest of San Antonio and moved toward the city. Most of the damage was to rural homes north of the towns of Natalia and Lytle, officials said. Full Story

Justice Dept. Investigating Florida Killing After Outcry

2012-03-20T16:13:00Z

In a statement released Monday night, the Justice Department said its Civil Rights Division, in conjunction with the Federal Bureau of Investigation, would investigate the death of the teenager, Trayvon Martin, who was shot as he was walking to the home of his father's girlfriend from a convenience store in Sanford, just north of Orlando, on Feb. 26. The neighborhood watch volunteer has told the police that he shot Trayvon, 17, in self-defense. Full Story

Romney faces another 'must-win' state in Illinois primary

2012-03-20T16:13:00Z

Fifty-four delegates are up for grabs Tuesday when Illinois votes for the Republican presidential nominee. But for the former Massachusetts governor, capturing the popular vote might be just as important as increasing his lead in the battle for delegates. Full Story

Highest Gas Price Recorded in March

2012-03-20T16:13:00Z

Last week, the average gas price was $3.83 a gallon, the previous record according to data going back to 1990. Full Story

Illinois primary is set for frenzied finish

2012-03-19T16:13:00Z

Mitt Romney caravaned from the Quad Cities to Rockford to north suburban Vernon Hills.Romney's campaign worked to raise doubts about Rick Santorum's conservative credentials, while Romney continued to question his rival's ability to help fix the nation's economy. Full Story

Fighting in Damascus belies Syrian government's claim of control

2012-03-19T16:13:00Z

The fighting reportedly took place in Mezzeh, a neighborhood that is home to a number of government security facilities, United Nations headquarters, and foreign embassies. Many government loyalists also live in the area. Full Story

Rick Santorum courts conservative Christians as evangelicals embrace him

2012-03-19T16:13:00Z

Nearly a hundred pastors from all over Louisiana and from as far away as Texas and Colorado accepted Family Research Council President Tony Perkins' invitation to hear a personal pitch Sunday from the former Pennsylvania senator, who met with them in a private briefing before he addressed the more than 1,400 faithful who crowded into the sanctuary at Greenwell Springs Baptist Church. Full Story

C-SPAN founder Brian Lamb to step down as CEO

2012-03-19T16:13:00Z

Effective April 1, Rob Kennedy and Susan Swain will become co-CEOs of the non-profit cable network, according to a release from the public affairs network. Full Story

Consumer Prices in U.S. Rose in February as Gasoline Jumped

2012-03-16T16:13:00Z

The consumer-price index climbed 0.4 percent, matching the median forecast of economists surveyed by Bloomberg News, after increasing 0.2 percent the prior month, the Labor Department reported today in Washington. The so-called core measure, which excludes more volatile food and energy costs, climbed 0.1 percent, less than projected. Fullstory

Pool-mageddon avoided - for now

2012-03-16T16:13:00Z

President Obama in 2010 dramatically expanded the rules for access under the Americans with Disabilities Act, and the new regulations mean that every publicly accessible pool - from municipal facilities to hotels - must have two "accessible means of entry," at least one of which must be a ramp or wheelchair lift. Spas must also have either a lift or a transfer system to help the disabled enter them, under the new rules.Fullstory

Three in 10 young adults live with parents, highest level since 1950s

2012-03-16T16:13:00Z

After graduating from Brown University in 2009 with a bachelor's degree in comparative literature and completing a Fulbright scholarship in Brazil, Cassie Owens was left with a few dollars on her stipend and no job in sight. So, Ms. Owens returned home to her mother in Philadelphia.Fullstory

Afghan protesters demand U.S. soldier be tried in Afghanistan

2012-03-15T16:13:00Z

And a member of parliament accused the military of showing him and other officials "a fake video ... to convince the Afghan people that it was the act of only one soldier." Full Story

Afghanistan's Taliban suspend talks with US

2012-03-15T16:13:00Z

The US had been trying to set up a dialogue with the Taliban in the Gulf state for some time. Full Story

Virginia Tech to review negligence verdict in 2007 shooting rampage

2012-03-15T16:13:00Z

The move follows Wednesday's verdict by a seven-member jury in Christiansburg, Virginia, that awarded $4 million each to two victims' families who sued the state for wrongful death in the shooting massacre. Full Story

Blagojevich On Going To Prison: 'Hardest Thing I've Ever Had To Do'

2012-03-15T16:13:00Z

Speaking for about 12 minutes outside his Ravenswood home, Blagojevich said he's tried to avoid thinking about the time he is facing in prison, even with only hours left to surrender to federal authorities. Full Story

Defendant in family dispute charged with murder after fatal shooting outside Texas courthouse

2012-03-15T16:13:00Z

Bartholomew Granger, 41, was also accused of wounding three other people, including a daughter authorities said he ran over with a pickup truck while he tried to escape. He was being held at a jail after being treated at a hospital following his arrest. Full Story

Strong quakes rattle Japan, but cause no damage

2012-03-14T16:13:00Z

The strongest was a magnitude 6.8 that struck off Hokkaido island and generated a small tsunami. Some communities along the northern Pacific coast advised residents to evacuate coastal homes. Full Story

Former Illinois Governor Blagojevich to have final word before prison

2012-03-14T16:13:00Z

Blagojevich said through a publicist that he will speak on Wednesday afternoon outside the home where FBI agents showed up on the morning of December 9, 2008, and arrested him. At the time, a surprised Blagojevich thought the arrest was a joke. Full Story

5 things we learned from Tuesday's primaries

2012-03-14T16:13:00Z

It's one of the most tired clichés in politics, but unfortunately for Romney, it happened to be true in certain parts of Mississippi, where his campaign was confident about a victory. Full Story

With Friends Like These ... Union Names Chinese Premier 'Best Friend of American Worker'

2012-03-14T16:13:00Z

The International Longshoremen's Association, an AFL-CIO affiliate, has not publicized the award. It is not mentioned on the ILA website, nor has it been reported in the American main-stream press. The Longshoremen did not return a request for comment.Fullstory

Roadside bomb in southern Afghanistan kills 8 as Panetta visits

2012-03-14T16:13:00Z

The midday blast took place in Marja district, where a major anti-narcotics campaign is underway. The provincial governor, Ghulab Mangal, said insurgents were planting more and more improvised explosive devices in an effort to stymie the anti-poppy-cultivation drive. Full Story

Prominent Syria Dissidents Quit Opposition Group

2012-03-14T16:13:00Z

The resignations from the Syrian National Council dealt another blow to the opposition, which has been hobbled by disorganization and infighting since the popular revolt against authoritarian President Bashar al-Assad started a year ago with protests calling for political reform. Full Story

Republican candidates court Southern support before primaries

2012-03-13T16:13:00Z

Mitt Romney, on the other hand, acknowledged he doesn't need to win Alabama or Mississippi to stay in the nomination hunt even as he expressed confidence -- backed by late polling -- that evangelical and socially conservative voters in the South think he's the one to win the White House. Full Story

PA Gov. Corbett says he'll sign voter-ID bill

2012-03-13T16:13:00Z

The so-called "voter ID" bill could reach Corbett's desk as early as Tuesday, when the House is to take a final vote on the controversial measure. The Republican-controlled chamber began debating the bill Monday afternoon but delayed the vote a day, citing rules regarding the waiting period for voting on legislation sent over from the Senate. Full Story

Mass transit use rises as gas prices soar

2012-03-13T16:13:00Z

In 2011, Americans took 10.4 billion trips on mass transit -- which includes buses, trains, street cars and ferries, according to the American Public Transportation Association. Full Story

Santorum: Convention would give me GOP nomination

2012-03-12T16:13:00Z

Though former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney has a commanding lead in the crucial race for delegates, Santorum said the race is about to enter a period where he will face fewer disadvantages. To date, Romney has outspent Santorum and had stronger campaign organizations working for him. Full Story

Taliban Vows Revenge for Killing of 16 Afghan Civilians

2012-03-12T16:13:00Z

U.S. and Afghan officials say the U.S. soldier walked off his base and attacked homes in the Panjwai district of Kandahar province early Sunday, shooting and killing civilians. Villagers say he set some of the bodies on fire. Full Story

Obama impeachment bill now in Congress

2012-03-12T16:13:00Z

Specifically, Article I, Section 8, of the Constitution reserves for Congress alone the power to declare war, a restriction that has been sorely tested in recent years, including Obama's authorization of military force in Libya. Full Story

Pakistan charges bin Laden's wives, Taliban demands release with threats

2012-03-09T17:13:00Z

The three women have been in Pakistani detention since May last year, when U.S. commandos raided the house where they, bin Laden and several of their children were staying. The commandos shot and killed bin Laden, and then buried his body at sea. Full Story

Coca Cola and Pepsi caramel cancer threat leads to new recipe

2012-03-09T17:13:00Z

The two firms are changing the way they make the caramel colouring used in their drinks as a result of a California law that mandates drinks containing a certain level of carcinogens bear a cancer warning label. Full Story

Pitt clinic shooting victim ID'd as staff member; mom says no reason to believe he was target

2012-03-09T17:13:00Z

Michael Schaab's (SHAWBZ) mother tells The Associated Press he worked in the geriatric unit at the clinic and was recently engaged. Mary Schaab says she has no reason to believe he knew the shooter, who was apparently shot dead by campus police and remains unidentified. Full Story

Andrew Breitbart 'bombshell' video from Barack Obama's college days released, falls flat

2012-03-08T17:13:00Z

So much for Andrew Breitbart's last scoop.
The video the late, conservative provocateur boasted could take down President Obama has been released - and isn't all it was cracked up to be. Full Story

Virginia Gov. Bob McDonnell signs Virginia ultrasound bill

2012-03-08T17:13:00Z

The bill sparked national debate this month over a provision that would have required many women to undergo transvaginal ultrasounds, which opponents decried as medically unnecessary and physically invasive. McDonnell, a conservative who opposes abortion rights, ultimately requested that mandate be stripped. Full Story

Super Tuesday sets up long slog to GOP nomination

2012-03-07T17:13:00Z

To be sure, Romney is still the frontrunner for the nomination: He will wake up on Wednesday with more delegates than any of his rivals, along with a significant financial and organizational advantage over the rest of the field. Full Story

Ohio's 'Joe the Plumber' Gets GOP Nod for Congress

2012-03-07T17:13:00Z

Samuel Wurzelbacher gained the nickname "Joe the Plumber" for expressing working-class concerns about taxes to then-candidate Barack Obama during a stop to the region. Full Story

Nuclear Powers Prepare Demands for Iran as Diplomatic Solution Is Sought

2012-03-07T17:13:00Z

The International Atomic Energy Agency's 35-member board called off a scheduled meeting today in Vienna to give nations time to prepare the demands. Chinese, French, German, Russian, U.K. and U.S. diplomats are expected to issue a statement tomorrow, after it has been cleared by leaders in their capitals, three officials told Bloomberg News on condition of anonymity because the information isn't public. Full Story

Warm reception seen for Israeli leader in Congress

2012-03-06T17:03:00Z

Benjamin Netanyahu got a preview of what to expect when Senate Republican leader Mitch McConnell told the pro-Israel lobby on Monday that the U.S. should use overwhelming military force against Iran if it learns Tehran has decided to build a nuclear bomb or has started to enrich uranium to weapons-grade level. Full Story

Super Tuesday: High stakes for GOP hopefuls

2012-03-06T17:03:00Z

All ten states holding contests Tuesday are awarding delegates proportionately - allocating them based on the outcome in congressional districts, a candidate's percentage of the statewide vote, or a combination of the two (as in the case of Ohio). The lack of "winner take all" contests makes it almost impossible for the remaining GOP presidential hopefuls to accrue enough of the 419 delegates at stake Tuesday to create an aura of true inevitability around their candidacy. Full Story

Russian Opposition Calls for Civil Disobedience

2012-03-06T17:03:00Z

Navalny says tens of thousands will turn out for street protests in Russian cities and will keep up the protests until their demands are met. Full Story

Russian election skewed for Putin, observers say

2012-03-05T17:03:00Z

Medvedev promised a government review of the conviction of former oil magnate Mikhail Khodorkovsky, who has become a political prisoner of sorts, and of the decision that prevented a liberal political party from fielding candidates in Sunday's election. Full Story

Ohio Becomes Romney-Santorum Dead Heat

2012-03-05T17:03:00Z

Romney and his chief rival, Rick Santorum, scrambled for any advantage they could find Monday in Ohio, the most-watched contest in the 10-state extravaganza stretching from Alaska to the southeast. Full Story

Breitbart: "Wait 'Til They See What Happens March 1st"

2012-03-02T17:03:00Z

In a stunning coincidence, It appears Andrew Breitbart suffered his untimely death just hours before he was set to release damning video footage that could have sunk Barack Obama's 2012 re-election campaign.Fullstory

NASA Laptop Stolen With Command Codes That Control Space Station

2012-03-02T17:03:00Z

In a statement given to a House committee on the security challenges facing NASA, Paul K. Martin said that an unencrypted NASA computer stolen last year was one of 48 taken between April 2009 and April 2011.Fullstory

Sarah Palin video mocks

2012-03-02T17:03:00Z

Palin's two-and-a-half-minute video, dressed up as a mock movie trailer, is titled "Game Change we can believe in." "HBO Fiction" gets jumbled to read "BHO Fiction," an apparent reference to the president's initials. The trailer splices together a series of laudatory statements about Palin said by McCain strategists Steve Schmidt and Nicolle Wallace during the 2008 campaign - a clear pushback to the doubts expressed by Schmidt and Wallace's characters in the upcoming HBO film.Fullstory

Brazil declares new 'currency war'

2012-03-02T17:03:00Z

Guido Mantega, the finance minister who was the first to use the controversial term in 2010, said the government would not "sit by passively" as developed nations continue to pursue expansionary monetary policies at the expense of Brazil.Fullstory

On to Super Tuesday: GOP Battles on for Tennessee

2012-03-01T17:03:00Z

As he made the rounds in the state Wednesday, Santorum called the Ohio-Oklahoma -Tennessee trifecta "sort of our wheelhouse right now" during a radio interview. Full Story

BREAKING: ANDREW BREITBART DIES AT 43

2012-03-01T17:03:00Z

Andrew passed away unexpectedly from natural causes shortly after midnight this morning in Los Angeles. Full Story

Romney Wins Michigan after Tight Race

2012-02-29T17:03:00Z

His victory over Mr. Santorum here in Michigan was far from commanding, but it was most likely sufficient to dampen the rising clamor from across the Republican Party about his ability to win over conservatives and connect with voters. The tussle with Mr. Santorum highlighted ample concerns about Mr. Romney, but his win spared his campaign from deep turmoil. Full Story

AP sources: Israel wouldn't warn US on Iran strike

2012-02-29T17:03:00Z

Israeli officials said that if they eventually decide a strike is necessary, they would keep the Americans in the dark to decrease the likelihood that the U.S. would be held responsible for failing to stop Israel's potential attack, said one U.S. intelligence official familiar with the discussions. The U.S. has been working with the Israelis for months to convince them that an attack would be only a temporary setback to Iran's nuclear program.

Report: Egypt Arrests al-Qaeda Leader

2012-02-29T17:03:00Z

Alaa Mahmoud, an Interior Ministry spokesman, said authorities in Cairo arrested Mohamed Mohamed Ibrahim Makkawi. Authorities think that Makkawi could be the alias for a top al Qaeda leader named Saif al-Adel. Full Story

Afghans: Quran-burning soldiers to face trial

2012-02-29T17:03:00Z

Last week, Afghan president Hamid Karzai demanded NATO turn over the U.S. troops to be tried in Afghanistan. President Obama subsequently sent a letter to Karzai reassuring him that the troops involved would be punished for their actions.Fullstory

'Die All of You': The Rantings of Ohio School Gunman Posted Before Brutal Cafeteria Spree as Second Classmate Dies

2012-02-28T17:03:00Z

Daniel Parmertor, 16, died on Monday morning when TJ Lane, 17, allegedly went on a rampage in a school in Cleveland, Ohio. A second boy, Russell King Jr, 17, died from his wounds this morning. Full Story

Santorum robocall makes appeal to Michigan's Democrats for votes

2012-02-28T17:03:00Z

That's right. The former Pennsylvania senator's campaign paid for a robocall asking Democrats to vote for him in Tuesday's primary. Full Story

Louis Farrakhan warns of racial hatred that could lead to attempts to kill President Obama

2012-02-28T17:03:00Z

Farrakhan spent much of his oration decrying what he cast as Satan's influence over racist forces in politics and society before asking a pointed rhetorical question: "Do you think they're wicked enough to be plotting our brother's assassination as we speak?" Full Story

Romney, Santorm head into Michigan neck-and-neck

2012-02-27T17:03:00Z

Neither is the latest nationwide poll, from Politico and George Washington University, which shows Rick Santorum with a two-point lead over Romney. Full Story

Russia, Ukraine Agents Foil Anti-Putin Plot

2012-02-27T17:03:00Z

The Channel One said that the suspects were plotting to kill Putin in Moscow immediately after the March 4 presidential election, in which he is all but certain to reclaim the presidency. Full Story

At least 4 students hurt in shooting at Chardon High School

2012-02-27T17:03:00Z

Multiple reports say that one suspect was arrested and police are searching for at least one other person. The boy who is in custody is being processed at the Geauga County Sheriff's office, according to reports about 9 a.m. Full Story

WikiLeaks publishes security think tank emails

2012-02-27T17:03:00Z

The emails, snatched by hackers, could unmask sensitive sources and throw light on the murky world of intelligence-gathering by the company known as Stratfor, which counts Fortune 500 companies among its subscribers. Full Story

GOP Candidates Face Off in High Stakes Debate in Arizona

2012-02-23T17:03:00Z

The debate, which took place one week before a flurry of voting begins with contests in Michigan and Arizona, saw Mitt Romney reaffirm his genteel but biting attack style. Full Story

If Economy's Improving, Why Is Dependency Growing?

2012-02-23T17:02:00Z

Heritage defines dependency as significantly depending on the government for help in two of the following basic expense items: housing, food, shelter, income security or higher education. Full Story

Obama apologizes to Afghanistan for Quran burning

2012-02-23T17:02:00Z

U.S. Ambassador Ryan Crocker delivered it on the same day two NATO troops were killed by "an individual wearing an Afghan National Army uniform," according to NATO's International Security Assistance Force. Full Story

Obama administration to unveil corporate tax reform plan

2012-02-22T17:02:00Z

Corporations with overseas operations would also face a minimum tax on their foreign earnings, new tax benefits would be given to incentivize U.S. manufacturers while taxes on oil and gas companies would reportedly see their taxes go up while losing many large deductions and subsidies. Full Story

Fears over an Ed Rendell-owned Inquirer

2012-02-22T17:02:00Z

Rendell is part of a wealthy investment group that includes New Jersey Democratic powerplayer George Norcross and Philadelphia Flyers owner and Ed Snider. Full Story

Europe seals new Greek bailout, doubts remain

2012-02-21T17:33:00Z

The complex deal wrought in overnight negotiations buys time to stabilize the 17-nation currency bloc and strengthen its financial firewalls, but it leaves deep doubts about Greece's ability to recover and avoid default in the longer term.Fullstory

Gallup Finds Unemployment Climbing to Nine Percent in February

2012-02-21T17:33:00Z

The polling company said this suggests that it is "premature" to assume the economy will not feature prominently in the 2012 election season.Fullstory

For boomers, it's a new era of 'work til you drop'

2012-02-21T17:33:00Z

Symons, fresh out of college, entered this brave new world thinking she'd do pretty much what her parents' generation did: Work for just one or two companies over about 45 years before bidding farewell to co-workers at a retirement party and heading off into her sunset years with a pension.Fullstory

Newt Gingrich: 'You can't put a gun rack in a Volt'

2012-02-21T17:33:00Z

He calls Chevrolet's $39,995 extended-range electric car, the Volt, "an interesting experimental car," but says that the average income of buyers is $170,000. He notes that the Obama administration wants to raise subsidies from $7,500 to $10,000 on electric cars. Full Story

Conservatives and enthusiasts cheer the end of the long-gun registry

2012-02-20T17:33:00Z

"It criminalizes hard-working and law-abiding citizens such as farmers and sport shooters, and it has been a billion-dollar boondoggle left to us by the previous Liberal government."

Quebec MP Maxime Bernier said MPs and gun-rights advocates will celebrate together Parliament Hill after Wednesday evening's vote.Fullstory

US military officials urge caution on attacking Iran

2012-02-20T17:33:00Z

Senior Pentagon officials are making no secret of the fact that despite the apparent stepped-up drumbeat to war with Iran, they believe a strike on the country is "not prudent" right now. Full Story

Fighters Intercept Drug-Carrying Cessna Near Air Force One

2012-02-17T17:33:00Z

The disturbance occurred just minutes before President Obama was scheduled to depart for San Francisco. His plane ultimately took off at 11:40 a.m. PT without incident.Fullstory

The New Blacklist

2012-02-17T17:33:00Z

After 10 enjoyable years, I am departing, after an incessant clamor from the left that to permit me continued access to the microphones of MSNBC would be an outrage against decency, and dangerous.says Pat Buchanan.Fullstory

Santorum accuses media of double standard on Obama and Jeremiah Wright

2012-02-17T17:33:00Z

Santorum was reacting to criticism of comments Thursday by Forster Friess, who made ill-advised remarks about birth control. He said he shouldn't be held accountable for every comment by one of his supporters, and said the media was playing "gotcha politics."Fullstory

Santorum deepens bet on ultraconservative stance

2012-02-17T17:33:00Z

Santorum is finding strength among the highly motivated segment of Republican voters who have tended to dominate party turnout in primary elections and caucuses. He appears to be ignoring the fact that voters turned against his hard-right politics when he was badly defeated in a 2006 bid for a third term in the U.S. Senate from Pennsylvania. Full Story

House-Senate deal reached on payroll tax measure

2012-02-16T17:33:00Z

Montana Democratic Sen. Max Baucus announced the agreement late Wednesday, capping a long day of wrangling over final details of the measure, which is a top priority of President Barack Obama. Full Story

Sarah Palin says she is "game" for another run for office

2012-02-16T17:33:00Z

Asked in an interview if she would be interested in jumping in the race if there is no clear winner by the time Republicans gather this summer for their nominating convention, Palin said she would "do whatever I could to help." Full Story

Iran claims two steps to nuclear self-sufficiency

2012-02-15T17:33:00Z

President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad oversaw the insertion of the first Iranian domestically-made fuel rod into a research reactor in northern Tehran, the country's official IRNA news agency reported. Full Story

Iowa Welcomes Back China's Next President

2012-02-15T17:33:00Z

But apparently Xi Jinping (shee jeen ping) remembered the 1985 stay fondly because he insisted on returning this week to Muscatine, a small farming community he toured to learn about crop and livestock practices. Full Story

Greeks direct cries of pain at Germany

2012-02-15T17:33:00Z

Most shockingly, a rightwing Greek newspaper depicts Angela Merkel, Germany's chancellor, in a Nazi uniform above the headline "Memorandum macht frei" - an allusion to the memorandum in which Greece's foreign creditors demand more austerity measures and to the Auschwitz slogan. Full Story

Inside Media Matters: Sources, memos reveal erratic behavior, close coordination with White House and news organizations

2012-02-14T17:15:00Z

Brock, the head of the liberal nonprofit Media Matters for America, had told friends and co-workers that he feared he was in imminent danger from right-wing assassins and needed a security team to keep him safe. Full Story

USS Abraham Lincoln in Strait of Hormuz voyage

2012-02-14T17:15:00Z

A BBC reporter on board said an Iranian patrol boat at one point passed by two miles (3.2km) from the carrier. The carrier was accompanied by a US cruiser and destroyer. Full Story

White House Economic Adviser: 'We Need a Global Minimum Tax'

2012-02-14T17:15:00Z

"He supports corporate tax reform that would reduce expenditures and loopholes, lower rates for people investing and creating jobs in the U.S., due so further for manufacturing, and that we need to, as we have the Buffett Rule and the individual tax reform, we need a global minimum tax so that people have the assurance that nobody is escaping doing their fair share as part of a race to the bottom or having our tax code actually subsidized and facilitate people moving their funds to tax havens," Sperling said. Full Story

Gas prices' earliest-ever rise above $3.50 a bad sign for motorists

2012-02-14T17:15:00Z

In 2008, average gasoline prices had hit inflation-adjusted records nationally by the summer, but they didn't climb above $3.50 a gallon across the U.S. that year until April 21, according to the AAA Fuel Gauge Report. It happened again last year, but not until March 6.Fullstory

Obstacles remain for Greek bailout deal

2012-02-13T17:44:00Z

The European Union on Monday called the Greek parliament's approval of a further round of budget cuts a "crucial step forward" but added that it would still take some time before the second bailout is delivered. Full Story

Syria rejects Arab League call for peacekeeping mission

2012-02-13T17:44:00Z

Syria has flatly rejected a call by the Arab League to deploy peacekeepers to end the country's escalating conflict, while Britain has insisted that no western troops could be involved in such a mission. Full Story

Merkel taking Europe in wrong direction: Soros

2012-02-13T17:44:00Z

"I admire Chancellor Merkel for her leadership. But unfortunately she is taking Europe in the wrong direction," the financier and philanthropist told the weekly Der Spiegel.Fullstory

Krauthammer: Israel 'will strike' Iran to 'prevent a second holocaust'

2012-02-13T17:00:00Z

Krauthammer referred to a Washington Post column in which David Ignatius indicated, generally, when Defense Secretary Leon Panetta thought such an attack might happen.Fullstory

U.S. and Israel Split on Speed of Iran Threat

2012-02-09T17:00:00Z

Israel's defense minister, Ehud Barak, coined the phrase "zone of immunity" to define the circumstances under which Israel would judge it could no longer hold off from an attack because Iran's effort to produce a bomb would be invulnerable to any strike. Full Story

Obama to give 10 states a pass on No Child Left Behind deadline

2012-02-09T17:00:00Z

The executive action will circumvent Congress, which has been stuck on how to rewrite the law. Full Story

U.S., Banks Agree on Foreclosure Pact

2012-02-09T17:00:00Z

Federal and state officials planned to announce the settlement Thursday morning in Washington after putting the finishing touches on the deal following a marathon negotiating session that ended after midnight Thursday morning. Full Story

Santorum Upsets G.O.P. Race With Three Victories

2012-02-08T17:07:00Z

With his triumphs, Mr. Santorum was also suddenly presenting new competition to Newt Gingrich as the chief alternative to Mr. Romney, the front-runner. Where Mr. Gingrich has won one state, South Carolina, Mr. Santorum has now won four, including Iowa. Full Story

CDC: Bread beats out chips as biggest salt source

2012-02-08T17:07:00Z

That surprising finding comes in a government report released Tuesday that includes a list of the top 10 sources of sodium. Salty snacks actually came in at the bottom of the list compiled by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Full Story

Attack on the drones

2012-02-08T17:07:00Z

The nuclear power chillingly declared it "has the means" to retaliate unless the carnage ceases.
Pakistan's High Commissioner to Britain Wajid Shamsul Hasan told The Sun in an exclusive interview that his country's relations with America are at their lowest ebb. Full Story

White House defends contraception rules as criticisms mount

2012-02-08T17:07:00Z

David Axelrod, a senior campaign adviser to President Barack Obama, said the administration had heard the Church's concerns and never intended to "abridge anyone's religious freedom."
But he gave no sign that the administration would reverse course under intensifying pressure from Church leaders and political heat from Republican presidential candidates. Full Story

Greece: 'There's no more left to cut'

2012-02-08T17:07:00Z

Several thousand demonstrators from the public and private-sector unions braved the heavy rainfall, gathering outside Parliament to voice their opposition at the latest proposed measures to secure a ?130bn (£108bn) bailout package. Full Story

Senate approves shale impact fee

2012-02-08T17:07:00Z

The state Senate voted 31-19 in favor of fees that could raise $180 million from the industry in the first year, while expanding regulations for the booming industry, including a requirement for online disclosure of chemicals used in hydraulic fracturing, or fracking. The measure, which could pass the House on Tuesday night, would fund road work and environmental cleanups and give local governments the power to impose the fees on their local wells. Full Story

Lawmakers Suggest US Consider Arming Syrian Rebels

2012-02-08T17:07:00Z

The Obama administration, though, pushed back on the idea -- stressing instead the options of humanitarian assistance and increased international pressure. Full Story

Likeable Rick Santorum attracts independents Romney is losing

2012-02-07T17:45:00Z

A new GOP-leaning Rasmussen poll posits a general election match-up where Santorum beats the president by one percentage point, 45 to 44, while Romney falls short by four percent and Newt Gingrich trails by eight. More immediately, other polls suggest he may do well in today's Minnesota caucuses and the non-binding primary in Missouri. Full Story

Catholic Leaders Speak Out Against New Contraception Regulations

2012-02-07T17:45:00Z

Catholic leaders complained that the rule would force them to subsidize medical procedures to which they morally object. Full Story

Congress OKs FAA bill allowing drones in U.S., GPS air traffic control

2012-02-07T17:45:00Z

The bill, which passed the Senate 75-20 Monday, speeds the nation's switch from radar to an air traffic control system based on GPS technology. It also requires the FAA to open U.S. skies to drone flights within four years. Full Story

Florida GOP To Food Stamp Recipients: No Sweets For You

2012-02-07T17:45:00Z

You can't feed a family on potato chips and Mountain Dew, which is the goal: feeding hungry people," Florida State Sen. Ronda Storms (R), who introduced a bill to limit what food stamp recipients can buy, told TPM. Full Story

Nevada caucuses: What's next in the GOP race?

2012-02-04T17:45:00Z

As preliminary vote totals come in from Nevada caucus sites, the candidates have already turned their attention to elections in a trio of states -- Colorado, Minnesota and Missouri. Maine is also holding municipal caucuses throughout the week that will conclude one week from Saturday. Full Story

Obama: I'm getting 'better as time goes on'

2012-02-04T17:45:00Z

"What's frustrated people is that I've not been able to implement every aspect of what I said in 2008. Well, it turns out our Founders designed a system that makes it more difficult to bring about change than I would like sometimes. But what we have been able to do is move in the right direction," Obama said. Full Story

Ayaan Hirsi Ali:The Global War on Christians in the Muslim World

2012-02-04T17:45:00Z

We hear so often about Muslims as victims of abuse in the West and combatants in the Arab Spring's fight against tyranny. But, in fact, a wholly different kind of war is underway-an unrecognized battle costing thousands of lives. Christians are being killed in the Islamic world because of their religion. It is a rising genocide that ought to provoke global alarm.Fullstory

CURL: Obama's made-up jobless numbers

2012-02-04T17:45:00Z

Sure, it wasn't so nice for President Obama in October 2009, when the federal Bureau of Labor Statistics declared the rate was 10 percent. But exactly a year from Election Day 2012, the rate began a precipitous plunge, first to 8.9 percent, then the next month, to 8.7, then to 8.5. And just last week, the BLS said the rate had fallen all the way down to 8.3 percent.Fullstory

Holder to Puerto Rican Rep: 'Wherever you're from'

2012-02-03T18:10:00Z

Labrador, who is Puerto Rican, faced off in 2010 against a primary opponent who insisted in a debate that Puerto Rico is a foreign country.Fullstory

Pennsylvanians getting food stamps face assets test

2012-02-02T18:10:00Z

The change came three weeks after The Philadelphia Inquirer revealed that the Republican administration, without any public announcement, had told the federal government that it would impose an asset test that critics said met the most stringent limits allowed by federal law. The move brought harsh criticism from Democrats and advocates for the poor. Full Story

John Dean has unexpected Watergate reunion at Nixon Library

2012-02-02T18:10:00Z

Well, fancy meeting you here! The Nixon Library in Yorba Linda, Calif., was the setting for an unexpected Watergate reunion on Saturday.
John Dean was in Southern California for a legal symposium when he and a friend decided to check out the library's exhibits. The plan for the former White House counsel-turned-witness for the prosecution was to keep a low profile - signing in under a fake name and pulling a ballcap over his face, his colleague Jim Robenalt, a Cleveland lawyer, told us: "He's very controversial there, if you can imagine."

AP: Trump intends to endorse Gingrich

2012-02-02T17:39:00Z

Trump is set to announce his support Thursday in Las Vegas, where Gingrich is campaigning in advance of Nevada's Republican caucuses on Saturday. Full Story

Pa. groundhog 'predicts' 6 more weeks of winter

2012-02-02T17:39:00Z

The pronouncement brought groans from the thousands of people gathered for the annual event at Gobbler's Knob, the tiny hill in Punxsutawney, which is about 65 miles northeast of Pittsburgh.
Full Story

Non-Grats! Mitt Romney Confirms Newt Gingrich Didn't Call After Florida Win...Or Iowa, Or NH

2012-02-01T20:07:00Z

"Newt didn't call after Iowa or New Hampshire," Gov. Romney revealed. "I called him after South Carolina, his win there, but he didn't call last night. The other candidates all called. I don't know. I guess Speaker Gingrich doesn't have our phone number."
Calling your opponent after a victory is customary, like shaking hands with the other team at the end of a Little League game, but it's one of those things that nobody notices unless some kids spits in his hand first. Full Story

Darrell Issa threatens Eric Holder with contempt

2012-02-01T20:07:00Z

House Oversight Committee Chairman Darrell Issa (R-Calif.) threatened Tuesday to hold Attorney General Eric Holder in contempt of Congress if the Justice Department did not provide certain documents in response to the committee's subpoena.
In a letter to Holder, Issa wrote that "this committee will have no alternative but to move forward with proceedings to hold you in contempt of Congress" if Holder and the DOJ didn't produce documents they demanded relating to the Fast and Furious gun-walking scandal. Full Story

House GOP seeks to bar the use of welfare funds at strip clubs

2012-02-01T18:07:00Z

Republicans included the proposal in the payroll tax bill the House passed in December, and are bringing it back up for a vote separately as part of a package of bills they want included in a final agreement extending the payroll tax cut and other measures through 2012.
Full Story

Politico's Martin: Florida Panhandle "Cracker Counties"

2012-01-31T22:27:00Z

Politico's Jonathan Martin calls North Florida "Cracker Counties" Full Story

Likeable Rick Santorum attracts independents Romney is losing

2012-01-31T17:45:00Z

Santorum Bristles as Gingrich Suggests He Quit

2012-01-31T17:07:00Z

The former Pennsylvania senator was responding to remarks by Gingrich suggesting other conservatives need to coalesce around him to keep Mitt Romney from winning the party nomination. Full Story

Maryland's O'Malley Wants to Add 6 Percent Sales Tax to Gasoline

2012-01-31T17:07:00Z

O'Malley's plan would phase out the state's exemption of the sales tax for gasoline over three years, adding a 2 percent tax each year, eventually applying the full 6 percent sales tax to fuel, he said. Full Story

US-Egypt Standoff Worsens

2012-01-31T17:07:00Z

The White House said yesterday it was disappointed with Egypt's handing of the issue, which US officials have warned could stand in the way of more than $US1 billion ($940m) in badly needed US aid. Full Story

Top 10 Perils of Pelosi

2012-01-30T17:59:00Z

It has been a year since Nancy Pelosi surrendered her gavel and stepped down as speaker of the House as a result of the Republican mid-term tsunami. To help ensure that history is not repeated, and to underscore the importance of this year's elections, we present the Top 10 Perils of Pelosi. Full Story

Cain endorses Gingrich

2012-01-30T16:49:00Z

he endorsement comes just three days before the crucial Florida primary, by far the largest state to vote so far in the GOP sweepstakes, and could help Gingrich energize tea party support. Gingrich campaign has flagged since his upstart, double-digit victory over front-runner Mitt Romney in the South Carolina primary a week. Full Story

RNC Chair Priebus Compares Obama to Captain Schettino

2012-01-30T16:48:00Z

The fight for the GOP nomination has become rough-and-tumble, with Mitt Romney and Newt Gingrich throwing verbal jabs at each other on the campaign trail and debate stages. And when they aren't beating up each other, they are jabbing at President Obama, calling him a failure and a socialist. Full Story

Santorum's Hospitalized Daughter Shows Improvement

2012-01-30T16:48:00Z

Santorum's campaign released a statement Sunday morning, saying he intended to "return to Florida and resume the campaign schedule as soon as is possible." Florida's primary election is Tuesday. Full Story

Occupy Oakland Arrests Reach 400; City Hall Vandalized

2012-01-30T16:48:00Z

Police placed the number of arrests at about 400 from Saturday's daylong protest - the most contentious since authorities dismantled the Occupy Oakland encampment late last year. Full Story

$600K One City Summit Skipped Bidding Process

2012-01-30T16:48:00Z

Gray, who ran for mayor on a "One City" agenda, has described the gathering as "a frank and open conversation" that will include small-group discussions and votes, using some of America Speaks' hand-held technology, to help determine District priorities for 2012. His office estimated the cost of the meeting to be $600,000, which officials said will be paid through a combination of private and public funding. Full Story

Is President Obama Creating A Nation Of Dependents?

2012-01-27T17:05:00Z

Mitt Romney, for example, argues that "over the past three years, Barack Obama has been replacing our merit-based society with an entitlement society."Fullstory

President Obama leaves event promoting clean energy in a motorcade of 22 fossil-fueled vehicles

2012-01-27T17:05:00Z

On January 26, 2012, President Obama visited a Las Vegas UPS plant. Stimulus subsidy for said UPS plant to purchase natural-gas-powered trucks: 5.6 million dollars. Stimulus subsidy for North Las Vegas green energy plant that laid off 200 workers yesterday: 5.9 million dollars. Using taxpayer dollars to leave an event promoting clean-energy vehicles in a motorcade of twenty-two fossil-fueled vehicles: Priceless.Fullstory

Obama and Arizona's Jan Brewer Trade Words on Airport Tarmac

2012-01-26T17:05:00Z

Brewer recently published a book, "Scorpions for Breakfast," something of a memoir of her years growing up, and defends her signing of Arizona's controversial law cracking down on undocumented immigrants, which Obama opposes. Full Story

Cain, Colbert Show the Lighter Side of Politics

2012-01-26T17:05:00Z

People perched on fences, balconies and even a satellite dish to get a glimpse of the show, which was a strange but lively mix of politics, comedy and music sprinkled with odd inspirational messages. Full Story

Comedian Jay Leno Sued by Sikh After Comparing Mitt Romney's Vacation Home with Holiest Golden Temple

2012-01-26T17:05:00Z

Late night comedian Jay Leno has been targeted in a new lawsuit after comparing the holiest Sikh shrine, the Golden Temple of Amritsar, to Mitt Romney's vacation home.

The remark during a skit on the 'Tonight Show with Jay Leno,' when the TV host introduces 'a behind the scenes look at all the presidential candidates' homes was condemned by India. Full Story

Not Even Nostalgia Could Save Kodak

2012-01-26T17:05:00Z

Unfortunately for Kodak, nostalgia does not boost stock prices. Companies aren't forever, even ones that people think of fondly. Pan Am used to define the Jet Age; now the name refers to a struggling TV series that wishes to invoke the Jet Age. Woolworth was once a common presence on America's Main Streets; now it has been superseded by Target and Walmart, and its only remnant is the footwear store a subsidiary created in 1974: Foot Locker.
Full Story

Shafia Trial: Accused Lacked Time to Commit Murders, Lawyer Says

2012-01-26T17:05:00Z

Three members of a Montreal family at the centre of Canada's first mass honour killings trial did not have the time to carry out the slaying of four other family members, jurors were told Tuesday, as defence lawyers began closing submissions at the Shafia trial.
Lawyer Peter Kemp, who represents businessman Mohammad Shafia, 58, said the evidence about the timing of events on June 30, 2009, shows there simply wasn't enough time for the accused to commit a complex multiple murder. Full Story

Fact Check: Obama's 2012 State of the Union

2012-01-25T21:43:00Z

President Obama's array of plans in his State of the Union speech was light on a key piece of context -- namely, that his hands are so tied until after the election that it is doubtful many if any of them can be done in the remainder of his term. Full Story

Obama Outlines 'Mission' of Rebuilding American Dream

2012-01-25T16:56:00Z

In his lengthy address, Obama suggested Americans try to follow the lead of U.S. military forces and "focus on the mission at hand" -- keeping alive the American Dream by restoring a U.S. economy. Full Story

Biden: I see no difference between Gingrich and Romney

2012-01-25T16:56:00Z

The vice president, on a media blitz after last night's State of the Union from President Obama that is seen by many as a de facto opening speech of his re-election effort, praised the former House speaker for his way with words. Full Story

Who's Greedy? Obama Gave 1% to Charity, Romney Gave 15%

2012-01-25T16:56:00Z

Barack Obama and his wife Michelle gave $10,772 of the $1.2 million they earned from 2000 through 2004 to charities, or less than 1 percent, according to tax returns for those years released today by his campaign. Full Story

Navy SEALs Raid Rescues Somalia Aid Workers

2012-01-25T16:56:00Z

U.S. special forces swooped into Somalia in a pair of helicopters in a daring overnight raid to rescue two kidnapped aid workers -- an American and a Dane -- and killed several gunmen in the operation, an American official said Wednesday. Full Story

Stop the Rhetoric, It's Time to Act

2012-01-24T20:02:00Z

Check out this video as seen on our twitter page.

Iran Says Sanctions to Fail, Repeats Hormuz Threat

2012-01-24T17:02:00Z

Speaking a day after the EU slapped a ban on Iranian oil - to take full effect within six months - in a move to press Tehran into curbing its contested nuclear program and engage in negotiations with six world powers, the tone in the Islamic Republic was defiant, even skeptical. Full Story

Mitt Romney Paid $3M in Taxes in 2010

2012-01-24T17:02:00Z

The tax information from Romney, who has staked his candidacy on his job-creation record as a venture capitalist, comes as he finds himself no longer the clear front-runner for the GOP presidential nomination. Full Story

JFK Library to Release Last of Secret Tapes

2012-01-24T17:02:00Z

President John F. Kennedy's library is releasing 45 hours of privately recorded meetings and phone calls, providing a window into the final months of his life. On one recording, made days before Kennedy's assassination, he asks staffers to schedule a meeting in a week. He tells them he's booked for the weekend, with no time to meet with an Indonesian general then, either. Full Story

Gingrich's Freddie Mac Contract Shows Firm was Paid $25G a Month for 'Consulting'

2012-01-24T17:02:00Z

Under pressure, Newt Gingrich arranged the release of a contract Monday night showing the Federal Home Loan Mortgage Corp. paid his consulting firm a $25,000 monthly retainer fee in 2006, for a total of $300,000. The agreement calls for "consulting and related services" but makes no mention of lobbying.

Congress Opens Probe of Occupy DC

2012-01-24T17:02:00Z

A subcommittee of Rep. Darrell Issa's powerful House Oversight and Government Reform Committee will hear from District officials -- including police Chief Cathy Lanier and Department of Health Director Mohammad Akhter -- and the National Park Service, which decided to designate the Occupy protest a "24-hour vigil" and thus circumvented a ban on camping in the federal park. Full Story

White House sides with TSA in Rand Paul standoff

2012-01-24T17:02:00Z

The White House is standing by the Transportation Security Administration in its standoff with Sen. Rand Paul (R-Ky.) and his father, Republican presidential candidate Rep. Ron Paul (R-Texas).
The elder Paul called the TSA a "police state" Monday after Rand Paul was reportedly detained by TSA after he refused to take a pat-down from TSA officials at the Nashville International Airport. Full Story

Stop the Rhetoric, It'

2012-01-24T17:02:00Z

Breaking: Illinois Senator Mark Kirk (R) Hospitalized After Suffering a Stroke

2012-01-23T19:14:00Z

U.S. Sen. Mark Kirk underwent surgery today at Northwestern Memorial Hospital after suffering a stroke, his office said. Full Story

2012 Florida Presidential Primary Poll: Gingrich Ahead of Romney

2012-01-23T19:13:00Z

Former Speaker Newt Gingrich (R-GA) is now beating Former Governor Mitt Romney (R-MA) by nine percentage points in the most recent Florida poll. Full Story

Obama Defends Roe v Wade Decision

2012-01-23T19:13:00Z

President Barack Obama says the 39th anniversary of Roe v. Wade is the chance to recognize the "fundamental constitutional right" to abortion and to "continue our efforts to ensure that our daughters have the same rights, freedoms, and opportunities as our sons to fulfill their dreams."
Full Story

Kentucky Sen. Rand Paul (R) Refuses TSA Pat-Down and Misses Flight to Washington

2012-01-23T19:13:00Z

Sen. Rand Paul (R-KY) misses Senate session due to TSA detention at Nashville, TN airport. Full Story

Former Penn State Coach Paterno Dead at 85

2012-01-23T17:05:00Z

Joe Paterno arrived at Penn State in 1950 with no intention of staying. He had an acceptance letter from Boston University law school, parents who wanted him to use it and an Italian-by-way-of-Brooklyn ethos that initially was uncomfortable with central Pennsylvania.
Full story

Christie: Newt Has 'Embarrassed' the G.O.P.

2012-01-23T17:05:00Z

New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie, a backer of Mitt Romney, said this morning that Newt Gingrich has "embarassed" the Republican Party during his checkered political career. Full story

Immigration Authorities Released Man Who Went On to Kill 3 in North Miami

2012-01-23T17:05:00Z

When burglar Kesler Dufrene became a twice-convicted felon in 2006, a Bradenton judge shipped him to prison for five years. And because of his convictions, an immigration judge ordered Dufrene deported to his native Haiti. That never happened. Full story

GM CEO agrees to testify at Volt hearing in D.C.

2012-01-20T22:03:00Z

A panel of the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee will hear testimony from Akerson and the government's top auto safety regulator, David Strickland, who heads the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration.Fullstory

Egyptian critic of military rule beaten in street

2012-01-20T22:03:00Z

A clip posted on social networks showed a small crowd punching and kicking Nawara Negm, and hurling abuse at her. Her assailants could be heard saying she wanted to drive a wedge between the ruling military and the people. Others called her an "agent," presumably of a foreign power.Fullstory

HURT: Why use 'despicable,' clueless left-wing media to moderate GOP debates?

