During an interview on Fox News Friday, Hurricane Sandy victim Scott McGrath went off on President Barack Obama and politicians in Washington who have allowed the nation to rack up debt while neglecting its own citizens. He reminded them “we run this country, not you” in an epic segment.
McGrath lamented the fact that nearly two months later, many Sandy victims still need aid and Congress has only been able to put forth a pork-filled bill that will only partially help those affected by the storm.
“He’s a phony. He’s a liar,” McGrath said of Obama. “He said to be face to face, that he is going to cut the red tape. We’re two months now no red tapes been cut.”
Middle-class workers will take a bigger hit to their income proportionately than those earning between $200,000 and $500,000 under the new fiscal cliff deal, according to the nonpartisan Tax Policy Center.
Earners in the latter group will pay an average 1.3 percent more – or an additional $2,711 – in taxes this year, while workers making between $30,000 and $200,000 will see their paychecks shrink by as much as 1.7 percent – or up to $1,784 – the D.C.-based think tank reported.
Overall, nearly 80 percent of households will pay more money to the federal government as a result of the fiscal cliff deal.
‘The economy needs a stimulus, but under the agreement, taxes will go up in 2013 relative to 2012 – not only on high-income households, as widely discussed, but also on every working man and woman in the country, via the end of the payroll tax cut,’ said William G. Gale, co-director of the Tax Policy Center.
‘For most households, the payroll tax takes a far bigger bite than the income tax does, and the payroll tax cut therefore – as [the Congressional Budget Office] and others have shown – was a more effective stimulus than income tax cuts were, because the payroll tax cuts hit lower in the income distribution and hence were more likely to be spent,’ he added.
A Connecticut community is to hold an amnesty of violent video games in the wake of last month’s mass shooting in Newtown.
Organisers Southington SOS plan to offer gift certificates in exchange for donated games, which will be burned. The group, a coalition of local organisations, says its actions do not assert that video games were the cause of the killings in nearby Newtown, but argues that violent games and films desensitize children to “acts of violence”.
Pupils from Sandy Hook elementary school, where 26 people were killed on 17 December, returned to classes for the first time on Thursday in the neighbouring town of Monroe. Sandy Hook elementary is still being treated as a crime scene and it is unclear if it will ever reopen.
The video game amnesty will take place on 12 January in Southington, a 30-minute drive east from Newtown. The town of Southington has provided a dumpster, organisers said, where violent video games, CDs or DVDs will be collected.
RIYADH, Saudi Arabia — Saudi Arabia’s top cleric has warned against the mixing of the genders, saying that any attempt to violate a strict separation threatens female chastity and endangers society.
Grand Mufti Sheik Abdul-Aziz Al-Sheik said in his traditional Friday sermon that authorities must adhere to Shariah, or Islamic law, by ensuring men and women are separated as much as possible.
Al-Sheik said it is forbidden for women to unveil in front of men, warning that this will destroy the morals and values of society. The veil refers to the full face covering worn by most women in the ultraconservative kingdom.
Vice President Joe Biden, after helping pull the nation off the fiscal cliff, is taking some time off.
He and wife, Jill, are headed to the U.S. Virgin Islands for four days, the White House announced. They were scheduled to leave Friday and return on Tuesday.
She is so full of shit I can see it coming out of her ears.
WASHINGTON — House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) upset progressives last month when, amid the fiscal cliff debate, she said she backed the idea of cutting Social Security benefits by changing the way inflation is calculated for recipients.
But now Pelosi says she was bluffing, at least in part, to see how far Republicans would go in compromising on a deal.
“It was really to call the bluff of the Republicans’ tactic,” Pelosi said during a small gathering with reporters on Friday. “At what figure will you raise taxes on the rich? At what place do you keep moving the goalpost on entitlements?”
In the final weeks of fiscal cliff negotiations, President Barack Obama said he supported the idea of tying Social Security cost-of-living increases to a chained CPI, or chained Consumer Price Index. Social Security benefits are currently calculated by inflation rates. By changing the formula and instead calculating benefits with a chained CPI, the result would mean small cuts at first, but would eventually cost beneficiaries thousands of dollars over time, which is why Democrats have largely fought the idea.
It wasn’t long before Pelosi had signaled she agreed with Obama on the issue, going as far as saying she viewed the cuts as “a strengthening of Social Security.” But on Friday, Pelosi recalled that even she wondered at the time why Obama put the idea on the table at first. She said she only learned of his plan to float the proposal just before he made the offer to Republicans.
CAIR’s latest publicity stunt to get more of their executives on TV, newspapers etc.
If people wanted to experience real jihad they could go live with Christians in Nigeria where they are shot and hacked to pieces on a daily basis by radical Islamists.
SAN FRANCISCO (KGO) — Buses in San Francisco are carrying messages of jihad, but it’s not what you might think. It’s a campaign to educate residents about the real meaning of the word. It’s a campaign that began in Chicago and has now reached the Bay Area.
