Somali PM Asks for More Help to Fight Pirates
MOMBASA, Kenya (AP) -- Somalia's prime minister says his government has identified many pirate leaders and would be willing to share that information with other countries, including the United States, to get the resources needed to go after them.
Israeli Conductor Barenboim Gets Ovation in Egypt
CAIRO (AP) -- Israeli conductor Daniel Barenboim stirred a sold out Cairo Opera House Thursday with a performance of Beethoven's Fifth Symphony, drawing ovations in his first visit to Egypt.
Drought in West Africa Repeats and May Get Worse
WASHINGTON (AP) -- West Africa is already living on the edge, and new research indicates that even worse droughts are possible than the one that devastated the region in the late 20th century.
15 Gunmen, 1 Soldier Killed in Mexican Shootout
MEXICO CITY (AP) -- A shootout between Mexican troops and a convoy of gunmen left 15 assailants and one soldier dead hours before President Barack Obama arrived in the country to show his support for the fight against drug cartels.
Health Advocates Tout New Model of Female Condom
NEW YORK (AP) -- Advocates of the female condom are promoting a less costly, more user-friendly version that they hope will vastly expand its role in the global fight against AIDS and other sexually transmitted diseases. An early version of the female condom was introduced in 1993, and it remains the only available woman-initiated form of protection against both STDs and unintended pregnancy.
Accused Marine Returning to US From Mexico
RALEIGH, N.C. (AP) -- A Marine accused of killing a pregnant colleague in North Carolina and fleeing to Mexico will be returned to the U.S. this week, federal authorities said Thursday.
Iranian Scientists Claim They Have Cloned a Goat
ISFAHAN, Iran (AP) -- Iranian scientists have cloned a goat and plan future experiments they hope will lead to a treatment for stroke patients, the leader of the research said Wednesday. The female goat, named Hana, was born early Wednesday in the city of Isfahan in central Iran, said Dr. Mohammed Hossein Nasr e Isfahani, head of the Royan Research Institute.
Bacteria Found Thriving Beneath Antarctic Glacier
WASHINGTON (AP) -- Hidden in the bone-chilling dark beneath an Antarctic glacier, a colony of strange bacteria is thriving. Scientists investigating the flow of blood-red water from beneath the glacier discovered the bacteria, which have survived for millions of years, living on sulfur and iron compounds, they report in Friday's edition of the journal Science.
Planet-Hunting Spacecraft's First Images Released
PASADENA, Calif. (AP) -- NASA's new planet-hunting telescope has beamed back the first images of a patch of faraway sky in the Milky Way galaxy where it hopes to find Earth-like planets. NASA on Thursday released several images snapped by Kepler earlier this month, including a view of a distant part of our galaxy containing some 14 million stars. Scientists say more than 100,000 of those stars are potential candidates for research.
Obama to Seek Ratification of Arms Treaty
MEXICO CITY (AP) -- Confronting a security threat on the America's doorstep, President Barack Obama arrived Thursday in Mexico declaring solidarity with a neighbor deeply troubled by drugs and violence and pledging action to slow the contributing flow of weapons from the U.S.
For Sale: A Taste of Royalty From Princess Bride
LONDON (AP) -- Would you pay 145 pounds ($215) for a slice of very stale cake? That's what an antiques fair in Birmingham hopes to earn Thursday when people bid for the remnant from one of Britain's most controversial royal weddings.
Capone May Have Had 1 Last Hit _ a Musical 1
CHICAGO (AP) -- He never sang to the feds, but it turns out Al Capone had a song in his heart. All it took was a stint in Alcatraz to bring it out.
No Charges Against CIA Officials for Waterboarding
WASHINGTON (AP) -- The Obama administration on Thursday informed CIA officials who used waterboarding and other harsh interrogation tactics on terror suspects that they will not be prosecuted, senior administration officials told The Associated Press.
80-Year-Old Omaha Store Owner Foils Armed Robber
OMAHA, Neb. (AP) -- An 80-year-old's quick thinking foiled an armed robber's attempt to hold up an Omaha liquor store. Store owner Floyd Westbrook was closing up his Sugar Hill Package Liquor on Wednesday when a man wearing a ski mask and holding a gun ran in and demanded money.
Experts: Spot of Mexican Surrender in Texas Found
DALLAS (AP) -- Archaeologists believe they have found the spot where hundreds of Mexican soldiers surrendered to the Texas army after a battle that sealed Texas' independence from Mexico.
Senate Panel to Probe Wiretapping Violations
WASHINGTON (AP) -- The head of the Senate Intelligence Committee said Thursday that the panel would hold a hearing to get to the bottom of reports that the National Security Agency improperly tapped into the domestic communications of American citizens.
Indonesia Clears Time of Defaming Suharto
JAKARTA, Indonesia (AP) -- Indonesia's top court cleared Time magazine of defaming ex-dictator Suharto by alleging in a cover story that his family amassed a fortune during his rule. It said Thursday the publication did not have to pay $106 million in damages.
Homeland Security Chief Defends Agency Risk Report
WASHINGTON (AP) -- Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano on Thursday dismissed criticism of an intelligence assessment by her agency that says some military veterans could be susceptible to extremist recruiters or commit lone acts of violence.
DirecTV, Comcast Hit With Fines
WASHINGTON (AP) -- Satellite television provider DirecTV Inc. and cable company Comcast Corp. will pay out a combined $3.2 million to settle claims that they broke the law by placing phone calls to people who had asked the companies not to call them again. It's the second time DirecTV has been hit with such a fine.
Democrats: Texas Gov Should Disavow Secession Talk
AUSTIN, Texas (AP) -- A group of Texas Democrats says Republican Gov. Rick Perry was reckless when he suggested at an anti-tax rally that fed-up Americans may one day want to secede from the United States.
Not on the Menu: Pizza Workers Charged in Pranks
CONOVER, N.C. (AP) -- A gross video posted on YouTube showing a Domino's Pizza worker stuffing cheese up his nostril and waving salami under his rear end as he is making sandwiches has led to charges against him and a co-worker who recorded him, authorities said Wednesday.
Race, Service Mark 2nd Anniversary of Va. Tech
BLACKSBURG, Va. (AP) -- Randy Sterne got chills Thursday as he watched hundreds of balloons sail into a bright, sunny sky at the start of a 3.2-mile run to honor 32 people killed by a student gunman at Virginia Tech two years ago. Later in the day, several thousand people gathered for a somber memorial service.
All Minn. Bridge Victims Accept State Settlements
MINNEAPOLIS (AP) -- The state of Minnesota has reached settlements with all 179 eligible victims of the bridge collapse in Minneapolis two years ago.
Bolivian Police Uncover Plot Against President
LA PAZ, Bolivia (AP) -- Bolivian police say they broke an armed international group on Thursday that was plotting to assassinate President Evo Morales and the vice president.
Obama: Memos' Release Required by Law
WASHINGTON (AP) -- President Barack Obama says the release of legal opinions governing harsh questioning of terrorism suspects is required by the law and should help address ''a dark and painful chapter in our history.''.
Obama to Seek Ratification of Arms Treaty
MEXICO CITY (AP) -- Confronting a security threat on the America's doorstep, President Barack Obama arrived Thursday in Mexico for a swift diplomatic mission to show solidarity on drugs and guns with a troubled neighbor -- and to prove the U.S. is serious about the battle against trafficking.
No Charges Against CIA Officials for Waterboarding
WASHINGTON (AP) -- Attorney General Eric Holder says the government won't prosecute CIA officials for using waterboarding and other harsh interrogation tactics on terror suspects.
The INFLUENCE GAME: Peanuts Want Gov't Help, Too
WASHINGTON (AP) -- The battered peanut industry has a new message: Peanuts are safe to eat, and there's a law in the works to make them even safer. So have a handful.
Roadside Bomber Sentenced to 25 Years in Prison
WASHINGTON (AP) -- The only Iraq war insurgent to be prosecuted in U.S. court was sentenced Thursday to 25 years in prison, but how much time he'll serve will be up to the Netherlands.
Baby Pythons Escape During Flight in Australia
MELBOURNE, Australia (AP) -- Four baby pythons escaped from a container aboard a passenger plane in Australia, leading to a search that forced the cancellation of two flights, the airline said Thursday. Twelve non-venemous Stimson pythons were being transported Tuesday on a flight from Alice Springs to Melbourne in the plane's cargo area in a bag inside a plastic foam box with air holes.
NY Governor Introduces Bill to Allow Gay Marriage
NEW YORK (AP) -- Gov. David Paterson announced plans Thursday to legalize same-sex marriage in New York, comparing the effort to the fight for the abolition of slavery.
Venezuela Opposes Americas Summit Declaration
CUMANA, Venezuela (AP) -- President Hugo Chavez says Venezuela will vote against the declaration of the Summit of the Americas in a gesture of protest against the United States.
