Handgun discovered on Capitol grounds
Capitol Police are investigating the discovery of a handgun on the Capitol grounds.
The handgun was located at the base of a tree along the southwest drive of the Capitol building Friday afternoon, according to department spokeswoman Sgt. Kimberly Schneider.
No suspect was seen near the handgun at the time of discovery.
Majority Leader Reid's wife diagnosed with cancer
Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid's (D-Nev.) wife has been diagnosed with cancer.
According to the Las Vegas Sun, Landra Reid has been diagnosed with Stage 2 breast cancer.
"Senator and Mrs. Reid appreciate the thoughts and concerns expressed during this time," Reid spokesman Zac Petkanas said according to the Nevada newspaper. "They ask that they be afforded the respect and privacy that any family would want."
Landra Reid is being treated in Washington, D.C.
Some Ron Paul supporters should man up and stop whining
I love you guys, but some of you have to stop acting like 8-year-old crybabies every time someone criticizes Ron Paul.
The fact is that Ron Paul supports a very extreme version of laissez-faire economics that is God's gift to big banks. The issue is not whether Ron supported the bailout; he did not. The issue is that his approach is what let the banks get away with murder, which caused the bailout in the first place, and after the bailout he continues these same extreme laissez-faire policies that tolerate rip-offs like the new Bank of America fee.
Compromise a four-letter word?
In the end, it wasn’t a grand bargain that averted the possibility of yet another government shutdown this week and kicked the fiscal can down the road for at least another month and a half. There wasn’t any shelving of politics for the greater good. And there certainly weren’t any heroes. In the end, FEMA’s announcement that it had found $114 million â€" enough to limp through to the end of the fiscal year â€" cut the Gordian Knot of perpetual Washington political wrangling. And with $1 billion less to draw on during the next fiscal year, it will be disaster victims who bear the brunt.
Joe Bidenâs moment of candor
Say what you will about the vice president, but Joe Biden has one helluva mouth on him. Whether it’s telling the president in front of a large crowd (and a very hot mic) this is one big … er, well, you know … or telling a key swing presidential state that his boss is to blame for its financial woes, he’s nothing if he ain’t honest.
Â
Early yesterday (while on a campaign swing, mind you), Joe Biden missed a key talking point while visiting a local Florida radio station. Apparently, the abysmal state of America’s economy is no longer former President Bush’s fault, but his own!
Lawmakers hail a success in the fight against terrorism
Lawmakers hailed the killing of the American-born al Qaeda leader Anwar al-Awlaki after reports of his death in a drone strike surfaced Friday.
Chairman of the Homeland Security Committee Pete King (R-N.Y.) said that Awlaki had recently become even more dangerous than Osama bin Laden, who Navy SEALs killed in May, and described the death as another win against the terrorist network.
“The killing of Anwar al-Awlaki is a great success in our fight against al-Qaeda and its affiliates,†King tweeted.
Awlaki was accused of helping to motivate the failed Christmas Day bombing in 2009 and the attempt in 2010 to blow up U.S. cargo. Some intelligence officials and lawmakers also accused Awlaki of fueling the Fort Hood massacre, in which a member of the U.S. military killed 13 people.
Cummings, Issa call on NFL to explain HGH testing delay
The House Oversight Committee has requested that NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell and DeMaurice Smith, head of the player's association, appear before Congress to explain the delay in testing for human growth hormone.
In a letter sent to Goodell, House Oversight and Government Reform Committee chairman Darrell Issa (R-Calif.) and Elijah Cummings (D-Md.) ask why testing, slated to begin the first week of the football season, has not yet been implemented.
“We believe the league and its players remain best positioned to implement an HGH testing regime, but concerns have been raised about the status of these efforts,†the two congressmen said in a statement. “The purpose of this meeting is to understand the concerns of the players and the league and to strongly convey our universal interest in protecting the health of millions of younger athletes across the country.â€
Romney meets with former rival Huckabee
Republican presidential front-runner Mitt Romney brought two of his sons with him Friday to tape an interview with Mike Huckabee, his former rival for the 2008 GOP nomination.
Romney press secretary Andrea Saul tweeted a picture of Romney, Huckabee, Romney’s son Tagg and Tagg’s son Joe.
The family visit comes amid speculation that Huckabee might consider endorsing Romney for the nomination, despit! e their rocky relationship in the past.
Huckabee, a former Arkansas governor, is an outspoken Evangelical and has clashed with Romney’s Mormon beliefs in the past. His endorsement would likely improve the former Massachusetts governor’s chances with socially conservative voters.
Gary Johnson: Awlaki was "entitled to due process"
Gary Johnson joined fellow Republican nominee Ron Paul in criticizing the drone killing of U.S.-born Muslim cleric Anwar al-Awlaki in Yemen, saying he had "mixed feelings" about the strike since he believed Awlaki to be "entitled to due process."
“Well I as President of the United States I would have been a lot more transparent about what, and I understand all of the accusations against al-Awlaki and they are very significant and I don’t want to minimize at all the threat that he was posing to the United States. But he is a U.S. citizen, he was a U.S. citizen, and never before have we targeted a US citizen for death," the former New Mexico governor said on Fox News.
Awlaki, who was born in the United States, was an outspoken cleric cited by terrorists, including Maj. Nidal Malik Hasan, the Army psychiatrist charged in the 2009 Fort Hood shootings, and Faisal Shahzad, who tried to set off a car bomb in Times Square last year.
Obama tax reforms are misguided
Leaking out of Washington recently are numerous silver bullets for raising tax revenues that will help solve the deficit and unemployment problems. Unfortunately, they are cloaked in terms of class warfare, and a closer examination reveals that they are either unfair or counterproductive. Two such proposals are the so-called “Buffet Rule†that seeks to raise the effective tax rate on millionaires to that of their employees; and the elimination of many present deductions on “High Earners†i.e. those earning over $200,000 (single) or $250,000 (joint). The basic reasoning underlying the lower millionaires’ rates is that much of their income is taxed as dividends or capital gains, and the belief is that “High Earners†can afford to lose deductions for such items as mortgage interest, real estate taxes on their homes and charitable contributions.
Â
In reality, a dividend is already taxed twice â€" once when the profits are earned, and a second ti! me when distributed (three times in the case of a corporate shareholder who distributes the same to its shareholder). Furthermore, higher taxes on dividends creates an unhealthy bias in favor of debt versus equity in that interest on the debt is tax deductible to the corporation, whereas dividends it pays out are not. This bias creates an incentive on the part of corporations to borrow for their capital needs instead of through equity capital â€" a practice that leads to dangerous overleveraging of corporate balance sheets. Interestingly â€" and I am not suggesting this â€" if one is looking to tax millionaires on all their income at the same rate no matter how different the origin or nature, why do we exempt huge amounts millionaires earn as interest on tax free Municipal and State obligations? The answer is that making such interest taxable would raise the interest rate states and municipalities would pay to borrow, and that simply would be “politically unthinka! ble.â€
Trump tweets that Huntsman tried to arrange meeting
In a continuation of the back-and-forth between Jon Huntsman and billionaire Donald Trump, the real estate mogul wrote over Twitter that the Huntsman campaign asked to arrange a sit-down meeting with him.
“@JonHuntsman called to set up a meeting. Haven’t returned his call,â€Â Trump tweeted Friday.
The tweet adds to an ongoing feud between the former Utah governor’s campaign and Trump.
Earlier this week Trump tweeted that he wasn’t meeting with Huntsman because he has “zero chance of getting the nomination.â€Â
Trump has sat down with a number of other Republican presidential candidates, including Herman Cain, Rick Perry and Mitt Romney, but has not met with Huntsman.
Huntsman’s camp on Thu! rsday mocked his presidential rivals for meeting with Trump.
“Unlike Rick Perry and Mitt Romney, Governor Huntsman isn’t wasting his time with Presidential Apprentice, his focus is on real solutions to fix our nation’s economy,â€Â Huntsman spokesman Tim Miller wrote in an email.
Later on that day, a Trump spokesman said to MSNBC that Huntsman’s people asked to meet with him.
“There were several calls made by the Huntsman campaign in which to schedule a face! -to-face meeting with Mr. Trump and Ambassador Huntsman over the last few weeks,â€Â Trump spokesman Michael Cohen said.
