News About Politics

(Okracoke/3604) from the NY Times>

Okracoke@rss.iscabbs.com — Sat, 11 Feb 2012 16:27:00 -0600

from the NY Times>

The nation.s Roman Catholic bishops have rejected a compromise on birth control
coverage that President Obama offered on Friday and said they would continue to
fight the president.s plan to find a way for employees of Catholic hospitals,
universities and service agencies to receive free contraceptive coverage in
their health insurance plans, without direct involvement or financing from the
institutions.

The United States Conference of Catholic Bishops . which has led the opposition
to the plan . said in a statement late Friday that the solution offered by the
White House to quell a political furor was .unacceptable and must be corrected.
because it still infringed on the religious liberty and conscience of
Catholics.

The bishops. decision to rebuff the compromise means that .religious freedom.
will continue to be a rallying cry for some Catholics who have heard it
preached from the pulpit for the last three weeks, for evangelical Christians
on the religious right, for Republican candidates on the campaign trail and for
members of Congress who are supporting a legislative fix on Capitol Hill.

Administration officials said the White House had never expected to get the
bishops. support, given their absolute opposition to contraception, and was
surprised when the initial statement of the bishops conference on Friday was
noncommittal and went so far as to call the president.s modification a step in
the right direction.

Mr. Obama said that the compromise would take the Catholic institutions out of
the equation by relieving them from either paying for coverage for
contraceptives or providing any referral to their employees for the coverage.
Instead, insurance companies would be required to pay for the contraceptives,
and to arrange it. The insurers will agree, the White House said, because it is
more expensive for them to pay for pregnancies than to pay for contraceptives.

Churches and houses of worship that object to birth control coverage are
already exempted. The compromise applies to primarily Catholic institutions,
such as hospitals, universities and charities, that employ and serve large
numbers of non-Catholics.

The bishops said the plan offered insufficient protection for their
institutions: .In the case where the employee and insurer agree to add the
objectionable coverage, that coverage is still provided as a part of the
objecting employer.s plan, financed in the same way as the rest of the coverage
offered by the objecting employer. This, too, raises serious moral concerns..
The Obama administration plans to hold a series of meetings in the coming days
and will invite the bishops and other religious leaders to collaborate on
developing the new policy, said an administration official who was not
authorized to speak on the record.

..I guess we.ll try to treat that constructively,. said Richard M. Doerflinger,
associate director of pro-life activities at the United States Conference of
Catholic Bishops. .But within the meantime we also have to explore other
avenues, and there are two other branches of government that may treat our
concerns more seriously..

Already three lawsuits have been filed against the birth control mandate, two
by religious colleges and one by a Catholic media outlet.

The bishops will also renew their call for lawmakers to pass the .Respect for
Rights of Conscience Act,. which would exempt both insurance providers and
purchasers . and not just those who are religiously affiliated . from any
mandate to cover items of services that is contrary to either.s .religious
beliefs or moral convictions..

The Senate version of the bill was introduced by Senators Roy Blunt of
Missouri, Marco Rubio of Florida, and Kelly Ayotte of New Hampshire, all
Republicans. It has 36 Republican sponsors and co-sponsors, and one Democratic
one . Ben Nelson of Nebraska.

However, the bishops are now facing a potential rift with some of their allies
who welcomed the compromise yesterday . including Catholic Charities, the
Catholic Health Association, which represents Catholic hospitals across the
country and individual Catholic Democrats and liberals who had helped persuade
the administration to make the change.

James Salt, executive director of Catholics United, a liberal advocacy group
that is organizing support for the Obama administration, said, .The bishops.
blanket opposition appears to serve the interests of a political agenda, not
the needs of the American people..

The bishops had initially called the compromise .a first step in the right
direction.. But late Friday they released a second statement saying that the
plan raised .a grave moral concern.. Mr. Doerflinger said the reason was that
they did not see the rule itself until 7 p.m.; the administration official
said, however, that the new rule had not been written yet because the details
had not been hashed out, and that the bishops must have read the old rule.

The bishops also were dismayed that the administration did not consult them in
crafting the compromise, presenting it to them as a fait accompli.

Mr. Doerflinger said, .We were not part of the negotiation and we were told
there wasn.t one by the White House..

The bishops used the turn of events to renew their objections to the broad
requirement that was part of the sweeping health care overhaul passed in 2010
that any employer who has a moral or religious objection . even a small
business owner . must offer birth control in their insurance coverage because
it is preventive care.

..All the other mandated .preventive services. prevent disease, and pregnancy is
not a disease,. the bishops said.

(Okracoke/3603) from the AP newswire>

Okracoke@rss.iscabbs.com — Wed, 08 Feb 2012 08:18:00 -0600

from the AP newswire>

House Speaker John Boehner accused the Obama administration Wednesday of an
"unambiguous attack on religious freedom," promising that Congress will reverse
a new policy requiring religious schools and hospitals to provide employees
with free birth control if the president doesn't.

Escalating a fight that has roiled the presidential race, Boehner demanded that
President Barack Obama overturn the policy that Boehner called a violation of
First Amendment rights. The administration's mandate has angered religious
groups, especially Catholics, who say the requirement would force them to
violate their beliefs against contraception, and congressional Republicans.

"This attack by the federal government on religious freedom in our country
cannot stand, and will not stand," Boehner, a Catholic and Ohio Republican,
said in a rare floor speech.

On the other side of the Capitol, the Republican onslaught continued, with GOP
senators vowing to push ahead with legislation to undo the requirement.

Sen. Kelly Ayotte, R-N.H., stood with other GOP lawmakers, and called the new
rule "an unprecedented affront to religious liberty. This is not a women's'
rights issue. This is a religious liberty issue."

Said Sen. Marco Rubio, R-Fla.: "This has nothing to do with contraception. ....
This is about whether the government of the United States should have the power
to go in and tell a faith-based organization that they have to pay for
something that they teach their members shouldn't be done. It's that simple.
And if the answer is yes, then this government can reach all kinds of other
absurd results."

The White House, facing a public and political outcry, signaled on Tuesday that
a compromise is possible. Options could include granting leeway for a
church-affiliated employer not to cover birth control, provided it referred
employees to an insurer who would provide the coverage.

Another idea, previously rejected by the administration, calls for broadening
the definition of a religious employer that would be exempt from the mandate
beyond houses of worship and institutions whose primary purpose is to spread
the faith. That broader approach would track a definition currently used by the
IRS, bringing in schools, hospitals and social service agencies that deal with
the general public.

Republican White House hopefuls Mitt Romney and Newt Gingrich have been
relentless in assailing the administration, criticizing the president at
campaign stops. Romney has accused Obama of an "assault on religion" and
Gingrich called the rule an "attack on the Catholic Church."

Boehner said that if the administration fails to reverse the policy, then
Congress will act. He said that in the coming days, the House Energy and
Commerce Committee will move ahead on legislation.

Read more: http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/n/a/2012/02/08/national
/w104858S94.DTL#ixzz1losQ8yeK

(Okracoke/3602) from the Wash Post>

Okracoke@rss.iscabbs.com — Tue, 07 Feb 2012 07:13:00 -0600

from the Wash Post>

A federal appeals panel in San Francisco ruled Tuesday that California.s ban on
same-sex marriage violates the constitutional right to equal protection.

The panel overturned Proposition 8, which was approved by 52 percent of the
state.s voters in 2008 and amended the state.s constitution to limit marriage
to a man and a woman.

The court.s decision upheld a 2010 decision by former Judge R. Vaughn Walker
that found marriage to be a fundamental right protected by the Constitution,
and that the proposition "fails to advance any rational basis in singling out
gay men and lesbians for denial of a marriage license."

Opponents of same-sex marriage have the option of appealing Tuesday.s decision
to the full U.S. Court of Appeals for the 9th Circuit or taking it directly to
the Supreme Court, which has never ruled on the matter.

(Okracoke/3601) Romney pivots to Santorum

Okracoke@rss.iscabbs.com — Mon, 06 Feb 2012 04:30:00 -0600

Romney pivots to Santorum
By Cameron Joseph - 02/06/12 09:30 AM ET

Mitt Romney's campaign is turning its attacks on Rick Santorum after a poll
showed the former senator leading in Minnesota.

Former Minnesota Gov. Tim Pawlenty (R), a top Romney surrogate, will attack
Santorum by way of a noon conference call for his history of supporting
earmarks, Romney's campaign announced Monday morning. Minnesota voters go to
the polls for their state's GOP caucuses on Tuesday.

The campaign also emailed "a summary of Santorum's false attacks on
Massachusetts healthcare" that provides a laundry list of nonpartisan
fact-checking websites' analysis on some of Santorum's statements criticizing
Romney's health insurance overhaul in Massachusetts.

The fact-check list comes ahead of a planned healthcare speech from Santorum.

The pushback is nothing compared to the regular drumbeat of attacks Romney and
his surrogates have made on Newt Gingrich, who defeated Romney in South
Carolina but has placed second to Romney in subsequent contests in Florida and
Nevada.

But it does show that at this point, Romney sees Santorum as a possibly bigger
threat than Gingrich. Romney has mostly ignored Santorum through the campaign
rather than engage with him.

The former Massachusetts governor won Nevada's caucuses on Saturday by a wide
margin, finishing with more than 50 percent of the vote.

from thehill.com

(Okracoke/3600) By Mitchell Landsberg, Los Angeles Times

Okracoke@rss.iscabbs.com — Sat, 04 Feb 2012 03:44:00 -0600

By Mitchell Landsberg, Los Angeles Times

February 3, 2012, 11:03 p.m.
The Catholic Church reacted strongly Friday to a White House defense of new
rules that will force many religious employers to provide contraception to
their workers in government-mandated health insurance plans.

"The White House information about this is a combination of misleading and
wrong," said Anthony Picarello, general counsel of the U.S. Conference of
Catholic Bishops. He said the bishops would "pursue every legal mandate
available to them to bring an end to this mandate. That means legislation,
litigation and public advocacy. All options are on the table."

The new regulations were announced last month by the Department of Health and
Human Services as part of an effort to guarantee that women receive free
"preventive" healthcare services, including cervical cancer screening, breast
pumps . and contraception. They require employers to include those services in
their employee health insurance plans by August.

Religious institutions can qualify for an exemption if the services violate
their beliefs, but not if they employ large numbers of people who do not share
those beliefs. Thus, a Catholic hospital or university that employs largely
non-Catholic workers must provide free contraception in its employees' health
insurance, even though birth control violates Catholic doctrine.

The announcement of the rule change provoked outrage from evangelical
Christians, Orthodox Jews and other religious denominations. No voice was
louder than that of the Catholic bishops, whose president, Cardinal-designate
Timothy Dolan of New York, called the rules "un-American" and a "violation of
conscience."

In a blog post Wednesday, the White House responded that the new rules won't
force anyone to buy contraceptives. Cecilia Muqoz, director of the Domestic
Policy Council, wrote: "Over half of Americans already live in the 28 states
that require insurance companies [to] cover contraception." These include such
large states as California and New York, she said.

The Catholic bishops shot back Friday, saying it was misleading to say that no
one would be forced to "buy" contraceptives, because everyone who contributes
to an insurance plan will be paying a portion of the subsidy that provides for
free contraception. Plus, they said, Catholic institutions have gotten around
state mandates in various ways, the most common being self-insurance. That
won't be allowed under the new federal program.

"The state mandates are like a Maginot line," Picarello said in an interview.
"They're a hard barrier, but you can just walk around them."

Neither Picarello nor representatives of Catholic healthcare associations could
say how many employers were likely to be affected by the rule change. Some
already offer contraception in their healthcare packages; Dignity Health,
formerly known as Catholic Healthcare West, has offered contraception since
1997, according to spokeswoman Tricia Griffin.

"The federal requirements won't affect our policy," she said. (While long
affiliated with the Catholic Church, Dignity recently cut those ties, but
continues to operate Catholic hospitals.)

Alina Salganicoff, director of women's health policy for the Henry J. Kaiser
Family Foundation, said she didn't know how many employers would be affected,
but said a recent Kaiser survey in California found that 6% of all employers
and 11% of large employers reported that their health plans did not cover
contraception. She said the Obama plan does "grandfather in" existing health
plans, so religious institutions that currently don't provide contraceptives
won't be required to change unless they switch to a new health insurance plan.

(Okracoke/3599) from the WSJ>

Okracoke@rss.iscabbs.com — Fri, 03 Feb 2012 08:04:00 -0600

from the WSJ>

NEW YORK.New York Attorney General Eric T. Schneiderman sued three of the
nation's largest banks over a private national mortgage registry system,
contending it has resulted in a wide range of deceptive and fraudulent
foreclosure filings.

The lawsuit, filed in New York State Supreme Court in Brooklyn, names units of
Bank of America Corp., J.P. Morgan Chase & Co. and Wells Fargo & Co. as
defendants, as well as MERSCorp., which owns and operates the Mortgage
Electronic Registration Systems, known as MERS.

In his complaint, Mr. Schneiderman alleges that MERS has effectively eliminated
the public's ability to track property transfers because those transfers are
maintained in the private registry, rather than in the local county clerk's
office. He contends the system is riddled with inaccuracies and, as a result,
it is difficult to verify the chain of title for a loan or a current noteholder
for many properties.

The attorney general says the system was designed to allow financial
institutions to evade county recording fees, eliminate the need to publicly
record mortgage transfers and to facilitate the rapid sale and securitization
of mortgages.

"Once the mortgages went sour, these same banks brought foreclosure proceedings
en masse based on deceptive and fraudulent court submissions, seeking to take
homes away from people with little regard for basic legal requirements or the
rule of law," Mr. Schneiderman said. "Our action demonstrates that there is one
set of rules for all.no matter how big or powerful the institution may be.and
that those rules will be enforced vigorously."

A Wells Fargo spokeswoman said the bank was reviewing the lawsuit and declined
further comment. J.P. Morgan and Bank of America had no immediate comment.

"MERSCorp. Inc., and its subsidiary, Mortgage Electronic Registration Systems
Inc., comply with laws as well as county and state recording statutes and
mortgage regulations," said Janis Smith, a MERSCorp. spokeswoman. "Federal and
state courts around the country have repeatedly upheld the MERS business model,
and the validity of MERS as legal mortgagee and nominee for lenders. We refute
the attorney general's claims and will defend the case vigorously in court."

The lawsuit is seeking that a declaration that the alleged practices by MERS
violate the law as well as damages for harmed homeowners and civil penalties.

Mr. Schneiderman alleged that MERS was created in 1995 by the financial
industry and operates as a membership organization with most of the large
companies that participate in the mortgage industry as members.

More than 70 million loans nationally have been registered in MERS, including
about 30 million currently active loans, he said.

MERS has granted more than 20,000 "certifying officers" the authority to act on
its behalf, including the authority to assign mortgages, to execute paperwork
necessary to foreclose, and to submit filings on behalf of MERS in bankruptcy
proceedings, Mr. Schneiderman said.

Those certifying officers aren't MERS employees, but instead are employed by
MERS members, including J.P. Morgan Chase, Bank of America and Wells Fargo, he
said.

Write to Chad Bray at chad.bray@dowjones.com

(Gespalder/3598) http://abcnews.go.com/blogs/politics/2012/01/exclusive-mitt-romn...

Gespalder@rss.iscabbs.com — Tue, 31 Jan 2012 17:38:00 -0600

http://abcnews.go.com/blogs/politics/2012/01/exclusive-mitt-romney-to-receive-s
ecret-service-protection/

Jan 31, 2012 9:58pm
EXCLUSIVE: Mitt Romney to Receive Secret Service Protection
   Email9Smaller FontTextLarger Text|Print

Emmanuel Dunand / AFP / Getty Images

TAMPA -- Mitt Romney's presidential campaign has been informed that it will
start receiving Secret Service protection on Thursday, two campaign sources and
a senior Republican tell ABC News.
Secret Service protection is being given to the campaign not because of a
specific threat but because of the increase in crowd sizes as the primary
season has progressed over the past few weeks, according to the sources, who
refused to be identified because they don't have authority to comment on such
matters publicly.
The Secret Service is charged with protecting presidential candidates in
addition to the president himself, and providing protection to a candidate
before he secures a nomination has become fairly common. Such decisions are
made by the Department of Homeland Security, in consultation with congressional
leadership.
The Romney campaign, which has long traveled with private security of its own,
did not request Service protection, and was approached about the additional
security steps in the weeks following the New Hampshire primary, the sources
told ABC News.
Officials with the campaign and the Secret Service declined to comment on the
decision.
Romney will become the only current Republican candidate with Secret Service
protection. Herman Cain became the first candidate to receive Service
protection, in November, but he ended his candidacy in December.

(Okracoke/3597) from the LA Times>

Okracoke@rss.iscabbs.com — Sat, 28 Jan 2012 03:50:00 -0600

from the LA Times>

California air regulators passed sweeping emission standards Friday that will
require one in seven of the new cars sold in the state in 2025 be an electric
or other zero-emission vehicle.

The policy adopted unanimously by the California Air Resources Board mandates a
75 percent reduction in smog-forming pollutants by 2025, and a 50 percent
reduction in greenhouse gas emissions from today.s standards.

Supporters said there are health and global political implications with the new
policy.

..Moving in the direction of energy independence, along with the health
benefits, which are enormous, really warrant this,. said board member Ron
Roberts, a San Diego County supervisor.

..There seems to be almost universal support . or at worst, acceptance . that
there really needs to be regulations that will drive advanced technologies that
will get us off of our petroleum diet..

The action was a clear effort to influence other states and Washington as
automakers worked with the board and federal regulators on the greenhouse gas
rules in an effort to create one national standard for those pollutants.

Companies including Ford Motor Co., Chrysler Group LLC, General Motors Co.,
Nissan Motor Co. Ltd. and others submitted testimony Thursday in support of the
new standards.

Car dealers, however, expressed concern that the state is overestimating the
demand for such vehicles.

..It.s hard to legislate or mandate what people want to drive or to need to
drive,. said Lance Roberts, spokesman for the New Car Dealers Association of
San Diego County.

..Certainly our dealers understand the need to continue to advance clean
technology. By the same token, people have different needs. Dealers are caught
in the middle..

The new state policy mandates that a mix of 1.4 million zero-emission and
plug-in hybrid vehicles be on the road by 2025, nearly triple the number being
driven today.

California.s auto emissions standards are influential and often more strict
than federal rules. The state began passing regulations for cleaner cars in the
1960s to help ease some of the world.s worst smog, and has since helped spur
the auto industry.s innovations in emissions-control technology.

Currently 14 other states . including New York, Washington and Massachusetts .
have adopted California.s smog emissions rules as their own.

California has also previously set zero-emissions vehicle mandates, which 10
other states have adopted.

Some criticized a provision of the new policy that will give credit to
automakers who reduce greenhouse gas emission of their fleets more than
required under the new standards. Those credits would reduce the number of
clean vehicles the companies have to offer in California. That provision will
be in effect from 2018 to 2021.

Some called it a loophole that will take hundreds of thousands of clean cars
off the road, hurting the emerging market for these vehicles.

..This is a temporary way station,. board chairman Mary Nichols said about the
credits at the board meeting in Los Angeles. .But by 2021, all companies will
be producing the full complement of zero-emission vehicles..

Dealers are concerned that the regulations will lead to higher costs in all
cars, and say consumers have been slow to embrace electric and other
zero-emission vehicles.

(Okracoke/3596) Rep. Gabrielle Giffords (D-AZ), who was wounded last year in a s...

Okracoke@rss.iscabbs.com — Sun, 22 Jan 2012 08:52:00 -0600

Rep. Gabrielle Giffords (D-AZ), who was wounded last year in a shooting, has
decided to step down from office this week, leaving her seat open for the 2012
election.

(Capa/3595) Newt Gingrich asked for 'open marriage,' former wife says

Capa@rss.iscabbs.com — Thu, 19 Jan 2012 07:15:00 -0600

Newt Gingrich asked for 'open marriage,' former wife says

By Shira Schoenberg, Globe Correspondent

An ex-wife of Newt Gingrich told ABC News's "Nightline" that the Republican
presidential candidate wanted an "open marriage."

In a published clip of Brian Ross's interview with Marianne Gingrich, which
will air tonight, Marianne Gingrich said her husband wanted her to accept the
fact that he had a mistress. "He was asking to have an open marriage and I
refused," she said.

Marianne Gingrich said Newt Gingrich admitted to his six-year affair with
Callista, a congressional aide who is now married to the candidate. Newt
Gingrich allegedly said Callista "doesn't care what I do."

Asked for her response, Marianne Gingrich said she responded, "No, that is not
a marriage."

(Okracoke/3594) Rick Santorum actually won the Iowa caucus after all votes count...

Okracoke@rss.iscabbs.com — Thu, 19 Jan 2012 02:06:00 -0600

Rick Santorum actually won the Iowa caucus after all votes counted:

http://www.cnn.com/2012/01/19/politics/iowa-caucus/?hpt=hp_t1

(CNN) -- A report that Republican presidential candidate Rick Santorum wound up
34 votes ahead of Mitt Romney in the Iowa caucuses earlier this month is "very
exciting," Santorum's campaign spokesman said Thursday.

"The narrative for a long time has been that Mitt Romney was 2-0," Hogan Gidley
told CNN. "And if these results are true and Rick is ahead by 34 votes, then
that's not the narrative anymore. There have been two states, two different
victors."

Iowa's Des Moines Register newspaper reported Thursday that while Santorum held
the 34-vote advantage, results from eight precincts were missing and will never
be recovered and certified, and there are "too many holes" in the certified
totals to know the victor for certain.

Romney was thought to have won the January 3 caucuses by eight votes, the
closest-ever margin of victory in a Republican presidential contest.

Certified results of the caucuses are set to be formally released Thursday at
9:15 a.m. ET.

(Okracoke/3593) from the LA Times>

Okracoke@rss.iscabbs.com — Wed, 18 Jan 2012 17:00:00 -0600

from the LA Times>

A trio of South Carolina evangelicals threw their support behind Rick Santorum
on Wednesday with a provocative statement that praises the former Pennsylvania
senator for putting his name to .extremely politically-incorrect statements
about homosexuality, heterosexuality and marital fidelity,. while rebuking
front-runner Mitt Romney for .homophilia" and suggesting that his Mormon faith
is .heretical..

..Rick Santorum clearly sees homosexuality for what the Bible, Rome, Bob Jones
University and even Salt Lake City have always regarded it, as a very serious
form of sexual sin like adultery or incest,. the Rev. Huey Mills, a Lancaster
pastor and principal of a Christian school, said in a statement. .Romney's
position on homosexuality, on the other hand, is probably a bigger scandal to
traditionalist Mormons than it is to those of us who've always seen Mormonism,
with its interesting historic approaches to sexuality and polygamy, as pretty
heretical.

..In obedience to the Judeo-Christian Scriptures, most South Carolinians and I
have a sane and healthy homophobia, while Mitt Romney has a very bad case of
homophilia,. Mills said. .The man very clearly endorses dangerous, unhealthy
homosexual conduct..

Joining Mills were Lt. Col. Ray Moore, a retired U.S. Army Reserve chaplain who
lives in Columbia, and Molotov Mitchell, an evangelical Christian video artist
who has produced YouTube videos highlighting Newt Gingrich.s history of
infidelity.

The endorsement follows a meeting of evangelical leaders in Texas, who voted 89
to 25 last weekend to support Santorum over rival Newt Gingrich. Prominent
religious activist Tony Perkins will appear with Santorum on Thursday in
Charleston.

(Okracoke/3592) The Obama Administration has decided not to approve the Keystone...

Okracoke@rss.iscabbs.com — Wed, 18 Jan 2012 06:24:00 -0600

The Obama Administration has decided not to approve the Keystone XL:

http://www.latimes.com/news/politics/la-pn-obama-administration-to-reject-keyst
one-xl-pipeline-20120118,0,999641.story

The decision is sure to intensify a bitter political fight over the pipeline.
Republicans believe they can further damage President Obama.s shaky standing in
the polls by arguing that his refusal to approve Keystone XL robs Americans of
thousands of construction jobs.

Environmentalists have pushed the administration to turn down the permit,
arguing that the extraction and transport of petroleum from Canada.s oil sands
is profoundly damaging to the environment. They argue that job creation is far
less than industry has cited, and that much of the gasoline and other products
refined from the Canadian oil would be exported, doing little to shore up
American energy security.

(Gespalder/3591) http://hutchnews.com/localregional/Poor-would-face-tax-hike-unde...

Gespalder@rss.iscabbs.com — Wed, 18 Jan 2012 00:39:00 -0600

http://hutchnews.com/localregional/Poor-would-face-tax-hike-under-Kansas-plan

Poor face tax hike under governor's plan

By John Hanna - Associated Press

TOPEKA -- Gov. Sam Brownback's proposed income tax overhaul would effectively
raise taxes for the state's poorest households while helping individuals and
some small businesses with incomes of more than $250,000 the most, according to
figures developed by his administration.

The Department of Revenue data show taxpayers with adjusted gross incomes of
$25,000 or less -- who account for 41 percent of Kansas taxpayers-- would pay
$156 more on average and, as a class, $88 million more than now. Brownback's
plan cuts individual income tax rates and helps some small business owners, but
it eliminates credits and deductions, including a tax credit designed for poor
workers and their families.





The Associated Press obtained the latest figures, which were distributed to
some lawmakers Tuesday, after they were developed for a special study group
convened by the Senate to look at tax issues. The department already has
produced examples of how Brownback's plan would affect hypothetical individual
taxpayers -- with results varying widely -- but the new numbers examine how
they would affect broad classes of people.

The new figures show that, overall, Kansans would see individual income taxes
drop 12 percent. All groups of taxpayers, except those with adjusted gross
incomes of $25,000 or less, would pay less on average. Brownback proposes to
offset the decline in state income tax revenues mostly by keeping the state's
sales tax at 6.3 percent, rather than dropping it to 5.7 percent as scheduled
in July 2013.
Households and some businesses with adjusted gross incomes of more than
$250,000 would see their individual income taxes drop on average 18.5 percent,
or by $5,239. About 191,000 business operators would benefit from Brownback's
plan because they no longer would pay individual income taxes on the earnings
from their partnerships and sole proprietorships.
"It's Robin Hood in reverse," said Senate Minority Leader Anthony Hensley, a
Topeka Democrat, who's already a vocal critic of the plan. "This is stealing
from the poor to give to the rich."
Revenue Secretary Nick Jordan said Brownback's administration would attempt to
offset potential tax increases for poor families by doubling the deduction
automatically allowed for heads of households and through spending on social
services.
"We certainly are focusing on it and working to help low-income folks," he
said.
And Brownback on Tuesday described his plan as an attempt to make Kansas
competitive and stop a net migration of residents to other states.
"Almost every economist would say to you, if you want to create growth, and
you're a competitive state, you've got to get your state personal income tax
rates down, and your fastest-growing states are the ones with no personal
income tax," he told The Associated Press.
The department's figures for hypothetical taxpayers show the effects of the tax
plan would vary widely for individuals and suggest some wealthy households
could see significant increases because Brownback also wants to eliminate
widely used income tax deductions for charitable contributions and interest
payments on home mortgages.
The Department of Revenue last week provided legislators with an example of a
hypothetical taxpayer earning almost $1.1 million, who would lose more than
$33,000 in tax credits and see his or her bill increase by almost $22,000.
"All taxpayers look at their personal situations, and everybody's different,"
said House Taxation Committee Chairman Richard Carlson, a St. Marys Republican
who's praised Brownback's plan as moving in the right policy direction.
But the new figures show taxpayers with adjusted gross incomes of more than
$250,000 would pay nearly $111 million less in individual income taxes as a
group. About 21,000 taxpayers are in that group, including hundreds of business
operators.
As groups, taxpayers with adjusted gross incomes between $25,000 and $100,000
and between $100,000 and $250,000 also see significant decreases in their
income taxes.
The classes of taxpayers receiving cuts under Brownback's plan cover 819,000
filers, about 59 percent of the nearly 1.4 million who pay individual income
taxes.
"The majority of taxpayers will see a reduction," Jordan said.
Besides exempting business income from individual income taxes, Brownback's
plan also would collapse the state's three individual income tax brackets into
two. The top rate for a married couple filing jointly would drop from 6.45
percent to 4.9 percent. The changes would affect taxes paid for 2013.
The department's numbers show that, as a class, households with adjusted gross
incomes of $25,000 or less -- about 564,000 taxpayers -- currently get about $2
million more in income tax refunds than they pay in taxes. The department
calculated their overall tax increase under the new plan at more than 5,100
percent.
"This doesn't make any sense," said Kansas Democratic Party Chairwoman Joan
Wagnon, a former state revenue secretary. "You're shifting the burden onto the
wrong people."
Jordan said the extra taxes that poor Kansans would pay would be more than
outstripped by "a huge, new investment" of $113 million in social services and
said suggesting otherwise is "overheated political rhetoric designed to
frighten people."
House Minority Leader Paul Davis, a Lawrence Democrat, responded with, "That's
a bunch of baloney."
Senate President Steve Morris, a Hugoton Republican, said the new numbers
demonstrate why it was prudent for him to set up his chamber's tax study group.
Morris has reacted cautiously to Brownback's proposal, neither directly
criticizing nor endorsing it.
"I don't think it's a good idea to lower someone's tax at the expense of
someone else's going up," Morris said.

(Okracoke/3590) WASHINGTON (AP) . Jon Huntsman will withdraw Monday from the rac...

Okracoke@rss.iscabbs.com — Sun, 15 Jan 2012 16:01:00 -0600

WASHINGTON (AP) . Jon Huntsman will withdraw Monday from the race for the
Republican presidential nomination, campaign officials told The Associated
Press on Sunday.

Huntsman will endorse Mitt Romney at an event in South Carolina, the officials
said. Huntsman believes Romney is the best candidate to beat President Barack
Obama in November, they said.

The campaign officials spoke on condition of anonymity because Huntsman plans
to make the official announcement Monday.

The former Utah governor placed third in last week's New Hampshire primary
despite devoting most of his campaign resources to the state. He had already
acknowledged that expectations for him in South Carolina's primary this week
will be "very low."

Huntsman was routinely at the bottom of national polls, barely registering at 1
or 2 percent.

His resume suggested he could be a major contender for the GOP nomination:
businessman, diplomat, governor, veteran of four presidential administrations,
an expert on China and on foreign trade. With a personal fortune based on his
family's global chemical company, he could be a late entry into the nomination
contest without necessarily hobbling his campaign.

Yet Huntsman was almost invisible in a race often dominated by Romney, a fellow
Mormon. One reason was timing. For months, Romney and other declared or
expected-to-declare candidates drew media attention and wooed voters in early
primary states. Huntsman, meanwhile, was half a world away, serving as
ambassador to China until he resigned in late April. Nearly two more months
would pass before his kickoff speech on June 22 in the shadow of the Statue of
Liberty.

To distinguish his candidacy in a crowded field, Huntsman positioned himself as
a tax-cutting, budget-balancing chief executive and former business executive
who could rise above partisan politics. That would prove to be a hard sell to
the conservatives dominating the early voting contests, especially in an
election cycle marked by bitter divisions between Republicans and Democrats and
a boiling antipathy for President Barack Obama.

Huntsman also tried to offer a different tenor, promising a campaign marked by
civility. "I don't think you need to run down somebody's reputation in order to
run for the office of president," he said.

While Huntsman was often critical of his former boss . he joined those saying
Obama had failed as a leader . and occasionally jabbed at Romney, he spent more
of his time in debates pushing his own views for improving the economy than
thumping the president or his opponents.

In light of his work in the Obama administration, Republicans seemed wary of
Huntsman. While he cast his appointment in August 2009 as U.S. ambassador to
China as answering the call to serve his country, his critics grumbled that he
had in fact been working on behalf of the opposition.

Copyright ) 2012 The Associated Press. All rights reserved.

(Gespalder/3589) The Sacramento Bee CapitolAlert B.

Gespalder@rss.iscabbs.com — Tue, 10 Jan 2012 14:25:00 -0600

The Sacramento Bee CapitolAlert B.

BREAKING NEWS

Romney wins New Hampshire primary

Former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney has won the New Hampshire Republican
primary. Romney is the first Republican to win both the Iowa caucuses and the
New Hampshire primary in a competitive race since Iowa took the leadoff role in
1976.

(Swinia/3587) Yes. Marcus Bachmann

Swinia@rss.iscabbs.com — Mon, 09 Jan 2012 05:48:00 -0600


Yes.  Marcus Bachmann

(Rainmaker/3585) Anyone have the link for the Michelle Bachmann sextape that was ...

Rainmaker@rss.iscabbs.com — Wed, 04 Jan 2012 10:59:00 -0600


Anyone have the link for the Michelle Bachmann sextape that was supposedly
released today by Occupy movement?

(Miser/3584) $6 billion-a-year ethanol subsidy dies -- but wait there's more

Miser@rss.iscabbs.com — Thu, 29 Dec 2011 09:17:00 -0600

$6 billion-a-year ethanol subsidy dies -- but wait there's more
By Miguel Llanos, msnbc.com

America's corn farmers have been benefiting from annual federal subsidies of
around $6 billion in recent years, all in the name of ethanol used as an
additive for the nation's vehicles.

That ends on Jan. 1, when the companies making ethanol will lose a tax credit
of 46 cents per gallon, and even the ethanol industry is OK with it -- thanks
in part to high oil prices that make ethanol competitive.

Ethanol output and exports reached record highs this year, and a federal law
assures ethanol a longer-term share of the motor fuel market.

"Like all incentives it was put in place to help build an industry and when
successful, it should sunset," the Renewable Fuels Association said in a
statement last week.

What the industry doesnt want to see, however, is an end to a separate tax
credit for ethanol made not from corn but non-foodstuffs like switchgrass, wood
chips and even the leaves and stalks of corn.

Known as cellulosic ethanol, no one is selling it just yet due to its higher
R&D and production costs. But the industry hopes to soon, and the production
tax credit is up to $1.01 per gallon.

The industry earlier this month asked Congress to extend that credit, set to
expire on Dec. 31. 2012, for five years but lawmakers did not act before
recessing last week.

In the case of corn ethanol, the writing had been on the wall for months. The
subsidy's death was confirmed last week when Congress passed, and President
Barack Obama signed, tax legislation that did not extend it.

Subsidized since 1979 as a homegrown fuel cleaner than gasoline, corn ethanol
had plenty of opponents, environmentalists among them.

Environmentalists question the cleaner energy premise -- adding factors like
tractor diesel emissions and fertilizer runoff make it dirtier, they say.

"Corn ethanol is extremely dirty," Michal Rosenoer, biofuels manager for
Friends of the Earth, said in heralding the tax credit's demise. "It leads to
more climate pollution than conventional gasoline, and it causes deforestation
as well as agricultural runoff that pollutes our water."

Opponents also see corn ethanol, which now takes a larger share of the U.S.
corn crop than cattle, hogs and poultry, as a factor in driving food prices
higher.

"The end of this giant subsidy for dirty corn ethanol is a win for taxpayers,
the environment and people struggling to put food on their tables," Rosenoer
added.

Source:
http://usnews.msnbc.msn.com/_news/2011/12/29/9804028-6-billion-a-year-ethanol-s
ubsidy-dies-but-wait-theres-more

Short:
http://tinyurl.com/dyxy5jh

(Gespalder/3582) The Sacramento Bee CapitolAlert B.

Gespalder@rss.iscabbs.com — Sun, 11 Dec 2011 12:29:00 -0600

The Sacramento Bee CapitolAlert B.

BREAKING NEWS

Ballot proposal would make California Legislature part-time

A constitutional amendment to switch California's Legislature to a part-time
body meeting about three months per year was proposed today by a Republican
lawmaker and the head of a political watchdog group. The measure by Republican
Assemblywoman Shannon Grove of Bakersfield, and Ted Costa of People's Advocate,
also would cut legislators' salaries from $7,940 per month to $1,500 per month
-- or $18,000 annually.

(Turanga Leela/3581 Forum Moderator) Attention:

Turanga Leela@rss.iscabbs.com — Sat, 10 Dec 2011 18:02:00 -0600

Attention:

Op-eds are not allowed. "News" stories which make heavy use of so-called
"weasel words" are not allowed. Propoganda disguised as "news" but exhibit an
obvious bias, either conservative or liberal, are not allowed. Posting them
will result in the posts being deleted, and doing so repeatedly will result in
a kickout.

(Okracoke/3579) Mitt Romney might have fatally injured himself with his $10,000 ...

Okracoke@rss.iscabbs.com — Sat, 10 Dec 2011 17:19:00 -0600

Mitt Romney might have fatally injured himself with his $10,000 bet offer to
Rick Perry at thsi evening's Presidential debate:

from the LA Times>

By James Oliphant

December 10, 2011, 7:26 p.m.

Mitt Romney, the millionaire who has tried again and again to try to show
voters that he.s just another everyday Joe, may have given his GOP rivals and
President Obama a gold-plated gift in Saturday.s debate in Iowa.

While sparring with Rick Perry over healthcare at the debate in Des Moines,
Romney challenged Perry to a wager. The stakes? A cool 10 grand.

That.s not exactly your typical bar bet.

Perry had accused Romney of altering a paperback version of his book to delete
a line that had Romney wanting to make his Massachusetts healthcare plan a
model for the rest of the nation, suggesting that Romney is a champion of an
individual mandate to force people to purchase health insurance.

Romney said that wasn.t true.

..I'll tell you what. 10,000 bucks? Ten-thousand-dollar bet?. Romney said.

..I.m not in the betting business,. Perry replied.

Romney, who likes to talk about his work creating jobs as a venture capitalist
in the private sector, is estimated to be worth between $190 million and $250
million.

Should he go on to win the Republican nomination, the clip from Saturday's
debate may be replayed again and again in Democratic attack ads.

The reaction of former Obama White House aide Bill Burton to Romney's bet was
typical. Burton now runs a Democratic "super PAC."


"Not a lot of 99%'ers are out there making $10,000 bets," Burton wrote on
Twitter.

(Okracoke/3577) From the Washington Post>

Okracoke@rss.iscabbs.com — Sat, 10 Dec 2011 12:55:00 -0600

From the Washington Post>

This idea that Romney can beat Obama is the media's twisted reelection plan for
Obama. Yes, Romney has consistently polled close to Obama, but this is largely
a function of the media pushing Romney as the person who can beat Obama. In
reality, once the general election campaign starts in earnest, the gloves will
come off, and this is the image of Romney that we will get:

Romney is a one-term governor who opted out of reelection because he was
polling with a worse approval rating than Obama currently sports. His signature
legislation as governor was a health insurance scheme that became the model for
Obama's health insurance plan, which more than half of the country has
consistently said in polls that they want to repeal. Romney, as he was leaving
office as governor, suddenly thought that having no chance of reelection as
governor qualified him to run for president, which he has spent the last four
years doing nonstop, and yet he has never been able to get the support of more
than a quarter of the Republican electorate at any given time. To run for
president, Romney suddenly flip-flopped in early 2007 on more major policy
issues than anyone can really count. At one time, Romney ran to the left of Ted
Kennedy on certain issues, and post-2007 he is suddenly reinvented as a staunch
conservative, and lost to the guy whom Obama beat badly. On top of all of this,
in a year when rancor against the cozy relationship between Wall Street and
Washington is at a fervor, Romney's other great qualification is that he got
rich running a Wall Street capital investment fund whose business was to scoop
up companies, reorganize them (i.e., lay off a lot of workers), and resell them
at a profit.

In other words, we have a candidate that conservatives will never vote for
because he is a liberal, that moderates will never vote for because he is a
tool, and that liberals will never vote for because he is a capitalist pig. Can
there be a worse candidate? All that Romney has going for him is that he is
smoother, less scandal-ridden, and less prone to gaffes than his competitors
(expect perhaps for Ron Paul), but since when did not making campaign blunders
qualify one to be president? Romney's actual substance on issues and experience
as a governor does not recommend him for the job.

Oh, and that magical rescue that made the Salt Lake Olympics "profitable"? That
required a million-dollar infusion of outside cash. The Games were not actually
profitable at all. Romney simply got a bailout and called that "profit."

