tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-42001451745064349712023-11-15T09:49:25.806-08:00amaltheasmusingMyselfhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00736830978863280011noreply@blogger.comBlogger46125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4200145174506434971.post-53635687967245453942013-07-24T22:26:00.001-07:002013-07-24T22:26:14.786-07:00Test<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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Myselfhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00736830978863280011noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4200145174506434971.post-53963544778818904462013-06-24T05:35:00.001-07:002013-06-24T05:35:47.187-07:00amaltheasmusing test post content<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
amaltheasmusing test post content</div>
Myselfhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00736830978863280011noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4200145174506434971.post-47761471070015571102013-05-23T23:34:00.002-07:002013-05-23T23:34:29.353-07:00Michelle Nunn attends DSCC fundraiser with President Obama<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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Michelle Nunn gave the latest indication today that she will be entering the U.S. Senate race by showing up to a Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee fundraiser with President Barack Obama.<br /><br />The fundraiser came after Obama spoke at Morehouse College's rain-soaked commencement. Neither Obama nor U.S. Sen. Michael Bennet of Colorado, the chairman of the DSCC, mentioned Nunn in their remarks, though Bennet said: “We believe Georgia presents us with the greatest opportunity for a pickup.”<br /><br />U.S. Rep. John Barrow of Augusta – who often tries to avoid Obama – turned down the chance to run for Senate, turning national Democrats' complete focus to Nunn, the CEO of the nonprofit Points of Light and daughter of former U.S. Sen. Sam Nunn. No doubt she got a hard sell from some combination of Obama, Bennet and DSCC Executive Director Guy Cecil, who was spotted in the audience.<br /><br />There were about 100 guests at the Arthur M. Blank family office, with an entry fee of $10,000 per couple, or $32,400 for a couple to be a “sponsor.” According to an invitation we’ve seen, the sponsors included: Arthur M. Blank, Governor Roy E. Barnes, Mayor Kasim Reed, Pinney Allen & Buddy Miller, Ken Canfield, Larry and Carol Cooper, Buddy Darden, Kirk and Barbara Dornbush, Daniel & Sonya Halpern, Samuel and Louisa Jackson, Tharon Johnson, Kristin Oblander, Justin Tanner, Michèle Taylor and Mack Wilbourn.<br /><br />Reed must have gotten in Obama’s ear about the Port of Savannah; the president mentioned the need to deepen East Coast ports to prepare for bigger ships coming through the Panama Canal.<br /><br />Obama also had this to say about the mood in D.C. Maybe those dinners are working?<br /><br /> “You’re starting to see in Washington some sense even among the most partisan folks there that we’ve got to — the balance has tipped too far away from getting stuff done. And that’s why, for example, I’m optimistic about our capacity to get immigration reform done.”<br /><br />There were no specific mentions all day of the Benghazi/IRS/AP scandal troika currently dominating the Washington scene. The closest was this, after talking about the need to get beyond short-term politics.<br /><br /> "Which doesn’t mean that there aren't going to be politics involved; it doesn’t mean that there are not going to be some rough and tumble. And one thing that I think folks like myself and Michael and Kasim and others learn is that if you get in this business folks are going to take their shots at you -- and I've got the gray hair to prove it."<br /><br />And no, there was no mention of the Georgia Dome.<br /><br />Who else got to mingle with POTUS? As the local pool reporter today, I spotted Andy Young at the fundraiser. Also U.S. Reps. Hank Johnson, D-DeKalb; and Cedric Richmond, D-La. and Morehouse grad; hitched a ride down from D.C. on Air Force One this morning. Reed, Fulton County Commission Chairman John Eaves and Clayton County Commission Chairman Jeffrey E. Turner greeted Obama when he arrived at Hartsfield-Jackson airport.</div>
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Source <a href="http://www.ajc.com/weblogs/political-insider/2013/may/19/michelle-nunn-attends-dscc-fundraiser-president-ob/">http://www.ajc.com/weblogs/political-insider/2013/may/19/michelle-nunn-attends-dscc-fundraiser-president-ob/</a></div>
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Myselfhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00736830978863280011noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4200145174506434971.post-70792418599417306192013-05-13T21:22:00.002-07:002013-05-13T21:22:37.914-07:00Astronaut Chris Hadfield's Space Oddity poignant, says David Bowie <div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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DAVID Bowie has given Commander Chris Hadfield the thumbs up for the astronaut's zero gravity version of Space Oddity.<br /><br />The five-minute video posted by NASA drew a salute from Bowie's official Facebook page: "It's possibly the most poignant version of the song ever created."<br /><br />In a high-flying, perfectly pitched first, the Canadian astronaut on the International Space Station is bowing out of orbit with a musical video of his own custom version of David Bowie's 1969 classic.<br /><br />It's believed to be the first music video made in space, according to NASA.<br /><br />Commander Hadfield's personalised rendition of Space Oddity was posted on YouTube yesterday, one day before his departure from the orbiting lab. He's wrapping up a five-month mission that began last December.<br /><br />Commander Hadfield has returned to Earth aboard a Russian Soyuz capsule, along with American Thomas Marshburn and Russian Roman Romanenko, landing safely on the steppes in Kazakhstan.<br /><br />Commander Hadfield, 53, a longtime guitarist who played in an astronaut rock 'n' roll band, recorded the video throughout the space station. He had some down-to-Earth help from a Canadian music team.<br /><br />"With deference to the genius of David Bowie, here's Space Oddity, recorded on Station. A last glimpse of the World," Commander Hadfield said via Twitter.<br /><br />The spaceman altered some of the lyrics of Bowie's original version, singing "Planet Earth is blue and there's nothing left to do." The Bowie version goes "... and there's nothing I can do." And instead of "Take your protein pills and put your helmet on," it became, "Lock your Soyuz hatch and put your helmet on".<br /><br />Planet Earth provided a stunning backdrop for many of the scenes.<br /><br />"It's just been an extremely fulfilling and amazing experience end to end," Commander Hadfield told Mission Control on Monday. "We're, of course, focusing very much on flying the Soyuz home now and looking forward to seeing everybody face to face. But from this Canadian to all the rest of them, I offer an enormous debt of thanks." He was referring to all those in the Canadian Space Agency who helped make his flight possible.<br /><br />Commander Hadfield, an engineer and former test pilot from Milton, Ontario, was Canada's first professional astronaut to live aboard the space station and became the first Canadian in charge of a spacecraft. He relinquished command of the space station on Sunday.<br /><br />He sang often in orbit, using a guitar already aboard the complex, and even took part in a live, Canadian coast-to-coast concert in February that included the Barenaked Ladies' Ed Robertson and a youth choir, and featured the song ISS, "Is Somebody Singing?"<br /><br />ISS is NASA's acronym for the International Space Station.<br /><br />Also last February, Commander Hadfield joined the Irish band The Chieftains and two ground-bound astronauts in a Houston concert, singing the lead on Moondance.<br /><br />NASA broadcast the video on its daily space station update late on Monday morning.<br /><br />One of the video collaborators was piano arranger Emm Gryner, part of the Bowie band in 1999 and 2000.<br /><br />"Planet Earth IS blue," she said in her online blog, "and there's nothing left for Chris Hadfield to do. Right. Safe travels home Commander!"</div>
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Source <a href="http://www.theaustralian.com.au/news/world/astronaut-chris-hadfields-space-oddity-poignant-says-david-bowie/story-e6frg6so-1226641865554">http://www.theaustralian.com.au/news/world/astronaut-chris-hadfields-space-oddity-poignant-says-david-bowie/story-e6frg6so-1226641865554</a></div>
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Myselfhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00736830978863280011noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4200145174506434971.post-62763763676187210922013-04-29T23:27:00.001-07:002013-04-29T23:27:26.426-07:00Time to Confront Obama on Radical Islam<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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The time has come for Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu to confront US President Barack Obama.<br /><br />A short summary of events from the past three days: On Tuesday morning, the head of the IDF's Military Intelligence Analysis Division Brig. Gen. Itay Brun revealed that the Syrian government has already used "lethal chemical weapons," against Syrian civilians and opposition forces. Brun described footage of people visibly suffering the impact of chemical agents, apparently sarin gas.<br /><br />Hours later, US Secretary of State John Kerry said Netanyahu had told him on the telephone that "he was not in a position to confirm" Brun's statement.<br /><br />It is hard to imagine the US was taken by surprise by Brun's statement. Just the day before, Brun briefed visiting US Defense secretary Chuck Hagel on Syria. It is not possible he failed to mention the same information.<br /><br />And of course it isn't just the IDF saying that Syrian President Bashar Assad is using chemical weapons. The British and the French are also saying this.<br /><br />But as a European source told Ma'ariv, the Americans don't want to know the facts. The facts will make them do something about Syria's chemical weapons. And they don't want to do anything about Syria's chemical weapons.<br /><br />So they force Netanyahu to disown his own intelligence.<br /><br />Thursday afternoon, in a speech in Abu Dhabi, Hagel confirmed, "with some degree of varying confidence," that Syria used chemical weapons, at least on a "small scale."<br /><br />What the administration means by "some degree of varying confidence," is of course, unknowable with any degree of varying confidence.<br /><br />Then there is Iran.<br /><br />Also on Tuesday, the former head of IDF Military Intelligence, Maj.-Gen. (res.) Amos Yadlin, said that Iran has already crossed the red line Israel set last year. It has already stockpiled 170 kg. of medium-enriched uranium, and can quickly produce the other 80 kg. necessary to reach the 250 kg. threshold Netanyahu said will mark Iran's achievement of breakout capability where it can build a nuclear arsenal whenever it wants.<br /><br />Yadlin made a half-hearted effort Wednesday to walk back his pronouncements. But his basic message remained the same: The die has been cast.<br /><br />Due to American pressure on Israel not to act, and due to the White House's rejection of clearcut reports about Iran's stockpile of enriched uranium, Iran has crossed the threshold. Iran will be a nuclear power unless its uranium enrichment installations and other nuclear sites are destroyed or crippled. Now.<br /><br />True, the Americans set a different red line for Iran than Israel. They say they will not allow Iran to assemble a nuclear bomb. But to believe that the US has the capacity and the will to prevent Iran from climbing the top rung on the nuclear ladder is to believe in the tooth fairy - (see, for instance, North Korea).<br /><br />Iran has threatened to use it nuclear arsenal to destroy Israel. Have we now placed our survival in the hands of Tinkerbell? And yet, rather than acknowledge what Iran has done, Netanyahu, President Shimon Peres and Defense Minister Moshe Ya'alon carry on with the tired act of talking about the need for a credible military option but saying that there is still time for sanctions and other non-military means to block Iran's quest for the bomb.<br /><br />Perhaps our leaders are repeating these lies because they want to present a unified US-Israel front to the world. But the effect is just the opposite.<br /><br />What their statements really demonstrate is that Israel has been brought to its knees by its superpower patron that has implemented a policy that has enabled Iran to become a nuclear power.<br /><br />Indeed, the US has allowed Iran to cross the nuclear threshold while requiring Israel to pretend the course the US has followed is a responsible one.<br /><br />The announcement that the US has agreed to sell Israel advanced weapons specifically geared towards attacking Iran should also be seen in this light. Israel reportedly spent a year negotiating this deal. But immediately after its details were published, the US started backing away from its supposed commitment to supply them. The US will not provide Israel with bunker-buster bombs.<br /><br />It will not provide Israel with the bombers necessary to use the bombs Israel isn't getting. And anyway, by the time Israel gets the items the US is selling - like mid-air refuelers - it will be too late.<br /><br />When, after overthrowing Saddam Hussein's regime in Iraq, the US failed to find chemical weapons in the country, then-president George W. Bush's Democratic opponents accused Bush of having politicized intelligence to justify his decision to topple Saddam. In truth, there is no evidence that Bush purposely distorted intelligence reports. Israel's intelligence agencies, and perhaps French ones, were the only allied intelligence arms that had concluded Saddam's chemical weapons - to the extent he had them - did not represent a threat.<br /><br />The fact that Bush preferred US and British intelligence estimates over Israeli ones doesn't mean that he politicized intelligence.<br /><br />In contrast, what Obama and his advisers are doing represents the worst case of politicizing intelligence since Stalin arrested his senior security brass rather than heed their warnings of the coming German invasion of the Soviet Union in June 1941.