Board Rejects Demjanjuk Bid, Court Wants More Info
CLEVELAND (AP) -- A U.S. immigration appeals board on Thursday denied a request to reopen the deportation case of John Demjanjuk, who is wanted in Germany to face accusations that he served as a Nazi death camp guard.
Obama: Better Trains Foster Energy Independence
WASHINGTON (AP) -- President Barack Obama called Thursday for the country to move swiftly to a system of high-speed rail travel, saying it will relieve congestion, help clean the air and save on energy.
Mudslide Buries 25 Homes in Peru, 30 Feared Dead
LIMA, Peru (AP) -- Peru's civil defense says a mudslide has buried 25 homes in two towns in the northern highlands. As many as 30 people are missing.
Suicide Bomber Strikes Iraqi Military Base
BAGHDAD (AP) -- A suicide bomber struck an Iraqi military base Thursday in an attack that Iraqi officials first said killed 16 soldiers but later maintained no one died but the attacker.
Stimulus Funds in States: It Costs Money to Spend
LINCOLN, Neb. (AP) -- When it comes to the $787 billion in federal stimulus money flowing from Washington to the states, it will cost money to spend money.
Awash in Celebrities, US Still Hungry for Heroes
WASHINGTON (AP) -- A nation awash in celebrities still hungers for genuine heroes, never more so than in dreary times like these.
Prison for Mich. Couple Accused of Grill Cremation
DETROIT (AP) -- A Detroit couple who admitted killing their 2-year-old son and allegedly tried to cremate his body on a barbecue grill have been sentenced to prison.
US-Israeli Differences Over Palestinians Emerge
JERUSALEM (AP) -- Stark differences between U.S. and Israeli policy toward peace talks with the Palestinians emerged clearly Thursday in the first meetings between President Barack Obama's Mideast envoy and top leaders of the new Israeli government.
3 More Not Guilty Pleas in Blagojevich Case
CHICAGO (AP) -- Ousted Gov. Rod Blagojevich's most recent chief of staff, former chief fundraiser and another Illinois political insider pleaded not guilty Thursday to charges that they took part in what prosecutors allege was widespread corruption.
Crew Members Urging Stronger Security for Ships
OXON HILL, Md. (AP) -- An emotionally drained but ebullient Maersk Alabama crew told gripping stories of captivity at sea Thursday while urging stronger protection for ships operating in treacherous Horn of Africa waters.
Rebels Promises to Free Army Cpl Held for 11 Yrs
BOGOTA (AP) -- Colombia's largest rebel group promised on Thursday to release an army corporal kidnapped 11 years ago in a hostage case made famous by his father, who walked across the country to push for his release.
Syracuse Teen Admits to Sniper Killing of Neighbor
SYRACUSE, N.Y. (AP) -- A 16-year-old admitted Thursday that he was the sniper who gunned down a city worker outside the victim's home in January, but offered no explanation for the crime.
Thieves Smash Car Windows to Steal Inspection Tabs
PORTLAND, Maine (AP) -- Drivers may have a new reason to fear an automobile break-in: the inspection stickers they must plaster to the inside of their windshield in many states.
Ex-Police Chief Gets 3 Years for Kicking Suspect
HAMMOND, Ind. (AP) -- A former Indiana police chief has been sentenced to nearly 3 1/2 years in federal prison for using unreasonable force in kicking a handcuffed suspect he believed had robbed his house.
US Official: Rescued Captain Expected Home Friday
WASHINGTON (AP) -- A U.S. official says a homecoming is planned Friday for the rescued American captain of a ship pirated off the Somali coast.
IG: IRS Allows Improper Tax Credits for Foreigners
WASHINGTON (AP) -- The IRS allowed more than 1 million foreigners -- many of them in the U.S. illegally -- to improperly claim $1.8 billion in child tax credits in 2007, a government investigator said Thursday.
Alaska Gov. Palin Back on Road With Indiana Trip
EVANSVILLE, Ind. (AP) -- Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin is to speak during an anti-abortion group's dinner in Indiana Thursday night in her first out-of-state trip on a partisan agenda since the presidential campaign ended.
Sri Lankan Troops Attack Rebel Defenses
COLOMBO, Sri Lanka (AP) -- Sri Lankan troops backed by helicopter gunships attacked Tamil Tiger defenses in the northeast Thursday, a rebel-allied Web site reported, as international pressure grew for a new cease-fire to allow civilians to escape the fighting.
Tent School Opens for Youngest Italy Quake Victims
POGGIO PICENZE, Italy (AP) -- Some of the youngest victims of central Italy's earthquake got a taste of normalcy Thursday when the school bell rang, summoning them to makeshift classrooms set up among the tents they now call home.
US Seeks Transit Deal With Turkmenistan
ASHGABAT, Turkmenistan (AP) -- A senior U.S. diplomat says the United States hopes to reach an agreement with Turkmenistan on allowing the transit of non-lethal goods to neighboring Afghanistan.
US Urges Iran to Release Accused US Journalist
WASHINGTON (AP) -- Iran stands to gain U.S. goodwill by ''responding in a positive way'' to the case of an American journalist tried on spy charges by an Iranian court this week, a U.S. official said Thursday.
Ill. Rep. Blames Heroin Deaths on Mexican Drugs
CHICAGO (AP) -- An Illinois congressman says at least 31 people in two suburban Chicago counties have died this year after overdosing on unusually strong heroin from Mexico.
$40M Fuel Theft From Army Prompts Global Manhunt
ALEXANDRIA, Va. (AP) -- A former Army contractor convicted of stealing $40 million worth of fuel from a military base in Iraq is helping authorities search the globe for other suspects in the case.
Wild Bear Closes Central Park in Slovenian Capital
LJUBLJANA, Slovenia (AP) -- Slovenia is home to about 430 brown bears, but residents of Ljubljana, the capital, rarely see any but the two who live in the local zoo.
US Court: Ex-Israeli Cabinet Member Cannot Be Sued
NEW YORK (AP) -- A federal appeals court says a former Israeli security chief cannot be sued in the United States for 15 deaths in a Gaza City bombing.
US Army Soldier Sentenced to Life in Prison
VILSECK, Germany (AP) -- A U.S. Army soldier convicted of murder in the 2007 killings of four bound and blindfolded Iraqis was sentenced on Thursday to life in prison.
Scholarship Honors US Captain Held by Pirates
BOURNE, Mass. (AP) -- A new scholarship at the Massachusetts Maritime Academy will honor the graduate who was recently held hostage by pirates off Africa.
A Key to Women's Rights in Afghanistan: Men
KABUL (AP) -- There are a handful of them at every women's rights gathering in Afghanistan: men.
AP Source: Talk of Delaying 2 WTC Towers for Years
NEW YORK (AP) -- The owners of ground zero, locked in a new round of heated talks with a private developer about how and when to build office towers at the World Trade Center site, have proposed indefinitely putting off two of three planned skyscrapers until the real estate market recovers, officials familiar with the negotiations say.
Heavy Security Surrounds Obama's Mexican Visit
MEXICO CITY (AP) -- Heavily armed police are patrolling a wealthy neighborhood near Mexico's presidential residence as President Barack Obama heads to the capital on his first visit to the country.
March Housing Construction Falls 10.8 Percent
WASHINGTON (AP) -- Housing construction plunged to the second lowest level on record in March, reversing a big jump from the previous month. Economists, however, were heartened by indications that the long slide in single-family construction could be coming to an end.
Medvedev: Russia Needs More Political Competition
MOSCOW (AP) -- Russia needs stronger political competition and a greater freedom to protest, President Dmitry Medvedev said in remarks released Thursday, sending the strongest signal yet that he may rethink the legacy of predecessor Vladimir Putin.
French Captain Recounts Hostage-Taking by Pirates
PARIS (AP) -- A French captain who knows his pirates has some advice for other sailors: ''When you see them coming, it's too late.''.
Gorbachev: US Military Power Blocks 'No Nukes'
ROME (AP) -- President Barack Obama's call for a nuclear weapons-free world is welcome, but the huge U.S. defense budget may prove an ''insurmountable obstacle'' to reaching that goal, former Soviet President Mikhail S. Gorbachev said Thursday.
Dutch to Invite Dalai Lama to Parliament
THE HAGUE, Netherlands (AP) -- Dutch lawmakers said Thursday they will invite the Dalai Lama to parliament despite a warning from China that the visit would harm relations between the two nations.
English Village May Use Potholes for Speed Control
LONDON (AP) -- Here's a new road repair plan: Don't bother.
Official: Mafia Has Moved Into Italy Quake Area
ROME (AP) -- Organized crime syndicates have already moved into the central Italian region devastated by a quake this month and are looking to profit from the reconstruction of the area, the head of parliament's anti-Mafia commission said.
Demjanjuk Faces Uncertain Fate if Deported
BERLIN (AP) -- The family of alleged Nazi death camp guard John Demjanjuk is citing his poor health as it fights a U.S. drive to deport him to Germany for a possible war crimes trial. Questions remain over what would happen if he is ruled unfit to face trial once he arrives.
