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When the people fear the government, there is tyranny; When the government fears the people, there is liberty.  ~ Thomas Jefferson

 

Entries from March 10th, 2010

Chief Justice John Roberts found State of the Union scene ‘troubling’

March 10th, 2010 · Accountability, Democrats, Ethics, Greed, Obama Exposed, Obama's Scheme, Supreme Court

By Associated Press – Wednesday, March 10, 2010

TUSCALOOSA, ALA. — Chief Justice John G. Roberts Jr. said Tuesday that the scene at President Obama‘s State of the Union address was “very troubling” and that the annual speech has “degenerated to a political pep rally.”

Obama chided the Supreme Court in his Jan. 27 speech, with the justices seated before him, for a campaign finance case decision.

“The image of having the members of one branch of government standing up, literally surrounding the Supreme Court, cheering and hollering,” Roberts told University of Alabama law students, “while the court — according to the requirements of protocol — has to sit there expressionless, I think is very troubling.”

Breaking from tradition, Obama criticized the court’s decision that allows corporations and unions to freely spend money to run political ads for or against specific candidates. Justice Samuel A. Alito Jr. responded by shaking his head and mouthing the words “not true.”

White House press secretary Robert Gibbs responded later Tuesday, “What is troubling is that this decision opened the floodgates for corporations and special interests to pour money into elections — drowning out the voices of average Americans.”

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Obama’s plans for NASA changes met with harsh criticism

March 10th, 2010 · Corruption, Deception, Ethics, Greed, Non-Transparency, Obama's Scheme, Selling Out the US, Terrorism from Within

By Joel Achenbach Washington Post Staff Writer
Wednesday, March 10, 2010

Harrison Schmitt’s credentials as a space policy analyst include several days of walking on the moon. The Apollo 17 astronaut, who is also a former U.S. senator, is aghast at what President Obama is doing to the space program.

“It’s bad for the country,” Schmitt said. “This administration really does not believe in American exceptionalism.”

Schmitt’s harsh words are part of a furious blowback to the administration’s new strategy for NASA. The administration has decided to kill NASA’s Constellation program, crafted during the Bush administration with an ambitious goal of putting astronauts back on the moon by 2020. Obama’s 2011 budget request would nix Constellation’s rocket and crew capsule, funnel billions of dollars to new spaceflight technologies, and outsource to commercial firms the task of ferrying astronauts to low-Earth orbit.

The new strategy, however, has been met with outrage from many in the aerospace community. The entire congressional delegation from Florida, Democrats and Republicans alike, has sent a letter of protest to the president. Doubters fill op-ed pages and space blogs.

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House Ways and Means Chairman Levin says job creation will be top priority…Again?

March 10th, 2010 · Corruption, Deception, Democrats, Ethics, Government, Money Lost, Non-Transparency, Obama's Scheme, Selling Out the US, Terrorism from Within

House Ways and Means Chairman Levin says job creation will be top priority

By Lori Montgomery Washington Post Staff Writer
Wednesday, March 10, 2010

As he takes the reins of the tax-writing House Ways and Means Committee, Rep. Sander M. Levin is vowing to raise the profile of a once-powerful panel that, in recent years, has been overshadowed by the ethics troubles of its previous chairman, Rep. Charles B. Rangel.

In one of his first interviews as chairman, Levin (D-Mich.) said that job creation will be his top priority in the run-up to this fall’s congressional elections. But he said he also plans to wade aggressively into the debate over national tax policy and return his committee to its customary position at the center of the coming battle over tax reform.

“I don’t think [the Senate Finance Committee] should run the show. Charlie Rangel has struggled with this,” Levin said. “The task ahead makes it important that I actively chair this committee. On a really collegial basis, because I’ve always acted that way. But you can combine strength and collegiality.”

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Massa flirts with the right, but Beck isn’t tickled

March 10th, 2010 · Corruption, Deception, Democrats, Selling Out the US, Treason

By Dana Milbank Wednesday, March 10, 2010

Just seven minutes into Glenn Beck’s hour-long interview of Eric Massa on Tuesday evening, things had already gone very wrong.

Conservatives had hopes that the now-former Democratic congressman from Upstate New York, who resigned abruptly under an ethics cloud, would deliver the goods about corruption and strong-arm tactics in the Obama White House and Congress. But instead, Massa served up an icky new confession.

“Now they’re saying I groped a male staffer,” he volunteered. “Yeah, I did. Not only did I grope him, I tickled him until he couldn’t breathe and then four guys jumped on top of me. It was my 50th birthday.”

Beck looked aghast. “Was your wife at that one?” the Fox News Channel host asked.

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CBO Update

March 10th, 2010 · CBO Update

The following has been added to CBO’s Web site (www.cbo.gov):

  • S. 1709, Veterinary Services Investment Act
    Cost estimate for the bill as introduced on September 24, 2009
    http://www.cbo.gov/doc.cfm?index=11287
  • H.R. 4192, Stornetta Outstanding Natural Area Act of 2010
    Cost estimate for the bill as ordered reported by the House Committee on Natural Resources on February 24, 2010
    http://www.cbo.gov/doc.cfm?index=11284
  • H.R. 4252, Inland EmpirePerchlorate Ground Water Plume Assessment Act of 2009
    Cost estimate for the bill as ordered reported by the House Committee on Natural Resources on February 24, 2010
    http://www.cbo.gov/doc.cfm?index=11285
  • H.R. 4275, A bill to designate the annex building under construction for the Elbert P. Tuttle United States Court of Appeals Building in Atlanta, Georgia, as the “John C. Godbold Federal Building”
    Cost estimate for the bill as ordered reported by the House Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure on March 3, 2010
    http://www.cbo.gov/doc.cfm?index=11286
  • H.R. 3190, Discount Pricing Consumer Protection Act of 2009
    Cost estimate for the bill as ordered reported by the House Committee on the Judiciary on January 13, 2010
    http://www.cbo.gov/doc.cfm?index=11283
  • S. 2961, Haiti Recovery Act
    Cost estimate for the bill as ordered reported by the Senate Committee on Foreign Relations on February 24, 2010
    http://www.cbo.gov/doc.cfm?index=11288
  • H.R. 1741, Witness Security Protection Grant Program Act of 2010
    Cost estimate for the bill as ordered reported by the Senate Committee on the Judiciary on February 25, 2010
    http://www.cbo.gov/doc.cfm?index=11282

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