Click here to view this media Neil Cavuto is terribly upset that the Republicans in the Senate have decided not to support Paul Ryan and the House’s budget plan and dismantle Medicare by turning it into a voucher system. Cavuto opened his segment with American Pie playing in the background and followed with this: CAVUTO: Alright, I don’t want to be melodramatic (too late for that Neil), but let it be known that this is the day America’s financial future died. I want you to write it down, May 10, 2011. The day tea partiers elected to the United States Senate not only caved, they quit. They folded their spending tent and left. And all because some Medicare recipients stomped their feet and roared. And those Republicans ran into their buzz-saw and just bugged out. I am telling you, they didn’t just blink, they bolted. Which is odd because Republican Senators like Pat Toomey and Marco Rubio got to where promising big cuts. Then they ran into this big old wall. They discovered some folks were fine, cutting spending, but in the case of some Medicare recipients, just not their spending. It is a familiar story. Cut, just don’t cut my stuff. So now my friends, we are all stuck. Republicans in the Senate said, because the reality is Democrats control the Senate today, so they’re keeping their powder dry for when they control the Senate some day. Which is why they are putting off things like Medicare until after 2012, as if the stark reality of things we’re facing will be any less after 2012. They won’t. I can understand their political math, but I fear out far more unfriendly math, by then likely one and a half trillion dollars more in debt, not even a game plan as how to hack that debt. They say they’ll focus then, but I fear it will be too late. No wonder all this talk of a third party now. The Grand Old Party has botched it. Time was of the essence and now the time has gone. And now, they’re of the essence and now they’re the ones risking being gone. History will show it started this day, the tenth of May, 2011, when they gave up the fight and they lost the war. This spring day in 2011, they lost something else, their souls. How dare all of those selfish seniors expect that their children and grand children be taken care of in their old age? Sorry Neil, but you just lost yours running this fearmongering segment. We’ve got the biggest income disparity since the Gilded Age in the United States and you want to throw seniors under the bus. Shame on you.
Continue reading …Click here to view this media Neil Cavuto is terribly upset that the Republicans in the Senate have decided not to support Paul Ryan and the House’s budget plan and dismantle Medicare by turning it into a voucher system. Cavuto opened his segment with American Pie playing in the background and followed with this: CAVUTO: Alright, I don’t want to be melodramatic (too late for that Neil), but let it be known that this is the day America’s financial future died. I want you to write it down, May 10, 2011. The day tea partiers elected to the United States Senate not only caved, they quit. They folded their spending tent and left. And all because some Medicare recipients stomped their feet and roared. And those Republicans ran into their buzz-saw and just bugged out. I am telling you, they didn’t just blink, they bolted. Which is odd because Republican Senators like Pat Toomey and Marco Rubio got to where promising big cuts. Then they ran into this big old wall. They discovered some folks were fine, cutting spending, but in the case of some Medicare recipients, just not their spending. It is a familiar story. Cut, just don’t cut my stuff. So now my friends, we are all stuck. Republicans in the Senate said, because the reality is Democrats control the Senate today, so they’re keeping their powder dry for when they control the Senate some day. Which is why they are putting off things like Medicare until after 2012, as if the stark reality of things we’re facing will be any less after 2012. They won’t. I can understand their political math, but I fear out far more unfriendly math, by then likely one and a half trillion dollars more in debt, not even a game plan as how to hack that debt. They say they’ll focus then, but I fear it will be too late. No wonder all this talk of a third party now. The Grand Old Party has botched it. Time was of the essence and now the time has gone. And now, they’re of the essence and now they’re the ones risking being gone. History will show it started this day, the tenth of May, 2011, when they gave up the fight and they lost the war. This spring day in 2011, they lost something else, their souls. How dare all of those selfish seniors expect that their children and grand children be taken care of in their old age? Sorry Neil, but you just lost yours running this fearmongering segment. We’ve got the biggest income disparity since the Gilded Age in the United States and you want to throw seniors under the bus. Shame on you.
