week in Review 7/24/10

Deficit Debacle; Obama Debt Commission Struggling to Achieve Consensus

President Obama has repeatedly promised to tackle the long-term structural deficit of this country, but when? Even his debt commission is at odds over whether it would be better to chip away at the deficit in earnest while the economy remains in such a delicate state, or after stability takes hold.

On Thursday, Mr. Obama signed a bill intended to stem government bloat by reducing federal government waste, fraud and abuse by $50 billion between now and 2012. “We have to challenge a status quo that accepts billions of dollars in waste as the cost of doing business,” the president proclaimed at the White House event.

With a report from the president’s Bipartisan National Commission on Fiscal Responsibility and Reform not due until December, public comments from its members have yet to reveal a consensus view over how to proceed with deficit reduction. Sparing no frankness, Commission Co-chair and former Republican Senator Alan Simpson said recently that the group is comprised of “good people of deep, deep difference, knowing the possibility of the odds of success are rather harrowing to say the least.” Read more.

N. Korea Threatens ‘Physical Response’ to U.S. Drills; Clinton Blasts ‘Belligerent’ Acts

HANOI, Vietnam (AP) — North Korea on Friday threatened the United States and South Korea with a “physical response” to planned weekend naval exercises as tensions with the communist nation rose in the aftermath of the sinking of a South Korean warship blamed on the North.

In Vietnam for a Southeast Asian regional security forum, Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and a North Korean official traded barbs over the ship incident, the upcoming military drills and the imposition of new U.S. sanctions against the North.

The spokesman for the North Korean delegation to the talks, Ri Tong Il, repeated Pyongyang’s denial of responsibility for the March sinking of the ship that killed 46 South Korean sailors and said the upcoming military drills were a violation of its sovereignty that harkened back to the days of 19th-century “gunboat diplomacy.” Read more.

President Obama, White House react to ‘cable chatter’

President Barack Obama has made a mantra out of insisting he and his White House won’t get caught up in “cable chatter,” with aides proudly insisting they don’t let 24-hour news outlets drive decision-making.

But this week’s forced resignation of a previously obscure Agriculture Department employee is just the latest example of Obama officials reacting to a cable news-driven obsession of the right.

It not only infuriates Obama’s liberal base, which feels like the episodes just reinforce the power of the right to push a damaging story into the mainstream press. But as this week shows, the White House’s touchiness even threatens Obama’s ability to keep control of his own public persona, or steer the national conversation in a way that’s conducive to promoting his message and his agenda. Read more.

10 nations join Mexican opposition to Arizona law, politician says

(CNN) — Mexico has received the support of parliamentary leaders from 10 nations in opposition to Arizona’s controversial new immigration law, the Mexican Senate president said Wednesday.

Mexico and the other nations signed a declaration expressing their “strong condemnation and profound rejection of the law,” said Senate President Carlos Navarrete Ruiz.

The Arizona law, which is scheduled to go into effect later this month, requires anyone being investigated by police for a possible crime to provide proof of legal residency.

Opponents say the measure is discriminatory and invites racial profiling, but supporters say it’s necessary to curb the flood of illegal immigrants in the border state. Read more.

Climate bill on the ropes

The Senate climate bill has been at death’s door several times over the past year. But with the days before the August recess quickly slipping away, the case may truly be terminal now.

Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) has wanted to introduce a sweeping energy and climate bill by next week, and Reid even told POLITICO on Monday night that the package was almost ready to go.

But by Tuesday afternoon, Reid was noncommittal about when a bill would come or what it would contain.

“We’re going to make a decision in the near future,” Reid said, describing plans for a Democratic caucus on the issue Thursday. “We’re really not at a point where I can determine what I think is the best for the caucus and the country at this stage.” Read more.

Republicans See Path to Control of Senate

WASHINGTON—Democrats for the first time are acknowledging that Republicans could retake the Senate this November if everything falls into place for the GOP, less than two years after Democrats held a daunting 60-seat majority.

Leaders of both parties have believed for months that Republicans could win the House, where every lawmaker faces re-election. But a change of party control in the Senate, where only a third of the members are running and Republicans must capture 10 seats, seemed out of the question. Read More.

GOP senators: Obama failing in oil clean-up

Just days after BP temporarily plugged the massive oil leak in the Gulf of Mexico, Senate Republicans on Sunday lashed out at the Obama administration for failing to clean up America’s soiled shoreline.

Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) told CNN’s “State of the Union” that the administration was suffering from incompetence.

“This is mainly a failure of the administration,” McConnell said. “BP caused the spill. It’s BP’s responsibility to plug that leak. The federal government has been trying to keep the oil off the shores of the United States. It took the administration 70 days to order [oil-collecting] skimmers down to the Gulf.” Read more.

Week in Review 7/17/10

RALEIGH — The first tax under ObamaCare is a 10 percent sales tax on indoor tanning salons. The Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act required tanning salons to start collecting the tax July 1. However, business owners across the country are unsure of details related to the tax, because the IRS released its rules only weeks before the deadline.

The influential American Academy of Dermatology pushed for the inclusion of the tax, which is projected to collect $2.7 billion over 10 years. But the academy hopes individuals will stop patronizing indoor tanning salons altogether, which would result in the collection of no tax revenues.

To watch CarolinaJournal.tv's full report on the tanning tax, click on the video.

Rev. Peterson Repudiates NAACP’s Anti-Tea Party Resolution and Blasts Michelle Obama for Embracing Racist Black Group

LOS ANGELES, July 14 /Standard Newswire/ — Rev. Jesse Lee Peterson (photo), Founder and President of BOND Action, is repudiating the NAACP (National Association for The Advancement of Colored People) for passing a resolution condemning members of the conservative Tea Party movement as “racists.” The NAACP is charging Tea Party members with using “racial epithets” and accusing them of engaging in “explicitly racist behavior.” Rev. Peterson is calling the NAACP’s claims “baseless” and is blasting First Lady Michelle Obama for appearing as the keynote speaker at their annual convention. The following is Rev. Peterson’s statement:

“This resolution is a politically motivated attack by the NAACP designed to smear, intimidate, and derail a great conservative grass roots movement. Where’s the NAACP’s resolution condemning the New Black Panther Party and its members for advocating the killing of ‘white crackers’ and ‘white babies’? Where’s their proof of ‘racist’ Tea Party behavior? This is the height of hypocrisy.

“The NAACP is a racist and bigoted group. And shame on Michelle Obama for embracing their racist platform. Instead of condemning this hateful resolution and rebuking the organization, she encouraged them to ‘increase their intensity.’ This is pure wickedness. Read more.

Governors: Obama’s Immigration Suit Is ‘Toxic’

Democratic governors expressed “grave” concerns to White House officials this weekend about the Obama administration’s suit against Arizona’s new immigration law, warning it could cost the party in crucial elections this fall, The New York Times reported late Sunday.

The closed-door meeting took place at the National Governors Association in Boston on Saturday, according to two unnamed governors who spoke to the Times.

“Universally the governors are saying, ‘We’ve got to talk about jobs, and all of a sudden we have immigration going on,’” Gov. Phil Bredesen of Tennessee, a Democrat, was quoted as saying. “It is such a toxic subject, such an important time for Democrats.”

The Arizona law, which is facing a U.S. Justice Department challenge, requires police to question people about their immigration status while enforcing other laws if there’s reason to suspect someone is in the country illegally. Read more.

Terror Experts Blast Obama Move to Drop References to Islamic Extremism

WASHINGTON — The Obama administration’s recent move to drop references to Islamic radicalism is drawing fire in a new report warning the decision ignores the role religion can play in motivating terrorists.

Several prominent counterterror experts are challenging the administration’s shift in its recently unveiled National Security Strategy, saying the terror threat should be defined in order to fight it.

The question of how to frame the conflict against Al Qaeda and other terrorists poses a knotty problem. The U.S. is trying to mend fences with Muslim communities while toughening its strikes against militant groups. Read more.

States Can’t Count on Bailout, Obama Appointees Say

(Bloomberg) — States can’t count on the federal government for more budget bailouts, the heads of President Barack Obama’s debt commission told governors.

States expecting Congress to authorize more assistance are “going to be left with a very large hole to fill,” said Erskine Bowles, co-chairman of the National Commission on Fiscal Responsibility and Reform. States including New York and California have urged Congress to extend stimulus spending authorized to combat the recession, including extra Medicaid funding and money to pay public school teachers.

“I don’t think we can count on the federal government again,” Bowles, White House chief of staff under former President Bill Clinton, said yesterday at the National Governors Association meeting in Boston. “They just do not have the financial resources.” Read more.

Obama Raises $500,000 for Robin Carnahan in Missouri Senate Race

KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) — With a handshake and hug, President Barack Obama embraced Democratic Senate candidate Robin Carnahan on Thursday, while proclaiming that she would be an independent voice if elected.

