The controversial procedural tactic hasn’t been used in years. In a chamber where it requires the consent of all 100 senators to dispense with the reading of a bill, changing the rules unilaterally is considered bad form.
Former Sen. Byron Dorgan (D-N.D.) predicted Thursday’s blow-up on the floor would have aftershocks. “It’s obviously consequential and significant,” he said of the surprise rules change.
So, the end result is that by a simple majority vote, Reid was able to effectively rewrite Senate rules making it even harder than it already is for the minority party to force votes on any amendments. Should Republicans retake the Senate next year, it's something that could come back to haunt Democrats in a major way.
And just to clear up some confusion, what happened tonight was different than the so-called "nuclear option" to end filibusters. While triggering the "nuclear option" requires a Majority Leader to use the same sort of strategic maneuvers as Reid just did, tonight's move had to do with the amendment process, not filibusters.
"America doesn't need less debate, it needs more debate," said Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky. "I think we made a big mistake tonight."
Republicans pushed for a vote on Obama's jobs bill to demonstrate that many Democrats don't support the president's effort because it would raise taxes on people who earn $200,000 or more a year. Obama has been traveling the country telling voters that the only obstacle to his job-creating proposal was the Republican Party.
(I)t seems appropriate to quote Winston Churchill: “Want of foresight, unwillingness to act when action would be simple and effective, lack of clear thinking, confusions of counsel, until the emergency comes, until self-preservation strikes its jarring gong – these are the features that constitute the endless repetition of history.”
We are at just such a moment again. Little more than two years ago, global leaders were happily congratulating themselves on having avoided the mistakes of the 1930s, thereby averting a depression. But now it appears that the difficulties of 2008 were but a foretaste of what was to come. With the European banking system again on the verge of collapse, there is a sense that politicians and economists are out of options, that governments and central banks are powerless before events. The best of the cavalry has been sent into battle, and it has come back in tatters. The fiscal armoury has been exhausted, the support offered by the boom in emerging markets such as China and India over the past two years seems to be on its last legs, and there is but the small rifle fire of the central bank printing presses left to defend us.... Read the rest.
More photos of people holding up notes explaining how hard they work for what they have and stating "I Am The 53%".
Looks like those working hard to earn their money and pay their bills are pushing back against the Occupiers that have decided the country owes them more than just the opportunity to earn their own keep.
So, like, when you’re, like, community organizing for solidarity and stuff, it’s totally cool to have this little hashtaggy thingy when you’re on twitter, so other people, like, totally know what you’re talking about and stuff. So if you’re, like, totally gonna spread the word about being one of the 53% of people who actually, like, pay taxes in America and don’t just, like, hang out protesting stuff all day… like, here’s the hashtaggy thingy. See you at the protest! #iamthe53
A prominent 2008 Barack Obama fundraiser who held a key role in the Energy Department played an active part in Solyndra's $535 million loan guarantee despite conflict of interest concerns over his wife's work at a law firm that also represented the California solar company, according to internal Obama administration emails released Friday....
In a series of emails sent on Aug. 28, 2009, Spinner expressed repeated frustrations with the Office of Management and Budget over the holdup on the Solyndra loan.
"Any word from OMB? I have the OVP and WH breathing down my neck on this," he wrote to DOE career staffer Kelly Colyar. "Just want to make sure we get their questions. They are getting itchy to get involved if needed. I don't want that."
◼ So per Randy Mendosa: the playground equipment was stuck in Willits as the truck was too big to get through Richardson Grove. They were having problems finding smaller trucks that could legally get through the narrow turns. Hopefully the equipment has arrived or is very close to arriving. We will be good to go if the rains will just stop for a few weeks!
Pinal County Sheriff Paul Babeu led the press conference today in Phoenix.
MyFOX Phoenix reported:
Pinal County Sheriff Paul Babeu and nine other elected sheriffs held a press conference Friday morning in Phoenix.
They demanded the truth from the federal government, and they asked for a special council to conduct a criminal investigation into what really happened during and after the failed operation, which let guns into Mexico.
They believe the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms and Attorney General Eric Holder bungled the operation and then tried to cover it up.
This week, Holder said he just found out about the controversial operation, but those inside the justice department said that he knew months ago.
The operation allowed guns into Mexico that the ATF hoped to track drug cartel activities.
Some 2,000 guns were sent there, but about 1,400 guns are still unaccounted for.
“In law enforcement, this is unacceptable — the fact that our own government has given weapons — some of these weapons not only semi-automatic, some transitioned to fully automatic, and 50-caliber rifles — rifles my deputies and our deputies don’t even have on the street, and they put them into the hands of the criminals that we’re fighting,” Babeu said.