<br /><br />Never in US history has there been a greater misuse and abuse of US intelligence agencies than there is today, under the Obama administration.<br /><br />Take the Boston Marathon bombings. Each day more and more reports come out about the information US agencies had - for years - regarding the threat posed by the Boston Marathon bombers.<br /><br />But how could the FBI have possibly acted on those threats? Obama has outlawed all discussion or study of jihad, Islamism, radical Islam and the Koran by US federal government agencies. The only law enforcement agency that monitors Islamic websites is the New York Police Department.<br /><br />And its chief Ray Kelly has bravely maintained his policy despite massive pressure from the media and the political class to end his surveillance operations.<br /><br />Everywhere else, from the Boston Police Department to the FBI and CIA, US officials are barred from discussing the threat posed by jihadists or even acknowledging they exist. People were impressed that Obama referred to the terrorist attack in Boston as a terrorist attack, because according to the administration-dictated federal lexicon, use of the word terrorism is forbidden, particularly when the act in question was perpetrated by Muslims.<br /><br />For the past five years, perhaps Netanyahu's greatest achievement in office has been his adroit avoidance of confrontations with Obama. With no one other than the US willing to stand with Israel in public, it is an important national interest for Jerusalem not to have any confrontations with Washington if they can possibly be avoided.<br /><br />But by now, after five years, with Iran having passed Israel's red line, and with chemical weapons already in play in Syria, the jig is up.<br /><br />Obama does not have Israel's back.<br /><br />Contrary to the constant, grinding rhetorical prattle of American and Israeli politicos, Obama will not lift a finger to stop Iran from becoming a nuclear power. He will not lift a finger to prevent chemical weapons from being transferred to the likes of al-Qaida and Hezbollah, and their colleagues in Syria, or used by the Syrian regime.<br /><br />From Benghazi to Boston, from Tehran to Damascus, Obama's policy is to not fight forces of jihad, whether they are individuals, organizations or states. And his obsession with Palestinian statehood shows that he would rather coerce Israel to make concessions to Palestinian Jew-haters and terrorists than devote his time and energy into preventing Iran from becoming the jihadist North Korea or from keeping sarin, VX and mustard gas out of the hands of Iran's terrorist underlings and their Sunni competitors.<br /><br />No, Israel doesn't want a confrontation with Washington. But we don't have any choice anymore.<br /><br />The time has come to take matters into our own hands on Syria and Iran. In Syria, either Israel takes care of the chemical weapons, or if we can't, Netanyahu must go before the cameras and tell the world everything we know about Syria's chemical weapons and pointedly demand world - that is US - action to secure them.<br /><br />As for Iran, either Israel must launch an attack without delay, or if we can't, then Netanyahu has to publicly state that the time for diplomacy is over. Either Iran is attacked or it gets the bomb.</div>
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Source <a href="http://www.realclearpolitics.com/articles/2013/04/29/time_to_confront_obamas_terror_approach_118161.html">http://www.realclearpolitics.com/articles/2013/04/29/time_to_confront_obamas_terror_approach_118161.html</a></div>
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Myselfhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00736830978863280011noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4200145174506434971.post-37980602930545656972013-04-03T22:12:00.000-07:002013-04-03T22:12:01.066-07:00Obama in Denver in bid to regain gun-control momentum<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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President Obama stopped here Wednesday afternoon to try to regain public support for his stalled gun-control agenda, using a tour of a police academy to put new pressure on Congress amid waning political urgency for more restrictive laws.<br /><br />Obama’s choice to appear in a state that has experienced two of the worst mass shootings in U.S. history — the 1999 killings at Columbine High School and last summer’s attack at a movie theater in Aurora — added symbolic weight to the event.</div>
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Noting that the state’s legislators have passed stronger gun legislation regarding background checks, Obama made the case that such regulations do not infringe on Americans’ Second Amendment rights.<br /><br />“Opponents of common-sense gun laws have ginned up fears among responsible gun owners that have nothing to do with what’s being proposed, not a thing to do with facts,” he said. “It feeds into suspicions of government, that you need a gun to protect yourself from government: ‘We can’t do background checks because the government will come take my guns away.’ The government is us. These officials were elected by you.”<br /><br />The president pleaded with the public that “if you hear that kind of talk, say, ‘Hold on a second.’ If any folks out there are gun owners and you’re hearing someone talking about the government taking your guns away, get the facts.”<br /><br />But Obama’s proposals, which include banning military-style assault weapons and high-capacity magazines, have faced stiff resistance from the National Rifle Association, whose public relations campaign and lobbying are jeopardizing his agenda.<br /><br />The president’s motorcade passed a group of protesters holding signs reading, “Stop Taking Our Rights” and “Support Our Second Amendment.” One person held a blue Obama 2012 campaign sign with the word “TREASON” written across it.<br /><br />More than 100 days after 20 children and six adults were killed at a school in Newtown, Conn., public opinion polls show a drop-off in support for the initiatives, and some gun-control advocates have said they fear that time is running out for the administration.<br /><br />Obama said that he has received stacks of letters from gun owners who value their Second Amendment rights and that he has read them. He said both sides can learn from each other, and he shared an anecdote about first lady Michelle Obama campaigning in rural Iowa and telling him that she can understand why people there would want a gun for protection in remote places.<br /><br />Before speaking at the police academy, Obama met with a group of Colorado state and local leaders, including Gov. John Hickenlooper (D) and Rep. Ed Perlmutter (D), to discuss new gun-control measures the state has adopted.<br /><br />The administration has focused in recent days on a proposal to require background checks on all private gun sales, an idea that more than 90 percent of Americans support in opinion polls.<br /><br />But even that proposal appears to have a difficult route to passage as Republicans, and some moderate Democrats, have raised fears that such a law would create intrusive national registries. Several Republicans have threatened to filibuster the bill, which will require a 60-vote majority to pass.<br /><br />“It is imperative that the elected officials of the American people allow all of these measures to come to a vote,” White House press secretary Jay Carney said aboard Air Force One, “because if you disagree with 90 percent of the American people, you ought to vote no.”<br /><br />After speaking in Denver, Obama was scheduled to travel to San Francisco for two days of fundraising for the Democratic Party. He will continue his push on gun control Monday, when he is scheduled to appear in Connecticut.</div>
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Source <a href="http://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/obama-in-denver-in-bid-to-regain-gun-control-momentum/2013/04/03/a4077c80-9c95-11e2-a941-a19bce7af755_story.html" target="_blank">http://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/obama-in-denver-in-bid-to-regain-gun-control-momentum/2013/04/03/a4077c80-9c95-11e2-a941-a19bce7af755_story.html </a></div>
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Myselfhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00736830978863280011noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4200145174506434971.post-26936876606300245912013-03-18T02:59:00.001-07:002013-03-18T02:59:19.111-07:00Obama must codify the drone war<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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In choice of both topic and foil, Rand Paul's now legendary Senate filibuster was a stroke of political genius. The topic was, ostensibly, very narrow: Does the president have the constitutional authority to put a drone-launched Hellfire missile through your kitchen — you, a good citizen of Topeka, Kan., to whom POTUS might have taken a dislike — while you're cooking up a pot roast?<br /><br />The constituency of those who could not give this question a straight answer is exceedingly small. Unfortunately, among them is Attorney General Eric Holder. Enter the foil. He told a Senate hearing that such an execution would not be "appropriate."<br /><br />Appropriate being a bureaucratic word meaning nothing, Holder's answer was a PR disaster. The correct response, of course, is: Absent an active civil war on U.S. soil (of the kind not seen in 150 years) or a jihadist invasion from Saskatchewan led by the Topeka pot roaster, the answer is no.<br /><br />The hypothetical being inconceivable, Paul's performance was theatrically brilliant and substantively irrelevant. As for the principle at stake, Holder's opinion carries no weight in any case. He is hardly a great attorney general whose words will ring through history. Nor would anything any attorney general says be binding on the next president, or for that matter on any Congress or court.<br /><br />The vexing and pressing issue is the use of drones abroad. The filibuster pretended not to be about that. Which is testimony to Paul's political adroitness. It was not until two days later that he showed his hand, writing in The Washington Post, "No American should be killed by a drone without first being charged with a crime." Note the absence of the restrictive clause: "on American soil."<br /><br />Now we're talking about a larger, more controversial issue: the killing by drone in Yemen of al-Qaida operative Anwar al-Awlaki. Outside American soil, the Constitution does not rule, no matter how much Paul would like it to. Yet Paul's unease applies to non-American drone targets as well. His quarrel is with the very notion of the war on terror, though he is normally too smart to say that openly and unequivocally. Unlike his father, who implied that 9/11 was payback for our sins, Paul the Younger more gingerly expresses general skepticism about not just the efficacy but the legality of the entire war.<br /><br />That skepticism is finding an audience as the war grinds into its 12th year, as our hapless attorney general vainly tries to define its terms and as the administration conducts a major drone war with defiant secrecy. Nor is this some minor adjunct to battle — an estimated 4,700 have been killed by drone.<br /><br />President George W. Bush was excoriated for waterboarding exactly three terrorists, all of whom are now enjoying an extensive retirement on a sunny Caribbean island (though strolls beyond Gitmo's gates are prohibited). Whereas President Barack Obama, with thousands of kills to his name, evokes little protest from yesterday's touch-not-a-hair-on-their-head zealots. Of whom, of course, Sen. Obama was a leading propagandist.<br /><br />Such hypocrisy is the homage Democrats pay to Republicans when the former take office, confront national security reality, feel the weight of their duty to protect the nation — and end up doing almost everything they had denounced their predecessors for doing. The beauty of such hypocrisy, however, is that the rotation of power creates a natural bipartisan consensus on the proper conduct of this war.<br /><br />Which creates a unique opportunity to finally codify the rules. The war's constitutional charter, the 2001 Authorization for Use of Military Force has proved quite serviceable. But the commander in chief's authority is so broad — it leaves the limits of his power to be determined, often in secret memos, by the administration's own in-house lawyers — that it has spawned suspicion, fear and now filibuster.<br /><br />It is time to rethink. That means not repealing the original authorization but, using the lessons of the last 12 years, rewriting it with particular attention to a new code governing drone warfare and the question of where, when and against whom it should be permitted.<br /><br />Necessity having led the Bush and Obama administrations to the use of near-identical weapons and tactics, a national consensus has been forged. Let's make it open. All we need now is a president willing to lead and a Congress willing to take responsibility for the conduct of a war that, however much Paul and his acolytes may wish it away, will long be with us.</div>
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Source <a href="http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/politics/obama/ct-oped-0318-krauthammer-20130318,0,7180221.column">http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/politics/obama/ct-oped-0318-krauthammer-20130318,0,7180221.column</a></div>
