Sounds like they were made for each other...
BOSTON -- The husband of the Alabama professor accused of fatally shooting three colleagues once said he wanted violent revenge on a doctor who gave his wife a bad job review, according to documents that feed growing evidence the woman showed signs of violence long before the latest episode. Is that like Dire Revenge™?
Amy Bishop is charged with killing three colleagues at the University of Alabama-Huntsville on Feb. 12. Investigative files released Tuesday to The Associated Press by the U.S. Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives show that Bishop and her husband, James Anderson, were questioned in 1993 in the attempted mail bombing of Dr. Paul Rosenberg of Boston's Children's Hospital. You send a bomb to the doc?
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#1
The ATF report indicates that black powder used in the bombs and other evidence led them to search the home and office of Bishop and Anderson but that analyses were "unable to tie any of the items in the searches with the suspect explosive device."
Gee, ya mean they didn't build it at home and keep the makings around "just in case"? Darn.
On a more serious note, anyone starting to think body armor, explosive detecting canine(read pet), hi-cap mags for your handgun would be prudent investments before intersecting with these unhinged lefties? What's their next Death Penalty offense? They see you with Dunkin Donuts coffee instead of Starbucks?
#3
mojo IIRC they refused to allow the authorities to search a detached garage at that time and the authorities didn't have a warrant to include the garage.
Might have been illuminating to see what was in there.
One of the nation's most highly decorated veterans was being laid to rest on Wednesday.
Ret. Colonel Robert L Howard, a Medal of Honor recipient who was awarded eight Purple Hearts for his service in the Vietnam War, was to be buried at Arlington National Cemetery in Arlington, Va.
Howard, who died on Dec. 23, was 70.
Howard was wounded 14 times during 54 months of combat duty five tours in Vietnam. He retired from the Army as a full colonel in 2006 after 36 years in the U.S. military including more than 33 years on airborne status.
He was hailed as one of the nation's most heroic soldiers and was believed to be the most highly decorated soldier since World War II.
According to a biographical sketch issued by the U.S. Army Special Forces Command (Airborne), Howard also participated in two movies starring John Wayne, making a parachute jump in "The Longest Day" and appearing as an airborne instructor in "The Green Berets."
President Richard Nixon presented the Medal of Honor to him on March 2, 1971.
#2
MACV/SOG. The most dangerous of the dangerous. From what I've read, some of the things they did are beyond belief.
He must've been an amazing soldier.
Atlanta Progressive News has parted ways with long-serving senior staff writer Jonathan Springston. Apparently, Springston's affinity for fact-based reporting clashed with Cardinale's vision.
And, no, that's not sarcasm.
In an e-mail statement, editor Matthew Cardinale says Springston was asked to leave APN last week because he held on to the notion that there was an objective reality that could be reported objectively, despite the fact that that was not our editorial policy at Atlanta Progressive News.'
The APN's press release says:
We have already begun drafting a more programmatic statement on our editorial position regarding objectivity, inter-subjectivity, and news. To be sure, I've commented on Creative Loafing's blog previously about such issues.
In the meantime, here is some information from our Frequently Asked Questions page:
Progressive news is news that brings us closer to universal health care, living wages, affordable housing, peace, a healthy environment, and voting systems we can trust.
We provide news of concern to working families, and therefore, our writing is geared toward a specific audience. Fortunately, our audienceworking familiescomprises a majority of people in the United States who are largely ignored by corporate media sources.
We believe there is no such thing as objective news. Typically, mainstream media presents itself as objective but is actually skewed towards promoting the corporate agenda of the ultra-wealthy.
APN, on the other hand, does not pretend to be objective. We believe that our news coverage is fair and that our progressive principles are fair. We aim when possible to give voice to all sides, but aim to provide something different than what is already provided by corporate sources.'
Posted by: Mike ||
02/24/2010 15:04 ||
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#4
The Atlanta Progressive News! Unfair and unbalanced! We report! We decide!
Hey, as far as the agenda goes, give 'em points for honesty. But you can't be a legit lefty rag unless you've got a large selection of "escort and private masseuse" ads.
#5
But you can't be a legit lefty rag unless you've got a large selection of "escort and private masseuse" ads.
At least the Craiglist does away with the pretense of birdcage lining. Ever think of the day you'd read - Strike at the heart of the Marxist dialectic, sell your wares on the Craiglist!
#7
But you can't be a legit lefty rag unless you've got a large selection of "escort and private masseuse" ads.
San Diego Reader always has a lotta "free colonic irrigation" ads.
First question - "why is it free? Cuz you're an advocate and enthusiast?"
Second question - "why am I strapped down? Ball gag, who needs a *mmmpphh*....."
