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.

Week in Review 04/10/10

Obama takes on talkers

Barack Obama’s tongue-lashing of conservative talk-show titans Rush Limbaugh and Glenn Beck this week could prove a winner for both sides.

The president gets a boost with his base and may win over some independents by tying his political opponents to two of the nation’s most polarizing figures.

But the conservative talkers get presidential confirmation that they’re at the center of the political debate — together with a collection of sound bytes that will fuel their shows for days to come. Read more.

Republicans dispute course of financial overhaul

WASHINGTON (AP) – End the public lifeline for large financial institutions, Republicans are demanding as they push back against Democratic efforts to set new rules for the financial industry.

The GOP is trying to fight many of the changes that President Barack Obama and majority Democrats want. Legislation would give the government authority to split up big financial companies and force the industry to pay for its most massive failures.

Republicans have offered alternative legislation that calls for new bankruptcy proceedings to dismantle failing institutions. Rep. Kevin McCarthy of California, a member of the House Financial Services Committee, said that creating more federal agencies and putting taxpayers on the hook for more bailouts will not help revive the economy. Read more.

Hundreds show president their anger, frustration

Charlotte — President Barack Obama’s motorcade, headed to Charlotte’s airport Friday, passed through an American political divide that seemed as wide as six-lane Carowinds Boulevard.

On the corner anchored by the Tilted Kilt pub, a couple of hundred tea party protesters lined the street. “Throw them out! Throw them out!” they chanted, and stabbed thumbs down as the president passed. A hand-lettered sign, one of dozens, waved: “Somewhere in Kenya a village is missing its idiot.”

Across the boulevard, a largely black crowd sprinkled with the red, white and blue of a few Obama detractors squinted into the midday sun and shouted back: “Obama! Obama! Obama!” Read more.

Senate challenges signal deep unrest

How deep does the anti-Washington sentiment run? The number of senators in both parties facing serious primary challenges this year — a figure that has grown in the past six weeks — offers a clue.

Five senators, three Democrats and two Republicans, face the real prospect of being denied their party’s nomination this year: Sens. Bob Bennett (R-Utah), Michael Bennet (D-Colo.), Arlen Specter (D-Pa.), John McCain (R-Ariz.) and Blanche Lincoln (D-Ark.).

In most cases, the incumbents are still the front-runners. But the mere fact that their challengers are within striking distance is notable, given the rarity of senators being denied renomination by their party. Read more.

White House Denies Charges of Caving to China on Currency

A prominent Democratic senator on Sunday suggested that the Obama administration was letting China slide on possible currency manipulation in exchange for help on Iran sanctions — something the White House flatly denied.

Democratic Sen. Arlen Specter, reacting to news that the White House was delaying its report to Congress on whether China is manipulating its currency, told “Fox News Sunday” he’s concerned the administration could be missing a chance to help U.S. workers get on a level playing field.

The report was originally scheduled for release by April 15, around the time Chinese President Hu Jintao is visiting Washington for nuclear talks. Read more.

US unveiling new, more restrictive nuclear policy

WASHINGTON (AP) – The Obama administration is unveiling a new nuclear weapons policy that seeks to narrow the circumstances under which the United States would use such weapons while preserving long-standing assurances of nuclear protection for allies, U.S. officials said.

It is a delicate balance that the administration will describe in a policy document, called a nuclear posture review, to be released Tuesday following a full year of deliberation led by the Pentagon in consultation with allied governments.

Secretary of Defense Robert Gates, Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton, Secretary of Energy Steven Chu and Joint Chiefs chairman Adm. Mike Mullen planned to unveil the new policy at a noon Pentagon briefing. Read more.

Berger’s Proposal

On Monday, Senate Republican Leader Phil Berger proposed a bill meant to expose patronage and misconduct in state government.

The state’s personnel law is among the most secretive in the country regarding disciplinary actions, hiring information and employment histories of public employees. North Carolina, for example, appears to be the only state that bars the public from learning pay raises and prior positions, a recent News & Observer series, Keeping Secrets, found.

