Murdoch is pushing buttons. Are we going to have hospitals under seige now?

Public safety personnel swarm the patient discharge exit of Parkwest Medical Center after a shooting Monday, April 19, 2010 in Knoxville, Tenn. (AP Photo/Knoxville News Sentinel, Michael Patrick)

 By Beth Rucker

Associated Press Writer / April 19, 2010

KNOXVILLE, Tenn.—A gunman took a taxi to a hospital Monday and then opened fire, killing a woman and injuring two others before committing suicide, police said....

...Police are still trying to determine a motive, but it did not appear that any of the victims were related to the suspect or that there was any connection between them, spokesman Darrell DeBusk said. Police also didn't think the suspect was ever employed at the hospital....

There is ONE CONNECTION and only one, the CULTURE OF HATE !!!!!!!!!!

Liars, liars, pants on fire. Representative Gingrey has decided it is okay to 'spin' the Murdoch lies to increase fear of the Obama Administration.

Today during the Cavuto hour on Murdoch's network the lies of the Right Wing Republicans took on a new trejectory.

It stated last week with the "Fear Zone" with O'Reilly and it is continuing this week with the 'Infotainers' of the Murdoch political war machine.

Robert Gibbs this morning clearly stated there is no National Sales Tax (Value Added Tax) in the works.  Yet.  The Murdoch network is promoting that as if a realty.

They have no balanced approach to such a subject as the nations of Europe that have such a tax are far smaller than the USA both in geographic area and population and do not have the tax base of the USA.

The entire subject is closed and there is no further reason to discuss it as if it is a reality by this administration.

Murdoch does nothing than propagate lies and the public gets confused regarding the issues.  This is a news organization to value?  Could have fooled me.
 

Tax writer Levin: Bank tax weighed but no VAT  (click title to entry - thank you)

(Reuters) - U.S. lawmakers are still mulling a tax on banks to recoup government bailout funds but a value-added tax was a nonstarter, the acting chairman of the tax-writing panel in the U.S. House of Representatives said on Monday.

The idea of a value-added tax, or VAT, has gained attention recently after Paul Volcker, an adviser to President Barack Obama, repeated his backing for it.
Republicans have been blasting Democrats for suggesting new taxes, citing the VAT in some cases, but the top House tax-writer said it would not get support.
"I've heard almost nobody within our ranks discuss it," Representative Sander Levin, chairman of the House Ways and Means Committee told a press lunch in Washington, saying if it did come up it would be a "goner."
He also said that Obama officials did not seem to be seriously considering a VAT....

Iran's Nuclear Summit - Annouced the day after President Obama convened the USA summit.

Iran lashes out at U.S. during Tehran nuclear summit 

Supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei calls the U.S. the world's 'only nuclear scofflaw' for its advocating of arms control while having a huge stockpile and for accepting Israel's atomic arsenal.

http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/world/middleeast/la-fg-iran-nukes18-2010apr18,0,3590707.story

I think we need to hold the participants of the Iranian Nuclear Summit to their promises.  That includes NO enrichment facilities.  

 There must be a clear definition to PEACEFUL USE OF NUCLEAR TECHNOLOGY.  That definition MUST include no enrichment facilities.  It is an overt sign of a peaceful intention.

The IAEA must make recommendations for the modification to the Non-Proliferation Treaty to include the definition of peaceful use as demonstrated by lack of enrichment facilities.  Otherwise, it is obvious there is military aspirations intended.  There has to be that delineation, otherwise, there is too much uncertainty and covert activity, including the exclusion of IAEA inspections.

Tehran summit calls for nuclear disarmament  

Published 18 April, 2010, 21:37

As a nuclear summit in Tehran drew to a close on Sunday, the participants agreed on the need to observe the three tenets of the Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT).

Non-proliferation, disarmament and the right to peacefully use nuclear technology are the three pillars of the treaty that Iran’s foreign minister, Manouchehr Mottaki, stressed during his closing statement after a two-day conference attended by nearly 60 international experts and delegates.

Mottaki also stressed that the treaty was in a need of a “fresh perspective.” “This is the common opinion of all the conference participants,” Mottaki added.

http://rt.com/Top_News/2010-04-18/iran-tehran-nuclear-summit.html

The Republican Crackpots are still on the loose only this time its financial reform.

April 18, 2010

McConnell: There's a bailout fund in current Wall St. reform bill

Posted: April 18th, 2010 12:01 PM ET

The Republicans are bent out of shape because the new financial reform bill allows for 'bailout fund.'  Perhaps McConnell and Bohner (AKA Boner !) would like to roll back the FDIC as well.