Obama appeared with Carnahan at a pair of Kansas City fundraisers that her campaign said would bring in at least $500,000. It marked the first time the president has campaigned with Carnahan, who was noticeably absent when Obama came to Missouri in March to raise money for Democratic Senate candidates.

Obama drew a fine line in his praise of Carnahan on Thursday as he defended his own policies on the economy, health care and energy. He portrayed Carnahan both as a loyal supporter and someone unafraid to take her own stand.

“We are moving in the right direction and I know that Robin Carnahan gets it — she’s going to help us keep on moving in the right direction,” Obama said during a fundraiser that drew about 750 people to the Folly Theater. Read more.

Obama DOJ corruption case has ties to Robin Carnahan

Barack Obama visited Kansas City on Thursday, July 8th, ostensibly to highlight the products of Smith Electric Vehicles (SEV) which produces electric delivery vehicles.

SEV’s web site claims its vehicles “dramatically reduce noise and deadly exhaust” as well as reduce energy and maintenance costs. Obama claimed credit for creating jobs at SEV, all 50 of them, while the current first time unemployment claims revealed another 450 thousand jobless Americans. Smith is the recipient of $32 million in government grants. SEV is owned by private investors, senior management, and a British firm, Tanfield Group, PLC.

But the real reason for Obama’s visit was to campaign for Robin Carnahan, current Missouri Secretary of State and Democrat candidate for the U.S. Senate seat currently held by Republican, Christopher “Kit” Bond. Bond is retiring. Carnahan’s Republican opponent likely will be Congressman, Roy Blunt. Read more.

week in Review 6/12/10

Let Freedom Ring

Ronald Reagan’s Responds to Obama’s Campaign Promises

Senators criticize Geithner over stance on China’s currency

WASHINGTON — Democratic and Republican senators alike pilloried Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner on Thursday for refusing to label China a currency manipulator and for ignoring a congressional mandate to issue a report on China’s exchange-rate practices.

Few issues spark bipartisan agreement in Congress like criticism of administrations for refusing to get tough with China over its fixed exchange rate. Critics charge that China sets the yuan at an unfairly low rate against the U.S. dollar, making American products more expensive in China and Chinese products cheaper here, exacerbating the U.S. trade deficit and holding down U.S. export-driven jobs.

“I’m not sure what this administration’s policy is … and I don’t see a China economic framework,” complained Senate Finance Committee Chairman Max Baucus, D-Mont., adding that federal agencies lack a cohesive strategy for dealing with China. Read more.

A Message from Ronald Reagan

Dems ask Alvin Greene to pull out of U.S. Senate race

COLUMBIA, S.C. (AP) — A day after an unemployed veteran charged with a felony shocked S.C. Democrats by winning the U.S. Senate primary, party officials were still scratching their heads: What happened?

Alvin Greene, 32, didn’t raise any money. He didn’t have a website. And his opponent was a better-known former legislator, Vic Rawl, who was already preparing for the general election.

Greene was considered such a long shot that his opponent and media didn’t even bother to check his background. If they had, they would have discovered he faces a felony obscenity charge after an alleged encounter with a college student last fall. Read more.

Palin’s backing pays off for pals

Some of Sarah Palin’s riskiest endorsements scored major victories Tuesday for the former Alaska governor, showing off her power in Republican primaries.

Palin had four primary endorsements in play – Carly Fiorina, Nikki Haley, Terry Branstad and Cecile Bledsoe – and three won or moved on to a runoff.

Palin served different roles for each candidate – sometimes spotlighting conservatives not well known to the national scene while at others validating conservative credentials to an unsure grassroots and even stepping in to deflect nasty attacks.

Perhaps Palin’s most powerful demonstration came in South Carolina, where her endorsement propelled a major swing in the polls for Haley’s primary campaign for governor and sustained the state representative through accusations of two separate affairs. Read more.

Banking System Collapse: Wake Up America Your Banks Are Dying

U.S. banks are being shut down by federal regulators at a staggering pace this year, and yet most Americans seem completely oblivious to it. In fact, federal officials have already shut down 81 U.S. banks this year, which is about double the number that were shut down at this time last year. So why aren’t more people upset about this?

