Today's Headlines Tuesday, July 13, 2010
U.S. Spent $410,624 on Project to Teach Chinese Meditation to Cocaine Addicts
(CNSNews.com) - The U.S. government has spent $410,625 to study the effects of teaching Chinese meditation to cocaine addicts. "Our clinical experience and pilot studies suggest that Integrative Meditation from Chinese medicine may help clients engage in treatment, reduce cravings/withdrawal symptoms, and increase treatment retention, which appear missed by a typical behavior therapy," says the official description of the project published by the National Institutes of Health.
Senate Committee That Failed to Hold Confirmation Hearing for Obama's Medicare Czar Held Only 12 Hearings of Any Kind Between Obama's Nomination and Recess Appointment
(CNSNews.com) – The Democrat-controlled Senate Finance Committee, which had oversight for the confirmation of Dr. Donald Berwick to be the director of the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, held only 12 hearings between the day that President Barack Obama sent Berwick's nomination to the Senate and the day Obama gave Berwick a recess appointment. The 12 hearings the Finance Committee held during the time Berwick's nomination was pending dealt with such matters as trade restrictions under the Burmese Freedom and Democracy Act, America's trade relationship with China and the confirmation of lower-level executive branch appointments.
White House: GOP Would Have 'Dragged' Recess-Appointee Berwick's Confirmation 'On and On'
(CNSNews.com) - White House senior adviser David Axelrod said it was "very clear" that President Barack Obama's nomination of Dr. Donald Berwick to run the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services was going to be "dragged on and on" by Republicans, and with the "challenges" facing America's health care system, it was "vitally important that we fill this position" without a Senate confirmation hearing. Senate Finance Committee Chairman Max Baucus, a Democrat whose party controls the Senate, did not schedule a hearing for Berwick although he was nominated by Obama on Apr. 19.
Experts to Obama: You Can't Ignore the Islamic Ideology Behind Terrorism
(CNSNews.com) – The Obama administration's reluctance to acknowledge and confront the religious motivation behind Islamist terrorism is not helping the counter-terror effort, leading experts warn in a new report. The administration's recently released National Security Strategy defines the enemy as "al-Qaeda and its terrorist affiliates," but the Washington Institute for Near East Policy argues that the enemy is a bigger one – "the extremist ideology that fuels and supports Islamist violence."
Obama Administration Uses New 'Restore the Gulf' Web Site to Spin Its 'Quick' Response to the Oil Spill
(CNSNews.com) – The Obama administration has launched a new, informational Web site that puts a positive spin on its handling of the Gulf oil spill. The restorethegulf.gov Web site, launched last week, describes itself as "a one-stop repository for news, data and operational updates..." But the Web site also touts the administration's "quick" response to the disaster, stating that it has been on the scene "since the moments after the oil rig explosion" and "from the very beginning."
Contrary to NASA Administrator's Claim, White House Says Muslim Outreach 'Not the Task of NASA'
Washington (CNSNews.com) – Although NASA Administrator Charles Bolden said that President Obama charged him as a NASA official "to reach out to the Muslim world" to help Muslims "feel good about their historic contribution to science," the White House said Monday that outreach to Muslims is not the task of NASA. Gibbs said he did not know whether Obama had spoken with Bolden about the issue.
Stimulus Funds for Education Spent on Movies, Trip to Water Park, GAO Found
(CNSNews.com) – The Government Accountability Office, the investigative arm of Congress, found that some of the stimulus money given to North Carolina schools was spent on movie tickets and a water park trip – "a potentially unallowable use of these funds," the GAO said in a recent report. The GAO also found that two North Carolina school districts failed to obtain multiple bids or price quotes for purchases made with stimulus money, as required for purchases exceeding $5,000.
Independents Oppose Justice Department Lawsuit against Arizona Immigration Law by More Than Two-to-One, Says Gallup Poll
(CNSNews.com) - By a margin of more than two to one, according to a new Gallup poll, Independents oppose the Obama administration's lawsuit against the new Arizona immigration law that requires local law enforcement officers to determine the immigration status of someone they have stopped if there is reason to suspect the person might be in the United States illegally. The Justice Department contends the Arizona law usurps federal authority to regulate immigration.