One statement on the side of a Muni bus reads: “My jihad is to stay fit despite my busy schedule. What’s yours?”
It’s part of an educational campaign created by CAIR — the Council on American-Islamic Relations. The group has put 35 ads on buses rolling through the streets of San Francisco.
“The intention of the campaign is to educate our fellow Americans about what the word jihad means,” said Zahra Billoo, the executive director of the Bay Area office for the Council on American-Islamic Relations. She said, “A common misconception of the word jihad is that it means armed struggle or holy war and that is something that has been perpetrated by many who’ve made careers out of pushing anti-Muslim sentiment.”
We asked some Muni riders if they knew the definition of jihad. Most of the answers we got were “a religious war” and “a holy war”.
Miriam Webster also defines it as a holy war, but it lists a second definition — one that Billoo says is much more appropriate.
This morning (Hawaii time!), President Barack Obama is hitting the links at the luxurious Turtle Bay Resort on Oahu’s North Shore. The resort has two professional grade courses, the Arnold Palmer and George Fazio courses.
“With 36 holes of championship golf, two complete practice facilities with professional instruction available, a restaurant as identifiable with North Shore surf culture as Pipeline itself (Lei Lei’s), and of course 350 or so days of body-warming sunshine, Turtle Bay beckons you,” the description on the resort’s website reads.
Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas paid tribute to World War II era Hitler-supporting Mufti Haj Amin al-Husseini as well as several known terror leaders responsible for the deaths of Israelis at a rally in Gaza City Friday that marked the 48th anniversary of the political party Fatah.
During the televised speech, made to a crowd of hundreds of thousands, Abbas made mention of, among others, Abdel Aziz Rantisi, Sheik Ahmed Yassin–both former leaders of Hamas assassinated by Israel for their role in terrorizing the Jewish state-and Marwan Bargouti, who is currently serving time in an Israeli prison for his role in the deaths of five Israelis.
This was Fatah’s first such rally in the territory since a 2007 coup by Hamas ousted the party from power. In his speech Abbas addressed the division, saying that reunification was near. “Soon we will regain our unity,” he said of the two sides, which have drawn closer since the end of the eight-day November conflict, Operation Pillar of Defense, that pitted Israel against Hamas.
“The success of the rally is a success for Fatah, and for Hamas too,” said Hamas spokesman Sami Abu Zuhri. “The positive atmosphere is a step on the way to regain national unity.”
Abbas, who is not allowed to enter Gaza, but who was given permission by Hamas to stage the rally and address the crowd, said he would soon return to Gaza and that unification with Hamas would be “a step on the way to ending the (Israeli) occupation.”
BOSTON — Gov. Deval L. Patrick said that retired U.S. Rep. Barney Frank is a gifted legislator and would make a great interim senator.
“He is definitely on the list,” Patrick told reporters Friday. “I think he would be a great interim senator.”
Patrick’s comments came at a Statehouse press conference after Frank, a Newton Democrat, told MSNBC that he wants the governor to appoint him as an interim replacement for U.S. Sen. John F. Kerry. President Barack Obama has nominated Kerry to be secretary of state.
Responding to a reporter’s question, Patrick said it would be logical to appoint Frank, partly because he knows the issues in Washington and could hit the ground running.
ANKARA, Turkey (AP) — The U.S. military says troops are arriving in Turkey to man Patriot missiles there.
Germany, the Netherlands and the United States are deploying two Patriot surface-to-air batteries each to boost NATO ally Turkey’s air defenses against any possible spillover from Syria’s civil war.
The U.S. European Command said Friday that U.S. personnel and equipment had started arriving at Turkey’s southern Incirlik Air Base. Some 400 personnel and equipment will be airlifted to Turkey over the coming days, while additional equipment would reach Turkey by sea later in January.
More than 1,000 troops from the three nations are to be based in Turkey to operate the batteries. NATO says the Americans will be based at Gaziantep, 50 km (31 miles) north of Syria.
Secretary of Labor Hilda Solis made her ubiquitous post-NFP appearance on CNBC this morning and spouted the usual propaganda. However, while discussing how wonderful the ATRA was, the seemingly slap-happy Solis noted how great the fact that emergency unemployment benefits were extended for millions of people was – and that thanks to that (and the magic of the Keynesian multiplier), millions of jobs were saved. So, to sum up, paying people not to work, saved millions and millions of jobs? Indeed America, indeed.
Out of all the guests to talk Hugo Chavez’s illness, CNN brought on Chavez-fan Oliver Stone on Friday. Stone lauded him as “magnanimous, warm, warm man, big man.” [...]
“[T]here’s a very vocal minority that is against him, but they never won the elections. In fact, I think Chavez won 13 of 14 elections.”