MSNBC’s report noted that Cohen gave no proof that Huntsman had been reaching out. Huntsman’s campaign declined to comment on whether what Cohen said was true.
ACLU objects to killing of al Qaeda leader
The American Civil Liberties Union has objected to the killing of the U.S.-born Muslim cleric Anwar al-Awlaki in Yemen by U.S. forces.
Awlaki was a U.S. citizen, and the ACLU said President Obama does not have the authority to kill an American without due process of law. The White House confirmed the cleric was killed by a U.S. drone attack.
“The targeted killing program violates both U.S. and international law,†ACLU Deputy Legal Director Jameel Jaffer said. “As we’ve seen today, this is a program under which American citizens far from any battlefield can be executed by their own government without judicial process, and on the basis of standards and evidence that are kept secret not just from the public but from the courts.â€
The ACLU said the government only has the authority to kill Ameri! cans when a threat is imminent.
“It is a mistake to invest the president â€" any president â€" with the unreviewable power to kill any American whom he deems to present a threat to the country,†Jaffer said.
Ben Wizner, litigation director of the ACLU’s National Security Project, added:
“If the Constitution means anything, it surely means that the president does not have unreviewable authority to summarily execute any American whom he concludes is an enemy of the state.â€
Obama’s actions also garnered criticism from GOP presidential candidate Rep. Ron Paul (Texas).
Sen. Schumer: 'Premature' to say whether votes are there for Obama jobs bill
New York Sen. Charles Schumer, the top Democrat in charge of messaging in the Senate, said it was too "premature" right now to say whether there were enough votes or not to pass President Obama's American Jobs Act.
Schumer's comment comes less than 24 hours after Senate Majority Whip Dick Durbin (D-Ill.) said he didn't think there were currently the votes in his chamber to pass the job-creation legislation.
"I think it's premature to say â€" I mean, jobs is the No. 1 issue and we're working really hard and trying to get the votes for the president's jobs bill," Schumer said during a conference call.
Speaking on local Chicago radio station WLS, Durbin was! asked Thursday whether the votes were there in the Senate.
"Not at the moment, I don’t think we do, but, uh, we can work on it,†Durbin said.
Durbin added that the bill would need bipartisan support.
"There are some senators who are up for election who say ‘I’m never gonna vote for a tax increase while I’m up for election, even on the wealthiest people.’ So, we’re not gonna have 100 percent of Democratic senators," Durbin said. "That’s why it needs to be bipartisan and I hope we can find some Republicans who will join us to make it happen."
Obama has been pushing Congress to quickly pass his American Jobs Act, which includes an extension of the employee payroll tax cut, increased infrastructure spending and additional unemployment insurance benefit funding. Republicans have voiced some opposition to parts of the bill, but on the whole have expressed less opposition than on other pieces of legislation the presid! ent has proposed.
The bailed out-bankersâ boys: Ron Paul, Rick Perry, Chris Christie and friends
Bank of America's latest attack on the American economic recovery through big bank fees may well elect Elizabeth Warren to the Kennedy Senate seat in Massachusetts. The very bad news for Ron Paul, Rick Perry, Chris Christie and those Republicans who take big money from big bailed-out banks as donations, and then carry their water in Washington, is that they will be exposed again.
Bank of America, which might soon be called Bank of un-America, is the embodiment of what happens if Ron Paul or Rick Perry is elected. It has done consistent damage to the America economy from the birth of the mortgage fraud to the mega-bailout, from the massive layoffs to this latest fee on debit cards.
Ron Paul criticizes Obama for drone killing of Awlaki
Ron Paul denounced President Obama on Friday for the drone killing of U.S.-born Muslim cleric Anwar al-Awlaki in Yemen.Â
Awlaki was among the most influential al Qaeda leaders, able to call on his American background to recruit and inspire attacks against the United States. But the Obama administration's authorization to kill Awlaki in April 2010 was controversial to some civil rights advocates. They argued that as an American citizen, Awlaki was due a trial in American court, and that it was a violation of the Constitution for the government to issue an order for his assassination.
"No, I don't think that's a good way to deal with our problems," Paul said Friday in New Hampshire, according to MSNBC. "He was born here, al-Awlaki was born here, he is an American citizen. He was never tried or charged for any crimes. No one knows if he killed anybody. We know he might have been associated with the underwear bomber. But if the American people accept this blindly and casually that we now have an accepted practice of the president assassinating people who he thinks are bad guys, I think it's sad."
Administration should deny bishops' request for a veto over women's healthcare
   You don’t ask a vegetarian where to get a great prime rib, or a teetotaler for a single-malt scotch recommendation. You don’t ask a bald man where to get a stylish haircut. So why would federal policymakers defer to a cadre of celibate men on the reproductive health services women need?
   As crazy as that sounds, that’s exactly what’s happening. The chaste all-male club known as the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops has criticized the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) for adopting a rule requiring health plans eliminate copays for contraception and other important women’s health services. The HHS decision, issued in August, adopts the recommendation of a panel of medical experts convened by the prestigious Institute of Medicine.Â
HHS has also asked for comments on a proposed rule exempting churches and other houses of worship from having to cover their employees. But this exemption isn’t enough for the bishops. ! Instead, they are seeking passage of a bill in Congress, the misleadingly titled, “Respect for Rights of Conscience Act,†which would allow every religiously affiliated institution, including schools, social-service providers, and even hospitals, to opt out of the coverage requirements (the bill’s co-sponsors, Rep. Jeff Fortenberry and Rep. Dan Boren previously proposed an anti-abortion law that would prohibit the federal government from subsidizing abortion coverage for date-rape victims or adult victims of incest). Of course, the bishops themselves won’t be affected by their proposal to gut women’s preventive healthcare.
Survey: Romney, Huckabee in striking distance of Obama
The poll showed Obama and Mike Huckabee tied at 46 percent; Obama enjoyed a 49-47 percent lead over Mitt Romney.
Poll: Majority thinks GOP likely to do a better job on fostering prosperity, anti-terrorism
A majority of Americans think Republicans are more able to protect the country from terrorist threats and increase U.S. prosperity, according to a new poll released Friday.
According to the new Gallup poll, 49 percent of Americans say the Republican Party is better equipped to protect the U.S. from global military and terrorist threats while 38 percent say Democrats are better able. Since roughly 2008, most Americans have been saying that the Republican Party was more likely to do a better job protecting Americans from terrorist and international military threats.
Similarly, on maintaining economic prosperity, 48 percent choose the Republican party while 39 percent choose the Democratic party. On both military threats and prosperity, 13 percent of those surveyed said they did not have an opinion or see any difference. By contrast, in 2008, 50 percent of those surveyed by Gallup said the Democratic party was more likely to keep the country prosperou! s in the coming years and 39 percent said the Republicans were more likely.
The poll's results come the same day that the White House confirmed that a top Al Qaeda commander, Anwar al-Awlaki had been killed in Yemen. The U.S. has been ramping up its airstrike and drone presence in the country recently and Defense Secretary Lean Panetta said in July one of his top objectives was to take Awlaki from power.
Tea Party senator: House GOP funding bill 'not even close' on cuts
Sen. Rand Paul said he'd vote against House Republicans' measure funding the government because it doesn't cut nearly enough.
Clinton to Libya: 'Now is the time to stop this unacceptable bloodshed'
Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton condemned the violence in Libya amid reports that dictator Moammar Gadhafi had fled.
Key U.S. official meets Egyptian authorities after $150 million aid promise
Unrest in Egypt has cost the country about $1.5 billion in lost tourism revenue, according to bank officials there.
Perry blames feds for his controversial positions on illegal immigration
Perry said Washington's failure to secure the border led to his decision to extend tuition breaks to children of illegals.
Palin to Obama: Stop âpoking our allies in the eyeâ
In a Facebook note titled “Now he’s blaming Europe,†Palin lashed out at Obama's comments on Europe's debt crisis.
Issa questions whether White House pressured Ford to pull âbailoutâ ad
A conservative columnist said the Ford ad was pulled “in response to White House questions.â€
Castro blasts Obama as âstupid,â denounces American foreign policy
Former Cuban president Fidel Castro denounced President Obama's suggestion that U.S.-Cuba relations could improve if the communist nation were willing to become more democratic, calling Obama's suggestions "stupid."