The 'bailout fund' will work extremely similar to the FDIC concept, but, it bails out the banks instead.  The difference is that depositors are not the focus.  FDIC, as most adults in the USA know, provides insurance for depositors of banks.  It has been used widely in the past.  The funds in the FDIC was used to bailout the Savings and Loans during "H.W." years in the White House because Neil Bush had managed to push the S&Ls over the edge while Dad was in the White House.

But, the FDIC has paid depositors of hundreds (I don't think it ever reached a thousand.  Maybe, but, I don't recall that as the truth.) of banks in the last Bush Money Scandal of 2008, that included Goldman Sachs' Paulson, then USA Treasury Secretary.  In case folks forgot, they are REPUBLICANS.  Corrupt.  REPUBLICANS.

At any rate, the 'Bank Bailout Fund' will be accumulated by deposits to the fund by the banks themselves.  I have no doubt as soon as the REPUBLICANS can get back a majority of power again, the same thing will happen when they rollback protections of consumers enough to allow a scouring of the new 'bailout fund.'  The banks will 'play' to that end, no different than a gambler that can't find a bus ticket out of a casino.

33 States Reported Job Growth in March

Republicans don't believe in science and scientists? Everyone during the birth of the country did.

Dr. Benjamin Franklin

Page 23 of The Correspondence of Richard Price, Volume II: March 1778–February 1786 speaks about Dr. Franklin in detail.  

Benjamin Franklin was a scientist.  He studied oceanography and was the first to predict the arrival of ships to and from Great Britain.

John Boehner is a crackpot and a threat to human life on Earth.  It is all about crony money and nothing else.

60 votes needed in the Senate, Lisa.  SIXTY. 

...House Minority Leader John Boehner (click title to entry) of Ohio and other key Republicans plan to unveil a formal resolution that would effectively veto EPA's "endangerment" finding. That determination, issued last December, finds that greenhouse gases threaten public health and welfare, and allows EPA to move forward with a suite of rules aimed at curbing those emissions....

There are reports of interruption in communications and satellite signals, KLM better be cautious. (click title to entry - thank you)

It is North American Plate.  It is pushing everything around.  Earthquakes and now this.   It is a huge land mass and it simply lost its ice anchor.  Welcome to the Climate Crisis.

 

Volcano in Iceland is more than active  (click here)

In brief: Icelandic volcano continues to bear more and more problems to the Europeans, activity of volcano grows.

...Flights canceled, many airports are closed, there were problems with the satellite signal and communication....

Illustration of Mid-Atlantic Ridge from USGS  (click here)

I don't know what the Senate will do without him? Anyone else would gladly give up the job.

I believe if DC is to have its own Representation, but, prefers to regulate gun control, it is a matter of extending a 'State's Rights' provision, in that, it should have the self determination power of any other 'entity' that has federal representation.  

There should not be an elected federal authority for DC that is controlled easily by legislative pressures.  There would be no other federal elected official within the voting body that would have dictates upon them by federal regulation.  It is a prejudice that should not hold up to judicial scrutiny.

Or/Also, once there was an elected official from DC in a federal legislative body, that person could add an amendment to reverse the previous 'gun bias.'  Either way, it is still risky business until authority were returned to DC as if it were a State.

...The Senate took up legislation early in Mr. Obama's presidency that would expand the House of Representatives to 437 members. One member would represent Washington, D.C., and the other would represent Utah -- bringing that state's number of representatives from three to four. This move brought some bipartisan support to the bill since members expected D.C to elect a Democrat and Utah to elect a Republican.

The bill changed dramatically when the Senate added an amendment to its D.C. Voting Rights bill sponsored by Sen. John Ensign (R-Nev.) that would force the District of Columbia to weaken its gun control laws. It stated that the District of Columbia could not "unduly burden" residents from owning guns. That amendment passed 62 to 36 in February 26, 2009, and the entire bill passed the Senate that same day.

Adding that language stalled efforts in the House to bring the voting bill to the floor. The move outraged the Washington City Council, the mayor and Del. Eleanor Holmes Norton (the city's non-voting delegate in the House).

House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer (D-Md.) has been asked repeatedly by local press since that time when the House would take up the measure. He was forced time after time to give the same answer that they were working on a compromise, but no deal was imminent.

Anti-gun Democrats, including Norton herself, now accept that November elections are coming fast and this may be the last chance for some time to pass the bill. "There is nothing left to do but make the hard decision," Norton said in a statement. "I believe residents would not want us to pass up this once-in-a-life-time opportunity for the vote they have sought for more than two centuries."...

Nevada casino winnings jump 14 percent in February

Harry Reid (b. 1939) is an influential United States Senator from Nevada and former chairman of the Nevada Gaming Commission.

Born in Searchlight, Nevada, Reid attended high school in Henderson before getting a bachelor's degree from Utah State University. After graduating from George Washington University law school, Reid worked as an attorney before embarking on a career in politics. Serving as a state assemblyman in the late 1960s, Reid was catapulted onto a larger state with his 1970s election as lieutenant governor.