Serb Ex-Commander to Testify in Americans' Killing
BELGRADE, Serbia (AP) -- A former Serbian police commander on trial at the U.N. war crimes court has agreed to testify in a separate case over the 1999 execution-style murder of three Albanian-American brothers, a judge said Thursday.
Signs Threaten Killing of Texas College Students
NACOGDOCHES, Texas (AP) -- Authorities in Nacogdoches, Texas, are on alert after signs promising a deadly mass shooting were found on and near the Stephen F. Austin State University campus.
Police Probe Erie, Pa., Officer's Off-Duty Joking
ERIE, Pa. (AP) -- A city police officer was suspended after someone posted to the Web a video of him, in a bar and apparently intoxicated, joking about a homicide victim.
Potential High-Speed Rail Corridors
Ten corridors the Obama administration had identified for possible high-speed rail projects:.
Univ. Of Florida, ASPCA Fill Void for Animal CSIs
GAINESVILLE, Fla. (AP) -- Only a few investigators in the country are trained to adequately investigate and prepare cases for prosecution of the horrendous crimes against animals that can leave dogs, roosters and other animals maimed and tortured.
Twin Reno Girls Treated for Rare Disease
RENO, Nev. (AP) -- Twin 5-year-old girls living with a rare disease are among the first in the country being treated for their condition at a Reno hospital after the U.S. Food and Drug Administration granted special permission to use an experimental drug.
Mich. Muslim Group Says FBI Asking People to Spy
DETROIT (AP) -- A Michigan Muslim organization said Thursday it has asked U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder to investigate complaints alleging the FBI is asking followers of the faith to spy on Islamic leaders and congregations.
Spanish AG: No Torture Probe of US Officials
MADRID (AP) -- Spain's attorney general has rejected opening an investigation into whether six Bush administration officials sanctioned torture against terror suspects at Guantanamo Bay, saying Thursday a U.S. courtroom would be the proper forum.
Water Seeps Past Sandbags Fortifying Weak ND Dam
KATHRYN, N.D. (AP) -- National Guard troops dropped sandbags from a helicopter early Thursday to shore up a weakening dam that is protecting a small town from flooding, an official said.
French Fishing Protest Softens on English Channel
PARIS (AP) -- French fishermen allowed traffic to resume to three English Channel ports Thursday after receiving a government promise of euro4 million ($5.27 million) in aid, but they vowed to keep up their fight against European fishing quotas.
More Than Century Old, Royal Wedding Cake on Sale
LONDON (AP) -- A slice of cake from one of Britain's most controversial royal weddings is up for sale after more than 130 years.
Thursday, April 16, 2009
WORLD's WORST PERSON 4-15/09
Republican Senator Richard Burr of North Carolina.
According to a newspaper in Hendersonville, in that state, he told his constituents that last fall, as the economic crisis, that he knew exactly what to do.
“On Friday night, I called my wife and I said, Brooke, I‘m not coming home this weekend. I will call you on Monday. Tonight, I want you to go the ATM machine. And I want you to draw out everything it will let you take. And I want you to tomorrow.
And I want you to go Sunday.”
So, there it is. For anybody who thought the Republicans didn‘t actually have a plan to offer as an alternative to the Obama stimulus and the bail outs, you were wrong. There it is, the Senator Burr plan. Start a run on the banks!
Senator Richard Burr,today‘s worst person in the world.
Keith Olbermann MSNBC
According to a newspaper in Hendersonville, in that state, he told his constituents that last fall, as the economic crisis, that he knew exactly what to do.
“On Friday night, I called my wife and I said, Brooke, I‘m not coming home this weekend. I will call you on Monday. Tonight, I want you to go the ATM machine. And I want you to draw out everything it will let you take. And I want you to tomorrow.
And I want you to go Sunday.”
So, there it is. For anybody who thought the Republicans didn‘t actually have a plan to offer as an alternative to the Obama stimulus and the bail outs, you were wrong. There it is, the Senator Burr plan. Start a run on the banks!
Senator Richard Burr,today‘s worst person in the world.
Keith Olbermann MSNBC
USA WAR DEAD 4,275 IRAQI DEAD over 500,000
Thank You G W BUSH!
The REAL cost($)of over THREE (3) TRILLION DOLLARS
and a major reason why the USA has led the WORLD
into a major economic downturn period.
REMINDER the costs do NOT include YOUR lost job(s)
and the value of your dollar and savings gone!!
AND we can't even measure the cost to the people of the world
and lives lost because of this blunder!
Again THANK YOU - GWB & DICKIE BRUCE!
The REAL cost($)of over THREE (3) TRILLION DOLLARS
and a major reason why the USA has led the WORLD
into a major economic downturn period.
REMINDER the costs do NOT include YOUR lost job(s)
and the value of your dollar and savings gone!!
AND we can't even measure the cost to the people of the world
and lives lost because of this blunder!
Again THANK YOU - GWB & DICKIE BRUCE!
Wednesday, April 15, 2009
Where's the Backbone?
Ms Marcus: Where what are your creds? BO has been succesful NOT follwoing standard thinking as in your column. WAIT and see WHAT IF BO succeeds?
Where's the Backbone? By Ruth Marcus
When will President Obama fight, and when will he fold? That's not entirely clear -- and I'm beginning to worry that there may be a little too much presidential inclination to crumple. For all the chest-thumping about making hard choices and taking on entrenched interests, there has been disturbingly little evidence of the new president's willingness to do that when it discomfits his allies.
"Our time of standing pat, of protecting narrow interests and putting off unpleasant decisions -- that time has surely passed," Obama proclaimed in his inaugural address.
Well, not exactly. Look at the fate of various proposals in the Obama budget, and the question that arises is not Walter Mondale's famous "Where's the beef?" It's "Where's the backbone?"
Granted, it's early -- too early to know whether this anxiety is justified. No president gets everything he proposes, in the budget or elsewhere. Picking battles is part of the art of presidential politics.
Just ask Jimmy Carter, who picked the wrong one with Congress, early on, over lawmakers' cherished water projects -- and then blinked on a veto. "That convinced people that he was not willing to stick to tough positions," Carter adviser Stuart Eizenstat recalled in a 1982 oral history.
But, if, as Machiavelli advised, it is better for a leader to be feared than loved, it's fair to ask whether Obama has been scary enough. Leave aside Republicans -- among Democrats in Congress, who's afraid of Barack Obama?
-- Item: Obama proposed ending automatic subsidy payments for farmers taking in more than $500,000 a year and capping payments at $250,000 -- along the lines of a failed Bush administration foray.
"More than dead on arrival," pronounced Minnesota Democrat Collin Peterson, chairman of the House Agriculture Committee -- and so it seems to be, with nary a peep from the president. Neither the House nor Senate budget outlines include any limits on farm subsidies.
-- Item: Obama proposed ending the lucrative program of federal subsidies for private banks making student loans, saving nearly $100 billion over the next decade by having the government make loans directly -- much as the Clinton administration had attempted years before.
Result: The Senate version of the budget resolution pointedly noted the chamber's backing for "a competitive student-loan program . . . with a comprehensive choice of loan products and services." The House version urged options "that will maintain a role for [bank] lenders." In other words, don't count out the banks anytime soon.
-- Item: Obama didn't even get around to proposing a change that would allow the Department of Veterans Affairs to bill private insurers, in the case of veterans who have such coverage, for service-related injuries. After an outcry from veterans groups, a slap-down from lawmakers and a stormy meeting between veterans and White House chief of staff Rahm Emanuel, the administration backed down.
I could go on. The worthy notion of limiting tax deductions for the wealthiest Americans? Aired and, at least for now, dropped. The idea of a commission to deal with Social Security? Not even aired. The president wants to keep the estate tax at its current level, with a generous $7 million-a-couple exemption; that wasn't good enough for some Senate Democrats, who defied him by endorsing a bigger gift to the wealthy.
And one of the biggest ideas -- enacting a cap-and-trade system to deal with climate change -- is nowhere to be found in the budget blueprint.
So forgive me if I listened to Defense Secretary Robert Gates last week outline a series of smart and sensible changes in defense spending and thought, "Good luck with that." Parts for the F-22 fighter jet that Gates wants to stop buying are manufactured in 44 states. Is the president really going to take on this battle?
Obama advisers argue that both houses' budget resolutions hew closely to the president's plan. As budget chief Peter Orszag put it, "The resolutions may not be identical twins to what the president submitted, but they are certainly brothers that look an awful lot alike."
More important, aides say, the final product is likely to provide for passage of health reform by a majority vote if the Senate is gridlocked this fall. That could pave the way for a major victory -- enough to erase memories of compromises and capitulations.
In the weeks ahead, the challenge for the president is to avoid ceding so much that he undermines his own strength. This is not easy to calibrate. Machiavelli's prince, after all, didn't have to deal with committee chairs.
