Home » Posts tagged with » breaking news (Page 997)
Home Prices Plunge With No Bounce in Sight

October wasn’t a good month for sales of single-family homes in the U.S.—in fact, it was pretty dismal—and you know it’s bad when number-crunching economist types say there’s nothing good to say about not only the current moment but the foreseeable future as well.

Continue reading …
McCain whines that Latinos turned their backs on him — after he threw them under the bus

Click here to view this media We all saw what a vicious hypocrite John McCain really is last week when he voted against the DREAM Act — a bill he not only sponsored, but campaigned before Latinos on. Now he’s justifying his mendacious flip-flop by complaining that Latinos turned their backs on him: McCain also voted no Saturday on the Dream Act, which would have granted citizenship to thousands of foreign-born college students. He initially sponsored the legislation. Gullett said McCain constantly faced voters on the campaign trail last year asking about border security and that affected his stance. His communications director, Brooke Buchanan, explained that on immigration, McCain believes the border needs to be secured above all else, citing the increasing border violence over the last four years. “His opinion has evolved with time,” she said. “Don’t we expect our leaders to base their opinions and policies, don’t we expect them to change with the time? And that’s what Sen. McCain has been doing. It’s truly in the best interest of our country.” Woods said “it hurts” McCain to vote against legislation like the Dream Act after years of working on reform but said the senator felt betrayed when Latinos overwhelmingly supported Obama in 2008. “When you carry that fight at great sacrifice year after year and then you are abandoned during the biggest fight of your life, it has to have some sort of effect on you,” he said. But as Kos observes, McCain actually threw Latinos under the bus in January 2008, during the Republican presidential debates : MS. HOOK: Senator McCain, let me just take the issue to you, because you obviously have been very involved in it. During this campaign, you, like your rivals, have been putting the first priority, heaviest emphasis, on border security. But your original immigration proposal back in 2006 was much broader and included a pathway to citizenship for illegal immigrants who are already here. What I’m wondering is, and you seem to be downplaying that part, at this point, if your original proposal came to a vote in the Senate floor, would you vote for it? SEN. MCCAIN: It won’t. It won’t. That’s why we went through the debate. MS. HOOK: I know, but what if it did? SEN. MCCAIN: No, I would not, because we know what the situation is today. The people want the border secured first. And so to say that that would come to the floor of the Senate, it won’t. We went through various amendments which prevented that ever, that proposal. He also backed the bus back up and ran over Latinos again in May, on Bill O’Reilly’s show: Bill O’Reilly: But do you understand what the New York Times wants, and the far-left want? They want to break down the white, Christian, male power structure, which you’re a part, and so am I, and they want to bring in millions of foreign nationals to basically break down the structure that we have. In that regard, Pat Buchanan is right. So I say you’ve got to cap with a number. John McCain: In America today we’ve got a very strong economy and low unemployment, so we need addition farm workers, including by the way agriculture, but there may come a time where we have an economic downturn, and we don’t need so many. [crosstalk] O’Reilly: But in this bill, you guys have got to cap it. Because estimation is 12 million, there may be 20 [million]. You don’t know, I don’t know. We’ve got to cap it. McCain: We do, we do. I agree with you. A few months later, McCain held a secret meeting with Latinos in which he told Latinos, again, that he really was their friend — but just didn’t want them to tell anyone about it. Yeah, Latinos betrayed McCain. Like Jesus betrayed Judas.

Continue reading …
First Person: Cold Manatees Swim to Warmth

In chilly Florida, manatees are on the hunt for warmth. Some have found respite from the cold Gulf waters in pools beside a power plant, where generating electricity warms the water. (Dec. 28)

Continue reading …

Matthew Boyle of The Daily Caller reported the “Diversity Committee” of the Society of Professional Journalists wants a yearlong “education campaign designed to inform and sensitize journalists” that the words “illegal immigrant” are hurtful and insensitive. In an article for the SPJ magazine The Quill, reporter Leo Laurence insisted that since our legal system presumes innocence until proven guilty, “Simply put, only a judge, not a journalist, can say that someone is an illegal.” (The National Association of Hispanic Journalists has also argued that the I-word unfairly “criminalizes a person.”) At the national convention in Las Vegas, the Diversity Committee resolution urged journalists to use the phrase “undocumented immigrant(s), and avoid both “illegal immigrant” or “illegal alien.” In several MRC studies of TV immigration coverage, we found the networks still primarily use “illegal immigrants,” but some journalists (like CBS's Harry Smith) used “undocumented” as a matter of routine. Laurence explained: read more