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Myselfhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00736830978863280011noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4200145174506434971.post-20382680168112286002013-02-12T21:16:00.001-08:002013-02-12T21:16:26.820-08:00Fort Hood Hero Says President Obama 'Betrayed' Her, Other Victims<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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House Speaker John Boehner, in advance of President Obama's State of the Union address, said Tuesday that he doesn't think the president "has the guts" to seriously address the country's debt and deficit. <br /><br />The speaker aired his concerns during a breakfast outside his office on Capitol Hill with anchors and reporters covering Obama's address Tuesday night. <br /><br />He said he's pessimistic about the odds the president will tackle the country's long-term spending problem, which he sees as the biggest threat to America's future. <br /><br />"I don't think he has the guts to do it. He doesn't have the courage to take on the liberal side of his own party -- never has," Boehner said. <br /><br />The speaker said, judging by the tone and tenor of the inaugural address, "I would expect tonight to be more partisan." <br /><br />Throughout the breakfast, Boehner referenced the across-the-board spending cuts originally designed to be so unappealing that both sides would agree to a deal to avoid them. So far, lawmakers have not figured out a way to avert them, with the latest deadline set for March 1. <br /><br />The cuts are known in Washington as the "sequester." Boehner, though, called it "the president's sequester." <br /><br />Pressed on the negative impacts to the economy if these cuts happen, Boehner said, "I don't like the sequester. I don't want the sequester. But, this spending issue is the biggest issue that threatens our future. " <br /><br />"When are we going to get serious about our long-term spending problem?" he asked. "When is the president going to propose something instead of the sequester? How about Senate Democrats?" <br /><br />He conceded the economy may take a hit initially but added, "If the private sector were to see that we were serious about dealing with our spending problem in Washington, that might instill some confidence." <br /><br />Obama has urged Congress to craft a short-term bridge bill to avert the cuts if lawmakers cannot come up with a long-term plan in the next few weeks. But asked Tuesday about Congress voting again to delay the date the sequester kicks in, Boehner said, "We're not moving it." <br /><br />Boehner insisted that whatever package comes forward, it must not have new taxes in it. <br /><br />"The president's gotten his revenue. Period," Boehner said, referring to tax rate hikes on top earners enacted in the fiscal crisis deal. Pressed again, Boehner repeated, "The president's gotten his revenue." <br /><br />He said a solution will only happen if the president and Senate Democrats act. <br /><br />This comes as Senate Democrats are signaling that they will move forward with something to address the looming cuts in coming days. Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid's office released remarks he is scheduled to make on the Senate floor on Tuesday saying, "Senate Democrats will offer our own solution to the sequester later this week." <br /><br />Asked about what is expected to be Obama's calls for new "investment" Tuesday night, Boehner said, "More government spending is what that is." <br /><br />"If government spending were the tonic for all our ills, this would have been solved a long time ago," he said. Boehner said the president added "$5 trillion in new debt over the last four years. How much further is he going to run us into the sewer?" <br /><br />Boehner said he talked to the president at the inauguration but, "This White House does not engage much with Congress." <br /><br />And on the politics for Democrats, Boehner said, "It almost appears the president wants to put moderate Democrats on the line -- to shine a light on the fact they are not as liberal as some others. The Obama-Pelosi agenda is not going to help those members." <br /><br />When the topic turned to immigration reform, one correspondent started a question with a litany of specifics about a path to citizenship and Boehner responded with, "Slow down. How about a little foreplay. Lots of issues need to be resolved before we get to that." <br /><br />But Boehner insisted the House and Senate have "to come to some agreement on immigration. It's an issue we have to deal with and deal with now." <br /><br />He added that a group of Republicans and Democrats have been working on a bipartisan solution for more than four years and said he is optimistic<br /><br />He said his biggest fear in the context of that debate is Obama. "Sometimes I think he'd rather have an issue rather than a solution," Boehner said. <br /><br />Boehner touted Republicans "fact-checking" the president's speech Tuesday night and sending that out on Twitter, Facebook and other platforms. <br /><br />He also touted the planned Spanish translation of Sen. Marco Rubio's Republican response. Before the breakfast was finished, Rubio made a cameo appearance to "get a cup of coffee" -- which he ended up getting in the room next door. <br /><br />Asked if he was nervous, Rubio said, "Not yet."</div>
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Source <a href="http://www.foxnews.com/politics/2013/02/12/boehner-obama-doesnt-have-guts-to-tackle-deficit/">http://www.foxnews.com/politics/2013/02/12/boehner-obama-doesnt-have-guts-to-tackle-deficit/</a></div>
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Myselfhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00736830978863280011noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4200145174506434971.post-18487471288357053432013-02-04T22:24:00.002-08:002013-02-04T22:24:43.690-08:00Obama says assault weapons ban deserves a vote in Congress<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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Obama's comments suggested a realization in the White House that it will be difficult to get such a ban passed by lawmakers, despite consistent public support for the measure.<br /><br />Opposition is high in Congress, including among some Democrats, and by calling simply for a vote, Obama seemed to acknowledge that even getting that far - let alone having an assault weapons ban approved - would be a struggle.<br /><br />"We should restore the ban on military style assault weapons and a 10-round limit for magazines. And that deserves a vote in Congress, because weapons of war have no place on our streets," Obama said as uniformed law enforcement officers stood behind him at the Minneapolis Police Department's Special Operation Center.<br /><br />It was Obama's first trip outside Washington to promote gun control since he announced a package that includes calls for universal background checks and 10-round limits on ammunition magazines.<br /><br />"No law or set of laws can keep our children completely safe. But if there's even one thing we can do, if there's just one life we can save, we've got an obligation to try," Obama said.<br /><br />With a busy agenda that includes immigration reform and climate change, Obama hopes to move quickly on gun control before memories fade of December's shooting in Newtown, Connecticut, that killed 20 children and six adults.<br /><br />A vote in Congress on the assault weapons ban might be held separately from other gun control measures.<br /><br />Senator Dianne Feinstein has said Senate Democratic leader Harry Reid promised that even if the ban is left out of a broader package to curb gun violence, she will have the opportunity to offer it as an amendment on the Senate floor.<br /><br />Gun control efforts face an uphill battle against a powerful pro-gun lobby and a strong U.S. tradition of hunting and gun ownership. The right to bear arms is guaranteed to Americans in the U.S. Constitution.<br /><br />Obama noted that support was widespread for universal background checks before guns are sold and indicated that he would press especially hard for that part of his proposals.<br /><br />"The vast majority of Americans - including a majority of gun owners - support requiring criminal background checks for anyone trying to buy a gun," he said.<br /><br />"So right now, Democrats and Republicans in the Senate are working on a bill that would ban anyone from selling a gun to somebody legally prohibited from owning one. That's common sense. There's no reason we can't get that done."<br /><br />Obama urged legislators to name a permanent director for the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, a post that has been vacant for years.<br /><br />MINNESOTA EXAMPLE<br /><br />Minnesota is emblematic of the challenges Obama will face in advancing gun control in Congress.<br /><br />While the state's two Democratic U.S. senators have said they are sympathetic to measures to curb gun violence, the National Rifle Association, the largest U.S. gun-rights group, is influential in the state.<br /><br />It has backed all four Republicans and two of the Democrats who represent Minnesota in the House of Representatives, according to data compiled by the Center for Responsive Politics.<br /><br />But Minneapolis has a tradition of gun control. The city took steps in the mid-2000s to reduce incidents involving guns and juveniles after an outbreak of violent crimes.<br /><br />On the way to Monday's event, Obama's motorcade passed a man holding a sign that read, "Ban private ownership of military weapons."<br /><br />The Newtown massacre mobilized support for measures to contain access to certain guns and ammunition.<br /><br />The Obama administration has included access to mental health and an examination of the effects of violent video games as part of its efforts to stem gun violence.<br /><br />Gun-control efforts have foundered in the past despite strong public support, in part because many gun owners believe advocates of gun control oppose owning and using firearms in general.</div>
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Source <a href="http://www.reuters.com/article/2013/02/04/us-usa-guns-obama-idUSBRE9130KL20130204">http://www.reuters.com/article/2013/02/04/us-usa-guns-obama-idUSBRE9130KL20130204</a></div>
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Myselfhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00736830978863280011noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4200145174506434971.post-63838887612003510592013-01-27T22:34:00.002-08:002013-01-27T22:34:46.653-08:00On immigration, Obama seeks to cement Latino vote for Democrats<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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There is an art to political stagecraft, a sort of medium-is-the-message thing, which explains why President Obama will be in Las Vegas on Tuesday to begin his effort to overhaul the nation's confounding immigration system.<br /><br />For generations, the West was a Republican stronghold, the land of Goldwater and Reagan and sagebrush rebels. But a change began under President Clinton and was hastened under President Obama, who twice added Nevada and Colorado to the Democrats' stable of support in the West.<br /><br />The reason, in short, is Latino voters.<br /><br />The rise of Latino power, which began in California as a backlash to the heated rhetoric surrounding Proposition 187, the 1994 anti-illegal-immigration initiative, has steadily spread eastward, giving once-red states a distinctly more blue tinge.<br /><br />There may be no better illustration than California's next-door neighbor.<br /><br />Obama won Nevada in 2008 by a whopping 12 percentage points. By all rights, however, Republican Mitt Romney should have been strongly competitive there in 2012. He had an organizational base among the state's large Mormon population, and Nevada has been an economic basket case for years, with jobless, foreclosure and bankruptcy rates that set a national standard for awfulness.<br /><br />Obama carried the state, however, winning in November by more than 6 percentage points.<br /><br />Strong Latino support is one reason. What happened in Nevada reflected the results nationwide: The percentage of Latino voters grew to 18% of the electorate, from 15% in 2008, and Obama won their support by a crushingly large margin.<br /><br />Immigration has become the Democrats' wedge issue, drawing small-business-owning and culturally conservative Latinos away from the GOP in the way Republicans long used abortion and other contentious social issues to pry working-class Democrats away from their party moorings.<br /><br />As an added political benefit to Democrats, the issue of illegal immigration splits the GOP between enforcement-only hard-liners and advocates of a more balanced approach that would mix fortified borders with some path to citizenship for the millions of immigrants in the United States illegally. To hard-liners, that amounts to amnesty for lawbreakers and an unacceptable capitulation to Obama and his fellow Democrats.<br /><br />The president used last week's inaugural address to signal that immigration reform, one of the unfulfilled promises of his first term, would no longer be overlooked.<br /><br />America's journey "is not complete until we find a better way to welcome the striving, hopeful immigrants who still see America as a land of opportunity," he said to strong applause from the hundreds of thousands gathered on the National Mall.<br /><br />Latinos in Congress who met with Obama on Friday said the president described the issue as his top legislative priority.<br /><br />Obama's remarks in Las Vegas are likely to cover proposals he has called for in the past: tougher border security, a crackdown on employers who hire illegal workers and a way for undocumented immigrants to responsibly "earn" their way to U.S. citizenship. More details are expected in the president's State of the Union address on Feb. 12.<br /><br />The political message on Tuesday, however, may be more significant than the substance.<br /><br />The goal for Democrats is to lock in their strong Latino support and the votes of succeeding generations, the way the party has in California, so candidates can devote more time and resources to red states like Arizona and Texas that should, the demographics suggest, grow more competitive in 2016 and beyond.<br /><br />Obama may have run his last election campaign. But one thing he would like to bequeath to fellow Democrats is a solid electoral college base rooted in the West to offset the advantage Republicans enjoy across the South.<br /><br />His Las Vegas appearance is a step toward that second-term goal.</div>
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Source <a href="http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/nation/la-na-immigration-nevada-20130128,0,208153.story">http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/nation/la-na-immigration-nevada-20130128,0,208153.story</a></div>
