tagged w/ News and Politcs
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Let's start off with some eternal truths.
-> One hundred senators, 435 congressmen, one president, and nine Supreme Court justices equates to 545 human beings out of the 300 million are directly, legally, morally, and individually responsible for the domestic problems that plague this country.
-> Those 545 human beings spend a lot of their energy (we call it campaigning after they've been elected.) convincing you that what they did is not their fault. They cooperate in this common con regardless of party. And most of the media cooperates as well.
-> Politicians are the only people in the world who create problems and then campaign against them. Then they either make them worse or find a way to make sure the cure is worse than the original problem so that the cure also becomes a problem. That way, they can lie about what they've been doing to stave off the original problem.
-> You and I don't propose a federal budget. The president does. And congress authorizes the expenditures and the taxes to pay for them. Remember this always. Governments have no monies nor wealth that they don't first take from their subjects.
-> You and I don't have the Constitutional authority to vote on appropriations. The House of Representatives does. Then the Senate is supposed to discuss and adjust those appropriations, not rubber stamp them. Of course, Senators are no longer beholden to the State Governments because they're popularly elected just like their Representative neighbors so they've become just another spending body. That's how elections are won. Buy the votes with their own monies collected through taxes they have no voice in controlling.
-> You and I don't write the tax code, Congress does. Them with the money makes the rules.
-> You and I don't set fiscal policy, Congress does. (occasionally, if the Federal Bank isn't looking.)
-> You and I don't control monetary policy, the Federal Reserve Bank does. (which is another can of worms entirely - that problem was created by Congress in 1913)
-> No (intelligent) normal human being would have the gall of a Speaker of the House to stand up and criticize a President for creating deficits.
The Constitution, the supreme law of the land, gives sole responsibility to the House of Representatives for originating and approving appropriations and taxes.
The President only proposes a budget. He cannot force the Congress to accept it and he doesn't appropriate monies.
-> It is the speaker of the House, the leader of the majority party, and fellow House members, not the president, who approve any budget they want. If the president vetoes it, they can pass it over his veto if they can manage to agree to.
-> There are no insoluble government problems except those Congress wishes to ignore and perpetuate.
-> It seems inconceivable that a nation of 300 million has not yet replaced a mere 545 people who stand convicted -- by present facts -- of incompetence and irresponsibility. There is not a single domestic problem that is not directly traceable to those 545 people. When you fully grasp the plain truth that 545 people exercise the power of the federal government, then it must follow that what exists is what they want to exist. It would seem self evident.
-> Those 545 people, and they alone, are responsible. They, and they alone, have the power. They, and they alone, should be held accountable by the people who are their bosses. Provided the voters have the gumption to manage their own employees. We should vote all of them out of office and clean up their mess!
-> Never vote for an incumbent. Throw'em all out. The very few honest ones will have no trouble finding honest work. The rest can go on welfare.
*source: PL Booth,
http://www.blueeyeview.blogspot.comLet's start off with some eternal truths.
-> One hundred senators, 435... more
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A Queens, New York man is fighting for his life because to men chose to attack him simply because he is gay. The entire incident was caught on tape. According to David Mixner, "You morally must watch this tape and know that this is not an isolated incident."A Queens, New York man is fighting for his life because to men chose to attack him... more
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A new spike has sent the cost of the precious metal to a level not seen before. The dollar slid sharply after yesterday's report in The Independent that Gulf Arab states are secretly planning to stop trading oil in dollars, and a senior UN official said that the US should be stripped of its position as the main source of currency reserves for other countries.
The price of gold is surging on world markets amid fears that the old economic order based on the supremacy of the US dollar could be breaking down.
The decline of American economic power linked to the current global recession was implicitly acknowledged by the World Bank president Robert Zoellick. "One of the legacies of this crisis may be a recognition of changed economic power relations," he said in Istanbul ahead of meetings this week of the IMF and World Bank.
The biggest driver of global economic instability in recent years has been the determination of China to boost its export sector at all costs. Beijing's persistently large trade surpluses and manipulation to prevent its own currency from appreciating have effectively forced Western nations into running persistently large trade deficits. It was this pressure that blew up various asset bubbles that burst with such disastrous effect last year.
This sounds like a dangerous prediction of a future economic war between the US and China over Middle East oil – yet again turning the region's conflicts into a battle for great power supremacy. China uses more oil incrementally than the US because its growth is less energy efficient. The transitional currency in the move away from dollars, according to Chinese banking sources, may well be gold. An indication of the huge amounts involved can be gained from the wealth of Abu Dhabi, Saudi Arabia, Kuwait and Qatar who together hold an estimated $2.1 trillion in dollar reserves.
