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Friday, January 04, 2013

	Must Reads for Thursday, January 03, 2013 Yesterday's Must-Reads for those who missed.

	Ldotter Note: Don't Forget to Visit TheConnection The Place Where Eagles Gather.

	Must Read Archive [Last 60 Days]

state said to be Winter White House in Hawaii.
House has hot water, glass in windows, garbage pick-up and
no water damage unlike many homes in N.Y. and N.J.

Latest Articles

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Boehner returns as
speaker by three votes

Washington Times, by Stephen Dinan Original Article

Posted By: Dreadnought- 1/3/2013 11:38:35 PM Post Reply

House Speaker John A. Boehner narrowly survived his re-election battle on Thursday as the 113th Congress convened at the Capitol amid calls for cooperation on the same issues that left lawmakers gridlocked over the past two years. In the Senate, the two top leaders have at least for the time being averted a potentially disastrous fight over filibuster rules, and the inspiring return of Sen. Mark Kirk, Illinois Republican, from a yearlong recovery from a stroke left the upper chamber awash in optimism. In the House, Republicans and Democrats issued a call

Al-Jazeera hopes Current TV
purchase will give it
access to more American homes

Washington Post, by Paul Farhi Original Article

Posted By: Dreadnought- 1/3/2013 11:32:41 PM Post Reply

Since its launch in 2006, al-Jazeera TV’s English-language news channel has racked up prestigious journalism awards for its reporting on international issues, including the Arab Spring uprisings. The problem: Hardly anyone sees al-Jazeera English (AJE) because few cable TV operators carry it. On Wednesday, al-Jazeera’s owner — the emir of the oil- and natural gas-rich Persian Gulf state of Qatar — sought to change that. Al-Jazeera will pay an undisclosed sum — unconfirmed reports said $500?million — for Current TV, the little-watched but widely distributed cable network co-founded by former vice president Al Gore

White House pushes forward
on immigration ahead of
bigger reform fight

Washington Post, by David Nakamura and Tara Bahrampour Original Article

Posted By: Dreadnought- 1/3/2013 11:28:56 PM Post Reply

The Obama administration’s decision this week to ease visa requirements for hundreds of thousands of illegal immigrants represents its latest move to reshape immigration through executive action, even as the White House gears up for an uncertain political fight over a far-more-sweeping legislative package in the months ahead. Immigration advocates on Thursday hailed a rule change at the Department of Homeland Security that would make it easier for many undocumented immigrants to stay in the United States as they seek permanent residency

N.J. budget shortfall
grows to $705 billion

The Record [Hackensack, NJ], by John Reitmeyer Original Article

Posted By: Ribicon- 1/3/2013 11:09:59 PM Post Reply

Halfway through the fiscal year, Governor Christie’s budget is $705 million short of revenue projections, with more than a dozen income sources trailing his growth estimates. The shortfall puts his proposed income tax cut in jeopardy. Also in potential trouble are millions in state spending now earmarked for property tax relief and for a payment to the public employee pension fund. And the budget problems could also hamper the state’s ability to provide financial help to towns hit by superstorm Sandy.(Snip) Christie signed a $31.7 billion budget in June that projected an 8 percent growth in the economy, a financial

Does the Left really
want to end poverty?

Telegraph [UK], by Janet Daley Original Article

Posted By: Attercliffe- 1/3/2013 11:06:53 PM Post Reply

The poverty lobby--as opposed to those who actually want to put an end to poverty--uses the "poor" as a political weapon in its ideological war against the market economy. That argument, which many of us have made over the years, is forcefully reiterated in an excellent post by Philip Booth of the IEA. As Professor Booth points out, the official campaigning groups which make use of the poor as fodder for their anti-capitalist rhetoric never seem to address the critical issue of the cost of living in their accounts of relative poverty, even though excessive charges for home energy, child

Conn. lt. gov.´s office:
Giffords meeting planned

Associated Press, by Staff Original Article

Posted By: JoniTx- 1/3/2013 11:04:36 PM Post Reply

NEWTOWN, Conn. -A spokesman says Connecticut´s lieutenant governor has been invited to attend a meeting between former Arizona Rep. Gabrielle Giffords and families of the victims of the deadly Newtown elementary school shooting. Lt. Gov. Nancy Wyman´s spokesman Steve Jensen said Thursday night a visit by Giffords and her husband, astronaut Mark Kelly, is "planned but not confirmed" for Friday afternoon. He says the plans include Giffords meeting at a private home with families of the 20 children and six school officials killed at Sandy Hook Elementary School last month. He says Giffords may also make a second appearance.