Continue reading …Good Morning America's George Stephanopoulos on Wednesday hypedthe best polling data available for President Obama, ignoring surveys finding much lower numbers. The co-anchor enthused, ” And a new poll out just this morning shows President Obama with his highest approval rating in two years .” “60 percent Of Americans, according to the AP, now think the President is doing a good job.” But, the poll is really an outlier . The May 10 Rasmussen has Obama at 48 percent. Gallup finds 52. However, Stephanopoulos ignored those numbers and focused on the AP data: “And for the first time in that poll, a majority of Americans, 53 percent, say he deserves re-election.” I a follow-up segment, Stephanopoulos reiterated, “And the White House did get that good news this morning, that 60 percent approval rating for the President in that latest poll.” He did allow that the White House knows, with regard to 2012, “this is going to be a close race.” The former Democratic operative turned journalist has a habit of spinning polls on ABC. On August 02, 2010 , he focused on Republican favorability an in ABC News poll. Stephanopoulos skipped the same survey's finding that likely voters wanted the GOP to take control of Congress by a margin of 56 to 41. A transcript of the first segment, which aired at 7:07am EDT on May 11, follows: GEORGE STEPHANOPOULOS: Now, to politics. And a new poll out just this morning shows President Obama with his highest approval rating in two years. 60 percent Of Americans, according to the AP, now think the President is doing a good job. And for the first time in that poll, a majority of Americans, 53 percent, say he deserves re-election. This comes as one of the highest-profile Republicans is officially entering the race, former House Speaker Newt Gingrich. So, let's bring in Jon Karl on that. And, Jon, he's doing it in a brand new way. JON KARL: Yeah, that's right, George. Newt Gingrich will make it official today. I am told he will announce he is running for president, via Twitter. George, we believe
Continue reading …(Here’s an ad from last year that was produced to garner support for the Dream Act.) Bringing back The Dream Act is good news, but I doubt the xenophobes inhabiting the GOP will do the right thing and instead do everything they can to stop this piece of legislation and continue to demonize Latinos and other minorities in America: Senate Democrats will re-introduce the long-stalled DREAM Act, hoping to tap into momentum from President Barack Obama’s speech along the border Tuesday about America’s need to pass comprehensive immigration reform. Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.), Majority Whip Dick Durbin (D-Ill.), Sen. Bob Menendez (D-N.J.) and other Democrats will urge passage of the DREAM Act at a news conference Wednesday morning at the Capitol.Foundering in Congress for a decade, the legislation was passed in the House but came up five votes short of overcoming a Republican filibuster in the Senate during last December’s lame-duck session. The DREAM Act would provide a path to citizenship for millions of illegal immigrants brought to the country as children if they attend college or join the military for two years. At a speech in El Paso, Texas, Obama called on Congress to pass the bill and “stop punishing innocent young people for the actions of their parents.” “It was a tremendous disappointment to get so close and then see politics get in the way,” Obama said. “These are kids who grew up in this country, love this country, and know no other place as home. The idea that we would punish them is cruel and it makes no sense. We are a better nation than that. “So we’re going to keep up the fight for the Dream Act. We’re going to keep up the fight for reform.” I asked President Obama directly about the Dream Act when I had the chance to go to the White House because it’s the right thing to do and because I’ve worked so closely with the Latino community to help make this happen and I will continue to push for this to come true. Whatever happened to America the strong, America the brave, America, the land of the free? The Pat Buchanan types that have littered our history happened. Right Wing talk radio happened and FOX News happened. The Dream Act : The DREAM Act , a bipartisan bill that is supported by 66% of the American people , would enable young people who came to the country as children, but lack legal immigration status, to enlist in the U.S. military or attend college on their way to becoming full U.S. citizens. Seventy-five percent of Latino voters say passing the DREAM Act in short order is either extremely important or very important.
Continue reading …The Heritage Foundation on Tuesday released its comprehensive budget proposal, titled ” Saving the American Dream .” The plan would reform entitlements and the tax code, and balance the federal budget in ten years. But while it is primarily an economic plan, it “has a higher moral purpose,” Heritage writes. “If entitlements are not reformed, the next generation and future ones will have to pay punitive tax rates that will end liberty as we have known it.” Check out some commentary on the plan below the break from columnist – and recent recipient of MRC's William F. Buckley Jr. Award for Media Excellence – Cal Thomas. The Heritage Foundation has developed a formula, made possible by a grant from the Peterson Foundation, that could balance the budget in 10 years, reduce the debt to 30 percent of gross domestic product within 25 years, cut the size of the federal government in half by 2036 and reform the tax code. It also could restructure Social Security, Medicare and Medicaid while protecting the most vulnerable and not increasing taxes, if — and it is a very big “if” — politicians prefer the solution to continued bickering… What's the difference between the Heritage Foundation plan and the one proposed by House Budget Committee Chairman Paul Ryan, R-Wis.? Stuart Butler, who headed the team that drew up the Heritage proposal, tells me the Ryan plan “can't balance the budget anytime soon. Ours does.” Knowing what must be done and not doing it is not just irresponsible, but deplorable. The Heritage plan offers a way out if politicians put the welfare of their country ahead of their own. Follow the link to Thomas's column, or the one to Heritage's more detailed description, for the specifics of the plan, and let us know what you think. Is this preferable to the Ryan plan (and other plans currently under consideration in Congress)? Is it politically feasible?