2012-01-20T22:03:00Z

The ickiness of Diana Sawyer asking questions in her cloying voice is more than most can bear. The utter cluelessness of the questions these people think actual American voters care about is mystifying. The shameless and ham-handed pandering to conservatives by the networks is revolting.Fullstory

Canada Pledges to Sell Oil to Asia After Obama Rejects Keystone Pipeline

2012-01-20T22:03:00Z

Prime Minister Stephen Harper, in a telephone call yesterday, told Obama "Canada will continue to work to diversify its energy exports," according to details provided by Harper's office. Canadian Natural Resource Minister Joe Oliver said relying less on the U.S. would help strengthen the country's "financial security." Fullstory

Iran Threatens U.S., Persian Gulf Cities with Missile Attacks

2012-01-19T22:03:00Z

Iran might pound Persian Gulf cities with ballistic missiles and use swift boats to attack American war ships in an attempt to dissuade a U.S. attack on its nuclear arms sites, a new report states.Fullstory

Russia says strike on Iran would be 'catastrophe'

2012-01-18T22:03:00Z

"As for the chances of this catastrophe happening, you would have to ask those constantly mentioning it as an option that remains on the table," foreign minister Sergei Lavrov said when asked on the chances of military action.Fullstory

Gingrich On Obama: "I Don't Want To Bloody His Nose, I Want To Knock Him Out"

2012-01-18T22:03:00Z

He has this armor of media surrounding him. If he doesn't agree to that, how do you plan to aggressively take the gloves off and go after him?"Fullstory

TSA apologizes to elderly women for strip search at Kennedy Airport

2012-01-18T22:03:00Z

In an about-face, the feds have admitted wrongdoing in the cases of two elderly women who say they were strip-searched at Kennedy Airport by overzealous screeners.Fullstory

Andrew Sullivan: How Obama's Long Game Will Outsmart His Critics

2012-01-17T22:03:00Z

You hear it everywhere. Democrats are disappointed in the president. Independents have soured even more. Republicans have worked themselves up into an apocalyptic fervor. And, yes, this is not exactly unusual.Fullstory

Iran warns Gulf Arabs on oil

2012-01-16T22:03:00Z

The comments by Iran's OPEC governor, published Sunday, came as Saudi Arabia's oil minister was quoted the same day denying that his country's earlier pledges to boost output as needed to meet global demand was linked to a potential siphoning of Iranian crude from the market because of sanctions.Fullstory

Schools 'spy' on fat kids

2012-01-16T22:03:00Z

Big Brother is joining the battle of the bulge.
A group of Long Island students will soon be wearing controversial electronic monitors that allow school officials to track their physical activity around the clock.Fullstory

APNewsBreak: Obama seeks power to merge agencies

2012-01-13T22:03:00Z

Obama will call on Congress to give him a type of reorganizational power last held by a president when Ronald Reagan was in office. The Obama version would be a so-called consolidation authority allowing him to propose mergers that promise to save money and help consumers. The deal would entitle him to an up-or-down vote from Congress in 90 days.Fullstory

Protest planned for first ship to dock at EGT grain terminal

2012-01-13T22:03:00Z

EGT officials say they have not scheduled a date for the ship's arrival. The freighter is expected to haul thousands of tons of grain to Asia, but opposition groups are already marshaling their forces to support the lengthy protest by union dock workers at the grain terminal.Fullstory

Book Depicts Cranky Obama On Baghdad Visit

2012-01-13T22:03:00Z

Michael Hastings' new book, The Operators, jabs at what could be a vulnerable spot for the Obama Administration, the president's relationship with the troops.Fullstory

Conservatives Remain the Largest Ideological Group in U.S.

2012-01-13T22:03:00Z

Political ideology in the U.S. held steady in 2011, with 40% of Americans continuing to describe their views as conservative, 35% as moderate, and 21% as liberal. This marks the third straight year that conservatives have outnumbered moderates, after more than a decade in which moderates mainly tied or outnumbered conservatives.Fullstory

Retail Sales Post Gain of 0.1% as Holiday Buying Fades

2012-01-12T22:03:00Z

Total retail sales increased 0.1 percent after rising by an upwardly revised 0.4 percent in November, the Commerce Department said on Thursday.Fullstory

Science Addicted! Scientists show how internet dependency alters the human brain

2012-01-12T22:03:00Z

In a groundbreaking study, researchers used MRI scanners to reveal abnormalities in the brains of adolescents who spent many hours on the internet, to the detriment of their social and personal lives. The finding could throw light on other behavioural problems and lead to the development of new approaches to treatment, researchers said.Fullstory

Smart Contact Lenses Keep Eye On Your Health

2012-01-12T22:03:00Z

In the not so distant future, contacts may do a lot more than just help you see.Fullstory

US denies killing Iran nuclear scientist with magnetic bomb

2012-01-12T22:03:00Z

The Obama administration is denying any role in the killing of an Iranian university professor working at a key nuclear facility.Fullstory

Mrs Obama: Tired of 'angry black woman' stereotype

2012-01-11T22:03:00Z

Mrs. Obama tells CBS News she hasn't read New York Times reporter Jodi Kantor's new book that characterizes her as a behind-the-scenes force in the Executive Mansion, whose strong views often draw her into conflict with President Barack Obama's top advisers.Fullstory

Romney secures front-runner status with New Hampshire win, looks to take momentum into South Carolina

2012-01-11T22:03:00Z

The former Massachusetts governor was able to pull off a commanding victory in the New Hampshire primary, winning with 39 percent of the vote with 95 percent of precincts reporting.Fullstory

Daley to leave W.H. after election

2012-01-10T22:03:00Z

the White House chief of staff - increasingly a lightning rod for criticism - is now making it clear he'll be gone in January 2013.Fullstory

Iranian, Venezuelan leaders rebuff U.S., joke about bomb

2012-01-10T22:03:00Z

"Despite those arrogant people who do not wish us to be together, we will unite forever," the Iranian president told Venezuela's socialist leader Chavez at the start of a visit to four left-leaning Latin American nations.Fullstory

MSNBC suspends Pat Buchanan

2012-01-10T22:03:00Z

An activist group whose leaders object to the beliefs of Pat Buchanan, a senior adviser to three American presidents, a candidate for the Republican nomination in 1992 and 1996, and the Reform Party's presidential candidate in 2000, is announcing victory in its campaign to have the author of multiple best-selling books removed from MSNBC.Fullstory

Media mob chases Ron Paul from campaign stop in New Hampshire

2012-01-09T22:03:00Z

Paul had been planning to make the rounds through Moe Joe's restaurant before settling down to eat breakfast with his wife, Carol - who said he enjoys apple pancakes - at a table in the corner. Fullstory

Facing challenges from left and right, Romney rallies with Gov. Christie

2012-01-09T22:03:00Z

Playing bad cop to Romney's happy warrior as Romney fended off escalating attacks from his Republican rivals, Christie said the real target was President Obama who he called the most pessimistic man to ever occupy the Oval Office.Fullstory

Iran Has Ability to Block Strait of Hormuz, U.S. General Dempsey Tells CBS

2012-01-09T22:03:00Z

"They've invested in capabilities that could, in fact, for a period of time block the Strait of Hormuz," Dempsey said in an interview aired yesterday on the CBS "Face the Nation" program. "We've invested in capabilities to ensure that if that happens, we can defeat that." Fullstory

New Pentagon strategy stresses Asia, cyber, drones

2012-01-06T22:03:00Z

The strategy, if carried out, would significantly reshape the world's largest military from the one that executed President George W. Bush's "war on terrorism" in Iraq and Afghanistan.Fullstory

Doctors going broke

2012-01-06T22:03:00Z

This quiet reality, which is spreading nationwide, is claiming a wide range of casualties, including family physicians, cardiologists and oncologists.Fullstory

Defense, CIA to Investigate Access for Filmmakers to Info on Bin Laden Kill Mission

2012-01-06T22:03:00Z

Rep. Peter King, chairman of the House Homeland Security Committee, asked for a review in August as to whether "Hurt Locker" director Kathryn Bigelow was given access that King suggested could leave U.S. military secrets and personnel open either to leaks or worse. Bigelow and executive Mark Boal are working on a movie about the hunt for Bin Laden.Fullstory

Squeaker of a victory in hand, Romney looks to NH

2012-01-04T22:03:00Z

"I've got a big target on me now," Romney said, adding that doesn't faze him. "I've got broad shoulders. I'm willing to handle it."Fullstory

The Daily Exclusive: RUBBER STAMP

2012-01-04T22:03:00Z

Higher-ups within U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services are pressuring rank-and-file officers to rubber-stamp immigrants' visa applications, sometimes against the officers' will, according to a Homeland Security report and internal documents exclusively obtained by The Daily.Fullstory

Top Super Bowl Ad Goes For $4 Million As NBC Inventory Sells Out

2012-01-04T22:03:00Z

Super Bowl ads sell out every year, of course. But today's news that NBC has landed a record average price of $3.5 million for a 30-second spot in its February 5 broadcast of NFL's championship game is notable because it reaffirms how important live sports on TV are to advertisers.

White House Concludes It Can Appoint Cordray

2012-01-04T22:03:00Z

Some expect that appointment to come as early as Wednesday, when President Barack Obama goes to Mr. Cordray's home state of Ohio to talk about the economy. He'll be at Shaker Heights High School outside Cleveland.Fullstory

Squeaker of a victory in hand, Romney looks to NH

2012-01-04T22:03:00Z

"I've got a big target on me now," Romney said, adding that doesn't faze him. "I've got broad shoulders. I'm willing to handle it."Fullstory

UPDATE 1-Iran threatens action if US carrier returns-IRNA

2012-01-03T22:03:00Z

"Iran will not repeat its warning ... the enemy's carrier has been moved to the Sea of Oman because of our drill. I recommend and emphasise to the American carrier not to return to the Persian Gulf," Salehi told IRNA.Fullstory

Obama readying for re-election bid after vacation

2012-01-03T22:03:00Z

Air Force One landed just before daybreak in Washington on Tuesday morning after an overnight flight from the island of Oahu. The president is returning from vacation the same day Republican presidential candidates square off in the Iowa caucuses, the first nominating contest of the 2012 campaign.Fullstory

Tight race in Iowa kicks off 2012 campaign

2012-01-03T22:03:00Z

Voters will gather in schools, libraries and other public spots across the state to render judgment in the frequently shifting Republican race to pick a challenger to President Barack Obama in the November 6 election.Fullstory

'I hate America', says German 'prime suspect' in Hollywood arson case whose mother faced being deported

2012-01-03T22:03:00Z

Harry Burkhart, 24, was booked for investigation of arson of an inhabited dwelling and was being held without bail, authorities said.

Burkhart was arrested earlier in the day because he resembled a 'person of interest' captured on surveillance video, reportedly telling authorities 'I hate America' as he was arrested.Fullstory

Romney leads Paul in new Des Moines Register Iowa Poll; Santorum surges

2012-01-02T22:03:00Z

Santorum, who has been largely invisible in the polls throughout the campaign season, is now beating the other evangelical choices and has a clear shot at victory Tuesday night.Fullstory

L.A. arson wave grows to about 40 fires; most since 1992 riots

2012-01-02T22:03:00Z

Authorities said they remained unsure whether the fires were the work of one arsonist or several people, perhaps including copycats. Although the majority of the fires have occurred in the Hollywood area, some also were reported in the San Fernando Valley, Westside and as far south as Lennox near the 105 Freeway.Fullstory

Obama signs defense bill despite 'reservations'

2012-01-02T22:03:00Z

The bill also applies penalties against Iran's central bank in an effort to hamper Tehran's ability to fund its nuclear enrichment program. The Obama administration is looking to soften the impact of those penalties because of concerns that they could lead to a spike in global oil prices or cause economic hardship on U.S. allies that import petroleum from Iran.Fullstory

You thought 2011 was tough?

2012-01-02T22:03:00Z

Familiar themes for those who lived through 2011, and investors should be ready to revisit them next year.Fullstory

Americans buy record numbers of guns for Christmas

2012-01-02T22:03:00Z

t was the highest number ever in a single month, surpassing the previous record set in November.
On Dec 23 alone there were 102,222 background checks, making it the second busiest single day for buying guns in history. Fullstory

Fisker Recalling 239 Karma Plug-In Hybrids for Fire Hazard

2012-01-02T22:03:00Z

In a report filed recently on the agency's Web site, Fisker said some hose clamps were not properly positioned, which could allow a coolant leak. "If coolant enters the battery compartment an electrical short could possibly occur, causing a thermal event within the battery, including a possible fire in the worse case," the company told the safety agency.Fullstory

White House, GOP battle for supremacy on Keystone pipeline

2012-01-02T22:03:00Z

The stakes are high for both sides. Obama risks backlash from key union supporters if he rejects the project, but faces the ire of environmental groups if he approves it.

Republicans, meanwhile, stand to score a political victory if Obama green lights the pipeline. But their successful effort to force a decision could backfire if the president rejects the pipeline and pins blame on the GOP for rushing the review. Fullstory

Gallup Daily: Obama Job Approval

2011-12-30T22:03:00Z

Gallup tracks daily the percentage of Americans who approve or disapprove of the job Barack Obama is doing as president. Daily results are based on telephone interviews with approximately 1,500 national adults; Margin of error is ±3 percentage points.Fullstory

Strait of Hormuz standoff: Iran films US aircraft carrier

2011-12-30T22:03:00Z

The commander of Iran's navy said the reconnaissance mission was proof that his fleet had "control over the moves by foreign forces" but it was unclear what intelligence could be derived from the grainy video, which was played triumphantly on state television. Fullstory

U.S. mulls transfer of Taliban prisoner in perilous peace bid

2011-12-30T22:03:00Z

The potential hand-over of Mohammed Fazl, a 'high-risk detainee' held at the Guantanamo Bay military prison since early 2002, has set off alarms on Capitol Hill and among some U.S. intelligence officials.Fullstory

My Political Prediction for 2012: It's Obama-Clinton

2011-12-29T22:03:00Z

Biden becomes Secretary of State - a position he's apparently coveted for years. And Hillary Clinton, Vice President. Fullstory

2012 Presidential Matchups

2011-12-29T22:03:00Z

Mitt Romney has now jumped to his biggest lead ever over President Obama in a hypothetical Election 2012 matchup. It's also the biggest lead a named Republican candidate has held over the incumbent in Rasmussen Reports surveying to date.Fullstory

Occupy activists meet in Iowa, plan caucus events

2011-12-28T22:03:00Z

Now, to the dismay of Iowa Republicans, Occupy activists in Des Moines are vowing to expand their protests as GOP presidential hopefuls converge on the state that speaks first in the race for the party's presidential nomination.Fullstory

Iowa GOP moving vote-count to 'undisclosed location'

2011-12-28T22:03:00Z

The state party has not yet told the campaigns exactly where the returns will be added up, only that it will be off-site from the Iowa GOP's Des Moines headquarters. The 2008 caucus results were tabulated at the state party offices, which sit just a few blocks from the state capitol.Fullstory

41' backs Romney

2011-12-23T22:03:00Z

"I think Romney is the best choice for us," former President Bush told the Houston Chronicle this week. "I like Perry, but he doesn't seem to be going anywhere; he's not surging forward."Fullstory

Dozens die as 14 bombs explode across Baghdad Read more: Dozens die as 14 bombs explode across Baghdad

2011-12-22T22:03:00Z

A wave of at least 14 bombings ripped across Baghdad on Thursday morning, killing at least 60 people in the worst violence Iraq has seen for months.Fullstory

IBM Predicts Mind-Reading Machines

2011-12-22T22:03:00Z

The " IBM 5 in 5 " predictions were based on societal trends and research which the New York State-based company expected to begin bearing fruit by the year 2017.Fullstory

How Democrats Fooled California's Redistricting Commission

2011-12-22T22:03:00Z

In previous years, the party had used its perennial control of California's state Legislature to draw district maps that protected Democratic incumbents. But in 2010, California voters put redistricting in the hands of a citizens' commission where decisions would be guided by public testimony and open debate.Fullstory

Some Occupy L.A. protesters may get a lesson in free speech

2011-12-22T22:03:00Z

Many Occupy L.A. protesters arrested during demonstrations in recent months are being offered a unique chance to avoid court trials: pay $355 to a private company for a lesson in free speech.Fullstory

Eric Holder Plays the Race Card

2011-12-21T22:03:00Z

Holder said some unspecified faction - what he refers to as the "more extreme segment" - is driven to criticize both him and President Barack Obama due to the color of their skin. Holder did not appear to elaborate on who he considered to make up the "more extreme segment."Fullstory

Mexico Mayan region launches apocalypse countdown

2011-12-21T22:03:00Z

Unlike enthusiasts of other doomsday theories who suggest putting together survival kits, southeastern Mexico, the heart of Maya territory, plans a yearlong celebration.Fullstory

Egyptian Women March, Decry Abuse by Military

2011-12-21T22:03:00Z

The women joined thousands of male protesters, whose violent demonstration against military rule continued for a fifth day. The death toll rose to 13, the state news agency reported.Fullstory

Iowa GOP worried by hacker threat to caucus vote

2011-12-20T22:03:00Z

Investigators don't know if the threat is authentic, but it has nonetheless led the state party to confront a worst-case scenario. Fullstory

Amish Community Stunned by Shooting Death of Girl

2011-12-20T22:03:00Z

David Zuercher, a friend of the family of 15-year-old Rachel Yoder, told Fox 8 News, "Just total disbelief and shock. I just couldn't believe it. I thought it was a joke, that it was not so."Fullstory

Kim Jong Il body displayed, NKorea media hail son

2011-12-20T22:03:00Z

As the country mourned for a second day with high-level visits to Kim's body at a memorial palace and public gatherings of weeping citizens, state media fed a budding personality cult around his youngest known son and anointed heir, Kim Jong Un, hailing him as a "lighthouse of hope."Fullstory

Eric Holder Plays the Race Card

2011-12-20T22:03:00Z

Gingrich Collapses in Iowa as Ron Paul Surges to the Front

2011-12-19T22:03:00Z

A different Gallup poll shows Gringrich still holding the lead, but slipping, while The New York Times has Paul in the lead as well.Fullstory

CURL: One president, please, with a side of Rice

2011-12-19T22:03:00Z

America's first black female secretary of state is quietly positioning herself to be the top choice of the eventual Republican presidential nominee, ready to deliver bona fide foreign-policy credentials lacking among the candidates. The 56-year-old has recently raised her profile, releasing her memoir in November and embarking on a monthlong book tour.Fullstory

KUHNER: Obama's Watergate

2011-12-16T22:03:00Z

A year ago this week, U.S. Border Patrol Agent Brian Terry was murdered. He died protecting his country from brutal Mexican gangsters. Two AK-47 assault rifles were found at his death site. We now know the horrifying truth: Agent Terry was killed by weapons that were part of an illegal Obama administration operation to smuggle arms to the dangerous drug cartels. He was a victim of his own government. This is not only a major scandal; it is a high crime that potentially reaches all the way to the White House, implicating senior officials. It is President Obama's Watergate.Fullstory

US mayors decry rise in poverty, homelessness

2011-12-16T22:03:00Z

"Here is the richest country in the world (and) we have people who cannot find a place to live," said Kansas City Mayor Sly James, who co-chairs a task force on hunger and homelessness for the US Conference of Mayors.Fullstory

Westford Students Told To Leave The Christmas Cookies At Home

2011-12-16T22:03:00Z

They're banning sugary snacks and sweetened beverages from the celebrations this year.
Students are being told to leave the Christmas cookies, cakes, candy bars, and soda at home and to bring fruits, unsweetened juices, popcorn and raisins instead.Fullstory

US drone may have come down in Afghanistan, not Iran

2011-12-15T22:03:00Z

The United States has never acknowledged that the drone was flying over Iranian airspace - only that ground controllers "lost contact" with the drone and that it probably crashed.Fullstory

Putin Says His Foes Are Using Protests to Destabilize Russia

2011-12-15T22:03:00Z

"I see young, active people, clearly formulating their positions, and this makes me happy," Mr. Putin said in a televised question-and-answer program he holds annually. "If this is the result of the Putin regime, then great."Fullstory

In Iowa, Paul closes to within one point of front-runner Gingrich

2011-12-14T22:03:00Z

Paul has consistently placed in the top tier of Republican presidential candidates in recent Iowa polls. With Iowans heading to vote in only three weeks, Gingrich holds a razor-thin 22-21 lead.Fullstory

DC Resident Fined Thousands For Not Recycling Cat Litter

2011-12-14T22:03:00Z

Dupont Circle resident Patricia White says she has been fined eight times for throwing homemade cat litter in her trash. The fines total $2,000. White says she shreds old newspaper and junk mail to use as cat litter. She believes she is helping the environment by reusing the paper and avoiding cat litter you will find in stores.Fullstory

Riders Take Horses Into Steamboat Springs Safeway

2011-12-14T22:03:00Z

STEAMBOAT SPRINGS, Colo. (CBS4) - A couple of people went on a crazy ride in Steamboat Springs over the weekend. The three people took their horses to several bars, a Starbucks and a grocery store.Fullstory

'Keep Christ In Christmas' Sign Stirs Controversy In South Jersey Town

2011-12-14T22:03:00Z

It reads "Keep Christ in Christmas."
"I think it's wonderful, Christ is Christmas," said Maria Marandino of Vineland.Fullstory

Gingrich bashes, employs media to get ahead

2011-12-13T22:03:00Z

"Free media propelled Herman Cain from nowhere to somewhere and back again. And it resurrected Newt from the ashes," said Mark McKinnon, vice chairman of Public Strategies Inc., who worked as a media adviser to the presidential candidacies of George W. Bush and John McCain.Fullstory

Russian protesters distracted during Moscow demo against Putin... by 'UFO' flying over Kremlin

2011-12-13T22:03:00Z

As with most apparent alien craft sightings, the quality of the footage and picture is poor, and the shape or size of the object is difficult to work out.Fullstory

Eric Holder wades into debate over voting rights as presidential election nears

2011-12-13T22:03:00Z

A dozen states this year tightened rules requiring voters to present state-issued photo identification at the polls, according to the National Conference of State Legislatures. Although Democratic governors vetoed four of the measures, liberal and civil rights groups have been raising alarms about the remaining laws, calling them an "assault on democracy" and an attempt to depress minority voter turnout.Fullstory

Dem lawmaker blasts "Prof. Obama" as arrogant, alienating

2011-12-13T22:03:00Z

While he may not realize that he feels this way, the evidence is very clear to those who work with or watch him closely. Fullstory

Land of the Envious and Home of the Victim

2011-12-13T22:03:00Z

America now is land of the envious and home of the victim.

We are a land, as our president explains it, where the success of one American comes at the expense of another. Where the poor are poor because the rich are rich. And where the role of government is not to ensure "life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness" but to tax away wealth from those it deems to have too much and determine how to invest our nation's resources.Fullstory

Is The Pawn Shop The New Spot For Holiday Shopping?

2011-12-12T22:03:00Z

Tom Blaine owns the Garden City Exchange and says his business though October is already up 49 percent over December of last year. The bad economy means he's getting people selling new and high-end electronics like iPads and he says the popularity of reality shows mean people aren't as embarrassed to shop there.Fullstory

Can America regain most dynamic labour market mantle?

2011-12-12T22:03:00Z

Last week, Barack Obama went to Osawatomie, Kansas, to kick off a more populist phase in his 2012 re-election bid. "This is a make-or-break moment for the middle class," declared the US president, who chose the same venue that Teddy Roosevelt used in 1910 to call for a new progressive era. "I believe that this country succeeds when everyone gets a fair shot."Fullstory

U.S. Proposes Unmanned Border Entry With Mexico

2011-12-12T22:03:00Z

This hardly seems a time the U.S. would be willing to allow people to cross the border legally from Mexico without a customs officer in sight. But in this rugged, remote West Texas terrain where wading across the shallow Rio Grande undetected is all too easy, federal authorities are touting a proposal to open an unmanned port of entry as a security upgrade.Fullstory

Movie audiences shrink below post-Sept. 11 level

2011-12-12T22:03:00Z

Domestic revenues tumbled to a 2011 low of about $77 million this weekend, when the star-filled, holiday-themed romance "New Year's Eve" debuted at No. 1 with a weak $13.7 million, according to studio estimates Sunday.Fullstory

Mitt's granite fortress under siege

2011-12-09T22:03:00Z

And he's emerging as the first real threat to the firewall the former Massachusetts governor has built up in his adopted home state.Fullstory

Obama celebrates Hanukkah at White House

2011-12-09T22:03:00Z

Obama, first lady Michelle Obama and Vice President Joe Biden convened a Hanukkah celebration at the White House Thursday in an early celebration of the Jewish Festival of Lights.Fullstory

Hundreds of NASA's moon rocks missing: audit

2011-12-09T22:03:00Z

NASA Inspector General Paul Martin issued a report detailing foibles such as the US space agency making loans to researchers who never used the samples, or simply losing track of rare pieces dating back to the first US trip to the Moon in 1969.Fullstory

Man runs wild with hammer at mall

2011-12-09T22:03:00Z

Only one person was injured by falling glass, but witnesses described a chaotic scene in which some people feared a gunman was on the loose. Michael Williams, 34, of Dover, was arrested without incident inside the mall for felony criminal mischief.Fullstory

GOP bill attempts to rein in regulators

2011-12-08T22:03:00Z

House Republicans took another crack Wednesday at reining in federal regulators, passing a measure that would transfer significant rule-making authority from the White House to Congress.Fullstory

Obama's Godfather Speech

2011-12-08T22:03:00Z

Most press accounts of Barack Obama's speech in Osawatomie, Kansas, Tuesday described it as delivered by the "president of the United States." And indeed the person delivering it analogized himself to Presidents Teddy Roosevelt, Franklin Roosevelt, Dwight Eisenhower and Bill Clinton. In fact, the Osawatomie speech was not given by the President of the United States. It was given by the leader of the Democratic Party. Fullstory

Crystal Cox, Oregon Blogger, Isn't a Journalist, Concludes U.S. Court--Imposes $2.5 Million Judgement on Her

2011-12-08T22:03:00Z

A U.S. District Court judge in Portland has drawn a line in the sand between "journalist" and "blogger." And for Crystal Cox, a woman on the latter end of that comparison, the distinction has cost her $2.5 million.Fullstory

Bill Gates to Build Next-Gen Nuclear Reactors With China

2011-12-08T22:03:00Z

BEIJING - Microsoft co-founder Bill Gates confirmed Wednesday he is in discussions with China to jointly develop a new and safer kind of nuclear reactor.Fullstory

Gringrich and the 'X-Factor'

2011-12-08T22:03:00Z

Effective leaders-successful CEOs, presidents and legislators-get tough things done and can effect epic defining change, because they have that "X-factor." An intangible quality and peculiar charisma-something apart from a trenchant understanding of the issues and technical competence-that motivates people to follow, accept discomforting choices, and overlook shortcomings in their background or character.Fullstory

GOP Candidates Address Republican Jewish Coalition

2011-12-08T22:03:00Z

Six Republican presidential candidates yesterday addressed the Republican Jewish Coalition in Washington, D.C., and while all the candidates (Ron Paul was not invited) criticized President Obama's foreign policy and lack of a relationship with Israel, the event was also notable because it seemed like the final tune up before the candidates begin the closing argument phases of their campaigns, since voting begins in Iowa in less than a month on January 3.Fullstory

EDITORIAL: Time to stock up on light bulbs

2011-12-08T22:03:00Z

Within four weeks, it will be a crime to manufacture a 100-watt version of Thomas A. Edison's brilliant invention. Thanks to a Democratic Congress and the signature of President George W. Bush in 2007, anti-industrial zealots at the Energy Department received authority to blot out one of the greatest achievements of the industrial age. They're coming for our light bulbs.Fullstory

Issa Launches Probe of Alleged DEA Laundering Operation in Mexico

2011-12-07T22:03:00Z

Rep. Darrell Issa is launching a congressional investigation into the Drug Enforcement Administration following claims that the agency helped drug cartels launder money -- an operation the lawmaker said bears striking resemblance to the failed "Fast and Furious" anti-gunrunning probe.Fullstory

Why Is the Obama Administration So Devoted to Criticizing Israel?

2011-12-07T22:03:00Z

At a fundraiser in New York last week, President Obama said his administration "has done more in terms of the security of the state of Israel than any previous administration."

Is the President looking at the same record we are? Last week's news abounded with evidence that his administration often coddles forces opposed to Israel's very existence while his officials publicly brutalize Israel in the diplomatic arena.Fullstory

Pearl Harbor Attack Remembered at 70th Anniversary

2011-12-07T22:03:00Z

PEARL HARBOR, Hawaii - The Dec. 7, 1941, bombing of Pearl Harbor and those who lost their lives that day are being remembered Wednesday on the 70th anniversary of the Japanese attack that brought the U.S. into World War II.Fullstory

Obama vs. Capitalism

2011-12-07T22:03:00Z

In Teddy Roosevelt's era, President Barack Obama explained to the nation this week, "some people thought massive inequality and exploitation was just the price of progress. ... But Roosevelt also knew that the free market has never been a free license to take whatever you want from whoever you can."Fullstory

LYONS: Lessons never learned

2011-12-07T22:03:00Z

As we mark the 70th anniversary of Imperial Japan's attack on Pearl Harbor of Dec. 7, 1941, America is on the verge of committing the same mistakes that helped plunge our nation into its most grievous war.

PETERSEN: Washington doesn't need to regulate rain

2011-12-07T22:03:00Z

If the Supreme Court declines to review it, a recent ruling from the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in San Francisco will put federal courts into the business of managing every acre of privately owned timberland in America. Farmers beware. You could be next. Fullstory

EDITORIAL: Canada cools to global warming

2011-12-07T22:03:00Z

Canada has flat-out rejected the proposals pushed at the United Nations' annual global-warming summit in South Africa. This could be the start of a trend of countries dumping environmentalist fashion statements and returning to rational energy policies. If only the United States would do the same.Fullstory

NAACP warns black and Hispanic Americans could lose right to vote

2011-12-06T22:03:00Z

The largest civil rights group in America, the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP), is petitioning the UN over what it sees as a concerted efforted to disenfranchise black and Latino voters ahead of next year's presidential election.Fullstory

Egypt Islamists threaten demos if poll fraud found

2011-12-06T22:03:00Z

The Muslim Brotherhood, the biggest winner in the first round of Egypt's elections, has threatened to take to the streets if there is any attempt to manipulate results.Fullstory

Stealth Jihad Makes Inroads in Australia

2011-12-06T22:03:00Z

Everywhere all over the Western world it's the same story: Muslim groups are growing ever more aggressive in demanding concessions to Islamic law and practice, and Western authorities are responding with eager submission, even when such concessions involve restrictions on long-cherished freedoms. And in every instance, the mainstream media focuses public attention upon those who are determined to resist the advance of Islamic law, as if those standing up for freedom were the problem, not those trying to destroy it.Fullstory

Now it's 'Obama the irrelevant'

2011-12-06T22:03:00Z

If our fashion-conscious president still finds the time to read the lad-mags, December's GQ had to hurt.

Obama made the magazine's list of "The 25 Least Influential People Alive," along with Tiger Woods's ex-caddie, the prosecutor who couldn't convict Casey Anthony, and MTV tart Tila Tequila.Fullstory

Report: Cain to endorse Newt Monday

2011-12-05T22:03:00Z

That was fast.

Fox-5 in Atlanta, the same station that broke the Ginger White allegations, is reporting that Herman Cain is going to endorse Newt Gingrich on Monday. Gingrich's camp put a late add of a press conference at 1:45 p.m. on his schedule.Fullstory

Climategate (Part II) A sequel as ugly as the original

2011-12-05T22:03:00Z

The conventional wisdom about blockbuster movie sequels is that the second acts are seldom as good as the originals. The exceptions, like The Godfather: Part II or The Empire Strikes Back, succeed because they build a bigger backstory and add dimensions to the original characters. The sudden release last week of another 5,000 emails from the Climate Research Unit (CRU) of East Anglia University-ground zero of "Climategate I" in 2009-immediately raised the question of whether this would be one of those rare exceptions or Revenge of the Nerds II. Fullstory

Lenore Zimmerman outraged as TSA denies it strip-searched the 85-year-old Long Island grandmother

2011-12-05T22:03:00Z

The feds on Saturday flatly denied that a 85-year-old Long Island woman was strip-searched at Kennedy Airport, sparking a fresh round of outrage from the already steaming mad granny.Fullstory

U.S. Powerless Against Nuclear Proliferation in Asia

2011-12-05T22:03:00Z

Much has been made of nuclear proliferation dangers in the Mideast, where a nuclear-armed Iran would set off a regional nuclear arms race.Fullstory

Republican compares president to Pilate

2011-12-05T22:03:00Z

"This guy is the Pontius Pilate of politics," freshman Rep. Mike Kelly (R-Pa.) said on G. Gordon Liddy's radio show. "This is a president that just refuses to ever take responsibility for a bad decision. ... He washes his hands of every decision that he has to make and throws it in to Congress and says, 'Let them make the really tough decisions. I'm busy running for reelection.'"Fullstory

Cain suspends campaign, vows to continue working from outside the race

2011-12-04T22:03:00Z

Saying the "false and unproven accusations" have had a "tremendous painful price on my family," Cain told supporters that he had little choice but to halt his run for the Republican presidential nomination.Fullstory

APNewsBreak: GM willing to buy back Volts

2011-12-02T22:03:00Z

In an exclusive interview with The Associated Press, CEO Dan Akerson insisted that the cars are safe, but said the company will purchase the Volts because it wants to keep customers happy. Three fires have broken out in Volts after side-impact crash tests done by the federal government.fULLSTORY

Gingrich Tells ABC News: 'I'm Going to Be The Nominee'

2011-12-02T22:03:00Z

"I'm going to be the nominee," the former Speaker told ABC News. "It's very hard not to look at the recent polls and think that the odds are very high I'm going to be the nominee."Fullstory

Putin prepares the Russian empire to strike back

2011-12-02T22:03:00Z

As prime minister for the past four years, Vladimir Putin never really went away. But his looming reincarnation as the all-powerful, executive president of Russia - the country's "paramount leader" in Chinese parlance - poses a stark challenge for which the US, Britain and other beleaguered western powers seem ill-prepared. As president, potentially until 2024, Putin has one overriding objective: the creation of a third, post-tsarist, post-Soviet Russian empire.Fullstory

VP Biden says Iraq ready to survive on its own

2011-12-01T22:03:00Z

Interviewed on NBC's "Today" show from Iraq, Biden was asked about the impact of the U.S. combat troop withdrawal, likely to be complete within weeks. He replied, "This is no rush."Fullstory

Cain says he's yet to face wife over accusation

2011-12-01T22:03:00Z

On Monday, a Georgia woman said she and Cain had carried on a consensual sexual relationship, but he denies it. The former businessman says he's only spoken to his wife by phone since then.Fullstory

Occupy L.A.: 30 tons of debris left behind at City Hall tent city

2011-12-01T22:03:00Z

Andrea Alarcon, president of the city Public Works board, said workers already have removed 25 tons of belongings from the City Hall park, all of it heading straight to a landfill.

Sanitation crews also have vacuumed up about 3,000 gallons of water that had washed into a catch basin in recent days and are testing it for hazardous materials, she said.Fullstory

EU monetary chief sees 10 days to rescue euro zone

2011-11-30T22:03:00Z

"We are now entering the critical period of 10 days to complete and conclude the crisis response of the European Union," Economic and Monetary Affairs Commissioner Olli Rehn said on Wednesday as EU finance ministers met.Fullstory

American Airlines Files for Bankruptcy Protection

2011-11-30T22:03:00Z

American Airlines, and its parent company AMR (AMR: 0.26, -1.36, -83.95%), filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in U.S. Bankruptcy Court on Tuesday. Fullstory

How J. Edgar Hoover Saved the Nation

2011-11-30T22:03:00Z

Hollywood efforts to revise the history of the Cold War in favor of radical left-wing interests seem to be unceasing, and in recent years have gotten worse than ever.Fullstory

Barney, Banking and Brothels

2011-11-30T22:03:00Z

The man who was complicit in bringing the American economy to its knees in 2008 won't go down as, well, the man who was complicit in bringing the American economy to its knees.

Not if the "mainstream" media has anything to do with it, that is.Fullstory

Watching The Wheels Come Off The Green Machine

2011-11-30T22:03:00Z

The body count continues to rise as the Green Jobs Revolution sputters its way to the end of a disastrous 2011. Few seemed to notice last week when the electric vehicle maker A123 Systems-poster child for successful clean tech investing-"temporarily" laid off 125 workers at its flagship manufacturing plants in Michigan on the eve of the Thanksgiving media break. Fullstory

Iranian protesters storm British embassy

2011-11-29T22:03:00Z

Iran's semi-official Mehr news agency said protesters took six British diplomatic staff hostage from an embassy compound in the north of the city but it withdrew the story from its website minutes later without giving any explanation.Fullstory

The Future of the Obama Coalition

2011-11-29T22:03:00Z

All pretense of trying to win a majority of the white working class has been effectively jettisoned in favor of cementing a center-left coalition made up, on the one hand, of voters who have gotten ahead on the basis of educational attainment - professors, artists, designers, editors, human resources managers, lawyers, librarians, social workers, teachers and therapists - and a second, substantial constituency of lower-income voters who are disproportionately African-American and Hispanic.Fullstory

Chris Christie: President Obama's just a 'bystander'

2011-11-29T22:03:00Z

Gov. Chris Christie on Monday tore into President Barack Obama in the aftermath of the supercommittee's failure to reach an agreement on debt reduction last week, asking the president, "What the hell are we paying you for?"Fullstory

The Root Cause of Market Failure In Higher Education

2011-11-29T22:03:00Z

A little noticed Associated Press news story last week reported that China now plans to phase out college majors that consistently produce unemployable graduates. Any program in which 60% of the graduates failed to find work for two consecutive years would face funding reductions until supply was brought back into balance with demand.

Putin warns West as he launches presidential bid

2011-11-28T22:03:00Z

Putin stepped down in 2008 after two presidential terms, but kept his hold on power. He announced in September that he intended to return to the top job next year and on Sunday was formally nominated by his United Russia party.Fullstory

Pakistani Officials Deny Reports That Fire From Pakistan Led to Attack

2011-11-28T22:03:00Z

ISLAMABAD - The NATO airstrikes that killed 24 Pakistani soldiers went on for almost two hours and continued even after Pakistani commanders had pleaded with coalition forces to stop, the army claimed Monday in charges that could further inflame anger in Pakistan.

NATO has apologized for the deaths in Saturday's incident and promised a full investigation. The coalition has yet to give its side of the story, but unnamed Afghan officials have said that a joint Afghan-NATO force on the Afghan side of the border received incoming fire from the direction of the Pakistani posts, and called in airstrikes.Fullstory

Influential New Hampshire newspaper backs Gingrich

2011-11-28T22:03:00Z

The endorsement validates Gingrich's recent rise as a candidate -- months after many political pundits thought his campaign was as good as over following a series of missteps -- and is a blow to Romney's aspirations. Fullstory

Climategate 2.0

2011-11-28T22:03:00Z

Last week, 5,000 files of private email correspondence among several of the world's top climate scientists were anonymously leaked onto the Internet. Like the first "climategate" leak of 2009, the latest release shows top scientists in the field fudging data, conspiring to bully and silence opponents, and displaying far less certainty about the reliability of anthropogenic global warming theory in private than they ever admit in public.Fullstory

Iran: We'll fire 150,000 missiles at Israel if attacked

2011-11-28T22:03:00Z

ranian Defense Minister General Ahmad Vahidi said Israel would be attacked with 150,000 missiles if it launches any military action against the Islamic Republic, the Iran Independent News Service reported Sunday.Fullstory

Colin Powell Blames Media and Tea Party for Divisive Tone in Washington

2011-11-28T22:03:00Z

Colin Powell on Sunday blamed the media as well as the Tea Party for the divisive political tone in Washington. Not surprisingly, neither the class warfare stoked by President Obama and his Party nor the resulting Occupy Wall Street movement was mentioned during this seven minute interview with Christiane Amanpour on ABC's This Week.Fullstory

Enraged Pakistanis burn Obama effigy, slam US

2011-11-28T22:03:00Z

Hundreds of enraged Pakistanis took to the streets across the country Sunday, burning an effigy of President Barack Obama and setting fire to US flags after 24 soldiers died in NATO air strikes.Fullstory

Army's Hypersonic Weapon Can Travel 8x Speed of Sound, Strike Any Target Within 1 Hour

2011-11-28T22:03:00Z

On Thursday, the U.S. Army completed a successful test of an Advanced Hypersonic Weapon soaring at eight times the speed of sound. The completion perhaps restoring a little bit of the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency's (DARPA's) confidence since it's last test run of the Falcon Hypersonic Technology Vehicle 2 crashed into the Pacific Ocean this past August.Fullstory

Armed illegals stalked Border Patrol

2011-11-23T22:03:00Z

Five illegal immigrants armed with at least two AK-47 semi-automatic assault rifles were hunting for U.S. Border Patrol agents near a desert watering hole known as Mesquite Seep just north of the Arizona-Mexico border when a firefight erupted and one U.S. agent was killed, records show.Fullstory

Labor Department Allows Ex-Solyndra Workers to Apply for Federal Aid

2011-11-23T22:03:00Z

WASHINGTON - Hundreds of workers who were laid off by the bankrupt solar firm that received $528 million in taxpayer support are eligible for additional federal aid, the Labor Department has ruled. Fullstory

Alice in Liberal Land

2011-11-23T22:03:00Z

"Alice in Wonderland" was written by a professor who also wrote a book on symbolic logic. So it is not surprising that Alice encountered not only strange behavior in Wonderland, but also strange and illogical reasoning -- of a sort too often found in the real world, and which a logician would be very much aware of.Fullstory

Illegal immigrants suspected in 30 border fires in Arizona

2011-11-23T22:03:00Z

People entering the U.S. illegally from Mexico are believed responsible for more than one-third of human-ignited wildfires in Arizona over a five-year period, according to a government report that could stoke congressional debate over illegal immigration.Fullstory

Gingrich: For the good of the family, let some illegals stay

2011-11-23T22:03:00Z

If you're an illegal immigrant who has lived in America for 25 years, built a family and followed the law, former House Speaker Newt Gingrich doesn't want to "kick you out" of the country.

"If you're here - if you've come here recently, you have no ties to this country, you ought to go home, period," Gingrich said during a discussion about immigration policy at Tuesday's CNN presidential debate.Fullstory

GOP more open to minorities, says former Democratic congressman

2011-11-23T22:03:00Z

Southern Democrats are losing clout and influence because they're fighting for control over their shrinking bases while Republicans increasingly welcome individuals from minority groups, former Alabama Democratic Rep. Artur Davis told The Daily Caller.Fullstory

Occupy protests cost nation's cities at least $13 million

2011-11-23T22:03:00Z

During the first two months of the nationwide Occupy protests, the movement that is demanding more out of the wealthiest Americans cost local taxpayers at least $13 million in police overtime and other municipal services, according to a survey by The Associated Press. Fullstory

Man catches 881-pound tuna, seized by feds

2011-11-23T22:03:00Z

A Massachusetts fisherman pulled in an 881-pound tuna this week only to have the federal authorities take it away. It sounds like a libertarian twist on the classic novella by Ernest Hemingway, The Old Man and the Sea, but for Carlos Rafael, the saga is completely true.

Rafael and his crew were using nets to catch bottom-dwellers when they inadvertently snagged the giant tuna. However, federal fishery enforcement agents took control of the behemoth when the boat returned to port. The reason for the seizure was procedural: While Rafael had the appropriate permits, fishermen are only allowed to catch tuna with a rod and reel.Fullstory

Russia warns West against 'unacceptable' sanctions on Iran

2011-11-22T22:03:00Z

Russia on Tuesday dismissed the new Western sanctions targeting Iran's financial and energy sectors as "unacceptable," warning that such measures would hurt the chances of renewing talks with Tehran over its nuclear program. Fullstory

U.S. probes cyber attack on water system

2011-11-22T22:03:00Z

The November 8 incident was described in a one-page report from the Illinois Statewide Terrorism and Intelligence Center, according to Joe Weiss, a prominent expert on protecting infrastructure from cyber attacks.
The attackers obtained access to the network of a water utility in a rural community west of the state capital Springfield with credentials stolen from a company that makes software used to control industrial systems, according to the account obtained by Weiss. It did not explain the motive of the attackers.Fullstory

Report: Egypt's military rulers to announce transfer of powers to Supreme Court

2011-11-22T22:03:00Z

Why the Super Committee Failed

2011-11-22T22:03:00Z

All now know that the Joint Select Committee on Deficit Reduction has failed to reach an agreement. While there will still be $1.2 trillion of spending cuts as guaranteed under the Budget Control Act, we regrettably missed a historic opportunity to lift the burden of debt and help spur economic growth and job creation. Americans deserve an explanation.Fullstory

Law Professor Quits Job After Colleague Calls Care Packages for U.S. Troops 'Shameful'

2011-11-22T22:03:00Z

A Massachusetts law professor who served overseas in Afghanistan has quit his job at a Massachusetts university after a colleague sent out a controversial e-mail declaring it "shameful" to send care packages to U.S. troops.

U.S. Army Reserve Maj. Robert Roughsedge cut ties with Suffolk University in Boston in response to fellow law professor Michael Avery's defamatory e-mail regarding troops fighting overseas, Fox affiliate WFXT-TV reports.Fullstory

Libya May Have Received Shells for Chemical Weapons From Iran, Report Says

2011-11-21T22:03:00Z

WASHINGTON - The U.S. government has launched an investigation into whether Iran supplied Muammar Qaddafi's Libyan regime with artillery shells that were subsequently filled with a highly toxic mustard agent, The Washington Post reported.

Revolutionary fighters from the Transitional National Council (TNC) found the shells at two sites in central Libya in recent weeks, the newspaper reported Sunday night, citing unidentified U.S. and Libyan officials.

U.S. intelligence agencies are now spearheading an investigation to find out how Qaddafi's regime obtained the shells, with a senior U.S. official saying they are "pretty sure" the custom-designed shells were produced by Iran.Fullstory

Obama's growing disdain for American workers

2011-11-21T22:03:00Z

They say that politics stops at the water's edge, but apparently, that doesn't apply to President Obama, as so many things apparently don't.

