House GOP takes step forward on Internet sales tax legislation

Republicans in the House are taking a step forward on Internet sales tax legislation despite potential opposition from the GOP base.

House Judiciary Chairman Bob Goodlatte (R-Va) is expected to release his own set of principles on the issue in the next week or two, according to sources who are closely watching the legislation.

The principles are a sign of fresh momentum for online sales tax legislation after Goodlatte and other top Republicans in the House — including Speaker John Boehner (R-Ohio) — voiced deep skepticism about the Senate-passed Marketplace Fairness Act.

Goodlatte could have chosen to bury the bill, but his decision to craft the principles shows he is serious about moving some version of the legislation forward.

The principles are expected to be broad policy statements with positions such as maintaining a simple system and not burdening businesses.

A Judiciary aide would only say that, “the House is currently examining all of the issues surrounding the collection of online sales taxes and working on alternatives to the bill passed by the Senate.”  Read more >>

Sequester cuts are here to stay

Lawmakers and aides say they do not expect Congress to turn off budget sequestration before April and that negotiations to freeze the automatic spending cuts could drag into May or beyond.

Over the last few weeks, there has been increased speculation that the sequester would go into effect Friday but be addressed in a March deal to keep the government funded.
Don’t bet on it.

Sen. Richard Burr (R-N.C.), a member of the Finance Committee, predicted sequestration would last through the end of the year.

“Are we going to roll back the size of the cuts? No. I can promise you that,” said Burr.
President Obama has invited congressional leaders to meet at the White House on Friday, the same day $85 billion in automatic cuts are due to begin.

However, congressional sources do not anticipate a deal at that gathering or any time soon. Read more >>

White House warns states of looming pain from March 1 budget cuts

The White House issued more dire warnings about the harm the cuts will do to Americans, breaking down the loss of jobs and services to each of the states.

The estimates show how many teachers could lose their jobs in each state, how many toddlers could be kicked out of subsidized preschool programs, and how many children could lose funding for vaccines for measles and mumps.

But Republicans, who advocate budget cuts, said the warning was overplayed, and called on President Barack Obama to apply what is known as the "sequester" in a more careful way, rather than slashing budgets across the board.

"They've rolled out this great political theater about how cutting less than 3 percent of the federal budget is going to cause all these awful consequences," Louisiana Governor Bobby Jindal, a Republican, said on NBC's "Meet the Press." Read more >>

With Farm Bill Stalled, Consumers May Face Soaring Milk Prices

Forget the fiscal crisis and the automatic budget cuts. Come Jan. 1, there is a threat that milk prices could rise to $6 to $8 a gallon if Congress does not pass a new farm bill that amends farm policy dating back to the Truman presidency.

Lost in the political standoff between the Obama administration and Congressional Republicans over the budget is a virtually forgotten impasse over a farm bill that covers billions of dollars in agriculture programs. Without last-minute Congressional action, the government would have to follow an antiquated 1949 farm law that would force Washington to buy milk at wildly inflated prices, creating higher prices in the dairy case. Milk now costs an average of $3.65 a gallon.

Higher prices would be based on what dairy farm production costs were in 1949, when milk production was almost all done by hand. Because of adjustments for inflation and other technical formulas, the government would be forced by law to buy milk at roughly twice the current market prices to maintain a stable milk market. Read more >>

Why ObamaCare Is Still No Sure Thing

The majority of state governors are Republicans, and they have the power to disarm the health-care law.


Champions of ObamaCare want Americans to believe that the president's re-election ended the battle over the law. It did no such thing. The Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act won't be fully repealed while Barack Obama is in office, but the administration is heavily dependent on the states for its implementation.

Republicans will hold 30 governorships starting in January, and at last week's meeting of the Republican Governors Association they made it clear that they remain highly critical of the health law. Some Republican governors—including incoming RGA Chairman Bobby Jindal of Louisiana, Ohio's John Kasich, Wisconsin's Scott Walker and Maine's Paul LePage—have already said they won't do the federal government's bidding. Several Democratic governors, including Missouri's Jay Nixon and West Virginia's Earl Ray Tomblin, have also expressed serious concerns.