Where's the Backbone? By Ruth Marcus
When will President Obama fight, and when will he fold? That's not entirely clear -- and I'm beginning to worry that there may be a little too much presidential inclination to crumple. For all the chest-thumping about making hard choices and taking on entrenched interests, there has been disturbingly little evidence of the new president's willingness to do that when it discomfits his allies.
"Our time of standing pat, of protecting narrow interests and putting off unpleasant decisions -- that time has surely passed," Obama proclaimed in his inaugural address.
Well, not exactly. Look at the fate of various proposals in the Obama budget, and the question that arises is not Walter Mondale's famous "Where's the beef?" It's "Where's the backbone?"
Granted, it's early -- too early to know whether this anxiety is justified. No president gets everything he proposes, in the budget or elsewhere. Picking battles is part of the art of presidential politics.
Just ask Jimmy Carter, who picked the wrong one with Congress, early on, over lawmakers' cherished water projects -- and then blinked on a veto. "That convinced people that he was not willing to stick to tough positions," Carter adviser Stuart Eizenstat recalled in a 1982 oral history.
But, if, as Machiavelli advised, it is better for a leader to be feared than loved, it's fair to ask whether Obama has been scary enough. Leave aside Republicans -- among Democrats in Congress, who's afraid of Barack Obama?
-- Item: Obama proposed ending automatic subsidy payments for farmers taking in more than $500,000 a year and capping payments at $250,000 -- along the lines of a failed Bush administration foray.
"More than dead on arrival," pronounced Minnesota Democrat Collin Peterson, chairman of the House Agriculture Committee -- and so it seems to be, with nary a peep from the president. Neither the House nor Senate budget outlines include any limits on farm subsidies.
-- Item: Obama proposed ending the lucrative program of federal subsidies for private banks making student loans, saving nearly $100 billion over the next decade by having the government make loans directly -- much as the Clinton administration had attempted years before.
Result: The Senate version of the budget resolution pointedly noted the chamber's backing for "a competitive student-loan program . . . with a comprehensive choice of loan products and services." The House version urged options "that will maintain a role for [bank] lenders." In other words, don't count out the banks anytime soon.
-- Item: Obama didn't even get around to proposing a change that would allow the Department of Veterans Affairs to bill private insurers, in the case of veterans who have such coverage, for service-related injuries. After an outcry from veterans groups, a slap-down from lawmakers and a stormy meeting between veterans and White House chief of staff Rahm Emanuel, the administration backed down.
I could go on. The worthy notion of limiting tax deductions for the wealthiest Americans? Aired and, at least for now, dropped. The idea of a commission to deal with Social Security? Not even aired. The president wants to keep the estate tax at its current level, with a generous $7 million-a-couple exemption; that wasn't good enough for some Senate Democrats, who defied him by endorsing a bigger gift to the wealthy.
And one of the biggest ideas -- enacting a cap-and-trade system to deal with climate change -- is nowhere to be found in the budget blueprint.
So forgive me if I listened to Defense Secretary Robert Gates last week outline a series of smart and sensible changes in defense spending and thought, "Good luck with that." Parts for the F-22 fighter jet that Gates wants to stop buying are manufactured in 44 states. Is the president really going to take on this battle?
Obama advisers argue that both houses' budget resolutions hew closely to the president's plan. As budget chief Peter Orszag put it, "The resolutions may not be identical twins to what the president submitted, but they are certainly brothers that look an awful lot alike."
More important, aides say, the final product is likely to provide for passage of health reform by a majority vote if the Senate is gridlocked this fall. That could pave the way for a major victory -- enough to erase memories of compromises and capitulations.
In the weeks ahead, the challenge for the president is to avoid ceding so much that he undermines his own strength. This is not easy to calibrate. Machiavelli's prince, after all, didn't have to deal with committee chairs.
Reviews of BO's economics complied NYTimes
Reviews for Obama’s ‘Sermon on the Mount’
By Eric Etheridge
American Prospect: Ezra Klein says President Obama’s economic speech yesterday at Georgetown University (read the full text; watch it) was “far and away the most coherent and sustained account of Obama’s agenda that the White House has yet offered.”
Huffington Post: Jacob Heilbrunn says that Obama was “cranking high voltage to jump start the shift toward a new American economy.”
President Obama’s audacious economic address at Georgetown University today provided the last swing of the wrecking ball for the shattered remnants of free market fundamentalism. Even as dazed and disoriented members of the GOP stumble around the ruins in a state of cataleptic shock, mumbling over and over to themselves the consolatory phrase that Obama is a socialist, the president doesn’t simply want to tinker with the economy; he’s aiming to lay an entire new foundation over the shards of the failed one. His talk laid out a comprehensive program for what might be called the four R’s: reform, regulation, restructuring, and revival.
Time: Joe Klein says the speech was “quite good.”
In the welter of standard media events and promotions–the White House release of an elaborate pirate tick-tock, for example–there is also a steady effort by the President to speak to us as if we were adults. I’m not sure how much of an impact it’s having, but speeches like this one–and his budget message to the Congress–really raise the level of discourse. You may disagree with his ideas, but he’s not fudging or spinning here. It is a clear, coherent philosophy of governance. And even though none of this is new, it is good to be reminded how all the pieces fit together.
The Atlantic: James Fallows notes a few things he liked about Obama’s speech, inlcuding:
Obama crafted the message with an intellectual thoroughness and emotional steadiness that I think will impress its real audience: not the students sitting at Georgetown or those like me watching live, but the politicians, financiers, and members of the commentariat who will read the text and respond after a little while. He showed he was aware of criticisms and was willing to state them in recognizable form before offering his rebuttal. (Think of the contrast of GW Bush or Cheney acknowledging criticism of their strategy and world view. Or even Richard Nixon.)
And a few things he didn’t like, including:
Maybe it’s only veterans of the Carter Administration who remember this, but “new foundations,” a leitmotif of this speech, was also the motto of one of Carter’s State of the Union addresses 30 years ago. The phrase didn’t catch on then. Or maybe it’s been three decades in gestation.
The Nation: Katrina vanden Heuvel says Obama’s speech was good as far as it went, but that “real and grounded concerns about the administration’s bank bailout plan remain.”
While Obama’s speech lays out some strong principles for a new foundation, the administration’s financial team remains unwilling to understand that we’re not just going through a financial crisis or a panic, but the failure of a whole model of banking. We are living amid the blowback of an overgrown financial sector that did more harm than good.
If this realization begins to sink in through the failure of the current plan . . . then we’re on the road to laying the foundation, the rock, for a new economy.
Washington Post: Dan Froomkin says the president “failed to persuasively rebut the most urgent critique of his economic policies — one that can’t be written off either to reflexive partisanship from Republicans or defensiveness from the Washington establishment.”
Obama raised it on his own, noting that some critics think he has “been too timid” about shoring up the banking system. “This is essentially the nationalization argument that some of you may have heard.” . . .
But his answer was vague and unconvincing . . .
Obama’s belief has never been in question. It’s the reasoning behind that belief that we’ve been missing, as well as the source of his faith in the judgment of economic advisers. But he once again left us all in the dark on that count.
Clusterstock: Henry Blodget says “Every time we watch Obama speak, our confidence is restored.” But:
That said, we wish Obama didn’t spend so much time hanging out with Tim Geithner and Larry Summers, who we assume are responsible for the mistakes Obama continues to make in his diagnosis and treatment of the banking problem.
Plumline: Greg Sargent says it was “noteworthy” that Obama “went out of his way to argue that he isn’t ideologically predisposed against bank nationalization and aggressively rebutted claim that his administration has at times been ideologically predisposed towards letting Wall Street execs off the hook.”
This isn’t a point Obama really needed to make. He could have said that he viewed his prescriptions as more practical than theirs and left it at that.
In a sense, this throws a bit of a wrench into the claim we keep hearing that “Obama is a pragmatist, not an ideologue.” Obama, in a way, is rejecting this frame. He merely has a substantive disagreement with his liberal critics about what would work and what wouldn’t. He’s not rejecting their ideas because they are mired in ideology and his aren’t or because he’s a pragmatist and they’re too far to the “left.”
National Review: Kathryn Jean Lopez wonders about possible changes to the hall where Obama spoke:
Readers have e-mailed that the “IHS” above the Gaston Hall auditorium stage at Georgetown University (a purportedly Catholic school) seems to have gone missing for the presidential economic address earlier today. Perhaps someone wanted to avoid confusion, given that his speech was presented as an economic Sermon on the Mount?
In all seriousness, if the Jesuits there thought removing or otherwise obscuring it would suggest less endorsement of his views (say, on human life . . .), perhaps that was a wise prudential call. But if the White House asked, I think the White House should have been requested to give the speech at George Washington University instead.
By Eric Etheridge
American Prospect: Ezra Klein says President Obama’s economic speech yesterday at Georgetown University (read the full text; watch it) was “far and away the most coherent and sustained account of Obama’s agenda that the White House has yet offered.”
Huffington Post: Jacob Heilbrunn says that Obama was “cranking high voltage to jump start the shift toward a new American economy.”
