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«Updated Daily« |
Saturday January 28, 2012
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Made in the USA since 1998
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Last year's debt agreement permits a total debt limit increase of $2.1 trillion in exchange for an equivalent amount in spending cuts over the coming decade.
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Vote Gives Obama Option to Raise
Debt Ceiling Another $1.2 Trillion
AP/FOX News
Senate Republicans were unable to muster enough votes Thursday for a bill opposing another $1.2 trillion increase in the debt ceiling. The measure was defeated on a 52-44 vote. Lawmakers would have needed 60 votes in order to push the bill through, and more than that to override a presidential veto. The House had approved the measure last week, but it was expected to fail in the Senate. The vote caps an unusual process set up at the end of the debt-ceiling debate last summer. The process allows lawmakers, mostly Republicans, to vote against debt increases but not actually block them. Blocking them would provoke a first-ever, market-rattling default on US obligations. The vote split mostly along party lines. One Republican, Massachusetts Sen. Scott Brown, opposed the measure. Two Democrats -- West Virginia Sen. Joe Manchin and Nebraska Sen. Ben Nelson -- supported it. |
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There’s a Difference
Between Vetting & Smearing
Frank Salvato, Managing Editor
Call it wishful thinking. Call it expecting the campaigns to honor what the American people have been demanding for several election cycles. Call it what you will, but I admit, I am one of the life-long Conservatives and Republicans who finds the attack ad blitz being perpetrated by our GOP presidential candidates against one another over-the top and, quite frankly, embarrassing. It is one thing to illuminate an opponent’s past record, even his past behavior where it applies to his ability to execute elected office, but it is quite another to engage in the slash-and-burn, win-at-all-cost political tactics of the Progressive Left. We, as Conservatives and as Republicans are better than that...we have to be. The recent exchanges between Mitt Romney and Newt Gingrich about lobbying, taxes, who is more Conservative than who, etc., serve as a perfect example of destruction (read: negative) politics. Truth be told, aside from the fact that we now know Newt Gingrich had a rider in his consulting contract with Freddie Mac that prohibited him – or any of his team – from lobbying, and aside from the fact that we now know venture capitalist Mitt Romney is wealthy and pays the least amount of taxes legally possible, what did we learn from any point brought up by either candidate that weighed heavily on the negative?
An ‘Axelrod-esque’ Moment for Gingrich
Frank Salvato, Managing Editor
Almost on the eve of the South Carolina GOP Primary, ABC News is set to televise an interview with Newt Gingrich’s second wife, Marianne, where she claims the presidential contender asked her for an “open marriage” so that he could see the woman that would become his third wife, Callista. Truth be told, this is a re-hashed interview, the original having run in Esquire Magazine in 2010. Which leaves us this to consider: the execution and airing of this interview is either an attempt by a woman scorned to even the score, a politically motivated hit-piece, or both. Whichever it turns out to be, the one thing it won’t be is a game changer. That Newt Gingrich has had marital issues in his past is common knowledge. Anyone shocked by this news should not consider themselves well-informed.
 Editorials
An Election Is Not a Game
AJ DiCintio
A friend once told me he couldn’t watch a sporting event without being fervently for or against one of the teams, even if he had to attribute his fierce partisanship to having noticed a player “pick his nose” (his exact words) during the national anthem. Now, even sensible, common sense women will seize upon that story to joke about how irrationally men react to sports. But being honest, levelheaded thinkers, those same women will readily admit their simply humorous intent and acknowledge that, in harmony with Wilde’s insightful observation, the anecdote illustrates one of the universal truths about winning and losing. The fact is, then, that regardless of sex, humans are not just disposed to take sides on issues, whether the leanings have to do with politics, sports, autos, soft drinks, cosmetics, or fashion, but to do so with powerful feelings, their fighting in “battle,” rejoicing in “victory,” sulking and blaming in “defeat” regularly exhibiting excesses that deserve to be described as extreme.
Legitimate Government
John McClain, USMC (ret.)
When this issue is boiled down to its basic premises, there are only two forms of government ever available: either taking the stance that people exist before government exists, and therefore have the right of prior existence to form a government as small or as large as they like, based on self evident truth, the natural laws which come out of the interactions of self evident truths, and a fundamental intent, fully implemented, of ensuring to the highest level possible, all have equal rights and equal access to the government, as all are equally born onto this planet. The other side is taking the stance man establishes groups in his earliest acts, becoming part of family, and that decisions regarding governing is the choice of a group or groups. In this stance, the individual can easily be denied rights of separate existence by the sheer right of numbers, unless the notion is put first, that there are certain individual rights which exist regardless of “the group.”