CNSNEWS.COM VIDEO
Census 'Successfully Completed' Work to Date Despite 'Shaky' Computer Problems, Census Director Says
(CNSNews.com) - The director of the U.S. Census Bureau, Dr. Robert Groves, told CNSNews.com there's no evidence that the IT problems had a "quality impact" on the accuracy of the population count, but he encouraged people to wait for a final report from the Commerce Department's inspector general to "see what he has to say."
Gibbs Dodges Question of Whether Obama Agrees That Health-Care System Must Redistribute Wealth
OTHER CNSNEWS.COM HEADLINES
Afghan Soldier Attacks, Kills Three British Troops
French Parliament Set to Approve Ban on Muslim Veils
Obama HIV/AIDS Plan Calls for Reducing Infections
U.S. Fails to Punish Sudan, Despite Threatened Clampdown
Fidel Castro Suddenly Reappears, Going Public on Cuban TV
Log Cabin Republicans Challenge U.S. Policy on Homosexuals in the Military
Obama Administration Issues A Revised Moratorium on Deep-Water Offshore Drilling
Two New England Republican Senators Say They'll Support Financial Regulations Bill
Republican Senator Says He Backs 'Birther' Lawsuits
Newt Gingrich Once Again Considering A Presidential Run
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NEWSPAPER ROUNDUP
Confidence in Obama reaches new low, Washington Post-ABC News poll finds
High-risk health insurance pools off to slow start
Small-business lending drops in June after federal program runs out of money
N.J. commercial fishermen are caught in tightening net of government restrictions
An estimated 6,300 safety hazards lurk on Capitol Hill, new report says
NAACP considers condemning Tea Party for 'racism'
Michelle Obama addresses NAACP, pushing her 'Let's Move' campaign
Michele Bachmann sees a 'nation of slaves'
Chicago police supt. on gun law: 'We want to know who has weapons'
Backlash grows against full-body scanners in airports
Democrats and AARP want to make IRA enrollment automatic
Army Navy Country Club members sue club's leaders over bike path
GOP poised to grab control at state levels
N.J. Gov. Chris Christie plans to sign 2 percent tax cap into law
Influx of illegal immigrants spurs resentment in Massachusetts town
Felons voting illegally may have put Al Franken in Senate, study finds
N.J. Supreme Court side with non-English speaking drivers stopped for DUI
Democrat Dianne Feinstein backs effort to defeat marijuana legalization
Taxpayers spend $1 million a year in settlements to abused congressional employees
Baltimore Gas & Electric tries again on 'smart meter' technology
COMMENTARY
The War on Arizona
By Patrick J. Buchanan
Not since President Eisenhower sent troops to Little Rock and JFK sent U.S. marshals to the University of Alabama has the federal government seemed so much at war with a state of the union. Arkansas and Alabama were defying U.S. court orders to desegregate. But Barack Obama's war on Arizona is not a war of necessity. It is a war of choice—an unprovoked war, undertaken not to defend constitutional or civil rights, but to pander to his party's left and Hispanic voters.
Uncle Sam: Generous to a Fault
By Ed Feulner
Americans deserve a federal government that's efficient and effective. Reforming the way it pays civil servants would be a good first step.
Tuesday, July 13, 2010
Fwd: U.S. Spent $410,624 on Project to Teach Chinese Meditation to Cocaine Addicts
Fwd: Morning Bell: The Obama Tax and Spend Threat to Economic Recovery
07/13/2010
The Obama Tax and Spend Threat to Economic Recovery
Remember President Barack Obama's promise to the American people not to raise taxes? Forget about it. While the President has already raised taxes on cigarettes and tanning beds, none of that compares to what could happen in January. If you earn income, your taxes are about to go up. If Congress does not act to preserve current law, even the lowest 10 percent bracket will rise to 15 percent. Throw in tax hikes on capital gains, dividends and other tax code fixes, and the American economy is staring straight down the barrel of $3.2 trillion tax hike over the next ten years.