The sheriffs said they want Holder to be held accountable for the lost law enforcement lives in Arizona and Mexico.
When the Tea Party movement emerged in 2009, then-Speaker of the House Pelosi called them "astroturf" and "un-American" people who were "carrying swastikas."
I can understand how it is offensive, and I can certainly see removing it. But I think removing it is going to be a much bigger job than the bloodhounds in the mainstream media thinks. Just look at all the references to the word in science and engineering and geography...Read The Rest...
There is another peculiar form common on the field, known as a nigger head. These nigger heads are usually oval or spherical masses of more or less opal- impregnated, fine grained silica ; they are of all sizes from 1 lb. to 1 cwt.,
...This is the second month in a row in which Zogby has found Cain leading the pack; he has surged another 10 points ahead of his competitors since September.
President Obama’s shock troops are marching in the streets. Occupy Wall Street... Mr. Obama has said he “sympathizes” with the protesters - especially their anger at Wall Street and “fat-cat” bankers. For years, he has demonized billionaires and millionaires, jet owners and corporate America. His divisive, irresponsible rhetoric has laid the groundwork for Occupy Wall Street.
The White House connection is even deeper. The protest’s main players all have ties to the Obama administration. Its primary organizer is former Obama “green-jobs czar” Van Jones.
A comment on a blog:
"Supporters of other candidates are now beginning to disparage straw polls. That's fair, but this straw poll was a little different. Just keep in mind that while straw polls are not elections, the emergence of Cain is unique. In order to vote in the Republican Women’s poll you had to be a delegate to their convention, unlike straw polls that can bus supporters in. Second, unlike Ron Paul, Cain does not represent a movement like the Libertarians who form voting blocs and can effectively overwhelm straw polls that make Paul look more popular than he is. Third, it takes more than a 75 cent taco to go to the Republican Women’s Convention is Kansas City (take it from me). Women have flown in from all parts of the country at significant expense to be there. Straw polls are not elections, but Cain gave an electrifying, persuasive speech to a cross section of active Republican women and got an overwhelming endorsement.
And a final point, Republican women make up a lot of the worker bees during an election, passing out literature, going door to door, manning the polls. That’s why elected Republican officials pay them a lot of attention. Republican women did not to go to Kansas City to give Herman Cain a win in the straw poll. The fact that he won big was solely due to his ability to convince the delegates that he was the one they wanted for President. That’s big."
The Obama administration passed another fiscal milestone this week, according to new data released by the Treasury Department. As of the close of business on Oct. 3, the total national debt was $14,837,099,271,196.71—up about $44.8 billion from Sept. 30.
That means that in the less-than-three-years Obama has been in office, the federal debt has increased by $4.212 trillion--more than the total national debt of about $4.1672 trillion accumulated by all 41 U.S. presidents from George Washington through George H.W. Bush combined.
While only 627,000 people saw Freeman on CNN that night, millions soon viewed the clip as Drudge Report, Twitter, Facebook and other digital outlets turned it into a viral sensation -- not difficult given how partisan and personal politics have become in this run-up to the 2012 presidential election. "He belongs on my 'no pay, no watch' list after his latest, nearly hallucinatory raving," wrote one commenter on a conservative media site.
With Dolphin Tale opening with a strong $19.2 million that first weekend and finishing No. 1 with $13.9 million in its second, the financial impact of Freeman's comments is hard to quantify. But they did have an effect.
Forty-six percent would vote for former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney while 42% would vote for Obama, the poll found. Romney has been gaining in Quinnipiac’s head-to-head matchup. In July, Obama had a six percentage point advantage; by August, the two were tied.
If Obama’s Republican contender was Texas Gov. Rick Perry, Obama would do better, but the race would still be tight, the data shows. Forty-five percent would cast their vote for Obama, compared to 44% for Perry. That’s within the poll’s margin of error -- 2.1 percentage points.
The agenda will include a report on the recent annual picnic where several local election candidates spoke, There will also be status reports on petitions to change the state’s rural fire-fee law and to call for new state senate reapportionment.
Compared with August, job-cut announcements climbed 126 percent, the Challenger report showed. Because the figures aren’t adjusted for seasonal effects, economists prefer to focus on year-over-year changes rather than monthly numbers.
In an obvious effort to protect President Barack Obama, a group of congressional Democrats has introduced legislation to create an official process that will allow the commander-in-chief to keep presidential records secret after he leaves office.
