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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 April 27th, 2010

Supreme Court to enter fight over violent video games. Could Porn and ‘R’ rated movies be next?

April 27th, 2010 · Accountability, Deception, Ethics, Government, Government Control, States, Supreme Court

By Robert Barnes Washington Post Staff Writer
Tuesday, April 27, 2010

Fresh from deciding one major free-speech challenge last week, the Supreme Court said Monday that it will take up another: whether states may forbid the sale of violent video games to minors.

California says the court’s 1968 decision that states may restrict the sale of sexually explicit materials to minors should be extended to the violent images in video games such as Grand Theft Auto. Other states have passed similar laws, but all have been shot down by federal courts that say the Supreme Court has never authorized such an expansion.

The U.S. Court of Appeals for the 9th Circuit said the same thing about California’s law. The state “is asking us to boldly go where no court has gone before,” Judge Consuelo M. Callahan wrote for a unanimous three-member panel. “We decline the state’s entreaty” to “redefine the concept of obscenity under the First Amendment,” it added.

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Under financial overhaul, FTC could gain enforcement power over Internet

April 27th, 2010 · Deception, Democrats, Finance, Government Control, Non-Transparency

By Cecilia Kang Washington Post Staff Writer
Tuesday, April 27, 2010

The Federal Trade Commission could become a more powerful watchdog for Internet users under a little-known provision in financial overhaul legislation that would expand the agency’s ability to create rules.

An emboldened FTC would stand in stark contrast to a besieged Federal Communications Commission, whose ability to oversee broadband providers has been cast into doubt after a federal court ruled last month that the agency lacked the ability to punish Comcast for violating open-Internet guidelines.

The version of regulatory overhaul legislation passed by the House would allow the FTC to issue rules on a fast track and permit the agency to impose civil penalties on companies that hurt consumers. FTC Chairman Jon Leibowitz has argued in favor of bolstering his agency’s enforcement ability.

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National Dept – As of April 27, 2010

April 27th, 2010 · General

The Outstanding Public Debt as of Tuesday April 27, 2010. is:

$ 7 , 6 0 8 , 0 7 1 , 0 0 6 , 7 5 8 . 8 4

The estimated population of the United States is 295,315,910
so each citizen’s share of this debt is approx. $40,341.07.

The National Debt has continued to increase an average of $1.63 billion per day since
September 30, 2004! Concerned? Then tell Congress and the White House! (as if they care)

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Presidential commission to address rising national debt – a record $1.42 trillion in 2009

April 27th, 2010 · Deception, Democrats, Economy, Federal Spending, Greed, Money Lost, Non-Transparency, Obama Exposed, Selling Out the US, Tax Dollars, Taxes

By Lori Montgomery Washington Post Staff Writer
Tuesday, April 27, 2010

A presidential commission will convene Tuesday at the White House to address what leaders of both parties agree is one of the greatest threats to the country’s economic future: the rising national debt.

Official forecasts suggest that without sharp changes in federal spending or tax collections, the United States could enter into a downward spiral of indebtedness that by the end of this decade would erode the country’s ability to educate its children, care for the elderly or mount a robust national defense.

Republicans and Democrats alike say the fiscal challenges have been too long ignored. But with the two parties feuding over health-care reform, Wall Street regulation and a host of other issues — and the economy still uncertain after a deep recession — there is considerable doubt that they could join hands to fend off a still-distant potential crisis.

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Both sides in immigration debate blame congressional inaction for Arizona law

April 27th, 2010 · Deception, Democrats, Government, Government Control, Immigration, Immigration, National Security, Non-Transparency, Obama Exposed

By Peter Slevin Washington Post Staff Writer
Tuesday, April 27, 2010

PHOENIX — On the grounds of the Capitol, in a state that only days earlier had adopted the nation’s strictest anti-immigration law, the two sides of an angry debate are united on one thing: They blame Washington.

Years of congressional inaction and paralysis on immigration created a vacuum that either forced the Arizona legislature to step in or allowed overzealous lawmakers to trump federal authority, depending on whom you ask.

The law is injecting new life into the election-year debate over an issue felt strongly in the states, particularly along the Mexican border, even as Congress appears to be at an impasse over whether to consider a complex immigration bill before facing voters this fall.

President Obama came to office promising a broad overhaul of laws governing border security and how illegal immigrants are treated after they arrive in the United States. But he must decide how far to push the issue in the face of a legislative calendar crowded with a pending Supreme Court nomination and fights over financial regulation and the sweeping energy reform policy known as cap and trade. Democrats and Republicans are torn, with Senate Majority Leader Harry M. Reid (D-Nev.) urging action ahead of his difficult reelection fight but others unmoved.

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CBO Update

April 27th, 2010 · CBO Update

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

  • H.R. 5013, Implementing Management for Performance and Related Reforms to Obtain Value in Every Acquisition Act of 2010
    Cost estimate for the bill as ordered reported by the House Committee on Armed Service on April 21, 2010
    http://www.cbo.gov/doc.cfm?index=11456
  • H.R. 5017, Rural Housing Preservation and Stabilization Act of 2010
    Cost estimate for the bill as ordered reported by the House Committee on Financial Services on April 22, 2010.
    http://www.cbo.gov/doc.cfm?index=11462
  • S. 806, Federal Executive Board Authorization Act of 2009
    Cost estimate for the bill as ordered reported by the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform on April 14, 2010
    http://www.cbo.gov/doc.cfm?index=11461
  • S. 3031, Drug Free Communities Enhancement Act of 2010
    Cost estimate for the bill as ordered reported by the Senate Committee on the Judiciary on April 15, 2010
    http://www.cbo.gov/doc.cfm?index=11460
  • H.R. 3111, Faster FOIA Act of 2010
    Cost estimate for the bill as reported by the Senate Committee on the Judiciary on April 19, 2010
    http://www.cbo.gov/doc.cfm?index=11457
  • S. 2960, Refugee Opportunity Act
    Cost estimate for the bill as reported by the Senate Committee on the Judiciary on March 26, 2010
    http://www.cbo.gov/doc.cfm?index=11458
  • S. 3019, Help Find the Missing Act
    Pay-as-you-go estimate for the bill with poposed amendment provided to CBO on April 22, 2010
    http://www.cbo.gov/doc.cfm?index=11459