Talk of the law's inevitability is intended to pressure these governors into implementing it on the administration's behalf. But states still have two key choices to make that together will put them in the driver's seat: whether to create state health-insurance exchanges, and whether to expand Medicaid. They should say "no" to both. Read more >>

Almost 2,400 Millionaires Pocketed Unemployment Benefits

Almost 2,400 people who received unemployment insurance in 2009 lived in households with annual incomes of $1 million or more, according to the Congressional Research Service.

The report was released after about 1.1 million people exhausted their jobless benefits during the second quarter of 2012, when more than 4.6 million filed initial unemployment claims. Eliminating those payments to high earners is one idea being considered as U.S. lawmakers struggle to curb a projected $1.1 trillion deficit for the fiscal year that ended Sept. 30, with the nationwide jobless rate at 8.1 percent.

“Sending millionaires unemployment checks is a case study in out-of-control spending,” U.S. Senator Tom Coburn, an Oklahoma Republican, said in an e-mail. “Providing welfare to the wealthy undermines the program for those who need it most while burdening future generations with senseless debt.” Read more >>

Over 100 Million Now Receiving Federal Welfare

A new chart set to be released later today by the Republican side of the Senate Budget Committee details a startling statistic: "Over 100 Million People in U.S. Now Receiving Some Form Of Federal Welfare."

"The federal government administers nearly 80 different overlapping federal means-tested welfare programs," the Senate Budget Committee notes. However, the committee states, the figures used in the chart do not include those who are only benefiting from Social Security and/or Medicare. 

Food stamps and Medicaid make up a large--and growing--chunk of the more than 100 million recipients. " Read more >>

Nearly all of Congress refuses to release tax returns

Democrats in Congress have called on Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney to release more tax returns, but most of them have refused to release their own tax forms.

For three months, McClatchy requested the most recent tax returns from all 535 members of Congress, but only 13 Democrats and 3 Republicans shared their detailed tax information. The rest either refused to share their tax returns or ignored McClatchy’s request.

Members of Congress are required to file financial disclosure reports that list their major sources of earned and unearned income. However, the disclosure reports do not contain the same detail of information found in tax returns, omitting financial data such as spousal income. Read more >>

US deficit on track to exceed $1 trillion for 4th straight year

The U.S. budget deficit grew by nearly $60 billion in June, remaining on track to exceed $1 trillion for the fourth straight year. Through the first nine months of the budget year, the federal deficit totaled $904.2 billion, the Treasury Department reported Thursday. President Barack Obama is almost certain to face re-election having run trillion-dollar-plus deficits in each his first four years in office. That would likely benefit his opponent, GOP presumptive nominee Mitt Romney.

Obama and congressional Republicans remain at odds over how to lower the deficit. Unless their disagreement is broken, a series of tax increases and spending cuts could kick in next year. Economists warn that could dramatically slow an already weak U.S. economy and even tip it back into a recession. The Congressional Budget Office predicts the deficit for the full year, which ends on Sept. 30, will total $1.17 trillion. That would be a slight improvement from the $1.3 trillion deficit recorded in 2011, but still greater than any deficit before Obama took office.

One positive sign this year is the deficit is growing more slowly than last year. In June it was 6.8 percent behind the pace for the same period in budget year 2011. And a key reason for that is that revenues are up 5.2 percent this year, while spending is down by 0.9 percent. But the modest improvement has not cooled the budget debate in Washington. Read more >>

CBS/New York Times poll: Most want Supreme Court to overturn individual health care mandate

A new CBS News/New York Times poll reveals that nearly seven in ten Americans want the Supreme Court to overturn either all or President Obama's health care law or strike down just the individual mandate. In the poll released on Thursday, 41 percent of those polled think Mr. Obama's health care law should be overturned completely by the Supreme Court, with another 27 percent of respondents saying they want the court to keep the law but overturn the mandate.

