Poll: 2/3rd’s Would Like to See Their Member of Congress Replaced

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Photo Credit: AP/J.Scott Applewhite

Photo Credit: AP/J.Scott Applewhite

Heading into a congressional election year, Americans hold Congress in strikingly low regard, and nearly two-thirds say they would like to see their House member replaced, a new poll finds.

Even though Americans are feeling somewhat better about the economy — and their personal finances — elected officials in Washington aren’t benefiting from the improved mood, the Associated Press-GfK poll found.

President Barack Obama’s approval rating was negative: 58 percent disapprove of the job he’s doing as president, while 42 percent approve.

Obama isn’t running for office again, however, whereas all 435 House seats and one-third of the Senate’s seats are on the ballot next November. And nearly 9 in 10 adults disapprove of the way lawmakers are handling their jobs.

The low opinions of Congress don’t necessarily signal major power shifts next year in the Republican-controlled House and Democratic-controlled Senate. House Democrats need to gain at least 17 net seats to claim the majority. But many House districts are so solidly liberal or conservative that incumbents can withstand notable drops in popularity and keep their seats.

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Deaf Interpreter at Mandela Event a Phony

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Photo Credit: AP Photo/Evan Vucci

Photo Credit: AP Photo/Evan Vucci

As one world leader after another paid homage to Nelson Mandela at a memorial service, the man standing at arm’s length from them appeared to interpret their words in sign language. But advocates for the deaf say he was a faker.

The incident, which outraged deaf people and sign-language interpreters watching the service broadcast around the globe, raised questions of how the unidentified man managed to crash a supposedly secure event attended by scores of heads of state, including President Barack Obama.

It also was another example of the problems plaguing Tuesday’s memorial, including public transportation breakdowns that hindered mourners going to the soccer stadium and a faulty audio system that made the speeches inaudible for many. Police also failed to search the first wave of crowds who rushed into the stadium after the gates were opened just after dawn.

The man, who stood about a yard (one meter) from Obama and other leaders, “was moving his hands around, but there was no meaning in what he used his hands for,” Bruno Druchen, national director of the Deaf Federation of South Africa, told The Associated Press on Wednesday.

When South African Deputy President Cyril Rampaphosa told the crowd that former South African President F.W. de Klerk was among the guests, the man at his side used a strange pushing motion unknown in sign language that did not identify de Klerk or say anything about his presence, said Ingrid Parkin, principal of the St. Vincent School for the Deaf in Johannesburg.

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Dr. Oz Sounds Alarm on Dangers of Processed Chicken from China

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Photo Credit: Fox screencap

Photo Credit: Fox screencap

Dr. Oz said there are serious public-health risks associated with processed chicken from China and said we should take action now to stop these products from coming to the United States.

“This has me outraged,” Dr. Oz said on the Dec. 10 episode of his show. “I’m calling on the USDA to shut down this proposal. You have America’s health in your hands.”

As early as next summer, chicken nuggets and other chicken products (such as canned soup, frozen chicken wings and breaded chicken patties) made from chicken processed in China could be sold in grocery stores around the country.

Under the proposal, chickens that are raised and slaughtered in the U.S. and Canada will be sent to China for processing and then returned to the U.S. for mass consumption.

This was a recent decision made by President Barack Obama to address a decade-long trade dispute. Since 2003, China has refused to import U.S. beef, citing concerns over mad-cow disease, so we’re effectively trading chickens for beef in this quid-pro-quo political scenario. Obama has been widely criticized over this move.

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Vet Brutally Murdered Trying to Buy a Christmas Present on Craigslist

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Photo Credit: YouCaring

Photo Credit: YouCaring

I must admit that this story hit me pretty hard this morning. It’s not often that I get upset – I mean it seems like every day we’re bombarded with stories of violence, crime and debauchery, so it takes a lot these days to upset me.

I’m not really sure why this story affected me so much when I read it, but something about it hit me deep down inside. Maybe it’s because this man was a father, maybe it’s because he was just trying to do something nice for his parents, or maybe it’s because I’m so sick of seeing good people hurt by a culture that’s out of control.

Last week, National Guard Sergeant First Class Jim Vester was killed while trying to buy his parents an iPad that he found listed on Craigslist.

Read more from this story HERE.

Obama Plans to Bypass Congress Even More? Adds ‘Executive Power’ Czar To Staff

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Photo Credit: WND

Photo Credit: WND

A senior progressive strategist and former chief of staff for President Bill Clinton who specializes in the use of executive authority to bypass Congress is reportedly joining the White House.

The New York Times is reporting John Podesta, founder of the Center for American Progress, has agreed to serve as counselor to President Obama for a year.

Podesta last month announced the establishment of a new group, the Washington Center for Equitable Growth, that will work within his Center for American Progress. The new center bills itself as a research and grant-making organization founded to accelerate the closing of what it calls the income gap in the U.S. by fighting so-called income inequality.