Posted by: Frank G ||
02/24/2010 18:51 Comments ||
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#8
Thoughtcrime doubleplus ungood.
Mike
Posted by: Mike Kozlowski ||
02/24/2010 20:55 Comments ||
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The United States has unveiled plans for its new $1 billion high-security embassy in London the most expensive it has ever built.
The proposals were met with relief from both the present embassy's Mayfair neighbours and the residents and developers of the Battersea wasteland where the vast crystalline cube, surrounded by a moat, will be built.
The decision to abandon the former site in Grosvenor Square by 2016 came after a prolonged battle with residents angered by the security measures demanded after the September 11 attacks. More than a hundred residents took out a full-page advertisement in The Times to oppose tighter measures that they said would leave the area more vulnerable to attack.
The new embassy, on a former industrial site behind Battersea power station known for its gay clubs, will be designed by Kieran Timberlake, the Philadelphia architect.
A moat 30 metres (100ft) wide and rolling parkland will separate the building from the main road, protecting it from would-be bombers and removing the need for the blast barriers that so dismayed the people of Mayfair.
The State Department sought to play down the cost of security measures, noting the expense of London building work. But the price puts the London embassy above the US's most fortified missions, including the Baghdad embassy, which cost $600 million (£390 million) but required a further $100 million of work on air conditioning, and the Islamabad embassy, still under construction, which has cost more than $850 million. My reason for posting this is the picture of the architect's model with the article. The embassy is surrounded by much taller buildings. It is going to be np for other governments to keep tabs on it, and the antenna-farm on the roof will be somewhat blocked. Our state department has an AWFUL record of letting other governments bully us into building embassies in the worst locations.
#1
Agreed FR. Plus we'll probably be forced to put British dragons in the moat instead of American ones.
Posted by: Mullah Richard ||
02/24/2010 9:40 Comments ||
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#2
Mullah, I'm sure you're right and I gaurantee that those Brit dragons have had their teeth pulled and their fire ignition systems removed. They also probably had their tails docked and wear blindfolds too.
#8
I personally have no problem with the expense- or the moat. We need a serious embassy in Londonistan. The moat-monsters should be American, however. Obama can claim them as stimulus jobs.
Would someone mind posting the photo from that article, so people can see if my comments about the design are plausible? I have a fear of breaking the Burg's format/margins.
Posted by: European Conservative ||
02/24/2010 17:19 Comments ||
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#12
Eurocon... I wonder if the Citadel of Bitche might be available. For the money being discussed, it could be disassembled and moved to London at half the cost.
Seven Cuban doctors and a nurse sued Cuba, Venezuela and the state-run oil company Petróleos de Venezuela (Pdvsa) for alleged conspiracy to force them to work in conditions of "modern slaves" in order to pay off the Cuban debt with the Venezuelan government for oil supply.
The defendants "intentionally and arbitrarily" held the health staff in "debt servitude" and the staff became "economic slaves" and "political advocates," according to the complaint filed in the United States, Efe reported.
The charges were made last Friday in a Federal Court in Miami by doctors Julio César Lubian, Ileana Mastrapa, Miguel Majfud, María del Carmen Milanés, Frank Vargas, as well as John Doe and Julio César Dieguez, and the nurse Osmani Rebeaux.
In the complaint, the leading defense attorney Arístides Cantón argued that the plaintiffs travelled to Venezuela in "deceit" and "threats," and were forced to work unlimited hours in a social welfare program known as "Mission Barrio Adentro," in areas with high rate of crime.
#2
Doesn't mention if they've defected or not. I assume they have if they're suing in a US federal court.
If they haven't, this doesn't make a lotta sense.
President Hooogo Chavez nearly stormed out of the summit on Monday during a shouting match with his Colombian counterpart. Nearly only counts in horseshoes and nuclear weapons.
The clash took place during a private meeting of heads of state, on the sidelines of a two-day summit of Latin American and Caribbean nations in Cancun, Mexico.
Mr Uribe complained to Mr Chavez about a trade embargo Venezuela has imposed on Colombia, upsetting the Venezuelan president and further exacerbating their falling out ever since Bogota signed a military base agreement with the US last year.
Mr Chavez then accused Mr Uribe of planning his assassination by a paramilitary squad and threatened to walk out of the summit in disgust. Too bad it failed. Perhaps we can offer a technical assistance mission.
"An angry Uribe then shouted: 'Be a man! These issues are meant to be discussed in these venues. You're brave speaking at a distance, but a coward when it comes to talking face to face'," the diplomat said. Close to a double-dog-dare.
Mr Chavez is reported to have replied: "Go to hell!" Is that where he wants to talk face to face? Must need back-up.
