No
587 “En mi opinión” Febrero 6, 2014
“IN GOD WE TRUST” Lázaro R González Miño Editor
6 de
Febrero Hoy celebramos el cumpleaños de
Ronald
Reagan
cuadragésimo Presidente de Los Estados Unidos (1981–1989)
This is a Real American
Patriot . Are you ready for Defend OUR COUNTRY. https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?v=650608894999174&set=vb.597057287021002&type=2&theater
“EMO” Departamento de las pésimas noticias:
“OFFICIAL
SITE FOR NATIONAL DEB”
Antes de
abrir este portal si está bajo tratamiento cardiaco este seguro que se tomó sus
pastillas y además que está en condiciones de recibir noticias tremendamente
terribles.
Usted ha
sido advertido de que lo que leerá no es muy fácil de entender ni soportar. Esa
es nuestra realidad y cada segundo se hace peor. LRGM
Samitier:
Ben Carson: El cirujano RETIRADO Dr. Ben Carson ha sido una estrella
en ascenso en los círculos conservadores desde que atacó a Obama sobre la Ley
de Obama-Care en un Desayuno de Oración Nacional.
Por
supuesto, los lacayos de Obama en el IRS para meterle miedo... lo están
investigando... para que pague el precio de su crítica... YA NO HAY LIBERTAD...
AQUÍ
TIENE LA INFORMACIÓN: Dr. Ben
Carson, the former surgeon who criticized President Obama over his lack of
leadership and health care plan earlier this year, now claims he was unfairly
targeted by the IRS because of his comments against the administration.
During an interview on "The O’Reilly Factor" Wednesday, Carson says the Internal Revenue Service started
looking into his real estate holdings following his comments against the White
House at the National Prayer Breakfast in February.
Carson says he had never had a problem with the tax-collecting agency
until he spoke out against the president.
Eventually, the IRS conducted a full audit against Carson and found no
wrongdoing, he said.
So Ben Carson embarrassed Obama and the next thing you know, he faced an
IRS audit -- sort of like those Tea Party groups or Sarah Palin's father, after his daughter took on Obama. It also brings to
mind Wayne Allyn Root's comment,"I
personally know 15 people who wrote out big checks to Mitt Romney and within 90
days got IRS audit notices." If once is happenstance, twice is
coincidence and three times is enemy action, then this is practically open
warfare against Obama's political enemies by supposedly neutral government
agencies. Presidents have been impeached for less.
Amenper:
Oleoducto
de Keystone, por favor no más evasivas, no más excusas.
El asunto del Oleoducto de Keystone es un problema
político, cuestión de ganar un punto de vista con todo tipo de excusas para no
hacerlo. Ganar, no importa si afecta a la economía y al bienestar del país.
Pero de eso se trata el socialismo, de la lucha política,
ya sea lucha de clases o lucha teóricas de medio ambiente o de cualquier otra
teoría que justifique la lucha conveniente para establecer el poder que
facilite el camino al socialismo.
Las principales objeciones han sido en primer lugar la
contaminación del medio ambiente, ya sea por el derramamiento posible si hay
una rotura de la pipa o porque el crudo pesado de las arenas de Canadá
contamina más que el crudo “legiero”.
Pero aquí de lo que se trata no es del crudo, el petróleo
que transportará el oleoducto ya se transporta por ferrocarril desde Canadá y
Nebraska a Texas, lo que se está hablando es el medio de transportación para
ser llevado a las refinerías. Ahora
se transporta por tren lo que se quiere es transportarlo por el oleoducto. De
los que se está hablando es de rapidez y efectividad que es lo que haría
posible una mayor productividad.
El crudo
pesado canadiense que el oleoducto llevaría y ahora lleva por el
ferrocarril — de las arenas de Alberta, Canadá a las refinerías de la
costa del Golfo — donde es refinado, es usado en su mayor
parte domésticamente no para exportación solamente como dicen sus
opositores. Sin lugar a dudas este petroleo emite más carbón cuando
se quema que el petróleo ligero proveniente de otras fuentes de
petróleo. como el que también se transporta por ferrocarril y se
transportará por el oleoductos desde Nebraska, no hay dudas en cuanto a
esto, pero ambos son y van a ser usado con o sin la tubería. La otra
alternativa que es perforación de nuevos pozos de petróleo en los Estados
Unidos, todavía tiene más opósición de los ambientalistas.
Además
hay la desventaja que ha habido menudo mortales accidentes cuando esta
transportación a las refinerías se ha hecho vía ferrocarril, como puede ver en
estos links
Esto hace la tubería
una bendición a la seguridad pública.
Además que el control del medio ambiente es más seguro
cuando la transportación es hecho a través de la tubería que está mejor
acondicionada para proteger el medio ambiente que un vagón de ferrocarril.
Los posibles accidentes de la tubería del oleoductos
serían extraños, por los tiempos de estudio se ha minimizado la posibilidad de
accidentes, no es imposible
un accidente, pero es improbable, mucho menos probables que los accidentes del
ferrocarril.
Y con respecto a la contaminación ambiental, ahora que su
propio departamento de estado ha declarado el propuesto oleoducto Keystone XL
un clima "lavado" (queriendo
decir limpio), socavando las objeciones de los ambientalistas, el Presidente
Obama no debiera tener más remedio que aprobar su construcción. Pero no podemos
contar con ninguna decisión rápida, porque vale más ganar una lucha política
que oír a la razón.
El departamento de estado ha dicho que en un periodo
de 90 días hará una recomendación final al señor
Obama, quien tiene la última palabra. Pero enfrenta a un delicado acto de
equilibrio entre sus partidarios políticos. Por un lado los sindicatos, que
urgen aprobación de Keystone XL para puestos de trabajo, con el apoyo de
algunos senadores demócratas que se enfrentan a la reelección en los Estados
productores de energía, y como es lógico están en desacuerdo con la otra parte,
los ambientalistas que se oponen al proyecto y que son una base política de
Obama..
Dicho esto, un portavoz de la casa blanca dijo, que tenemos que recordar que la
EPA, el Departamento de energía "y otros expertos federales" todavía
tienen que emitir su opinión. Suena como una táctica de demora para nosotros.
Hundir la decisión dentro de la madeja burocrática y demagógica de estas
instituciones, quizás más que una demora es la destrucción total del proyecto.
Cualquier administración que quiera un futuro energético
más seguro, próspero e independiente del petróleo extranjero ya hubiera
aprobado el proyecto hace rato. Es hora de que la administración Obama por una
vez en su gobierno haga lo mejor para Estados Unidos. Como dijo el líder de la minoría del Senado
Mitch McConnell en
respuesta al informe del Departamento de estado: "Señor Presidente, no más
evasivas, no más excusas."
Amenper: La Casa Blanca
Explica problema de pérdida de trabajos por el Obamacare
La Casa
Blanca ha declarado que la junta de la oficina independiente
presupuestaria del Congreso está compuesta por racistas y
agentes del ex presidente George W. Bush
El director de la oficina independiente presupuestaria del Congreso
entregó una evaluación condenatoria el miércoles del Affordable Care Act, la
ley de salud del Presidente Barack Obama citando nuevas estimaciones
que la Ley de asistencia asequible causará una reducción mayor de lo esperado
en las horas de trabajo, eliminando el empleo equivalente de unos 2,3 millones
de trabajadores.
Esa conclusión, viniendo de una de las más
respetadas instituciones analíticas en el país, era probable que empañara el
panorama político para los demócratas, muchos de los cuales ya estaban huyendo
de la ley antes de las elecciones parciales de 2014
Pero la Casa Blanca ha determinado que esta
situación será definitivamente corregida.
La determinación de la Casa Blanca es que la
causa de todo este problema es culpa de la pasada administración de George W.
Bush.
"Elementos de la pasada administración han
influido en el testimonio del CEO Elmendorf y de la oficina
presupuestaria del Congreso-
La fiscalía conjuntamente con el IRS ha
iniciado una investigación de los hechos". Declaró el Fiscal General Eric
Holder.
Los fondos de la oficina serán retenidos hasta
que se complete esta investigación y se nombrará un nuevo CEO que será
nombrado por el fiscal Holder,
Las investigaciones preliminares han descubierto
elementos de racismo por parte del CEO Elmendorf y los otros agentes
blancos de la oficina así como evasión de impuestos personales de los miembros
de la junta que seran investigados por el IRS.
El nuevo CEO será una persona independiente de la
raza negra para evitar una nueva evaluación racista.
Las evaluaciones preliminares ajustadas enseñan
que el Affordable Care Act agregará 10 millones de nuevos empleos en
lugar de la perdida de trabajo de 2.5 millones de empleos evaluado
falsamente por la racista oficina presupuestaria del Congreso.
Toda los medios de comunicación, que
reportan las noticias teniendo en cuenta los beneficios que ha causado el
Affordable Care Act y en general la administración del Presidente Obama a
la nación, se han hecho eco de estas declaraciones de la Casa Blanca y han
comenzado una campaña de divulgación del racismo y evasión de impuesto de la
Junta Presupuestaria..
(Esta nota de prensa no es auténtica todavia, pero es posible y
probable que se produzca)
Amenper: Servicio
Postal de Estados Unidos
El Servicio
Postal de Estados Unidos perdió unos $16 billones el año pasado y continúa a
sangrando la tinta roja de la sangre de las heridas de los contribuyentes.
El Congreso
no ha podido ponerse de acuerdo sobre un plan de rescate. La última propuesta
permitiría a la oficina de correos acabar la entrega el sábado
y permitir que se pueda enviar a través del correos vino y
cerveza. Esto creo que es muy bueno para los empleados del sindicato
de correos que tendrán unas buenas fiestas los sábados de descanso con los
vinos y la cervezas de los paquetes que se roben.