"Many things will change in Cuba, but they will change by our own effort and in spite of the United States. Maybe before that empire falls," Castro wrote in a state newspaper.
Obama had said on Wednesday that America would consider lifting economic sanctions on the island nation if Cuba adopted democratic elections and a freer society.
The rise and fall of the West
Our first post-war journey was west, busting through the Smokies with Davy Crockett on his way to the Alamo to help out Jim Bowie. Politics and demographics brought us there, as Americans crossed the plains and Appalachian hills to Texas and the West. Our best and most important presidents post-war were Westerners: Eisenhower, Nixon, Reagan, Bush I and Bush II, but now we face a collapse of the Western awakening as the Northeastern establishment conspires to take it back. Rick Perry is a real full-blood prince of the desert, and that is perhaps what is freaking them out.
Things go better with dictators (says who?!)
For one brief shining moment I thought I was going to finally agree with Armstrong Williams. Then I read his post. Sorry, Armstrong, I don’t make apologies for dictators who believe in forced sterilization, who imprison human-rights activists and who pay slave wages with no benefits. I do not make apologies for American companies who praise these dictators over the red, white and blue.
What the CEO of Coke said was disgraceful. The "Blame Americans First" conservatives and Republicans are dead wrong, and in the case of many dictators, dead means dead for people they kill.
US-Cuba policy, and the race for oil drilling
To protect the national interest â€" and for the sake of Florida's beaches and the Gulf of Mexico's ecosystem â€" it is time to stop sticking our heels in the sand when it comes to U.S.-Cuba policy.
Â
Before the end of the year, a Chinese-made drilling platform known as Scarabeo 9 is expected to arrive in the Gulf. Once it is there, Cuba and its foreign partners, including Spain’s Repsol, will begin using it to drill for oil in waters deeper than Deepwater Horizon’s infamous Macondo well. The massive rig, manufactured to comply with U.S.-content restrictions at a cost of $750 million, will cost Repsol and other companies $407,000 per day to lease for exploration.
Â
They are taking this financial risk because Cuba needs the oil and its partners â€" Spain, Norway, Russia, India, Vietnam, Malaysia, Canada, Angola, Venezuela, and possibly China â€" believe that drilling in waters said to contain undiscovered reserves of approximately 5 billion ba! rrels of oil is good business.
U.S.-Cuba policy, and the race for oil drilling
To protect the national interest â€" and for the sake of Florida's beaches and the Gulf of Mexico's ecosystem â€" it is time to stop sticking our heels in the sand when it comes to U.S.-Cuba policy.
Â
Before the end of the year, a Chinese-made drilling platform known as Scarabeo 9 is expected to arrive in the Gulf. Once it is there, Cuba and its foreign partners, including Spain’s Repsol, will begin using it to drill for oil in waters deeper than Deepwater Horizon’s infamous Macondo well. The massive rig, manufactured to comply with U.S.-content restrictions at a cost of $750 million, will cost Repsol and other companies $407,000 per day to lease for exploration.
Â
They are taking this financial risk because Cuba needs the oil and its partners â€" Spain, Norway, Russia, India, Vietnam, Malaysia, Canada, Angola, Venezuela, and possibly China â€" believe that drilling in waters said to contain undiscovered reserves of approximately 5 billion ba! rrels of oil is good business.
Fighting the wrong kind of trade wars
With markets in turmoil and consumer confidence at record lows, it is time for the U.S. to overtly become more selfish. In fact, looking out for number one is likely the best way to remain number one. To be clear, by selfish I do not mean senseless. Focusing first on the nation’s self-interest should not be a proxy for surface level patriotism or protectionist policies. Selfish, in today’s economic context, means engaging in a national effort that is singularly focused on competing and winning in a globally competitive and interconnected society.
Â
The President and Congress can do just that over the next 60 days. We have a window of opportunity right now in which the United States can spur much-needed growth by passing the pending free trade agreements and then pivoting to upgrading our trade agenda. By passing free trade agreements with Colombia, South Korea and Panama the U.S. can increase exports by more than $12 billion a year and create or sustain! 70,000 jobs.
Rep. King: Capitol bomb plot shows threat of 'lone wolf'
The chairman of the House Homeland Security Committee this week warned that the man arrested on Wednesday for plotting to blow up the Capitol and the Pentagon represented a type of homegrown, "lone wolf" threat to security that the U.S. needs to guard against.
"It means [terrorists are] probably less sophisticated, or less well trained; on the other hand, they're living under the radar screen, we have no way of knowing who they are,†Rep. Pete King (R-N.Y.) told a New York local CBS affiliate on Wednesday night.
King, who said he'd been briefed on the FBI investigation over the past several months, commended the agency for its "outstanding" work and arrest of Rezwan Ferdaus, 26, who has also been charged with attempting to aid the terrorist organization al Qaeda.
“The fact that Ferdaus is a very well-educated physicist should serve as a reminder to us that the threat of Islamic terrorism transcends socioeconomics and does not only eman! ate from the poor and under-privileged," King said in a statement released Wednesday after Ferdaus's arrest. "Ferdaus’ arrest also underscores the need to continue efforts to combat domestic radicalization and the evolving threat of ‘lone wolf’ extremists.â€
Judge extends treatment of Giffordsâs alleged shooter
A judge ruled on Thursday to extend the anti-psychotic treatment of a man accused of shooting Rep. Gabrielle Giffords (D-Ariz.), among others, before making a ruling on his criminal case.
Jared Lee Loughner, 23, was back in court in Tucson, Ariz., Wednesday following a four-month stay at a federal facility in Springfield, Mo. U.S. District Judge Larry Burns ruled him incompetent to stand trial in May and ordered his treatment. Loughner was due for a re-evaluation on Wednesday, where the judge ruled that he should continue his treatment for at least another four months before he could consider another ruling on whether Loughner is competent to stand trial.
Loughner appeared calm and quiet during the court hearing on Wednesday, according to multiple reports.
“Thereâ€! ™s reason to be optimistic he will recover and be able to assist in his case,†Burns said. “The court finds that measurable progress has been made.â€
Loughner has been diagnosed with schizophrenia. His medications include the sedative Lorazepam, the antidepressant Wellbutrin and the antipsychotic Risperidone.
Loughner pleaded not guilty to 49 criminal charges, including multiple counts of first-degree murder. He is accused of killing six people, including federal district Judge John Roll and Giffords aide Gabriel Zimmerman, and wounding 14 other people, including shooting Giffords in the head, at an outdoor meet-and-greet for Giffords’s constituents in January.
Don't put international cooperation on Iran at risk
During Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad’s speech at the UN last week, many attendees turned their backs and walked out. Although they were reacting to another anti-West tirade by the embattled president, the reaction was also indicative of Iran’s own increasing isolation over its human rights abuses, its destabilizing role in the region, and of course, its nuclear program.
In the past month, we have seen a legal spat between Russia and Iran over Moscow’s cancellation of an air-defense system contract, news of Chinese firms slowing investment in Iran’s critical energy sector, and Turkish agreement to host a missile defense radar unofficially geared towards the missile threat from Iran. These are not the usual suspects. But between Iran’s own refusal to cooperate with international inspectors on its nuclear program and careful diplomatic outreach by the United States to convince other countries to take the Iranian threat seriously, global pressure ! on Iran is increasing.
This steadily growing international partnership to address Iran’s nuclear ambitions is vital to influencing Iran’s decision-making about its nuclear program. According to the U.S. intelligence community, Tehran has not yet made the decision to build a nuclear weapon. The task therefore, is to prevent Iran’s Supreme Leader from making that decision, and making the continued pursuit of a nuclear weapons option as difficult, expensive, and risky as possible.
The real cost of a muffin
Most U.S. taxpayers would agree with the need for restraint in government spending and for government agencies to follow established policies governing procurement of products and services. However, last week’s grandstanding by Sen. Harry Reid over the reported cost of a muffin at a government meeting was most likely inaccurate and definitely shortsighted.
