Several Senators have learned of a possible plan by the Obama Administration that would provide a mass Amnesty for the nation's 11-18 million illegal aliens. Led by Sen. Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa), eight Senators addressed a letter to the President asking for answers to questions about a plan that would allow DHS Secretary Janet Napolitano to provide an amnesty if they can't secure enough votes for a bill in the Senate.
The letter that was sent to Pres. Obama earlier today asks the President for clarification on the use of deferred action or parole for illegal aliens. The executive actions are typically used in special cases and are evaluated on a case-by-case basis, but if 60 votes can't be secured in the Senate to pass a mass Amnesty, the Administration may use the discretionary actions as an alternative.
Here is the text of the letter signed by Sens. Grassley, Hatch (R-Utah), Vitter (R-La.), Bunning (R-Ky.), Chambliss (R-Ga.), Isakson (R-Ga.), Inhofe (R-Okla.), and Cochran (R-Miss.).
Dear President Obama:
We understand that theres a push for your Administration to develop a plan to unilaterally extend either deferred action or parole to millions of illegal aliens in the United States. We understand that the Administration may include aliens who have willfully overstayed their visas or filed for benefits knowing that they will not be eligible for a status for years to come. We understand that deferred action and parole are discretionary actions reserved for individual cases that present unusual, emergent or humanitarian circumstances. Deferred action and parole were not intended to be used to confer a status or offer protection to large groups of illegal aliens, even if the agency claims that they look at each case on a “case-by-case' basis.
While we agree our immigration laws need to be fixed, we are deeply concerned about the potential expansion of deferred action or parole for a large illegal alien population. While deferred action and parole are Executive Branch authorities, they should not be used to circumvent Congress constitutional authority to legislate immigration policy, particularly as it relates to the illegal population in the United States.
The Administration would be wise to abandon any plans for deferred action or parole for the illegal population. Such a move would further erode the American publics confidence in the federal government and its commitment to securing the borders and enforcing the laws already on the books.
We would appreciate receiving a commitment that the Administration has no plans to use either authority to change the current position of a large group of illegal aliens already in the United States, and ask that you respond to us about this matter as soon as possible.
#3
...the problem with starting stuff, is that you really don't know how its all going to fall out.
The most famous instance of this comes down to us through a Delphic prediction given to Croesus, king of Lydia. In 550 BCE, Croesus was preparing to invade the Persian Empire when he consulted the Oracle about his chances for victory. After sacrificing 300 head of cattle to Apollo, he had gold and silver melted down into 117 bricks, which were sent to Delphi, along with jewels, statues, and a gold bowl weighing a quarter of a ton. With these gifts, Croesus sent his question of whether he should attack Persia.
The Pythia answered that, if he crossed a river, "Croesus will destroy a great empire." Encouraged by this response, he invaded Persia, only to suffer a decisive defeat. The Persians invaded and then conquered Lydia and captured Croesus, who thereafter bitterly denounced the Oracle. He sent his iron chains to Delphi with the question, "Why did you lie to me?" The Pythia correctly answered that her prophecy had been fulfilled. Croesus had destroyed a great empire -- his own.
#7
I believe he will try some slight of hand to push this through. That will mean millions of votes that Dems need desperately, since they've pissed off most of their base .
Would they? The numbers seem large enough to swing elections for at least a generation even prior to considering extended family that would surely arrive shortly after any amnesty.
Afghanistanization followed by V-22 Osprey evacuation from Kabul Embassy roof. (Beef up the heliport)
The Obama administration reaffirmed Sunday that it will begin pulling U.S. troops out of Afghanistan next summer, despite reservations among top generals that absolute deadlines are a mistake.
President Obama's chief of staff said an announced plan to begin bringing forces home in July 2011 still holds.
"That's not changing. Everybody agreed on that date," said Rahm Emanuel, adding by name the top three officials overseeing the policy girding the war: CENTCOM Commander Army Gen. David Petraeus, Defense Secretary Robert Gates and Joint Chiefs Chairman Adm. Mike Mullen.
Petraeus said last week that he would recommend delaying the pullout if conditions in Afghanistan warranted it. Days after the date was announced in December, Gates pointedly said it was not a deadline.
Emanuel's remarks reflect the White House view that Obama must offer a war-weary American public and Congress a promise that the nearly nine-year war is not open-ended. The problem, congressional Republicans and some military leaders say, is that a fixed date encourages the Taliban-led insurgency and undermines U.S. leverage with Afghan leaders.