Reid, a Democrat, was chairman of the Nevada Gaming Commission from 1977 to 1982, when he was elected to the House of Representatives. Four years later, he moved to the Senate, where he held a succession of leadership position, culminating in his 2006 elevation as Majority Leader of the Senate.

Throughout his public life, Reid has been a voice in Nevada and on Capitol Hill for the hundreds of thousands of people whose jobs are supported by gaming entertainment, and for communities where gaming entertainment provides a strong economic foundation.

2008 - House makes progress, Senate a bust

The House of Representatives in 2008
proved to be a true ally to liberals,
passing an extraordinary amount of good
legislation only to be stymied by a small
band of Republican obstructionists in the
Senate....

2007 - Even before there was Obama, Harry Reid was seeking to bring the military home from Iraq.

Posted: Thursday, September 06, 2007 3:29 PM by Mark Murray

Senate leaders are likely to move a defense measure on the week of the 17th that essentially calls for a withdrawal to begin later this year, but drops language that would require completion by April 30, 2008. "We are not backing off anything," Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid told reporters today, while adding in the next breath that "we need 60 votes" -- a threshold that they have been repeatedly unable to meet this year on war votes. "There is nothing off the table on Iraq," he said.


The sixty vote threshold has been an issue.  It inhibited the 2006 Democratic majority and it is a problem yet today.  The health care vote brought focus to it, but, it was there as an issue the entire time.

Prevention First Act - Was to stop unwanted pregnancies and reduce the number seeking abortions.

Senator Harry Reid (D-NV) introduced this bill in the Senate in January 2007 and it was reffered to committee. Congresswoman Louise Slaughter (D-NY) introduced this bill in the House in February 2007 and it was referred to committee. It is expected to be reintroduced in the 111th Congress.

New poll bad news for Sen. Harry Reid

...Almost half, 47 percent, of those surveyed by the Mason-Dixon poll said they would vote for former Republican state Chairwoman Sue Lowden, while 37 percent would vote for Reid, The Hill reported. The poll is the first since the Easter-Passover break, which Reid used to travel around Nevada touting his achievements as senator and majority leader.

The poll, done for the Las Vegas Review-Journal, found the Tea Party movement would have little impact on the race. Only 2 percent of those polled said they would pick Scott Ashjian, a Tea Party candidate, while 3 percent would vote for Tim Fasano of the Independent American Party....

GUESTS: Sen. Harry Reid (D - NV)

MR. RUSSERT:  And we are back with the new leader of the Democrats in the U.S. Senate, Harry Reid of Nevada.

Welcome. 

SEN. HARRY REID, (D-NV):  Thank you very much. 

MR. RUSSERT:  In 1994, when the Republicans seized control of both houses of Congress, this is what Senator Harry Reid said.  "We all have to swallow a little bit of our pride and go toward the middle."

Is that still your advice to the Democrats? 

SEN. REID:  I think there's no question about it.  You know, we don't accomplish anything on the far right and the far left.  Things are accomplished in the middle.  We have to work toward the middle.  And I think that that's clear.  I feel no differently than I did 10 years ago. 

MR. RUSSERT:  There were a lot of eyebrows raised across the town when the Las Vegas Review- Journal and The Hill newspaper reported this.  "Harry Reid, the incoming Senate minority leader, said he is forming a communications `war room' to promote Democratic messages and respond to Republican criticism."

Is creating a war room the prescription to try to solve the partisan problems we face right now? 

SEN. REID:  Well, I think war room designation is something that comes from inside Washington.  What I've created is a communications center where we're going to take some of the resources that are already there and make sure that when someone comes to the Senate floor to give a speech, that talk radio stations know what that person had to say.  We're going to communicate with the American people to make sure that they understand the Democrats are in tune with millions of Americans across the country.  In fact, we represent the people of this country, and this communications center that we have will certainly be an indication of how we feel. 

MR. RUSSERT:  So you're not going to war with Republicans the first week on your job? 

SEN. REID:  No.  I hope we don't have to go to war.  As I said, Tim, I'd rather dance than fight.  But people have to understand that the president controls the White House, of course.  The House of Representatives, the Senate--if he wants to get something done, he has to come to us.  We are constitutionally empowered by the Constitution to have certain powers that are inherent in this body, and we want to work with the president.  But they can't jam things down our throats.  The American people wouldn't want us to do that. 

MR. RUSSERT:  You're a former boxer.  If you're punched, you'll punch back?

SEN. REID:  Sure will...

The Gender Gap of 2008 - Play to your strengths Harry. Take control of the dialogue and don't let go of it.

