Friday, February 4, 2011

Barker's Newsbites: Friday, February 4, 2011


Let's start the weekend, gang...!!!
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9 comments:

William R. Barker said...

http://abcnews.go.com/Politics/senators-issue-call-arms-lobbyists-ahead-proposed-spending/story?id=12834989&page=1

As [conservative Republicans in] Congress prepare to make deep spending cuts, an army of lobbyists is gearing up to fight back.

In an e-mail obtained by ABC News, a top [democrat] staffer for the key Senate Appropriations subcommittee called for a meeting of lobbyists and interest groups that would be affected by expected cuts to the Labor and Heath and Human Services budget.

"One thing everyone should be able to agree on now is that a rising tide lifts all boats, and that a higher [Labor, Health & Human Services] allocation improves the chances for every stakeholder group to receive more funding," the committee staffer for Sen. Tom Harkin, D-Iowa, wrote in an e-mail inviting people to the meeting.

* YEP! YOU READ THAT RIGHT, FOLKS... HARKIN AND HIS FELLOW LEFTISTS ARE CALLING FOR MORE RATHER THAN LESS SPENDING... HIGHER RATHER THAN LOWER DEFICITS... INCREASED RATHER THAN DECREASED DEBT... AND THE DEMS ARE CALLING FOR THEIR LOBBYIST ALLIES TO "FRONT" THE CHARGE.

The Jan. 24 meeting was attended by approximately 400 people, sources told ABC, and served as a "call to arms" for those determined to fight Republican budget cuts.

* NICE...

(*SMIRK*)

February 4, 2011 at 11:18 AM
William R. Barker said...

http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052748703960804576120531757210922.html?mod=WSJ_Opinion_AboveLEFTTop

Senator Jeff Sessions (R-AL) offered us his take on free trade Thursday. "We're at a point in time in America that we can't resolve every trade agreement in favor of our competitors," the Republican told us. "At some point we have to insist that trade rules be followed fairly."

(*CLAP-CLAP-CLAP*)

February 4, 2011 at 11:20 AM
William R. Barker said...

http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052748703652104576122100035445220.html?mod=WSJ_Opinion_MIDDLETopOpinion

The website of Common Cause describes the group as "a nonpartisan, grassroots organization dedicated to restoring the core values of American democracy, reinventing an open, honest and accountable government that serves the public interest, and empowering ordinary people to make their voices heard in the political process."

The bio of Common Cause's president, Bob Edgar - a former Democratic congressman from Pennsylvania - informs us that "under Bob's leadership, Common Cause is championing a number of critical issues and reforms, including the public funding of political campaigns at all levels, election reforms that make voting more accurate, secure and accessible, improved ethics at all levels of government, redistricting reform and a diverse and open media."

It all sounds very high-minded. How's it working out in practice?

* FOLKS... YOU'VE GOTTA WATCH THIS VIDEO: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E3ctO7fdrcc&feature=player_embedded

* FOLKS... YOU MIGHT WANNA CHECK THIS OUT TOO: http://biggovernment.com/chartsock/2011/02/03/white-political-ralliers-call-for-lynching-of-black-justice-sorry-msm-no-tea-in-this-blend/

* FOLKS... MAKE SURE YOU READ THE FULL WSJ ARTICLE. IF YOU CAN'T ACCESS IT VIA THE LINK, EMAIL ME AND I'LL SEND YOU AN "OPEN-SOURCE" COPY.

February 4, 2011 at 11:20 AM
William R. Barker said...

http://blogs.abcnews.com/thenote/2011/02/painful-conclusion-senators-say-fbi-dod-could-have-prevented-ft-hood-shooting.html

A new Senate report on the 2009 Fort Hood shooting blames the FBI and Department of Defense for failing to recognize or act on alleged shooter Army Major Nidal Malik Hasan’s extremist views.

* NO SHIT, SHERLOCK!

“The Fort Hood massacre resulted because of what I would call a tragedy of errors - just one after another - by organizations that normally perform effectively. But in this case - for a host of various reasons and frankly some things that are hard to explain - just totally failed to act in a way that as you look back at the evidence with the clarity of hindsight just shouts out, ‘Stop this guy before he kills somebody!’ And he was not stopped.”

The November 2009 shooting killed 13 people and wounded 32 others.

“Our report’s painful conclusion is that the Fort Hood massacre could have and should have been prevented,” Lieberman said at a press conference today.

* SO... WHO - SPECIFICALLY... NAME NAMES - HAS BEEN HELD ACCOUNTABLE AND HOW HAVE SUCH INDIVIDUALS BEEN DEALT WITH?