Gates pledged Sunday that some troops would begin to leave in 13 months, but he was more cautious.
"We clearly understand that in July of 2011, we begin to draw down our forces," Gates said. "The pace with which we draw down and how many we draw down is going to be conditions-based."
Uniformed and civilian defense leaders accepted the announcement of a date to begin leaving as a condition of Obama's major expansion of the war. Obama ordered an additional 30,000 troops, the last of whom are arriving now, with a mission to squeeze the Taliban on its home ground, build up Afghan security forces and improve chances that local people would swing behind the U.S.-backed central government.
With little progress apparent in the critical Taliban heartland of southern Afghanistan, the split between politics and tactics is again on display. As Gates acknowledged Sunday, it is taking longer than he hoped to gain an enduring edge over the Taliban in Helmand and Kandahar provinces.
Gates asked for time and patience to demonstrate that the strategy is working. He lamented that Americans are too quick to write off the war when Obama's revamped strategy has only just begun to take hold.
"It is a tough pull," Gates said. "We are suffering significant casualties. We expected that; we warned everybody that would be the case last winter."
At least 34 U.S. troops have died in Afghanistan this month, making June among the deadliest months of the war. Casualties are expected to rise through the summer and fall as fighting expands in Helmand and Kandahar.
Earlier this month, Gates said the United States and its partners must demonstrate progress this year or risk the collapse of already dwindling public support for the war.
Petraeus told Congress last week that he would recommend postponing the start of the withdrawal if security conditions and the capability of the Afghan government could not support it.
That does not mean Petraeus is opposed to bringing some troops home, and he said repeatedly that he supports Obama's strategy. His caution, however, is rooted in the fact that the uniformed military -- and counterinsurgency specialists in particular -- have always been uncomfortable with fixed parameters for an inexact process of persuasion.
The war strategy Obama adopted is based on the success of Petraeus' counterinsurgency tactics in the Iraq war. It combines a short-term "surge" of forces to blunt rising violence and a longer-term project to persuade locals to help uproot a homegrown insurgency.
Emanuel did not dispute quoted remarks from Vice President Biden that "a whole lot" of forces would come home in July 2011. Biden, who argued within the administration for a narrower mission in Afghanistan involving fewer troops, was interviewed for the book "The Promise," by Jonathan Alter.
Gates, however, said he had never heard Biden say such a thing, and that the evaluation by the on-the-ground war commander will largely determine the scope of the withdrawal.
"That absolutely has not been decided," Gates said. "I'm not accepting, at face value, that ... he said those words."
Emanuel spoke on ABC's "This Week." Gates appeared on "Fox News Sunday."
#1
Deadlines are truly stupid, only to be expected from the Best and the Brightest®.
Maybe the Jerk-In-Chief can set a deadline for capping the blowout in the Gulf of Mexico, while he's at it.
Posted by: Anna Sasin ||
06/22/2010 18:53 Comments ||
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#5
Strategy:
Afghanistan is like the mythical Camelot. And we can conquer!!!
Response:
No, more like a lotta Camels and lotta discount goat--and thats no myth.
Great! Let's all go home.
Posted by: Anna Sasin ||
06/22/2010 18:58 Comments ||
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#6
I don't see Afghanistan becoming anything like a stable allie within less than 20 years. Anyone here ready to spend the treasure and blood for this long? Not me. This is a waste and we should leave tomorrow.
#2
That is unfortunate. Where have all the cowboys gone? Its like nobody stands up and keeps up a good fight anymore.
Posted by: Anna Sasin ||
06/22/2010 0:31 Comments ||
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#3
TOPIX > AZERBAIJAN IMPORTANT FOR US AFGHAN WAR PLANNING + {Turkologist] ARTAK SHAKARYAN: US WITHDRAWING FROM MIDDLE EAST. Intensive regional competition occurring mainly between TURKEY + RUSSIA [Iran?] to replace declining US influence.
NON-RELIANCE ON US FOR REGIONAL SECURITY.
#6
Well Obama is a supine idiot and now his Afeghanistan commander seems to be too if this all true. He must fall. If he doesn't fall then Obama is even worse.
What would Sun Tzu do? It would not be pretty for McC, who might have been able to get away with intimating that the ROE needed to be loosened, but has gone too far and will face reassignment if not the option of "voluntary" retirement.
