05/20/2010
Dodd Bill is Just the Beginning of 'Too Big to Fail'
Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-NV) failed to end debate on Sen. Chris Dodd's (D-CT) financial regulation bill yesterday when two Democrats broke ranks to vote with conservatives. The Dodd bill is already is already a big government monstrosity, expanding powers for existing Washington regulators as well as creating and empowering new ones. But frightened by the defeat of Sen. Arlen Specter (D-PA) and the near defeat of Sen. Blanche Lincoln (D-AR), Sens. Maria Cantwell (D-WA) and Russ Feingold (D-WI) issued statements following their "no" voted demanding that the bill further increase the power of Washington bureaucrats.
Specifically, Cantwell wants to criminalize violations of the bill's extremely complex new derivatives provisions, and Feingold is demanding the resurrection of Depression Era prohibitions on banking diversification. Not only has our federal government already criminalized the violation of far too many arcane regulations, but the derivatives provisions already in the bill are sure to drive investment, jobs and revenues out of our domestic markets and into foreign ones. And Feingold's claims that restoration of the Glass-Steagall would prevent "too big to fail" bear no relation to reality. None of the major entities at the core of the 2008 financial crisis would have been affected by Glass-Steagall because none of them are commercial banks. Bear Stearns, Merrill Lynch, Lehman Brothers, AIG, Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac all dug their financial crisis graves by making terrible decisions that would have been perfectly legal under a Glass-Steagall regime.
Thursday, May 20, 2010
Fwd: Morning Bell: Dodd Bill is Just the Beginning of 'Too Big to Fail'
Fwd: MRC Alert: Nets All Showcase Fearful 2nd Grader's Question to FLOTUS on Lacking 'Papers,' ABC Heralds It As 'Poignant'
A daily compilation edited by Brent H. Baker, CyberAlert items are drawn from daily BiasAlert posts and distributed by the Media Research Center's News Analysis Division, the leader since 1987 in documenting, exposing and neutralizing liberal media bias.
Tracking Liberal Media Bias Since 1996
Thursday May 20, 2010 @ 09:48 AM EDT1. Nets All Showcase Fearful 2nd Grader's Question to FLOTUS on Lacking 'Papers,' ABC Heralds It As 'Poignant'
ABC, CBS and NBC all showcased a second grader's question to First Lady Michelle Obama, about her apparently illegal mother. The girl pleaded: "Barack Obama is taking everybody away that doesn't have papers," but "my mom doesn't have papers." ABC suggested it demonstrates the need for immigration "reform" as anchor Diane Sawyer proposed "a child's fear brings a new focus to the debate" since "the First Lady had to respond to a child's poignant question" which, reporter Jake Tapper relayed, "immigration reform advocates called...the most meaningful exchange of the day." With "THE QUESTION" on screen (jpg), NBC anchor Brian Williams teased: "The question that a little girl asked Michelle Obama that put her smack in the middle of a big debate."2. Politico's Mike Allen on MSNBC: GOP 'Steamroller' Stopped, Dems 'Off the Mat'
During Wednesday's 10AM EST hour on MSNBC, Politico's Mike Allen shared his thoughts on Tuesday's electoral results: "Stop the steamroller. The idea the Republicans were automatically going to be in control going into November, now not true....a Democrat winning the only Democrat-Republican showdown of yesterday in a congressional seat in Pennsylvania. The Republicans should have won." He went on to proclaim a potential comeback for Democrats: "This is a tough day for Republicans. For a long time they've been feeling their oats, as my grandmother would say, and now the Democrats are up off the mat a little bit. They have a talking point. They say 'we do see a map to win.'"3. ABC's Robin Roberts Hits Rand Paul for 'Private Country Club' Victory Party
Good Morning America's Robin Roberts on Wednesday oddly highlighted Rand Paul's Senate primary victory party at a country club as an indicator that he's not a real outsider. After informing the Republican that voters are "tired of how Washington is," she derided, "Some people find it a bit ironic that your victory party last night was at a private country club in Kentucky. Doesn't that kind of send a mixed message there?"4. CBS's Rodriguez to Rand Paul: What About Dems Who Say You're 'Way Too Controversial'?