Sun Bigan, China's former special envoy to the Middle East, has warned there is a risk of deepening divisions between China and the US over influence and oil in the Middle East. "Bilateral quarrels and clashes are unavoidable," he told the Asia and Africa Review. "We cannot lower vigilance against hostility in the Middle East over energy interests and security."A new spike has sent the cost of the precious metal to a level not seen before. The... more
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~ 9/24/09
Americans who fail to pay the penalty for not buying insurance would face legal action from the Internal Revenue Service, according to the Joint Committee on Taxation.
The remarks Thursday from the committee's chief of staff, Thomas Barthold, seems to further weaken President Barack Obama's contention last week that the individual mandate penalty, which could go as high as $1,900, is not a tax increase.
Under questioning from Sen. John Ensign (R-Nev.), Barthold said the IRS would "take you to court and undertake normal collection proceedings."
Ensign pursued the line of questioning because he said a lot of Americans don't believe the Constitution allows the government to mandate the purchase of insurance.
"We could be subjecting those very people who conscientiously, because they believe in the U.S. Constitution, we could be subjecting them to fines or the interpretation of a judge, all the way up to imprisonment," Ensign said. "That seems to me to be a problem."
Ensign's argument , however, wasn't persuasive to the committee -- which rejected an amendment from Sen. Jim Bunning (R-Ky.) to eliminate the individual mandate.
Sen. Olympia Snowe (R-Maine) was the only Republican to vote with Democrats to preserve the mandate.
~ 9/25/09
ENSIGN RECEIVES HANDWRITTEN CONFIRMATION
http://www.politico.com/livepulse/0909/Ensign_receives_handwritten_confirmation_.html?showall
This doesn't happen often enough.
Sen. John Ensign (R-Nev.) received a handwritten note Thursday from Joint Committee on Taxation Chief of Staff Tom Barthold confirming the penalty for failing to pay the up to $1,900 fee for not buying health insurance.
Violators could be charged with a misdemeanor and could face up to a year in jail or a $25,000 penalty, Barthold wrote on JCT letterhead. He signed it "Sincerely, Thomas A. Barthold."
The note was a follow-up to Ensign's questioning at the markup.~ 9/24/09
Americans who fail to pay the penalty for not buying insurance would face... more
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From Commondreams:
"With rabid wingnuts having successfully felled Van Jones, they have set their sights on the next victim: Dr. David Michaels, Obama's eminently qualified choice to head the Occupational Safety and Health Administration. To Red State, Michaels is "a radical...who makes Van Jones look tame" and who had the audacity to "smear BPA, an innovative chemical used to make plastics stronger." To sane people, Michaels is a progressive, knowledgeable, award-winning occupational epidemiologist who wrote the highly regarded book, "Doubt is Their Product: How Industry's Assault on Science Threatens Your Health." Ergo: When the time comes, people, let's speak up."From Commondreams:
"With rabid wingnuts having successfully felled Van Jones, they... more
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WASHINGTON — The Federal Bureau of Investigation is offering a $50,000 reward for a Seattle man it says is a domestic terrorist. But that has not kept him from keeping his pilot’s license or from trying to sell his airplane online, apparently because the Transportation Security Administration has not compared the F.B.I.’s wanted list with the Federal Aviation Administration’s list of licensed pilots.
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6 Considered Threats Kept Licenses for Aviation (June 26, 2009) The pilot, Joseph Mahmoud Dibee, 31, was indicted with 10 other people in January 2006, in Eugene, Ore., on charges that they committed arson, destroyed an electric tower and other acts of domestic terrorism. Credit for those acts and others were claimed by two groups, the Animal Liberation Front and the Earth Liberation Front.
The F.B.I. says Mr. Dibee may have fled to Syria.
According to F.A.A. records, Mr. Dibee still owns a single-engine airplane, a 1977 Grumman/American Cheetah. He is also trying to sell the plane on the Internet for $39,000.
The New York Times learned that Mr. Dibee still has his license and his plane from a database processing company, Safe Banking Systems, which in June released the names of six other people with F.A.A. licenses who had been charged or convicted of terrorism crimes or otherwise were considered a threat to national security.
After the names were released, the Transportation Security Administration suspended the six licenses and said it would take steps to weed out other pilots who posed security risks from among the nearly four million names in the F.A.A.’s public database.