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Myselfhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00736830978863280011noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4200145174506434971.post-80309387159295891922013-01-08T02:01:00.001-08:002013-01-08T02:01:08.339-08:00Obama Said Close to Choosing Lew for Treasury Secretary<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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President Barack Obama may choose White House Chief of Staff Jack Lew to replace Treasury Secretary Timothy F. Geithner as soon as this week, according to two people familiar with the matter. <br /><br />The selection of Lew would trigger a White House shuffle for Obama’s second term as he replaces his chief of staff and moves senior aides into new roles, said the people, who requested anonymity to discuss personnel matters.<br /><br />While Obama hasn’t made a final decision to pick Lew, the president’s staff has been instructed to prepare for his nomination, said one of the people.<br /><br />Obama has several other cabinet and cabinet-rank jobs to fill, including commerce secretary, Environmental Protection Agency administrator, U.S. trade representative and director of the Office of Management and Budget.<br /><br />The next Treasury secretary will play a leading role in working with Congress to raise the government’s $16.4 trillion debt ceiling. The U.S. reached the statutory limit on Dec. 31, and the Treasury Department began using extraordinary measures to finance the government. It will exhaust that avenue as early as mid-February, the Congressional Budget Office says.<br /><br />Geithner plans to leave the administration by the end of January even if the debt ceiling issue hasn’t been settled.<br /><br />White House press secretary Jay Carney did not directly answer yesterday when he was asked whether Obama would seek to have a new Treasury secretary confirmed before Geithner leaves.<br /><br />“I have no other announcements to make or updates to give with regards to personnel,” Carney said. “I am sure that when the president nominates a successor to Secretary Geithner, he will look forward to speedy consideration by the Senate.”<br /><br />“But I don’t have a timetable for that,” he said.<br />Budget Talks<br /><br />The debt limit will be the first in a series of fiscal negotiations in the new year between the Obama administration and Republicans, who have a majority in the House of Representatives, over the budget and spending.<br /><br />While Obama has vowed he won’t bargain with the debt ceiling, Republicans such as Senate minority leader Mitch McConnell have said they want to link it to spending cuts.<br /><br />Markets rallied last week after negotiations between the White House and congressional Republicans led to passage of a law raising income-tax rates to 39.6 percent for couples with annual income above $450,000 while extending tax cuts for lower incomes. The Standard & Poor’s 500 Index (SPX) dropped 0.3 percent to 1,461.89 at 4 p.m. yesterday in New York before the start of earnings season.<br />Spending Cuts<br /><br />The deal on taxes delayed until March 1 automatic budget cuts, setting up another hurdle to be negotiated.<br /><br />While Lew did not directly negotiate with Congress on the eleventh-hour budget deal, which averted more than $600 billion in tax increases and spending cuts, he helped supervise the White House strategy and briefed Wall Street executives on the talks.<br /><br />As a former aide to the late House Speaker Tip O’Neill, a Massachusetts Democrat, and a two-time director of the Office of Management and Budget, Lew, 57, has experience on both ends of Pennsylvania Avenue. He’s spent most of his career in government, with a brief detour to Wall Street, where he worked as a managing director for Citigroup from July 2006 until the end of 2008.<br />Cabinet Selections<br /><br />After selecting former Senator Chuck Hagel as defense secretary and counterterrorism adviser John Brennan as CIA director yesterday, Obama will turn his attention to filling out the rest of his second-term cabinet. On Dec. 21, Obama announced his choice of Senator John Kerry, a Massachusetts Democrat, as secretary of state, replacing Hillary Clinton.<br /><br />The nominations for those positions as well as Treasury secretary are subject to Senate confirmation.<br /><br />Among the leading candidates to replace Lew as Obama’s chief of staff are Denis McDonough, currently a deputy national security adviser, and Ron Klain, who had served as Vice President Joe Biden’s chief of staff.<br /><br />McDonough, who worked as an aide to former Senator Tom Daschle as well as in Obama’s Senate office, joined the National Security Council as deputy director of strategic communications at the start of Obama’s term. When Tom Donilon became the NSC director after General Jim Jones departed, McDonough became an assistant to the president and the deputy national security adviser.<br /><br />Klain served as chief of staff to both Biden and former Vice President Al Gore. In January of 2011, he left the White House and returned to Case Holdings, the holding company of AOL co-founder Steve Case and served as an outside adviser to Obama. </div>
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Source <a href="http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2013-01-07/obama-said-close-to-choosing-lew-for-treasury-following-geithner.html">http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2013-01-07/obama-said-close-to-choosing-lew-for-treasury-following-geithner.html</a></div>
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Myselfhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00736830978863280011noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4200145174506434971.post-52227136467017980232013-01-02T01:46:00.001-08:002013-01-02T01:46:20.594-08:00Fiscal deal leaves central question of Obama presidency unresolved<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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One way to understand the <a href="http://www.washingtonpost.com/business/fiscal-cliff/biden-mcconnell-continue-cliff-talks-as-clock-winds-down/2012/12/31/66c044e2-534d-11e2-8b9e-dd8773594efc_story.html?hpid=z1" target="_blank">fiscal cliff compromise which passed the Senate this morning</a>
is through the prism of the larger question at the heart of this whole
fight: What should the safety net of the 21st century look like, and who
should pay for it?</div>
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Presuming the Senate deal passes the House, what happened yesterday
is that Democrats scored a victory on part two of that question — albeit
only a partial one — while successfully deferring the epic, looming
battle over the first part of it. Meanwhile, Republicans retained their
leverage heading into round two, and thanks to the way things unfolded,
they will likely walk into it more confident of winning major future
concessions.</div>
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The good news is that for now, the basic social contract underlying
the progressive reforms of the last century remains intact. Neither the
rise in the Medicare eligibility age nor the Chained CPI for Social
Security happened; Democrats have temporarily held off the GOP drive to
cut the safety net. Meanwhile, Democrats finally broke the GOP’s
opposition to the rich paying more in taxes — the party’s organizing
principle for years now — successfully making the tax code somewhat more
progressive. The short term big picture is that Dems won on two major
fronts — no entitlements cuts, and tax hikes for the rich — which helps
explain conservative rage over the deal.</div>
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So why are liberals also angry? Partly because this was only a
partial Dem victory, since Dems agreed to a higher income threshold
($400,000 for individuals and $450,000) and made concessions on the
estate tax. That didn’t have to happen, since doing nothing — and
allowing the Bush tax cuts to expire — would have meant even more in
revenues from the rich.</div>
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<a href="http://krugman.blogs.nytimes.com/2013/01/01/perspective-on-the-deal/" target="_blank">As Paul Krugman’s calculations show</a>,
this may not really have cost Dems all that much in new revenues. The
more serious problem for liberals is what the outcome says about what
comes next. Obama had repeatedly insisted he would not budge off his
demand that taxes go up on all income over $250,000. That obviously
didn’t happen. The risk is that this will set a bad precedent for the
next round in this fight, in which Republicans will hold the debt
ceiling hostage to extract the deep cuts to entitlements they want. It’s
reasonable to worry that today’s outcome, by signaling Obama’s
over-emphasis on getting a deal for its own sake, <a href="http://nymag.com/daily/intelligencer/2012/12/obamas-deal-possibly-not-terrible-deal.html" target="_blank">will set the stage for a cave later</a>.</div>
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It’s on Obama to prove those worries unfounded. Obama has pledged to
win more in new revenues from the rich via tax reform, has vowed not to
agree to any deficit reduction that relies only on spending cuts, and
continues to insist on a “balanced” approach. Only Obama, however, can
ultimately define what he means by “balanced.” Liberals must continue to
insist that this mean that the sacrifice necessary to reducing the
deficit will not borne by the poor or seniors who can’t afford it.</div>
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All of which is to say that the major fight at the heart of this
whole mess — over the proper scope and role of the safety net of the
21st century, and who will pay for it — remains unresolved. Only the
outcome of that battle can settle the question of whether today’s
compromise was a good one for liberals. Obama’s legacy on the future of
the welfare state — which will help define his presidency and settle
fundamental questions about our approach to governing that will define
American life for years to come — remains yet to be determined.</div>
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Source <a href="http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/plum-line/wp/2013/01/01/fiscal-deal-leaves-central-question-of-obama-presidency-unresolved/" target="_blank">http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/plum-line/wp/2013/01/01/fiscal-deal-leaves-central-question-of-obama-presidency-unresolved/ </a></div>
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Myselfhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00736830978863280011noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4200145174506434971.post-29546378061041588122012-12-24T00:18:00.001-08:002012-12-24T00:18:07.041-08:00Time for Obama and Holder to Truly End Racial Profiling by Law Enforcement <div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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Why can't President Obama and Attorney General Eric Holder do more to ban racial profiling in the United States?</div>
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Surely, more so than any of their predecessors, they can understand
the injustice and humiliation racial profiling victims feel when they
are treated as suspect because of the color of their skin.</div>
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Yet, after four years in office, they have made no revisions to the
Justice Department guidance regarding the use of race in federal law
enforcement issued by Attorney General John Ashcroft in 2003.
Ashcroft's guidance was deficient: though it expressly banned racial
profiling by federal law enforcement agencies, it left broad exemptions
for national security and border integrity investigations.</div>
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The Obama administration's failure to close these loopholes has given
the FBI a green light to implement a program that uses crass
stereotypes about what types of crimes racial and ethnic groups commit
to justify mapping entire communities based on race and ethnicity. The
FBI has argued that racial mapping is no different than a local police
chief putting push pins on a map to see where different crimes have
occurred. But the FBI is mapping people, with no evidence anyone within
the communities it tracks has committed any crime at all. This is
racial profiling on a nationwide scale.</div>
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When the ACLU released the FBI records detailing this abusive program
(which we obtained through requests under the Freedom of Information
Act), we wrote to Holder. We explained that because the American
criminal justice system is founded on the idea that government must have
probable cause to effect a constitutional arrest, individualized
suspicion of criminal activity, not guilt by association, is the rule.
Holder never responded. </div>
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Ashcroft prohibited the use of race "to any degree" in most
spontaneous law enforcement decisions and limited the use of race in
specific investigations to "trustworthy information ... that links
persons of a particular race or ethnicity to an identified criminal
incident, scheme, or organization.</div>
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The only explanation we received was a letter from the FBI that
referenced the Ashcroft guidance and earlier guidance from 2008, before
Obama took office, to argue that it was acting within federal
regulations. </div>
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The FBI suggests its mapping program was designed to protect racial
communities, But it is hard to see how tracking the growth of the Black
community in Georgia would protect it, for example, from so-called
"Black separatists," when overwhelming statistics from the Justice
Department revealed that blacks are mostly victimized by whites in hate
crimes.</div>
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Yet, based on the information the ACLU gathered, the FBI is not
tracking white communities to the same degree. (But even that, too is
wrong because it undermines individualized suspicion as the basis for
investigation.) In contrast, FBI records don't show any acts of violence
by Black separatist groups -- against anyone -- for more than 20 years.</div>
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In a more revealing line, the FBI told us that mapping an entire
community of people based only on their race was "no different than
limiting a manhunt to the description given by an eyewitness." This
flimsy argument shows the constitutional damage of racial profiling -
that if one person of a particular race commits a crime, all persons of
that race should be treated as suspect. Guilt by association is
antithetical to American values. </div>
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It is not just the FBI that has embraced racial profiling.