* OF COURSE THE ARTICLE DOESN'T ADDRESS THIS ELEPHANT IN THE ROOM... (*SMIRK*)

February 4, 2011 at 11:20 AM
William R. Barker said...

http://finance.yahoo.com/news/Shell-No-Beaufort-Sea-apf-844337881.html?x=0&sec=topStories&pos=main&asset=&ccode=

Shell Alaska has dropped plans to drill in the Arctic waters of the Beaufort Sea this year and will concentrate on obtaining permits for the 2012 season, company Vice President Pete Slaiby said Thursday.

(*SIGH*)

The recent remand of air permits issued by the Environmental Protection Agency was the final driver behind the decision, Slaiby said at a news conference.

(*GRITTING MY TEETH*)

U.S. Sen. Mark Begich, D-Alaska, blamed the Obama administration [ - specifically Obama's] EPA.

"Their foot dragging means the loss of another exploration season in Alaska, the loss of nearly 800 direct jobs and many more indirect jobs," Begich said. "That doesn't count the millions of dollars in contracting that won't happen either at a time when our economy needs the investment."

(*SIGH*)

Republican U.S. Sen. Lisa Murkowski said actions taken by the Obama administration will result in higher gasoline prices and a loss of jobs and revenue.

"We talk a lot about the economy, but rarely do our actions match our rhetoric," she said. "That's unfortunate."

* "UNFORTUNATE...???" (*JUST SHAKING MY HEAD IN DISGUST*) YEAH... I GUESS THAT'S ONE WORD FOR IT.

February 4, 2011 at 11:20 AM
William R. Barker said...

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/wikileaks/8304654/WikiLeaks-cables-US-agrees-to-tell-Russia-Britains-nuclear-secrets.html#

* SUBTITLE THIS POST: "OBAMA SHOULD BE IMPEACHED."

* SERIOUSLY, FOLKS... JUST KEEP READING...

The U.S. secretly agreed to give the Russians sensitive information on Britain’s nuclear deterrent to persuade them to sign a key treaty, The Daily Telegraph can disclose.

Information about every Trident missile the U.S. supplies to Britain will be given to Russia as part of an arms control deal signed by President Barack Obama next week.

Washington lobbied London in 2009 for permission to supply Moscow with detailed data about the performance of UK missiles. The UK refused...

* BUT OBAMA GAVE THE INFORMATION TO THE RUSSIANS ANYWAY!

Professor Malcolm Chalmers said: “This appears to be significant because while the UK has announced how many missiles it possesses, there has been no way for the Russians to verify this. Over time, the unique identifiers will provide them with another data point to gauge the size of the British arsenal.”

While the US and Russia have long permitted inspections of each other’s nuclear weapons, Britain has sought to maintain some secrecy to compensate for the relatively small size of its arsenal.

* OBAMA HAD NO RIGHT TO UNILATERALLY BETRAY OUR ALLY BRITAIN.

February 4, 2011 at 5:16 PM
William R. Barker said...

http://cnsnews.com/news/article/national-debt-jumped-another-1058-billio

The federal debt increased by $105.8 billion in January, according to the the U.S. Treasury Department...

(*HEADACHE*)

That means that in the first four months of fiscal 2011 - which began on Oct. 1, 2010 - the federal debt has increased by $569.4 billion...

(*GNASHING MY TEETH*)

As of now, fiscal 2010 is the second-ranking year in U.S. history for accumulating new federal debt. The federal debt increased by $1.89 trillion in fiscal 2009, making that the top ranking year in the history of the United States for increased federal debt. In that fiscal year, [the Democratic] Congress passed two extraordinary spending bills - the $700 billion Troubled Asset Relief Program legislation that [RINO] President George W. Bush signed in October 2008, and the $787 billion stimulus legislation that President Barack Obama signed in February 2009.

(*BANGING MY FISTS ON THE DESK IN FRUSTRATION*)

[T]he federal government’s accumulation of new debt in fiscal 2011 is currently on a pace to outstrip the new debt accumulated in fiscal 2010.

(*BITTING MY FIST*)

If the government continues accumulating debt in the final two thirds of the year as quickly as it did in the first third (October through January), then the total new debt accumulated for fiscal 2011 [will} reach $1.708 trillion.

So far this year, the [federal] government has borrowed an additional 1,844.33 for each of the 308,745,538 people in the United States as counted by the 2010 Census.

At the current rate, the federal government this fiscal year would end up borrowing approximately an additional $5,532 for every man, woman and child in the country.