The problems with the personnel law’s secrecy were exposed by investigations into the administration of former Gov. Mike Easley. N.C. State University officials, for example, cited the personnel law in not disclosing the governor’s efforts to create a job for his wife at N.C. State. The law also initially hid an improper pay deal given to NCSU Provost Larry Nielsen. Nielsen stepped down after controversy surrounded his hiring of Mary Easley. Read more.

North Carolina Candidates Gear Up in Swing Districts

RALEIGH — The North Carolina General Assembly could look much different in 2011. At least, that’s what Republicans hope.

For the first time in over a century, the minority party has a shot at wresting control of the legislature from Democrats, and it’s banking on a string of competitive races to do it.

Retirements, resignations, and shifting political dynamics make 10 seats in the Senate and 20 in the House vulnerable to GOP challenges this year. Political experts say a sluggish economy, anger over health care reform in Congress, and corruption could propel Republican candidates into office. Read more.

Republicans Slam Obama Judicial Nominee Over 117 Omissions From Record

Senate Republicans on Tuesday slammed one of the Obama administration’s most controversial judicial nominees for failing to initially disclose more than 100 of his speeches, publications and other background materials — an omission the Republicans called unprecedented and a possible attempt to “hide his most controversial work.”

They said Goodwin Liu’s nomination to the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals is in “jeopardy” in light of the problem.

The complaint came after Liu, a Berkeley law professor, gave the Senate Judiciary Committee a bundle of supplemental material that contained 117 things he left out after his February nomination. Read more.

Obama Clash With Karzai Raises Concerns Ahead of Kandahar Offensive

WakeUpAmerica.com asks why President Obama is agitating and bullying the President of a country that has 30,000 US troops inside its country. Wake Up Obama. Your recent foreign policy actions have put Americans at a heightened state of risk – Israel, Russia, Iran, China, and now Afghanistan “ISLAMIC EXTREMISTS.”

Here is the story reported by Fox News.

Timing is everything. And for the out-in-the-open feud between President Obama and Afghan President Hamid Karzai, the timing is very, very bad. Read more.

Iran’s president attacks Obama on nuclear “threat”

(Reuters) – Iran’s president issued a scathing personal attack on U.S. President Barack Obama on Wednesday, calling him an “inexperienced amateur” who was quick to threaten to use nuclear weapons against U.S. enemies.

Commenting on new U.S. policy restrictions on the use of atomic weapons which sent a stern message to nuclear-defiant Iran that it remained a potential target, hard-line Mahmoud Ahmadinejad told Obama that Iran would not yield to threats.

“Obama made these latest remarks because he is inexperienced and an amateur politician,” Ahmadinejad said on Iranian television. “American politicians are like cowboys. Whenever they have legal shortcomings, their hands go to their guns.”

Obama made a diplomatic overture to Tehran soon after taking office in 2009, urging it to “unclench its fist.” Read more.

Volcker on the VAT

Kudos for candor to Paul Volcker, the former Federal Reserve Chairman and current White House economic adviser, for admitting what other Democrats also know but don’t want to admit until after the November election: The political class is preparing to pass a European-style value-added tax. Read more.

week in Review 03/27/10

Risky business for N.C. Democrats

Few issues since the Vietnam War have generated as much heat as the health care debate, which prompted street corner rallies in Raleigh, packed town halls from Wilson to Durham and prodded both sides to mobilize.

But the question with Sunday’s historic House vote for President Barack Obama’s health care plan is how it will play in the November elections.

In a moderately conservative state like North Carolina with its traditional skepticism of the federal government, the issue poses risks for the Democrats. Public opinion polls suggest that the majority does not support the president’s plan, although voters say they like some parts of it. Read more.

Stupak bends, but gets his way

WASHINGTON — Late into Saturday night and again Sunday morning, U.S. Rep. Bart Stupak of Michigan negotiated with President Barack Obama’s top lawyer, hammering out an executive order that made clear that no federal money would be spent on abortion.

It helped save the Democrats’ signature effort on health care overhaul — a victory that had eluded the party for decades.

Without Stupak and as many as nine other Democrats opposed to abortion, the chances of House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., finding the 216 votes needed for passage looked bleak. With them, it was all but done.

The breakthrough came at midafternoon Sunday. “Thirty-one million more Americans will have health insurance,” Stupak said at a news conference. Read more.

