Saturday, April 10, 2010
Friday, April 9, 2010
Supreme Court Justice Stevens To Retire
The AP reports that "Supreme Court Justice John Paul Stevens, the court’s oldest member and leader of its liberal bloc, says he is retiring. President Barack Obama now has his second high court opening to fill. Stevens says he will step down when the court finishes its work for the summer in late June or early July. … The timing of his announcement leaves ample time for the White House to settle on a successor and Senate Democrats, who control 59 votes, to conduct confirmation hearings and a vote. Republicans have not ruled out an attempt to delay confirmation. The leading candidates to replace Stevens are Solicitor General Elena Kagan, 49, and federal appellate Judges Merrick Garland, 57, and Diane Wood, 59." Tweet
Thursday, April 8, 2010
Israeli Prime Minister Backs Out Of Obama International Nuclear Summit After Egypt And Turkey Make Clear They Intend To Make Israel The Issue
Reuters reports that "Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has canceled a planned trip to Washington next week for President Barack Obama's 47-country nuclear security summit conference. He made the decision after learning Egypt and Turkey intended to raise the issue of Israel's presumed nuclear arsenal at the conference, a senior government official said on Friday. Israel is believed to be the only nuclear-armed power in the Middle East but has never confirmed or denied that it possesses atomic weapons," though it should pointed out that Pakistan also has nuclear weapons. Reuters further reports that it "has not signed the nuclear non-proliferation treaty, or NPT. Netanyahu saw Obama at the White House late last month for talks on the stalled Middle East peace process with the Palestinians, but they failed to see eye to eye and relations between the two leaders remain at a low ebb... Israeli media said Netanyahu feared that Islamic countries attending the summit would try to shift its focus from nuclear terrorism to a concerted attack on his country's presumed nuclear weapons capacity. The White House said it had been informed Netanyahu would not attend the summit and that Deputy Prime Minister Dan Meridor would lead the Israeli delegation."
"The prime minister has decided to cancel his trip to Washington to attend the nuclear conference next week, after learning that some countries including Egypt and Turkey plan to say Israel must sign the NPT," the Israeli official said.
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Qatari Diplomat Who Caused Plane Scare Was To Meet Jailed Al-Qaeda Terrorist
The AP reports that a "Qatari diplomat who caused a bomb scare after sneaking a smoke in an airplane bathroom was traveling for a consular visit to see an imprisoned al-Qaida agent. A State Department official and another person close to the matter say Mohammed Al-Madadi was going to meet Ali Al-Marri for an official visit. Consular officials frequently visit foreigners held in the United States to make sure they are being treated well." Tweet
Wednesday, April 7, 2010
Number Of States Challenging Constitutionality Of Obamacare Reaches 18
Reuters reports the "joint lawsuit led by Florida and now grouping 18 states was filed on March 23 by mostly Republican attorney generals. It claims the sweeping reform of the $2.5 trillion U.S. healthcare system, pushed through by Democrats in the Congress after months of bitter partisan fighting, violates state-government rights in the U.S. Constitution and will force massive new spending on hard-pressed state governments. While some legal scholars think the suits will reach the Supreme Court, many agree that the supremacy clause of the Constitution, which puts the powers of the U.S. government above those of the states, will trump the states' arguments."
"We welcome the partnership of Indiana, North Dakota, Mississippi, Nevada and Arizona as we continue fighting to protect the constitutional rights of American citizens and the sovereignty of our states," Florida Attorney General Bill McCollum said.
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Nearly Half Of US Households Escape Federal Income Tax
The AP reports that about "47 percent will pay no federal income taxes at all for 2009. Either their incomes were too low, or they qualified for enough credits, deductions and exemptions to eliminate their liability. That's according to projections by the Tax Policy Center, a Washington research organization." Tweet
Iranian President Ahmadenijad: Obama Is A "Amatuer Politician"
Reuters reports that Ahmadinejad said on Iranian television: "Obama made these latest remarks because he is inexperienced and an amateur politician. American politicians are like cowboys. Whenever they have legal shortcomings, their hands go to their guns." Further, "If they (Israel) attack Iran, possibly no trace will be left from the Zionist regime (Israel)," Defense Minister Ahmad Vahidi was quoted as saying by semi-official Mehr news agency. Tweet
Obama Bans Islam, Jihad From National Security Strategy Document
The AP reports that "President Barack Obama’s advisers will remove religious terms such as 'Islamic extremism' from the central document outlining the U.S. national security strategy and will use the rewritten document to emphasize that the United States does not view Muslim nations through the lens of terror, counterterrorism officials said. The change is a significant shift in the National Security Strategy, a document that previously outlined the Bush Doctrine of preventative war and currently states: 'The struggle against militant Islamic radicalism is the great ideological conflict of the early years of the 21st century.' The officials described the changes on condition of anonymity because the document still was being written, and the White House would not discuss it. But rewriting the strategy document will be the latest example of Obama putting his stamp on U.S. foreign policy, like his promises to dismantle nuclear weapons and limit the situations in which they can be used. The revisions are part of a larger effort about which the White House talks openly, one that seeks to change not just how the United States talks to Muslim nations, but also what it talks to them about, from health care and science to business startups and education." Tweet
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