Â
In contrast to the press reports that the Justice Department paid as much as $16 per muffin at a recent meeting in Washington, Hilton Worldwide noted last week that the contracted breakfast included fresh fruit, coffee, juice, and muffins, plus tax and gratuity for an all-inclusive price of $16 per person. That compares very favorably to the prices paid by the United States Senate over which Sen. Reid himself presides.
Â
According to the United States Senate Dining Services website, “the Catering Department of the U.S. Senate Restaurants is responsible for providing ! food and beverage service to Senators, Officials of the United States Senate and outside groups who are sponsored by them.†A review of the menus posted online show breakfast cost ranging from $12 up to $20 per person before tax and gratuity, lunch ranging from $15.50 for deli meats up to $42 for a 3 course hot plated lunch, and dinners from $49 to 69 per person, with most selections above the current GSA per diem rates for Washington, DC of $12/$18/$36 for breakfast, lunch and dinner respectively and some of the Justice Management Division’s conference policy limits listed in the report.
Rep. King cautions plot to blow up Capitol, Pentagon represents homegrown threat
The chairman of the House Homeland Security Committee this week warned that the man arrested on Wednesday for plotting to blow up the Capitol and the Pentagon represented a type of homegrown, "lone wolf" threat to security that the U.S. needs to guard against.
"It means [terrorists are] probably less sophisticated, or less well trained; on the other hand, they're living under the radar screen, we have no way of knowing who they are,†Rep. Pete King (R-N.Y.) told a New York local CBS affiliate on Wednesday night.
King, who said he'd been briefed on the FBI investigation over the past several months, commended the agency for an "outstanding" work and arrest of Rezwan Ferdaus, 26, who has also been charged with attempting to aid the terrorist organization al Qaeda.
“The fact that Ferdaus is a very well-educated physicist should serve as a reminder to us that the threat of Islamic terrorism transcends socioeconomics and does not only emana! te from the poor and under-privileged," King said in a statement released Wednesday after Ferdaus's arrest. "Ferdaus’ arrest also underscores the need to continue efforts to combat domestic radicalization and the evolving threat of ‘lone wolf’ extremists.â€
South Carolina GOP says state will protect âsacredâ spot in primary calendar
South Carolina GOP Chairmain Chad Connelly said Thursday that his state would ensure that it remained the first Republican primary in the South, saying he viewed his state's spot in the calendar as "sacred."
“Look, we’re going to stay first in the South. That’s the most important thing to the people of South Carolina. We’re going to be the first in the South. Sure, I have to accept the penalties if it imposes them on me. But it doesn’t mean that I can’t pitch a fit there and let them know that this isn’t right," Connelly said at a press conference.
The Republican National Committee has been scrambling to keep order in the primary field, telling states other than Iowa, New Hampshire, South Carolina and Nevada that they would lose half their convention delegates if they hold their contests before March 6. But that threat didn't stop Michigan and Arizona from pushing their contests into late February, in hopes of getting a jump on the Supe! r Tuesday contests and increasing their relevance in the process.
Romney narrowly edges Cain in Florida poll; Perry trails significantly
Herman Cain's win in the Florida straw poll may very well be a harbinger of building momentum, according to a new poll of Republicans in the state released Thursday by SurveyUSA.
Pundits had initially questioned whether Cain's victory in the straw poll - in which he earned more than double the votes of any other candidate - was a protest vote by Republicans disenchanted with the debate performance of presumptive frontrunner Rick Perry. But Cain ranked second Thursday in the statewide poll of Republican voters, with 25 percent of support. He trails frontrunner Mitt Romney by just 2 percent. Both Romney and Cain have substantial leads over Perry, who finished third with 13 percent of the vote.
The news is especially troubling for the Perry campaign, which had hoped to make inroads in the crucial swing state. The Texas governor held a breakfast over the weekend for Florida straw poll voters and was actively courting support, while other candidates - un! cluding Romney, Michele Bachmann, and Jon Huntsman - all left to campaign in other states.
Trump: I'm not meeting with Huntsman, he has 'zero chance' of winning GOP nomination
Business magnate Donald Trump called a potential meeting with Jon Huntsman a "waste" because the former Utah governor has "zero chance" of winning the Republican nomination for president.
"@JonHuntsman has zero chance of getting the nomination. Whoever said I wanted to meet him? Time is money and I don't waste mine," Trump tweeted on Thursday.
Trump has recently met with both Texas Gov. Rick Perry (R) and former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney (R), who have been leading the Republican field in most Republican primary polls.
Trump is also set to meet with businessman Herman Cain, another Republican presidential hopeful, who recently won the high-profile Republican straw poll in Florida.
Trump said he plans to weigh in on the Republican field with a! n endorsement once he settles on a candidate.
Huntsman himself has seen an upswing in a few recent polls, albeit a modest one, with two polls showing him in double digits in New Hampshire and one more recent one showing him gaining a few percentage points among Republican voters. Trump's tweet probably indicates that Huntsman's gains so far are not enough for the billionaire's endorsement.Â
In response, Huntsman's campaign said the governor wasn't focused on winning over Trump's support.
"Unlike Rick Perry and Mitt Romney, Governor Huntsman isn't wasting his time with Presidential Apprentice, his focus is on real solutions to fix our nation's economy," Huntsman spokesman Tim Miller said in an email to The Hill.Â
â€"This story was updated at 11:56 a.m.
Coke: The un-American cola?
Â
You may be asking: Was there ever any doubt it would leave? Well, yeah.
That’s the word from Coke’s top executive earlier this week when asked what he felt about America’s tax policies. According to the Financial Times, CEO Muhtar Kent said “in many respects†it was easier dealing with the Chinese on business issues, comparing the Communist country to a “well-managed company.†Kent went on to tell the FT, “In the West, we’re forgetting what really worked 20 years ago. In China and other markets around the world, you see the kind of attention to detail about how business works and how business creates employment.â€
Gingrich's new 'Contract with America' would allow opt-out of Social Security, Medicare
Newt Gingrich's new '21st Century Contract with America', a comprehensive policy platform that he is expected to introduce Thursday in Iowa, will provide Americans with the option to keep their health insurance, income taxes, and retirement plans similar to they way they are structured now - or opt into programs more aligned with conservative principles.
“A pledge is something you’re going to try to do. With a contract, you’re obligated. This is what you commit to. The American people, when they elected Barack Obama, they thought they were getting all these things and in turn they didn’t," said campaign spokesman R.C. Hammond to the Des Moines Register, which obtained a full copy of the document.
Under Gingrich's proposal, taxpayers could either continue to pay income taxes under the current system, or opt into an optional flat tax rate. He approaches other challenges similarly - seniors could continue to get coverage under the current Medica! re program, or opt to purchase their own health insurance from a private company, with the government reimbursing them for some of the premiums. Younger Americans could choose to continue paying into Social Security, or instead create a private investment account.
Republican senators travel to Libya to meet transition government
Sens. McCain, Graham, Kirk, and Rubio will speak with members of the National Transitional Council and tour Tripoli's Martyrs Square.
Romney leads Perry in new national poll; Cain, Gingrich gain support
Perry's fall has been Herman Cain's gain: The former businessman has nearly tripled his support since winning Florida straw poll.
White House studying Gadhafi son's speech to look for 'meaningful reform'
Libyan dictator Moammar Gadhafi's son warned of civil war and American occupation as bloody protests continued.
Schumer: Congress on course for inevitable government shutdown
Sen. Charles Schumer (D-N.Y.) said Democrats won't accept the steep spending cuts proposed by House Republicans.
Obama: Ensure next Google is made in America to create jobs
Cain: Black community 'brainwashed' into supporting Democratic Party
The GOP presidential hopeful accused black voters of "not being open minded, not even considering a conservative point of view."
Liberal group takes credit for audience member asking Obama to raise taxes
The group, Patriotic Millionaires for Fiscal Strength, has been pushing for tax hikes since Obama extended Bush's high-income tax cuts.
Cain: Black community âbrainwashedâ into supporting Democratic Party
The GOP presidential hopeful accused black voters of “not being open-minded, not even considering a conservative point of view.â€Â
Rick Perry, W. and The Duke
Donnie Osborn v. John Wayne was The Wall Street Journal’s James Taranto's comment on Thursday’s debate. A good one. As The Duke in the original “True Grit†showed himself to be uneasy among strangers and outsiders and preferred the company of his cat and a Chinese merchant. The intuitive Duke was especially out of sorts in the original scenes when the men in black in the courtroom had him pinned like a bug and still squirming.
