Friday, January 28, 2011
Thursday, January 27, 2011
Radical Islamist Cleric Arrested Crossing US-Mexico Border
The LA Times reports that U.S. "border authorities have arrested a controversial Muslim cleric who was deported from Canada to Tunisia three years ago and was caught earlier this month trying to sneak into California inside the trunk of a BMW, according to court documents. Said Jaziri, the former Imam of a Muslim congregation in Montreal, was hidden inside a car driven by a San Diego-area man who was pulled over by U.S. Border Patrol agents near an Indian casino east of San Diego. Jaziri allegedly paid a Tijuana-based smuggling group $5,000 to get him across the border near Tecate, saying he wanted to be taken to a 'safe place anywhere in the U.S.' The arrest marks the unexpected resurfacing of the 43-year-old cleric, whose protracted legal battle to avoid deportation drew headlines in Canada. A Tunisian immigrant, Jaziri was deported for failing to disclose a criminal conviction in France while applying for refugee status in the mid-1990s."
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Wednesday, January 26, 2011
Liberal Congressman Dennis Kucinich Sues House Cafeteria Over An Olive Pit
Maybe next time this far-left Congressman should cut down on the vegetables. Of course if he were in San Francisco, we would never dare have him order a Happy Meal. The Congressman is actually seeking $150,000 for biting an olive pit:
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TweetSome States Look To "Nullification" And Have State Legislatures Declare Obamacare Unconstitutional And Void
The AP reports that "Republican lawmakers in nearly a dozen states are reaching into the dusty annals of American history to fight President Obama's health care overhaul. They are introducing measures that hinge on 'nullification,' Thomas Jefferson's late 18th-century doctrine that purported to give states the ultimate say in constitutional matters. GOP lawmakers introduced such a measure Wednesday in the Idaho House, and Alabama, Kansas, Maine, Missouri, Montana, Oregon, Nebraska, Texas and Wyoming are also talking about the idea. Regardless of the very dubious constitutional nature of the efforts, the nullification push has become a rallying cry in conservative states at a time when anti-government angst is running high and 'state's rights' are a popular belief among the tea party crowd. Delegates at Idaho's Republican convention last year urged seizure of federal lands and resurrection of the gold standard. Conservatives in Montana lined up the out the door of a legislative committee room last week to speak in favor of a bill that would make sheriffs the supreme local authorities, another measure widely believed to be unconstitutional. In Texas, a nullification proposal threatens state officials who don't comply with jail time and fines... In Alabama, a version of nullification sponsored last year by Republican Sen. Scott Beason passed the Senate, but died in a Democrat-led House committee. He'll resurrect it this year." Tweet
CBO: Social Security Will Start Running A Permanent Deficit This Year, Not In 2016
The AP reports that the "Congressional Budget Office said Wednesday that Social Security will pay out $45 billion more in benefits this year than it will collect in payroll taxes, further straining the nation's finances. The deficits will continue until the Social Security trust funds are eventually drained, in about 2037. Previously, CBO said Social Security would start running permanent deficits in 2016. In the short term, Social Security is suffering from a weak economy that has payroll taxes lagging and applications for benefits rising. In the long term, Social Security will be strained by the growing number of baby boomers retiring and applying for benefits." Tweet
Medicare’s Chief Actuary: Paul Ryan’s Plan Could Control Health-Care Costs Better Than ObamaCare
The Daily Caller Reports that the "government’s chief actuary for Medicare spending on Wednesday said he had more confidence that Republican Paul Ryan’s plan to reform entitlements would drive down health-care costs than President Obama’s recently passed overhaul. Richard S. Foster, the chief actuary of the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, made the comment in response to questions from lawmakers during House Budget Committee hearing. Rep. Chris Van Hollen, the ranking Democrat from Maryland, went on the attack against committee chairman Paul Ryan’s 'Road Map' plan, which is a long-term proposal to make entitlement spending solvent. Van Hollen pressed Foster on whether Ryan’s plan would work, prompting Foster to point out that one of the biggest problems in health care now is that most new technology that is developed increases costs rather than decreasing it."
“If there’s a way to turn around the mindset for the people who do the research and development … to get them to focus more on cost-reducing tech and less on cost increasing technology, if you can do that then one of biggest components of [increasing costs] turns to your side,” Foster said. “If you can put that pressure on the research and development community, you might have fighting chance of changing the nature of new medical technology in a way that makes lower cost levels possible.”
Foster said: “The Road Map has that potential. There is some potential for the Affordable Care Act price reductions, though I’m a little less confident about that.”