“So I think he’s going to be mourned as a national figure who changed Venezuela forever. You have no idea how bad it was before him. The per capita income dropped for like 20 years straight. People were fed up. He represents hope and change, the things that Obama stood for in our country in 2008.”
(CNSNews.com) – House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) said the unemployment rate remaining flat at 7.8 percent shows a “good pace” and that the country is “going in the right direction.”
“Good morning. It’s a good morning indeed, I think,” Pelosi said, as she began her weekly press conference on Capitol Hill on Friday. “155,000 jobs added in December.”
“Good pace, going in the right direction,” she said. “1.8 million private sector jobs gained in 2012. December was the 34th consecutive month of private-sector job creation.”
The government unemployment report released on Friday revealed that the number of unemployed Americans remained unchanged from November, at 7.8 percent, and adding 155,000 jobs, just above the 150,000 jobs needed each month to keep up with population growth.
Harry Reid’s head would literally assplode all over the Senate floor if Bush did something like this.
WASHINGTON — Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) has privately told other Democrats, including President Obama, that if the administration used its constitutional and executive authority to continue paying its debts in the face of House Republican opposition, he would support the approach, according to a source familiar with Reid’s message to the president.
The simplest escape route out of the debt ceiling impasse is for the president to direct the Treasury to find a legal way to pay its debts. The Treasury then has a variety of options. One gaining particular attention relies on a law that allows the Treasury to mint a coin of unspecified value and deposit it with the Federal Reserve. Those funds could then be used legally to pay debts.
“Reid has not dismissed any option,” said the source close to Reid.
The 14th Amendment states that “the validity of the public debt of the United States, authorized by law … shall not be questioned.” Last month, White House spokesman Jay Carney told reporters that “[t]his administration does not believe that the 14th Amendment gives the president the power to ignore the debt ceiling — period.”
I’m a bit surprised Obama would forge ahead with both Republicans and Democrats lining up around the corner to oppose Hagel. Then again, I shouldn’t have underestimated Obama’s ego.
Via Fox News’ Ed Henry:
Two senior Dem sources tell Fox Chuck Hagel likely nominated SecDef as early as Mon, but senior admin official cautions “no final decision”
Members of the 113th Congress introduced 10 bills on Thursday relating to gun violence, most of which came from Democrats seeking new restrictions on gun ownership.
The flurry of legislative proposals show that members are likely to push the issue in the wake of the December shooting at a Connecticut elementary school that left 20 children dead.
Rep. Carolyn McCarthy (D-N.Y.), whose husband was shot to death in 1993, introduced four of the bills. The congresswoman has vowed to seek changes in federal law in response to the school shooting.
H.R. 137 and 138 from McCarthy would require people prohibited from buying firearms to be listed in a national database, and would prohibit the transfer or possession of large capacity ammunition clips.
McCarthy’s H.R. 141 would require criminal background checks on all firearms transactions at gun shows, which would close the so-called gun-show loophole. Her H.R. 142 would require face-to-face purchases of ammunition, the licensing of ammunition dealers, and the reporting of bulk ammo purchases.
Rep. Bobby Rush (D-Ill.) and Rush Holt (D-N.J.) each proposed their own bills tightening firearms licensing requirements — H.R. 34 and H.R. 117, respectively. And Rep. Sheila Jackson Lee (D-Texas) proposed H.R. 65, which would raise the eligibility age to carry a handgun from 18 to 21.
Rep. Jim Moran (D-Va.) reintroduced his bill, H.R. 21, to require background checks for all gun sales, and to require gun owners to report when their guns have been stolen. Moran argued in December that while the National Rifle Association objects to these changes, members of the powerful group support them.
New York City Mayor and gun-control advocate Michael Bloomberg today voiced uncertainty about a local newspaper’s decision to publish the names and addresses of area residents with gun permits.
“It is public information, the public owns that data,” Bloomberg said in an inteview with WOR 710. “On the other hand, I’m not so sure I think we should go and publish everybody’s tax returns… or everybody’s psychiatric records.”
In the wake of the Sandy Hook elementary shooting in Newtown, Conn., the West Nyack, N.Y.-based ‘Journal News’ published an online map showing the names and addresses of the residents in Westchester and Rockland counties who owned gun permits, a move that drew heated criticism from conservatives and pro-gun advocates. The controversy grew more heated when officials in Putnam County refused the Journal News’ request for its residents’ information, which state officials called a violation of New York law, and the newspaper hired armed guards due to fear of threats.
But even America’s most anti-gun mayor isn’t sure the ‘Journal News’ made the right decision.
“My instincts would be no, but I can’t give you a good argument,” he said when asked if it was the right thing to do.
Obama’s base suffers the most under his tenure and yet they still have a cult-like devotion to him. Is the color of his skin that blinding?