Lost in the recount backwash last November was a little noted statistic. 

According to exit polls, incumbent U.S. Sen. Harry Reid, D-Nev., and Rep. John Ensign, R-Las Vegas, equally split the female vote.
 

The issue of abortion never came up in the vicious senate campaign, but women somehow found out that when it came to their keystone issue, there was no choice between two anti-choice men.

[UPDATE: A reverse perception was actually the case. Since neither Reid nor Ensign made an issue of abortion, polls showed that women assumed they were both pro-choice. The result was the same — a push.]

Del Papa will open 2000 with a gender gap which will grow to Grand Canyon proportions, perhaps 15 to 20 percentage points, by November.

That alone will make Ensign unelectable.

How a pro-gun, anti-abortion Nevadan leads the Senate’s Democrats.

...“Precedent is so important to me in the law,” Reid told him. Roberts, Reid recalled, said, “ ‘Oh, on the Supreme Court you can change precedent only if there’s this and this,’ and he was rattling them off. I hope I didn’t act surprised, but I’d never heard anything like that before.” Roberts, in Reid’s view, left no doubt that he would be very reluctant to overturn precedents....

Biography

...Since he came to the Senate in 1986, Harry Reid has built a strong record of accomplishments for the people of Nevada. As the fastest growing state in the nation, Nevada has needs no other state has and Reid is using his leadership position to meet them.

Sen. Reid is is leading the way on solutions to keep Nevadans in their homes and end the foreclosure crisis, which is weakening our state’s economy. He is a leader on reducing the cost of health care, while increasing the number of Nevadans who have medical insurance. And he is working to create thousands of good-paying Nevada jobs by making the state the leader in renewable energy.

Reid has brought hundreds of millions of dollars to make Nevada safer. That money puts more police on the street, ensures Nevada’s military bases have everything they need, and is being used to build the long overdue the Southern Nevada Veterans Hospital.

As an avid sportsman, Reid has long been a champion of Nevada’s outdoors. He created Great Basin National Park, Nevada’s only national park. He created the Lake Tahoe Summit, which brings leaders of all political stripes together to preserve Lake Tahoe’s clarity. He is also working to preserve Nevada’s outdoors by developing Nevada’s solar, wind, and geothermal energy industries....

There are 'snapshots' of Harry Reid's character that cannot be ignored. Kind, gentle and committed. That is hard for an electorate to give up.

PUBLIC LIVES  (click title to entry - thank you)

PUBLIC LIVES; From a Miner's Shack to the Senate, Guided by a Light

By KATHARINE Q. SEELYE

Published: May 28, 2001

...Mr. Reid, 61, who grew up poor in a Nevada mining camp, was heretofore relatively anonymous. But he earned a place in history last week as the person who defied Washington convention and gave up an expected chairmanship of the Environment and Public Works Committee so that Mr. Jeffords would have a prestigious landing as he bailed out of the Republican fold....

Five Reasons Harry Reid Can Win Reelection

1. The polls are not fully accurate because while they test Reid versus any of the Republicans running, they don't also include third party and other candidates expected to be on the ballot. Up to eight candidates are expected on the ballot.

2. Third party candidates can be very influential and take votes from candidates. Getting over 10 percent of the vote isn't unheard of and in an anti-incumbent, anti-Democratic year, those voters might steal votes away from the Republican competing against other conservative or Tea Party activists.

3. Nevada allows a "None of these candidates" vote which might also attract anti-incumbent protest votes while Reid's core remains dedicated to the Democrat.

4. With so much competition, Reid doesn't need to win 50 percent of the vote, especially if the "none" and Tea Party options collect some 20 percent of the vote.

5. Reid allies think that Nevada voters who take independence from Washington seriously might stage a backlash against outsiders like Sarah Palin who've come in to rally against Reid.

The 2010 Elections are about incumbents. Changes in Mid-term does not guarantee business in DC will change.

If the electorate of 2010 simply wants to vote against incumbents does that speak to the intelligence of the decisions being made or simply a surrender to other forces that make 'life decisions simple?'

...The survey of 500 Arizona voters on March 16 found:

53 percent favor Proposition 100 (a three-year, 1-point increase to the state’s 5.6 percent sales tax). Thirty-six percent oppose the tax hike aimed at helping close multi-billion dollar state budget deficit. Eleven percent are undecided.

71 percent said the country would be better if most congressional incumbents were defeated. That could bode well for Republican hopes to regain Arizona congressional seats held by U.S. Rep. Harry Mitchell of Tempe, Gabrielle Giffords of Tucson and Ann Kirkpatrick of Flagstaff.

As for the economy, 44 percent said the U.S. economy will be weaker while 35 percent said it would be stronger. Another 13 percent in the Arizona Rasmussen poll said it would be the same....