In an interviewing with senate primary winner Rand Paul on Wednesday's CBS Early Show, co-host Maggie Rodriguez asked the Kentucky Republican about Democratic spin: "What do you say to Democrats who actually are happy about your victory in this primary?...ready to pounce on you in the general election, saying that your views are way too controversial and they could take this Republican seat?" Paul dismissed the idea and noted the unpopularity of Washington Democrats in the state: "I say, bring it on, and please, please bring President Obama to Kentucky. We'd love for him to campaign down here."
Fwd: Budget Bulletin: The Tax Cuts Didn't Cause the Budget Deficit
SAFE Act Would Cap Growth of Government Obama's "Line-Item Veto" Really Just Tweaking Existing Authority The Tax Cuts Didn't Cause the Budget Deficit
By Brian Riedl
With the 2001 and 2003 tax cuts scheduled to expire at the end of this year, President Obama and Congress face the prospect of overseeing a historic tax increase.
If nothing is done, the $1,000 child tax credit will fall to $500, and the marriage penalty will be re-imposed. Low-income families will see their income tax rate jump five percentage points, while everyone else will see increases of three to 4.6 percentage points. Capital gains and dividends tax rates — currently 15 percent for most investors — will leap to 20 percent and 39.6 percent, respectively. The death tax, which is finally gone, will be re-imposed at a 55 percent rate.
Such large tax increases would clearly hammer families and businesses. They would also severely damage the fragile economy. Virtually no economic school of thought advocates raising taxes during a recession, and this massive tax increase could shatter the modest and shaky economic recovery.
Yet among tax-increase advocates, it has become an article of faith that President Bush's 2001 and 2003 tax cuts caused the budget deficit. Newsweeks Fareed Zakaria echoed this conventional wisdom recently: "The Bush tax cuts are the single largest part of the black hole that is the federal budget deficit." Similarly, in 2004, when Sen. John Kerry , Massachusetts Democrat, accused Mr. Bush of having "taken a $5.6 trillion surplus and turned it into deficits as far as the eye can see," he focused on "Bush's unaffordable tax cuts for the wealthiest people."
These assertions are demonstrably false.
>> Click here to read Brian Riedl's full report
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Fwd: Small Businesses v. Obamacare
Small Businesses v. Obamacare
The National Federation of Independent Business, representing the interests of small businesses across America, recently joined more 20 states on the lawsuit challenging the constitutionality of Obamacare. The move is the latest blow to President Obama's post-passage public relations effort.
NFIB's involvement was prompted by the individual and employer mandates, new taxes and onerous paperwork requirements. An accompanying statement said the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act would devastate small business, threatening their viability.
The Scoop
The lawsuit's two main legal claims involve the unconstitutionality of the individual mandate.
Last month Heritage's John Ligon documented how Obamacare penalizes small businesses: higher health care costs, an ineffective small business tax credit, higher regulation compliance costs, and Medicare taxes on "flow-through" and investment income.
NFIB chief executive Dan Danner said the law simply went too far:
"We want to make it very clear: NFIB has a long history of working on and supporting healthcare reform. We are not part of the 'Just say no' crowd. Small businesses DO need reforms that help to reduce costs and increase choices. We have encouraged reforms that cover pre-existing conditions, help to create effective and affordable national exchanges, provide the ability to buy across state lines, and include liability reform. But this new law resulted in more bad than good for our nation's job creators. And this law is a bridge too far in terms of the future of our constitutional freedoms and liberties."
So what makes the NFIB's involvement important? The fact that small firms represent 99.7 percent of all employers, according to the U.S. Small Business Administration, sends a strong message Obama.