Thousands Rally for Legalizing Illegals, Stronger Borders

(AP) Frustrated with the lack of action to overhaul the country’s immigration system, tens of thousands of demonstrators rallied on the National Mall and marched through the streets of the capital Sunday, waving American flags and holding homemade signs in English and Spanish.

Supporters traveled from around the country in hopes the rally would re-energize Congress to take up the volatile issue. Some lawmakers oppose any attempt to help an estimated 12 million illegal immigrants become U.S. citizens while others insist on stronger border controls first.

President Barack Obama, who promised to make overhauling the immigration system a top priority in his first year, sought to reassure those at the rally with a video message presented on giant screens at the National Mall. The president said he was committed to working with Congress this year on a comprehensive bill to fix a “broken immigration system.” Read more.

Jim C. Manatt, Jr.: Cap and trade regulation contrary to vital economic interests

What an ironic news day March 5. The headline was the $5.6 billion state budget with a $230 million tax increase. The same day, the New Energy Economy environmentalists sought natural gas emission cap revisions in Santa Fe. These events are connected.

New Mexico is a poor state by many standards but we are a richly endowed energy resource state. The oil and gas industry is New Mexico’s largest private sector revenue source, contributing $2 billion annually in taxes, depending on commodity prices, adding another $1 billion in “indirects” during a good year. Ninety-five percent of our $12 billion Permanent Funds come from oil and gas, funding about 70 percent of our kids’ education. For every $1 change in the price of natural gas, it means $100 million to our state revenues. Net effect today: $850 million less for New Mexico. Read more.

Obama is out of Control

Start the impeachment process now. Obama is not upholding the Constitution that he kinda swear to do. He has not even read it since 6th grade History Class. For the next year he will be mired in lawsuits from the states regarding his illegal passage of the healthcare secret bill. There is no where in the constitution to force a US Citizen to HAVE to purchase a product nor service.

He will continue to ignore the Worse Economic Depression facing US Citizens, Blow up our relationships with any foreign government – including our closest allies, Appease our enemies – the people that really HATE us, put our national security in grave danger, give amnesty to illegals, and impose a tax-laden cap and trade bill. Read more.

Health care mandates stoke resistance

State Senate GOP leader Phil Berger of Eden said Tuesday that he will introduce a bill when the legislature reconvenes in May to allow citizens to opt out of mandates of the new federal health care law.

“We cannot stand idly by while the federal government tramples on individuals’ rights to make their own health care decisions,” Berger said.

“Forcing individual citizens to buy a good or a service, as the federal legislation requires, is an unprecedented and unconstitutional overreach by the federal government, and it must be opposed,” Berger added. Read more.

ACORN to Shut Down in Wake of Scandal

CHICAGO (AP)– The once mighty community activist group ACORN announced Monday it is folding amid falling revenues — six months after video footage emerged showing some of its workers giving tax tips to conservative activists posing as a pimp and prostitute.

“It’s really declining revenue in the face of a series of attacks from partisan operatives and right-wing activists that have taken away our ability to raise the resources we need,” ACORN spokesman Kevin Whelan said.

Several of its largest affiliates, including ACORN New York and ACORN California, broke away this year and changed their names in a bid to ditch the tarnished image of their parent organization and restore revenue that ran dry in the wake of the video scandal. Read more.

Burr joins health law protest

WASHINGTON — With a few words Wednesday – “I would have to object” – Sen. Richard Burr joined an angry Republican pushback to the nation’s sweeping health overhaul.

Burr used a parliamentary maneuver to derail an Armed Services Committee hearing for which commanders had traveled from South Korea and Hawaii to discuss the Pentagon’s needs for the next year.

It was one of several hearings on issues ranging from homeless veterans to police trainers in Afghanistan that were upturned by Republican tactics to slow the workings of the Senate. Read more.

McConnell: Repeal ‘top of our list’

Refusing to concede permanent defeat on health reform, Senate Republican leader Mitch McConnell wants to “repeal the whole bill” and replace it with insurance reforms and other measures that could get bipartisan agreement.

“They got health care,” McConnell told POLITICO with a mischievous glint in his eye. “We’ll see whether that’s a gift worth receiving.”