Posted by: Oscar ||
06/22/2010 7:15 Comments ||
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#9
Why did McCrystal give the interview to Rolling Stone? What did he expect? Would have thought he would have had more self-discipline, diplomacy. Unless he has just had it with the circus in Washington and Afghanistan and wanted to bail out. This is a career killer.
#10
Maybe McCrystal is a man of principle and was willing to lay his career on the line for principle? I would find it difficult to work for the crew in Washington--particularly when I had zero respect for them. Maybe he is trying to get the Afghan war of the dime and change the ROE--except for that he is a winning the hearts and minds general.
#17
If you read the interview, McChrystal comes off as an immature asshole.
This is not about Obama and the civilian idiots who work for him. McChrystal should not be defended because you think America, let alone the war is headed in the wrong direction. Insubordination of generals transcends politics.
McChrystal is charge of American lives in a war zone. If he can't hack it, he should have done the honorable thing and resign. It's a political war, and his position comes with some political responsibilities. Didn't he ever read Clausewitz?
The president should fire him. The Peter Principle is once again proven.
#19
Perhaps the General didn't want to command Obama's "Necessary War" when is surrounded for hundreds of miles by hostile forces with air the only reliable method of supply. I also read of another General who wasn't too happy about the situation of getting an Army surrounded in bumfuck because of the The Leader wrote ego checks his intellect couldn't cash, when the real objective was the oil fields.
Unlike Gen. Paulus, Gen. McCrystal just did commit suicide.
Posted by: ed ||
06/22/2010 10:36 Comments ||
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#20
“The other thing about him is that he is probably one of the more arrogant, cocksure military guys I have run across. That in itself is not necessarily a character flaw, but when you couple it with his great disdain for civilians, it’s a very volatile combination.”
#22
Don't believe anything which comes out of the current magazines for accuracy, especially Rolling Stone - interviews get the cut and paste with op/ed inserts.
That being known, don't get interviewed in the first place...unless Matt is right.
#23
Politically speaking, Gen. McCrystal has had one too many Gen. Douglas McArthur moments.
"Never give an order that can't be obeyed." Douglas MacArthur
"I am concerned for the security of our great Nation; not so much because of any threat from without, but because of the insidious forces working from within." Douglas MacArthur
"One cannot wage war under present conditions without the support of public opinion, which is tremendously molded by the press and other forms of propaganda." Douglas MacArthur
"Like the old soldier of the ballad, I now close my military career and just fade away, an old soldier who tried to do his duty as God gave him the light to see that duty. Goodbye." Douglas MacArthur
#25
I have a .pdf copy of the article in question; saved it off Politico before they got smarter. I would be happy to send it to anybody who can host it.
#26
I would not trust anything that comes out of Rolling Stone(d) - bunch of lefty idiots. Matt Taibbi for example, is a douche of the first rate. On the same token, McChrystal has to be a monumental moron to be on the record disparaging his senior leaders to this numb-nutted rag. Totally un-professional and idiotic. If he truly doesn't believe in the mission then he ought to do the right thing and re-sign very publicly - which is the only way to send shockwaves.
BTW - I've hated Rolling Stone for abt the past decade -- The same supposed music magazine that had Eddie Van Halen not even ranked in the top 50 of greatest rock guitarits of all time. Bunch of tossers.
#27
Every high level individual that Obama has met with, from Karzai to Nicolas Sarkozy of France, on and on, felt compelled to speak out in negative terms regarding Obama. Every single one of them after being in a meeting with him.
There is something very disturbing that one comes away with after sitting down with Obama that makes you want to forget protocol and tell just tell the world about it. It must be an incredibly, incredibly unsettling experience.
#30
I would just to imput that I am acquaintances with the author, Michael Hastings.
Yeah, I'm a journalist (one of the three things Missouri is really good in). I'm not a lefty, and I don't know if Michael is (I'm never talked politics with him), but I DO KNOW that his fiance, Andi, was killed in a car bombing in Iraq two years ago. She was an aid worker, and he was in country at the time.
I also think highly enough of him that unless you've got something to show me, I think that every direct quote in the article is iron-plated gold. It's not like anybody is denying A SINGLE SENTENCE of anything that has been said.
I think some of you should calibrate that into your ad hominem rants.