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Fwd: Senate Democratic Whip Compares Sealing the Mexican Border to Trying to Keep Drugs Off of I-95
Today's Headlines Thursday, May 20, 2010
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Senate Democratic Whip Compares Sealing the Mexican Border to Trying to Keep Drugs Off of I-95
Washington (CNSNews.com) - Senator Dick Durbin (D-Ill.) said the effort to secure the U.S.-Mexico border is like trying to guarantee that "no narcotics and no guns are going to pass illegally" along I-95, a major East Coast highway. "Imagine the challenge that would pose to any governmental unit trying to enforce it," Durbin said.
Mexican President Denounces Arizona Law Despite Laws Against Illegal Immigration in His Own Country
(CNSNews.com) – At a joint press conference in the White House Rose Garden on Wednesday, President Barack Obama and Mexican President Felipe Calderon criticized Arizona's new law against illegal immigration. In Calderon's Mexico, however, illegal immigration is punished with fines and deportations.
Obama Says Administration Taking 'Very Close Look' at Arizona's Immigration Law for Civil Rights 'Implications'
(CNSNews.com) - President Barack Obama said his administration is taking a "very close look" at Arizona's new anti-illegal immigration law, examining it for any "implications, especially for civil rights." He did not say whether he's read the law.
Sestak Has 'Moral Imperative' to Answer Questions on White House Job Offer, GOP Congressman Says
(CNSNews.com) – Fresh off his win over incumbent Sen. Arlen Specter in the Pennsylvania Democratic primary, Rep. Joe Sestak should still be obligated to answer questions about a job he says the White House offered to him if he agreed not to run against Specter in the primary, a leading House Republican said. "Could the reason why Congressman Joe Sestak refuses to name names is because the very people who tried to bribe him are now his benefactors?" Rep. Darrell Issa (R-Calif.) ranking member of the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee, said in a statement Wednesday.
Accused of Sinking South Korean Ship, North Korea Threatens 'All-Out War'
(CNSNews.com) – Tensions rose on the Korean peninsula Thursday after South Korea accused North Korea of torpedoing its warship in March, drawing a sharp response and threats of "all-out war" from Pyongyang. The U.S. and Japanese governments quickly voiced support for South Korea, with the White House condemning the North Korean "act of aggression."
Ahead of White House Visit, Lebanese PM Meets With Syrian President, Seeks Talks With Hezbollah Leader
(CNSNews.com) – Preparing for his first official visit to Washington next week, Lebanon's U.S.-backed Prime Minister Saad Hariri has held "coordination" talks with Syrian President Bashir Assad and reportedly plans to meet Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah. The U.S. government has listed Hezbollah as a "foreign terrorist organization" since the FTO designation was first established in 1996.
Democratic Leader Hoyer Doesn't Know Whether Obama Administration was Prepared for Oil Spill
(CNSNews.com) – House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer (D-Md.) said he did not know whether the Obama administration was prepared to combat the oil spill disaster in the Gulf of Mexico. Hoyer also said it was "accurate" that the federal government had not been properly checking up on British Petroleum and its oil rigs
.
CNSNEWS.COM VIDEO
OTHER CNSNEWS.COM HEADLINES
National Science Agency Presses for Carbon Tax; Calls 'Global Warming' an 'Urgent Threat'
Some Small Businesses Feel Misled by Obama Health Care Law
North Korea Crisis Looms As Clinton Heads to Asia
Senators Press for National Guard Troops on Border
Elena Kagan's Papers Shed Light on Nominee's Personality
Homosexual Couple Gets Maximum 14-Year Sentence in Malawi
Three Americans Jailed in Iran Meet With Their Mothers
Senate Fails to End Debate on Bank Regulation Bill
Singer Elvis Costello Cancels Concerts in Israel
Paintings Worth Millions Stolen in Paris
UK's Cameron, Clegg Finalize Coalition Deal; Vow 'Close and Frank' Ties With U.S.