The veteran Brooklyn congressman (Edolphus Towns) who recently introduced the law in the U.S. House has yet to explain why it’s necessary.
While the topline numbers are troubling enough, dig deeper into them and the news gets no better for Obama. Forty-three percent of independents — a group the president spent the better part of the last year courting — strongly disapprove of the job he is doing. Forty-seven percent of people 65 years of age and older — reliable voters in any election — strongly disapprove of how he is doing his job.
Strong opposition to Obama has grown markedly since the start of the year.
This follows in the wake of claims this August from sources inside the White House itself that the First Lady may have spent “$10 million of taxpayers’ money on vacations alone in the past year.” Without all the figures available, it is impossible to establish the total cost to the public purse of Michelle Obama’s 42 days of holiday during that period, which included her trip to Spain last year (though not the Obamas' recent sojourn in Martha’s Vineyard).
◼ DRUDGE EXCLUSIVE: - Republican White House hopeful Rick Perry raised over $17 million in 49 days, DRUDGE has learned. $347,000 per day; 20,000 unique donors from all 50 states, DC, Puerto Rico, and Guam. With more than half of donors living outside of Texas
(T)he political clock is ticking away. Ms. Palin now faces serious deadlines in October that, if missed, could keep her name off the presidential primary ballot.
The first of those comes on Oct. 15. By that date, Ms. Palin’s election team must deliver a letter of candidacy to the secretary of state in Utah if she wants her name to appear on that state’s ballot.
Utah is by no means a critical primary state, especially in a race that features two Mormon candidates, one of them a former governor of the state. Ms. Palin could decide that she does not need her name to appear.
But Florida comes next. By Oct. 31, that state’s Republican Party must deliver to state officials the list of candidates who are running for president there. It is a ballot she has to be on if she wants the Republican nomination.
Attkisson also said the DOJ and White House representatives complained that CBS was “unfair and biased” because it didn’t give the White House favorable coverage on the developing scandal.
“Is it sort of a drip, drip. And I’m certainly not the one to make the case for DOJ and White House about what I’m doing wrong,” she added. “They will tell you that I’m the only reporter, as they told me, that is not reasonable. They say The Washington Post is reasonable, the LA Times is reasonable, The New York Times is reasonable — I’m the only one who thinks this is a story, and they think I’m unfair and biased by pursuing it.”
About ten minutes later, Jim Messina, Obama’s 2012 campaign manager, emailed this message to supporters:
President Obama is in Dallas today urging Americans who support the American Jobs Act to demand that Congress pass it already.
Though it's been nearly a month since he laid out this plan, House Republicans haven't acted to pass it. And House Majority Leader Eric Cantor is out there actually bragging that they won't even put the jobs package up for a vote -- ever.
It's not clear which part of the bill they now object to: building roads, hiring teachers, getting veterans back to work. They're willing to block the American Jobs Act -- and they think you won't do anything about it.
But here's something you can do: Find Republican members of Congress on Twitter, call them out, and demand they pass this bill.
So will the Obama campaign be asking its supporters to "call out" Harry Reid and "demand" he and Senate Democrats pass the bill?
Christie has scheduled a 1 p.m. press conference in his state’s capital, where he’s expected to announce that he will not seek the presidency. Two sources said he has started informing people of his decision in advance of his Trenton press conference. “He is not running,” said a fundraiser informed of the decision. “Mary Pat and the gov just called tier one [donor] group to say he was out.”
Moments ago, NJ Gov. Chris Christie announced that he would not run for president in 2012. Citing his loyalty and commitment to the people of New Jersey, Christie said that with so many serious people asking him, he seriously considered running but that “now is not my time.” Adding that “New Jersey, whether you like it or not, you’re stuck with me,” Gov. Christie reaffirmed his goal of fixing the state, which faces a multi-billion dollar budget shortfall and intransigent union forces.
Even some of Perry's fiercest Texas critics say they do not believe he is racist. They point to his record of appointments as evidence: He appointed the state’s first African-American state supreme court justice, Wallace Jefferson, and later made him chief justice. (Jefferson’s great grandfather was a slave, “sold like a horse,” Perry once said with disgust.) Perry’s former general counsel and former chief of staff, Brian Newby, is black; so is Albert Hawkins, the former Health and Human Services commissioner who Perry handpicked to lead the massive agency in 2002.
“He doesn’t have a racist bone in his body,” said former Democratic state Rep. Ron Wilson, who is black and served with Perry in his early years in the Legislature. “He didn’t then, and he doesn’t now.”