Last week, the Democratic and Republican leaders of the Senate Commerce Committee and its aviation subcommittee sent a letter to the Transportation Security Administration and the F. A. A. asking whether the two agencies were reconsidering which lists to use to match against the list of pilots. The letter referred to “apparent weaknesses in the existing vetting system.”WASHINGTON — The Federal Bureau of Investigation is offering a $50,000 reward for a... more
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Former President Bill Clinton told a group of public health officials in Washington Monday that as a "member of the peanut gallery" viewing the posturing over health care reform, he sees "eerily familiar" political arguments getting in the way of progress on one of the most serious issues facing the nation.
Clinton told attendees at the "Weight of the Nation" conference, sponsored by the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and other agencies, that he hadn't come to give a speech on health care reform, "since that's above my pay grade now." But as he discussed public health and the costs of obesity to families and communities, health care reform was not far from his train of thought.
The former president's perspective, and obvious frustration, come from his own failed attempt to reform the nation's health care system in 1993, as well as his work in public health since leaving office. His foundation has focused on several health initiatives, including reducing AIDS and targeting childhood obesity in poor neighborhoods through the Alliance for a Healthier Generation.
Ultimately, Clinton said, "I just want this to work."Former President Bill Clinton told a group of public health officials in Washington... more
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President Barack Obama got right to the point on health care reform and answered every GOP charge at the July 22 White House press conference.
Obama tied the need of doing health care reform now, not only to help the almost 50 million Americans who don't have health insurance, but to significantly rev up the economy.
The president, before taking questions, reminded the public of the more than trillion dollar deficit he inherited from the Bush administration and the costly and inefficient Bush Medicare plan. He also spoke about the economic crisis and what his administration inherited. All this geared, many said, to answer the cacophany of Big Business, insurance-medical complex and GOP misinformation that has echoed throughout the media these last days.
He said investment in clean energy and health care reform are key to reviving the economy and creating more jobs. He also asserted confidence in the stimulus package that would be doing its job -- by saving or creating some three million jobs -- over the next two years.
Obama said the bill he is looking forward to signing must lower costs, guarantee choice and expand coverage. He said he would not shift the cost of the health plan to the "middle class." And would not sign a bill that added to the deficit.
He said right now two-thirds of the reform plan could be paid for with current tax revenue already going to health coverage. The other one-third, he said, could be paid for by decreasing tax deductions on the wealthy. "That was my idea. But there are other ideas out there," he said. The House bill projects a surcharge on incomes of $1 million and more.
The president stressed that he would not allow the "middle class" to pay anymore. "People are already hurting," he said and referred to the growing wealth gap.
Every question but two were geared towards health reform. The president attempted to neutralize the personal and other attacks unleashed by the GOP and the insurance lobby over the last few days. "Health care reform is not about me. I have great health care," he said. It's about the American people, he said, and told many personal stories of struggling Americans with inadequate health insurance.
When asked if any of the plans would cover all the uninsured, Obama said that only the single-payer system, where everyone is enrolled would do that. But the current Congress plans he has seen and favors would cover 97-98 percent of the uninsured, he said.
When asked if the public option would deny benefits, the president said it would "largely match up" with the kind of care that Congress gets.
He also talked about a committee of doctors and health experts that could oversee what works and what doesn't in efficient and quality coverage.
It doesn't make sense to get the same test done two or three times because there wasn't coordination, he said.
The only limitations to the health plan would be things that don't make Americans healthier. He stressed decisions have to be medically and evidence based.
Right now, he said, doctors are forced to make decisions based on a fee-reimbursement system, not medical evidence or what the patient really needs.
Obama stayed firm on the need to do the reform in the next months. Without a deadline, he said, nothing gets done in this town.President Barack Obama got right to the point on health care reform and answered every... more
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President Barack Obama on Thursday traced his historic rise to power to the vigor and valor of black civil rights leaders, telling the NAACP that the sacrifice of others "began the journey that has led me here." The nation's first black president bluntly warned, though, that racial barriers persist.
"Make no mistake: The pain of discrimination is still felt in America," the president said in honoring the organization's 100th convention.
White House aides said the President had been working on the speech for two weeks. Obama urged African-Americans to be realistic about some of the difficulties they may face, but to remember that "your destiny is in your hands."
"We've got to say to our children, Yes, if you're African American, the odds of growing up amid crime and gangs are higher. Yes, if you live in a poor neighborhood, you will face challenges that someone in a wealthy suburb does not have to face. That's not a reason to get bad grades, that's not a reason to cut class, that's not a reason to give up on your education and drop out of school," he said. "No one has written your destiny for you. Your destiny is in your hands - and don't you forget that."