Bill Clintonâs legacy
This coming weekend, I’ll be joining alumni from the two Bill Clinton presidential campaigns who will gather in Little Rock, Ark., on the 20th anniversary of Clinton’s declaration for the presidency on Oct. 3, 1991.
Â
It was in that announcement speech that Clinton articulated that he intended to follow a different path than traditional Democratic Party liberal orthodoxy, appealing to the middle class, political moderates and independents. “The change we must make isn’t liberal or conservative,†he said. “It’s both, and it’s different … People don’t care about the idle rhetoric of ‘left’ and ‘right’ and ‘liberal’ and ‘conservative.’ â€
Cain says he would not support Perry as GOP nominee
Herman Cain said Wednesday that he would be unable to support Rick Perry for president if the Texas governor were to eventually win the party's nomination.
"Today, I could not support Rick Perry as the nominee for a host of reasons," Cain said on CNN.
He cited specifically Perry's support for in-state tuition breaks for the children of illegal immigrants. Earlier today, Perry apologized for saying that those in the party who opposed the tuition breaks "did not have a heart."
Chris Christie: No way, won't run
Bad news for Republicans enduring the 2012 presidential campaign diaspora. Chris Christie will not run in 2012, though if he survives a very tough reelection, which is not certain, he may well run in the future. Christie is not close to ready for presidential campaign prime time, and unlike Rick Perry, he is smart enough to know it.
1. Christie has no national qualifications or governing experience for the presidency. A partial term as governor is not even close. Some will say Obama did not have much experience either. I rest my case.
2. Christie takes many positions that are anathema to the right, which he has called out at times. Many of those who tout him have not done their homework.
Palin: 'Herb' Cain is 'flavor of the week', wonders if campaign 'too shackling'
Former Alaska governor and possible presidential candidate Sarah Palin dismissed Florida Straw Poll winner Herman Cain as "the flavor of the month" and mistook the candidate's first name in an appearance Tuesday night on Fox News.
"Take Herman Cain. Look at why he's doing so well right now. I guess you could say, with all due respect, he’s the flavor of the week," Palin said. "Because Herb [sic] Cain is the one up there who doesn't look like he's part of that permanent political class - He came from a working class family. He's had to make it on his own all these years. We respect that."
Cain defended his campaign Wednesday morning on CBS.
Bachmann channels Bill Clinton, predicts she will become 'comeback kid'
Michele Bachmann said that she intends "to be the comeback kid in this race," hoping to regain momentum she has lost in the 2012 presidential contest since her victory in the Iowa straw poll in August.
"We will be all over the country, and we intend to do very well. We came right back here. We're the comeback kid showing we can do it. So this happens, in races you have ups, you have downs. And we are on the upswing now," Bachmann told reporters after speaking at an event at Liberty University in Virginia.
The "comeback kid" moniker was similarly employed by former President Cinton in 1992, after the he bounced back from the Gennifer Flowers scandal to place second in the New Hampshire primary.
Romney leads Perry in new national poll; Cain trails closely
Herman Cain’s support has nearly tripled since his surprise win in Saturday’s Florida straw poll, according to a poll released Wednesday by Fox News. In the new poll, Mitt Romney regains front-runner status, garnering 23 percent of Republican support and surpassing Rick Perry, who shot to the top of the polls upon entering the race last month.
But stumbles in the GOP debates â€" and speculation that other popular candidates such as Chris Christie may join the race â€" have dropped the Texas governor to second place in the national poll. Perry now has the support of 19 percent of Republican voters, a fall of 10 percent from a month ago.
Perry’s fall has been Cain’s gain: The former businessman is now the choice of 17 percent of voters. Newt Gingrich, who had been written off by many after a rocky campaign roll-out that included the resignation of much of his staff, joined Cain as insurgent candidates earning double-digit favor. Eleven percent of voters chose the former House Speaker as their preferred candidate.
Cain: Black community 'brainwashed' into supporting Dems
After saying Monday that he believes blacks are "over this first African-American president thing," Herman Cain said Wednesday that the black community was "brainwashed" into traditionally voting for Democratic lawmakers.
"African-Americans have been brainwashed into not being open minded, not even considering a conservative point of view," Cain said on an interview set to air Wednesday afternoon on CNN. "I have received some of that same vitriol simply because I am running for the Republican nomination as a conservative. So it's just brainwashing and people not being open minded, pure and simple."
On Monday, Cain blasted the president for his tone at a Congressional Black Caucus dinner, and predicted he would be able to garner at least one-third of black voters in a head-to-head general election.
Remember the supercommittee?
Sure, crisis was averted this week, with the Senate Democrats and House Republicans agreeing to move forward with a deal on disaster-relief funding and short-term funding for the government to continue operating through Nov. 18. And did they compromise in the interest of a shared goal or a concern that it might finally be time to start governing? No, the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) found some stray dollars that would take them through the end of this week, bumping Saturday into another pocket of money for another fiscal year. Makes the American people wonder even more about federal government math. But it also said a lot about the two parties and their interest in compromise. They bickered as they agreed to the deal, and it bodes terribly for the months to come.
Rep. Walsh pledges to be a concealed-carry âcheerleaderâ
Tea Party Republican Rep. Joe Walsh (Ill.) pledged Tuesday night that he will be a “cheerleader†for gun rights in Congress, and pushed for a concealed-carry permit in his home state of Illinois.
“The Second Amendment is incredibly important & it is embarrassing that IL is last state standing when it comes to concealed carry,†Walsh tweeted on Wednesday.
“The most important amendment in that Bill of Rights is the Second Amendment,†Walsh said Tuesday in remarks published by Chicago’s Daily Herald. “It protects every other amendment. It is the last line of defense between us and our government.â€
The public option will win
It is time to resume the story of the public option. Why the public option battle should now be waged again. Why the White House got the issue so damn wrong and reacted so aggressively against public option supporters. Â Why the full story was never told in the media. And why the public option battle is more important than ever with healthcare costs continuing to rise.
Above all the public option, according to a majority of credible independent sources, would lower healthcare costs for Americans. It would reduce the federal budget deficit. It was supported by a solid majority of voters. Conservatives and the White House may both hate and loathe these assertions, but I will debate them anytime, anyplace, with tons of documentation.
Details of Gingrichâs updated âContract with Americaâ emerge
Details of Newt Gingrich’s updated Contract with America have begun to emerge, with the former House Speaker telling The Daily Caller that the contract will rest on four “pillarsâ€: new legislation, executive orders to be signed immediately upon taking office, a revised training program for presidential appointees and government modernization.
Gingrich plans to outline the new contract at a speech Thursday in Iowa, although he promised the final product will at least match the 700-page contract of 1994, and take at least a year to complete.
Gingrich said he’s not releasing the full plan for two reasons â€" first, he recognizes that only the party’s nominee could negotiate a full contract with Republican leaders in ! the House and Senate, and second, some of the ideas “are so ! new and so different we have not yet developed the ideas on how to do it.â€
Obama, Rick Perry, others greet the Jewish New Year
President Obama and lawmakers on both sides of the aisle welcomed the Jewish New Year on Wednesday, the eve of the Jewish holiday.
Obama and Republican presidential hopeful Rick Perry both used their New Year greetings to reaffirm their support of Israel, a recent hot topic in the presidential campaign.
“While we cannot know all that the New Year will bring, we do know this: The United States will continue to stand with Israel, because the bond between our two nations is unshakable,†Obama said in a news release. He also released a Web video of his annual Rosh Hashanah greeting.
In his own news release from the Texas governor’s office, Perry said: “This Rosh Hashanah brings cont! inued challenges for our Jewish brethren in the Middle East, but through it all, it’s important that Texas and the United States remain committed to a strong and secure Israel, which has been one of our most dedicated partners in the ongoing war on terror.â€
{mosads}Members of Congress tweeted less politically inclined greetings, including the Jewish saying “Shana Tovah†for “a good and sweet year.â€
“As the Jewish community ushers in 5772, may the new year bring with it joyful beginnings,†tweeted House Minority Whip Steny Hoyer (D-Md.). Hoyer and Rep. Allen West (R-Fla.) both tweeted the Hebrew greeting: “Shana Tovah Tekatevu u’Tekhatemu â€" let all be inscribed and sealed for a sweet new year.â€
“A Happy, Healthy and Sweet New Year to my Jewish friends,â€Â West added.