(CNSNews.com) – Government unemployment numbers for December showed that while the general unemployment rate remained flat at 7.8 percent, unemployment for women and African-Americans rose despite an economy that created 155,000 jobs.
Unemployment for women rose to 7.3 percent in December from 7.0 percent while the rate for African-Americans rose sharply to 14.0 percent from 13.2 percent in November.
Unemployment among African Americans has remained quite high throughout the sluggish economic recovery of the past several years, despite the steady decline in overall unemployment in the economy generally.
Rep. Marsha Blackburn, R-Tenn., offered legislation today to end federal funding for Planned Parenthood, thus reviving a fight from the last Congress that had Republicans and Democrats talking about a government shut down.
“As a woman, I believe America deserves better than abortion,” Blackburn said in a statement on her bill. “America shouldn’t celebrate abortion and our taxpayers shouldn’t subsidize abortion businesses like Planned Parenthood, who profit from the destruction of human life with taxpayer money. It’s fiscally irresponsible and morally indefensible.”
The bill would “prohibit family planning grants from being awarded to any entity that performs abortions.” Blackburn’s office cites a 2010 report from the Government Accountability Office saying that Planned Parenthood — the largest abortion provider in the country — receives $340 million from the Department of Health and Human Services under Title X, which provides funding for family planning services.
Why stop there? Force them to wear a scarlet letter or perhaps paint a giant red X on their front doors.
(NBC News) — Lawmakers across the state are taking on gun control issues in the aftermath of the school shooting at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown on Dec. 14.
State Rep. Stephen Dargen, a Democratic legislator from West Haven, wants the names and addresses of about 170,000 handgun permit holders in the state to be made public.
Names of gun owners are now confidential, but Dargen believes if people know how many guns are spread across communities, they’ll be safer.
State Senator Martin Looney, of New Haven, is proposing ammunition control legislation, which would prohibit anyone barred from owning a gun from owning bullets or any other kind of ammunition.
“A gun without ammunition is only a club. We really need to restrict access to ammunition,” Looney said.
Delaware Attorney General Beau Biden said Friday that dad Joe Biden’s public displays of affection while swearing in Senators on Thursday are part of what makes him so popular among his colleagues.
“Is that the same guy you know behind the cameras?” MSNBC’s Chris Jansing asked him on air.
“Look, I’ve got a great dad. If I’m half as good a dad to my two kids as my dad has been to me and my brother and sister, my kids will be lucky,” the rising Democratic politician said. “I think it’s one of the reasons he’s so successful among Democrats and so successful across the aisle with Republicans over the course of 36-plus years on the national stage.”
Thursday, the vice president grabbed attention for joking with his colleagues during the ceremony.
“I want you next to me,” he told one Senator’s wife. “You got a smile that lights up the chamber. Your smile lights up the room. Come on, sis, get in here.”
Another quip to the husband of Sen. Heidi Heitkamp: “Spread your legs, you’re about to be frisked. Drop your hands. You say that to somebody in North Dakota, they think it’s a frisk. You think you’re in trouble if they tell to you drop your hands at your side.”
Reformed crooks say the New York newspaper that published a map of names and addresses of gun owners did a great service – to their old cronies in the burglary trade.
The information published online by the Journal-News, a daily paper serving the New York suburbs of Westchester, Rockland and Putnam counties, could be highly useful to thieves in two ways, former burglars told FoxNews.com. Crooks looking to avoid getting shot now know which targets are soft and those who need weapons know where they can steal them.
“That was the most asinine article I’ve ever seen,” said Walter T. Shaw, 65, a former burglar and jewel thief who the FBI blames for more than 3,000 break-ins that netted some $70 million in the 1960s and 1970s. “Having a list of who has a gun is like gold – why rob that house when you can hit the one next door, where there are no guns?
“What they did was insanity,” added Shaw, author of “License to Steal,” a book about his criminal career.
The newspaper published the online map last month alongside an article titled, “The gun owner next door: What you don’t know about the weapons in your neighborhood.” The map included the names and addresses of pistol permit holders in Westchester and Rockland counties obtained through a Freedom of Information Act request.
(CNSNews.com) – House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) said Friday that she would raise the debt limit unilaterally “in a second” is she were president of the United States.
Pelosi and other Democrats have suggested that the president could bypass Congress and unilaterally raise the debt ceiling by invoking the 14th Amendment of the Constitution, which states, “The validity of the public debt of the United States…shall not be questioned.”
During her weekly press conference on Capitol Hill, Pelosi was asked about whether she would urge President Barack Obama to do so to address the debt limit, which will be exceeded by the end of February.
“Will you urge the president on the constitutional obligation to pay [the debt]?” a reporter asked.
“I don’t know, I think I’ve made my—in speaking to all of you, I’ve made my view very clear on that subject,” Pelosi said.
“I would do it in a second,” she said. “But I’m not the president of the United States.”