Just forty-five percent of Americans correctly identified “GOP” as an acronym for “Grand Old Party,” while 35 percent said it stands for “Government of the People.” Seven percent said it equates to “Grumpy Old People,” three percent chose “God’s Own Party” and another nine percent admitted to not having a clue.
Most tellingly, just 51 percent of self-identified Republicans knew the meaning of the moniker.
"New documents obtained by CBS News show Attorney General Eric Holder was sent briefings on the controversial Fast and Furious operation as far back as July 2010," Sharyll Atkisson reports. That directly contradicts his statement to Congress.
News documents indicate that U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder more than likely perjured himself in congressional testimony about Operation Fast and Furious earlier this year.... A copy of the heavily redacted weekly report posted by CBS News offers direct evidence that not only was the attorney general briefed on Operation Fast and Furious, but that he was briefed on it regularly and was well aware that the program was sending thousands of weapons into the hands of the Sinaloa cartel:
From July 12 through July 16, the National Drug Intelligence Center Document and Media Exploitation Team at the Phoenix Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Force (OCTDETF) Strike Force will support the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives’ Phoenix Field Division with its investigation of Manuel Celis-Acosta as part of OCDETF Operation Fast and Furious. This investigation, initiated in September 2009 in conjunction with the Drug Enforcement Administration, Immigration and Customs Enforcement, and the Phoenix Police Department, involves a Phoenix-based firearms trafficking ring headed by Manual Celis-Acosta. Celis-Acosta and [redacted] straw purchasers are responsible for the purchase of 1,500 firearms that were then supplied to Mexican drug trafficking cartels. They also have direct ties to the Sinaloa Cartel which is suspected of providing $1 million for the purchase of firearms in the greater Phoenix area.
That excerpt stated what the task force would do in the near future, while the same language was used later in the report to show what the task force had done that week:
From July 6 through July 9, the National Drug Intelligence Center Document and Media Exploitation Team at the Phoenix Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Force (OCTDETF) Strike Force will support the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives’ Phoenix Field Division with its investigation of Manuel Celis-Acosta as part of OCDETF Operation Fast and Furious. This investigation, initiated in September 2009 in conjunction with the Drug Enforcement Administration, Immigration and Customs Enforcement, and the Phoenix Police Department, involves a Phoenix-based firearms trafficking ring headed by Manual Celis-Acosta. Celis-Acosta and [redacted] straw purchasers are responsible for the purchase of 1,500 firearms that were then supplied to Mexican drug trafficking cartels. They also have direct ties to the Sinaloa Cartel which is suspected of providing $1 million for the purchase of firearms in the greater Phoenix area.
Obama, focused on winning a second term, has distanced himself from Congress altogether, at times not making the distinction between Republicans and Democrats on Capitol Hill....The White House has had to rely on (Harry) Reid because, unlike former President Clinton, Obama has little appetite for regularly calling Democratic lawmakers.
“I think one of the problems with the White House is that it’s been too set apart. It’s been too Chicago-centric, and it needs to get out,” said Sen. Dianne Feinstein (D-Calif.).
...as Democratic lawmakers near a tough election, rank-and-file members feel less inclined to stand close to Obama. Sen. Claire McCaskill (D-Mo.), who is seeking a second term in 2012, said she would not join Obama for a public appearance in Missouri on Tuesday, citing the Senate’s busy schedule. One Democratic aide, whose boss is facing reelection in a swing state, said of Obama: “There are no coattails.”
Republicans will capture control of the Senate if they net four seats in 2012 (three if Obama loses). The map favors the GOP; Democrats are defending 23 seats, Republicans only 10.
The Former Alaska governor was right in speaking out against crony capitalism; it's all too common for the rich and powerful to bend government to their own purposes....
Not to put Sarah Palin in the tradition of Andrew Jackson, the Roosevelts, and John Kennedy, but I'm glad she raised the question of crony capitalism. I look forward to hearing her proposals for legislation to restrict the power of the few. We should know what these large donors want when they give so much money. At least on this issue, the Tea Party may find that they share something with the Democrats. an interesting read.
North Coast Honor Flight takes off tomorrow morning, Oct. 4, for the flight to Washington, DC! Chartered jet with over 100 WWII veterans & 30 guardians. Please come to the airport to send our vets off. They're departing around 7:00 AM - Gwen says: If you're going, plan to be there by 5:30 AM, they are to begin gathering at 6:00 & depart at 7:00. (previously reported as 8:00)
The Federal Reserve's rule told credit card companies that they no longer can consider household income when assessing the creditworthiness of an individual who applies for his or her own card. Under the rule, only an individual's own salary or other income -- rather than combined household income -- can be considered.