The president, jaunting around the world as America's economy crumbles and Congress lumbers along, leaderless, dropped into a high school in Australia. Talking to the Aussie kids, he said America's public school students have "fallen behind" them in math and science. And he said in the U.S., many children don't get the "support they need when they're very young" so they're "already behind" when they enter elementary school.Fullstory

Top 10 Most Needed Government Reforms

2011-11-21T22:03:00Z

There have been debt commissions and super committees trying to figure out how to make government leaner and more efficient. Here are some good places to start: the Top 10 Most Needed Government Reforms. Fullstory

City Bomb Plot Suspect Is Called Fan of Qaeda Cleric

2011-11-21T22:03:00Z

A Manhattan man who became fascinated by the American-born Muslim militant Anwar al-Awlaki was arrested on charges of plotting to build and detonate bombs in New York, city officials announced on Sunday night. Fullstory

Cameron copies Freddie Mac, Fannie Mae. Yeah, that'll work

2011-11-21T22:03:00Z

Did you know that as part of his initiation for the Bullingdon Club, David Cameron had to steal a fluffy kitten from a kindly old lady called Mabel, barbecue it, and dance round the flaming kitty embers chanting: "Ra ra ra! I'm an Old Etonian and you're a filthy oik, moggy, and that's why I'm having you for dinner," before washing the charred feline down with a lovely bottle or three of Cheval Blanc '47 in readiness for the arrival of the Buller's harem of Russian whores?Fullstory

Monkey crotch and Jesus Christ - the 'obscene' English words banned by Pakistan

2011-11-21T22:03:00Z

Texters in Pakistan could find their messages blocked if they use swear words or sexually explicit language.

The country's telecommunications authority has written to mobile phone firms with a list of more than 1,500 English and Urdu words to be blocked, said Anjum Nida Rahman, a spokeswoman for Telenor Pakistan.Fullstory

New Israeli Application Acts as Eyes for Color Blind!

2011-11-21T22:03:00Z

If you were asked to differentiate between hues of camel, mustard or beige you would probably have a hard time doing so - most people would. But for the color blind, telling the difference between blue and yellow can be impossible.

Colorful, a new Windows phone application, says it can act as eyes for the color blind.Fullstory

Goldman Sachs rules the world

2011-11-18T22:03:00Z

What was interesting about the media response to this was that, rather than focus on the substance of what the trader was saying, it instead went on a wild goose chase trying to decide whether or not he was a hoaxer belonging to a group called the "Yes Men". But on one point at least Rastani was absolutely right: Goldman Sachs - aka the Vampire Squid - really have the world squeezed tighter and tighter right now within its blood-sucking tentacles.Fullstory

Pentagon successfully tests hypersonic flying bomb

2011-11-18T22:03:00Z

Launched by rocket from Hawaii at 1130 GMT, the "Advanced Hypersonic Weapon," or AHW, glided through the upper atmosphere over the Pacific "at hypersonic speed" before hitting its target on the Kwajalein atoll in the Marshall Islands, a Pentagon statement said.Fullstory

GE Filed 57,000-Page Tax Return, Paid No Taxes on $14 Billion in Profits

2011-11-18T22:03:00Z

he fact that GE paid no taxes in 2010 was widely reported earlier this year, but the size of its tax return first came to light when House budget committee chairman Paul Ryan (R, Wisc.) made the case for corporate tax reform at a recent townhall meeting. "GE was able to utilize all of these various loopholes, all of these various deductions--it's legal," Ryan said. Nine billion dollars of GE's profits came overseas, outside the jurisdiction of U.S. tax law. GE wasn't taxed on $5 billion in U.S. profits because it utilized numerous deductions and tax credits, including tax breaks for investments in low-income housing, green energy, research and development, as well as depreciation of property.Fullstory

House Approves Concealed Firearm Permit Bill

2011-11-17T22:03:00Z

WASHINGTON - A state permit to carry a concealed firearm would be valid in almost every state in the country under legislation the House passed Wednesday.

The first pro-gun bill the House has taken up this year and the first since Rep. Gabrielle Giffords, D-Ariz., was severely injured in a gun attack in January, it had the National Rifle Association's backing and passed by a comfortable margin. The vote was 272-154, with only seven Republicans voting against it and 43 Democrats supporting it. Fullstory

House GOP Poised to Grill Energy Secretary Chu at Solyndra Hearing

2011-11-17T22:03:00Z

Energy Secretary Steven Chu is prepared to say he made the final decisions on a half-billion-dollar loan to a California solar company that later went bankrupt, essentially taking responsibility for a debacle that has embarrassed the Obama administration.

Chu, in testimony prepared for delivery Thursday to a House committee, claimed he made all decisions on Solyndra Inc. with the best interests of the taxpayer in mind.Fullstory

Solyndra Case Reveals Gateway Between Administration Loans, Obama Allies

2011-11-17T22:03:00Z

As the White House rejects charges that the Obama administration was motivated by politics in its decisions on green energy loans, scrutiny is increasing over the preference given to Democratic donors seeking federal loans.

Recent emails suggest that politics did play a role in administration decisions regarding its energy loan guarantee programs. But beyond the timing of political announcements, the Solyndra investigation has churned up questions about the White House's overall strategy of doling out taxpayer money. Fullstory

National Debt Hits $15 Trillion as Congress Strains to Cut $1.2 Trillion From Deficits

2011-11-17T22:03:00Z

Pop the champagne -- the U.S. debt just surpassed $15 trillion.

The inauspicious milestone comes as Congress tries anew to slash billions of dollars from the federal budget and at least slow the rise in the national debt.

But the $15 trillion mark puts the congressional effort in perspective.

While lawmakers on a bipartisan committee are stuck on how to reach their minimum deficit-reduction target of $1.2 trillion over 10 years, the pace at which the national debt is increasing suggests any agreement would barely make a dent. Fullstory

Obama kisses Chavez in new Benetton ad

2011-11-17T22:03:00Z

The Benetton has dropped the image of the Pope kissing an Imam from the campaign after complaints.

Benetton returns to its controversial marketing roots with a new campaign that features President Obama and other world leaders engaging in a kiss. In two separate ads, Obama is seen kissing Venezuelan president Hugo Chavez, and Chinese President Hu Jintao.Fullstory

Conservative celebs mostly not yet committed for 2012 presidential race

2011-11-17T22:03:00Z

Celebrities on the right are largely staying on the sidelines in the 2012 presidential race, while liberals in Hollywood are lining up behind President Obama's reelection bid.Fullstory

Pentagon Receives Massive Bunker-Busting Bombs, Denies Targeting Iran

2011-11-17T22:03:00Z

Pentagon officials are speaking publicly about the military's new 30,000-pound massive ordnance penetrator, or MOP, known now as the biggest "bunker-busting bomb" in the world.

The Air Force has already received an undisclosed number of these bombs from Boeing, all designed to fit exclusively with the B-2 and B-52 bombers.Fullstory

Obama Vows to 'Project Power' in Asia-Pacific Region, Letting China Know U.S. Is 'Here to Stay'

2011-11-17T22:03:00Z

CANBERRA, Australia - Signaling a determination to counter a rising China, President Barack Obama vowed Thursday to expand U.S. influence in the Asia-Pacific region and "project power and deter threats to peace" in that part of the world even as he reduces defense spending and winds down two wars.

"The United States is a Pacific power, and we are here to stay," he declared in a speech to the Australian Parliament, sending an unmistakable message to Beijing.Fullstory

Bravo to Bloomberg's Occupy Wall Street eviction from Zuccotti Park, finally reclaiming public space from unsanitary shantytown

2011-11-16T22:03:00Z

Mayor Bloomberg's forced cleansing of Zuccotti Park nearly two months into an unsanitary and sometimes dangerous encampment was just what the doctor had been ordering.
The amorphous agglomeration known as Occupy Wall Street had transformed a space intended for open community access into a round-the-clock shantytown - and they claimed that the First Amendment guaranteed their right to do as they pleased.

This is not constitutional wisdom. This is self-important, self-indulgent bilge. And a Manhattan Supreme Court justice who ordered a halt to the eviction pending a hearing needs to emphatically so state.Fullstory

Book: Rahm Emanuel Dumped Tons Of Freddie Mac Stock Days Before It Collapsed

2011-11-16T22:03:00Z

Former White House Chief of Staff Rahm Emanuel is the latest lawmaker to get caught up in allegations of insider trading while a member of Congress.
Then-Rep. Emanuel reportedly sold up to $250,000 in Freddie Mac stock on February 21, 2003 days before it dropped by 10 percent - and weeks before it was publicly revealed that the entity was under criminal investigation for inflating earnings. The allegations are revealed in Peter Schwiezer's new book "Throw Them All Out," which will hit bookshelves tomorrow.Fullstory

Poverty in America?

2011-11-16T22:03:00Z

According to CBS News, "the number of people in the U.S. living in poverty in 2010 rose for the fourth year in a row, representing the largest number of Americans in poverty in the 52 years since such estimates have been published by the U.S. Census Bureau." MSNBC said, "The U.S. poverty rate remains among the highest in the developed world." Let's look at a few poverty facts.Fullstory

Police Order Protesters to Vacate 'Occupy Wall Street' Camp at Zuccotti Park

2011-11-15T22:03:00Z

NEW YORK - Police arrested 70 protesters at New York's Zuccotti Park early Tuesday, including some who chained themselves together, while clearing the park so that sanitation crews could clean it.

The officers arrived just after midnight and handed out letters to protesters ordering them to temporarily evacuate the park. Campers were told to remove their tents and all their belongings, the New York Post reported.Fullstory

Kagan to Tribe on Day Obamacare Passed: 'I Hear They Have the Votes, Larry!! Simply Amazing.'

2011-11-15T22:03:00Z

(CNSNews.com) - On Sunday, March 21, 2010, the day the House of Representatives passed President Barack Obama's Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act, then-Solicitor General Elena Kagan and famed Supreme Court litigator and Harvard Law Prof. Laurence Tribe, who was then serving in the Justice Department, had an email exchange in which they discussed the pending health-care vote, according to documents the Department of Justice released late Wednesday to the Media Research Center, CNSNews.com's parent organization, and to Judicial Watch.Fullstory

Ben-Eliezer: Israel, Egypt on collision course

2011-11-15T22:03:00Z

Knesset Member Binyamin Ben-Eliezer, a close friend of deposed Egyptian president Hosni Mubarak, warned that the latest developments in Egypt indicate that "over time Israel will find itself in a head-on confrontation" with its Arab neighbor.

Ben-Eliezer (Labor) told the Knesset's Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee Monday that Israel "should start preparing for a conflict" with Egypt.Fullstory

DAVID AXELROD'S PATTERN OF SEXUAL MISBEHAVIOR

2011-11-15T22:03:00Z

Herman Cain has spent his life living and working all over the country -- Indiana, Georgia, Minnesota, Nebraska, Kansas, Washington, D.C. -- but never in Chicago.

So it's curious that all the sexual harassment allegations against Cain emanate from Chicago: home of the Daley machine and Obama consigliere David Axelrod. Fullstory

Norquist's 'Super' Influence, Lawmakers Use Insider Status on Stock Market and More in Capital Eye Opener

2011-11-15T22:03:00Z

GROVER NORQUIST'S INFLUENCE EXTENDS TO SUPERCOMMITTEE: As the deadline approaches for the Joint Select Committee on Deficit Reduction -- also known as the supercommittee -- to agree on $1.2 trillion in cuts to the federal budget, the influence of one unelected player may make the difference, the Wall Street Journal reported. Antitax advocate Grover Norquist could be a big reason for the supercommittee's stalemate, thanks in part to his nonprofit's deep pockets and hefty influence in Washington, D.C.Fullstory

Sandusky Admits Showering With Boys, but Says He's 'Innocent' of Sex Abuse Charges

2011-11-15T22:03:00Z

The former Penn State assistant coach accused of having sex with young boys he met through his charity admits in a TV interview that he showered with boys but says he is innocent and not a pedophile.Fullstory

Penn State's shame and ours

2011-11-15T22:03:00Z

"Success with Honor" is the motto of Penn State's athletic program. They got it half-right.

The alleged sexual abuse of young boys by former defensive coordinator Jerry Sandusky is disgusting, outrageous and immoral. That so many at the school's highest level allegedly engaged either in covering up serial abuses, or turned a blind eye to them in order to maintain the "integrity" of the football program and its legendary coach, Joe Paterno, adds insult to unfathomable injury.Fullstory

Occupy's Latest Un-Bare-Able Protest: Play Strip Poker in Public Against Capitalism

2011-11-15T22:03:00Z

The gods must really hate us New Yorkers.

Being ground zero for the putrid Occupy movement that has spread around the country and is now home to rapes, tuberculosis, vandalism, loss of business and public urination wasn't enough.

Why would it be?

Now we get attention for the latest Marxist machination in the Big Apple: Strip poker against capitalism. Fullstory

President Obama Doesn't Rule Out Military Option in Iran

2011-11-14T22:03:00Z

HONOLULU - President Obama didn't rule out a military option with Iran to deal with its nuclear program at a press conference Sunday. He said that sanctions have had "enormous bite and scope" so far and vowed to pursue diplomatic avenues but re-emphasized that all options are available.Fullstory

Drugs, Deaths, Disease and Thieves Prompt Police to Move Against Occupy Protesters

2011-11-14T22:03:00Z

PORTLAND, Ore. (AP) - Police drove hundreds of anti-Wall Street demonstrators from weeks-old encampments in Portland and arrested more than 50 of them, as authorities in Oakland, Calif., warned Occupy campers that a similar crackdown was coming.Fullstory

The Third Intifada Is Here

2011-11-14T22:03:00Z

This is a Diplomatic Intifada, aimed at rallying the world against Israel in the hope of forcing it to accept all of the Palestinian Authority's demands, first and foremost a full withdrawal to the pre-1967 armistice lines.Fullstory

The EPA's Reliability Cover-Up

2011-11-14T22:03:00Z

Some 830,000 Connecticut customers are only now having their power restored after a snowstorm knocked out the state's grid last month-but the Environmental Protection Agency continues to claim that its regulatory agenda won't degrade U.S. electric reliability. The reality is that the EPA's own staffers are-or used to be-worried, and their political superiors have erased the warnings.Fullstory

Intel Source: Israel Behind Deadly Explosion at Iran Missile Base

2011-11-14T22:03:00Z

Israeli newspapers on Sunday were thick with innuendo, the front pages of the three largest dailies dominated by variations on the headline "Mysterious Explosion in Iranian Missile Base." Turn the page, and the mystery is answered with a wink. "Who Is Responsible for Attacks on the Iranian Army?" asks Maariv, and the paper lists without further comment a half-dozen other violent setbacks to Iran's nuclear and military nexus. For Israeli readers, the coy implication is that their own government was behind Saturday's massive blast just outside Tehran. It is an assumption a Western intelligence source insists is correct: the Mossad - the Israeli agency charged with covert operations - did it. "Don't believe the Iranians that it was an accident," the official tells TIME, adding that other sabotage is being planned to impede the Iranian ability to develop and deliver a nuclear weapon. "There are more bullets in the magazine," the official says.Fullstory

Cain defamation lawyer hired to monitor accusations

2011-11-11T22:03:00Z

Atlanta attorney Lin Wood told Reuters Thursday he was not hired to scare, intimidate or threaten anyone from making statements, but to monitor the accusations against Cain and respond accordingly.Fullstory

DEATH OF THE EURO

2011-11-11T22:03:00Z

As Treasury officials worked through the night to soften the impact on Britain, David Cameron warned that the single European currency was facing its "moment of truth".Fullstory

Once written off, Gingrich surges

2011-11-11T22:03:00Z

After stumbling badly out of the gate, Newt Gingrich's presidential campaign is showing surprising signs of life - rising in the polls and even attracting rising support from evangelical voters who have long been cool to the former House speaker.Fullstory

Green charities: way more evil and dangerous than Exxon or the Koch Brothers

2011-11-11T22:03:00Z

It describes how he cunningly infiltrated his way into the belly of the Green Beast - aka the America's oldest environmental organisation, the Sierra Club - using the brilliantly clever device of paying for membership. Like Greenpeace, like the WWF, the Sierra Club would love you to imagine that it is a plucky little David battling the Goliaths of Big Carbon, Big Industry, Big Pollution, Big Corporate Greed, Big Koch, and so on. In fact - again like Greenpeace, like the WWF - it is enormously well-funded with an $84 million annual budget and 1.4 million members. This would be nice if it didn't use all that money and influence promoting such terrible causes.Fullstory

Eurozone faces radical overhaul

2011-11-10T22:03:00Z

French president Nicolas Sarkozy gave some flavour of his thinking in an address to students in Strasbourg on Tuesday, when he said a two-speed Europe - the eurozone moving ahead more rapidly than all 27 countries - was the only model for the future.Fullstory

GOP Candidates Target Housing Market, Tax Reform and Bailouts in Latest Debate

2011-11-10T22:03:00Z

ROCHESTER, Mich. - If it's too big to fail, it's too big, several Republican presidential candidates said Wednesday, arguing in the latest 2012 debate that housing and tax reforms, as well as an end to government bailouts, are critical to stopping the U.S. economy's slide into mediocrity.Fullstory

Unions and Young People: A Winning Combination for 2012?

2011-11-10T22:03:00Z

In the wake of a significant electoral victory in Ohio Tuesday, unions and their supporters are energized and eager to flex their newly honed political muscles. But the path to greater electoral clout in 2012 could lie in a partnership with young voters and followers of the Occupy movement. Fullstory

'Red Army' Behind Occupy Wall Street?

2011-11-10T22:03:00Z

On a balmy autumn afternoon, a stroll along lower Manhattan to Liberty Plaza, or another American city or even in squares and plazas around the world, is likely to take you to an encampment of mostly-young, mostly cheerful, determined citizens who've come together for the long haul to challenge and oppose a list of anti-social deeds, from government support of venal businessmen to excessive CO2 emissions. Under the banner of "Occupy Wall Street," a local-turned-global protest movement strives to bring your attention to injustice.Fullstory

This Is What Anarchy Looks Like

2011-11-09T22:03:00Z

It's not a good idea to feed wild animals. "Coffee cart owner Linda Jenson and hot dog cart operators Letty and Pete Soto said they initially provided free food and drink to demonstrators" at San Diego's Obamaville encampment, reports Los Angeles's KNX-AM. "But when they stopped, the protesters became violent"Fullstory

Ohio Voters Reject Law Limiting Public Unions

2011-11-09T22:03:00Z

Ohio voters on Tuesday gave Democrats and President Obama a welcome shot of the arm in the key battleground state by rejecting Republican Gov. John Kasich's signature achievement: a law that curbs collective bargaining rights for public employees. Voters resoundingly defeated the measure, 63 percent to 37 percent.Fullstory

Obama Couldn't Wait: His New Christmas Tree Tax

2011-11-09T22:03:00Z

President Obama's Agriculture Department today announced that it will impose a new 15-cent charge on all fresh Christmas trees-the Christmas Tree Tax-to support a new Federal program to improve the image and marketing of Christmas trees.Fullstory

Homeless Clash With Occupy Sacramento Protesters At Park

2011-11-09T22:03:00Z

SACRAMENTO (CBS13) - As the Occupy Sacramento movement settles in for another night inside Cesar Chavez Park, another group sits, watches and wonders if they'll ever get what they call "their park" back.

"These homeless people have been out here alot longer than you have," one homeless person tells CBS13.

For years this plaza in the heart of Sacramento has been a homeless hide-away. But some just want the Occupy group to go away:

"I just wish they'd give us our park back," one homeless woman says.

She's one of dozens of homeless who've signed a petition. Fullstory

Iran's Ahmadinejad Vows Not to Retreat on Nuclear Drive

2011-11-09T22:03:00Z

TEHRAN - Iran won't retreat "one iota" from its nuclear program but the world is being misled by claims that it seeks atomic weapons, President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad said Wednesday in his first reaction since a U.N. watchdog report that Tehran is on the brink of developing a warhead.Ahmadinejad strongly chided the U.N. International Atomic Energy Agency, saying it is discrediting itself by siding with "absurd" U.S. accusations.
Fullstory

The global economy is collapsing. The solution is not more media studies graduates

2011-11-09T22:03:00Z

There's a gripe I hear a lot from kids of student age and it goes like this: "You had a free uni education so why shouldn't we?"

The short answer to that is "autres temps, autres moeurs". But they wouldn't understand, a) because their school French teacher was probably long since sacked in the Blair Years and replaced by a Wind Farm and Environmental Awareness Studies teacher and b) because if there's one thing today's kids are even more ignorant of than French (or Latin, or History, or grammar) it's basic economics. Fullstory

Report: Sarkozy calls Netanyahu 'liar'

2011-11-08T22:03:00Z

French President Nicolas Sarkozy reportedly told US President Barack Obama that he could not "stand" Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and that he thinks the Israeli premier "is a liar."

According to a Monday report in the French website "Arret sur Images," after facing reporters for a G20 press conference on Thursday, the two presidents retired to a private room, to further discuss the matters of the day.

The conversation apparently began with President Obama criticizing Sarkozy for not having warned him that France would be voting in favor of the Palestinian membership bid in UNESCO despite Washington's strong objection to the move.

The conversation then drifted to Netanyahu, at which time Sarkozy declared: "I cannot stand him. He is a liar." According to the report, Obama replied: "You're fed up with him, but I have to deal with him every day!" Fullstory

House Oversight Chairman Calls for Probe into ACORN Role in Occupy Wall Street

2011-11-08T22:03:00Z

House Oversight Committee Chairman Darrell Issa is calling for an investigation into allegations that ACORN-related group New York Communities for Change "engaged in fraud through its participation in the Occupy Wall Street protests."
In a letter dated Monday, Issa, R-Calif., called for U.S. Attorney General Loretta Lynch of the Eastern District of New York to launch a probe into allegations first reported by FoxNews.com that NYCC may have "solicited donations from union members under false pretenses and misappropriated those funds to support the protesters."Fullstory

How Did Ayn Rand's 'Atlas Shrugged' Predict an America Spinning Out of Control?

2011-11-07T22:03:00Z

Nearly thirty years after her death, Ayn Rand's novels continue to be wildly popular-"Atlas Shrugged" alone is selling more today than it did when it was first published in 1957 -- more than one million copies have sold since the 2008 elections.
Especially among Tea Partiers, Ayn Rand is being hailed a prophet. How could she have anticipated, more than 50 years ago, a United States spinning out of financial control, plagued by soaring spending and crippling regulations?Fullstory

Report: IAEA to say Iran nearing nuclear capability

2011-11-07T22:03:00Z

Details from the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) report regarding the Iranian nuclear program continue to leak. Intelligence provided to the United Nations' nuclear watchdog agency shows that Iran has mastered the critical steps needed to build a nuclear weapon, The Washington Post reported on Sunday.Fullstory

Conservatives shouldn't play the race card, either

2011-11-07T22:03:00Z

"Take one of them," liberal blogger Spencer Ackerman wrote during the 2008 election, "Fred Barnes, Karl Rove, who cares -- and call them racists. Ask: Why do they have such a deep-seated problem with a black politician who unites the country? What lurks behind those problems?"Fullstory

McDonald's chief : Curb spending and cut taxes

2011-11-07T22:03:00Z

"The question is, how can we get the ox out of the ditch?" Mr Skinner said. "In order to create jobs in America, you're going to have to cut taxes... particularly in the business community.

"We pay some of the highest [corporate] taxes around the world. There needs to be some levelling." Fullstory

The Tax Haven That's Saving Google Billions

2011-11-07T22:03:00Z

The heart of Google's (GOOG) international operations is a silvery glass office building in central Dublin, a block from the city's Grand Canal. In 2009 the office, which houses roughly 2,000 Google employees, was credited with 88 percent of the search juggernaut's $12.5 billion in sales outside the U.S. Most of the profits, however, went to the tax haven of Bermuda. Fullstory

Eric Holder likely to face Fast & Furious questions from Senate Nov. 8

2011-11-07T22:03:00Z

Attorney General Eric Holder has agreed to testify to the Senate Judiciary Committee on Nov. 8, giving him what could be a friendlier forum to answer questions about the Fast and Furious controversy than a similar House session scheduled for early December.

Holder's Senate appearance was announced Monday by Judiciary Committee Chairman Patrick Leahy (D-Vt.) Fullstory

DDOT Drivers Refuse To Work: 'They're Scared For Their Lives'

2011-11-04T21:03:00Z

WWJ's Scott Ryan spoke with Henry Gaffney, spokesman for the D-DOT bus drivers union AFL-CIO Local 26, who said this was not an organized maneuver by the union. Gaffney said it's a matter of bus drivers fearing for their safety, citing an incident that happened Thursday afternoon.Fullstory

Unable to pay bill, Mich. city turns off lights

2011-11-04T21:03:00Z

It wasn't always this way. But when the debt-ridden community could no longer afford its monthly electric bill, elected officials not only turned off 1,000 streetlights. They had them ripped out -- bulbs, poles and all. Now nightfall cloaks most neighborhoods in inky darkness.Fullstory

Obama: God backs jobs plan

2011-11-03T21:03:00Z

President Barack Obama Wednesday said even God wanted to put Americans back to work, invoking divine blessing for his joust with Republicans over measures designed to slice into high unemployment.Fullstory

Why Our Blacks are Better Than Their Blacks

2011-11-03T21:03:00Z

By spending the last three decades leveling accusations of "racism" every 10 seconds, liberals have made it virtually impossible for Americans to recognize real racism -- for example, the racism constantly spewed at black conservatives.

In the last year alone, a short list of the things liberals have labeled "racist" include:

-- Being a Republican;

-- Joining the tea party;Fullstory

Cain Harassment Issue: Who Said What to Whom?

2011-11-03T21:03:00Z

As questions multiply over the nature of sexual harassment claims made against Republican presidential candidate Herman Cain, finger-pointing and denials among top rivals are widening.

Meanwhile, one of the accuser's attorneys is seeking his client's release from her confidentiality agreement despite the accuser's reluctance to go public.Fullstory

Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac executives get big housing bonuses

2011-11-03T21:03:00Z

The Obama administration's efforts to fix the housing crisis may have fallen well short of helping millions of distressed mortgage holders, but they have led to seven-figure paydays for some top executives at troubled mortgage giants Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac.Fullstory

Food stamp use reaches record 45.8 million

2011-11-03T21:03:00Z

A new report posted today by the U.S. Department of Agriculture shows a record 45.8 million Americans received assistance through the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program in August - 1.1. percent more than in July and 8.1 percent more than in August 2010.Fullstory

Israel Reportedly Considers Pre-Emptive Attack on Iran

2011-11-03T21:03:00Z

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is reportedly trying to rally support for an attack on Iran, according to government sources.Fullstory

Tax the One Percent -- Make Wall Street Fund America

2011-11-03T21:03:00Z

The giant cries of protest sweeping across the country are starting to reverberate in the halls of Congress. Senator Tom Harkin (D-IA) and Representative Peter DeFazio (D-OR) are proposing a Wall Street Tax. Their bill would establish a tiny financial transaction tax of 0.03% on every single trade of stocks, bonds, options, futures, swaps, and credit default swaps.Fullstory

U.S. Exploring Faster Switch to Advisory Role in Afghanistan

2011-11-03T21:03:00Z

WASHINGTON - The Obama administration is exploring a shift in the military's mission in Afghanistan to an advisory role as soon as next year, senior officials told The Wall Street Journal, a move that would scale back U.S. combat duties well ahead of their scheduled conclusion at the end of 2014.Fullstory

Another flotilla heads to Gaza

2011-11-03T21:03:00Z

New flotilla: Activists in New York announced Wednesday that two ships carrying 27 activists from five states, including the US, are currently sailing through international waters in the Mediterranean Sea en route to Gaza. The vessels departed from Turkey. Fullstory

G. Gordon Liddy Asks Women Whose 'Advances' They Would Accept After Herman Cain Controversy

2011-11-02T21:03:00Z

On Sunday, Cain's campaign denied reports that he was accused of sexual harassment twice as the head of the National Restaurant Association in the 1990s.Fullstory

Owner of car dealership labeled "Taliban Toyota" wins millions

2011-11-02T21:03:00Z

Iranian-born Shawn Esfahani, owner of Eastern Shore Toyota in Daphne, Alabama, sought $28 million in compensatory and punitive damages from Bob Tyler Toyota, claiming employees at that Pensacola, Florida-based dealership falsely portrayed him as an Islamist militant to customers.Fullstory

Herman Cain: The Attacks On Me Are Racially Motivated

2011-11-02T21:03:00Z

Charles Krauthammer: "Mr. Cain, when Clarence Thomas was near to achieving position of high authority, he was hit with a sexual harassment charge. You contending for presidency, the office of highest authority, leading in the polls for the Republican nomination, all of the sudden get hit with a sexual harassment charge. Do you think that race, being a strong black conservative, has anything to do with the fact you've been so charged? And if so, do you have any evidence to support that?"
Fullstory

Colorado voters reject raising taxes to support education

2011-11-02T21:03:00Z

With 59% of the projected vote counted, Proposition 103 was trailing 65% to 35%, the Associated Press reported.

The debate over the measure closely mirrored recent rancor in Washington over the question of whether more spending will revive a moribund economy or slow down a nascent recovery.Fullstory

Carrying Water for Obama, Hilda Solis Picks a Fight with the Tea Party

2011-11-01T21:03:00Z

A day after Vice President Joe Biden told the convention at Walt Disney World that Obama needed to carry Florida to win in 2012, Solis attempted to rally Democrats for the elections and urged them to push for the Obama jobs plan which, with Republicans controlling the U.S. House, has no chance of passing Congress.Fullstory

DOE monitoring another stimulus recipient

2011-11-01T21:03:00Z

New York-based Ener1 received a $118.5 million grant to expand its manufacturing operations in Indianapolis, Ind., run by a subsidiary EnerDel, which received a visit from Vice President Joe Biden earlier this year.Fullstory

Political suicide Corzine's MF feels heat as feds eye missing $$

2011-11-01T21:03:00Z

Officials from two US regulators, the Commodities Futures Trading Commission and the Securities and Exchange Commission, were looking into whether the loot was diverted to support some of the firm's own trades.Fullstory

Bullet train project nearly triples in cost -- $98.5 billion -- from earlier projections

2011-11-01T21:03:00Z

The new figures come from a final business plan to be unveiled by the California High-Speed Rail Authority on Tuesday, though some of the details were leaked to the media, including this newspaper, on Monday. Officials at the rail authority did not respond to repeated requests for comment Monday. Fullstory

Matthews: Obama's too cool

2011-10-31T21:03:00Z

The MSNBC host says the president, whom he famously said sent a thrill going up his leg in 2008, is too arrogant for his own good. He faults Obama for not building relationships with other leaders in Washington, for not asking Americans to follow him and for not showing voters that he has learned from the mistakes of the past three years.Fullstory

U.S. Could Withhold Funds For U.N. Agency After Vote to Grant Membership to Palestinians

2011-10-31T21:03:00Z

The acceptance of the Palestinian mission into the U.N.'s cultural and educational agency could result in backlash from Washington, which is required by law to cut off funding to the agency if a Palestinian Liberation Organization is granted membership in any group at the international body.Fullstory

Cain Camp: Allegations of Inappropriate Behavior "A Smear Campaign"

2011-10-31T21:03:00Z

Herman Cain's campaign attacked reports that he was accused of inappropriate behavior toward two women while head of the National Restaurant Association more than a decade ago.

"There is nothing to this -- it is a smear campaign," Cain campaign spokesman J.D. Gordon told Fox News' Geraldo Rivera on Sunday night. "These are thinly sourced allegations."Fullstory

The 2012 GOP Presidential Field on Jobs

2011-10-31T21:03:00Z

With the national unemployment rate at 9.1 percent, the 2012 presidential election is shaping up as a battle over jobs and the economy. President Obama has hit the road in key battleground states to sell his $447 billion jobs plan. Though the Democratic-controlled Senate rejected it earlier this month, he has pushed Congress to vote on specific measures within the bill and has announced executive actions aimed at the mortgage crisis and student loans.

Back in the Fight

2011-10-31T21:03:00Z

Political experts all agreed over the summer that Newt Gingrich's candidacy was done. But Gingrich never got the message. In a volatile election cycle, Gingrich has battled his way back into contention, rising to third place in several national and state polls on the force of his ideas and breadth of knowledge of how Washington does and does not work. After nationally televised debates and local town halls, Gingrich has made voters want to give him a second look, especially after he speaks emphatically about American Exceptionalism and about bureaucrats and unelected judges who threaten to undermine it.Fullstory

Exclusive: Bill Daley, unplugged

2011-10-28T21:03:00Z

So do you think, I ask, that President Obama would be satisfied saying, "We did a good job, we did good stuff," and if he's a one-term president, "That's the verdict of history"?Fullstory

Rep. Joe Walsh to Eric Holder: You better resign immediately, buddy

2011-10-27T21:03:00Z

It was faint at first, but it grows ever louder, this cry for Attorney General Eric Holder to resign. Rep. Joe Walsh (R-Ill.) today became the fourth Congressman to explicitly call for Holder to take responsibility for the lethally reckless Operation Fast and Furious and to voluntarily leave his post because of his presumed authorization of the program. Walsh's behest follows similar requests from Reps. Raul Labrador (R-Idaho), Blake Farenthold (R-Tex.) and Paul Gosar (R-Ariz.).Fullstory

Why Obama Cannot "Occupy Wall Street" and Win

2011-10-27T21:03:00Z

President Obama's re-election campaign reportedly plans to embrace the populist cause of the Occupy Wall Street movement. The critical question is whether he will ally with the movement itself. Obama might delight liberals if he does. He would also jeopardize his own re-election.Fullstory

EU reaches agreement on Greek bonds

2011-10-27T21:03:00Z

European leaders reached a deal with Greek debtholders on Thursday morning that would see private investors take a 50 per cent cut in the face value of their bonds, a deep haircut that officials believe will reduce Greek debt levels to 120 per cent of gross domestic product by the end of the decade. Fullstory

GOP offers $2.2T in deficit cuts

2011-10-27T21:03:00Z

Republicans on the deficit supercommittee have presented a counteroffer to Democrats that would reduce the deficit by $2.2 trillion over a decade.

The GOP plan includes no tax increases, but does include up to $640 billion in new revenue. Some of this revenue is from increased user fees, and some is expected gains in tax revenue from an economy the GOP expects will improve from its plan. Fullstory

China 'won't follow US' on carbon emissions

2011-10-27T21:03:00Z

Xie Zhenhua, vice chair of the National Development and Reform Commission, said that to let emissions rise that high would be a "disaster for the world".

Chinese per-capita emissions may reach US levels by 2017, a recent study said.Fullstory

Alabama Tries to Connect Jobless Residents With Farm Jobs, Finds Few Employers

2011-10-27T21:03:00Z

With Alabama's new immigration law scaring off many illegal migrant workers, the state is offering job placement for legal residents wanting to work in the hard-hit agriculture industry -- it seems, however, that local farmers think the work may be too hard for most Americans. Fullstory

Report: Grapel deal includes US F-16 sale to Egypt

2011-10-27T21:03:00Z

The Palestinian Maan news agency reported Thursday that the United States has agreed to sell Egypt several F-16 fighter jets in order to facilitate the release of Israeli-American Ilan Grapel. Israel had opposed similar sales in the past.

Grapel, who was arrested in June on espionage charges, is slated to be released later on Thursday. Israel will release 25 Egyptian prisoners in return. Fullstory

Joe Biden: Beltway Bubble Boy

2011-10-26T21:03:00Z

Last fall, before the midterm shellacking, Vice President Joe Biden admonished rank-and-file Democratic voters to "stop whining." Uncle Tough Guy should practice what he screeches. The 2012 campaign has barely begun, but Biden's thin skin makes a spring roll wrapper look impenetrable.Fullstory

Perry bets comeback on flat tax proposal

2011-10-26T21:03:00Z

Texas Gov. Rick Perry on Tuesday called for the creation of a national flat tax on income, seeking to reignite a floundering presidential bid by overhauling a tax code that has long frustrated conservatives.

FBI reports gang 'infiltration' of U.S. military

2011-10-26T21:03:00Z

Gang members have been signing up with the United States Armed Forces, posing a "significant criminal threat" to law enforcement, according to a report by the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI).

"Gang infiltration of the military continues to pose a significant criminal threat, as members of at least 53 gangs have been identified on both domestic and international military installations," the report says, resulting in American gang graffiti in Iraq, among other things.Fullstory

Romney organizes in Va. for presidential race

2011-10-26T21:03:00Z

Republican Mitt Romney, who on Wednesday will make his first public appearance in Virginia as a presidential hopeful, already has a much larger campaign organization in place in the Old Dominion than any of the other GOP White House contenders.Fullstory

Saudi cleric: Kidnap soldier - get $100,000

2011-10-26T21:03:00Z

A week after the release of kidnapped Israeli soldier Gilad Shalit, top Saudi cleric Dr. Awad al-Qarni is offering a $100,000 reward to anyone who kidnaps Israeli soldiers.

He is responding to an ad published by the Libman family offering a similar reward for anyone who catches the person who murdered their relative Shlomo Libman. Libman was killed by terrorists near the settlement of Yitzhar in 1998. Fullstory

PETA Sues SeaWorld for 'Enslaving' Killer Whales

2011-10-26T21:03:00Z

SAN DIEGO - A federal court is being asked to grant constitutional rights to five killer whales who perform at marine parks -- an unprecedented and perhaps quixotic legal action that is nonetheless likely to stoke an ongoing, intense debate at America's law schools over expansion of animal rights.Fullstory

Florida Appeals Court Rejects Call to Block Judge From Citing Islamic Law in Ruling

2011-10-26T21:03:00Z

A Florida appeals court has rejected a request to block a Hillsborough judge from upholding Islamic law in a case involving the former trustees of a local Tampa mosque that has garnered the national spotlight.

The state's 2nd District Court of Appeal on Friday denied without comment a petition filed by the mosque, known as the Islamic Education Center of Tampa, which is challenging Hillsborough Circuit Judge Richard Nielsen's ruling in March that he intended to cite "ecclesiastical Islamic law" in the case, the St. Petersburg Times reported.Fullstory

'Super' comm. to offer rare public view of talks

2011-10-25T21:03:00Z

The deliberations of a congressional "super committee" charged with slashing the nation's record debt by at least $1.2 trillion remain top secret, with no indication of whether the group will be able to complete its work by its Nov. 23 deadline and avoid massive automatic cuts in defense and domestic spending.

Even if the super committee produces a plan, it's unlikely to make a super dent in the nation's $15 trillion debt, say those familiar with the talks.Fullstory

Obama unveils mortgage help for some homeowners

2011-10-25T21:03:00Z

President Obama on Monday rolled out a new blueprint to staunch the bleeding of the housing market amid mounting bipartisan criticism over his handling of a mortgage crisis that has stymied economic growth.

At a campaign-style stop in Las Vegas, ground zero for the bursting housing bubble, Obama trumpeted executive-branch actions to ease refinancing for those who now owe more on their home than it's worth.Fullstory

Obama mingles with the stars as he raises cash

2011-10-25T21:03:00Z

LOS ANGELES (AP) - Actor Will Smith and basketball legend Earvin "Magic" Johnson for dinner and Melanie Griffith and Antonio Banderas for post-meal canapes. President Barack Obama waded into the domain of the stars Monday as he hit the California fundraising circuit in one of his busiest donor outreach trips of the season.Fullstory

Gen Y, Don't Blame Capitalism, Blame Obama

2011-10-25T21:03:00Z

Young people are turning out in droves for Occupy Wall Street -- and its subsidiary protests in cities across the country -- because they're fed up with capitalism. Who they should be fed up with is President Obama.Fullstory

Perry to Pitch Scrapping Tax Code, Offering Optional 20 Percent Flat Tax

2011-10-25T21:03:00Z

Rick Perry is proposing letting Americans choose between their existing income tax rate or a new flat tax of 20 percent, part of a tax and spending reform plan that the Republican presidential candidate is dubbing "Cut, Balance and Grow."

"My plan restores American competitiveness in the global marketplace and provides strong incentives for U.S.-based employers to build new factories and create thousands of jobs here at home," Perry says.Fullstory

York - Rove vs. Cain: The people's choice?

2011-10-25T21:03:00Z

Herman Cain is tired of pundits telling him his 15 minutes are up. In particular, the Georgia businessman-turned-presidential candidate is becoming impatient with Karl Rove, the former top George W. Bush aide who in a Monday appearance on Fox News actually pulled out a whiteboard to list a series of gaffes that, according to Rove, suggest Cain isn't up to the job of president.Fullstory

Senators Outraged U.S. Borrowing Big From China While Also Giving It Aid

2011-10-25T21:03:00Z

China is one of the biggest economies in the world and grew at more than 9 percent over the last year. It also has loaned more than $1 trillion to the U.S. to fund its deficit-spending.

But at the same time, the U.S. sends foreign aid to China, which lawmakers of all stripes say is just plain nuts.Fullstory

Obama's Re-Election Model Is FDR

2011-10-24T21:03:00Z

President Obama is cozying up to the "Occupy Wall Street" movement, intending to make resentment of big business a central theme of his re-election campaign. Here he's following the lead of Franklin D. Roosevelt, who tried to convince the public that Wall Street was to blame for the double-dip recession that plagued his second administration.Fullstory

Cult of Global Warming Is Losing Influence

2011-10-24T21:03:00Z

Religious faith is a source of strength in many people's lives. But religious faith when taken too far can prove ludicrous -- or disastrous.

On Oct. 22, 1844, thousand of Millerites, having sold all their possessions, climbed to the top of hills in Upstate New York to await the return of Jesus and the end of the world. They suffered "the great disappointment" when it didn't happen.Fullstory

Steve Jobs to Obama in 2010: You're a 1-Term President

2011-10-24T21:03:00Z

Steve Jobs, the late Apple founder and digital pioneer, told President Obama in a 2010 meeting that his anti-business attitude and enthusiasm for federal regulations could spell doom for his re-election bid, according to an upcoming biography of the iconic entrepreneur.Fullstory

Transitional Leader Calls for Sharia Law as Country Celebrates Liberation

2011-10-24T21:03:00Z

The transitional government leader Mustafa Abdul-Jalil called on Libyans to show "patience, honesty and tolerance" and eschew hatred as they embark on rebuilding the country at the end of an 8-month civil war.

Abdul-Jalil set out a vision for the post-Qaddafi future with an Islamist tint, saying that Islamic Sharia law would be the "basic source" of legislation in the country and that existing laws that contradict the teachings of Islam would be nullified.Fullstory

Vatican Calls for Global Authority on Economy

2011-10-24T21:03:00Z

The Vatican called on Monday for the establishment of a "global public authority" and a "central world bank" to rule over financial institutions that have become outdated and often ineffective in dealing fairly with crises.Fullstory

Steve Jobs Shocker: Bill Gates Should Have Dropped Acid

2011-10-24T21:03:00Z

Steve Jobs called long-time rival and Microsoft Corp co-founder Bill Gates as "unimaginative" and not really a product person, according to a biography of the deceased Apple Inc chief executive.

"Bill is basically unimaginative and has never invented anything, which is why I think he's more comfortable now in philanthropy than technology," Jobs told author Walter Isaacson. "He just shamelessly ripped off other people's ideas."Fullstory

Car Company Gets U.S. Loan, Builds Cars In Finland

2011-10-21T21:03:00Z

Vice President Joseph Biden heralded the Energy Department's $529 million loan to the start-up electric car company called Fisker as a bright new path to thousands of American manufacturing jobs. But two years after the loan was announced, the job of assembling the flashy electric Fisker Karma sports car has been outsourced to Finland. Fullstory

Gaddafi killed as Libya's revolt claims hometown

2011-10-20T21:03:00Z

His killing, which came swiftly after his capture near Sirte, is the most dramatic single development in the Arab Spring revolts that have unseated rulers in Egypt and Tunisia and threatened the grip on power of the leaders of Syria and Yemen.Fullstory

STEVE WYNN Goes On Big Rant About Occupy Wall Street, Obama, Deficits And Anger At The Government

2011-10-20T21:03:00Z

Here are our notes in raw form. It's all mostly paraphrased.
In a nutshell, he says: Deficits are killing us, our dollars are worthless, and the Democrats are bankrupting the country and vilifying anyone who's successful. So naturally, people are protesting.Fullstory

Solyndra exposes lack of White House policy

2011-10-19T21:03:00Z

The Solyndra case that has stuck U.S. taxpayers with a half a billion dollars of bad debt, with little prospect of getting any back, isn't going away soon nor should it.

It isn't just the amount spent on this solar panel fiasco that matters the most, although that certainly is substantial when the nation's economy appears headed once again into a recession. What is also important is what this debacle says once again about White House policy: mainly that there really isn't any. Fullstory

From a single hashtag, a protest circled the world

2011-10-19T21:03:00Z

It turns out, with enough momentum and a keen sense of how to use social media, it actually is.

The Occupy movement, decentralized and leaderless, has mobilized thousands of people around the world almost exclusively via the Internet. To a large degree through Twitter, and also with platforms like Facebook and Meetup, crowds have connected and gathered.Fullstory

Student loans are at the highest levels ever

2011-10-19T21:03:00Z

Students and workers seeking retraining are borrowing extraordinary amounts of money through federal loan programs, potentially putting a huge burden on the backs of young people looking for jobs and trying to start careers.Fullstory

Biden Sticking with the 'Pass this Jobs Bill to Prevent Rapes and Murders' Narrative

2011-10-19T21:03:00Z

Last week in Michigan, Vice President Joe Biden showed his support for President Obama's jobs bill by explaining to a crowd that, unless the bill is passed and we have more money for hiring cops, we'll see an increase in rates of rape and murder across the country.Fullstory

Senate votes to end 'Fast and Furious' gun program

2011-10-19T21:03:00Z

The Senate voted Tuesday to effectively block the Justice Department from undertaking gun-smuggling probes like the flawed "Operation Fast and Furious" aimed at breaking up networks running guns to Mexican drug cartels but that lost track of hundreds of the weapons, some of which were used to commit crimes in Mexico and the United States.Fullstory

Hamas militants release captured Israeli soldier

2011-10-18T21:03:00Z

GAZA CITY, Gaza Strip (AP) - Looking dazed, a thin and pale Gilad Schalit emerged from a pickup truck Tuesday under the escort of his Hamas captors and the Egyptian mediators who helped arrange the Israeli tank crewman's release after more than five years in captivity.Fullstory

Occupy Wall Street hits 1-month mark, raises $300,000

2011-10-18T21:03:00Z

The Occupy Wall Street movement passes the one-month mark today, and has also reached another milestone--the once fledgling movement has raised $300,000 in donations, according to the Associated Press.

Saturday was perhaps the biggest day yet for the protests over income inequality and corporate influence on politics. Hundreds of thousands of people around the world rallied on Saturday, from Pittsburgh to Rome. Fullstory

Electric DeLorean Coming in 2013

2011-10-18T21:03:00Z

Where this car is going you still need roads, but not gasoline.

