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18 Apr 2011 16:29

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Politics: Sharon Angle sings for Tax Day protesters

  • Because we can: Sharon Angle sings “God Bless The USA.” The defeated Republican Senatel candidate has said she’ll be running for the House seat being vacated by Republican Dean Heller in 2012, but if that doesn’t work out, maybe she can put a band together. How about “Sharon and the Right Angles?” source
Posted by Chris Tognotti • 0 Comments • Permalink

18 Apr 2011 15:49

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World: Taliban captures engineers in Farah province

  • twelve Iranian engineers in Afghanistan have been kidnapped by the Taliban
  • five Afghans who were working with the Iranians were also captured source
  • » It happened in Farah province, near the Iranian border. Afghanistan’s embassy in Tehran called for swift action, as Iran’s Foreign Affairs Ministry spokesman Ramin Mehmanparast said he wants “Kabul authorities to exercise their responsibilities with regard to Iranian nationals and to take firm and swift action on this kidnapping.”
Posted by Chris Tognotti • 0 Comments • Permalink

18 Apr 2011 15:29

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Politics: Pentagon inquiry clears McChrystal over Rolling Stone article

  • Rolling Stone vs. the Pentagon: A Pentagon inquiry into the Rolling Stone article “The Runaway General,” which was written by Michael Hastings and basically got Stanley McChrystal fired, has by their claims vindicated the former General. They said they were unable to verify the accuracy of the events detailed, and that in many areas they could find no witnesses to corroborate the claims. Hastings and his editors aren’t having it, however; they stand behind the accuracy of the piece, making this something of a murky, “my word versus yours” scenario. Said Rolling Stone Executive Editor Eric Bates: “It’s accurate in every detail.” source
Posted by Chris Tognotti • 0 Comments • Permalink

18 Apr 2011 14:54

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U.S.: GOP Rep. McKinley not so sure about Paul Ryan’s Medicare

  • The Congressional Budget Office determined that some of the out-of-pocket costs could double for seniors and that sent up a red flag for me… I think we can do it another way and now I’m going to be curious to see what the Senate does. I want to be an independent voice here.
  • GOP Rep. Dave MicKinley • Speaking on Rep. Paul Ryan’s proposed “Path to Prosperity,” which eliminates the traditional Medicare program (essentially, guaranteed health coverage) in favor of a voucher/privatized system. Quotes like these often strike us as noteworthy, specifically because it’s rather rare to hear Republican politicians break ranks around big policy proposals, especially when compared to Democrats. On the Democratic side, whether it’s Joe Manchin, Joe Lieberman, Ben Nelson, Bart Stupak (now retired), the list goes on — the conservative wing of the party last Congress provided a palpable thorn in President Obama’s side on a lot of his big initiatives. The GOP, on the other hand, always seems like an on-message, political machine — so to that end, we laud Rep. McKinley for speaking his mind on the hottest topic in Washington today. source
Posted by Chris Tognotti • 0 Comments • Permalink

18 Apr 2011 14:32

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U.S.: MI Gov. Rick Snyder’s “emergency manager” law in full swing

  • NO Benton Harbor, MI’s elected government has no power source
  • » A plan comes to fruition: Governor Rick Snyder supported and signed into law a bill authorizing him to appoint “emergency financial managers” for towns, cities and school districts. This manager would have broad power to strip the power of elected officials, and dissolve whole cities; Benton Harbor, a chronically impoverished city with a black population well over 90%, now knows this disgrace all too well, in the person of their new emergency manager, Joseph Harris. Over the weekend, Harris decided that the city’s elected officials don’t get to govern anymore. No vote, no decision making, nothing but holding meetings and approving the minutes of said meetings. This is the sort of thing, frankly, that should outrage any American regardless of their political stripe. Here’s hoping principled conservatives will join in on decrying this.
Posted by Chris Tognotti • 0 Comments • Permalink

18 Apr 2011 12:59

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Biz: S&P official: Blame bickering politicians for this credit-rating mess

  • Looking at the gulf between the parties, it has never been wider than now. It takes a lot of political will to bridge this gulf.
  • Standard & Poor’s global head of sovereign ratings David Beers • Suggesting that both parties aren’t going far enough to fix their deficit problem which could lead to a decreased credit rating down the line. Essentially, they think that the two parties are so divided that they won’t solve the problem. Standard & Poor has downgraded the credit rating of many countries of late, most recently Britain. source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink

18 Apr 2011 11:25

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World: Poll: Japanese people want PM Naoto Kan to step down over quake

  • 70% of those polled think Naoto Kan should step down source
  • » A revolving door: Were Naoto Kan to step down, he’d be the fifth prime minister in a row to step down or lose an election after a year or less on the job. From Shinzō Abe to Yasuo Fukuda to Taro Aso and Yukio Hatoyama, the job has not proven a stable one. And Kan is nearing his one-year mark in the position. But none of his recent predecessors had to deal with a crisis nearly as crazy as the double-teaming of Fukushima and the Sendai quake.
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink
 

18 Apr 2011 10:26

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Culture: Volkswagen’s new Beetle: Clean design, no flower power

  • Here’s a photo of the new Volkswagen Beetle, updating the design of the last model, which has been around since the late ’90s. It looks … aerodynamic. Clearly, someone forgot that the Beetle has to look lumpy. That’s what the Beetle is! A lumpy car! source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink

18 Apr 2011 09:52

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Biz: Amid deficit, S&P warns about U.S. credit-rating dangers afoot

  • Because the U.S. has, relative to its ‘AAA’ peers, what we consider to be very large budget deficits and rising government indebtedness and the path to addressing these is not clear to us, we have revised our outlook on the long-term rating to negative from stable.
  • A statement from the Standard & Poor’s • Revealing that, while they affirmed the United States’ spectacular “AAA” credit rating, they were suggesting the the outlook of said credit rating could go negative in the future. They want the country to figure out its budget mess by 2013. “If an agreement is not reached and meaningful implementation is not begun by then,” they write. “this would in our view render the U.S. fiscal profile meaningfully weaker than that of peer ‘AAA’ sovereigns.” Feel that? That’s the grumble of the money beast, wanting to be fed. source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink

17 Apr 2011 22:17

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Culture: 2012 outlier Donald Trump could create huge problem for NBC

  • situation Donald Trump, best known of late as host of NBC’s hit show “The Apprentice,” has made waves of late for his birther stances, and is making waves about a possible presidential run.
  • problem If Trump runs — which he may, based on his recent bluster — NBC may have a real problem: They’ll have to give up a still-popular show that draws ratings — or give equal time to other politicians. source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink
 
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