#31
@ trailing wife: To my knowledge, it actually hit Twitter first. There's a Twitter, handle: "Taken for action" who released it. Yon is trying to find out who it is. But he seems to be in the Afghanistan/McCrystal hierarchy.
#32
According to the Twitter source I mentioned, the resignation is a formality, doesn't mean Obama has to accept it. But at this point, can you see how he wouldn't?
#33
General Stanley McChrystal tenders his resignation
By Toby Harnden World Last updated: June 22nd, 2010 (Telegraph)
A senior Capitol Hill source tells me that General Stanley McChrystal had tendered his resignation to President Barack Obama and that the White House is actively discussing a replacement who could be quickly confirmed by the Senate.
The source said that among the names being touted as possible successors are General James Mattis, the outgoing head of the US Joint Forces Command and due to retire after being passed over as US Marine Corps commander, and Lieutenant General William Caldwell, commander of NatoÂ’s Training Mission in Afghanistan.
1) Stan has submitted his resignation but has it been accepted?
2) Stan apologized for the article but not for the contents - and he reviewed/approved same prior publication - presumably he would anticipate this reaction and plan accordingly
#36
This episode just goes to show why gaff-prone people shouldn't be allowed to hold responsible positions.
Posted by: Joe Biden ||
06/22/2010 19:45 Comments ||
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#37
Joe Biden, I don't think this was a gaffe. I think it was planned.
Posted by: Deacon Blues ||
06/22/2010 19:47 Comments ||
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#38
What, it wasn't all intentional?
Posted by: Anna Sasin ||
06/22/2010 19:49 Comments ||
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#39
Please, ofcourse it was planned.
Posted by: Anna Sasin ||
06/22/2010 19:50 Comments ||
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#40
Please, by the time someone gets around to slander, they've usually rehearsed at least some portion of the insults they will hurl in their mind. It shouldn't come as a surprise. And I do NOT think someone this calculating would truly fly off the handle for no reason.
Posted by: Anna Sasin ||
06/22/2010 19:53 Comments ||
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#41
Neither of those possible replacements listed above is the right man for the job. The right man for the job currently does not have enough stars, but he's the guy.
Posted by: Mike N. ||
06/22/2010 20:26 Comments ||
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#44
The right man for the job currently does not have enough stars, but he's the guy.
Ghengis Khan? Attila, the Hun? Conan, the Destroyer? 'Cause I'm kinda sorta OK with the whole "crush your enemies, drive them before you and hear the lamentations of their women" thing. We can always Marshall Plan 'em after the fact.
As for McCrystal, I'm guessing he has had quite enough and no longer gives a rat's patoot.
Posted by: Frank G ||
06/22/2010 22:13 Comments ||
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#46
I've read the entire article - I don't see anything in there that is directly attributed to the General that he should either be fired for or should even apologize for. All of the quotes "from the boss" are attributed to some big mouthed aid-de-camp or exec. Now is not the time to change commanders - I don't care for McC's ROE, but hell, he is executing a well resourced plan. This ain't about egos right now - the war is in the balance. We have went "all in" and we need to execute.
Posted by: Barry Goldwater ||
06/22/2010 22:26 Comments ||
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#47
"This ain't about egos right now"
Barry, honey, it's all about ego - Bambi's supersized one. :-(
Posted by: Barbara Skolaut ||
06/22/2010 22:37 Comments ||
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Just got notice (from a very reliable source) that a judge has ruled against the Obama Adminstration, blocking their proposed 6-month moratorium on offshore drilling. Didn't see anything on the internet about it yet, so no source URL - should be something shortly. Here it is:
A New Orleans federal judge lifted the six-month moratorium on deepwater drilling imposed by President Barack Obama following the largest oil spill in U.S. history. Shares of drilling services companies jumped on the news.
Obama temporarily halted all drilling in waters deeper than 500 feet on May 27 to give a presidential commission time to study improvements in the safety of offshore operations. More than a dozen Louisiana offshore service and supply companies sued U.S. regulators to lift the ban.
U.S. District Judge Martin Feldman today granted a preliminary injunction, halting the moratorium. Government lawyers told Feldman that ban was based on findings in a U.S. report following the sinking of the Deepwater Horizon rig off the Louisiana coast in April.