The Audacity of Deceit:
Notes on the State of the Union
Frank Gaffney
Knowing President Obama’s Alinskyite proclivities, his third State of the Union address – coming as it did amidst a reelection campaign – could have been predicted to be filled with lofting, sometimes inspiring but routinely bait-and-switch rhetoric. Even so, his exploitation of the US military for nakedly political purposes translates into an extreme plumbing of what might be called his audacity of deceit. If the President had been simply paying homage to the amazing men and women in uniform and extolling their courage, patriotism and selflessness, that would have been one thing. It would have been understandable, even commendable, to have cited such qualities in a call for legislators to come together as our troops do to accomplish the difficult missions at hand. The fact that Mr. Obama wrapped such comments – literally as the opening and closing bookends for his speech – around so many distortions, misrepresentations and outright falsehoods about our national security situation, however, transforms what might have been a welcome presidential paean to the armed forces into a further betrayal of our troops.
Hamas in Deep Trouble
Guy Bechor
Nothing stopped Ismail Haniyeh, the Hamas prime minister in Gaza, from making Ahmadinejad-style declarations that Israel’s days are numbered and calling for the establishment of an Arab Jihad army for Palestine’s liberation. Yet behind the pretentious slogans lies a grim reality for Hamas that can no longer be hidden. First, Hamas’ alliance with Iran has come to an end. This pact was unnatural to begin with, given that we saw a Sunni organization endorsing a non-Arab Shiite state. Yet when Hamas refused Iran’s orders to support the fading Bashar Assad, Tehran shut its door to the group. What’s worse, the flow of money used by Hamas to pay some 50,000 officials and troops in Gaza has ended. So where will Hamas get money? This is why the organization is engaged in bitter disputes with the Palestinian Authority and Arab League over funds supposedly owed to the group.
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| Analysis |
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▪ Vote Gives Obama Option to Raise Debt Ceiling Another $1.2 Trillion
▪ Army Budget Cuts Will Trim 8 Brigades, Reduce Forces by 80,000
▪ TEA Party v. Cocktail Party in Florida?
▪ Wis. Governor Has Edge in Approval Rating
▪ States Weakening Teacher Tenure; Moving to Merit Retention
▪ Producers, Wealthy to ‘Pay the Price’ if France’s Left Wins Vote
▪ Israel’s Barak Calls on World to Stop Iranian Nuclear Danger
▪ Twitter to Begin Censoring Tweets in Select Countries
▪ Al Qaeda Activity Puts Regime Change in Doubt
▪ Guilty Plea in Plot to Bomb Maryland Military Recruiting Center
▪ House GOP Drafting Bill to Replace Obamacare in Anticipation of SCOTUS Decision
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Producers, Wealthy to ‘Pay the Price’ if France’s Left Wins Vote
Sydney Morning Herald
Francois Hollande, the left-wing frontrunner in the French presidential race, has vowed to make the rich pay the highest price to help drag the country out of its economic crisis, while promising to pump more money into schools and state-assisted jobs. The Socialist MP, who recently declared "my real adversary in this campaign is the world of finance", launched his manifesto, a road map of how the left would deal with the financial crisis. Mr. Hollande said he would raise taxes for banks, big companies and France's richest people, and use the money to help wipe out the nation's crippling deficit. If there were to be blood, sweat and tears in France, Mr. Hollande suggested that should come from the richest 5 percent. "If there are sacrifices to be made, and there will be, then it will be for the wealthiest to make them," he said.
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Israel’s Barak Calls on World to Stop Iranian Nuclear Danger
The Jerusalem Post
Defense Minister Ehud Barak on Friday warned that nuclear weapons in the hands of the Iranian regime would lead to regional proliferation, the spread of terrorism and a threat to oil supplies from the Middle East, the Guardian reported. Speaking as part of a panel on Iran at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Barak told those assembled that "You can't conceive of a stable world order when Iran has nuclear weapons." Barak, appearing alongside Yukiya Amano, the chief of the UN's nuclear watchdog, stated that "Iran is prepared to defy and deceive the whole world to turn themselves into a nuclear power...This will be the end of any conceivable anti-proliferation program," according to the Guardian. Amano said that he was convinced Tehran was seeking nuclear weapons capability.
