FORT WORTH, Texas (AP) - An Army psychiatrist accused of killing 13 people during an attack on his Texas post will likely plead not guilty to the charges against him and may use an insanity defense at his military trial, his attorney said Monday.
Link.
NEW YORK, Nov 24 (Reuters) - The Washington Post (WPO.N) is closing its last U.S. bureaus outside the nation’s capital as the money-losing newspaper retrenches to focus on politics and local news.
MediaNews Group Inc., the Post’s publisher, will block Google News when it starts charging readers in Pennsylvania and California for online content next year, Chief Executive Officer Dean Singleton said in an interview. Morning News owner A.H. Belo Corp. may introduce online subscription fees and also block Google, Executive Vice President James Moroney said.
Total loan balances fell by $210.4 billion, or 3%, in the third quarter, the biggest decline since data collection began in 1984, according to a report released Tuesday by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. The FDIC also said its fund to backstop deposits fell into negative territory for just the second time in its history, pushed down by a wave of bank failures.
WASHINGTON (AP) - The White House said President Barack Obama could use an unusual evening war council session Monday to lock in his long-awaited decision on whether to commit tens of thousands of new U.S. forces to the stalemated war in Afghanistan.
SACRAMENTO, Calif. (AP) - Just weeks after California first lady Maria Shriver apologized for parking in a red zone, her husband appears to have violated the same law.
China State Construction Engineering Corp, the largest contractor in China, has bagged a subway ventilation project worth about $100 million in New York’s Manhattan area, marking the construction giant’s third order in the United States’ infrastructure space this year.
Link.
Link.
Nov. 24 (Bloomberg) — Tribune Co., E.W. Scripps Co. and a U.S. newspaper industry suffering record declines in advertising sales and circulation will raise prices on Thanksgiving as readers seek inserts touting holiday discounts.
WASHINGTON (AP) - The economy grew at a 2.8 percent pace last quarter, as the recovery got off to a slower start than first thought.
The Commerce Department’s new reading on gross domestic product wasn’t as energetic as the 3.5 percent growth rate for the July-September period estimated just a month ago.
Link.
“Going Rogue” sold 700,000 copies - a number that includes pre-orders - in its first week of release, according to a publishing official close to the former Alaska governor. The official was not authorized to release the sales figure and asked not to be identified.
Link.
For the first time in the network’s history, Fox is projected to win the November sweeps … and win big.
If you own any shares in alternative energy companies I should start dumping them NOW. The conspiracy behind the Anthropogenic Global Warming myth (aka AGW; aka ManBearPig) has been suddenly, brutally and quite deliciously exposed after a hacker broke into the computers at the University of East Anglia’s Climate Research Unit (aka CRU) and released 61 megabytes of confidential files onto the internet. (Hat tip: Watts Up With That)
Link.
Mr Ainsworth took the unprecedented step of publicly criticising the US President and his delays in sending more troops to bolster the mission against the Taliban.
A “period of hiatus” in Washington - and a lack of clear direction - had made it harder for ministers to persuade the British public to go on backing the Afghan mission in the face of a rising death toll, he said.
Link.
This past Wednesday night in Portland, Oregon we had hundreds upon hundreds of grassroots activists in a downtown park protesting Al Gore’s (without a doubt the largest emitter of hot air in the nation) pro-cap-and-trade speech. CLICK HERE for pictures of the event. (more…)
Between corn and milo harvests, spending time with Angela and the kids, pheasant season, and running full-time for Congress, November has been a VERY busy month! We have already begun bringing our positive message of consistent, proven conservatism to every corner of the Big First, and I want to take a break from all the action to update you on a few recent developments. (more…)
Funk’s Front Porch
21 November 2009
Dear Folks,
This Week’s City Business
The following is the text of a statement issued by the Mayor after Thursday’s removal of the City Manager:
This afternoon I suspended and removed the City Manager. Following that suspension, the City Council ratified his removal in a public vote. (more…)
After her kids were born, Amy Morasch knew she wanted to find a way to stay at home with her little ones.