Behavioral detection officers with the Transportation Security
Administration (TSA) recently came to the ACLU to report that colleagues
at Boston's Logan Airport were racially profiling airline passengers in
an effort to boost arrests for drug and immigration violations. TSA
officers were also previously caught profiling at airports in Newark and
Honolulu. What could be the purpose of identifying such communities on
a map except to treat them differently when the FBI is making
investigative decisions? </div>
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It is long past time for Obama and Holder to end this humiliating,
ineffective, and unlawful practice. The Justice Department guidance
regarding the use of race should be amended in the following ways:</div>
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• Close the loophole for national security and border integrity
investigation. It also sends the wrong message to all law enforcement
officers that racial profiling is sometimes okay.</div>
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• Prohibit profiling based on religion and national origin, which is no
less an affront to the Constitution than profiling based on race and
ethnicity. </div>
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• Explicitly state that the ban on racial profiling applies to data
collection, intelligence activities, assessments and predicated
investigations. Intelligence practices like racial mapping threaten
entire communities.</div>
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• Include enforceable standards. The current guidance has no enforcement mechanism.</div>
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• Expand the racial profiling ban to all state and local law enforcement agencies that receive federal funding.</div>
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These reforms are long overdue, and will only make law enforcement more effective, and our communities safer.</div>
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<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
Source <a href="http://www.huffingtonpost.com/laura-w-murphy/racial-profiling_b_2346017.html" target="_blank">http://www.huffingtonpost.com/laura-w-murphy/racial-profiling_b_2346017.html </a></div>
</div>
Myselfhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00736830978863280011noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4200145174506434971.post-22331698186296884242012-12-17T01:39:00.001-08:002012-12-17T01:39:31.540-08:00Millionaire Tax Now Likely, But President Obama Wants More<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<div style="text-align: justify;">
In the fiscal cliff horse trading, President Obama wants a tax increase on anyone earning over $250,000. House Speaker <span style="color: #3366ff;"><a href="http://www.forbes.com/profile/john-boehner/"><span style="color: #3366ff;">Boehner</span></a></span>
and the Republicans? No tax increase, thank you. But now the Speaker
has signaled that tax hikes on those earning over $1 million would be
OK. See <span style="color: #3366ff;"><a href="http://www.google.com/url?sa=t&rct=j&q=tax%20increase%20for%20%241%20million&source=web&cd=1&cad=rja&ved=0CDQQqQIwAA&url=http%3A%2F%2Fonline.wsj.com%2Farticle%2FSB10001424127887324677204578183730489581910.html&ei=CsPOUMzQOYao9gSoi4CoAQ&usg=AFQjCNGgTWR5VBc1lwQ-Mdj0iWWDQ4dN7g"><span style="color: #3366ff;">Fiscal Cliff Talks: GOP Poses Millionaire Tax-Rate Increase</span></a></span>.</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
It’s compromise time as the fiscal cliff moved ever closer. And Mr.
Boehner doubtless thinks the spending cuts he wants in return–and the
need for some kind of deal–make it worthwhile. See <span style="color: #3366ff;"><a href="http://www.forbes.com/sites/abrambrown/2012/12/16/boehner-agrees-to-a-millionaire-tax-and-put-us-closer-to-a-fiscal-cliff-deal/"><span style="color: #3366ff;">Boehner Agrees To A Millionaire Tax–And Moves Closer To A Fiscal Cliff Deal</span></a></span>. After all, the Bush Era cuts are expiring and there’s no patch in sight.</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
Semantically, perhaps a tax increase is a misnomer if the cuts simply
expire. Yet these lines have long been drawn on this issue. Extensions
of the Bush Era cuts for at least some seem almost inevitable, yet for
who?</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
Some of the debate focuses on the rates themselves, including the 35%
to 39.6% rate hike. But some of the provisions are harder to absorb,
including the phase-out of deductions and credits. Then there’s the
expiring 15% capital gain rate and the new 3.8% investment tax under
Obamacare.</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
In his new offer, Mr. Boehner for the first time moved off the
no-rate-increase stance and made the first move toward compromise. Mr.
Boehner’s proposal would extend all current tax rates, but raise rates
only on incomes above $1 million. Those earners would face the jump from
the current high of 35% to 39.6%.</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
But Mr. Boehner expects spending cuts to the tune of at least $1
trillion, and at least some of those cuts would come from entitlement
programs such as Medicare. Some savings would come from closing certain
tax loopholes and limiting deductions. More compromises are likely on
the way.</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
But tax increases now seem quite likely for those earning over $1
million, with top rates jumping from 35% to 39.6% in January. As for
long term capital gains, the current 15% rate jumps to 23.8% January 1,
wrought from a combination of the new 20% rate plus the 3.8% health care
add on that will hit most with incomes above $200,000.</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
There is no deal yet, of course, but the fact that Mr. Boehner has
moved off the no-increase platitude suggests there will be a compromise.
Mr. Obama may not get all he wants, and his $250,000 threshold may not
hold. Mr. Boehner’s $1 million benchmark may not either. But this may be
the first positive sign that it may not be too late for a deal.</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<em>Robert W. Wood practices law with <a href="http://www.woodllp.com/" target="_blank">Wood LLP</a>,
in San Francisco. The author of more than 30 books, including Taxation
of Damage Awards & Settlement Payments (4th Ed. 2009 with 2012
Supplement, <a href="http://www.taxinstitute.com/" target="_blank">Tax Institute</a>), he can be reached at <a href="mailto:Wood@WoodLLP.com" target="_blank">Wood@WoodLLP.com</a>. This
discussion is not intended as legal advice, and cannot be relied upon
for any purpose without the services of a qualified professional.</em></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
Source <a href="http://www.forbes.com/sites/robertwood/2012/12/16/millionaire-tax-now-likely-but-president-obama-wants-more/" target="_blank">http://www.forbes.com/sites/robertwood/2012/12/16/millionaire-tax-now-likely-but-president-obama-wants-more/ </a><em><br /></em></div>
</div>
Myselfhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00736830978863280011noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4200145174506434971.post-43363899790732269112012-12-03T01:29:00.001-08:002012-12-03T01:29:32.416-08:00Obama salutes entertainers at Kennedy Center Honors<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span id="articleText"><span class="focusParagraph"></span></span></div>
Music legend Led
Zeppelin was recognized on Sunday alongside entertainers from stage and
screen for their contributions to the arts and American culture at the
Kennedy Center Honors, lifetime achievement awards for performing
artists.<br />
<br />
<span id="midArticle_1"></span>The eclectic tribute in
Washington, alternated between solemn veneration and lighthearted
roasting of honorees Academy Award-winning actor Dustin Hoffman,
wisecracking late-night talk show host David Letterman, blues guitar
icon Buddy Guy, ballerina Natalia Makarova and Led Zeppelin.<br />
<br />
<span id="midArticle_2"></span>"I worked with the speechwriters - there is no smooth transition from ballet to Led Zeppelin," President <span class="mandelbrot_refrag"><a class="mandelbrot_refrag" href="http://www.reuters.com/people/barack-obama?lc=int_mb_1001">Barack Obama</a></span> deadpanned while introducing the honorees at a ceremony in the White House East Room.<br />
<span id="midArticle_3"></span>Friends, contemporaries and a new generation of artists influenced by the honorees took the stage in tribute.<br />
<span id="midArticle_4"></span>"Dustin
Hoffman is a pain the ass," actor Robert DeNiro, a former honoree, said
in introducing the infamously perfectionist star of such celebrated
films as "The Graduate" and "Tootsie."<br />
<br />
<span id="midArticle_5"></span>"And he inspired me to be a bit of a pain in the ass too," DeNiro said with a big smile.<br />
<br />
<span id="midArticle_6"></span>At
a weekend dinner for the winners at the State Department, Secretary of
State Hillary Clinton noted that the performing arts often requires a
touch of diplomacy as she toasted Makarova, a dance icon in the former
Soviet Union when she defected in 1970.<br />
<br />
<span id="midArticle_7"></span>Makarova,
the pride of her national ballet program, said she obeyed an impulse
for creative freedom when she sought asylum while in London for a
performance.<br />
<br />
<span id="midArticle_8"></span>"It's most incredible
because it looks like I lived two lives," the artist told reporters
before the event. "I've come a long way, baby, no? That's the way
someone said it for me."<br />
<br />
<span id="midArticle_9"></span>The
lightest moments came in the tribute to variety show host David
Letterman. Several performers said his oddball program was a worthy
successor to "The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson," which was the
standard bearer for late-night shows from the 1960s through the early
1990s.<br />
<br />
<span id="midArticle_10"></span>Comedian Tina Fey, honored
with the Kennedy Center's Mark Twain Prize for American Humor in 2010,
marveled at Letterman's ability to goad and humble his celebrity guests.<br />
<br />
<span id="midArticle_11"></span>"David Letterman is a professor emeritus at the 'Here's Some More Rope Institute,'" she joked.<br />
<span id="midArticle_12"></span>Letterman,
who joked earlier in the weekend that he was going to fund an
investigation to determine how he was given the honor, was at a loss for
words on the red carpet.<br />
<br />
<span id="midArticle_13"></span>"I was
full of trepidation, but now I am full of nothing but gratitude," he
said. "I don't believe this, but it's been nice for my family."<br />
<br />
<span id="midArticle_14"></span>Despite
the president's misgivings about his own speech, performances at the
Kennedy Center easily transitioned from precision dance tributes for
Makarova to gritty blues music when the spotlight turned to Guy, a
sharecropper's son who made his first instrument with wire scrounged
from his family's home in rural Louisiana.<br />
<br />
<span id="midArticle_15"></span>"He's
one of the most idiosyncratic and passionate blues greats, and there
are not many left of that original generation," said Bonnie Raitt, who
as an 18-year-old blues singer was often the warm-up act for Guy.<br />
<span id="midArticle_0"></span>Raitt led an ensemble tribute that included singer Tracy Chapman and guitarist Jeff Beck.<br />
<span id="midArticle_1"></span>Guy,
76, was a pioneer in the Chicago blues style that pushed the sound of
electrically amped guitar to the forefront of the music.<br />
<br />
<span id="midArticle_2"></span>"You
mastered the soul of gut bucket," actor Morgan Freeman told the Kennedy
Center audience. "You made a bridge from roots to rock 'n roll."<br />
<br />
<span id="midArticle_3"></span>In
a toast on Saturday night, former President Bill Clinton talked of
Guy's impoverished upbringing and how he improvised a guitar from the
strands of a porch screen, paint can and his mother's hair pins.<br />
<span id="midArticle_4"></span>"In Buddy's immortal phrase, the blues is 'Something you play because you have it. And when you play it, you lose it.'"<br />
<br />
<span id="midArticle_5"></span>It
was a version of the blues that drifted over the Atlantic to Britain
and echoed back in the heart-pounding rock sound of Led Zeppelin.<br />
<br />
<span id="midArticle_6"></span>Jimmy
Page, 68, was the guitar impresario who anchored the compositions with
vocalist Robert Plant, 64, howling and screeching out the soul.
