WH floats feeble 'last ditch effort to save DADT repeal' trial balloon

Grand Fork and Cass County Taxpayers Big Winners in Tuesday's Election
Americans for Prosperity Ad Tells Rep. Pomeroy "We Won't Forget" AFP responses to President Obama's multiple attacks on our 1.6 million Free Market Activists. Proud Socialists march at the so-called "One Nation" rally led by labor Unions as an attempt to counter Glenn Beck's Restoring Honor Rally. BISMARCK - Yesterday, the voters of the two largest counties in North Dakota sent a clear and loud message to local officials - "No New Taxes." Grand Forks County voters over...

Attacks from right take toll on Obamas tax plan
WASHINGTON (AP) — A growing chorus of conservative criticism is prompting some House members to rethink the $850 billion package of Tax Cuts and extended jobless benefits that President Barack Obama negotiated with top Republicans in Congress. The attacks are unlikely to derail the measure, which gets a final vote Wednesday in the Senate, to be followed by a debate and vote in the House. But they underscore the difficulty of building Centrist coalitions after an election in which Tea Party...

Real Christmas trees a growth industry
Fir or fake? Purveyors of "real" Christmas Trees say their fragrant product seems more in demand than ever this year, reflecting trends of getting back to basics and shopping locally. "We're getting a whole new generation of people coming in who want the smell of a fresh tree in their house," said Raymond Anderson, who runs the Crystal River Tree Co. Christmas tree lot on Solano Avenue in Albany. Anderson, whose silver hair and robust physique could qualify him to play Santa, was a longtime ...

N.J. lawmakers pass changes to arbitration process for police, firefighters
TRENTON - Of the hundreds of Police and Firefighter contracts up for negotiation in New Jersey annually, no more than a few dozen a year have been settled recently by Arbitration. Gov. Christie and lawmakers hope changes to the arbitration process that received final legislative approval in both houses on Monday will have a much broader impact, tipping the bargaining tables in favor of municipalities and helping to tame the state's soaring property taxes, already among the highest in the nation....

Rick Scott's Call for Cost-Cutting Ideas Goes Largely Unanswered
Rick Scott is giving every State Legislator in Florida the chance to weigh in on his or her 2011 priorities. And while he's getting plenty of thoughts on the top issues and how to approach them, he's getting almost nothing when he asks how they plan to pay for it. The meetings are fairly intimate, typically in small hotel boardrooms, with the Governor-elect at the head of the table. A handful of lawmakers sit around the table discussing with Scott what they would like to see improved in the...

Senates budget writer says states hole is deeper than predicted
Senate Appropriations Chairman Jack Hill, R-Reidsville, warned Monday that the state’s Budget hole for next Fiscal Year is closer to $2 billion than to the $1 billion that’s been discussed. Hill was in Athens with other lawmakers for a pre-legislative session conference and spoke to WABE’s Denis O’Hayer, the local host of “All Things Considered.” You can hear the entire interview on WABE’s website. In the the interview, Hill acknowledged that the state...

Aren't We All A Bit Corrupt?
Granted, Greek Corruption is depressingly crude, conspicuous, and grasping, sort of like being mugged in a dark alley or shaken down by a wise guy. By contrast, Irish corruption, much like its U.S. counterpart, is rather more genteel, discreet, and White Collar than the Greek variety. For this reason, it's usually treated as mere "cronyism" -- regrettable, perhaps, but not truly corrupt "in the sense of Greece." On the other hand, the U.S./Irish version is actually far more efficient at separati...

Thune Looking More and More like a 2012 Hopeful
For months Senator John Thune's name has been tossed around in discussions about possible GOP 2012 contenders, yet the Senator from South Dakota has consistently played it coy when asked about any possible presidential aspirations. However, a few more heads will be turning in the political world when the senator takes to the air in New Hampshire, home of the first of the nation presidential primary. Thursday morning Thune will be a guest on WKXL, a Radio Station in the capitol city of Concord. T...