Gerard Depardieu ´pleased´
to become Russian citizen

BBC News, by Staff Original Article

Posted By: Ribicon- 1/3/2013 11:02:55 PM Post Reply

Actor Gerard Depardieu has hailed Russia´s decision to grant him citizenship, following a tax row with the government in his native France. In an open letter, he said he loved Russia, calling it "a great democracy". Mr Depardieu had recently announced he would give up his French passport after the government criticised his decision to move abroad to avoid higher taxes. Moscow earlier said President Vladimir Putin had personally signed the decree granting the actor Russian citizenship.(Snip) Mr Depardieu, described by Mr Putin as a successful businessman and friend, has developed close ties with Russia, which has a flat 13%

McConnell: Obama a
´Bully´ on Spending

Breitbart´s Big Government, by Ben Shapiro Original Article

Posted By: Dreadnought- 1/3/2013 11:02:25 PM Post Reply

Today, Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) blasted President Obama’s unwillingness to talk about spending. Speaking to radio host Hugh Hewitt, McConnell said, “The President thinks he can bully us into not talking about spending. And it clearly won’t work.” Later, he reiterated: “This is the time to engage, and he’s not going to bully us into not talking about spending.” McConnell stated that he would not be discussing the tax rates further. “But now, the tax issue is over, and we move on to engage on the biggest problem confronting the future

Milky Way may have 100
billion planets

United Press International, by Staff Original Article

Posted By: JoniTx- 1/3/2013 11:00:36 PM Post Reply

PASADENA, Calif.- U.S. astronomers say a study suggests planets are in fact the cosmic norm and estimate the Milky Way galaxy contains at least 100 billion planets. A team of astronomers at the California Institute of Technology made the estimate while analyzing planets orbiting a star called Kepler-32, worlds they say are representative of the vast majority in the galaxy and are a perfect case study for understanding how most planets form. Kepler-32´s planets were detected by the Kepler space telescope, and the researchers have analyzed the five-planet system and compared it to other systems found

President Obama´s debt problem

Politico, by Glenn Thrush and Reid J. Epstein Original Article

Posted By: Dreadnought- 1/3/2013 10:57:35 PM Post Reply

President Barack Obama won’t be able to enjoy much of a victory lap from his win over congressional Republicans on the fiscal cliff fight. There are about 16.4 trillion reasons why. The staggering national debt — up about 60 percent from the $10 trillion Obama inherited when he took office in January 2009 — is the single biggest blemish on Obama’s record, even if the rapid descent into red began under President George W. Bush. Obama has long emphasized Bush’s role in digging the immense hole. But he owns it now, and it’s a significant political liability as he girds

A Perfect Match: Al
Gore and Al Jazeera

Commentary Magazine, by Jonathan S. Tobin Original Article

Posted By: Dreadnought- 1/3/2013 10:47:12 PM Post Reply

The Al Jazeera television network has become a dominant force in Middle East communications as well as an expanding influence elsewhere, but up until now it has had trouble breaking through in the United States with a little watched English channel that is not widely available. No longer. With the sale of Al Gore’s Current TV cable network to Al Jazeera, the Qatar-government financed news giant will have a chance to reach an estimated 40 million American homes. Current TV has been a colossal flop in terms of viewership and quality, but its sale will make yet another fortune

Christie Wrong, Boehner
Right On Porkie Sandy Bill

Investor´s Business Daily, by Staff Original Article

Posted By: HollowLeg- 1/3/2013 10:35:11 PM Post Reply

A pork-barrel feast of goodies for federal agencies to fix museum roofs in D.C. and aid fisheries in Alaska, cooked up in the middle of the night, is not the way to aid hurricane victims or run a government. As if the fallout from agreeing to a bad deal that raises the debt by $4 trillion and accepts a 41-1 ratio in tax hikes to spending cuts weren´t enough, Speaker of the House John Boehner has New Jersey´s Chris Christie on his case. "There's only one group to blame," the New Jersey governor said of the Sandy relief bill that was not included in the fiscal cliff deal,

Boehner Sets House Vote on Sandy Aid

Breitbart´s Big Government, by William Bigelow Original Article

Posted By: LittleHoodedMonk- 1/3/2013 10:12:00 PM Post Reply

After the House passed the bill that averted the fiscal cliff but didn’t cut the budget, House Speaker John Boehner reversed course on his earlier decision to avoid a vote in the House approving $60 billion for victims of Superstorm Sandy. Boehner had planned to adjourn the House before a vote could be taken, most probably because he was taking heat for his acceptance of the budget deal (Snip) Now that Boehner has changed his mind, a vote will be taken Friday on the first $9 billion in aid, and a second vote will be taken January 15 on the $51 billion that is targeted for the victims.