Well, part of the reason is because the FDIC is doing it very, very quietly. The bank closings for each week are announced every Friday, which means that they pass through the news cycle over the weekend almost unnoticed. For example, banks in Nebraska, Mississippi and Illinois with total deposits of almost $2.3 billion were shut down by federal regulators on Friday. So did you hear about it before now? If not, why not? Shouldn’t the fact that we are experiencing a banking system collapse be headline news? But most Americans are more than happy to remain blissfully ignorant of what is going on. Read more.

Obama Tells Graduating Class, ‘Don’t Make Excuses,’ Drawing GOP Taunts

Don’t point fingers. Don’t make excuses. Don’t pass the buck.

That was the advice President Obama gave to a graduating high school class in Michigan Monday night — advice that sent off an irony alert among Republicans who accuse the president of having “spent his tenure” doing exactly that.

Obama offered his guidance during the commencement speech at Kalamazoo Central High School.

“Don’t make excuses. Take responsibility not just for your successes, but for your failures as well,” he told the graduates. “The truth is, no matter how hard you work, you won’t necessarily ace every class or succeed in every job. There will be times when you screw up, when you hurt the people you love, when you stray from your most deeply held values. Read more.

America’s Election HQ: Primary Races in 11 States Make for Busy Election Day Across Nation

Another round of key primaries will be held on Tuesday and incumbents are finding their seats challenged by political newcomers as well as local and state candidates in a political season marked by an anti-Washington mood.

Eleven states are holding primary contests Tuesday.

Arkansas Sen. Blanche Lincoln faces off against Lt. Gov. Bill Halter in a Democratic primary runoff, while in Nevada Harry Reid will finally get an opponent in the Republican race to challenge the Senate majority leader.

California Sen. Barbara Boxer, who is potentially endangered, will learn her challenger as voters in the state also decide who will win the Democratic and Republican nominations for the seat being vacated by term-limited two-term Republican Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger. Read more.

First victim of health care overhaul?

A Virginia-based insurance company says “considerable uncertainties” created by the Democrats’ health care overhaul will force it to close its doors by the end of the year.

The firm, nHealth, appears to be the first to claim that the new law has driven it out of business. “We don’t know what the rules are going to be and, as a start-up, our investors need certainty,” nHealth CEO and president, Paul Kitchen, told POLITICO. “The law created so much uncertainty that is beyond our control.”

In a letter to the company’s 50 or so employees last week, executive vice president James Slabaugh said nHealth has stopped accepting new group customers and will terminate all business by Dec. 31, 2010.

“The uncertainties in the regulatory climate coupled with new demands imposed by national healthcare reforms have made it challenging to sustain the level of sales required to remain viable over the long run,” Slabaugh wrote. Read more.

Timing of probe is crucial for Charlie Rangel

With the investigation of Rep. Charles Rangel nearing its second anniversary, the New York Democrat and the House ethics committee face a new challenge — the political calendar.

Rangel, a member of Congress since 1971, filed for reelection Sunday, and the Democratic primary in New York is Sept. 14.

If the ethics committee releases a damaging report on Rangel before the Sept. 14 primary, it could be a death blow to the Harlem congressman’s storied career and open the door to a serious Democratic challenge, Democratic colleagues and party strategists said.

But if the ethics committee’s findings come out after the primary, Rangel will very likely survive and win a 21st term in the House. Still, that timing would raise questions about the ethics committee’s process and whether the investigative panel was too aware of the political calendar. Read more.

Buying the lie: ‘Something for nothing’

I suppose it was just plain greed that got us to this point.

Isn’t that one of the Seven Deadly Sins? So maybe we should not be surprised to see the country brought to its knees by avarice.

But it’s not the “greedy” bankers and industrialists whom we have to blame. Remember, it’s the bankers and industrialists who create the jobs that give the rest of us an opportunity to make something of ourselves in the first place. Sure, some of them will earn their place in hell, but those few people could not bring down the whole country.

For that, we must blame ourselves. Read more.

Five economic clues to 2010 election

Yet again, it’s the economy, stupid.

Political observers of every stripe agree it will be the deciding factor in November’s midterm elections. And between now and Election Day, there will be key milestones to measure just where the economy is heading — and perhaps more importantly, where voters think it is heading.

Here are five indicators that campaign strategists will be watching for:

1. August jobs report

The government’s monthly jobs reports have become the single most important proxy to measure the economic health of the nation and the political health of the Obama administration, with a significant portion of political Washington glued to computer screens at 8:30 a.m. on the first Friday of each month, waiting for the results.