"The court is unable to divine or fathom a relationship between the findings and the immense scope of the moratorium," Feldman said in his 22-page decision. "The blanket moratorium, with no parameters, seems to assume that because one rig failed and although no one yet fully knows why, all companies and rigs drilling new wells over 500 feet also universally present an imminent danger." Ouch! That's going to leave a mark! "The court cannot substitute its judgment for that of the agency, but the agency must 'cogently explain why it has exercised its discretion in a given manner," Feldman said, citing a previous ruling. "It has not done so."
The U.S. said it would appeal the decision. "Continuing to drill at these depths without knowing what happened does not make any sense," White House press secretary Robert Gibbs said.
Transocean Ltd., which leased the Deepwater Horizon to BP Plc, jumped as much as 3.5 percent in New York trading after the decision was announced. Hornbeck Offshore Services Inc., which brought the suit, surged as much as 11 percent.
The U.S. argued that the moratorium was necessary to assure public safety. "We need to make sure deepwater drilling is as safe as we thought it was the day before this incident," Brian Collins, a lawyer for the government, told Feldman in a court hearing June 21. "It is crucial to take the time because to fail to do so would be to gamble with the long-term future of this region."
BP has two pipes collecting oil and gas from the ocean floor. They collected 25,830 barrels of oil yesterday, the biggest quantity diverted from the Gulf of Mexico since the April 20 spill began, London-based BP said in a statement.
Drilling Companies
Lawyers for the drilling companies told Feldman the moratorium illegally sidesteps a required industry comment period. They also said regulators failed to tell Obama that all active deepwater rigs passed an immediate re-inspection after the Deepwater Horizon exploded and sank, with only two rigs reporting minor violations and the rest getting approval to continue operations.
Henry Dart, special counsel for the Louisiana attorney general, told Feldman that federal regulators failed to consult with state officials about the impact of the drilling ban, allegedly violating U.S. law.
Filed Separate Suit
"Even after the catastrophic events of Sept. 11, the government only shut down the airlines for three days," Louisiana said in court papers seeking to lift the ban. Diamond Offshore Co., owner of the worlds second-largest floating drilling rig fleet, has filed a separate lawsuit against the regulatory agencies over the ban in Houston federal court. That suit, which accused the government of illegally "taking" its drilling contracts, worth up to $500,000 a day, has a scheduling conference in Houston this afternoon before U.S. District Judge Nancy Atlas.
The case is Hornbeck Offshore Services LLC v. Salazar, 2:10-cv-01663, U.S. District Court, Eastern District of Louisiana (New Orleans).
Posted by: B ||
06/22/2010 13:56 ||
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#1
Here's the judge's order (minus the long list of plaintiffs):
"This Court . . .hereby finds: (1) that plaintiffs are substantially likely to prevail on the merits of their claim for the government defendantsÂ’ violations of the Outer Continental Shelf Lands Act and its implementing regulations; (2) that, in the absence of the relief requested, plaintiffs will incur immediate and irreparable harm to business including the irretrievable loss of vesselsÂ’ useful life, loss of crews that have long been associated with their particular vessels, loss of shore-side teams and disruption of longstanding contractual relationships with offshore service vendors and other satellite services for the operation of its fleet, all of which is not subject to calculation; (3) that the irreparable harm to plaintiffs should the Court decline to grant the application for the relief requested outweighs the harm which the granting of such relief may cause to any legitimate interests of defendants; and (4) that the entry of this Order will serve the interests of justice and the public interest. Accordingly,
IT IS ORDERED that Honorable Kenneth Lee “Ken” Salazar, in his official capacity as Secretary, United States Department of the Interior; United States Department of the Interior; Honorable Robert “Bob” Abbey, in his official capacity as Acting Director, Minerals Management Service; and the Minerals Management Service, their servants, agents, successor agencies, and employees, and all persons in active concert or participation with them, who receive actual Notice of this Preliminary Injunction (collectively “defendants”), and until a full trial on the merits is had, are hereby immediately prohibited from enforcing the Moratorium, entitled “Suspension of Outer Continental Shelf (OCS) Drilling of New Deepwater Wells,” dated May 28, 2010, and NTL No. 2010-N04 seeking implementation of the Moratorium, as applied to all drilling on the OCS in water at depths greater than 500 feet;
IT IS FURTHER ORDERED that defendants shall file with this Court and serve on plaintiffs within 21 days from the date of entry of this Preliminary Injunction a report in writing setting forth in detail the manner and form in which defendants have complied with the terms of this Preliminary Injunction."