"No excuses. No excuses," Obama added, verging off his prepared remarks. "You get that education. All those hardships will just make you stronger, better able to compete. Yes, we can."
Painting himself as the beneficiary of the NAACP's work, Obama cited historical figures from W.E.B. DuBois to Thurgood Marshall to explain how the path to the presidency was cleared by visionaries.
Obama's remarks, steeped in his personal biography as the son of a white mother from Kansas and black father from Kenya, challenged the audience -- those in the room and those beyond -- to take greater responsibility for their own future. He told parents to take a more active role and residents to pay better attention to their schools.President Barack Obama on Thursday traced his historic rise to power to the vigor and... more
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The head of the Central Intelligence Agency has accused former Vice-President Dick Cheney of masterminding a secret plot to keep President George W Bush's mouth the f*ck closed.
Congress, the judiciary and the media were all unaware of the secret plot to keep the President locked in a small room at the White House, or cover his mouth with masking tape when he was allowed out in public.
http://thestupidtimes.blogspot.com/2009/07/cheney-ordered-cia-to-cover-bushs-mouth.htmlThe head of the Central Intelligence Agency has accused former Vice-President Dick... more
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The White House was in a celebratory mood today after President Obama effectively won a second term in office following the Alaska governor's announcement.
Democratic strategists went home and the nascent 2012 re-election campaign was wound down as the former Republican vice-presidential candidate stepped down as governor due to falling popularity at home and blatant positioning for a presidential run.
http://bit.ly/IRkBKThe White House was in a celebratory mood today after President Obama effectively won... more
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This will save your child's life - but shorten your husband's
As swine flu fears sweep across Britain, nauseating middle class parents have found a new way to imagine they are yet again in control of another public health scare.
However, efforts by Britain's mums to look superior in the face of expert scientists advising against fads and bullshit ideas are being undermined by the nation's Dads hovering in the garden throughout and drinking too much beer in the garden.
http://bit.ly/5qgiKThis will save your child's life - but shorten your husband's
As swine flu fears... more
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The announcement that the Royal Family cost British taxpayers 69p each last year has sparked calls for a national low price booze rebate system.
Turps nudgers across the country have demanded that the money is returned so they can sit in a park on a sunny day drinking piss warm grog, whilst watching the world go by and possibly shouting at it. 69p is plenty to get a quick hit of cheap strong cider or lager.
http://bit.ly/12NLVNThe announcement that the Royal Family cost British taxpayers 69p each last year has... more
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Identical Bill Number: S119
Last Session Bill Number: A933 S88
Gusciora, Reed as Primary Sponsor
Carroll, Michael Patrick as Primary Sponsor
Voss, Joan M. as Primary Sponsor
Vainieri Huttle, Valerie as Co-Sponsor
Giblin, Thomas P. as Co-Sponsor
Wagner, Connie as Co-Sponsor
Oliver, Sheila Y. as Co-Sponsor
Prieto, Vincent as Co-Sponsor
Tucker, Cleopatra G. as Co-Sponsor
Johnson, Gordon M. as Co-Sponsor
full text of this bill is in the link.....Identical Bill Number: S119
Last Session Bill Number: A933 S88
Gusciora,... more
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The National Archives -- a repository of important government documents, including the U.S. Constitution -- has lost a computer hard drive containing large volumes of Clinton administration records, including the names, phone numbers and Social Security numbers of White House staff members and visitors.The National Archives -- a repository of important government documents, including the... more
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Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger and lawmakers scrambled Wednesday to avert a financial meltdown, and public officials across California braced for annihilating cuts on the day after voters trounced their leaders' rescue plan for the state.Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger and lawmakers scrambled Wednesday to avert a financial... more
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Four men were arrested Wednesday for an alleged plot to bomb a New York synagogue and Jewish community center, according to the U.S. Attorney's office.Four men were arrested Wednesday for an alleged plot to bomb a New York synagogue and... more
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An Egyptian billionaire and former top political figure has been sentenced to death in Cairo for the 2008 murder of Lebanese pop star Suzanne Tamim.An Egyptian billionaire and former top political figure has been sentenced to death in... more
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eva2
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This is a rush transcript from "On the Record," May 18, 2009. This copy may not be in its final form and may be updated.This is a rush transcript from "On the Record," May 18, 2009. This copy may not be in... more
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