In other words, Romney fits right into the Wall Street-Washington
too-big-to-fail, bailout culture. Why anybody outside of Wall Street (and
possibly the Mormon Church out of misplaced religious pride) would want Romney
at all is simply nonsense. This guy would make a terrible president, and in
terms of substance he is one of the worst Republicans on the stage. Romney is
not electable, and Obama's team is relishing the chance to demolish him.

(Gespalder/3576) Sac Bee Capital Alert

Gespalder@rss.iscabbs.com — Mon, 05 Dec 2011 20:58:00 -0600

Sac Bee Capital Alert


SACBEE BREAKING NEWS ALERT B; 12/5/2011

Jerry Brown filing initiative to hike taxes on sales, wealthy

Warning of deeper cuts to schools and public safety without new money, Gov.
Jerry Brown announced Monday he will file a ballot initiative to hike taxes on
sales and wealthy earners.

(Steppenwolf/3575) Herman Cain has suspended his presidential campaign:

Steppenwolf@rss.iscabbs.com — Sat, 03 Dec 2011 08:09:00 -0600

Herman Cain has suspended his presidential campaign:

http://www.cnn.com/2011/12/03/election/2012/cain-campaign/index.html?hpt=hp_t1

(Gespalder/3574) The Sacramento Bee CapitolAlert B.

Gespalder@rss.iscabbs.com — Thu, 01 Dec 2011 15:04:00 -0600

The Sacramento Bee CapitolAlert B.

BREAKING NEWS

Court tentatively orders Assembly to provide budget records

A Sacramento Superior Court judge tentatively has ordered the Assembly to
publicly release member-by-member budgets and other legislative documents it
had deemed confidential."The court concludes that the records were improperly
withheld under the Open Records Act," Judge Timothy Frawley said in his ruling,
released this afternoon.

(Capa/3573) Support for tea party cools off everywhere

Capa@rss.iscabbs.com — Wed, 30 Nov 2011 12:00:00 -0600


Support for tea party cools off everywhere

http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/politics/2016889632_tea30.html

Support for the tea party -- and with it, the Republican Party -- has fallen
sharply even in places considered tea-party strongholds, according to an
analysis of new polls.

In congressional districts represented by tea-party lawmakers, the number of
people saying they disagree with the movement has risen significantly since it
powered a Republican sweep in midterm elections; almost as many people disagree
with it as agree with it, according to the analysis by the Pew Research Center.

Support for Republicans has fallen further in those places than it has in the
country as a whole. In the 60 districts represented by a member of the House
Tea Party Caucus, Republicans are now viewed about as negatively as Democrats.

The analysis suggests that the tea party may be dragging down Republicans
heading into a presidential-election year.

Other polls have shown a decline in support for the tea party and its
positions, particularly because its hard line during the debate over the debt
ceiling and deficit reduction made it less an abstraction than it was a year
ago. In earlier polls, most Americans did not know enough about the tea party
to offer an opinion.

"We know that the image of the GOP has slipped, but to see it slip so
dramatically in tea-party districts is pretty surprising," said Andrew Kohut,
president of the Pew Center. "You think of those as bedrock Republican
districts. They are the base."

The number of people who disagree with the tea party has also risen among the
general public, according to the most recent of the polls in the Pew analysis,
taken this month. Among the public, 27 percent said they disagreed with the tea
party and 20 percent said they agreed -- a reversal from a year ago, when 27
percent agreed and 22 percent disagreed.

In tea-party districts, 23 percent of people now disagree with the tea party,
while 25 percent agree. A year ago, 18 percent of people in those districts
disagreed with the tea party, and 33 percent agreed.

In another poll in the Pew analysis, conducted in October, 48 percent of people
in tea-party districts said they had a negative view of the Republican Party,
while 41 percent said they had a favorable view. The favorable rating had
dropped 14 percentage points since March.

That drop was steeper than it was among the general public, where the
percentage of people with a favorable opinion of the Republican Party had
fallen to 36 percent, from 42 percent in March.

How much this affects Republican chances in the presidential contest next year,
Kohut said, probably depends on which candidate wins the nomination.

"The focus has been very much on the candidate and not on the party, but going
into this election, the party has problems," he said. "Which isn't to say that
people are wildly enthusiastic about the Democratic Party, but it hasn't lost
the kind of favor the GOP has."

(Okracoke/3572) SCRANTON, Pa. (AP) . Blending governing with re-election politic...

Okracoke@rss.iscabbs.com — Wed, 30 Nov 2011 11:44:00 -0600

SCRANTON, Pa. (AP) . Blending governing with re-election politics, President
Barack Obama roused a cheering northeast Pennsylvania crowd Wednesday as he
warned of a "massive blow to the economy" if Republicans block a payroll tax
extension because of his insistence on a millionaires' tax.

Obama took to the road with a dual pitch for money, campaigning for more cash
in the pockets of U.S. workers . and for his campaign treasury as well.

Obama pressed his case at a campaign-style rally in working-class Scranton,
Pa., where he said Republicans had to choose between lower taxes for the
wealthy, or a payroll tax cut that would help working Americans. Republicans
say they would support extending the payroll tax cut, but reject new taxes to
offset the costs.

"Are you going to cut taxes for the middle class and those who are trying to
get into the middle class, or are you going to protect massive tax breaks for
millionaires and billionaires?" he said. "Are you going to ask a few hundred
thousand people who have done very, very well to do their fair share or are you
going to raise taxes for hundreds of millions of people across the country?"

Obama was traveling later Wednesday to donor-rich New York City to raise money
for his already flush re-election bid, in a day illustrating the dual policy
and political demands on the president as the 2012 campaign season nears.

The populist pitch in Scranton and the fundraisers in New York served as
political bookends for the president. He first rallied the type of
working-class crowd that would benefit from the tax cuts and then appealed for
campaign contributions from donors, many of whom would be the ones to shoulder
the tax increases Obama supports.

Meanwhile on Capitol Hill, Republicans said they were prepared to extend the
temporary payroll tax cut, but they opposed Democrats' plan to pay for it by
taxing incomes over $1 million, setting up a showdown over how to find mutually
acceptable savings of over $100 billion before any extension could become law.
The GOP released a plan of their own that would raise money by freezing federal
workforce salaries and means-testing government benefits instead.

The full payroll tax of 6.2 percent would be restored if Congress does not act
by year's end, increasing taxes on 160 million Americans. Obama and the
Democrats want to expand this year's 2 percentage point reduction in the
payroll tax as well as extend, it while Republicans favor a straight extension.

"If Congress doesn't act to extend this tax cut then most of you, the typical
middle-class family, is going to see your taxes go up by $1,000 at the worst
possible time," Obama said.

Obama was welcomed warmly by a crowd of nearly 2,000 in the Scranton High
School gym. At one point the president said that Republicans have sworn an oath
not to raise taxes, prompting one man in the crowd to yell loudly: "Give us
some names!"

In making a case for the consequences of letting the tax cut lapse, Obama
offered a bleak assessment, telling his audience: "It would be tough for you.
It would also be a massive blow for the economy because we're not fully out of
the recession yet."

Technically, though, the recession ended in June 2009, according to the
National Bureau of Economic Research, the nonprofit group that determines the
beginning and end of recessions. The downturn began in December 2007 and was
the longest and deepest since World War II, costing the country about 7.5
million jobs.

The recovery has been unusually weak, but the economy is growing again. It
expanded 2 percent in the July-September quarter.

In selecting Scranton to make his appeal, Obama ventured to the birthplace of
Vice President Joe Biden and Sen. Bob Casey, the Pennsylvania Democrat who is
the author of the payroll tax cut plan expected to come up for a vote in the
Senate later this week.

Before making remarks, Obama sought to put a face on the beneficiaries of the
payroll tax cut by stopping at the home of third-grade teacher Patrick Festa
and his wife Donna, a graphic designer, in working-class South Scranton. The
three chatted in the family's Christmas-decorated dining room, Obama inquiring
about their work and their two high school-aged children.

Obama won Pennsylvania with 54 percent of the vote in 2008, but the fragile
economy could put the state in play in 2012. Its proximity to Washington and
its political importance have made it a favorite stopping place for Obama and
Biden. The trip comes as Obama steps up his re-election campaign, rolling out
two ads that call on supporters to begin to mobilize.

White House press secretary Jay Carney, while conceding that the re-election
effort is under way, played down politics as a factor in Obama's Scranton
visit.

"It's part of his responsibility, serving the American people, to get out and
be among them and to speak with them about his agenda or her agenda," he said.

In New York, Obama was to attend three fundraisers: one at the home of
businessman Jack Rosen, chairman of the American Jewish Congress, where tickets
begin at $10,000; one at the Greenwich Village restaurant Gotham Bar and Grill
at $35,800 per ticket; and a reception at the Sheraton Hotel, where tickets
begin at $1,000. The money will be split between the Democratic National
Committee and the Obama re-election campaign.

Obama also was scheduled to attend a reception celebrating progress on gay
rights and the six-month anniversary of New York's approval of gay marriage.
Obama has been supportive of gay and lesbian causes but has stopped short of
declaring support for gay marriage.

Copyright ) 2011 The Associated Press. All rights reserved.

(Okracoke/3571) Ginger White, the woman who alleges a 13 year romance with Herma...

Okracoke@rss.iscabbs.com — Mon, 28 Nov 2011 15:54:00 -0600

Ginger White, the woman who alleges a 13 year romance with Herman Cain, has a
few holes in her story and blemishes on her record. These include a bankruptcy
filing and a guilty verdict in a libel lawsuit brought against her by a former
business partner. Ms. White has also had consant financial problems over the
past 10 years with no steady employment and a half dozen evictions for failure
to pay rent. She also makes the dubious claim that Mr. Cain continued the
liaison during his cancer diagnosis and treatment starting in 2006. Few cancer
patients show energy or inclination for sex druing chemotherapy.

http://abcnews.go.com/Blotter/herman-cain-denies-affair-allegation/story?id=150
42918#.TtRLvPLEnSg

(Okracoke/3570) My Gawd... politics ain't beanbag... Presidential politics doubl...

Okracoke@rss.iscabbs.com — Mon, 28 Nov 2011 11:56:00 -0600

My Gawd... politics ain't beanbag... Presidential politics doubly so:

ATLANTA, Ga. - An Atlanta businesswoman is breaking her silence, claiming she
has been involved in a 13-year-long affair with Republican presidential
candidate Herman Cain.

Over the Thanksgiving weekend, FOX 5 senior I-Team reporter Dale Russell sat
down with Ginger White, who had an amazing story to tell.

..It was pretty simple,. White said. .It wasn't complicated. I was aware that he
was married. And I was also aware I was involved in a very inappropriate
situation, relationship..

In an exclusive interview on FOX 5 News at 6, Russell will tell you why White
is speaking out now, and show you the records that she says back up her story.
He also talks to Herman Cain, who denies the affair. Cain.s attorney, Lin Wood,
released the following statement to just moments ago:

"Mr. Cain has been informed today that your television station plans to
broadcast a story this evening in which a female will make an accusation that
she engaged in a 13-year long physical relationship with Mr. Cain. This is not
an accusation of harassment in the workplace . this is not an accusation of an
assault - which are subject matters of legitimate inquiry to a political
candidate.

Rather, this appears to be an accusation of private, alleged consensual conduct
between adults - a subject matter which is not a proper subject of inquiry by
the media or the public. No individual, whether a private citizen, a candidate
for public office or a public official, should be questioned about his or her
private sexual life. The public's right to know and the media's right to report
has boundaries and most certainly those boundaries end outside of one's bedroom
door.

Mr. Cain has alerted his wife to this new accusation and discussed it with her.
He has no obligation to discuss these types of accusations publicly with the
media and he will not do so even if his principled position is viewed
unfavorably by members of the media."

http://www.myfoxatlanta.com/dpp/news/ginger-white-claims-affair-herman-cain-201
11127-es

(Okracoke/3569) From the NY Times>

Okracoke@rss.iscabbs.com — Sun, 27 Nov 2011 04:42:00 -0600

From the NY Times>

BEIRUT, Lebanon . The Arab League approved tough economic sanctions against
Syria on Sunday because of its violent crackdown against antigovernment
protesters, an unprecedented step against an Arab country.

The sanctions were believed to include the suspension of commercial flights to
Syria from Arab countries, a travel ban on officials and politicians, a halt to
all dealings with the Syrian central bank and the cessation of all Arab
projects in Syria.

The finance ministers drafted the sanctions on Saturday at a meeting in a hotel
in the Cairo suburbs rather than the league.s headquarters in Tahrir Square,
the scene of clashes last week between security forces and protesters seeking
to hasten civilian rule in Egypt.

They were approved by the group.s foreign ministers on Sunday.

The sanctions will be another blow to the Syrian economy, which is already
suffering from sanctions by the European Union and the United States.

Syria depends on its Arab neighbors for half of its exports and a quarter of
its imports. Its two most vital sectors, tourism and oil, have ground to a halt
in recent months.

In a letter to the league on Saturday, Syria.s foreign minister, Walid
al-Moallem, accused the organization of seeking to turn the Syrian crisis into
an international one.

The vote on Sunday was scheduled after Damascus said it would not admit Arab
civilian and military observers into Syria to oversee a peace agreement. Syria
had accepted the agreement on Nov. 2 to end more than eight months of bloodshed
that has killed, according to the United Nations, more than 3,500 people.

Reactions from Syria to the sanctions varied with many worried that they would
mostly hurt the poor and the middle class, further decreasing their income,
while the interests of the business class and the elite would remain protected.


..I think it is time the world realized that economic sanctions are not
affecting anyone but the Syrian people,. said a 23-year-old resident from
Damascus who did not want to be identified for fear of reprisal. .Those who
couldn.t afford buying bread, now can.t afford even smelling bread..

Others hoped that the sanctions would push the business class and the elite in
Syria.s two biggest cities, Damascus and Aleppo, to participate in the
opposition against the government of President Bashar al-Assad. The upper class
has so far remained largely quiet since the uprising began in March.

Violence in Syria continued throughout the weekend and the Syrian Observatory
for Human Rights, an opposition rights group operating in exile, reported
clashes between army defectors and security forces loyal to the government in
northwestern and central Syria. At least 10 people were killed Sunday across
the country, the group reported.

The group said that at least 27 civilians had been killed Saturday, most of
them in the central city of Homs, where clashes between the army and defectors
have been quite regular. In addition, 15 army defectors and 12 soldiers and
security personnel during an attack on a military vehicle in northwestern
Syria, the group said.

(Okracoke/3568) WASHINGTON.New Hampshire's largest newspaper on Sunday endorsed ...

Okracoke@rss.iscabbs.com — Sun, 27 Nov 2011 03:00:00 -0600

WASHINGTON.New Hampshire's largest newspaper on Sunday endorsed former House
Speaker Newt Gingrich in the 2012 GOP presidential race, signaling that rival
Mitt Romney isn't the universal favorite and potentially resetting the contest
before the state's lead-off primary Jan. 10.

"We are in critical need of the innovative, forward-looking strategy and
positive leadership that Gingrich has shown he is capable of providing," The
New Hampshire Union Leader said in its front-page editorial, which was as much
a promotion of Gingrich as a discreet rebuke of Romney.

"We don't back candidates based on popularity polls or big-shot backers. We
look for conservatives of courage and conviction who are independent-minded,
grounded in their core beliefs about this nation and its people, and best
equipped for the job," the editorial said.

Romney enjoys solid leads in New Hampshire polls and remains at the front of
the pack nationally. A poll released last week showed him with 42 percent
support among likely Republican primary voters in New Hampshire. Gingrich
followed with 15 percent in the WMUR-University of New Hampshire Granite State
poll.

Rep. Ron Paul of Texas posted 12 percent support and former Utah Gov. John
Huntsman found 8 percent support in that survey.

Those numbers could shift based on the backing of The Union Leader, a newspaper
with a conservative editorial stance that proudly works to influence elections,
from school boards to the White House, in the politically savvy state.

The front page one editorial, signed by publisher Joseph W. McQuaid, suggested
that the only state-wide newspaper in New Hampshire was ready to again assert
itself as a player in the GOP primary.

"We don't have to agree with them on every issue," the newspaper wrote in an
editorial that ran across the width of the front page. "We would rather back
someone with whom we may sometimes disagree than one who tells us what he
thinks we want to hear."

While Romney enjoys solid support in national polls, the large pack of
Republicans has shifted all year from candidate to candidate in search of an
alternative to the former Massachusetts governor. That led to the rise, and
fall, of potential challengers such as Huntsman, Rep. Michele Bachmann of
Minnesota and Texas Gov. Rick Perry.

Yet with six weeks until the primary, The Union Leader's move could shuffle the
race and further boost Gingrich. In recent weeks, he has seen a surge in some
polls as Republicans focus more closely on deciding which candidate they
consider best positioned to take on President Barack Obama.

"A lot of candidates say they're going to improve Washington," the newspaper
wrote. "Newt Gingrich has actually done that, and in this race he offers the
best shot of doing it again."

As voters started focusing more on the race, Gingrich has turned in solid
debate performances and found his stride on a national stage. He has rebuilt
his campaign after a disastrous summer that saw many of his top aides resign en
masse and fundraising summaries report million in debt.

In New Hampshire, he brought on respected tea party leader Andrew Hemingway to
lead his efforts and his team has been contacting almost 1,000 voters each day.

Hemingway's team of eight paid staffers in New Hampshire has been adding more
than 100 volunteers each day, campaign officials said. Gingrich's team has
lined up leaders in the major cities and has started identifying
representatives in each ward in the state.

Gingrich has opened offices in Manchester, New Hampshire's biggest city, along
with Dover in the eastern part of the state and in the North Country's
Littleton. He plans two more.

Gingrich hasn't begun television advertising and has refused to go negative on
his opponents.

Yet The Union Leader's backing could give him a nudge in New Hampshire and
provide a steady stream of criticism.

Four years earlier, the newspaper threw its support to Arizona Sen. John
McCain's bid and used front page opinion columns and editorials to boost him
and criticize chief rival Romney. In the time since, Romney has worked to court
Union Leader publisher Joe McQuaid, who often runs columns on the newspaper's
front page under his signature.

"The Union Leader's style is we don't just endorse once," McQuaid told The
Washington Post in 1999. "We endorse every damn day. We started endorsing
Reagan in 1975 and never stopped."

Romney and his wife, Ann, had dinner with the McQuaids at the Bedford Village
Inn near Manchester, hoping to reset the relationship earlier this year. Yet it
didn't prove enough and McQuaid's newspaper seemed not to appreciate the
outreach.

"Newt Gingrich is by no means the perfect candidate," McQuaid wrote. "But
Republican primary voters too often make the mistake of preferring an
unattainable ideal to the best candidate who is actually running."

(Okracoke/3567) (Reuters) - Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney was ac...

Okracoke@rss.iscabbs.com — Wed, 23 Nov 2011 08:27:00 -0600

(Reuters) - Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney was accused on
Wednesday of flip-flopping for comments he made in 2007 indicating he was open
to a pathway to citizenship for illegal immigrants.

Romney's remarks, made on NBC's "Meet the Press" when he was a candidate for
president, were circulated by rival Newt Gingrich's campaign the day after the
former Speaker of the House of Representatives came under similar fire for
suggesting during a debate Tuesday night that he was in favor of such a pathway
for immigrants.

Opponents of a pathway, a large swath of the early-voting Republican
electorate, have branded the proposal as equal to an amnesty for the estimated
12 million illegal immigrants living in the United States.

Conservative Republican voters in early-voting states like Iowa have
demonstrated little patience for candidates or office-holders who are receptive
to any plans that would grant citizenship to illegal immigrants.

The Gingrich campaign noted that during the 2007 interview, Romney said "that
those people who had come here illegally and are in this country, the 12
million or so that are here illegally, should be able to sign up for permanent
residency or citizenship."

The two men are battling it out for leadership of the Republican race for the
right to take on President Barack Obama in 2012. Gingrich sought to use the
immigration issue to further brand Romney as a candidate of expediency, or a
flip-flopper. [ID:nN1E7AL25K]

""So what's your position on citizenship for illegals again?" Gingrich said in
a tweet.

The Romney campaign suggested that Gingrich was using the quote out of context.

A Romney campaign spokeswoman pointed out that the entire quote indicates that
he is not in favor of giving illegal immigrants a "special guarantee" of
citizenship.

Romney said in the interview that illegal immigrants "should not be given a
special pathway, a special guarantee that all of them get to stay here for the
rest of their lives merely by virtue of having come here illegally."

Romney and the rest of the Republican field criticized Gingrich, who has become
the Republican front-runner in some national polls, for saying on Tuesday night
he would not favor separating families in an effort to deport illegal
immigrants.

"If you've been here 25 years and you've got three kids and two grand kids,
you've been paying taxes and obeying the law, you belong to a local church, I
don't think we're going to separate you from your family, uproot you forcefully
and kick you out," Gingrich said.

Obama's campaign said Romney has not been clear on what immigration policy he
would support and criticized the former Massachusetts governor for changing his
position on the matter.

"Governor Romney is somebody who once claimed to support comprehensive
immigration reform, but now he is a candidate who is absolutely demagogue to
the issue of immigration in a politically craven way because he believes that
it serves his political interests," said Obama spokesman Ben LaBolt. "He is the
most right-wing presidential candidate in recent presidential history on this
issue."

(Egregious/3566) http://www.usatoday.com/news/washington/story/2011-11-21/US-Debt...

Egregious@rss.iscabbs.com — Mon, 21 Nov 2011 11:48:00 -0600

http://www.usatoday.com/news/washington/story/2011-11-21/US-Debt-Supercommittee
/51337976/1

Supercommittee fails to find compromise on deficit

WASHINGTON (AP) - The bipartisan leadership of a special congressional
committee -- assigned the task of slashing more than $1 trillion dollars from
the U.S. deficit -- announced Monday that the panel failed, unable to bridge
bitter ideological differences separating Republicans and Democrats in the
run-up to presidential and legislative elections next year.

Democratic Sen. Patty Murray and Republican Rep. Jeb Hensarling said that
despite "intense deliberations" the members of the panel have been unable "to
bridge the committee's significant differences."

(Okracoke/3565) from the WSJ>

Okracoke@rss.iscabbs.com — Thu, 17 Nov 2011 16:33:00 -0600

from the WSJ>

The interaction between police and Occupy Wall Street demonstrators grew
markedly more confrontational on Thursday, with clashes breaking out across
Lower Manhattan and each side accusing the other of unwarranted violence.

The altercations erupted as protesters sought to demonstrate that a raid on
their encampment early Tuesday hadn't weakened their resolve or decreased their
numbers. A day of raucous rallies and protests suggested that it had not,
posing what could become a continuing challenge for Mayor Michael Bloomberg and
his police commissioner, Raymond Kelly.

"There was definitely a lot more tensions on the streets today," said
Christopher Dunn, executive legal director of the New York Civil Liberties
Union, who monitored the protests.

Mr. Dunn said he saw "a level of physical confrontation" between the police and
protesters that hadn't been present in past Occupy Wall Street demonstrations.
"I think there's some real anger on the protesters' side over the eviction and
some of it is probably the police are starting to lose their patience," Mr.
Dunn said.

New York Police Department spokesman Paul Brown disputed that idea: "Within the
larger group of nonviolent protesters there has always been a smaller core
looking to foment trouble."

Activists staged a series of demonstrations throughout the day, starting with a
morning attempt to march on Wall Street that led to clashes with police and
ending with a massive union-backed rally in Foley Square that was largely
peaceful. The events had been planned before the Tuesday raid.

For much of the past two months, Occupy Wall Street and the NYPD had been in
something of a stalemate. Activists spent most of their time tending to their
encampment in Zuccotti Park while staging periodic marches and rallies
elsewhere. Police, meanwhile, let the protesters be unless they blocked traffic
or were otherwise disruptive.

That has changed. Nearly 200 people had been arrested by the time Messrs.
Bloomberg and Kelly gave a late-afternoon press briefing on Thursday at
Bellevue Hospital. They were there visiting Officer Matthew Walters, who they
said suffered a cut to the hand when a protester threw a star-shaped glass
object at police.

Six other police officers had been injured, Mr. Kelly said. There were a slew
of injured protesters, too. Ten protesters taken into police custody needed
medical attention, Mr. Kelly said. Many others were hurt but not arrested.

The mayor worked to shape the day's narrative. Flanked by white-coat-clad
doctors at Bellevue, Mr. Bloomberg sought to pin the blame for trouble on
demonstrators. He ticked off a list of injuries suffered by the officers, most
of them minor. "Even in the face of this antagonism, the police maintained
incredible restraint," Mr. Bloomberg said.

And on Twitter, press aides sparred with reporters who they thought were
getting facts wrong or weren't being fair to City Hall.

Thursday's attempt to block access to Wall Street was clearly aimed at jolting
the daily rhythm of the financial system. Protesters wanted to delay the
ringing of the opening bell at the New York Stock Exchange, exactly the sort of
disruption that Mr. Bloomberg and his aides have proudly said the city has
avoided. On Thursday, the NYPD responded forcefully.

The bell rang on time, but demonstrators made life difficult for those who were
trying to get to work. Police made it hard for demonstrators.

On Pine Street, Ben Farnan sat stopped in his gray Jaguar as protesters marched
between cars. He had driven in from Long Island unaware of the planned
demonstrations and was trying to get to work on Wall Street.

"It's crazy," he said. "I'm hoping it's over very shortly."

Officers in riot gear clashed repeatedly with chanting protesters in the narrow
streets of the Financial District. Police would disperse demonstrators in one
place, only to have them coalesce again in another.

There were numerous violent incidents.

A group shouting "Wall Street's closed" blocked the entrance on the corner of
Hanover Street and linked arms. Police tried to clear the sidewalk, pushing
people so that several fell into others. Two girls emerged from the crowd,
crying and complaining their ribs hurt.

After clearing several other streets, police arrested one man on Wall Street. A
reporter watched as they pushed his head into the ground and blood was visible
in his mouth.

Later, at Zuccotti Park, protesters pushed barricades and heckled police
officers in riot gear. The officers began to push the barricades back.

At times, the NYPD seemed to be off balance and unable to keep up with the
rapidly changing, leaderless protests. In the afternoon, thousands of
protesters gathered in Union Square for a student-heavy rally. En route to
Foley Square, they started marching west, then south on Fifth Avenue, where
they shut down traffic completely.

"The NYPD has unparalleled capacity, as far as sheer numbers, to handle these
things," said Eugene O'Donnell, professor of law and police science at John Jay
College of Criminal Justice in Manhattan. "But it's taxing rank-and-file
officers, especially your specialty people. A lot of people who are at the
front of the spear, so to speak, the crowd control experts, are getting
stretched extremely thin at this point."

But police eventually regained the upper hand.

Protesters hit a wall of officers at 14th Street who kept them from moving.
Only after a legal observer negotiated a route down Broadway with police were
they allowed to pass. Traffic was stopped for more than 30 minutes.

(Okracoke/3564) from CBS>

Okracoke@rss.iscabbs.com — Thu, 17 Nov 2011 13:11:00 -0600

from CBS>

Two government officials tell CBS News that Republican presidential candidate
Herman Cain has been approved for Secret Service protection.

The Secret Service would not say why the decision was made, though such
protection is usually approved for candidates who have received credible
threats. Cain has received threats as far back as when he was CEO of
Godfather's Pizza.

The Cain campaign would not confirm that Cain had been approved for Secret
Service protection.

Then-Sen. Barack Obama received Secret Service protection on May 3, 2007.
Then-Sen. Hillary Clinton, who also sought the presidency in the 2008 cycle,
already had Secret Service protection because he husband had recently been
president; her official campaign protection began on November 29, 2007.

Cain's is the twelfth presidential candidate to be protected by the Secret
Service. Among those who have gotten such protection are Rev. Jesse Jackson
(starting November 23, 1987 and November 10, 1983), Pat Robertson (December 1,
1987) and Sen. Edward Kennedy (October 25,1979). Six candidates received Secret
Service protection in the 1976 campaign cycle.

Congress authorized protection for major presidential candidates after Robert
Kennedy was assassinated in 1968 as he was seeking the presidency.

(Okracoke/3563) from the WSJ>

Okracoke@rss.iscabbs.com — Tue, 15 Nov 2011 02:38:00 -0600

from the WSJ>

Police brought the two-month-old Occupy Wall Street encampment in Zuccotti Park
to an abrupt end early Tuesday morning, as hundreds of officers swept in and
cleared out protesters and their tents.

They arrested 70 protesters who refused to leave and sent others into the
surrounding streets, setting off clashes and marches throughout Lower
Manhattan.

The incursion marks a dramatic turn in what had become a vexing saga for New
York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg. It puts an end to questions about quality of
life and public safety in and around the park, which had been taken over by
protesters. But it's not clear whether the eviction will end the protests or
push them into a volatile new phase that's harder for police to control.

Zuccotti Park was the birthplace and main stage of what has become a wave of
nationwide protests targeting corporate bailouts and economic inequality. The
dispersal of protesters in Lower Manhattan is the latest and most high-profile
of a series of police crackdowns on encampments around the country.

Mr. Bloomberg quickly took responsibility for the move, saying in a statement
released before dawn that the park's owners had asked for the city's help in
enforcing its rules against sleeping there, but that "the final decision to act
was mine."

The New York City Police Department made its move shortly after 1 a.m., when
hundreds of officers in riot gear surrounded the small, privately owned plaza.
They turned on large batteries of lights. Some used bullhorns to warn those
sleeping there that the area was being temporarily evacuated so it could be
cleaned and cleared of illegal structures.

Word quickly went out on Twitter and via a text-message alert system that
protesters maintained. Some officers walked through the park handing out fliers
from the park's owner, Brookfield Office Properties Inc, that explained the
eviction.

Many left. Others did not. One stood on a table in the center of the park and
said "If you are here to protect our country, stand here. If you are here to
save this park, disobey orders."

Police and sanitation workers moved through and swept away tents, piling them
in the corner of the park. A large group of protesters remained seated with
their arms linked together near the encampment's kitchen. Stevie Bates, an
18-year-old protester from the Bronx, said she saw at least six people with
U-shaped locks around their necks.

Ms. Bates, who said she was among those seated near the kitchen, described the
protesters as peaceful and said she had offered some of the police officers
cookies. She said an officer hit her with a club but she was not injured.

"They pushed me out of the park the whole way. All of my stuff is gone," Ms.
Bates said. "They didn't give us any time...They trampled on us, completely
trampled us."

Billie Greenfield and Jeremy Letto, both 24 years old, hauled two tubs and
several bags packed with their belongings past the World Trade Center as they
walked away from the park.

Mr. Letto, a resident of Bushwick, Brooklyn, said the two were in a tent
talking when flood lights lit the park and police began giving orders. A police
officer eventually came to their tent and read from prepared statement telling
them to leave. The two decided to pack and head to Ms. Greenfield's apartment
on the Upper West Side to regroup.

"They gave us 15 to 20 minutes to pull all of our clothes and supplies
together," Ms. Greenfield said. "They pretty much destroyed everything else.
They pulled down tents and put them in the back of Dumpsters.

"I just grabbed what I could," Mr. Letto said. "If it was your intention to
leave, they gave you enough time to leave. It was actually surprising how
quickly they got it cleaned out."

As the police line held back anyone who tried to enter the park during the
raid, protesters raised their hands in the peace sign and held up cameras to
film the encounter. Some heckled police and hurled insults at them. Others said
officers were just following orders.

"We're trying to change the world!" Brendan Sanders told an officer.

"You guys gotta read the law," the officer replied.

An hour after the raid started, most of the structures that had served as the
foundation of a miniature city over recent weeks were dismantled by Department
of Sanitation workers in green uniforms. The tents holding the library, media
center, legal aid, information and sanitation areas were all broken down and
placed into rolling trash containers.

Police knocked over the media tent from which protesters had been streaming
video from Zuccotti Park. One protester refused to get out of the tent, and
three officers in riot gear carried him away wrapped in pieces of tent and
tarp.

A video stream continued to broadcast long after the raid began, with over
20,000 viewers watching the live footage online. The broadcast stopped abruptly
at around 2:20 a.m. and resumed again at 3 a.m. with frequent disruptions.

As police dealt with holdouts, hundreds of others scattered into the streets of
Lower Manhattan, setting off marches and skirmishes with police that extended
as far north as Union Square. Helicopters hovered low and shone spotlights on
marchers who filled normally quiet streets with chanting.

Some appeared to provoke confrontation, while others went out of their way to
avoid it. As one group marched through SoHo and NoHo, some knocked over trash
cans and dumped them on the street. Others came behind them, righted the cans
and put trash back in them.

One part of the group chanted "We are peaceful." Others responded with chants
of "We're not peaceful."

Such incidents went on throughout the early morning. Police and protesters
clashed at Broadway and Pine, just outside Zuccotti Park, after demonstrators
refused to clear the street.

At 5:10 a.m., police officers using bullhorns told protesters to move to the
sidewalk. "If you don't leave the street, you will be arrested," an officer
said.

Police in riot gear waded into a crowd of resisters and pushed them to the
sidewalk. Protesters yelled "Shame" as the operation proceeded. Several arrests
were made. One man detained had city-issued press credentials around his neck.

Almost immediately, protesters started talking about what would come next for
their movement. By daybreak, more marches and rallies were being planned.

Tyree Robinson, a 23-year-old actor who lives in Bushwick, Brooklyn, was one of
several people telling protesters to move toward City Hall Park and gather
there. He said the raid on Zuccotti Park "doesn't matter."

"This is not about one location. It doesn't end here tonight," said Mr.
Robinson, who said he had been going to the encampment daily since the
demonstration began.

Some protesters turned away by police said they were heading toward the famous
statue of a bull at Bowling Green. Others went to nearby Foley Square, where
they began making plans. "We're trying to regroup," said Caroline Buster, a
32-year-old writer from Brooklyn. "They're trying to disperse us and we're
trying to stay together."

Occupy Wall Street protesters first gathered at the park on Sept. 17. What many
expected to be a short-lived demonstration instead appeared to capture growing
popular resentment against corporate bailouts and economic inequity. It soon
grew into a movement that spread to other cities and led to raucous protests
around the world.

Police in other cities have used sometimes violent methods to disperse crowds.
But the encampment in New York had remained largely peaceful. After a few
weeks, demonstrators were allowed to set up tents even though they violated the
rules of the park.

Over the past months, Mr. Bloomberg has appeared conflicted over how to deal
with the entrenched crowd. He has said he supports their right to free speech
but didn't support their methods or message.

The city was facing increasing pressure from neighbors, its own police
department and others to shut down the encampment. An attempt by the city to
remove protesters to clean the park last month was aborted under pressure from
other elected officials.

This time around, the surprise raid left little time for politicians to dissent
or protesters to prepare. By 5:30 a.m., an eerie calm had descended over
Zuccotti Park, which just hours before had been home to a bustling, crowded
society.

Sanitation workers used power washers to scrub the ground. The air smelled of
exhaust and soap. Dozens more workers wearing reflective vests cleaned the
street with mops and pails.

Protesters would be allowed back in when the park re-opens later Tuesday
morning, Mr. Bloomberg said in his statement, but not they would not be able to
re-establish their encampment.

(Okracoke/3562) (Reuters) - Portland Police arrested more than 50 people on Sund...

Okracoke@rss.iscabbs.com — Sun, 13 Nov 2011 15:55:00 -0600


(Reuters) - Portland Police arrested more than 50 people on Sunday as the
authorities cleared out and blocked off encampments of the Occupy movement that
has been protesting nationwide over economic issues.

The Portland actions were among several by authorities around the country over
the weekend to try to close down encampments occupied by demonstrators for
weeks.

Encampments sprang up in several cities in recent weeks in solidarity with the
Occupy Wall Street movement that began in New York in September to protest what
demonstrators see as economic inequality and undue influence over U.S. politics
by corporate interests.

In Portland the authorities had issued an eviction notice, and then moved to
empty the camps and fence them off. Many protesters left on their own after the
notice, but others chose to stay.

A police statement said: "the Portland Police Bureau has cleared both Chapman
and Lownsdale Square parks. During today's operation, more than 50 arrests were
made of people who either wanted to be arrested or refused to leave Chapman
Square."

There were no injuries during the park clearance, police said.

But demonstrators regrouped in the streets, blocking traffic in a standoff with
ranks of Portland Police officers in riot gear. The confrontation was still
continuing as of late afternoon, although there were signs the protesters would
move to a public square in Portland's downtown area.

More than 300 officers, including those from 10 other law enforcement agencies,
were participating in the authorities' actions, Portland Police said.

On the protester side, an estimated thousand people joined in demonstrating in
the streets, with traffic closed for several blocks.

FACE-TO-FACE

Police, face-to-face with the protesters, repeatedly told them that if they
didn't move out of the road, or appeared to be resisting arrest, chemical
agents and impact weapons -- apparently beanbag guns -- might be used and
demonstrators could be subject to arrest.

On their side the protesters chanted: "I don't see no riot here, take off your
riot gear," "The whole world is watching," and "We are peaceful people."

Officials also moved over the weekend to dismantle a protest camp in Salt Lake
City, Utah, while in Denver, police on Saturday removed mattresses, cooking
grills and tents illegally placed on a public sidewalk.

Seventeen people were arrested, Denver police said on Sunday.

This weekend's actions were the latest as officials in a number of cities have
cited health and safety issues in urging Occupy demonstrators to take down
their camps, or as the basis for police actions to shut them down.

Portland Mayor Sam Adams in comments to CNN on Sunday linked that city's camps
to increases in crime and drug overdoses, and said an arsonist had used a camp
as camouflage for his efforts.

While Adams expressed sympathy for protester goals, he said the Occupy movement
needed to evolve beyond encampments "in order to get the kind of reforms we
need."

In Philadelphia, Mayor Michael Nutter on Sunday ordered beefed-up police
patrols at the city's protest site, saying conditions were "dramatically
deteriorating."

"This movement has changed and the people have changed," he said. "We are now
at a critical point where we must reevaluate our entire relationship with this
very changed group."

In Salt Lake City authorities moved to dismantle a camp at a downtown park and
arrested 15 people on Saturday.

In Oakland, California, the scene of previous clashes between police and
demonstrators, city hall issued a third eviction notice on Sunday. It warned
protesters they faced "immediate arrest" if they continued to camp out in the
city's plaza and parks.

The city offered alternative emergency accommodation at two local area homeless
shelters, and laid on a shuttle service to one that was not within walking
distance of the encampments.

In St. Louis, Mayor Francis Slay has warned protesters they have to decamp but
has offered to continue talks to find a permanent place for the protest.

(Okracoke/3561) from CNN>

Okracoke@rss.iscabbs.com — Sat, 12 Nov 2011 12:56:00 -0600

from CNN>

Democrats on the Senate Judiciary Committee voted Thursday to repeal the
federal law that defines marriage as between one man and one woman.

The vote that sends the proposal to the full Senate floor was considered
symbolic because the measure has no chance of getting passed by the
Republican-led House.

All eight Republicans on the Judiciary Committee voted "no" Thursday, while all
the 10 majority Democrats supported the measure that would provide equal
federal benefits to legally married same-sex couples.

Democrats and gay rights advocates hailed the vote as historic in the
continuing effort to legalize same-sex marriage and end separate treatment for
legally married same-sex couples.

Committee Chairman Pat Leahy, D-Vermont, called it "an historic step forward in
righting an injustice that goes right to the core of what we stand for in this
country -- freedom and equality."

Senate passes jobs bill for veterans

However, social conservatives said the repeal measure disrespected the beliefs
and wishes of mainstream America.

"Marriage is not some prize that liberals can award to a small, vocal and
already well-off special interest group," said a statement by Tony Perkins,
president of the Family Research Council. "Marriage between one man and one
woman was created prior to the formation of any governments and is given
benefits by governments because it uniquely contributes to a productive
society."

Under the Defense of Marriage Act, passed in 1996, only legally married couples
as defined by the law are entitled to more than 1,000 federal marriage benefits
such as continued Social Security payments to spouses after death.

Repealing the measure means that same-sex couples wed in the six states and the
District of Columbia, which have legalized gay and lesbian marriages, would be
eligible for full federal benefits afforded other couples, regardless of where
they live, said Sen. Dianne Feinstein, D-California, who sponsored the
proposal.

Reid belittles 'phony' GOP tax concessions

Feinstein and other Democrats said the repeal would not require states to
legalize same-sex marriage or otherwise impede on a state's rights on the
matter.