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NY Lawmaker Actually Proposes Ban On "Talking And Walking"
CBS New York reports that "after targeting distracted drivers, some New York lawmakers want to go after distracted walkers. They are looking to ban them from using iPods, music players and cell phones while walking and crossing the street." To read more visit http://newyork.cbslocal.com/2011/01/25/ny-sen-wants-ban-on-chatting-while-crossing-street/ Tweet
Senator Rand Paul Proposes $500 Billion In Spending Cuts
The AP reports that "U.S. Sen. Rand Paul wants to slash numerous federal programs, including food stamps for the poor, to save $500 billion in a single year. A legislative proposal Paul introduced on Tuesday would slash $42 billion from the U.S. Department of Agriculture's food stamp program -- a 30 percent spending reduction. His proposal would eliminate numerous other programs, including the Corporation for Public Broadcasting, the Consumer Product Safety Commission and the National Endowment for the Arts. Paul said the proposal would roll back federal spending to 2008 levels and eliminate what he considers the most wasteful programs. The Kentucky Republican said he hopes his proposal will spark a dialogue within the Senate about how to repair the nation's economy." Tweet
CBO: This Year's Budget Deficit To Hit $1.5 Trillion
The AP reports that a "continuing weak economy and last month's bipartisan tax cut legislation will drive the government's deficit to a record $1.5 trillion this year, a new government estimate predicts. The eye-popping numbers mean the government will continue to borrow 40 cents for every dollar it spends. The new Congressional Budget Office estimates will add fuel to a raging debate over cutting spending and looming legislation that's required to allow the government to borrow more money as the national debt nears the $14.3 trillion cap set by law. Republicans controlling the House say there's no way they'll raise the limit without significant cuts in spending, starting with a government funding bill that will advance next month." Tweet
Medicare's Independent Expert Says Obamacare Will Not Will Reduce Costs And Will Not Allow Individuals To Keep Their Current Coverage
The Associated Press reports that two "of the central promises of President Barack Obama's health care overhaul law are unlikely to be fulfilled, Medicare's independent economic expert told Congress on Wednesday. The landmark legislation probably won't hold costs down, and it won't let everybody keep their current health insurance if they like it, Chief Actuary Richard Foster told the House Budget Committee. His office is responsible for independent long-range cost estimates. Foster's assessment came a day after Obama in his State of the Union message told lawmakers that he's open to improvements in the law, but unwilling to rehash the health care debate of the past two years. Republicans want to repeal the landmark legislation that provides coverage to more than 30 million people now uninsured, but lack the votes. Foster was asked by Rep. Tom McClintock, R-Calif., for a simple true or false response on two of the main assertions made by supporters of the law: that it will bring down unsustainable medical costs and will let people keep their current health insurance if they like it. On the costs issue, 'I would say false, more so than true,' Foster responded. As for people getting to keep their coverage, 'not true in all cases.'" Tweet
Pro-Choice Institute Says 35% Of Women Have Abortion By Age 45, 95% For "Social Reasons"
The Daily Mail reports that some "35 per cent of women will have had an abortion by the time they are aged 45, a new report has claimed. The pro-abortion rights Alan Guttmacher Institute also reported that 93 per cent of all abortions occur for 'social reasons'. Those include instances such as the mother deciding the child is unwanted or 'inconvenient'." Tweet
Georgia Courtroom Attack From Brother Of Murdered Woman Caught On Tape
The brother of a slain woman rushed the man accused of killing his sister in a Columbus courtroom:
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Tuesday, January 25, 2011
Obligatory Video Of Chinese Pianist Playing Anti-American Tune At White House
Nick Eberstadt, a researcher at the American Enterprise Institute, tells ABC News that the song is “classic Mao-era anti-American invective and it’s astonishing that none of the China experts on the American side called it out before it was put into the program for the banquet.”
Said Eberstadt, a senior adviser to the National Board of Asian Research and a member of the Global Leadership Council at the World Economic Forum. “we have quite a few people who are considered China hands who were at the banquet themselves and the idea that this wouldn’t have rung any alarm bells seems quite astonishing. It’s not quite as familiar to Chinese ears as ‘the Halls of Montezuma and the shores of Tripoli’ but it’s kind of along the same lines.”
Go to 5:40 of the clip from the dinner to watch him play the controversial song:
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Hezbollah Takes Control Of Lebanon Leadership
The Wall Street Journal reports that "Lebanon's parliament appointed billionaire businessman Najib Mikati as prime minister, choosing the candidate backed by Hezbollah and confirming the movement as the country's most powerful military and political force. The vote spurred occasionally violent protests by Sunni youths angry at the ouster of pro-Western Prime Minister Saad Hariri, raising fears that broader clashes could erupt along sectarian divisions in the country, which has long been a battleground for international rivalries. In less than two weeks, Hezbollah's leader Seyed Hassan Nasrallah has used local political alliances and the backing of Iran and Syria to topple Mr. Hariri, and install his candidate of choice to lead the country." Tweet
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