President Felipe Calderon of Mexico then attempted to reconcile the pair of fuming leaders, according to the diplomat. "Gentlemen, you can't fight in here, this is the war room."
Mr Calderon said later that Venezuela and Colombia must settle their differences in "respectful dialogue ... to avoid accusations and recriminations". He should stop with the Hillary impression, already. Talking like that may explain why the drug gangs are still running rampant.
His spokesman, Max Cortazar, confirmed the Uribe-Chavez altercation. "There was a hot exchange of views, but without getting down to insults," Mr Cortazar insisted. Insults are when you talk about his mother.
In a broadcast on Venezuelan televison and radio this week, Mr Chavez demanded Britain hand over the Falkland Islands to Argentina in a direct appeal to the Queen. He must think she's a softer touch than Calderone. Misunderestimation.
#3
Basically pendejo means "cuckold". It could mean that "your wife sleeps around" or could mean "your wife is sleeping with me when you aren't looking" depending on the context. It is a pretty nasty insult.
#6
Ok, whatever part of Latin America you are in, it's not the equivalent of an "atta boy, you big stud, you!" like some other words can be (ie. "buey", literally "ox", in some places you're a stud, in others you're a freakin' big dumb idiot).
Posted by: Frozen Al ||
02/24/2010 11:30 Comments ||
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#8
What does "puta pendejo" mean, anyway?
Umm, Pendulous means dangling and Puta means missing so Jim's translation is, "Missing your Dangles", nice slap in the face there.
(Probably wrong, give a shit it's a fun, not an acurate translation)
Posted by: Redneck Jim ||
02/24/2010 13:41 Comments ||
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#9
This is one of those lovely conversations that demonstrate the American knack for enjoying multiple languages. Redneck Jim, I'm going to sleep happily tonight because of your delightful exercise in translation. :-)
U.S. analysts believe they have identified the Chinese author of the critical programming code used in the alleged state-sponsored hacking attacks on Google and other western companies, making it far harder for the Chinese government to deny involvement.
Their discovery came after another team of investigators tracked the launch of the spyware to computers inside two educational institutions in China, one of them with close ties to the military.
A freelance security consultant in his 30s wrote the part of the program that used a previously unknown security hole in the Internet Explorer web browser to break into computers and insert the spyware, a researcher working for the U.S. government told the Financial Times. Chinese officials had special access to the work of the author, who posted pieces of the program to a hacking forum and described it as something he was "working on".
The developments will add to the furore over the hacking campaign, revealed last month when Google said its systems had been compromised. It threatened to pull out of China, and secretary of state Hillary Clinton asked the Chinese foreign minister for a probe.
The disclosure of the cyberspying campaign has brought attention to technology security matters and the policies of the Chinese, who western experts say have been using software vulnerabilities to steal commercial and military know-how.
The Obama administration has pledged to make cyber-security a priority. You'll have to rebuild the internet from the ground up.
"We're realizing there are other aspects of this problem beyond the technological and that there are other agencies that need to get involved," said Mischel Kwon, a former U.S. cybersecurity official now working for RSA Security.
Beyond the immediate forensic inquiry, the work of U.S. researchers sheds light on how cyber-operations are conducted in China.
The man who wrote code to take advantage of the browser flaw is not a full-time government worker, did not launch the attack, and in fact would prefer not be used in such offensive efforts, according to the U.S. team that discovered his role.
"If he wants to do the research he's good at, he has to toe the line now and again," the U.S. analyst said. "He would rather not have uniformed guys looking over his shoulder, but there is no way anyone of his skill level can get away from that kind of thing. The state has privileged access to these researchers' work."
A separate team of U.S. contractors has traced the launch of the spyware to computers at Shanghai Jiaotong University and Lanxiang Vocational School, according to two people familiar with that inquiry.
Jiaotong University has one of the best security departments in the country, U.S. analysts said, with former government cyber commanders in residence.
The state-run Xinhua news agency said officials at both schools denied involvement.
In theory, outsiders could have compromised both schools' machines before using them to collect data from the Western companies.
But US analysts said at least Jiaotong University's networks are closely monitored, making them an odd choice for an independent attacker seeking to avoid detection. In addition, "Our investigation shows the hosts that did the attacks were not compromised that we could tell", said an analyst involved in that probe.
Nationwide strikes have hit various countries across Europe as unhappy workers walk-out in fear of job losses and further pay-cuts. Unhappy workers across Europe have staged walk-outs amid fear of job losses and further pay-cuts, a threatening blow to Europe's pendulum recovery from recession.
In France, air traffic controllers went on strike to protest the merger of five European air traffic control networks.
This is while employees at six Total oil refineries have been on strike for seven days prompting fuel shortages. They are worried about the closure of a Total oil refinery where 800 people are employed.