Republicans said the repeal would alter the institution of marriage between a
man and woman, and also would increase the cost burden on the federal
government by expanding the number of eligible beneficiaries.

"No one has paid into Social Security expecting benefits to be paid to same-sex
partners," said Sen. John Cornyn, R-Texas.

Leahy responded that people who have paid into Social Security like anyone else
should be able to receive benefits, whether or not they have legally married
someone of the same sex.

He and other Democrats said the issue was about equal treatment under the law.

However, Republican Sen. Orrin Hatch of Utah complained of a broader impact,
saying "it is no secret that advocates want to use the courts to force states
to legalize and recognize same-sex marriage."

To Democratic Sen. Al Franken of Minnesota, the repeal would be one step in the
right direction.

"When we do pass it, straight people aren't suddenly going to become gay," he
said, adding: "We'll do just fine, really."

(DrMemory/3560) Actually, it's from WLS TV in Chicago

DrMemory@rss.iscabbs.com — Tue, 08 Nov 2011 07:04:00 -0600

Actually, it's from WLS TV in Chicago
http://abclocal.go.com/wls/story?section=news/iteam&id=8422203

November 7, 2011 (MUNDELEIN, Ill.) (WLS) -- Sharon Bialek, who lives in
suburban Mundelein, said Republican presidential candidate Herman Cain reached
under her skirt 14 years ago when she asked him about a job.

It was her hope for a new job that Bialek says brought her to Herman Cain that
day in 1997. Bialek's resume and a trail of public records indicates that
changing jobs has been a regular occurrence for the Chicagoan. She has worked
for at least nine different employers over the past 17 years and appears to
have struggled financially.

The public record on Bialek begins in 1991 when she filed personal bankruptcy
for the first time while living in Des Plaines.

Between 1993 and 1996 Bialek worked for four different companies in promotion
and marketing positions.

In 1996, and part of 1997, Bialek was at the National Restaurant Association.
After being let go from that job in mid-1997, she says that she went to
Washington, D.C., to meet with Cain, president of the association, because she
needed a job.

In 1999, Bialek's son Nicholas was born and a paternity lawsuit was filed by
the father, a media executive.

In 2001 came Bialek's second personal bankruptcy, filed after sizable legal
bills. That year she was hired by WGN radio where she worked until 2004 when
she took a marketing job and then a job at WCKG radio.

Along the way, according to her attorney, Bialek also held positions with
Revlon and Easter Seals.

Bialek currently lives in Mundelein with fiance Mark Harwood.

"She's of the same political persuasion as Herman Cain," Harwood said. "There
was no money on the table to go and have an interview. This is truly about an
American girl who's got a big heart and wants to do the right thing."

(Copyright B)2011 WLS-TV/DT. All Rights Reserved.)

(Okracoke/3559) from the Free Republic>

Okracoke@rss.iscabbs.com — Mon, 07 Nov 2011 14:27:00 -0600

from the Free Republic>

Who is Cain accuser Sharon Bialek?
ABC Chicago ^ | 11-7-11 | Chuck Goudie

Posted on Monday, November 07, 2011 7:20:54 PM by STARWISE

*snip*

The public record on Bialek begins in 1991 when she filed personal bankruptcy
for the first time while living in Des Plaines.

Between 1993 and 1996 Bialek worked for four different companies in promotion
and marketing positions.

In 1996, and part of 1997, Bialek was at the National Restaurant Association.
After being let go from that job in mid-1997, she says that she went to
Washington, D.C., to meet with Cain, president of the association, because she
needed a job.

In 1999, Bialek's son Nicholas was born and a paternity lawsuit was filed by
the father, a media executive. In 2001 came Bialek's second personal
bankruptcy, filed after sizable legal bills. That year she was hired by WGN
radio where she worked until 2004 when she took a marketing job and then a job
at WCKG radio.

(Okracoke/3558) from CBS News>

Okracoke@rss.iscabbs.com — Mon, 07 Nov 2011 08:26:00 -0600

from CBS News>

A fourth woman said Monday that presidential candidate Herman Cain engaged in
sexually inappropriate behavior with her more than decade ago, though Cain was
not her supervisor at the time.

Sharon Bialek, the first woman to publicly accuse Cain of inappropriate
behavior, said Cain was "sexually inappropriate" with her in 1997, saying he
put his hand under her skirt and pushed her head toward his crotch after a
dinner together. She said he backed away after she asked him to stop.

"I want you to come clean, Mr. Cain," she said in a New York City press
conference at the Friars Club with her attorney, Gloria Allred at her side.
Allred is known for her media savvy and for representing women who have had
legal issues with the rich and powerful.

Three other women have reportedly accused Cain of inappropriate behavior while
he was running the National Restaurant Association, but none has made public
charges against him.

Allred last year represented Nicky Diaz Santillan, the housekeeper California
gubernatorial candidate Meg Whitman fired because of her immigration status.
She also represented one of the women who had an affair with golf legend Tiger
Woods.

The latest accusations are likely to put more pressure on Cain to explain what
happened with the women who worked for him at the restaurant group. Cain has
denied any harassment occurred.

Within minutes of the press conference, Cain's campaign issued a statement
calling the allegations "false."

"Activist celebrity lawyer Gloria Allred is bringing forth more false
accusations against the character of Republican front-runner Herman Cain," the
campaign said in a prepared statement.

"All allegations of harassment against Mr. Cain are completely false. Mr. Cain
has never harassed anyone," the statement said.

Cain himself has sought to deflect questions on the matter, telling reporters
on Saturday after a one-on-one debate in Texas with former House Speaker Newt
Gingrich that "we are getting back on message, end of story."

"Far as we're concerned, these allegations aren't going anywhere," Cain said
Sunday on Fox News, "I mean people might make up some more stuff. We are in it
to win it."

(Okracoke/3557) from the Washington Post>

Okracoke@rss.iscabbs.com — Thu, 03 Nov 2011 12:46:00 -0500

from the Washington Post>

Republicans on a House Energy and Commerce Committee panel on Thursday overrode
vigorous Democratic objections and took the apparently unprecedented step of
authorizing subpoenas for internal White House communications related to a
half-billion dollar taxpayer loan guarantee for the failed solar company
Solyndra.

The move followed a last-minute attempt by the White House to fend off the
move, with officials meeting with committee members and delivering several
boxes of e-mails and other documents to committee investigators on Wednesday
afternoon.

Rep. Diana DeGette (Colo.), ranking Democrat on the panel, called it a .sad
day. for the committee and .an act of irresponsible partisanship,. stressing
that the committee had never before subpoenaed the White House. She noted the
administration had already turned over thousands of pages of documents and said
a subpoena should be issued only after all alternative routes have been
abandoned.

Republicans said they had hoped to avoid the step, but that the committee.s
long-running investigation had failed to get to the bottom of why Solyndra,
which collapsed in August and is now under criminal investigation, was selected
to receive the Obama administration.s first loan guarantee under the stimulus
act. President Obama last year visited the company.s California operation,
whose biggest investors were venture capital funds linked to Tulsa billionaire
George Kaiser, a major Obama fundraiser.

Some Republicans have questioned whether the administration rushed stimulus
funding out the door to benefit its political supporters. On Oct. 14, the White
House told the committee that it would not comply with a request for all
internal White House communications regarding the Solyndra loan.

More details emerged about the Solyndra bankruptcy this week, including that
the Obama administration weighed and rejected an option to bail out the company
when it was close to bankruptcy. As AP explained :

Days before a solar panel maker collapsed, the Obama administration considered
a bailout that would have provided an infusion of cash and made the federal
government a part-owner of the company.

Officials rejected the plan, which was recommended in August by the investment
banking firm Lazard Ltd. Lazard was paid $1 million for analyzing options
related to the faltering company, Solyndra Inc.

Details of the bailout plan were among nearly 1,200 pages of documents released
by the government Wednesday, hours before a House subcommittee was set to vote
on a plan to subpoena White House documents related to Solyndra.

The Republican-controlled House Energy and Commerce Committee said a subpoena
was necessary because the White House has denied or delayed requests for
thousands of documents related to Solyndra. The California company received a
$528 million federal loan before filing for bankruptcy protection and laying
off 1,100 workers.

(Miser/3556) Occupy Oakland Protesters Tear Gased by Police

Miser@rss.iscabbs.com — Thu, 03 Nov 2011 03:19:00 -0500

Occupy Oakland Protesters Tear Gased by Police
By Kevin Dolak | ABC News  1 hr 30 mins ago

Police have used tear gas and flash bang grenades on a large crowd of
demonstrators that lit a massive bonfire in the streets of downtown Oakland,
Calif.,  in a conflict following a day of action that saw the citys port closed
after demonstrators. blocked it

Dozens of police in riot gear advanced on protesters who had pushed together
several large metal and plastic trash bins to start a fire that reached 15 feet
in the air, according to The Associated Press. Police reportedly warned
protesters to clear out before firing several rounds of tear gas and flash bang
grenades.

Several protesters, many of whom wore gas masks, chanted We Are Scott Olson as
the police fired at them early Wednesday. Olson is the Iraq War veteran who
suffered a fractured skull last month after he was  hit in the head by a
projectile during a conflict with police.

The conflict came hours after thousands of Occupy Oakland protesters marched on
the Port of Oakland, disrupting operations at the nations fifth largest port
and causing all maritime operations in the city to be shut down.

Officials at the Port of Oakland said Wednesday that they hope to resume normal
operations in the morning after protesters marched through the city all day and
into the night on a general strike that saw banks and stores picketed and
disrupted the flow of traffic.

Demonstrators began marching to the port at 4 p.m. Wednesday, and by 5 p.m. all
work had been halted at the port. A message on the website OccupyOakland.org
said that the goal was to stand in solidarity with the longshore workers and
shut down the evening shift of the port.
Omar Benjamin, the director of the Port of Oakland, confirmed the closing of
the port at a late-evening news conference.

Maritime operations remain effectively shut down. And the port is working to
ensure that all workers in the harbor area can get home safely.  It is our hope
that the work day can resume tomorrow and port workers will be allowed to get
to their jobs without incident, Benjamin said.

Continued missed shifts represent economic hardship for maritime workers,
truckers and their families as well as lost jobs and lost tax revenue for our
region, he added.

Wednesdays march through Oakland was largely peaceful according to Oaklands
interim police chief Howard Jordan.

Thereve been no arrests, there have been no injuries. Earlier today at about
7:46 we received a call of a pedestrian that was struck by a vehicle, Jordan
said late Wednesday.

Several banks were vandalized and a dozen windows were shattered at the Wells
Fargo branch, while an area of Whole Foods was vandalized after rumors spread
that employees who participated in the strike would be fired, according to ABC
News affiliate KGO.

Conflict among  protesters arose as some scrubbed graffiti from a branch of
Wells Fargo bank and a group of protesters attempted to stop another from
vandalizing a Whole Foods, KGO reported. A police spokesperson said that five
businesses were vandalized throughout the day.

Late Wednesday Oakland Mayor Jean Quan confirmed that the protesters were
leaving the citys port.

Literally thousands of people have demonstrated today in Oakland primarily
peacefully. We are disappointed that a small group created some vandalism, she
said. It looks like this was a good day for demonstrators and for the 99
percent movement.

Quans support of the protests has created controversy amongst city workers.
After ordering officers to clear protesters last week, Quan now supports the
movement and gave city workers other than police the day off to join the work
stoppage.

In an open letter from the police union, officers accused her of sending mixed
messages.

As your police officers, we are confused, the letter read. Is it the citys
intention to have city employees on both sides of a skirmish line?

The Occupy Oakland has quickly become one of the largest movements in the
country after the Occupy Wall Street movement began in mid-September. The
movement in Oakland became a flashpoint last week when police used teargas to
disperse crowds and Iraq War veteran Scott Owen was hospitalized with a
critical skull fracture after he was hit with a projectile during a clash with
police.

Source:
http://news.yahoo.com/occupy-oakland-protesters-tear-gased-police-101824932.htm
l

(Turanga Leela/3555) http://www.foxnews.com/politics/2011/10/29/obama-cites-income-ga...

Turanga Leela@rss.iscabbs.com — Sun, 30 Oct 2011 06:39:00 -0500

http://www.foxnews.com/politics/2011/10/29/obama-cites-income-gap-to-push-stall
ed-jobs-bill/

Obama Cites Income Gap to Push Stalled Jobs Bill

President Obama is banking on a new report detailing the income disparity in
the country as further evidence of the need for his $447 billion jobs bill.

A report this past week by the Congressional Budget Office found that average
after-tax income for the top 1 percent of U.S. households had increased by 275
percent over the past three decades. Middle-income households saw just a 40
percent rise. For those at the bottom of the economic scale, the jump was 18
percent.

Obama said in his weekly radio and Internet address Saturday that he would pay
for his jobs plan with an added tax on people who make at least $1 million a
year.

Senate Republicans have blocked action on the bill, which mixes tax breaks for
businesses and public works spending, because they oppose much of the increased
spending and the tax on millionaires.

"These are the same folks who have seen their incomes go up so much, and I
believe this is a contribution they're willing to make," Obama said.
"Unfortunately, Republicans in Congress aren't paying attention. They're not
getting the message."

Obama is now trying to get Congress to pass the individual components of the
bill. But Senate Republicans also stalled progress on the first of those
measures, $35 billion to help local governments keep teachers on the job and
pay the salaries of police officers, firefighters and other emergency services
workers.

Saying the country cannot wait for Congress, Obama has begun bypassing Congress
and taking steps on his own that he says will encourage economic growth.

On Friday, Obama directed government agencies to shorten the time it takes for
federal research to turn into commercial products in the marketplace. The goal
is to help startup companies and small businesses create jobs and expand their
operations more quickly.

The president also called for creating a centralized online site for companies
to easily find information about federal services. He previously had announced
help for people who owe more on their mortgages than their homes are worth and
for the repayment of student loans. The White House also challenged community
health centers to hire veterans.

"We can no longer wait for Congress to do its job," Obama said. "So where
Congress won't act, I will."

The congressional report, based on Internal Revenue Service and Census Bureau
data, was released as the Occupy Wall Street movement spreading across the
country protests bailouts for corporations and the income gap.

In the weekly GOP message, Illinois Rep. Bobby Schilling urged Obama to support
bills that Republicans say would help create jobs by blocking various energy
and environmental regulations and streamlining administrative procedures. The
bills, passed by the Republican-controlled House, await action in the
Democratic-run Senate.

Shilling said the bills give the White House and Congress an opportunity to
build on the common ground created by the passage of recent free-trade
agreements, and a measure to void a law requiring federal, state and many local
governments to withhold 3 percent of their payments to contractors until their
taxes are paid. Obama included repealing that tax in his jobs plan.

"Republicans have a jobs plan, one with some bipartisan support, but it's stuck
in the Senate," said Schilling, owner of a pizza parlor in Moline, Ill. "We're
asking President Obama to work with us and call on the Senate to pass the
`forgotten 15' to help the private sector create jobs, American jobs
desperately needed."

(Turanga Leela/3553 Forum Moderator) If you are one of those who can't figure out what is news, and w...

Turanga Leela@rss.iscabbs.com — Sun, 30 Oct 2011 06:30:00 -0500

If you are one of those who can't figure out what is news, and what is opinion,
I will offer an example of each. Both are relevant to politics and current
events, in particular the upcoming presidential election, but one is news and
therefore allowed in this forum, while the other is opinion and is not allowed
in this forum.

-------------------

Here is an example of a news article: notice outside of personal quotes there
is a total absence of weasel words opinion or anything of the sort which would
otherwise turn it into an editorial or op-ed or other form of opinion piece:

http://politicalticker.blogs.cnn.com/2011/10/30/paul-has-no-plans-for-third-par
ty-bid-yet/

Paul has no plans for third-party bid, yet
CNN Producer Gabriella Schwarz

(CNN) - Ron Paul has no plans to launch a third-party bid for the White House
in 2012 if he fails to win the Republican nomination, he said Sunday.

"I have no intention of doing it," Paul said on CNN's "State of the Union."
"Nobody's particularly asked me to do it and they know what I'm doing and I
have no plans whatsoever to do it."

Paul ran as a Libertarian Party candidate in the 1988 presidential election and
as a Republican Party candidate in the 2008 election.

Although he did not explicitly denounce the idea of a third-party bid in this
election cycle, Paul insisted that such a candidacy would not "doom" Republican
chances by diluting the conservative vote.

"It would cause a little bit of a problem," Paul acknowledged.

-------------------

Here is an example of an unacceptable piece. Notice it is chock-full of weasel
words, opinions, heavy bias, and very little actual news. It is a propoganda
piece and a personal rant, not news. This is a bit of an extreme example
because I chose a story which includes ALL of the bad elements that are not
allowed in this forum.

http://www.cnn.com/2011/10/28/opinion/carville-rick-perry/index.html

Why Rick Perry's presidential bid is toast

Rick Perry is really starting to annoy me.

When Rick Perry announced he was running for president back on August 13, to
tell you the truth I got a little excited.

Now I know what you're thinking -- James you are a big Democrat, why on earth
would you be excited about Perry running for president? And as Ricky used to
tell Lucy -- I got some 'splainin to do.

This was my thinking: Perry would get in and he would be a major force. After
all he was governor of the state of Texas, great hair, been around politics for
a while.

He was the bona fide conservative complete with a pedigree to take on Romney. A
giant fight to the death would ensue and they would bludgeon each other half to
death -- you get the picture.

Honestly, I enjoy nothing more than two Republicans going after each other.
Secondly, when politics is interesting it is actually good for me. In case you
haven't noticed, I'm a cable television commentator -- the more interesting the
campaign, the more coverage, the more I'm on TV -- you get the drift.

Also, as some of you may be aware of, I've been known to give a speech or two
in return for remuneration. The people that plan these sorts of things
generally hire more political speakers when politics is interesting and in turn
I'll make more money and then John Boehner and Eric Cantor will start referring
to me as a job creator.

With the way things are shaping up now, the event planners might be more
inclined to take a motivational speaker, a magician, or a square dance troop.
Hey Rick -- you are costing me airtime and money.

Third, there is a dirty little secret about political people that I'm going to
share with you. These political people include operatives, politicians,
volunteers, bloviators, journalists, pundits, columnists, staffers -- we
actually like politics and campaigns.

Maybe you, like me, are a baseball fan. If you are, you want seven games
because you actually like baseball. The same goes for politics -- if you really
love it, you hope for a good race that goes on and you enjoy watching people
who are skilled at doing this.

It is literally painful to watch Rick Perry as a candidate. The case could be
made that Rick Perry is the worst debater to ever run for president.

As far as I know he can't even give a good speech. His appearance before the
uber-right-winged Values Voters Summit was universally trashed.

Not only can he not give an interview, he can't even roll out his stupid flat
tax plan. He steps all over it by saying, "Oh by the way, it's optional
anyway." He has managed to couple the flat tax with the IRS bureaucracy in one
sentence. Way to go Rick.

I'll be blunt with all you Perry supporters, it's time to butter your guy
because he's toast. Every day it's a new dumb thing. From birtherism, to
convoluted tax policy, to inarticulate attacks, to woeful ignorance and even
stupidity on foreign policy (Pakistani country? Please), to placing his wife
under such stress that she is lashing out at everything around her.

Not only is Rick Perry utterly incapable of running for president, he can't run
his state, and in fact can't meet the basic requirement for any politician --
he can't even run his mouth.

As if he hasn't made a big enough fool of himself, he decides to go out and
have lunch with Donald Trump and falls for the birther strategy. Good God, can
this guy do anything? I guess I should be fair to him, he has shown that he can
get the same people he gave contracts to as governor of Texas to contribute to
his campaign. Wow, what an achievement.

To tell you the truth, it's gotten so bad people in Louisiana are actually
starting to make Texas jokes.

If this thing gets any worse the people in Mississippi will be making Texas
jokes -- then you've really hit rock bottom.

Rick, you have managed to embarrass yourself and irritate the hell out of me.
So I guess you are good at something after all.

PS: See where the media is reporting that Perry is "retooling" his campaign. I
think their problem is with the Indian, not the arrow.

(Okracoke/3548) from the Washington Post>

Okracoke@rss.iscabbs.com — Wed, 26 Oct 2011 08:53:00 -0500

from the Washington Post>

Senate Democrats are urging the debt-reduction supercommittee to pursue a
far-reaching agreement to slice $3 trillion from the federal budget over the
next decade through significant cuts to federal health programs, including
Medicare, and as much as $1.3 trillion in new taxes.

At a closed-door meeting Tuesday, Sen. Max Baucus (D-Mont.) told his colleagues
on the panel that they should pick up where President Obama and House Speaker
John A. Boehner (R-Ohio) left off in negotiations this summer during a bitter
battle to raise the federal debt limit, according to congressional aides in
both parties familiar with the meeting. Obama and Boehner were discussing a
plan that included provisions to raise taxes, raise the Medicare eligibility
age and use a less generous measure of inflation to calculate Social Security
benefits.

Baucus, the aides said, proposed that the committee look at slightly larger
revenue increases. That idea faced immediate push-back from Republicans on the
panel, who have consistently refused to consider raising revenue through any
means other than economic growth.

Baucus.s proposal suggests a plan about equally divided between tax increases
and spending cuts, including as much as $500 billion in fresh savings from
health programs, such as Medicare and Medicaid. Aides said Baucus also urged
his colleagues to approve Obama.s request for as much as $300 billion in fresh
measures aimed at stimulating the economy, another idea Republicans have
resisted.

The offer represents the thinking of Senate leaders and marks the first time
either party has put numbers on paper in an effort to jump-start the talks,
which are facing a Thanksgiving deadline. The panel has floundered since
meetings began in September. If the supercommittee fails to reach agreement to
trim borrowing by at least $1.2 trillion through 2021, automatic spending cuts
of an equal amount would be triggered in January 2013. These cuts would strike
hard at the Pentagon.

It was not immediately clear what impact the offer would have on the talks.
Although declining to comment publicly on the offer, Republican aides privately
dismissed the tax and stimulus pieces as unacceptable.

Democratic aides, meanwhile, privately expressed little hope that a big deal is
possible. They said Senate Democrats might be setting the stage to paint
themselves as good-faith negotiators and to lay blame for the failure to reach
agreement at the feet of Republicans.

(WORF/3547) Obama freezes local reporters out of S.F. event

WORF@rss.iscabbs.com — Tue, 25 Oct 2011 08:28:00 -0500


Obama freezes local reporters out of S.F. event

Joe Garofoli, Chronicle Staff Writer



President Obama is scheduled to appear before hundreds of donors at a
$7,500-a-plate noontime fundraiser today at San Francisco's W Hotel - but not a
single local reporter will be allowed inside to cover his only stop in the
area, the White House said Monday.

Coverage instead is being restricted to a small pool of Washington-based
reporters - a move that is a sharp departure from the practices of past
administrations, political observers said.

Three former top White House press aides called the move insular and
politically short-sighted. And some press watchers said it is hypocritical for
an administration that Obama promised would be "the most transparent in
history."

The White House declined Monday to say why no local reporters would be allowed
to attend today's event, nor whether the ban on local media was part of a new
national policy.

"As per usual, the White House traveling press pool will cover the President's
remarks at his Bay Area campaign event and a transcript of his speech will be
circulated to local and national media outlets," White House spokesman Adam
Abrams wrote in an e-mail response to The Chronicle.

But barring local reporters from presidential events is not usual at all,
according to veterans of past White House press operations and longtime Bay
Area journalists.

Until recently, The Chronicle and other Bay Area papers including the Oakland
Tribune and the San Jose Mercury News regularly served as local pool reporters
in their home regions, feeding coverage of events to other media. Local
journalists generally know big-monied donors and political players best.

Nicolle Wallace, a former press secretary to Republican President George W.
Bush, called the ban "idiotic ... inexplicable on the politics side, let alone
the press side."

"For a Democrat to go to San Francisco and not invite the local press is like
George W. Bush going to Crawford, Texas" and doing the same, she said. "This is
a place where people want to be reminded about what they love about the guy."

Chris Lehane, a former spokesman for Democratic President Bill Clinton, was
also baffled by the move, saying they always had local pools.

"It's not only the right thing to do in terms of respecting the Fourth Estate,
but it typically translates into better press coverage," he said. "It doesn't
take a rocket scientist to figure out that access results in the occupying of
more real estate in the newspaper and on television."

Ken Lisaius, who oversaw local White House press coverage as a former deputy
director of the office of media affairs in the Bush administration, said he
"simply can't recall a time where we didn't provide for a local pool. It's part
of a transparent and identifiable government."

Obama has made headlines during previous fundraisers in San Francisco, as when
he told one audience during an April 2008 appearance that small-town voters
"cling to guns or religion" - a comment that he was forced to defend for
months.

Earlier this year, the White House threatened to ban The Chronicle from future
local pool coverage after political writer Carla Marinucci, serving as a print
pool reporter, recorded a video of a protest inside a fundraiser.

The White House said Marinucci had violated a rule forbidding print reporters
from recording video. But there is no such rule. The White House denied making
the threat.

Afterward, First Amendment advocates and new-media experts thought the
administration's concerns about a print reporter shooting video were absurd in
an age when anybody with a smart phone can record video.

"It seems the Obama campaign has calculated that taking a small hit from
political reporters being denied access is a safer course of action than
opening the event to reporters and cameras and risking an embarrassing YouTube
moment," said former longtime KTVU-TV political editor Randy Shandobil.

E-mail Joe Garofoli at jgarofoli@sfchronicle.com.



Read more: http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2011/10/24/MNIE1LLM
JJ.DTL

(Okracoke/3546) from CBS News>

Okracoke@rss.iscabbs.com — Tue, 25 Oct 2011 03:02:00 -0500

from CBS News>

Businessman Herman Cain is now atop the field of Republican White House
hopefuls, squeaking past former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney in the latest
CBS News/New York Times poll.

Cain garnered 25 percent support of Republican primary voters in the poll
released Tuesday, compared to Romney's 21 percent.

In early October, the two men were tied at 17 percent.

The poll was conducted Oct 19-24 among 1,650 adults. 1,475 interviews were
conducted among registered voters and 455 voters who said they plan to vote in
a Republican primary. The margin of error among primary voters is plus or minus
four percentage points.

Cain's support surged among voters who identified with the conservative Tea
Party wing of the Republican party, rising to 32 percent in mid-October from 18
percent just a few weeks ago. That's more than four times the level of support
he had from the group in mid-September.

Romney's Tea Party support has held steady in October, at 18 percent, after a
modest increase from September's 12 percent.

Perry, however, has seen his Tea Party backing go up in steam. He had just 7
percent support in the latest poll, compared to 12 percent in early October and
a staggering 30 percent in mid-September.

Former House Speaker Newt Gingrich took 10 percent of likely primary voters,
while Ron Paul's support was at 8 percent.

Texas Gov. Rick Perry, who led the poll in mid-September, plunged to just 6
percent support. He had 12 percent in early October and 23 percent in
mid-September.

(Turanga Leela/3545 Forum Moderator) Greetings, and welcome to News About Politics>!

Turanga Leela@rss.iscabbs.com — Mon, 24 Oct 2011 18:31:00 -0500

Greetings, and welcome to News About Politics>!

The purpose of this forum is to post political news articles. Think of
this forum as the political equivalent of Late Breaking News>.

Ground rules:

1.  All articles posted must relate directly to politics.  Additionally, all
    posted articles must be news.  That is, information about a politician,
    political event, etc.  Opinion pieces belong elsewhere.

2.  All articles posted here must have a news source. News sources include (but
    are not limited to) websites for news networks, periodicals, newspapers,
    etc. Blogs, personal websites (your own or others), and opinion sites are
    not news sources.

3.  NO PERSONAL COMMENTARY. The pieces posted must stand on their own. The
    ONLY exception allowed to this rule is to add an invitation to discuss the
    article in an appropriate discussion forum. For example: "I'd like to
    invite discussion of this article in Political Issues>." Invitations
    expressing opinions will be considered commentary.

4.  No op-eds or biased news stories, including "news" articles which are
    heavily* laced with "weasel words" are not allowed and may result in a KO
    without prior warning.

*"heavily" being the sole discretion of the forum moderator

(see http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Weasel_word for examples of weasel words)

In a nutshell, post political articles, but please discuss them elsewhere.

(Okracoke/3543) from Rasmussen Reports>

Okracoke@rss.iscabbs.com — Mon, 17 Oct 2011 07:21:00 -0500

from Rasmussen Reports>

Whether Herman Cain.s surge in the polls is temporary or has staying power,
he.s enjoying a big enough bounce to take a very slight lead over President
Obama in a hypothetical 2012 matchup. At the moment, the Georgia businessman is
the only Republican with a lead of any kind over Obama, although former
Massachusetts Governor Mitt Romney has held a similar advantage several times
and is currently trailing the president by just two points.

The latest Rasmussen Reports national telephone survey of Likely U.S. Voters
shows Cain attracting 43% support, while Obama earns 41%. Given such a matchup,
eight percent (8%) prefer some other candidate, and another eight percent (8%)
are undecided. (To see survey question wording, click here.)

Cain is tied with Romney for the lead in the race for the GOP presidential
nomination.  Nobody else is even close at the moment.

Last week,  Cain trailed Obama by three. The week before,  he was behind by
five. "Cain now has the chance to make the case for why he should be the
challenger to Mitt Romney," says Scott Rasmussen, president of Rasmussen
Reports. "Many others have auditioned for the role and fallen flat, and it
remains to be seen whether Cain.s fate will be similar." Rasmussen interviewed
Cain for the Rasmussen Report on radio show.

(Okracoke/3542) The Obama Administration has abandoned the CLASS act....the long...

Okracoke@rss.iscabbs.com — Fri, 14 Oct 2011 10:52:00 -0500

The Obama Administration has abandoned the CLASS act....the long term care
insurance that was a major part of the Affordable Health care act>>

from the AP Newswire>

Obama pulls plug on part of health overhaul law

By RICARDO ALONSO-ZALDIVAR
Associated Press
Health Video
Advertisement
Buy AP Photo Reprints

WASHINGTON (AP) -- The Obama administration says it is unable to go forward
with a major program in the president's signature health care overhaul law - a
new long-term care insurance plan.

Officials said Friday the long-term care program has critical design flaws that
can't be fixed to make it financially self-sustaining.

Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius told Congress in a letter
that she does not see a viable path forward at this time. By law,
implementation of the program was contingent on Sebelius certifying it
financially sound.

The program was supposed to be a voluntary insurance plan for working adults
regardless of age or health. Workers would pay an affordable monthly premium
during their careers, and could collect a modest daily cash benefit if they
became disabled later in life.

The problem all along has been how to ensure enough healthy people would sign
up.

A longstanding priority of the late Sen. Edward M. Kennedy, D-Mass., the
Community Living Assistance Services and Supports program, or CLASS, was
spliced into the health care law despite nagging budget worries.

CLASS was intended as a voluntary plan, supported by premiums, not taxpayer
dollars. Workers would pay around $100 a month or less. In exchange, they would
receive a modest daily cash benefit averaging no less than $50 if they became
disabled later in life. Beneficiaries could use the money for services to help
them stay at home, or to help with nursing home bills.

Kennedy's idea was to give families some financial breathing room. The burden
of long-term care is growing. Most families cannot afford to hire a home health
aide for a frail elder, let alone pay nursing home bills. Long-term care is
usually provided by family members, often a spouse who may also have health
problems.

But a central design flaw dogged CLASS from the beginning. Unless large numbers
of healthy people willingly sign up during their working years, soaring
premiums driven by the needs of disabled beneficiaries would destabilize it,
eventually requiring a taxpayer bailout.

It's unclear whether the program can be salvaged. Congressional Republicans are
committed to repealing it.

(Okracoke/3541) from Fox News>

Okracoke@rss.iscabbs.com — Tue, 11 Oct 2011 10:46:00 -0500

from Fox News>

Gov. Chris Christie, just one week after definitively announcing he will not
run for president in the 2012 race, endorsed Mitt Romney for the job Tuesday
afternoon.

At a press conference in Hanover, N.H., Christie described the endorsement as
an "easy decision."

The announcement came just hours before the Republican candidates gather for a
debate nearby at Dartmouth College. In securing the support of Christie, Romney
will have at his side a tough-talking governor who during his two years in
office has built a reputation as a fiscal hawk not shy about taking on the
public employee unions.

The former Massachusetts governor is enlisting Christie at a time when his
front-runner status is once again being challenged. Romney saw his lead slip
after Texas Gov. Rick Perry jumped into the race in August. Perry has since
fallen back in the polls, but businessman Herman Cain broke through to within a
few points of Romney in several recent national polls.

Marking a fast turnaround for Romney, the new endorsement comes one week to the
day since Christie called a press conference in Trenton to end once and for all
the speculation that he would make a late entrance into the race.

Christie for months had said he would not run, but acknowledged that
encouragement from others had him rethinking the decision in recent weeks. But
he said he never changed his mind, and determined he had too much unfinished
business to take care of in his home state.

The endorsement of Romney should leave no doubt that Christie is out as a
potential candidate, but in as a potential high-profile surrogate for the
former Massachusetts governor.

Romney also has secured the endorsement of former Minnesota Gov. Tim Pawlenty,
who bowed out of the race in August.

Read more: http://www.foxnews.com/politics/2011/10/11/christie-to-endorse-romne
y-for-president/#ixzz1aVKMs7JB

(Turanga Leela/3540 Forum Moderator) ahem

Turanga Leela@rss.iscabbs.com — Tue, 11 Oct 2011 07:40:00 -0500

*ahem*
Any more posts made comprised of opinion or otherwise biased with weasel words
(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Weasel_word) will be dealt with harshly.

This is the last warning.

There is plenty of factual objective news concerning ongoing campaigns to not
have to resort to posting op-eds or otherwise biased stories.

(Okracoke/3537) Nicolle Wallace, who served as Senior Advisor on the 2008 McCain...

Okracoke@rss.iscabbs.com — Mon, 10 Oct 2011 03:59:00 -0500

Nicolle Wallace, who served as Senior Advisor on the 2008 McCain/Palin
campaign, has published a fictional account, "It's Classified" of a female VP
who is forced to resign because of her insanity.

In an interview   http://www.time.com/time/arts/article/0,8599,2096190,00.html
Ms. Wallace states that the insane VP character was inspired by Sarah Palin:

"The idea of a mentally ill vice president who suffers in complete isolation
was obviously sparked by the behaviors I witnessed by Sarah Palin. What if
somebody who was ill-equipped for the office were to ascend to the presidency
or vice presidency? What would they do? How long would it take for people to
figure it out? I became consumed by this question.

When you were working on the McCain campaign, what about Sarah Palin alarmed
you so much?

Well, first let me just say that the novel is by no means meant to build a case
against Sarah Palin. However, to the extent that the people around [the
fictional vice president] Tara watched in this troubled state of confusion,
despair and helplessness as she flailed around . that was something I
experienced. Palin vacillated between extraordinary highs on the campaign stage
.. she ignited more enthusiasm than our side had seen at any other point . to
debilitating lows. She was often withdrawn, uncommunicative and incapable of
performing even the most basic tasks required of her job as McCain's running
mate."
....."There certainly were discussions . not for long because of the arc the
campaign took . but certainly there were discussions about whether, if they
were to win, it would be appropriate for her to be sworn in."

Charlie Black, Senator McCain's top advisor, responded to Ms. Wallace:

http://www.politico.com/news/stories/1011/65257.html

"That assertion is "not true" and "bizarre," said Charlie Black, a veteran of
Republican presidential politics who was one of McCain.s closest advisers in
the 2008 race.

"No such discussions ever happened and I have confirmed that with Sen. McCain,"
Black told POLITICO. "In fact, Sen. McCain and most of his senior staff from
the campaign admire Sarah Palin and appreciate her contribution to the ticket.
The McCains and the Palins are close friends."

Of Wallace, Black said: "She wrote a book of fiction and her comment to Time
magazine is fiction."

"It.s bizarre that Nicolle would say that when, constitutionally, you couldn.t
prevent the woman from being sworn in if she was elected vice president," he
continued. "It.s a bizarre way to sell books."

Read more: http://www.politico.com/news/stories/1011/65257.html#ixzz1aNpmE4yD

(Okracoke/3536) from CBS News>

Okracoke@rss.iscabbs.com — Fri, 07 Oct 2011 18:28:00 -0500

from CBS News>

Texas Gov. Rick Perry on Friday tersely repudiated the remarks of a Dallas
pastor who hours before introduced him at the Values Voters summit in
Washington and afterwards disparaged the Mormon faith of Perry's presidential
rival, Mitt Romney.

In Tiffin, Iowa, where Perry flew for a barbecue after his speech to the
gathering of social conservatives, he was asked three times whether he agreed
with the pastor Robert Jeffress' characterization of Mormonism as "a cult."

"No," Perry said to the first question. To the second: " No, I've already
answered that back there. I told him no." Asked by a third reporter whether he
associated himself with the pastor's remarks, Perry said: "I already answered
that question," before being whisked out the door.

Perry's comments were his first public remarks on a contretemps that surfaced
an issue that has long dogged Romney and now may haunt Romney as well: the
question of whether religious differences will become a factor in the contest
for the Republican presidential nomination. In comments to reporters after the
governor's speech at the Values Voters gathering, Jeffress bluntly predicted
that it would.

He described Romney's Mormon faith as "a cult" and suggested that it precluded
him from winning the support of evangelical voters.

"That is a mainstream view, that Mormonism is a cult," Jeffress told reporters.
"Every true, born again follower of Christ ought to embrace a Christian over a
non-Christian."

In subsequent interviews with with the National Journal and CBS News, Jeffress
reiterated those views. Romney is "not a Christian," said Jeffress. "That
doesn't mean he's a bad person but I think his commitment to conservative
values is highly suspect."

Perry spokesman Mark Miner quickly distanced the campaign from Jeffress'
comments, telling National Journal and CBS News in an e-mail: "The governor
does not believe Mormonism is a cult."

The senior pastor at the First Baptist Church of Dallas, Jeffress said he is
highlighting Romney's religion deliberately because of the likelihood that the
former Massachusetts governor could win the nomination. But Jeffress, who
stayed behind long after his introduction to make himself available for media
interviews, also revealed he has a book coming out in January about his
religious views.

He predicted that Romney's Mormon faith will be a "major factor" in the GOP
contest.

"The thing is (evangelicals) just won't be honest and tell you it's going to be
a major factor," Jeffress said. "Most people don't want to admit, even
evangelical Christians, that they have a problem with Mormonism. They think
it's bigoted to say so. But what voters say to a pollster is sometimes
different than what they do in the privacy of a voting booth."

At the lectern, Jeffress introduced his state's governor as a "genuine follower
of Jesus Christ" and said he visited Perry when he was "praying about" whether
to make a run for the presidency.

Afterwards, he described himself as an acquaintance of Perry's. "I haven't gone
coyote hunting with him," he quipped. "I've met him a few times. I know him
well enough to know his faith in Christ is genuine."

Jeffress called President Obama the "most pro-abortion, most pro-homosexual
president we've ever had," and said that given a choice between him and Romney,
he'd vote for Romney. But the pastor added: "If Mitt Romney is the nominee,
Barack Obama will be the next president. Mitt Romney will not energize
evangelicals."

When asked if the campaign had any official response to Jeffress' comments
today, communications director Gail Gitcho emailed "No."

Romney, like fellow GOP presidential candidate Jon Huntsman, is a member of the
Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints, an affiliation that is believed to
have cost him support in his 2008 bid for the Republican presidential
nomination.

Jeffress's comment drew a rebuke from another presidential candidate, former
Sen. Rick Santorum, who has close ties to many social conservatives. Romney's
religion is not a cult, he said.

"What I see in Mormonism is good strong moral values, very much in line with
the values of conservatives," said Santorum. Asked whether evangelicals would
hesitate to back him, Santorum said he didn't know. "I'm Catholic," he quipped.

Additional reporting by Caroline Horn and Brian Montopoli of CBS News, Naureen
Khan of National Journal and CBS News, and Alex Roarty of National Journal.

