Fwd: Morning Bell: Anti-Business Obama

07/09/2010 Anti-Business Obama It looks like the Obama spin machine is at it again, this time launching a concerted effort to rebut reports this week that President Barack Obama is anti-business. But given Obama's record of stoking government intervention in the private sector and creating an environment of uncertainty poisonous to business growth, hiring and expansion, it's no wonder the President is branded with an anti-business scarlet letter. The storyline began in The Washington Post, where columnist Fareed Zakaria endeavored to find out why America's 500 largest nonfinancial companies are sitting on $1.8 trillion in cash, rather than spending it on expansion (which would mean new jobs). Business leaders told Zakaria that it comes down to economic uncertainty surrounding new laws, regulations and taxes; the expansion of federal agencies' authority; and the unknown implications of Obamacare, financial reform and cap-and-trade. And the kicker? Zakaria notes that most of them had voted for Obama yet all of them now believe he is "at his core, anti-business."

Fwd: Gibbs Evades Question of Whether Obama Agrees With His Medicare Director That Health-Care System Must Redistribute Wealth

Today's Headlines Friday, July 9, 2010

Gibbs Evades Question of Whether Obama Agrees With His Medicare Director That Health-Care System Must Redistribute Wealth (CNSNews.com) – White House spokesman Robert Gibbs evaded a question on whether President Barack Obama agrees with Dr. Donald Berwick, his newly appointed director of Medicare and Medicaid, who has insisted that health-care systems must redistribute wealth. When asked directly at the July 7 White House press briefing whether Obama agreed with Berwick's comments, Gibbs would not answer the question. Instead, he parried it with jocular statements about the provenance of the quote. Financial Regulatory Bill Approved by House Gives Feds Power to Subpoena Any Record from Any Financial Institution Without Establishing Any Probable Cause (CNSNews.com) – The financial regulatory bill approved by the House would give federal bureaucrats the power to subpoena any record from any financial institution without establishing any probable cause that a crime has been committed. The bill now awaits final Senate approval. Democrats Introduce Bill to Restrict Speech of Pro-Life Crisis Pregnancy Centers by Controlling Their Advertising (CNSNews.com) – Rep. Carolyn Maloney (D-N.Y.) and Sen. Robert Menendez (D-N.J.) have reintroduced legislation to regulate what they and other pro-abortion advocates claim is questionable advertising by pregnancy resource centers. The bill would direct the Federal Trade Commission to restrict advertising by the pregnancy resource centers, specifically ads that "create the impression that such person is a provider of abortion services if such person does not provide abortion services." Critics say the bill is designed to steer women away from organizations that provide alternatives to abortion. Two Congressmen, Both Democrats, Ask Obama to Dismiss His NOAA Administrator (CNSNews.com) - Reps. Barney Frank and John Tierney, both Massachusetts Democrats, say the head of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration has shown hostility to the concerns of fishermen and should step down. Among other problems, a recent inspector-general's report found problems with the way NOAA's Office of Law Enforcement spent money raised through fines and penalties on fishermen. 'God Is Sad and God Is Mad' Over Oil Spill, Says Liberal Religious Leader (CNSNews.com) – The oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico "has to convert us and change us," an evangelical preacher told reporters this week. The Rev. Jim Wallis, editor of the liberal religious magazine Sojourners, and other religious leaders recently took a three-hour tour of coastal Louisiana to examine the oil spill damage in the Gulf. Their tour was organized by the Sierra Club."None of us have done enough," Wallis says. Fair Tax Coalition to Obama: Tell IRS Not to Tax BP Compensation to Oil Spill Victims (CNSNews.com) – Don't tax the victims of the Gulf oil spill. That's the message to President Obama from fair tax activists. The Internal Revenue Service (IRS) is going to the Gulf Coast next week to make sure the federal government gets its cut from any oil spill compensation checks BP issues to fishermen and others who have been idled due to the Gulf oil spill. "It is akin to kicking someone who's just been hit by a truck," said one critic. Poll: Majority Oppose Justice Department's Decision to Challenge