Estaba
leyendo que en el condado de Davie establecerán ciertos puntos en el barrio,
donde usted tendrá que ir a recoger su correspondencia. Alguien
propuso que en un barrio el cartero dejara por turno las cartas en una
casa y esa persona repartiera las cartas al resto del barrio. Cuando
le toque a la viejita de al lado que tiene 101 años, mil barrio va a estar muy
jodido.
Yo sugiero
que se haga el reparto de la correspondencia como en mi pueblo que el cartero
iba en bicicleta, de esa manera se ahorran gasolina y gastos de mantenimiento
de los carritos del correos.
Pero seguro
que el sindicato se va a quejar.
El servicio
postal está al borde del colapso, El Servicio Postal le debe más de $15
billones al tesoro — y el reloj sigue funcionando, y los sindicatos están
protestando, quieren aumento de salarios y beneficios.
Hay 8
millones de empleos en el país que dependen directamente o indirectamente de un
Servicio Postal fuerte y viable. Y este tenemos uno que cada vez es más
impredecible y flojo.
¿Arreglo de
curitas? La ley de reforma Postal, que copatrocinó el Senador Republicano de
Oklahoma, Tom Coburn permitiría a la oficina de correos para eliminar servicio
sabatino y reducir el número de centros de procesamiento de correo . (ya les
dije mi vecina de 101 años repartirá el correo del barrio) También permitiría a
la oficina de correos para enviar las bebidas alcohólicas, abriendo una nueva
fuente de ingresos y reducir un poco los pagos de pensiones.
Dicen que el
problema es que enviamos E Mails como este en vez de cartas. Esto
pudiera ser parte del problema, pero creo que el mayor problema es que es una
empresa semi -gubernamental, que depende de los subsidios del gobierno no tiene
que producir, por eso no produce, una empresa privada siempre que se encuentra
con problemas trata de superarlos para sobrevivir.
Cuando
comenzó la televisión, las personas decían que los cines desaparecerían, y
verdaderamente la televisión afecto los cines. Pero la ingeniosidad
de la empresa de cines reacciono como siempre reacciona la empresa privada, no
pidiendo ayuda al gobierno, pero ajustándose a la nueva situación. Crearon
los cines múltiples, que con el mismo personal operaban pequeñas salas que
resultaron rentables.
Esto no pasa
en la Servicio Postal, porque es más fácil pedir más dinero al gobierno que
crear nuevos ingresos con su ingeniosidad.
El sindicato
si tiene una solución perfecta, que es la solución socialista.
La American
Postal Workers Union ha llevado a las ondas de radio, un anuncio en el que
insta al Congreso a no cortar empleados, sino incrementar
los fondos para que el Servicio Postal pueda cumplir sus
obligaciones de pensiones y operaciones. Bueno esta es la mejor
solución, el sistema socialista como decía Margaret Thatcher es el mejor
sistema que hay hasta que se le acaba el dinero de los demás.
El problema
es que aquí ya se está acabando.
Amenper: “Phony
Scandals”
President Obama claims that Republicans are busy
probing “phony scandals.” recently he stated that was "not even a
smidgen of corruption" or political motivation in the IRS handling of
groups applying for tax-exempt status. But the sheer number of
scandals suggests that misbehavior, abuse of power, and possibly corruption are
not something being dreamed up by the GOP, but a defining characteristic of the
Obama administration. Here is a full list of the administration’s most
egregious scandals. The ones we know about, at least. And at the end a
copy of today's editorial of the Wall Street Journal about the current
investigation of the IRS political targeting scandal.
Benghazi: This is actually three scandals in one: The
failure of administration to protect the Benghazi mission, The changes made to the talking points in order
to suggest the attack was motivated by an anti-Muslim video, The refusal of the
White House to say what President Obama did the night of the attack. . Watching
the AP: The Justice Department
performed a massive cull of Associated Press reporters’ phone records as part
of a leak investigation.Rosengate:
again, this is actually two scandals in one The Justice Department
suggested that Fox News reporter James Rosen is a criminal for reporting about
classified information and subsequently monitored his phones and emails and. Potential Holder perjury, attorney General Eric Holder told
Congress he had never been associated with “potential prosecution” of a
journalist for perjury when in fact he signed the affidavit that termed Rosen a
potential criminal. The ATF “Fast and Furious” scheme,
again two scandals in one: Allowed
weapons from the U.S. to “walk” across the border into the hands of Mexican
drug dealers. The ATF lost track of hundreds of firearms, many of which
were used in crimes, including the December 2010 killing of Border Patrol Agent
Brian Terry and Potential Holder
Perjury II: Holder told Congress in May
2011 that he had just recently heard about the Fast and Furious gun walking
scheme when there is evidence he may have known much earlier. Sebelius
demands payment: HHS
Secretary Kathleen Sebelius solicited donations from companies HHS might
regulate. The money would be used to help her sign up uninsured Americans for
ObamaCare. The
Pigford scandal: An
Agriculture Department effort that started as an attempt to compensate black
farmers who had been discriminated against by the agency but evolved into a
gravy train delivering several billion dollars in cash to thousands of additional
minority and female farmers who probably didn’t face discrimination. GSA gone wild: The General Services Administration in 2010 held
an $823,000 training conference in Las Vegas, featuring a clown and a mind
readers. Resulted in the resignation of the GSA administrator. Veterans Affairs in Disney World: The agency wasted more than $6 million on two
conferences in Orlando. An assistant secretary was fired. Sebelius
violates the Hatch Act: A U.S.
special counsel determined that Sebelius violated the Hatch Act when she
made “extemporaneous partisan remarks” during a speech in her official
capacity last year. During the remarks, Sebelius called for the election of the
Democratic candidate for governor of North Carolina. Solyndra: Republicans charged the
Obama administration funded and promoted its poster boy for green energy
despite warning signs the company was headed for bankruptcy. The
administration also allegedly pressed Solyndra to delay layoff announcements
until after the 2010 midterm elections. AKA Lisa
Jackson: Former EPA Administrator
Lisa Jackson used the name Richard Windsor” when corresponding by email with
other government officials, drawing charges she was trying to evade scrutiny. The New
Black Panthers: The
Justice Department was accused of using a racial double standard in failing to
pursue a voter intimidation case against Black Panthers who appeared to be
menacing voters at a polling place in 2008 in Philadelphia. Waging war
all by myself: Obama
may have violated the Constitution and both the letter and the spirit of the
War Powers Resolution by attacking Libya without Congressional approval. Biden bullies the press: Vice President Biden’s office has repeatedly
interfered with coverage, including forcing a reporter to wait in a closet, making
a reporter delete photos, and editing pool reports. AKPD not
A-OK: The administration paid
millions to the former firm of then-White House adviser David
Axelrod, AKPD Message and Media, to promote passage of Obamacare. Some
questioned whether the firm was hired to help pay Axelrod $2 million AKPD owed
him. Sestak, we’ll
take care of you: Former
White House Chief of Staff Rahm Emanuel used Bill Clinton as an intermediary to
probe whether former Rep. Joe Sestak (D-Pa.) would accept a prominent, unpaid
White House advisory position in exchange for dropping out of the 2010 primary
against former Sen. Arlen Specter (D-Pa.). I’ll
pass my own laws: Obama
has repeatedly been accused of making end runs around Congress by deciding
which laws to enforce, including the decision not to deport illegal immigrants
who may have been allowed to stay in the United States had Congress passed the
“Dream Act.” The
hacking of Sharyl Attkisson’s computer: It’s
not clear who hacked the CBS reporter’s computer as she investigated the
Benghazi scandal, but the Obama administration and its allies had both the
motive and the means to do it. An American Political Prisoner: The sudden decision to arrest Nakoula Basseley
Nakoula on unrelated charges after protests in the Arab world over his
anti-Muslim video is an extraordinarily suspicious coincidence. “We’re
going to go out and we’re going to prosecute the person that made that video,”
Hillary Clinton allegedly told the father of one of the ex-SEALs killed in
Banghazi. Get rid
of inconvenient IGs: Corporation
for National and Community Service Inspector General Gerald Walpin was
fired in 2009 as he fought wasteful spending and investigated a friend of
Obama’s, Sacramento Mayor and former NBA player Kevin Johnson. The White
House says Walpin was incompetent.24.
Influence peddling: An investigation is underway of Alejandro
Mayorkas, director of the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services, who has
been nominated by Obama for the number two post at the Department of Homeland
Security. Mayorkas may have used his position to unfairly obtain U.S. visas for
foreign investors in company run by Hillary Clinton’s brother, Anthony Rodman.
And last but
not least…….
IRS targets
Obama’s enemies: The IRS
targeted conservative and pro-Israel groups prior to the 2012 election.
Questions are being raised about why this occurred, who ordered it, whether
there was any White House involvement and whether there was an initial effort
to hide who knew about the targeting and when.
Even if scandals as Benghazi could be considered the
worst scandal of this administration because the loss of life of American
officials, the IRS scandal is very important because it represent an
interference with the right of freedom of speech.
I am able to send you this e mail because of my right
to communicate freely my ideas.
Freedom of speech is the political right to
communicate one's opinions and ideas using one's body and property to anyone
who is willing to receive them- If a government agency punishes me because I
use my right of freedom of speech, this government stop being a democracy to
become a dictatorship
Today’s Editorial of the Wall Street Journal gives us
the details of the current investigation of the IRS political interference with
the conservative groups that used their political right to communicate their
ideas against Obama’s administration.
Obama's IRS
'Confusion'
New evidence
undercuts White House claims about IRS motivation.
Feb. 5, 2014 7:06 p.m. ET
House committees are still digging into the IRS
political targeting scandal, and based on a hearing Wednesday there's more to learn. The day produced more evidence
blowing apart President Obama's claims that there was "not even a smidgen
of corruption" or political motivation in the IRS handling of groups
applying for tax-exempt status.
Mr. Obama wants Americans to believe that the
targeting resulted from the confusing tax law governing nonprofits, which he
says was "difficult" to interpret and resulted in mere
"bureaucratic" mistakes. This is also the Administration's
justification for issuing new regulations governing 501(c)(4)s that would
effectively silence White House opponents this election year. Published in the
Federal Register in November, the new rules cite the "lack of a clear and
concise" regulation as reason for the rewrite.