Bassist/keyboardist John Paul Jones, 66, rounded out the band with
drummer John Bonham, who died in 1980.<br />
<br />
<span id="midArticle_7"></span>The
incongruity of the famously hard-partying rock stars in black tie under
chandeliers at a White House ceremony was not lost on Obama.<br />
<br />
<span id="midArticle_8"></span>"Of
course, these guys also redefined the rock and roll lifestyle," the
president said, to laughter and sheepish looks from the band members.<br />
<br />
<span id="midArticle_9"></span>"So
it's fitting that we're doing this in a room with windows that are
about three inches thick - and Secret Service all around," Obama said.
"So, guys, just settle down."<br />
<br />
<span id="midArticle_10"></span>On
stage Sunday night, Nancy and Ann Wilson of the rock band Heart, belted
out Zeppelin's emblematic "Stairway to Heaven" to close out the show.<br />
<br />
Source <a href="http://www.reuters.com/article/2012/12/03/entertainment-us-usa-kennedy-honors-idUSBRE8B202520121203" target="_blank">http://www.reuters.com/article/2012/12/03/entertainment-us-usa-kennedy-honors-idUSBRE8B202520121203 </a><br />
</div>
Myselfhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00736830978863280011noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4200145174506434971.post-45860584817402636672012-11-19T02:47:00.002-08:002012-11-19T02:47:28.774-08:00Meet second-term Obama<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span class="paragraph-0"></span></div>
There's a difference between saying you have a mandate and acting like you have one.<br />
<br />
<span class="paragraph-1">
In his first news conference since his re-election, President
Obama took on bullies, scrooges and unruly reporters. He batted away
questions over the scandal that brought down Gen. David Petraeus, stood
up for his U.N. Ambassador Susan Rice against attacks from Republican
senators, and warned that if House Republicans didn't act on the
question of tax cuts, the holidays would be ruined. In the hour-long
news conference, Obama took a measured tone, but he clearly feels like
he has the upper hand. "The American people understood what they were
getting when they gave me this incredible privilege of being in office
for another four years," he said. </span><br />
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
The least substantive but most dramatic moment in the East Room
question-and-answer session came when the president took on Sens. John
McCain, R-Ariz., and Lindsey Graham, R-S.C. Both men have pledged to
block Susan Rice's nomination for secretary of state if Obama taps her
to replace Hillary Clinton. Days after the attack in Libya that left
four Americans dead, Rice went on the Sunday shows to say it was caused
by a spontaneous protest. At the time, parts of the U.S. intelligence
community supported this view, while other parts said it was a terrorist
attack. (A third hybrid theory is that terrorists reacted to
spontaneous protests in Egypt to launch the attack.)</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
The president wasn't having any of it. He said his
U.N. representative was clearly operating on the best intelligence at
the time and had nothing to do with the underlying situation in Libya.
"If Sen. McCain and Sen. Graham and others want to go after somebody,
they should go after me. And I'm happy to have that discussion with
them. But for them to go after the U.N. ambassador, who had nothing to
do with Benghazi and was simply making a presentation based on
intelligence that she had received and to besmirch her reputation, is
outrageous . . . when they go after the U.N. ambassador, apparently
because they think she's an easy target, then they've got a problem with
me."</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
The president is offended by what he sees as a cheap
attack, says one White House official. The president believes that
McCain and Graham are making Rice a target because they want to deny the
president a nominee. If they have fingers to point, say aides, they
should aim them at the intelligence community that gave Rice the initial
information. If you were of a mind to read the election results as a
signal to Republicans to make the party more inclusive, you might wonder
why they are picking a high-profile fight over the potential nomination
of an African-American woman to be America's chief diplomat. If you
wanted to read the situation as a pure policy fight, then you might
wonder why McCain and Graham are going so hard after Susan Rice when
they defended Condoleezza Rice and Colin Powell, whose reliance on
intelligence information in the lead up to the Iraq war was far more
damaging.</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
If Obama was firm, he also seemed reasonable. When he
talked about raising revenue to replace the steep tax increases that
are scheduled to kick in at the end of the year, he sounded open to
Republican ideas, albeit clearly skeptical. He believes that the
election showed the country supports his position that taxes should go
up for those making more than $250,000. His newfound confidence made him
seem comfortable raising the stakes for Republicans. Because, as he
explained, if House Republicans don't agree to his plan, it's "going to
be a pretty rude shock for [the public] and I suspect will have a big
impact on the holiday shopping season, which in turn will have an impact
on business planning and hiring, and we can go back into a recession."</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
For months, Republicans used business confidence
against the president, arguing that his policies had frightened
consumers and businesses into inactivity. Republicans argued that only
removing Obama from office could jump-start the economy again. Columnist
Paul Krugman has a special expertise in making fun of this theory. On
Wednesday, the president was offering his own version. Five different
times he argued that consumers and businesses needed "certainty" that
could only be achieved if Republicans supported his measure for
protecting tax rates for those who make under $250,000 while allowing
rates for the wealthy to rise.</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
The president says he is open to any solution that
would produce the same revenue as a rate increase, but he's skeptical
that one can be found simply by closing loopholes and removing
deductions for those in the top tax bracket. That's the Republican's
preferred position. The president is open to tax reform that would
produce some revenue, but the process of enacting such reform will take a
long time. Meanwhile, says Obama, let the rates rise. That's a
frightening proposition for Republicans: They obviously don't want to
see the rates rise for fear that they'll never come back down in the
hoped-for tax reform debate next year.</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
When George W. Bush held his first news conference
after election, he remarked on the sense of confidence the time on the
stump had given him. "When you win, there is a feeling that the people
have spoken and embraced your point of view," Bush said. Obama sounded a
similar theme, though he explained the relationship between what he saw
and what motivates him more explicitly. "When you travel around the
country, you are inspired by the grit and resilience and hard work and
decency of the American people. And it just makes you want to work
harder . . . When you talk to these folks, you say to yourself, man,
they deserve a better government than they've been getting," Obama said.</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
At the end of the press conference, a Bloomberg
reporter shouted a question about automatic spending cuts. Obama
admitted it was a good question, but he didn't want to set a precedent
by fielding a question that was yelled out. In ways little and small, it
was a day for the newly re-elected president to draw some lines in the
sand.</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
Source <a href="http://www.journalnow.com/opinion/columnists/article_9b0b293a-304b-11e2-b52b-0019bb30f31a.html" target="_blank">http://www.journalnow.com/opinion/columnists/article_9b0b293a-304b-11e2-b52b-0019bb30f31a.html </a></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span class="paragraph-1"> </span></div>
</div>
Myselfhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00736830978863280011noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4200145174506434971.post-33964025530308811572012-11-06T23:24:00.000-08:002012-11-06T23:24:11.023-08:005 Tips for Coping with Stress After Hurricane Sandy <div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<div style="text-align: justify;">
Finding food, staying warm, and coping with power outages are still
primary challenges for many who’ve weathered the worst of Hurricane
Sandy. But psychologists warn that the mental effects of dealing with
such challenges can be pretty powerful forces in their own right.</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span id="more-69935"></span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
Henri Roca, MD, medical director of<a href="http://www.greenwichintegrativemedicine.org/wellness/"> Greenwich Hospital’s Integrative Medicine Program</a>
in Greenwich, Connecticut says it’s about more than just turmoil and
uncertainty. The upheaval brought about by a natural disaster can change
how you view the world.</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
“We go through life with a map in our mind of how the world works and
how our life works within that world,” Dr. Roca says. “When natural
disaster strikes it calls into question or even destroys the validity of
that mental map.”</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
Dr. Roca, a New Orleans native who helped survivors cope with
Hurricane Katrina stress before he relocated to Connecticut, notes that
symptoms of stress include listlessness, helplessness, and
indecisiveness. Feelings of fear and anxiety are also common, as are
changes in appetite, sleep, and general mood. </div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
Here, he offers the following tips for holding it together in tough times.</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<b>1. Eat healthy.</b> You may be dealing with food shortages and
food storage issues, but do your best to eat well. Stay away from sweets
and simple carbohydrates, which are likely to feed rather than tame
your stress. Focus on getting enough protein, which Dr. Roca says is
needed to make neurotransmitters, the chemicals that help bolster your
sense of resilience. </div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<b>2. Keep Moving.</b> Exercise boosts mood and helps you face
challenging situations. If your gym is currently out of commission, lace
up your sneakers and go for a walk or run. But if outside conditions
are still too dangerous, do some push-ups, sit ups, and jumping jacks at
home to elevate your heart rate and burn off some anxiety. (For those
with Internet access, consider downloading this awesome <a href="https://itunes.apple.com/us/album/tabata-coach-workout-music/id496345815">tabada workout</a>, which requires no equipment and very little space.)</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<b>3. Relax.</b> It’s OK and even desirable to remain busy, but it’s
also important to stay calm so your activity doesn’t become rushed,
frantic, and unfocused. It’s also a good idea to take a break once in a
while to listen to music, meditate, pray, or even just sit quietly.</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<b> </b><b>4. Re-prioritize.</b> Remember, possessions are just
things. If you lost items of sentimental value like photos or family
mementos, remind yourself that you didn’t lose the memories and emotions
attached to them. Be grateful for what you have left, Dr. Roca advises,
and know that the things you need must take precedence over the things
you want, at least for the time being.</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<b>5. Don’t isolate yourself.</b> Seek out other people. Talk to
neighbors. Visit friends and family. Volunteer to help others if you can
and ask for help if you need it. As Dr. Roca points out, people need to
pull together during tough times. To the extent that those affected by
Sandy can build on this sense of community and get back to normal, it
can be an opportunity for people to grow and even develop a sense of
accomplishment because of what they’ve been through.</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
Source <a href="http://news.health.com/2012/11/05/5-tips-for-coping-with-stress-after-hurricane-sandy/" target="_blank">http://news.health.com/2012/11/05/5-tips-for-coping-with-stress-after-hurricane-sandy/ </a></div>
</div>
Myselfhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00736830978863280011noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4200145174506434971.post-59953707479535740072012-10-10T00:04:00.001-07:002012-10-10T00:04:23.916-07:00Healthy Halloween tips for parents<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<div style="text-align: justify;">
The Halloween candy season is here again, challenging parents to find that right balance of fun and nutrition.</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
Whether your a candy-loving adult or somebody concerned about a
child's sugar consumption, Mayo Clinic Registered Dietitian Katherin
Zeratsky says it's very important to "control the volume" when dealing
with sweets.</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
Bite-sized candies are a good option to satisfy that need for something sweet, but be sure to count your wrappers!</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
Zeratsky also says the trick-or-treat tradition gives parents an
opportunity to have a general discussion with their children about food
and eating.</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
As far as candy with some nutritional content, there are some options available.</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
"There's some research to show that darker chocolates that are 65
percent (cocoa) or greater can impart some health benefits," said
Zeratsky.</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
The dietitian also recommends:</div>
<ul style="text-align: justify;">
<li>Candy with air whipped into it because it's lighter in calories.</li>
<li>Bite-sized candy to help limit consumption</li>
<li>Candy buy-back programs at your local dentist office</li>
</ul>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
Source <a href="http://www.eatdrinkexplore.com/index.php/health-fitness/989-healthy-halloween-tips-for-parents">http://www.eatdrinkexplore.com/index.php/health-fitness/989-healthy-halloween-tips-for-parents</a></div>
</div>
Myselfhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00736830978863280011noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4200145174506434971.post-70596751707929005052012-09-26T01:38:00.002-07:002012-09-26T01:38:52.888-07:00Bill Clinton defends Obama’s foreign policy<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<div class="entry-content" style="text-align: justify;">
<div style="text-align: justify;">
ON MSNBC’s “Morning Joe” Tuesday, former president Bill Clinton
argued that President Obama has invested plenty of time in working with
world leaders, even though he’s not holding any bilateral meetings when
he addresses the UN General Assembly today. </div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
“I have not talked to Hillary about this because I never want to know
anything that i shouldn’t be talking about on television,” Clinton
said. But he said his understanding was that “they’ve been up to their
ears in conversations” with leaders in the Middle East. </div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
Clinton also predicted less gridlock in Washington should Obama win reelection. </div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
Democrats and Republicans “will have a dramatically greater incentive
to get stuff done,” Clinton argued, with a president who is not running
for reelection. “I think you will have an operating majority to do
something.” </div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
Source <a href="http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/election-2012/wp/2012/09/25/bill-clinton-defends-obamas-foreign-policy/">http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/election-2012/wp/2012/09/25/bill-clinton-defends-obamas-foreign-policy/</a><a href="http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/election-2012/wp/2012/09/25/bill-clinton-defends-obamas-foreign-policy/" target="_blank">http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/election-2012/wp/2012/09/25/bill-clinton-defends-obamas-foreign-policy/</a></div>
</div>
</div>
Myselfhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00736830978863280011noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4200145174506434971.post-3749168445601349212012-09-09T22:49:00.003-07:002012-09-09T22:49:42.221-07:008 Tailgating Tips For Health-Conscious Patriots Fans<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<div style="text-align: justify;">
Football season is finally here! Don’t let the weekly games put a
halt to summer weight loss and fitness goals. There are many ways to
still have fun tailgating while also being calorie conscious. Check out
these eight tailgating tips for those watching their weight.</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<strong>1. BYOF: </strong>Bring your own food. The more prepared you
are for the Pats, the better. Patriots tailgating typically includes
cheeseburgers on the grill, sausages, nachos, cookies and other snacks.