“We went down to one income, so I needed to cut the budget,” the Lee’s Summit mom said.
(more…)
Last week, John Cassidy the left-leaning columnist for the New Yorker Magazine explained the real goals of the healthcare movement. In a surprising admission, he revealed what free market opponents had thought all long: that the eventual goal is to create a permanent middle class dependency on government entitlements. The party pushing these so-called reforms is actually creating a political movement where vast sectors of the population become trapped. The left no longer needs to sugar coat their proposals with false assumptions of fiscal responsibility. This has never been their goal, their goal has been to manage and provide…permanently.
It is now or never for the 21st century socialists. As the tide of public anger and opposition to the healthcare proposals continues to escalate, the only option is to force it through while they are still in power. And as we have seen with government programs of the past fifty years, once it has passed it will never go away.
There’s a difference between sensitivity and stupidity. If there were indeed signs that Maj. Nidal Hasan, the alleged Fort Hood mass murderer, was becoming radicalized in his opposition to the U.S. wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, the Army had a duty to act — before he did.
Gen. George Casey, the Army chief of staff, said Sunday he was concerned that “this increased speculation” about Hasan’s evolving political and religious views “could cause a backlash against some of our Muslim soldiers.” Casey is right to worry about the lunatics and bigots who now will think of all Muslims in the military as potential enemies. But it only feeds such paranoia to ignore alarm bells that an unstable individual, Muslim or not, is about to blow.
Reason.tv has a great new video out that illustrates (literally… Nick Gillespie has a magic marker in his hand) what happens when the government wields its power.
Check it out:
We have a problem. This could be “the big one”-bigger than coping with the Ahmadinejads, Kims, and Chavezes of the world and bigger than our current economic woes. Our republic, our society, may be heading for a crackup. We are bankrupt, both financially and politically.
The source of the problem is democracy. Decades of so-called “progressive” thought have led us to abandon the limited-government, constitutional republic established by our founding fathers. In the name of putting more power into the hands of “the people,” the government has arrogated sweeping powers.
The U.S. Government is spending money at an unprecedented rate. According to Louis Crandall, chief economist at Wrightson ICAP, it burns money at an average of over $100 billion per month. That’s far more than government revenue and so the Treasury is forced to turn to the debt market. Fiscal year 2009 saw the government rack up an astounding $1.4 trillion in additional debt, while the Treasury Department is openly predicting $1.5 to $2.0 trillion in debt for fiscal year 2010, which started in October. That means your share of debt could expand by as much as $11,000 is just two years!
As its financial resources dwindle, radical advocacy group and organized crime syndicate ACORN may have to file for bankruptcy protection before Christmas, ACORN insiders say.
“They may have to file for bankruptcy if they don’t have several big pending grants approved or get emergency loans,” a highly placed ACORN source told me over the weekend. This information bolsters Rep. Darrell Issa’s (R-Calif.) claim last week that ACORN is in turmoil amidst internal power struggles and on the verge of bankruptcy.
So, before getting to the more arcane matter of what the various states really need, a quick lesson in Economics 101 is in order.
When recessions hit, Americans all across the country tighten their belts, giving up not only luxury items, but necessities as well. Not only their wants, but often their needs. And millions of hardworking Americans lose their jobs — especially in the case of the current recession, which has been one of the longest and deepest in history.
Obama appears to have learned well from Chavez’s model, considering his extensive record of regulating, bullying and even nationalizing entire industries in just ten months of office. From General Motors to Chrysler to financial institutions and potentially the health care sector, Obama has brazenly imitated his Venezuelan compadre. (more…)
Following Rep. Dennis Moore’s announcement this morning (confirmed by Politico), Kansas Republican Party Chairwoman Amanda Adkins issued the following statement for consideration:
“President Obama and Nancy Pelosi’s agenda is dangerous for the country and giving Democrats in Washington unchecked powers is unsafe for America. Voters in the 3rd District are very aware that Dennis Moore’s record of voting with Speaker Pelosi and Democratic leadership 98% of the time is out of touch with their values.