Nearly one-quarter - twenty-four percent - of respondents want the entire law upheld. The margin of error is three percentage points. The percentage that wants to see the entire law abolished is up slightly since April, when 37 percent said they wanted the court to overturn the full law, 29 percent said only the mandate should be overturned and 23 percent wanted the whole law upheld.

As the Supreme Court decision on the health care law is expected this month, the new poll shows that Republicans are much more likely to want the entire law overturned than Democrats, with 67 percent wanting the law to be overturned compared to 20 percent of Democrats. While 42 percent of Democrats say they want the entire law to be upheld, 42 percent of Independent respondents say they want the Supreme Court to overturn the whole law. Tea Party supporters are especially likely to want the entire law to be overturned -- 70 percent support that. Read more >>

Kimmel to Obama: “Remember when the country rallied around you in hope for a better tomorrow? That was a good one”

 Image credit: Getty Images via @daylife)

The 98th annual White House Correspondents’ Dinner, held Saturday evening at the Washington Hilton, is intended to celebrate those journalists who inform the American public about important events and discussions in the nation’s capital.

But the focus eventually ends up being the self-deprecating speech by the president and the subsequent address by a notable comedian. This year was no different, with President Obama and late-night host Jimmy Kimmel cracking wise about Republicans, Democrats, the media and more. More...

Right-to-work drive gains steam in Michigan

In this historic stronghold of the American labor movement, the phrase “right to work” is seen by many as fighting words.

But with a new GOP-controlled state Legislature and a Republican governor in place in Lansing, a move is afoot to make Michigan the 23rd state in the nation to adopt legislation that would prohibit unions and employers from regulating collection of union dues or requiring employees to join a union if their workplace is organized.

“We’ve got growing and substantial support in the Legislature for pursuing Michigan becoming a right-to-work state, but this is a marathon, not a sprint, and it’s all about making sure we are removing all obstacles to jobs,” said state Rep. Mike Shirkey, Clarklake Republican.

“Everyone acknowledges that overcoming the 75-plus-year history of legacy unions here is not something you do overnight. But some of the polls statewide indicate the public is moving toward a direction of supporting workers having the choice,” he said. “I’m not anti-union. I call it labor freedom, where unions are as free to make their case as workers are to make their choice.” More...

Obama's stimulus plan a flop for small businesses

Image via WikipediaThe $447 billion stimulus plan that President Obama unveiled earlier this month won't change hiring plans for many small businesses, according to a survey released Tuesday.

Almost 70% of small businesses polled said that the plan, should it pass, would not spur them to add jobs, said Manta, a small business website.

Of the 1,648 businesses polled, only 11% of those businesses said they would hire if the jobs package becomes law. Another 13% said it depends on what version of the proposal is passed. Another 7% said they just weren't sure.

The American Jobs Act promises to cut the payroll tax businesses pay in half -- to 3.1% -- on the first $5 million in wages. Also, if a business hires a new worker or gives an existing worker a raise, all payroll taxes will be waived. The act would also extend a tax benefit allowing businesses to write off their expenses more quickly. More...

Job crises ahead for "99ers"

Image by Jobs with Justice via FlickrIn 2010, an estimated 3.9 million unemployed Americans exhausted unemployment benefits, according to the National Employment Law Project, an advocacy group that campaigns for lower-wage workers.

More than 14 percent of the U.S. unemployed have been out of a job for 99 weeks, or longer. The Labor Department’s report on Friday showed that the unemployment rate climbed to a six-month high of 9.2 percent in June.

Many so-called "99ers" subsist on social services like food stamps and Medicaid, programs now in danger of deep cuts demanded by many Republicans in Congress in exchange for allowing the federal government to go deeper into debt.

