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As the showdown over healthcare looms, House
Speaker Nancy Pelosi (P-CA), Progressives and liberal Democrats are willing to
usurp the US Constitution to pass this grossly unpopular piece of legislation
using the "Self-Executing Rule."
Dems Sweeten Health Bill,
Set Showdown Vote Source: AP/FOX News
Historic healthcare change in the balance, Democrats plowed fresh billions into
insurance subsidies for consumers on Thursday and added a $250 rebate for
seniors facing high prescription drugs, last-minute sweeteners to sweeping $940
billion legislation headed for a climactic weekend vote. President Barack Obama
scuttled an Asian trip in favor of last-minute lobbying at the White House on
his signature issue, playing host to a procession of wavering Democrats seeking
favors. "It will make history and we will make progress by passing this
legislation," predicted House Speaker Nancy Pelosi as Democrats unveiled final
alterations to a bill -- 16 tumultuous months in the making...The healthcare
portions of the bill would affect nearly every American and remake one-sixth of
the national economy. Beginning in 2014, most Americans would be required for
the first time to purchase insurance, and face penalties if they refused.
Millions of families with incomes up to $88,000 a year would receive government
help to defray their costs. Large businesses would face fines if they did not
offer good-quality coverage to their workers.
Read more...
International Issues
For Iran, Enriching Uranium Only Gets Easier by William J. Broad, The New York Times
In the Iranian desert, at a sprawling industrial site ringed by barbed
wire and antiaircraft guns, a shift in the enrichment of uranium is
producing global jitters because it could shorten Iran’s path to the
acquisition of nuclear weapons. It is also illustrating one of the
peculiarities of uranium enrichment, a version of the rich getting
richer, really fast. The tricky process accelerates as it moves ahead.
“The higher the concentration, the easier it gets,” said Houston G. Wood
III, a professor of mechanical and aerospace engineering at the
University of Virginia who specializes in nuclear enrichment. The
process is, as scientists like to say, nonlinear.
Islamist Terrorism
National Security Case Studies: Special Case-Management Challenges by Robert Timothy Reagan, Federal Judicial
Center
On Friday, February 26, 1993, a bomb exploded in the parking garage of
the World Trade Center in Manhattan, killing six people and injuring
more than one thousand. On April 24, 1992, Ahmad Mohammad Ajaj moved
from Houston, Texas, to Pakistan, where he attended a terrorist training
camp called Camp Khaldan on the border between Afghanistan and Pakistan.
He learned how to make bombs, and he met Ramzi Ahmed Yousef. On
September 1, 1992, Ajaj and Yousef entered the United States using false
identities. Ajaj s passport was discovered to be a forgery. He was
indicted in the Eastern District of New York, where John F. Kennedy
International Airport is located, and imprisoned for six months on a
guilty plea. Yousef was stopped for traveling on an Iraqi passport
without a visa but released on his own recognizance because the
detention center was full.
Government & Politics
How Urban Planners Caused the Housing Bubble by Randal O'Toole, The CATO
Institute
Everyone agrees that the recent financial crisis started with the
deflation of the housing bubble. But what caused the bubble? Answering
this question is important both for identifying the best short-term
policies and for fixing the credit crisis, as well as for developing
long-term policies aimed at preventing another crisis in the future.
Some people blame the Federal Reserve for keeping interest rates low;
some blame the Community Reinvestment Act for encouraging lenders to
offer loans to marginal homebuyers; others blame Wall Street for failing
to properly assess the risks of subprime mortgages. But all of these
explanations apply equally nationwide, while a close look reveals that
only some communities suffered from housing bubbles.
National & Local
What Powers for the Federal Reserve? by Martin Feldstein, American Enterprise
Institute
The roles and responsibilities of the major central banks differ
substantially and have evolved significantly over time. The Federal
Reserve's operation and authority have also changed frequently in the
nearly 100 years since its founding in 1913. The recent financial
crisis, the widespread losses of personal wealth, and the severe
economic downturn have raised questions about the appropriate powers of
the Federal Reserve and about its ability to exercise those powers
effectively. As possible changes are contemplated, it is reasonable to
ask what powers should reside with the Federal Reserve, what powers
might be given to other government entities, and what actions should be
left to free financial markets. The financial sector is already one of
the most heavily regulated parts of the American economy. The financial
crisis was not due to a lack of regulation but to a failure of
supervision and of policy actions more generally.
American Fifth Column
Victims of Islamist 'Lawfare' Fight Back by Ken Timmerman, NewsMax.com
What do Hamas, the Council on American-Islamic Relations and the
National Iranian American Council all have in common? They all are using
the protections of western legal systems to harass and in some cases
imprison their political enemies. Hamas lawyers have filed lawsuits
alleging war crimes against senior Israeli officials in British courts.