(Okracoke/3535) October 5, 2011

Okracoke@rss.iscabbs.com — Wed, 05 Oct 2011 13:37:00 -0500

October 5, 2011
Wasilla, Alaska

After much prayer and serious consideration, I have decided that I will not be
seeking the 2012 GOP nomination for President of the United States. As always,
my family comes first and obviously Todd and I put great consideration into
family life before making this decision. When we serve, we devote ourselves to
God, family and country. My decision maintains this order.
Continue Reading

My decision is based upon a review of what common sense Conservatives and
Independents have accomplished, especially over the last year. I believe that
at this time I can be more effective in a decisive role to help elect other
true public servants to office . from the nation.s governors to Congressional
seats and the Presidency. We need to continue to actively and aggressively help
those who will stop the .fundamental transformation. of our nation and instead
seek the restoration of our greatness, our goodness and our constitutional
republic based on the rule of law.

From the bottom of my heart I thank those who have supported me and defended my
record throughout the years, and encouraged me to run for President. Know that
by working together we can bring this country back . and as I.ve always said,
one doesn.t need a title to help do it.

I will continue driving the discussion for freedom and free markets, including
in the race for President where our candidates must embrace immediate action
toward energy independence through domestic resource developments of
conventional energy sources, along with renewables. We must reduce tax burdens
and onerous regulations that kill American industry, and our candidates must
always push to minimize government to strengthen the economy and allow the
private sector to create jobs.

Those will be our priorities so Americans can be confident that a smaller,
smarter government that is truly of the people, by the people, and for the
people can better serve this most exceptional nation.

In the coming weeks I will help coordinate strategies to assist in replacing
the President, re-taking the Senate, and maintaining the House.
Thank you again for all your support. Let.s unite to restore this country!

God bless America.
.. Sarah Palin

Read more: http://www.politico.com/news/stories/1011/65265.html#ixzz1ZwwDhHKY

(Okracoke/3534) from the Washington Post>

Okracoke@rss.iscabbs.com — Wed, 05 Oct 2011 11:27:00 -0500

from the Washington Post>

The Obama administration.s Department of Energy was poised last summer to give
Solyndra a second major taxpayer loan of $469 million, even as the company.s
financial situation was growing more dire.

The Energy Department was actively pushing to provide the second loan guarantee
to the troubled solar-panel manufacturer in April and May 2010, when Solyndra.s
auditors warned the company was in danger of closing due to its rapidly
mounting debts and expenses, according to complete e-mails just released by a
House committee investigating the original loan.

White House career staffers, who had first raised concerns in the fall of 2009
about the Department of Energy providing Solyndra with its first
taxpayer-backed loan of $535 million , wrote e-mails in gallows humor in April
2010 about the prospect of giving Solyndra more money. That spring, industry
analysts were publicly questioning how the Silicon Valley startup could so
quickly be running out both the federal loan and $933 million in private
capital.

..Apparently the loan size for Phase II is $469 million,. one Office of
Management and Budget analyst wrote of DOE seeking a second loan for Solyndra.
The analysts.s name was not released by the committee. .I.ve been told we
should expect the see that project soon for conditional commitment..

Another joked: .Possible to close and default on one before closing on a
second??? Could be a new record..

The agency didn.t shelve the idea for a second loan until October 2010, a
Department of Energy spokesman has confirmed. That was the month that Solyndra
executives and investors first warned the department that the company was
facing the threat of having to liquidate without emergency cash.

Solyndra, which suddenly shut down on Aug. 31 and sought bankruptcy protection,
has left taxpayers on the hook for repaying that first half-billion-dollar
loan. Its also left many, both Republicans and Democrats, questioning why the
Obama administration was so supportive of the startup. Republicans have alleged
the administration was showing favoritism to a firm backed primarily by
investment funds tied to a major Obama campaign bundler, George Kaiser.

Solyndra, the first clean energy company that the fledgling administration
backed with a stimulus-funded loan, had been a showcase of Obama.s effort to
spur a clean energy industry on U.S. soil. Obama personally visited the firm in
May 2010, after being warned not to go by a donor and adviser in the venture
capital field who noted the auditors. warnings the firm could very likely fail.

Even in May 2010, Energy Secretary Steven Chu.s top advisers . his senior
adviser on stimulus , Matt Rogers, and his chief of staff, Rod O.Connor . were
telling the White House not to worry about the auditors. warnings on Solyndra.s
finances. They also referenced the need for more federal money for Solyndra.

O.Connor told a top White House adviser to Vice President Biden that the
warnings were exaggerated, when a venture capitalist and Obama donor had
flagged the company.s finances as a reason the president shouldn.t visit
Solyndra as scheduled on May 25. O.Connor also raised the issue of more
government support for Solyndra .Bottom line is that we believe the company is
okay in the medium term, but will need some help of one kind or another down
the road,. O.Connor wrote on May 24.

Rogers, who had been a senior consultant at McKinsey before joining the
administration and returned to that company last fall, told the White House the
same day that such auditors. warnings were typical for startups. Rogers
acknowledged shifts in the market that were not favoring Solyndra, but stressed
the short term and raised no concerns about the president visiting the company
in a high-profile press conference touting Solyndra.s work.

Rogers predicted the company could run into trouble in 18 to 24 months if
European markets stumbled, but stressed .the company should be strong going
into the fall with their new facilities on line..

The next day, Obama headlined a press event carried on national television
broadcasts from Solyndra.s warehouse, and called the company an .engine of
economic growth..

Solyndra filled out the application for a second loan days after receiving the
first one in September 2009. The agency had put Solyndra.s request for a second
loan guarantee on a fast-tracked, priority list, two sources familiar with the
company.s application told the Post. The sources asked to remain anonymous
because the probes of the loan are ongoing.

A Department of Energy confirmed the agency had been reviewing Solyndra.s
second loan application through much of last year.

..Solyndra inquired about applying for a second loan guarantee, but DOE and
Solyndra mutually agreed not to pursue that application until after the project
we were already supporting was complete,. LaVera said in a e-mailed response to
the Post.s questions.

..In early fall of 2010, Solyndra informed the Department that it was having an
acute liquidity problem and that it would need to raise additional capital to
continue operations.,. LaVera said. .Solyndra subsequently hired Goldman Sachs
to assist with the equity raise. In early November, it became clear that that
effort was not likely to be successful and DOE began to discuss funding
alternatives with the company and its existing investors. .

The company closed on Aug. 31. Federal agents executed a surprise search
warrant on Solyndra headquarters days later, part of a criminal probe into the
company for possible accounting fraud.

(Turanga Leela/3533 Forum Moderator) That's a lot of weasel words. Stick to articles which contain no...

Turanga Leela@rss.iscabbs.com — Tue, 04 Oct 2011 19:40:00 -0500

That's a lot of weasel words. Stick to articles which contain nothing but
facts - not biased writeups, regardless of whether they are right or left
leaning.

(Okracoke/3532) (CNN) -- California Gov. Jerry Brown signed into law Sunday a bi...

Okracoke@rss.iscabbs.com — Sun, 02 Oct 2011 17:02:00 -0500

(CNN) -- California Gov. Jerry Brown signed into law Sunday a bill that
prevents local governments from banning the practice of male circumcision.

The legislation comes in response to an effort this summer by a San Francisco
Bay Area advocacy group opposed to the practice to get a measure proposing a
citywide ban added to the November 8 city ballot.

In July, a Superior Court judge ordered the proposed measure removed from the
ballot, saying that male circumcision is "a widely practiced medical procedure"
and that medical services are left to the regulation of the state, not
individual cities.

The legislation signed Sunday, which takes effect immediately, prohibits
governments at the local or county level from "restricting the practice of male
circumcision" and "declares that the laws affecting male circumcision must have
uniform application throughout the state."

(Okracoke/3531) from the NY Times>

Okracoke@rss.iscabbs.com — Sun, 02 Oct 2011 15:53:00 -0500

from the NY Times>

WASHINGTON . In a remote desert spot in northern Nevada, there is a geothermal
plant run by a politically connected clean energy start-up that has relied
heavily on an Obama administration loan guarantee and is now facing financial
turmoil.

The company is Nevada Geothermal Power, which like Solyndra, the now-famous
California solar company, is struggling with debt after encountering problems
at its only operating plant.

After a series of technical missteps that are draining Nevada Geothermal.s cash
reserves, its own auditor concluded in a filing released last week that there
was .significant doubt about the company.s ability to continue as a going
concern..

It is a description that echoes the warning issued in 2010 by auditors hired by
Solyndra, which benefited from the same Energy Department loan guarantee before
its collapse in August caused the Obama administration great embarrassment.

 The parallels between the companies illustrate the risk inherent in building
the clean energy marketplace in the United States, government officials and
industry experts say. Indeed, the loan guarantee program exists precisely
because none of these ventures are a sure bet.

There are important differences between the fate of Nevada Geothermal and
Solyndra, the maker of solar panels that has filed for bankruptcy.

The amount of money the federal government has at stake with Nevada Geothermal
.. a loan guarantee of $79 million plus at least $66 million in grants . is much
smaller than the $528 million investment in Solyndra. There have been no
allegations of wrongdoing by Nevada Geothermal or its Blue Mountain, Nev.,
plant.

Executives of the company express confidence that they can recover and say that
the government investment is not at risk, despite the challenges they face
because of a high debt load and lower-than-expected energy output at their
plant.

 .We are here,. said Brian D. Fairbank, the chief executive, who like other
company executives works out of Vancouver, British Columbia, where Nevada
Geothermal Power has corporate offices. .We.re doing O.K..

An Energy Department spokesman said he considered the Nevada Geothermal project
a success, noting that the company had a long-term contract to sell its power.

..The Blue Mountain power plant is up and running, generating clean, renewable
power and has been consistently making its loan payments on time and in full,.
the spokesman, Dan Leistikow, said.

The company also did not hire half a dozen Washington lobbying firms, as
Solyndra did, and there is no evidence of White House involvement in pushing
the project.

But the Nevada Geothermal project has benefited from the support of a
bipartisan collection of Nevada politicians, most notably Senator Harry Reid, a
Democrat and the Senate majority leader, who has called his home state the
..Saudi Arabia of geothermal energy..

Nationally, geothermal energy produces only about 3,000 megawatts of power, a
minuscule slice of the national electricity supply. The Nevada Geothermal plant
generates just 35 megawatts . enough to serve about 35,000 homes for a year .
and the company has only 22 employees in the state.

But Mr. Reid has taken the nascent geothermal industry under his wing,
pressuring the Department of Interior to move more quickly on applications to
build clean energy projects on federally owned land and urging other member of
Congress to expand federal tax incentives to help build geothermal plants,
benefits that Nevada Geothermal has taken advantage of.

..This project is exactly the type of initiative we need to ensure Nevada
creates good-paying jobs,. Mr. Reid said in a statement in April 2010, after he
visited the company.s Nevada plant. That was two months before the project even
got conditional approval for the Energy Department loan guarantee.

During the tour, Mr. Reid had a chance to see electric generation equipment
installed by a company called Ormat Technology, which is a Nevada Geothermal
partner. Ormat.s lobbyist in Washington, Kai Anderson, and one of the company.s
top executives, Paul Thomsen, are former aides to Mr. Reid.

Just last month, again with Mr. Reid.s support, Ormat secured its own Energy
Department loan guarantee, worth $350 million, to help support three other
Nevada geothermal projects that are expected to produce 113 megawatts of power.

Mr. Reid has received some support from the industry, in the form of at least
$43,000 worth of campaign contributions from the geothermal industry since
2009, according to an analysis of federal campaign finance records.

Adam Jentleson, a spokesman for Mr. Reid, said that the senator was proud of
his work as an advocate for geothermal power and a broad array of other clean
energy projects in his state. But Mr. Jentleson, and the Energy Department
spokesman, said Nevada Geothermal company had not received, nor been offered,
any special treatment.

..If projects like this did not contain a certain level of risk, alongside their
enormous potential for creating jobs and generating clean energy, there would
be no need for the bipartisan loan guarantee program,. Mr. Jentleson said.

An Obama administration official also pointed out that the Nevada Geothermal
project won the enthusiastic support of prominent Republicans in the state, and
of the Bush administration.

When Nevada Geothermal Power was finishing construction on its plant in late
2009, there was ample reason for optimism. Boiling waters are not far from the
surface at this remote site, three hours outside of Reno. It had a 20-year
contract to deliver power to the state.s largest electric utility company.

But even before it applied for the Obama administration incentives, problems at
the plant cropped up. Company executives have variously predicted the plant
could generate as much as 45 megawatts, after accounting for energy needed to
power it.

Yet when the plant started up in October 2009, only 27 megawatts of net power
were initially generated from the hot water pumped from the earth. That was not
enough for the company to honor its commitment to the electric utility company,
or to pay back a $91 million loan . carrying 14 percent interest . that it has
with a Washington-based investment firm.

Through modifications at the Blue Mountain site in Nevada . drilling new wells
to produce more steam . the company has been able to get the net power output
up to a steady 35 megawatts. But, as the annual report released last week
reiterated, that was still not enough production to cover the company.s loans
and operating costs.

And that is just the beginning of the troubles. Early last year, it was forced
to shut down for more than a month, after a .faulty layout of underground
cables. caused a short circuit, a company statement said. Tests by the company
also show that because of mistakes made in how the wells were set up, the water
temperature is dropping, potentially meaning a drop in future power production.

Geothermal projects in general have encountered complications in recent years.
They are a much riskier enterprise than solar panels or wind turbines, because
the drilling can take several years and the power output is not guaranteed
until the work is complete.

That explains why in recent months, shares of geothermal companies have
collapsed, dropping far more than the shares of most renewable energy
businesses. Nevada Geothermal, as of the market close Friday, was trading at 10
cents a share, down from $1.24 when its plant opened in 2009.

Obama administration officials knew about most of these difficulties before the
Energy Department agreed in September 2010 to partly guarantee a second major
loan to Nevada Geothermal, worth $98.5 million.

Nevada Geothermal executives, meanwhile, are working to renegotiate their $91
million, high-interest loan to avoid a default, which could come as soon as
December. They have teamed up with Ormat to drill at a new Nevada site, and
hope perhaps to do future drilling at the Blue Mountain site to increase the
energy output there.

MacMurray D. Whale, an engineer and research analyst at Cormark Securities,
wrote a report last week on Nevada Geothermal warning that .looming default
overshadows financial results..

..If there is not sufficient cash flow to service that debt, then the loan
guarantee will be invoked,. Mr. Whale said.

Mr. Fairbank, the chief executive, said such speculation was reckless and
unwarranted.

No matter what happens, he said, the geothermal plant already produces enough
revenue to pay back the government-guaranteed loan, which has first standing
among the creditors. Furthermore, the company.s revenue is growing.

..These aren.t the best of times for geothermal companies, including our own,.
Mr. Fairbank said. .But it does not mean we are not going to be here two years
from now..

Mr. Leistikow, of the Energy Department, said he was also confident that the
federal investment was secure, as the loan guarantee was tied to the plant, not
the parent company.

The Department of Energy distributed 28 loan guarantees, worth a total of $16
billion, before the program ended last Friday.

Some of the companies, like Poet, the ethanol company, and Abengoa, the Spanish
energy technology company, are large and have healthy balance sheets. Others
are smaller wind and solar businesses that generate healthy cash flows from
providing power to utilities or consumers. Still, there is always the
possibility of failures in industries trying to take new technologies from the
laboratory to commercial scale.

Peter Hartley, an economist at Rice University, said renewable energy generally
is hindered by the distance from large population centers, and cumbersome
regulations that make the permitting of long transmission lines difficult. The
collapse of natural gas prices over the last three years due to a boom in shale
drilling across the country, he added, .makes the economics of the renewables
that much harder to compete..

Eric Lipton reported from Washington and Clifford Krauss reported from Houston.
Kitty Bennett contributed research.

(Okracoke/3530) (Reuters) - Police reopened the Brooklyn Bridge on Saturday even...

Okracoke@rss.iscabbs.com — Sat, 01 Oct 2011 16:04:00 -0500

(Reuters) - Police reopened the Brooklyn Bridge on Saturday evening after about
400 anti-Wall Street protesters were arrested for blocking traffic lanes and
attempting an unauthorized march across the span.

The arrests took place when a large group of marchers, participating in a
second week of protests by the Occupy Wall Street movement, broke off from
others on the bridge's pedestrian walkway and headed across the Brooklyn-bound
lanes.

"Approximately 400 were arrested on the Brooklyn Bridge late this afternoon
after multiple warnings by police were given to protesters to stay on the
pedestrian walkway," a police spokesman said.

"Some complied and took the walkway without being arrested. Others locked arms
and proceeded on the Brooklyn-bound vehicular roadway. The latter were
arrested," he added.

The bridge was reopened at 8:05 p.m. EDT. Both the walkway and Brooklyn-bound
car lanes had been shut for hours, snarling traffic.

Witnesses described a chaotic scene on the famous suspension bridge as a sea of
police officers surrounded the protesters using orange mesh netting.

Some protesters tried to get away as officers started handcuffing members of
the group. Dozens of protesters were seen handcuffed and sitting on the span as
three buses were called in to take them away, witnesses and organizers said.

The march started about 3:30 p.m. EDT from the protesters' camp in Zuccotti
Park in downtown Manhattan near the former World Trade Center. Members of the
group have vowed to stay at the park through the winter.

CELEBRITY SUPPORT

In addition to what they view as excessive force and unfair treatment of
minorities, including Muslims, the movement is also protesting against home
foreclosures, high unemployment and the 2008 bailouts.

Filmmaker Michael Moore and actress Susan Sarandon have stopped by the
protesters' camp, which is plastered with posters with anti-Wall Street slogans
and has a kitchen and library, to offer their support.

On Friday evening, more than 1,000 demonstrators, including representatives of
labor organizations, held a peaceful march to police headquarters a few blocks
north of City Hall to protest what they said was a heavy-handed police response
the previous week. No arrests were reported.

A week ago, police arrested about 80 members of Occupy Wall Street near the
Union Square shopping district as the marchers swarmed onto oncoming traffic.

A police commander doused a handful of women with pepper spray in an incident
captured on video and spread via the Internet, galvanizing the loosely
organized protest movement.

The group has gained support among some union members. The United Federation of
Teachers and the Transport Workers Union Local 100, which has 38,000 members,
are among those pledging solidarity.

The unions could provide important organizational and financial support for the
largely leaderless movement.

Similar protests are sprouting in other cities, including Boston, Chicago and
San Francisco.

(Okracoke/3529) (Reuters) - Angela Merkel won her toughest challenge yet as Germ...

Okracoke@rss.iscabbs.com — Thu, 29 Sep 2011 03:32:00 -0500

(Reuters) - Angela Merkel won her toughest challenge yet as German chancellor
by pushing through changes to a rescue fund for the euro zone debt crisis on
Thursday without the humiliation of relying on opposition support.

Germany's approval of the beefed-up bailout fund with much stronger support
than expected in the Bundestag (lower house of parliament) provoked a sigh of
relief in markets worried about Berlin's commitment to resolving the debt
crisis.

"This is a strong statement of support for Angela Merkel. It is an excellent
day," said her parliamentary leader Peter Altmaier. He had been in charge of
persuading rebels MPs who worried about throwing good money after bad with
successive bailouts of Greece and other highly-indebted states.

Support from the opposition meant there had been no doubt that Germany would
okay new powers for the European Financial Stability Facility (EFSF), which
some countries like Finland have ratified but others, including Slovakia, are
dragging their feet on.

After some intensive arm-twisting among the ranks of Merkel's center-right
coalition, 315 coalition lawmakers voted in favor -- just over the 311 Merkel
needed to show she can pass crucial euro zone policy without opposition help.

"For Merkel this is without doubt a great success and it will be a great relief
for her party," political scientist and Merkel biographer Gerd Langguth said.

Relying on the pro-euro Social Democrats (SPD) and Greens would have seriously
undermined Merkel's authority and ability to pilot fresh measures to combat the
euro crisis.

In total 523 lawmakers voted for the bill, 85 against and there were only three
abstentions.

The euro and European stocks ticked up on the news and German Bund futures
fell. But analysts said the markets still wanted a more comprehensive response
from European Union policymakers to the debt crisis.

"This is a great success for Merkel and will strengthen her position," said
Berenberg bank economist Holger Schmieding.

Merkel was successful in persuading MPs that taxpayers' money would not be
wasted by supporting bailout measures -- but she could not rule out that the
money might be written off if, as financial markets increasingly fear, Greece
defaults.

Germany will shoulder up to 211 billion euros of the fund's 440 billion euros
worth of guarantees, but the critics in the Bundestag fear it is already clear
this will not be enough and taxpayers will be asked for more.

That impression was reinforced by talk at the International Monetary Fund last
weekend of the need to beef up the EFSF even more -- on top of the extra powers
decided by European leaders in July -- by leveraging its capital and bring
forward the permanent scheme supposed to replace it in mid-2013.

Finance Minister Wolfgang Schaeuble told the Bundestag in a fiery debate before
the vote it was "indecent" to speculate at this point about Germany being asked
to contribute more to the EFSF.

"We're borrowing money from our children ... and it is money that we don't
have," said one rebel in Merkel's Christian Democratic Union (CDU), Klaus-Peter
Willsch.

TURNING POINT

Merkel has often been accused in Europe and at home of dithering on the euro
crisis, but Thursday's outcome may improve the view of her crisis management
and even improve her hopes of taking the conservative bloc she has led for 11
years into the next elections in 2013.

"This could be a turning point for the chancellor in regaining citizens'
trust," said Langguth.

But she still faces two more votes in coming months related to the euro crisis
-- on the second Greek bailout and on a permanent mechanism to succeed the
EFSF.

International auditors return to Athens on Thursday to deliver their verdict on
whether Greece's tougher austerity measures qualify for further aid.

The chancellor has told Greece she wants to wait for the results of an audit by
the "troika" of the European Union, European Central Bank and IMF to see
whether its findings "tell us we will have to renegotiate or not."

Such talk by Merkel and other German officials may refer to raising the level
of private creditor involvement in the Greek bailout, by getting them to accept
bigger potential losses -- or "haircuts" -- on their Greek sovereign bond
investments.

Senior coalition figures like Economy Minister Philipp Roesler, head of
Merkel's Free Democrat (FDP) partners, have already said an "orderly" Greek
default should not be taboo.

(Additional reporting by Erik Kirschbaum, Eva Kuehnen and Sarah Marsh; Writing
by Stephen Brown; Editing by Mike Peacock)

(Okracoke/3528) from the LA Times>

Okracoke@rss.iscabbs.com — Tue, 27 Sep 2011 11:30:00 -0500

from the LA Times>

A court in Jidda, Saudi Arabia, has sentenced a woman to 10 lashes for defying
the kingdom.s ban on female drivers, Amnesty International said Tuesday.

News of the decision came just two days after King Abdullah surprised his
ultraconservative nation by announcing that women would be given the right to
vote, run for local office and serve on the Shura Council, the king's advisory
board.

Human rights activists at the time said the reforms did not go far enough to
address the plight of women in a country where they cannot work, marry or
travel abroad without the permission of a male guardian -- and can't obtain a
driver's license.

"The whole system of women.s subordination to men in Saudi Arabia needs to be
dismantled," Philip Luther, an Amnesty International regional deputy director,
said in a statement. "Belatedly allowing women to vote in council elections is
all well and good, but if they are still going to face being flogged for trying
to exercise their right to freedom of movement, then the king.s much-trumpeted
'reforms' actually amount to very little."

The Associated Press identified the woman sentenced Tuesday as Shaima
Ghassaniya. Two other women are believed to be facing charges for driving, one
in Jidda and one in Khobar, Amnesty said.

A number of women were arrested over the summer for participating in a campaign
protesters organized via Twitter and Facebook urging those who held
international driving licenses to start driving on Saudi roads. But this is the
first time one of the women has been sentenced.

(Okracoke/3527) from the WSJ>

Okracoke@rss.iscabbs.com — Mon, 26 Sep 2011 16:06:00 -0500

from the WSJ>

WASHINGTON.The Justice Department on Monday declined to ask a U.S. appeals
court in Atlanta to reconsider its August ruling that declared part of last
year's federal health-care overhaul unconstitutional, a move that sets the
stage for the Supreme Court to weigh in.

Department spokeswoman Tracy Schmaler confirmed that the agency didn't ask the
Atlanta court for reconsideration. She declined further comment.

By not seeking additional appellate-court proceedings, the department's move
likely increases the chances that the Supreme Court will consider the
health-care law during its term that begins in October and issue a ruling by
June 2012.

On Aug. 12, a divided three-judge panel of the 11th U.S. Circuit Court of
Appeals struck down the law's requirement that individuals either carry health
insurance or pay a penalty.

That ruling marked the Obama administration's biggest defeat to date in a
health-care case. The administration has prevailed in decisions issued by two
other federal appeals courts. It is a near-certainty that the Supreme Court
will settle the issue.

The administration could have asked the full 11th Circuit to reconsider the
issue, but it let the Monday deadline pass without doing so. If the
administration wishes to appeal the panel's ruling to the Supreme Court, it
must do so by November.

The 11th Circuit's case is the most prominent of the health-care challenges
because it involves a lawsuit brought by a group of Republican governors and
attorneys general from 26 states including Florida, Michigan and Texas.

Even with Monday's move by the Justice Department, review by the Supreme Court
during its 2011-12 term isn't a sure bet. One federal appeals court, in the
District of Columbia, heard arguments in a case challenging the
constitutionality of the law last week. The D.C. Circuit's rulings
traditionally get particularly close attention from the Supreme Court, and the
justices could choose to wait for that ruling.

One health-care appeal is already pending at the Supreme Court, in a case the
Obama administration won. The challengers in that case are four individuals and
the Thomas More Law Center, a conservative legal organization.

The Justice Department is due to respond Wednesday to those challengers' bid
for high court review.

Write to Brent Kendall at brent.kendall@dowjones.com

(Okracoke/3526) from the BBC>

Okracoke@rss.iscabbs.com — Sun, 25 Sep 2011 03:47:00 -0500

from the BBC>
Women in Saudi Arabia are to be given the right to vote and run in municipal
elections, the Gulf Kingdom's King Abdullah has announced.

He said they would also have the right to be appointed to the consultative
Shura Council.

The news will be welcomed by activists who have long called for greater rights
for women in the ultra-conservative kingdom.

The changes will take effect from next year, the king said.

King Abdullah announced the move in a speech at the opening of the new term of
the Shura Council.

"Because we refuse to marginalise women in society in all roles that comply
with sharia, we have decided, after deliberation with our senior ulama
[clerics] and others... to involve women in the Shura Council as members,
starting from next term," he said.

"Women will be able to run as candidates in the municipal election and will
even have a right to vote."

The BBC's world affairs correspondent Emily Buchanan says it is an
extraordinary development for women in Saudi Arabia, who are not allowed to
drive or leave the country unaccompanied.

She says there has been a big debate about the role of women in the country
and, although not everyone will welcome the decision, such a reform will ease
some of the tension that has been growing over the issue.

(Okracoke/3525) (Reuters) - Republican presidential candidate Herman Cain won an...

Okracoke@rss.iscabbs.com — Sat, 24 Sep 2011 13:08:00 -0500

(Reuters) - Republican presidential candidate Herman Cain won an upset victory
in the nonbinding straw poll sponsored by the Republican Party of Florida on
Saturday, beating out seven other candidates including front-runner Rick Perry.

(Miser/3523) US delegation walks out during Ahmadinejad speech

Miser@rss.iscabbs.com — Thu, 22 Sep 2011 10:26:00 -0500

US delegation walks out during Ahmadinejad speech

UNITED NATIONS  The U.S. delegation at the United Nations walked out Thursday
as Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad delivered a fiery broadside against
the United States and what he called its "slave masters and colonial masters."

Ahmadinejad told the U.N. audience that the United States used "the mysterious
September 11 incident" as a pretext for wars against Afghanistan and Iraq.

The Iranian president offered his criticism in the form of a series of
questions, asking who had engaged in slavery, imposed colonialism, supported
military regimes and triggered World War I, World War II, the Korean War and
the Vietnam War.

'The answers are clear," Ahmadinejad said.

"By using their imperialistic media network which is under the influence of
colonialism they threaten anyone who questions the Holocaust and the September
11 event with sanctions and military actions," he said.

More than a dozen diplomats from other countries, including France, left the
chamber soon after the U.S. delegation departed.

Mark Kornblau, spokesman for the U.S. Mission to the United Nations, said: "Mr.
Ahmadinejad had a chance to address his own people's aspirations for freedom
and dignity, but instead he again turned to abhorrent anti-Semitic slurs and
despicable conspiracy theories."

Ahmadinejad accused some unidentified European countries of still using the
Holocaust "as the excuse to pay fine or ransom to the Zionists." He also said
any question about the foundation of Zionism is condemned by the U.S. "as an
unforgivable sin."

When the idea of an independent fact-finding investigation of "the hidden
elements" involved in the Sept. 11 attacks was raised last year, he said, "My
country and myself came under pressure and threat by the government of the
United States."

"Instead of assigning a fact-finding team, they killed the main perpetrator and
threw his body into the sea," Ahmadinejad said, referring to the U.S.
military's killing of al-Qaida leader Osama bin Laden in early May.

Ahmadinejad spoke one day after two Americans were released by Iran after being
convicted of spying and being held for two years.

Josh Fattal and Shane Bauer, who had been hiking along the Iran-Iraq border,
arrived Wednesday in Oman under a $1 million bail-for-freedom deal and were
embraced by relatives. Also on hand was Sarah Shourd, who was freed by Iran
last year.

The three were detained in July 2009 along the Iran-Iraq border. They
maintained their innocence, saying they were only hiking in Iraq's relatively
peaceful Kurdish region and might have accidentally wandered into Iran. Last
month, Fattal and Bauer were sentenced to eight years in prison each for
illegal entry into Iran and espionage.

Source:
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/44627475/ns/world_news/

(Okracoke/3518) from the Guardian>

Okracoke@rss.iscabbs.com — Tue, 20 Sep 2011 04:53:00 -0500

from the Guardian>

Georgia's pardons board has rejected clemency for death row inmate Troy Davis,
who has attracted high-profile support for his claim that he was wrongly
convicted of killing a police officer in 1989.

According to his defence lawyers, the Georgia Board of Pardons and Paroles on
Tuesday rejected Davis's request for clemency after hearing hours of testimony
from his supporters and prosecutors.

"I am utterly shocked and disappointed at the failure of our justice system at
all levels to correct a miscarriage of justice," Brian Kammer, one of Davis's
attorneys, said after the decision was announced.

Davis is set to die on Wednesday for the murder of off-duty Savannah officer
Mark MacPhail, who was killed while rushing to help a homeless man who was
being attacked. It is the fourth time in four years his execution has been
scheduled by Georgia officials.

Davis was convicted at a 1991 trial almost exclusively on the basis of nine
witnesses who all said they had seen him carry out the shooting. Davis was
present at the scene, but has always insisted that another man, Sylvester
Coles, attacked the homeless man and shot MacPhail when he intervened.

The murder weapon was never found, and there was no DNA or other forensic
evidence.

In the years since the trial, seven of the nine witnesses have come forward and
recanted their evidence, saying they were put under pressure to implicate Davis
by the investigating police. Other witnesses have come forward to say they had
heard Coles confess to killing the officer.

The parole board heard from one of the jurors who originally recommended the
death penalty for Davis. Brenda Forrest told the panel she no longer trusted
the verdict or sentence: "I feel, emphatically, that Mr Davis cannot be
executed under these circumstances," she said, according to the Atlanta
Journal-Constitution.

The board also heard from Quiana Glover, who testified she had heard Coles
confess in June 2009 to having been the killer, at a party where he had been
drinking heavily.

Following the arguments for clemency, members of MacPhail's family and
the prosecution side were expected to call for the execution to go ahead.

Brian Evans, a death row specialist at Amnesty International's US branch, said
the extraordinary outpouring of support for Davis was partly of a reflection of
changing attitudes in America towards executions.

Opinion polls suggest the US has softened its view from its once-hardline,
pro-capital punishment position, and is now fairly evenly divided between
defenders of the death penalty and those who see life without parole as a
satisfactory alternative.

(Okracoke/3517) NEW YORK (AP) . A new book offering an insider's account of the ...

Okracoke@rss.iscabbs.com — Sun, 18 Sep 2011 04:47:00 -0500

NEW YORK (AP) . A new book offering an insider's account of the White House's
response to the financial crisis says that U.S. Treasury Secretary Tim Geithner
ignored an order from President Barack Obama calling for reconstruction of
major banks.

According to Pulitzer Prize-winning author Ron Suskind, the incident is just
one of several in which Obama struggled with a divided group of advisers, some
of whom he didn't initially consider for their high-profile roles.

Suskind interviewed more than 200 people, including Obama, Geithner and other
top officials for "Confidence Men: Wall Street, Washington, and The Education
of A President," which will be released Sept. 20. The Associated Press
purchased a copy on Thursday.

The book states Geithner and the Treasury Department ignored a March 2009 order
to consider dissolving banking giant Citigroup while continuing stress tests on
banks, which were burdened with toxic mortgage assets.

In the book, Obama does not deny Suskind's account, but does not reveal what he
told Geithner when he found out. "Agitated may be too strong a word," Suskind
quotes Obama as saying. Obama says later in the book that he was trying to be
decisive but "the speed with which the bureaucracy could exercise my decision
was slower than I wanted."

Geithner says in the book that he did not recall that Obama was mad at him
about the Citigroup decision and rejected allegations contained in White House
documents that his department had been slow to enact the president's plans.

"I don't slow walk the president on anything," Geithner told Suskind.

"The Citbank incident, and others like it, reflected a more pernicious and
personal dilemma emerging from inside the administration: that the young
president's authority was being systematically undermined or hedged by his
seasoned advisers," Suskind writes.

Suskind states that Obama accepts the blame for mismanagement in his
administration while noting that restructuring the financial system was
complicated and could have resulted in deeper financial harm. One of the major
complaints about Obama's administration is that it was too easy on major
financial institutions, including Citi. The president had wanted Treasury
officials to focus on a proposal to dissolve the bank, but no plan was ever
created, the book states.

In a February 2011 interview with Suskind, Obama acknowledges another ongoing
criticism . that he is too focused on policy and not on telling a larger story,
one the public could relate to. Obama is quoted as saying he was elected in
part because "he had connected our current predicaments with the broader arc of
American history," but that such a "narrative thread" had been lost. Obama
observes that he and fellow Democrats Bill Clinton and Jimmy Carter "all have
sort of the disease of being policy wonks."

Suskind's book supports other accounts of disagreement among advisers over how
large a stimulus was necessary to revive the economy and how aggressively to
deal with financial institutions that had become "too big to fail."

Larry Summers, the former White House economic adviser, is quoted as lamenting
that he and others felt "home alone" and that mistakes made under Obama would
not have happened under President Clinton, for whom Summers also served.
Interviewed by Suskind, Summers initially denied making such comments, then
acknowledged them, saying he was frustrated at having "five issues" of major
importance to deal with at once and not "five times as many" officials to
handle them.

The book says one of Obama's top advisers, former chief of staff Rahm Emanuel,
was not the president's first choice for the position. According to Suskind,
Emanuel's name was not even on the initial short list, which included White
House aide Pete Rouse.

An investigative reporter, Suskind won a Pulitzer Prize in 1995 while working
for the Wall Street Journal.

His other books include "The Way of the World" (2008), which focused on
national security, and "The Price of Loyalty" (2004). That best-seller was an
account of the Bush administration and its first treasury secretary, Paul
O'Neill, that includes what became a widely cited remark by then-Vice President
Dick Cheney: "Reagan proved that deficits don't matter."

Suskind's 1998 book, "A Hope Unseen," grew out of the series of articles that
won him a Pulitzer for feature writing.

Other recent books about the Obama administration include Bob Woodward's
"Obama's Wars," which focused on foreign policy, and Jonathan Alter's "The
Promise," which covered his first year in office.

Copyright ) 2011 The Associated Press. All rights reserved.

(Okracoke/3516) WASHINGTON (AP) . Sarah Palin's husband is calling a book critic...

Okracoke@rss.iscabbs.com — Thu, 15 Sep 2011 08:21:00 -0500

WASHINGTON (AP) . Sarah Palin's husband is calling a book critical of his
family "disgusting lies, innuendo and smears."

The former Alaska governor's camp on Thursday sought to discredit a racy
biography that includes allegations of infidelity and drug use. Todd Palin says
author Joe McGinniss has stalked the Palin family in Alaska and is obsessed
with Sarah Palin. And Palin's allies also released another denial, from the man
alleged to have carried on an affair with the former Alaska governor.

McGinniss says he reported the most accurate story he could, given that Palin
told her friends not to cooperate with his book.

Palin, the Republican Party's 2008 vice presidential nominee, is weighing a
White House bid.

(Okracoke/3515) from Science magazine:

Okracoke@rss.iscabbs.com — Thu, 15 Sep 2011 03:58:00 -0500

from Science magazine:

In July, the U.S. House of Representatives cancelled the over-budget and
behind-schedule James Webb Space Telescope, sinking the hearts of NASA
officials and U.S. astronomers. Today, the U.S. Senate threw the project a
lifeline, reviving hopes that the $6.5 billion instrument will eventually be
completed and launched.

Marking up NASA's budget this afternoon, the Senate appropriations Subcommittee
for Commerce, Justice, Science and Related Agencies allocated $530 million for
the Webb telescope out of a total NASA budget of $17.9 billion, which is $509
million less than the 2011 level. The Senate panel's support for Webb does not
come as a surprise to anyone. The chairperson of the panel, Senator Barbara
Mikulski (D-MD), has long been a champion of the project, which is based in her
state, at NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Maryland.

In remarks delivered at the markup today, Mikulski noted that although her
panel wanted to continue funding for the telescope, it also wanted NASA to be
more accountable in executing the project. "We have added stringent language,
limiting development costs" and insisted on "a report from NASA senior
management, ensuring that the NASA has gotten its act together in managing the
telescope," she said.

The allocation in today's markup does not automatically mean that the Webb
telescope has been rescued. The markup will now go to the full appropriations
committee for approval before going to the Senate floor for a vote. The
approved bill will then have to be reconciled with the House version, which,
NASA hopes, will result in a final appropriation that keeps the telescope
alive.

(Capa/3514) CNN Poll: More Americans trust Obama on economy over Republicans...

Capa@rss.iscabbs.com — Wed, 14 Sep 2011 13:55:00 -0500

CNN Poll: More Americans trust Obama on economy over Republicans in Congress

http://politicalticker.blogs.cnn.com/2011/09/14/cnn-poll-more-americans-trust-o
bama-on-economy-over-republicans-in-congress/?hpt=hp_t2

Washington (CNN) -- President Obama's disapproval ratings may be at an all-time
high, but in a new CNN/ORC International poll, more Americans say they trust
him on economic matters more than they do Republicans in Congress.

The survey released on Wednesday shows that although a lot of Americans are
still unsure what's in the president's new jobs bill, they like most of the
major proposals offered in the plan that was sent to Congress Monday.

"By a 43-35 percent margin, a plurality of Americans approve of the economic
program Obama outlined in his speech to Congress last week, but more than one
in five don't have any view at all of the jobs bill," says CNN Polling Director
Keating Holland.

The president will travel to North Carolina Wednesday as he continues to try to
sell his $447 billion dollar plan to encourage job growth to the public.

And most of the nation agree that stimulating employment is important right
now.

Two-thirds believe that creating jobs should take precedence over the federal
budget deficit and only 29 percent say reducing the deficit should be more
important that reducing unemployment.

In the wake of recent natural disasters, Americans also prioritize disaster
relief over the deficit. Six in 10 want federal aid to the victims of recent
hurricanes and wildfires even if that amount of money is not cut from other
government programs.

When President Obama's bill is broken down, more Americans like most of the
proposals in it -- two-thirds like the idea of cutting the payroll tax for
workers and the same number like greater spending on infrastructure projects.
Three quarters approve of sending federal money to states to hire more teachers
and first responders.

But overall, the public is in a foul mood over conditions in the nation today.
Most say they are not better off than they were three years ago and large
majorities say they are angry and scared about how things are going in the
country today.

The poll was conducted for CNN by ORC International from September 9-11 by
among 1,038 adults questioned by telephone. It has an overall sampling error of
plus or minus three percentage points.