“The Republican Party is always looking forward. I am confident that we will put forth a candidate who is focused on the needs of Kansans. At this time of economic uncertainty, Republicans know the importance of a pro-growth, pro-business agenda to families in our Great State.” — Amanda L. Adkins
Please contact Lisa Burgess at (785) 766-0663 or lburgess@ksgop.org.
SEN. SAM BROWNBACK - TOWN HALL - OLATHE - TOMORROW - 1:00 to 2:00 p.m.
U.S. Senator Sam Brownback on Tuesday, November 24th, will hold a town hall meeting at the Olathe City Council Chamber, Johnson County Town Hall, 100 E. Santa Fe Street. (It is on the NORTH side of Santa Fe, as opposed to the Jo. Co. Courthouse which is on the South side of Santa Fe.)
Among other things, Senator Brownback will be discussing health care reform.
Note: Sen. Brownback voted correctly Saturday night AGAINST moving the Reid/Obama health care reform bill forward, which we expected, but he also very publicly, and at length, spoke out against the fact that the Reid/Obama bill contains massive abortion and other anti-life provisions. Among the things he pointed out {shown on C-Span} was that if the bill passes as is, it could pay for and/or subsidize, with federal funds, more than 300,000 abortions annually.
Lightner Reacts to Moore Announcement
Focus Remains on Fighting for Conservative Principles
Olathe, KS - Former State Rep. Patricia Lightner, Republican candidate for Congress, issued a statement Monday in response to the news that Congressman Dennis Moore will not seek re-election. (more…)
Rasmussen:Just 38% of voters now favor the health care plan proposed by President Obama and congressional Democrats. That’s the lowest level of support measured for the plan in nearly two dozen tracking polls conducted since June.
The latest Rasmussen Reports national telephone survey finds that 56% now oppose the plan.
Half the survey was conducted before the Senate voted late Saturday to begin debate on its version of the legislation. Support for the plan was slightly lower in the half of the survey conducted after the Senate vote.
Prior to this, support for the plan had never fallen below 41%. Last week, support for the plan was at 47%. Two weeks ago, the effort was supported by 45% of voters.
Intensity remains stronger among those who oppose the push to change the nation’s health care system: 21% Strongly Favor the plan while 43% are Strongly Opposed.
A new Rasmussen Reports national telephone survey finds that U.S. voters are almost evenly divided now over whether it is possible for the United States to win the war in Afghanistan. Thirty-nine percent (39%) say yes that victory is still possible, but 36% disagree and say it is not. One-in-four voters (25%) are not sure.
Just a month ago, 45% of voters said it is possible for the United States to win the eight-year-old war in Afghanistan, and only 29% disagreed.
Twenty-seven percent (27%) now believe all U.S. troops should be brought home from Afghanistan immediately, up five points from a month ago and up seven from early September. Another 18% say a firm timetable should be established to bring all troops home with a year, a six-point increase from the previous survey.
A new Rasmussen Reports national telephone survey shows that 53% of voters worry that the federal government will do too much when it comes to reacting to the nation’s financial problems. This marks a five-point increase from last month and is seven points higher than the week after President Obama took office.
But 37% of voters now worry that the federal government will not do enough in dealing with the current economic situation. Forty-two percent (42%) felt that way in late January.
While few U.S. politicians bother to question whether humans are changing the world’s climate — nearly three years ago the U.N. Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change concluded the evidence was unequivocal — public debate persists. And the newly disclosed private exchanges among climate scientists at Britain’s Climate Research Unit of the University of East Anglia reveal an intellectual circle that appears to feel very much under attack, and eager to punish its enemies.
COLUMBIA, S.C. (AP) - South Carolina Gov. Mark Sanford faces ethics charges he broke state laws more than three dozen times by violating rules on airplane travel and campaign money, according to details of the allegations released Monday.