President Obama’s audacious economic address at Georgetown University today provided the last swing of the wrecking ball for the shattered remnants of free market fundamentalism. Even as dazed and disoriented members of the GOP stumble around the ruins in a state of cataleptic shock, mumbling over and over to themselves the consolatory phrase that Obama is a socialist, the president doesn’t simply want to tinker with the economy; he’s aiming to lay an entire new foundation over the shards of the failed one. His talk laid out a comprehensive program for what might be called the four R’s: reform, regulation, restructuring, and revival.
Time: Joe Klein says the speech was “quite good.”
In the welter of standard media events and promotions–the White House release of an elaborate pirate tick-tock, for example–there is also a steady effort by the President to speak to us as if we were adults. I’m not sure how much of an impact it’s having, but speeches like this one–and his budget message to the Congress–really raise the level of discourse. You may disagree with his ideas, but he’s not fudging or spinning here. It is a clear, coherent philosophy of governance. And even though none of this is new, it is good to be reminded how all the pieces fit together.
The Atlantic: James Fallows notes a few things he liked about Obama’s speech, inlcuding:
Obama crafted the message with an intellectual thoroughness and emotional steadiness that I think will impress its real audience: not the students sitting at Georgetown or those like me watching live, but the politicians, financiers, and members of the commentariat who will read the text and respond after a little while. He showed he was aware of criticisms and was willing to state them in recognizable form before offering his rebuttal. (Think of the contrast of GW Bush or Cheney acknowledging criticism of their strategy and world view. Or even Richard Nixon.)
And a few things he didn’t like, including:
Maybe it’s only veterans of the Carter Administration who remember this, but “new foundations,” a leitmotif of this speech, was also the motto of one of Carter’s State of the Union addresses 30 years ago. The phrase didn’t catch on then. Or maybe it’s been three decades in gestation.
The Nation: Katrina vanden Heuvel says Obama’s speech was good as far as it went, but that “real and grounded concerns about the administration’s bank bailout plan remain.”
While Obama’s speech lays out some strong principles for a new foundation, the administration’s financial team remains unwilling to understand that we’re not just going through a financial crisis or a panic, but the failure of a whole model of banking. We are living amid the blowback of an overgrown financial sector that did more harm than good.
If this realization begins to sink in through the failure of the current plan . . . then we’re on the road to laying the foundation, the rock, for a new economy.
Washington Post: Dan Froomkin says the president “failed to persuasively rebut the most urgent critique of his economic policies — one that can’t be written off either to reflexive partisanship from Republicans or defensiveness from the Washington establishment.”
Obama raised it on his own, noting that some critics think he has “been too timid” about shoring up the banking system. “This is essentially the nationalization argument that some of you may have heard.” . . .
But his answer was vague and unconvincing . . .
Obama’s belief has never been in question. It’s the reasoning behind that belief that we’ve been missing, as well as the source of his faith in the judgment of economic advisers. But he once again left us all in the dark on that count.
Clusterstock: Henry Blodget says “Every time we watch Obama speak, our confidence is restored.” But:
That said, we wish Obama didn’t spend so much time hanging out with Tim Geithner and Larry Summers, who we assume are responsible for the mistakes Obama continues to make in his diagnosis and treatment of the banking problem.
Plumline: Greg Sargent says it was “noteworthy” that Obama “went out of his way to argue that he isn’t ideologically predisposed against bank nationalization and aggressively rebutted claim that his administration has at times been ideologically predisposed towards letting Wall Street execs off the hook.”
This isn’t a point Obama really needed to make. He could have said that he viewed his prescriptions as more practical than theirs and left it at that.
In a sense, this throws a bit of a wrench into the claim we keep hearing that “Obama is a pragmatist, not an ideologue.” Obama, in a way, is rejecting this frame. He merely has a substantive disagreement with his liberal critics about what would work and what wouldn’t. He’s not rejecting their ideas because they are mired in ideology and his aren’t or because he’s a pragmatist and they’re too far to the “left.”
National Review: Kathryn Jean Lopez wonders about possible changes to the hall where Obama spoke:
Readers have e-mailed that the “IHS” above the Gaston Hall auditorium stage at Georgetown University (a purportedly Catholic school) seems to have gone missing for the presidential economic address earlier today. Perhaps someone wanted to avoid confusion, given that his speech was presented as an economic Sermon on the Mount?
In all seriousness, if the Jesuits there thought removing or otherwise obscuring it would suggest less endorsement of his views (say, on human life . . .), perhaps that was a wise prudential call. But if the White House asked, I think the White House should have been requested to give the speech at George Washington University instead.
Ron Paul's plan to fend off pirates
Ron Paul's plan to fend off pirates
Erika Lovley
A little-known congressional power could help the federal government keep the Somali pirates in check — and possibly do it for a discount price.
Rep. Ron Paul (R-Texas) and a growing number of national security experts are calling on Congress to consider using letters of marque and reprisal, a power written into the Constitution that allows the United States to hire private citizens to keep international waters safe.
Used heavily during the Revolution and the War of 1812, letters of marque serve as official warrants from the government, allowing privateers to seize or destroy enemies, their loot and their vessels in exchange for bounty money.
The letters also require would-be thrill seekers to post a bond promising to abide by international rules of war.
In a YouTube video earlier this week, Paul suggested lawmakers consider issuing letters, which could relieve American naval ships from being the nation’s primary pirate responders — a free-market solution to make the high seas safer for cargo ships.
“I think if every potential pirate knew this would be the case, they would have second thoughts because they could probably be blown out of the water rather easily if those were the conditions,” Paul said.
Theoretically, hiring bounty hunters would also be a cheaper option.
National security experts estimate that this week’s ship captain rescue by Navy SEALs cost tens of millions, although a Navy spokesman says the military cannot confirm the exact cost of the mission.
Instead, privateers would be incentivized to patrol the ocean looking for key targets — and money would be paid only to the contractor who completed the job.
“If we have 100 American wanna-be Rambos patrolling the seas, it’s probably a good way of getting the job done,” said Competitive Enterprise Institute senior fellow and security expert Eli Lehrer. “Right now we have a Navy designed mostly to fight other navies. The weapons we have are all excellent, but they may not be the best ones to fight these kinds of pirates. The only cost under letters of marque would be some sort of bounty for the pirates.”
According to Senate historians, Congress hasn’t issued a letter of marquee since the War of 1812, but the Confederate States of America issued them during the Civil War to deliver supplies behind enemy lines. There are also some indications that a letter was granted to a flying band of armed civilians during World War II to operate the Resolute, a Goodyear Blimp used to patrol the ocean for enemy submarines, but the issuance isn’t apparent in the Congressional Record.
If Congress were to revisit the antiquated process, a serious makeover would be required.
In the past, privateers were allowed to keep the ship and treasure they captured in an enemy encounter.
“That isn’t a viable way of funding in today’s world,” said Lehrer. “These pirates don’t really have treasure chests, and their money is tied up in Swiss Bank accounts. Congress would probably have to attach sizable bounties to people.”
Bounties are not a new idea — there is still a $25 million bounty on Osama bin Laden, and millions have been awarded by the government for other enemy captures.
The U.S. State Department earlier this month put a $5 million bounty on the head of the top Pakistani Taliban leader, and even local police departments use rewards to solve cold cases.
University of Oregon economics professor Bill Harbaugh argues the setup could potentially work better than some of the United States’ relationships with modern-day security contractors.
“Obviously, this is somewhat like the contract the government had with Blackwater, except we forgot the bond part of the contract, he said. “If Congress had used this contract from 1776, it would have been more sophisticated than the one they issued with Blackwater.”
Harbaugh’s fifth great-grandfather, Silas Talbot, worked as an early privateer for the United States in 1780 after serving in the Revolutionary War. His letter of marque shows he set out with 12 carriage guns and a crew of 50 men to attack and seize cargo ships coming from Great Britain on the high seas.
Could it really work again?
“It may work in the sense that if you give people incentives to fight piracy, you’ll see more action taken against it,” said Andrew Grotto, a senior national security analyst with the Center for American Progress. “The ocean is huge and, practically speaking, there’s no way the Navy can prevent piracy; it’s too big. But just given the experience in Iraq with private contractors, that effort showcases the difficulties dealing with folks who aren’t answerable to anyone but shareholders.”
But Paul has already thought through a number of these updates.
Days after Sept. 11, Paul introduced legislation allowing President Bush to allow private citizens to go after Osama bin Laden and other identified terrorists and put a bounty price on the heads of targets responsible for the New York attacks. Contractors would also be required to post a play-by-the-rules bond and turn over any terrorists — and their seized property —to U.S. authorities.
“The Constitution gives Congress the power to issue letters of marque and reprisal when a precise declaration of war is impossible due to the vagueness of the enemy,” Paul wrote in a press release. “Once letters of marque and reprisal are issued, every terrorist is essentially a marked man.”
But national security experts and legal analysts warn that applying a colonial-era policy to a modern-day problem could be wrought with legal pitfalls that the Founding Fathers never encountered.
