The Kansas Progress

ABC — Axelrod: Israel Settlement Approval an ‘Affront’; ‘Insult’

admin — Tue, 16 Mar 2010 00:08:25 +0000

The President’s top adviser David Axelrod told me that approval of new housing units by Israel in the Arab section of Jerusalem during Vice President Biden’s trip there last week was an “affront” and an “insult”. “What it did was it made more difficult a very difficult process,” Axelrod said in my “This Week” interview. Axelrod added that the move “seemed calculated to undermine” the so-called proximity talks going on between the Palestinians and the Israelis.

NY Times — Ohio Democrat to Skip Health Care Rally

admin — Tue, 16 Mar 2010 00:07:52 +0000

Representative John Boccieri, Democrat of Ohio, whose vote on major health care legislation could be crucial to the outcome, will not be attending President Obama’s health care rally on Monday in Strongsville, Ohio, not far from Mr. Boccieri’s own district, a spokeswoman said.

Dodd unveils sweeping financial regulation plan — Jim Kuhnhenn

admin — Tue, 16 Mar 2010 00:06:24 +0000

A new Democratic Senate bill to tame the financial markets would give the government new powers to break up firms that threaten the economy, force the industry to pay for its failures and create a consumer watchdog within the Federal Reserve.
Legislation unveiled Monday by Senate Banking Committee Chairman Chris Dodd falls shy of the ambitious restructuring of federal financial regulations envisioned by President Barack Obama or contained in legislation already passed in the House.

Wash Post — Newly powerful China defies Western nations with remarks, policies

admin — Tue, 16 Mar 2010 00:06:03 +0000

The shift has accelerated as China has emerged stronger from the global financial meltdown, with a world-beating economic expansion rate and a growing nationalist movement. China has long felt bullied by the West, and its stronger stance is challenging the long-held assumption shared among Western and Chinese businessmen, academics and government officials that a more powerful and prosperous China would be more positively inclined toward Western values and systems.

Clinton Myth Spins Obama Toward Midterm Massacre: Kevin Hassett

admin — Tue, 16 Mar 2010 00:04:42 +0000

March 15 (Bloomberg) — It is looking more and more like the Democratic Party’s idea of health-care reform will be enacted, notwithstanding the election of Scott Brown in Massachusetts and the opposition of the American people.

If the legislation does survive the gathering political storm, then it will present historians with a fascinating puzzle. In the 1990s, President Bill Clinton tried to enact universal health care, and his failure wiped out the Democratic Party in the next election. In 2010, history may show, President Barack Obama won passage of health-care legislation, and his success wiped out the Democratic Party in the next election, if not beyond.

Ross Douthat — Hollywood’s Political Fictions

admin — Tue, 16 Mar 2010 00:04:03 +0000

Americans believe in evil, but we’re uncomfortable with tragedy. We accept that there are wicked people in the world, with malice in their hearts and a devil whispering in their ears. But the idea that many debacles flow from choices made by decent, well-intentioned human beings is more difficult for us to wrap our minds around.

Politico — Lawmakers spend $1,000 a month on taxpayer-funded cars. “Emanuel Cleaver appears to be the biggest spender”

admin — Tue, 16 Mar 2010 00:03:30 +0000

The economy is still limping along, but some members of Congress are nevertheless riding in style: At least 10 House members are spending more than $1,000 a month in taxpayer money to lease cars.

Rep. Emanuel Cleaver appears to be the biggest spender.

In the last quarter of 2009, the Missouri Democrat doled out $2,900 a month to lease a WiFi-equipped, handicap-accessible mobile office that runs on used cooking oil.

No room for error on U.S. debt

admin — Tue, 16 Mar 2010 00:02:34 +0000

NEW YORK (Fortune) — The United States isn’t in jeopardy of losing its gold-plated credit rating, though by one measure America is closer to the ratings-downgrade danger zone than Spain.

That’s according to credit rating agency Moody’s. In a quarterly report about sovereign debt, Moody’s analysts wrote that despite market worries about rising government debt levels, there is “no imminent rating pressure” for the United States and other big governments carrying its highest triple-A rating.

NY Times — Apple’s Spat With Google Is Getting Personal

admin — Tue, 16 Mar 2010 00:02:14 +0000

In the last six months, Apple and Google have jousted over acquisitions, patents, directors, advisers and iPhone applications. Mr. Jobs and Mr. Schmidt have taken shots at each other’s companies in the media and in private exchanges with employees.

This month, Apple sued HTC, the Taiwanese maker of mobile phones that run Google’s Android operating system, contending that HTC had violated iPhone patents. The move was widely seen as the beginning of a legal assault by Apple on Google itself, as well as an attempt to slow Google’s plans to extend its dominion to mobile devices.

Apple believes that devices like smartphones and tablets should have tightly controlled, proprietary standards and that customers should take advantage of services on those gadgets with applications downloaded from Apple’s own App Store.

WSJ — Swing Districts Oppose Health Reform. Sobering poll news for 35 key House members

admin — Tue, 16 Mar 2010 00:01:29 +0000

Voters in key congressional districts are clear in their opposition to what they have seen, read and heard on health-care reform. That’s one of the findings of a survey that will be released today by the Polling Company on behalf of Independent Women’s Voice. The survey consisted of 1,200 registered voters in 35 districts represented by members who could determine the outcome of the health-care debate. Twenty of those members voted for the House bill in November but now may be reconsidering. Fifteen voted against the bill but are under tremendous pressure to change their vote.