In Germany the government has managed to bring pilots from its flagship carrier, Lufthansa, back to the negotiation table on the first day of a four-day strike that threatens to cripple air transport in the country.
Elsewhere in Europe, Spain, Britain and Greece are expecting crippling strikes in the days to come.
Spain is expecting trade unionists to take to the streets over changes to the retirement age and widespread unemployment.
British Airways cabin crew voted overwhelmingly in favor of a strike over pay and conditions, but their union said it could not announce any strike dates as it hoped to continue negotiations with BA.
Meanwhile in Greece a nationwide strike is expected to paralyze the country on Wednesday. More than 3,000,000 workers plan to strike after public sector wages were frozen and the government cut salaries by 10% to battle its budget deficit amid pressure from the European Union.
Posted by: Fred ||
02/24/2010 00:00 ||
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#1
If it wasn't for our own poor prospects at the hands of the current regime I would be indulging a fine bout of schadenfreude right about now.
The countries are all going broke and the, mostly, public employees want to strike for more. Yep, EU is on the way to 2nd world status soon at this rate.
The Obama administration raised the stakes in the health care debate Monday, releasing a new blueprint that seeks to bridge the gap between measures passed by the Senate and House of Representatives last year.
If enacted, the president's sweeping compromise plan would constitute the biggest expansion of federal health care guarantees since the enactment of Medicare and Medicaid more than four decades ago. The White House said it would extend coverage to 31 million Americans.
Among other things, the White House said it would expand Medicare prescription drug coverage, increase federal subsidies to help people buy insurance and give the federal government new authority to block excessive rate hikes by health insurance companies.
It increases the threshold -- relative to the Senate bill -- under which a tax on high-end health insurance plans would kick in.
As with both the House and Senate plans, it includes significant reductions in Medicare spending in part through changes in payments made under the Medicare Advantage program.
President Obama's plan does not include a government-run public health insurance option, an idea strongly backed by liberal Democrats but fiercely opposed by both Republicans and key Democratic moderates.
It also eliminates a deeply unpopular provision in the Senate bill worked in by Sen. Ben Nelson, D-Nebraska, that would exempt his Midwestern state from paying increased Medicaid expenses.
Administration officials said Obama's measure would cut the deficit by $100 billion over the next 10 years. They estimate the total cost of the bill to be $950 billion in the next decade.
The Senate bill would cost an estimated $871 billion, according to the nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office, while the more expansive House plan has been estimated to cost more than $1 trillion.
The release of Obama's plan sets the stage for a critical televised health care summit Thursday with top congressional Republicans. The White House is trying to pressure GOP leaders to present a detailed alternative proposal in advance of the meeting.
"We view this as the opening bid for the health meeting" on Thursday, White House communications director Dan Pfeiffer told reporters.
"We took our best shot at bridging the differences" between the House and Senate bills. "It is our hope the Republicans will come together around [their] plan and post it online" before the meeting.
Pfeiffer said Obama will come to Thursday's meeting "with an open mind." The president's willing to back decent Republican ideas if the two sides can have an "honest, open, substantive discussion" in which "both parties can get off their talking points," he said.
GOP leaders have indicated they will attend the meeting but have urged Democrats to scrap the Senate and House bills completely.
They characterized Obama's proposal Monday as setting the stage for a meeting that will amount to little more than political posturing.
"The president has crippled the credibility of this week's summit by proposing the same massive government takeover of health care based on a partisan bill the American people have already rejected," said House Minority Leader John Boehner, R-Ohio.
"This new Democrats-only backroom deal doubles down on the same failed approach that will drive up premiums, destroy jobs, raise taxes and slash Medicare benefits. This week's summit clearly has all the makings of a Democratic infomercial."
Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Kentucky, released a statement calling the plan "disappointing that Democrats in Washington either aren't listening or are completely ignoring what Americans across the country have been saying."
White House press secretary Robert Gibbs dismissed the GOP criticisms, arguing that Republican leaders had asked for this week's meeting for months.
"If they're not the party of no, Thursday's the perfect venue to be the party of yes," Gibbs said.
Under Obama's plan:
The health and human services secretary would work with a seven-member board of doctors, economists and consumer and insurance representatives to review premium hikes. This Health Insurance Rate Authority would provide an annual report to recommend to states whether certain rate increases should be approved, although the secretary could overrule state insurance regulators.
New health insurance subsidies would be provided to families of four making up to $88,000 annually, or 400 percent of the federal poverty level. Compared with the Senate bill, Obama's proposal lowers premiums for families making between $44,000 and $66,000, according to the White House. Compared with the House legislation, it lowers premiums for families making between $55,000 and $88,000.