Continue reading …On Monday, the Texas Senate approved a bill that, if passed, would allow those with concealed handgun licenses to carry weapons in public college buildings and classrooms. Supporters of the controversial legislation, which now heads to the state’s House for a vote, say carrying guns on campus is a self-defense measure, one that could allow
Continue reading …Michael Heick isn’t feeling particularly neighborly about the Jaffarya Islamic Center that sits next door to his house in the suburbs of Buffalo. He’s posted a sign in his lawn reading, “Bomb Making, Next Driveway.” Needless to say, Muslims are not pleased. “I would think it’s an incitement to hatred…
Continue reading …NPR's Mara Liasson noticeably left out anti-illegal immigration conservatives on Tuesday's Morning Edition as she reported on President's Obama's latest push for “comprehensive” immigration reform. Liasson only played clips from the President, Democrat Rep. Luis Gutierrez, and Republican consultant Marty Wilson, who claimed that ” the hardline approach on immigration … is not going to work .” Host Steve Inskeep introduced the correspondent's report by noting the President's forthcoming speech later in the day outlining his “principles for an immigration overhaul.” He continued by recalling how “President Bush's immigration efforts encountered opposition from his own party, and many Republicans are also likely to resist President Obama's efforts.” Instead of turning to those who would be part of such a resistance, Liasson quickly turned to an excerpt from Obama's recent commencement address at Miami Dade College, where he proclaimed, “I strongly believe we should fix our broken immigration system …and I want to work with Democrats and Republicans, yes, to protect our borders and enforce our laws, and address the status of millions of undocumented workers.” After playing her first sound bite from Rep. Gutierrez (who boasted, “I have to tell you, we're headed in the right direction . I'm more optimistic than I've been in recent memory”), the NPR reporter highlighted that the Illinois Democrat was “among the dozens of people invited to the White House in recent weeks to talk about immigration. Along with Democratic members of Congress…there were two Republicans, moderates Michael Bloomberg and Arnold Schwarzenegger .” However, Liasson misidentified the New York City mayor's political affiliation, as he hasn't been a Republican since 2007 . Towards the end of her report, Liasson introduced her two clips from Wilson, who managed Carly Fiorina's failed 2010 Senate bid in California, by stating that “Republicans say they want to pass bills that would enhance border security, not legalize undocumented workers. But GOP strategist Marty Wilson thinks that's shortsighted . Wilson ran Carly Fiorina's Senate race in California, a race he says she lost because she didn't get enough Hispanic votes.” Besides criticizing the supposed “hardline approach on immigration,” the Republican strategist, in the correspondent's words, “thinks Republicans should add a guest worker program to their border security bills that would allow them to appear welcoming to Hispanics without angering their conservative base with talk of amnesty .” This isn't the first time this year that Liasson has conspicuously excluded anti-illegal immigration conservatives. On the March 18 Morning Edition , the NPR correspondent apparently couldn't find any to comment for her report on Utah's new and “milder” guest worker law. The full transcript of Mara Liasson's report from Tuesday's Morning Edition: STEVE INSKEEP: When President Obama gave an interview on 60 Minutes, he said the president must do more than one thing at a time, and today, he tries to demonstrate that in El Paso. Amid negotiations over the budget, as well as the aftermath of Osama bin Laden's death, the President will talk about immigration. He plans to lay out principles for an immigration overhaul. President Bush's immigration efforts encountered opposition from his own party, and many Republicans are also likely to resist President Obama's efforts. Here's NPR national political correspondent Mara Liasson. MARA LIASSON: Immigration is back on President Obama's front burner. Today in El Paso, Texas, he'll continue his new push for immigration legislation, which began with a series of high profile meetings at the White House and a speech at the Miami Dade College commencement late last month. PRESIDENT BARACK OBAMA (from speech at Miami Dade College): I strongly believe we should fix our broken immigration system- (crowd applauds) fix it so that it meets our 21st century economic and security needs, and I want to work with Democrats and Republicans, yes, to protect our borders and enforce our laws, and address the status of millions of undocumented workers. LIASSON: After the last attempt at immigration legislation died in the lame duck session of Congress, Hispanic leaders took out their frustration on the White House. They wanted the President to do more to fulfill his campaign pledge to pass a bill, and now he is. REPRESENTATIVE LUIS GUTIERREZ: I have to tell you, we're headed in the right direction. I'm more optimistic than I've been in recent memory. LIASSON: That's Illinois Congressman Luis Gutierrez. He was among the dozens of people invited to the White House in recent weeks to talk about immigration. Along with Democratic members of Congress, there were celebrities like Eva Longoria and Emilio Estefan. There were two Republicans, moderates Michael Bloomberg and Arnold Schwarzenegger. The President is not only devoting more attention to immigration, he's also changing his approach to deportations. In an effort to prove it was tough on border security, the administration had substantially increased the number of deportations, angering Hispanic leaders. But now, the White House has decided to move away from deporting college-age kids. The law that failed in the lame duck session,
Continue reading …Want more Android in your house? How about Android in your house . Google wants to think of “every appliance in your home” as a potential accessory for your phone. The opportunities are seemingly endless, the sort of thing we’ve seen in the Zigbee and Z-wave areas, but sadly this implementation doesn’t actually seem to be using any of those standards. The team teased ideas like lights turning on and off based on calendar events, applications talking to washing machines, games automatically adjusting for mood lighting, and basically little green dudes taking care of all the menial duties in your house. One amazing demo was a concept, Android-powered device hub called Tungsten. Using RFID embedded into CD cases the device was able to detect the CD and add it to your library. Another touch and it started automatically. Yeah, the use of CDs is a little quaint, but the potential is there for amazing things in the future. We’re not sure exactly when these accessories will be launching, but the first are expected before the end of the year. Gallery: Android at Home Google announces Android @ Home framework for home automation originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 10 May 2011 12:44:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds . Permalink
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