If bounty hunters chase pirates into territorial coastal waters or on to the shore of another country, the problem would fall under the jurisdiction of that country. And any plundering activity that takes place in coastal waters is no longer considered piracy, according to College of William and Mary national security law professor Linda Malone.
Not to mention that there’s also no clear indication where and how the captured pirates should be prosecuted.
“You have to find a stable court system nearby to have them tried for these offenses, but that can be quite complicated,” Malone said. “The fact that the pirates are from Somalia doesn’t make them state actors. They are doing this for private gain.”
And how to determine exactly who is a pirate — and what constitutes pirate activity — could get fuzzy.
“What happens when a ship flying under Congress accidentally takes out an aid ship bound for Somalia?” Grotto said. “At what time does an act seem pirate-like enough to cross the line? Do we really want these snap judgments being made on the fly in waters thousands of miles away from Washington? This is not Johnny Depp we’re dealing with.”
Erika Lovley
A little-known congressional power could help the federal government keep the Somali pirates in check — and possibly do it for a discount price.
Rep. Ron Paul (R-Texas) and a growing number of national security experts are calling on Congress to consider using letters of marque and reprisal, a power written into the Constitution that allows the United States to hire private citizens to keep international waters safe.
Used heavily during the Revolution and the War of 1812, letters of marque serve as official warrants from the government, allowing privateers to seize or destroy enemies, their loot and their vessels in exchange for bounty money.
The letters also require would-be thrill seekers to post a bond promising to abide by international rules of war.
In a YouTube video earlier this week, Paul suggested lawmakers consider issuing letters, which could relieve American naval ships from being the nation’s primary pirate responders — a free-market solution to make the high seas safer for cargo ships.
“I think if every potential pirate knew this would be the case, they would have second thoughts because they could probably be blown out of the water rather easily if those were the conditions,” Paul said.
Theoretically, hiring bounty hunters would also be a cheaper option.
National security experts estimate that this week’s ship captain rescue by Navy SEALs cost tens of millions, although a Navy spokesman says the military cannot confirm the exact cost of the mission.
Instead, privateers would be incentivized to patrol the ocean looking for key targets — and money would be paid only to the contractor who completed the job.
“If we have 100 American wanna-be Rambos patrolling the seas, it’s probably a good way of getting the job done,” said Competitive Enterprise Institute senior fellow and security expert Eli Lehrer. “Right now we have a Navy designed mostly to fight other navies. The weapons we have are all excellent, but they may not be the best ones to fight these kinds of pirates. The only cost under letters of marque would be some sort of bounty for the pirates.”
According to Senate historians, Congress hasn’t issued a letter of marquee since the War of 1812, but the Confederate States of America issued them during the Civil War to deliver supplies behind enemy lines. There are also some indications that a letter was granted to a flying band of armed civilians during World War II to operate the Resolute, a Goodyear Blimp used to patrol the ocean for enemy submarines, but the issuance isn’t apparent in the Congressional Record.
If Congress were to revisit the antiquated process, a serious makeover would be required.
In the past, privateers were allowed to keep the ship and treasure they captured in an enemy encounter.
“That isn’t a viable way of funding in today’s world,” said Lehrer. “These pirates don’t really have treasure chests, and their money is tied up in Swiss Bank accounts. Congress would probably have to attach sizable bounties to people.”
Bounties are not a new idea — there is still a $25 million bounty on Osama bin Laden, and millions have been awarded by the government for other enemy captures.
The U.S. State Department earlier this month put a $5 million bounty on the head of the top Pakistani Taliban leader, and even local police departments use rewards to solve cold cases.
University of Oregon economics professor Bill Harbaugh argues the setup could potentially work better than some of the United States’ relationships with modern-day security contractors.
“Obviously, this is somewhat like the contract the government had with Blackwater, except we forgot the bond part of the contract, he said. “If Congress had used this contract from 1776, it would have been more sophisticated than the one they issued with Blackwater.”
Harbaugh’s fifth great-grandfather, Silas Talbot, worked as an early privateer for the United States in 1780 after serving in the Revolutionary War. His letter of marque shows he set out with 12 carriage guns and a crew of 50 men to attack and seize cargo ships coming from Great Britain on the high seas.
Could it really work again?
“It may work in the sense that if you give people incentives to fight piracy, you’ll see more action taken against it,” said Andrew Grotto, a senior national security analyst with the Center for American Progress. “The ocean is huge and, practically speaking, there’s no way the Navy can prevent piracy; it’s too big. But just given the experience in Iraq with private contractors, that effort showcases the difficulties dealing with folks who aren’t answerable to anyone but shareholders.”
But Paul has already thought through a number of these updates.
Days after Sept. 11, Paul introduced legislation allowing President Bush to allow private citizens to go after Osama bin Laden and other identified terrorists and put a bounty price on the heads of targets responsible for the New York attacks. Contractors would also be required to post a play-by-the-rules bond and turn over any terrorists — and their seized property —to U.S. authorities.
“The Constitution gives Congress the power to issue letters of marque and reprisal when a precise declaration of war is impossible due to the vagueness of the enemy,” Paul wrote in a press release. “Once letters of marque and reprisal are issued, every terrorist is essentially a marked man.”
But national security experts and legal analysts warn that applying a colonial-era policy to a modern-day problem could be wrought with legal pitfalls that the Founding Fathers never encountered.
If bounty hunters chase pirates into territorial coastal waters or on to the shore of another country, the problem would fall under the jurisdiction of that country. And any plundering activity that takes place in coastal waters is no longer considered piracy, according to College of William and Mary national security law professor Linda Malone.
Not to mention that there’s also no clear indication where and how the captured pirates should be prosecuted.
“You have to find a stable court system nearby to have them tried for these offenses, but that can be quite complicated,” Malone said. “The fact that the pirates are from Somalia doesn’t make them state actors. They are doing this for private gain.”
And how to determine exactly who is a pirate — and what constitutes pirate activity — could get fuzzy.
“What happens when a ship flying under Congress accidentally takes out an aid ship bound for Somalia?” Grotto said. “At what time does an act seem pirate-like enough to cross the line? Do we really want these snap judgments being made on the fly in waters thousands of miles away from Washington? This is not Johnny Depp we’re dealing with.”
Tuesday, April 14, 2009
Cash Stash in Bra Stops Bullet From Piercing Heart
SAO PAULO (AP) -- Police say a wad of cash stuffed in a woman's bra saved her life during a shootout in northeastern Brazil.
Salvador city police spokesman Vicente de Paula says 58-year-old Ivonete Pereira de Oliveira was a passengers on the bus that two gunmen held up on Saturday.
He says an armed off-duty policeman on the bus opened fire. In the ensuing gunbattle a bullet struck the left side of Oliveira's chest.
De Paula said Tuesday that the 150 reals (about $70) worth of bills that Oliveira hid inside her bra slowed the bullet enough to prevent it from entering her heart and killing her instantly.
Oliveira underwent surgery to remove the bullet from her left breast and was released from the hospital on Monday.
The off-duty police officer was killed.
Salvador city police spokesman Vicente de Paula says 58-year-old Ivonete Pereira de Oliveira was a passengers on the bus that two gunmen held up on Saturday.
He says an armed off-duty policeman on the bus opened fire. In the ensuing gunbattle a bullet struck the left side of Oliveira's chest.
De Paula said Tuesday that the 150 reals (about $70) worth of bills that Oliveira hid inside her bra slowed the bullet enough to prevent it from entering her heart and killing her instantly.
Oliveira underwent surgery to remove the bullet from her left breast and was released from the hospital on Monday.
The off-duty police officer was killed.
Bernanke Sees Tentative Signs Economy Stabilizing
ATLANTA - Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke said Tuesday the latest figures on housing and consumer spending suggest a rapid contraction in the economy could be easing.
"Recently we have seen tentative signs that the sharp decline in economic activity may be slowing, for example, in data on home sales, homebuilding and consumer spending, including sales of new motor vehicles," Bernanke said in remarks at Morehouse College.
Some recent reports have suggested a moderating of the economy's downturn but data Tuesday was less encouraging, with the Commerce Department reporting retail sales fell 1.1 percent in March where economists had foreseen a 0.3 percent rise.
The Fed has cut interest rates effectively to zero and has created a broad range of lending facilities to ensure that banks can remain above water despite massive losses from mortgages and other consumer loans.
Bernanke said the U.S. central bank will definitely reverse its monetary policy at some stage to prevent inflation.
The Fed will "make sure we do raise rates at an appropriate time and make sure we don't leave rates too low for too long, because it can have adverse effects, at least on inflation," Bernanke said in response to questions.
Likewise, said some of the Fed's programs aimed at boosting lending may one day have to be removed in order to prevent the stimulus from building into an outright threat of inflation.
"We have a number of effective tools that will allow us to drain excess liquidity and begin to raise rates at the appropriate time," Bernanke said. "That said, unwinding or scaling down some of our special lending programs will almost certainly have to be part of our strategy for removing policy stimulus once the recovery is under way."