Posted by: Barbara Skolaut ||
06/22/2010 15:12 Comments ||
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#2
just saw this on Fox news. Judge Napolitano says it's totally legit & ballsy.
#6
"The court is unable to divine or fathom a relationship between the findings and the immense scope of the moratorium,"
How about -
"This administration is inept and incapable of executing its duties and responsibilities, thus it is expected to take at least six months to extract our collective craniums from our rectal orifices to figure out what to do."
Oh, J. D. Hayworth. What are we going to do with you?
Phil Klein: “I understand why many Arizona Republicans would want to dump John McCain for a more conservative Senator, but I've never understood those who argue that J. D. Hayworth is the conservative who should replace McCain. Hayworth, after all, was a top recipent of donations linked to corrupt lobbyist Jack Abramoff, and was a reliable vote for President Bush's big government agenda. The weakness of Hayworth's claim to be a small government conservative was brought into sharper focus with the release of this 2007 infomercial that Hayworth recorded for the National Grants Conference, which offers seminars on how to people can get free money from government through grants.'...
The Arizona Republic quotes a Hayworth spokesman as saying he only did one commercial, but I think one misstep is all it takes to do the damage. Put aside the claims that these seminars are a scam, charging folks $999 to $1,200 for publicly available information and greatly exaggerating the availability of the federal grants. The Hayworth campaign tells NRO the former congressman has no regrets. Really, J. D.? Really? Not one iota of contemplation that maybe a former United States congressman should not be appearing in ads telling people that the federal government is just full of money and that they should be asking for more of it, at least not if he ever plan on running for office again on a platform of controlling spending and fiscal conservatism?!?
Beyond that, the ad is so tacky it makes those “Real Housewives' series look classy. You're a U.S. congressman, you're supposed to be above these sorts of things. After you leave Congress, you're supposed to make your money the old-fashioned, honest way: writing a book no one will read, teaching a class that is only for the most diehard of political geeks, trading on your connections with a fat-cat, Gucci-wearing lobbying firm, and in the case of former Ohio congressman Jim Traficant, making license plates. If we have congressman popping up in infomercials, next thing you know we'll have the President of the United States appearing in commercials for late-night shows.
Posted by: Mike ||
06/22/2010 11:13 ||
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#1
I think it was succinctly put by an Arizonan that he would rather vote for a bucket of rotting crayfish than John McCain.
J.D. Hayworth can be criticized for many things, but the Democrats both hate and fear him, which speaks highly of his character.
#2
I think it was succinctly put by an Arizonan that he would rather vote for a bucket of rotting crayfish than John McCain.
Whatever his flaws, John McCain would be vastly preferable to the bucket of rotting crayfish in the Oval Office now.
Posted by: Mike ||
06/22/2010 18:08 Comments ||
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#3
Are there no limits to the slander on Rantburg? On behalf of "buckets of rotting crayfish" everywhere, I would like to lodge a formal complaint regarding the aforementioned comparisons.
#4
Whatever his flaws, John McCain would be vastly preferable to the bucket of rotting crayfish in the Oval Office now.
This is where I generally chime in about RINOs damaging the brand to the point where people will elect just about any idiot. But that has already happened.
Still, deep in my bones I can't accept that McCain would have been better. We'd still be getting cap & trade and amnesty for illegals--but it would be a putative Republican doing it! Ouch.
And I think that when it's all over Obama will have set the stage for a real conservative to become President just as Carter set the stage for Reagan. McCain would not have done that, obviously.
White House budget director Peter Orszag plans to leave government in July, becoming the first member of President Barack Obama's Cabinet to depart, administration officials said Monday. Orszag is likely to join a think tank, colleagues said.
Presidential advisers say a possible successor as director of the Office of Management and Budget is Rob Nabors, who was Orszag's deputy and went over to the Chief of Staff's office to be a senior adviser to Rahm Emanuel. Nabors now he attends the 7:30 a.m. senior staff meeting and insiders say his stock never dropped, but only gained in value.
Two other possible replacements each served as chief economic adviser to President Bill Clinton: Laura D'Andrea Tyson of the University of California at Berkeley, named by Obama as a member of the President's Economic Recovery Advisory Board; and Gene Sperling, now a counselor to Treasury Secretary Tim Geithner.
Posted by: Fred ||
06/22/2010 08:42 ||
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Maybe they are starting to notice the faint green glow of 0bamao during the night time. And the water line seems to be going up. What would one (democ)rat do?