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Financial overhaul falls short in procedural vote

April 26th, 2010 · Congress, Deception, Democrats, Dissention, Ethics, Federal Spending, Finance, Government Control, Selling Out the US, Tax Dollars, Taxes

By Brady Dennis and Neil Irwin Washington Post Staff Writer
Monday, April 26, 2010; 6:54 PM

The Senate voted Monday afternoon to prevent the start of formal debate of legislation to overhaul financial regulation, creating a largely partisan standoff over a far-reaching Democratic bill meant to strengthen oversight of Wall Street.

It would have taken only a few Republican votes to reach the 60-vote threshold needed for debate to begin. The measure received 57 votes with 41 senators voting in opposition. Two Republicans did not vote.

Sen. Ben Nelson (D-Neb.) joined Republicans in voting to prevent debate from proceeding. When the outcome was clear, Senate Majority Leader Harry M. Reid (D-Nev.) also voted no, a move that allows him to reintroduce the measure later.

While the procedural vote delays formal consideration of the overhaul bill, lawmakers in both parties have said they expect it will ultimately be debated — and passed — in the coming weeks, though the exact contours of the final legislation remain uncertain.

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Financial bill in limbo going into key vote

April 26th, 2010 · Banking Industry, Congress, Corruption, Deception, Democrats, Ethics, Federal Spending, Finance, Government Control, Money Lost, Non-Transparency, Selling Out the US, Tax Dollars, Taxes, Terrorism from Within

By Brady Dennis – Monday, April 26, 2010

Senators will face a crucial test vote Monday that could clear the way for debate on far-reaching legislation to overhaul the nation’s financial regulatory system — or end in a partisan standoff — as Wall Street once again takes center stage on Capitol Hill.

Elsewhere, lawmakers will be preparing to condemn the alleged sins of Wall Street’s past and also wrestling over how to prevent such excesses in the future. Top executives from Goldman Sachs, beset by charges that the bank misled its clients by selling them mortgage investments secretly designed to fail, will face questions Tuesday about how the firm profited from betting against the U.S. housing market.

Senate Republicans said Sunday they plan to block efforts to move forward with an overhaul bill unless Democrats alter central elements of the legislation. Meanwhile, Democrats and Obama administration officials spent much of the day finalizing strict new rules to rein in the huge derivatives trade, including measures that could threaten profits at some of the biggest banks.

Despite optimism on both sides that a bipartisan compromise will emerge, the lack of a deal has increased the chances of at least a temporary showdown between the two parties.

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On climate bill, Democrats work to overcome Graham’s immigration objections

April 26th, 2010 · Climate, Congress, Corruption, Deception, Democrats, Ethics, Government Control, Immigration, Non-Transparency, Terrorism from Within

By Juliet EilperinWashington Post Staff Writer
Monday, April 26, 2010

The current predicament of the Senate climate and energy proposal, which was attractive enough to lure the leaders of not only the Christian Coalition but also ConocoPhillips, Exelon and Duke Energy to a now-canceled bill launch Monday, underscores the fragility of its support.

The same political forces that have repeatedly shunted climate change to the back burner — partisanship and its low rank on voters’ priority list — have made passing a bill a herculean task. It encountered another hurdle this weekend when Lindsey O. Graham (R-S.C.), one of its authors along with Sens. John F. Kerry (D-Mass.) and Joseph I. Lieberman (I-Conn.), said he was abandoning it unless climate legislation moved ahead of immigration on the Senate calendar.

For months, the three senators tried to assemble an inside-the-Beltway pact on climate change by reconciling the needs of the business and environmental communities. Now the fate of the bill rests on the prospects of a very different deal: one between Graham and Senate Majority Leader Harry M. Reid (D-Nev.), who sees immigration reform as more essential than energy to his reelection bid.

“I’ve got some political courage, but I’m not stupid,” Graham said in an interview Saturday. “The only reason I went forward is, I thought we had a shot if we got the business and environmental community behind our proposal, and everybody was focused on it. What’s happened is that firm, strong commitment disappeared.”

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Republicans and Democrats alike voice optimism about midterm elections

April 26th, 2010 · Accountability, Congress, Deception, Politics

By Chris Cillizza Washington Post Staff Writer
Monday, April 26, 2010

With six months remaining before the November midterm elections, partisans in both parties are finding evidence — some of it contradictory — that things are looking up.

Gains are a near-certainty for Republicans in both the House and the Senate. But defining the extent of those pickups, as well as the criteria by which each side might be able to declare victory in November, remains a pitched partisan battle at the moment.

In fundraising, for instance, the three Democratic campaign committees — the Democratic National Committee, the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee and the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee — ended March with $22 million more in the bank than their Republican counterparts.

But Senate Republicans were quick to note that while they trailed the DSCC by $2 million in cash on hand, that was a far smaller deficit than at this time in 2006 ($15.6 million less) and 2008 ($20.6 million less).

“Considering the Democrats control the White House and have 59 senators, shouldn’t the trend be going in the opposite direction, instead of so rapidly in the Republicans’ direction?” asked National Republican Senatorial Committee communications director Brian Walsh.

In polling, the debate over the health-care law’s ultimate impact on the political landscape is also rife with countervailing data points.

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