Bring flavorful yet easy-to-pack options like fruit salad, baked chips
with light dip, marinated chicken to throw on the grill and light side
dishes like cucumber tomato salad.</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<strong>2. Eat the right stuff: </strong>Fill up on protein, veggies and fruit instead of eating the empty, calorie-laden snacks that are out on the table.</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<strong>3. BYOB: </strong>This is an obvious one. By bringing your
own booze, you can save tons of calories. Skip pre-made pitchers of
sangria and margaritas or full-calorie beers by having options of your
own. If you have ice and plenty of Bud Light, Skinny Girl Margaritas,
pitchers of wine spritzers or whatever your go-to drink is, you won’t be
missing out on any of the fun.</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="entry-injected-ad narrow" style="text-align: justify;">
</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<strong>4. Go light on the drinks: </strong>There will be plenty of
time during the game for watching Brady strut his stuff while sipping a
brew. So what is the big rush to chug down high-calorie cocktails before
the game even starts? Alternate water with alcoholic drinks and you can
still catch a buzz while staying healthy and hydrated.</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<strong>5. Walk around: </strong>Gillette Stadium and Patriot Place
are packed with things to do and places to shop before or after the
game. Burn off some of the football food and drinks with at least a half
hour to an hour of walking around. Check out other tailgating parties
or venture out to buy some new Patriots gear in the area stores. You
could even do a loop during halftime at the game to see all aspects of
the stadium.</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<strong>6. Get moving: </strong>Besides walking, why not bring a
football to toss, a frisbee to throw or a soccer ball to kick and burn
even more calories while hanging out pre and post game? Playing games
and sports will keep you occupied from consuming too much food and
drinks before the game even starts and will kill time when traffic is
crazy getting out of the parking lots post game.</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<strong>7. Save points: </strong>If participating in a program like
Weight Watchers, plan ahead. Even if you are not in such a program, try
to go light on the eating and drinking for the week. Weight Watchers,
for instance, gives members a weekly allowance of additional points to
play around with for special events like football games. This is the
perfect time to use some of those bonus points to enjoy great food
during Patriots season.</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<strong>8. The morning matters: </strong>You may go nuts
over-thinking how to burn calories and prevent yourself from taking in
too much food and drinks while tailgating. The solution to this headache
is to wake up early, have a healthy, light breakfast and get a workout
in before tailgating even begins. Then, continue on with your healthy
lifestyle the next day.</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
Source <a href="http://boston.cbslocal.com/2012/09/09/8-tailgating-tips-for-health-conscious-patriots-fans/" target="_blank">http://boston.cbslocal.com/2012/09/09/8-tailgating-tips-for-health-conscious-patriots-fans/ </a></div>
</div>
Myselfhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00736830978863280011noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4200145174506434971.post-19194852241760372502012-07-25T22:00:00.001-07:002012-07-25T22:00:15.258-07:00Republicans accuse Obama of leadership failure over defense cuts<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<div style="text-align: justify;">
Republican lawmakers worried
about a looming $500 billion cut in the Pentagon budget accused
President Barack Obama of a failure of leadership on Wednesday
for doing little to avoid reductions his own defense secretary
has said would devastate the military.</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span id="midArticle_3"></span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
They urged Obama to bring the two political parties together
to find alternatives to the defense cuts, offering the prospect
of some revenue increases in addition to budget cuts, but still
resisting the kinds of tax increases sought by Democrats.</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span id="midArticle_4"></span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
"There is no substitute for presidential leadership,"
Republican Senator Lindsey Graham, a member of the Senate Armed
Services Committee, told a Capitol Hill event organized by two
conservative think tanks to draw public attention to the issue.</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span id="midArticle_5"></span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
Graham suggested Congress look for more revenue to offset a
year of the defense cuts by closing some tax breaks that benefit
few taxpayers, sell some government property and adjusting some
fees that have not been increased for a while.</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span id="midArticle_6"></span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
"It
will be uncomfortable for some of us in the political arena to defy
certain strict ideological principles. ... But here is my response: the
hard thing was to go to <a href="http://www.reuters.com/places/afghanistan" title="Full coverage of Afghanistan">Afghanistan</a> or Iraq multiple times," Graham said.</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span id="midArticle_7"></span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
Most Republicans have taken a pledge against raising tax
rates but in the past year some have brought up increasing fees
or closing tax loopholes to ease fiscal pressure.</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span id="midArticle_8"></span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
"How could a commander-in-chief listen to the secretary of
defense describe what was going to happen to finest military in
the history of the world and basically be indifferent about it,"
he said. Defense Secretary Leon Panetta and other senior
military officials have said the cuts would be devastating.</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span id="midArticle_9"></span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
The Pentagon is implementing $487 billion in cuts to
projected spending over the next decade as called for last year
in the Budget Control Act, a law aimed at curbing the
government's trillion-dollar budget deficits and growing debt.</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span id="midArticle_10"></span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
The act also established a special congressional panel to
cut another $1.2 trillion in federal spending. To try to force
the group to reach a deal, the measure included across-the-board
spending cuts that would go take effect if it failed, including
$500 billion to defense.</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span id="midArticle_11"></span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
The group was unable to agree and the Pentagon now faces
another $500 billion in cuts over 10 years. The reductions go
into effect Jan. 2 and would slash nearly all programs
proportionally without regard to their strategic importance.</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span id="midArticle_12"></span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
CONCERN FOR DEFENSE SUPPLIERS</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span id="midArticle_13"></span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
Representative Buck McKeon, chairman of the Armed Services
Committee in the House of Representatives, said Obama should
have stepped to provide leadership when the committee stalemated
"but he's basically been AWOL."</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span id="midArticle_14"></span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
Senator Kelly Ayotte, citing congressional testimony, said
the additional $500 billion reduction would force the services
to cut another 18,000 Marines and 100,000 soldiers. The size of
the Navy fleet would drop from 285 down to around 230, she said.</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span id="midArticle_15"></span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
"The threats to our nation have not diminished ... and here
we are putting our Department of Defense in a situation where,
as (Panetta) has said, we'd be shooting ourselves in the head,"
Ayotte said.</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span id="midArticle_0"></span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
Some budget analysts have noted that even with the
additional reductions, the defense budget would fall to 2006
levels, a much smaller drop than during previous drawdowns after
a period of war.</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span id="midArticle_1"></span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
Industry analysts
have projected the cuts to defense could cost more than a million jobs.
Ayotte said the impact on defense industries that support the military
could jeopardize critical <a href="http://www.reuters.com/finance/smallBusiness" title="Full coverage of small business">small business</a> manufacturers.</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span id="midArticle_2"></span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
"These sole suppliers cannot carry what's coming in January,"
she said, using as an example Huntington Ingalls, which designs
and builds U.S. warships and relies on sole suppliers for many
of its components. If they go out of business, she said, "they
don't just come back, and we lose capacity for our nation."</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
Source <a href="http://www.reuters.com/article/2012/07/26/usa-defense-budget-idUSL2E8IPLAR20120726" target="_blank">http://www.reuters.com/article/2012/07/26/usa-defense-budget-idUSL2E8IPLAR20120726 </a></div>
</div>Myselfhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00736830978863280011noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4200145174506434971.post-22416236669942528212012-06-27T03:32:00.003-07:002012-06-27T03:32:58.863-07:00Health Department provides summer weather health tips<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Arial,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">
Summer is a great time for outdoor fun and activities. But it is also a
time when heat stroke and other ailments can strike with little
warning.</span></span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Arial,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">
“During prolonged periods of hot, humid weather, extra caution should
be taken by the elderly, small children, and chronically ill persons,”
said Cindy Frank, administrator of the Boone County Health Department.
“They are especially susceptible to heat exhaustion and heat stroke. Be
sure they are able to move to a temperature-controlled room and remain
hydrated by drinking plenty of fluids.”</span></span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Arial,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"> The Health Department offers these tips to avoid heat-related illnesses:</span></span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
•<span style="font-family: Arial,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"> Drink extra fluids such as water, fruit juices or lemonade, especially during very humid weather.</span></span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
•<span style="font-family: Arial,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"> Avoid caffeine and alcohol.</span></span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
•<span style="font-family: Arial,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">
Wear lightweight, loose-fitting clothing (especially made of cotton, if
possible) that does not interfere with the evaporation of perspiration.</span></span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
•<span style="font-family: Arial,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"> Eat small meals and eat more often. Decrease food high in protein, which increases metabolic heat.</span></span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
•<span style="font-family: Arial,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">
Try to engage in activities that involve strenuous labor in the evening
or early morning hours to avoid the hottest part of the day, which is
between 10 a.m. and 3 p.m. If possible, stay in an air-conditioned
environment during this time.</span></span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
•<span style="font-family: Arial,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">
In a home that lacks air conditioning, stay in the basement or lowest
floor, close drapes to keep out the sun, or go to a shopping mall,
library or other building that is air-conditioned.</span></span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
•<span style="font-family: Arial,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"> Never leave an infant, elderly or disabled person or even a pet in a parked car with the windows closed.</span></span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Arial,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">
Symptoms of heat exhaustion, which can be caused by spending too much
time in the heat, include pale and clammy skin, heavy perspiration,
dizziness, weakness, headache or cramps, nausea and fainting. Symptoms
of heat stroke, which can be caused by over-exposure to direct sunlight,
are high body temperature, skin that is red and dry, rapid pulse, and
loss of consciousness. Heat stroke can lead to death if untreated. An
individual with any of these symptoms should see a physician as soon as
possible.</span></span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Arial,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"> To reduce over-exposure to sunlight during prolonged periods outdoors, remember to:</span></span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
•<span style="font-family: Arial,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"> Apply at least SPF 15 sunscreen and lip balm, especially on children.</span></span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
•<span style="font-family: Arial,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"> Wear a hat.</span></span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
•<span style="font-family: Arial,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">
Wear sunglasses with an ANSI rating of 99 percent, and 98 percent UVA
protection. These ratings should be found on the label of the
sunglasses. Also, wear sunglasses that are either wraparounds or
close-fitting to prevent the sun from filtering from the side.</span></span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Arial,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">Source <a href="http://rockrivertimes.com/2012/06/27/health-department-provides-summer-weather-health-tips/" target="_blank">http://rockrivertimes.com/2012/06/27/health-department-provides-summer-weather-health-tips/ </a></span></span></div>
</div>Myselfhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00736830978863280011noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4200145174506434971.post-38703968517917288862012-06-13T08:38:00.002-07:002012-06-13T08:38:29.954-07:00Westwood still known as best without major win<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<div class="entry-content" id="blox-story-text" style="text-align: justify;">
<div style="text-align: justify;">
Lee Westwood has 35 official wins around the globe and is
coming off a five-stroke victory Saturday at the Nordea Masters in
Sweden.</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
Entering this week's U.S. Open at The Olympic Club, the
39-year-old Englishman still rates as the best player to have never won a
major.</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
"Majors are the only thing missing," the world's No.