(Capa/3513) Report: Glen Rice, Sarah Palin had a one-night stand in '87

Capa@rss.iscabbs.com — Wed, 14 Sep 2011 13:39:00 -0500

Report: Glen Rice, Sarah Palin had a one-night stand in '87
http://tinyurl.com/3wznxdz  (Washington Post)

And now, the oddest story you're likely to read today:

In "The Rogue: Searching for the Real Sarah Palin," Joe McGinniss'
soon-to-be-published book for former Alaska governor and vice-presidential
candidate, one tidbit, passed along by the National Enquirer, concerns former
NBA player Glen Rice.

Palin, according to the book, had a fling thing with Rice in 1987, while he was
in college and she was a sports reporter fresh out of college and working at
KTUU in Alaska. Rice was a junior at the University of Michigan at the time and
their one-night stand occurred while he and the Wolverines were playing in the
Great Alaska Shootout. Less than a year afterward, Palin, hockey mom and former
basketball player, married her husband Todd.

(John Public/3512) "3. NO PERSONAL COMMENTARY. The pieces posted must stand on the...

John Public@rss.iscabbs.com — Wed, 14 Sep 2011 06:15:00 -0500

"3.  NO PERSONAL COMMENTARY. The pieces posted must stand on their own."
Source: The Forum Info.

(Okracoke/3511) The White House repeatedly prodded the Office of Management and ...

Okracoke@rss.iscabbs.com — Tue, 13 Sep 2011 15:33:00 -0500

The White House repeatedly prodded the Office of Management and Budget to
approve a $535 million load for the solar panel manufacturer Solyndra, which
went bankrupt last month with the loss of the entire $535 million in taxpayer
money. Folks.... this could be the scandal that decides the 2012 election:

http://www.tinyurl.com/5ufsxvu

"The August 2009 e-mails, released toThe Washington Post, show White House
officials repeatedly asking OMB reviewers when they would be able to decide on
the federal loan and noting a looming press event at which they planned to
announce the deal. In response, OMB officials expressed concern that they were
being rushed to approve the company.s project without adequate time to assess
the risk to taxpayers, according to the e-mails, which were provided by
Republican congressional investigators.

Solyndra collapsed two weeks ago, leaving taxpayers liable for the $535 million
loan."

(Turanga Leela/3510 Forum Moderator) ENOUGH. Kickouts will be coming.

Turanga Leela@rss.iscabbs.com — Tue, 13 Sep 2011 11:48:00 -0500

ENOUGH. Kickouts will be coming.

(John Public/3509) When the millionaire in line behind you receives your ice cream,...

John Public@rss.iscabbs.com — Mon, 12 Sep 2011 14:59:00 -0500

When the millionaire in line behind you receives your ice cream, he places it
in his large private vat of ice cream, then complains that he didn't get your
cone as well.

(Okracoke/3508) In honor of the 44th President of the United States , Ben & Jerr...

Okracoke@rss.iscabbs.com — Mon, 12 Sep 2011 11:57:00 -0500

In honor of the 44th President of the United States , Ben & Jerry's Ice Cream
has introduced a new flavor: " Barocky Road ."

Barocky Road is a blend of half vanilla, half chocolate, and surrounded by nuts
and flakes. The vanilla portion of the mix is not openly advertised and usually
denied as an ingredient. The nuts and flakes are all very bitter and hard to
swallow.

The cost is $82.84 per scoop....so out of a hundred dollar bill you are at
least promised some CHANGE..!

When purchased it will be presented to you in a large beautiful cone, but after
you pay for it, the ice cream is taken away and given to the person in line
behind you at no charge.

You are left with an empty wallet, holding an empty cone, with no hope of
getting any ice cream.

Are you stimulated?

(Turanga Leela/3507 Forum Moderator) Thanks CL for covering the forum.

Turanga Leela@rss.iscabbs.com — Sun, 11 Sep 2011 10:05:00 -0500

Thanks CL for covering the forum.
Just as a reminder editorials are still not allowed here. We experimented with
allowing them a while back and it just didn't work.

(Copper Lethe/3506 Forum Moderator) Please remember not to respond to posts made in this forum.

Copper Lethe@rss.iscabbs.com — Sat, 10 Sep 2011 04:16:00 -0500


Please remember not to respond to posts made in this forum.

Thanks!

(Capa/3500) Romney plans to quadruple size of Calif. mansion

Capa@rss.iscabbs.com — Mon, 22 Aug 2011 19:48:00 -0500


Romney plans to quadruple size of Calif. mansion

http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/nationworld/2015977804_romney22.html

Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney plans to nearly quadruple the
size of his $12 million California beachfront mansion.

Romney, a former Massachusetts governor and the nominal front-runner for the
GOP's 2012 presidential nomination, plans to bulldoze his 3,009-square-foot
home facing the Pacific Ocean in La Jolla, Calif., and replace it with an
11,062-square-foot home, according to The San Diego Union-Tribune.

The Union-Tribune reported late Saturday that Romney has filed with the city
for a coastal-development permit, but that no date has been set to consider the
project.

A campaign official confirmed the report, saying the Romneys want to "enlarge
their two-bedroom home, because with five married sons and 16 grandchildren it
is inadequate for their needs. Construction will not begin until the permits
have been obtained and the campaign is finished."

In 2008, Republican presidential nominee John McCain was criticized and mocked
when he said he was unsure how many houses he and his wife, Cindy, owned. The
answer was eight.

Since then, perhaps sensing the issue could be a liability for him, too, Romney
began consolidating his real-estate portfolio. He and his wife, Ann, sold for
$3.5 million the 6,500-square-foot colonial home in Belmont, Mass., where they
raised their sons.

(Copper Lethe/3499 Forum Moderator) Please remember that commentary does not belong here.

Copper Lethe@rss.iscabbs.com — Sat, 13 Aug 2011 05:56:00 -0500


Please remember that commentary does not belong here.

This includes responses to vulgarity or off-topic posts.
I've deleted a few posts which only contained commentary about articles or
responses to commentary.  If your post is gone, and you have not been Mail>ed,
this is your notification.

(Okracoke/3493) from the SF Chronicle:

Okracoke@rss.iscabbs.com — Tue, 09 Aug 2011 16:54:00 -0500

from the SF Chronicle:

Citing the Defense of Marriage Act, the Obama administration denied immigration
benefits to a married gay couple from San Francisco and ordered the expulsion
of a man who is the primary caregiver to his AIDS-afflicted spouse.

Bradford Wells, a U.S. citizen, and Anthony John Makk, a citizen of Australia,
were married seven years ago in Massachusetts. They have lived together 19
years, mostly in an apartment in the Castro district. The U.S. Citizenship and
Immigration Services denied Makk's application to be considered for permanent
residency as a spouse of an American citizen, citing the 1996 law that denies
all federal benefits to same-sex couples.

The decision was issued July 26. Immigration Equality, a gay-rights group that
is working with the couple, received the notice Friday and made it public
Monday. Makk was ordered to depart the United States by Aug. 25. Makk is the
sole caregiver for Wells, who has severe health problems.

"I'm married just like any other married person in this country," Wells said.
"At this point, the government can come in and take my husband and deport him.
It's infuriating. It's upsetting. I have no power, no right to keep my husband
in this country. I love this country, I live here, I pay taxes and I have no
right to share my home with the person I married."
Husband's pleas

Wells pleaded with Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano and President
Obama to intervene.

"Anyone can identify with the horror of having the government come in and
destroy your family when you've done nothing wrong, and you've done everything
right, followed every law," Wells said.

The agency's decision cited the Defense of Marriage Act as the reason for the
denial of an I-130 visa, or spousal petition that could allow Makk to apply for
permanent U.S. residency. "The claimed relationship between the petitioner and
the beneficiary is not a petitionable relationship," the decision said. "For a
relationship to qualify as a marriage for purposes of federal law, one partner
must be a man and the other a woman."

Obama and Attorney General Eric Holder decided earlier this year that the law,
commonly known as DOMA, is unconstitutional on equal protection grounds and
that the administration would no longer defend it in court. House Republicans
hired an outside counsel to defend it instead. However, the administration said
it would continue to enforce the law, while exercising discretion on a
case-by-case basis.

ICE's director, John Morton, issued a memorandum in June that offered guidance
to agents in making enforcement decisions. Because no law enforcement agency
can pursue every case, they routinely prioritize where to commit the
government's limited resources.

The memorandum said prosecutions should seek to promote "national security,
border security, public safety and the integrity of the immigration system."

Makk meets several of the circumstances specified in the memorandum. Aside from
being a spouse of an American citizen, he is also the primary caretaker of a
citizen, has no criminal history, and has legally resided in the country under
various visas for many years.

The couple said they spent nearly $2,000 to file the petition that was denied,
and now must decide whether to file a motion to reconsider the decision, which
Wells said would almost certainly be denied, giving the couple at most another
30 days of residency.

Makk gave up a professional career in Australia to be with Wells, and started a
business in San Francisco and invested in rental property to meet various visa
requirements. He said he has never remained in the country illegally.
Poor alternatives

Wells could move to Australia, but he said doing so would require him to give
up his extensive medical care and insurance in the United States.

"We are appealing to the Obama administration to begin to put into action what
they've said repeatedly they can do," said Immigration Equality spokesman Steve
Ralls. "The Department of Homeland Security and ICE have said again and again
that they can exercise discretion in individual cases, but they have not done
so for a single gay or lesbian couple yet."

In rare cases, lawmakers can introduce so-called private bills to shield
specific immigrants from deportation, but only after deportation proceedings
have begun. Such bills are considered a last resort.

Drew Hammill, a spokesman for Rep. Nancy Pelosi, D-San Francisco, said Pelosi
has contacted immigration officials on behalf of the couple and "will be
working to exhaust all appropriate immigration remedies that are open to
pursue."

E-mail Carolyn Lochhead at clochhead@sfchronicle.com.

Read more: http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2011/08/08/BAO71KKP
EC.DTL#ixzz1UaRucbh2

(Capa/3490) New Stable of Wealthy Donors Fueled Obama Campaign

Capa@rss.iscabbs.com — Sat, 16 Jul 2011 17:36:00 -0500


New Stable of Wealthy Donors Fueled Obama Campaign

http://www.nytimes.com/2011/07/17/us/politics/17donate.html?_r=1&ref=politics

President Obama recruited roughly 150 new elite donors, raising as much as a
half a million dollars each, to help propel him to a large and early lead over
his Republican opponents in the race for campaign cash, according to campaign
filings released last week.

The new fund-raisers, including Silicon Valley executives, people active in gay
rights causes and onetime supporters of Hillary Rodham Clinton, dominate the
list of top donors that Mr. Obama's campaign released on Friday, according to
an analysis by The New York Times. Known as bundlers, they are typically
deep-pocketed supporters who tap friends and business associates to raise money
for candidates.

Full story at link above.

Obama raised $86 million by the end of June.

(Eldritch/3489) Rush Limbaugh's Ratings Have Fallen 30% In The Last Six Months

Eldritch@rss.iscabbs.com — Tue, 24 May 2011 21:48:00 -0500

Rush Limbaugh's Ratings Have Fallen 30% In The Last Six Months
Jen Ortiz | May 23, 2011, 5:35 PM | 5,233 | comment 16


The just-released Arbitron report reveals that a lot less people are listening
to right-wing talk radio.

With a lull in ratings since November, Rush Limbaugh had a 3.0 share of
listeners for his radio time slot, which is a 33% slide from October and from
last April, reports Crain's Business.

Meanwhile, The Sean Hannity Show was reported to be down 28% from its peak
numbers in the fall.

Interestingly, numbers for Don Imus' Imus in the Morning were said to be up
year over year.

Premiere Radio Networks, which syndicates the shows, tells Crains they are not
worried: Limbaugh and Hannity continue to be No. 1 and No. 2."

Read more: http://www.businessinsider.com/rush-limbaugh-hannity-imus-radio-
ratings-2011-5#ixzz1NLPeA0Xi

(Miser/3488) Americans Favor GOP on Budget: Poll

Miser@rss.iscabbs.com — Fri, 29 Apr 2011 08:30:00 -0500

Americans Favor GOP on Budget: Poll
Published: Friday, 29 Apr 2011 -- 11:03 AM ET
By: Reuters

Americans say Republicans in Congress would do a better job than Democrats in
dealing with the U.S. budget, according to a poll released Friday that shows
President Barack Obama's party at a disadvantage as lawmakers near another
showdown over federal spending.

The poll's findings underscore the challenge facing Obama as he seeks public
support for his proposals for tackling a growing U.S. budget deficit  an issue
that could play a key role in the president's efforts to win re-election in
2012.

The USA Today/Gallup survey of 1,013 U.S. adults looked at whether Americans
expressed more confidence in the ability of Republicans or Democrats in
Congress to deal with six major issues facing the country.

The federal budget was the only issue in which respondents clearly preferred
one party over the other, with 48 percent favoring Republicans and 36 percent
Democrats.

The poll found that Americans favored Republicans by smaller margins on four
other issues: Afghanistan, the U.S. economy, immigration and jobs. Democrats
held a small advantage on handling healthcare, the poll found.

The poll, conducted April 20-23, had a 4 percentage-point margin of error.

The federal budget shortfall is forecast to hit $1.4 trillion in the current
fiscal year, which ends Sept. 30.

Congress takes up the budget fight again next week when lawmakers return from
their annual spring break, with a showdown looming over federal spending in the
2012 fiscal year that begins Oct. 1.

Republicans this spring used the threat of a government shutdown to win
concessions on fiscal 2011 spending cuts from Obama and his fellow Democrats.

A frontline battle will be over an approaching vote to raise the $14.3 trillion
federal debt ceiling, which Republicans intend to use as leverage to exact new
spending reductions.

Analysts say failure to raise the debt limit could have dire consequences for
world financial markets and America's financial future. The United States will
reach the ceiling by mid-May, but the Treasury Department says it can avoid
default until July 8.

Source:
http://www.cnbc.com/id/42821086

(Miser/3487) Tea Party Movement Growing Weary of GOP Budget Plan

Miser@rss.iscabbs.com — Fri, 25 Mar 2011 03:51:00 -0500

Tea Party Movement Growing Weary of GOP Budget Plan
By Stephen Clark
Published March 24, 2011

As U.S. lawmakers seek a compromise on how much federal spending to cut in
order to avoid a government shutdown, Tea Party activists who helped propel
Republicans back into power are growing impatient with the debate.

When Republicans captured the House in November, vowing to slash $100 billion
in federal spending from the budget year ending in September, 76 percent of Tea
Party activists supported their deficit-reduction plan, according to a new Pew
Research poll released last week.

But after House Republicans approved a plan last month to cut federal spending
by $61 billion, that Tea Party support fell to 52 percent.

Now Tea Party Nation founder Judson Phillips, arguably the most vocal critic of
GOP leaders, is pushing for a primary opponent against House Speaker John
Boehner in 2012 for breaking his campaign pledge to cut $100 billion and for
what he sees as hints that he's willing to cut less than $61 billion in a
compromise with Senate Democrats.

"Charlie Sheen is now making more sense than John Boehner," Phillips wrote in
his blog earlier this month.

In an interview with FoxNews.com Thursday, Phillips said he stands by his
comments and goal of seeking a primary challenger to Boehner.

"Charlie Sheen still makes more sense than John Boehner because at least
Charlie Sheen is winning," he said.

"This is the one message the Tea Party needs to be out there pushing," he said.
"If you don't live up to your promise, we're going to throw you out."

Boehner's camp acknowledged the frustration among Tea Party supporters, but
didn't accept responsibility for it.

"The speaker  and every Republican in the House  is frustrated by the pace of
the debate, but the blame lies squarely with the Democrats who run Washington,
D.C.," Boehner spokesman Michael Steel said in an e-mail to FoxNews.com.

"The House passed a bill that funds the government for the remainder of the
year while cutting spending," he said. "It's the Democrats who are insisting on
the status quo, and no one should be happy with the status quo."

Democrats controlling the White House and Senate have only two weeks to broker
a deal with Republicans in charge of the House before the latest temporary
spending bill keeping the government afloat expires April 8.

House Republicans have been digging their heels in on the $61 billion in cuts
they approved last month but the Senate is not going along and Obama has
threatened to veto it, making it unclear where they'll find compromise.

Levi Russell, a spokesman for the Tea Party Express, told FoxNews.com that the
midterm elections in November may have set expectations too high.
"We forget the Tea Party is only influential over one third of the government,"
he said. "Tea Partiers are going to continue to be disappointed by what comes
out of Washington until Republicans have control of the Senate and the White
House."

The Tea Party Express has set its sights on defeating two Republican senators
-- Olympia Snowe of Maine and Dick Lugar of Indiana in 2012 primaries but is
not targeting Boehner or other GOP leaders.

"We may not love everything that they do; we may wish they would be on the same
page with us. But we know they got the message in 2010," he said.
Boehner's the "least of our worries," he added.

What has many Democrats worried is a fight over the federal debt limit, which
they cannot increase without some GOP support in both the Senate and House. The
administration has warned Congress that failing to raise the debt limit would
lead to an unprecedented default on the national debt and derail the national
economic recovery.

The Treasury Department estimates the government will hit the $14.3 trillion
debt ceiling sometime between April 15 and May 31. But Senate Republican leader
Mitch McConnell has warned that GOP senators would not vote to increase the
federal debt limit unless Obama agreed to significant long-term budget savings
that could include cost curbs for Social Security, Medicare and Medicaid.

Phillips said Republicans should reject any kind of compromise over the budget,
even if it leads to a government shutdown or a default.

"What is worse: a government shutdown or an economic collapse," he said. "Is it
worse to deal with a $14.3 trillion national debt or a national debt of $20 or
$25 trillion and the whole thing collapses?"

Source:
http://www.foxnews.com/politics/2011/03/24/tea-party-movement-growing-weary-gop
-budget-plan/

(Gespalder/3486) The Sacramento Bee CapitolAlert B.

Gespalder@rss.iscabbs.com — Thu, 24 Mar 2011 13:42:00 -0500

The Sacramento Bee CapitolAlert B.


Gov. Brown OKs billions in budget cuts

Gov. Jerry Brown today signed bills making billions of cuts in California's
budget, raising community college fees and slicing support for the
developmentally disabled and mentally ill.

(PsychoSy/3485) http://www.propublica.org/article/obama-makes-indefinite-detenti...

PsychoSy@rss.iscabbs.com — Thu, 10 Mar 2011 14:47:00 -0600

http://www.propublica.org/article/obama-makes-indefinite-detention-and-military
-commissions-his-own

---
Obama Makes Indefinite Detention and Military Commissions His Own
---

President Obama yesterday formalized indefinite detention for dozens of men
held at Guantanamo Bay and announced that the Pentagon would move ahead with
military trials for a handful of other detainees.

In an executive order [1], which we first reported on in June 2009 [2], the
White House created a board to periodically review the dangerousness of
prisoners being held without charge or trial. The order says the new process
will allow detainees -- some in custody for nearly a decade -- to challenge the
government's determination that they pose a threat if released.

While the order is new, most of the ideas [3] it contains are not. This is the
third time such a board has been created for nearly the same purpose. Two
similar processes to review detainee cases were in place during the Bush
administration. Like its predecessors, the Obama administration's review
process will operate outside the courts and will be subject to no independent
review. Also like the Bush White House, the Obama administration alone will
choose all members of the review board and appoint a "personal representative"
to advocate on behalf of the detainees.

The major difference is that the White House, sidestepping claims that
detainees have a right to counsel, will allow them to hire private attorneys
The order states that the government will not pay legal fees. While detainees
will have access to some evidence against them, the government will choose what
evidence to share. The process is meant to be more adversarial than it had been
under the Bush administration. Detainees can submit their own evidence to the
review board but will be permitted to call only those witnesses the government
determines to be reasonable. It is unclear whether a detainee can dismiss his
personal representative or how the lawyer and representative will work
together. The order allows a detainee to make his case for release once every
three years.

Many Guantanamo detainees now have lawyers and are represented in federal court
challenges of their detentions. But the standards for the executive order are
different. In court proceedings, the detainees have been challenging the
lawfulness of their detentions based on the government's evidence. The separate
review, created by the executive order, will rely not just on evidence used in
court but on additional factors brought in by the Pentagon, which acts as
warden of Guantanamo. Though not spelled out in the order, factors could
include a detainee's behavior while in custody.

One hour after the executive order was made public, the White House arranged a
conference call for reporters with five senior administration officials to
discuss it and other aspects of the administration's detention policies. Not
one official spoke for the record, and no specifics about the review process
were provided.

Asked about the timing of new military commissions, one official would say only
that new charges would be brought within a matter of days or weeks.

All five senior officials rebuffed questions on future prosecutions of the
suspected plotters in the 2001 terrorist attacks on the United States, saying
they would not discuss individual cases. In November 2009, Attorney General
Eric Holder announced that five detainees would be charged in federal court in
New York, but that has not happened.

When asked to explain how a decision to move ahead with new trials at
Guantanamo was consistent with claims that the administration is closing the
facility, the officials said the commissions were consistent with presidential
pledges to bring terrorists to justice.
-----

(Miser/3484) Welfare State: Handouts Make Up One-Third of U.S. Wages

Miser@rss.iscabbs.com — Tue, 08 Mar 2011 11:25:00 -0600

Welfare State: Handouts Make Up One-Third of U.S. Wages

Government payoutsincluding Social Security, Medicare and unemployment
insurancemake up more than a third of total wages and salaries of the U.S.
population, a record figure that will only increase if action isnt taken before
the majority of Baby Boomers enter retirement.

Even as the economy has recovered, social welfare benefits make up 35 percent
of wages and salaries this year, up from 21 percent in 2000 and 10 percent in
1960, according to TrimTabs Investment Research using Bureau of Economic
Analysis data.

The U.S. economy has become alarmingly dependent on government stimulus, said
Madeline Schnapp, director of Macroeconomic Research at TrimTabs, in a note to
clients. Consumption supported by wages and salaries is a much stronger
foundation for economic growth than consumption based on social welfare
benefits.

The economist gives the country two stark choices. In order to get welfare back
to its pre-recession ratio of 26 percent of pay, either wages and salaries
would have to increase $2.3 trillion, or 35 percent, to $8.8 trillion, or
social welfare benefits would have to decline $500 billion, or 23 percent, to
$1.7 trillion, she said.

Last month, the Republican-led House of Representatives passed a $61 billion
federal spending cut, but Senate Democratic leaders and the White House made it
clear that had no chance of becoming law. Short-term resolutions passed have
averted a government shutdown that could have occurred this month, as Vice
President Biden leads negotiations with Republican leaders on some sort of
long-term compromise.

Terranova noted some sort of opt out for social security or even raising the
retirement age.

But the country may not be ready for these tough choices, even though
economists like Schnapp say something will have to be done to avoid a
significant economic crisis.

A Wall Street Journal/NBC News poll released last week showed that  less than a
quarter of Americans supported making cuts to Social Security or Medicare in
order to reign in the mounting budget deficit.

Those poll numbers may be skewed by a demographic shift the likes of which the
nation has never seen. Only this year has the first round of baby boomers begun
collecting Medicare benefitsand here comes 78 million more.

Social welfare benefits have increased by $514 billion over the last two years,
according to TrimTabs figures, in part because of measures implemented to fight
the financial crisis. Government spending normally takes on a larger part of
the spending pie during economic calamities but how can the country change this
make-up with the root of the crisis (housing) still on shaky ground, benchmark
interest rates already cut to zero, and a demographic shift that calls for an
increase in subsidies?

At the very least, we can take solace in the fact that were not quite at the
state welfare levels of Europe. In the U.K., social welfare benefits make up 44
percent of wages and salaries, according to TrimTabs Schnapp.

No matter how bad the situation is in the US, we stand far better on these
issues (debt, demographics, entrepreneurship) than other countries, said Steve
Cortes of Veracruz Research. On a relative basis, America remains the world
leader and, as such, will also remain the world's reserve currency.

Source:
http://www.cnbc.com/id/41969508

(Miser/3483) Government Waste By the Numbers: Report Identifies Dozens of Ove...

Miser@rss.iscabbs.com — Tue, 01 Mar 2011 06:18:00 -0600

Government Waste By the Numbers: Report Identifies Dozens of Overlapping
Programs
Published March 01, 2011
FoxNews.com

The federal government hosts 47 job-training programs, 44 of which overlap. It
runs 80 programs for the "transportation disadvantaged."
Another 82 programs spread across 10 separate agencies endeavor to improve
teacher quality -- something hundreds of local school districts are already
focused on.

These are just a few of the findings in a blockbuster report on government
waste and inefficiencies released by the nonpartisan Government Accountability
Office. The report, a summary of which was obtained by Fox News, identifies
billions of dollars in potential savings if Congress just had the will to
streamline initiatives that target politically popular causes.

"This report confirms what most Americans assume about their government. We are
spending trillions of dollars every year and nobody knows what we are doing.
The executive branch doesn't know. The congressional branch doesn't know.
Nobody knows," Sen. Tom Coburn, R-Okla., said in a statement Tuesday morning.
"This report also shows we could save taxpayers hundreds of billions of dollars
every year without cutting services."

The well-timed release comes as Republicans and Democrats fight over how much
to cut from the rest of this year's budget, not to mention next year's $3.73
trillion spending plan. Democrats have so far balked at GOP plans to cut $61
billion from the 2010 fiscal year budget. But while both parties are squabbling
over a relatively small slice of the budget pie -- discretionary spending --
the GAO report suggests Congress could keep cutting and leave the operation of
government intact.

"Reducing or eliminating duplication, overlap or fragmentation could
potentially save billions of taxpayer dollars annually and help agencies
provide more efficient and effective services," the report said.

The study found 33 areas with "overlap and fragmentation" in the federal
government. Among them, it found:
-- Fifty-six programs across 20 agencies dealing with financial literacy.
-- More than 2,100 data centers -- up from 432 a little more than a decade ago
-- across 24 federal agencies. GAO estimated the government could save up to
$200 billion over the next decade by consolidating them.
-- Twenty programs across seven agencies dealing with homelessness. The report
found $2.9 billion spent on the programs in 2009. "Congress is often to blame"
for fragmentation, GAO wrote in this section, explaining that the duplicative
programs in multiple agencies cause access problems for potential participants.
-- Eighty-two "distinct" teacher-quality programs across 10 agencies. Many of
them have "duplicate sub-goals," GAO said. Nine of them address teacher quality
in the fields of science, technology, engineering and math.
-- Fifteen agencies administering 30 food-related laws. "Some of the oversight
doesn't make any sense," the report stated bluntly.
-- Eighty economic development programs.

In some cases, the programs in question struggled to account for what they did.
Take, for instance, domestic food assistance initiatives. According to GAO, 18
such programs are administered by the U.S. Department of Agriculture, the
Department of Homeland Security and the Department of Health and Human Services
-- with GAO estimating $62.5 billion spent on them.

But "little is known about the effectiveness" of 11 of those programs, the
report states.

Similarly, of the 47 job-training programs run out of the federal government,
only five could provide an "impact study" since 2004 looking at "outcomes."
About half of them provided no performance review at all since 2004.

The lengthy GAO report was mandated by Congress the last time it raised the
debt limit in January 2010. Coburn said the report makes lawmakers look like
"jackasses."

"We don't know what we're doing," Coburn said.

The Defense Department takes a number of hits in the report. The GAO found many
instances of duplication in the sprawling agency. The use of "urgent need"
funds have been expanded, GAO found, with "multiple places for a warfighter to
submit" such requests.

GAO found that the Pentagon has "no tracking mechanism" for these funds,
resulting in an estimated $77 billion spent since 2005 on communication and
computer technologies, counter-measures for improvised explosive devices and
intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance tools.
Congress asked GAO to look specifically at "federal programs, agencies, offices
and initiatives with duplicative goals and activities, to estimate the cost of
such duplication and to make recommendations to Congress for consolidation and
elimination of such duplication."

Read more:
http://www.foxnews.com/politics/2011/03/01/government-waste-numbers-report-iden
tifies-dozens-duplicative-programs/

Short URL:
http://tinyurl.com/govtwaste

(Gespalder/3482) http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2011/02/12/...

Gespalder@rss.iscabbs.com — Sat, 12 Feb 2011 23:56:00 -0600

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2011/02/12/AR2011021204403
..html?hpid=topnews

Ron Paul wins CPAC straw poll again

GALLERY

CPAC meets in Washington
The largest conservative gathering of the year kicked off in Washington with a
series of speeches from potential Republican presidential candidates, who
demanded a reversal of President Obama's economic, energy and foreign policy
agendas.
B; LAUNCH PHOTO GALLERY

Saturday, February 12, 2011; 10:46 PM
Rep. Ron Paul (R-Tex.) won the always-anticipated, rarely predictive
presidential straw poll Saturday at the annual Conservative Political Action
Conference in Washington, but he did so with less than a third of the vote - a
result that suggested the energy of conservative activists at the gathering has
not coalesced behind a single candidate.
Winning for the second year in a row, Paul carried about 30 percent of the
3,742 votes cast. Former Massachusetts governor Mitt Romney came in second with
about 23 percent. Beyond that the vote splintered, with no potential candidate
rising above the single digits.

Former New Mexico governor Gary Johnson, who devoted much of his CPAC speech to
marijuana legalization, drew 6 percent of the vote. So did New Jersey Gov.
Chris Christie, who has repeatedly said he is not running for president. Former
House speaker Newt Gingrich took 5 percent of the vote. Other contenders,
including Sarah Palin, trailed further behind.

The straw poll has little predictive power. Romney won in 2007 and 2008 - the
latter win coming as he was dropping out of the presidential primaries.

CPAC organizers framed the survey as a way to stir debate and encourage
political participation. "This is a straw poll, not a scientific survey,"
pollster Tony Fabrizio told reporters. "I think it shows where there is energy,
but always where there is energy there is not always victory."

The group did not dismiss Paul fans, however. "Ron Paul energized kids, and I
want those kids," said David Keene, outgoing chairman of the American
Conservative Union, organizer of CPAC. "The result is a more energized, bigger
and more effective political party or political ideological movement."

The poll came after three days of speeches to the conference by leading
Republicans, many given with an eye to 2012. Establishment candidates like
Romney, Mississippi Gov. Haley Barbour, former Minnesota governor Tim Pawlenty
and Sen. John Thune (R-S.D.) played it safe with solid speeches designed to
draw polite if not uproarious applause from the crowd. Gingrich and former
Indiana governor Mitch Daniels delivered detail-heavy addresses that evoked
nothing so much as college lectures.

Paul and Rep. Michele Bachmann (R-Minn.) served up slab after slab of
rhetorical red meat - and the CPAC crowd ate up every word.

- Rachel Weiner and Chris Cillizza

(Gespalder/3481) http://www.cnn.com/2011/POLITICS/02/08/us.pakistan.diplomat/inde...

Gespalder@rss.iscabbs.com — Wed, 09 Feb 2011 00:28:00 -0600

http://www.cnn.com/2011/POLITICS/02/08/us.pakistan.diplomat/index.html?eref=rss
_latest&utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+rss%2Fcnn_la
test+%28RSS%3A+Most+Recent%29

U.S. rep: Crisis over detained diplomat may imperil Pakistan aid
From Jill Dougherty and Charley Keyes, CNN
February 8, 2011 10:22 p.m. EST



U.S. Rep. Howard "Buck" McKeon has warned his country may consider withholding
funding to Pakistan.

Washington (CNN) -- Members of Congress told senior Pakistani leaders that
billions of dollars of U.S. aid are in jeopardy unless an American diplomat,
detained since January 27 in connection with the shooting deaths of two
Pakistani civilians, is released.
"We indicated it could very well be" that the U.S. might consider withholding
funding, Rep. Howard "Buck" McKeon, R-California, said Tuesday after returning
to Washington from meetings in Pakistan and Afghanistan.
The State Department has demanded that Raymond Davis be freed. Under
international agreements, people carrying diplomatic passports are granted
diplomatic immunity, the State Department said. The United States says Davis
was assigned to the U.S. Embassy in Islamabad but was working at the U.S.
Consulate in Lahore at the time of the shootings.
Davis says he was attacked by the men who were killed. He says they tried to
rob him as he drove through a busy Lahore neighborhood, according to the U.S.
Embassy in Pakistan. The families of the men filed police reports accusing
Davis of murder, a police spokesman said.
McKeon said he and two other congressmen on the trip had frank conversations
with Pakistani Prime Minister Yousaf Raza Gillani and other senior officials
about Davis.
Rep. John Klein, R-Minnesota, who also was on the trip, warned of repercussions
as Congress takes up the budget in coming days.
"It is entirely possible that a member of Congress would come down and offer an
amendment to cut funding for Pakistan, based on their detaining Mr. Davis, and
my guess is there would be a lot support for such an amendment, frankly because
of the outrage of detaining an American with diplomatic immunity."
The U.S. spent more than $1.5 billion in nonmilitary aid to Pakistan in fiscal
year 2010.
The detention has strained relations between the U.S. and Pakistan. Secretary
of State Hillary Clinton, according to the State Department, has raised the
issue with Pakistani officials and the U.S. ambassador to Pakistan, Cameron
Munter, has met with Pakistani President Asif Ali Zardari on the issue. The
White House has summoned the Pakistani ambassador to lodge a formal complaint.
State Department spokesman P.J. Crowley said in a Twitter message that the
United States continues to stress to the Pakistanis that the case should be
resolved "in accordance with international law."
The case has sparked some protest and fueled anti-American feelings in
Pakistan. A Pakistani official, speaking to CNN on background because of the
sensitivity of the issue, cautioned that "the American side should be mindful
of the Pakistani people's sentiment about this."
Many Pakistanis "think that being American should not be grounds to get away
with that crime," he said, noting that the recent suicide by the widow of one
of the men who was shot "has added fuel to the fire."
A senior U.S. official told CNN Tuesday that Pakistani officials "do understand
the seriousness of this. They have international obligations that they have to
meet but they also have a political problem." The official would only speak on
background because of the diplomatic sensitivity of the issue.
"Public opinion is very heated," the U.S. official said, "but the longer this
goes on does not mean that public anger will dissipate. They need to resolve
this, and the sooner they resolve it the better for the United States and for
Pakistan."
Pakistani Ambassador Husain Haqqani also sent a message out via Twitter
insisting that despite the tension, the countries' relationship "have proved
resilient in the past" and "will endure, notwithstanding challenges."
Meanwhile, a new U.S. government report questions the impact of the billions of
dollars Washington has sent to Pakistan in aid. The report by the inspectors
general of the State Department, Department of Defense and the U.S. Agency for
International Development (USAID) concluded that the U.S. has not been able to
show any "measurable progress" in its civilian aid.
USAID, the report stated, "has not committed to a set of performance indicators
to measure the success of its programs as traditionally required for proper
project management." The report also singled out what it characterized as a
failure by the U.S. Embassy in Islamabad to identify "a core set of development
indicators" for measuring success in the U.S. development strategy there.
Flooding in Pakistan last summer, which affected more than 20 million people,
forced both an increase and major shifts in where aid was needed, the
investigators noted. In addition, security concerns have impeded "effective
implementation and monitoring of assistance programs."

(Gespalder/3480) http://www.rttnews.com/Content/PoliticalNews.aspx?Node=B1&Id=154...

Gespalder@rss.iscabbs.com — Sat, 05 Feb 2011 14:36:00 -0600

http://www.rttnews.com/Content/PoliticalNews.aspx?Node=B1&Id=1540239

Huckabee Expresses Support For Israeli Settlement Construction
1/31/2011 3:02 PM ET

(RTTNews) -B While the international community widely considers the
construction of Israeli settlements in the West Bank and East Jerusalem to be
in violation of international law, potential Republican presidential candidate
Mike Huckabee has likened efforts to prevent the settlement construction to
discrimination.
Speaking at a groundbreaking ceremony for a new Jewish settlement in East
Jerusalem on Monday, Huckabee argued that limiting Israeli settlement
construction is akin to preventing an American from living in certain places in
the U.S. because of their religion, race, or language.
"It is inconceivable in many ways that we would have to even argue and debate
whether or not Israelis could live in Israel, not just in parts of Israel but
anywhere in Israel they wished to live," Huckabee, the former governor of
Arkansas, said, according to the Jerusalem Post.
He added, "I would be outraged if someone told me that in my country, I would
be prohibited and forbidden to live in a part of that country, for any reason."
Huckabee, who unsuccessfully ran for the Republican nomination in the 2008
presidential race, is seen as among the front-runners in the race for the GOP
nomination in 2012, although he has not officially declared whether he will
run.
Current U.S. president Barack Obama has expressed opposition to continued
Israeli settlement construction, arguing that they create an obstacle in peace
talks between Israelis and Palestinians.
Palestinians envision East Jerusalem as the capital of a future Palestinian
state and have called on Israel to halt all settlement construction.
by RTT Staff Writer

(Eldritch/3479) Bush's Swiss visit off after complaints on torture

Eldritch@rss.iscabbs.com — Sat, 05 Feb 2011 14:21:00 -0600

Bush's Swiss visit off after complaints on torture
Sat, Feb 05 11:49 AM EST


By Stephanie Nebehay

GENEVA (Reuters) - Former President George W. Bush has canceled a visit to
Switzerland, where he was to address a Jewish charity gala, due to the risk of
legal action against him for alleged torture, rights groups said on Saturday.

Bush was to be the keynote speaker at Keren Hayesod's annual dinner on February
12 in Geneva. But pressure has been building on the Swiss government to arrest
him and open a criminal investigation if he enters the Alpine country.

Criminal complaints against Bush alleging torture have been lodged in Geneva,
court officials say.

Human rights groups said they had intended to submit a 2,500-page case against
Bush in the Swiss city on Monday for alleged mistreatment of suspected
militants at Guantanamo Bay, the U.S. naval base in Cuba where captives from
Afghanistan, Iraq and other fronts in the so-called War on Terror were
interned.

Leftist groups had also called for a protest on the day of his visit next
Saturday, leading Keren Hayesod's organizers to announce that they were
cancelling Bush's participation on security grounds -- not because of the
criminal complaints.

But groups including the New York-based Human Rights Watch and International
Federation of Human Rights (FIDH) said the cancellation was linked to growing
moves to hold Bush accountable for torture, including waterboarding. He has
admitted in his memoirs and television interviews to ordering use of the
interrogation technique that simulates drowning.

"He's avoiding the handcuffs," Reed Brody, counsel for Human Rights Watch, told
Reuters.

The action in Switzerland showed Bush had reason to fear legal complaints
against him if he travelled to countries that have ratified an international
treaty banning torture, he said.

Brody is an American-trained lawyer specialized in pursuing war crimes
worldwide, especially those allegedly ordered by former leaders, including
Chile's late dictator Augusto Pinochet and Chad's ousted president Hissene
Habre. Habre has been charged by Belgium with crimes against humanity and
torture, and is currently exiled in Senegal.

PROSECUTE OR EXTRADITE

"President Bush has admitted he ordered waterboarding which everyone considers
to be a form of torture under international law. Under the Convention against
Torture, authorities would have been obliged to open an investigation and
either prosecute or extradite George Bush," Brody said.

Swiss judicial officials have said that Bush would still enjoy a certain
diplomatic immunity as a former head of state.

Dominique Baettig, a member of the Swiss parliament from the right-wing
People's Party, wrote to the Swiss federal government last week calling for the
arrest of Bush for alleged war crimes if he came to the neutral country.

Bush, in his "Decision Points" memoirs on his 2001-2009 presidency, strongly
defends the use of waterboarding as key to preventing a repeat of the September
11 attacks on the United States.

Most human rights experts consider the practice a form of torture, banned by
the Convention on Torture, an international pact prohibiting torture and other
cruel, inhumane or degrading treatment or punishment. Switzerland and the
United States are among 147 countries to have ratified the 1987 treaty.

"Whatever Bush or his hosts say, we have no doubt he canceled his trip to avoid
our case. The message from civil society is clear - If you're a torturer, be
careful in your travel plans. It's a slow process for accountability, but we
keep going," the Paris-based FIDH and New York-based Center for Constitutional
Rights said in a joint statement on Saturday.

Sami El Hadjj, a former Al Jazeera journalist and former detainee at
Guantanamo, had been due to speak at their news conference in Geneva on Monday,
where they will release the 2,500-page complaint.