"An increase in demand for social services is what you would expect in a downturn of this magnitude and so the fact that they are cutting the social safety net is quite perplexing," said Sylvia Allegretto, a labor economist at the University of California at Berkeley. "We've just never seen (long-term unemployment) at these levels, period."

Forty six percent of those looking for work have been jobless for six months or more and the average length of job searches that eventually result in a hiring has doubled to 10 weeks between 2007 and 2010. More...

43 Michigan school districts operating in the red statewide

Hundreds of Michigan schools are running low on savings, and many administrators say they are unsure how they'll avoid deficits if state lawmakers cut education funding as proposed by Gov. Rick Snyder for the fiscal year starting in October.

Financial concerns are escalating from urban districts in metro Detroit to the sprawling, rural Upper Peninsula. School finances also contribute to the rising tensions between the state's largest teachers union and Republican lawmakers who dominate Michigan's Legislature.

State records show 43 Michigan school districts and charter schools were in deficits as of June 30, 2010. Roughly 150 more had fund balances at less than 5 percent of their annual operating expenditures. More...

Dennis Kucinich Flips on Healthcare

Image by Getty Images via Daylife

Reuters
Obama wins first convert in healthcare push
President Barack Obama picked up his first convert in the push for healthcare reform on Wednesday as Democrats in the House of Representatives prepared for a close weekend vote on final passage.

Representative Dennis Kucinich, one of the most liberal members of Congress and an ardent supporter of nationalized healthcare, became the first House Democrat to switch from "no" to "yes" on the overhaul.

"This is a defining moment for whether or not we'll have any opportunity to move off square one on healthcare," Kucinich said in announcing his switch two days after Obama lobbied him on an Air Force One flight to Kucinich's home state of Ohio.

Kucinich, who voted against the reform bill for not being liberal enough when the House approved its version in November, said he realized the weekend vote on the Senate's version of the bill would be very close.

"Even though I don't like the bill, I've made a decision to support it in the hope that we can move to a more comprehensive approach once this legislation is done," he told reporters.

Kucinich is the first of 37 House Democrats who voted against the overhaul in November to flip to the "yes" column, but Obama and House leaders are frantically searching for more as they try to round up the 216 votes needed for passage.

"That's a good sign," Obama told reporters in the Oval Office. Asked what he had told Kucinich, Obama said, "I told him 'thank you.'"

Kucinich, a former presidential candidate known for his strong liberal views, is unlikely to bring a lot of followers along with him as most of the Democratic opposition came from moderates.

House Democrats are struggling to finish the legislative language on the final changes they seek to the Senate-passed bill and hope to publish them on Wednesday, along with cost estimates from the Congressional Budget Office.

Under the procedure planned for passing the reform overhaul, the House would vote this weekend on whether approve the Senate's version of the bill. The changes sought by Obama and House Democrats would move through a separate measure.

'HIDE WHAT THEY'RE DOING'

Republicans have criticized Democrats for considering using a process to avoid a direct vote on the Senate-passed bill, which is unpopular with House Democrats. Instead, they would declare the Senate bill passed once the House votes to approve changes it wants.

"They want to hide what they're doing from the American people -- who they seem to view as an obstacle," Republican Senate leader Mitch McConnell said.

The House changes would then be approved by the 100-member Senate under budget reconciliation rules that require only a simple majority, bypassing the need for 60 votes to overcome Republican procedural hurdles.

The overhaul would extend coverage to more than 30 million uninsured Americans and ban insurance practices like refusing coverage to those with pre-existing medical conditions.

Health insurer shares were down on Wednesday while the broader market rose slightly. The Morgan Stanley Healthcare Payor index .HMO was down 0.3 percent and the S&P Managed Health Care index .GSPHMO dropped 1.3 percent.

As many as two dozen undeclared Democrats could decide the overhaul's fate and end a political brawl that has consumed the U.S. Congress for months and put a dent in Obama's personal approval ratings.

