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13 Apr 2011 11:26

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U.S.: Two losers try to save face by introducing online privacy bill

  • “GUYS! Guys. Come on, you know us.” “I’m the guy who lost the presidential election in 2004. Flanking me on my left is the guy who lost in 2008. Despite the fact that we’re both losers, we still have some winning moments, and this is one of them. We’re introducing this online privacy bill to ensure that consumers still have rights on the Internet and that their info isn’t being shared by anyone like those jerks at Rapleaf. I know my boy didn’t even discover Twitter until like a year ago, but we’re totally on top of this thing. Give us some credit, guys!” source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink

08 Apr 2011 20:28

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U.S.: Government shutdown deal: National Journal says we’re closer

  • Here’s what the National Journal says is happening: It looks like the latest numbers on Obama’s desk are a lot closer and show actual compromise. WIll it be enough to prevent a government shutdown? Well, we’ll see. The deal the National Journal has suggests a temporary extension to get through the weekend while details are hashed out at the beginning of the week. “While leadership staff insist there is no deal yet,” they write, “that caution belies significant progress in narrowing long-standing differences and the widening assumption in both parties that a shutdown will be averted and all that remains unknown is the precise procedural steps that will walk everyone back from the abyss.” Here are some quick hard numbers from their report:
  • $39B the size of the planned standard budget cuts from fiscal 2010
  • $550B the size of the defense budget through the end of 2011
  • nothe cuts to the EPA and Planned Parenthood aren’t in the deal source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink

07 Apr 2011 13:50

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Politics: Non-fiscal issues make government shutdown harder to avert

  • fiscal As we mentioned yesterday, there’s a big gap between what Democrats are willing to cut in spending and what Republicans want — in fact, they can’t even agree on how many spending cuts are actually in yesterday’s offered compromise.
  • not fiscal Sen. Harry Reid, though, claims the spending cut jockeying isn’t the only hold-up, so are the policy issues pertaining to things like abortion. The GOP has spent a lot of time since their big win in 2010 pushing for these social aims. source
Posted by Chris Tognotti • 0 Comments • Permalink

16 Mar 2011 21:22

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World: “General Petraeus” and “Charlie Sheen” share same sentence

  • General Petraeus is giving us the Charlie Sheen counter-insurgency strategy, which is to give exclusive interviews to every major network, and to keep saying ‘we’re winning’ and hope the public actually agrees with you.
  • Rep. Lynn Woolsy (D-CA) • Quoting Rolling Stone editor Michael Hastings, who made the comparison at a Congressional Progressive Caucus meeting, on the House Floor. Woolsey wants US troops out of Afghanistan, pronto, and hasn’t taken kindly to the optimism in Petraeus’ recent media blitz. This isn’t the first time she’s come down on Petraeus, the commander of US and NATO forces in Afghanistan; in 2010, she accused the general of using “weasel words” to dodge a question about the troops’ withdrawal date. source
Posted by Seth Millstein • 0 Comments • Permalink

10 Mar 2011 21:10

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Politics: Even folks getting questioned don’t get Peter King’s hearings

  • I was overwhelmed by the number of Muslims who, while under threat from misinformed sources, were ready and willing to connect with law enforcement to help keep the peace.
  • Los Angeles County Sheriff Lee Baca • Speaking at Rep. Peter King’s totally effed-up hearings on radical Islam about the level of outreach he received from the Muslim community after Sept. 11, 2001. Baca, one of the four witnesses who spoke the hearing, called out the hearing’s entire premise as screwed up. You and everybody else, Lee. “This hearing is playing into Al Qaeda right now,” said Rep. Sheila Jackson Lee, a Texas Democrat who is exactly right. Basically, go back to what Keith Ellison said. It really nails it all. source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink

10 Mar 2011 20:17

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Politics, U.S.: Congress continues working the budget layaway circuit

  • two number of weeks the government gave itself to figure out a budget plan by putting one on layaway
  • zero number of spending resolutions that passed both chambers of Congress in that two-week period
  • three number of weeks the government will likely put a new budget on layaway to prevent a shutdown source
  • » Oh yeah: The next temporary deal could include restrictions that limit how and when the budget can be used – such as, for example, no money spent on the new health care law. Hrm.
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink

10 Mar 2011 10:08

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Politics: Rep. Peter King has good reason to be afraid of radicals

Peter King says that he’s being trailed by around-the-clock police because of an unnamed threat from overseas. Glad he’s announcing that ahead of his Islam hearings. source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink
 

06 Mar 2011 20:01

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Politics: White House official backs Muslims before Rep. Peter King’s hearings

  • You’ve sent a message that those who perpetrate such horrific attacks do not represent you or your faith, and that they will not succeed in pitting believers of different faiths against one another.
  • Deputy National Security Adviser Denis McDonough • Speaking to a DC-area mosque this weekend to do damage control before Rep. Peter King, the chairman of the House’s Homeland Security panel, holds hearings on Islam radicalization. King defended his efforts earlier today: “The overwhelming majority of Muslims are outstanding Americans,” he said, “but at this stage in our history there’s an effort … to radicalize elements within the Muslim community.” Is ol’ Petey boy right? source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink

06 Mar 2011 11:48

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Politics: Rep. Peter King’s radical Islam hearing not exactly winning him fans

  • First off, this is a spectacular photo of Rep. Peter King. He’s straight-up draped in America in this pic, and it’s something that we must admire. Anyway, King (the chair of the Homeland Security committee) is planning these Congressional hearings about radical Islam this week, and they have some people up in arms. For example, here’s Rep. Keith Ellison, a Muslim himself who showed up on CNN’s “State of the Union” with King: “It’s absolutely the right thing to do for the chairman of the Homeland Security Committee to investigate radicalization. But to say we’re going to investigate a — a religious minority, and a particular one, I think is the wrong course of action to take.” King claims that radical Islam poses a graver threat than other types of radicalism. source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink

01 Mar 2011 15:03

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Culture: Rep. Rush Holt, D-NJ, beats back robotic dominion for another day

  • Holt wins the battle, Watson wins the war: A big humankind hats-off to Representative Rush Holt, who took on Jeopardy mecha-brain Watson in a faux-show in DC yesterday evening. While the contest pitted Watson against successive members of Congress, and those who went after Holt were trounced sufficiently to secure the win for Watson, Holt himself bested the computer by $2,400. Holt was a five-time Jeopardy winner nearly 35 years ago, and serves in the House as a Democrat from New Jersey. source
Posted by Chris Tognotti • 0 Comments • Permalink
 
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