The Times reported Podesta will help the White House on “matters related to the health care law, administration organization and executive actions,” with particular focus on so-called climate change issues, according to a person familiar with the plans.

Podesta is a long-time champion of the use of executive powers, including bypassing the legislative branch to enact progressive change.

Read more from this story HERE.

The Solution to This Present Crisis

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Dear Friend of Liberty,479px-Official_Portrait_of_President_Reagan_1981

With the latest round of budget talks in Washington, it appears some Republicans on the Hill are in the spirit of giving once again. This time it’s the sequester cuts, more taxes, and some are even suggesting we adjust to the “new normal” of ObamaCare. 

And what will ordinary Americans get in return? An uptick in the federal deficit, more debt on their children’s backs, fewer jobs, healthcare with higher costs and less access, and perhaps another downgrade to America’s credit rating. When will the madness end?

Ronald Reagan hit the nail on the head over 30 years ago, when he announced in his first inaugural address, “In this present crisis, government is not the solution to our problem, government is the problem.”

He then led the charge to get the federal government off the backs of the American people, and the people responded to the renewal of freedom and opportunity by making the United States once again the envy of the world. 

The answer in our present crisis will only come when ordinary citizens like you and me stand up and be counted. 

The goal and the object of this great fight is nothing less than a renewal of the American Dream and the restoration of our constitutional principles. That’s why I’ve filed to run for US Senate in 2014. Will you join with me in the fight?

Conventional politicians – Republicans and Democrats alike – have shown time and time again that they won’t join this fight. That’s why I need your help, so I can stand alongside other patriots in the fight like Senators Cruz and Lee!

Every day we see the crisis of leadership in our country deepening. Whether it’s the rampant corruption in our nation’s capital, the cultural decay resulting from incessant attacks upon religion and morality, or the erosion of our individual liberties –  the time for action is now.

I cannot stand idly by and watch while “the last best hope of man on earth” is dismantled by Barack Obama’s “fundamental transformation” of America. And neither can I allow the “me too” Republicans to go unchallenged while they aid and abet him through passive resistance, or even cooperation.

This is the time to face our challenges squarely and soberly. We must get our spending problem under control. We must repeal or defund ObamaCare. And we must confront this lawless administration. 

Mark Begich isn’t going to do it. The “me too” Republicans aren’t going to do it. But I will work tirelessly to do exactly that.

If we fail to take action now, we are responsible for depriving our children and grandchildren of hope. They will be paying for our mistakes for generations to come.

It’s time to rebuild the foundations, return to Constitutional government, and restore freedom and economic prosperity. And if we all do our part, the future will be ours again.

Together, we can make the fundamental restoration of the America we love a reality. Can I count on your support to offer Alaska an alternative to politics as usual?

Thank you for standing with me!

In Liberty,

Joe

Barack Obama Takes Selfie at Nelson Mandela Memorial, Cruz Walks Out on Castro

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Photo Credit: smh.com

Photo Credit: smh.com

By smh.com.au with AFP.

US President Barack Obama may have moved the masses attending Nelson Mandela’s memorial service with his stirring eulogy, but it was his grinning “selfie” with the Danish and British premiers that set social networks abuzz.

In a candid moment captured by a photographer, Denmark’s Prime Minister Helle Thorning-Schmidt can be seen holding up her smartphone, with Obama lending a helping hand, as they pose for a picture with David Cameron, all three of them smiling broadly in their seats at Soweto’s World Cup stadium.

First Lady Michelle Obama, sitting to the left of her husband, does not join in with the lighthearted moment, keeping her eyes firmly trained on the podium where world leaders were paying tribute to South Africa’s anti-apartheid hero.

The event was a memorial service and not a funeral for Mandela, who died last week aged 95, and the mood was one of joy and hope as mourners sang, danced and chanted their way into the stadium.

Read more from this story HERE.

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Cruz Walks Out on Castro Speech at Memorial Service for Mandela

By Jim Geraghty.

Senator Ted Cruz (R., Texas) walked out of the memorial service for Nelson Mandela when Cuban “president” Raúl Castro began speaking.

Read more from this story HERE.

Lawmakers Unveil Tentative Budget Deal, Call for Rolling Back Sequester

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Photo Credit: Fox News

Photo Credit: Fox News

By Fox News.

Congressional negotiators on Tuesday announced a tentative budget deal that would avoid a partial government shutdown, but also begin to unravel hard-fought spending cuts.

The lead negotiators — Senate Budget Committee Chairwoman Patty Murray, D-Wash., and House Budget Committee chairman Paul Ryan, R-Wis. — detailed the specifics of the proposal at an evening press conference.

“I’m proud of this agreement,” Ryan said. “It reduces the deficit—without raising taxes. And it cuts spending in a smarter way. It’s a firm step in the right direction, and I ask all my colleagues in the House to support it.”