McConnell said that if Republicans were to win back the Senate majority in November, “at the top of our list would be to repeal and replace this health care bill.” Read more.

Obama Dares Republicans to Pursue Repeal of Health Care Law

IOWA CITY, Iowa (AP) — President Obama mocked Republicans’ campaign to try to repeal his new health care law, saying Thursday they should “Go for it” and see how well they fare with voters.

“Be my guest,” Obama said in prepared remarks for the first of many appearances around the country to sell the overhaul to voters before the fall congressional elections. “I welcome that fight. Because I don’t believe the American people are going to put the insurance industry back in the driver’s seat.”

With emotions raw around the nation over the party-line vote to approve the nearly $1 trillion, 10-year law, Obama took the opposition to task for “fear-mongering and overheated rhetoric.” Read more.

Osama bin Laden warns on Khalid Sheikh Mohammed death penalty

Osama bin Laden is warning that Al Qaeda will kill any Americans it takes prisoner if the U.S. executes accused Sept. 11 co-conspirator Khalid Sheikh Mohammed.

“The day America will take such decision [to execute Mohammed and any others] it would have taken a decision to execute whoever we capture,” bin Laden said in an audiotaped message aired Thursday on Al Jazeera. He said Mohammed’s execution would amount to a “death sentence” for Americans in the group’s custody. Read more.

Obama’s Mideast gamble

President Barack Obama’s relations with the Israeli government have hit a new low, but the tensions on display this week between him and Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu may be reviving another presidential project: His quest to improve America’s image in the Arab and Muslim world.

Obama raised high expectations among Arab leaders and publics with his promise of dramatic change from George W. Bush, and with high-profile gestures in the first days of his administration, but the administration’s awkward retreat last year from an initial demand of a total Israeli freeze on settlements dissipated much of that good will. Read more.

Crusader has troubles of his own

A Greenville state Senate candidate who has made an issue of the state’s overpayment of mental health claims is himself on the hook for $4.2 million in Medicaid overcharges for services provided by his family’s company.

Frankie Bordeaux and his wife, Hattie Faye Hardy Bordeaux, signed a settlement with the state in February that included a two-year repayment plan for money improperly collected by Cambridge Behavioral Health Services in Greenville. The first monthly payment, $241,296, was due this month.

An investigation of Cambridge by the state Medicaid office found hundreds of cases of incomplete patient records, “several instances of potential fraud,” duplicate or “canned” notes, and unqualified staff delivering care, according to the settlement. Read more.

Week in Review 02/06/10

Justice openly disagrees with Obama in speech

WASHINGTON – Supreme Court Justice Samuel Alito didn’t like hearing President Barack Obama publicly criticize the high court’s ruling removing corporate campaign spending limits — and he didn’t try to hide it.

Alito made a dismissive face, shook his head repeatedly and appeared to mouth the words “not true” or possibly “simply not true” when Obama assailed the decision Wednesday night in his State of the Union address.

The president had taken the unusual step of publicly scolding the high court, with some of its members in robes seated before him in the House. “With all due deference to the separation of powers,” he said, the court last week “reversed a century of law that I believe will open the floodgates for special interests — including foreign corporations — to spend without limit in our elections.” Read more.

Deal sought with failed Detroit attack suspect

Authorities are inching toward an agreement that would secure cooperation from the suspect in the failed Detroit airliner attack, according to two sources familiar with the case, even as fresh details emerged about the intense and chaotic response to the Christmas Day incident.

Seizing on the near miss, GOP lawmakers have mounted a sustained attack on President Obama and the Justice Department, saying they may have lost out on valuable intelligence by charging Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab in a federal court rather than under the military justice system.

But new details complicate that narrative, suggesting that Abdulmutallab, 23, clammed up even before he was informed of his right to remain silent — a warning that could have come later had he been placed in military custody. He continued to speak to authorities before undergoing treatment for second- and third-degree burns below the waist that occurred during a bid to detonate explosives on Northwest Flight 253. Read more.

Ayla Brown – “The Star-Spangled Banner” with the Boston Pops

Watchdog: Bank Bailouts Created More Risk in System

The government’s bailout of financial institutions deemed “too big to fail” has created a risk that the United States could face a worse fiscal meltdown in the future, an independent watchdog assigned to review the program told Congress on Sunday.