House Ways and Means Chairman Dave Camp blew up this
fairy tale at Wednesday's hearing with new IRS Commissioner John Koskinen. Mr. Camp unveiled a June 14, 2012 email from
Treasury career attorney Ruth Madrigal to key IRS officials in the tax-exempt
department, including former director Lois Lerner.
The email cites a blog post about the political
activity of tax-exempt 501(c)(4) groups and reads: "Don't know who in your
organizations [sic] is keeping tabs on c4s, but since we mentioned potentially
addressing them (off-plan) in 2013, I've got my radar up and this seemed
interesting."
Interesting for sure. The IRS typically puts out a
public schedule of coming regulations, and Mr. Camp noted that in this case
"off-plan" appears to mean "hidden from the public." He
added that committee interviews with IRS officials have found that the new 2013
rules were in the works as early as 2011, meaning the Administration has
"fabricated the rationale" for this new regulation.
Mr. Camp added that everything his committee has
discovered contradicts the White House argument that the IRS scandal was caused
by legal "confusion." The current rules governing 501(c)(4)s have
existed, unchanged, since 1959. Prior to 2010 the IRS processed and approved
tax-exempt applications in fewer than three months with no apparent
befuddlement.
The IRS hyper-scrutiny of conservative groups only
began in 2010 amid the Obama Administration's larger political attack on
political donors like the Koch brothers, and emails show that IRS officials
were acutely aware of this political environment. In February 2010, for
example, an IRS screener in Cincinnati flagged an application to his superiors
noting: "Recent media attention to this type of organization indicates to
me that this is a 'high profile' case."
From then on applications were routed through the
offices of Mrs. Lerner and Obama-appointed IRS chief counsel William Wilkins,
and long approval delays ensued. Extensive interviews and emails show that
neither the initial Cincinnati interest, nor the subsequent Washington delay,
was in any way driven by "confusion."
Mr. Koskinen promised in December to restore public
trust in the IRS, but he didn't do much of that on Wednesday. He toed the Administration line on the new 501(c)(4)
rules, promising to address concerns only "to the extent I have any
control" over the process. He refused to say if he'd comply with Mr.
Camp's request for IRS and Treasury documents pertaining to the rule-making,
fretting instead about low IRS "morale" and lack of funding.
The quickest way Mr. Koskinen could restore public
trust in the IRS would be to halt the new politically toxic 501(c)(4) rules
until investigations into the original targeting are complete. Meantime, the House
should sharply reduce IRS funding until the agency is more responsive.
Scalia:
‘Kidding Yourself’ if You Think Internment Camps Won’t Return
U.S. Supreme
Court Justice Antonin Scalia told law students at the University of Hawaii on
Monday that the nation’s highest court was wrong to uphold the internment of
Japanese-Americans during World War II, but he wouldn’t be surprised if the
court issued a similar ruling during a future conflict.
Scalia was
responding to a question about the court’s 1944 decision in Korematsu v. United
States, which upheld the convictions of Gordon Hirabayashi and Fred Korematsu
for violating an order to report to an internment camp.
“Well of course
Korematsu was wrong. And I think we have repudiated in a later case. But you
are kidding yourself if you think the same thing will not happen again,” Scalia
told students and faculty during a lunchtime Q-and-A session.
Scalia cited a
Latin expression meaning, “In times of war, the laws fall silent.”
“That’s what
was going on – the panic about the war and the invasion of the Pacific and
whatnot. That’s what happens. It was wrong, but I would not be surprised to see
it happen again, in time of war. It’s no justification, but it is the reality,”
he said.
Read more: http://www.washingtontimes.com/
Read more: http://www.washingtontimes.com/
Read more at http://minutemennews.com/2014/02/scalia-kidding-think-internment-camps-wont-return/#Kvhh84RVHEoqEdOr.99
Amenper: No son todos los que están, ni están todos los que son.
El Tea Party es un movimiento creado para reflejar y defender los
principios conservadores, los cuales son a mi parecer los principios esenciales
para un para que un país tenga una sistema social y económico que sea para el
bien de todos.
Pero el Tea Party es un movimiento, no es una
institución homogénea, ni un partido político organizado.
Esta heterogénea estructura puede ser buena, porque
una institución organizada pudiera llevar a un tercer partido que pudiera
diluir la oposición al partido Demócrata y haría mas fácil para ellos ganar en
las elecciones.
Pero aunque el que no sea un partido estructurado es
bueno, también lo hace susceptible a la diversidad dentro de los numerosos
capítulos de los diferentes Tea Parties.
Los Libertarios han tomado la mejor parte en esto, y
aunque desde los años 50 siempre he considerado a los libertarios como buenos
aliados, por nuestra coincidencia con sus principios económicos y su tenaz
persistencia en su lucha, que por otra parte no puedo estar de acuerdo en su
política exterior y en cuanto a la legalización de las drogas. No puedo estar de acuerdo en establecer
relaciones con Castro ni en dejar que Irán produzca un arma nuclear, basado en
un concepto que considero equivocado de "libertad", ni puedo estar de
acuerdo en que se puedan usar las drogas libremente.
Pero no son los libertarios los que me preocupan
dentro de Tea Party, porque son fieles a sus doctrinas pero también son
sinceros, no son espías que tratan de destruirnos.
Lo que me preocupa es que al enemigo le es muy fácil
infiltrar el Tea Party y crear voceros que con sofismas y demagogias destruyan
al Tea Party desde adentro y ayuden a los demócratas a ganar las elecciones.
Por eso tenemos que aliarnos al Tea Party, pero
tenemos que ver también que persona y que Tea Party es el que está hablando,
porque es muy fácil para el enemigo el crear un capitulo del Tea Party para
destruirlo desde adentro y beneficiar al enemigo.
Creo, y estoy
convencido, aunque es mi percepción personal , que el mejor candidato para
enfrentarse a los demócratas en las elecciones presidenciales del 2016 es el
gobernador de Wisconsin Scott Walker. Lo he dicho a quienes me han preguntado
que quien creo que sería el mejor candidato y siempre he mantenido esta
opinión hasta el día de hoy.
Scott Walker es un candidato que tiene que tener la
aprobación de un verdadero Tea Party, y hasta ahora siempre ha recibido el
apoyo del Tea Party de diferentes estados, como en el caso cuando los
sindicatos trataron de destituirlo de su puesto de gobernador de
Wisconsin..
Pero además es un político que por su posición de
gobernador, que es como ser un presidente estatal, tiene una experiencia y un
expediente que lo califica para la oficina de la presidencia. O sea que está calificado no solo por
su conservadurismo pero por su expediente como gobernador.
Digo esto porque creo que en estos momentos su visibilidad y sus
posibilidades como candidato, aumentaran ahora con el discurso del Estado de la
Unión de Wisconsin, en el que se vio como el Estado de Wisconsin se encuentra a
la cabeza o como uno de los primero estados, económicamente y en bajo
desempleo. Esta visibilidad
le hará centro de los ataques demócratas, pero esto no me preocupa, es lo
esperado, vean en este link de la revista liberal "político" que no
puede decir nada malo, entonces habla bien dejando cosas malas como sugerencias
y tergiversaciones de los que dijo Walker como que está en la cuerda floja, que
no es sincero
Pero lo que realmente me preocupa es los ataques de
los nuestros, o mejor dicho, los que se pueden hacer como que son de nosotros
para poner zancadillas a nuestros candidatos.
Por favor, sean selectivos en creer los que le dicen,
no todos los republicanos son conservadores, pero también no todos los que se
llaman conservadores lo son necesariamente.
Cuando ataquen a una persona de que no es conservador
porque tiene una conducta en un momento dado que no se ajusta a un punto de la
amplia gama de la doctrina conservadora, no quiere decir que esa persona es un
enemigo o no es conservador.
Si una persona es un conservador económico y social ,
pero por razones personales está a favor del control de armas, podemos estar en
desacuerdo con él en ese punto, pero no podemos determinar que no es conservador y
llamarlo un RINO.
Por otro lado, si una persona está en contra del
control de armas, como nosotros y tiene una posición conservadora
económicamente y socialmente, pero tiene una posición en inmigración como la
que presentan los republicanos en este momento, podernos no estar de acuerdo
con esa persona pero no es nuestro enemigo y no podemos decir que no es
conservador. Hay que
acordarse de Reagan que fue conservador y cometió el error de otorgar una
amnistía total a los inmigrantes, a mi parecer cometió un error, pero ¿puedo
decir que no fue conservador?¿Fue Reagan un RINO?
Digo esto porque nadie es perfecto en nada, no existe
un conservador que tenga una larga y completa trayectoria personal al gusto de
otro conservador, porque todo es relativo.
La trayectoria de Scott Walker ha sido puramente
conservadora y esto lo reconocen todos en este momento..
¿Pero que hay si surge un infiltrado dentro de un
capitulo del Tea Party que diga que no es conservador por un punto
indeterminado en su larga carrera política?¿vamos a olvidarnos de todo lo que
ha hecho por la causa conservadora y por su estado?¿Vamos a eliminarlo de poder
ser candidato? ¿vamos a negarle nuestro voto en unas elecciones, que es como
darle un voto al candidato demócrata?
Por favor, vamos a ser inteligentemente selectivos en
lo que escuchamos.
Recuerden que
no son todos los que están, ni están todos los que son.
USOS Y ABUSOS DEL US 1
Samitier: El Estado Proxeneta... ¡Chulo!
Por: Carlos Alberto Montaner
Los 33
presidentes y dignatarios que visitaron La Habana se
quedaron maravillados. Ninguno sabía cómo, aunque fuera muy precariamente, con
los edificios en ruina y al filo de la catástrofe, Cuba conseguía sostenerse.