Arizona's New Law Against Illegal Immigration (CNSNews.com) - A majority of "likely voters" in America oppose the Justice Department's recent decision to challenge Arizona's new immigration law in federal court, says a new Rasmussen poll. When respondents were asked whether they agreed or disagreed with the move to challenge the legality of Arizona's new law against illegal immigration, 56 percent of "likely voters" were opposed to the Justice Department's decision. Twenty-eight percent agreed that the DOJ should challenge the law. Sixteen percent said they were not sure. British Envoy's Eulogy to Hezbollah Cleric Removed From Foreign Office Web Site (CNSNews.com) – An online tribute in which Britain's ambassador to Lebanon praised the Hezbollah-linked Shi'ite cleric after his death this week appears to have been removed from an official Foreign Office Web site. Ambassador Frances Guy on Monday posted an entry on the site describing Grand Ayatollah Mohammad Hussein Fadlallah, who died the previous day, as the politician in Lebanon she had found most impressive and had most enjoyed meeting. China Dilutes Another U.N. Measure Dealing With North Korea's Aggression (CNSNews.com) – The Obama administration says a U.N. Security Council presidential statement condemning the sinking of a South Korean warship is "an appropriate response" to the deadly attack, even though it does not directly apportion blame. At China's insistence, the text stops short of accusing North Korea of responsibility for the March 26 sinking near the disputed maritime border between the two Koreas. Despite repeating three times that the statement was "very clear," U.S. Ambassador to the U.N. Susan Rice declined to directly answer the key issue of whether it blamed North Korea. 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 Federal Ban on Homosexual 'Marriage' Is Ruled Unconstitutional in Massachusetts Republican Leaders Letting Tea Party 'Demagogues' Set Tone, Defeated Republican Lawmaker Complains Obama Attacks Sen. Harry Reid's Tea Party Opponent Obama Promotes Energy Projects, Economy – and Harry Reid -- in Nevada Legal Group Urges Homosexuals to Boycott Pentagon Survey on Don't Ask, Don't Tell Violent Protests Follow Involuntary Manslaughter Conviction of Former Transit Officer Who Killed Black Man LeBron James Dumps Cleveland for Miami Motorcycle Bomber Kills at Least 48 in Pakistan 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 Bill to ban pet sales draws a crowd at San Francisco hearing Jobs outlook for small businesses may be getting bleaker Appeals court, 2-1, says no to Obama drilling moratorium Drilling delay to boost oil imports Democrats battle independents' weakening support of Obama and Congress White House launches campaign to win corporate confidence President Obama's new slogan: 'Yes we did!' Sarah Palin releases campaign-style video China is not manipulating its undervalued currency, Treasury Dept. says Defense secretary defends Pentagon's newly tightened media policy Obama presses BP to recover more oil Rising share of college spending goes to recreation, not instruction R.I. calamari replacing Gulf oysters on New Orleans menu Gov. Christie recommends massive privatization of N.J. services Gulf oil spill inspires cocktail named the 'tar ball' COMMENTARY Is Democracy Overrated? By Patrick J. Buchanan With the disintegration of the Soviet Empire and the Soviet Union, and Beijing's abandonment of Maoism, anti-communism necessarily ceased to be the polestar of U.S. foreign policy. Seeking some new cause to give meaning to their lives, our suddenly superfluous foreign policy elites settled upon a crusade for democracy as America's new mission in the world. But why do we think that the more democratic the world is, the more secure and serene America shall be? Swapping Spies By Rich Galen I have no idea why the Obama administration was so eager to swap the 10 Russian spies for four of ours. I will give Obama the benefit of the doubt that we will learn more from our spies than the Russians will learn from their spies. Of course, the entire notion of spying on America is ludicrous in the 21st Century. The Russians don't have to plant long-term sleepers to find out what's going on here. All they need to do is aim a satellite dish and watch the cable news shows. Whitewashing Black Racism By Michelle Malkin Why haven't national media outlets reported on the vile and violent rants of the New Black Panther Party thugs whose 2008 voter intimidation tactics got a pass from the Obama administration? Simple: Radical black racism doesn't fit the Hope and Change narrative.