The DeLorean Motor Company of Humble, Texas has announced plans to build all-electric version of the iconic, stainless steel gull-wing sports car made famous in the "Back to the Future" films of the 1980's. Company president Stephen Wynne owns the rights to the DeLorean name and currently sells parts for the original DMC-12 along with restored and updated versions of the car at a starting price of $57,500.Fullstory

Christian College Gives Pro-Riots Leftist Piven a Forum, Then Cancels Conservative Speaker

2011-10-18T21:03:00Z

Nothing has changed on America's campuses.

Frances Fox Piven. You've probably heard that name before. She's the aging leftist "academic" who called for Greek-style "strikes and riots" here in America. She's advocated overloading the state and federal welfare programs to accelerate the fall of capitalism. She's a proud admirer of Karl Marx and an honorary chair of the Democratic Socialists of America ... and that's all before lunchtime.Fullstory

Chavez's Former Doctor Predicts Venezuelan Leader Has Two Years to Live

2011-10-18T21:03:00Z

HAVANA - Venezuelan president Hugo Chavez likely has less than two years to live, his former doctor said, as the ailing firebrand traveled to Cuba for a checkup following cancer treatment.Fullstory

Record-High 50% of Americans Favor Legalizing Marijuana Use

2011-10-18T21:03:00Z

PRINCETON, NJ -- A record-high 50% of Americans now say the use of marijuana should be made legal, up from 46% last year. Forty-six percent say marijuana use should remain illegal. Fullstory

"Christopher Columbus Was the First Zionist"

2011-10-18T21:03:00Z

Someone leaked a batch of emails that have been exchanged by leaders of the Occupy Wall Street group. I've only dipped into them briefly, but some are pretty entertaining. This thread reminded me of my days as a leftist, and the difficulty of accommodating the diverse and sometimes inconsistent varieties of left-wing crackpotism. It started with a representative of the Palestine Right to Return Coalition named Andy Pollack (!), who was dismayed that someone from Israel's "tent protests" was an OWS speaker.Fullstory

Journolist 2.0: OccupyDC Emails Show MSM, Dylan Ratigan, Working With Protesters To Craft Message

2011-10-17T21:03:00Z

Big Journalism has learned that the Occupy Washington DC movement is working with well-known media members to craft its demands and messaging while these media members report on the movement. Someone has made the emails from the Occupy D.C. email distro public and searchable. The names in the list are a veritable who's who in media.Fullstory

Shalit deal: Arab cartoons declare victory

2011-10-17T21:03:00Z

While the Israeli and the Palestinian media are busy with around-the-clock reporting of the Shalit deal it appears the Arab press is less preoccupied with the matter. Arab daily newspapers have addressed the prisoner exchange in recent days, but it by no means made any headlines. Fullstory

Rome cleans up devastation, asks why it happened

2011-10-17T21:03:00Z

ROME (Reuters) - Workers cleaned up the wreckage from some of Rome's worst riots in years on Sunday and citizens asked why their city was the only one in which global demonstrations turned violent.Fullstory

GREEN: Curtains for Cap'n Crunch

2011-10-17T21:03:00Z

Say goodbye to Tony the Tiger and the Jolly Green Giant. Consumer mafia groups want cartoons, images and even celebrities that might appeal to children banned from food advertising - even if the ads are actually aimed at parents.Fullstory

PRUDEN: An evil wind in the Arab Spring

2011-10-17T21:03:00Z

We've "enjoyed" the Arab Spring, celebrated by one and nearly all. But if you're a Christian under the wheels of an Egyptian army truck, it looks a lot like winter.Fullstory

Number of Donations to Obama From High Unemployment Regions Up, Though in Smaller Increments

2011-10-17T21:03:00Z

Donations to President Obama's re-election campaign from voters in the most economically distressed areas are up, according to a new analysis, even as the average-size donation is down and Republicans also fare well in regions that haven't typically given record amounts.Fullstory

Pay for abortion, or women 'die on the floor'

2011-10-14T21:03:00Z

Former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., was essentially stripped of any formal input into the legislative process in last November's election. I heave a sigh of relief over this fact every time I see her say something like this:Fullstroy

NYC official: Protest cleanup is being postponed

2011-10-14T21:03:00Z

Deputy Mayor Cas Holloway said the owners of the private park, Brookfield Office Properties, had put off the cleaning. Supporters of the protesters had started streaming into the park in the morning darkness before the planned cleaning, forming a crowd of several hundred chanting people.Fullstory

In Holder Subpoena, Issa Also Probes White House Press Aide

2011-10-14T21:03:00Z

A little-noticed provision of the subpoena targets the White House, specifically naming Eric Schultz, a communications aide who was hired in May to respond to media inquiries on oversight matters.Fullstory

U.S. Challenged to Explain Accusations of Iran Plot in the Face of Skepticism

2011-10-13T21:03:00Z

Senior American officials themselves were struggling to explain why the Quds Force, an elite international operations unit within Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps, would orchestrate such a risky attack in so amateurish a manner.Fullstory

Who's behind the Wall St. protests?

2011-10-13T21:03:00Z

There has been much speculation over who is financing the disparate protest, which has spread to cities across America and lasted nearly four weeks. One name that keeps coming up is investor George Soros, who in September debuted in the top 10 list of wealthiest Americans. Conservative critics contend the movement is a Trojan horse for a secret Soros agenda.Fullstory

Herman Cain to Blacks: Divorce the Democratic Party

2011-10-13T21:03:00Z

This question goes not to the Republican Party, where "establishment" candidates like Mitt Romney privately dismiss Cain as lacking the experience, gravitas and resources to beat President Barack Obama and then to soundly govern the country.Fullstory

Pop Goes the Green Jobs Bubble

2011-10-13T21:03:00Z

Smart move. Obama's 2009 $787 billion stimulus package included $500 million for training programs that were supposed to create new green jobs for thousands of middle-class Americans. Last month, however, the Department of Labor's inspector general conducted an audit that found that as of June 30 -- with one-third of the funds spent and more than 50,000 participants -- only 10 percent of trainees were placed in jobs. And only 1,336 participants, or 2 percent, had held jobs for six months or longer.Fullstory

Cain defends 9-9-9 plan as not 'off a pizza box'

2011-10-12T21:03:00Z

"My advisers come from the American people," Cain said Tuesday night at a debate sponsored by Bloomberg News and the Washington Post. "I also have a number of other economists who helped me with this 9-9-9 plan. It didn't come off a pizza box."Fullstory

'Austin Powers' actor allegedly kills sex offender in prison

2011-10-12T21:03:00Z

Joseph Hyungmin Son, 40, allegedly killed his 50-year-old cellmate, who was found dead Monday afternoon at Wasco State Prison Reception Center in Kern County.The cellmate was a parole violator who had been sentenced to two years in prison for failing to register as a sex offender, according to a prison report. A cause of death was pending.Fullstory

Vt. Sen. Leahy to seek maple protection law

2011-10-12T21:03:00Z

U.S. Sen. Patrick Leahy says he's planning to introduce legislation to make it a federal crime for people to mislabel products as containing maple syrup.Leahy said Tuesday the legislation is needed to protect Vermont's maple crop from fraud.Fullstory

Wall Street Protesters Plan 'Millionaires March' to Tycoons' New York City Homes

2011-10-11T21:03:00Z

NEW YORK - Protesters from the Occupy Wall Street movement plan to leave their downtown Manhattan headquarters Tuesday and head uptown as part of a "Millionaires March" visiting the homes of some of New York City's wealthiest residents.Fullstory

The Democratic Party moved a step closer to embracing the Occupy Wall Street movement as its own with the top campaign arm for House Democrats sending around a petition urging people to "stand with" the movement.

2011-10-11T21:03:00Z

The Democratic Party moved a step closer to embracing the Occupy Wall Street movement as its own with the top campaign arm for House Democrats sending around a petition urging people to "stand with" the movement.Fullstory

DTE deal pulls out lights in Highland Park

2011-10-11T21:03:00Z

Most of the city's street lights have been repossessed because officials failed to pay a multimillion-dollar utility bill, giving rise to concerns about safety and crime in darkened neighborhoods.

DTE Energy crews have removed about 1,400 light poles from Highland Park as part of a settlement that allowed the city to avoid paying $4 million in unpaid bills going back several years. DTE, which says the work will be completed by Oct. 31, has replaced 200 lights with newer models on street corners, but most neighborhoods remain in the dark.Fullstory

Christie to Endorse Romney Ahead of GOP Debate

2011-10-11T21:03:00Z

New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie, just one week after definitively announcing he will not run for president in the 2012 race, plans to endorse Mitt Romney for the job Tuesday afternoon, Fox News has learned. Fullstory

Obama Team Split on How to Rally Unruly Coalition

2011-10-10T21:03:00Z

President Barack Obama obviously is scrambling in his attempt to win re-election. He has proclaimed himself the underdog and has given up his pretense of being a pragmatic centrist compromiser in favor of harsh class warfare rhetoric.Fullstory

Occupy Wall Street: Egyptian Activist Goes 'From Liberation Square To Washington Square'

2011-10-10T21:03:00Z

Thousands of Occupy Wall Street supporters gathered in Washington Square Park on Saturday afternoon for a General Assembly intended to spread the movement's message. After several introductory speakers, the crowd lit up when an Egyptian activist named Mohammed Ezzeldin explained what he saw was the connection between Occupy Wall Street and the protests against Hosni Mubarak.Fullstory

Is Romney the Next Kerry?

2011-10-10T21:03:00Z

Mitt Romney was more likable as a liberal. That, at least, was my conclusion after watching a devastating video put together by the Democratic Party's best (and maybe only) strategist: comedian Jon Stewart. Before my eyes was an early Rombot model, circa 1994, that we've not seen since: emotional, passionate, lively. He sneered derisively at the "Reagan-Bush" years, bragged about being a political independent, and indignantly defended his "consistent" support of abortion rights. Fullstory

Russia had only 30 czars -- Obama has 45

2011-10-10T21:03:00Z

From the time the Russian title of "Czar" (or Caesar) was first used in the 16th Century to describe the Emperors of Russia, through the communist revolution of 1917, Russia had only about thirty czars. President Obama's administration has 45, according to a new report from the conservative watchdog group Judicial Watch.Fullstory

Obama Campaign Pressures Potential Donors by Comparing Them With Neighbors

2011-10-10T21:03:00Z

The Obama campaign is testing a new approach to fundraising, blasting out emails that ever-so-gently shame supporters into donating.
Before the end of the third-quarter fundraising deadline last month, the campaign sent around specially tailored messages to those on their email list who hadn't yet contributed to President Obama's 2012 reelection fund. Campaign Manager Jim Messina urged them to chip in, by pointing out how many of their neighbors had already done so.Fullstory

FACT CHECK: Obama claims miss some evidence

2011-10-07T21:03:00Z

OBAMA: "If it turns out that there are Republicans who are opposed to this bill, they need to explain to me, but more importantly to their constituencies and the American people, why they're opposed, and what would they do."

THE FACTS: While Republicans might not be campaigning on their opposition to Obama's plan, they've hardly kept their objections a secret.Fullstory

Rand Paul: Obama's Rhetoric Could Turn 'Occupy Wall Street' Violent

2011-10-07T21:03:00Z

Scaling the heights of hypocrisy once again, Barack Obama - whose 2008 campaign was funded by Goldman Sachs, JP Morgan, Citigroup, and Morgan Stanley - sympathized with the OWS protesters yesterday while grandstanding as the man to bring Wall Street back in line, despite the fact that his own cabinet is full of former Wall Street executives and he is even more reliant on Wall Street for his 2012 presidential run.Fullstory

Kelly: Protesters To Be 'Met With Force' If They Target Officers

2011-10-07T21:03:00Z

NYPD Commissioner Ray Kelly had some strong words for "Occupy Wall Street" protesters Thursday, blaming participants for starting skirmishes which led to more than 20 arrests on Wednesday.Fullstory

New ATF Head: 'We've Got to Hit Reset' on Investigative Moves in Wake of Fast and Furious

2011-10-06T21:03:00Z

Hoping to chart a new path forward in the wake of the controversial "Fast and Furious" investigation, the newly assigned head of the Bureau of Alcohol Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives said Wednesday that "everything is under review" in the way of investigative practices and processes at the agency.

"We've got to hit the reset button and move forward," acting director B. Todd Jones said.Fullstory

Number of Weekly Jobless Claims Rises Slightly

2011-10-06T21:03:00Z

WASHINGTON -- The number of people who applied for unemployment benefits rose slightly last week, a sign that the job market remains weak.

Weekly applications increased by 6,000 to a seasonally adjusted 401,000, the Labor Department said Thursday.

Steve Jobs Dies: Apple Chief Innovated Personal Computer, Created iPad, iPod, iPhone

2011-10-06T21:03:00Z

Steve Jobs, the mastermind behind Apple's iPhone, iPad, iPod, iMac and iTunes, has died, Apple said. Jobs was 56.

Jobs died "peacefully," surrounded by family members, his family said in a statement. Fullstory

Occupy Wall Street -- More Than Just Another Loony Protest Movement From the Left

2011-10-06T21:03:00Z

It would be easy to dismiss the Occupy Wall Street protests as another disorganized and liberal whinefest ... because that's basically true. The demonstrations, taking place in New York and now other cities and other nations, have a classic lefty feel. But there's more to this, if you dig deep enough. These protests do reflect the genuine economic fears that many Americans feel.Fullstory

Nearly Half of U.S. Lives in Household Receiving Government Benefit

2011-10-06T21:03:00Z

Families were more dependent on government programs than ever last year.

Nearly half, 48.5%, of the population lived in a household that received some type of government benefit in the first quarter of 2010, according to Census data. Those numbers have risen since the middle of the recession when 44.4% lived households receiving benefits in the third quarter of 2008.Fullstory

Palin not running for president in 2012, will support conservative candidates

2011-10-06T21:03:00Z

Sarah Palin ended months of speculation Wednesday when she announced she will not run for president.

Her decision locks the GOP presidential field into place, but has disappointed some conservatives who had expressed unhappiness with their 2012 choices.Fullstory

'If NATO attacks Syria, we'll fire missiles at Tel Aviv'

2011-10-05T21:03:00Z

Syrian President Bashar Assad warned western countries on Tuesday that if Syria comes under NATO attack it would fire missiles at Tel Aviv, Iranian semi-official news agency FARS reported.Fullstory

Perry raises $17 million

2011-10-05T21:03:00Z

The $17 million figure, which a Perry spokesman confirms to me, is almost as much as Mitt Romney raised in his first quarter as a declared presidential candidate this year.

It's also more than Rudy Giuliani and John McCain raised in the first quarter of 2007, when they were campaigning in a stronger economy and a more donor-rich environment.Fullstory

Pentagon rocked by $20m contract scam

2011-10-05T21:03:00Z

Two U.S. Army Corps of Engineers employees and two businessmen were arrested in what prosecutors say may be the largest kickback and bribery scheme in the history of federal contracting.Fullstory

Durbin Attacks Bank of America

2011-10-05T21:03:00Z

The increasingly feral Democrat Party decided to attack a specific private enterprise by name today, after the company in question responded to new legislation by adjusting its fee schedule.Fullstory

Businessman Glenn Beck: I Can't Trust Obama

2011-10-05T21:03:00Z

Who would've thunk it? Barack Obama is the underdog in the 2012 election, as he claims. Usually when you have an eye on raising $1 billion dollars for your campaign, the use of the word "underdog" does not apply. Especially when you're the incumbent President.Fullstory

Medvedev's Betrayal of Russian Democracy

2011-10-05T21:03:00Z

Medvedev had only been in office for seven months at the time. He was giving a speech to 5,000 guests at the Kremlin, at an event to commemorate the 15th anniversary of the Russian constitution. The constitution had just been amended to lengthen the terms of the president and the parliament -- and thus reduce the frequency of elections.Fullstory

Van Jones Urges Progressives to 'Steal' Tea Party Strategy

2011-10-04T21:03:00Z

Making no secret of his disdain for Tea Party ideals and ideas, ex-White House adviser Van Jones on Monday nonetheless urged liberal activists to "steal" the Tea Party's playbook.Fullstory

Documents Suggest Holder Knew About 'Fast and Furious' Earlier Than He Claimed

2011-10-04T21:03:00Z

For the first time, documents appear to show Attorney General Eric Holder was made aware of the Operation Fast and Furious earlier than he claimed -- up to nine months earlier.Fullstory

Tesla Model S Boasts 320-Mile Range, One-Hour Recharge Time

2011-10-04T21:03:00Z

Production of Tesla's next car doesn't start until next summer, but the automaker is already turning up the juice.

At an unveiling for the final Beta test version of the all-electric Model S, the Palo Alto-based automaker announced that it will be offering a high-performance version of the seven-seat car to compete with the likes of the BMW M5.Fullstory

Rick Perry slips, Herman Cain rises in bid for GOP nomination, poll finds

2011-10-04T21:03:00Z

After a quick rise in the race for the Republican presidential nomination, Texas Gov. Rick Perry has experienced an almost equally dramatic decline, losing about half of his support over the past month, according to a new Washington Post-ABC News poll.Fullstory

Can Obama legally kill you?

2011-10-04T21:03:00Z

Should the president have the right to kill you? And if so, under what circumstances?

If you are a U.S. citizen living in the United States and plotting the murder of your neighbors - let's say they mow their lawns very early every Sunday - it is unlikely a predator drone will fire a Hellfire missile through your kitchen window and take you out.Fullstory

Romney Toughens Talk on Pakistan, Vows 'Consequence' for Helping Taliban

2011-10-04T21:03:00Z

SALEM, N.H. - Republican presidential contender Mitt Romney is talking tough on Pakistan, a key ally in the war in Afghanistan.

The former Massachusetts governor told New Hampshire voters Monday night that Pakistan is playing both sides -- going after the Taliban within its borders in some cases and helping it in others. That's unacceptable, he said.Fullstory

Christie Schedules Afternoon News Conference

2011-10-04T21:03:00Z

New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie will hold a news conference at the Statehouse in Trenton at 1 p.m. ET Tuesday, a late addition to the schedule that has election watchers wondering if he's going to announce his entry into the 2012 Republican presidential race.Fullstory

Economic Growth, Not Income Redistribution, Is What Helps Us All

2011-10-03T21:03:00Z

President Obama is proving a fundamental economic principle proven as well by President Reagan, though in the opposite way. That principle is that economic growth provides vastly greater benefits for working people and the poor than redistribution. It is economic growth that is the key to prosperity and the good life for the middle class, working people, and the poor.Fullstory

If the Wall Street protesters really want to reform capitalism, they should join the Tea Party

2011-10-03T21:03:00Z

After a few days of banging drums and annoying locals, the Wall Street protests have finally incurred the wrath of New York City. Around seven hundred were arrested over the weekend and Mayor Bloomberg has spoken ominously about clearing the streets. They've put on a good show but the general feeling is that they've failed to engage a sceptical public. Given the scale of America's economic and political crises, this is surprising. But then the protesters and their message are doomed to fail. There's something oddly un-American about both.Fullstory

Solyndracracy

2011-10-03T21:03:00Z

In happier times, the firm had been celebrated as a harbinger of the future. The political connections it enjoyed were the fruit not only of well-placed contributions but of a self-imposed ideological mission: It was going to deliver cheap energy in amazing ways. Top executives had dismissed accounting irregularities. The normal rules, it was said, did not apply.Fullstory

York: The crazy math of a Chris Christie candidacy

2011-10-03T21:03:00Z

On January 8, 2009, Chris Christie, the former United States Attorney for the District of New Jersey, formally filed papers to run for governor. The Republican primary, a three-man contest, was 145 days later, on June 2, 2009. Christie won the GOP nomination and went on to win the New Jersey governorship on November 3, 2009.Fullstory

Lobbyists in on 'super' secrets

2011-10-03T21:03:00Z

Want the inside scoop on the supercommittee? Ask a lobbyist.

Reporters and government watchdog groups are up in arms over the secrecy surrounding the committee, tasked with cutting at least $1.2 trillion from the nation's deficit, which has met more frequently in secret than publicly and has rejected calls to disclose its donors and post its documents online.Fullstory

Justice Department Gave CIA Approval to Kill Al-Awlaki

2011-10-03T21:03:00Z

The U.S. Justice Department gave the approval to the CIA to kill Anwar al-Awlaki, the charismatic U.S.-born cleric who orchestrated Al Qaeda recruitment from Yemen, by justifying his killing as an act of self-defense, a U.S. official told Fox News.Fullstory

When you see 'elder statesman' think 'lobbyist'

2011-10-03T21:03:00Z

Back during the ObamaCare debate, the liberal mainstream media swooned when retired Republican congressional leaders like Bob Dole and Bill Frist, along with GOP former Health & Human Services Secretaries Tommy Thompson and Louis Sullivan, urged Republicans to help Obama pass a health-care bill. Fullstory

State Gets $5 Mil Bonus For Food Stamp Sign Up

2011-09-30T21:03:00Z

It's part of the administration's campaign to eradicate "food insecure households" by improving access and increasing participation in the government's Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP). Incidentally, the program was recently changed to SNAP to eliminate the stigma that comes with a name like food stamps. Just a few months ago the federal agency that administers the program, the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA), launched a multi-million-dollar initiative to recruit more food-stamp participants even though the number of recipients has skyrocketed in the last few years.Fullstory

Four U.S. states may leapfrog Florida primary date

2011-09-30T21:03:00Z

Iowa, New Hampshire, Nevada and South Carolina are the only four states permitted by the Republican National Committee (RNC) to hold primaries or caucuses earlier than March 6, the date dubbed "Super Tuesday" with contests in multiple states.Fullstory

TRENDING: Cain: Black community 'brainwashed' into voting for Dems

2011-09-29T21:03:00Z

"African-Americans have been brainwashed into not being open minded, not even considering a conservative point of view," Godfather's Pizza executive Herman Cain said on CNN's "The Situation Room" in an interview airing Wednesday between 5-7 p.m. ET. "I have received some of that same vitriol simply because I am running for the Republican nomination as a conservative. So it's just brainwashing and people not being open minded, pure and simple."Fullstory

Obama admin approves 2 solar loans worth $1B

2011-09-29T21:03:00Z

Energy Secretary Steven Chu said the department has completed a $737 million loan guarantee to Tonopah Solar Energy for a 110 megawatt solar tower on federal land near Tonopah, Nev., and a $337 million guarantee for Mesquite Solar 1 to develop a 150 megawatt solar plant near Phoenix.Fullstory

Mind-reading car could drive you round the bend

2011-09-29T21:03:00Z

One of the world's largest motor manufacturers is working with scientists based in Switzerland to design a car that can read its driver's mind and predict his or her next move.Fullstory

Feds: Mass. man planned to blow up US buildings

2011-09-29T21:03:00Z

Rezwan Ferdaus, 26, was arrested in Framingham after undercover federal agents delivered materials he had allegedly requested, including grenades, six machine guns and what he believed was 24 pounds of C-4 explosive. Federal officials said the public was never in danger from the explosives, which it said were always under control and closely monitored.Fullstory

Cities with the highest, lowest unemployment rates

2011-09-29T21:03:00Z

Here are the cities with the highest and lowest rates:Best and Worst Metro areas
Figures are in percentages
Highest unemployment rates August 2011 .Fullstory

First on CNN: Florida will likely hold Jan. primary, threatening presidential calendar

2011-09-28T21:03:00Z

Florida House Speaker Dean Cannon told CNN on Tuesday that a state commission exploring potential primary dates is likely to choose January 31 to hold the nominating contest.
If that happens, it would almost certainly force the traditional early states of Iowa, New Hampshire, South Carolina and Nevada to leapfrog Florida and move their primaries and caucuses into early- to mid-January.Fullstory

Germany slams 'stupid' US plans to boost EU rescue fund

2011-09-28T21:03:00Z

German finance minister Wolfgang Schauble said it would be a folly to boost the EU's bail-out machinery (EFSF) beyond its ?440bn lending limit by deploying leverage to up to ?2 trillion, perhaps by raising funds from the European Central Bank. Fullstory

Christie says economy, gridlock menace US future

2011-09-28T21:03:00Z

Christie urged a capacity audience of about 900 to look at the website Politico, which had pieced together a long string of video clips of him saying he's not a candidate for the White House.Fullstory

'Obamacare' Closer to Supreme Court Review After Administration Declines to Appeal Latest Ruling

2011-09-27T21:03:00Z

The Obama administration has decided not to ask a federal appeals court in Atlanta for further review of a ruling striking down the centerpiece of President Barack Obama's sweeping health care overhaul.Fullstory

Medvedev fires finance minister

2011-09-27T21:03:00Z

Dmitry Medvedev, Russian president, sacked the country's finance minister on Monday, in the clearest sign yet that a deal between Mr Medvedev and prime minister Vladimir Putin to swap jobs next year is provoking a furious backlash in Moscow political circles. Fullstory

Why Barack Obama could be America's last big government president

2011-09-27T21:03:00Z

This week Gallup is unveiling a series of in-depth analyses of "Americans' views on the role and performance of government" based on its annual Governance Survey. The first overview, released on Monday, is a real-eye opener. According to Gallup, Americans are expressing historic levels of negativity towards the US government, with "a record high 81 percent of Americans dissatisfied with the way the country is being governed," including 65 per cent of Democrats, and 92 per cent of Republicans. Gallup concludes by stating that "Americans' various ratings of political leadership in Washington add up to a profoundly negative review of government," ratings which are likely to get worse during the lead up to next year's presidential elections.Fullstory

US says Iraq agrees to buy American fighter jets

2011-09-27T21:03:00Z

An American general says Iraq has agreed to a deal to buy 18 fighter jets from the United States.

The agreement for the F-16 jets comes as Baghdad is considering asking U.S. troops stay in Iraq beyond a Dec. 31 withdrawal deadline to continue training Iraqi security forces.Fullstory

Republican musical chairs benefit the most consistent performer

2011-09-27T21:03:00Z

Herman Cain is becoming a serious contender on the national stage. Winning the Conservative Political Action Conference straw poll in Orlando catapults him to the front of the pack. Through feisty debate performances and a compelling personal narrative, the businessman no one in Washington had heard of a short time ago has made himself into a real factor in the Republican primaries. Once thought to be running for a Cabinet seat, Mr. Cain is now talked about as an asset as a running mate on the national ticket, if not as the actual standard-bearer. The reality is elephants can't decide who they want to lead the herd. In the long run, this indecision helps Mitt Romney the most.Fullstory

Coca-Cola chief criticises US tax rules

2011-09-27T21:03:00Z

Coca-Cola now sees the US becoming a less friendly business environment than China, its chief executive has revealed, citing political gridlock and an antiquated tax structure as reasons its home market has become less competitive.Fullstory

Red Flags Raised About Solyndra Before Loan Guarantee

2011-09-27T21:03:00Z

WASHINGTON-Warning signs emerged that Solyndra LLC's competitive edge was eroding before the solar-panel maker received a federal loan guarantee, according to a congressional report.Fullstory

CIA, Pentagon fight to keep Osama bin Laden death photos secret

2011-09-27T21:03:00Z

Photos and videos of Al Qaeda founder Osama bin Laden after he was killed in May in a U.S. military/Central Intelligence Agency raid in Pakistan should not be released publicly because they would reveal military and intelligence secrets and could lead to violence against U.S. personnel, the Obama administration argued in papers filed in federal court in Washington late Monday night.Fullstory

The real threat in Egypt: Delayed democracy

2011-09-26T21:03:00Z

There is reason, of course, to worry about those scenarios. But here's what emerged in conversations I had last week with a number of Egyptian journalists, activists and officials: The most immediate and urgent threat in Egypt is not a dramatic Islamic coup or a diplomatic rupture with the Jewish state, but prolongation of the chaotic and directionless regime the country now lives under.Fullstory

U.S. citizen killed in attack on Kabul CIA office

2011-09-26T21:03:00Z

A nighttime attack on a CIA office in Kabul was perpetrated by an Afghan employee who shot dead an American citizen and wounded another before being killed, officials said Monday.

The assault Sunday evening was the third high-profile attack in the past two weeks in the Afghan capital.Fullstory

Obama Attacks Republicans on West Coast Tour

2011-09-26T21:03:00Z

Aiming to renew the ardor of Democratic loyalists who have grown increasingly disenchanted with him, the president on Sunday mixed frontal attacks on Republicans with words of encouragement intended to buck up the faithful as the 2012 campaign revs up.Fullstory

Despite 'Obamneycare,' Mitt is back in command

2011-09-26T21:03:00Z

Obamacare was the catalyst for the GOP electoral victory in 2010. The law's individual mandate was the prime offense motivating the conservative base. Legal challenges to the mandate became flash points, and the mandate's chief prosecutor, Virginia Attorney General Ken Cuccinelli, has become a conservative champion.Fullstory

Obama asks CBC for Biblical faith in his agenda

2011-09-26T21:03:00Z

Obama opened the speech by mentioning the Biblical story of Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, three captive Jews who were thrown into a fiery furnace because they would not worship a golden idol. Obama quoted a pastor who referred to the three men as "good crazy" for having that faith. He added that the pastor had attributed the same "good crazy" to him when he decided to run for president.Fullstory

Saudi monarch grants kingdom's women right to vote, but driving ban remains in force

2011-09-26T21:03:00Z

For the nation's women, it is a giant leap forward, though they remain unable to serve as Cabinet ministers, drive or travel abroad without permission from a male guardian.

Saudi women bear the brunt of their nation's deeply conservative values, often finding themselves the target of the unwanted attention of the kingdom's intrusive religious police, who enforce a rigid interpretation of Islamic Shariah law on the streets and public places like shopping malls and university campuses.Fullstory

Putin to run for Russian presidency in 2012

2011-09-26T21:03:00Z

MOSCOW (AP) - Vladimir Putin's decision to reclaim the presidency next year sets up the possibility that he could rule Russia until 2024 and foreshadows a continuation of the strongman rule that many in the West have called a retreat from democracy.Fullstory

Hamas to Abbas: UN bid 'empty of content'

2011-09-26T21:03:00Z

Not all Palestinians are in favor of the United Nations' bid: Following the dramatic speech made by Palestinian Authority leader Mahmoud Abbas on Friday, serious disagreements between Fatah and Hamas rose to the surface once more.

After the self-restrain Hamas chose to display in recent months in regards to Abbas' diplomatic moves, the terror organization has now decided to make its stance clear.Fullstory

Health Care Law: Obama Administration Returns to Court

2011-09-23T21:03:00Z

The Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia will be the 4th appellate court to hear a challenge to the Affordable Care Act (ACA) today.

At issue is a key provision of the law, the individual mandate, that requires individuals to buy health insurance by 2014 or pay a penalty. Fullstory

Perry's support of tuition for children of illegals puts him in GOP crosshairs

2011-09-23T21:03:00Z

The three-term Texas governor said he still supports the program "greatly" and that the Lone Star State needs "to be educating these children because otherwise they'll "become a drag on society."Fullstory

Solyndra execs refuse to testify at House hearing

2011-09-23T21:03:00Z

Two top executives at bankrupt Solyndra have invoked their Fifth Amendment rights and refused to answer questions at a House hearing Friday.Fullstory

A Century of Palestinian Rejectionism

2011-09-22T21:03:00Z

Casual observers of Middle Eastern politics must be somewhat confused by reports that the West Bank Palestinian leader Mahmoud Abbas, currently in the 81st month of his 48-month term, plans to roil the region by having the United Nations recognize Palestine as a sovereign state. Leave aside that this proposed state has no currency, no recognized boundaries and no support from a Gaza controlled by Hamas.Fullstory

Inflation, Debt & Keynesians' Confidence

2011-09-22T21:03:00Z

For several years, a heated debate has raged among economists and policymakers about whether we face a serious risk of inflation. That debate has focused largely on the Federal Reserve - especially on whether the Fed has been too aggressive in increasing the money supply, whether it has kept interest rates too low, and whether it can be relied on to reverse course if signs of inflation emerge.

But these questions miss a grave danger. As a result of the federal government's enormous debt and deficits, substantial inflation could break out in America in the next few years.Fullstory

The Spend Now, Tax Later Jobs Bill

2011-09-22T21:03:00Z

The president's "Plan for Economic Growth and Deficit Reduction" mainly hinges on persuading Congress to trade $447 billion in temporary payroll tax cuts and spending increases-the "jobs plan"-for permanent income-tax increases of $150 billion a year. Mr. Obama also calls on the 12-member congressional super committee to undertake "comprehensive tax reform," which he defines in peculiar fashion as trading lower deductions for higher rates.

According to the Sept. 19 White House fact sheet, "The President calls on [the super committee] to undertake comprehensive tax reform, and lays out five principles for it to follow: 1) lower tax rates; 2) cut wasteful loopholes and tax breaks; 3) reduce the deficit by $1.5 trillion; 4) boost job creation and growth; and 5) comport with the "Buffett Rule" that people making more than $1 million a year should not pay a smaller share of their income in taxes than middle-class families pay." Fullstory

The New Watchdogs

2011-09-22T21:03:00Z

Franklin-affiliated reporters have broken stories about government corruption, political kickbacks and other unethical schemes. Their work was recognized in a July report by the Pew Research Center's Project for Excellent in Journalism on the growth of nonprofit journalism. While that study raised questions about the ideological nature of Franklin's work, it is undeniably having an impact on news that informs the citizenry of goings-on in government. And that's the message you'll frequently hear from Jason Stverak, the organization's president. Whenever critics pounce, Stverak points to the quality work of Franklin-affiliated journalists. As Stverak wrote in the Washington Examiner in July following the release of Pew's study, "[T]he Franklin Center and our network of reporters are dedicated to educating the public about corruption, incompetence, fraud, waste and abuse of public trust by elected officials. . . . [O]ur reporters are accurate, independent and relentlessly in pursuit to expose the truth and to hold our government officials accountable to the people they represent."Fullstory

COP-KILLER IS MEDIA'S LATEST BABY SEAL

2011-09-22T21:03:00Z

Only when the media began lying about innocent people being executed did support for the death penalty begin to waver, falling from 80 percent to about 60 percent in a little more than a decade. (Silver lining: That's still more Americans than believe in man-made global warming.) Fullstory

California Couple Fined $300 for Holding Home Bible Studies

2011-09-22T21:03:00Z

A southern California family has been fined for holding regular Bible studies at their home because it violates a city zoning code, The Los Angeles Times reported Wednesday.

The city of San Juan Capistrano, in Orange County, fined Charles and Stephanie Fromm $300 for having as many as 50 people assembled at their home twice a week, the Times reported. City officials also warned the couple that subsequent fines could increase if they continued to host the Bible studies without obtaining a special permit.Fullstory

Palestinian move hits Obama vote base

2011-09-21T21:03:00Z

Barack Obama has been managing a global diplomatic tangle between Israel and Palestine at the UN in New York this week.
Mr Obama will hold talks with Mahmoud Abbas, Palestinian Authority president, on Wednesday evening. This will follow planned discussions with Benjamin Netanyahu, the Israeli leader, earlier in the day.Fullstory

Report: At least 200 murders in Mexico now linked to Fast & Furious weapons

2011-09-21T21:03:00Z

In a conference call this morning with Chairman of the House Oversight Committee Darrell Issa, reporters were told the Attorney General in Mexico has confirmed at least 200 murders south of the border happened as a result of Operation Fast and Furious. Eleven crimes in the United States have been linked to Operation Fast and Furious up to this point. Issa said he expects as the investigation in the operation continues, more crimes connected to Fast and Furious will come to light and be exposed. Fullstory

Obama: "This is not class warfare -- It's math"

2011-09-21T21:03:00Z

Taking a defiant tone against Republicans unwilling to raise taxes in order to close the deficit, President Obama today unveiled a $3 trillion long-term deficit reduction plan that relies heavily on raising taxes on the wealthiest Americans.

"This is not class warfare -- it's math," Mr. Obama said from the White House Rose Garden, addressing GOP critiques of his plan head on.

"The money has to come from some place," he continued.Fullstory

What Comes After 'Europe'?

2011-09-21T21:03:00Z

When the history of the rise and fall of postwar Western Europe is someday written, it will come in three volumes. Title them "Hard Facts," "Convenient Fictions" and-the volume still being written-"Fraud."Fullstory

Law gives huge pension perks to union leaders

2011-09-21T21:03:00Z

All it took to give nearly two dozen labor leaders from Chicago a windfall worth millions was a few tweaks to a handful of sentences in the state's lengthy pension code.

The changes became law with no public debate among state legislators and, more importantly, no cost analysis.

Twenty years later, 23 retired union officials from Chicago stand to collect about $56 million from two ailing city pension funds thanks to the changes, a Tribune/WGN-TV investigation found.Fullstory

Obama at the UN: There is no shortcut to peace

2011-09-21T21:03:00Z

US President Barack Obama on Wednesday rejected Palestinian plans to seek UN recognition for statehood and urged a return to peace talks with Israel as he tried to head off a looming diplomatic disaster.

Addressing world leaders at the opening of the UN General Assembly, Obama said that the Palestinians deserved a state of their own, but that this would only be achieved through negotiations.

"I am convinced that there is no shortcut to the end of a conflict that has endured for decades. Peace will not come through statements and resolutions at the UN," Obama said, clearly coming out against the Palestinian plan to seek UN recognition.Fullstory

Just how important is Ohio in 2012? Very!

2011-09-20T21:03:00Z

Ohio's 18 electoral votes could again be pivotal to the 2012 presidential election. George W. Bush sealed his 2004 re-election by narrowly winning the state over Sen. John Kerry.

In 2008, Obama and Biden took the state by 5 points. But the GOP won big in last year's midterm elections, taking back the governor's office and five House seats held by Democrats.Fullstory

House Dems outraise Republicans for Aug.

2011-09-20T21:03:00Z

The DCCC raised $3.6 million last month to the NRCC's $3 million. For 2011, the DCCC has raised $41.3 million to the NRCC's $40.4 million, although it trails the NRCC in cash on hand.

It is unusual for the minority party to outraise the party in power.Fullstory

A future for drones: Automated killing

2011-09-20T21:03:00Z

After 20 minutes, one of the aircraft, carrying a computer that processed images from an onboard camera, zeroed in on the tarp and contacted the second plane, which flew nearby and used its own sensors to examine the colorful object. Then one of the aircraft signaled to an unmanned car on the ground so it could take a final, close-up look.Fullstory

Obama Raises Money in New York

2011-09-20T21:03:00Z

Hours after delivering a White House speech that called on wealthy Americans to pay higher taxes, President Barack Obama dined with some of these very Americans in New York. He was expected to raise more than $2 million for his reelection campaign.Fullstory

There Will Be Oil

2011-09-19T21:03:00Z

Since the beginning of the 21st century, a fear has come to pervade the prospects for oil, fueling anxieties about the stability of global energy supplies. It has been stoked by rising prices and growing demand, especially as the people of China and other emerging economies have taken to the road.

Cleaver: If Obama wasn't president, we would be 'marching on the White House'

2011-09-19T21:03:00Z

If [former President] Bill Clinton had been in the White House and had failed to address this problem, we probably would be marching on the White House," Cleaver told "The Miami Herald" in comments published Sunday. "There is a less-volatile reaction in the CBC because nobody wants to do anything that would empower the people who hate the president."Fullstory

Greta Van Susteren: Tucker Carlson's a 'pig' for Palin story

2011-09-19T21:03:00Z

Writing on her blog, Van Susteren expresses outrage at how Carlson - whom she refers to as her "friend" - covered a radio interview in Las Vegas with Tyson in which the former heavyweight champ used crude and sexually offensive language in talking about inter-racial sex.Fullstory

Barry Manilow on Ron Paul: 'I agree with just about everything he says'

2011-09-16T21:03:00Z

"I like him. I like what he says, I do. I like what he says. I think he's solid," said Manilow, who confirmed to TheDC in an interview at the Capitol on Thursday that he contributed to Paul's last campaign for president.Fullstory

NFL wants pat-downs from ankles up at all stadiums

2011-09-16T21:03:00Z

Under the new "enhanced" pat-down procedures, the NFL wants all 32 clubs to search fans from the ankles to the knees as well as the waist up. Previously, security guards only patted down fans from the waist up while looking for booze, weapons or other banned items.Fullstory

Netanyahu set for UN diplomatic showdown

2011-09-16T21:03:00Z

"The General Assembly is not a place where Israel usually receives a fair hearing," Mr Netanyahu said on Thursday. "But I still decided to tell the truth before anyone who would like to hear it."Fullstory

Michelle Obama to join Olive Garden announcement

2011-09-16T21:03:00Z

Encouraged by Michelle Obama's campaign to reduce childhood obesity, the company that owns the Olive Garden, Red Lobster and four other popular restaurant chains is pledging to cut the calories and sodium in its meals and overhaul its kids' fare.Fullstory

Clinton Popularity Prompts Buyer's Remorse

2011-09-16T21:03:00Z

Nearly two-thirds of Americans hold a favorable view of her and one-third are suffering a form of buyer's remorse, saying the U.S. would be better off now if she had become president in 2008 instead of Barack Obama. Fullstory

What should the White House do? Panic!

2011-09-15T21:03:00Z

We are far past sending out talking points. Do not attempt to dumb it down. We cannot stand any more explanations. Have you talked to any Democratic senators lately? I have. It's pretty damn clear they are not happy campers.Fullstory

Cherokee Indians: We are free to oust blacks

2011-09-15T21:03:00Z

The nation's second-largest Indian tribe said on Tuesday that it would not be dictated to by the U.S. government over its move to banish 2,800 African Americans from its citizenship rolls.Fullstory

Jobless Claims, Inflation Rise, Manufacturing Gets Weaker

2011-09-15T21:03:00Z

The weekly jobless claims number, which is closely watched as an indicator for employment trends, unexpectedly rose 11,000 to 428,000, well ahead of estimates of 411,000.Fullstory

UBS $2 billion rogue trade suspect held in London

2011-09-15T21:03:00Z

Adoboli -- a director of exchange traded funds and "Delta 1" working in the bank's London office, according to his profile on networking site LinkedIn -- was arrested on suspicion of fraud, sources told Reuters.Fullstory

Obama's Israel policy seen as factor that cost him House seat

2011-09-14T21:03:00Z

Did President Obama's positions on Israel cost him a seat in the House? The Republicans have scored an upset victory in a House race that started as a contest to replace New York Rep. Anthony Weiner, who was forced to step down following a sex-texting scandal, but became a referendum on US President Barack Obama's policies.Fullstory

Geithner: Economy In "An Early Stage" Of Crisis

2011-09-14T21:03:00Z

Tim Geithner, U.S. Secretary of Treasury: "Absolutely not. I think that there's no reason now for the Congress of the United States not to act to help strengthen growth in the near term. It's the conservative, prudent, responsible thing to do. You can think of it as protection against Europe."Fullstory

Solyndra loan: White House pressed on review of solar company now under investigation

2011-09-14T21:03:00Z

The Silicon Valley company, a centerpiece in President Obama's initiative to develop clean energy technologies, had been tentatively approved for the loan by the Energy Department but was awaiting a final financial review by the Office of Management and Budget.Fullstory

Aim of Egypt border fence to block 'terror': Israel PM

2011-09-14T21:03:00Z

"Putting up the fence is first of all against terror activity, and only after that against (other) infiltrators," army radio quoted him as saying during a tour of the border. Fullstory

DOJ Protects Teachers With Unacceptable English Skills

2011-09-14T21:03:00Z

Singling out teachers who can't speak proper English in American schools-funded by taxpayers, no less-discriminates against Hispanics and others who are not native English speakers, according to the Department of Justice (DOJ). As a result it violates the Civil Rights Act of 1964 and the teachers must remain in their current position. Fullstory

Canada's Oil Sands Are a Jobs Gusher

2011-09-13T21:03:00Z

Having spent an hour the day before with Ron Liepert, the energy minister from the Canadian province of Alberta, I found it especially disturbing to hear nothing in the speech about reversing the administration's anti-fossil-fuels agenda. Canada has recovered all the jobs it lost in the 2009 recession, and Alberta's oil sands are no small part of that. The province is on track to become the world's second-largest oil producer, after Saudi Arabia, within 10 years. Meanwhile Mr. Obama clings to his subsidies for solar panels and his religious faith in green jobs.Fullstory

CNN Tea Party Debate Live-Blog

2011-09-13T21:03:00Z

9:50: Wolf Blitzer asks the candidate a vapid question about what they would change in the White House. If Rick Santorum was president, he would expand the White House - not for government, but for his seven children who would need lots of bedrooms.Fullstory

U.S. motorists may spend a record $491 billion for gasoline this year

2011-09-13T21:03:00Z

U.S. motorists are on pace to spend $491 billion for gasoline this year, the most ever.Fuel prices have been high this year because of expensive oil and increased exports of gasoline and diesel to other countries. Gasoline prices may decline for a few weeks after the switch to winter blends, which are less costly to produce than summer blends. But gas price woes won't go away, experts said.Fullstory

Arabs to push for Palestinian statehood bid

2011-09-13T21:03:00Z

Earlier on Monday, EU foreign policy chief Catherine Ashton, who is in Cairo for talks with officials at an Arab foreign ministers' meeting on the Palestinian U.N. bid, said the European Union has still not decided on a united position yet.Fullstory

Rick Perry: I am going to be honest with the American people

2011-09-12T21:03:00Z

As I said at the Reagan Library recently, Social Security benefits for current recipients and those nearing retirement must be protected. For younger workers, we must consider reforms to make Social Security financially viable.Fullstory

100 protesters burn American flag outside U.S. embassy in London during minute's silence for 9/11

2011-09-12T21:03:00Z

A group of 100 Muslim radicals, including members of Muslims Against Crusades, shouted 'USA terrorists' and brandished anti-American placards.
One protester in Grosvenor Square said: 'You will always face suffering, you will always face humiliation, unless you withdraw your troops from Muslim lands.'Fullstory

SpongeBob in hot water from study of 4-year-olds

2011-09-12T21:03:00Z

The problems were seen in a study of 60 children randomly assigned to either watch "SpongeBob," or the slower-paced PBS cartoon "Caillou" or assigned to draw pictures. Immediately after these nine-minute assignments, the kids took mental function tests; those who had watched "SpongeBob" did measurably worse than the others.Fullstory

Explosion at French nuclear waste plant

2011-09-12T21:03:00Z

One person has been reported killed and four injured in an explosion at a nuclear waste processing plant in France.
An oven reportedly exploded at the Marcoule nuclear site near Nimes in the south of France. The site produces MOX fuel, which recycles plutonium from nuclear weapons, and is partly used by the French nuclear power company Areva.Fullstory

Muted in Last Debate, Bachmann Looks to Rejoin Conversation

2011-09-12T21:03:00Z

Mrs. Bachmann won the first important test of the Republican race in a straw poll in Iowa last month, but she has been upstaged ever since by the entrance of Gov. Rick Perry of Texas into the race. Fullstory

Gumby Botches Robbery Of San Diego 7-Eleven

2011-09-08T21:03:00Z

San Diego police say a suspect, dressed up as Gumby, tried to rob a 7-Eleven on Labor Day.Fullstory

Dick Cheney to Hillary Clinton: Run!