New federal health law aids those close to retiring
People ages 50 to 64 are most likely to benefit from the new federal health law because they have the highest rates of long-term Unemployment among working-age adults and are more likely to have Health Problems that would make it tough for them to buy individual coverage, according to a report being released today. The study, by the Commonwealth Fund, estimated that 18.3 million people in that age group stand to benefit from the provisions in the federal health law, including the expanded acce...

Governor, probe target rehiring of state retirees
On the same day that Gov. Chris Gregoire proposed closing a Loophole that allows some state Retirees to be rehired, a whistle-blower investigation spotlighted the problem at one state agency. The investigation, which was triggered by a whistle-blower, found problems with the personnel files of 47 people who'd retired from — and then been rehired by — the state Employment Security Department. Some of the problems were paperwork glitches, but at least six rehires had worked more hour...

New federal health law aids those close to retiring
People ages 50 to 64 are most likely to benefit from the new federal health law because they have the highest rates of long-term Unemployment among working-age adults and are more likely to have Health Problems that would make it tough for them to buy individual coverage, according to a report being released today. The study, by the Commonwealth Fund, estimated that 18.3 million people in that age group stand to benefit from the provisions in the federal health law, including the expanded acce...

Breaking Health Care Research: A New Way Forward in Medicare Reform
The Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (aka ObamaCare) will impact every corner of the Health Care system, especially Medicare. Unfortunately, the new law speeds the program’s travel in the wrong direction by building upon existing problems and creating new ones. There’s a better way to restore Medicare, as Heritage’s Robert E. Moffit, Ph.D., and James Capretta outline in recent research. Obamacare makes $575 billion in cuts to Medicare and increases bureaucratic micromanagement

Note to Emperors: Seeking Clothes? Try Craigslist
Fox News presents, with all the trappings of sobriety and firmness of conviction, a story warning that lower Social Security taxes might “jeopardize the Retirement program’s finances.” What a laugh. The featured liar, Rep. Earl Pomeroy, D-N.D., chairman of the House Ways and Means subcommittee on Social Security, insists that Social Security taxes “ought to be held sacrosanct.” What he doesn’t reveal is that he and his Bipartisan band of robbers have looted ...

San Leandro to look at future of ranked-choice voting
SAN LEANDRO -- Residents soon may get a chance to voice their opinions on the future of ranked-choice voting in local Elections as City Officials evaluate whether to continue using the system. "I think we want to do something to get feedback from the residents," said Marian Handa, San Leandro's city clerk. "That could be a voter survey of some sort or something else. Right now we are trying to figure out what's the best way." San Leandro -- along with Oakland and Berkeley -- took part in Alameda...

Chavez's decree move enrages Venezuela opposition
By Andrew Cawthorne and Eyanir Chinea Caracas | Tue Dec 14, 2010 8:34pm EST Caracas (Reuters) - Venezuela's parliament gave preliminary approval on Tuesday for President Hugo Chavez to rule South America's top oil producer by decree for a year, prompting opposition accusations that the Socialist leader is behaving like a dictator. Chavez has ruled by decree three times before during his 11 years in power, and says he needs to again to deal with a national emergency caused by floods that have ...

U.K. Inflation Unexpectedly Quickens to Six-Month High of 3.3%
Guess Who Opposes Reversing the Individual Mandate in Health Reform? Dec. 14 (Bloomberg) -- The U.K. Inflation rate unexpectedly accelerated to a six-month high in November, boosted by food and clothes prices, putting more pressure on policy makers to rein in cost pressures. Consumer prices rose 3.3 percent from a year earlier after a 3.2 percent increase in October, the Office for National Statistics said today in London. That’s the highest since May and exceeded the 3.2 percent median f...

Right Pundits Interviews the GOP House of Representatives
Right Pundits is embarking on a very ambitious project to interview the incoming GOP Freshman Class of 2011. Our goal is to interview all of these newly elected representatives over the next three months. Our editors believe that these men and women have an important perspective and story to tell. They were part of a historic Republican election sweep after all. But more importantly the new congressmen and women are acutely aware of the issues facing the country at this very moment in time, a ...