In the meantime, Bernanke said the Fed was exploring an expansion of the types of credit made available through its program to restart securitization markets, the Term Asset-Backed Securities Lending Facility, or TALF.
Bernanke did not specify what areas were under consideration, but authorities have said the program may expand to include commercial mortgage-backed securities and older securities, rather than only recently issued ones.
Response to TALF so far has been lukewarm. While the central bank had allotted $200 billion in loans, only about $6.4 billion in deals have emerged in two auctions thus far.
Bernanke took pains to justify actions taken to save insurance giant American International Group, which has been embroiled in a controversy over lavish bonuses paid after the firm had already received $180 billion in taxpayer aid.
He argued that the firm's collapse would have compromised the entire global financial system.
Nonetheless, he argued that direct support to financial institutions and loans to investors would not compromise the taxpayer, or lead to the threat of inflation.
"I can assure you that monetary policy-makers are fully committed to acting as needed to withdraw on a timely basis the extraordinary support now being provided to the economy, and we are confident in our ability to do so," Bernanke said.
He also said the U.S. dollar remains the main currency of reserve holding and international transactions.
"The dollar remains the dominant currency in terms of reserve holdings and in terms of international transactions. That situation has not changed and I really don't see any prospects of it changing in the foreseeable future," Bernanke said in response to a question.
"But it is important for us to make sure that the dollar stays strong and the best way to make the dollar strong is to take policy actions that will allow the U.S. economy to have a strong recovery."
REUTERS
"Recently we have seen tentative signs that the sharp decline in economic activity may be slowing, for example, in data on home sales, homebuilding and consumer spending, including sales of new motor vehicles," Bernanke said in remarks at Morehouse College.
Some recent reports have suggested a moderating of the economy's downturn but data Tuesday was less encouraging, with the Commerce Department reporting retail sales fell 1.1 percent in March where economists had foreseen a 0.3 percent rise.
The Fed has cut interest rates effectively to zero and has created a broad range of lending facilities to ensure that banks can remain above water despite massive losses from mortgages and other consumer loans.
Bernanke said the U.S. central bank will definitely reverse its monetary policy at some stage to prevent inflation.
The Fed will "make sure we do raise rates at an appropriate time and make sure we don't leave rates too low for too long, because it can have adverse effects, at least on inflation," Bernanke said in response to questions.
Likewise, said some of the Fed's programs aimed at boosting lending may one day have to be removed in order to prevent the stimulus from building into an outright threat of inflation.
"We have a number of effective tools that will allow us to drain excess liquidity and begin to raise rates at the appropriate time," Bernanke said. "That said, unwinding or scaling down some of our special lending programs will almost certainly have to be part of our strategy for removing policy stimulus once the recovery is under way."
In the meantime, Bernanke said the Fed was exploring an expansion of the types of credit made available through its program to restart securitization markets, the Term Asset-Backed Securities Lending Facility, or TALF.
Bernanke did not specify what areas were under consideration, but authorities have said the program may expand to include commercial mortgage-backed securities and older securities, rather than only recently issued ones.
Response to TALF so far has been lukewarm. While the central bank had allotted $200 billion in loans, only about $6.4 billion in deals have emerged in two auctions thus far.
Bernanke took pains to justify actions taken to save insurance giant American International Group
He argued that the firm's collapse would have compromised the entire global financial system.
Nonetheless, he argued that direct support to financial institutions and loans to investors would not compromise the taxpayer, or lead to the threat of inflation.
"I can assure you that monetary policy-makers are fully committed to acting as needed to withdraw on a timely basis the extraordinary support now being provided to the economy, and we are confident in our ability to do so," Bernanke said.
He also said the U.S. dollar remains the main currency of reserve holding and international transactions.
"The dollar remains the dominant currency in terms of reserve holdings and in terms of international transactions. That situation has not changed and I really don't see any prospects of it changing in the foreseeable future," Bernanke said in response to a question.
"But it is important for us to make sure that the dollar stays strong and the best way to make the dollar strong is to take policy actions that will allow the U.S. economy to have a strong recovery."
REUTERS
TAX FREEDOM - Good News!
America Will Work 8 Days Less to Pay Taxes in 2009 than in 2008; Recession, Stimulus Package Push Date of Celebration Up
Washington, DC, March 31, 2009 - Tax Freedom Day will arrive on April 13 this year, according to the Tax Foundation's annual calculation using the latest government data on income and taxes.
This is eight days earlier than in 2008, and a full two weeks earlier than in 2007, for two reasons: (1) the recession has reduced tax collections even faster than it has reduced income, and (2) the stimulus package includes large temporary tax cuts for 2009 and 2010. Nevertheless, Americans will pay more in taxes than they will spend on food, clothing and housing combined.
In the study, Tax Foundation Special Report No. 165, "America Celebrates Tax Freedom Day," Tax Foundation staff economist Josh Barro traces the course of America's tax burden since 1900, examines the composition of today's tax burden by type of tax, and finally calculates a Tax Freedom Day for each state.
Taxes and Federal Deficit
Tax Freedom Day moves somewhat independently from an alternative calculation that adds the federal budget deficit to total taxes collected. In 2009, an unprecedented budget deficit over $1.5 trillion produces a date of May 29. This is the latest date in the year this deficit-inclusive measure has ever fallen. The only previous years when taxes and deficit spending comprised a similarly large share of national income were 1944 and 1945, at the peak of World War II. In the postwar era, this date had never fallen later than May 9 (in 1992). Figure 1 below shows Tax Freedom Day as traditionally presented and with the inclusion of the federal budget deficit, since 1967 (click to enlarge).
Tax Freedom Day Fluctuations in Recent Years and Predictions for the Near Future
In 2000, Tax Freedom Day was celebrated May 3, the latest date ever. A string of tax cuts between 2001 and 2003 pushed Tax Freedom Day up by more than two weeks, so that it fell on April 16 in 2003 and April 17 in 2004. For the next three years, incomes and tax collections soared, pushing Tax Freedom Day back to April 26 in 2007.
Since 2006, corporate tax revenues have fallen sharply and are projected to do so again in 2009. Personal income taxes also fell in 2008 and are expected to fall again in 2009 due to the weakening economy and tax cuts in the stimulus package. Because most of this year's stimulus package's tax cuts continue through 2010, Tax Freedom Day could be expected to shift later by a few days next year only if the economy improves. For 2011, both the stimulus package's tax cuts and the earlier Bush tax cuts of 2001 and 2003 are set to expire. The future timing of Tax Freedom Day will depend on which tax cuts Congress and the Obama Administration choose to extend through 2011 and thereafter.
Which Taxes Are the Biggest?
Five major categories of tax dominate the tax burden. Individual income taxes, both federal and state, require 38 days' work. Payroll taxes take another 27 days' work. Sales and excise taxes, mostly state and local, take 15 days to pay off. Corporate income taxes take 6 days, and property taxes take 12. Americans will log 4 more days to pay other miscellaneous taxes, most notably including motor vehicle license taxes and severance taxes, and about 1 day for estate taxes.
Tax Freedom Day by State
Residents of Alaska will bear the lowest average tax burden in 2009. Because of their modest incomes and extremely low state-and-local tax burden, we estimate Alaska's Tax Freedom Day for 2009 to be March 23. Louisiana, Mississippi, South Dakota and West Virginia round out the five states that we project will experience Tax Freedom Day earliest in 2009.
The residents of Connecticut will celebrate last, as usual, working until the 120th day of the year, from January 1 to April 30, before earning enough to pay all their taxes. Because Connecticut's income per capita is higher than in any other state, its residents pay extraordinarily high federal income taxes. Nearby states New Jersey and New York are second and third, respectively. California and Maryland round out the top five.
Washington, DC, March 31, 2009 - Tax Freedom Day will arrive on April 13 this year, according to the Tax Foundation's annual calculation using the latest government data on income and taxes.
This is eight days earlier than in 2008, and a full two weeks earlier than in 2007, for two reasons: (1) the recession has reduced tax collections even faster than it has reduced income, and (2) the stimulus package includes large temporary tax cuts for 2009 and 2010. Nevertheless, Americans will pay more in taxes than they will spend on food, clothing and housing combined.
In the study, Tax Foundation Special Report No. 165, "America Celebrates Tax Freedom Day," Tax Foundation staff economist Josh Barro traces the course of America's tax burden since 1900, examines the composition of today's tax burden by type of tax, and finally calculates a Tax Freedom Day for each state.
Taxes and Federal Deficit
Tax Freedom Day moves somewhat independently from an alternative calculation that adds the federal budget deficit to total taxes collected. In 2009, an unprecedented budget deficit over $1.5 trillion produces a date of May 29. This is the latest date in the year this deficit-inclusive measure has ever fallen. The only previous years when taxes and deficit spending comprised a similarly large share of national income were 1944 and 1945, at the peak of World War II. In the postwar era, this date had never fallen later than May 9 (in 1992). Figure 1 below shows Tax Freedom Day as traditionally presented and with the inclusion of the federal budget deficit, since 1967 (click to enlarge).