Democratic leaders say they are confident they can find the 216 votes needed. The House passed its version of healthcare in November with only three votes to spare, and a dispute over abortion language could cost Democrats up to a dozen bill supporters this time.

"If I can vote for this bill, there are not many people who shouldn't be able to support it," Kucinich said.

More Dead Afghans: Franken is “Cautiously Optimistic”

Kurt Nimmo
Infowars.com
January 17, 2010

Turn them upside down and they all look alike. Democrats and Republicans that is. When Bush and the neocons ruled the roost, Democrats complained about the invasions of Iraq and Afghanistan. Now that their man is in office, Democrats support Obama’s criminal expansion in Afghanistan.

For the average Afghan on the ground, however, there is zero difference between Bush or Obama. It is a continuation of butchery.

“Fresh from a tour of Afghanistan, Sen. Al Franken expressed modest support this week for the president’s plan to drastically expand America’s presence in the war, now in its eighth year,” reports the Star Tribune in Minnesota, where Franken is a senator. “The Minnesota Democrat previously was uncommitted on whether the U.S. should deploy 30,000 more troops to the region. Speaking to reporters Wednesday from an airport in Dubai, Franken said he will back Obama’s plan and is ‘cautiously optimistic’ about the war’s progress.”

He wasn’t necessarily opposed to illegally invading Iraq and killing over a million people. “Al Franken has had many positions on the Iraq war. Franken supported the war at the outset, although in a much more ambivalent way than [Norm] Coleman did. He says he felt, at most, ‘53 percent’ in favor. There were reasons to be for the war, and reasons to be against, but ‘all the reasons to be for the war turned out to be false,’ Franken said during our interview,” the Minnesota Post wrote in 2008.

Al Franken was more than half in favor of committing war crimes. As for what many of us knew in 2002 as Bush’s neocons dreamed up lies in preparation for invasion — the lies were so transparent as to be absurd — Franken was clueless along with a lot of other Democrats.

“I do support the president’s plan,” Franken said, adding that he will vote for additional funding. “I may have done it a little bit differently myself but I … came away from this trip feeling that we already have momentum from the president’s speech.”

Al Franken and your garden variety Democrat — and Republican for that matter — are completely clueless about the reality on the ground in Afghanistan. Somebody needs to tell them about the Afghan code of Pushtunwali, their honor-to-the-death code.

“Afghans have their own agendas, which are inevitably local, and exist only at the town and village level. Their loyalties – indeed their sense of manhood and honor – are based on promoting the well-being of their families, their clan, their tribe and their Islamic sect,” writes Robert P. Pearson. “The paradox is that the more American troops we send, the more resistance we will create. Neither the British (three tries) nor the Russians (a 10-year war) has succeeded in controlling Afghanistan, and after eight years there, we are failing too.”

Franken’s boss Obama will fail like Bush, the Russians, and everybody else who tried to invade and hold Afghanistan, including Alexander the Great.

The United States is not in Afghanistan to save the people of that country from the Taliban and al-Qaeda. The United States created both. The Pentagon is in Afghanistan at the behest of Wall Street and the bankers. Orwell said War is Peace. It is also immensely profitable.

“The counter-insurgency strategy McChrystal advocates will never work. There is no way we can provide long-term security to tens of thousands of villages throughout the country. Even if security is the main Afghan preoccupation, they know the Taliban are a far surer path to that end than American soldiers whom they know will eventually leave. At present, the Afghan government can barely keep Kabul safe, and has little influence in the countryside, which is under the control of numerous warlords or the Taliban, none of whom are eager to have their power taken away by American or NATO forces,” Pearson concludes.

In the meantime, we will have to suffer Mr. 53 Percent, Al Franken, the former comedian who is now an apologist and facilitator for mass murder.

In Germany at the end of the Second World War, war criminals were tried and summarily delivered to the gallows for invading small defenseless countries and killing countless people.

In America, they retire and write books.