The Troubled Assets Relief Program, known as TARP, has not addressed the problems that led to the last crisis and in some case those problems have festered and are a bigger threat than before, warned Neil Barofsky, the special inspector general at the Treasury Department.

“Even if TARP saved our financial system from driving off a cliff back in 2008, absent meaningful reform, we are still driving on the same winding mountain road, but this time in a faster car,” Barofsky wrote. Read more.

Obama’s Amnesty Footnote

t the very end of his State of the Union address, President Obama said, “we should continue the work of fixing our broken immigration system -– to secure our borders and enforce our laws, and ensure that everyone who plays by the rules can contribute to our economy and enrich our nation.”

Like most Americans, I agree with those broad principles, and that is exactly why Obama was so vague in his speech. His claim that “jobs must be our number one focus in 2010” would be exposed as a complete fraud if he promoted giving amnesty for illegal immigration and importing hundreds of thousands of additional legal foreign workers in the same address.

The situation is already bad enough as it is. At least twelve million illegal immigrants are in this country and eight million illegal aliens are in the American workforce. Additionally, our government issues 75,000 permanent work visas and 50,000 temporary work permits to foreign workers every single month. A recent census study found that one out of every six workers in this country is foreign born. Read more.

Burr’s war chest dwarfs Democrats’

RALEIGH — Republican Sen. Richard Burr, benefiting from incumbency and strong business ties, starts the year with at least a 13-1 money advantage over each of his prospective Democratic challengers.

Burr had $4.3 million in his campaign treasury at the end of the year, compared with $303,175 for former state Sen. Cal Cunningham, $211,113 for Secretary of State Elaine Marshall, and $116,456 for Chapel Hill attorney Ken Lewis, according to campaign disclosure reports filed Monday with the Federal Elections Commission.

“There are only two ways to keep score until Election Day,” said Gary Pearce, a veteran Democratic strategist. “One is money, and one is polls. Burr is in a strong position, no doubt about it.” Read more.

Gates Urges Congress to Approve $768 Billion Defense Budget

WASHINGTON (AP) – Defense Secretary Robert Gates is urging Congress to approve the Obama administration’s $768.2 billion Pentagon budget request, saying America needs “a broad portfolio of military capabilities.”

Gates joined Adm. Mike Mullen, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, in outlining fiscal 2011 budget proposals to the Senate Armed Services Committee. Gates said the United States must “prepare for a much broader range of security challenges on the horizon.”

He said a continuing threat of terrorism from “nonstate groups,” is among the challenges. And Gates added that such 21st century threats “transcend the familiar contingencies that dominated U.S. planning after the Cold War.” He said the proposed budget justifiably exempts defense from spending freezes President Obama is seeking for other government agencies and activities.

Inquiries Take Toll on Easley Team

RALEIGH — When a federal grand jury indicted former Gov. Mike Easley’s legal counsel Ruffin Poole Jan. 21, it was just the latest setback for an Easley associate since the state’s media began investigating the former governor’s activities.

Poole’s indictment came nearly four years after Carolina Journal first reported that Easley bought a waterfront lot for a bargain price in the Cannonsgate community on Bogue Sound in Carteret County.

The former gubernatorial legal counsel was charged with 51 counts of corruption related to his involvement with a group of politically active coastal developers behind Cannonsgate. Read more.

Intelligence officials say al-Qaeda will try to attack U.S. in next 6 months

The Obama administration’s top intelligence officials on Tuesday described it as “certain” that al-Qaeda or its allies will try to attack the United States in the next six months, and they called for new flexibility in how U.S. officials detain and question terrorist suspects.

The officials, testifying before the Senate intelligence committee, also warned of increased risk of cyber-attacks in the coming months, saying that the recent China-based hacking of Google’s computers was both a “wake-up call” and a forerunner to future strikes aimed at businesses or intended to cause economic disruption.

“Al-Qaeda maintains its intent to attack the homeland — preferably with a large-scale operation that would cause mass casualties, harm the U.S. economy or both,” Director of National Intelligence Dennis C. Blair told the committee in a hearing convened to assess threats against the country. Read more.