It doesn't take a genius to realize that raising taxes by $3.2 trillion dollars would be an economic recovery killer. Even Sen. Evan Bayh (D-IN) admitted to CNBC yesterday: "We don't need to raise taxes now."
The tax raising culprit here is the expiration of the 2001 and 2003 tax cuts set to take effect on January 1, 2011. The leftist majority in Congress is refusing to extend current law because they believe that these tax cuts are the cause of our trillion dollar deficits. They are wrong. Heritage Foundation research fellow Brian Riedl explains why in today's Wall Street Journal: With Washington set to tax $33 trillion and spend $46 trillion over the next decade, how does one determine which policies "caused" the $13 trillion deficit? [President] Obama could have just as easily singled out Social Security ($9.2 trillion over 10 years), antipoverty programs ($7 trillion), other Medicare spending ($5.4 trillion), net interest on the debt ($6.1 trillion), or nondefense discretionary spending ($7.5 trillion)."
Fwd: The International Criminal Court’s Threat to America
Is "Natural Law Liberalism" A Contradiction in Terms or the Foundation of American Conservatism? To find out, watch or attend Christopher Wolfe's lecture this Thursday. A Debate on Judicial Activism: Is It Just in the Eye of the Beholder? Around the Country
Professor Hadley Arkes discusses Judge Tauro's irrational decision throwing out a key part of DOMA. How should we think about the family in the modern liberal society? Scott Yenor responds during his lecture at Saint Vincent College's Center for Political and Economic Thought. Quick Thoughts
Do you think that Justice Thomas can revive the meaning of the Privileges and Immunities of Citizenship? Guess who is really responsible for America's legacy of debt. What We're Reading: by Thomas G. West
The International Criminal Court's Threat to America
The International Criminal Court (ICC) is more aggressive than ever. Last month, at the ten year review conference in Uganda, the ICC added the crime of aggression to its jurisdiction and agreed upon a definition. The task of the conference overall was to assess the success of the institution and to strengthen it through amendments. The purpose of the ICC as an international institution created to prosecute war crimes, genocide, and crimes against humanity is lofty. But, a lofty goal cannot atone for the tremendous threat that this court poses to America's first principles.
As Marion Smith writes in his essay, "An Inconvenient Founding: America's Principles Applied to the ICC," the ICC fundamentally challenges America's first principles. For instance, the ICC's jurisdiction enables the body to prosecute crimes committed by Americans against Americans in U.S. territory, even if the U.S. investigates and concludes that no crime occurred or that there is insufficient evidence to convict a suspect. Also, the system of legal due processes adopted by the ICC differs radically from the due process guaranteed in the U.S. Constitution. Most egregiously, there is no right to trial by jury or to a speedy trial. Moreover, the ICC would easily become a tool for political prosecutions, since the independent prosecutor would be unaccountable to any electors in America.
America has long rejected any institutions or arrangements that would subjugate its people to foreign jurisdictions and deny the basic protection of the rule law. In fact, the Declaration of Independence protested King George III's "subjecting us to a jurisdiction foreign to our constitution" and consequently having "deprived us, in many cases, of the benefits of trial by jury"; and "transporting us beyond the seas to be tried for pretended offences."
The ten year review conference did not remedy the problems inherent to the ICC. Rather, it exacerbates them. A nation's right to self defense is a fundamental aspect of self-government. But, the addition of "aggression" to the ICC's jurisdiction only increases the likelihood that the ICC will threaten the national sovereignty and security interests of the United States. This threat is evident in the ICC's current investigation of alleged war crimes committed by NATO and U.S. troops. America, therefore, must not join—or even support the activity of—the ICC.
There is a moral imperative to seek justice, but there is no moral imperative to globalize it. It is far from obvious that international justice is best served by putting it into the hands of the ICC. But it is certain that such an unaccountable, international institution represents a tremendous challenge to America's first principles.
Keep Reading about the ICC's threat to America's First Principles
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