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| International |
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Al Qaeda Activity Puts Regime Change in Doubt
Spiegel Online
It wasn't so much the black banner of al Qaeda that was fluttering in the wind above the old mosque. Far more sinister was the ease with which the dozens of fighters had been able to sneak into the city. But perhaps "sneak" is too strong a word. "It's quite possible that soldiers even welcomed them," says a local journalist, describing the situation in Radda, a city of 60,000 that has been under al Qaeda control since Jan. 16. Radda is a two-hour drive southeast of the Yemeni capital, Sanaa. On Jan. 14, about 20 visitors unexpectedly turned up at a 16th-century Amiriya Mosque and began their afternoon prayers. It didn't seem to bother them that the mosque had been closed for years as it underwent renovations for future tour groups. But tourism was not on al Qaeda's agenda.
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Guilty Plea in Plot to Bomb Maryland Military Recruiting Center
CNN
A Baltimore man pleaded guilty Thursday in connection with a plot to bomb a military recruiting station in retaliation for US forces killing Muslims overseas, authorities said. Antonio Benjamin Martinez, 22, a Muslim convert who also goes by the name Muhammad Hussain, pleaded guilty to use of a weapon of mass destruction against federal property in connection with the plot involving an Armed Forces Career Center in Catonsville, Maryland, the Justice Department said. The guilty plea was part of a plea agreement with prosecutors, authorities said. If the court accepts the plea, Martinez will be sentenced to 25 years in prison. Sentencing is set for April 6. Martinez was arrested in December 2010 after attempting to detonate an inert device supplied to him by an undercover FBI agent, authorities said.
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| Islamist Terror |
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Army Budget Cuts Will Trim 8 Brigades, Reduce Forces by 80,000
The Hill
The Army is planning to cut at least eight brigades and 80,000 troops as it trims its budgets, US officials confirmed Wednesday. The new brigade cuts, which will happen over several years, will reduce the number of Army troops to 490,000 from a high of 570,000. The cuts, first reported by The Associated Press, could reduce the number of brigades from 45 to as low as 32. The Army’s force reduction has been expected by analysts, but the cuts are now getting finalized as part of the Pentagon’s 2013 budget, which is the first that will deal with a $487 billion reduction over the next decade. The overall 2013 Pentagon base budget will be $524 billion, according to congressional officials and analysts, which is a reduction of $7 billion from the 2012 budget Congress approved last month.
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TEA Party v. Cocktail Party in Florida?
Politico
As the Republican race moves to a state defined by the extremes in recession-era America -- where the underwater and unemployed live just a few miles from the 1 percent -- a sharp class divide is emerging between the two top contenders. Republicans prefer to ignore class differences within their auto mechanic and hedge funder coalition, but the establishment vs. insurgency battle between Romney and Gingrich increasingly resembles the beer track-wine track epic battle between Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama. In the first three states, Romney finished, respectively, in a very narrow second, a decisive first and a distant second. But according to exit polls, he ran away with the country club vote in each. It’s the Tea Party and the cocktail party.
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| Government & Politics |
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Wis. Governor Has Edge in Approval Rating
AP/The Washington Times
Slightly more Wisconsin voters approve than disapprove of the job Republican Gov. Scott Walker is doing as he prepares for an expected recall election, according to a poll released Wednesday. Mr. Walker also showed leads of 6% to 10% when running against four potential Democratic opponents, according to a Marquette University Law School poll. It showed 51% of 701 registered voters polled approve of Mr. Walker’s performance while 46% disapprove. The telephone poll was conducted Jan. 19-22, just days after recall organizers turned in a million signatures to possibly force a recall election against Mr. Walker. The recall effort has been driven by Democrats and labor union groups angry at Mr. Walker’s push for a law that limited collective bargaining rights for most public workers.