Acaso con la excepción de Nicolás
Maduro, que tiene dotes de vidente y un diálogo permanente con
los pájaros, lo que lo mantiene plenamente informado.
Ninguno ignoraba que la bicentenaria industria azucarera había
sido liquidada y
desguazada por la incapacidad feroz de la dirigencia. Todos conocían que
las marcas
de tabaco y ronesfueron vendidas a multinacionales europeas hace mucho tiempo.
Era evidente que laflota
pesquera no existía desde los años noventa. No obstante,
la Isla, a trancas y barrancas,importaba
el 80 por ciento de todos los insumos que esa sociedad
necesita, incluidos los alimentos, la medicina y una parte sustancial de la
energía.
¿Cómo lo hacía? ¿Dónde estaba el truco? ¿De dónde sacaba la
plata?
Se lo escuché por primera vez a un diplomático europeo que había
vivido en Cuba. Luego se ha popularizado. El modelo creado por los Castro es el Estado proxeneta.
El proxenetismo es una conducta delictiva que consiste en obtener beneficios de
otra persona a la que se obliga a trabajar mediante coacciones o el suministro
de protección. Generalmente se aplica a la prostitución, pero no sólo a ella.
Familiarmente también se le conoce como “chulería”.
Es una denominación incómoda, pero ajustada a la realidad que
circula en voz baja entre los cubanos de la Isla. El gobierno se ha especializado
en la extorsión
de sus propios ciudadanos o de los aliados a los que les brinda servicios de
espionaje y control social, sus dos únicas especialidades o
“ventajas comparativas”, como suelen decir en la jerga económica. Cincuenta y
cinco años después de implantada la dictadura, casi todas las fuentes
significativas de ingreso que sostienen al país provienen de oscuros negocios
realizados en el exterior.
El subsidio venezolano. Calculado en 13
000 millones de dólares anuales por el profesor Carmelo Mesa Lago, decano de
los economistas cubanos en esta materia. Eso incluye más de 100 000 barriles
diarios de petróleo, de los cuales la mitad se reexportan y venden en España.
Otros 30 000 parece que van a Petro
Caribe y dan origen a una doble corrupción de apoyo
político y enriquecimiento ilícito. La fuente pública de esta información es el
experto Pedro
Mantellini, uno de los grandes conocedores del tema
petrolero venezolano. Lo explicó en Miami en el programa de María Elvira Salazar en CNN Latino. Caracas compra
influencia internacional a base de petróleo, pero comparte con sus cómplices
cubanos la gestión de esas dádivas. Cuba, al fin y al cabo, es la metrópolis.
La trata de médicos y personal sanitario. Alcanza la cifra de siete mil quinientos
millones de dólares anuales. La especialista María Werlau, directora
de Cuba Archive, ha descrito la actividad en The Miami Herald. Es muy fácil llegar al artículo por
medio de Google. El gobierno cubano alquila y cobra por el arrendamiento de sus
profesionales de la salud. Les confisca a sus “protegidos”
el 95%
de los salarios. Angola paga hasta sesenta mil dólares anuales
por cada facultativo. Ni siquiera la ayuda a Haití se escapa de este esquema
de solidaridad
tarifada. Los servicios prestados en el devastado país se lo
abonan a buen precio a La Habana los organismos internacionales. Brasil, que
paga por muchos servicios, es el último gran socio de Cuba en esta oscura
actividad del proxenetismo
sanitario internacional. Dilma no quiere tanto beneficiar
a sus pobres, como a sus amigos cubanos. Raúl, además, tiene un gran dominio
del oficio. Es una práctica conocida por los negreros cubanos desde el siglo
XIX. Mientras duró la esclavitud (hasta 1886), los amos solían arrendar a sus
esclavos cuando no los necesitaban. La zona más rentable del negocio de
“alquilar negros” eran las pobres muchachas que entregaban a los burdeles. Sus
amos cobraban por los servicios que ellas prestaban. Eran
empresarios-proxenetas. Ahora, simplemente, se trata de un Estado-proxeneta.
Otros alquileres, otros negocios. Pero ahí no termina la explotación. El
gobierno cubano les arrienda otros profesionales a empresas privadas. Los
antiguos griegos se referían a los esclavos como “herramientas parlantes”.
No creo que Raúl conozca a los clásicos, pero entiende perfectamente el
significado último de la expresión. Hay universidades latinoamericanas o de
habla portuguesa que contratan con el gobierno de La Habana los servicios de
buenos profesores
cubanos de matemáticas o física a precios de saldo. Hay
salas de fiesta y cabarets que contratan músicos o teatros que se sirven de los
bailarines cubanos, incluido el magnífico ballet de Alicia Alonso. Existen
compañías europeas y latinoamericanas que explotan a técnicos en informática
procedentes de la Isla. El régimen de los Castro sabe que un cubano bien instruido es totalmente
improductivo dentro de Cuba, dado el demencial sistema
económico de la Isla, pero es una fuente potencial de riqueza una vez colocado
en el exterior. Objetivamente, ese gobierno es una gigantesca e implacable empresa de
subcontratación laboral que viola todas las reglas de
la Organización
Internacional del Trabajo (OIT). De eso y para eso vive.
Las remesas de los exiliados. Emilio
Morales, el gran conocedor del tema, escapado de Cuba hace
relativamente poco tiempo, sitúa esa fuente de ingresos (2012) en algo más
de cinco
mil millones de dólares. La mitad, grosso modo, es
remitida en efectivo y el resto en mercancías. Crece al ritmo del 13% anual.
Cada vez que escapa un balsero, el régimen, de dientes afuera, gime por la
fuga, pero sabe que, al cabo de un tiempo, fluyen los dólares hacia la
necesitada familia dejaba en la Isla. En Cuba, aunque fuera con mendrugos,
había que alimentarlo. Una vez en el exilio, es una fuente gratis y constante
de recursos.
De ahí sale el dinero para pagar por las importaciones. ¿Hasta cuándo podrá Raúl Castro sostener a una
sociedad casi totalmente improductiva mediante actividades
que rondan o incurren directamente en el delito? No se sabe. Los
proxenetas suelen tener larga vida. Hay mucha gente que se sirve de su
intermediación para acceder a diversas formas de placer, incluido el disfrute
del poder.
CBO: obamacare
to cost 2.3 million jobs. By United
Press International February 5, 2014 6:50 am
obamacare??? The Congressional Budget Office said
Tuesday the Affordable Care Act would reduce employment by about 2.3 million
jobs over 10 years.
The new
estimate nearly three triples the previous CBO estimate of 800,000 jobs that
the Affordable Care Act, known as Obamacare, was to have cost the economy, the
Hill newspaper reported.
The
controversial healthcare law is expected to slow the economy and cause many
people to leave the workforce, the impact being felt mostly by low-wage
workers, the Washington Post reported.
The agency
also said the healthcare law would see 1 million fewer sign ups this year than
previously expected due to the clumsy launch of the federal Web site last year.
Eventually,
the number of sign ups will catch up to previous expectations, but 6 million
people are now expected to sign up in 2014, rather than 7 million, which was
the previous estimate.
By 2017,
the number is expected to swell to 24 million, the CBO said.
The CBO
said the economy would grow at a rate of 3.1 percent in 2014, a downgrade from
the 3.4 percent growth previously expected.
The agency
expects unemployment to end the year at 6.7 percent, where it is now. Last
year, the CBO predicted the unemployment rate would end 2014 at 7.6 percent.
The agency
also expects a s smaller federal deficit compared to its previous forecast.
The 2014
federal deficit is now forecast tat $514 billion. It was previously estimated
to come in at $560 billion.
A service
of YellowBrix, Inc.
Watch Nancy Pelosi Look Ridiculous. /
Nancy Pelosi
appeared on Comedy Central’s Daily Show with Jon Stewart last week and it’s a
good bet she didn’t expect what ended up happening. Things got pretty tense,
pretty quick, when Stewart tried to get the minority leader to explain why
government seems to function so ineptly. Pelosi went to her go-to move… Blame
the Republicans.
“Right now, we
have a school of thought in the House Republican caucus that is
anti-government, anti-science, anti-Obama. They have a trifecta that just
enables them to vote against everything.”
The problem for
Pelosi is that Stewart
wasn’t buying it. Even he
realizes that the Democrats held big majorities in both chambers during the
early Obama years and that the Democrats are still in charge with their command
of the Senate and the White House.
Watch the train
wreck interview – it will make you smile.
Stewart said
that Democrats are then required to make a stronger case. He said that
Democratic governance now appears “chaotic” and their execution of legislation
appears to “lack efficiency.” When Pelosi again blamed Republicans for this
condition, Stewart became even more agitated.
When he asked why it was so
difficult to get a company to execute the Affordable Care Act’s insurance
exchange website “competently,” Pelosi replied, “I don’t know.”
“What do you mean you don’t know?
How do you not know?” Stewart asked laughing.
He laughed in
her face. Amazing.
Even some
Democrats are getting tired of Pelosi’s hackneyed act. Former Clinton aide
Lanny Davis wishes that Pelosi would just grit her teeth and apologize already.
The disaster that is Obamacare is wholly the Democrat Party’s fault, and they
need to come to grips with that. They wrote it, they rammed it through without
ironing it out, and they implemented it like a bunch of drunken monkeys.
It’s all their
fault and they should accept responsibility for its failure.
Pelosi and the
rest of the Democrat leadership are a joke. One big joke. It’s nice to see the
guy with the clown nose finally taking them down a couple of pegs.
INVASION USA: REPUBLICANS
TO RESCUE DEMS, BETRAY THE NATION. Thomas
Sowell likens illegal aliens to embezzlers or burglars 'living in the shadows' THOMAS SOWELL
Some
supporters of President Obama may be worried about how he and the Democrats are
going to fare politically, as the problems of Obamacare continue to escalate
and it looks like the Republicans have a chance to win a majority in the
Senate.