But the measure could face a tough climb, particularly in the House which is expected to take up the bill first. Ahead of Tuesday’s announcement, fiscal conservatives raised alarm that lawmakers were proposing to roll back sequester cuts.

The proposal would restore about $63 billion in funding that had been cut by the so-called sequester. Officials said the increases would be offset by a variety of spending reductions and increased fees elsewhere in the budget totaling about $85 billion over a decade, leaving enough for a largely symbolic deficit cut of $23 billion over the next decade.

Read more from this story HERE.

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capital-buildingdome-insideBudget Deal A “Significant Step Backwards” In Efforts To Rein In Overspending

By Steve Foley.

Today, Rep. Paul Ryan (R-Wisc.) and Sen. Patty Murray (D-Wash.) announced a budget deal that would abandon the bipartisan spending limits agreed to in the 2011 Budget Control Act for two years, while seeking to offset that new spending with tens of billions in additional revenue.

Gretchen Hamel, executive director of Public Notice, issued the following statement:

“This deal amounts to a significant step backwards in the effort to rein in overspending and a complete abdication of responsibility in Washington to set priorities and make responsible decisions with our tax dollars. Given the opportunity to make the smart cuts and reforms we need, Washington instead focused on a short-term political fix that opens the door to more spending increases down the road. Members of Congress should listen to their constituents, live up to their promises and do better than this deal. The last thing Americans wanted to see from Washington was more money for more spending.”

Key Findings From Public Notice’s Latest Poll On Government Spending:

As Washington nears its Dec. 13 deadline for a budget deal, Public Notice recently released the results of a national survey of registered voters focusing on the key fiscal issues currently being debated. The survey was conducted by the Tarrance Group via landline and cell phone from Dec. 1-5, 2013, among 803 voters with a margin of error of +/- 3.5 percent.

Read more from this story HERE.

As Obama Turns: How the President’s Political Fortunes Predict his Economic Message

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Photo Credit: Aude Guerrucci/Getty Images

Photo Credit: Aude Guerrucci/Getty Images

When President Obama said this week that ending income inequality was “this generation’s task,” his aides noted he was consciously echoing themes he’d raised in a speech two years earlier in Osawatomie, Kan. The trail actually goes back even farther than that. The president has given several significant economic speeches since becoming a national politician. The first was a commencement address at Knox College in 2005, five months after he joined the Senate. Two others include a September 2007 speech he gave at Nasdaq and one he gave three years ago Friday at Forsyth Technical Community College.

All five of these speeches have been big, strained for historical sweep, and touched on a central theme: the need for government intervention at a time when the economy has gotten out of whack. But they are not all the same in emphasis. In those eight years, Obama has oscillated between two kinds of economic messages based on his most pressing political needs. When appealing to business interests and independent voters, he has addressed the need for collective action to compete in the global marketplace. When appealing to his party’s base, he has addressed the need for collective action to right the inequities of income inequality.

In 2005 at Knox College, Obama called on the students to do more than strive to make a buck when they graduated. Instead, he called on them to contribute to a national cause: upgrading the economy for the modern age. He told the story of the previous times America had decided to repair the inequities in the market. After the Civil War and during the New Deal, lawmakers set the rules for commerce and the nation thrived.

Obama said that this was a moral good, but he had a larger point: It was a competitive necessity. His speech was about global competition, not inequality. America had to improve the mix of winners and losers in the economy so it wouldn’t fall behind. He quoted Thomas Friedman and spoke of the quiet revolution in technology and global trade. “Countries like India and China realized this,” he said of the changes. “They understand that they no longer need to be just a source of cheap labor or cheap exports. They can compete with us on a global scale.” He cited statistics showing how China was graduating more engineers than the United States. America needed to upgrade its talent pool in order to compete in the new century.

Read more from this story HERE.

We Are Drilling, Baby! U.S. Passing Saudi Arabia in Oil Production

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Photo Credit: Glen Stubbe/Minneapolis Star Tribune/MCT

Photo Credit: Glen Stubbe/Minneapolis Star Tribune/MCT

What do you know—“Drill, baby, drill” is working.

Thanks to new smart-drilling and production technologies (including hydraulic fracturing), the U.S. is the leading liquid fuels producer in the world and will soon be the world’s largest producer of petroleum. And we would be even further in the lead if we had pro-growth federal energy policies.

The latest news shows that Texas oil production doubled in just the last three years and is the highest it’s been since at least 1981. North Dakota is now the second-largest oil-producing state and sets a new production record virtually every day, and the U.S. is set to surpass Saudi Arabia as the world’s largest petroleum producer. This new production provides a cushion that helps insulate oil markets from the price spikes we might have seen with the continuing turmoil in the Middle East—from the Arab Spring to the nonstop threats from Iran.

According to President Obama, our newfound oil leadership must be a mirage, since he has consistently downplayed the benefit of increased domestic oil production.

Read more from this story HERE.