Friday’s number, for example showed that the U.S. economy generated 431,000 jobs, a number that fell short of analysts’ expectations and cast doubt on whether the country is steadily digging itself out of a deep unemployment. Voters will also keep an eye on the unemployment rate, which ticked down to 9.7 percent in May, and they will be looking for signs of progress. Read more.

Week in Review 6/5/10

Without any boundaries, we live in chaos

It’s time to wake up America, and smell the coffee before we become toast! The question, “Is it morning for America, or has our day in the sun passed?” has often been asked.

Well, there is no doubt that dark days have descended on this republic. When President Barrack Obama, Attorney General Eric Holder and Secretary of Homeland Security Janet Napolitano demean, defame and ridicule the duly elected legislature, the governor, and the people of Arizona for protecting their property, we are indeed in trouble.

All admit they have not read the law. Well, why not apply the government program adopted to encourage children to read, to the executive branch? Read more.

Wake up, America

You might think that Europe’s economic turmoil would inject a note of urgency into America’s budget debate. After all, high government deficits and debt are the roots of Europe’s problems, and these same problems afflict the United States. But no. Most Americans, starting with the nation’s political leaders, dismiss what’s happening in Europe as a continental drama with little relevance to them.

What Americans resolutely avoid is a realistic debate about the desirable role of government. How big should it be? Should it favor the old or the young? Will social spending crowd out defense spending? Will larger government dampen economic growth through higher deficits or taxes? No one engages this debate, because if rigorously conducted, it would disappoint both liberals and conservatives.

Confronted with huge spending increases — reflecting an aging population and soaring health costs — liberals would have to concede that benefits and spending ought to be reduced. Seeing that total government spending would rise even after these cuts (more people would receive benefits, even if benefit levels fell), conservatives would have to concede the need for higher taxes. On both left and right, true believers would howl. Read more.

Right, Left Pan Obama Border Plan

Rep. Luis Gutierrez (D-Ill.) said Sunday that President Barack Obama has so far lacked the “political will” and “political courage” to resolve the contentious issue of illegal immigration.

The liberal Chicago congressman and conservative former Rep. J.D. Hayworth, running for the Republican Senate nomination in Arizona, seemed to agree on one thing, though for very different reasons, in a joint interview on NBC’s “Meet the Press:” The president’s plan to send as many as 1,200 National Guard troops to the Arizona border is more political than practical.

For Hayworth, the troop level is too low to keep illegal immigrants out of the country. For Gutierrez, sending troops to the border is an easy political act that ignores significant questions of what to do with immigrants currently in the country illegally. Read more.

Issa: Explanation of Sestak Deal Is Bad Cover-Up of Crime

A California congressman who called it an “impeachable” offense for the administration to offer Rep. Joe Sestak a job in exchange for his quitting a Senate bid said Sunday the cover-up, as usual, appears worse than the crime.

Republican Rep. Darrell Issa said the explanation for the Sestak affair — that former President Bill Clinton offered the Democratic congressman an unpaid position on an advisory board if he would drop his challenge against party-switching Pennsylvania Sen. Arlen Specter — is not plausible because as a sitting congressman Sestak couldn’t have served on a presidential commission.

“It’s a crime because they’ve admitted that they offered this position … So that begs the real question. Do we believe this is a further cover-up because he’s — they’re now talking about a job that President Clinton himself should have known Sestak couldn’t take? ” he said. Read more.

Netanyahu cancels White House visit

CHICAGO — Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has cancelled a scheduled meeting with President Barack Obama Tuesday in the wake of Israeli military action to block a flotilla bringing aid to the Gaza Strip. At least 10 people were killed in the attack.

The incident underscores how tenuous and difficult Middle East peace negotiations have been for Obama. It follows a long stretch of mounting tensions between the United States and Israel that had just begun to deescalate as the White House, under fire for taking a hard line with the Israelis, had moved to mend relations.

Obama spoke to Netanyahu by phone between 11 a.m. and 11:15 a.m. Eastern on Monday. Obama “said he understood the Prime Minister’s decision to return immediately to Israel to deal with today’s events. They agreed to reschedule their meeting at the first opportunity,” the White House said in a statement. Read more.

GOP sees a way to revive old debate

President Barack Obama spent the last year insisting he doesn’t want to turn the American health care system into a carbon copy of the government-run British system.

But Obama’s pick to run Medicaid and Medicare — Donald Berwick — is a pediatrician and Harvard University professor with a self-professed “love” of the British system.