Former Israeli foreign minister Tzipi Livni cancelled a recent trip to
Britain for fear of being arrested. CAIR has sued a wide variety of
individuals and groups that have dared question its ties to the Muslim
Brotherhood, even though documents describing those ties has been
entered into evidence by US federal prosecutors in terrorism-related
cases.Defending against these lawsuits is costly, and that’s part of the
point. Even when the complaints are withdrawn, as CAIR has done
frequently once challenged to produce internal documents through the
discovery process, they can cost unsuspecting defendants hundreds of
thousands of dollars in legal fees. The practice is known as “lawfare” –
using the law as a weapon of war.
Culture Wars
Immigration, Political Realignment & the Demise of GOP by James G. Gimpel, Center for Immigration
Studies
How has the growth of the immigrant population changed the political
partisan leanings of the places where immigrants have settled? The
answer to this question is of considerable interest to academic
specialists, journalists, interest groups, and political parties engaged
in the immigration policy debate. If the impact of mass immigration is
politically neutral, there is no reason to be concerned that
constituencies will change appreciably by the settlement and
naturalization of new arrivals. In that case, immigration might have
economic and cultural impacts that should be anticipated, but no one
need be concerned about political shifts. On the other hand, if
immigration does change the politics of locales, districts, and even
entire states, then what might those changes entail? Certainly one
important implication will be a resultant public shift toward favoring
governmental activism — a belief that government should do more, rather
than less. Latino voters, for instance, are presently among the
demographic groups that are most strongly behind an activist government.
This is undoubtedly because they have, on balance, lower incomes, and
concentrate in areas monopolized by Democratic Party politics into which
they are easily socialized.
Editorial: ‘I Will Support
and Defend
the Constitution of the United States’
by Frank Salvato, Managing Editor, The New Media
Journal
As the American people stare down the barrel of a Progressive ideological coup
in the form of the institution of so-called “healthcare reform,” it is
tremendously important that we take heed of how Progressive Democrats are going
about achieving their long sought-after goal. To be succinct, it has been an
ugly and often times unconstitutional process. But the bribing of Senators with
taxpayer monies, the bartering of favors by the White House and the threats of
withheld support for Democrat candidates by President Obama himself, pale in
comparison to the tactic soon to be employed by House Speaker and über
Progressive Nancy Pelosi.
Editorial: The Shot Heard
Round the World by Nancy Salvato, Senior Editor, The New
Media Journal
People do not respond favorably to having laws thrust on them. This country
fought a revolution in order to be represented in government. This country
fought a civil war in order to maintain states’ rights, and upon the conclusion
of the war, though slavery was ended, people of color were still not treated
with equal rights. Now, we’re facing the Self-Executing Rule, referred to as
"Deem and Pass." And a large percentage of people are angry. Progressives, who
hold a majority in Congress, are not allowing true debate about the pending
healthcare legislation. The President has said that he doesn’t pay attention to
the procedural rules, that this vote will be a vote for health care reform, that
the American people want this. The trouble is that this won’t be a vote. This
procedure eliminates the vote. The people are not represented in such a
procedure.
Education in America: More Problems Reported by Thomas D. Segel, ThomasDSegel.com
Harlingen, Texas, March 10, 2010: When we wrote about the liberal political
control of higher education there was not a single denial from any teacher
organization or faculty group. The reason they remained silent is clear. The
left to far left not only control the vast majority of the more than 4,000
degree granting institutions in America, they dominate the ranks of staff and
faculty on those campuses. In some cases those of liberal political views are
holding down more than 80% of the teaching positions.
Suicide Is Bad for Your Health by Dr. Laurie Roth, The Roth Show
Here we go again. Forget American Idol and the fancy new TV shows. The actions
of congress and Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi (P-CA) are beyond horrifying
and unconstitutional, they are entertaining in their absurdity! Let’s
see...where do we begin...
Specter Opens Door on White House Felonies by Jeffrey Lord, The American Spectator
Here we go again. Even as the drama of health care carries the headlines,
beneath the surface, visible now, the iceberg of scandal ripples. First, the
timeline on the blossoming scandal upon which we will now officially fix the
dreaded "gate" descriptive. Jobsgate.
Obama Surrenders Gulf Oil to Moscow Editorial, The Washington Times
The Obama administration is poised to ban offshore oil drilling on the outer
continental shelf until 2012 or beyond. Meanwhile, Russia is making a bold
strategic leap to begin drilling for oil in the Gulf of Mexico. While the United
States attempts to shift gears to alternative fuels to battle the purported
evils of carbon emissions, Russia will erect oil derricks off the Cuban coast.
Multimedia
NMJ Radio The Forum, Frankly
Speaking & The Roth Show
A news-issues analysis Internet-based
radio show available for download also
broadcast on NetTalkWorld Global Talk
Radio and heard by the US Military
around the world.
NMJ-TV The Census: Getting
Personal
There is a great deal of confusion about the Census "long form" -- or "American
Community Survey" -- which has 12 pages of questions because the Census Bureau
has failed to explain their approach. Jerry Day of the Matrix News Network posed
some questions to the Census Bureau. The answers should trouble you...