It's official: An 800-foot stretch of Orlando road is now named "President Barack Obama Parkway." It's my personal opinion that there should be laws against naming things after living politicians.
The City Council voted Monday to rename a short section of Mission Road between Cason Cove Drive and Conroy Road in Obama's honor. The Revolutionary Command Council voted to name the airport in Baghdad "Saddam Internatinal Airport," too.
It was a unanimous vote, but not without debate. The original proposal would have left off the title "president," because the city's 911 computer system can only handle street names of 18 characters or less (not including "street," "avenue," etc.).
Commissioner Daisy Lynum insisted the title should be included. Mayor Buddy Dyer and Commissioner Robert Stuart -- both of whom are Democrats -- disagreed, pointing out that no other streets named for presidents carry the title. "I think we all want to honor the current president, it's just a matter of what to put on the sign," Dyer said.
In the end, the title won. Commissioner Sam Ings, who pushed for the renaming, said the street will eventually be longer -- and thus, a more fitting honor -- when the city completes a road-extension project.
Posted by: Fred ||
06/22/2010 08:42 ||
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One can only assume that like Martin Luther King Boulevards nationwide wherein the vernacular becomes MLK Blvd, for expediency this becomes B.O. Boulevard? Snicker.
Posted by: Anna Sasin ||
06/22/2010 8:54 Comments ||
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#2
Volhohrad -> Stalingrad -> Volhohrad
St. Petersburg -> Leningrad -> St. Petersburg
South Carolina's unexpected Democratic nominee for the US Senate, mystery man Alvin Greene, says he wants to play golf with Barack Obama. But in Texas, another surprise Democratic primary winner, congressional nominee Kesha Rogers, wants to impeach the President. So while South Carolina party officials are still unsure of what to do about Greene's success at the ballot box, Texas Democrats have no such reservations - they wasted little time in casting Rogers into exile and offering no support or recognition of her campaign to win what once was Republican Majority Leader Tom DeLay's old seat.
Rogers, 33, told TIME she is a "full time political activist" in the Lyndon LaRouche Youth Movement, a recruiting arm of the LaRouche political organization that is active on many college campuses. The LYM espouses LaRouche opposition to free trade and "globalism" (the UN, the World Bank, the International Monetary Fund) and it also calls for a return to a humanist classical education, emphasizing the works of Plato and Leibnitz. On her professional looking campaign website, kesharogers.com, she touts the LaRouche political philosophy - a mix of support for the economic policies of President Franklin D. Roosevelt and the impeachment of President Obama - and calls Obama a "London and Wall Street backed puppet" whose policies will destroy the Democratic Party. During the campaign, she was photographed carrying an oversized portrait of the President with a Hitler-style moustache penciled on his lip....
Posted by: Mike ||
06/22/2010 07:47 ||
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with a large sign: "Save NASA. Impeach Obama."
Interesting. The LaRouchies I saw recently in Chicago had these signs and the Obama-with-Hitler-moustache posters mentioned in the article. I guess it's better not to ask "why?" when dealing with these idiots.
#3
Meanwhile, the state party has adopted a resolution denying any party support for Rogers, citing the alleged racist and discriminatory views of the LaRouche movement - allegations that Rogers, who is African-American, firmly rejects.
Democrat's playbook #1: busted.
Posted by: ed ||
06/22/2010 11:24 Comments ||
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#4
calls Obama a "London and Wall Street backed puppet"
Now that's funny, given how much our beloved president loathes anything British.
#2
It's really very simple: he's being laid off. Congress has failed to pass a budget, and with no budget, there's nothing for a budget director to direct.
Posted by: Mike ||
06/22/2010 8:38 Comments ||
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#3
one less cheap rug in Obambi's Admin
Posted by: Frank G ||
06/22/2010 10:46 Comments ||
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#4
Why do you need a budget director when there is no budget?
Posted by: ed ||
06/22/2010 10:52 Comments ||
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#5
Orszag lamely justified the stimulus bill and then even more lamely justified the Obamacare bill.
Maybe, just maybe, he got tired of the crap.
Posted by: lord garth ||
06/22/2010 11:05 Comments ||
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#6
Ah, writing checks without keeping track of the balance. That always works well.
The drilling industry estimates the moratorium will cost rig workers as much as $330 million a month in direct wages, not counting businesses servicing those rigs, like machine-shop workers.