2011-09-08T21:03:00Z

"So far she hasn't said she would, but I think it's not a bad idea," former Vice President Dick Cheney told ABC's Jonathan Karl in an interview on Wednesday to promote his new book "In My Time."Fullstory

Obama's Recovery A Flop Of Historical Proportions

2011-09-07T21:03:00Z

It has now been a little over two years - and eight full economic quarters - since the end of the recession Obama inherited. It's time to ask: How does his record of economic growth in the wake of a recession stack up against the records of other presidents?Fullstory

CEOs to Obama: 'Get Out of the Way' for Job Growth

2011-09-07T21:03:00Z

Ahead of the economic speech, an NBC/Wall Street Journal poll showed Obama's overall job approval rating at a low of 44 percent, down 3 percentage points since July, while his handling of the economy stands at 37 percent.Fullstory

Officials: 1,000 Texas homes burned in past week

2011-09-07T21:03:00Z

Gov. Rick Perry, who cut short a presidential campaign trip to South Carolina on Monday to return to help oversee firefighting efforts in Texas, toured a blackened area near Bastrop, about 25 miles from Austin, where a fast-moving blaze destroyed nearly 600 homes on Monday.Fullstory

Obama Said to Seek $300 Billion Jobs Package

2011-09-07T21:03:00Z

Obama will call on Congress to offset the cost of the short-term jobs measures by raising tax revenue in later years. This would be part of a long-term deficit reduction package, including spending and entitlement cuts as well as revenue increases, that he will present next week to the congressional panel charged with finding ways to reduce the nation's debt. Fullstory

The President's Speech Impediment

2011-09-06T21:03:00Z

In everyday life, when you don't have something to say, you avoid the stage. In our nation's capital, by contrast, the world operates like the one Alice found behind the Looking Glass. That's a world where you have to run as hard as you can just to stay still. Which helps explain why President Obama will this week be addressing a joint session of Congress that doesn't really want to hear from him about a jobs plan that he doesn't really have.Fullstory

Leak Offers Look at Efforts by U.S. to Spy on Israel

2011-09-06T21:03:00Z

"All I know is that it's a serious case," Judge Alexander Williams Jr., of United States District Court in Maryland, said at the sentencing in May 2010. "I don't know what was divulged other than some documents, and how it compromised things, I have no idea."Fullstory

Bloomberg Blames Guns for Violence After Parade

2011-09-06T21:03:00Z

Mayor Michael Bloomberg Tuesday blamed illegal handguns for a shooting that killed three people and wounded two police officers a few blocks from the route of the annual West Indian Day Parade in Brooklyn, saying federal officials have not had the "courage" to take steps to control gun use.Fullstory

FBI arrests prominent Democratic campaign treasurer

2011-09-06T21:03:00Z

U.S. Attorney's Office spokesman Thom Mrozek confirmed Saturday afternoon that Kinde Durkee of Burbank-based Durkee and Associates, was arrested by the FBI on a criminal complaint filed by the U.S. Attorney's Office in Sacramento.Fullstory

City worker jailed for stealing $10M from fund to identify 9/11 remains still holding on to cash

2011-09-06T21:03:00Z

Ten years after the Sept. 11 attacks, ex-city worker Natarajan Venkataram says he's sorry he stole millions of dollars meant for identifying the remains of trade center victims.
He's just not sorry enough to turn over $400,000 sitting in his bank account in India.Fullstory

Democrats Distancing Themselves From Obama

2011-09-02T21:03:00Z

Take Rep. Peter DeFazio, D-Ore., who represents a district that nearly went for Republican George W. Bush in 2004. In a recent local TV interview, DeFazio said of Obama that the word "fight" isn't "in his vocabulary" -- and he then repeated the criticism to constituents at a town hall. Or Rep. Bill Owens, D-N.Y., who won a Republican-friendly district in a special election last year and pointedly declined to endorse the sitting president last week.Fullstory

Job growth grinds to a halt

2011-09-02T21:03:00Z

Nonfarm payrolls were unchanged, the Labor Department said on Friday, the weakest reading since September. Nonfarm employment for June and July was revised to show 58,000 fewer jobs.Fullstory

CNN Poll: 8 in 10 think we're in a recession

2011-09-02T21:03:00Z

While the country isn't technically in a recession because the economy hasn't experienced two straight quarters of negative growth, the poll's results highlight the importance of President Barack Obama's jobs speech next Thursday night.Fullstory

Gulf of Mexico storm threatens oil rigs

2011-09-02T21:03:00Z

"Right now we're giving it a 70 percent chance of developing into a tropical cyclone sometime in the next 48 hours," said Dennis Feltgen, a spokesman for the Miami-based National Hurricane Center.Fullstory

York: Left paints the campaign as a religious war

2011-09-02T21:03:00Z

Now some of Obama's activist allies and supporters in the press are engaged in a sharply focused effort to change the subject. Even as economic anxieties continue to rise, some of the nation's premier political journalists are consumed with the alleged influences of obscure religious philosophers on Republican candidates; on questions of creationism, evolution, and the age of the Earth; and on the fantasy that a Republican president might transform the United States into an Iranian-style theocracy.Fullstory

Report: Israel sends 2 warships to Egyptian border

2011-08-31T21:03:00Z

Israeli security sources told the Associated Press on Tuesday that two additional warships have been dispatched to Israel's Red Sea border with Egypt. Another source said that the operation was routine, telling Reuters that "two naval craft have been sent to the Red Sea. This is not unusual.Fullstory

August: Deadliest month for U.S. in Afghanistan

2011-08-31T21:03:00Z

The 66 U.S. service members killed this month eclipses the previous record of 65 killed in July 2010, according to an Associated Press tally. Nearly half the August deaths occurred when insurgents shot down a Chinook helicopter Aug. 6, killing 30 American troops, mostly elite Navy SEALs.Fullstory

Bullying Law Puts New Jersey Schools on Spot

2011-08-31T21:03:00Z

In Elizabeth, children, including kindergartners, will spend six class periods learning, among other things, the difference between telling and tattling.Fullstory

Police arrest 15 at Playland in dispute over Muslim headwear

2011-08-31T21:03:00Z

Police from at least nine agencies converged on the park beginning at 3 p.m. after county police sought assistance in responding to the disturbance, which involved 30 to 40 people.Fullstory

One in four Democrats wants to dump Obama

2011-08-30T21:03:00Z

In response to the question, "Do you think the Democratic party should renominate Barack Obama as the party's candidate for president in 2012, or do you think the Democratic party should nominate a different candidate for president in 2012?" -- 72 percent said they wanted to see Obama renominated. But 27 percent, slightly more than one in every four, said they wanted to see Democrats nominate a different candidate. One percent had no opinion.Fullstory

President Obama's uncle had Social Security ID

2011-08-30T21:03:00Z

The president's 67-year-old uncle, Obama Onyango, has had a valid Massachusetts driver's license and Social Security number since at least 1992, said Registry of Motor Vehicles spokesman Michael Verseckes.Fullstory

Parts of Britain suffer coldest summer for nearly two decades

2011-08-30T21:03:00Z

As Britons return to work today after a soggy Bank Holiday weekend, official weather data reveals that average temperatures were significantly down on recent years. Fullstory

Romney: Obama A DDD Presidency For Debt, Downgrade, Delay

2011-08-29T21:03:00Z

I want to make America the strongest economy on earth," Romney said at a campaign stop in Exeter, N.H. "What I've seen and said from this president is not a AAA presidency but I'll call it a DDD presidency. It's been a presidency which has been associated with debt and with downgrade and with delay."Fullstory

Perry calls Social Security

2011-08-29T21:03:00Z

Riding high in the polls, Gov. Rick Perry rode into Iowa on Saturday with tough talk on President Obama, the economy and foreign policy and a declaration that Social Security is not only a Ponzi scheme but a "monstrous lie" for younger people.Fullstory

Perry calls Social Security 'monstrous lie'

2011-08-29T21:03:00Z

Irene heading to North Carolina first

2011-08-26T21:03:00Z

Hurricane Irene is a high end category 2 hurricane on the Saffir-Simpson Hurricane Wind Scale; however, Irene is expected to re-strengthen into a category 3 storm.Fullstory

Libya live: rebel government moves to Tripoli

2011-08-26T21:03:00Z

We were being shelled. A commander I was driving with asked me whether I had NATO's number-NATO, here, is always being referred to in the third person masculine. I tried to explain that NATO isn't usually very keen on journalists calling in these sorts of things.Fullstory

Perry vs. Romney? Go with Perry

2011-08-26T21:03:00Z

Texas's governor beat Massachusetts's former governor 29 percent to 17 percent, Gallup reported Wednesday, in the second national survey to find Perry leading by double digits among Republicans. Perry deserves this distinction. While he lacks the pro-market purity of Milton Friedman, Perry's record should satisfy limited-government conservatives far more. Fullstory

Guitar Frets: Environmental Enforcement Leaves Musicians in Fear

2011-08-26T21:03:00Z

Federal agents swooped in on Gibson Guitar Wednesday, raiding factories and offices in Memphis and Nashville, seizing several pallets of wood, electronic files and guitars. The Feds are keeping mum, but in a statement yesterday Gibson's chairman and CEO, Henry Juszkiewicz, defended his company's manufacturing policies, accusing the Justice Department of bullying the company. "The wood the government seized Wednesday is from a Forest Stewardship Council certified supplier," he said, suggesting the Feds are using the aggressive enforcement of overly broad laws to make the company cry uncle.Fullstory

Weekly Claims Above Key Mark Thanks to Verizon Strike

2011-08-25T21:03:00Z

Initial claims for state unemployment benefits rose 5,000 to a seasonally adjusted 417,000, the Labor Department said, but still nowhere near levels that would signal a recession.Fullstory

Rebels, looters target Gadhafi family homes

2011-08-25T21:03:00Z

Moammar Gadhafi's son al-Saadi liked fast cars, yachts and soccer, and his beachfront villa was stocked with his expensive toys. His sister Aisha lived in a two-story mansion with an indoor pool and sauna.Fullstory

Post Quake, West Coast Teases East On Social Networks

2011-08-24T21:03:00Z

"Really all this excitement over a 5.8 quake??? Come on East Coast, we have those for breakfast out here!!!!" wrote Dennis Miller, 50, a lifelong California resident whose house in Pleasanton sits on an earthquake fault line.Fullstory

From hiding, Gadhafi tells Libyans to free Tripoli

2011-08-24T21:03:00Z

The rebels say they have now taken control of nearly all of Tripoli, but sporadic gunfire could still be heard Wednesday, and Gadhafi loyalists fired shells and assault rifles at fighters who had captured the Libyan leader's personal compound one day earlier.Fullstory

Fears for Nancy Reagan, 90, as she slips and falls on way in to watch speech by Tea Party favourite Marco Rubio

2011-08-24T21:03:00Z

The frail former First Lady was being escorted to her seat in the Ronald Reagan Presidential Library, in Simi Valley, California, by Senator Rubio when she lost her footing and took a tumble.

Mrs Reagan had asked Senator Rubio to speak at her late husband's presidential library following his election to the U.S. Senate last year.Fullstory

Thug Chokes And Robs Elderly Men

2011-08-24T21:03:00Z

In the first incident, which happened Aug. 13, the sicko came up on an elderly man from behind as he entered the N train subway entrance at Broadway and W. 28th St. It happened at about 7:30 a.m. He choked the victim from behind and grabbed the man's wallet out of his pants before running away.Fullstory

US Military Intervention in Libya Cost At Least $896 Million

2011-08-23T21:03:00Z

The price tag includes the amounts for daily military operations, munitions used in the operation and humanitarian assistance for the Libyan people.

The U.S. has also promised $25 million in non-lethal aid to the Libyan Transitional National Council, half of which the Defense Department has already on MRE's (military lingo for Meals, Ready to Eat). Fullstory

Hurricane Irene: Bahamas, U.S. Threat

2011-08-23T21:03:00Z

As you can see on our projected path map below, Irene is forecast to strengthen into a major hurricane (Category 3 or higher on Saffir-Simpson hurricane wind scale) by early Wednesday as it tracks in the direction of the Bahamas on a path towards the East Coast of the U.S. Friday into the weekend. Fullstory

New-home sales fell 0.7 percent in July

2011-08-23T21:03:00Z

Sales of new homes fell nearly 1 percent in July to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 298,000, the Commerce Department said Tuesday. That's less than half the 700,000 that economists say represent a healthy market.Fullstory

Thousands Camp Out for Job Fair as Jobless Rate Rises

2011-08-19T21:03:00Z

Thousands of unemployed waited overnight, camping out in their business suits and office heels and braving the tormenting heat in Atlanta to stand in line for a job fair Thursday. Authorities treated 20 people for heat exhaustion as they struggled to keep the line moving and get people moved inside. Fullstory

Aliens may destroy humanity to protect other civilisations, say scientists

2011-08-19T21:03:00Z

It may not rank as the most compelling reason to curb greenhouse gases, but reducing our emissions might just save humanity from a pre-emptive alien attack, scientists claim.Fullstory

Obama to deport illegals by 'priority'

2011-08-19T21:03:00Z

Bowing to pressure from immigrant rights activists, the Obama administration said Thursday that it will halt deportation proceedings on a case-by-case basis against illegal immigrants who meet certain criteria, such as attending school, having family in the military or having primary responsible for other family members' care.Fullstory

Obama outpaces fundraising activity of predecessors

2011-08-19T21:03:00Z

By comparison, President George W. Bush had held 88 fundraisers and President Clinton, 76, at this point in their first terms, according to data compiled by Brendan Doherty, an assistant professor of politicial science at the U.S. Naval Academy in Annapolis, Md. Doherty, who also studies presidential activity with the non-partisan White House Transition Project, examined fundraising going back to President Carter.Fullstory

Israeli Dead in Triple Terror Attack Upped to 7

2011-08-18T21:03:00Z

Magen David Adom (MDA) has declared a mass casualty event and the State of Israel has moved to its highest security alert nationwide as hospitals report that five are dead following terror attacks that struck the country's southern region midday Thursday.Fullstory

US Jobless Claims Up, Gasoline Lifts Consumer Prices

2011-08-18T21:03:00Z

Initial claims for state unemployment benefits increased 9,000 to a seasonally adjusted 408,000, the Labor Department said on Thursday, above economists' expectations for a rise to to 400,000.Fullstory

The U.K. Riots And The Coming Global Class War

2011-08-18T21:03:00Z

The hardening of class divisions has been building for a generation, first in the West but increasingly in fast-developing countries such as China. The growing chasm between the classes has its roots in globalization, which has taken jobs from blue-collar and now even white-collar employees; technology, which has allowed the fleetest and richest companies and individuals to shift operations at rapid speed to any locale; and the secularization of society, which has undermined the traditional values about work and family that have underpinned grassroots capitalism from its very origins.Fullstory

White House denounces Perry as Republicans target Fed

2011-08-17T21:03:00Z

The White House denounced Republican presidential candidate Rick Perry on Tuesday for his threatening remarks toward the head of the U.S. Federal Reserve that represented some of the most inflammatory rhetoric of the 2012 election campaign.Fullstory

Gallup: Obama job rating sinks below 40% for first time

2011-08-15T21:03:00Z

New data posted Sunday shows that 39% of Americans approve of Obama's job performance, while 54% disapprove. Both are the worst numbers of his presidency.Fullstory

WOLF: Obamacare or America?

2011-08-15T21:03:00Z

The debt-ceiling debate has revealed that there are two types of politicians in America today: those who still claim we can afford Obamacare and those who will tell you the truth.Fullstory

Pakistan let China see crashed U.S.

2011-08-15T21:03:00Z

The disclosure, if confirmed, is likely to further shake the U.S.-Pakistan relationship, which has been improving slightly after hitting its lowest point in decades following the killing of bin Laden.Fullstory

Tim Pawlenty And Rep. Michele Bachmann Rumble In White Hot Debate Exchange

2011-08-12T21:03:00Z

Coming off a light-hearted moment where Pawlenty promised any American who could show him a specific economic program proposed by President Barack Obama, Wallace then turned to him to ask whether he had questioned Rep. Bachmann's record. He noted that he had absolutely nothing to add to the migraine story and never commented on it, but "her record of accomplishments and results is nonexistent." That was about where any amicable discussion ended.Fullstory

The moral decay of our society is as bad at the top as the bottom

2011-08-12T21:03:00Z

But there was also something very phony and hypocritical about all the shock and outrage expressed in parliament. MPs spoke about the week's dreadful events as if they were nothing to do with them.Fullstory

Electronic skin tattoo has medical, gaming, spy uses

2011-08-12T21:03:00Z

The micro-electronics technology, called an epidermal electronic system (EES), was developed by an international team of researchers from the United States, China and Singapore, and is described in the journal Science. Fullstory

Ron Paul spars with other candidates over foreign policy

2011-08-12T21:03:00Z

While Sen. Rick Santorum and U.S. Congresswoman Michele Bachmann said the Middle Eastern nation posed a clear threat to American security, Paul encouraged a policy of "respect" toward the country.
"Iran is a threat because they have some militants there, but believe me ... Iran does not have an air force that can come here - they can't even make enough gasoline for themselves," Paul said. "And here we are...we're building up this case against them, just like we did with Iraq."Fullstory

China Flexes Naval Muscle

2011-08-11T21:03:00Z

he carrier, based on an empty hull bought from Ukraine, sounded its horn three times as it plowed through fog around the northeastern port of Dalian early Wednesday to begin its first sea trials, according to a Twitter-like service by the state-run Xinhua news agency.Fullstory

Democrats doubt Barack Obama's reelection chances

2011-08-11T21:03:00Z

Mr Obama's capitulation to Republicans in the recent tussle over deficit reduction is being seen as the lowest point of his presidency and the latest in a series of blows to the liberal agenda. Fullstory

Obama's Iftar dinner remarks

2011-08-11T21:03:00Z

"I want to welcome the members of the diplomatic corps who are here; the members of Congress, including two Muslim American members of Congress -- Keith Ellison and Andre Carson; and leaders and officials from across my administration. Thank you all for being here. Please give them a big round of applause. "To the millions of Muslim Americans across the United States and more -- the more than one billion Muslims around the world, Ramadan is a time of reflection and a time of devotion. It's an occasion to join with family and friends in celebration of a faith known for its diversity and a commitment to justice and the dignity of all human beings. So to you and your families, Ramadan Kareem.Fullstory

Economic Uncertainty Leading to Global Unrest

2011-08-10T21:03:00Z

Great Britain and other parts of the world are experiencing unrest at a time of global economic uncertainty and stock market volatility.
Here's a look at what's happening around the world and how economic downturns are bringing protestors into the streets.Fullstory

Social media used to spread Britain's riots

2011-08-10T21:03:00Z

Others direct troublemakers to areas of untapped riches - stores selling expensive stereo equipment, designer clothes, alcohol and bicycles.
Most show a portent of even worse things to come.Fullstory

Republicans hold off Dems in recalls, win enough seats to keep majority in Senate

2011-08-10T21:03:00Z

Republicans won four of six recall races, meaning the party still holds a narrow 17-16 majority in the Senate - at least until next week, when Sens. Robert Wirch, D-Pleasant Prairie, and Jim Holperin, D-Conover face their own recall elections. A third Democrat, Sen. Dave Hansen, D-Green Bay, easily survived a recall attempt last month.Fullstory

Is Obama Smart?

2011-08-10T21:03:00Z

The aircraft was large, modern and considered among the world's safest. But that night it was flying straight into a huge thunderstorm. Turbulence was extreme, and airspeed indicators may not have been functioning properly. Worse, the pilots were incompetent. As the plane threatened to stall they panicked by pointing the nose up, losing speed when they ought to have done the opposite. It was all over in minutes.
Was this the fate of Flight 447, the Air France jet that plunged mysteriously into the Atlantic a couple of years ago? Could be. What I'm talking about here is the Obama presidency.Fullstory

Dems Use Downgrade to Amplify Anti-Tea Party Charges

2011-08-09T21:03:00Z

In the wake of a bruising battle over the debt ceiling and now a first-ever credit downgrade, Democrats have launched a salvo of rhetorical attacks on the Tea Party and appear determined to blame the movement for everything from the debt crisis to the sputtering economy.fullstory

S&P cuts Fannie and Freddie credit rating

2011-08-08T21:03:00Z

S&P cuts Fannie and Freddie credit rating byPhilip KleinFollowing its downgrade of U.S. debt, Standard and Poor's has now dowgraded mortgage giants Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, because of "their direct reliance on the U.S. government."fullstory

Obama administration to offer No Child Left Behind waivers

2011-08-08T21:03:00Z

President Barack Obama had called for reform to the federal education law before the start of fullstorythe school year, but Congress has yet to pass any legislation, according to a Department of Education statement.Fullstory

Two-year Treasury yield drops to a record low

2011-08-05T21:03:00Z

Stocks tumbled around the world on worries that the U.S. economy is weakening and that Europe's debt problems are getting worse. The Dow Jones industrial average fell 513 points, its biggest drop since December 2008.Fullstory

How Islamic punk went from fiction to reality

2011-08-05T21:03:00Z

There was a time when the words "Muslim radical" painted a clear enough picture - a young man strapped with explosives, perhaps, or a bearded cleric calling for Sharia law from Land's End to John O'Groats. But things have changed. The protestors of the Arab Spring are both Muslim and radical, as are the bungling jihadis of Chris Morris's movie Four Lions. And now a new film, The Taqwacores, attempts to further stretch the definition.fullstory

Facebook and Twitter fuel iPhone and BlackBerry addiction, says Ofcom

2011-08-05T21:03:00Z

Britons' appetite for Facebook and social networks on the go is driving a huge demand for smartphones - with 60% of teenagers describing themselves as "highly addicted" to their device - according to new research by the media regulator, Ofcom.fullstory

Afghanistan War: Hobbyists' Toy Truck Saves 6 Soldiers' Lives

2011-08-05T15:03:00Z

Staff Sgt. Christopher Fessenden is on duty in Afghanistan now after tours with the Army in Iraq. He has traveled with standard-issue equipment -- weapons, helmet, uniform, boots and so forth -- plus a radio-controlled model truck his brother Ernie sent. fullstory

Morning Jay: The Left Will Never Abandon Obama

2011-08-05T15:03:00Z

From the Civil War to the Great Depression, the two political parties were basically regional coalitions, and so both sides had progressive and conservative elements within it. However, starting with FDR, the Democratic party began to emerge as the sole vehicle for American liberalism, as the political argument in the country boiled down to whether or not we should continue what FDR started. While there have been some prominent liberal Republicans (e.g. Jacob Javits) and conservative Democrats (e.g. Harry Byrd), these politicians were always the exceptions to the rule. fullstory

Food stamp use rises to record 45.8 million

2011-08-05T15:03:00Z

The number of Americans using the government's Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) -- more commonly referred to as food stamps -- shot to an all-time high of 45.8 million in May, the USDA reported. That's up 12% from a year ago, and 34% higher than two years ago.fullstory

Palin says she has no respect for Romney's debt-ceiling stance

2011-08-03T21:03:00Z

Palin, the Republican rock star who's still evaluating whether to wage her own bid for the presidency, joined in the chorus of criticism of Romney.

The 2008 vice presidential nominee accused Romney, the former Massachusetts governor, of sticking his finger in the wind to gauge the political currents before deciding to oppose the debt-ceiling deal that ultimately passed Congress with bipartisan support.fullstory

Muslim Boys gang are 'planning massive attack' at Belmarsh prison in revenge for Osama bin Laden killing

2011-08-03T21:03:00Z

Security has been stepped up to "unprecedented" levels at Belmarsh prison after warnings that the Muslim Boys gang is plotting a revenge mission. A 15-strong riot squad in stab-proof vests has hidden around the jail's chapel during Muslim prayers on Fridays in case of an attack.fullstory

Putin says U.S. is "parasite" on global economy

2011-08-02T21:03:00Z

"They are living beyond their means and shifting a part of the weight of their problems to the world economy," Putin told the pro-Kremlin youth group Nashi while touring its lakeside summer camp some five hours drive north of Moscow.

"They are living like parasites off the global economy and their monopoly of the dollar," Putin said at the open-air meeting with admiring young Russians in what looked like early campaigning before parliamentary and presidential polls.fullstory

Justice Department Sues Alabama Over Controversial Immigration Law

2011-08-02T21:03:00Z

In both cases, the Justice Department argues that the states are overstepping their authority by wading into something that is a strictly federal responsibility: immigration enforcement.

Gov. Robert Bentley signed the Alabama law in June, but it's not set to take effect until Sept. 1. The law makes it a crime to be an undocumented immigrant in Alabama and allows law enforcement to detain individuals they have a "reasonable suspicion" of being in the country illegally. The law also makes it illegal to give undocumented immigrants rides and requires school districts to check on the immigration status of students who enroll.fullstory

Sources: Joe Biden likened tea partiers to terrorists

2011-08-02T21:03:00Z

"We have negotiated with terrorists," an angry Doyle said, according to sources in the room. "This small group of terrorists have made it impossible to spend any money."

Biden, driven by his Democratic allies' misgivings about the debt-limit deal, responded: "They have acted like terrorists."fullstory

Illegal immigration and the costs

2011-08-01T21:03:00Z

Here are 14 reasons illegal aliens should vacate America, and I hope they are forwarded over and over again until they are read so many times that the reader gets sick of reading them:
1. $14 billion to $22 billion dollars are spent each year on welfare to illegal aliens. (that's Billion with a 'B') http://tinyurl.com/zob77.html
3. $7.5 billion dollars are spent each year on Medicaid for illegal aliens. http://www.cis.org/articles/2004/fiscalexec.html
4. $12 billion dollars are spent each year on primary and secondary school education for children here illegally and they still cannot speak a word of English! http://transcripts.cnn.com/TRANSCRIPTS/0604/01/ldt.01.html
5. $27 billion dollars are spent each year for education for the American-born children of illegal aliens, known as anchor babies.http://transcripts.cnn.com/TRANSCRIPTS/0604/01/ldt.01.html fullblog

Teachers descend on D.C.

2011-08-01T21:03:00Z

But at a noisy rally their message boiled down to one point, summed up by the sound check before the first speaker took the stage: Tap. Tap. "No testing, no testing, 1-2-3."

The assembled teachers, education advocates and parents vented a frustration they said has been building since the passage of the No Child Left Behind law in 2002, which made standardized testing the centerpiece of a school reform agenda championed by George W. Bush.
fullstory

The Debt-Ceiling Divide

2011-07-29T21:03:00Z

We're in the midst of a great four-year national debate on the size and reach of government, the future of the welfare state, indeed, the nature of the social contract between citizen and state. The distinctive visions of the two parties - social-democratic versus limited-government - have underlain every debate on every issue since Barack Obama's inauguration: the stimulus, the auto bailouts, health-care reform, financial regulation, deficit spending. Everything. The debt ceiling is but the latest focus of this fundamental divide.Fullstory

Recruiters pressed to reach out to gays once ban is lifted

2011-07-29T21:03:00Z

The Pentagon's ban on openly gays members is due to be lifted Sept. 20, meaning avowed gay people can sign up, those in the ranks can come out of the closet and the military will no longer discharge personnel because of sexual preference.

What is unclear is the number of post-ban policies that might be adopted to meet the demands of gays and ease integration of different sexual identities.Fullstory

WRAPUP 11-Republican rebels force new delay in US debt crisis

2011-07-29T21:03:00Z

After hours of trying to get enough votes, the Republicans who control the House of Representatives put off action for the night and scheduled an emergency meeting for Friday morning.
The Republican infighting further delays any compromise with Democrats to stop the countdown toward Tuesday when the government says it will run out of money to pay all its bills.Fullstory

Record Number of U.S. Troops Killed by Iranian Weapons

2011-07-29T21:03:00Z

June was the deadliest month in more than two years for U.S. troops, with 14 killed. In May, the U.S. death toll was two. In April, it was 11. Senior U.S. commanders say the three primary Iranian-backed militias, Kataib Hezbollah, the Promise Day Brigade, and Asaib al Haq, and their rockets were behind 12 of the deaths in June.
A detailed U.S. military breakdown of June's casualties illustrates the growing threat posed by Iranian munitions.Fullstory

Gold strikes new record high on US default fears

2011-07-27T21:03:00Z

Gold forged a record high above $1,625 per ounce here on Wednesday, as investors parked their cash in the precious metal in the face of heightened concerns over a potential US default.

The price of gold struck $1,625.70 an ounce at about 0600 GMT on the London Bullion Market, beating the previous record of $1,624.07 that was hit on Monday.

"The threat of default by the world largest economy has led gold to a fresh peak above $1,625 this morning," said FastMarkets analyst James Moore.

Full Story

Obama's Battleground-State Blues

2011-07-27T21:03:00Z

President Obama's job approval rating in the latest national polls has been in the danger zone, ranging from 42 percent (Gallup) to 47 percent (ABC News/Washington Post), with every survey showing him with higher unfavorables than favorables. Needless to say, it's not a good place for a president to be, especially since his numbers have worsened over the past two months.

The race for president isn't a national contest. It's a state-by-state battle to cobble an electoral vote majority. So while the national polls are useful in gauging the president's popularity, the more instructive numbers are those from the battlegrounds.

Those polls are even more ominous for the president: In every reputable battleground state poll conducted over the past month, Obama's support is weak. In most of them, he trails Republican front-runner Mitt Romney. For all the talk of a closely fought 2012 election, if Obama can't turn around his fortunes in states such as Michigan and New Hampshire, next year's presidential election could end up being a GOP landslide.

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Obama's Weekly Job Approval Ties Term Low of 43%

2011-07-26T21:03:00Z

Obama's most recent weekly job approval rating is similar to his 44% of the previous week, but down three percentage points from the two weeks before that. The president also had 43% weekly job approval ratings in late June, in April, and in August 2010. His three-day job approval average for the weekend, July 22-24, is 45%, up slightly from 42% for July 21-23.Fullstory

New polls confirm Obama's Democratic base crumbles

2011-07-26T21:03:00Z

Obama is running for the center already, aiming for the independents who played such a crucial role in his victorious coalition in 2008. They were the first to start abandoning the good ship Obama back in 2009 when all the ex-state senator could do was talk about healthcare, when jobs and the economy were the peoples' priority.Fullstory

Pelosi calls for ethics investigation of Democratic Oregon congressman

2011-07-25T21:03:00Z

The allegations against Wu, a seven-term Democratic congressman, were published Friday by The Oregonian newspaper in Portland.
"With deep disappointment and sadness about this situation, I hope that the Ethics Committee will take up this matter. I will send a letter to the Ethics Committee tomorrow asking them to formally initiate a review of this matter," Pelosi said in a written statement Sunday.fullstory

Stocks Slump as Debt Talk Worries Continue

2011-07-25T21:03:00Z

The Dow Jones Industrial Average tumbled at the open, led by BofA [BAC 9.92 -0.21 (-2.07%) ] and Boeing [BA 71.3801 -1.2899 (-1.77%) ], after closing lower in the previous session, offset by disappointing earnings from Caterpillar [CAT 104.909 -0.241 (-0.23%) ].

The S&P 500 and the tech-heavy Nasdaq also declined. The CBOE Volatility Index, widely considered the best gauge of fear in the market, jumped above 19.
All 10 S&P sectors were lower, led by financials and telecom. fullstory

Reid confronts Obama budget director on possible debt deal

2011-07-22T21:03:00Z

I'm the Senate majority leader - why don't I know about this deal?" Reid demanded as soon as the budget director walked into the historic Mansfield Room for a meeting with Senate Democrats, according to a lawmaker who witnessed the exchange.

Lew shot back: "If there's a deal, then the president doesn't know about it, the vice president doesn't know about it and I don't know about it."fullstory

Bachmann: Everybody Should Pay Taxes

2011-07-22T21:03:00Z

At a town-hall meeting Tuesday given by the South Carolina Christian Chamber of Commerce in Columbia, a questioner noted that major U.S. corporations are paying "very few dollars of federal income taxes, if any." He prefaced his point by saying the Bible advises us to render unto Caesar what Caesar is due.

Ms. Bachmann turned the conversation elsewhere: "Part of the problem is today, only 53% pay any federal income tax at all; 47% pay nothing," the former federal tax attorney said. "We need to broaden the base so that everybody pays something, even if it's a dollar."

Out of the Way, Please, Mr. President

2011-07-22T21:03:00Z

The Gang of Six-three Democrats and three Republicans in the Senate-this week put forward a plan aimed at reducing the national debt by almost $4 trillion over the next 10 years. It includes $500 billion in immediate cuts, and repeals a costly provision of ObamaCare. The plan would lower the top individual tax rate to 29%, push corporate tax rates down to 29% from 35%, and abolish the Alternative Minimum tax. On long-term spending the plan includes a legislative supermajority and sequester feature. In the words of a senator involved in the bargaining, "For the first time, we have some real teeth" in spending controls.fullstory

Unemployment Benefits Rise as Job Growth Falters

2011-07-21T21:03:00Z

Initial claims for state unemployment benefits increased 10,000 to a seasonally adjusted 418,000, the Labor Department said.
Economists polled by Reuters had forecast claims rising to 410,000. The prior weeks figure was revised up to 408,000 from the previously reported 405,000. fullstory

DHS Video Characterizes White Americans as Most Likely Terrorists

2011-07-21T21:03:00Z

A new promotional video released by the Department of Homeland Security characterizes white middle class Americans as the most likely terrorists, as Big Sis continues its relentless drive to cement the myth that mad bombers are hiding around every corner, when in reality Americans are just as likely to be killed by lightning strikes or peanut allergies.

The video is part of Homeland Security's $10 million dollar "See Something, Say Something" program that encourages Americans to report "suspicious activity," which in every case throughout history has been a trait of oppressive, dictatorial regimes.

In the course of the 10 minute clip, a myriad of different behaviors are characterized as terrorism, including opposing surveillance, using a video camera, talking to police officers, wearing hoodies, driving vans, writing on a piece of paper, and using a cell phone recording application.

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Heat Dome: 22 Dead, High Temperatures Will Last Weeks

2011-07-21T21:03:00Z

The heat dome that is gripping much of the nation has 141 million people in more than two dozen states under heat advisories, while the toll in heat-related deaths stands at 22 -- and there is no immediate end to the scorching temperatures in sight.

Heat indexes from 105 to 115 degrees are expected from the Midwest to the East Coast on Thursday.

"Excessive Heat Watches and Warnings and Heat Advisories are in effect for a large, contiguous area of the central United States. Above-normal temperatures are expected to last the next couple of weeks over much of the eastern half of the United States," the National Weather Service said.

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Exclusive: Emanuel To Send Kids To U. Of C. Lab School

2011-07-21T21:03:00Z

Hmm: Chris Christie Headed to Iowa

2011-07-20T21:03:00Z

New Jersey Governor Chris Christie will be in Iowa, and will be a special guest at a fundraiser honoring Congressman King. Iowa businessmen Denny Elwell and Bruce Rastetter are the co-hosts for the event, and the event will take place at Mr. Elwell's home in West Des Moines.
Could be nothing, could be the start of the GOP's eventual salvation.

In other Iowa news, it looks like Texas Governor Rick Perry of much will-he-or-won't-he speculation is moving more decisively toward the former by gearing up for the Ames straw poll. fullstory

Gang Of Six Has Last Gasp

2011-07-20T21:03:00Z

The Senate "Gang Of Six" today made a final push for its deficit reduction proposal, announcing that apostate gang member Tom Coburn had rejoined the group, releasing its plan, and unveiling numerous Senatorial endorsements. President Obama praised the group and its plan at his press conference today.

The question I have here is the same question I've had all along: How do they think this plan will get through the House of Representatives? Every article I've read over the last half a year asserting that there's a strong desire among members of Congress to pass a bipartisan deficit bill focuses entirely on the Senate. And, indeed, there do seem to be quite a few Senators interested in bipartisan compromise on the deficit. I have yet to see any evidence of such a desire on the House side, save John Boehner's brief hypnotic spell from which he was rudely awakened with the discovery that no members of his caucus would support him.

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Negotiating Election Headwinds

2011-07-20T21:03:00Z

Maybe it's not the economy, stupid.

White House officials have begun to entertain the idea that they can run for re-election without being able to point to a strengthening economy. For one thing, they may not have a choice. For another, they believe that recent Republican budget proposals have given President Obama an opportunity to draw contrasts in which he is more in line with most voters.

The clearest statement of this idea has come from David Plouffe, Mr. Obama's top political adviser. "The average American does not view the economy through the prism of G.D.P. or unemployment rates or even monthly jobs numbers," Mr. Plouffe said at a recent Bloomberg Breakfast here. "People won't vote based on the unemployment rate. They're going to vote based on: 'How do I feel about my own situation? Do I believe the president makes decisions based on me and my family?' "

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Heat 'dome' traps much of US in pressure cooker

2011-07-20T21:03:00Z

CHICAGO (AP) - For millions of people enduring this week's extreme heat and humidity, it feels like they're living in a pressure cooker. And in a sense, they are.

Much of the United States is trapped under a heat "dome" caused by a huge area of high pressure that's compressing hot, moist air beneath it, leading to miserable temperatures in the mid-90s to low 100s and heat-index levels well above 100 degrees. The oppressive conditions extend from the northern Plains states to Texas and from Nebraska to the Ohio Valley. And they're expanding eastward.

"It's hot no matter what you're doing or where you are," said Tim Prader, a 50-year-old construction worker who was taking a break Tuesday at a job site in St. Louis. Although his huge Caterpillar excavator has air conditioning, he couldn't entirely escape. "When you're done for the day, you're ready to eat, drink and hit the couch."

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Wynn CEO Goes On Epic Anti-Obama Rant On Company Conference Call

2011-07-19T21:03:00Z

I believe in Las Vegas. I think its best days are ahead of it. But I'm afraid to do anything in the current political environment in the United States. You watch television and see what's going on on this debt ceiling issue.fullstory

RNC Says Obama Fundraising Video 'Apparent Crime,' Seeks DOJ Probe

2011-07-19T21:03:00Z

"If President Obama recorded the video in the Map Room, then it appears he has committed a crime under federal law," RNC chairman Reince Priebus wrote in a letter to Attorney General Eric Holder.
The letter attempts to revive an issue Republicans first raised weeks ago but that has failed to gain much attention or traction. Many good government groups and independent legal experts have dismissed the claims.fullstory

Goldberg: The ideologue in the Oval Office

2011-07-19T21:03:00Z

"I think increasingly the American people are going to say to themselves, 'You know what? If a party or a politician is constantly taking the position my-way-or-the-highway, constantly being locked into ideologically rigid positions, that we're going to remember at the polls,'" President Obama said at his Friday news conference.

I know everyone is sick of hearing about the debt-limit negotiations. Lord knows I am. When I turn on the news these days, I feel like one of the passengers seated next to Robert Hays in the movie "Airplane!" By the time we get to the phrase "in the out years," I'm ready to pour a can of gasoline over my head.

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Good Things

2011-07-19T21:03:00Z

Life has many good things. The problem is that most of these good things can be gotten only by sacrificing other good things. We all recognize this in our daily lives. It is only in politics that this simple, common sense fact is routinely ignored.

In politics, there are not simply good things but some special Good Things -- with a capital G and capital T -- which are considered always better to have more of.

Many of the things advocated by environmental extremists, for example, are things that most of us might think of as good things. But, in politics, they become Good Things whose repercussions and costs are brushed aside as unworthy considerations.

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Gold Extends Record Rally, Jumping Above $1,600

2011-07-18T21:03:00Z

Gold surged to an all-time high above $1,600 an ounce Monday, extending a record rally as investors sought a safe haven on fears that U.S. lawmakers could fail to raise the debt limit, resulting in a default.
Gold rallied even as the U.S. dollar strengthened, helping the precious metal hit record highs across a number of major currencies, namely euro, British sterling, South African rand and the Canadian dollar.
The latest rally, which began three weeks ago on euro zone debt worries, has powered gold into uncharted territory. Europe has been struggling to put together a second bailout for Greece and contain its debt crisis.fullstory

Weekly Claims Finally Show Decline in Weak Jobs Market

2011-07-14T21:03:00Z

Fewer people sought unemployment benefits last week, an encouraging sign the job market may be slowly improving.

The Labor Department says that weekly applications dropped 22,000 to a seasonally adjusted 405,000, the lowest level in almost three months.

The government says the total was increased by 11,500 state workers from Minnesota, who have filed applications because of that state's government shutdown.

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Despite Impasse, Experts See Debt Ceiling Backup Plans

2011-07-14T21:03:00Z

As remote as it seems now, there is at least one compelling fiscal certainty among Washington's top elected leaders: America will raise its $14.3 trillion debt ceiling before default can threaten an already shaky economy. New borrowing authority may be granted until the end of 2012, or for just a month or two while an imminent deficit deal gets inked. Either way, the president and top lawmakers insist the country will not tumble over a cliff.

Even as White House talks appeared Wednesday to test President Obama's famously unflappable demeanor (he ended a fourth consecutive round of talks with testy words for House Majority Leader Eric Cantor of Virginia), the discussions will resume at 4:15 p.m. Thursday.

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As Talks Stall, New Debt Plan Offered

2011-07-13T21:03:00Z

In one sign that top leaders worry they won't reach a deal in time, Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R., Ky.) unveiled a proposal that would allow President Barack Obama to raise on his own the federal borrowing limit by $2.4 trillion in three installments before the end of 2012, unless two-thirds of Congress votes to block it.fullstory

Bernanke: Fed May Launch New Round of Stimulus

2011-07-13T21:03:00Z

Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke told Congress Wednesday that a new stimulus program is in the works that will entail additional asset purchases, the clearest indication yet that the central bank is contemplating another round of monetary easing.

Bernanke said in prepared remarks that the economy is growing more slowly than expected, and should that continue the central bank stands at the ready with more accommodative measures.

"Once the temporary shocks that have been holding down economic activity pass, we expect to again see the effects of policy accommodation reflected in stronger economic activity and job creation," he said

Full Story

Police charge mother in Nashville airport altercation

2011-07-13T21:03:00Z

A 41-year-old Clarksville woman was arrested after Nashville airport authorities say she was belligerent and verbally abusive to security officers, refusing for her daughter to be patted down at a security checkpoint.

Andrea Fornella Abbott yelled and swore at Transportation Security Administration agents Saturday afternoon at Nashville International Airport, saying she did not want her daughter to be "touched inappropriately or have her "crotch grabbed," a police report states.

After the woman refused to calm down, airport police said, she was charged with disorderly conduct and taken to jail. She has been released on bond.

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Pakistan could "pull troops Afghan from border" if U.S. cuts aid

2011-07-12T21:03:00Z

The United States Monday said it would hold back $800 million -- a third of nearly $2 billion in security aid to Pakistan -- in a show of displeasure over Pakistan's removal of U.S. military trainers, limits on visas for U.S. personnel and other bilateral irritants.
"If at all things become difficult, we will just get all our forces back," Defense Minister Ahmed Mukhtar said in an interview with the Express 24/7 television to be aired later on Tuesday.
The television aired excerpts of the interview Tuesday.
"If Americans refuse to give us money, then okay," he said. "I think the next step is that the government or the armed forces will be moving from the border areas. We cannot afford to keep military out in the mountains for such a long period."fullstory

Obama: Time to "eat our peas" and pass debt deal

2011-07-12T21:03:00Z

The president and his economic team have repeatedly warned of catastrophic consequences for the U.S. and global economy if Congress does not increase the debt ceiling -- the amount of money that the U.S. government is technically allowed to borrow -- by August 2. Republicans have insisted on creating a deficit and debt reduction plan as a condition of voting to raise the $14.3 trillion debt ceiling. fullstory

U.N. Agreement Should Have All Gun Owners Up In Arms

2011-07-12T21:03:00Z

And they very much hope to do something about it with help from some powerful American friends. Under the guise of a proposed global "Small Arms Treaty" premised to fight "terrorism", "insurgency" and "international crime syndicates" you can be quite certain that an even more insidious threat is being targeted - our Constitutional right for law-abiding citizens to own and bear arms.

What, exactly, does the intended agreement entail?fullstory

Debt-ceiling talks hit brick wall as President Obama, GOP trade jabs

2011-07-12T21:03:00Z

President Obama and GOP leaders traded accusations Monday over who was to blame as talks to raise the nation's $14.3 trillion debt ceiling stalled over the size and scope of the package.

Both sides pointed to the other as inflexible as the odds increased that Congress will not raise the nation's borrowing limit by an Aug. 2 deadline.

Obama said Republicans were refusing to allow any tax hikes in the deal, including provisions aimed at the wealthiest taxpayers, while Republicans said the White House's insistence on tax increases and resistance to meaningful Social Security and Medicare reforms was the problem.

Full Story

Karzai's brother shot dead by bodyguard

2011-07-12T21:03:00Z

Ahmed Wali Karzai, a powerful brother of the Afghan president, has been shot dead by a long-serving bodyguard, depriving the US of a linchpin in its strategy for containing the Taliban as Nato troops withdraw.

The assassin opened fire at point blank range at Mr Karzai's heavily-fortified compound in the southern city of Kandahar on Tuesday before himself being gunned down by bodyguards, officials said.

The killing sent shockwaves through Kabul and Washington, underscoring the vulnerability of President Hamid Karzai's inner circle and raising fears that a power struggle will erupt in the south, the focal point of the insurgency.

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Deadly anarchy on the 'Freedom Flotilla'

2011-07-11T21:03:00Z

As they attempt to set sail for Gaza, here is the shocking true story - so far - of the furtive, captain-less ship Tahrir.

The world media have been fascinated by the misadventures of this year's "Freedom Flotilla," their attempts to leave port and break the Israeli naval blockade of Gaza. Israel's offshore seizure in March of hundreds of tons of Syrian arms, mortars and missile systems intended to support Hamas' armed conflict with Israel has done nothing to change a prevalent opinion among pro-Palestinian activists that Israel's naval blockade constitutes an offense to humanitarian principles. Prevalent in the minds of many is last year's "Freedom Flotilla" disaster, in which an Israeli boarding party responded to violent resistance on the Turkish vessel Mavi Marmara with lethal effect, killing nine activists (some reportedly eager to martyr themselves) and injuring many more. Now, as Israel and Turkey attempt to repair the diplomatic damage done last year, a number of boats have gathered in the Mediterranean to have another run for the coast of Gaza.