But
Democrats may not need to worry so much. Republicans may once again come to the
rescue of the Democrats, by discrediting themselves and snatching defeat from
the very jaws of victory.
The
latest bright idea among Republicans inside the Beltway is a new version of amnesty
that is virtually certain to lose votes among the Republican base and is
unlikely to gain many votes among the Hispanics the Republican leadership is
courting.
One of
the enduring political mysteries is how the Republicans can be so successful in
winning governorships and control of state legislatures, while failing to make
much headway in Washington. Maybe there are just too many clever GOP
consultants inside the Beltway.
When it
comes to national elections, just what principles do the Republicans stand for?
It is hard to think of any, other than their hoping to win elections by
converting themselves into Democrats lite. But voters who want what the
Democrats offer can vote for the real thing, rather than Johnny-come-lately
imitations.
Listening
to discussions of immigration laws and proposals to reform them is like
listening to something out of “Alice in Wonderland.”
Immigration
laws are the only laws that are discussed in terms of how to help people who
break them. One of the big problems that those who are pushing “comprehensive
immigration reform” want solved is how to help people who came here illegally
and are now “living in the shadows” as a result.
What
about embezzlers or burglars who are “living in the shadows” in fear that
someone will discover their crimes? Why not “reform” the laws against
embezzlement or burglary, so that such people can also come out of the shadows?
Almost
everyone seems to think that we need to solve the problem of the children of
illegal immigrants, because these children are here “through no fault of their
own.” Do people who say that have any idea how many millions of children are
living in dire poverty in India, Africa or other places “through no fault of
their own,” and would be better off living in the United States?
Do all
children have some inherent right to live in America if they have done nothing
wrong? If not, then why should the children of illegal immigrants have such a
right?
More
fundamentally, why do the American people not have a right to the protection
that immigration laws provide people in other countries around the world –
including Mexico, where illegal immigrants from other countries get no such
special treatment as Mexico and its American supporters are demanding for
illegal immigrants in the United States?
The very
phrase “comprehensive” immigration reform is part of the bad faith that has
surrounded immigration issues for decades. What “comprehensive” reform means is
that border control and amnesty should be voted on together in Congress.
Why?
Because that would be politically convenient for members of Congress, who like
to be on both sides of issues, so as to minimize the backlash from the voting
public. But what “comprehensive” immigration reform has always meant in
practice is amnesty up front and a promise to control the border later –
promises that have never been kept.
The new
Republican proposal is to have some border-control criteria whose fulfillment
will automatically serve as a “trigger” to let the legalizing of illegal
immigrants proceed. But why set up some automatic triggering device to signal
that the borders are secure, when the Obama administration is virtually
guaranteed to game the system, so that amnesty can proceed?
What in
the world is wrong with Congress taking up border security first, as a separate
issue, and later taking responsibility in a congressional vote on whether the
border has become secure? Congress at least should come out of the shadows.
The
Republican plan for granting legalization up front, while withholding citizenship,
is too clever by half. It is like saying that you can slide halfway down a
slippery slope.
Republicans
may yet rescue the Democrats, while demoralizing their own supporters and
utterly failing the country.
Read more at http://www.wnd.com/2014/02/republicans-to-rescue-dems-betray-the-nation/#X5F8cgwcxo7xQ7dE.99
_________________________________________________________________
FOX News. By Chris
Stirewalt
Buzz Cut:
· Rubio makes case for ObamaCare bailout blockade
· Cee-Bee-Oh-No
· IRS boss will get more than a smidgen of heat
· Pryor goes ugly early with Medi-scare ads
· Livin’ la vida Putin
RUBIO MAKES HIS CASE FOR OBAMACARE BAILOUT BLOCK
Do Republicans have the appetite for another debt-ceiling showdown? President Obama and his fellow Democrats are betting that the red team doesn’t and that House Republicans will eventually yield to an unconditional hike in the federal borrowing limit. But Sen. Marco Rubio, R-Fla., will make the case today that House Republicans can use the looming borrowing breach as leverage to start to unwind ObamaCare. Rubio, the lead proponent of a move to block insurance industry bailouts built into the law, will testify this morning before the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee about his plan. House Speaker John Boehner has said he is open to the idea of making the debt lift contingent on blocking potentially billions of dollars in handouts to insurance firms grappling with the fallout from ObamaCare. But Boehner won’t go ahead unless Republicans are united behind the plan. That’s why Rubio’s sales pitch today is a pretty big deal. The alternate House plan would be to leverage the debt hike for a largely symbolic move to demand what is now considered the inevitable approval of an oil pipeline from Canada. – Watch Fox: Correspondent Peter Doocy is following the hearing and considers what the provisions mean for consumers.
[Gallup’s latest survey finds 51 percent oppose ObamaCare and only 24 percent feel it will personally benefit them.]
High stakes - Ending the bailouts could be the end of ObamaCare since insurance companies would be unlikely to remain in the program without the taxpayer subsidies to offset their guaranteed losses under the law. If they bolt, the law collapses, meaning Obama would be highly unlikely to ever sign such a bill. But if Rubio can get the House to act, he might at least be able to force a painful vote in the Senate on a provision of the law that is unpopular across the political spectrum.
David Drucker explains: “The Republican leadership is informally whipping the proposal with rank-and-file members to gauge interest and determine if it’s possible to corral 218 GOP votes for such a package… the strategy now, if House Republicans can agree on a plan to increase the debt ceiling, would be to act first to prevent Senate Democrats from jamming them at the last minute with a proposal that they oppose.”
CEE-BEE-OH-NO
Team Obama has a doozy of a hangover today from a Congressional Budget Office report that found ObamaCare will reduce the number of hours Americans work by a number equal to 2.3 million full-time jobs and add $10 trillion to federal deficits by 2024. It was always known that the entitlement program would cause some workers to quit full-time jobs in order to get health insurance subsidies, but the number in the new report is triple the original estimate. And none of that even touches on the workers who will be forced into part-time status or be laid off as companies face compliance costs. The White House tried to spin the damning report as a positive, with White House Press Secretary Jay Carney saying that American workers who give up income in order to get ObamaCare benefits “will be empowered to make choices about their own lives and livelihoods.” Quite so. Carney brought in chief White House economist Jason Furman to take beanballs, but he didn’t get on base either. Furman said having subsidies creating economic incentives for not working “creates a situation where you can be more dynamic.” Rep. Paul Ryan, R-Wis., will tackle the findings during a House Budget Committee hearing today. More.
[“That was a sad briefing … that performance by Jason Furman was one of the most unconvincing performances I’ve seen. His answers to the questions were just… they were pathetic.” – Fox News Senior Political Analyst Brit Hume on “The Kelly File”]
Cuts both ways - As Dana Milbank notes: “For years, the White House has trotted out the nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office to show that Obamacare would cut health-care costs and reduce deficits:
“CBO Confirms Families Will Save Money Under Health Reform.”
“CBO Update Shows Lower Costs for the New Health Care Law.”
“CBO Confirms: The Health Care Law Reduces the Deficit.”
Live by the sword, die by the sword, the Bible tells us. In Washington, it’s slightly different: Live by the CBO, die by the CBO.”
Care to revise and extend those remarks? - “This legislation is about creating jobs and strengthening the middle class and reducing the deficit. Four million jobs will be created by the legislation when it is fully in effect. $1.3 trillion will be saved in the life of this legislation. And it strengthens the middle class because it creates jobs.” – Then-House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., in a 2010 press conference touting ObamaCare.
STUDY: MOST DOCS SAY ‘NO’ TO MEDICAID
Daily Caller: “Obamacare supporters have boasted about an uptick in Medicaid enrollments, but does the program offer much more than an insurance card? Health-care consulting firm Merritt Hawkins conducted a survey of Medicaid acceptance rates which found that just 45.7 percent of physicians are now accepting Medicaid patients in the U.S.’s largest 15 cities.”
Feds focus on cities for ObamaCare compliance efforts - AP: “Federal officials have identified 25 key metro areas to focus on. The top two are in Texas: Dallas and Houston. Next come Miami and Atlanta. In the Northeast, the northern New Jersey megalopolis and Philadelphia are on the list. Midwest markets include Detroit, Cleveland and Indianapolis. Southern cities also include Nashville, Tenn., and Charlotte, N.C. Washington is largely steering clear of states that are leading their own sign-up efforts, such as California, New York and Illinois.”
Failing forward - “The company that built the failed Obamacare website received six additional contracts from the Obama administration’s Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services after the website’s disastrous launch, The Daily Caller has learned. According to a company spokesman, CGI Federal was awarded six additional contracts from CMS worth approximately $37 million between October 1 – when the over $600 million Obamacare website launched – through January 2014.”
IRS BOSS WILL GET MORE THAN A SMIDGEN OF HEAT
President Obama’s told Bill O’Reilly that there was no corruption involved in the IRS targeting of the president’s political opponents. “Not even a smidgen,” Obama laughingly said. Newly appointed IRS Commissioner John Koskinen won’t be having many laughs today when he appears before the House Ways and Means Committee. House Republicans are demanding a special counsel be appointed to investigate the targeting of conservative groups because of Obama’s pre-judgment of the outcome of the existing case and because one of the lead attorneys, Barbara Bosserman, is an Obama political donor. Koskinen will also face heat for reinstating employee bonuses that had been cancelled during the height of the scandal. – Watch Fox: Chief Congressional Correspondent Mike Emanuel has the latest on the hearing from Capitol Hill.
[“So of course the president is confident because the fix is in. The person heading the investigation gave [President Obama] a maxed out contribution, gave him a bunch of money. I think he sent her a signal Sunday when he talked to [Bill O’Reilly]: ‘Here’s what we need to have happen: No problem here.’” – Rep. Jim Jordan, R-Ohio, on “The Kelly File.” Watch.
