Archive for June 26th, 2009

Think Progress: FBI Arrests White Supremacist Blogger Hal Turner For Threatening To Kill Federal Judges

Friday, June 26th, 2009

Source:

Today, FBI agents went to the New Jersey home ofwhite supremacist blogger/radio host Hal Turner and arrested him “on a federal complaint filed in Chicago alleging that he made internet postings threatening to assault and murder three federal appeals court judges in Chicago in retaliation for their recent ruling upholding handgun bans in Chicago and a suburb,” according to a statement released by the Justice Department. (more…)

CQ Politics: Sanford had originally intended to be gone 10 days, came back early after questions began

Friday, June 26th, 2009

Source:

Politico reports that South Carolina Gov. Mark Sanford (R) intended to be in Argentina for 10 days and only cut short his trip when questions were raised about his whereabouts.

“The bookings also cast light on the governor’s recklessness, and his belief, or hope, that he could vanish from the state for well over a week without raising questions about his absence.”

WSJ opinion: Government Health Plans Always Ration Care

Friday, June 26th, 2009

WSJ:

If these proposals are implemented and fail to produce savings, government will turn to a less appealing but more familiar tool to cut costs: the regulation of access to drugs and medical services. (more…)

CQ Politics: Incumbent GOP Senator Richard Burr Still an Unknown to Many N.C. Voters

Friday, June 26th, 2009

Source:

The poll found that 39 percent of registered voters have a favorable or somewhat favorable opinion of Burr’s job performance, while 31 percent have a somewhat unfavorable or unfavorable opinion and 30 percent had no opinion. The findings generally reflect those of a survey by Democratic polling firm Public Policy Polling that Burr has challenged. (more…)

AP: Obama slow on pledge to gays

Friday, June 26th, 2009

AP:

WASHINGTON (AP) — President Barack Obama promised gay and lesbian voters he would repeal a law banning their open service in the military, would do away with a federal marriage law and would champion their causes from the White House. (more…)

Club for Growth PAC: Specter’s Support is Tanking

Friday, June 26th, 2009

Club:

Arlen Specter is quickly losing support. From the Philly Inquirer:

The strong backing of Democratic Party leaders has done little to change slumping public support for the party’s newest convert, U.S. Sen. Arlen Specter. Only 28 percent of all those surveyed say that he deserves re-election, according to the latest Keystone Poll, and double that number say it’s time for a change. (more…)

Rasmussen: only 4% of voters agree with FDA on Cheerios ruling

Friday, June 26th, 2009

Rasmussen:

Only four percent (4%) of voters nationwide agree with the federal Food and Drug Administration that the popular breakfast cereal Cheerios should be regulated as a drug. The latest Rasmussen Reports national telephone survey finds that 87% disagree and oppose such regulation. (more…)

Jim Geraghty on Pennsylvania: No Real Primary for Toomey; Specter’s Numbers Sinking

Friday, June 26th, 2009

Geraghty:

Other interesting Pennsylvania news:

The strong backing of Democratic Party leaders has done little to change slumping public support for the party’s newest convert, U.S. Sen. Arlen Specter. Only 28 percent of all those surveyed say that he deserves re-election, according to the latest Keystone Poll, and double that number say it’s time for a change. Specter’s party switch, announced April 28, has hurt his job-performance ratings among Democrats as well as Republicans, according to a telephone survey of 498 registered voters, conducted last week by the Center for Opinion Research at Franklin & Marshall College

Former GOP Congressman Rick Lazio Running for New York Governor in 2010

Friday, June 26th, 2009

Source.

Redstate on Crowded Obama agenda: Democrat Agenda Includes Cap-and-Tax, Health Care, Immigration, and Now… Gay Rights?

Friday, June 26th, 2009

Redstate.

Ed Whelan: Harold Koh confirmed by Senate to be State Department legal adviser

Friday, June 26th, 2009

NRO:

By a vote of 62 to 35, the Senate has just confirmed the nomination of Harold Koh to be State Department legal adviser.

I very much hope that I turn out to be wrong about how much damage Koh will be able to inflict.

Crime Scene KC: TN kids sue Mom for allegedly killing Dad

Friday, June 26th, 2009

Source.