Politics and the prospect of a bunch of seasick, sun-stroked hippies challenging the Israeli navy aside, many aspects of the operation have already shown it to be outlandishly irresponsible and dangerous, as evidenced by scattered reports from mainstream news outlets and direct dispatches from the participants themselves. I would like to shed light on the story, so far, of only one boat, the Tahrir.

Read more: Deadly anarchy on the 'Freedom Flotilla'

Obama Leans on G.O.P. for a Deal on Debt Ceiling

2011-07-11T21:03:00Z

WASHINGTON - President Obama tried on Sunday to revive the chances for a sweeping budget agreement to reduce the nation's deficit and repair its perilous finances, but Congressional Republicans continued to balk, insisting on a more modest deal to avert a default on the national debt.

Mr. Obama, meeting with leaders from both parties at the White House, bluntly challenged Republicans a day after Speaker John A. Boehner pulled back from a far-reaching agreement aimed at saving as much as $4 trillion over 10 years, officials briefed on the negotiations said. The meeting ended after an hour and 15 minutes with little progress, but the two sides agreed to resume talking Monday, and every day after that, until a deal is done.

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Taxes Upon Taxes Upon . . .

2011-07-11T21:03:00Z

So the fondest Washington hopes for a grand debt-limit deal have broken down over taxes. House Speaker John Boehner said late Saturday that he couldn't move ahead with a $4 trillion deal because President Obama was insisting on a $1 trillion tax increase, and the White House quickly denounced House Republicans for scuttling debt reduction and preventing "the very wealthiest and special interests from paying their fair share."

How dare Republicans not agree to break their campaign promises and raise taxes when the jobless rate is 9.2% and President Obama's economic recovery is in jeopardy?

We think Mr. Boehner is making the sensible choice. No one wants to reform the tax code more than we do, but passing a $1 trillion tax increase first on the promise of tax reform later is a political trap. If the President were really sincere about reform and a willingness to keep the top tax rate at or below 35%, he'd negotiate that at the same time he does a debt deal. Mr. Boehner will have a hard enough time getting any debt-limit increase through the House, much less one that raises tax rates.

Full Story

IMF chief calls on US to raise borrowing limit

2011-07-11T21:03:00Z

WASHINGTON - The International Monetary Fund's new chief foresees "real nasty consequences" for the U.S. and global economies if the U.S. fails to raise its borrowing limit.

Christine Lagarde, the first woman to head the global lending institution, said in an interview broadcast Sunday that it would cause interest rates to rise and stock markets to fall. That would threaten an important IMF goal, which is preserving stability in the world economy, she said.

The U.S. borrowing limit is $14.3 trillion. Obama administration officials say the U.S. would begin to default without an agreement by Aug. 2.

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Jobs Picture

2011-07-08T21:03:00Z

Nonfarm payrolls rose only 18,000, the weakest reading since September, the Labor Department said on Friday, well below economists' expectations for a 90,000 rise.

Many economists raised their forecasts on Thursday after a stronger-than-expected reading on U.S. private hiring from payrolls processor ADP, and they expected gains of anywhere between 125,000 and 175,000. fullstory

There has been no global warming since 1998

2011-07-08T21:03:00Z

Why then am I mentioning it now? W-e-l-l, because just as ze war is to the Germans, Chappaquiddick is to the Kennedy family and that Portland masseuse incident to Al Gore, so the recent lack of warming is to the, er, Warmists. They hate it. It's an affront to everything they believe in. Damn it, if the world isn't warming with the alacrity they'd prefer, how are they going to keep the funding gravy train going, and how are they going to persuade an increasingly sceptical populace that the "science" is "settled", the debate over and the time for action is now? That's why they can't reminded of the truth often enough. It's like salting the slugs that are ruining your garden: necessary, but also kind of fun too.fullstory

Obama, lawmakers aim for "big" things in debt talks

2011-07-07T21:03:00Z

After weeks of impasse, President Barack Obama and top congressional leaders are aiming for "something big" as they resume budget talks on Thursday to avert an imminent default.

With Republicans showing new flexibility on taxes, Democrats say Obama will push negotiators to double their target to $4 trillion in budget savings over 10 years.

That would be an ambitious goal, but there have been a few hints of progress since talks hit a brick wall two weeks ago.

Obama and House of Representatives Speaker John Boehner, the top Republican in Washington, have discussed broadening the deal to tackle politically sensitive reforms to the tax code and popular benefits like Social Security, Medicare and Medicaid, a Republican aide said.

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Judiciary Committee Launches Probe of Kagan's Involvement in Obamacare

2011-07-07T21:03:00Z

The House Judiciary Committee is launching an investigation to probe the involvement that Supreme Court Justice Elena Kagan had in "health care legislation or litigation" when she was serving as President Barack Obama's solicitor general and was responsible for defending the administration's position in federal court cases.

The investigation will look at whether Kagan is required by law to recuse herself from judging cases challenging President Obama's health-care law and whether her answers to questions posed by the Senate Judiciary Committee during her confirmation process were accurate.

Investigation into APS cheating finds unethical behavior across every level

2011-07-07T21:03:00Z

Across Atlanta Public Schools, staff worked feverishly in secret to transform testing failures into successes.

Teachers and principals erased and corrected mistakes on students' answer sheets.

Area superintendents silenced whistle-blowers and rewarded subordinates who met academic goals by any means possible.

Superintendent Beverly Hall and her top aides ignored, buried, destroyed or altered complaints about misconduct, claimed ignorance of wrongdoing and accused naysayers of failing to believe in poor children's ability to learn.

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McManus: Team Obama's victory plan

2011-07-07T21:03:00Z

President Obama faces an uphill struggle in his campaign for reelection next year. His job approval rating is stuck just below 50%. The unemployment rate appears likely to remain above 8% until election day. And, though it's too soon to mean much, early polling puts the nominal Republican front-runner, former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney, within striking distance.

Even Obama's staff acknowledges the obstacles. "It's going to be a very close, competitive election ... a street fight for the presidency," White House aide David Plouffe, the strategist who managed Obama's 2008 victory, told reporters cheerfully on Wednesday.

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Politics vs. Reality

2011-07-06T21:03:00Z

It is hard to understand politics if you are hung up on reality. Politicians leave reality to others. What matters in politics is what you can get the voters to believe, whether it bears any resemblance to reality or not.

Not only among politicians, but also among much of the media, and even among some of the public, the quest is not for truth about reality but for talking points that fit a vision or advance an agenda. Some seem to see it as a personal contest about who is best at fencing with words.

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The College Scam

2011-07-06T21:03:00Z

What do Michael Dell, Mark Zuckerberg, Bill Gates and Mark Cuban have in common?

They're all college dropouts.

Richard Branson, Simon Cowell and Peter Jennings have in common?

They never went to college at all.

But today all kids are told: To succeed, you must go to college.

Hillary Clinton tells students: "Graduates from four-year colleges earn nearly twice as much as high school graduates, an estimated $1 million more."

We hear that from people who run colleges. And it's true. But it leaves out some important facts

That's why I say: For many people, college is a scam.

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Southern California Pushes for Secession

2011-07-06T21:03:00Z

A new push to divide the Golden State in two could make Southern California the 51st state.

"Our state legislature that is supposed to be making laws and being respected, imposes laws that aren't even lawful," Riverside County Supervisor Jeff Stone told Los Angeles ABC station KABC-TV. "So I think our state is California gone wild."

Stone is proposing that 13 Southern California counties secede from the state, dividing California into a north and south region.

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Administration calls for halt to Texas execution of Mexican

2011-07-06T21:03:00Z

The Obama administration has asked the Supreme Court to stop Texas from executing a Mexican citizen convicted of raping and killing a 16-year-old girl.

The administration said the court should delay the planned execution Thursday of Humberto Leal for up to six months to give Congress time to consider legislation that would directly affect Leal's case.

The 38-year-old native of Monterrey, Mexico, wasn't told he could contact the Mexican consulate after his arrest for the murder of Adria Sauceda. His lawyers say police violated an international treaty by not telling Leal he could have consular assistance.

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Obama calls lawmakers to White House in effort to break debt stalemate

2011-07-06T21:03:00Z

President Obama on Tuesday rejected calls for a short-term increase in the legal limit on government borrowing and summoned congressional leaders to the White House to restart negotiations over a long-term plan to restrain the deepening national debt.

With an Aug. 2 deadline closing in, Obama urged lawmakers in both parties to break the stalemate that halted talks nearly two weeks ago and seize what he called "a unique opportunity to do something big" to rebalance the nation's finances.

"There may be some in Congress who want to do just enough to make sure that America avoids defaulting on our debt in the short term but then want to kick the can down the road when it comes to solving the larger problem of our deficit. I don't share that view," Obama told reporters during a late-afternoon appearance at the White House.

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Obama's Economists: 'Stimulus' Has Cost $278,000 per Job

2011-07-05T21:03:00Z

The report was written by the White House's Council of Economic Advisors, a group of three economists who were all handpicked by Obama, and it chronicles the alleged success of the "stimulus" in adding or saving jobs. The council reports that, using "mainstream estimates of economic multipliers for the effects of fiscal stimulus" (which it describes as a "natural way to estimate the effects of" the legislation), the "stimulus" has added or saved just under 2.4 million jobs - whether private or public - at a cost (to date) of $666 billion. That's a cost to taxpayers of $278,000 per job.

In other words, the government could simply have cut a $100,000 check to everyone whose employment was allegedly made possible by the "stimulus," and taxpayers would have come out $427 billion ahead. fullstory

Major teachers union endorses Obama's re-election

2011-07-05T21:03:00Z

Members of the National Education Association voted to support Obama on Monday at their annual convention in Chicago.
In a statement, NEA President Dennis Van Roekel says Obama and the union share a vision and members wanted early and strong support to help his election.
The endorsement comes a day after Vice President Joe Biden addressed thousands of educators at the convention. The association has 3.2 million members and bills itself as the largest labor union nationwide.fullstory

Job cuts at major banks intensify: IFR

2011-07-05T21:03:00Z

After more than two years of hiring and robust activity, some are now predicting the biggest investment banking lay-offs since the credit crisis, as managers pare back their headcounts in preparation for what many see as a possible prolonged slump in activity.

Credit Suisse, Goldman Sachs, Lloyds and RBS have been the first to move, slashing hundreds of banker positions in recent days. But the consensus seems to be growing within the industry that more banks will soon follow as falling revenues make cost-cutting more urgent.fullstory

Petraeus Confirmed As New CIA Director

2011-07-01T21:03:00Z

Arguably America's most famous military commander in a generation, Petraeus has been in charge of U.S.-led international forces in Afghanistan since June 2010. The West Point graduate and 37-year Army veteran is also credited with turning around the war in Iraq, from which U.S. troops have been withdrawing in large numbers.

Petraeus will retire from the army as a four-star general. He said he will leave behind his "military brain trust" of staff he has taken with him for the Iraq and Afghan campaigns. Petraeus said he hoped by doing so that he would ease CIA fears that he would try to turn the agency's unique culture into a military operation.fullstory

Violence flares before key Greek austerity vote

2011-06-29T21:03:00Z

With Greece risking bankruptcy if the measures are blocked, parliament was due to vote in the afternoon on the mix of spending cuts, tax increases and privatizations to be implemented as conditions for a massive bailout by the European Union and the International Monetary Fund.

Tens of thousands of protesters, many of them waving Greek flags and beating drums, packed Syntagma Square outside parliament as a 48-hour general strike that began on Tuesday brought central Athens to a standstill.

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How the demise of a trusted adviser could bring down Mahmoud Ahmadinejad

2011-06-29T21:03:00Z

Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, Iran's irascible, unpredictable but devout president, may be forced to resign in the coming weeks as a political crisis far greater than the massive street violence which followed his re-election in 2009 threatens to overwhelm him and his court favourites in the government.

The overweening influence of his close friend and confidant Esfandiar Rahim-Mashaee, the president's chief of staff - who is blamed for the firing of two intelligence ministers and for infuriating even the Supreme Leader, Ayatollah Sayed Ali Khamenei - is expected to bring down Ahmadinejad in one of the most spectacular putsches in the history of the Islamic Republic.

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Obama gives first press conference in 3 months

2011-06-29T21:03:00Z

The world has whirled in the 15 weeks since President Barack Obama last held a big press conference - and the questions have stacked up to his presidential seal.

One central question looms as Obama faces the media in the East Room on Wednesday, and one for which he isn't likely to offer a concrete answer: Will Obama accept any debt ceiling deal with Republicans that doesn't include some kind of tax increase on the wealthy?

Besides the fast-approaching showdown on the debt ceiling, the Obama-starved White House press corps also is likely to press the president - a constitutional lawyer - for a more detailed explanation of why the War Powers Act shouldn't apply to his limited and divisive Libya intervention. Many Republicans and Democrats have insisted that it should.

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Education Maryland Adds Environmental Literacy in High Schools

2011-06-29T21:03:00Z

Maryland is the first state in the country to impose a new requirement to graduate from high school -- something called environmental literacy.

But what is that? That is the question State Senator J. B. Jennings is asking.

"What kind of education is it going to be?" he asks. "Is it going to be fact-based? Or is it going to be theory-based, which is usually politically, theory driven. And you can think, it's going to be about global warming or climate change."

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Greece grinds to a halt as general strike gets underway

2011-06-28T21:03:00Z

Greece ground to a halt Tuesday as angry workers launched a 48-hour general strike against an austerity drive ordered by its bankruptcy-threatened government in exchange for a European bailout.

Crowds converged early on Syntagma Square, where parliament will vote on sweeping spending cuts as planes, ships and most public transport came to a halt.

Europe's economic tsar Olli Rehn in Brussels warned that Greece faced "a critical juncture" and the austerity programme was the "only way to avoid immediate default."

But that view was not shared by protestors, determined to block passage of the package.

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Iran test fires long-range missiles capable of striking Israel, U.S. bases

2011-06-28T21:03:00Z

Iran's Revolutionary Guards tested 14 missiles on Tuesday, the second day of war games intended a show of strength to the Islamic Republic's enemies in Israel and Washington.

The Iranian-made surface-to-surface missiles, with a maximum range of 2,000 km (1,250 miles), were fired simultaneously at a single target, the official IRNA news agency reported.

The head of the Revolutionary Guards' aerospace division emphasized Iran's preparedness to strike Israel and U.S. interests in the event of any attack on Iran.

Report: Obama Films Campaign Ad In White House, Possibly Violating FEC Laws?

2011-06-28T21:03:00Z

NRO's Jim Geraghty raises the question of whether Barack Obama filmed a video for his reelection campaign in the White House, which may possibly be a violation of federal election laws.

(UPDATE: RCP's Alexis Simendinger reports that the White House disputes any inference of wrongdoing. A presidential spokesman said that the video does not constitute fundraising under the law, that portions of the White House can legally be used for that purpose anyway, and that previous presidents have done so. Simendinger's complete story is here.)

In the video, President Obama promotes a "Dinner With Barack" raffle. To participate in the contest you need to donate at least $5 to the president's re-election campaign and your name will be raffled off to enjoy a dinner with the President, airfare and accommodations included. In a new web video, Obama announced Vice President Joe Biden will also be attending the dinner.

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Texas House, Senate approve reworked bills over airport pat-downs

2011-06-28T21:03:00Z

AUSTIN -- The Texas House on Monday gave preliminary approval to legislation that prohibits invasive pat-downs by federal airport security agents after incorporating changes that led House Speaker Joe Straus to drop his resistance to the bill.

The Senate passed its own watered-down version of the bill Monday night. The measure now goes back to the House for another vote today.

The substantially reworked measure, however, ignited a new wave of hostility from another direction as scores of former supporters staged a noisy protest inside the Capitol to denounce the changes. Austin radio talk show host Alex Jones, who led the rally, said the changes "completely gutted" the bill.

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Convicted Blagojevich faces prospect of prison

2011-06-28T21:03:00Z

CHICAGO (AP) - Stunned and nearly speechless after hearing the verdicts against him, former Illinois Gov. Rod Blagojevich will wake up Tuesday to the stark reality that he is likely headed to federal prison within months, leaving behind his wife, two young daughters and comfortable home in a leafy Chicago neighborhood.

A jury convicted him Monday on 17 charges, including trying to sell or trade President Barack Obama's old Senate seat and attempting to shake down executives for campaign cash. The convictions carry a combined maximum prison sentence of around 300 years, but legal experts say a federal judge is likely to send him away for around a decade, give or take a few years.

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Obama's 2012 Game Plan

2011-06-27T21:03:00Z

It was a rare confessional moment for Barack Obama. At a Miami fundraiser in mid-June, the president acknowledged that it's "not as cool" as it was in 2008 to support him. It isn't just a matter of fewer hip posters and viral videos. It's a matter of votes. Rekindling the enthusiasm of African-Americans, educated white liberals, Latinos, young people, and union members-the Democratic Party's most loyal and progressive members-will be a huge challenge. After all, you can only elect the first African-American president once, and the past two and a half years have deeply disappointed many liberals. "I know a lot of the kids who worked hard in 2008," says Hodding Carter III, adviser to the last one-term Democratic president (Jimmy Carter) and now a professor at the University of North Carolina-Chapel Hill. "They walk around like cattle who've been hit with stun guns between their eyes. This isn't how it was supposed to be."

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Like Chauncey Gardiner, Obama Is Profoundly Aloof

2011-06-27T21:03:00Z

Which past leader does Barack Obama most closely resemble? His admirers, not all of them liberals, used to compare him to Abraham Lincoln and Franklin Roosevelt.

Well, Obama announced his candidacy in Lincoln's hometown two days before Abe's birthday, and he did expand the size and scope of government. But no one seriously compares him with Lincoln or FDR anymore.

Conservative critics have taken to comparing him, as you might imagine, to Jimmy Carter. The more cruel among them, like The Weekly Standard's Jay Cost, say the comparison is not to Obama's advantage.

But there is another comparison I think more appropriate for a president who, according to one of his foreign-policy staffers, prefers to "lead from behind." The man I have in mind is Chauncey Gardiner, the character played by Peter Sellers in the 1979 movie "Being There."

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Obama and the Advantage of Incumbency

2011-06-27T21:03:00Z

Was it politics or economics that inspired President Obama to release oil from emergency U.S. reserves this week? Was it national security or re-election that shaped his timetable to un-surge 33,000 troops from Afghanistan by next summer, just in time for his nominating convention?

The honest answer is that every presidential determination is political. In an era of polarized electorates, permanent campaigns and the rise of the political-industrial complex, every contemporary president has worked to ensure that the public good and the political "should" are rarely far apart.

Barack Obama, once touted as a post-partisan president, is as partisan as they come. His actions filter through a political sieve these days because he is a lot of leaders at once. He's a candidate for re-election and the nominal head of the Democratic Party. He is also America's policy setter, head of state and its commander in chief. He possesses what political scientists term the "incumbency advantage" -- the power to exploit the tools of the presidency to try to keep his job.

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The Economic Paralysis

2011-06-27T21:03:00Z

WASHINGTON -- The Bank for International Settlements in Switzerland has just published its annual report, and it is a dour document. The BIS (as it's known) was created in 1930 to handle post-World War I reparation payments from Germany to Britain and France. The Great Depression ended reparations, and now the BIS provides -- among other things -- sober commentary on the global economy. Its latest report oozes foreboding.

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Bill Bradley: How Obama can spur immediate job creation

2011-06-27T21:03:00Z

Eighty-four percent of the American people in a 2011 Pew Research Center poll listed "jobs" as their top public policy priority. Yet the private sector is not hiring fast enough to create jobs in sufficient numbers, and most of the $800 billion stimulus of 2009 has been spent.

Despite this public concern and the threat that continuing high unemployment poses to the fabric of American life, the debate in Washington focuses on immediate spending cuts and extension of the debt limit. Even proponents of immediate spending cuts admit that these will do little to promote job creation; of course they will eliminate jobs as we're now seeing at the state, county and municipal levels.

Bachmann Seizes Home Field Advantage in Iowa

2011-06-27T21:03:00Z

WATERLOO, Iowa -- If any of the several hundred people who entered a ballroom here Sunday night to hear Michele Bachmann speak had been unaware that the Minnesota congresswoman was born in this northeast Iowa town, she made sure that they left without any doubt about that convenient biographical fact.

Bachmann will officially announce her candidacy for president here on Monday morning, but in a warm-up speech before the big event, she was far more interested in talking about her memories of Waterloo than she was in describing what she would do in the White House.

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Bernanke Admits He Just Does Not Know

2011-06-24T21:03:00Z

"We don't have a precise read on why this slower pace of growth is persisting. One way to think about it is that maybe some of the headwinds that have been concerning us, like, you know, weakness in the financial sector, problems in the housing sector, balance sheet and de-leveraging issues -- some of these headwinds may be stronger and more persistent than we thought."

The Federal Reserve Chairman finally admitted reality, if only fleetingly. The Fed still believes that the economy will achieve both its long-run "central tendency" growth rate and its long-run "central tendency" unemployment rate. He just does not know how.fullstory

House rejects measure to continue US role in Libya

2011-06-24T21:03:00Z

The vote was 295-123, with Obama losing the support of 70 of his Democrats one day after Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton had made a last-minute plea for the mission.

While the congressional action had no immediate effect on American involvement in the NATO-led mission, it was an embarrassment to a sitting president and certain to have reverberations in Tripoli and NATO capitals.

The vote marked the first time since 1999 that either House has voted against a military operation. The last time was over President Bill Clinton's authority in the Bosnian war.fullstory

Pelosi Prediction Backfires? Glitches Arise in Health Law

2011-06-23T21:03:00Z

Back in March 2010, then-House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif,, uttered the now-famous words, "We have to pass the bill so that you can find out what is in it, away from the fog of the controversy." Pelosi was talking about the health care law, and it appears she was right about the fact that it was full of unknowns.

It turns out that, due to a glitch in the law, roughly three million middle-income Americans could wind up on Medicaid - which was designed to assist the country's poorest citizens.

"It's gonna cost about $450 billion over 10 years," Senator John Barrasso. R-Wyo., who is also a surgeon, warns. Barrasso says it's yet another burden for average Americans. "Who's gonna pay for that - the taxpayers, people who are paying their bills every day," he says.

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Obama orders rapid drawdown of U.S. troops from Afghanistan

2011-06-23T21:03:00Z

Reporting from Washington-
Declaring that the "tide of war is receding," President Obama ordered a rapid withdrawal of the 33,000 "surge" troops he sent to Afghanistan and charted a path toward ending large-scale U.S. combat operations in Central Asia.

In a nationally televised address Wednesday evening, Obama took care to emphasize what he sees as the successes of the last two years in Afghanistan, saying he was beginning to draw down the number of U.S. troops "from a position of strength" after an intensive counterinsurgency effort.

"We have put Al Qaeda on a path to defeat," he said, prominently citing the killing of the terrorist network's leader, Osama bin Laden.

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Pentagon gets cyberwar guidelines

2011-06-22T21:03:00Z

WASHINGTON (AP) - President Barack Obama has signed executive orders that lay out how far military commanders around the globe can go in using cyberattacks and other computer-based operations against enemies and as part of routine espionage in other countries.

The orders detail when the military must seek presidential approval for a specific cyber assault on an enemy and weave cyber capabilities into U.S. war fighting strategy, defense officials and cyber security experts told The Associated Press.

Signed more than a month ago, the orders cap a two-year Pentagon effort to draft U.S. rules of the road for cyber warfare, and come as the U.S. begins to work with allies on global ground rules.

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Gore: Obama Lacks 'Bold Action' on Global Warming

2011-06-22T21:03:00Z

Former Vice President Al Gore is doing what few environmentalists and fellow Democrats have done before, criticizing President Barack Obama's record on global warming.

In a 7,000-word essay for Rolling Stone magazine that was posted online Wednesday, Gore says Obama has failed to stand up for "bold action." Gore contends that Obama has made little progress on the problem since Republican President George W. Bush. Bush infuriated environmentalists by resisting mandatory controls on the pollution blamed for climate change, despite overwhelming scientific evidence that the burning of fossil fuels is responsible.

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U.S. Postal Service to Stop Paying Into Pension Fund

2011-06-22T21:03:00Z

The U.S. Postal Service, facing insolvency without approval to delay a $5.5 billion payment for worker health benefits, will suspend contributions to an employee retirement account to save $800 million this year.

The Postal Service will stop paying employer contributions to the defined-benefit Federal Employees Retirement System, which covers about 85 percent of career postal workers, it said today in an e-mailed statement. The $115 million payment, made every other week, will stop on June 24, the statement said.

Spend, Cut, Tax and Invest

2011-06-22T21:03:00Z

There is something crazy about what is going on in our country today. Our fiscal condition continues on an unsustainable path, the European currency is heading for a crackup, the Arab world is in the midst of a crackup, unemployment is creeping upward and basically our two parties are telling us that they will not make the reforms that we know are necessary because it would involve too much pain and could imperil their chances of winning the presidency in 2012.

Ever since President Franklin D. Roosevelt's legendary "First 100 Days" in office - which stabilized a country ravaged by the Depression - the first 100 days of every president have been used as a measuring stick for success. That's over. I've said this before, and I believe it even more strongly today: We've gone from the first 100 days to the "Only 100 Days."

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Obama's Drawdown Speech Tied to Afghan War's Gains, Costs

2011-06-22T21:03:00Z

President Obama will deliver a brief White House speech tonight marking the July 2011 start of a phased drawdown of the U.S. forces he sent to Afghanistan 18 months ago when he committed 30,000 additional troops to that country.

Members of Congress were briefed on Tuesday to expect the president to announce a withdrawal of 10,000 troops by the end of 2011, followed by a drawdown of 20,000 troops by the end of 2012, with some flexibility to account for conditions on the ground.

When he announced the so-called "surge" during a prime-time address at West Point in December 2009, the president said the objectives set by the United States in Afghanistan were faltering, and that additional resources were needed "to seize the initiative, while building the Afghan capacity that can allow for a responsible transition of our forces out of Afghanistan."

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Gates warns Congress not to cut off Libya funds

2011-06-20T21:03:00Z

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Defense Secretary Robert Gates warned Congress on Sunday not to cut off funding for U.S. military involvement in Libya and predicted that the operation targeting Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi's forces will "end OK."

Lawmakers question the legality of President Barack Obama's continued use of the U.S. military in Libya without the approval of Congress.

House of Representatives Speaker John Boehner, the top Republican in Congress, last week said Congress could cut funding for U.S. military involvement in Libya, ratcheting up pressure on Obama.

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NBC Apologizes for Omitting 'Under God' From Pledge During U.S. Open Broadcast

2011-06-20T21:03:00Z

BETHESDA, Md. -- NBC issued an on-air apology Sunday for omitting the words "under God" from the Pledge of Allegiance during its coverage of golf's U.S. Open.

The words were edited out of a clip of children reciting the oath -- a move immediately noted by viewers, who took to Twitter and various blogs to voice their anger, the Huffington Post reported.

In a statement during the broadcast, NBC commentator Dan Hicks said, "We began our coverage of this final round just about three hours ago and when we did it was our intent to begin the coverage of this U.S. Open Championship with a feature that captured the patriotism of our national championship being held in our nation's capital for the third time.

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Medvedev hints he and Putin won't be 2012 rivals

2011-06-20T21:03:00Z

MOSCOW (Reuters) - Russian President Dmitry Medvedev dismissed talk of a deepening rift with Prime Minister Vladimir Putin in remarks published Monday, strongly hinting they would not run against each other for president next year.

In a Financial Times interview, he also said he hoped Barack Obama, who has helped improve Russian-U.S. ties, would win a new term as U.S. president next year.

Medvedev, steered into the Kremlin by Putin in 2008 when he was barred from a third straight term, has made veiled criticism of his predecessor and emphasized the need for change, stoking speculation of growing discord ahead of the March 2012 election.

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Medvedev says wants to see Obama re-elected

2011-06-20T21:03:00Z

Russian President Dmitry Medvedev said on Monday he wanted his US counterpart Barack Obama to win re-election next year, fearing that the two men's efforts to improve ties may lose steam under a new administration.

"I can tell you directly -- I would like Barack Obama to be re-elected president of the United States maybe more than someone else," Medvedev said in an interview with the Financial Times whose full transcript was released by the Kremlin early Monday.

"If another person becomes US president then he may have another course," he said.

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2012 Voter Preferences for Obama, "Republican" Remain Close

2011-06-17T21:03:00Z

Forty-four percent of registered voters say they are more likely to vote for "the Republican Party's candidate" and 39% for Barack Obama in the 2012 presidential election, according to Gallup's June update. The current five-percentage-point edge for the generic Republican is not a statistically significant lead, and neither side has held a meaningful lead at any point thus far in 2011.

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"Why Aren't You Speaking English?"

2011-06-17T17:08:00Z

Antolin Aguirre of the Austin Immigrant Rights Coalition was testifying against Senate Bill 9 that would help crack down on illegal immigrants in Texas. Aguirre spoke through an interpreter even though he had been in the U.S. since 1988.

Two minutes into Antolin Aguirre's testimony, Sen. Chris Harris, a Republican from Arlington, interrupted asking Aguirre's interrupter, "Did I understand him correctly that he has been here since 1988?" Harris asked. "Why aren't you speaking in English then?"

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Weiner Tells Friends He Will Step Down

2011-06-16T17:00:00Z

WASHINGTON - Representative Anthony D. Weiner has told friends that he plans to resign his seat after coming under growing pressure from his Democratic colleagues to leave the House, said a person told of Mr. Weiner's plans.

His decision follows of revelations of his lewd online exchanges with women, said a person told of Mr. Weiner's plans.

The news comes as Democratic leaders prepared to hold a meeting on Thursday to discuss whether to strip the 46-year-old Congressman of his committee assignments, a blow which would severely damage his effectiveness.

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Why 70% Tax Rates Won't Work

2011-06-16T17:00:00Z

The intelligentsia of the Democratic Party is growing increasingly enthusiastic about raising the highest federal income tax rates to 70% or more. Former Labor Secretary Robert Reich took the lead in February, proposing on his blog "a 70 percent marginal tax rate on the rich." After all, he noted, "between the late 1940s and 1980 America's highest marginal rate averaged above 70 percent. Under Republican President Dwight Eisenhower it was 91 percent. Not until the 1980s did Ronald Reagan slash it to 28 percent."

That helped set the stage for Rep. Jan Schakowsky (D., Ill.) and nine other House members to introduce the Fairness in Taxation Act in March. That bill would add five tax brackets between 45% and 49% on incomes above $1 million and tax capital gains and dividends at those same high rates. The academic left of the Democratic Party finds this much too timid, and would rather see income tax rates on the "rich" at Mr. Reich's suggested levels-or higher.

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Too Big to Fail Ends With Wave of a Magic Wand: Jonathan Weil

2011-06-16T17:00:00Z

In the words of Sheila Bair, the departing chairman of the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp., the era of too-big-to-fail banks isn't just ending -- it's already over. Consider her statement two weeks ago, in a news release heralding the creation of a committee to advise the agency on how to deal with large, dying financial firms:

"Congress has given the FDIC a tremendous amount of responsibility to ensure that financial organizations formerly deemed too big to fail will no longer receive taxpayer funded bailouts."

Formerly deemed, huh?

Maybe Bair didn't express herself clearly or was giving voice to her inner hopes. Either way, it's hard to believe she convinced anyone that the government wouldn't rescue Bank of America Corp., Citigroup Inc. (C), Goldman Sachs Group Inc. (GS), JPMorgan Chase & Co. (JPM) and Morgan Stanley (MS) -- to name just a few -- amid a crisis that threatened to take down the global financial system.

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Europe Is Falling Apart

2011-06-16T17:00:00Z

Like an overladen container lorry labouring up a steep hill, the European project is close to stalling. If it stalls, even the emergency brake may not stop it running back down the hill, out of control, until it jackknifes off the road. Two of the lads are wrestling over the steering wheel; others lie comatose in the sleeping area at the back of the cab. We need a woman to come and sort them out. And her name is Angela.

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Rush Limbaugh, Sean Hannity, Glenn Beck sell endorsements to conservative groups

2011-06-16T17:00:00Z

If you're a regular listener of Glenn Beck's radio show and you wanted to contribute to a political group that would advance the populist conservative ideals he touts on his show, you'd have plenty of reason to think that FreedomWorks was your best investment.

But if you're a fan of Mark Levin's radio show, you'd have just as much cause to believe that Americans for Prosperity, a FreedomWorks rival, was the most effective conservative advocacy group. And, if Rush Limbaugh or Sean Hannity are who you listen to, you'd be hearing a steady stream of entreaties to support the important work of the Heritage Foundation.

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Supreme Court reinstates collective bargaining law

2011-06-15T17:00:00Z

Madison - Acting with unusual speed, the state Supreme Court on Tuesday ordered the reinstatement of Gov. Scott Walker's controversial plan to end most collective bargaining for tens of thousands of public workers.

The court found that a committee of lawmakers was not subject to the state's open meetings law, and so did not violate that law when it hastily approved the collective bargaining measure in March and made it possible for the Senate to take it up. In doing so, the Supreme Court overruled a Dane County judge who had halted the legislation, ending one challenge to the law even as new challenges are likely to emerge.

The changes on collective bargaining will take effect once Secretary of State Doug La Follette arranges for official publication of the stalled bill, and the high court said there was now nothing to preclude him from doing that. La Follette did not return a call Tuesday to say when the law would be published.

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Boehner Blasts Obama on Libya

2011-06-15T17:00:00Z

House Speaker John Boehner blasted President Obama Tuesday for not giving Congress any sense of whether the Executive branch will comply with federal law that calls for congressional approval of war operations. In a letter to the president, the Ohio Republican said Sunday marks 90 days since the start of military operations in Libya. Boehner asked the president to explain to Congress how the operation is outside the scope of the War Powers Act, which requires congressional approval for military action, and if he can't, Boehner warned the White House to get on the right side of the law.

"On June 3, 2011, the House passed a resolution which, among other provisions, made clear that the administration has not asked for, nor received, congressional authorization of the mission in Libya," Boehner's letter says. "Therefore, it would appear that in five days, the Administration will be in violation of the War Powers Resolution unless it asks for and receives authorization from Congress or withdraws all U.S. troops and resources from the mission."

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Senate vote to repeal ethanol tax credit fails, but some in GOP break ranks

2011-06-15T17:00:00Z

A majority of Senate Republicans appeared to break Tuesday with two decades of GOP orthodoxy against higher taxes, voting to advance a plan to abruptly cancel billions of dollars in annual tax credits for ethanol blenders.

The measure, offered by Sen. Tom Coburn (R-Okla.), fell short of the 60 votes needed to overcome a filibuster threat. But it had the support of 34 of 47 Republicans, most of whom have signed an anti-tax pledge that specifically prohibits raising taxes by any means but economic growth.

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Obama courts Latino vote with visit to Puerto Rico

2011-06-15T17:00:00Z

SAN JUAN, Puerto Rico - President Obama appeared at a series of events here Tuesday, becoming the first U.S. president to visit the island in more than three decades, in a largely symbolic trip that could aid his 2012 reelection prospects.

Rolling his R's as he declared "buenas tardes" (good afternoon), Obama emphasized the ties between the rest of the United States and the commonwealth of Puerto Rico.

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GOP New Hampshire Debate: A Remarkably Friendly Affair

2011-06-14T17:00:00Z

Now that was more like it. Seven Republican presidential candidates showed up Monday night to debate one another at New Hampshire's Saint Anselm College, where they looked -- if not entirely presidential -- then at least poised, collegial and in command of their talking points.

All seven managed to express their differences on public policy without being uncivil to one another, or even disagreeing directly with their fellow candidates. This was made easier by the their shared antipathy for the Obama administration -- and because their differences are pretty nuanced: In case there was any remaining doubt, Monday's session underscored just how conservative the modern Republican Party has become, whether one hails from Ron Paul's libertarian wing, Michele Bachmann's Tea Party Caucus, or the mainstream establishment of Mitt Romney and Tim Pawlenty.

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Obama Is Spinning Mightily

2011-06-14T17:00:00Z

President Barack Obama visited the Jeep plant in Toledo, Ohio, a week ago Friday to tout the alleged economic benefits of his bailout of Chrysler.

The bailout kept the Jeep plant open, the president told workers there. "This plant indirectly supports hundreds of other jobs right here in Toledo," he added. "After all, without you, who'd eat at Chet's or Inky's or Rudy's?"

This week, Richard Lawrence, co-owner of New Chet's restaurant, announced it was closing its doors after 90 years.

So much for indirect benefits. And what Mr. Obama said at the Jeep plant "is one of the most misleading collections of assertions we have found in a short presidential speech," wrote The Washington Post's fact checker, Glenn Kessler. "Virtually every claim made by the president concerning the auto industry deserves an asterisk, just like the fine print in that too-good-to-be-true car loan."

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Pentagon Papers vs. WikiLeaks: Is Bradley Manning the new Ellsberg?

2011-06-14T17:00:00Z

Four decades after The New York Times published the Pentagon Papers, supporters of Army Pfc. Bradley Manning are drawing parallels between the motives that drove Daniel Ellsberg to disclose the Pentagon Papers and Manning's alleged handover of secret government documents to the website WikiLeaks, which released them in tandem with several newspapers.

Moreover, the Pentagon Papers, made public 40 years ago today, were more highly classified than any of the secret materials published by WikiLeaks, according to the Bradley Manning Support Network. President Obama has said that "Ellsberg's material was classified on a different basis" than were the WikiLeaks disclosures. "That's true," Mr. Ellsberg says. "Mine were top secret."

After the Pentagon Papers leaks, which established a record of government intent to mislead the American public about US involvement in Southeast Asia, Ellsberg was charged with 12 federal felony counts and faced a possible 115 years in prison. All charges against Ellsberg were eventually dismissed by the trial judge on the grounds of what the judge called "the totality" of governmental conduct that "offends a sense of justice."

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FBI expands agents' investigative power

2011-06-13T17:00:00Z

Washington ? The Federal Bureau of Investigation is giving significant new powers to its roughly 14,000 agents - allowing them more leeway to search databases, go through household trash or use surveillance teams to scrutinize the lives of people who have attracted their attention.

The FBI soon plans to issue a new edition of its manual, called the Domestic Investigations and Operations Guide, according to an official who has worked on the draft document and several others who have been briefed on its contents. The new rules add to several measures taken over the past decade to give agents more latitude as they search for signs of criminal or terrorist activity.

The FBI recently briefed several privacy advocates about the coming changes. Among them, Michael German, a former FBI agent who is now a lawyer for the American Civil Liberties Union, argued it was unwise to further ease restrictions on agents' power to use potentially intrusive techniques, especially if they lacked a firm reason to suspect someone of wrongdoing.

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Russia objects to US warship in Black Sea

2011-06-13T17:00:00Z

MOSCOW - Russia is voicing concern about a U.S. warship now just off its shores in the Black Sea.

The guided-missile cruiser USS Monterey, which is taking part in annual joint military exercises conducted by NATO and Ukraine, is an integral part of U.S. plans to create a missile shield in Europe, which Russia opposes.

Russia's Foreign Ministry issued a statement Sunday saying Russia "has repeatedly stressed that we will not leave unnoticed any elements of U.S. strategic infrastructure in the immediate vicinity of our borders and will consider any such steps as a threat to our security."

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Administration Energy Policy Linked to Black Jobless Rate

2011-06-13T17:00:00Z

Washington, D.C. - As President Obama meets today in North Carolina with his Council on Jobs and Competitiveness and tours a local "green economy" company, members of the black leadership network Project 21 are reminding him that the black unemployment rate remains over 16 percent and urging him to stop his job-killing war on fossil fuels.

"Instead of currying the favor of the global warming crowd, the President should focus on getting people back to work. Green regulations based on junk science kill jobs and minimize productivity. Profits are now lost to accommodating new laws and regulations instead of hiring new employees and furthering innovation," said Project 21's Ak'Bar Shabazz, who owns several entertainment and telecommunications businesses.

"President Obama and his administration tend to ignore the ramifications of academic theories in real world application. It seems President Obama wants green energy to be his New Deal, but -- if left unchecked -- government subsidies to green energy companies will drive our nation into bankruptcy," said Project 21 member and Chicago-based talk radio host Charles Butler. "The Spanish now recognize their push for a green economy was the catalyst to their fiscal turmoil."

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Did Cisco Cross the Decency Line in China?

2011-06-10T17:00:00Z

It would seem fairly cut-and-dried that U.S. companies operating abroad need to abide by the laws of the countries in which they operate. Even so, when Google launched a search service in China in 2006 and agreed to abide by Chinese censorship laws, a lot of people in this country had a problem with that. I am not one of those people, but I do think there's a moral line that U.S. companies shouldn't cross. And Cisco Systems is alleged to have crossed it.

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Report: Rep. Weiner's wife is pregnant

2011-06-09T17:00:00Z

Huma Abedin, the wife of embattled Rep. Anthony Weiner, is pregnant with the couple's first child, according to The New York Times.

The newspaper, citing "three people with knowledge of the situation," said the couple has disclosed the pregnancy to close friends and family.

The revelation tops a wild day in which key Democrats have called on Weiner to resign. After days of denials, the New York congressman admitted Monday that he sent a lewd, crotch-level photo of himself to a Seattle woman. He also said he had "inappropriate" relationships with women on Facebook and Twitter.

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Republican Rep Urges House to Sever U.N. Aid if Palestinian Statehood Vote Passes

2011-06-09T17:00:00Z

A Republican congressman says he wants the House to cut off U.S. aid to the top office at the United Nations if the international organization votes in favor of Palestinian statehood this fall.

Rep. Thaddeus McCotter, R-Mich., plans to introduce a resolution that would call for the funding cutoff to the "bloated" U.N. Secretariat in New York City -- the office headed by Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon.

The threat comes amid a heated debate over the possibility of the U.N. General Assembly voting to approve statehood. As the Obama administration tries to restart the Middle East peace talks, President Obama has come out against the possible U.N. action. Though he has angered Israel supporters by calling for a return to the pre-1967 borders, with land swaps, the president also argues that Palestinian statehood must be achieved through negotiations -- not decided by the U.N.

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Why Do Americans Continue to Give Obama a Pass?

2011-06-08T17:00:00Z

Why do Americans continue to give President Obama a free pass? Despite pitiful job creation, a lurching and disappointing recovery, recurring confrontations with Israel, paralysis on immigration, despair over Afghanistan, a worsening fiscal outlook, an expensive stalemate in Libya, a dysfunctional relationship with Congress (including his own party) and a world view that is patently at odds with mainstream Americans - Obama continues to enjoy positive approval ratings. As of last week, according to Gallup, more than half of American voters thinks the president is doing a good job.

By what measure? Because he pushed through a still-unpopular health care initiative that spends money we don't have and that manifestly did not cure our out-of-control healthcare outlays? Because he speaks well? Because he's tall?

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Oh my: Pelosi calls for House ethics investigation of Weiner

2011-06-07T17:00:00Z

I thought for sure the Democratic line on this would be, "It's over, he accepted responsibility, let's move on." Nope. So worried are they about the fallout that they're willing to prolong the story as long as they can if it means they can get on the other side of it and isolate Weiner in doing so.

Or is this simply Pelosi knowing/expecting that the GOP will launch an investigation anyway and figuring that she might as well stand up for "good government" while she can?

But after his news conference, House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) announced that she was calling for a House ethics committee probe into whether government resources had been mishandled.

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Deport California's Illegal Immigrant Prisoners

2011-06-07T17:00:00Z

In the classic movie "The Great Escape," a cluster of Hollywood manly men from yesteryear (including my friend Steve McQueen) played Allied POWs who escape from a German camp during World War II.

Today the great escape may be played out by more than 33,000 incarcerated inmates in California who don't escape the state's 33 prisons but are released by a computer error and the U.S. Supreme Court itself.

Many today say prisoners have too many rights and too many creature comforts while doing time and paying the penalties for their crimes. But the Supreme Court recently upheld the ruling of a district court panel that California prisons are sub-par environments for inmates. A 5-4 majority demanded that Golden State officials grant 33,000 of its 143,335 prisoners golden tickets to freedom because severe overcrowding has led to inadequate medical care.

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If any other of our presidents had doubled the national debt....

2011-06-07T17:00:00Z

*If any other of our presidents had doubled the national debt, which had taken more than two centuries to accumulate, in one year, would you have approved?*
*If any other of our presidents had then proposed to double the debt again within 10 years, would you have approved? *
*If any other of our presidents had criticized a state law that he admitted he never even read, would you think that he is just an ignorant hot head? *
*If any other of our presidents joined the country of Mexico and sued a state in the United States to force that state to continue to allow illegal immigration, would you question his patriotism and wonder who's side he was on? *

FULL LIST HERE

Obama solictor general: If you don't like mandate, earn less money

2011-06-06T17:00:00Z

President Obama's solicitor general, defending the national health care law on Wednesday, told a federal appeals court that Americans who didn't like the individual mandate could always avoid it by choosing to earn less money.

Neal Kumar Katyal, the acting solicitor general, made the argument under questioning before the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit in Cincinnati, which was considering an appeal by the Thomas More Law Center. (Listen to oral arguments here.) The three-judge panel, which was comprised of two Republican-appointed judges and a Democratic-appointed judge, expressed more skepticism about the government's defense of the health care law than the Fourth Circuit panel that heard the Virginia-based Obamacare challenge last month in Richmond. The Fourth Circuit panel was made up entirely of Democrats, and two of the judges were appointed by Obama himself.

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Syria Blocks New Border Protest; Toll Rises to 23

2011-06-06T17:00:00Z

Syrian police blocked dozens of pro-Palestinian protesters from approaching the Israeli frontier on Monday. The toll of demonstrators killed trying to break through into the Israeli-controlled Golan Heights rose to 23.

Syrian police set up a pair of checkpoints, including one a half-mile (kilometer) from the border. Nearly 20 protesters, some waving Syrian flags, began walking down a hill leading to the border when two police officers blocked their advance by extending their arms.

Protesters passed Syrian and U.N. outposts without impediment on Sunday and during a similar border rush three weeks ago, and it was not clear why Syrian security forces intervened Monday.

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High School Valedictorian Files Intervention Into Lawsuit on Appeal to Pray at Graduation

2011-06-03T17:00:00Z

A Texas valedictorian is fighting to appeal a court's ban on prayers at graduation ceremonies, with her own being this Saturday.

Angela Hildenbrand, the valedictorian of Medina Valley High School in Castroville, Texas, is fighting U.S. District Judge Fred Biery's ruling on Tuesday that the Medina Valley School District's graduation ceremonies cannot have an invocation or benediction. Biery ruled that students can express their religious beliefs in speeches, but cannot call the crowd to pray or deliver a message considered a prayer.