The Medicare prescription drug "doughnut hole" would be closed by 2020. Under current law, Medicare stops covering drug costs after a plan and beneficiary have spent more than $2,830 on prescription drugs. It starts paying again after an individual's out-of-pocket expenses exceed $4,550.
A 40 percent tax would be imposed on insurance companies providing so-called "Cadillac" health plans valued at more than $27,000 for families. The tax would kick in starting in 2018 for all plans. In contrast, the Senate bill would apply the tax to plans valued at more than $23,000 for families. The House bill does not include the tax, which labor unions vehemently oppose.
The federal government would assist states by picking up 100 percent of the costs of expanded Medicaid coverage through 2017. The federal government would cover 95 percent of costs for 2018 and 2019, and 90 percent in the following years.
Health insurance exchanges would be created to make it easier for small businesses, the self-employed and unemployed to pool resources and purchase less expensive coverage.
Total out-of-pocket expenses would be limited, and insurance companies would be prevented from denying coverage for pre-existing conditions. Insurers would be barred from charging higher premiums based on a person's gender or medical history.
Individuals under Obama's plan would be required to purchase coverage or face a fine of up to $695 or 2.5 percent of income starting in 2016, whichever is greater. The House bill, in contrast, would have imposed a fine of up to 2.5 percent of an individual's income. The Senate plan would have required a person to buy coverage or face a fine of up to $750 or 2 percent of his or her income. All three plans include a hardship exemption for poorer Americans.
Companies with more than 50 employees under Obama's plan would be required to pay a fee of $2,000 per worker if the company does not provide coverage and any of that company's workers receives federal health care subsidies. The first 30 workers would be subtracted from the payment calculation. As with the individual requirement, this represents a compromise between the House and Senate plans.
Some $40 billion in tax credits would be established for small businesses to help them provide health care options for their employees.
States could choose whether to ban abortion coverage in plans offered in the health insurance exchanges. Individuals purchasing plans through the exchanges would have to pay for abortion coverage out of their own funds. The White House is following the Senate's lead. The stricter House version banned abortion coverage in private policies available in the exchange to people receiving federal subsidies.
Illegal immigrants would not be allowed to buy health insurance in the health insurance exchanges. They would be exempted from the individual insurance mandate. As with abortion, the White House is adopting the Senate's language. An "exemption" for illegals? Why should there be any mention of illegals other than they don't get insurance here? Shouldn't illegals have to go back home minus their belongings?
#1
Illegal immigrants would not be allowed to buy health insurance in the health insurance exchanges. They would be exempted from the individual insurance mandate
TRANSLATION:
They are not subject to mandates or fines and will receive healthcare treatment at no cost.
#3
although the secretary could overrule state insurance regulators New health insurance subsidies would be provided A 40 percent tax would be imposed on insurance companies does not include the tax, which labor unions vehemently oppose The federal government would assist states insurance companies would be prevented Insurers would be barred Individuals under Obama's plan would be required to purchase coverage or face a fine under Obama's plan would be required to pay a fee of $2,000 per worker
A Federal Government take over of the Health care Industry you say cmon whatever gave you that idea?
Here's a CNN blog that asks what you would like to see changed in order to fix our broken government. There are some video submissions at the link.
As part of a special initiative Broken Government CNN will devote much of its programming during the week of February 22 to voter frustration over the state of U.S. government. CNN invites you to be a part of this special coverage by answering the following question:
If you ran the government and could cut one program to save taxpayer money, what would that be and why?
Put your thoughts on video and upload them here. CNN will then showcase some of your responses on air and report on the consequences of eliminating those government programs.
#1
well AIG was really bailed out to protect house/senate healthcare and retirement packages with AIG.... So... make them have the same packages and benefits from the same folks us citizens have to take.
But I would say Department of Labor, Education, Housing, and the EPA. Push their responsibilities down to the states - they are not explicitly authorized by the constitution for the Federal Government (commerce clause be damned).
Former Federal Reserve Chairman Alan Greenspan said on Tuesday the U.S. economic recovery was "extremely unbalanced," driven largely by high earners benefiting from recovering stock markets and large corporations.
Small businesses and the jobless are still suffering from the aftermath of a credit crunch that was "by far the greatest financial crisis, globally, ever" -- including the 1930s Great Depression, said Greenspan in an address to a Credit Union National Association conference.
"It's really an extraordinarily unbalanced system because we're dealing with small businesses who are doing badly, small banks in trouble, and of course there is an extraordinarily large proportion of the unemployed in this country who have been out of work for more than six months and many more than a year," said Greenspan, who headed the Fed from 1987 to 2006.
With both housing starts and auto sales "dead in the water," he said he thought it would be difficult to make the case that the economy is poised for a strong rebound.