CQ Politics: Sen. Specter’s Standing Slips

Friday, June 26th, 2009

Source:

Twenty-eight percent of respondents said that they would definitely vote to re-elect Specter, compared to 57 percent who said “it is time for a change.” In the organization’s March survey, conducted before the senator changed his party affiliation from Republican to Democratic in late April, Specter’s “hard re-elect” rating was 40 percent. (more…)

Opinion Cartoon from 4-Block World — Jon and Kate: Two Views

Friday, June 26th, 2009

From 4-Block World:

George Will: Tilting at Green Windmills

Friday, June 26th, 2009

Will:

The Spanish professor is puzzled. Why, Gabriel Calzada wonders, is the U.S. president recommending that America emulate the Spanish model for creating “green jobs” in “alternative energy” even though Spain’s unemployment rate is 18.1 percent — more than double the European Union average — partly because of spending on such jobs?

Calzada, 36, an economics professor at Universidad Rey Juan Carlos, has produced a report which, if true, is inconvenient for the Obama administration’s green agenda, and for some budget assumptions that are dependent upon it.

Market Watch: Janet Robinson, chief executive of the New York Times Co., isn’t happy with the media’s coverage of paper

Friday, June 26th, 2009

Market Watch:

Robinson objects to criticisms surrounding the company’s handling of the much-publicized labor negotiations with the Times’ Boston Globe unit. She is weary of the endless speculation that the Times has already decided to launch a pay model for some or all of its Internet properties, noting that the company expects to make an announcement this fall.

And no, no, no — the Times is not about to be acquired by Mexican billionaire and prominent Times stockholder Carlos Slim, Hollywood mogul David Geffen or anybody else, she says. Robinson is particularly tired of hearing the rumors that the company will be sold.

National Review editorial: “Losing with ACES,” on American Clean Energy and Security Act of 2009

Friday, June 26th, 2009

NRO:

The bill represents a terrible deal for American taxpayers. According to the Environmental Protection Agency, ACES is projected to impose costs averaging about $1,100 each year on every American household by 2050. (more…)

AP: Obama says he’s committed to “immigration reform”

Friday, June 26th, 2009

AP:

WASHINGTON (AP) — Launching a fresh effort toward a comprehensive immigration overhaul, President Barack Obama said Thursday that a bipartisan bill on the “sensitive and volatile political issue” will be difficult but must get under way this year.

“It’s going it require some heavy lifting,” Obama said as he hosted a meeting of about 30 lawmakers whose views on immigration span the ideological spectrum. “It’s going to require a victory of practicality and common sense and good policy making over short-term politics. That’s what I’m committed to doing as president.”

Lawsuit against McDonald’s Corp shines light on executive compensation disclosure

Friday, June 26th, 2009

Market Watch:

SAN FRANCISCO (MarketWatch) — A lawsuit filed against McDonald’s Corp. by a former employee earlier this year shines a light on the lengths to which some companies may be going to avoid disclosing perks and other potentially embarrassing executive compensation. (more…)

AP: Study blames alcohol for half of 1990s Russian deaths

Friday, June 26th, 2009

Source.

Michael Barone: The Adolescent Angst of Barack Obama

Friday, June 26th, 2009

In part:

There is a tendency for newly installed presidents, like adolescents suddenly liberated from adult supervision, to do the exact opposite of what their predecessors did. Presidents of both parties indulge in this behavior, though Democrats who campaign as candidates of hope and change are more likely to do so.

Ohio man shot his dogs so he wouldn’t have to pay for boarding them: Crime Scene KC

Friday, June 26th, 2009

Source.

AP: Perez Hilton apologizes for using gay slur to Black Eyed Peas frontman will.i.am

Friday, June 26th, 2009

AP:

LOS ANGELES (AP) - Perez Hilton is saying he’s sorry for using a gay slur. (more…)

Missouri agrees to pay $450,000 to ACORN to help settle voter registration suit: KC Star

Friday, June 26th, 2009

The Star:

The state of Missouri agreed Thursday to pay $450,000 to a community organizing group to help settle a voter registration lawsuit filed last year.

(more…)

NY Post opinion: Waxman-Markey bill is largest tax increase in world history; TROJAN HEARSE, ‘CAP AND TRADE’ = ECONOMY-KILLER

Friday, June 26th, 2009

Post:

THE House votes this week on the American Clean Energy and Security Act — which claims to be about slowing global warming, but in fact is a massive tax hike that would vastly expand the federal government’s power over the economy.

Indeed, the Waxman-Markey bill (as it’s commonly called, after its two chief sponsors) would be the largest tax increase in world history, as well as transfer vast wealth from consumers to big-business special interests.