Republican Sens. Pat Toomey (Pa.) and Rob Portman (Ohio), along with Rep. Bob Latta (R-Ohio) were among the other lawmakers tweeting “Shana Tovahâ€Â greetings Wednesday.
The Jewish New Year begins at sundown.
Congress must act now to stop filthy factory farming of the sea
It’s not every summer that a fish lands on the cover of TIME Magazine. But that’s just what happened this July, signaling that the future of our nation’s fisheries has become a pressing issue to be seriously debated among the federal government, environmental and consumer groups and of course, fishermen. Unfortunately, this debate was heating up at a time when Congress was mostly focused on issues like the debt ceiling â€" and right before they left town for congressional summer vacations.
Now that the summer is over, it’s time for Congress to weigh in.
“There's no denying that aquaculture [fish farming] can be messy,†the TIME story acknowledged. “A badly run near-shore farm of 200,000 salmon can flush nitrogen and phosphorus into the water at levels equal to the sewage from a town of 20,000 people.â€
Poll: Pennsylvania voters want to keep winner-take-all electoral system
A majority of Pennsylvania voters want the state to keep its winner-take-all electoral system rather than switch to awarding electoral votes based on which candidate won each congressional district.
According to the Quinnipiac University poll released on Wednesday, 52 percent of Keystone state voters want the state to keep its winner-take-all system while 40 percent want to switch to the winner by majority-of-districts system proposed by Pennsylvania Republicans.
The poll also found that voters, by 57 percent to 32 percent, say that Pennsylvania Republicans want to switch away from the winner-take-all system to help Republican presidential candidates instead of to improve how the state elects candidates.
Broken down by party lines, 63 percent of Democrats and 53 percent of independent voters want to keep the winner-take-all system. Thirty percent of Democrats and 43 percent of independents prefer the new system. Republicans are actually! almost perfectly split on changing the system. According to Quinnipiac, 44 percent want to change it and 48 percent do not.
"Overall, most Pennsylvanians think the proposal is being presented to give partisan advantage to Republicans," Quinnipiac University Polling Institute assistant director Tim Malloy said in a statement. "By large margins, Democrats and independent voters are not buying that 'will of the voters' argument."
Pennsylvania Gov. Tim Corbett (R) and Pennsylvania state Senate Majority Leader Domnic Pileggi (R) have been leading the push to switch to the new winner-by-majority-of-districts system. Democrats have blasted it as a partisan move to help Republicans win the s! tate in 2012.
I miss Bill Clinton
His was a presidency that brought us DNA samples; Don’t ask, don’t tell; school uniforms; and wagging fingers regarding a certain intern.
But set all that aside (if you can), and recall some of the fiscal successes of his presidency, and it’s easy to long for those days.
No teleprompter for Christie at Reagan Library speech
Noticeably absent from New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie's address at the Reagan Library in California Tuesday was the use of a teleprompter.
Perry, Romney send their wives out on the campaign trail
The Republican presidential front-runners are sending their wives out on the campaign trail this month.
Anita Perry and Ann Romney will both pop up at fundraising events in early, key election states this month, ramping up participation in their husbands' campaigns.
'A house is not a home if there's no one there'
Even as housing prices decline, the average home price in America is still almost four times annual income, making financing a home the only option for many people. When housing finance first took hold as the primary method by which Americans bought homes, in the 1950s, the average house cost about one year’s income. The run-up in housing prices has made it such that even those who get into homes don’t actually own them for most of their lives. They finance, often a small fraction of the value of the home (holding less than 1 percent equity in many cases).
Report: Rubio writing an autobiography
Freshman Sen. Marco Rubio (R-Fla.) is writing an autobiography, according to The Miami Herald.
“I’d like to tell a little bit about my upbringing, and how my upbringing has led me to some of the policy conclusions I’ve reached,†Rubio said in a story published Tuesday. “And I’d like to tell about the campaign, my time in the Legislature.â€
Rubio enjoys strong support from the Tea Party movement and also seems well positioned for the vice presidential spot on the Republican ticket in 2012. An autobiography published at this time would take advantage of Rubio’s growing popularity.
Biden denies sexism at the White House
Vice President Biden on Tuesday denied claims by writer Ron Suskind that raised questions about sexism in the White House.
Â
“I look around … I don’t see any of it,†Biden told the all-woman cast of ABC’s “The View.â€
Biden, who appeared on the daytime talk show to discuss his campaign to confront sexual violence against women, said the writer “obviously†didn’t talk to his wife Jill or to first lady Michelle Obama before making the claim.
In his book, Confidence Men: Wall Street, Washington and the Education of a President, Suskind quotes Anita Dunn, a former communications director, as saying the White House “actually fit all of the classic legal requirements for a genuinely hostile workplace for women.â€
Spur U.S. retirement security, preserve and expand S-ESOPs
In a recent tax reform hearing, Finance Committee Chairman Max Baucus (D-MT) noted that nearly 30 percent of all Americans in the workforce for 25 or more years have zero retirement savings. Meanwhile, Sen. Orrin Hatch (R-UT) noted that the average American will face over $200,000 in out-of-pocket post-retirement medical costs alone. “We should probably be expanding opportunities to save,†he said.
Â
There is bipartisan agreement that too many Americans do not set aside sufficient resources to live comfortably in retirement. One needed policy response to this unfortunate situation would be to preserve and expand retirement programs through which many Americans save. A useful structure is that of the S corporation employee stock ownership plan, or “S-ESOP,†which helps to generate billions of dollars in retirement savings each year for American workers.Â
Suspend elections?
North Carolina Gov. Beverly Perdue just came out with a startling thought about how to solve our nation’s economic woes â€" suspend democracy.
That’s right, in Gov. Perdue’s world, the blame for our massive debt and almost unprecedented joblessness falls on the voters.
Her theory is that voters who hold their elected officials accountable for their actions need to be taken out of the governmental system to allow politicians leeway to take whatever actions they choose, without fear of the ballot box.
I’m confident that many politicians have wondered to themselves about what it would be like not to have to worry about those pesky voters. President Obama himself recently told people that it would be so much easier to be the president of China.
Spur US retirement security, preserve and expand S-ESOPs
In a recent tax reform hearing, Finance Committee Chairman Max Baucus (D-MT) noted that nearly 30 percent of all Americans in the workforce for 25 or more years have zero retirement savings. Meanwhile, Sen. Orrin Hatch (R-UT) noted that the average American will face over $200,000 in out-of-pocket post-retirement medical costs alone. “We should probably be expanding opportunities to save,†he said.
Â
There is bipartisan agreement that too many Americans do not set aside sufficient resources to live comfortably in retirement. One needed policy response to this unfortunate situation would be to preserve and expand retirement programs through which many Americans save. A useful structure is that of the S corporation employee stock ownership plan, or “S-ESOP,†which helps to generate billions of dollars in retirement savings each year for American workers.Â
Obama to headline Human Rights Campaign national dinner
President Obama will headline the keynote speech at the Human Rights Campaign's annual national dinner on Oct. 1.
"This has been a remarkable year in the fight for LGBT equality," Human Rights Campaign (HRC) President Joe Solmonese said in a statement. "We’re thrilled to be joined by national leaders and inspiring artists as we celebrate our victories and redouble our efforts for the fights that remain ahead."
This will be the second time Obama gave a speech at the national HRC dinner, which comes three months after New York state legalized same-sex marriage and the same year that the Obama administration successfully repealed "Don't ask, don't tell."
In the past, Obama had received criticism from the gay community for being too slow on ending the military policy. But since the repeal, Obama has received comparably less criticism on the issue.