Can´t Find an AR-15?
Consider One of These Rifles Instead

Breitbart´s Sports, by AWR Hawkins Original Article

Posted By: LittleHoodedMonk- 1/3/2013 9:34:40 PM Post Reply

Finding an AR-15 at an affordable price can be quite a chore. In fact, just finding an AR-15 can be difficult. There is a serious run on guns as a result of Barack Obama´s re-election and pledges of more gun control by Sens. Dianne Feinstein (D-CA) and Joe Manchin (D-WV). Thus, for Americans looking for their first AR-15 but having difficulty obtaining it, here´s a question -- Why not look at an AK-47 or an SKS as a viable option? (Snip) Created for military use at that time, variants of it are produced and used by military´s around the world, including forces within the Islamic world.

NY county: Releasing gun
names endangers public

Associated Press, by Eileen A.J. Connelly Original Article

Posted By: NorthernDog- 1/3/2013 9:17:59 PM Post Reply

NEW YORK — A New York county clerk justified his refusal to release the names and addresses of handgun permit holders to a newspaper, saying it would give stalkers and thieves a convenient roadmap to target potential victims — and determine whether they have a gun. (Snip) When the newspaper requested the same information from Putnam, Sant initially said the county needed more time to fulfill the request. Sant balked entirely this week, saying the law gives him the prerogative to refuse to release public information if it endangers the public. Judges and police officers could be targeted

Wish you were here, John!
Jubilant Obama relaxes on
Hawaiian beach while arch
rival Boehner fights for his
political life after fiscal
cliff ´surrender´

Daily Mail (UK), by Toby Hardnen & Staff Original Article

Posted By: JoniTx- 1/3/2013 9:04:32 PM Post Reply

House Speaker John Boehner has been afforded no rest after the passage of the fiscal cliff bill. (Snip) President Barack Obama, meanwhile, has been vacationing on the sunny beaches of Hawaii - leaving Washington just hours after the deal made it through Congress on Tuesday night. The White House released a series of year-end photos of the President on Wednesday. The first picture in the series was of shot of a jubilant Obama frolicking in the warm Hawaiian waters. Scroll down for video

This time, Boehner should
honor transparency pledge

Washington Examiner, by Editorial Original Article

Posted By: LittleHoodedMonk- 1/3/2013 8:51:09 PM Post Reply

Shortly after Ohio Republican John Boehner was re-elected speaker of the House of Representatives, and the 113th Congress was sworn in Thursday, the House approved rules for its new session. As with the last Congress, the rules include a requirement that all legislation be made public at least three days before a vote. This was a great idea when it was first adopted, (Snip) "If we´re lucky enough to be in the majority and I´m lucky enough to be speaker, I will not bring a bill to the floor that hasn´t been posted online for at least 72 hours," Boehner told Fox News in July 2010.

Obama: Guantánamo camps
a waste of U.S. resources

Miami Herald, by Carol Rosenberg Original Article

Posted By: LittleHoodedMonk- 1/3/2013 8:28:47 PM Post Reply

President Barack Obama late Tuesday signed a $633 billion defense bill that continues to block his ability to close the prison camps at Guantánamo, then in a separate signing statement issued Wednesday called the prison camps a waste of national security resources. “I continue to believe that operating the facility weakens our national security by wasting resources, damaging our relationships with key allies, and strengthening our enemies,” Obama said in a statement released by the White House Wednesday morning. While the president has bristled at the restrictions in past signing statements,

Cowboys player killed in crash
by intoxicated teammate was
sober, autopsy shows

Associated Press, by Staff Original Article

Posted By: LittleHoodedMonk- 1/3/2013 8:18:26 PM Post Reply

Dallas - An autopsy has found that Dallas Cowboys practice squad player Jerry Brown Jr. was sober when he was killed in a crash that led to an intoxication manslaughter charge against the teammate at the wheel. The Dallas County Medical Examiner´s Office reported Thursday that Brown died of head and neck trauma when their vehicle overturned. He had a dislocated neck, a severely bruised spine and a blood alcohol content of 0.056 percent. That´s well below the Texas drunken driving standard of 0.08 percent. Police have said Cowboys nose guard Josh Brent, who was driving,

Obama´s Fiscal Cliff Victory Is
Far Less Than Meets the Eye

Investors Business Daily, by Staff Original Article

Posted By: Desert Fox- 1/3/2013 8:17:42 PM Post Reply

Economy: President Obama and his acolytes are gushing over his fiscal cliff victory. But the glow isn´t likely to last long, once everyone figures out that the tax hikes Obama wrangled from Republicans only made matters worse. Let´s look at what Obama has managed to achieve with his $620 billion tax hike on the wealthy and the boost in the payroll tax rate. • They´ll hurt the economy. Economists are admitting the fiscal deal will slow the already sluggish economic growth. Moody´s Analytics chief economist Mark Zandi says the higher taxes on the wealthy and the increase in