China to Train Pandas to Survive in Wild
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NEWSPAPER ROUNDUP:
Costa Mesa declares itself a 'rule of law' community, not a sanctuary city
Low-speed electric vehicles are low-safety, watchdog group warns
Pentagon wants homosexual troops to weigh in on 'don't ask' policy
In the bayou, fish and oil have mixed for decades
Wash Post says Sen. Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) is poised to become majority leader
Small businesses' credit card rates now 13.7% higher
Scientist booted off oil panel over his non-PC views on gays, diversity
Louisiana bill would bar government from burdening the free exercise of religion
Switchblade knives now legal in NH
Rhode Island lawmaker files bill that follows Arizona immigration law
Gov. Charlie Crist puts off special session on oil drilling
COMMENTARY
Eric Holder Can't Read?
By L. Brent Bozell III
Liberal reporters always think that the liberal politicians they're covering are the smartest people in the room. In fact, when they're opposing something, they're so smart that they don't have to read the policy they're discussing. They have a clairvoyant sense of how wrong it is. Congressman Ted Poe of Texas exposed this liberal arrogance on May 13 at a House Judiciary Committee hearing when he asked Attorney General Eric Holder if he had read Arizona's new immigration law.
Immigration and Liberty
By Walter E. Williams
Strict enforcement of immigration law, enhanced border security, and modernizing our immigration laws are the best way to deal with a growing problem.
Fwd: Sen. DeMint (R-SC), Sec. Gates Clash Over Missile Defense During START Hearings
Sen. DeMint (R-SC), Sec. Gates Clash Over Missile Defense During First START Hearing
On Tuesday, Sen. Jim DeMint (R-SC) clashed head on with Obama administration officials in the first hearing over a new Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty (START), a proposed nuclear arms control treaty that the White House has submitted to the Senate for ratification. Senator DeMint hammered home the point that the treaty would limit how future presidents could pursue missile defenses. Secretary Gates brushed off the concerns as did the Committee Chair Senator John Kerry (D-MA) dismissing the notion that the White House has come up with anything but the perfect missile defense plan.
Missile Defense News
But others argue the White House plan is inadequate, furthermore in the future conditions and threats may change—why should the United States have to go back to Russia to get permission to defend itself. Senator Kerry has no problem seeking a permission slip from the Russians. As The New York Times reported, Senator DeMint thinks it is a terrible idea: "With his response, Senator Kerry proved why Americans have a hard time fully trusting the left to put American interests first in foreign affairs."
In fact, the administration knows the proposed treaty limits future missile defense program. That's it why it rushed to rewrite the White House fact sheet which first claimed the treaty put no limits on missile defense. The rewrite suggests that treaty won't limit Obama's plans. Even that statement is cold comfort. Obama's plan does not look like it will be adequate to deal with an Iranian threat, let alone the likes of the Russian nuclear force. Under the government's own estimate Iran could have a long-range missile, three years before it gets a missile defense umbrella up and running in Europe.
Get the FAQs on Missile Defense
In an age where conflicts are no longer confined to battlefields, missile defense is crucial. We must continue developing and improving our ability to detect, track, intercept, and destroy the enemy's missiles, whether short-, medium-, or long-range.
The Institute for Foreign Policy Analysis (IFPA) has created a frequently-asked-questions guide to ballistic missile defense. Free of technical jargon, the guide helps the lay reader understand the state of our missile defense, the nature of threats around the world, and what is required for the future.
For example, some Americans wonder if missile defense is too expensive. According to the IFPA:
"Missile defense spending represents a small portion of the total U.S. defense budget: in 2010 just over $10 billion out of a total defense budget close to $700 billion. This means that missile defense comprises approximately one seventieth of what the nation is spending each year for defense. This amount pales in comparison to the devastating consequences of even a single successful nuclear missile attack against an American city. Even during the Reagan administration'sStrategic Defense Initiative emphasizing defenses against missile attacks, the fraction of the DOD budget devoted to missile defense never rose as high as 2 percent. The present investment level in defenses against missile attacks is also miniscule compared with the nearly $800 billion appropriated in the economic stimulus…It is impossible to calculate the cost of a devastating attack on one or more of our major cities that could be prevented by missile defense."
The IFPA considers its guide a "living document," updated as the need arises. Technology is constantly changing, and Americans should be aware of the importance of our current and future ballistic missile defense capabilities.
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