BP and its defenders argue that the moratorium was a White House policy decision for which it shouldn't be responsible. The final deal was structured to limit the company's exposure to such claims.
BP negotiators also said the company won't pay for Mr. Obama's pledge to restore the Gulf of Mexico to a condition better than before the Deepwater Horizon exploded on April 20.
White House officials want to use the oil-spill disaster to implement long-developed plans to restore natural marshlands and waterways. Facing record budget deficits, that pledge could founder with BP balking. Always the dreamer. Because of the dispersants, it's going to be nearly impossible to clean up.
House Democrats are readying an alternative budget measure that would set next years spending levels without requiring a vote on deficits.
House Budget Committee Chairman John Spratt (D-S.C.) said the alternative would be the "functional equivalent" of a full-fledged budget. But because it won't be a traditional budget resolution, it will be silent on future deficits, which are expected to average nearly $1 trillion for the next decade.
There's just no end to the cowardice, is there.
Democrats have expressed concern about voting for a document showing lots of red ink in an election year.
A traditional budget resolution sets the discretionary spending levels and also lays out the majoritys fiscal policies for future years. Alternative budget measures, known in past years as "deeming resolutions," set spending caps but lack the statement on future spending and tax policies.
House Republicans have seized on Democrats inability to even bring up a budget resolution for consideration. Budget rules call on lawmakers to pass a budget by April 15.
Republicans had control of the House the previous four times Congress failed to approve a final budget resolution since 1974, when the current budget rules were put into place. But should Democrats move forward with an alternative budget measure, it would be the first time the House had failed to even propose a budget resolution.
"We need a real budget to stop Washington Democrats out-of-control spending spree, which is scaring the hell out of the American people, and to create jobs," said Michael Steel, spokesman for House Minority Leader John Boehner (R-Ohio).
In addition to setting spending levels for 2011, the alternative budget may have other provisions, such as squaring the pay-as-you-go law signed by President Barack Obama with the similar pay-as-you-go House rule, Spratt said. Both PAYGO measures require new tax cuts or that entitlement programs be paid for with tax increases or spending cuts, but the House PAYGO rule, in place since before the law was enacted, can be more easily bypassed than the PAYGO law.
Spratt cautioned the work isnt finished.
"It would have some other provisions we need to deal with, like maybe alignment of the statutory and House rules for PAYGO," Spratt said. "But we're making progress. I believe we're going to get to the endpoint. I don't want to misrepresent anything by saying we're there yet. We aren't. We're drawing alternatives."
A multi-volume chronology and reference guide set detailing three years of the Mexican Drug War between 2010 and 2012.
Rantburg.com and borderlandbeat.com correspondent and author Chris Covert presents his first non-fiction work detailing
the drug and gang related violence in Mexico.
Chris gives us Mexican press dispatches of drug and gang war violence
over three years, presented in a multi volume set intended to chronicle the death, violence and mayhem which has
dominated Mexico for six years.
Rantburg was assembled from recycled algorithms in the United States of America. No
trees were destroyed in the production of this weblog. We did hurt some, though. Sorry.
South Carolina's unexpected Democratic nominee for the US Senate, mystery man Alvin Greene, says he wants to play golf with Barack Obama. But in Texas, another surprise Democratic primary winner, congressional nominee Kesha Rogers, wants to impeach the President. So while South Carolina party officials are still unsure of what to do about Greene's success at the ballot box, Texas Democrats have no such reservations - they wasted little time in casting Rogers into exile and offering no support or recognition of her campaign to win what once was Republican Majority Leader Tom DeLay's old seat.
Rogers, 33, told TIME she is a "full time political activist" in the Lyndon LaRouche Youth Movement, a recruiting arm of the LaRouche political organization that is active on many college campuses. The LYM espouses LaRouche opposition to free trade and "globalism" (the UN, the World Bank, the International Monetary Fund) and it also calls for a return to a humanist classical education, emphasizing the works of Plato and Leibnitz. On her professional looking campaign website, kesharogers.com, she touts the LaRouche political philosophy - a mix of support for the economic policies of President Franklin D. Roosevelt and the impeachment of President Obama - and calls Obama a "London and Wall Street backed puppet" whose policies will destroy the Democratic Party. During the campaign, she was photographed carrying an oversized portrait of the President with a Hitler-style moustache penciled on his lip....