Berwick has called Britain’s National Health Service “one of the greatest health care institutions in human history” and “a global treasure.” He once said it sets an “example” for the United States to follow. And his decadelong efforts to improve the NHS were so well-regarded that Queen Elizabeth granted him an honorary knighthood in 2005.

Now Senate Republicans are vowing to press their case against Obama’s sweeping new health care law by challenging Berwick’s nomination — just in time to resurrect the brutal yearlong health reform battle ahead of the midterm elections. Read more.

Brewer Says She’s Ready for Potential Federal Court Challenge Over Immigration Law

Bring it on.

That’s the attitude Arizona Gov. Jan Brewer is taking toward the possibility that the Obama administration could file a legal challenge to her state’s immigration law.

“We’ll meet you in court,” she said in an interview Tuesday. “I have a pretty good record of winning in court.”

Attorney General Eric Holder has said the Department of Justice may challenge the law, which President Obama has called “misguided.” Brewer has staunchly defended the policy — which makes illegal immigration a state crime — and is expected to meet with the president Thursday, a White House official told FoxNews.com. Read more.

Anti-incumbency takes down another congressman

MONTGOMERY, Ala. (AP) – The political shooting-star otherwise known as anti-incumbency fell on Alabama, taking down a first-term congressman who switched from Democrat to Republican just last December.

The hotly-contested health care overhaul was among the issues working against Rep. Parker Griffith, voted out by Republicans Tuesday in the 5th Congressional District in favor of Madison County Commissioner Mo Brooks. With tea party support and the backing of local GOP leaders still bitter about losing to Griffith in 2008, Brooks won Tuesday’s primary with slightly more than 50 percent of the vote in a three-candidate field.

Griffith’s ouster came on a day in which Rep. Artur Davis lost his bid to become Alabama’s first black governor in the state’s Democratic primary and New Mexico’s gubernatorial primary set up a general election to decide who becomes the state’s first female governor. Read more.

US defense chief blames Chinese military for lack of progress in improving ties to US

Singapore (AP) — U.S. Defense Secretary Robert Gates says China’s military isn’t as interested in developing a better relationship with the United States as its political leaders are.

Gates says he is disappointed that China disinvited him for a proposed visit that he had hoped would signal stronger ties between the U.S. and Chinese militaries.

Gates is in Singapore for three days of security talks with Asian powers. He had hoped to visit China afterward.

Gates says establishing better ties between the militaries could provide clarity and confidence for both sides. He says the U.S.-Chinese military relationship lags behind the political and economic ones.

In a speech this weekend, Gates will tell other Asian powers that the U.S. and China cannot afford to be in the dark about one another’s intentions.

Carville doesn’t regret ripping W.H.

James Carville walked into one of his favorite New Orleans eateries, Eleven 79, Tuesday night — and was stunned to find BP CEO Tony Hayward and Coast Guard Adm. Thad Allen, the two men tasked with stopping the Gulf spill, eating dinner together.

Hayward, looking up from his Gulf shrimp and pasta, wasted no time defending his embattled and vilified company — to the rail-thin Democratic operative who has come to embody the growing popular disgust at BP and the federal government.

“You’ve said some harsh things,” Hayward said, according to Carville, who sat with the pair for about 30 minutes — the time it took the Louisiana-born Democratic consultant to polish off a Maker’s Mark. Read more.

BP’s Shaky Financial Condition Spurs Talk of U.S. Takeover

Each day oil continues to spew into the Gulf of Mexico, investors are shaving billions of dollars off of BP’s value and raising the uncomfortable prospect of the British oil giant collapsing into the arms of the U.S. government as Wall Street and the auto industry did.

A grassroots campaign called Seize BP is protesting in more than 50 cities from Thursday through Saturday. And a former labor secretary has urged President Obama to take over BP, at least temporarily, until the oil spill is stopped.

Analysts said it appeared unlikely that the U.S. could or, if even possible, would take over BP in the event of its demise but didn’t rule out the possibility.

James Gattuso, a senior research fellow in regulatory policy at the conservative Heritage Foundation, told FoxNews.com that it is more likely that a British bankruptcy court would put BP into receivership and continue the cleanup efforts. Read more.