Welcome To The "No Labels" Party
Now that they've been drummed out of their party by the purity police tea partiers, moderate Republicans are creating their own party, the "No Labels" party, hoping to bring some Independents and disaffected Democrats with them. Good luck with that. Have you heard about the new national political organization called No Labels? It’s a ragtag collection of Journalists, pundits, and politicians who claim they support civility in campaigning and Bipartisanship in government. That sounds great,...

Assange back in jail as Sweden appeals bail
By Peter Griffiths London | Tue Dec 14, 2010 9:21pm EST London (Reuters) - Wikileaks founder Julian Assange, a target of U.S. ire for releasing secret cables, returned to a London jail on Tuesday pending an appeal over a decision to free him on 200,000 pound ($317,400) bail for alleged Sex Crimes. British judge Howard Riddle had initially granted Assange bail but prosecutors, representing Swedish authorities, challenged the decision before the 39-year-old Australian had left the court in cent...

Reflections from the NAACP Daisy Bates Education Summit
Over 200 educators, Students and community Activist from across the country united together in Raleigh, North Carolina for the NAACP Daisy Bates Education Summit on December 3-5. The summit reflected on the issues of educational equity, diverse learning accountability and community involvement. This conference was a two-day intensive working session for educators and policy makers. Comprehensive and substantive accountability systems to maintain equitable opportunities. As the attendees assessed...

Obama Negotiated with Minority Party & Lost
“I made it clear I am not gonna Compromise on my principles, nor am I gonna Compromise the will of the American People.” - Speaker-elect John Boehner Well, at least someone in leadership says he won’t Compromise on principles. Even if you didn’t know who said the quote above, if you’ve been paying attention at all, you automatically knew it wasn’t a Democrat and certainly was not the President. Obama negotiated with the minority party to get a deal th...

GOP contenders extra careful on tax deal
For a host of Republican presidential hopefuls, the White House-backed Compromise to extend the Bush Tax Cuts presents an unlikely dilemma: How to agree with President Barack Obama. That unfamiliar struggle unfolded Tuesday on the Senate floor, in media interviews and on newspaper op-ed pages, as the potential Candidates sought to play the angles, with some taking bright-line positions in opposition and others hedging their bets with statements notable for their caution. Continue Reading Te...

Opposition Fades as Tax Vote Nears
WASHINGTON—The final obstacle to President Barack Obama's tax deal—the opposition of House Democrats—appeared to be melting away Tuesday as strong Senate support for the Legislation turned up pressure on liberal critics to concede. "It's a fast-moving train," said Rep. Peter Welch (D., Vt.), who has led opposition to the Legislation to extend the Bush-era Tax Cuts for all income groups. "The momentum is all in its favor, that's for sure." Rep. Jim McDermott (D., Wash.) called t...

Morning Must Reads: Christmas
Majority Leader Harry Reid talks to reporters after the Senate Democratic policy luncheon on Dec. 14 (Scott J. Ferrell/Congressional Quarterly/Getty Images). --The Senate will pass the tax deal today and is likely to move on to START. --Jon Kyl says Reid is ruining Christmas. Matt Yglesias pines for a Hebraic Senate session. --Remember the porkatorium? Neither does Mitch McConnell. --Grover Norquist and Americans for Tax Reform support the "tax hike prevention bill" after all. --John Thune dings...

Starting Lineup: Romney v. Thune
Good Wednesday morning and welcome back to the Starting Lineup: On the radar today: John Thune sounds increasingly like a presidential contender as he takes on Mitt Romney on the Tax Cut Compromise and schedules an appearance on New Hampshire radio; Rep. Tim Murphy floats his name as a possible challenger to Bob Casey; Tea Party favorite Ed Martin considers a Missouri Senate run and one potential Tea Party challenge to Olympia Snowe fizzles. Thune Alert: No one has officially declared they are ...