Ron Paul should kidnap Chris Christie
Here is how Ron Paul can win. He can kidnap Chris Christie. Hold Christie hostage in a cabin. With Christie now receiving the media adoration once given to the buffoon Donald Trump, then poured on the hapless Rick Perry, my kidnap plan could propel Paul to the White House. Here's how it would work:
Every morning, outside the cabin, Paul could host a news conference to end the Christie kidnap. Imagine: With the media herd hungrily assembled, Chris Mathews would breathlessly ask Paul: "When will you release Christie?†Ron would reply: "I will that discuss that soon, but first I want to discuss my plans to end secrecy of the Federal Reserve Board" to the huge audience.
Matt Drudge and Roger Ailes would have a field day with the Christie kidnap.
Sarah Palin/Nikki Haley in 2012 or Chris Christie/Jeb Bush?
Like a real assassin, a political assassin like Joe McGinniss understands the subtle and unspoken lore of his craft: He is doing the secret work of his community in his dark corner. He knows and they know. In McGinniss’s case they actually pay him to do it. Like a suicide bomber in Ramallah or Madrid (or shots fired in Memphis or the grassy knoll in Houston) he is hero just for one day to his silent company. But with Sarah Palin it is quite literally true that whatever doesn’t kill her makes her stronger. And makes us stronger. Same with Nikki Haley of South Carolina, who underwent the same torrid and savage assassination attempts while the women on the left in the publishing houses and newspapers in New York and Washington remained silent, otherwise occupied. Maybe Sarah and Nikki should go it alone, together.
Cantor pressed FEMA for emergency aid for his district during budget fight
According to the Richmond Times-Dispatch, Cantor held a conference call with FEMA and county officials to press the government officials to provide more information on when and how disaster aid would be coming. He has also lobbied Department of Homeland Security secretary Janet Napolitano on behalf of his district.
FEMA's budget has been in turmoil this month as Democrats and Republicans bickered over stopgap funding for the agency's emergency relief fund. Republicans have demanded that additional funding be offset by cuts in other areas of the federal budget, while Democrats argued that the relief effort merited additional deficit spending. A deal was reached Monday.
House Democrats launch social media competition
House Minority Whip Steny Hoyer (D-Md.) launched a social media competition for House Democrats on Monday, designed to encourage member outreach through Twitter, Facebook and YouTube.
The friendly “Online All-Star Competition†is the second social media competition hosted by the Democrats, following the first event in June 2010.
“As a caucus, we are always striving to utilize the latest technology to distribute information as quickly and effectively as possible, and online media sites are important tools for members to use as an additional means of interacting with their constituents,†Hoyer said. “Last year’s contest produced over 43,000 new followers on Facebook, Twitter and YouTube, and 50 new accounts from members of the Democratic Caucus, and I am hopeful that this year’s competition will once again encourage members to continue to engage th! eir online followers in creative and thoughtful ways.â€
New poll shows some Republican gains, but majority disappointed with both parties
In what could be an encouraging sign for congressional Republicans, the party's favorability ratings are rebounding after a hard summer where Americans expressed significant frustration with GOP tactics in negotiations over raising the federal debt ceiling. Still, a majority of Americans believe neither political party's policies are good for the country, according to a poll released by CNN/ORC International Tuesday.
Thirty-nine percent of Americans have a favorable opinion of the Republican Party, up from 33 percent in August and within striking distance of the party's poll ratings before the debt-ceiling crisis. Favorability numbers for Speaker John Boehner (R-Ohio) have risen from 33 percent to 37 percent since August, while Senate Republican leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) saw a 2 percent increase in favorability.
Still, Republican numbers lag behind those of Democrats: Forty-four percent of Americans have a positive opinion of Democrats, although! that number is down from 47 percent in August, showing encouraging trends for the GOP.
Labor woes make Dreamliner delivery a bittersweet celebration for Boeing
Boeing will deliver its first 787 Dreamliner airplane today. Bought by All Nippon Airways, the plane will be flown from Seattle to Japan. Heralded as the future of commercial air travel, as well as the future of the Boeing Corporation, the sophisticated carbon-composite aircraft has been plagued by problems of delay and quality control in the company’s increasingly complex global supply chain. Three years behind schedule, the cost of the Dreamliner has exceeded $32 billion, over double the usual development cost of a new airliner.
But it is not only delay and spiraling costs that have dampened celebrations over the delivery of the first $200 million plane. Since April 2011, Boeing has been embroiled in an intense, and very public, dispute with the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) and Machinists union over its decision to build a $750 million, non-union assembly plant for the Dreamliner in South Carolina, rather than expand production at its l! ong-established unionized plant in Everett, Washington, where the All Nippon plane was build.
Report: Cantor pressed FEMA for timeline on emergency aid to his district during budget fight
House Majority Leader Eric Cantor (R-Va.), who controversially demanded that Federal Emergency Management Agency disaster funding be tied to federal budget cuts first, is pressing the agency to provide a timeline for disaster aid to victims of the August earthquake in his Virginia district.
According to the Richmond Times-Dispatch, Cantor held a conference call Friday with FEMA and county officials to press the government officials to provide more information on when and how disaster aid would be coming. He has also lobbied Department of Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano on behalf of his district.
FEMA's budget has been in turmoil this month as Democrats and Republicans bickered over stopg! ap funding for the agency's emergency relief fund. Republicans have demanded that additional funding be offset by cuts in other areas of the federal budget, while Democrats argued that the relief effort merited additional deficit spending.
BP: One year later, Americans continue to pay the price
In September 2010, engineers successfully capped BP’s ruptured Deepwater Horizon oil rig, after it spilled estimated 4.9 million barrels of crude oil into the Gulf of Mexico. This month, one year after a milestone in the worst environmental disaster in America’s history, its effects continue to devastate the region’s economy and the families who live there.
Adding insult to these American’s injuries, BP was able to write-off a whopping $13 billion of its clean-up costs on its taxes, forcing American families to pay the tab for the damage the oil company created.
This summer, an ExxonMobil pipeline rupture polluted at least 10 miles of Montana’s Yellowstone River. And like BP, lawyers and politicians will make sure that Americans pay the damages by permitting the world’s most profitable corporation to write-off clean up costs on its taxes.
That’s in addition to the $15 billion Americans pay every year in taxpayer-funded subs! idies and special tax breaks to the oil and gas industry.
NC governor: Suspend elections so Congress can focus on economy
North Carolina Gov. Bev Perdue (D) proposed suspending congressional elections for a cycle so legislators could focus on fixing the economy.
"I think we ought to suspend, perhaps, elections for Congress for two years and just tell them we won't hold it against them, whatever decisions they make, to just let them help this country recover," Perdue said Tuesday, according to the Raleigh News & Observer. "I really hope that someone can agree with me on that. You want people who don't worry about the next election."
According to the North Carolina newspaper, it's unclear whether Perdue was serious, although her tone did not suggest a joke.
The comme! nt is especially unexpected coming from a Democrat, given the House is controlled by Republicans, and Democrats have accused the GOP of being responsible for legislative gridlock that has hurt the economy.
Sugar: It's about time to end US collectivist policies
There is finally a concerted effort in Congress to make changes to U.S. sugar policy, and it’s about time. For decades, no other agricultural policy has been more counterproductive for American consumers and business, not to mention the farmers in less developed nations who could otherwise serve many, if not most, of our needs for sugar.
Â
The recent clash of wills in Washington over federal spending gave ample evidence of a system tilted to favor some groups over others, often regardless of economic merit. Most of our leaders now recognize that these old ways must change, that costly entitlement programs need to be re-examined.
Â
In its various guises since 1934, the U.S. sugar program has deliberately kept the cost of domestic sugar several times that of world market prices. Needlessly, our consumers pay far more for every product that uses sugar as an ingredient â€" from corn flakes to colas, from pastries to baby foods. The impact falls hardest! on families already struggling to make ends meet in an uncertain economy.
Â
Equally egregious, small businesses and food manufacturers of every type have been forced to move processing plants offshore, eliminating thousands of jobs in a nation suffering over 9 percent unemployment. Our U.S. Department of Commerce estimates that 112,000 jobs have been lost in sugar-using industries over a 12-year period. In my home state of Tennessee, Standard Candy Company â€" the original maker of King Leo Candy â€" sold the brand to Quality Candy Company in Mexico, driven in large part by our government-mandated higher price for sugar in the U.S.