Dallas-based Liberty Institute filed a lawsuit Thursday on behalf of Hildenbrand in hopes that the U.S. 5th Circuit Court of Appeals will overturn Judge Biery's ruling. The Medina Valley Independent School District also appealed Thursday, seeking an emergency order to overturn Biery's ban by Saturday's commencement.

"I had hoped to use prayer during my speech to thank God, to encourage my peers and to pray for all those in my community affected by this case," said Hildenbrand during a press conference in front of the Alamo in San Antonio on Thursday. "After all that I've been taught about the freedoms of speech, expression and religion on our country, I am disappointed that my liberties are being infringed upon by this court's ruling to censor my speech.

"I have been looking forward to my high school graduation for a long time, and had hoped that it would be cause for celebration, not for conflict."

Full Story here

John Boehner pressures Barack Obama on debt limit

2011-06-03T16:00:00Z

Frustrated by the logjam on Capitol Hill, House Speaker John Boehner is increasingly pressuring President Barack Obama - in public comments and private meetings - to step up to the negotiations table and offer some real ideas.

The Ohio Republican, who helped cut the deal with Obama that kept the government open earlier this spring, is now accusing the president of "failing to lead" on the high-stakes negotiations on the debt limit and is criticizing him on foreign-trade agreements and military action in Libya.

Full Story Here

Weiner: Let's move on, shall we?

2011-06-02T16:00:00Z

Rep. Anthony Weiner gets a skeptical reception from reporters after he suggests that he will move on from the so-called "Weinergate" story that erupted over the weekend.Weiner says the story will go away on its own, to which one reporter responds that the story would go away more quickly if Weiner would answer some of the questions - such as whether he's pressing for an investigation, whether this was a "hack" or a "prank," and so forth. Weiner tells the reporters that he's not convinced answering questions will do much good, a response that they clearly don't accept.Allahpundit has been linking the most prominent "Weinergate" stories in the headlines, but neither of us have had anything to say about the story until now. For my part - I won't speak for AP - the explanation could have gone either way, and I had no opinion on which I thought it might be. Considering that the picture didn't contain any identifying attributes, nothing about it suggested that it depicted Rep. Weiner at all, except for it being on his Twitter thread.

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House Republicans ask FCC to take Fairness Doctrine off the books

2011-06-02T16:00:00Z

The leaders of the House Energy and Commerce Committee wrote to Federal Communications Commission (FCC) Chairman Julius Genachowski on Tuesday asking him to strike the Fairness Doctrine from the agency's rulebook.

The controversial rule, introduced in 1949, required broadcasters to present controversial public issues in a manner deemed fair and balanced by the FCC. The commission concluded in 1987 that the Fairness Doctrine was unconstitutional and pledged to cease enforcing it.

Ten years later a D.C. Circuit Court case prompted the FCC to repeal its political-editorial and personal-attack rules because they interfere with the editorial judgment of journalists. However, both laws remain in the Code of Federal Regulations, according to Republican FCC Commissioner Robert McDowell.

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77,000 Federal Employees Make More Than Their State Governors

2011-06-02T16:00:00Z

77,000. That's the number of federal employees throughout the country that are paid more than the governors in their respective states. And if you think they are all high-level workers, think again. According to the Washington Times, the list includes computer operators, more than 5,000 air traffic controllers, 22 librarians, one interior designer. "Across America, governors are being asked to do more with less, often at lower pay than federal employees in their states. The pay gap between governors and federal employees should prompt Congress to take a closer look at federal salaries," Coburn told the Times. "With our debt and deficits spiraling out of control, now is the time to ask agencies - not just governors - to do more with less."

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ObamaCare's Disastrous New Long-Term Care Entitlement

2011-06-01T16:00:00Z

A path toward long-term deficit reduction and better health care budgeting. What the White House and its allies neglected to mention was that they'd tacked an unworkable, unsustainable $70 billion long-term care entitlement onto the bill in order to dress up its official budget projections. It's called the CLASS (Community Living Assistance Service and Supports) Act, and it helped ObamaCare score big on decade-long deficit reduction estimates. Its designers even promised that it would be self-sustaining for at least 75 years.

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Dangerous Precedent for Press

2011-05-31T16:00:00Z

A little more than a week ago, Vice President Joe Biden traveled to fundraisers in two battleground-state cities, Pittsburgh and Cincinnati.

Neither stop included the White House press corps; requests by local media to cover the events were denied by the vice president's press office. The Democratic National Committee arranged the events for the Obama Victory Fund.

A number of seasoned political reporters and former White House press-office staffers consider that lack of coverage a dangerous precedent.

"It would behoove the Obama administration to keep its promise of transparency even with fundraisers," agrees Jeff Brauer, a political history professor at Keystone College. "The United States is a democracy, after all."

Having press coverage of fundraising events that feature the president or vice president matters for at least two reasons, Brauer explains.

Read full story here

Ariz. seeks online donations to build border fence

2011-05-31T16:00:00Z

PHOENIX - Arizona lawmakers want more fence along the border with Mexico - whether the federal government thinks it's necessary or not.

They've got a plan that could get a project started using online donations and prison labor. If they get enough money, all they would have to do is get cooperation from landowners and construction could begin as soon as this year.

Gov. Jan Brewer recently signed a bill that sets the state on a course that begins with launching a website to raise money for the work, said state Sen. Steve Smith, the bill's sponsor.

"We're going to build this site as fast as we can, and promote it, and market the heck out of it," said Smith, a first-term Republican senator from Maricopa.

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John Bryson: Green At Heart, Greener In The Wallet

2011-05-31T16:00:00Z

NEW YORK - John Bryson is sitting on the fence. And he's getting paid quite well to sit there. He's the chief executive of Edison International, the Rosemead, Calif.-based energy company, and parent of one of California's two major utilities, Southern California Edison (SCE).

Although the company is stuck between old-world regulation and a new-world deregulated market, Bryson, 57, is getting new-world compensation. In the last five years, he's made about $11 million--more than $2 million a year.

That puts Bryson on our list of the worst-valued chief executives on Forbes.com's First Annual CEO Value Survey. Bryson took home $4 million for every percentage point Edison shrank (measured by average of annualized growth in sales, income, and share price over 5 years).

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Where does California put 33,000 released inmates?

2011-05-27T16:00:00Z

In the name of reducing prison overcrowding and preserving a "standard of decency," the U.S. Supreme Court this week handed down a decision that could set the stage for something indecent: the release of tens of thousands of prisoners back into society.

Just when Californians thought they had seen it all and endured it all. The Golden State has withstood drought, mudslides, fires and earthquakes. It has a massive budget deficit, about $9.6 billion, that only looks manageable by comparison with what it was just a few months ago, $25.4 billion, before the state tallied up tax revenue from high-income Californians. The state has an unemployment rate that is higher than the national average at 11.7 percent, and it has one of the highest rates of mortgage foreclosures per capita in the country.

What's next? How about "Get Out of Jail Free" cards for 33,000 inmates in the state prison system? It could happen.
In a 5-4 decision this week, the Supreme Court upheld a 2009 ruling by a lower court that ordered California officials to shrink the prison population by about 25 percent. The state could decide how to meet that goal, the lower court said, but the goal had to be met one way or another. No stalling. No excuses.

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Reading Obama: Hope, Change, Nietzsche

2011-05-27T16:00:00Z

BARACK OBAMA, though he is evidently thoughtful and intellectually capable, is not usually considered a man of ideas. In contrast to a policy wonk such as Bill Clinton or an ideological standard-bearer such as Ronald Reagan, Obama has never even brandished a distinct political philosophy. He sought the White House not so much on a platform as on a sensibility-a spirit of change, a promise of redemption, a song of hope.

That sensibility was largely responsible for the almost otherworldly appeal that Obama exhibited, in the eyes of countless devotees, during the campaign in 2008. As much as any group, intellectuals rallied to Obama's candidacy with a zeal not seen in presidential campaigns since an earlier generation of students, horn-rimmed and tweed-coated, cheered the parlor poet Eugene McCarthy, or even the noble and quixotic sallying of Adlai Stevenson, with his famous varsity wit. The creative class' romance with Obama even recalled Irving Howe's explanation of Stevenson's allure: the so-called eggheads of the 1950s, he wrote in "Stevenson and the Intellectuals," were "tempted to abandon politics entirely yet felt themselves forced-indeed, trapped-into a lukewarm, gingerly participation. ... And here was this remarkable man from Illinois, so charming and cultivated ... come to represent and speak for them. Roosevelt might be admired for things he had done, Stevenson was to be admired and identified with simply because of what he was." So the roles of the politician and the intellectual had been conflated, or perhaps confused.

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Mediscare: The Surprising Truth

2011-05-27T16:00:00Z

The Obama administration has repeatedly claimed that the health-reform bill it passed last year improved Medicare's finances. Although you'd never know it from the current state of the Medicare debate-with the Republicans being portrayed as the Medicare Grinches-the claim is true only because ObamaCare explicitly commits to cutting health-care spending for the elderly and the disabled in future years.

Yet almost no one familiar with the numbers thinks that the planned brute-force cuts in Medicare spending are politically feasible. Last August, the Office of the Medicare Actuary predicted that Medicare will be paying doctors less than what Medicaid pays by the end of this decade and, by then, one in seven hospitals will have to leave the Medicare system.

But suppose the law is implemented just as it's written. In that case, according to the Medicare Trustees, Medicare's long-term unfunded liability fell by $53 trillion on the day ObamaCare was signed.

But at what cost to the elderly? Consider people reaching the age of 65 this year. Under the new law, the average amount spent on these enrollees over the remainder of their lives will fall by about $36,000 at today's prices. That sum of money is equivalent to about three years of benefits. For 55-year-olds, the spending decrease is about $62,000-or the equivalent of six years of benefits. For 45-year-olds, the loss is more than $105,000, or nine years of benefits.

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Obama's Middle East Policy Threatens Peace

2011-05-27T16:00:00Z

Every Arab-Israeli negotiation contains a fundamental asymmetry: Israel gives up land, which is tangible; the Arabs make promises, which are ephemeral. The long-standing American solution has been to nonetheless urge Israel to take risks for peace while America balances things by giving assurances of U.S. support for Israel's security and diplomatic needs.

It's on the basis of such solemn assurances that Israel undertook, for example, the Gaza withdrawal. In order to mitigate this risk, President George W. Bush gave a written commitment that America supported Israel absorbing major settlement blocs in any peace agreement, opposed any return to the 1967 lines and stood firm against the so-called Palestinian right of return to Israel.

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Time to Hoard Your Light Bulbs

2011-05-27T16:00:00Z

BUNNY WILLIAMS, the no-nonsense decorator known for her lush English-style rooms, is laying in light bulbs like canned goods. Incandescent bulbs, that is - 60 and 75 watters - because she likes a double-cluster lamp with a high- and a low-watt bulb, one for reading, one for mood.

"Every time I go to Costco, I buy more wattage," Ms. Williams said the other day. She is as green as anybody, she added, but she can't abide the sickly hue of a twisty compact fluorescent bulb, though she's tried warming it up with shade liners in creams and pinks. Nor does she care for the cool blue of an LED.

It should be noted that, like most decorators, Ms. Williams is extremely precise about light. The other day, she reported, she spent six hours fine-tuning the lighting plan of a project, tweaking the mix of ambient, directional and overhead light she had designed, and returning to the house after dusk to add wattage and switch out lamps like a chef adjusting the flavors in a complicated bouillabaisse.

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Obama Forgets History And Thus Makes Future Disastrous History

2011-05-26T16:00:00Z

A reader writes to me that I don't understand how President Barack Obama is really friendly toward Israel-didn't he say all those nice things?-and I'm distorting his words because I don't just like him.

Like many people (half of the U.S. population?) I desperately want to like him because it's better to have a smart, competent president rather than someone leading toward disaster. But unlike a lot of people I'm willing to face reality. Because facing reality is the first step toward solving problems.

Let me try one more time to give an example-one among many-of the problem with Obama, his policies and his speeches.

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Arizona plans fence to stop immigration from Mexico - if Americans will pay for it

2011-05-26T16:00:00Z

Arizona was the first state to enact a tough anti-illegal immigration law last year. Now, it wants to be the first to build its own fence along the Mexico border.

A law that allows for construction of the fence goes into effect July 20. The state now needs money - and Arizona Sen. Steve Smith (R) is counting on the generosity of Americans to make the project come to fruition.

"Unfortunately, the state is broke and quite frankly we can't take on this massive project by ourselves," says the senator who sponsored the legislation.

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Israelis See Netanyahu Trip as Diplomatic Failure

2011-05-26T16:00:00Z

JERUSALEM - Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu of Israel returned from Washington on Wednesday to a nearly unanimous assessment among Israelis that despite his forceful defense of Israel's security interests, hopes were dashed that his visit might advance peace negotiations with the Palestinians.

One of the widely articulated goals of his trip, where he met with President Obama and addressed Congress, was to find a way to lure the Palestinians back to direct negotiations, thereby preempting their plan to approach the United Nations in September for recognition of statehood within the pre-1967 lines.

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Polar Ice Rapture Misses Its Deadline

2011-05-26T16:00:00Z

While Harold Camping spends this week trying to wipe egg off his face after real-world events spectacularly falsified his prediction that the Christian rapture would occur on May 21, global warming alarmists are similarly trying to wipe egg off their faces after real-world events spectacularly falsified their predictions of an imminent polar ice rapture.

This week, a 1979 Palm Beach Post article resurfaced in which Steven Schneider, who for the past 30 years was one of the most prominent global warming alarmists, claimed the west Antarctic ice sheet could melt before the year 2000 and inundate American coastlines with up to 25 feet of sea level rise. Obviously, the west Antarctic ice sheet was not raptured away last century, and New Yorkers can still drive rather than swim to work.

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The truth behind Chrysler's fake auto bailout pay back Read more at the Washington Examiner: http://washingtonexaminer.com/blogs/beltway-confidential/2011/05/truth-behind-chrysler-s-fake-auto-bailout-pay-back#ixzz1NStEEXQE

2011-05-26T16:00:00Z

It is not every day that the White House and Democratic National Committee celebrate a supposedly private company's debt restructuring plan, but such is the marriage of big government and big business under the Obama administration. The New York Times reports: "Chrysler said Tuesday that it had paid back $7.6 billion in loans from the American and Canadian governments, marking another significant step in the revival of the company, the smallest of the Detroit automakers."

American taxpayers have already spent more than $13 billion bailing out Chrysler. The Obama administration already forgave more than $4 billion of that debt when the company filed for bankruptcy in 2009. Taxpayers are never getting that money back. But how is Chrysler now paying off the rest of the $7.6 billion they owe the Treasury Department?

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Signs of Desperation at the Fed

2011-05-24T07:00:00Z

Thanks to Ben Bernanke's new monetary "tools", the Federal Reserve continues to operate in panic mode. Specifically, because the Fed now pays interest on reserves held by banks at the Federal Reserve, excess reserves are piling up at the Fed at a remarkable rate.

There are now $1.5 trillion in excess reserves just sitting there that could explode and hit the economy at anytime and cause huge price inflation. There has never, ever, before Bernanke started paying interest on reserves so much of an overhang in excess reserves. In the month before the Fed started paying interest on excess reserves, September 2008, excess reserves stood at only $27 billion.

Here's the difference between then and now:

THEN: 27,000,000,000

NOW: 1,500,000,000,000

Here's a graph of the situation:

http://www.economicpolicyjournal.com/2011/05/sign-of-desperation-at-fed.html

Being Barack Obama isn't enough

2011-05-24T07:00:00Z

In politics, the personal touch matters. So when the phone rang in the Princeton office of Professor Cornell West back in February 2007 and he picked it up to hear Senator Barack Obama's voice saying that he wanted to "clarify some things", the radical black philosopher was prepared to listen.

West had been taunting Obama publicly for keeping his fellow African-Americans "at arm's length", telling him that "you can't take black people for granted just 'cause you're black". In a two-hour conversation, Obama explained who he was.

Shortly afterwards, the two men met in Washington and West was enlisted as a campaign ally who would vouch for him in places like Harlem where, a few months later he would introduce the presidential candidate as "an eloquent brother, a good brother, a decent brother".

Last week, however, West was once again questioning Obama's "deracinated" essence, noting that he was "most comfortable with upper middle-class white and Jewish men" and stating that he didn't think that "in good conscience I could tell anybody to vote for" him in 2012.

Full story

Supreme Court orders release of over 30,000 prisoners in CA to ... improve health care

2011-05-24T07:00:00Z

California will have to release over 30,000 inmates from its prison system to comply with a Supreme Court ruling earlier today. The court cited chronic violations of inmates' rights in its 5-4 decision. The reductions will improve the delivery of health care services to the remaining inmates, claims the majority:

"The Supreme Court on Monday endorsed a court order requiring California to cut its prison population by tens of thousands of inmates to improve health care for those who remain behind bars.

"The court said in a 5-4 decision that the reduction is "required by the Constitution" to correct longstanding violations of inmates' rights. The order mandates a prison population of no more than 110,000 inmates, still far above the system's designed capacity.

"There are more than 142,000 inmates in the state's 33 adult prisons, meaning roughly 32,000 inmates will need to be transferred to other jurisdictions or released."

Full story

Top 10 Obama Foreign Policy Flubs

2011-05-23T07:00:00Z

Barack Obama brought to the presidency the foreign policy experience of a community organizer, that is to say, none. And it shows. If there is such a thing as an Obama Doctrine, it might be this: React slowly to a foreign crisis and, in a conflict, pick a side hostile to U.S. interests. Here are the Top 10 Obama Foreign Policy Flubs.

Full story at Human Events

Israeli PM Urges US to Return to 1845 Borders

2011-05-23T07:00:00Z

This is satire, but in a way it isn't.

Israeli PM calls for "just solution" to end the conflict.

Aboard Air Force Aleph (Reuters) - Speaking to reporters accompanying Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on his long flight to the United States tonight, Netanyahu spoke of the injustice and hardship Mexicans have endured since American forces annexed Texas in 1845. "Tens of thousands of ordinary Mexicans were driven out of their homes - the only homes they had known for centuries - and forced to live in poverty and squalor south of the border imposed by American aggression," Netanyahu said.

Full article

China Considers War

2011-05-23T07:00:00Z

On a visit to the U.S. this week, China's top military commander Chen Bingde suggested that the international coalition patrolling the Gulf of Aden and the waters off the coast of Somalia ought to take decisive action against pirate dens on land. So far, the counter-piracy strategy has focused on the pirate "mother-ships," usually retrofitted trawlers that tow little skiffs out into the deep sea. Yet the pirate problem emanating from lawless Somalia cost the global economy over $8.3 billion in 2010. And China has a huge stake in securing its ever-increasing economic interests in the region.
Chen, the chief of the general staff of the People's Liberation Army, told reporters:
For counter-piracy campaigns to be effective, we should probably move beyond the ocean and crash their bases on the land... It is important that we target not only the operators, those on the small ships or crafts conducting the hijacking activities, but also the figureheads.
It's probably one of the first instances a high-ranking Beijing official publicly advocated what is tantamount to a ground war in a foreign country.
China, of course, is notoriously prickly about principles of sovereignty and "non-interference" and has invoked them for decades at the U.N. and in other forums of the international community, sometimes when seeking to thwart tough action on dictatorships and murderous regimes that happen to be close to Beijing. In the imagination of the developing world, military interventions like the U.S.-European swoop into Libya are still coded with the memory of an earlier, unjust imperial moment.

Read more: http://globalspin.blogs.time.com/2011/05/21/facing-the-threat-of-piracy-china-starts-to-talk-like-a-superpower/#ixzz1NBErlq4H

EPA Doles-Out Taxpayer Dollars to Environmentalist Activist Groups

2011-05-20T15:08:00Z

In November 2009, a dozen protesters triggered a traffic jam in an intersection of Chicago's financial sector by laying down in a circle in the middle of the road, locking their arms together inside pieces of pipe. They were protesting the city's climate exchange, part of a scheme to regulate CO2 emissions through permits. Ironically, it was a case of a left-leaning plan being attacked by the far left.

After a few hours, the activists were arrested, including among their ranks members of groups like the Little Village Environmental Justice Organization (LVEJO). According to an Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) website, about six months later, the agency awarded LVEJO a $25,000 environmental justice grant, which was to be directed to "...work[ing] in coalition with their partners to implement 3 areas of Climate Change Mitigation..." The first "area" is to "...conduct a grassroots Clean Power Campaign in the Chicago Region to address coal power plant emissions..."

If EPA's grant was an attempt get LVEJO to change its tactics, it doesn't seem to have worked. After getting the grant, a half dozen activists from LVEJO and other groups were arrested after climbing the fence to a coal-fired power plant and unfurling a banner that read: "Close Chicago's Toxic Coal Plant." Even amid America's deficit crisis, the EPA has enough walking-around money to fund green radicals harassing EPA-regulated businesses in President Barack Obama's hometown - coincidentally, the same President who spoke of bankrupting new coal-fired power plants.

Although the rest of the nation has had to tighten its belt, that has not been the case for the EPA. The Obama Administration's first budget increased EPA funding to $10.3 billion, a whopping 36% over the preceding fiscal year. While the President's current budget request is down from the all-time high, it is still more than 20% over the FY 2008 budget.

Full story

Socialist Senator Sanders Hawks His Book Like an Evil Capitalist

2011-05-20T15:08:00Z

Vermont's Sen. Bernie Sanders is a different kind of socialist: the kind who will partake in the capitalist venture of freely exchanging money for products... at least when it comes to selling his own book.

The self-described socialist is out promoting his straight-to-paperback The Speech: A Historic Filibuster on Corporate Greed and the Decline of Our Middle Class, and was eager to sign and sell copies at corporate entities like Barnes & Noble in Washington, D.C.

That's where HUMAN EVENTS caught up with Sanders to ask him how exactly an avowed socialist squares his collectivist worldview with the fact that he's taking a bite of the forbidden fruit of capitalism? Is he giving away his "profits" to the federal government?

Watch the video in the Web Videos section of our site.

The dead infant and the birth-certificate mystery

2011-05-19T15:08:00Z

NEW YORK - Amid questions about the authenticity of Obama's posted birth records raised by the registration number, a researcher has discovered a possible explanation.

The Post and Email blog, which has focused on the Obama eligibility controversy, features a report by an unnamed researcher who discovered the record of a girl born the same day as the president who died a day later that could have been the source of Obama's birth certificate.

The find is significant because of questions about the plausibility of the registration number indicated on the images of short-form and long-form birth certificates for the president posted on the Internet.

As WND reported, the numbers on the published Hawaii birth certificates of twins Susan and Gretchen Nordyke are lower than the number given Obama, even though the president's birth certificate was accepted by the registrar general and stamped with a certificate number three days earlier. Further, as WND reported yesterday, an article by the man who was Hawaii's registrar general at the time Obama was born confirmed birth certificates were numbered immediately upon acceptance by the registrar general.

Read more: The dead infant and the birth-certificate mystery http://www.wnd.com/?pageId=300201#ixzz1MnflRFWH

The dead infant and the birth-certificate mystery

2011-05-19T07:00:00Z

Prayer request for Osama bin Laden

2011-05-18T15:08:00Z

WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. - The name of Osama bin Laden appears in the Holy Name of Jesus Sunday bulletin. There's a cross next to it.

A parishioner made a prayer request for the mastermind behind the 9/11 attack on America.

A church secretary took the Mass intention a week ago. She admitted she thought it was a joke at first. But few are laughing.

"I think it's totally wrong, he doesn't belong in the Catholic religion. For what he did to Americans, he doesn't belong anywhere," says Lois Pizzano, a Catholic Church member. "It's unconscionable, it's sacrilegious," said Pizzano.

What do YOU think. Post your comments below...

Obama Care Waivers

2011-05-18T14:26:00Z

Of the 204 new Obamacare waivers President Barack Obama's administration approved in April, 38 are for fancy eateries, hip nightclubs and decadent hotels in House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi's Northern California district.

That's in addition to the 27 new waivers for health care or drug companies and the 31 new union waivers Obama's Department of Health and Human Services approved.

Pelosi's district secured almost 20 percent of the latest issuance of waivers nationwide, and the companies that won them didn't have much in common with companies throughout the rest of the country that have received Obamacare waivers.

Other common waiver recipients were labor union chapters, large corporations, financial firms and local governments. But Pelosi's district's waivers are the first major examples of luxurious, gourmet restaurants and hotels getting a year-long pass from Obamacare.

Read more: http://dailycaller.com/2011/05/17/nearly-20-percent-of-new-obamacare-waivers-are-gourmet-restaurants-nightclubs-fancy-hotels-in-nancy-pelosi%e2%80%99s-district/#ixzz1MhcHxneu

17 Year Old Headed to School Board

2011-05-18T14:18:00Z

A Daniel Boone High School junior, who built his campaign on fiscal responsibility, has in all likelihood won a seat on the school board as the top vote-getter in Region 1 on both Republican and Democratic ballots.

Connor Kurtz, a 17-year-old Daniel Boone High School junior who will turn 18 in September, ran for a board seat after noticing the district made "unwise" financial and academic decisions, such as raising taxes and cutting educational programs, he said.

Kurtz made suggestions to remedy the district's problems, including becoming business friendly to attract new commerce, which will reduce the need that Daniel Boone will need to tax residents.
During a phone interview with The Mercury Tuesday night, Kurtz said he was "very excited" that he won a seat on the school board and is looking forward to working with his colleagues in "tackling" the issues that need fixed in the district.

http://pawatercooler.com/?p=22555

Navy calling on gamers to help with security

2011-05-17T18:00:00Z

To combat Somali pirates, the U.S. Navy has relied on warships, snipers and SEAL teams. Now, it is turning to the heavy artillery: Internet gamers.

This month, the Office of Naval Research will roll out the military's first-ever online war game open to the public, crowd-sourcing the challenges of maritime security to thousands of "players" sitting in front of their computers.

The project - named MMOWGLI (the acronym for Massively Multiplayer Online Wargame Leveraging the Internet) - is a video game for policy wonks. It aims to replicate a traditional military strategy session on an exponentially larger scale, bringing together a diverse mix of government and outside experts that would be impossible even in the largest Pentagon conference room.

Full story here

Default deniers: The new skeptics

2011-05-17T17:00:00Z

They are the newest breed of government skeptics, the swelling ranks of Republicans who don't believe the Obama administration when it says a failure to raise the debt limit will prove catastrophic.

And they stand ready to make negotiations over raising the cap on debt as grueling as possible, making Treasury officials and Wall Street more nervous than ever that the country could suffer an unprecedented default with consequences no one can predict.

The suspicion, which once flourished on only the conservative outskirts of economic circles, has seeped into the mainstream in recent weeks, gaining broader acceptance among establishment Republicans, even as the administration issues increasingly dire warnings.

House Speaker John Boehner (R-Ohio) validated the default deniers Sunday, saying, "I understand the doubts." Jim Nussle, a budget director under former President George W. Bush, argued last week that "no one's going to default" if Congress misses the Aug. 2 deadline. And Alabama Sen. Jeff Sessions, the top Republican on the Budget Committee, accused the White House of scare tactics similar to those used by the previous administration to win quick approval of the 2008 bank bailout after the markets crashed.

Read more: http://www.politico.com/news/stories/0511/55087.html#ixzz1MhYUkrYR

Opinion Should Put an End to Judge's 15 Years of Attacks on Firearms Industry

2011-05-10T07:00:00Z

Last week, the U.S. Court of Appeals issued a ruling in the only cases to reach appellate court arising from New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg's 2006 civil lawsuits against out-of-state firearms retailers that interfered with as many as 18 ongoing criminal investigations. Not surprisingly, Mayor Bloomberg filed those cases in federal district court in Brooklyn, N.Y., before his handpicked judge, Jack B. Weinstein. For the entire story click here.

Rising Gas Prices, Historic Deficits Spell Advantage Democrats? So Says NYT's Carl Hulse

2011-05-10T07:00:00Z

New York Times congressional reporter Carl Hulse, whose reporting has been somewhat more balanced of late, reverted to old partisan habits in Monday's story, "Democrats' Plan Would Offset Deficit by Ending Big Oil's Tax Breaks.

Read more: http://newsbusters.org/blogs/clay-waters/2011/05/09/rising-gas-prices-historic-deficits-spell-advantage-democrats-so-says-n#ixzz1LxOSj441

Osama bin Laden raid yields trove of computer data

2011-05-03T07:00:00Z

The assault force of Navy SEALs snatched a trove of computer drives and disks during their weekend raid on Osama bin Laden's compound, yielding what a U.S. official called "the mother lode of intelligence."

The special operations forces grabbed personal computers, thumb drives and electronic equipment during the lightning raid that killed bin Laden, officials told POLITICO.

Read more: http://www.politico.com/news/stories/0511/54151.html#ixzz1LIhY9saL

Source: US Government Believes Pakistan Compound was Built Specifically for Bin Laden

2011-05-03T07:00:00Z

Sources tell ABC News that administration officials believe Osama bin Laden had been living at the Abbottabad, Pakistan compound for years, with one senior administration source even suggesting the compound was specifically built in 2005 for the al Qaeda leader.

That this compound was constructed in the neighborhood of former Pakistani military officials and a local military academy is of course calling into question the participation of the local - if not national - government.

What was life like in the Bin Laden compound?

2011-05-03T07:00:00Z

A fortified compound in a quiet suburb was home to the world's most wanted man, Osama Bin Laden, and a few close associates. The building was also reportedly home to several of his wives, numerous children and domestic helpers. But what kind of life did they lead ?

They certainly lived an isolated existence and had barely any contact with their affluent and congenial neighbours, residents in the area told the BBC's M Ilyas Khan in Abbottabad.

What Is the Purpose Of A Gold Standard?

2011-04-29T07:00:00Z

What is the purpose of a gold standard system?

If you ask the typical academic Keynesian economist this question, he would probably say that there was no purpose at all. People used gold just because it is shiny and beguiling, and therefore attractive to superstitious, primitive people. For the entire story click here.

Democrats' Hispanic Problem

2011-04-29T07:00:00Z

Among the challenges facing the Democrats in the 2012 election is the prospect that President Barack Obama will not be able to re-energize his base -- which included record numbers of Hispanic voters in 2008. Hispanics gave Obama 67 percent of their votes, but just as importantly, Hispanic turnout was higher than usual. More than 10 million Hispanics cast 9 percent of the total vote, the largest ever. Click here for the entire article.

5 Common Political Beliefs That Simply Aren't True

2011-04-26T07:00:00Z

The sad truth of the matter is that most Americans don't pay much attention to politics and those that do often just parrot doctrine instead of investigating issues with an open mind. This allows lies, myths, and dubious assertions to live on long after they should have shriveled and died in the light of day. Here are just a few of those diseased assertions that have continued to circulate in the body politic long after they should have been cured. Click here for the entire article.

8 tips on contacts with 'open carry' citizens

2011-04-26T07:00:00Z

Open carry is gaining momentum in areas of the country that won't allow concealed carry permits, or where those permits are so highly restricted as to be all but impossible to obtain. Debates and arguments for and against open carry are fueling increasing concerns and outright alarm on both sides.

Proponents for open carry argue that government officials in certain areas of the country routinely deny issuance of concealed carry permits and generally have an anti-gun or elitist mentality. Click here for the entire article.

Easter Sunday: Where did Obama go to church?

2011-04-25T07:00:00Z

On a bright Easter morning in Washington, President Obama and his family attended the Shiloh Baptist Church. Greeted by applause and a choir singing "Total Praise," the first family couldn't help but stand out in the second row pew no matter how much they might have wanted their worship to be intimate and without the trappings of the presidency. "The Secret Service said, just be ourselves," the church's pastor, Dr. Wallace Charles Smith, told the congregation, according to the Associated Press. "This is a place of worship," Dr. Smith added as he asked people not to take photographs. Obama declined an invitation to speak. Click here for the entire article.

Donald Trump's not so Conservative record

2011-04-25T07:00:00Z

PHOENIX, April 21, 2011- Donald Trump has made major headlines lately with his continuous questioning of President Obama's birth certificated and a possible run for the Presidency.

More recently, he has claimed that he is ultra-Conservative and a genuine Tea Partier.

Giving speeches at tea party rallies and partaking in numerous interviews with the media, Donald Trump has made the case that he is the best one to take on Obama in 2012.

A smart dressed guy, Donald Trump

I am sorry folks, he isn't. And his record speaks for itself.

Not to go on a bashing of Donald Trump, let me lay out some of The Donald's not so Conservative past.

Killer Combo of High Gas, Food Prices at Key Tipping Point

2011-04-22T07:00:00Z

The combination of rising gasoline prices and the steepest increase in the cost of food in a generation is threatening to push the US economy into a recession, according to Craig Johnson, president of Customer Growth Partners. Johnson looks at the percentage of income consumers are spending on gasoline and food as a way of gauging how consumers will fare when energy prices spike. Click here for the entire article.

'Disappointed' supporters greet Obama in California

2011-04-22T07:00:00Z

Hundreds of protesters, mostly Hispanics demanding immigration reform, gathered to vent their disappointment with US President Barack Obama as he visited California.

Many of the activists said they were Obama supporters but felt let down by the slow pace of the change he promised in his 2008 White House run. The president is currently ramping up his campaign for another term. Click here for the entire article.

Vilsack: Jobs at risk if ethanol funds end

2011-04-21T07:00:00Z

U.S. Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack said Wednesday that it's too early to end $6 billion in annual federal subsidies for ethanol production because it would cost jobs. But officials at CHS, a farm cooperative that is Minnesota's largest ethanol marketer, acknowledged that a gradual reduction in subsidies may be in the cards. Vilsack also indicated that ethanol's tax credits might not be renewed without changes. Click here for the entire story.

White House to host eco-friendly Easter Egg Roll

2011-04-21T07:00:00Z

With a theme of "Ready, Set, Go!" this year's annual White House Easter Egg Roll will focus on healthy kids and going green.

According to the official White House site, the event will be held on April 5 and will feature live music, sports, cooking stations, storytelling and, of course, Easter egg rolling. All of the activities will be geared towards encouraging children to lead healthy and active lives as part of Michelle Obama's "Let's Move!" campaign to combat childhood obesity. Click here for the entire story.

Apple named 'least green' tech company

2011-04-21T07:00:00Z

Apple has come bottom of the most comprehensive green league table of technology companies because of its heavy reliance on "dirty data" centres.

The list, which is compiled by Greenpeace and released in San Francisco on Thursday, shows that the company relies heavily on highly polluting coal power at the sites that house its banks of servers. Click here for the entire story.

The Presidential Divider

2011-04-14T07:00:00Z

Did someone move the 2012 election to June 1? We ask because President Obama's extraordinary response to Paul Ryan's budget yesterday-with its blistering partisanship and multiple distortions-was the kind Presidents usually outsource to some junior lieutenant. Mr. Obama's fundamentally political document would have been unusual even for a Vice President in the fervor of a campaign. The immediate political goal was to inoculate the White House from criticism that it is not serious about the fiscal crisis, after ignoring its own deficit commission last year and tossing off a $3.73 trillion budget in February that increased spending amid a record deficit of $1.65 trillion. Click here for the entire article.

Kindergarten teacher has kids oink at student who was messy

2011-04-14T07:00:00Z

A Roane County kindergarten teacher who reportedly told students to encircle a classmate, call him a pig and make pig noises because the boy is messy, received a one-day unpaid suspension and had a letter of reprimand placed in her file. The incident involved Debbie Hayes, an educator at Bowers Elementary School who has taught kindergarten in Roane County for 38 years. Click here for the entire article.

Federal Government Shill for Illegal Aliens and Employers

2011-04-14T07:00:00Z

The latest setback against the citizens of Arizona by a federal court judge shows the amount of corruption at the highest levels. While President Barack Obama refuses to enforce immigration laws, he places all Americans at risk.

Thousands of Americans have suffered death or bodily damage from illegal alien drunk drivers, burglaries, rapes and drug trafficking. For the entire story click here.

Budget tricks helped Obama save programs from cuts

2011-04-12T07:00:00Z

The historic $38 billion in budget cuts resulting from at-times hostile bargaining between Congress and the Obama White House were accomplished in large part by pruning money left over from previous years, using accounting sleight of hand and going after programs President Barack Obama had targeted anyway. Such moves permitted Obama to save favorite programs - Pell grants for poor college students, health research and "Race to the Top" aid for public schools, among others - from Republican knives, according to new details of the legislation released Tuesday morning.

Chevy Recalls Cruze After A Steering Wheel Falls Off

2011-04-12T07:00:00Z

Imagine turning your car's steering wheel, or giving it a gentle tug, and having it break away from the steering column. Now you're speeding along holding the suddenly useless wheel. It sounds like a vision from a cartoon, or every driver's nightmare. And it happened to at least one driver of a 2011 Chevrolet Cruze compact car last month, and General Motors Corp. is recalling 2,100 of the cars as a result.

Japan was a 'zombie state,' even before the earthquake

2011-04-07T07:00:00Z

Even before the Richter needle began to quiver and the pots began to fall, Japan's finances were already shaky. The country began running huge budget deficits following the stock market sell-off of 1990. Economists called this "fiscal stimulus" back then. Two decades later, the deficits are bigger than ever - 7.5% of GDP this year - and they stimulate nothing. Japan has gotten in the habit of living beyond its means. The country has an accumulated debt equal to twice national output and 20 times tax revenues.

Tenafly Little League Calls For Mandatory Fingerprinting Of All Volunteers

2011-04-07T07:00:00Z

A New Jersey Little League is taking safety up a notch. For the first time they're requiring all their volunteers be fingerprinted. We're talking coaches and concession stand workers, too.

Some parents, however, are crying foul, CBS 2's Hazel Sanchez reports.

When your little ones head out to a field of dreams they are eager to learn the game. They will trust everybody.

NYC Councilman Leroy Comrie Proposes Bill Banning 'Happy Meals'

2011-04-07T07:00:00Z

San Francisco's already done it, and now New York may follow suit. New York City Councilman Leroy Comrie thinks the city should consider a ban on "Happy Meals" and similar fast food promotions aimed at kids unless those meals meet certain nutritional standards.

"Girlie Man" Culture of Government Schools

2011-04-06T07:00:00Z

The notion that gender egalitarianism is central to the education process has caused dire consequences to Western Civilization. If proponents really sought political, social and economic equality between the genders, one might examine their claims with a sense of impartiality. However, the record of a feminized construct clearly demonstrates that equivalence is not their intention. Dominance of the masculine mind with codependent emotionalism out of a soap opera script surfaces as the real objective in the eternal war between the sexes.

Washington Post and CBS receiving money from Obamacare slush fund

2011-04-06T07:00:00Z

Two mainstream news organizations are receiving hundreds of thousands of taxpayer dollars from Obamacare's Early Retiree Reinsurance Program (ERRP) - a $5 billion grant program that's doling out cash to companies, states and labor unions in what the Obama administration considers an effort to pay for health insurance for early retirees.

Gun Owners Have a Right to Privacy

2011-04-06T07:00:00Z

If you own a gun in Illinois, take precautions. The state attorney general, Lisa Madigan, wants to release the names of guns owners in response to an Associated Press request. Publication of that list would tell the criminal class where the guns are, which could be useful to two different sorts of lawbreakers: gun thieves who want to know where the guns are and burglars who want to know where they are not.

Gasoline up 100% under Obama

2011-03-31T22:12:00Z

Feeling pain at the pump? Gas prices have doubled since Mr. Obama took office. According to the GasBuddy gasoline price tracking web site, the price of a gallon of regular gas was around $1.79 when Mr. Obama took office. Today the national average is $3.58.
Full Story

Project Gunrunner: Obama's Stimulus-Funded Border Nightmare

2011-03-30T22:12:00Z

Buried in Barack Obama's failed trillion-dollar stimulus program was a $10 million bloody border racket that has now cost American lives.
Full Story

Armed Beauty Queen Fatally Shoots Intruder in Florida Home Invasion

2011-03-29T22:12:00Z

When a burly ex-convict forced his way into a posh Florida home last week, he had no idea what awaited him -- a 25-year-old beauty queen with a pink .38-caliber handgun.
Full Story

Dissecting big Christian divorce myth

2011-03-28T22:12:00Z

Raise your hand - or click "comment" - if you have read a news report claiming that Christians in this supposedly God-fearing nation get divorced at the same rate as everybody else? Raise you other hand if you have heard this statement made in a pulpit.Religion News Service has a news feature out this week that dissects that statement and reaches an interesting conclusion.
Full Story

Don't Blame Tax Cuts for Catastrophic Deficits

2011-03-24T22:12:00Z

They insist that slashing rates on income taxes, which means smaller percentages of private income going to government, would guarantee red ink even if Congress finds many billions in spending cuts.
Full Story

Anti-Iraq War Bush-Haters Squirm to Justify Libya

2011-03-24T22:12:00Z

Bush-hater Rachel Maddow of MSNBC rationalized that unlike the bloodthirsty President George W. Bush, you see, Obama ordered the military into action under a different "narrative" -- that is, reluctantly and without zeal. Understand?
Full Story

Drilling Ken Salazar

2011-03-23T22:12:00Z

While President Obama promotes offshore drilling overseas thousands of miles away in Brazil, Salazar now promises to revitalize America's oil and gas industry.
Full Story

March Madness - Obama the College Kid

2011-03-18T22:12:00Z

A 8.9 earthquake hits Japan causing a devastating tsunami leaving hundred of thousands missing or dead. Egypt had a revolution and Libya is in the process of the same. The Middle East is in turmoil. Oil prices keep on going up and up, rising above 104 a barrel. Wisconsin just settled a vote on collective barging. Our government might go into a lockout from not passing a budget; the options being presented are either a government shutdown or 1.5 trillion dollar increase in our debit.
Full Story

Union Thugs Destroy Recall Petitions

2011-03-17T22:12:00Z

The following took place at a recall Jim Holperin Rally in Merill, WI. As you can see, "F*ck you" is written on the ripped up petitions. The video was shot after the incident took place.
Read and Watch More

CT considers tuition for illegals

2011-03-17T22:12:00Z

Proponents say there's no cost to the state, and kids should not pay for mistakes made by their parents. Opponents say it's full of potential problems.
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The $4-Per-Gallon President

2011-03-16T22:12:00Z

Is it really any surprise that oil and gas prices are surging toward the record highs we saw in 2008 just prior to the economic collapse? Despite the President's strange assertions in his press conference last week, his Administration is not a passive observer to the trends that have inflated oil prices to dangerous levels.
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John Kerry's Recycled Government Slush Fund Recipe

2011-03-16T22:12:00Z

Sen. John Kerry, D-Mass., has once again earned his nickname: Thurston B. Howell III. He's elite, effete and so hopelessly out of touch with reality that his latest solution to America's fiscal profligacy is ... more fiscal profligacy, of course, Lovey!
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The Wisconsin Recalls

2011-03-09T21:07:00Z

It will probably come as no surprise to learn that recall efforts are under way for Wisconsin state senators. What might surprise you is that some of these efforts are directed at the Republicans, who stayed in Madison to do their jobs, while Democrats fled the state in an effort to shut down the legislature.
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NPR executives caught on tape bashing conservatives and Tea Party, touting liberals

2011-03-08T21:07:00Z

A man who appears to be a National Public Radio senior executive, Ron Schiller, has been captured on camera savaging conservatives and the Tea Party movement.

"The current Republican Party, particularly the Tea Party, is fanatically involved in people's personal lives and very fundamental Christian - I wouldn't even call it Christian. It's this weird evangelical kind of move," declared Schiller, the head of NPR's nonprofit foundation, who last week announced his departure for the Aspen Institute.:

See the video here

Is gold a safe investment?

2011-03-08T21:07:00Z

With the U.S. economy suffering and inflation on the rise, many are wondering if the stock market is a safe place for their investments. Rebecca Jarvis looks at gold and investigates its safety as a long term money-maker.
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The Rich Are Too Rich?

2011-03-07T21:07:00Z

Ever wondered why the very richest just seem to get more that way...and the majority don't? I think a lot of people do, but fail to put a lot of thought into it.
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Who's to Blame For Union Woes?

2011-03-07T21:07:00Z

Voters are beginning to realize, thanks to governors like Chris Christie of New Jersey and Scott Walker of Wisconsin, that public-sector unions have negotiated unsustainable levels of pensions and benefits -- and that public-sector unions are a mechanism for involuntary transfers of money from taxpayers to the Democratic Party.
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Wow: Wisconsin Senate Republican Mobbed By Unruly Crowd

2011-03-02T20:37:00Z

Things may truly have gone south if Democratic Rep. Brett Husley hadn't intervened to calm the crowd and shield his fellow legislator. Watch as the Senator is trailed and ultimately surrounded by a sizable contingent of demonstrators angrily chanting "shame!" and "F*** You!"
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One measly deepwater drilling permit: Hoo-freaking-rah

2011-03-02T20:37:00Z

There is much rejoicing in the oil patch today over the news that the Obama administration's Bureau of Ocean Energy Management, Regulation and Enforcement (BOEMRE) approved the first deepwater drilling permit since the Deepwater Horizon explosion.
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Rebels push back Libya regime attack on oil port

2011-03-02T20:37:00Z

Opponents of Moammar Gadhafi repelled an attack by the Libyan leader's forces trying to retake a key coastal oil installation in a topsy-turvy battle Wednesday in which shells splashed in the Mediterranean and a warplane bombed a beach where rebel fighters were charging over the dunes. At least six people were killed in the fighting.
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State troopers sent to find Democrats

2011-02-24T20:37:00Z

Wisconsin state troopers were dispatched Thursday to try to find at least one of the 14 Senate Democrats who have been on the run for eight days to delay a vote on Republican Gov. Scott Walker's proposal to strip collective bargaining rights from nearly all public employees.
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Letter of the day: The plight of the conservative public school teacher

2011-02-24T20:37:00Z

Tonight, another public school teacher shared his thoughts with me. When Big Labor goons chant "WE ARE ONE," read and re-read this letter, which tells you all you need to know about the code of silence enforced by the teachers' union racket.
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Wisconsin Republicans Step Up Pressure on Dems Who Fled State

2011-02-22T20:37:00Z

Wisconsin Republicans on Sunday upped the pressure on Democrats who fled to Illinois to return home and vote on an anti-union bill, with the governor calling them obstructionists and a GOP lawmaker threatening to convene without them.
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Oil Rises Most in Three Weeks, Gold Reaches $1,400 on Mideast; Stocks Drop

2011-02-21T20:37:00Z

Oil rose to a two-year high and gold rallied for a sixth day surpassing $1,400 an ounce, as tension in the Middle East escalated. Stocks fell, with Eni SpA leading energy companies with operations in Libya lower.
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Gore brings his global warming ﬁght to Aspen

2011-02-21T20:37:00Z

He may have been preaching to the choir, but former Vice President Al Gore stirred an Aspen audience Friday with a passionate speech about the effects of global warming, at one point pounding his fist on the podium and declaring it "a moral issue."
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Unemployment benefits jump to 410,000

2011-02-17T20:37:00Z

More people applied for unemployment benefits last week, one week after claims had fallen to the lowest level in nearly three years.
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CBS News Reporter Sexually Assaulted in Cairo

2011-02-16T20:37:00Z

CBS News correspondent Lara Logan was recovering in a U.S. hospital Tuesday from a sexual attack and beating she suffered while reporting on the tumultuous events in Cairo.
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Gunmen kill US agent, wound another, in Mexico

2011-02-16T19:51:00Z

The killing of a U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agent and wounding of another in Mexico highlights the risk for American officials helping with Mexico's crackdown on organized crime under increasing cooperation between the two countries.
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Majority of Republicans Doubt Obama's Birthplace

2011-02-16T17:58:00Z

A slim majority of Republicans are still in disbelief that President Barack Obama, now in his third year in office, was born in the United States and therefore is legally eligible to be president, according to a poll by the Democratic firm Public Policy Polling.
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Will Palin's unconventional style work?