Continue reading …

Sucks to Be in NYC

No Comment
Sucks to Be in NYC

The holiday 2010 season is destined to go down in wintry infamy for countless would-be travelers, and even residents just trying to get around already in New York City. Here’s a few of them giving their appraisal of the snowy situation in the Big Apple on Tuesday. Related Entries December 27, 2010 White Christmas December 25, 2010 38 Dead in Christmas Attacks

Continue reading …
Maliki Says No U.S. Soldiers in Iraq After 2011

“The last American soldier will leave Iraq” after the pre-negotiated 2011 deadline, regardless of any rumblings among American officials, says Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki. The status of forces agreement governing the U.S. military presence in Iraq, Maliki adds, “is not subject to extension, not subject to alteration, it is sealed, it expires on Dec. 31 [2011].” The Wall Street Journal: WSJ: Some American officials have spoken about contingency plans being drawn now in Washington for the possibility that some American troops will stay after 2011. Do you know about these contingency plans, and do you need troops? Mr. Maliki: I do not care about what’s being said. I care about what’s on paper and what has been agreed to. The withdrawal of forces agreement [Status of Forces Agreement or SOFA] expires on Dec. 31, 2011. The last American soldier will leave Iraq. Secondly this agreement is sealed and at the time we designated it as sealed and not subject to extension, except if the new government with Parliament’s approval wanted to reach a new agreement with America, or another country, that’s another matter. This agreement is not subject to extension, not subject to alteration, it is sealed, it expires on Dec. 31 [2011]. Read more Related Entries December 27, 2010 White Christmas December 25, 2010 38 Dead in Christmas Attacks

Continue reading …
8 Killed in Fire in Empty New Orleans Warehouse

A blaze in a small, abandoned warehouse in New Orleans killed eight homeless people who were burning wood in a barrel to stay warm, the fire department said Tuesday. (Dec. 28)

Continue reading …
Year-End Flurry of Food Recalls, Illness

A recall of salmonella-contaminated parsley and cilantro comes on the heels of unrelated recalls of sprouts linked to salmonella poisoning, pastries linked to Staph toxin poisoning, and E. coli-contaminated cheese.

Continue reading …
The 9 Most Fattening Foods of Winter

Experts list the worst winter foods — the calorie-packed culprits we should stay away from this season.

Continue reading …

It’s a golden era in government! No more wasteful spending or cronyism! It’s a brave new day, where integrity rules every single thing the new Tea Party politicians do: By the way, this same daughter, Lauren LePage, went to school in Florida, where she paid in-state tuition –because LePage’s wife violated tax laws by claiming residency in both Maine and Florida. (She was eventually ordered to pay back taxes). In other words, business as usual. Teabaggers, you were suckered: With the strong backing of the tea party movement, Maine Gov.-elect Paul LePage (R) rode a wave of discontent over bull semen taxes to a surprising victory last month, telling President Obama to “ go to to hell ” and warning a reporter that he would punch him in the face . On the campaign trail, LePage raged against a what he considered a corrupt state government and “pledged to surround himself with ‘the best and the brightest’ and to avoid political cronyism .” But on Thursday, LePage announced that he had hired his own 22-year-old daughter for a position in the “upper echelon of his administration,” with a salary of $41,000, the Bangor Daily News reports : Lauren LePage, 22, will serve as assistant to the governor’s chief of staff, John McGough — a position that administration officials describe as entry-level and is commensurate with her experience, work history and education. LePage, a recent college graduate, will be a salaried political appointee earning approximately $41,000 a year, according to Dan Demeritt, incoming director of communications in the LePage administration. Maine governors have wide discretion in creating staff positions within their offices, filling those positions and setting salaries . Because such appointments are political positions — known as “special assistants to the governor” — there are no rules barring Maine’s chief executive from hiring family members . According to the current administration, the average entry level salary is $30,000 .” Indeed, the minimum starting salary for a certified teachers in Maine is only $30,000, and that requires extra study. Meanwhile, the entry-level salary for a Maine State Police officer is just $36,000 after graduation from the police academy. And as Maine progressive blog Dirigo Blue points out, LePage’s daughter will also be moving into the governor’s mansion with her father. With taxpayers footing the bill for her rent, utilities, food, and other expenses, “Not only will Lauren be earning $41,000 in direct income, but she’ll be making another $12,000 or more indirectly.” Maine Democrats Executive Director Mary Erin Casale called the hiring a “ brazen display of political nepotism ,” but LePage aides said the position is “entry-level and is commensurate with her experience, work history and education.”

Continue reading …