As of January 31, the total federal debt stood at $14,131,051,056,010.84, which equals $45,769 per person in the United States.

February 4, 2011 at 6:37 PM
William R. Barker said...

http://www.google.com/hostednews/ap/article/ALeqM5icvkPhBDrb3c8ySkXkQURKNJ9sSw?docId=306882dbed82458e8897d5afef59d730

As a supporter of presidential candidate Barack Obama, Cynthia Stroum was a superstar whose financial backing of the campaign landed her a plum diplomatic posting in Europe.

As America's ambassador to Luxembourg, the wealthy Seattle-based businesswoman was a disaster.

According to an internal State Department report released Thursday, less than a week after she quit, Stroum's management of the U.S. Embassy in the tiny country was abysmal. The report says her tenure of about one year was fraught with personality conflicts, verbal abuse and "questionable" expenditures on travel, wine and liquor.

* YEP. SOUNDS LIKE AN OBAMA APPOINTEE.

At the State Department, [where interestingly enough] her departure was not announced,] Spokesman Mark Toner gave no hint of problems when asked about the situation. "We are grateful for her service to the United States and wish her all the best in her new endeavors," he said.

* AHH... "GREATFUL," HMM...?

The Luxembourg embassy "has underperformed for the entirety of the current ambassador's tenure," said the [State Department investigative] report, which was prepared last fall before [Stroum] resigned abruptly. "At present, due to internal problems, it plays no significant role in policy advocacy or reporting, though developments in Luxembourg are certainly of interest to Washington clients and other U.S. missions in the NATO and EU communities."

* AND THIS IS WHAT SHE'S BEING THANKED FOR...??? SEEMS TO ME A MORE APPROPRIATE RESPONSE WOULD BE TO REFER THE EX-OBAMA AMBASSADOR'S CASE TO THE JUSTICE DEPARTMENT FOR POSSIBLE PROSECUTION!

Stroum donated the maximum personal amount to Obama's campaign. As a fundraiser, records show she was responsible for ginning up at least $500,000 for Obama, putting her near the top of the campaign's money generators. She also donated $2,300 to the failed presidential campaign of former Sen. John Edwards.

* BIRDS OF A FEATHER AND ALL THAT, I SUPPOSE.

Obama nominated her to the cushy position of U.S. ambassador to the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg... Stroum's major qualification for the post appeared to be her generous contributions to Democratic politicians and causes, particularly Obama's campaign.

* WHILE SERVING AS PRESIDENT OBAMA'S AMBASSADOR... (WAIT FOR IT... WAIT FOR IT... YOU'RE GONNA LOVE IT...)...

["Stroum's] embassy purchased $3,400 in wine and liquor a day before the 2010 budget year ended in an effort spend as much of its annual entertainment funds as possible. The booze did not arrive until the next fiscal year and State Department rules say embassies are not allowed "to use excess year-end funds" to buy items unless they are used in that year.

* ALSO...

Stroum spent $2,400 to fly with an aide to a Swiss "professional school" whose graduates have gone on to work for Buckingham Palace and similar places to interview candidates to replace a retired property caretaker and a fired chef. The purpose of the trip was listed as "management meetings." [N]o one from the school was hired; [also,] such recruitment is allowed only if there are no qualified local employees. [Finally, stroum never received] proper authorization for the trip.

* FINALLY...

Stroum was reimbursed for the purchase of a new bed because she "preferred a queen bed to the king-size bed already provided." The embassy twice asked Washington to reimburse the amount but was denied because it was a personal choice. Despite the refusals, the No. 2 at the embassy signed off on a voucher "reimbursing the ambassador for the cost of the mattress out of program funds."

* SOME CREW OBAMA HANGS WITH... (*JUST SHAKING MY HEAD*)

February 4, 2011 at 6:38 PM
William R. Barker said...

http://www.nytimes.com/2011/02/05/us/05unionize.html?_r=2

[T]he director of [Obama's] Transportation Security Administration announced on Friday that a union would be allowed to bargain over working conditions on behalf of the nation’s 45,000 airport security officers, although certain issues like pay will not be subject to negotiation.

(*JUST SHAKING MY HEAD*)

* NOTICE, FOLKS... "...ANNOUNCED ON FRIDAY..."

(*SMIRK*)

“This will be President Obama’s biggest gift to organized labor,” Representative John L. Mica, Republican of Florida, the chairman of the House Transportation Committee said in a statement, adding that it was “all bad news for the traveler, the taxpayer and aviation security,” because it would limit the flexibility of the agency, despite assurances from Mr. Pistole that it would not.

February 4, 2011 at 6:38 PM

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