New at Fox News Opinion - American Center for Law and Justice’s Jay Sekulow says You're wrong, Mr. Obama, the IRS is corrupt: “Viewpoint neutrality is a basic legal requirement for federal bureaucrats, one they’re made aware of from day one of federal employment. In other words, singling out conservatives wasn’t an accident or mistake; it was an intentional act by lawyers who knew it was wrong…President Obama ignores the IRS’s own lies. When the IRS made its public apology, it told a series of lies to the American public… But he can’t escape the truth, and, soon enough, his administration won’t be able to escape accountability.”
DRILLING FOR VOTES
WSJ: “A bipartisan group of senators and House members stepped up pressure on the White House Tuesday to approve the Keystone XL pipeline… ‘This pipeline is essential, the time for study is over,’ said Sen. Mary Landrieu, a Louisiana Democrat who is in a tight race for re-election this year…. Senators at the press conference also included Democrats Joe Manchin of West Virginia and Heidi Heitkamp of North Dakota …Keystone backers in the Senate may be close to 60 votes, Mr. Manchin indicated. ‘We need 15 Democrats,’ he said. ‘I think we’re very close to 15 strong Democrats,’ he added.”
[“I want [President Obama] up in Alaska so I can show him where his policies haven’t worked. I’ll drag him up there to show him what he needs to be doing. I don’t need him campaigning for me.”—Sen.Mark Begich, D-Alaska, to AP.]
“…the moment when the rise of the oceans began to slow and our planet began to heal…” - As the Obama administration lays the groundwork for approving a pipeline to bring Canadian oil to Gulf Coast refineries that is bitterly opposed by global-warming activists, the president is offering environmentalists the promise of new regulations that would cripple the U.S. coal industry in years to come. In the near team, though, the “year of action” on global warming looks pretty inert. President Obama today will announce the creation of “climate hubs.” From Reuters: “The hubs will act as information centers and aim to help farmers and ranchers handle risks, including fires, pests, floods and droughts, that are exacerbated by global warming. The hubs will be located in Ames, Iowa; Durham, New Hampshire; Raleigh, North Carolina; Fort Collins, Colorado; El Reno, Oklahoma; Corvallis, Oregon; and Las Cruces, New Mexico, [an unidentified official] said. Additional “sub hubs” will be set up in Rio Piedras, Puerto Rico; Davis, California; and Houghton, Michigan.]
TRILLION DOLLAR BABY
Millions to promote the sheep and maple syrup industries, funding for a catfish inspection office and a new 15-cent tax on every live-cut Christmas tree sold are just a few of the goodies in the nearly $1 trillion farm bill passed by Congress and ready for President Obama’s pen. There’s even a provision to make hemp farming legal, a home-state issue championed by Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky. Tim Carney, the scourge of K Street, details the Beltway marriage of convenience between big business and welfare proponents. President Obama will sign the billion-dollar-per-page bill at Michigan State University on Friday.
[Washington Examiner’s Watchdog has a new series asking, is the government “Too Big to Manage.”]
WITH YOUR SECOND CUP OF COFFEE...
Real Clear Science editor Alex Berezow argues Obama must take hit for pot talk: “On Jan. 26, 1998,President Clinton looked America in the eye and said, ‘I did not have sexual relations with that woman.’ That fib kick-started an odyssey in which our country debated things such as the meaning of the word ‘is’ and whether oral sex is actually sex… What we don’t want to see is the marijuana equivalent of the Clinton-Lewinsky effect – call it the Obama effect… Presidents simply need to be far more careful about what they say. Whether they like it or not, they serve as a role model for all Americans. On the rare occasion that a teen listens in on the national debate, we want to make sure he gets reliable information.”
Got a TIP from the RIGHT or LEFT? Email FoxNewsFirst@FOXNEWS.COM
POLL CHECK
Real Clear Politics Averages
Obama Job Approval: Approve – 43.2 percent//Disapprove – 51.7 percent
Direction of Country: Right Direction – 29.5 percent//Wrong Track – 63.0 percent
Generic Congressional Ballot: Democrats – 40.5 percent// Republicans 42.0 percent
PRYOR GOES UGLY EARLY WITH MEDI-SCARE ADS
Vulnerable Arkansas Democrat Sen. Mark Pryor isn’t waiting for the general election to start going nuclear. It’s still three months before the state’s primary election, but Pryor is unleashing what is usually Democrats’ preferred late-cycle attack, accusing Republicans of taking seniors’ Medicare. Pryor also takes the unusual step of naming GOP frontrunner Rep. Tom Cotton. In what Politico says is “a six-figure buy,” the ads feature women. Gray-haired “Linda” says: “Retirement is just around the corner for us. That’s why I was so concerned when I read Congressman Cotton voted to change Medicare into a voucher system.” Millennial-looking “Courtney” talks about Medicare reform’s effect on her relatives: “It says here that Cotton voted in Congress to change Medicare into a voucher system that will increase out of pocket expenses for every senior in Arkansas, thousands of dollars every year,” she says. “My grandma and grandpa can’t afford that, and neither can my parents.”
Go down swinging? - Senate Democrats are getting a pep talk today from President Obama former President Bill Clinton. The Democratic members of the upper chamber are said to be talking policy as they gather today at Washington’s Nationals Park, but it is no doubt a gloomy midterm forecast that will get more attention. Red state Democrats will likely be looking for some swing tips from batting coach Bubba.
REGRETS? THEY’VE HAD A FEW…
Americans for Prosperity is spending big to hit vulnerable Democrats over their support of ObamaCare. The group is pumping $1.4 million into television ads hitting Sen. Kay Hagan, D-N.C., and Rep. Nick Rahall, D-W.Va. Hagan’s ad features a woman saying “millions of people can’t see their own doctors. And millions are paying more and getting less. ObamaCare doesn’t work. It just doesn’t work.” Rahall’s ad features a clip of Rahall saying “it may be in their best interest to be cancelled.”
[WSJ details how the GOP is closing in on Senate Democrats in the money race.]
PICK SIX: DON’T SELL LANDRIEU SHORT?
If Republicans are able to gain six Senate seats in the midterm election they will gain control of the upper chamber. Which six seats are the most likely GOP pickups? The current consensus among Fox News First readers: Arkansas, Montana, Louisiana, South Dakota, North Carolina and Alaska. ReaderCasey Levy cautions against underestimating Sen. Mary Landrieu, D-La. “[D]on’t sell her short – she’s smart,” Levy writes.
Share your top six picks. Email them – just your top six, please – to FOXNEWSFIRST@FOXNEWS.COMor tweet @cstirewalt.
DONORS FUND DAVIS’ FIRST-CLASS DIGS
“Embattled Democratic gubernatorial candidate Wendy Davis has spent more than $131,000 in campaign funds to pay for luxury apartments in Austin, Texas, since her election to the Texas State Senate in 2008, according to a Washington Free Beacon analysis…While such use of campaign funds is legal in Texas, the amounts involved and properties rented may undermine Davis’s campaign persona of a working class single mom…First elected to the Texas State Senate in 2008, Davis has expensed upwards of $2,000 in monthly rent each legislative session. Davis lived at the Monarch during the 81st session, from January 13, 2009, to June 1, 2009. The residence is described as a ‘luxury community,’ with ‘five-star resort amenities.’ The total amount of rent and utilities paid to the Monarch during the session was $13,882.07.”
[Breitbart: “Dallas Cowboys great Emmitt Smith donated $10,000 to support Texas gubernatorial candidate Wendy Davis.”]
ECUADORIAN EMBEZZLERS GETTING HELP FROM CONGRESS?
Daily Beast: “Sen. Robert Menendez [D-N.J] is under federal investigation for his advocacy on behalf of two Ecuadorian bankers convicted of embezzlement. Turns out he wasn’t the only prominent lawmaker accepting donations and doing favors for the brothers. Florida Republican CongresswomanIleana Ros-Lehtinen, while she was Chairwoman of the House Foreign Affairs Committee, sent a letter to federal agencies on behalf of two Ecuadorian bankers convicted of embezzlement who were seeking U.S. residency. She also advocated for their family members, who donated over $20,000 to her campaign. William and Roberto Isaias, who were convicted in absentia of embezzlement in Ecuador more than a decade ago, have been fighting for the right to avoid extradition and establish residency in the United States.”
N.J. DEM QUITTING AMID ETHICS WOES WENT 0-646 ON BILLS
WaPo: “In his 23 years in Congress, Rep. Robert E. Andrews (D-N.J.) has written 646 different pieces of legislation. That is a vast array of bills, covering a vast number of subjects: children’s pajamas, relations with Taiwan, commemorative coins and trade duties on licorice. But all of Andrews’s bills had one thing in common. Only four of Andrews’s hundreds of bills have ever passed the House of Representatives. But none of them passed the Senate, so none made it to the president’s desk. Even in Congress, where the vast majority of bills fail, that is an unusually awful batting average.”
[Democrat Clay Aiken, made famous by his second-place finish on “American Idol” a decade ago, is making his North Carolina congressional run official. Aiken, an outspoken opponent of the state’s recently approved ban on same-sex marriage, launched his campaign with an attack on incumbent Rep. Renee Ellmers, R-N.C.]
PUSHING FOR CANTOR COUP?
“Speaker John A. Boehner should lose his gavel if he pursues immigration this year, a prominent tea party Republican said in an interview with CQ Roll Call on Tuesday. ‘I think it should cost him his speakership,’ Rep. Raúl R. Labrador of Idaho said, if Boehner puts an immigration overhaul on the floor. But even if Boehner shelves immigration, Labrador said, the party needs new leadership — and the two-term lawmaker is not ruling out a run for leadership himself …Labrador said the new GOP leadership in the 114th Congress could include members currently in leadership, particularly Majority Leader Eric Cantor of Virginia, with whom Labrador has a strong working relationship.”
NEVER TOO EARLY FOR NEW HAMPSHIRE
Sens. Rand Paul, R-Ky. and Mike Lee R-Utah, Rep. Marsha Blackburn, R-Tenn., NBC reality-show hostDonald Trump, CNN personality Newt Gingrich and “Huckabee” host, former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee will appear at a New Hampshire event hosted by Citizens United and Americans for Prosperity April, 12. Via Breitbart.