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States Weakening Teacher Tenure; Moving to Merit Retention
The Seattle Times
America's public school teachers are seeing their generations-old tenure protections weakened as states seek flexibility to fire teachers who aren't performing. A few states have essentially nullified tenure protections altogether, according to an analysis being released Wednesday by the National Council on Teacher Quality. The changes are occurring as states replace virtually automatic "satisfactory" teacher evaluations with those linked to teacher performance and base teacher layoffs on performance instead of seniority. Politically powerful teachers' unions are fighting back, arguing the changes lower morale, deny teachers due process, and unfairly target older teachers. The debate is so intense that in Idaho, for example, state superintendent Tom Luna's truck was spray painted and its tires slashed.
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| National & Local |
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Twitter to Begin Censoring Tweets in Select Countries
The London Telegraph
Twitter has announced it will begin restricting Tweets in certain countries, marking a policy shift for the social media platform that helped propel the popular uprisings recently sweeping across the Middle East. "As we continue to grow internationally, we will enter countries that have different ideas about the contours of freedom of expression," Twitter wrote in a blog post published Thursday. It said even with the possibility of such restrictions, Twitter would not be able to coexist with some countries. "Some differ so much from our ideas that we will not be able to exist there," it said. Twitter gave as examples of restrictions it might cooperate with "certain types of content, such as France or Germany, which ban pro-Nazi content." Twitter's decision to begin censoring content represents a significant departure from its policy just one year ago.
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US Amb. to Russia: We Support ‘Universal Values’ Not ‘American Values’
CNS News
The new US ambassador to Russia, Michael McFaul, said that in dealing with the former Soviet Union, he and the Obama administration would be advocating “universal values” and “not American values.” McFaul was sworn in as ambassador to Russia by Secretary of State Hillary Clinton on Jan. 10. He made his remarks on Tuesday’s Morning Edition on NPR. The show’s host, David Greene, had asked McFaul about Russia’s “evolution towards demoracy,” and McFaul said “there is no single path to democracy” and that his job was to support universal values. “And we -- as President Obama has said many, many times -- we’re not going to get into the business of dictating that path,” McFaul said. “We’re just going to support what we like to call ‘universal values’ – not American values, not Western values, universal values.”
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| Fifth Column |
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Egyptian Revolution Changes Nothing for Women
IsrealNationalNews.com
For all of the much-ballyhooed “change” in Egypt the country's "revolutionaries" have wrought over the past year, little is different for women in Cairo's Tahrir Square. At least two articles published Thursday morning in Arab media described vicious, sexual attacks on women during celebrations of the protests that one year ago toppled the 31-year regime of former President Hosni Mubarak. One Arab-American woman barely escaped male demonstrators -- and at that, without her slacks. The woman said she and her foreign female roommates, all living in Cairo, had gone to join the celebrations. But the women were mobbed by men in the square. “They started fighting over who was going to do what,” Heather told the website. Her slacks were torn off in the melee, which occurred at about 7:30pm in the center of Tahrir Square.
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CBC: We Would 'March on WH' If Obama Wasn’t Black
The Daily Caller
Rep. Emanuel Cleaver (P-MO) -- the chairman of the Congressional Black Caucus -- told The Daily Caller that African Americans won’t “march on the White House” over the high unemployment rate in the black community because President Barack Obama is black. Following his appearance at Republican Rep. Allen West’s Black Conservative Forum, Cleaver elaborated on his past comments about Obama’s image in the African American community, saying, “The point I was making is that black people hold the president in such high esteem, that they would not dare march on the White House even though unemployment is at 15 percent and higher...if we had anybody else in the White House, with this level of unemployment...you would see a lot more African Americans...speaking out against it.”
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| Culture Wars |
The Defending the Constitution Project
BasicsProject.org has initiated The Defending the Constitution Project to educate people on legislative initiatives which are designed to protect the Constitution or would have the effect of encroaching on the Constitution and undermining the fundamental law. It is our hope that after reading more about the importance of the Constitutional design, activists will advocate to protect the Constitution by working to defeat or support such initiatives.
Read more
The Briefing: Updated Jan. 26, 2012
Israel is engaged a Cyber War. The initial Saudi hacker attacker has been reinforced by Fatah and Hamas hackers. They have caused temporary interruption of Israeli business and government websites as well as websites belonging to not-for-profit public service organizations. Israeli hackers promise a painful retribution. So far they have made good on their promises. Expect the war will intensify. Yesterday Israel’s National Cyber Command and National Terror Bureau conducted a first-ever exercise. “Lights Out” drilled a response to a cyber attack.
Read more
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