Bachmann warns Hezbollah possibly installing training camps, missile sites in Cuba
Republican presidential candidate Michele Bachmann said yesterday that there was a possibility that Cuba was working with Hezbollah, a Lebanese terrorist organization, and warned of the possibility of the group installing missile or weapon caches on the island just off the shore of Florida.
"Why would you normalize trading with a country that sponsors terror? There’s reports that have come out that Cuba has been working with another terrorist organization called Hezbollah," Bachmann said at a rally in Cedar Rapids, Iowa. "And Hezbollah is potentially looking at wanting to be part of missile sites in Iran and, of course, when you’re 90 miles offshore from Florida, you don’t want to entertain the prospect of hosting bases or sites where Hezbollah could have training camps or perhaps have missile sites or weapons sites in Cuba. This would be foolish."
Bachmann was referring to a report in the Italian daily Corriere della Sera, which claime! d that Hezbollah was setting up a base in Cuba to target Israelis in Latin America. The article was circulated on some conservative blogs, but did not report that Hezbollah planned to import weapons; rather, the terror operation was said to be oriented around intelligence collection, coordination of the group's logistics in Latin America, and identification forgery.Â
Why not embrace America's oil and gas boom to revive the moribund economy?
Over the past three years, we have seen a dramatic rebound in America’s oil and natural gas production after a hiatus of almost 40 years. This has occurred despite falling output in Alaska, the moratorium on deep-water drilling imposed in the wake of the Gulf of Mexico oil-rig blowout last year, and extremely low prices for natural gas. New technologies for extracting oil and gas from deep under the ocean floor as well as shale formations have been largely responsible for the country’s fossil fuel renaissance.
All this is good news for America’s consumers. Though gasoline and diesel prices have jumped 25 percent over the past year, absent the 11 percent increase in oil production from U.S. fields, consumers might be paying even more. At the same time, falling oil imports chopped about $20 billion off America’s trade deficit last year. Abundant new supplies of natural gas at low cost have reduced the home heating and electric bills for millions o! f American households.
In a sluggish economy, energy-producing states like Texas, Oklahoma, Arkansas, North Dakota and Louisiana are benefiting from the job and income growth associated with the resurgent oil and gas sector. Each of these states currently posts unemployment rates below the U.S. average of 9.1 percent and each has posted job gains over the past year, led by energy.
Party fundraisers pause bickering for birthday exchange
Proving politicians can set aside politics for special occasions, Republican National Committee Chairman Reince Priebus reached out to his Democratic counterpart Tuesday on the anniversary of her birth.
Priebus tweeted, "Wishing @DWStweets a happy birthday today."
Democratic National Committee Chairwoman Debbie Wasserman Schultz (Fla.), who turned 45 today, replied: “Thanks so much! Home w/ my family in SoFla today. Best gift."
Priebus and Wasserman Schultz have ramped up their public sparring in recent days, as they are heading into campaign season. Priebus took a jab at President Obama's 2008 slogan in ! a joint interview on CBS's "Face the Nation" on Sunday.
"It sounds like the new slogan is no longer 'hope and change,' " he said. "It's, 'Hey, it could've been worse.' Great bumper sticker Debbie, I hope it works for you."
Wasserman Schultz backed Obama's strategy during the interview. (Watch the chairmen mix it up.)
Birthday greetings kept Wasserman Schultz busy on Tuesday morning â€" she tweeted thanks to long-time Democratic political strategist Donna Brazile and the Florida nonprofit Hispanic Unity.
Axelrod: Next election will be a 'titanic struggle'
Obama senior campaign adviser David Axelrod said Tuesday that the next presidential election would be a "titanic struggle."
"We don’t have the wind at our backs this election,†Axelrod said according to the Boston Globe while speaking at Saint Anselm College's New Hampshire Institute of Politics. “We have the wind in our face because the American people have the wind in their faces. This is going to be a titanic struggle."
Axelrod added though that the elections won't be a cakewalk for Republican presidential field either.
"It’s not going to! be enough to simply point fingers of blame to try to lay on him responsibility for all America’s ills without offering prescriptions for how to solve them," Axelrod said.
At the same event, Axelrod also criticized the Republican field for sticking too closely to the "Tea Party line" and refusing to embrace President Obama's $447 billion American Jobs Act plan for job creation.
The Obama administration has been touting the plan, which includes a combination of tax cuts and new government spending, as a proposal that Republicans and Democrats both should be willing to embrace. Democrats have accused Republicans of playing politics with policy by not embracing the plan even though it offers a number of sticking points that GOPers have called for â€"such as an extension of the employee payroll tax cut.
Romney welcomes Perry to Maryland
A new video from Mitt Romney’s presidential campaign Tuesday hits Rick Perry on the topic of illegal immigration, doubling down on Romney’s previous remarks that Perry could pass for a Democrat.
“Maryland welcome[s] you. You’ll fit right in,†Romney tweeted Perry, along with the link to the video.
Â
The Web video, titled “They agree,†plays up similarities between Perry, President Obama and Maryland Gov. Martin O’Malley (D). Romney’s campaign points out that earlier this month, O’Malley praised Perry for legislation he supported, as governor of Texas, extending in-state tuition at state colleges to illegal immigrants who graduated from a Texas high school.
Â
“If you’re a United States citizen from any one of the other states, you have to pay $100,000 more [than an i! llegal resident of Texas],†Romney says in a debate clip included in the video. "That doesn't make sense to me."
Â
Watch the video below:
Ron Paul and Jon Stewart joke about media coverage, war on drugs
Republican presidential candidate Ron Paul appeared on Comedy Central's The Daily Show Monday night, bantering with host Jon Stewart about the media's treatment of the Republican primary field.
Stewart, who mocked the media for largely ignoring Paul earlier this year when the libertarian congressman finished second in the Iowa straw poll, jokingly told Paul that he should change his stance on some key issues to get more attention at the Republican debates.Â
Paul laughed, but declined the opportunity - facetiously offered by Stewart - to declare support for war on Iran. "Where would my supporters be?" the Texas congressman asked.
Huntsman hits Perry of foreign policy, focuses efforts on New Hampshire
Republican presidential candidate Jon Huntsman hit Rick Perry on foreign policy experience Tuesday, arguing that the Texas governor would have to learn on the job if elected.
"A lot of presidents don't [have foreign policy experience], they learn it on the job," huntsman said Tuesday on MSNBC. "Governors don't typically have a lot of exposure to the world."
Huntsman also hit Perry for criticizing President Obama last week as the president negotiated to block a bid by the Palestinian Authority for statehood at the United Nations. Perry, who stood with Jewish leaders at the speech, was highly critical of the president's effort on behalf of Israel.
Bachmann: Presidential bid will depend upon an 'inner assurance'
Conservative GOP Rep. Michele Bachmann said her decision whether to run for president will depend on an "inner assurance."
Pelosi says she's 'proud' of Wisconsin Democrats who fled
House minority leader says she supports senators who left the state to stop a vote on workers' bargaining rights.
Ex-Gov. Blagojevich sentencing delayed
Blagojevich's sentencing could range from at least 30 years to life in prison, and his lawyers plan on fighting for probation.
Kirk: Eliminate military aid to Pakistan
The senator's call comes as lawmakers and military brass have warned the nation to cut ties with a Taliban-affiliated group.
When Rick Perry drops out: Ron Paul could be second place, Republicans enter the Wild West
I wrote in August that Rick Perry will self- destruct within 30 days. His prospects for the presidency were as phony as the fantasy of a two-person race was false. Perry is a phony conservative who is not conservative. He is a pay-for-play politician who gobbled up Obama stimulus like a hound dog eating a bone, and created oceans of new government jobs in Texas while his big donors mysteriously received big government contracts. The Texas deficit ballooned and the Texas jobless rate doubled on Rick Perry's watch.
Romney meets privately with Trump
Mitt Romney met with business magnate Donald Trump on Monday in New York City, but dodged media coverage.
“We hit it off really well,†Trump said of Romney on CNN. "We agreed on a lot of things."
Romney visited Trump’s office at Trump Tower in midtown Manhattan in the afternoon, but his entrance and exit were kept secret. The meeting ended after about an hour, at about 3 p.m., according to MSNBC.
“It was deliberate. We wanted to keep it as private as we could,†Trump said.