Greenspan did see signs pointing toward a modest recovery in job creation, saying that staffing levels at U.S. firms, which were deeply cut, remain below what is sustainable in the long run. But unemployment rate could still remain stubbornly high.
"The reason why the unemployment rate is going to be sticky is that as soon as employment starts picking up, a lot of the people who have not been seeking jobs are going to come back into the labor force, and they will keep the official unemployment rate in the 9 percent area, something like that," Greenspan said.
He also said it was important for U.S. policy makers to prevent perceived expectations of inflation that could push up yields on long-term U.S. Treasury securities, which would raise mortgage interest rates and prevent a recovery in the housing market.
The 10-year Treasury yield is the "one statistic that I watch every morning and every afternoon," he said.
#4
You have to wonder about Greenspan when he comes out with this jaw-dropper:
Greenspan said he wants the subprime mortgage market to return. I hope we can find a way of resurrecting the subprime market, because it was working well until those mortgages were widely securitized, he said.
#5
Greenspan may have been right. When something gets widely securitized, it means there is a huge pipeline to support it. People know that there is larger inherent risk in the pipeline, so they pass the subprime loan to the next stage like a hot potato, figuring if they minimize their exposure, there will be less of a problem when it comes crashing down. Apparently the big institutions couldn't avoid the risk as well as they thought they could.
Now if you don't have the pipeline, then people are going to be more careful about who they give a subprime loan to. That was when ACORN stepped in and threatened a racial discrimination lawsuit anyone who wouldn't write these loans to, err, "folks who obviously couldn't afford it". Obviously, the folks who obviously couldn't afford it then morphed into every Tom, Dick, and Harriet in the US who had an apartment budget and mansion taste.
#6
Greenspan sleeps with Andrea Mitchell. His mind has to absorb some of the bitter bitch madness
Posted by: Frank G ||
02/24/2010 20:57 Comments ||
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#7
The true reason the recovery is "extremely unbalanced" is that the actual people running the recovery are themselves extremely unbalanced, in the sense that their super-large egos and self-proclaimed omniscience completely outweighs any connection to reality or common sense.
A month after being crowned the darling of national conservatives, Republican Sen. Scott Brown of Massachusetts is being branded "Benedict Brown" for siding with Democrats in favor of a jobs bill endorsed by the Obama administration. Looks like politics don't work on him. Don't say you weren't warned. As long as he keeps healthcare takeover at bay. He told everyone up front who he was. He's a moderate Republican. It was him or Coakley ...
Like the four other GOP senators who joined him, the man who won the late Democrat Edward Kennedy's seat says it's about jobs, not party politics. And that may be good politics, too.
The four other GOP senators who broke ranks - Olympia Snowe and Susan Collins of Maine, George Voinovich of Ohio and Christopher "Kit" Bond of Missouri - also were criticized on Tuesday. But Brown was the big target on conservative Web sites, talk shows and even the Facebook page his campaign has promoted as an example of his new-media savvy.
"We campaigned for you. We donated to your campaign. And you turned on us like every other RINO," said one writer, using the initials for "Republican-In-Name-Only."
The conservative-tilting Drudge Report colored a photo of Brown on its home page in scarlet.
The new senator responded by calling into a Boston radio station.
"I've taken three votes," Brown said with exasperation. "And to say I've sold out any particular party or interest group, I think, is certainly unfair."
The senator said that by the time he seeks re-election in two years, he will have taken thousands of votes.
"So, I think it's a little premature to say that," he said.
Senate Republican leader Mitch McConnell of Kentucky wasn't particularly perturbed about Brown's vote, saying his election last month has "made a huge, positive difference for us and for the whole legislative agenda."
"We don't expect our members to be in lockstep on every single issue," McConnell added.
Political observers said each of the five Republican senators had solid reasons locally for voting as they did, to cut off a potential Republican filibuster on the bill.
The measure featured four provisions that enjoyed sweeping bipartisan support, including a measure exempting businesses hiring the unemployed from Social Security payroll taxes through December, and giving them a $1,000 credit if new workers stay on the job a full year. It would also renew highway programs through December and deposit $20 billion in the highway trust fund.
It faces a final Senate vote Wednesday.
Snowe and Collins hail from economically ailing Maine, and they can't stray too far from the Democrats who populate much of New England. And Voinovich and Bond also are from states hard hit by the recession.
The latter two also have the ultimate protection from retribution: They're not seeking re-election this fall.
"When you have decided to retire and you are a free agent, you can pretty much do what you want," said Peverill Squire, a political scientist at the University of Missouri-Columbia. And Squire doubted that Bond, retiring after 24 years in the Senate, would have paid much of a political price even if the famous appropriator were seeking re-election.