GOP Fumbled Fiscal Cliff,
But Still Can Win
End-Game By Going
On The Offense

Investors Business Daily, by Lewis K. Uhler And Peter Ferrara Original Article

Posted By: Desert Fox- 1/3/2013 8:13:00 PM Post Reply

The fiscal cliff deal has saved most Americans from losing their Bush-era tax cuts, prevented millions of taxpayers from being swept into the meat grinder of the Alternative Minimum Tax and deferred a mindless, across-the-board reduction in our defense capabilities until more deliberative action can be taken. But the real story of the cliff was how it was handled by President Obama and House Republicans, and what lessons can be learned for future negotiations on tax and spending reform. The fiscal-cliff game ball was fumbled by House leadership. They were up against a team whose quarterback had

Obama´s Idea Of ´Balance´Is
Higher Taxes To Fund
A Growing Welfare State

Investors Business Daily, by Charles Krauthammer Original Article

Posted By: Desert Fox- 1/3/2013 8:04:18 PM Post Reply

The rout was complete, the retreat disorderly. President Obama got his tax hikes — naked of spending cuts — passed by the ostensibly Republican House of Representatives. After which, you might expect him to pivot to his self-proclaimed "principle" of fiscal "balance" by taking the lead on reducing spending. "Why," asked the Washington Post on the eve of the final "fiscal-cliff" agreement, "is the nation´s leader not embracing and then explaining the balanced reforms the nation needs?" Because he has no interest in them. He´s a visionary, not an accountant. He´ll pretend to care about deficits, especially while

French satirical magazine firebombed
for Mohammed cover returns with
‘halal’ comic book of Islamic prophet

National Post, by Staff Original Article

Posted By: nhchemist- 1/3/2013 7:40:40 PM Post Reply

Charlie Hebdo, the long-running French satirical magazine, has published what it’s website calls a “halal” comic book on the life of Islamic prophet Mohammed. The publication of the book, which is selling for 6 euros on the Charlie Hebdo website, is just the latest in a long line of provocative moves from the publication. For example, after re-publishing Danish cartoons of Mohammad in 2011 the magazine’s Paris offices were firebombed.

´We´ll do everything to protect the
Falklands´: Cameron refuses to rule
out military action after desperate
Argentine president places newspaper
ads on ´180th anniversary of colonialism´

Daily Mail [UK], by Ian Drury, Tim Shipman Original Article

Posted By: Attercliffe- 1/3/2013 7:39:37 PM Post Reply

David Cameron refused to rule out military action yesterday as he rebuked Argentina over its grab for the Falkland Islands. The Prime Minister vowed the UK would ‘do everything’ to protect the interests of the territory after Buenos Aires demanded he hand power to them. He said the sovereignty of the Falklands would be up to those who lived there when they hold a referendum in March.[Snip]The remarks came after Argentina’s president Cristina Fernandez de Kirchner launched a fresh attack by insisting her nation was ‘forcibly stripped’ of the Falklands in a ‘blatant exercise of 19th century colonialism’--a claim branded

Exclusive: Al-Awlaki may
have booked pre-9/11 flights for
hijackers, FBI documents show

Fox News, by Staff Original Article

Posted By: LittleHoodedMonk- 1/3/2013 7:28:48 PM Post Reply

The FBI suspected within days of the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks that the American Muslim cleric Anwar al-Awlaki had purchased tickets for some of the hijackers for air travel in advance of the attacks, according to newly released documents reviewed exclusively by Fox News. The purpose of these flights remains unclear, but the 9/11 Commission report later noted that the hijackers had used flights in the lead-up to the attacks to test security and surveillance. The heavily redacted records – obtained by Judicial Watch through a Freedom of information Act request – show the FBI holding

FAA: Teen broke rules with
late-night plane flight

Associated Press, by Phillip Rawls Original Article

Posted By: BaseballFan- 1/3/2013 7:09:09 PM Post Reply

JASPER, Ala. — Federal authorities said Friday a student pilot wasn´t following regulations when he took off with two friends on a late-night flight New Year´s Day that crashed in north Alabama and killed everyone aboard. Federal Aviation Administration records show that the pilot, 17-year-old Jordan Ryan Smith of Jasper, received a student pilot certificate in February 2012. On Thursday, the FAA pointed to regulations that say "a student pilot may not act as pilot in command of an aircraft that is carrying a passenger."

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