One major effect of the new regulation: Stay-at-home moms (or dads) without significant outside income no longer will be able to open their own credit card accounts -- and establish their own credit histories to build their credit scores. Compliance with the rule became mandatory Oct. 1, 2011.
"From an economic standpoint, this is a whopper," said Manisha Thakor, founder of the Women's Financial Literacy Initiative, a financial fellow at Wellesley College and a Houston-based financial analyst. "Not only will be harder to build a credit score, but this ruling is tantamount to assigning a zero dollar value to the work stay-at-home parents do day in and day out to keep households running."
...Previously, an individual member of a household could qualify for a credit card account by pointing to the combined income of several members of that household. For instance, in the case of a married couple, a stay-at-home wife without any independent income could qualify for and obtain a credit card under only her own name -- and establish her own credit history -- by pointing to the salary of her husband.
That no longer will be the case. Now, she must prove that she can make the payments with only her own resources, a nearly impossible hurdle for many homemakers to overcome.
“It seems as if the president is in full campaign mode. The president continues to say ‘pass my bill in its entirety.’ As I’ve said from the outset, this all-or-nothing approach is just not acceptable.”
“Clearly, I think comments made by Democrats on both the House and Senate side indicated they’ve got problems with the president’s bill.”
Is this an attempt to get the state to back off on a tax hike? Undoubtedly. But once in a while, leaders in an industry that employs 120,000 people in well-paying jobs, must remind the state that they are not a piñata for politicians.
"We will have no American access to, and return from, low Earth orbit and the International Space Station for an unpredictable length of time in the future," Neil Armstrong, the first man to set foot on the Moon, warned lawmakers at a recent hearing.
The end of the space shuttle era has left America's human spaceflight program in an "embarrassing" state, Armstrong said, arguing that NASA needs a stronger vision for the future and should focus on returning humans to the Moon and to the International Space Station.
Exceptionalism: While the American space program is in a museum, Beijing orbits a nearly 9-ton space station module. Soon men will return to the moon, but they will likely be speaking Chinese.
Cain received 48.9 percent of the 505 total votes cast, with Rick Perry placing a distant second and Mitt Romney placing third. The poll featured nine Republican presidential candidates.
“In a straw poll with this many candidates on the ballot, it is unusual for one candidate to receive almost half of the votes,” said Karen Floyd, former chair of the South Carolina Republican Party and publisher of PalladianView.com, which conducted the poll. “It is very impressive.”
Straw poll voters consisted of Republican women activists from 41 states who were registered to attend the NFRW’s convention. “This straw poll is significant because the voters are Republican women from across the nation who are extremely active and influential in their states and communities,” NFRW President Sue Lynch said.
Following is the breakdown of the vote:
Herman Cain – 48.9%
Rick Perry – 14.1%
Mitt Romney – 13.3%
Newt Gingrich – 12.5%
Rick Santorum – 6.9%
Michele Bachmann – 1.4%
Ron Paul – 0.6%
Gary Johnson – 0.4%
Jon Huntsman – 0.2%
Undecided – 1.8%
Each of these presidential candidates was invited to address the NFRW convention, which was held in Kansas City Sept. 29-Oct. 2. Cain, Gingrich and Santorum accepted the invitation and spoke on Oct. 1.
Founded in 1938, the NFRW has thousands of active members in local clubs across the nation and in several U.S. territories, making it one of the largest women’s political organizations in the country. The grassroots organization works to promote the principles and objectives of the Republican Party, elect Republican candidates, inform the public through political education and activity, and increase the effectiveness of women in the cause of good government.
Reminder: Your membership in Humboldt Republican Women Federated is a 3 in 1 membership! HRWF members receive membership in the National Federation of Republican Women (NFRW) and the California Federation of Republican Women (CFRW).
The Trust Fund Kids of Boston, in imitation of the Trust Fund Kids of New York, are rising up against the system. What are their grievances about a capitalist system that allows them to remain the idle rich? They will give you a lot of BS answers but the REAL answer is that deep down they know they are the useless offspring of the wealthy who are secretly jealous of self-made people. The strange thing is that these protests are coming in the middle of a DEMOCRAT administration. Gee. What about all that Hope and Change that they were orgasmic about a couple of years ago?
Multiple sources, including sources from ATF, DOJ and Congressional offices have said there is a white paper circulating within the Department of Justice, outlining the essential elimination of ATF. According to sources, the paper outlines the firing of at least 450 ATF agents in an effort to conduct damage control as Operation Fast and Furious gets uglier and as election day 2012 gets closer.