US National Deficit Hits $13 Trillion

So just how big is the U.S. national debt in 2010? Well, according to the U.S. Treasury Department, on June 1st, the U.S. National Debt was $13,050,826,460,886.97. For those not used to seeing such big numbers, that is over 13 trillion dollars. To give you an idea of just how much a trillion dollars is, if you had started spending one million dollars every single day when Christ was born, you still would not have spent one trillion dollars by now. And yet somehow the U.S. government has accumulated a debt of over 13 trillion dollars. This is a debt that we have callously placed on the backs of future generations of Americans. Somehow we have the gall to expect our progeny to pay off the biggest mountain of debt in the history of the world. What we have done to future generations is beyond sickening.

But hey, if you are feeling especially generous today, the federal government is actually taking online donations that will go towards paying off the national debt. Read more.

Week in Review 5/22/10

Cafferty Slams Obama and Dems For Their Response To Arizona Immigration Law Video

Senate primaries will test depth of anger at incumbents

WASHINGTON — Voters in four states will go to the polls Tuesday in primary elections that could offer the best window so far into the level of anti-incumbent, anti-establishment sentiment in the electorate.

Arkansas, Kentucky, Oregon and Pennsylvania hold primaries Tuesday, and political observers are paying close attention to all but Oregon, where incumbent Democratic Sen. Ron Wyden is expected to win handily.

Democrats and Republicans are sweating over Senate contests in Arkansas, Kentucky and Pennsylvania, which are considered prime tests of voter discontent with incumbents and the power of the tea party movement. Read more.

Pence: No European bailouts

Rep. Mike Pence (R-Ind.), the third-ranking House Republican and a possible 2012 presidential candidate, will use a speech Friday before the National Rifle Association to highlight his opposition to using American tax dollars to bail out European countries.

Seizing on conservative anger toward the federal government’s financial assistance for U.S. banks and auto companies and the recent headlines about Greece’s economic woes, Pence and a group of other House Republicans have introduced symbolic legislation that would halt American involvement in any International Monetary Fund aid to European Union nations.

“I just don’t believe American taxpayers should be forced to bear the risk of nations that have avoided making tough choices,” Pence said in an interview previewing his remarks to the gun-rights group’s convention in Charlotte. Read more.

See No Radical Islam, Hear No Radical Islam

On May 13, Rep. Lamar Smith (R-TX) confronted Attorney General Eric Holder about whether radical Islam was the motivating factor in the terrorist plots against the United States over the past year. Rather than acknowledge the religious-ideological threat posed to us, Holder continued the Obama Administration’s pattern of trying to avoid using terms like “radical Islam” and “Islamic terrorism.”

Rep. Smith repeatedly prodded at Holder, who tried to fend off the attack by saying, “There are a variety of reasons why people do things. Some of them are potentially religious.”

Unsatisfied with the lack of clarity, Rep. Smith continued to ask him, “Are you uncomfortable attributing any other actions to radical Islam?” Holder replied by saying, “No, I don’t want to say anything negative about a religion…” Read more.

Five who flipped on health care

They were the difference makers on health care reform: House Democrats who flipped from opposing the plan to supporting it, delivering a win on President Barack Obama’s signature domestic issue.

Now, they are also among the Democrats’ most vulnerable incumbents, and none is building a reelection message around their famous vote.

That runs counter to the advice of Democratic pollster John Anzalone and House Democratic leaders, who argue incumbents should highlight popular provisions. “I’d go to camera and say this is why I took this vote — I took it for the people of this district because it’s wrong to be dropped for pre-existing conditions. You shouldn’t be dropped because you’re sick,” Anzalone said. Read more.

Palin Calls Huntsman Out

Even though Jon Huntsman, Jr. stopped pretending not to run for president to become President Obama’s ambassador to China, associates of the former Utah Governor say that he will return to the U.S. as a proud Republican and will probably try to position himself for a 2016 run. The thinking is that the GOP will have shaken off the willies by then and be ready to modernize. In any event, Sarah Palin has today called out Amb. Huntsman in a Tweet, which marks the first time, I believe, that Palin has referenced a fellow Republican and potential presidential aspirant in a provocative way. She’s referring to reports that Assistant Sec. of State Michael Posner intended to admit to China that the United States’s human rights record wasn’t always exemplary, citing the Arizona immigration law is an example. This humility, apparently, is a way for the administration to ease into a discussion of China’s human rights’ record. Such is the outrage of the day for conservatives … and even neutrally, comparing China’s regular and brutal and unapologetic detention of political dissidents to the temporary detention of citizens caught without papers is … a tough case to make. Here’s Palin’s Tweet:

AZ’s pro-border security law invokes apology to China(w/its human rights violations)by U.S. State Dept;Surely Ambassador Huntsman disagrees?