Obama Backs Down After Anti-Vegas Remarks

LAS VEGAS — President Barack Obama is known for having a way with words, but some lawmakers from Nevada wish he would pipe down about trips to Sin City.

After sparking a firestorm of criticism from Nevada’s elected officials for suggesting that people saving money for college shouldn’t blow it in Las Vegas, Obama told U.S. Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid in a letter that he wasn’t saying anything negative about Las Vegas.

It was the second time since taking office that Obama singled out Las Vegas as a potential example of spending excessively.

“I was making the simple point that families use vacation dollars, not college tuition money, to have fun,” Obama said, according to the letter released by Reid’s office. “There is no place better to have fun than Vegas, one of our country’s great destinations.” Read more.

Kissell Walks Tightrope on Health Care

RALEIGH — North Carolina Rep. Larry Kissell was one of three Tar Heel Democrats to break ranks with party leaders and vote against the House version of health care reform in November. Political observers say that vote could play a role in Kissell’s bid for re-election this year as he walks the fine line between pleasing Beltway Democrats and his constituents — many of whom are more conservative than his party’s leaders.

“[Kissell] took a position against his sitting president. It was pretty unpopular with the left,” said David McLennan, a political science professor at Peace College in Raleigh, in a telephone interview with Carolina Journal.

Kissell, who represents the state’s 8th Congressional District stretching from Charlotte to Fayetteville, joined 39 House Democrats in voting against the health care reform bill. It passed by five votes Nov. 7. Read More.

House faces tough vote on $1.9 trillion more debt

WASHINGTON (AP) — Facing a politically excruciating vote, House Democratic leaders are counting on new budget deficit curbs to help smooth the way for a bill allowing the government to go $1.9 trillion deeper into debt over the next year – or about $6,000 more for every U.S. resident.

The debt measure set for a House vote Thursday would raise the cap on federal borrowing to $14.3 trillion. That’s enough to keep Congress from having to vote again before the November elections on an issue that is feeding a sense among voters that the government is spending too much and putting future generations under a mountain of debt to do it.

Already, the accumulated debt amounts to $40,000 per person. And the debt is increasingly held by foreign nations such as China. Read more.

Newt Gingrich: Impeach judges – Crush and Replace the Left – 2012 “Victory or Death!”

ACORN’s Web of Connections in North Carolina

A Single Seed Grows Many Branches: ACORN’s Web of Connections in North Carolina

The Association of Community Organizers for Reform Now (ACORN) has woven itself into the fabric of the left in North Carolina. Listed below are short explanations of the ties between the groups.

Association of Community Organizers for Reform Now (ACORN)

ACORN NC – ACORN’s North Carolina arm – has offices in Raleigh, Durham and Charlotte. ACORN NC is a member of Blueprint NC and partners with NC Housing Coalition, NC Policy Watch and the NC Justice Center, among others. Read more.

Depositions Could Pose Legal Peril for Easley Aides

RALEIGH — Several aides to former Gov. Mike Easley could be in legal jeopardy based on conflicting statements they gave in sworn depositions.

Former Press Secretary Renee Hoffman recalled separate orders from communications directors Cari Boyce and Sherri Johnson for public information officers to delete e-mails to and from Easley — who used a private e-mail account to conduct public business. Under oath, Boyce and Johnson denied such a blanket order was issued.

Raleigh attorney and former Assistant U.S. Attorney Kieran Shanahan says these inconsistencies could pose problems. Read more.

Sen. Larry Shaw Becomes 7th Dem to Not Seek Re-Election for N.C. Senate

RALEIGH, N.C. (AP) -- Another veteran Democrat in the state Senate won't return after 2010 as Sen. Larry Shaw announced Thursday he won't seek an eighth two-year term. The decision means the Legislature will lose its only openly practicing Muslim.

Shaw, a Democrat from Cumberland County who also served a term in the House, brings to seven the number of Senate Democrats since last fall who have resigned or said they won't run for re-election. The candidate filing period begins Monday.

Shaw, 60, didn't give a specific reason for stepping aside, and he wasn't immediately available for comment Thursday, according to a person who answered the phone at his Fayetteville home. Shaw said in a news release he plans to keep working with the family business -- he's the owner of a food services company -- and "in the international faith communities." Read more.