"I'm surprised he (Bush) would even consider visiting a country that has
ratified the torture convention and which takes its responsibilities
seriously," said Brody.

"I think George Bush's world is a very small place at the moment," he said. "He
may enjoy some kind of impunity in the United States, but other countries will
not treat him so indulgently."

http://betaus.mobile.reuters.com/article/idUSTRE7141CU20110205?WT.tsrc=Social
%20Media&ca=rdt

(Capa/3478) GOP Governor: Christians Are My Brothers And Sisters, Others Not...

Capa@rss.iscabbs.com — Wed, 19 Jan 2011 14:45:00 -0600


GOP Governor: Christians Are My Brothers And Sisters, Others Not So Much

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2011/01/18/robert-bentley-alabama-christians_n_81
0401.html

Alabama Gov. Robert Bentley (R) commemorated the legacy of the Rev. Martin
Luther King, Jr. on Monday, telling a gathering of Alabamians that he didn't
see skin color as a divisive factor. When it came to religion, however, the
recently-inaugurated governor raised some eyebrows with a comment on his view
of non-Christians in his state.

"So anybody here today who has not accepted Jesus Christ as their savior, I'm
telling you, you're not my brother and you're not my sister, and I want to be
your brother," Bentley said in his address, according to The Birmingham News,
after telling the congregation that he was "color blind."

Questioned by The News about the suggestive nature of his statement,
communications director Rebekah Caldwell Mason clarified, ''He is the governor
of all the people, Christians, non-Christians alike."

(Gespalder/3477) http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2011/01/07/mary-bono-mack-photos_n...

Gespalder@rss.iscabbs.com — Mon, 10 Jan 2011 08:33:00 -0600

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2011/01/07/mary-bono-mack-photos_n_805919.html

Mary Bono Mack Caught In Sexually Suggestive Photos
First Posted: 01- 7-11 02:19 PM   |   Updated: 01- 7-11 03:03 PM

Rep. Mary Bono Mack (R-Calif.), widow of former congressman and musician Sonny
Bono, was recently caught in a set of sexually suggestive photos with a
scandal-plagued former billionaire.

Radar Online, which has exclusively obtained the pictures, explains the wrinkle
that is likely to be more significant than the six-term congresswoman showing a
little cleavage:

The woman apparently licking Bono's breast is Edra Blixseth, a disgraced former
billionaire who is at the center of a criminal investigation probing whether
she made fraudulent representations about her financial worth to a number of
banks.
In a scandal set to rock Capitol Hill, RadarOnline.com has learned the image
was taken at an out-of-control event four-years-ago, at Blixseth's $75 million
Porcupine Creek estate in Rancho Mirage, California.
According to Radar Online's sources, Mack "was blitzed and clearly having a
great time" at the function.

One acquaintance, Julie Bornstein, Mack's 2008 congressional challenger,
expressed little surprise over the pictures.

"Several women in the California Congressional delegation were embarrassed
repeatedly by Mary Bono's behavior and conduct in the Capitol and encouraged me
to run because of the embarrassment she brought to the legislature," Bornstein
told RadarOnline.com of the pictures, saying that Mack had been known as a
"strenuous partier."

For more on the intrigue, including how Blixseth went from billionaire to
bankrupt, check out Radar Online's coverage, and take a look at the pictures
here.
http://www.radaronline.com/photos/image/107987/2011/01/mary-bonos-wild-photos

(Copper Lethe/3476) Whoever made that Kos screenshot added Giffords face and added t...

Copper Lethe@rss.iscabbs.com — Sun, 09 Jan 2011 15:47:00 -0600


Whoever made that Kos screenshot added Giffords face and added the bullsay into
the image.

The New York Times doesn't report that he was left wing and quite liberal, the
New York Times says that someone who hasn't seen him is years said on Twitter
that he was.

It's silly to deny that Jared Loughner's rants weren't clearly right wing.

But it's just as silly to blame Palin, the Tea Party, Daily Kos, or anyone else
for any of this.  Sometimes crazy is just crazy.

(BeeOhBee/3475) Kos poster "Boy Blue" said that GIfford was his congresswoman an...

BeeOhBee@rss.iscabbs.com — Sun, 09 Jan 2011 14:43:00 -0600

Kos poster "Boy Blue" said that GIfford was his congresswoman and that she is
"dead to him".  Post has been scrubbed by the revisionism fairies, but screen
captures exist

http://hillbuzz.org/2011/01/08/my-congresswoman-voted-against-nancy-pelosi-and-
is-now-dead-to-me-eerie-daily-kos-hit-piece-on-gabrielle-giffords-just-two-days
-before-assassination-attempt-on-her/



Kos put a "bulls eye" on GIfford's district in 2008
http://hillbuzz.files.wordpress.com/2011/01/screen-shot-2011-01-08-at-3-05-33-p
m.png


New York Times is reporting that Jared Lee Loughner was a left wing and quite
liberal and had previously met Congresswoman Gifford in 2007 well before anyone
hard heard of Sarah Palin.  He had described her as "stupid and unintelligent".


http://www.nytimes.com/2011/01/09/us/politics/09shooter.html?_r=1



So is Jared Lee Loughner user Boy Blue on DailyKos.com and was he spurred to
action through Kos's eliminationist rhetoric (bullseye's and targets lists)?

(Forrester/3474) Actually, I guess they're more gunsights than bulls-eyes ... and...

Forrester@rss.iscabbs.com — Sun, 09 Jan 2011 14:21:00 -0600

Actually, I guess they're more gunsights than bulls-eyes ... and Palin's has
the ones in red for those who are no longer an issue, nothing like that going
on in the Kos post.

(Forrester/3473) Um, it wasn't a "TARGET LIST" it was a "target list" and there w...

Forrester@rss.iscabbs.com — Sun, 09 Jan 2011 14:17:00 -0600

Um, it wasn't a "TARGET LIST" it was a "target list" and there weren't any
gunsights on it, like, say ...

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2010/03/24/sarah-palins-pac-puts-gun_n_511433.htm
l

So not quite sure what "much in the fashion" means here ... I'd think it would
mean more than creating a list of names.

(BeeOhBee/3472) Daily Kos web site had Giffords name and district in bold face o...

BeeOhBee@rss.iscabbs.com — Sun, 09 Jan 2011 11:26:00 -0600

Daily Kos web site had Giffords name and district in bold face on their "TARGET
LIST" much in the fashion of the Nuremberg Files list of abortion doctors.
http://www.dailykos.com/story/2008/6/25/1204/74882/511/541568

(Capa/3471) Just removed (allegedly) from Sarah Palin's website:

Capa@rss.iscabbs.com — Sat, 08 Jan 2011 14:31:00 -0600

Just removed (allegedly) from Sarah Palin's website:
http://twitpic.com/3o7jnn
graphic showing Giffords being a target.

(Capa/3470) there there ... let it all out ....

Capa@rss.iscabbs.com — Thu, 06 Jan 2011 12:07:00 -0600

there there ... let it all out ....
http://i.imgur.com/1wlwA.jpg

Bwa ha ha.

(Gespalder/3469) SACBEE.COM BREAKING NEWS ALERT

Gespalder@rss.iscabbs.com — Tue, 02 Nov 2010 19:33:00 -0500

SACBEE.COM BREAKING NEWS ALERT

Election Alert: GOP will control the House

Republicans win the House majority, three cable news networks project. Read
more.
Full coverage www.sacbee.com/elections

(Gespalder/3467) http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2010/10/17/...

Gespalder@rss.iscabbs.com — Mon, 18 Oct 2010 07:36:00 -0500

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2010/10/17/AR2010101703669
..html

Legislators who criticized stimulus sought its funding
By John Solomon and Aaron Mehta
Center for Public Integrity
Monday, October 18, 2010

Rep. Pete Sessions, the firebrand conservative from Texas, has relentlessly
assailed the Democratic stimulus efforts as a package of wasteful
"trillion-dollar spending sprees" that was "more about stimulating the
government and rewarding political allies than growing the economy and creating
jobs."
But that didn't stop the Republican lawmaker from seeking stimulus money behind
the scenes for the Dallas suburb of Carrollton after the GOP campaign against
the 2009 stimulus law quieted down.
Sessions wrote Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood in February urging him to
give "full and fair consideration" to the affluent city's request for $81
million for a rail project, according to a copy of the letter obtained by the
Center for Public Integrity. His letter suggested that the project would create
jobs, undercutting his public arguments against the stimulus.
When asked about his letter, Sessions defended both of the positions he has
taken.
"What I have not done is allow my strong, principled objection to the bill to
prevent me from asking federal agencies for their full consideration of
critical infrastructure and competitive grant projects for North Texas when
asked to do so by my constituents," he said.
Sessions was hardly alone. Scores of Republicans and conservative Democrats who
voted against the stimulus law subsequently wrote letters seeking funds. They
include tea party favorites such as freshman Sen. Scott Brown (R-Mass.) and
Rep. Michele Bachmann (R-Minn.), as well as Rep. Ron Paul (R-Tex.) and Sen.
John McCain (R-Ariz.), former presidential candidates.
Like their Republican counterparts, Democratic critics of the stimulus also
sent letters seeking funding afterward. Rep. Walt Minnick (D-Idaho), one of
seven Democrats in the House to vote against the bill, has written letters to
Commerce Secretary Gary Locke requesting funds for four broadband-related
projects in his state.
Minnick declined to be interviewed. His communications director, Dean A.
Ferguson, said Minnick "voted against the bill but said from that day forward
that his obligation is to help his constituents."
Ferguson said he sees no problem with the system of "lettermarking," as it is
known by lobbyists, because agencies have the final say on where the funds go.
"In some cases, projects Walt supported did not receive funds," Ferguson said.
"They were competitively awarded and thus not earmarks."
GOP requests
The behind-the-scenes grab for stimulus dollars is a particularly sensitive
topic for Republicans, who have wooed the tea party movement with an incessant
attack on stimulus spending as wasteful and ineffective. The House GOP's Pledge
to America campaign manifesto promises to rescind all unspent stimulus dollars
if Republicans regain control of Congress in the November elections.
But several of the architects of the GOP's anti-stimulus campaign tried to
secure money from the program, including Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell
(Ky.) and Rep. Mike Pence (Ind.), a member of the Republican House leadership
who helped craft the Pledge to America.
At least one of McConnell's requested projects was accepted, with $20 million
being earmarked from the Transportation Department for a bridge replacement
between Milton, Ky., and Madison, Ind.
All told, five members of the GOP's leadership - McConnell, Pence, Sessions,
Sen. Lamar Alexander (Tenn.) and Rep. Cathy McMorris Rodgers (Wash.) - sent
letters requesting that funds be funneled to more than a dozen projects. Even
McCain, who made running against pork a key plank of his 2008 presidential
campaign, sent a letter offering his "conditional support" for Energy
Department funds for Phoenix Sky Harbor International Airport. The grant was
not awarded. McCain also wrote three letters endorsing stimulus applications
pending at the Commerce Department.
Such letters dismay tea party activists and conservative advocacy groups such
as Americans for Tax Reform, which see a touch of hypocrisy among candidates
they thought were conservative champions of spending cuts.
"The GOP should not be taking this money and spending it regardless of where it
came from," said Rob Gaudet, national coordinator for Tea Party Patriots. "They
should be fighting against it with every fiber of their elected beings."
Over the past year, isolated reports of lawmakers and governors seeking funds
from a single agency handing out stimulus money have surfaced in the news
media. Using the Freedom of Information Act, the Center for Public Integrity
collected nearly 2,000 requests from lawmakers in both parties to secure
funding from the $814 billion American Recovery and Reinvestment Act.
When the bill was signed into law in February 2009, President Obama boasted
that it was free of earmarks, which have been used by lawmakers for years to
steer federal money to their pet projects.
"We're not having earmarks in the recovery package, period," the president
said, promising that the process would create a "new higher standard of
accountability, transparency and oversight."
While the legislation went through Congress without any traditional earmarks,
lawmakers - including some Democratic leaders - went to work afterward,
cajoling agencies to secure stimulus money for their favored projects for
constituents and donors.
Democratic requests
House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) wrote at least one letter requesting
funds for three San Francisco broadband proposals. Another top House Democrat,
Rep. James E. Clyburn (S.C), sent at least eight letters about a variety of
projects. Senate Majority Leader Harry M. Reid (D-Nev.), who is facing a tough
reelection fight this year, wrote at least eight letters.
Rep. Brad Ellsworth (D-Ind.), who is running for Senate, initially voted
against the stimulus plan but came around to cautiously supporting it. He
collected $6,500 in donations from Duke Energy's political action committee in
the months before and after he wrote a letter supporting the utility giant's
request for an Energy Department grant it eventually won, the Center for Public
Integrity found. Ellsworth's office declined to comment.
The practice of lettermarking has been controversial for years. The lawmakers
cannot directly tell the agencies what to do, and sometimes the letters do not
bring results.
White House officials told the Center for Public Integrity they had anticipated
that lawmakers would resort to such a strategy. Obama issued a directive in
March 2009 to agencies telling them they must weigh all grants on the merits
regardless of political pressure.
The lettermarking after the stimulus law eliminated some of the transparency
lawmakers had tried to achieve when they stripped the bill of earmarks,
spending experts said.
"Lettermarking became a way for people to try to exploit [the process] and
pursue the funding . . . under the radar," said Steve Ellis of Taxpayers for
Common Sense, a nonprofit, nonpartisan group that has long advocated against
earmarks. "Even though we're for reducing earmarks . . . we don't want to
simply squeeze the balloon and end up with phone-marking or lettermarking."
Rep. Chris Van Hollen (D-Md.) sees nothing wrong with his writing two letters
on behalf of stimulus grantees, because he supported the law. But he said
lawmakers could be more transparent by making their behind-the-scenes letters
available to the public.
"Greater openness has been a hallmark of this Democratic Congress," he said,
"and I am open to exploring additional measures that might make the funding
process even more transparent."
The Center for Public Integrity is a nonpartisan, nonprofit news center
dedicated to producing investigative reporting across the country.

(PsychoSy/3466) http://www.truth-out.org/punishing-poor-being-poor63949

PsychoSy@rss.iscabbs.com — Sun, 10 Oct 2010 13:26:00 -0500

http://www.truth-out.org/punishing-poor-being-poor63949

Cash-Strapped States Resurrect "Debtors' Prisons"
Wednesday 06 October 2010
by: Nadia Prupis,
t r u t h o u t | Report

Two reports published by NYU's Brennan Center for Justice and the American
Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) reveal a rising trend of patently unconstitutional
practices in cash-strapped states, where a growing number of impoverished
people are jailed for being unable to pay their legal fees - including charges
for use of public defenders, a guaranteed right in the United States. The
resurgence of these draconian "debtors' prisons" has been documented in at
least 13 of the 15 states with the largest prison populations in the country,
including California, Arizona, Michigan and Alabama.

"Incarcerating people simply because they cannot afford to pay their legal
debts is not only unconstitutional but also has a devastating impact upon men
and women whose only crime is that they are poor," said ACLU senior staff
attorney Eric Balaban.

Many states view the fees as a method for helping to alleviate budget deficits.
In New Orleans, Louisiana, legal fines comprise almost two-thirds of criminal
courts' operating budgets. But the ACLU found in its report, "In for a Penny:
The Rise of America's New Debtors' Prisons," that jailing individuals for
failing to pay legal fees actually places the financial burden on the state,
wasting taxpayer money and resources to keep those individuals in jail or on
public welfare as they struggle to pay their overwhelming debts.

Moreover, these and other penalties creates obstacles for those re-entering
society after completing their criminal sentence; the Brennan Center report,
"Criminal Justice Debt: A Barrier to Reentry," notes that eight of the 15
states studied suspend driving privileges of individuals who miss debt
payments, while seven states require them to complete their full payments
before regaining eligibility to vote. Such unnecessary setbacks often pave the
way for those on probation to return to jail through no fault of their own.

"We are undermining the integrity of our criminal justice system and creating a
two-tiered system of justice in which the poorest among us are punished more
harshly than those with means, at a great cost to taxpayers," said ACLU deputy
legal director Vanita Gupta.
----
(more at link)

(Eldritch/3465) George W. Bush Holed Up in Texas: Not Much Demand For Former Pre...

Eldritch@rss.iscabbs.com — Sun, 10 Oct 2010 08:36:00 -0500

George W. Bush Holed Up in Texas: Not Much Demand For Former President
October 10th, 2010 Leave a comment Go to comments

WASHINGTON (AP) Former President Bill Clinton is busy on the campaign trail,
helping candidates in races from Florida to Washington state. His successor,
George W. Bush? Holed up in Texas.

Bush left office deeply unpopular and sour on domestic politics. After leaving
Washington and returning to Texas, he has kept a low profile, working on his
memoir and appearing only occasionally at paid speeches. Aides say he has no
plans to be a figure in this years elections, which could see major gains for
the GOP.

Republicans, who paid electoral costs in 2006 and 2008 for Bushs unpopularity,
are hardly clamoring for the 43rd president to join them on the campaign trail.
After all, an Associated Press-GfK poll last month found 55 percent of all
Americans have an unfavorable opinion of Bush and 51 percent blame him for the
economic crisis that began on his watch.

While he enjoys popularity with base conservatives, Bush is not necessarily an
in-demand figure for candidates trying to fault President Barack Obama and his
fellow Democrats for the economic mess. Republicans across the nation are
trying to lay the blame for 15 million out-of-work Americans at Democrats
feet.

Republican strategists are quick to say they respect the former president but
add they are not begging him to join candidates at rallies. Bushs unpopularity
was one of the chief reasons Sen. John McCains presidential bid in 2008
failed, as then-candidate Obamas allies painted the Arizona Republican as a
mere third term for Bush.

Since leaving office, Bush has written a memoir, set to be published after the
Nov. 2 election. Decision Points will be released on Nov. 9 with an initial
printing of 1.5 million copies the same run Clinton enjoyed for his memoir.

For his part, Clinton has emerged a popular figure for Democrats. Since leaving
office in 2001, the president has repaired his image and used his star power to
raise millions of dollars for developing countries and for Democrats. Clintons
schedule has him visiting Kentucky, Nevada and his home state of Arkansas on
behalf of Democrats in tough races.


Read more: http://www.worldfinance.eu/george-w-bush-holed-up-in-texas-not-
much-demand-for-former-president/?utm_source%3Drss%26utm_medium%3Drss
%26utm_campaign%3Dgeorge-w-bush-holed-up-in-texas-not-much-demand-for-former-
president#ixzz11xk8nrOQ

(Capa/3464) The Tea Partiers support satanists ... who knew?

Capa@rss.iscabbs.com — Sun, 19 Sep 2010 01:33:00 -0500

The Tea Partiers support satanists ... who knew?


Christine O'Donnell: "I Dabbled Into Witchcraft"
http://www.cbsnews.com/8301-503544_162-20016907-503544.html

Republican Senate nominee Christine O'Donnell doesn't need Facebook to dredge
up her controversial past statements.

As a sometime conservative pundit a decade ago on Bill Maher's former show,
"Politically Incorrect", O'Donnell said (in an appearance that wasn't aired)
that she dabbled in witchcraft.

In the clip shown last night on Maher's current show, "Real Time," O'Donnell
said:

"I dabbled into witchcraft -- I never joined a coven. But I did, I did. ... I
dabbled into witchcraft. I hung around people who were doing these things. I'm
not making this stuff up. I know what they told me they do. . . . "

"One of my first dates with a witch was on a Satanic altar, and I didn't know
it. I mean, there's little blood there and stuff like that. ... We went to a
movie and then had a midnight picnic on a Satanic altar."

(Eldritch/3463) The Saudi Prince, The Mosque And Fox News

Eldritch@rss.iscabbs.com — Sat, 04 Sep 2010 11:03:00 -0500


The Saudi Prince, The Mosque And Fox News

by David Folkenflik
http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=129584557


Rupert Murdoch, controlling owner of News Corp., with Prince Al-Waleed bin
Talal at the Abu Dhabi Media Summit in March. Waleed holds 7 percent of the
voting stock of the media company.
Rupert Murdoch with Prince Al Waleed bin Talal at the Abu Dhabi Media Summit in
March.
Karl Jeffs/Getty Images

Rupert Murdoch, controlling owner of News Corp., with Prince Al-Waleed bin
Talal at the Abu Dhabi Media Summit in March. Waleed holds 7 percent of the
voting stock of the media company.
text size A A A
September 1, 2010

The proposed construction of an Islamic center and mosque close to ground zero
in New York City has inspired intense scrutiny from news outlets this month and
few have outstripped the Fox News Channel in their interest.

That's especially true on Fox's opinion-driven shows in the morning and evening
hours. Familiar figures including Sean Hannity and Laura Ingraham have
repeatedly asked where the money for the center will come from.

Yet the parent company of Fox News shares a financial backer with the imam who
is at the center of the firestorm. The second-largest holder of voting stock in
News Corp. is Saudi Prince Al-Waleed bin Talal, a nephew of the Saudi king. And
through his philanthropies, Waleed has given generously to initiatives pursued
by the imam, Feisal Abdul Rauf.

But that connection has not been spelled out by Fox to viewers. Fox's intense
coverage of the Islamic center, combined with its lack of disclosure about the
corporate connection to Waleed, has sparked scorn from some media critics and
from liberals including, repeatedly, from satirist Jon Stewart.

Former ABC News correspondent Robert Zelnick, who covered the Middle East,
praised Fox News' straight reporters for their stories on what he said was a
legitimate issue. But he said disclosure might have been warranted.

"I think in a circumstance where an apparent or at least arguably apparent
conflict of interest is present, the better part of valor is to simply
broadcast information about the person in question," Zelnick says.

On the morning show Fox & Friends, Fox News analyst Dan Senor referred to
Waleed as "the guy who tried to give Rudy Giuliani $10 million after 9/11 that
was sent back" and said "he funds radical madrassas all over the world."

Senor did not refer to Waleed by name, and his characterization was true as far
as it went, though some Muslims would take exception to that characterization
of the madrassas. But other people characterize Waleed more generously. Among
those others is Rupert Murdoch, the controlling owner of Fox News' parent
company, News Corp.

In a 2005 documentary about the prince, Murdoch called Waleed "very shrewd,
very analytical, yet at the same time prepared to gamble and to go against sort
of the prevailing thoughts about markets."

Murdoch added, "He's very original in his thinking."

The prince had long been Murdoch's business partner in News Corp. but that year
he arranged a share swap in which he obtained more than 30 million voting
shares.

Al-Jazeera anchor Riz Khan, formerly of the BBC and CNN International, wrote
that documentary and a companion biography about Waleed. Khan tells NPR that
despite the criticism from Senor, Waleed is friendly to Western interests and
to Murdoch's.

"Rupert Murdoch said, 'Well, the thing about the prince is, he's there for
you,' " Khan recalls. " When you need the help, he is there. He will try and
do his best to make things work.' "

Indeed, according to the latest filings with the SEC, Waleed now holds 7
percent of the voting stock in News Corp., more than any other person not named
Rupert Murdoch, and he has repeatedly voted to support Murdoch's priorities.
And News Corp. has invested in Waleed's own Middle Eastern media venture,
called the Rotana Media group. Khan described sitting by the billionaire prince
and the media baron as they strategized about billion-dollar deals and
exchanged tips about fuel efficiency on their respective jets.

Khan says he asked Waleed about anger in some Arab circles about the rhetoric
heard on Fox, and the prince replied this way:

"Look, I'm not there to direct the news policy, I'm there to invest in News
Corp. and hopefully they've got some sense to do news properly."

Officials at News Corp. and Fox News declined to comment for this story, while
officials at the Kingdom Foundation, the prince's charity, did not reply to a
request for comment.

Investigative reporter Neil Chenoweth of The Australian Financial Review has
written extensively about corporate intrigue at News Corp. In an e-mail, he
says Murdoch valued the prince for two reasons: His investment helped Murdoch
hold some rival investors at bay, including Liberty Media CEO John Malone; and
it helped him smooth the path for the expected succession of James Murdoch, his
younger son.

But News Corp. is not the only big-name investment Waleed has made in the
United States. He has helped rescue the American banking giant Citigroup twice
and is one of its largest holders. He also has big stakes in rival media giants
Time Warner and Disney. And his portfolio took a big hit when the U.S. stock
markets tanked.

That exchange involving Fox's Senor was the only one this reporter could find
on Fox News that made direct reference to the prince. But Senor did not name
Waleed nor was the prince mentioned in any of the speculation about the
financing for that proposed Islamic center in Lower Manhattan.

Yet Waleed is hardly unknown to Fox. Anchor Neal Cavuto portrayed the prince as
a savvy investor early this year during an extensive interview carried both on
the newer Fox Business Network and on Fox News. On those programs, Cavuto
disclosed the prince's stake in News Corp.

But the neoconservative Muslim commentator Stephen Schwartz argues that the
seeming tension between the prince's investments and his charities provides
evidence that he wants to keep one foot in Western business and political
circles and the other in radical Islamic camps.

"Al-Waleed bin Talal wants to be seen as a modernizer and a person who's open
to various points of view," Schwartz, executive director of the Center for
Islamic Pluralism, tells NPR. "But it always comes back to the grievance
paradigm."

(Turanga Leela/3462 Forum Moderator) I smell an op ed.

Turanga Leela@rss.iscabbs.com — Sat, 14 Aug 2010 15:26:00 -0500

I smell an op ed.

(WORF/3461) Why we needed an Imams' declaration for peace

WORF@rss.iscabbs.com — Fri, 13 Aug 2010 16:12:00 -0500



Why we needed an Imams' declaration for peace

By Dr. David Liepert, Special to CNN
August 13, 2010 1:27 p.m. EDT

Editor's note: Dr. David Liepert is a spokesman for the Calgary Council of
Imams, comprised of 50 of Canada's mainstream Muslim faith leaders. He helped
craft the Canadian Council of Imams Declaration, to be released Friday. He is
author of "Muslim, Christian and Jew: Finding a Path to Peace Our Faiths Can
Share."


Calgary, Canada (CNN) -- Immediately before 9-11, al Qaeda was considered
almost below most Americans' notice. One Washington Post/ABC News poll found
that in early 2002, only 14 percent of Americans thought Islam encouraged
violence.

These days, the popular perception of Islam is dominated by al Qaeda and its
radical agenda. Al Qaeda has grown into a monster that dominates the American
psyche, and many non-Muslims fear that the majority of Muslims are bent on
violent takeover.

Throughout the last decade, the mainstream majority of Muslims have seemed
almost silent, but today that all changes.

As of this writing, 38 of the 50 Islamic scholars who make up Canada's Muslim
mainstream leadership have signed the Canadian Council of Imams Declaration,
released today. More names will follow. These signatories will lead Muslim
communities onto a path of active engagement, taking back Islam and claiming it
for multicultural peace.

Here is why:

Muslims have been part of North American society for more than 100 years. There
have been mosques in places such as Edmonton, Alberta; Cedar Rapids, Iowa;
Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania; Cleveland, Ohio; and Buffalo, New York, since the
1930s.

In Canada and the United States before 9-11, the growing Muslim minority was
well-integrated, with higher-than-average educational attainments for both
genders. Muslims in civic and business leadership positions went as unnoticed
as members of any other successful community. And North America's Muslims were
proud to be an integral part of North American society, because we knew it was
the Muslim ideal as well.

Radicals are working to destroy those relationships and are using the Quran to
do it. Radicals regularly, ignorantly and blatantly abuse the Quran and the
Sunnah (the acts of Mohammed that Muslims use to figure out what the
revelations really mean) to promote the idea that Islam is a violent faith.

For example, they cite a famous verse in the Quran that says, roughly, "Fight
the people of the book until they know themselves subdued," and use it to
create fear or to support a violent agenda. However, here's what that verse
really means.

When Mohammed and his companions "conquered" the Middle East in the 7th
century, the command to do so came in response to rumours of an army massing in
the north that was planning to exterminate them.

The Muslims expected a fight to the death but met people willing to live in
peace, and they founded a society with rights, freedom, liberty and justice for
all, regardless of race, creed or gender.

God wasn't telling them when to fight, he was telling them when to stop. While
the vast majority of imams today put this verse in historical perspective for
their congregations, this declaration now serves to put those who would abuse
it in perspective as well.

Likewise, radicals claim Islam is anti-Semitic. And yet, when Jerusalem fell,
Caliph Umar walked up to the gates and accepted the Catholic patriarch's
demands for security, religious freedom and relative autonomy with one proviso:
that those rights also be afforded to the 70 Jewish families who had been
expelled by the Patriarch.

Claims that Islam wants to destroy Christianity are answered by Caliph Umar's
refusal of the patriarch's invitation to pray in the Christian cathedral, "that
later generations not declare it a mosque, so that it will remain a church
forever."

In fact, equality before the courts in Mohammed's time was so profound that
when Muslims extorted land from a Jewish citizen and built a mosque, the caliph
had the mosque destroyed and the land returned.

Muslims around the world offer thoughts on what Islam means today

Western ideals are Muslim ideals. When al Qaeda (whose leaders are described in
Muslim prophecy as "men with the hearts of demons") launched its 9-11 attack,
the primary objective was to alienate America's Muslims from the America they
love. Al Qaeda hoped to turn both sides away from those ideals that made both
civilizations great. And their success at this alienation has remained woefully
unchallenged until now.

That alienation drives Muslims to criminal acts here and abroad even though
they should know better, and it is driving America and Canada into repudiating
every good freedom we have attained.

Violence and rivalries have no place in faith -- any faith. Many Christians
think they've begun the first blows of Armageddon, even though Muslims believe
we're the army of the returning Christ.

I have Jewish friends in Canada who think Palestinians are descended from
Amalekites (whom Jews are commanded to exterminate), even though Midianites,
Ishmaelites and other Arab monotheist tribes populate the Old Testament. Moses
and Jacob married proto-Palestinians.

Our religions are actually designed to help us live in peace, if you read their
stories looking for something other than war.

For the sake of peace, Islam must be claimed back from Muslims and non-Muslims
alike who seek conflict. The Canadian Council of Imams Declaration of religious
freedom, gender equity, life's sanctity and individual freedom of choice,
declared by the elite of Canada's scholarly and respected religious leadership
on behalf of all of Canada's mainstream Muslim communities, denies the rights
of radicals to define our religion.

It empowers the voices of Muslims who love Islam and repudiates anyone who
seeks to use Islam for any purpose but peace.

Yes, it's a big thing, and it's happening today.

(Eldritch/3460) McCain: Steele must assess his future as GOP head

Eldritch@rss.iscabbs.com — Sun, 04 Jul 2010 11:08:00 -0500

McCain: Steele must assess his future as GOP head
Sun Jul 4, 8:57 am ET

WASHINGTON  The embattled head of the GOP isn't getting an endorsement from
Sen. John McCain.

McCain says party chairman Michael Steele's recent comments about the
Afghanistan war are "wildly inaccurate" and inexcusable.

The Arizona Republican says Steele needs to assess whether he can still
function in his job and must make "an appropriate decision" about his future.

At a recent GOP fundraiser, Steele called the U.S. commitment of troops in
Afghanistan a mistaken "war of Obama's choosing."

The war began after the Sept. 11 attacks, when George W. Bush was president.
McCain tells ABC's "This Week" that it's "America's war and we can't afford to
fail."

Some Republicans want Steele to resign because of his remarks.

THIS IS A BREAKING NEWS UPDATE. Check back soon for further information. AP's
earlier story is below.

WASHINGTON (AP)  The embattled head of the GOP isn't getting an endorsement
from Sen. John McCain.

McCain says party chairman Michael Steele's recent comments about the
Afghanistan war are "wildly inaccurate" and inexcusable.

The Arizona Republican says Steele needs to assess whether he can still
function in his job and must make "an appropriate decision" about his future.

At a recent GOP fundraiser, Steele called the U.S. commitment of troops in
Afghanistan a mistaken "war of Obama's choosing."

The war began after the Sept. 11 attacks, when George W. Bush was president.
McCain says it's "America's war and we can't afford to fail."

Some Republicans want Steele to resign because of his remarks.

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20100704/ap_on_re_us/us_mccain_steele

(Gespalder/3459) http://www.nydailynews.com/news/politics/2010/06/10/2010-06-10_h...

Gespalder@rss.iscabbs.com — Thu, 10 Jun 2010 05:40:00 -0500

http://www.nydailynews.com/news/politics/2010/06/10/2010-06-10_hairy_moment_for
_calif_hopeful.html

My mic was on? Senate hopeful Fiorina mocks Barbara Boxer's hair, moans about
Fox's Sean Hannity
BY LEO STANDORA
DAILY NEWS STAFF WRITER
Thursday, June 10th 2010, 4:46 AM

McNew/Getty
Carly Fiorina mocked the hair of Barbara Boxer (below) when she thought her mic
was off.

Sanchez/AP

CarlyB Fiorina spent her first day as California's Republican U.S. Senate
candidate with one of her custom shoes planted firmly in her mouth.
Unaware of an open mic before a television interview on Wednesday, Fiorina
mocked rival Sen. Barbara Boxer's hair, complained about Fox-TV's Sean Hannity
and grumbled about Election Night cheeseburgers.
Laughing, the former Hewlett-Packard CEO told staffers someone had seen Boxer
on television and "said what everyone says, 'God, what is that hair?' So
yesterday!"
But she also questioned fellow Republican Meg Whitman's decision to talk with
Fox's Hannity so soon after winning the GOP nomination for governor.
"I find it really surprising," she said. "I think it's bizarre. ... I think
it's a very bad choice, actually. You know how he is. Sean Hannity is not an
easy interview."
She also mentioned cheeseburgers that some campaign workers had on Election
Night, noting, "I didn't eat last night."
Fiorina's camp shrugged off the whole thing as "early-morning small talk."

(Gespalder/3458) http://blogs.sacbee.com/capitolalertlatest/2010/06/california-vo...

Gespalder@rss.iscabbs.com — Wed, 09 Jun 2010 04:33:00 -0500

http://blogs.sacbee.com/capitolalertlatest/2010/06/california-vote-1.html

THE LATEST ON CALIFORNIA POLITICS AND GOVERNMENT
June 8, 2010
Governor applauds voters' approval of "open" primary
Disgruntled California voters have blown up their election system by approving
Proposition 14, which tosses out the current political party-based primary
system in all but presidential races.
The measure was far ahead in returns, with about 60 percent of votes in favor
and 40 against with more than 20 percent of precincts reported.
Backed strongly by Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger, Proposition 14 called for a new
"open" primary, in which all candidates for an office - except those in
presidential primaries - appear on a ballot given to voters regardless of party
registration.
Under the system - which Washington state has already adopted - the top-two
vote getters who emerge from a primary square off in a general election, even
if they are from the same political party.
"I am thrilled California voters have decided to make a historic change and
give equal access to the same ballot for all by passing Proposition 14,"
Schwarzenegger said in a statement Tuesday night. "This sends a clear message
that Californians are tired of partisan gridlock and dysfunction and want a
system where representatives put what's best for California ahead of extreme
partisan doctrine."
Jason Olson, director of Independent Voice, a group that backed that measure,
predicted that more decline-to-state voters would turn out for primary
elections with the Proposition 14 approach. Independent voters are now about 20
percent of all California's registered voters. .
"We don't want to be confined by the parties when it comes to who we decide we
want to vote for," Olson said.
Right now, if independents want to vote in a California Democratic or
Republican primary, they can request one of those party's ballots.
Olson and other supporters of Proposition 14 said the measure would lead to
more moderates running for office. The typical system, they said, produces
politicians loath to negotiate and take positions that might alienate bedrock
Democratic or Republican primary voters.
Supporters also said a top-two system would help minor parties advance
candidates. But that is not the position of California's major parties, the
Democratic and Republican, nor the smaller Green, Libertarian and Peace and
Freedom parties.
They all oppose the top-two system, arguing it limits voters' choices in a
general election. John Burton, chairman of the California Democratic Party,
said the system "makes for mischief," and would disappoint voters by forcing
parties to pour more money into elections to appeal to a range of voters in
primaries.
Open primaries give candidates more freedom in identifying themselves and
mislead voters, Burton said. He said "it's a serious thought" that the
Democratic Party might file a lawsuit if it passes.
Republican Party spokesman Rob Griffith said suing "isn't the Republican Party
way of doing things," but that the party also believes voters' choices would be
limited.
According to the nonpartisan Center for Governmental Studies in Los Angeles,
about one-third of all California's legislative and congressional district
races could end up with two candidates from the same party - mostly Democrat -
as rivals in general elections.
This post was updated at 10:35 p.m. with Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger's comments.

(PsychoSy/3457) Republicans Search Schoolroom, Remove Pro-Labor Teaching Materia...

PsychoSy@rss.iscabbs.com — Sat, 15 May 2010 13:37:00 -0500

Republicans Search Schoolroom, Remove Pro-Labor Teaching Materials

http://rawstory.com/rs/2010/0514/republicans-remove-free-speech-materials/

Teachers at a middle school in Portland, Maine, are upset with attendees of a
Republican convention who rifled through teachers' materials in a classroom
they were using and reportedly stole materials from the room, replacing it with
GOP slogans.

Officials from the Maine Republican Party quickly apologized this week after
local news sources reported on an incident at Portland's King Middle School.
Eighth-grade social studies teacher Paul Clifford returned to his classroom
following a meeting of the Knox County Republican caucus there to find that his
teachers' materials had been rifled through and a poster outlining the history
of the US labor movement was missing, replaced with a bumper sticker that
reads, "Working People Vote Republican," reports the Portland Press-Herald.

What's more, according to the Bangor Daily News, the Republican operatives also
rifled through a closed cardboard box containing copies of the US Constitution,
donated by the American Civil Liberties Union. And Clifford found a note nearby
that stated, "A Republican was here. What gives you the right to propagandize
impressionable kids?"

(Eldritch/3456) German state vote curbs Merkel's power

Eldritch@rss.iscabbs.com — Sun, 09 May 2010 13:29:00 -0500

German state vote curbs Merkel's power
35 mins ago

BERLIN Angela Merkel's center-right alliance lost a key election in Germany's
most populous state on Sunday, costing the chancellor her majority in the upper
house of parliament and curbing her government's power, projections showed.

The state election in North Rhine-Westphalia the first electoral test since
Merkel's second term started last October had loomed over European efforts to
tackle the Greek debt crisis.

Merkel initially held out on agreeing to aid for cash-strapped Athens,
prompting German opposition parties to accuse her of avoiding an unpopular
decision in the election run-up.

Merkel's Christian Democrats won just over 34 percent of Sunday's vote, and
their coalition partners, the Free Democrats, around 6.5 percent, according to
projections for ARD and ZDF television based on exit polls and early counting.
That left them well short of a majority in the state legislature in
Duesseldorf.

The same coalition leads the federal government too.

"This is of course a warning shot for the governing parties, and the people
should know that it has been heard," said Foreign Minister Guido Westerwelle, a
Free Democrat. "We must make an effort to win back lost trust with hard and
good work."

The projections found the opposition Social Democrats about level with Merkel's
party, winning more than 34 percent and the Greens around 12.5 percent. It
wasn't immediately clear whether that would be enough for them to govern
together and oust conservative governor Juergen Ruettgers.

A hard-left rival, the Left Party, was seen winning more than 5 percent.

More than 13 million people were eligible to vote in the state, which includes
Cologne and the industrial Ruhr region.

Merkel is likely to have a harder time running Germany Europe's biggest economy
without a majority in the upper house, which represents Germany's 16 states and
must approve major legislation.

She will have to haggle with the opposition diminishing prospects of tax cuts
intended to stimulate the economy and significant reform to the health-
insurance system, both projects dear to the Free Democrats.

Merkel's federal government currently controls 37 of the 69 upper-house votes,
including six from North Rhine-Westphalia.

Its stock has been sliding following a poor start, constant squabbling over
policy and the challenge from the Greek crisis in which Merkel won mixed
reviews.

She long took a hard line. On Friday, however, parliament approved a bill
allowing Germany to grant as much as euro22.4 billion ($28.6 billion) in credit
over three years as part of a wider rescue plan.

A bigger problem with voters may have been the government's stumbling start at
home. Freed last year from a "grand coalition" with center-left rivals in which
she shone as a consensus-builder, Merkel then got bogged down in internal
divisions.