"He's had no shyness in trying to send money," he said.
While conservative columnist Michelle Malkin used her blog to accuse Voinovich of being a traitor, even suggesting he got some unspecified goody for his vote in favor of the "porkulus" bill, Ohio's governor defended him.
Gov. Ted Strickland, a Democrat, praised the senator for "standing with the people of Ohio over the majority of his party."
For Voinovich, a Republican from a Democratic stronghold, the party defection was nothing new. The two-time Ohio governor and former Cleveland mayor has sprinkled his political career with independent votes that can agitate the GOP. Former President George W. Bush famously visited Ohio in 2003 in an attempt to secure Voinovich's support for a tax cut package.
Voinovich still voted no.
Snowe and Collins, meanwhile, "survive in New England by a unique set of rules," said Dante Scala, political science professor at the University of New Hampshire.
He said: "The way they survive with voters in their homes states is by making it clear that, first and foremost, they're the servants of their constituencies, not the party label. So, they'll make a point of defying their party and going their own way."
Brown got little such leeway, despite campaigning as an "independent Republican" and publicly eschewing national supporters.
National Republican groups, as well as "tea party" members and an array of conservative special interests, all claimed a share of the credit for his upset win in the battle to succeed the legendary Kennedy.
They felt especially justified after funneling millions to Brown's campaign, including $348,000 on late television ads paid by the California-based Tea Party Express.
"You've already turned out to be as big an idiot as Obama," said one Facebook poster. "Enjoy your one term as senator."
One local political scientist believes the vote was anything but dumb, considering Brown faces re-election in less than three years.
"Scott Brown knows that he's going to be judged differently in 2012 than he was in 2010," said Jeffrey Berry, a political science professor at the senator's alma mater, Tufts University. "He's facing a different electorate, with more Democratic voters, and Barack Obama at the top of the ticket, in what is still a blue state."
#1
Voting based on perceived future self preservation as opposed to what is right for a bankrupt and ailing nation? Nothing new here. Move along please.
#2
I am deeply suspicious of this. First of all, Brown campaigned heavily on jobs creation. Second of all, who, exactly, is "branding him a turncoat"?
If he's being called a "turncoat" by the NYT and MSNBC, I suspect it is less than honest. I think more than anything else, Democrats are upset that any Republicans have anything to do with a jobs creation bill.
Now, granted, government doesn't create jobs, but that is a side issue.
Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid told reporters Tuesday that Republicans "should stop crying" about the possible use of the parliamentary procedure known as budget reconciliation to pass a health care reform bill. And we expect you to act like a man when you get booted out of your office so hard that your butt ends up between your shoulder blades.
Reid said reconciliation had been used 21 times since 1981, mostly by Republicans when they were in control of the Senate for the passage of items like the Bush tax cuts.
Under reconciliation, Democrats would need a simple majority in the Senate to pass legislation, as opposed to the 60 votes needed to break a filibuster.
"They should stop crying about reconciliation as if it's never been done before," Reid said.
Following Senate Democrats' weekly luncheon, Reid said "nothing is off the table" but that "realistically, they should stop crying about this. It's been done 21 times before."
"The question is: Is reconciliation the only way we can do health-care reform?" he said. "The answer to that is no. But I've been told that my Republican friends are lamenting reconciliation, but I would recommend for them to go back and look at history."
"It's done almost every Congress, and they're the ones that used it more than anyone else," he added.
In his own press availability Tuesday, Senate Republican Leader Mitch McConnell said "it appears as if the administration has already made up their mind to go forward with a beefed up Senate version and to try to jam it through under a seldom-used process that we commonly refer to around here as reconciliation."
Republican Whip Sen. Jon Kyl told reporters that "it's hard for us to quite understand why, with reconciliation being planned, we're having a meeting [Thursday] which is allegedly designed to engender some bipartisan agreement for a way forward."
"It seems to me at least that, until the Democratic leaders take reconciliation off the table, it'll be very hard for Republicans to believe that they intend to engage us in good faith," Kyl added.
#1
Oddly enough, I agree with Harry on this one. Republicans should be *threatening* against reconciliation, that if Harry pushes it through, as soon as the Republicans are back in power, they are going to not just *reverse* Obamacare, but they are going go further in the direction of "privatizing" health care than we are right now.
"...Senate Republicans are trying to change the filibuster rules in the Senate and eliminate debate. By going nuclear, they will be able to remove the one check on President Bushs power in Washington and turn the Senate into a rubber stamp for his judicial appointments and Supreme Court nominees.
Our founding fathers built a system of checks and balances into our Constitution, Reid continued. This system has worked for over 200 years, but is now threatened by a handful of power hungry Republicans who will do whatever they want to get their way.