Anti-terror funds belong in N.Y.

There’s not much of an argument, surely, over the very uneasy reality that New York City is the most vulnerable place in America to terrorism. Any doubts about that ought to have been erased in the aftermath of a foiled car bombing in Times Square two weeks ago.


The devastation and carnage that Faisal Shahzad’s failed plot might have brought have to be considered in the context of all the death and trauma that did occur in the attacks on the World Trade Center in 1993 and again on Sept. 11, 2001.

Why can’t there be a similar sense of unanimity and clarity of purpose, then, in the nation’s determination to protect New York City from subsequent acts of terrorism? What ought to be a united front within the federal government instead reveals strains and divisions over whether the city is getting its appropriate share of homeland security money. Read more.

Obama endorsements don’t seem to help Democrats

WASHINGTON (AP) — The role of endorser in chief isn’t working so well for President Barack Obama.

Sen. Arlen Specter became the fourth Democrat in seven months to lose a high-profile race despite the president’s active involvement, raising doubts about Obama’s ability to help fellow Democrats in this November’s elections.

The first three candidates fell to Republicans. But Specter’s loss Tuesday to Rep. Joe Sestak in Pennsylvania’s Democratic senatorial primary cast doubts on Obama’s influence and popularity even within his own party – and in a battleground state, no less. Read more.

Joe Sestak defeats Arlen Specter, Rand Paul wins, Democrats claim victory in PA special election

Pennsylvania Rep. Joe Sestak defeated Sen. Arlen Specter in the Democratic Senate primary, a large-scale political upset that ends the career of one of the enduring figures in Pennsylvania politics.

“This election is about you,” said Sestak in his victory speech. “This is what democracy looks like: a win for the people, over the establishment, over the status quo, even over Washington, D.C.”

Specter, who is 80 years old and has served since 1980 in the Senate, called it a “great privilege” to have served in the Senate and added that he would “be working very, very hard for the people of the commonwealth in the coming months.” Read more.

The Arizona Immigration SB 1070 Bill

Click here to read the 16 page bill.

Senators press for National Guard troops on border

WASHINGTON (AP)– Homeland Security and Pentagon officials are at loggerheads over a plan to send National Guard troops to the U.S.-Mexico border, even as President Barack Obama is pledging to bolster security there.

The Guard stalemate has festered for nearly a year, and frustrated lawmakers are demanding action to stem the spread of violence and drug trafficking that has spilled across the border into their states. The inaction raises questions about whether the White House is convinced the federally funded deployment is necessary, or whether border states will be forced to bear the costs of dispatching the Guard troops on their own.

Speaking at the White House on Wednesday with Mexican President Felipe Calderon, Obama said the U.S. is committed to standing with Mexico against the drug cartels. Read more.

Missouri Auto Parts Dealer Khalid Ouazzani Pleads Guilty of Funding Al Qaeda

An auto parts dealer in Kansas city who had sworn allegiance to Al Qaeda pleaded guilty on Wednesday of participating in conspiracy to provide financial support to the terror outfit.

The 32 year old dealer, Khalid Ouazzani, became a naturalized U.S. citizen in 2006, admitted sending $23,500 to al-Qaeda between August 2007 and mid-2008.

He had spoken with others about ways to help al Qaeda including plans to support them in their fight in Afghanistan, Iraq or Somalia, US Attorney Beth Phillps did not think that Khalid poses a threat to the Kansas city area. Read more.

Legislation Will Hurt Small Business SB829

The House Commerce, Small Business and Entrepreneurship Committee will consider legislation on Wednesday that will augment the power and widen the profit margins of large corporations at the expense of small businesses and citizens. The bill, Regulation of Appraisal Management Companies (SB829), will, as currently written, place onerous regulations and assess fees on these companies that will disproportionately affect small business and bolster the market share and power of large corporations.

To qualify for registration, companies must register with the state, pay a filing fee of $5,000 and pay a subsequent annual free of $2,500. Large companies will much more easily be able to pay these registration fees while smaller appraisal management firms, the small businesses that create jobs, opportunity and wealth for many North Carolinians, will be burdened excessively, perhaps to the point of being unprofitable. Furthermore, companies that are able to pay the fee will simply pass along the added expense to consumers, making it more expensive for North Carolinians to do business. Read more.