Her new coalition has squabbled constantly, notably about the wisdom of making
big tax cuts soon.

A senior Merkel aide said Sunday's setback had many causes among them "too much
unnecessary arguing on the public stage."

The Christian Democrats' general secretary, Hermann Groehe, also pointed to
"the general uncertainty, people's concerns with a view to the stability of the
euro, the situation in Greece."

Without an upper-house majority a frequent situation and one Merkel experienced
in her first term the chancellor may soon be back to consensus-building.
Opposition parties oppose tax cuts and plans such as extending nuclear power
stations' lives.

"It's a good signal ... that North-Rhine Westphalia has said, 'this isn't how
we want to live in Germany," Social Democratic leader Sigmar Gabriel said.

It wasn't immediately clear who will run North Rhine-Westphalia in future, and
whether conservative Juergen Ruettgers could remain governor.

The Social Democrats were hoping to win back a traditional heartland after the
heavy national election defeat in September.

They led North Rhine-Westphalia for nearly four decades until losing it in 2005
amid discontent over then-Chancellor Gerhard Schroeder's efforts to trim the
welfare state.

If they and the Greens have no majority, they might try to team up with the
Left Party an untried combination.

A "grand coalition" of the two biggest parties is mathematically possible, but
it was unclear who might lead it.

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20100509/ap_on_bi_ge/eu_germany_election/print

(Gespalder/3455) Since it relates to the Health Care Cost Debate

Gespalder@rss.iscabbs.com — Sat, 24 Apr 2010 17:25:00 -0500

Since it relates to the Health Care Cost Debate

http://www.sacbee.com/2010/04/18/2686758/californias-higher-hospital-costs.html

California's higher hospital costs add to health insurance hikes

By Bobby Caina Calvan and Phillip Reese
bcalvan@sacbee.com
Published: Sunday, Apr. 18, 2010 - 12:00 am | Page 1A
This report is part of an ongoing series examining the factors driving up the
cost of health care.
Behind every public uproar are some hidden facts. Here's one about rising
health insurance rates in California: Sharp jumps in hospital costs are a big
part of the story.
A Bee analysis of financial data from 300 hospitals statewide shows they
collected $25 billion from insurance companies between September 2008 and
October 2009 -- an increase of more than a third since 2005.
Hospitals are charging insurance companies, and by extension their customers,
billions of dollars for expenses not directly related to care. These include
new hospital wings, new technology and services for the uninsured.
Some providers, including Sutter Health in Sacramento, have negotiated
reimbursement rates with "markups" more than double what it costs them to
provide services.
"It's become en vogue to crucify the insurance companies. ... It's the
hospitals that hold insurance companies hostage," said Will Fox, a principal
and consulting actuary for Milliman, a Seattle-based firm that has extensive
experience studying hospital finances in California. Fox has done work for
insurance companies, government agencies and business groups.
Hospitals say their charges to insurers are justified and necessary. But their
byzantine pricing policies make it difficult to understand why costs are rising
so quickly.
Under state law, hospitals have to report the total amount of money they spend
to provide services to insured patients each year, how much they bill insurance
companies and how much they wind up collecting.
Based on those numbers, The Bee found that California hospitals charged
insurers an average of 53 percent more than what they told the state it cost
them to provide services. In 2005, the gap was 40 percent.
For this story, The Bee obtained data submitted to the Office of Statewide
Health Planning and Development by hospitals across California between October
2008 and September 2009, the latest available period.
Insured carry heavy burden
Rising hospital costs reflect billions of dollars in spending on items that
don't directly relate to caring for individual patients with insurance, but are
nonetheless charged to their insurance companies. These costs get passed along
in the form of higher premiums.
For example, hospitals charge insurance companies to recoup lost profits from
meager Medi-Cal reimbursements and to provide care to the poor and uninsured.
The cost of caring for the uninsured and covering unpaid debts has risen
substantially in recent years as the economic downturn leaves more people
without income or coverage.
California hospitals are also facing costs of at least $110 billion for
construction to comply with state earthquake safety codes.
No one doubts the economic strains hospitals are under, said David Hopkins,
director of quality measurement at the Pacific Business Group on Health. The
group is a coalition of some of the state's largest employers, including the
University of California, Wells Fargo and Chevron.
Still, Hopkins is not entirely sympathetic.
"They're collecting and making all this money for other reasons -- and because
they can," he said.
Hospitals in the Sacramento area, for example, have expanded considerably in
recent years. New wings, investment in medical technology and expansion of
services may give hospitals a competitive edge on their rivals, but also add to
their costs.
Rising salaries for nurses, pharmacists, imaging professionals, as well as
compensation for administrators and staff, are some of the variables that go
into a hospital's cost equation.
The prices insurance companies pay to hospitals result from intense
negotiations, with providers pushing for the highest prices for their services
and health plans pushing for deep discounts.
In Northern California, most hospitals now belong to large chains with the
market power to largely dictate prices, according to researchers hired by the
California HealthCare Foundation.
According to The Bee's analysis, Sutter hospitals have obtained better
reimbursement rates from insurance companies than any other provider in the
region.
As one of the region's largest systems, Sutter Health is a "must have" provider
in an insurer's network because of its reputation among consumers, said William
Sandberg, Executive Director of the Sierra Sacramento Valley Medical Society.
Sutter Health leverages that power during negotiations, he said.
Hospitals' price-cost gap varies
Sutter Medical Center, for instance, received about $420 million in payments
for medical services from insurers between October 2008 and September 2009 --
127 percent more than it spent to provide those services, The Bee found.
At the other end of the spectrum is Kindred Hospital in Folsom, a small 39-bed
facility that belongs to a national chain. It charged insurance companies 35
percent over cost.
Catholic Healthcare West, which operates the chain of Mercy hospitals in the
Sacramento area, charged insurance companies anywhere from 40 percent to 80
percent above cost at its various capital hospitals, according to The Bee's
analysis.
The UC Davis Medical Center received payments from insurers that were 57
percent above the hospital's costs. As with many other teaching hospitals,
UCD's operating costs are significantly higher than those of Sutter or Mercy.
Sutter Health has faced scrutiny for its pricing practices before. Five years
ago, CalPERS, the state's largest buyer of health services, forced one of its
key insurers to drop 13 Sutter Health hospitals from its stable of providers
because CalPERS deemed the Sutter facilities too expensive.
Sutter officials did not offer a direct rebuttal to The Bee's findings about
its pricing rates, but said the nonprofit health system, based in Sacramento,
should not be judged on price alone.
Patrick Fry, the health system's chief executive officer, said the Cal-PERS
action proves Sutter doesn't have the kind of market-controlling clout some of
its critics describe.
Consumers, he said, should also consider value.
"When you go to a clothing store, do you know how much it cost to make? We buy
things because we think the price is fair," Fry said.
Bill Gleason, a spokesman for Sutter Health, said the hospital system has kept
price increases for insurance companies in the "single-digits" in recent years,
but declined to elaborate.
"That's hugely important because of certain allegations by health plans who are
pointing their fingers at health care providers," Gleason said.
He contrasted the "single-digit" rise in Sutter prices to the 39 percent
increase in premiums announced earlier this year by Anthem Blue Cross on
thousands of Californians with individual policies. The Blue Cross rate hike
ignited a national debate over the rising cost of health care.
Gleason said the high quality of services provided at Sutter Health facilities
saves on costs in the long run by reducing expensive follow-up care.
"We still have work to do to make our services even more affordable to
patients, and we think we're making good progress," Gleason said.
Rising costs 'a mystery' to experts
Researchers for the California HealthCare Foundation call rising hospital costs
"something of a mystery."
Writing in the February issue of Health Affairs, a policy journal, researchers
for the foundation said expenses for hospital care rose an average of 10.6
percent a year from 1999 to 2005, far outpacing inflation.
Insurers and hospitals negotiate discounted rates, and hospitals have different
price structures for each insurance network they decide to join.
In some cases, hospitals have blocked efforts to shed more light on their
pricing policies. Revealing the information, they say, could reduce competition
in the industry.
Jan Emerson, a spokeswoman for the California Hospital Association, said
hospitals are up front with their costs, as required by law. She noted that
hospitals must provide a price quote to anyone who asks, and file menus of
procedures and prices with the state.
"The health plans are trying to shift the blame because they are under attack,"
Emerson said. "It's outrageous that they are trying to shift blame. They should
be looking at themselves."
Still, the state's accountability requirements for hospitals have been
criticized as weak by some business groups, consumer advocates and others. The
prices filed with the state, for instance, rarely reflect what consumers
actually pay.
While existing law doesn't prohibit insurers from disclosing cost information,
some hospitals explicitly prevent insurers from releasing it.
Sutter Health, for example, does not allow Aetna to publicize its negotiated
prices with Sutter hospitals on the insurer's website. Aetna said the
information would allow subscribers to comparison shop.
Cedars-Sinai hospital in Los Angeles, considered one of the state's priciest
because of its popularity with the rich and famous, was the only other
California hospital to prohibit use of its pricing data on Aetna's website, the
insurer said.
Last year, the California Medical Association and the California Hospital
Association helped defeat Senate Bill 196, which was aimed at giving consumers
access to more information. The bill would have barred hospitals and doctors
from refusing to allow insurers to reveal their pricing information to
subscribers.
The legislation was supported by consumer groups and the insurance industry.
They resurrected the issue last month in a new bill, Assembly Bill 2389. The
Assembly Health Committee plans to hear it in May.

(Eldritch/3454) Joe the Plumber Will Not Stump for McCain

Eldritch@rss.iscabbs.com — Sun, 28 Mar 2010 22:39:00 -0500

Joe the Plumber Will Not Stump for McCain
March 28, 2010 - 8:31 PM | by: Cristina Corbin

PHOENIX, Ariz. -- Samuel "Joe the Plumber" Wurzelbacher, once a prominent face
of John McCain's 2008 presidential campaign, said Sunday that he won't be
stumping for the Arizona senator in his close race for reelection.

In an interview with FoxNews.com, Wurzelbacher said he was used as a "political
tool" during McCain's presidential run and faulted the fourth-term senator for
what he described as a weak stance on immigration and border security.

"It's supposed to be a closed border. Why don't you uphold the law instead of
trying to change it?" he said. "McCain's been a senator for a long time and
he's failed in his duties."

Wurzelbacher, who appeared at a tea party rally of 400 conservative activists
in Phoenix on Sunday, said he won't be backing anyone in the Arizona senate
race. "I don't want to cloud the issue and create a lot of drama," he said.

McCain, who is seeking a fifth term, is locked in a close race with former
congressman and radio talk show host J.D. Hayworth, a favorite among many tea
party voters.

Wurzelbacher rose to fame in 2008 after he confronted then-candidate Barack
Obama over taxes. He soon became a familiar face at Republican rallies,
stumping for McCain and his running mate, former Alaska Governor Sarah Palin.

http://liveshots.blogs.foxnews.com/2010/03/28/joe-the-plumber-will-not-stump-
for-mccain/?test=latestnews

(Gespalder/3453) Heard about this recently so it is likely still ongoing

Gespalder@rss.iscabbs.com — Thu, 25 Mar 2010 20:57:00 -0500

Heard about this recently so it is likely still ongoing

http://voices.washingtonpost.com/federal-eye/2009/12/federal_employees_owe_3_bi
llio.html

Federal employees owe $3 billion in taxes
Federal workers owed more than $3 billion in income taxes in 2008, according to
the Internal Revenue Service, a figure down slightly from the year before.
The agency reported that 276,300 current and retired federal employees owed
$3,042,200,000 in 2008, down from $3,586,784,725 in unpaid taxes in 2007. The
list includes White House and Congressional staffers and current and former
active-duty and reserve members of the military.
The agency provides an updated snapshot of tax habits among current and former
federal workers each year and provides copies of the list to reporters upon
request. The agency does not provide similar snapshots of the total number of
all American delinquent taxpayers.
RELATED: List of delinquent federal employees by department
In a sign that the IRS practices what it preaches, the Treasury Department,
which includes the tax-collecting agency, had the best compliance rate of
Cabinet-level departments. Less than 1 percent of employees were delinquent
with their taxes.
The Department of Housing and Urban Development fared worst among Cabinet
departments, with slightly more than 4 percent of workers owing a combined
$4.76 million.
Among all government agencies and departments, the U.S. Postal Service had the
greatest number of tax delinquents. The government's second-largest employer
had 28,913 workers -- or just under 4 percent -- owing roughly $298 million.
Fifty White House staffers owed a combined $812,917 in 2008, the IRS said. Up
on Capitol Hill, slightly more than 4 percent of House staffers owed Uncle Sam
$5.8 million, compared to 3.2 percent of Senate employees that owed almost $2.5
million.
More than 2 percent of military reservists and national guardsman owed $198.5
million, while just less than 2 percent of active duty service members owed
$102.4 million.
The tax information was first reported Monday morning by Washington's WTOP
radio.

=======
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-srv/politics/documents/federal-tax.html

(Eldritch/3452) Rice regrets how US prioritized rebuilding in Iraq

Eldritch@rss.iscabbs.com — Fri, 19 Mar 2010 12:56:00 -0500

Rice regrets how US prioritized rebuilding in Iraq
Fri Mar 19, 7:51 am ET

HONG KONG  Former U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice said Friday she
would "many times over liberate" Iraq again, but she regretted the Bush
administration failed to work closer with Iraqis to rebuild the war-torn
country.

Rice, speaking at the Chinese University of Hong Kong, said she believed
history would eventually vindicate many of the decisions made during the
presidency of George W. Bush.

"I would many times over liberate Iraq again from Saddam Hussein," Rice said.
"I think he was a danger to the Middle East."

However, she suggested the U.S. government failed to understand "how broken
Iraq was as a society" and should have focused its rebuilding efforts outside
of Baghdad, the capital.

"We tried to rebuild Iraq from Baghdad out, and we really should have rebuilt
Iraq from outside Baghdad in," she said.

"We should have worked with the tribes, worked in the provinces," she said,
adding that smaller projects should have been favored over big ones.

"That's something that in retrospect that we finally got right" several years
after the 2003 invasion. "And it's one reason I think Iraq has a chance."

Rice served Bush as national security adviser and later as America's chief
diplomat. She now is a senior fellow at the Hoover Institution public policy
research group at Stanford University.

She is en route to the Chinese island of Hainan for the Boao Forum, an annual
conference where executives hobnob with global leaders, early next month.

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20100319/ap_on_re_as/as_hong_kong_condoleezza_rice

(PsychoSy/3451) Senate Liberals Dissed on Health Bill

PsychoSy@rss.iscabbs.com — Fri, 12 Mar 2010 14:06:00 -0600

Senate Liberals Dissed on Health Bill
----------------------
March 11, 2010
By Emily Pierce and David M. Drucker
Roll Call Staff

http://www.rollcall.com/issues/55_102/news/44084-1.html?type=printer_friendly

Senate Democratic leaders are concerned about the amount of mischief their own
Members could create if or when a health care reconciliation bill comes up for
debate. And sources said some supporters of creating a public insurance option
are privately worried that they will be asked to vote against the idea during
debate on the bill, which could occur before March 26.

Majority Whip Dick Durbin (D-IL) acknowledged Wednesday that liberals may be
asked to oppose any amendment, including one creating a public option, to
ensure a smooth ride for the bill. "We have to tell people, 'You just have to
swallow hard' and say that putting an amendment on this is either going to stop
it or slow it down, and we just can't let it happen," Durbin, who supports a
public option, told reporters. "We have to move this forward. We know the
Republicans are likely to offer a lot of amendments, and some of them may be
appealing to Democrats, but we have to urge them to stick with the bill."

Sen. Tom Carper (D-DE), a leading centrist, suggested Democrats should be able
to avoid blowing up a reconciliation package if there is ample negotiation on
it before it hits the floor. But Carper appeared to warn his Democratic
colleagues that any move to amend the reconciliation bill, however noble the
policy aims, would only lead to chaos.

"If we have an agreement with the administration and the leadership of Senate
Democrats and House Democrats on what should be in the reconciliation package,
I'm sure I could think of plenty of ways to change it, and I'm sure every one
of my colleagues could as well," Carper said. "But that's a slippery slope I
don't think we want to get on."

Carper said this week he would likely vote against the public option if it was
offered to a reconciliation bill.

"For those who somehow suggest this is going to happen now, they're just
deluding people," Carper said.

But prominent Senate liberals said they are determined to put the public option
question to the test when reconciliation comes to the floor.

"I think we have got to do everything that we can to get a public option so
that is absolutely something ... somebody can and should do," said Sen. Bernie
Sanders (I-VT.), who caucuses with Democrats.

Sanders said liberals have not decided who would offer such an amendment.
However, Sen. Michael Bennet (D-CO) led a petition drive to get Senators to
sign a letter pledging their support for it. The Progressive Change Campaign
Committee, which has been tracking the letter signatories and Member
statements, projects 41 firm votes in favor of the public option.
---

(More at the link)

(Capa/3450) Awesome.

Capa@rss.iscabbs.com — Wed, 10 Mar 2010 17:06:00 -0600

Awesome.

(Gespalder/3449) http://www.sacbee.com/static/weblogs/capitolalertlatest/2010/03/...

Gespalder@rss.iscabbs.com — Mon, 08 Mar 2010 19:27:00 -0600

http://www.sacbee.com/static/weblogs/capitolalertlatest/2010/03/sen-roy-ashburn
..html

THE LATEST ON CALIFORNIA POLITICS AND GOVERNMENT
March 8, 2010
Sen. Roy Ashburn: 'I'm gay'
Republican Sen. Roy Ashburn, who has been on leave from the Senate since his
DUI arrest last week, confirmed today that he is gay.
"I'm gay," Ashburn told KERN radio host Inga Barks in an interview this
morning. "Those are the words that have been so difficult for me for so long."
Ashburn's announcement follows reports that Ashburn was leaving a gay club
before he was arrested for driving under the influence last week.
The Bakersfield Republican, who has consistently voted against gay-rights
measures, said his votes were a reflection of how the majority of voters in his
conservative district would have wanted him to vote.
Ashburn, who is divorced, has been on personal leave in the Senate since last
week's arrest. He is expected to return today.
Benjamin Lopez, lobbyist for the Traditional Values Coalition, said, "I don't
know why Roy strayed. But he said that the Rev. Louis Sheldon, founder of the
coalition, was open to help Ashburn with counseling.
Lopez stood with Ashburn at a rally in Bakersfield in 2005 to support a state
proposal to block gay marriage as well as to get rid of domestic partnerships
with any benefits of marriage.
"I think it's sad more than hypocritical," Lopez said. "We're not in Roy's
head. We don't know what is he thinking. We hope he comes to terms with
whatever is making him make a choice to be a gay man."
Geoff Kors, executive director of Equality California, a gay rights group that
sponsors many state bills, called Ashburn's comments about his voting record "a
lame excuse."
"He's blaming his constituents," Kors said. "There are legislators in the
Central Valley who have voted for LBGT (lesbian, bisexual, gay and transgender)
rights."
In a press released midday Monday, Equality California said: "We can empathize
with Senator Ashburn's long and difficult journey to admit that he is gay.
Equality California looks forward to working with the Senator to use his
experience to educate the people in his district on why he deserves the same
rights and privileges as a gay man as any other Californian.
Ashburn said on the radio show: "My votes reflect the wishes of the people in
my district. I have always felt that my faith and allegiance was to the people,
there, in the district, my constituents. And so as each of these individual
measures came before the Legislature I cast 'no' votes, usually 'no' votes,
because the measures were . . . almost always acknowledging rights or assigning
identification to homosexual persons."
Kors said: "People elected him to lead. I would be shocked to see if there is
any polling that shows that most people in his district believe that anyone
should be fired from their job because of their sexual orientation or kicked
out of public accommodations because of their sexual orientation. And yet he
voted against bills to prevent that."
Kors said that former Assemblyman Simon Salinas, D-Salinas, voted for a bill to
legalize gay marriage "and then was told he could never run for anything again.
But he went on to win a county supervisor race by 70 percent of the vote."
Kors said: "It seems that there have been a number of politicians who seem so
concerned that it (being gay) will impact their careers that they not only
hide, they vote against LBGT rights to squash rumors about their sexual
orientation."
Lopez said Ashburn will have to "take a back seat" on the cause against
same-sex marriage. But he said if Ashburn continues in the Senate, as he
suggested during his radio interview, he should continue to cast votes
"consistent with his district."
"We thank Roy for all his votes on social issues," Lopez said.

(This post was updated with Kors' comments at 11:30 a.m. and Lopez's at 1 p.m.
Susan Ferriss of The Bee Capitol Bureau contributed to this report.)
Posted by Torey Van Oot

(Eldritch/3448) Palin says her family went to Canada for health care when she wa...

Eldritch@rss.iscabbs.com — Mon, 08 Mar 2010 12:54:00 -0600


Palin says her family went to Canada for health care when she was young

Updated 12:32 p.m.
Former Alaska governor Sarah Palin, a fierce opponent of Democratic health-care
reform efforts who has said America under President Obama is headed toward
socialism, told a Canadian audience her family used to go to Canada to get
medical care when she was growing up.

"My first five years of life we spent in Skagway, Alaska, right there by
Whitehorse. Believe it or not -- this was in the '60s -- we used to hustle on
over the border for health care that we would receive in Whitehorse. I remember
my brother, he burned his ankle in some little kid accident thing and my
parents had to put him on a train and rush him over to Whitehorse and I think,
isn't that kind of ironic now. Zooming over the border, getting health care
from Canada," Palin said a speech Saturday night, according to the Calgary
Herald.

Palin spoke before a paying audience of 1,200 in Calgary, with tickets costing
between $150 and $200, the Medicine Hat News of Medicine Hat, Alberta,
reported.

Whitehorse, in the Yukon, Canada, is north of Skagway.

Palin has also told an alternate version of the story that had her family
traveling south by ferry to Juneau from Skagway for treatment of her brother's
burned foot, rather than to Canada, according to a 2007 report posted by the
Skagway News.

http://voices.washingtonpost.com/44/2010/03/palin-says-she-used-canadian-h.html

(Gespalder/3447) http://www.sacbee.com/2010/03/06/2586591/roy-ashburn-in-firestor...

Gespalder@rss.iscabbs.com — Sat, 06 Mar 2010 12:02:00 -0600

http://www.sacbee.com/2010/03/06/2586591/roy-ashburn-in-firestorm-over.html


State Sen. Roy Ashburn, a divorced father, has refused to discuss rumors he was
gay.

Sen. Roy Ashburn in firestorm over DUI arrest, sexual orientation

By Susan Ferriss
sferriss@sacbee.com
Published: Saturday, Mar. 6, 2010 - 12:00 am | Page 3A
A prominent Republican state senator arrested on suspicion of drunken driving
this week in Sacramento has taken a personal leave through Sunday from the
upper house.
State Sen. Roy Ashburn of Bakersfield, a 14-year veteran of the Legislature,
was arrested at about 2 a.m. Wednesday while driving his state-issued car near
the state Capitol.
Ashburn later issued a written apology, but the arrest catapulted his personal
life into a very public spotlight.
A Sacramento TV station reported that unnamed sources saw Ashburn at a gay bar
the night before the arrest, setting off a media frenzy that stretched from the
blogosphere to late-night television talk shows.
Ashburn's hometown paper, the Bakersfield Californian, printed excerpts from an
unpublished interview he did last year in which the divorced father declined to
address rumors he was gay.
"Why would that be anyone's business?" he told a columnist. "I think there are
certain subjects that are simply not relevant, and this is one of them."
But in a world where activists have the ability to instantly hold politicians
accountable for any inconsistency between their public actions and personal
behavior, some say sexual orientation is entirely relevant.
West Sacramento Mayor Christopher Cabaldon, an openly gay Democrat, told The
Bee and other media he had spotted Ashburn at other gay bars in Sacramento in
recent months.
"I don't think it's a scandal for an elected official to be gay," Cabaldon
said. "But if you're going to vote against every piece of hate-crimes
legislation (to protect gays), that's hypocritical."
In the interview, Ashburn said he didn't believe he had been a staunch anti-gay
activist, insisting the way he had voted on social issues reflected his
constituents' views.
Ashburn, who is in his last year representing a bedrock conservative region,
organized a Traditional Values Coalition rally in Bakersfield in 2005 to
support a proposed constitutional amendment that year to prohibit gay marriage.
Ashburn also touted his support for Proposition 22, a gay-marriage ballot
initiative, calling himself a co-sponsor at the 2000 measure.
Equality California, a gay rights group, gave Ashburn a "zero percent" for his
2009 voting record.
Ashburn voted against bills that included expanding California's mental health
services for gay youths and measures to protect gay prisoners from violence --
which won some GOP votes -- and creating a day to honor slain gay activist
Harvey Milk.
An Ashburn aide said Friday the senator had no response to questions about his
sexual orientation, adding that aides didn't know if Ashburn would appear
Monday for a Senate floor session.
State GOP activist Jon Fleischman, who runs the conservative Flash Report Web
site, said Ashburn's career in politics was already damaged because he angered
GOP loyalists by voting for a tax increase last year.
"That puts you in a coffin," Fleischman said. If Ashburn is gay, he said, "it's
like hammering nails into it."
B) Copyright The Sacramento Bee. All rights reserved.
Call Susan Ferriss, Bee Capitol Bureau, (916) 321-1267.

(Turanga Leela/3446) http://www.boston.com/news/nation/washington/articles/2010/03/05...

Turanga Leela@rss.iscabbs.com — Fri, 05 Mar 2010 23:46:00 -0600

http://www.boston.com/news/nation/washington/articles/2010/03/05/delahunt_wont_
seek_reelection/

http://tinyurl.com/ygr7sht

Delahunt won't seek reelection

WASHINGTON - Representative William D. Delahunt will announce today that he
will not seek reelection to Congress, ending a nearly 40-year career in elected
office and giving Republicans hope of capturing the district, which stretches
from Cape Cod to the South Shore.

(Capa/3445) Anti-Gay Lawmaker Reportedly at Gay Club Before DUI Arrest

Capa@rss.iscabbs.com — Thu, 04 Mar 2010 13:32:00 -0600

Anti-Gay Lawmaker Reportedly at Gay Club Before DUI Arrest

http://www.foxnews.com/politics/2010/03/04/anti-gay-lawmaker-reportedly-gay-clu
b-dui-arrest/

A California state senator who reportedly has voted against every gay rights
measure since he took office eight years ago was charged with driving under the
influence on Wednesday, reportedly after leaving a gay nightclub in Sacramento.

A California state senator who reportedly has voted against every gay rights
measure since he took office eight years ago was charged with driving under the
influence on Wednesday, reportedly after leaving a gay nightclub in Sacramento.

Sen. Roy Ashburn, a Republican from Bakersfield, was spotted driving
erratically at about 2 a.m. Wednesday in downtown Sacramento, officials said.
He was arrested after taking a sobriety test, and he was taken to Sacramento
County Jail, where he was administered a blood-alcohol test prior to being
booked and released.

He was charged with two misdemeanors: driving under the influence and driving
with a blood alcohol level of .08 percent or higher.

Ashburn, a 55-year-old father of four, apologized for his actions.

"I am deeply sorry for my actions and offer no excuse for my poor judgment," he
said in a statement. "I accept complete responsibility for my conduct and am
prepared to accept the consequences for what I did. I am also truly sorry for
the impact this incident will have on those who support and trust me -- my
family, my constituents, my friends, and my colleagues in the Senate."

He was arrested after leaving Faces, a gay nightclub in midtown Sacramento,
according to cbs13.com. A male passenger, who was not identified as a lawmaker,
was also in the car but was not detained, the TV station reported.

(Egregious/3444) http://content.usatoday.com/communities/onpolitics/post/2010/02/...

Egregious@rss.iscabbs.com — Fri, 26 Feb 2010 10:03:00 -0600

http://content.usatoday.com/communities/onpolitics/post/2010/02/ap-ny-gov-pater
son-will-drop-out-of-race/1

AP: NY Gov. David Paterson will drop out of race

New York Gov. David Paterson will drop his bid for a full term, the Associated
Press and Politico report, citing unnamed sources.

(Turanga Leela/3443 Forum Moderator) ENOUGH. The op-eds need to be deleted before I have to delete ...

Turanga Leela@rss.iscabbs.com — Wed, 24 Feb 2010 23:51:00 -0600

ENOUGH.   The op-eds need to be deleted before I have to delete them
again.  Go back and delete, please.

Also, two completely off-topic posts have been deleted. Consider this post your
notification.

(Turanga Leela/3441) ENOUGH. The op-eds need to be deleted before I have to delete ...

Turanga Leela@rss.iscabbs.com — Wed, 24 Feb 2010 23:49:00 -0600

ENOUGH.   The op-eds need to be deleted before I have to delete them
again.

(Eldritch/3434) Judging Stimulus by Job Data Reveals Success

Eldritch@rss.iscabbs.com — Wed, 17 Feb 2010 09:27:00 -0600

Judging Stimulus by Job Data Reveals Success
By DAVID LEONHARDT

WASHINGTON

Imagine if, one year ago, Congress had passed a stimulus bill that really
worked.

Lets say this bill had started spending money within a matter of weeks and had
rapidly helped the economy. Lets also imagine it was large enough to have had
a huge impact on jobs employing something like two million people who would
otherwise be unemployed right now.

If that had happened, what would the economy look like today?

Well, it would look almost exactly as it does now. Because those nice
descriptions of the stimulus that I just gave arent hypothetical. They are
descriptions of the actual bill.

Just look at the outside evaluations of the stimulus. Perhaps the best-known
economic research firms are IHS Global Insight, Macroeconomic Advisers and
Moodys Economy.com. They all estimate that the bill has added 1.6 million to
1.8 million jobs so far and that its ultimate impact will be roughly 2.5
million jobs. The Congressional Budget Office, an independent agency, considers
these estimates to be conservative.

Yet Im guessing you dont think of the stimulus bill as a big success. Youve
read columns (by me, for example) complaining that it should have spent money
more quickly. Or youve heard about the phantom ZIP code scandal: the fact that
a government Web site mistakenly reported money being spent in nonexistent ZIP
codes.

And many of the criticisms are valid. The program has had its flaws. But the
attention they have received is wildly disproportionate to their importance. To
hark back to another big government program, its almost as if the lasting
image of the lunar space program was Apollo 6, an unmanned 1968 mission that
had engine problems, and not Apollo 11, the moon landing.

The reasons for the stimuluss middling popularity arent a mystery. The
unemployment rate remains near 10 percent, and many families are struggling.
Saying that things could have been even worse doesnt exactly inspire. Liberals
dont like the stimulus because they wish it were bigger. Republicans dont
like it because its a Democratic program. The Obama administration hurt the
bills popularity by making too rosy an economic forecast upon taking office.

Moreover, the introduction of the most visible parts of the program  spending
on roads, buildings and the like has been a bit sluggish. Aid to states,
unemployment benefits and some tax provisions have been more successful and
account for far more of the bill. But their successes are not obvious.

Even if the conventional wisdom is understandable, however, it has
consequences. Because the economy is still a long way from being healthy,
members of Congress are now debating another, smaller stimulus bill. (Theyre
calling it a jobs bill, seeing stimulus as a dirty word.) The logical thing to
do would be to examine what worked and what didnt in last years bill.

But thats not what is happening. Instead, the debate is largely disconnected
from the huge stimulus experiment we just ran. Why? As Senator Scott Brown of
Massachusetts, the newest member of Congress, said, in a nice summary of the
misperceptions, the stimulus might have saved some jobs, but it didnt create
one new job.

The case against the stimulus revolves around the idea that the economy would
be no worse off without it. As a Wall Street Journal opinion piece put it last
year, The resilience of the private sector following the fall 2008 panic  not
the fiscal stimulus program  deserves the lions share of the credit for the
impressive growth improvement. In a touch of unintended irony, two of articles
three authors were listed as working at a research institution named for
Herbert Hoover.

Of course, no one can be certain about what would have happened in an alternate
universe without a $787 billion stimulus. But there are two main reasons to
think the hard-core skeptics are misguided above and beyond those complicated,
independent economic analyses.

The first is the basic narrative that the data offer. Pick just about any area
of the economy and you come across the stimulus bills footprints.

In the early months of last year, spending by state and local governments was
falling rapidly, as was tax revenue. In the spring, tax revenue continued to
drop, yet spending jumped during the very time when state and local officials
were finding out roughly how much stimulus money they would be receiving. This
is the money that has kept teachers, police officers, health care workers and
firefighters employed.

Then there is corporate spending. It surged in the final months of last year.
Mark Zandi of Economy.com (who has advised the McCain campaign and
Congressional Democrats) says that the Dec. 31 expiration of a tax credit for
corporate investment, which was part of the stimulus, is a big reason.

The story isnt quite as clear-cut with consumer spending, as skeptics note.
Its sharp plunge stopped before President Obama signed the stimulus into law
exactly one year ago. But the billions of dollars in tax cuts, food stamps and
jobless benefits in the stimulus have still made a difference. Since February,
aggregate wages and salaries have fallen, while consumer spending has risen.
The difference between the two some $100 billion has essentially come from
stimulus checks.

The second argument in the bills favor is the history of financial crises.
They have wreaked terrible damage on economies. Indeed, the damage tended to be
even worse than what we have suffered.

Around the world over the last century, the typical financial crisis caused the
jobless rate to rise for almost five years, according to work by the economists
Carmen Reinhart and Kenneth Rogoff. On that timeline, our rate would still be
rising in early 2012. Even that may be optimistic, given that the recent crisis
was so bad. As Ben Bernanke, Henry Paulson (Republicans both) and many others
warned in 2008, this recession had the potential to become a depression.

Yet the jobless rate is now expected to begin falling consistently by the end
of this year.

For that, the stimulus package, flaws and all, deserves a big heaping of
credit. It prevented things from getting much worse than they otherwise would
have been, Nariman Behravesh, Global Insights chief economist, says. I think
everyone would have to acknowledge thats a good thing.

So what now?

The last year has shown just as economists have long said  that aid to states
and cities may be the single most effective form of stimulus. Unlike road- or
bridge-building, it can happen in a matter of weeks. And unlike tax cuts, state
and local aid never languishes in a households savings account.

The ideal follow-up stimulus would start with that aid. It would then add on
extended jobless benefits, which also tend to be spent, as well as tax credits
carefully drafted to get businesses to hire and households to spend, like the
cash-for-clunkers program.

By this yardstick, the $154 billion bill that the House passed in December is
decent. It includes $27 billion in state and local aid, $79 billion for jobless
benefits and other safety nets, and $48 billion in infrastructure spending.

The smaller bills being considered by the Senate are worse. They may end up
with no state aid at all, and their tax credits sound better  with promises to
help the long-term unemployed and small businesses  than they are. The economic
impact of the Senate bill, at this point, is starting to look very small, Mr.
Behravesh says.

Given what people have been saying about a successful stimulus bill, just
imagine what theyll say about one that doesnt accomplish much.

http://www.nytimes.com/2010/02/17/business/economy/17leonhardt.html?pagewanted=
print

(Gespalder/3433) http://economictimes.indiatimes.com/news/news-by-industry/et-cet...

Gespalder@rss.iscabbs.com — Mon, 15 Feb 2010 05:38:00 -0600

http://economictimes.indiatimes.com/news/news-by-industry/et-cetera/Obama-appoi
nts-Indian-origin-lawyer-as-US-Envoy-to-OIC/articleshow/5574044.cms

Obama appoints Indian-origin lawyer as US Envoy to OIC
15 Feb 2010, 0003 hrs IST, PTI

WASHINGTON: President Barack Obama has named an Indian-origin Muslim lawyer as
the new special envoy to the OIC to repair America's relations with the Islamic
world, a key element of his foreign policy.

A White House lawyer, Rashad Hussain was nominated as he had played a key role
in developing partnerships with the Muslim world, Obama said.

Hussain is entrusted with deepening and expanding the partnerships with Muslims
across the world ever since Obama's speech in Cairo last June, White House
announced yesterday.

In his message through a a video conference to the US-Islamic World Forum in
Doha, Qatar, Obama called Hussain "an accomplished lawyer and a close and
trusted member of my White House staff," who would strengthen his policy of
outreach to the world's Muslims.

"We've held thousands of events and town halls... in the United States and
around the world... And I look forward to continuing the dialogue during my
visit to Indonesia next month," he added.

"I'm proud to announce today that I am appointing my Special Envoy to the OIC
-- Rashad Hussain," Obama said about the 31-year-old, whose parents are
naturalised citizens from India and live in Plano, Texas.

"As a hafiz (someone who has memorised the holy Islamic text) of the Qur'an, he
is a respected member of the American Muslim community, and I thank him for
carrying forward this important work," Obama said about Hussain, presently the
Deputy Associate Counsel to him.

(Eldritch/3432) Joe the Plumber goes off on McCain, says he 'screwed up my life'

Eldritch@rss.iscabbs.com — Sun, 14 Feb 2010 23:39:00 -0600


Joe the Plumber goes off on McCain, says he 'screwed up my life'
By Eric Zimmermann - 02/14/10 11:12 AM ET

Joe the Plumber is no longer a fan of either Sarah Palin or John McCain, it
seems.

Joe, also known as Sam Wurzelbacher, told an audience in Pennsylvania this week
that McCain "is no public servant."

"McCain was trying to use me," Wurzelbacher said, according to public radio
correspondent Scott Detrow. "I happened to be the face of middle Americans. It
was a ploy."

"I dont owe him s...," Wurzelbacher continued. "He really screwed my life up,
is how I look at it."

In fact, Wurzelbacher's dislike for McCain is so strong that he no longer
supports Sarah Palin simply because Palin will campaign for McCain's
re-election.

As for Obama: "I think his ideology is un-American, but hes one of the more
honest politicians. At least he told us what he wanted to do."
Source:
http://thehill.com/blogs/blog-briefing-room/news/81035-joe-the-plumber-tears-in
to-john-mccain

(Capa/3431) Woo!

Capa@rss.iscabbs.com — Thu, 11 Feb 2010 19:04:00 -0600

Woo!

Obama polling well.
http://www.nytimes.com/2010/02/12/us/politics/12poll.html?hp

(Miser/3430) Anti-Tea Party Web Site Part of Scheme to Funnel Funds

Miser@rss.iscabbs.com — Wed, 10 Feb 2010 10:42:00 -0600

Anti-Tea Party Web Site Part of Scheme to Funnel Funds
By Joseph Abrams  - FOXNews.com

A new Web site targeting the tea parties is a part of a complex network of
money flowing from the mountainous coffers of the country's biggest labor
unions and trickling slowly into political slush funds for Democratic
activists.

A seemingly grassroots organization that's mounted an online campaign to
counter the tea party movement is actually the front end of an elaborate scheme
that funnels funds -- including sizable labor union contributions -- through
the offices of a prominent Democratic party lawyer.

A Web site popped up in January dedicated to preventing the tea party's
"radical" and "dangerous" ideas from "gaining legislative traction," targeting
GOP candidates in Illinois for the firing squad.

"This movement is a fad," proclaims TheTeaPartyIsOver.org, which was
established by the American Public Policy Center (APPC), a D.C.-based campaign
shop that few people have ever heard of.

But a close look reveals the APPC's place in a complex network of money flowing
from the mountainous coffers of the country's biggest labor unions into
political slush funds for Democratic activists.

Here's how it works: What appears like a local groundswell is in fact the
creation of two men -- Craig Varoga and George Rakis, Democratic Party
strategists who have set up a number of so-called 527 groups, the non-profit
election organizations that hammer on contentious issues (think Swift Boats,
for example).

Varoga and Rakis keep a central mailing address in Washington, pulling in soft
money contributions from unions and other well-padded sources to engage in what
amounts to a legal laundering system. The money -- tens of millions of dollars
-- gets circulated around to different states by the 527s, which pay for TV
ads, Internet campaigns and lobbyist salaries, all while keeping the hands of
the unions clean -- for the most part.

The system helps hide the true sources of funding, giving the appearance of
locally bred opposition in states from Oklahoma to New Jersey, or in the case
of the Tea Party Web site, in Illinois.

And this whitewash is entirely legal, say election law experts, who told
FoxNews.com that this arrangement more or less the norm in Washington.

"It's not illegal but it is, I think, dishonest on the part of the
organizations," said Paul Ryan, a legal counsel at the Campaign Legal Center.
"And there's a reason they do it: they know voters don't like outsiders coming
in to sway the vote."