TO SAVE ON HEALTH, CURE DISEASE
House Energy and Commerce Committee chairman Fred Upton, R-Mich., is applauding a partnership between the nation’s largest drug companies and the National Institutes of Health to find cures for Alzheimer’s, diabetes, rheumatoid arthritis and lupus. Camp said the $230 million project “exemplifies the very best of a public-private collaboration, and we in Congress also want to do what we can in the name of breakthrough research.” For conservatives, it’s a fiscal issue too. As James Pinkerton put it: “If you really want to save money on Medicare, cure Alzheimer’s. It’s a lot cheaper to beat than to treat.”
LIVIN’ LA VIDA PUTIN
Journalists from around the world are descending on Sochi, Russia before the start of the Winter Olympics on Thursday night. But globe-trotting journos are not finding Russian hospitality quite up to their standards. WaPo shares some of the discoveries. BBC reporter Kevin Bishop tweeted about his hotel having mixed amenities: the floor wasn’t finished, but it does have a super-creepy picture of Russian President Vladimir Putin. The Chicago Tribune’s Stacy St. Clair was at first alarmed: “My hotel has no water. If restored, the front desk says, ‘do not use on your face because it contains something very dangerous.’” But she soon took a more optimistic tone tweeting, “on the bright side: I just washed my face with Evian, like I’m a Kardashian or something.”
Chris Stirewalt is digital politics editor for Fox News. Want FOX News First in your inbox every day? Sign up here. To catch Chris live online daily at 11:30 a.m. ET, click here.
Buzz Cut:
· Rubio makes case for ObamaCare bailout blockade
· Cee-Bee-Oh-No
· IRS boss will get more than a smidgen of heat
· Pryor goes ugly early with Medi-scare ads
· Livin’ la vida Putin
RUBIO MAKES HIS CASE FOR OBAMACARE BAILOUT BLOCK
Do Republicans have the appetite for another debt-ceiling showdown? President Obama and his fellow Democrats are betting that the red team doesn’t and that House Republicans will eventually yield to an unconditional hike in the federal borrowing limit. But Sen. Marco Rubio, R-Fla., will make the case today that House Republicans can use the looming borrowing breach as leverage to start to unwind ObamaCare. Rubio, the lead proponent of a move to block insurance industry bailouts built into the law, will testify this morning before the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee about his plan. House Speaker John Boehner has said he is open to the idea of making the debt lift contingent on blocking potentially billions of dollars in handouts to insurance firms grappling with the fallout from ObamaCare. But Boehner won’t go ahead unless Republicans are united behind the plan. That’s why Rubio’s sales pitch today is a pretty big deal. The alternate House plan would be to leverage the debt hike for a largely symbolic move to demand what is now considered the inevitable approval of an oil pipeline from Canada. – Watch Fox: Correspondent Peter Doocy is following the hearing and considers what the provisions mean for consumers.
[Gallup’s latest survey finds 51 percent oppose ObamaCare and only 24 percent feel it will personally benefit them.]
High stakes - Ending the bailouts could be the end of ObamaCare since insurance companies would be unlikely to remain in the program without the taxpayer subsidies to offset their guaranteed losses under the law. If they bolt, the law collapses, meaning Obama would be highly unlikely to ever sign such a bill. But if Rubio can get the House to act, he might at least be able to force a painful vote in the Senate on a provision of the law that is unpopular across the political spectrum.
David Drucker explains: “The Republican leadership is informally whipping the proposal with rank-and-file members to gauge interest and determine if it’s possible to corral 218 GOP votes for such a package… the strategy now, if House Republicans can agree on a plan to increase the debt ceiling, would be to act first to prevent Senate Democrats from jamming them at the last minute with a proposal that they oppose.”
CEE-BEE-OH-NO
Team Obama has a doozy of a hangover today from a Congressional Budget Office report that found ObamaCare will reduce the number of hours Americans work by a number equal to 2.3 million full-time jobs and add $10 trillion to federal deficits by 2024. It was always known that the entitlement program would cause some workers to quit full-time jobs in order to get health insurance subsidies, but the number in the new report is triple the original estimate. And none of that even touches on the workers who will be forced into part-time status or be laid off as companies face compliance costs. The White House tried to spin the damning report as a positive, with White House Press Secretary Jay Carney saying that American workers who give up income in order to get ObamaCare benefits “will be empowered to make choices about their own lives and livelihoods.” Quite so. Carney brought in chief White House economist Jason Furman to take beanballs, but he didn’t get on base either. Furman said having subsidies creating economic incentives for not working “creates a situation where you can be more dynamic.” Rep. Paul Ryan, R-Wis., will tackle the findings during a House Budget Committee hearing today. More.
[“That was a sad briefing … that performance by Jason Furman was one of the most unconvincing performances I’ve seen. His answers to the questions were just… they were pathetic.” – Fox News Senior Political Analyst Brit Hume on “The Kelly File”]
Cuts both ways - As Dana Milbank notes: “For years, the White House has trotted out the nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office to show that Obamacare would cut health-care costs and reduce deficits:
“CBO Confirms Families Will Save Money Under Health Reform.”
“CBO Update Shows Lower Costs for the New Health Care Law.”
“CBO Confirms: The Health Care Law Reduces the Deficit.”
Live by the sword, die by the sword, the Bible tells us. In Washington, it’s slightly different: Live by the CBO, die by the CBO.”
Care to revise and extend those remarks? - “This legislation is about creating jobs and strengthening the middle class and reducing the deficit. Four million jobs will be created by the legislation when it is fully in effect. $1.3 trillion will be saved in the life of this legislation. And it strengthens the middle class because it creates jobs.” – Then-House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., in a 2010 press conference touting ObamaCare.
STUDY: MOST DOCS SAY ‘NO’ TO MEDICAID
Daily Caller: “Obamacare supporters have boasted about an uptick in Medicaid enrollments, but does the program offer much more than an insurance card? Health-care consulting firm Merritt Hawkins conducted a survey of Medicaid acceptance rates which found that just 45.7 percent of physicians are now accepting Medicaid patients in the U.S.’s largest 15 cities.”
Feds focus on cities for ObamaCare compliance efforts - AP: “Federal officials have identified 25 key metro areas to focus on. The top two are in Texas: Dallas and Houston. Next come Miami and Atlanta. In the Northeast, the northern New Jersey megalopolis and Philadelphia are on the list. Midwest markets include Detroit, Cleveland and Indianapolis. Southern cities also include Nashville, Tenn., and Charlotte, N.C. Washington is largely steering clear of states that are leading their own sign-up efforts, such as California, New York and Illinois.”
Failing forward - “The company that built the failed Obamacare website received six additional contracts from the Obama administration’s Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services after the website’s disastrous launch, The Daily Caller has learned. According to a company spokesman, CGI Federal was awarded six additional contracts from CMS worth approximately $37 million between October 1 – when the over $600 million Obamacare website launched – through January 2014.”
IRS BOSS WILL GET MORE THAN A SMIDGEN OF HEAT
President Obama’s told Bill O’Reilly that there was no corruption involved in the IRS targeting of the president’s political opponents. “Not even a smidgen,” Obama laughingly said. Newly appointed IRS Commissioner John Koskinen won’t be having many laughs today when he appears before the House Ways and Means Committee. House Republicans are demanding a special counsel be appointed to investigate the targeting of conservative groups because of Obama’s pre-judgment of the outcome of the existing case and because one of the lead attorneys, Barbara Bosserman, is an Obama political donor. Koskinen will also face heat for reinstating employee bonuses that had been cancelled during the height of the scandal. – Watch Fox: Chief Congressional Correspondent Mike Emanuel has the latest on the hearing from Capitol Hill.
[“So of course the president is confident because the fix is in. The person heading the investigation gave [President Obama] a maxed out contribution, gave him a bunch of money. I think he sent her a signal Sunday when he talked to [Bill O’Reilly]: ‘Here’s what we need to have happen: No problem here.’” – Rep. Jim Jordan, R-Ohio, on “The Kelly File.” Watch.
New at Fox News Opinion - American Center for Law and Justice’s Jay Sekulow says You're wrong, Mr. Obama, the IRS is corrupt: “Viewpoint neutrality is a basic legal requirement for federal bureaucrats, one they’re made aware of from day one of federal employment. In other words, singling out conservatives wasn’t an accident or mistake; it was an intentional act by lawyers who knew it was wrong…President Obama ignores the IRS’s own lies. When the IRS made its public apology, it told a series of lies to the American public… But he can’t escape the truth, and, soon enough, his administration won’t be able to escape accountability.”
DRILLING FOR VOTES
WSJ: “A bipartisan group of senators and House members stepped up pressure on the White House Tuesday to approve the Keystone XL pipeline… ‘This pipeline is essential, the time for study is over,’ said Sen. Mary Landrieu, a Louisiana Democrat who is in a tight race for re-election this year…. Senators at the press conference also included Democrats Joe Manchin of West Virginia and Heidi Heitkamp of North Dakota …Keystone backers in the Senate may be close to 60 votes, Mr. Manchin indicated. ‘We need 15 Democrats,’ he said. ‘I think we’re very close to 15 strong Democrats,’ he added.”
[“I want [President Obama] up in Alaska so I can show him where his policies haven’t worked. I’ll drag him up there to show him what he needs to be doing. I don’t need him campaigning for me.”—Sen.Mark Begich, D-Alaska, to AP.]