WASHINGTON, Feb 23 (Reuters) - U.S. Air Force officials defended on Tuesday a Pentagon decision to cancel development of the second engine for Lockheed Martin Corp's (LMT.N) F-35 jet fighter, but acknowledged it was a "close call."
Challenged to explain why the Pentagon was so adamantly opposed to the program, Air Force Secretary Michael Donley told the House Armed Services Committee: "We will say up front this has been one of the most difficult issues we have wrestled with. In some respects, it can be considered a close call."
Representative Ike Skelton, the Missouri Democrat who heads the committee, said lawmakers were still waiting to see the business case analysis used to make the decision, a document Defense Secretary Robert Gates promised them three weeks ago.
Continued on Page 49
Posted by: Steve White ||
02/24/2010 00:00 ||
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#1
But, but, but can she still fly with only one bloody ENGINE?
[Geo News] An exchange of fire between two armed groups over water issue left at least six people dead and three other injured in Hangu. The incident took place in Jawar Ghandi area of Hangu due to water dispute, according to police. The police took control of the affected area and initiated action against the accused. Meanwhile, tension and fear gripped the area after the incident.
Posted by: Fred ||
02/24/2010 00:00 ||
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Mostly the pilot Bloom plants - larger, fridge or car-sized units intended to power large buildings - run on ordinary fossil-fuel natural gas, but some users intend to use gas sourced from landfills or other more eco-feely sources.
Benefiting from lavish Californian eco-subsidies - much though there's nothing particularly eco-friendly about making electricity out of fossil fuel - and the known fact that a kilowatt-hour of gas is much cheaper than one of grid electricity, the Bloom units are reported to cut into a building's electricity bill quite substantially, as one would expect.
A prominent investor in Bloom is John Doerr of Netscape and Google fame, who thinks that homeowners may choose to install Bloom boxes: even that power companies may place larger ones in substations. Sridhar, a one-time NASA engineer, considers that small, affordable units could be a boon to customers in developing nations without access to grid electricity.
If the Bloom cells are as cheap and reliable as the firm suggests, the tech may indeed become very popular. But, contrary to the company's spin and the rapidly mounting hype, this would ultimately be a disaster in terms of carbon emissions and energy security for the Western world.
Properly carbon-busting fuels like garbage gas are never going to supply a big fraction of a developed nation's power - a few per cent is a likely maximum. As for ethanol, the only way this can be produced in a vaguely green way is as biofuel from food crops - and this equates to starvation for the world's poor plus accelerated deforestation with associated eco-evils. Basically, they work and appear profitable because the politicians haven't screwed up the market for natural gas the way they have for oil and for electricity.
YET.
Posted by: Thing From Snowy Mountain ||
02/24/2010 12:10 ||
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A multi-volume chronology and reference guide set detailing three years of the Mexican Drug War between 2010 and 2012.
Rantburg.com and borderlandbeat.com correspondent and author Chris Covert presents his first non-fiction work detailing
the drug and gang related violence in Mexico.
Chris gives us Mexican press dispatches of drug and gang war violence
over three years, presented in a multi volume set intended to chronicle the death, violence and mayhem which has
dominated Mexico for six years.
Rantburg was assembled from recycled algorithms in the United States of America. No
trees were destroyed in the production of this weblog. We did hurt some, though. Sorry.
One of the nation's most highly decorated veterans was being laid to rest on Wednesday.
Atlanta Progressive News has parted ways with long-serving senior staff writer Jonathan Springston. Apparently, Springston's affinity for fact-based reporting clashed with Cardinale's vision.
Former Federal Reserve Chairman Alan Greenspan said on Tuesday the U.S. economic recovery was "extremely unbalanced," driven largely by high earners benefiting from recovering stock markets and large corporations.
A month after being crowned the darling of national conservatives, Republican Sen. Scott Brown of Massachusetts is being branded "Benedict Brown" for siding with Democrats in favor of a jobs bill endorsed by the Obama administration. 
Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid told reporters Tuesday that Republicans "should stop crying" about the possible use of the parliamentary procedure known as budget reconciliation to pass a health care reform bill. 
WASHINGTON, Feb 23 (Reuters) - U.S. Air Force officials defended on Tuesday a Pentagon decision to cancel development of the second engine for Lockheed Martin Corp's (LMT.N) F-35 jet fighter, but acknowledged it was a "close call."
[Geo News] An exchange of fire between two armed groups over water issue left at least six people dead and three other injured in Hangu. The incident took place in Jawar Ghandi area of Hangu due to water dispute, according to police. The police took control of the affected area and initiated action against the accused. Meanwhile, tension and fear gripped the area after the incident.
