Fwd: Federal Government Helped Pay Home Air-Conditioning Bills for Federal Employees, Prisoners and More Than 11,000 Dead People

Today's Headlines Wednesday, July 7, 2010

Federal Government Helped Pay Home Air-Conditioning Bills for Federal Employees, Prisoners and More Than 11,000 Dead People (CNSNews.com) – According to the Government Accountability Office, the federal government helped pay the home air conditioning bills for more than 11,000 dead people, 1,100 federal employees, and 725 convicts in fiscal year 2009. The payments were made by a $5 billion program known as the Low-Income Home Energy Assistance Program. "Our analysis of LIHEAP data revealed that the program is at risk of fraud and providing improper benefits in all seven of our selected states," reported the GAO. ICE Releases Memo Showing Agency Has Resources to Remove Only 4% of Illegal Aliens A Year (CNSNews.com) – In a June 30 memorandum, John Morton, assistant secretary of Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), said that enforcing civil immigration laws is vital to "our national security, public safety, and the integrity of our border and immigration controls." But Morton also said that ICE only has the resources to remove about 400,000 illegal aliens each year, a little less than 4 percent of the current population of those in the United States illegally. Awlaki's Online Propaganda Is Influencing Muslims Far From His Yemen Base (CNSNews.com) – The arrest in Singapore of a Muslim soldier who made contact online with Anwar Al-Awlaki provides further evidence that the U.S.-born cleric is making effective use of the Internet to spread extremist ideas to English-speaking Muslims. Awlaki's reach into Muslim communities in English-speaking countries has prompted increasing concern among law enforcement agencies in recent months. Kagan Rejects Suggestions By GOP Senators She Authored Language in Key ACOG Statement on Partial-Birth Abortion (CNSNews.com) - Supreme Court nominee Elena Kagan would not confirm suggestions by two top Republican senators that, as a lawyer in the Clinton White House, she influenced the language of a key public policy statement on partial-birth abortion issued by the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists. The 1996 statement affected the debate over a ban on partial-birth abortion. Second Amendment Supporters to Challenge Chicago's New Restrictions on Gun Ownership (CNSNews.com) – Following the U.S. Supreme Court's ruling last week that individuals at the state level have a right to own handguns under the Second Amendment, city officials in Chicago proposed and passed a new ordinance that many observers consider to be among the most stringent gun-ownership regulations in the country. However, gun-rights advocates are moving quickly to challenge the ordinance and provide citizens with information on their Second Amendment rights. CNSNEWS.COM VIDEO Kagan on Whether Catholic Church Could Recruit at Harvard Law (CNSNews.com) - When asked whether the Catholic Church would have been able to recruit at Harvard Law even though it does not allow female priests, Supreme Court nominee Elena Kagan said all recruiters needed to sign a form saying they did not discriminate based on gender and sexual orientation. OTHER CNSNEWS.COM HEADLINES Republicans Denounce Obama Administration Over Arizona Lawsuit As Democrats Lay Low Obama Bypassing Senate, Using Recess Appointment for Medicare Chief Protest at Maine Wind Power Site Ends With Three Arrests EPA's New Clean-Air Rule Will Boost Power Prices, Close Older Coal-Fired Plants, Prompt Lawsuits Iran Offers New Haircut Guidelines for Men Federal Lawsuit Challenging Arizona's Immigration Law Focuses on Core 'Balance of Power' Issue Hawaii Governor Vetoes Same-Sex Civil Unions Bill NATO Airstrike Accidentally Kills 5 Afghan Troops States Honor Victims of Drunken Driving With Highway Signs Al-Qaida Chief to Be Charged in N.Y. Subway Plot Obama, Netanyahu Say Their Bond Is 'Unbreakable' GOP Chairman Steele Staying Put Despite Mounting Criticism Donate Today! Please help CNSNews.com keep bringing you 'The Right News - Right Now!' Make a contribution to CNSNews.com today. It's fast, simple and secure. Help CNSNews.com and Donate Today!  NEWSPAPER ROUNDUP Police probe death hoaxes involving three U.S. senators Arizona governor calls federal lawsuit a 'massive waste of taxpayer funds' Justice Department lawsuit against Arizona seen as net negative for Western Democrats Republican budget hawks support Obama's new deficit commission Goldman Sachs done with political donations, for now White House backs Kenyan constitution allowing abortion Colorado getting $90 million to subsidize insurance for those with pre-existing conditions Schwarzenegger signs landmark "egg" bill (cage-free hens) into law McCain favors immigration reform that would deport 'many' illegal residents Long Beach City Council votes to pursue medical marijuana tax Democrats digging harder than ever for dirt on Republicans Across the U.S., scams against senior citizens are on the rise Gwinnett hospital won't hire smokers Town of Nottingham, N.H. rescinds its gun-at-work policy COMMENTARY One Business Filed 37,375 Bad W-2 Forms -- And Is Getting Away With It By Terence P. Jeffrey A single employer filed 37,375 W-2 forms in tax year 2005 on which the Social Security Number and the name did not match -- a good indication that this employer was employing many thousands of illegal aliens — and knew it. Yet there is no indication that the federal government has taken any action to stop this employer from continuing to employ mass numbers of illegal aliens. Open-Borders DOJ vs. America By Michelle Malkin The Obama administration's lawsuit against Arizona, officially unveiled on Tuesday, is an affront to all law-abiding Americans. It is a threatening salvo aimed at all local, county or state governments that dare to take control of the immigration chaos in their own backyards. And it is being driven by open-borders extremists who have dedicated their political careers to subverting homeland security policies in the name of compassion and diversity. The Real Sin of Michael Steele By Patrick J. Buchanan "This was a war of Obama's choosing. This is not something the United States has actively prosecuted or wanted to engage in." Strictly speaking, Republican Party Chair Michael Steele was way off base when he made this remark at a closed-door meeting of party contributors in Connecticut. Yet, Steele was not entirely wrong. Today, a majority of Americans do not believe the nine-year war in Afghanistan is any longer worth the rising cost in blood and money. And by declaring it a "war of necessity" and tripling U.S. forces there, this president has made it "Obama's war" every bit as much as LBJ in 1964 and 1965 made Vietnam "Johnson's War." Kagan's Comedy Is News? By L. Brent Bozell III The shallow TV coverage of Elena Kagan's confirmation hearings illustrated once again how the shamelessly ABC, CBS, and NBC shape the political Play-Doh they offer to the American people as "news." At one point in the hearings, Kagan was asked about the Obama administration's very unfunny failure to stop the Christmas Day bomber from almost blowing up a plane as it landed in Detroit. That somehow turned into a joke about Kagan's Jewishness and how she probably spent Christmas at a Chinese restaurant. The networks made The Joke their top story. This example shows how anyone who wants to follow weighty issues of public policy, including Supreme Court jurisprudence, should never rely on network television. Sound & Fury By Rich Galen The chairman of the Republican National Committee, Michael Steele, keeps making news, which most Republicans wish he would stop doing. He is missing the gene that says: Just because it comes into your head, doesn't mean it has to come out of your mouth.