Tax Freedom Day Fluctuations in Recent Years and Predictions for the Near Future
In 2000, Tax Freedom Day was celebrated May 3, the latest date ever. A string of tax cuts between 2001 and 2003 pushed Tax Freedom Day up by more than two weeks, so that it fell on April 16 in 2003 and April 17 in 2004. For the next three years, incomes and tax collections soared, pushing Tax Freedom Day back to April 26 in 2007.
Since 2006, corporate tax revenues have fallen sharply and are projected to do so again in 2009. Personal income taxes also fell in 2008 and are expected to fall again in 2009 due to the weakening economy and tax cuts in the stimulus package. Because most of this year's stimulus package's tax cuts continue through 2010, Tax Freedom Day could be expected to shift later by a few days next year only if the economy improves. For 2011, both the stimulus package's tax cuts and the earlier Bush tax cuts of 2001 and 2003 are set to expire. The future timing of Tax Freedom Day will depend on which tax cuts Congress and the Obama Administration choose to extend through 2011 and thereafter.
Which Taxes Are the Biggest?
Five major categories of tax dominate the tax burden. Individual income taxes, both federal and state, require 38 days' work. Payroll taxes take another 27 days' work. Sales and excise taxes, mostly state and local, take 15 days to pay off. Corporate income taxes take 6 days, and property taxes take 12. Americans will log 4 more days to pay other miscellaneous taxes, most notably including motor vehicle license taxes and severance taxes, and about 1 day for estate taxes.
Tax Freedom Day by State
Residents of Alaska will bear the lowest average tax burden in 2009. Because of their modest incomes and extremely low state-and-local tax burden, we estimate Alaska's Tax Freedom Day for 2009 to be March 23. Louisiana, Mississippi, South Dakota and West Virginia round out the five states that we project will experience Tax Freedom Day earliest in 2009.
The residents of Connecticut will celebrate last, as usual, working until the 120th day of the year, from January 1 to April 30, before earning enough to pay all their taxes. Because Connecticut's income per capita is higher than in any other state, its residents pay extraordinarily high federal income taxes. Nearby states New Jersey and New York are second and third, respectively. California and Maryland round out the top five.
SOMEONE TO CHEER FOR!!
Curry invites cancer survivor to draft
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Associated Press
When Aaron Curry realized he'd be one of nine players invited to the NFL draft, he knew he'd put on an expensive suit and surround himself with his family on one of the biggest days of his life.
The Wake Forest linebacker wanted to do something unique, too.
Curry wound up at St. Jude Children's Research Hospital in Memphis, Tenn., on Monday. In a prearranged meeting set up by his agent and hospital officials, Curry told wide-eyed, 12-year-old Bryson Merriweather he wanted a tour of the place.
The boy had spent the better part of two years there undergoing five rounds of chemotherapy for leukemia, which is now in remission.
"We were acting like he was just taking me on a regular tour around the hospital," Curry said. "Toward the end we ended up outside tossing each other a football and I just started talking about the draft.
"He said he had seen it and I was telling him that I had been invited and if he would join me in this experience. So I said, 'So come to New York with me and get drafted into the NFL,'" he said.
So joining Curry's mother, fiancee and siblings at his draft table on April 25 will be Bryson, the Madison, Ala., boy who is determined to play football again -- and get more people to be bone marrow donors.
"I was showing him around and then he asked me," Bryson said of Curry's surprise offer. "And I've never been to New York before."
While Curry has been fortunate not to have a friend or family member affected by cancer, he was drawn to Bryson's story when he was directed to the St. Jude hospital through his agent, Andy Ross.
Bryson, who played tight end and defensive end for his youth team, first complained that his chest hurt after football practice in Oct. 2007. Later he said he couldn't catch his breath and it was thought he had asthma.
But a month after that his family was hit with horrible news: Bryson had acute myeloid leukemia and would need to go immediately by ambulance four hours away to St. Jude, a top pediatric cancer treatment hospital.
Aaron Curry was one of nine players invited to the draft.
Bryson began a grueling schedule of chemotherapy while his family searched in vain for a matching donor if he required a bone marrow transplant.
"It was disheartening to know that we didn't have a match," said his father, Lorace "Ace" Merriweather.
As Bryson got stronger, he helped lead bone marrow drives and fundraisers for St. Jude hospital in his hometown. His parents also decided to have another child.
Six months after Bryson went into remission, his mother, Becky, gave birth to Bryan in December. It was recently determined he's a genetic match with his older brother.
"If the cancer does come back, we now have a donor match in our own family," Bryson's father said. "That's been another amazing journey that we've gone through."
Now that journey will take Bryson and his dad to New York. Curry will meet them on Thursday and tour the city. They'll attend some events together on Friday, and Bryson will be there Saturday when Curry could be the No. 1 overall pick by Detroit.
"After meeting Bryson, I just think it was the perfect route to go," Curry said. "Bryson has already done some things in the community and he's only 12."
Statistics show that Bryson has a 30 to 40 percent chance of relapse and a cell mutation he has puts him in an even higher risk group. But the lanky Bryson is strong enough now to play sports again. He's running track this spring and hopes to resume football this fall.
He'll also have stories to tell his friends after experiencing the draft firsthand with a potential future NFL star.
"It's just been a blessing to go through this whole experience. It renewed our faith," Ace Merriweather said. "It also shows Bryson's courage and will to fight through this. He didn't ask for it, but he's taken on the challenge. I know he's going to have a long life ahead of him.
"Maybe one day we'll be at the draft inviting somebody," he said.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Associated Press
When Aaron Curry realized he'd be one of nine players invited to the NFL draft, he knew he'd put on an expensive suit and surround himself with his family on one of the biggest days of his life.
The Wake Forest linebacker wanted to do something unique, too.
Curry wound up at St. Jude Children's Research Hospital in Memphis, Tenn., on Monday. In a prearranged meeting set up by his agent and hospital officials, Curry told wide-eyed, 12-year-old Bryson Merriweather he wanted a tour of the place.
The boy had spent the better part of two years there undergoing five rounds of chemotherapy for leukemia, which is now in remission.
"We were acting like he was just taking me on a regular tour around the hospital," Curry said. "Toward the end we ended up outside tossing each other a football and I just started talking about the draft.
"He said he had seen it and I was telling him that I had been invited and if he would join me in this experience. So I said, 'So come to New York with me and get drafted into the NFL,'" he said.
So joining Curry's mother, fiancee and siblings at his draft table on April 25 will be Bryson, the Madison, Ala., boy who is determined to play football again -- and get more people to be bone marrow donors.
"I was showing him around and then he asked me," Bryson said of Curry's surprise offer. "And I've never been to New York before."
While Curry has been fortunate not to have a friend or family member affected by cancer, he was drawn to Bryson's story when he was directed to the St. Jude hospital through his agent, Andy Ross.
Bryson, who played tight end and defensive end for his youth team, first complained that his chest hurt after football practice in Oct. 2007. Later he said he couldn't catch his breath and it was thought he had asthma.
But a month after that his family was hit with horrible news: Bryson had acute myeloid leukemia and would need to go immediately by ambulance four hours away to St. Jude, a top pediatric cancer treatment hospital.
Aaron Curry was one of nine players invited to the draft.
Bryson began a grueling schedule of chemotherapy while his family searched in vain for a matching donor if he required a bone marrow transplant.
"It was disheartening to know that we didn't have a match," said his father, Lorace "Ace" Merriweather.
As Bryson got stronger, he helped lead bone marrow drives and fundraisers for St. Jude hospital in his hometown. His parents also decided to have another child.
Six months after Bryson went into remission, his mother, Becky, gave birth to Bryan in December. It was recently determined he's a genetic match with his older brother.
"If the cancer does come back, we now have a donor match in our own family," Bryson's father said. "That's been another amazing journey that we've gone through."
Now that journey will take Bryson and his dad to New York. Curry will meet them on Thursday and tour the city. They'll attend some events together on Friday, and Bryson will be there Saturday when Curry could be the No. 1 overall pick by Detroit.
"After meeting Bryson, I just think it was the perfect route to go," Curry said. "Bryson has already done some things in the community and he's only 12."
Statistics show that Bryson has a 30 to 40 percent chance of relapse and a cell mutation he has puts him in an even higher risk group. But the lanky Bryson is strong enough now to play sports again. He's running track this spring and hopes to resume football this fall.
He'll also have stories to tell his friends after experiencing the draft firsthand with a potential future NFL star.
"It's just been a blessing to go through this whole experience. It renewed our faith," Ace Merriweather said. "It also shows Bryson's courage and will to fight through this. He didn't ask for it, but he's taken on the challenge. I know he's going to have a long life ahead of him.
"Maybe one day we'll be at the draft inviting somebody," he said.
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