Calls and e-mails to the Maryland-based consultant firm Independent Strategies,
run by Varoga and Rakis, were not returned.

Outside of that firm, the center of their activity appears to be a single
office in Southeast D.C. -- 300 M Street, Suite 1102 -- which plays host to a
sprawling political shell game they have established.

Public records show at least seven political shops listed in Suite 1102, most
of which are essentially clones of one another, but all of which have offered
money -- from measly thousands to game-changing millions -- in state-level
elections across the country:

-The American Public Policy Committee     Donations | IRS forms
-Patriot Majority                                                 Donations |
IRS forms
-Citizens for Progress                                     Donations | IRS
forms
-Oklahoma Freedom Fund                             Donations | IRS forms
-Mid Atlantic Leadership Fund                       Donations | IRS forms
-Public Security Now                                        Donations | IRS
forms
-Pioneer Majority                                               Donations | IRS
forms
-Bluegrass Freedom Fund                             Donations | IRS forms

The APPC, which developed the anti-tea party ads, has gotten all of its money
for 2010 from Patriot Majority and from Citizens for Progress, which is also
called Patriot Majority West.

Patriot Majority West sent them $25,000 in January, and Patriot Majority added
another $5,000. The groups, both run by Varoga and Rakis, also swap hundreds of
thousands of dollars between themselves, money often buttressed by gifts from
Patriot Majority Midwest, seen above as the Oklahoma Freedom Fund.

The confusing naming system is intentional, say election law experts, who
generally disapprove of the practice.

"I do take issue with and have long complained about groups that shield
particular special interests with innocuous-sounding names like ... 'Americans
for America,'" said Ryan. "That type of naming of an organization, I believe,
is specifically intended to obscure the true sources of funding of special
interest groups behind political activity."

These three Patriot Majority groups also send checks to Independent Strategies,
the strategy firm run by Varoga and Rakis. And some of the 527s have sent money
to VR Strategies, another firm run in part by and named after Varoga.

The most recent backers of the Patriot Majority and Patriot Majority West,
which helped fund the APPC and thus the Tea Party site, form a veritable Who's
Who of the country's top labor unions: the Service Employees International
Union, Change to Win, the Communications Workers of America, the National
Education Association, the Teamsters Union, the United Food & Commercial
Workers Union and others besides.

But by far the largest donations have come from a collection of unionized
government workers, the American Federation of State, County and Municipal
Employees (AFSCME) -- which in 2008 alone donated $5.8 million to Patriot
Majority and another $4.1 million to Patriot Majority Midwest.

Using this arrangement, Varoga and Rakis are managing what NPR called a
"never-ending pot of union money" that they dispense among the 527s they run,
which in turn pay for ads in hotly contested election districts.

That means that taxpayer dollars, sent up as union dues, have been going to
fund a host of Democratic causes and help quash the tea party movement.

What's more, Varoga and Rakis are not actually present in Suite 1102. That is
the office of their lawyer, Joseph Sandler, a longtime general counsel to the
Democratic National Committee.

Sandler, whose firm and trust account raked in over $500,000 in Democratic
party money in 2009 alone, told Fox News that there was nothing irregular in
their setup.

"That's common practice," said Sandler, a renowned expert on election law who
served as general counsel to the Democratic National Committee until February
2009, and whose firm, Sandler Reiff & Young, continues to work for both the
Democratic party and numerous left-wing 527 groups.

Sandler noted that political committees and groups are often run by multiple
people and don't have a central office, but need a place where they can be in
ongoing contact with the IRS and other federal agencies that track election
funds.

"It's very common for a law firm to give their address ... as the official
address for the organization where correspondence can be received," he said.

It has the effect of confusing the ultimate sources of election funding, but
also serves an important practical end, say election law experts.

"As a practical matter there's not a huge universe of lawyers in the United
States that know political law all that well and most of them are here in D.C.,
said Ryan, of the Campaign Legal Center. "It's not uncommon for political
organizations to be using lawyers in D.C. or starters, even if they're all over
the country."

It is not clear whether TheTeaPartyIsOver.org is the start of a larger campaign
run by Varoga and Rakis to target tea party activists. Additional attempts to
reach Varoga at a California number were unsuccessful. A staffer answering the
phone in Varoga's Oakland office last week told FoxNews.com that he was
unavailable for comment and hung up.

Source:
http://www.foxnews.com/politics/2010/02/09/anti-tea-party-web-site-scheme-funne
l-funds/

Short:
http://tinyurl.com/y8mj9hd

(Gespalder/3429) http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/nation/wire/sns-ap-us-pa...

Gespalder@rss.iscabbs.com — Fri, 05 Feb 2010 01:17:00 -0600

http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/nation/wire/sns-ap-us-palin-property-ta
xes,0,7699231.story?track=rss&utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaig
n=Feed%3A+latimes%2Fmostviewed+%28L.A.+Times+-+Most+Viewed+Stories%29

Records show that cabins on Sarah Palin's Alaska properties weren't noted in
tax assessments

FILE - In this Sept. 3, 2008 file photo, Republican vice presidential
candidate, Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin, pumps her fist during her speech at the
Republican National Convention in St. Paul, Minn. Records show that Sarah Palin
hasn't paid any property taxes on cabins that have been built on two
backcountry plots partially owned by the former Alaska governor. There are no
tax assessments for the two-story, house-sized cabins, a workshop and a sauna
spotted Thursday Feb. 4, 2010, in an aerial survey. Property taxes totaling
$156.13 were paid on the land in 2009 _ but that bill did not include anything
for the structures because the local assessor didn't know about the new
construction nearly 100 miles north of Anchorage. (AP Photo/Ron Edmonds, file)
(Ron Edmonds, AP / September 3, 2008)

RACHEL D'ORO Associated Press Writer
February 4, 2010 | 8:39 p.m.

ANCHORAGE, Alaska (AP) -- Records show that Sarah Palin hasn't paid any
property taxes on cabins that have been built on two backcountry plots
partially owned by the former Alaska governor.

There are no tax assessments for the two-story, house-sized cabins, a workshop
and a sauna spotted Thursday in an aerial survey. Property taxes totaling
$156.13 were paid on the land in 2009 -- but that bill did not include anything
for the structures because the local assessor didn't know about the new
construction nearly 100 miles north of Anchorage.

The issue has attracted the attention of local tax officials who conducted the
scheduled aerial survey of properties in the area on Thursday. The area is
accessible only by floatplane, snowmobile or four-wheeler.

Dave Dunivan, the assessor for the Matanuska-Susitna Borough, said such a
survey had not been done there in five years, before construction started on
the cabins.

Palin's attorney, Thomas Van Flein, said it is not the responsibility of
property owners to report structures that go up on their land.

"It is the borough's job," he said in an e-mail. "The property taxes on this
parcel are fully paid and have never been delinquent."

Dunivan, however, said owners are required by state law to report any omissions
or errors in their tax assessments. Often, the borough learns of new structures
in remote areas when neighbors report them. Dunivan said no one has called the
borough on the Palin lots, among many in the region to add structures, the
flyover survey found.

"Typically, if there are errors, we hear from owners," he said. "If there are
omissions, we don't. Every once in a while we do have someone call us about
omissions, but not often."

The properties are located along Safari Lake -- an undeveloped area located
near Denali State Park -- and owned by Palin, her husband Todd and a family
friend, Scott Richter. According to borough records, the tax assessments are
sent to Richter's post office box in Big Lake.

There is no phone listing in Alaska for Richter and he could not be reached
Thursday.

The matter first appeared Wednesday on an Alaska political blog site, Mudflats,
which has been critical of Palin, the 2008 Republican vice presidential
candidate. Palin resigned as governor last summer and has since written a
best-selling memoir. She signed on as a Fox News commentator last month.

"This is another blatant attempt to manufacture a story about the Palins
following more defamatory swipes," Palin's spokeswoman Meghan Stapleton said in
an e-mail to The Associated Press.

Dunivan said a photo of a large cabin posted on the Mudflats site -- and later
reported on the Huffington Post Web site ---- is one of the structures spotted
in the flyover.

Van Flein said work is still being done on the cabins, but both are usable. He
said construction began on one of the cabins in 2006, but he didn't know when
construction started on the second one.

The two parcels of land, separated by one lot, total 25 acres and had a
combined value of $30,000 in 2007 through 2009, according to assessment
records. Dunivan said the data collected in Thursday's survey will be
calculated into 2010 assessment notices being mailed out at the end of the
month.

It's too soon to estimate how much the structures will increase the taxes due,
Dunivan said.

The cabins are the size of large homes rather than the average backcountry
cabin, but square footage estimates were not immediately available.

Local real estate broker, Claus Steigler, said most cabins in the area are
closer to the 500-square-foot range. Because they are in a hard to reach area,
they generally sell for only $40,000 to $60,000, including the land.

One large log cabin reachable by road is listed at $229,000, but it's still on
the market after two years, Steigler said.

(Miser/3427) Health care moves to back burner

Miser@rss.iscabbs.com — Fri, 29 Jan 2010 11:06:00 -0600

Health care moves to back burner
By CARRIE BUDOFF BROWN - 1/28/10 8:11 PM EST

Democrats in Congress said all the right things Thursday to show they were
dutifully heeding the president's call to keep plugging away on a health reform
bill.

Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid of Nevada convened a strategy session with
his top lieutenants. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi of California pledged to leap
over any hurdle that got in her way.

But listen more closely, and it's clear health care is already falling to the
back of the legislative line, behind the Democrats' feverish new focus on jobs
and the economy.

Health care reform didn't even make the cut when New York Sen. Chuck Schumer
ticked off the party's priorities Thursday.

"The president said jobs is the No. 1 issue before us in 2010," Schumer said at
a news conference. "In fact, the three top issues on our agenda this year are
jobs, jobs and jobs."

Health care activists who hoped to wake up Thursday to find President Barack
Obama's State of the Union address had rallied Democrats behind his plan
instead found that the party seemed as confused and divided as it was before
the speech -- perhaps more, now that lawmakers know they may not be able to
count on Obama to lead the way.

In fact, Louisiana Sen. Mary Landrieu downgraded the chances of passing a
health care reform bill after the speech, saying Thursday morning that it was
on "life support" without any clear direction from the president.

It was only a few weeks ago that Democrats were pushing hard -- remember the
Christmas Eve morning Senate vote? -- to get a bill to Obama before Wednesday's
speech. The speech has come and gone, and so has any sense of urgency among
Senate Democrats to pass a bill any time soon.

Senate Finance Committee Chairman Max Baucus of Montana said Democrats would
not abandon health care, adding that it would get done "before spring, summer"
-- a timeline he later said he shouldn't have specified. And earlier in the
day, Reid would provide only a nebulous target for passing a bill, committing
to do it "this year."

"This is not a one-year Congress; this is a two-year Congress, and we have had
a number of extensive meetings of trying to come up with a path forward," Reid
said. "We are going to move forward on health care. We're going to do health
care reform this year. The question at this stage is, procedurally, how do we
need to get where we need to go?"

Democrats spent more than a year setting deadlines on health reform because
they knew they needed to do so. The mantra for months was that they had to pass
a bill as soon as possible, certainly before 2010, because the political will
would diminish as Election Day drew near.

Congressional aides say there is a legitimate process under way to find a way
to finish the job on health care. In Reid's meeting, senators reviewed several
options, including the use of a procedural maneuver known as reconciliation to
pass fixes to the Senate bill on a majority vote. Reconciliation is receiving
the most scrutiny, aides said, but senators are still wading through
complicated procedural and political questions to decide whether it makes the
most sense.

Read more:
http://www.politico.com/news/stories/0110/32191.html#ixzz0e1Qc7N9o

(Miser/3426) Economy grows at 5.7 pct pace, fastest since 2003

Miser@rss.iscabbs.com — Fri, 29 Jan 2010 10:43:00 -0600

Economy grows at 5.7 pct pace, fastest since 2003

Economy grows for 2nd straight quarter at better-than-expected 5.7 pct rate,
best since 2003

By Christopher S. Rugaber, AP Economics Writer , On Friday January 29, 2010,
11:27 am
WASHINGTON (AP) -- The economy's faster-than-expected growth at the end of last
year, powered by companies replenishing stockpiles, is likely to weaken as
consumers keep a lid on spending.

The 5.7 percent annual growth rate in the fourth quarter was the fastest pace
since 2003. It marked two straight quarters of growth after four quarters of
decline. Growth exceeded expectations mainly because business spending on
equipment and software jumped much more than forecast.

Still, economists expect growth to slow this year as companies finish
restocking inventories and as government stimulus efforts fade. Many estimate
the nation's gross domestic product will grow 2.5 percent to 3 percent in the
current quarter and about 2.5 percent or less for the full year.

That won't be fast enough to significantly reduce the unemployment rate, now 10
percent. Most analysts expect the rate to keep rising for several months and
remain close to 10 percent through the end of the year.

High unemployment and stagnant wage growth will likely keep consumers cautious
about spending. Wages and benefits paid to U.S. workers posted a scant gain in
the fourth quarter. And for all of last year, workers' compensation rose by the
smallest amount on records going back more than a quarter-century.

The economic recovery could falter if consumers, who account for 70 percent of
economic activity, lack the income to ramp up spending.

"That's why there's so much hand-wringing right now," said Brian Bethune, chief
U.S. financial economist for IHS Global Insight. "Can the economy really
sustain this? That's the big question mark sitting out there."

With hiring still weak, President Barack Obama has stepped up his focus on job
creation. On Friday, he will outline the specifics of a proposal to provide tax
cuts to small businesses that hire new workers. He touted the plan in his State
of the Union address earlier this week.

The goal is "to encourage businesses to respond to rising demand and output by
taking the plunge and hiring new workers again," said Christina Romer, Obama's
top economic advisor.

About 60 percent of the fourth quarter's growth resulted from a sharp slowdown
in the reduction of inventories as firms began to rebuild stockpiles depleted
by the recession.

Changes to inventories added 3.4 percentage points to the fourth-quarter
growth, the Commerce Department said in its report Friday. Excluding
inventories, the economy would have grown at a 2.2 percent clip, the government
said. That's an improvement from 1.5 percent in the third quarter.

Consumer spending rose 2 percent, down from a 2.8 percent rise in the third
quarter. It added 1.4 percentage points to GDP growth.

A steep increase in exports also helped boost growth last quarter. The shipment
of goods overseas rose 18.1 percent, far outpacing a 10.5 percent rise in
imports. Net exports added 0.5 percentage point to GDP.

Government spending was actually a slight drag on growth in the fourth quarter:
A small increase in federal spending was outweighed by a drop in state and
local spending.

A drop in defense spending accounted for the decline. Federal government
spending is likely to pick up and add to growth in the first quarter, Bethune
said.

Business spending will likely boost economic growth for several quarters,
Bethune said, though not likely enough to make up for sluggish consumer
spending. Many companies are upgrading computers, cell phones and machinery as
their equipment needs to be replaced just to maintain current levels of
production.

In addition, many businesses have healthy balance sheets and don't need to pay
off the large debts that households are struggling with, Bethune added.

For now, the growing economy is benefiting companies up and down the supply
chain. Ford Motor Co. this week reported higher fourth-quarter sales and its
first annual profit in four years, as it recovers from the devastating downturn
the auto industry.

Ford's "recent success has benefited us," said Tom Schumann, general manager of
EC Kitzel & Sons Inc., a small cutting tool fabricator based in Cleveland,
Ohio.

The company, which has 30 employees, bought a new machine tool in December and
hired a new worker to run it, the company's first hire since last spring.
Still, many of the company's suppliers are struggling.

"I'm not totally convinced we're out of the woods yet," Schumann said,
referring to the economy.

Friday's report is the first of the government's three estimates of gross
domestic product and is likely to be revised. The government initially
estimated third quarter growth was 3.5 percent, which was later revised down to
2.2 percent. The next estimate will be released Feb. 26.

The report provided an upbeat end to an otherwise dismal year: The nation's
economy declined 2.4 percent in 2009, the largest drop since 1946. That's the
first annual decline since 1991.

Source:
http://finance.yahoo.com/news/Economy-likely-grew-faster-in-apf-3028347842.html
?x=0&.v=9

or...

http://tinyurl.com/ycvdr2r

(Capa/3425) Tea Party convention loses two Republican lawmakers over ethics ...

Capa@rss.iscabbs.com — Thu, 28 Jan 2010 19:13:00 -0600


Tea Party convention loses two Republican lawmakers over ethics concerns
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2010/01/28/AR2010012803565
..html

Republican Reps. Michele Bachmann (Minn.) and Marsha Blackburn (Tenn.) said
Thursday that they will not speak at a convention of "tea party" activists next
week in Nashville, as had been announced.

The two have been strong supporters of the tea-party movement, a loose
confederation of conservative activists who opposed the federal bailouts of the
financial system and auto giants GM and Chrysler, as well as President Obama's
proposed health-care overhaul.

In separate statements, released by their congressional offices, the lawmakers
said that appearing at the convention might conflict with House ethics rules.
But they also said they are concerned about how money raised from the event
will be spent.

Some activists have balked about the convention's $550 ticket price and the
$100,000 fee being paid to former Alaska governor Sarah Palin to give the
keynote address, saying the high prices are contrary to the movement's
grass-roots image and preclude many activists from attending.

(Miser/3424) U.K. Proposes $500M to Woo Taliban Off Battlefield, Into Jobs

Miser@rss.iscabbs.com — Thu, 28 Jan 2010 09:16:00 -0600

U.K. Proposes $500M to Woo Taliban Off Battlefield, Into Jobs

Britain is ready to contribute millions of dollars to a fund to buy off Taliban
gunmen who are fighting British troops in southern Afghanistan.

More than 60 delegations, from Colombia to Australia, will gather in Lancaster
House Thursday Morning to draw up an exit strategy from Afghanistan. Much of it
is based on reintegrating the Taliban rank and file, wooing the Taliban
leadership and gradually handing security to the Afghan Army and police.

The conference is expected to agree a $500 million, five-year fund for
President Karzai to "buy off" insurgents who are not ideologically committed to
destroying the West.

Downing Street confirmed that Britain will make a contribution of a "few
million." Germany has agreed to $70 million over five years and the bulk of the
money will come from the Japanese aid budget to Afghanistan, diplomats
suggested.

In return, the Afghan leader will have to agree to international monitors to
strengthen an anti-corruption campaign in his Government.

President Karzai, Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and Ban Ki Moon, the U.N.
Secretary-General, flew in Wednesday for the talks, which will be chaired by
David Miliband, the British Foreign Secretary.

Before he arrived, Karzai insisted that Afghanistan wanted to take
responsibility for its affairs as soon as possible. "Afghanistan does not want
to be a burden on the shoulder of our allies and friends," he said.

Nevertheless, foreign money and experience will be needed for the delicate
reintegration program, which is being co-ordinated by American and British
officers.

Officials believe that many young Afghan men in the south and east of the
country join the Taliban because they have little else to do. They hope that
the fund, which will be managed by President Karzai, will be used to offer them
jobs as guards and in agriculture. They do not expect the money to be used for
cash payments.

"The overwhelming majority of these people are not ideological supporters of
Mullah Omar [the fugitive Taliban leader] and Al Qaeda," Richard Holbrooke, the
U.S. special representative to Afghanistan and Pakistan, said. "Based on
interviews with prisoners, returnees, experts, there must be at least 70
percent of these people who are not fighting for anything to do with those
causes."

The Taliban, who are monitoring the conference, predicted that the approach
would fail and described the move as a trick. In a statement on their Web site,
the group said that offers of economic incentives would not draw away fighters
because the militants were not fighting for "money, property and position; but
for Islam and to end the foreign military presence".

A separate reconciliation effort will be made to bring the Taliban leadership
into the political process. The Karzai Government has been reaching to Taliban
leaders for some time and Wednesday the U.N. announced the removal of five
former senior Taleban officials from a sanctions list.

The officials delisted on Monday included the present governor of Uruzgan
province and a member of the Afghan Parliament.

Western officials want the entire blacklist, which contains 137 alleged Taliban
members, reviewed.

"That list ... should be re-examined and scrubbed down," Holbrooke said. "There
are people on it who are dead, there are people on it who should not be on it."

British officials said that the plan was to split the Taliban between an
ideologically driven hardcore and the rest.

President Karzai is understood to be keen to embrace the plan, although other
members of the Afghan Parliament expressed reservations to a delegation of MPs
last week.

Source:
http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,584129,00.html

(Gespalder/3423) http://www.eweek.com/c/a/Government-IT/Candidate-Switch-Helps-Wh...

Gespalder@rss.iscabbs.com — Wed, 27 Jan 2010 19:28:00 -0600

http://www.eweek.com/c/a/Government-IT/Candidate-Switch-Helps-Whitman-Hurts-Fio
rina-in-Calif-Races-271570/?kc=EWKNLGOV01272010STR4

Candidate Switch Helps Whitman, Hurts Fiorina in Calif. Races

By: Jeffrey Burt
2010-01-22

Ex-Congressman Tom Campbell's decision to drop his bid for California governor
and run for the Senate has given a boost to ex-eBay CEO Meg Whitman's
gubernatorial campaign, but hurt former HP CEO Carly Fiorina's run for the
Senate. Whitman has increased her lead in the race for the GOP nomination,
while dropping Fiorina into second in the Senate race. The primary election in
California is scheduled for June 8.

Former California Congressman Tom Campbell's decision Jan. 14 to drop his
candidacy for the state's governor's office and instead vie for the U.S. Senate
seat has changed the face of both races, according to recent polls.
The move has impacted the campaigns of two former CEOs of major IT companies
who are seeking election in California.
Campbell's decision has given ex-eBay CEO Meg Whitman a huge boost in her
campaign for the GOP nomination in the gubernatorial race, while knocking
former Hewlett-Packard CEO Carly Fiorina into second place for the Republican
nomination for the Senate, The Field Poll found in surveys Jan. 21 and 22.
Before leaving the campaign to replace Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger, Campbell
trailed Whitman for the GOP nomination by 14 points, and led State Insurance
Commissioner Steve Poizner by 13 points.
With Campbell out of the way, Whitman opened up a 28 point advantage over
Poizner, with 45 percent of likely Republican voters surveyed saying they
favored Whitman, The Field Poll found Jan. 22.
"With the departure [of Campbell], businesswoman Meg Whitman has opened up a
substantial lead over her lone remaining GOP rival," pollsters Mark DiCamillo
and Mervin Field said in a statement.
By contrast, Campbell's move to the Senate race knocked Fiorina into second
place in the GOP primary campaign, where 30 percent of likely Republican voters
said they would vote for the former congressman, The Field Poll said in a
release Jan. 21.
Fiorina had 25 percent of those votes, with California Assemblyman garnering 6
percent.
However, in both races, there is still a large undecided population of
voters--with 38 percent in the gubernatorial race and 39 percent in the Senate
race.
News reports out of California suggested Campbell switched races in part to
reduce the number of multimillionaires he'll have to run against from two to
one. Both Whitman and Poizner have spent millions of their own dollars in their
campaigns.
Fiorina is the only millionaire in the race for the GOP nomination for Senate.
According to The Field Poll surveys, whoever wins the GOP nomination in either
race faces a tough challenge in the general election. Incumbent Democrat Sen.
Barbara Boxer holds a 10-point lead over Campbell and a 15-point lead over
Fiorina. Boxer's lead over Fiorina remains about the same as it was before
Campbell entered the race, according to The Field Poll.
The only Democrat running for governor is ex-Gov. Jerry Brown, who holds a
10-point lead over Whitman.
In both cases, name recognition is important, according to The Field Poll.
Boxer is much better known than anyone in the GOP field, including Fiorina, and
Brown has been a political figure in California for more than 40 years.
The primary elections in California are scheduled for June 8.

(Miser/3422) Poll: Fox most trusted name in news

Miser@rss.iscabbs.com — Wed, 27 Jan 2010 09:09:00 -0600

Poll: Fox most trusted name in news

Fox is the most trusted television news network in the country, according to a
new poll out Tuesday.

A Public Policy Polling nationwide survey of 1,151 registered voters Jan. 18-19
found that 49 percent of Americans trusted Fox News, 10 percentage points more
than any other network.

Thirty-seven percent said they didn't trust Fox, also the lowest level of
distrust that any of the networks recorded.

There was a strong partisan split among those who said they trusted Fox -- with
74 percent of Republicans saying they trusted the network, while only 30
percent of Democrats said they did.

CNN was the second-most-trusted network, getting the trust of 39 percent of
those polled. Forty-one percent said they didn't trust CNN.

Each of the three major networks was trusted by less than 40 percent of those
surveyed, with NBC ranking highest at 35 percent. Forty-four percent said they
did not trust NBC, which was combined with its sister cable station MSNBC.

Thirty-two percent of respondents said they trusted CBS, while 31 percent
trusted ABC. Both CBS and ABC were not trusted by 46 percent of those polled.

"A generation ago you would have expected Americans to place their trust in the
most neutral and unbiased conveyors of news," said PPP President Dean Debnam in
his analysis of the poll. "But the media landscape has really changed, and now
they're turning more toward the outlets that tell them what they want to hear."

The telephone poll has a margin of error of plus or minus 2.8 percentage
points.

Source:
http://www.politico.com/news/stories/0110/32039.html
http://www.publicpolicypolling.com/pdf/PPP_Release_National_126.pdf

(Eldritch/3421) CIA Man Retracts Claim on Waterboarding

Eldritch@rss.iscabbs.com — Wed, 27 Jan 2010 03:43:00 -0600

CIA Man Retracts Claim on Waterboarding
A study in "enhanced reporting techniques."
BY JEFF STEIN | JANUARY 26, 2010

http://www.foreignpolicy.com/articles/2010/01/26/cia_man_retracts_claim_on_wate
rboarding


Well, it's official now: John Kiriakou, the former CIA operative who affirmed
claims that waterboarding quickly unloosed the tongues of hard-core terrorists,
says he didn't know what he was talking about.

Kiriakou, a 15-year veteran of the agency's intelligence analysis and
operations directorates, electrified the hand-wringing national debate over
torture in December 2007 when he told ABC's Brian Ross and Richard Esposito  in
a much ballyhooed, exclusive interview that senior al Qaeda commando Abu
Zubaydah cracked after only one application of the face cloth and water.

"From that day on, he answered every question," Kiriakou said. "The threat
information he provided disrupted a number of attacks, maybe dozens of
attacks."

No matter that Kiriakou wearily said he shared the anguish of millions of
Americans, not to mention the rest of the world, over the CIA's application of
the medieval confession technique.

The point was that it worked.  And the pro-torture camp was quick to pick up on
Kiriakou's claim.

"It works, is the bottom line," conservative talk show host Rush Limbaugh
exclaimed on his radio show the day after Kiriakou's ABC interview. "Thirty to
35 seconds, and it works."

A cascade of similar acclamations followed, muffling -- to this day -- the
later revelation that Zubaydah had in fact been waterboarded at least 83 times.

Had Kiriakou left out something the first time?

Now comes John Kiriakou, again, with a wholly different story. On the
next-to-last page of a new memoir, The Reluctant Spy: My Secret Life in the
CIA's War on Terror (written with Michael Ruby), Kiriakou now rather off
handedly admits that he basically made it all up.

"What I told Brian Ross in late 2007 was wrong on a couple counts," he writes.
"I suggested that Abu Zubaydah had lasted only thirty or thirty-five seconds
during his waterboarding before he begged his interrogators to stop; after
that, I said he opened up and gave the agency actionable intelligence."

But never mind, he says now.

"I wasn't there when the interrogation took place; instead, I relied on what
I'd heard and read inside the agency at the time."

In a word, it was hearsay, water-cooler talk.

"Now we know," Kiriakou goes on, "that Zubaydah was waterboarded eighty-three
times in a single month, raising questions about how much useful information he
actually supplied."

Indeed. But after his one-paragraph confession, Kiriakou adds that he didn't
have any first hand knowledge of anything relating to CIA torture routines, and
still doesn't. And he claims that the disinformation he helped spread was a CIA
dirty trick: "In retrospect, it was a valuable lesson in how the CIA uses the
fine arts of deception even among its own."

CIA spokesman Paul Gimigliano dodged that mud ball.

"While I haven't read John's book, the line about deception doesn't make any
sense," Gimigliano told me last week. "He apparently didn't know as much as he
thought he did.  That's a very different matter."

Some time ago, as it turns out, ABC quietly "updated" the story. A few
paragraphs down on the front page of the website version of its Kiriakou yarn,
it says, "see endnote."

A click or two later, Kiriakou, who later went to work for Sen. John Kerry
(D-Mass.) chairman of the Foreign Relations Committee, explains to readers:

"When I spoke to ABC News in December 2007 I was aware of Abu Zubaydah being
water boarded on one occasion. It was after this one occasion that he revealed
information related to a planned terrorist attack. As I said in the original
interview, my information was second-hand. I never participated in the use of
enhanced techniques on Abu Zubaydah or on any other prisoner, nor did I witness
the use of such techniques."

Kiriakou's insistence, however vague, that Zubaydah "revealed information
related to a planned terrorist attack" has to be taken with a soupon of salt.

As Brian Stelter, a New York Times media reporter, wrote last April, Kiriakou
"was not actually in the secret prison in Thailand where Mr. Zubaydah had been
interrogated but in the C.I.A. headquarters in Northern Virginia. He learned
about it only by reading accounts from the field."

ABC's Ross had glossed over the glaring fact in its broadcast, saying only that
Kiriakou himself "never carried out any of the waterboarding" -- which got lost
in the telling, in light of the main story line picked up by the rest of the
media.

ABC has now removed the video of its Kiriakou interview from its site. But the
headline, large photo of the CIA man, and story remain, with its opening
paragraph, "A leader of the CIA team that captured the first major al Qaeda
figure, Abu Zubaydah, says subjecting him to waterboarding was torture but
necessary." You have to dig deep to find that none of it is true.

Comments on the piece were closed last May, with a representative stating,
"[I]n times of war, those on the front line make very tough decisions and the
rights of the accused are not the ones they defend first."

After Kiriakou repeated his waterboarding-efficiency claims to the Washington
Post, the New York Times, National Public Radio, CBS, CNN, MSNBC, and other
media organizations last year, a CNN anchor called him "the man of the hour."

By some measure, evidently, he still is.

(Sheik Yerbouti/3420) http://www.nytimes.com/2010/01/27/us/politics/27landrieu.html

Sheik Yerbouti@rss.iscabbs.com — Tue, 26 Jan 2010 16:17:00 -0600

http://www.nytimes.com/2010/01/27/us/politics/27landrieu.html

4 Arrested in Phone Tampering at Landrieu Office

By LIZ ROBBINS
Four people were arrested on Monday for allegedly posing as telephone
technicians to enter the New Orleans offices of Senator Mary Landrieu,
Democrat of Louisiana, and then tampering with her phone system.

According to The New Orleans Times-Picayune, one of the men arrested was
James O'Keefe, a filmmaker who produced videos purporting to document
questionable practices at some field offices of the Association of
Community Organizations for Reform Now, known as Acorn. In the videos,
Mr. O'Keefe and an associate, Hannah Giles, posing as a pimp and a
prostitute, secretly filmed themselves seeking and receiving financial
advice for a brothel from Acorn workers.

All four of the men arrested in New Orleans, each in their mid-twenties,
were charged with entering federal property under false pretenses with
the intent of committing a felony, according to the United States
Attorney's Office for the Eastern District of Louisiana.

The men arrested were Mr. O'Keefe, 25, Joseph Basel, 24, Robert
Flanagan, 24, and Stan Dai, 24, a news release from the Department of
Justice stated.

The complaint detailed parts of the operation. Mr. Basel and Mr.
Flanagan entered the building dressed in "blue denim pants, blue work
shirts, light green fluorescent vests, tool belts, and
construction-style hard hats."

Mr. O'Keefe was, at the time, already inside, according to the
complaint, "holding a cellular phone so as to record" Mr. Basel and Mr.
Flanagan. Mr. Dai was, along with the other three men, involved in the
planning of the event.Senator Landrieu, one of the last Democratic
holdouts in the Senate to vote for the health care bill, first
negotiated an increase in Medicaid funds before she voted in favor of
the legislation.

(Turanga Leela/3419) http://www.cnn.com/2010/POLITICS/01/19/massachusetts.senate/inde...

Turanga Leela@rss.iscabbs.com — Tue, 19 Jan 2010 21:40:00 -0600

http://www.cnn.com/2010/POLITICS/01/19/massachusetts.senate/index.html?hpt=T1

Boston, Massachusetts (CNN)  -- Republican Scott Brown won a major upset
victory in Tuesday's special election for the U.S. Senate seat formerly held by
liberal Democrat Ted Kennedy.

With 89 percent of the results counted, Brown had 52 percent of the vote to 47
percent for Massachusetts Attorney General Martha Coakley, the Democratic
candidate, according to the the National Election Pool, a consortium of media
organizations including CNN. Independent candidate Joseph Kennedy, a
libertarian who is not related to the Kennedy political family of
Massachusetts, had 1 percent.

Brown's victory made real the once unthinkable prospect of a Republican filling
the seat held by Kennedy, known as the liberal lion, for almost 47 years until
his death from brain cancer in August.

Voters across Massachusetts braved winter cold and snow for an election with
high stakes -- the domestic agenda of President Obama, including his priority
of health care reform.

Brown's victory strips Democrats of the 60-seat Senate supermajority needed to
overcome GOP filibusters against future Senate action on a broad range of White
House priorities. Senate Democrats needed all 60 votes in their caucus to pass
the health care bill, and the loss of one seat imperils generating that support
again for a compromise measure worked out with the House.

In a subdued concession speech, Coakley said she expected a tough assessment of
her loss and lots of "Wednesday-morning quarterbacking" after losing a seat
held by Democrats for more than 50 years.

"I am heartbroken at the result," Coakley said, later adding: "Although I am
very disappointed, I always respect the voters' choice."

Massachusetts Secretary of State Bill Galvin said last week that certifying
Tuesday's election results could take more than two weeks -- potentially enough
time to allow congressional Democrats to pass a final health care bill before
Brown is seated.

But multiple Democratic sources said this is unlikely. Even if House and Senate
Democrats could reach a deal to meld their bills and pass them in the next
couple of weeks, there would be a huge outcry from not only Republicans, but
also an increasingly distrustful public if they appeared to be rushing it
through.

Galvin had predicted as many as 2.2 million of the state's 4.5 million
registered voters would vote -- at least double the turnout from December's
primary. In one sign of high interest, more than 100,000 absentee ballots were
requested ahead of the election, according to Galvin's spokesman, Brian McNiff.

Coakley was initially expected to easily win the race to replace Kennedy, who
made health care reform the centerpiece of his Senate career.

Until recently, Brown was underfunded and unknown statewide. In addition, no
Republican has won a U.S. Senate race in Massachusetts since 1972, and
Democrats control the governorship, both houses of the state legislature, and
the state's entire congressional delegation.

However, Brown surged in the weeks preceding Tuesday's vote and led in all the
final polls.

Democratic sources told CNN that Coakley called Brown on Tuesday night to
concede.

In a sign of the high stakes involved, the Coakley campaign held an afternoon
news conference Tuesday to complain that voters in three places received
ballots already marked for Brown.

iReport: Send us your thoughts on the special election

McNiff confirmed that the secretary of state's offices received two reports of
voters saying they got pre-marked ballots. The suspect ballots were invalidated
and the voters received new ballots, McNiff said.

Kevin Conroy, the Coakley campaign manager, said the "disturbing incidents"
raised questions about the integrity of the election. In response, the Brown
campaign issued a statement criticizing Coakley's team.

"Reports that the Coakley campaign is making reckless accusations regarding the
integrity of today's election is a reminder that they are a desperate
campaign," Daniel B. Winslow, the counsel for the Brown campaign, said in the
statement.

Obama has been both "surprised and frustrated" by the race, White House Press
Secretary Robert Gibbs said Tuesday.

Obama and former President Bill Clinton hit the campaign trail over the past
three days in an attempt to save Coakley's campaign, which observers say was
hampered by complacency and missteps.

Obama crushed Sen. John McCain in Massachusetts in 2008, beating the GOP
presidential nominee by 26 points.

"If you were fired up in the last election, I need you more fired up in this
election," Obama urged a crowd at a Coakley campaign rally on Sunday.

Vicki Kennedy, the late senator's widow, called on state Democrats to turn out
to save her husband's legacy.

"We need your help. We need your support. We need you to get out there and vote
on Tuesday," Kennedy said. "We need you to bring your neighbors. We need you to
bring your friends."

Brown, who has trumpeted his 30 years of service in the National Guard, hewed
to traditional GOP themes at the end of the campaign. He promised at a rally
Sunday that, if elected, he would back tax cuts and be tougher on terrorists
than Coakley.

He also repeated a pledge to oppose Obama's health care reform effort.

"Massachusetts wants real reform and not this trillion-dollar Obama health care
that is being forced on the American people," he said. "As the 41st
[Republican] senator I will make sure that we do it better."

Forty-four percent of Massachusetts voters cited the economy and jobs as their
top concern in a recent 7 News/Suffolk University poll. Thirty-eight percent
mentioned health care as their top concern.

Voters more concerned with the economy were split almost evenly between the two
candidates; voters more worried about health care narrowly supported Coakley.

Brown's surprising strength came in part because some independents and
conservatives who have supported Democrats in the past were having second
thoughts.

Democrats far outnumber Republicans in Massachusetts, but there are more
independents than Democrats and Republicans combined.

Several Democratic sources say multiple Obama advisers have told the party they
believed Coakley was going to lose, despite Obama's campaign appearance for
Coakley on Sunday.

Facing the possibility of Coakley's defeat, Democrats were trying to figure out
if they could pass health care reform without that crucial 60th Senate vote.

The seat is currently held by former Kennedy aide and longtime friend Paul
Kirk, who was appointed to the seat on an interim basis.

Two Democratic sources in close contact with the White House told CNN on Monday
they've urged the administration, in the event of a Brown victory, to push
House Democrats to pass the Senate's health care bill as currently written.
Doing so would prevent the plan from having to be taken up by the Senate again.

"I think the Senate bill clearly is better than nothing," House Majority Leader
Steny Hoyer, D-Maryland, said Tuesday.

A third option would be for Democrats to revisit the idea of trying to push
health care through the Senate with only 51 votes -- a simple majority.

But to do that Democrats would have to use a process known as reconciliation,
which presents technical and procedural issues that would delay the process for
a long time. A number of Democrats are eager to put the health care debate
behind them and move on to economic issues such as job creation as soon as
possible this election year.

Senate Democrats could also try again to get moderate GOP Sen. Olympia Snowe of
Maine to vote for a compromise health reform plan. Multiple Democratic sources,
however, have said they believe that is unlikely now.

(Gespalder/3418) http://www.sacbee.com/latest/story/2443182.html

Gespalder@rss.iscabbs.com — Thu, 07 Jan 2010 02:35:00 -0600

http://www.sacbee.com/latest/story/2443182.html

Sacramento County grand jury alleges city misconduct over utility funds

By Robert Lewis
rlewis@sacbee.com
Published: Wednesday, Jan. 6, 2010 - 4:11 pm
Last Modified: Wednesday, Jan. 6, 2010 - 4:22 pm
Top City of Sacramento officials failed to act on warnings that the city might
be illegally diverting money from its utility funds to cover general government
expenses.

That's according to a Sacramento County Grand Jury report released today. The
grand jury investigated the city's compliance with Proposition 218, a 1996
voter-approved initiative that was supposed to ensure local governments didn't
shift the burden of costs from the general fund to ratepayer-supported
enterprise funds such as water, garbage and other utilities. Such funding
shifts can cause ratepayers' bills to rise and reduce the money set aside to
deal with aging infrastructure.

An outside consultant issued a draft report in May 2008 warning that the city
might have broken the law and cost ratepayers more than $21.7 million since
1996, according to the grand jury. City officials ignored the report, the panel
alleges in its report.

The grand jury recommended the city get an outside attorney to review the
legality of the use of utility funds and admonish various city officials, among
other recommendations.

The grand jury has no power to enforce its recommendations. The city needs to
respond in writing by April 6.

For more coverage of the findings, check out tomorrow's Bee.