3-ranked player said Tuesday. "Maybe I'll never win one. Maybe I will. I
could. I've got no answer to that. Keep working hard and trying to get
myself into the position. If it happens, it happens. If it doesn't, it
doesn't."</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
Westwood finished tied for seventh the last time the U.S.
Open was played at Olympic, closing with rounds of 70 and 71. And he's
had four top-10 U.S. Open finishes in 12 appearances, including a tie
for third at last year's U.S. Open at Congressional Country Club.</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
He's also been a runner-up at both the Masters and the British Open, and helped lead Europe to victory in the Ryder Cup.</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
Just no major _ yet.</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
Coming off four rounds in the 60s last week could provide
the momentum he needs to conquer Olympic's difficult layout once and
for all.</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
When about the state of his game, however, Westwood
wondered if it was a trick question, considering he just finished
19-under par and won by five strokes.</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
"You know, my game feels pretty good. I'm fairly confident," he said.</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
He just knows he won't be shooting 19-under par as he did
in Stockholm, calling Olympic perhaps the toughest test since Oakmont
in 2007.</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
Still, Westwood is considered a favorite by many because he is such a good ball striker.</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
"I'm delighted that they think that," said Westwood, who
finished 2010 and part of 2011 ranked No. 1 in the world. "I can't
figure out what's my kind of golf course and what isn't anymore. I think
my game seems to be fairly well suited to most golf courses. But
looking at this one, it really does test you tee to green. It's a good
driver's golf course, if you can drive it in play a lot, then it gives
you a chance to score. Not that you hit that many drivers around here,
but I think any U.S. Open test is more of a tee to green examination
than week in week out tournaments."</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
Westwood's win last week came without his regular caddie,
out with a knee injury, and with new clubs in the bag. He even changed
putters.</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
"There's been quite a lot of changes," he said. "That freshens it up a bit."</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
Source <a href="http://huskerextra.com/sports/sports-world/golf/article_9940f6ef-dcfc-5232-b3fd-70664225eebe.html" target="_blank">http://huskerextra.com/sports/sports-world/golf/article_9940f6ef-dcfc-5232-b3fd-70664225eebe.html </a></div>
</div>
</div>Myselfhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00736830978863280011noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4200145174506434971.post-25667945354862884092012-03-19T02:22:00.000-07:002012-03-19T02:22:07.919-07:00GOLF: Donald back atop world rankings<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"><div style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif; text-align: justify;">One great round. One solid swing out of the rough. One clutch birdie putt.</div><div style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif; text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif; text-align: justify;">That's what Luke Donald needed to win the Transitions Championship in a playoff and get back to No. 1 in the world.</div><div style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif; text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif; text-align: justify;">Donald was starting to feel overlooked in the two weeks since Rory McIlroy replaced him atop the world ranking, and he even allowed a few doubts about his game to creep into his head.</div><div style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif; text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif; text-align: justify;">That changed on a steamy Sunday at Innisbrook, where Donald closed with a 5-under 66 and won a four-man playoff on the first extra hole with a 7-iron out of the rough to 6 feet below the cup for birdie to beat Jim Furyk, Robert Garrigus and Bae Sang-Moon.</div><div style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif; text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif; text-align: justify;">"I think people thought that my last year was maybe a little bit more of a ... not a fluke, but I don't think many people thought I could do that all over again this year," Donald said. "Hopefully, I can prove them wrong."</div><div style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif; text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif; text-align: justify;">Donald, with his fifth win in his last 31 starts around the world, went back to No. 1 and will stay there until he gets to Augusta National and tries to capture his first major championship.</div><div style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif; text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif; text-align: justify;">Garrigus birdied the last two holes for a 64 and was the first to finish on 13-under 271, which turned out to be enough for the playoff. Bae, the South Korean with the fluid swing, made a 6-foot par putt on the final hole for a 68. Furyk had a 69 and was the last one to join the four-man playoff.</div><div style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif; text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif; text-align: justify;">Missing from the group was Ernie Els, whose bogey-bogey finish cost him a chance not only to win but maybe a trip to the Masters.</div><div style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif; text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif; text-align: justify;">Els could have secured a Masters invitation by winning. Because he tied for fifth, he only moved to No. 62 in the world. Bay Hill does not have as strong of a field, which means Els might have to win next week or the Houston Open to get back to Augusta National.</div><div style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif; text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif; text-align: justify;">"It's going to be tough," he said. "I'm pretty hot now, and it's difficult to talk with a straight head here. If I take stock, I think I'm playing good golf, and I've got to head into the next couple of weeks trying to get a win."</div><div style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif; text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif; text-align: justify;">Scott Piercy, who finished his 62 before the leaders teed off, joined Els (67), Ken Duke (68) and Jeff Overton (66) in a tie for fifth.</div><div style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif; text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif; text-align: justify;">Champions Tour</div><div style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif; text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif; text-align: justify;">NEWPORT BEACH - Loren Roberts shot a 69 to win the Toshiba Classic by two strokes over Mark Calcavecchia, Tom Kite and Bernhard Langer.</div><div style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif; text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif; text-align: justify;">Roberts made a 5-foot birdie putt on the final hole to ensure the victory after bogeys on three of the previous four holes.</div><div style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif; text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif; text-align: justify;">Roberts began the day two strokes behind Calcavecchia, but made birdies on three of his first four holes. Even with a bogey on the seventh hole, Roberts was able to maintain a two-stroke lead, until the 16th hole. He missed a 3-foot par putt on 16 after his second shot hit a spectator box.</div><div style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif; text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif; text-align: justify;">The victory was Roberts' 13th and was worth $262,500. His last victory was in 2010, a 34-tournament span.</div><div style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif; text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif; text-align: justify;">LPGA Tour</div><div style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif; text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif; text-align: justify;">PHOENIX - Yani Tseng two-putted for par from 40 feet in fading light to hold off Ai Miyazato and Na Yeon Choi by a stroke in the Founders Cup.</div><div style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif; text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif; text-align: justify;">The top-ranked Taiwanese star, who earned $225,000, won her 14th tour title and second in four events this year. She closed with a 4-under 68 to finish at 18 under.</div><div style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif; text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif; text-align: justify;">The second-ranked Choi also shot 68, and Miyazato had a 69.</div><div style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif; text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif; text-align: justify;">Tseng, three strokes behind Miyazato at the turn, birdied five of the first six holes on the back nine and closed with three pars.</div><div style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif; text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif; text-align: justify;">Because of lightning near the Wildfire Golf Club, play was delayed three times for a total of three hours. Azusa's Lizette Salas, playing in her first LPGA event, tied for 22nd at 6-under 282. She won $15,230.</div><div style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif; text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif; text-align: justify;">European Tour</div><div style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif; text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif; text-align: justify;">MARBELLA, Spain - Julien Quesne tied the course record with an 8-under 64 to win the Andalucian Open for his first tour victory.</div><div style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif; text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif; text-align: justify;">The 31-year-old birdied four of his final five holes to finish at 17 under and won by two strokes over Matteo Manassero of Italy (68).</div><div style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif; text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif; text-align: justify;">"This is the best day of my life. I have been dreaming of this moment since I was 10," Quesne said. "It was not easy, you know. Matteo, Miguel (Angel Jimenez), Eduardo de la Riva, they all played good.</div><div style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif; text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif; text-align: justify;">"I asked my caddie all the time since (No.) 15, and I knew that if I holed my putt on 18 I would have a good chance. So I am very proud that I won shooting a 64, finishing with a birdie on 18, the toughest hole on the course.</div><div style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif; text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif; text-align: justify;">"I will remember this day for the rest of my life."</div><div style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif; text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif; text-align: justify;">Quesne, who has been to tour's qualifying seven times, also earned a one-year tour exemption and qualified for November's WGC-Champions event at Millions Hills in China along with a start in next year's Volvo Champions.</div><div style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif; text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif; text-align: justify;">Jimenez, the tournament host who was looking to become the oldest winner on the European Tour, carded a 71 to finish 11 under.</div><div style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif; text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif; text-align: justify;">Source <a href="http://www.sbsun.com/sports/ci_20203919/golf-donald-back-atop-world-rankings">http://www.sbsun.com/sports/ci_20203919/golf-donald-back-atop-world-rankings</a></div></div>Myselfhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00736830978863280011noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4200145174506434971.post-51719309995542953962012-02-05T20:54:00.001-08:002012-02-05T20:54:23.087-08:00Health digest hosts wellness expo 2012<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"><div style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif; text-align: justify;">T&T is in the height of the Carnival season, and health concerns may not be at the top of the list of priorities of many people. But once the season of revelry is over, some people may be seeking information that will guide them in their quest to attempt to reverse the effects of their weeks of indiscretion—sleepless nights, excessive alcohol consumption, unhealthy and unbalanced diets.</div><div style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif; text-align: justify;">A good place to start may be The U—Health and Wellness Exposition, scheduled to take place from March 19 to 21 at the Hyatt Regency in Port-of-Spain. Hosted by U–The Caribbean Health Digest, the event will once again create a forum that allows organisations and individuals the unique opportunity to promote their health related products, services and solutions to a captive audience. This exposition was held for the first time in September 2010 and subsequently cancelled in 2011 as a result of uncertainties surrounding the then state of emergency.</div><div style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif; text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif; text-align: justify;">This year promises to be much more interactive, with many more exhibitors that include major players in the insurance and finance sectors, health food providers, private hospitals, spas and fitness centres, each armed with solutions to creating healthier and more informed citizens. On March 19, Minister of Health Dr Fuad Khan will officially open the expo, and that day will cater to corporate T&T. The subsequent days will be open to the public, including schools, at no cost. Some exhibition spaces are still available for companies that wish to capitalise on the opportunity to market themselves to a audience that has a keen interest on health and wellness issues.</div><div style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif; text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif; text-align: justify;">Source <a href="http://www.guardian.co.tt/lifestyle/2012-02-05/health-digest-hosts-wellness-expo-2012">http://www.guardian.co.tt/lifestyle/2012-02-05/health-digest-hosts-wellness-expo-2012</a></div></div>Myselfhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00736830978863280011noreply@blogger.com0