2011-02-15T17:58:00Z

She says what she wants, does what she wants and makes no apologies. And love her or hate her, you can't really argue with this: Politics as usual has never been Sarah Palin's style
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Voters Believe Federal Government Encourages Illegal Immigration, Support Military Along Southern Border

2011-02-11T17:58:00Z

A new Rasmussen Report shows 57 percent of likely voters believe federal government policies and practices encourage illegal immigration with 68 percent of likely voters saying gaining control of the border is more important than granting amnesty to illegal immigrants.
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CPAC 2011: Great Chance to See Conservative Films and Meet the Filmmakers

2011-02-11T17:58:00Z

The 38th Annual Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC) is being held this week from February 10 - 12, and I am proud to announce that Citizens United, the nation's premier conservative filmmaker, will once again be sponsoring the CPAC Theater and Film Festival throughout the weekend. The festival will showcase some of the best conservative films in the country from both Citizens United Productions and many other critically acclaimed filmmakers.
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Barack Obama faces new budget pressures

2011-02-10T17:58:00Z

As key senators met Monday evening on a bipartisan deficit reduction plan, President Barack Obama faced increased pressure to articulate a strategy for himself and his party, already so edgy about spending cuts that many Democrats seem prepared to ignore the consequences for policy.

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Teachers: Unions Are Cheapening Our Profession

2011-02-10T17:58:00Z

Somewhere back in our school days, we all had a special teacher who made learning fun or who pushed us into achieving more than we thought possible. If you were lucky, you had several teachers like that.
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DEATH'S DOLLARS

2011-02-09T17:58:00Z

The abortionist, accused of murders, made at least $1.8M a year. He says he's broke. Where did it all go?
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A new Dem threat to health care law

2011-02-09T17:58:00Z

A handful of moderate Senate Democrats are looking for ways to roll back the highly contentious individual mandate - the pillar of President Barack Obama's health care law - a sign that red-state senators are prepared to assert their independence ahead of the 2012 elections.
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Pharmacy Mistakenly Gives Pregnant Woman Abortion Pill

2011-02-08T17:58:00Z

She is six weeks pregnant and when she went to the pharmacy to pick up an antibiotic her doctor had prescribed, the pharmacist gave her an abortion drug by mistake.
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Republicans ask court to toss climate case

2011-02-08T17:58:00Z

Two top House Republicans and the Senate's leading global warming skeptic asked the Supreme Court Monday to throw out a lawsuit seeking to force electric utilities to slash greenhouse gas emissions.
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How President Obama plays media like a fiddle

2011-02-07T17:58:00Z

Obama is playing the press like a fiddle.

He is doing it by exploiting some of the most longstanding traits among reporters who cover politics and government-their favoritism for politicians perceived as ideologically centrist and willing to profess devotion to Washington's oft-honored, rarely practiced civic religion of bipartisanship.

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Palin talks Egypt, CPAC and '12 in CBN interview

2011-02-07T08:00:00Z

Sarah Palin has offered her first comments on the political crisis in Egypt, blasting the Obama administration and voicing concerns about the key Middle Eastern country being taken over by radical Islamic groups.
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Some 43 Million Use Food Stamps

2011-02-03T08:00:00Z

Nearly a year and a half into the economic recovery, some 43.6 million Americans continued to rely on food stamps in November.
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NYC Council Bans Smoking In Parks, Beaches

2011-02-03T08:00:00Z

The smoking ban will cover some 1,700 parks and 14 miles of public beaches plus boardwalks, marinas and pedestrian plazas.
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Planned Parenthood Reps. Won't Debate Live Action President Lila Rose

2011-02-03T08:00:00Z

"Later today Live Action President Lila Rose will appear on CNN about the undercover tape we released Tuesday showing a Planned Parenthood manager give aid to who she thought was a child sex trafficker," he says. "Planned Parenthood was also invited to appear at the same time as Lila but Planned Parenthood refused. Planned Parenthood will now discuss the sex trafficking sting only AFTER Lila's segment airs which also means that they will get the last word without having to face a fact-check from Lila."
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Judge's son arrested in Bellagio robbery

2011-02-03T08:00:00Z

Las Vegas police late Wednesday arrested the son of a city judge in connection with December's $1.5 million Bellagio casino heist.
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A Christian Business in the Left's Crosshairs

2011-02-02T08:00:00Z

Here's a modest proposal for liberals who say they support job creation: Stop smearing successful, law-abiding private companies whose values don't comport with yours. I'm looking at you, New York Times.
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Why America Always Gets Revolutions Wrong

2011-02-02T08:00:00Z

The fact that nobody seems to know what in hell is going on in Egypt, Tunisia, Albania and Jordan is yet another black mark on the American intelligence establishment, which has spent far too long playing patty-cake with dictatorial governments while failing to infiltrate and research popular movements in the Middle East.
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Democrats go on offense, say Republican health care repealers are supporting activist judges

2011-02-02T08:00:00Z

Democrats defending President Barack Obama's health care overhaul are accusing Republicans of supporting "activist judges" - those who found the law unconstitutional.
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Florida Mom Charged With Killing Children Appears in Court

2011-02-01T08:00:00Z

A Florida woman accused of killing her teenage daughter and son held a tissue and cried as she made her first appearance in court on Monday.Julie Powers Schenecker, 50, of Tampa, Fla., is accused of gunning down her children, ages 13 and 16, in a violent rampage on Thursday.

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5 Reasons Liberals Aren't As Happy as Conservatives

2011-02-01T08:00:00Z

Did you know liberals aren't as happy as conservatives? Of course, you did. How could you not know it after listening to them incessantly wail, gripe, whine, and complain about everything? But, let's bring....drumroll, please -- the science! First, here's the Pew Research comparison between Republicans and Democrats:
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Judge Who Declared Obamacare Unconstitutional Has His Own Medical Story

2011-02-01T08:00:00Z

The judge who ruled the Obama administration's health care overhaul unconstitutional questioned whether the government was reaching beyond its power by requiring citizens to buy health insurance because everyone needs medical care.
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Who are the Muslim Brothers?

2011-01-31T08:00:00Z

As the Egyptian popular uprising enters its seventh day on Monday, all eyes are on the Muslim Brothers, the country's largest and best-organized opposition movement, to see how it will try to leverage the crisis to further its goal of rising to power.
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"Happy New Year!" Text Kills Would-be Suicude Bomber

2011-01-31T08:00:00Z

A suicide bomber in Russia accidentally blew herself up when an unexpected text message set off her bomb too early.The woman planned a terrorist attack in Moscow's Red Square on New Year's Eve, according to Russian security sources quoted by The Daily Telegraph .
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Social Security Fund to Be Empty by 2037

2011-01-27T08:00:00Z

Sick and getting sicker, Social Security will run at a deficit this year and keep on running in the red until its trust funds are drained by about 2037, congressional budget experts said Wednesday in bleaker-than-previous estimates.

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Ohio Mom Kelley Williams-Bolar Jailed for Sending Kids to Better School District

2011-01-27T08:00:00Z

An Ohio mother's attempt to provide her daughters with a better education has landed her behind bars. Kelley Williams-Bolar was convicted of lying about her residency to get her daughters into a better school district."It's overwhelming. I'm exhausted," she said. "I did this for them, so there it is. I did this for them." Williams-Bolar decided four years ago to send her daughters to a highly ranked school in neighboring Copley-Fairlawn School District.
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Foreclosure activity up across most US metro areas

2011-01-27T08:00:00Z

The foreclosure crisis is getting worse as high unemployment and lackluster job prospects force homeowners in an increasing number of U.S. metropolitan areas into dire financial straits. In Seattle, Houston and Chicago, cities that were relatively insulated from foreclosures early on in the housing bust, a growing number of homeowners are falling behind on mortgage payments and finding themselves on the receiving end of foreclosure warnings.
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Obama's Sputter-nik moment: Cash for Education Clunkers

2011-01-26T08:00:00Z

My column today contrasts President Obama's State of the Union hype about "innovation" and "investment" in education with the abysmal failures of massive federal spending on America's schools. The White House love to talk about global "competitiveness," but refuse to support competition in our government-run K-12 schools monopoly. "Sputnik moment" - or Sputter-nik moment?

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Appellate Briefs Filed in Arizona Illegal-Search Case

2011-01-26T08:00:00Z

In March of 2005, two social workers and six deputy sheriffs descended on the home of John and Tiffany Loudermilk to "investigate" a two-month-old anonymous tip that their house was unsafe for children. After almost an hour of threats, the social workers finally threatened to take all of their children into custody if not allowed inside. The Loudermilks reluctantly agreed. The assembled officials took less than five minutes to determine that the allegations in the anonymous report were false.

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Tax Hikes Chase Jimmy John's From Illinois

2011-01-26T08:00:00Z

Since the onset of the Great Recession, nearly every state has experienced budget shortfalls. Most have recognized the need to cut spending and restrain government employee benefits rather than raise taxes. Not all do, however: As reported last week, Illinois is going the opposite direction with massive tax hikes on individuals and businesses.

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Government Electric

2011-01-25T08:00:00Z

Barack Obama rose to office promising to take on the "special interests." But there may be no "special interest" quite as special and quite as well connected as General Electric.The company spends more on lobbying than any other corporation. GE's CEO has a weekly phone call with a top economic policy official in Obama's White House. GE, of course, also owns three television stations, including one -- MSNBC -- that has been famously supportive of Barack Obama.

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Lawmaker Aims to Block Cuba Oil Drilling Near Florida Coast

2011-01-25T08:00:00Z

It took U.S. and British teams three months to cap the well in the BP oil spill. A Florida lawmaker doesn't want to find out how long it would take Cuba to cap a similar catastrophe. Rep. Vern Buchanan, a Republican who represents part of Florida's western coast, has introduced a bill aimed at blocking Cuba from drilling a new deepwater oil well in the waters off its northern coast.
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The Assassination Attempt You Have Not Heard Of

2011-01-25T08:00:00Z

It happened in September of 2010 in Missouri. A 22 year old named Casey Brezik, wearing a bullet proof vest, charged toward Missouri's Democratic Governor Jay Nixon with a knife and attempted to slash his throat.
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Authorities Fear Cops Being Targeted After at Least 11 Officers Shot in 24 Hours

2011-01-25T08:00:00Z

Authorities are worried a recent wave of police officer shootings may not be a coincidence.

In just 24 hours, at least 11 cops were shot around the country.
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Play 2011 Obama/State of the Union BINGO!

2011-01-25T08:00:00Z

Americans for Tax Reform once again presents these handy Bingo cards you may use to check off terms and phrases likely to be used during President Obama's State of the Union address on Tuesday. As a bonus, print out the different versions of the card and watch the speech with your friends or family. There are ten different versions!
Bing Card

Mississippi Senate Approves Immigration Enforcement Bill

2011-01-24T08:00:00Z

An Arizona-style bill has passed through the Mississippi state senate and now heads to the state house where its future is a bit more cloudy. If passed, the bill would make its way to Gov. Haley Barbour's desk who has expressed luke-warm support for the bill at best.

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Pope warns of alienation risk in social networks

2011-01-24T08:00:00Z

Pope Benedict gave a qualified blessing to social networking Monday, praising its potential but warning that online friendships are no substitute for real human contact. The 83-year-old pontiff, who does not have his own Facebook account, set out his views in a message with a weighty title that would easily fit into a tweet: "Truth, proclamation and authenticity of life in the digital age."
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Huge youth Mass kicks off March for Life

2011-01-24T08:00:00Z

Hundreds of priests filed into Verizon Center in downtown Washington on Monday morning as contemporary praise music boomed from the speakers.The arena was packed with thousands of swaying, praying teenagers, many wearing sweat shirts from the Catholic schools they attend or knit hats that said "We believe" or "March for Life."
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Whisky (8 Shots of It) In A Can

2011-01-21T08:00:00Z

The makers of Four Loko wish they thought of this.

The thing about glass bottles - they're heavy and breakable. What if there was a safe, recyclable way to get your whisky fix? One Panamanian company is now packaging the party in an aluminum can.

full story

Palinoia, the Destroyer

2011-01-21T08:00:00Z

Why does their hatred of her burn so hot?

Ask them, and they'll most likely tell you: Because she's a moron. But that is obviously false. To be sure, her skills at extemporaneous speaking leave much to be desired. But that can be said of a good many politicians on both sides of the aisle, including George W. Bush, John Kerry and, yes, Barack Obama. And don't get us started on the man who defeated her for the vice presidency.

full story

The World is sinking: Dubai islands 'falling into the sea'

2011-01-21T08:00:00Z

But the World, the ambitiously-constructed archipelago of islands shaped like the countries of the globe, is sinking back into the sea, according to evidence cited before a property tribunal.

The islands were intended to be developed with tailor-made hotel complexes and luxury villas, and sold to millionaires. They are off the coast of Dubai and accessible by yacht or motor boat.

full story

Man faces jail after protecting home from masked attackers

2011-01-21T08:00:00Z

Ian Thomson moved to a rural homestead in Southwestern Ontario to lead a quiet life investing in a little fixer-upper. Then his neighbour's chickens began showing up on his property. He warned his neighbour, then killed one of the birds.

full story

Warmists: 'We can't win the game, so let's change the rules'

2011-01-18T08:00:00Z

Willis Eschenbach's recent guest post at Watts Up With That? on the current state of 'Climate science' should be made compulsory reading in every classroom, every university science department, every eco-charity, every environmental NGO and in every branch of government. They won't like it up 'em, that's for sure. What Eschenbach says is so pure and simple and obvious you'd need to be as dumb as Chris Huhne not to get it:

A Roadmap Not Taken?

2011-01-18T08:00:00Z

Rep. Paul Ryan of Wisconsin, the GOP's high priest of pecuniary politics, has ascended to the chairmanship of the House Budget Committee. Across the land, fiscal conservatives applaud the rise of the 40-year-old wonk. But the cheers in Congress are more sporadic: Unflinching endorsements of Ryan's fiscal blueprint are rare. Apparently, the new majority is in no mood - yet - for a full-spectrum fight on entitlements.

With fanfare, Ryan last year published "A Roadmap for America's Future," a comprehensive government-shrinking document that tackles the three main problems in the federal budget: Medicare, Medicaid, and Social Security. Its bold, data-fueled approach was the single best piece of evidence that Republicans were ready to address long-term liabilities.

The Islamic Regime of Iran is to execute two young men for homosexuality by stoning.

2011-01-18T08:00:00Z

According to the news we have received Ayub and Mosleh, 20 and 21 years old, are in danger of execution by stoning in the city of Piranshahr in the province of Kurdistan. The two young men are currently imprisoned in the city of Orumieh. They have been accused of having and filming homosexual relations. Pictures of President Ahmadinejad were incorporated into the film and loaded onto their mobile telephones. In additions, headshots of Khamenei pasted over a donkey were also found on the mobiles.

Political Themed Service

2011-01-13T08:00:00Z

Shirts sit on the back of chairs before a memorial service for the victims of Saturday's shootings at McKale Memorial Center on the University of Arizona campus Wednesday, Jan. 12, 2011, in Tucson, Ariz.

Darby Township To Issue Fines Over 'Saved Spots'

2011-01-13T08:00:00Z

Big snow storms and limited parking is a combination that can lead to a whole lot of neighborhood feuds.

Now, in Darby Township, if you feel you have the right to reserve your parking spot, you could face a fine for hundreds of dollars.

You can't lay claim to a parking spot on a public street in Darby Township. If you do, you could hear from police.

Would more red tape for everyone have stopped Loughner from buying a gun?

2011-01-12T08:00:00Z

Very good look at why more red tape is not the answer.

Snow present in 49 of the 50 U.S. states

2011-01-12T08:00:00Z

After big snow and ice events in the Southeast, Plains, and Midwest this week, 49 out of the 50 states currently have snow on the ground - yes, even Hawaii, where snow falls in Mauna Loa and Mauna Kea all winter. The only state that has avoided this icy blast is Florida. Does that make you want to go on a nice, warm vacation to the Sunshine State? You're not alone.

Paul Krugman, Buffoon

2011-01-12T08:00:00Z

Within hours after Jared Loughner's killing spree, New York Times columnist Paul Krugman went straight for the gutter, proclaiming, with no evidence whatsoever, that Loughner's act was in all likelihood "political," and going on to blame Republicans for the murders. I denounced Krugman's vile blog post here.

Band of Brothers hero Dick Winters, R.I.P.

2011-01-11T08:00:00Z

Standing by the grave of Major Richard D. Winters on Sunday, gazing at the American flag fluttering in the icy January wind, this reporter felt a profound sense of loss.

Poll: Most Americans Feel Rhetoric, Tucson Shooting Unrelated

2011-01-11T08:00:00Z

Nearly six in 10 Americans say the country's heated political rhetoric is not to blame for the Tucson shooting rampage that left six dead and critically wounded U.S. Rep. Gabrielle Giffords, according to a CBS News poll. In the wake of the shooting, much focus has been put on the harsh tone of politics in Washington and around the country, particularly after a contentious midterm election.

A disgrace to nuts everywhere, part 3

2011-01-11T08:00:00Z

Yesterday Rush Limbaugh provided some of the best commentary on the Krugmania, let us call it, following the attempted assassination of Rep. Giffords. Ann Althouse pulls this quote from Rush's commentary giving, as they say, the necessary context:

Poltics of an Assassin

2011-01-10T08:00:00Z

"The Communist Manifesto" and Hitler's "Mein Kampf" were among the favorite reading materials of Jared Lee Loughner, the suspected gunman in today's fatal shooting that reportedly left six dead and gravely injured a U.S. congresswoman.

Lougher, 22, listed those tomes among his favorites on his YouTube channel, in which he wrote that "conscience dreams" were a "great study" at his college, Pima Community College.

Understand what's happening to America's culture and what you can do to fight it with "How Evil Works," autographed, from the WND Superstore.

One user on Twitter, Caitie Parker, wrote she went to high school, college and was in a band with the gunman. She said she hadn't seen him since 2007.

Parker wrote of Lougher, "As I knew him he was left wing, quite liberal and oddly obsessed with the 2012 prophecy."

She also described him as "more left."

Read more: Assassin's politics lean 'left wing, quite liberal'

More Loud Voices, Please

2011-01-05T08:00:00Z

As we begin a new year, it may be useful to look back to one particular piece of advice that George Washington gave us in his farewell address. In paragraph 28, he reminded us that:

"It is substantially true, that virtue or morality is a necessary spring of popular government. The rule, indeed, extends with more or less force to every species of free government. Who, that is a sincere friend to it, can look with indifference upon attempts to shake the foundation of the fabric?"

Oil refineries sue EPA over ethanol plan

2011-01-05T08:00:00Z

A ruling by the Obama administration allowing the sale of gasoline containing 15 percent ethanol is running into legal hurdles from trade groups opposing the plan.

The National Petrochemical and Refiners Association sued the Environmental Protection Agency on Monday over the decision to allow the sale of gasoline containing higher blends of corn-based ethanol, the second major group to protest the ruling.

Dodd Gets a Pass from Senate Ethics Committee on Corrupt Real Estate Deal

2011-01-04T08:00:00Z

Most Americans, I'm certain, would say it is highly unethical (and potentially criminal) for a U.S. Senator to cut a deal to help out a convict in exchange for cash and favors, and then lie on official financial disclosure forms to cover up the scandal. But not according to the U.S. Senate Select Committee on Ethics (or the Senate Ethics Committee, as it is commonly known). On December 20, 2010, the Committee mailed us a letter dismissing a Judicial Watch ethics complaint filed against outgoing Senator Christopher Dodd (D-CT). (Our "efficient" government postal service took seven days to deliver the first-class letter sent from eight blocks away!) Our complaint alleges Dodd assisted a longtime friend and associate to obtain a reduced sentence and ultimately a full presidential pardon from President Clinton for tax and securities crimes, in exchange for gifts, including a sweetheart mortgage deal that he failed to properly disclose on his Senate Financial Disclosure forms.

NAHJ Urges News Media to Stop Using Dehumanizing Terms When Covering Immigration

2011-01-04T08:00:00Z

As protesters march in the streets and debate intensifies in Congress over how to fix the nation's immigration laws, the National Association of Hispanic Journalists calls on our nation's news media to use accurate terminology in its coverage of immigration and to stop dehumanizing undocumented immigrants. NAHJ is concerned with the increasing use of pejorative terms to describe the estimated 11 million undocumented people living in the United States.

Deputy suspended for leaving 'Obama prayer' on co-worker's desk

2011-01-04T08:00:00Z

Sgt. Matthew Neu, a Manatee County Sheriff's Office jail employee, was suspended without pay for almost 26 hours after he labeled a scripture passage in a Bible as "the Obama prayer" and left it on co-worker's desk, reports The Bradenton Herald. The highlighted scripture was Psalm 109, which reads in part, "Let his days be few, and let another take his office, " according to an Internal Investigations report.

Twain's Huck Finn the Target of Censorship ... Yes, Again

2011-01-04T08:00:00Z

Once again, Mark Twain's masterpiece Adventures of Huckleberry Finn is being censored ... and, again, it's because of some of the offensive words Twain used within the story.

And one in particular. Most are aware, even those who have never read the book, that the character Jim is referred to as the "N-word" Jim throughout the story. The word -- long considered the worst of offensive slurs -- has made the book a frequent target of public burnings, bans and controversy. Many school boards in many states have been asked to remove the book from student curriculum, though the book staunchly remains as required reading in many United States classrooms.

NewSouth Books is, perhaps, attempting to squash all that by simply editing the book. In their version of the story, all instances of the hated word will be removed, along with the word "Injun," which is used to refer to Native Americans.

Hillary Clinton Paling Around With Hugo Chavez

2011-01-03T08:00:00Z

Despite a simmering diplomatic row, President Hugo Chavez and US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton were seen having a brief, friendly chat Saturday at the inauguration of Brazil's President Dilma Rousseff. "They talked and smiled, at least for five minutes. It looked like a social conversation, both were smiling," a Brazilian official who witnessed the encounter told AFP on condition of anonymity.

Tea Party Republicans Vow to Attack Deficit Spending 'Once and for All' in Next Session

2011-01-03T08:00:00Z

Republicans elected to Congress with the help of Tea Party support pledged Sunday to devote themselves to balancing the budget over all else when they start their new jobs on Wednesday. In the lead-up to the next session, Tea Party freshmen and activists have expressed disappointment at the legislation passed by Congress in the waning days of the post-election lame-duck session.

Pentagon says no timeline yet on ending gay ban

2010-12-21T08:00:00Z

The Pentagon on Monday said it was unclear how soon the repeal of a ban on openly gay troops could be carried out after Congress scrapped the law in a ground-breaking vote. Defense officials had to first review and revise policies and make other preparations to reflect the change adopted Saturday by the Senate, Pentagon press secretary Geoff Morrell told reporters.

There's a mini ice age coming, says man who beats weather experts

2010-12-21T08:00:00Z

Piers Corbyn not only predicted the current weather, but he believes things are going to get much worse, says Boris Johnson, London's mayor.

The man who repeatedly beats the Met Office at its own game

Well, folks, it's tea-time on Sunday and for anyone involved in keeping people moving it has been a hell of a weekend.

The GOP Charge Up Capitol Hill

2010-12-16T08:00:00Z

When Republicans take over the House of Representatives in January, they'll have a solid majority, 242 to 193. With enough imagination and fortitude, they could become the party of hope and change.

For the past two years, with Democrats in control of the White House and both houses of Congress, Republicans were seen by Democrats and the media as the "party of no." Indeed, they opposed nearly all of President Obama's agenda: the omnibus spending bill, the economic stimulus package, cap-and-trade climate legislation, health-care reform, a slew of new regulations, and billions in spending.

Congressman Calls on Obama to Take Illegal Immigration 'Seriously' Following Death of Border Agent

2010-12-16T08:00:00Z

The incoming chairman of the House Judiciary Committee said the shooting death of a U.S. Border Patrol agent is a "sad reminder" of the dangers law enforcement officers face on a daily basis and called on the Obama administration to secure the U.S.-Mexico border.

House Judiciary Committee Chairman Elect Lamar Smith, R-Texas, said the killing of Brian A. Terry in southern Arizona late Tuesday should serve as wake-up call to President Obama and his administration.

Cuccinelli savors health care win

2010-12-15T08:00:00Z

he man who put the first dent in the president's health care law, Virginia Attorney General Kenneth T. Cuccinelli II, is a newcomer to the national stage, but he's long been a crusader against the expansion of federal powers - winning his share of friends and foes along the way. Mr. Cuccinelli, a Republican, says anybody who has followed his political career - including eight years in the state Senate - shouldn't be surprised that he's challenging the health care act, as well as the Environmental Protection Agency,against which he is also leading the charge in a potentially groundbreaking lawsuit.

Government Wants 'No Refusal' Policy on Drunken Driving

2010-12-13T08:00:00Z

When 18 people died in alcohol-related crashes in his Louisiana parish two years ago, Sheriff Craig Webre looked for new ways to combat drunken driving. Using laws already on the books, the sheriff found a simple answer. Webre's department west of New Orleans started using a "no refusal" policy for suspected drunken drivers who declined breath tests.

Long Legal Fight Ahead for Democrats' Constitutionally Challenged Health Care Law

2010-12-13T08:00:00Z

The scorecard on the legal fight over President Barack Obama's health care overhaul is two judges in favor and one against. But these are the early rounds in preliminary bouts. The one that really counts -- a showdown at the Supreme Court -- is at least a year away.

Who Says There Aren't Any Good Jobs Out There?

2010-12-09T08:00:00Z

Over 200k just to separate the white males from the rest in order to contribute to a more colorblind society free from sexual discrimination? That sounds like a job I could handle - if I wasn't a white guy.

Top Ten Reasons to have a Gun instead of a Woman

2010-12-09T08:00:00Z

#10.) You can trade an old 44 for a new 22.

#9.) You can keep one gun at home and have another for when you're on the road.

#8.) If you admire a friend's gun and tell him so, he will probably let
you try it out a few times.

#7.) Your primary gun doesn't mind if you keep another gun for a backup.

#6.) Your gun will stay with you even if you run out of ammo.

Small-Biz Killers: Who Pays for Jobless Benefits?

2010-12-08T08:00:00Z

There is no such thing as a "free" government benefit. Ask small-business owners who are footing skyrocketing bills for bottomless jobless benefits. While politicians in Washington negotiate a deal to provide welcome temporary payroll, income and estate tax relief to America's workers, struggling employers wonder how long they'll have to pay for the compassion of others -- and whether they can survive.

You're either with us, or you're with WikiLeaks

2010-12-08T08:00:00Z

Secretary of State Hillary Clinton got one thing right last week - she described WikiLeaks' disclosure of hundreds of thousands of classified documents as "an attack." Indeed, it was the third such attack in five months that WikiLeaks has launched against the United States and its international partners. WikiLeaks itself has described its struggle in military terms. Founder Julian Assange recently posted a Tweet from one of his supporters declaring: "The first serious infowar is now engaged. The field of battle is WikiLeaks. You are the troops."

The Jobs O Hates

2010-12-07T08:00:00Z

For all his talk of job creation, President Obama has targeted many occupations for extinction. Using un-elected bureaucrats to implement a host of job-killing measures, his administration is generating piles of pink slips:

Ethanol on the Run

2010-12-06T08:00:00Z

The political class inevitably invokes the moon shot or Manhattan Project as a model for every unrealistic energy goal, but for once maybe that hyperbole is apt: A left-right coalition is emerging to end ethanol subsidies.

Last week, no fewer than 17 Senators signed a letter calling ethanol "fiscally indefensible" and "environmentally unwise." Led by Democrat Dianne Feinstein and Republican Jon Kyl, the group said Congress shouldn't extend certain subsidies that expire at the end of the year, including the 45-cent-per-gallon tax credit for blending ethanol into gasoline and tariffs on cheaper imports. Conservatives like Tom Coburn dislike this costly industrial policy, while liberals like Barbara Boxer and Sheldon Whitehouse are turning against the hefty carbon emissions that come with corn fuels.

The Walking Death Tax

2010-12-06T08:00:00Z

Overlooked in the brawl over expiring Bush-era tax rates is what will happen to the death tax. Without action in the lame duck Congress, the estate tax will rise from the dead on January 1 with a vengeance, the rate climbing back to 55% from zero this year. The exemption amount will revert to a miserly $1 million, unindexed for inflation, so more middle class taxpayers will get hit year after year.

President Obama and Congressional Democrats don't think this is a high priority, but voters do. A November Gallup Poll found that Americans think that keeping the estate tax "from increasingly significantly" is "very important" by 56% to 17% "not too important."

Can Republicans Talk?: Part II

2010-12-01T08:00:00Z

Guess who said the following: "It is incredible that a system of taxation which permits a man with an income of $1,000,000 a year to pay not one cent to his Government should remain unaltered."

Franklin D. Roosevelt? Ted Kennedy? Nancy Pelosi?

Not even close. It was Andrew Mellon, Secretary of the Treasury under conservative Republican President Calvin Coolidge.

Coming: Gov't By Regulation Instead Of Law

2010-12-01T08:00:00Z

Republicans are assuming that cap-and-trade (aka cap-and-tax) is dead because Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid lacks the votes to bring up the House-passed bill and because this issue proved a loser in the 2010 House races. Like the famous Mark Twain saying, its death may be exaggerated.

Hoekstra: World's Trust in U.S. Now at Risk

2010-11-29T08:00:00Z

A leading Republican Congressman called WikiLeaks' release of secret U.S. State Department documents "catastrophic" which would make other governments question whether America can be trusted.

Rep. Peter Hoesktra, R-Mich., Ranking Member of the House Intelligence Committee, said the more than a quarter-million diplomatic messages released by the whistleblower organization and published by news media organization in the U.S. and Europe contain "a whole number of time bombs."

China acts as conduit for North Korea's weapons trade, US claims

2010-11-29T08:00:00Z

THE WikiLeaks documents will intensify pressure on China to clamp down on its North Korean ally's extensive secret arms trafficking, much of it conducted across Chinese territory according to American diplomats.

They show that the former US president George Bush complained about North Korean shipments of advanced missile components via Beijing to Iran when he met China's President, Hu Jintao, at the 2007 summit of the Asia-Pacific Economic Co-operation group in Sydney.

TSA pat-down leaves traveler covered in urine

2010-11-22T08:00:00Z

A retired special education teacher on his way to a wedding in Orlando, Fla., said he was left humiliated, crying and covered with his own urine after an enhanced pat-down by TSA officers recently at Detroit Metropolitan Airport.

"I was absolutely humiliated, I couldn't even speak," said Thomas D. "Tom" Sawyer, 61, of Lansing, Mich.

Pentagon to Release 'Don't Ask, Don't Tell' Report Early

2010-11-22T08:00:00Z

Can one day make a difference? Defense Secretary Robert Gates apparently thinks so. He's ordered the early release of a Pentagon report on the effects of ending the military prohibition of gays serving openly in the armed forces. The report is due by Dec. 1, but Pentagon spokesman Geoff Morrell said Sunday it will be released Nov. 30 in order "to support Congress's wish to consider repeal before they adjourn."

GM Stock Sale (WSJ)

2010-11-18T08:00:00Z

GM sold about 478 million shares Wednesday at $33 each, a price higher than the company and its bankers thought was possible just days ago. An additional 71.7 million shares are expected to be sold by GM's bankers as part of an "overallotment" allowed when sales are stronger than expected. And it sold $4.35 billion in preferred shares.

Wednesday afternoon at the Manhattan headquarters of one of the lead bankers, Morgan Stanley, GM executives were greeted by traders and bankers standing and cheering while wearing blue GM T-shirts over their shirts and ties.

Buyers of the GM shares included giant pension and hedge funds as well as GM factory workers and retirees. Among foreign buyers will be China's largest car maker, SAIC Motor Corp., which is GM's biggest partner in the world's largest auto market. SAIC will buy about $500 million of shares for a GM stake of close to 1%, people familiar with the matter said.

full story

Soros Tells Progressives to Drop Obama

2010-11-18T08:00:00Z

WASHINGTON -- At a private meeting on Tuesday afternoon, George Soros, a longtime supporter of progressive causes, voiced blunt criticism of the Obama administration, going so far as to suggest that Democratic donors direct their support somewhere other than the president.

The Hungarian-American financier was speaking to a small side gathering of donors who had convened in Washington D.C. for the annual gathering of the Democracy Alliance -- a formal community of well-funded, progressive-minded individuals and activists.

According to multiple sources with knowledge of his remarks, Soros told those in attendance that he is "used to fighting losing battles but doesn't like to lose without fighting."

"We have just lost this election, we need to draw a line," he said, according to several Democratic sources. "And if this president can't do what we need, it is time to start looking somewhere else."

full story

Motor Trend 'Car of the Year': Chevy Volt (Congratulations, Taxpayers!)

2010-11-17T08:00:00Z

The vehicle that the New York Times called "GMs electric lemon" has been named Motor Trend's Car of the Year: The 2011 Chevrolet Volt extended-range electric vehicle has been named Car of the Year by Motor Trend magazine, for General Motors' second title in four years.

The Volt beat out contenders that include the Ford Fiesta, Hyundai Sonata, Lincoln MKZ hybrid, BMW 5 Series, Jaguar XJ, Infiniti M and Audi A8.

7 Celebrity Men of Old Whose Careers Would Flounder in Modern Wussy Hollywood

2010-11-17T08:00:00Z

I may be too young to start a sentence with "when I was growing up." Be that as it may, when I was a child, boys used to challenge each other to engage in risky behavior by saying, "It'll put hair on your chest." Implied in such a challenge was the idea that hair on your chest was a desirable attribute. Indeed, as a boy, why shouldn't it be? Body hair is a sign of physical maturity, and what boy doesn't take pride in becoming a man?

The big disconnect: D.C. elites think Obama will be re-elected, the public doubts it

2010-11-16T08:00:00Z

The midterms not only dealt a big shock to the Democrats, but also sent a message to President Obama. According to the new POLITICO "Power and the People" poll, only 26 percent of the public believes he will now be re-elected as President in 2012.

This difference of expectations could mislead the president if he is listening to the Beltway chatter - right here in D.C. he may just find a lot of comfort in this assessment by insiders , and that may lead to actions that don't fully adjust for the sea change that has occurred among the general public.

Why We Need to 'Cool It' on Global Warming

2010-11-16T08:00:00Z

For 20 years now, we've been debating what (if anything) we should do about global warming, with very little to show for it. Despite grandiose pledges such as the 2008 promise by the Group of Eight industrialized nations to work to cut global carbon emissions in half by 2050, no meaningful international climate agreement has ever been reached and greenhouse gas levels in the atmosphere are higher than they've ever been.

Israeli official: Hamas rockets can reach Tel Aviv

2010-11-15T08:00:00Z

A senior Israeli intelligence official warned Sunday that Hamas rulers in the Gaza Strip have rockets that can travel 80 kilometers (50 miles) - a longer range than previously reported, which would put the coastal metropolis of Tel Aviv within range of its launchers.

The official blamed Egypt, saying it was not doing enough to stem smuggling through a network of tunnels along the relatively short border between its Sinai desert and the Palestinian territory. An Egyptian security official reached for comment maintained that Egypt was combating the smuggling successfully.

Just Stay Home

2010-11-15T08:00:00Z

The trade association of U.S. airlines -- the Air Transport Association -- says that it expects that about 24 million Americans will take to the air over the Thanksgiving holiday. That would be about 3 percent more air travelers than flew last Thanksgiving. I hope they are wrong. Travelers should drive, take the train, bicycle, walk or just stay home. Just don't fly. If we stay on the ground, the message may finally get through to our government: stop harassing us and concentrate on finding the bad guys.

Hobbled Dems, eager GOP back for lame-duck session

2010-11-15T08:00:00Z

Seven weeks ahead of the GOP House takeover, hobbled Democrats and invigorated Republicans return Monday to a testy tax dispute and a lengthy to-do list for a postelection session of Congress unlikely to achieve any landmark legislation. With change clearly in the air, more than 100 mainly Republican freshmen arrive on Capitol Hill to be schooled on the jobs they'll assume when the next Congress convenes in January. For Democrats, it's another sad note as one of their most venerable members goes on trial on ethics charges.

Dems extol facts and science but act on ideology

2010-11-12T08:00:00Z

President Obama recently fretted that our politics has become so rough-and-tumble that "facts and science and argument do not seem to be winning the day all the time." Speaking at a Democratic fundraiser just before the election, the president worried that Americans were so rattled by economic anxieties that they might lose their heads and choose Republicans over Democrats -- a fear that became a reality on Nov. 2.

Dems extol facts and science but act on ideology

2010-11-12T08:00:00Z

Energy czar Carol Browner needs to go the way of disgraced green jobs czar Van Jones: under the bus and stripped of her unbridled power to destroy jobs and lives in the name of saving the planet. ASAP.

One of the Beltway's most influential, entrenched and unaccountable left-wing radicals, Browner has now been called out twice by President Obama's own federal BP oil spill commission and Interior Department inspector general. How many strikes should a woman who circumvented the Senate confirmation process and boasts a sordid history of abusing public office get?

More federal workers' pay tops $150,000

2010-11-10T08:00:00Z

The number of federal workers earning $150,000 or more a year has soared tenfold in the past five years and doubled since President Obama took office, a USA TODAY analysis finds.

The fast-growing pay of federal employees has captured the attention of fiscally conservative Republicans who won control of the U.S. House of Representatives in last week's elections. Already, some lawmakers are planning to use the lame-duck session that starts Monday to challenge the president's plan to give a 1.4% across-the-board pay raise to 2.1 million federal workers.

No Illegal Alien Pilot Left Behind

2010-11-10T08:00:00Z

Chalk up another Code Red Elmo moment for the U.S. Department of Homeland Security. While Islamic terrorists groom suicide bombers starting in kindergarten, the grownups in charge of protecting America can't seem to reach an elementary level of competence.

The "good" news: Hindsight-driven bureaucrats at DHS moved to ban high-risk cargo from Yemen and Somalia this week after a global air scare involving makeshift printer/toner cartridge-bombs. The bad news: More than nine years after the 9/11 jihadist attacks, untold numbers of high-risk flyers have been able to board, ride and pilot American planes -- some with Transportation Security Administration approval to boot.

Newsmax Poll: Gates, Buffett, and Trump Could Beat Obama in 2012 Race

2010-11-10T08:00:00Z

Microsoft co-founder Bill Gates and billionaire investor Warren Buffett have no political experience or aspirations, but both would defeat President Barack Obama in a head-to-head race for the presidency, according to a new Newsmax/SurveyUSA poll.

The poll also found that such well-known business figures as Donald Trump, New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg and Ford Motor Co. CEO Alan Mulally are within striking distance of defeating Obama.

A recoil against liberalism

2010-11-04T07:00:00Z

Unwilling to delay until tomorrow mistakes that could be made immediately, Democrats used 2010 to begin losing 2012. Trying to preemptively drain the election of its dangerous (to Democrats) meaning, all autumn Democrats described the electorate as suffering a brain cramp, an apoplexy of fear, rage, paranoia, cupidity - something.

Obama's turn to change

2010-11-04T07:00:00Z

What is the most damaging - Democrats losing control in the House, the GOP falling short of control in the Senate, the decimated ranks of centrist and conservative Democrats, the coming investigations, the loss of 19 state legislatures to the Republicans, who will now have a lock on redistricting, or the flight of independents, women and suburban voters to the GOP? For President Obama, preparing a reelection campaign for 2012, it would be hard to imagine a worse outcome to the 2010 midterm elections. Democrats have now vacated the South and the Midwest, and Republicans have reclaimed territory Obama won in 2008, including Pennsylvania, Florida, Indiana, North Carolina, Virginia, Ohio, Michigan and Wisconsin. The election shrank the Obama coalition that won in 2008, with women, independents, Roman Catholics and suburban voters all trending away from Democrats. Seniors showed up in high numbers, and a majority of them voted for Republicans.

Driver gets false 'revenge' ticket for telling-off parking officer

2010-11-04T07:00:00Z

A Denver parking enforcement officer took revenge on a driver who called him a "meter maid" by asking a co-worker to write the driver a false parking ticket, 9Wants to Know has learned.
The parking officers then mailed the $150 handicapped parking ticket to the driver late, so by the time he received it, the fine had doubled.

Guess Who

2010-11-02T07:00:00Z

Guess who said the following: "We have tried spending money. We are spending more than we have ever spent before and it does not work." Was it Sarah Palin? Rush Limbaugh? Karl Rove?

Not even close. It was Henry Morgenthau, Secretary of the Treasury under Franklin D. Roosevelt and one of FDR's closest advisers. He added, "after eight years of this Administration we have just as much unemployment as when we started. . . And an enormous debt to boot!"

Explaining Why The Democrats Will Be Obliterated Today In 7 Quotes

2010-11-02T07:00:00Z

If you ask the Left, they'll give you every excuse in the book for why they're going to get their brains beaten out today. The economy is bad, Obama cooperates too much with the Republicans, the American people are irrational, it's Bush's fault -- it goes on and on.

What you will very seldom hear are liberals admitting that they richly deserve to be decimated today because of their poor performance, terrible policies, and astonishing arrogance. Most conservatives are willing to admit that the American public rejected the GOP in 2006 and 2008 because the Republican Party did a lousy job. If and when liberals are willing to admit that they deserve the beating that they're going to get, then you'll know that they're starting to act a little more like adults and a little less like, well....liberals.

What's At Stake In This Election

2010-11-02T07:00:00Z

Political junkies can hardly count the minutes until the returns start coming in. Pollsters and pundits have been feeding the addiction with new data from the latest surveys, early voting trends, and stories from the campaign trail. The big question: just how high will the Republican wave go and how hard will it hit the Democratic party?

Yet that's not really what this election is about. It's important, of course, to send current Congressional leadership home. Representatives need to be reminded that they truly are accountable to voters. Importantly, voters also won't just be sending a new set of political insiders to Washington. Many of the newly elected will come from outside of the political arena. This will change Congressional culture, and the GOP in particular will be a different party. Republicans aren't just adding seats; they are gaining numerous outspoken champions of more limited government and free markets. These new Members hopefully will hold the party to account, as well as the government.

The Pain Begins.

2010-09-23T17:05:00Z

Today, six months since Congress passed the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act, President Obama will be celebrating the signature achievement of his administration.

It's apt to be a lonely celebration: Few Democratic candidates are willing to talk about the health-care bill -- except the ones running ads to remind the electorate that they voted against it.

Still, the president will speak today before a group of state insurance regulators, while a coalition of labor unions and liberal activist groups organize rallies around the country. They'll undoubtedly focus on some of the new law's more popular provisions, many of which start today -- while ignoring the mandates, taxes and rationing that will come later. Indeed, the provisions they'll tout come with asterisks that they won't mention.

Colbert Offers Comedy Shtick in Farm Workers Testimony, Fails to Amuse Lawmakers

2010-09-23T17:05:00Z

Stephen Colbert's routine as a Republican commentator on his hit TV show might leave millions of his fans laughing every night, but he failed to amuse lawmakers Friday during a House panel hearing on farm jobs and illegal immigrants.

T-Mobile Claims Right to Censor Text Messages

2010-09-23T17:05:00Z

T-Mobile told a federal judge Wednesday it may pick and choose which text messages to deliver on its network in a case weighing whether wireless carriers have the same "must carry" obligations as wire-line telephone providers.

Wind Energy's Real Problems: (Hint: It Has Nothing to Do With The Wall Street Journal)

2010-09-22T17:24:00Z

My August 24 article in the Wall Street Journal has apparently caused some discomfort among various advocates of wind energy.(1)

Given that discomfort, it's worth revisiting the thesis of my Journal piece. As a reminder, here's the thesis statement: several studies have concluded that "wind-generated electricity likely won't result in any reduction in carbon emissions -- or that they'll be so small as to be almost meaningless."

The Estate Tax Is A Tax On Those Without Estates

2010-09-22T17:17:00Z

The one-year disappearance of the estate tax in 2010 has unsurprisingly generated a great deal of commentary about how accumulated wealth should be taxed going forward. Former Goldman Sachs head Robert Rubin recently joined with hedge fund eminence Julian Robertson to ask for the quick reinstatement of what some term the "death tax."

Democrats Likely Lose Another Key GOP Vote on DADT

2010-09-22T17:17:00Z

It appears as if Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid's chances to start debate on a $726 billion defense policy bill just got a little dimmer.

Moderate GOP Sen Susan Collins of Maine just said she would not lend her vote later today to shut down a GOP filibuster if Reid does not allow a full and open debate on amendments, including one she would oppose that would strike language from the bill that repeals the military's policy against homosexuals serving openly in the armed forces.

Black Panther case roars back to life

2010-09-21T18:17:00Z

New Consumer Agency Architect Vows Tough Stance on Businesses

2010-09-21T17:14:00Z

The woman President Barack Obama has installed to set up a new consumer protection agency says she won't back down in the face of business resistance.

Military Ban on Homosexuals Becomes Election-Year Hot Button

2010-09-21T17:14:00Z

It's John McCain versus Lady Gaga on Tuesday as the Senate takes up the emotional issue of repealing the ban on gays serving openly in the military.