“…the moment when the rise of the oceans began to slow and our planet began to heal…” - As the Obama administration lays the groundwork for approving a pipeline to bring Canadian oil to Gulf Coast refineries that is bitterly opposed by global-warming activists, the president is offering environmentalists the promise of new regulations that would cripple the U.S. coal industry in years to come. In the near team, though, the “year of action” on global warming looks pretty inert. President Obama today will announce the creation of “climate hubs.” From Reuters: “The hubs will act as information centers and aim to help farmers and ranchers handle risks, including fires, pests, floods and droughts, that are exacerbated by global warming. The hubs will be located in Ames, Iowa; Durham, New Hampshire; Raleigh, North Carolina; Fort Collins, Colorado; El Reno, Oklahoma; Corvallis, Oregon; and Las Cruces, New Mexico, [an unidentified official] said. Additional “sub hubs” will be set up in Rio Piedras, Puerto Rico; Davis, California; and Houghton, Michigan.]
TRILLION DOLLAR BABY
Millions to promote the sheep and maple syrup industries, funding for a catfish inspection office and a new 15-cent tax on every live-cut Christmas tree sold are just a few of the goodies in the nearly $1 trillion farm bill passed by Congress and ready for President Obama’s pen. There’s even a provision to make hemp farming legal, a home-state issue championed by Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky. Tim Carney, the scourge of K Street, details the Beltway marriage of convenience between big business and welfare proponents. President Obama will sign the billion-dollar-per-page bill at Michigan State University on Friday.
[Washington Examiner’s Watchdog has a new series asking, is the government “Too Big to Manage.”]
WITH YOUR SECOND CUP OF COFFEE...
Real Clear Science editor Alex Berezow argues Obama must take hit for pot talk: “On Jan. 26, 1998,President Clinton looked America in the eye and said, ‘I did not have sexual relations with that woman.’ That fib kick-started an odyssey in which our country debated things such as the meaning of the word ‘is’ and whether oral sex is actually sex… What we don’t want to see is the marijuana equivalent of the Clinton-Lewinsky effect – call it the Obama effect… Presidents simply need to be far more careful about what they say. Whether they like it or not, they serve as a role model for all Americans. On the rare occasion that a teen listens in on the national debate, we want to make sure he gets reliable information.”
Got a TIP from the RIGHT or LEFT? Email FoxNewsFirst@FOXNEWS.COM
POLL CHECK
Real Clear Politics Averages
Obama Job Approval: Approve – 43.2 percent//Disapprove – 51.7 percent
Direction of Country: Right Direction – 29.5 percent//Wrong Track – 63.0 percent
Generic Congressional Ballot: Democrats – 40.5 percent// Republicans 42.0 percent
PRYOR GOES UGLY EARLY WITH MEDI-SCARE ADS
Vulnerable Arkansas Democrat Sen. Mark Pryor isn’t waiting for the general election to start going nuclear. It’s still three months before the state’s primary election, but Pryor is unleashing what is usually Democrats’ preferred late-cycle attack, accusing Republicans of taking seniors’ Medicare. Pryor also takes the unusual step of naming GOP frontrunner Rep. Tom Cotton. In what Politico says is “a six-figure buy,” the ads feature women. Gray-haired “Linda” says: “Retirement is just around the corner for us. That’s why I was so concerned when I read Congressman Cotton voted to change Medicare into a voucher system.” Millennial-looking “Courtney” talks about Medicare reform’s effect on her relatives: “It says here that Cotton voted in Congress to change Medicare into a voucher system that will increase out of pocket expenses for every senior in Arkansas, thousands of dollars every year,” she says. “My grandma and grandpa can’t afford that, and neither can my parents.”
Go down swinging? - Senate Democrats are getting a pep talk today from President Obama former President Bill Clinton. The Democratic members of the upper chamber are said to be talking policy as they gather today at Washington’s Nationals Park, but it is no doubt a gloomy midterm forecast that will get more attention. Red state Democrats will likely be looking for some swing tips from batting coach Bubba.
REGRETS? THEY’VE HAD A FEW…
Americans for Prosperity is spending big to hit vulnerable Democrats over their support of ObamaCare. The group is pumping $1.4 million into television ads hitting Sen. Kay Hagan, D-N.C., and Rep. Nick Rahall, D-W.Va. Hagan’s ad features a woman saying “millions of people can’t see their own doctors. And millions are paying more and getting less. ObamaCare doesn’t work. It just doesn’t work.” Rahall’s ad features a clip of Rahall saying “it may be in their best interest to be cancelled.”
[WSJ details how the GOP is closing in on Senate Democrats in the money race.]
PICK SIX: DON’T SELL LANDRIEU SHORT?
If Republicans are able to gain six Senate seats in the midterm election they will gain control of the upper chamber. Which six seats are the most likely GOP pickups? The current consensus among Fox News First readers: Arkansas, Montana, Louisiana, South Dakota, North Carolina and Alaska. ReaderCasey Levy cautions against underestimating Sen. Mary Landrieu, D-La. “[D]on’t sell her short – she’s smart,” Levy writes.
Share your top six picks. Email them – just your top six, please – to FOXNEWSFIRST@FOXNEWS.COMor tweet @cstirewalt.
DONORS FUND DAVIS’ FIRST-CLASS DIGS
“Embattled Democratic gubernatorial candidate Wendy Davis has spent more than $131,000 in campaign funds to pay for luxury apartments in Austin, Texas, since her election to the Texas State Senate in 2008, according to a Washington Free Beacon analysis…While such use of campaign funds is legal in Texas, the amounts involved and properties rented may undermine Davis’s campaign persona of a working class single mom…First elected to the Texas State Senate in 2008, Davis has expensed upwards of $2,000 in monthly rent each legislative session. Davis lived at the Monarch during the 81st session, from January 13, 2009, to June 1, 2009. The residence is described as a ‘luxury community,’ with ‘five-star resort amenities.’ The total amount of rent and utilities paid to the Monarch during the session was $13,882.07.”
[Breitbart: “Dallas Cowboys great Emmitt Smith donated $10,000 to support Texas gubernatorial candidate Wendy Davis.”]
ECUADORIAN EMBEZZLERS GETTING HELP FROM CONGRESS?
Daily Beast: “Sen. Robert Menendez [D-N.J] is under federal investigation for his advocacy on behalf of two Ecuadorian bankers convicted of embezzlement. Turns out he wasn’t the only prominent lawmaker accepting donations and doing favors for the brothers. Florida Republican CongresswomanIleana Ros-Lehtinen, while she was Chairwoman of the House Foreign Affairs Committee, sent a letter to federal agencies on behalf of two Ecuadorian bankers convicted of embezzlement who were seeking U.S. residency. She also advocated for their family members, who donated over $20,000 to her campaign. William and Roberto Isaias, who were convicted in absentia of embezzlement in Ecuador more than a decade ago, have been fighting for the right to avoid extradition and establish residency in the United States.”
N.J. DEM QUITTING AMID ETHICS WOES WENT 0-646 ON BILLS
WaPo: “In his 23 years in Congress, Rep. Robert E. Andrews (D-N.J.) has written 646 different pieces of legislation. That is a vast array of bills, covering a vast number of subjects: children’s pajamas, relations with Taiwan, commemorative coins and trade duties on licorice. But all of Andrews’s bills had one thing in common. Only four of Andrews’s hundreds of bills have ever passed the House of Representatives. But none of them passed the Senate, so none made it to the president’s desk. Even in Congress, where the vast majority of bills fail, that is an unusually awful batting average.”
[Democrat Clay Aiken, made famous by his second-place finish on “American Idol” a decade ago, is making his North Carolina congressional run official. Aiken, an outspoken opponent of the state’s recently approved ban on same-sex marriage, launched his campaign with an attack on incumbent Rep. Renee Ellmers, R-N.C.]
PUSHING FOR CANTOR COUP?
“Speaker John A. Boehner should lose his gavel if he pursues immigration this year, a prominent tea party Republican said in an interview with CQ Roll Call on Tuesday. ‘I think it should cost him his speakership,’ Rep. Raúl R. Labrador of Idaho said, if Boehner puts an immigration overhaul on the floor. But even if Boehner shelves immigration, Labrador said, the party needs new leadership — and the two-term lawmaker is not ruling out a run for leadership himself …Labrador said the new GOP leadership in the 114th Congress could include members currently in leadership, particularly Majority Leader Eric Cantor of Virginia, with whom Labrador has a strong working relationship.”
NEVER TOO EARLY FOR NEW HAMPSHIRE
Sens. Rand Paul, R-Ky. and Mike Lee R-Utah, Rep. Marsha Blackburn, R-Tenn., NBC reality-show hostDonald Trump, CNN personality Newt Gingrich and “Huckabee” host, former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee will appear at a New Hampshire event hosted by Citizens United and Americans for Prosperity April, 12. Via Breitbart.
TO SAVE ON HEALTH, CURE DISEASE
House Energy and Commerce Committee chairman Fred Upton, R-Mich., is applauding a partnership between the nation’s largest drug companies and the National Institutes of Health to find cures for Alzheimer’s, diabetes, rheumatoid arthritis and lupus. Camp said the $230 million project “exemplifies the very best of a public-private collaboration, and we in Congress also want to do what we can in the name of breakthrough research.” For conservatives, it’s a fiscal issue too. As James Pinkerton put it: “If you really want to save money on Medicare, cure Alzheimer’s. It’s a lot cheaper to beat than to treat.”
LIVIN’ LA VIDA PUTIN
Journalists from around the world are descending on Sochi, Russia before the start of the Winter Olympics on Thursday night. But globe-trotting journos are not finding Russian hospitality quite up to their standards. WaPo shares some of the discoveries. BBC reporter Kevin Bishop tweeted about his hotel having mixed amenities: the floor wasn’t finished, but it does have a super-creepy picture of Russian President Vladimir Putin. The Chicago Tribune’s Stacy St. Clair was at first alarmed: “My hotel has no water. If restored, the front desk says, ‘do not use on your face because it contains something very dangerous.’” But she soon took a more optimistic tone tweeting, “on the bright side: I just washed my face with Evian, like I’m a Kardashian or something.”
Chris Stirewalt is digital politics editor for Fox News. Want FOX News First in your inbox every day? Sign up here. To catch Chris live online daily at 11:30 a.m. ET, click here.
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