Mood:  silly

Jay Rockefeller (D) reportedly plans to introduce a bill that would give FCC the power to regulate TV violence

Kill Bill?

Over in the Senate, West Virginia Democrat Jay Rockefeller reportedly plans to introduce a bill that would give the Federal Communications Commission the power to regulate violent content on television. The FCC already has authority over sexual and language content, but not violence.

Cybercast News reports the Rockefeller bill would require either the FCC or Congress to work up a "definition" of television violence. It would also attempt to increase family-friendly programming —- particularly in the first hour of prime time, known as the family hour.

Critics say all of this amounts to an effort to limit free speech and they are concerned with the fact that the bill would apply not only to broadcast TV, but to cable and satellite stations as well.

Fox News Channel's Martin Hill contributed to this report.
Fox News.com ~ Political Grapevine - Bret Baier ** Kill Bill?

Posted by yaahoo_ at 8:20 AM EDT

Updated: Saturday, 21 July 2007 12:15 PM EDT

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Mood:  special

Kick Ass Fred Thompson Bumper Stickers, Website

 See 'em all...

Fred Thompson t-shirts, golf-shirts, bumper-stickers, magnets, mugs and more!

http://www.fredstates.com/

Posted by yaahoo_ at 6:48 AM EDT

Updated: Saturday, 21 July 2007 7:00 AM EDT

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Mood:  chatty

Two Stories In One: Demented-crats Protect Union Impropriaties /
John Murtha's $1 Million Earmark to His Campaign Contributor

Union Oversight

While every enforcement agency in the Labor Department is due for a large budget increase -- House Democrats have cut $2 million from the small office of Labor-Management Standards -- which tries to ensure union dues are properly spent.

The Wall Street Journal Online reports the agency has helped secure 775 convictions of corrupt union officials since 2001 -- and the restitution of $70 million.

But Labor convinced Democrats to reject the president's request for a budget increase for the agency -- and instituted the cut instead. And despite a Republican effort to stop the cuts -- they were retained -- with the help of 16 GOP defectors.

Whose Money?

Battles over congressional earmarks are heating up. Alaska Republican Don Young -- known as a prolific earmarker -- came a little unglued recently when his request for education funds was questioned. He referred to the funds as "my money" and warned Republicans who were challenging him -- "those who bit me will be bitten back."

One of the people going against Young was North Carolina’s Virginia Foxx -- who said members are -- "stewards of the money that we legally steal from the people of this country."

Meanwhile Indiana Democrat Peter Visclosky allowed colleague John Murtha to slip a $1 million request into one of his bills -- for something called the Center for Instrumented Critical Infrastructure. When asked if this organization really exists -- visclosky said -- "at this time I do not know."

Despite that -- the House rejected a move to cut the money. The Politico reports a certificate filed with the funds says they are actually destined for a consulting firm called Concurrent Technologies Corporation -- run by a Murtha campaign contributor.

UPDATE: Mystery Earmark

A follow-up on Thursday's item about that so-called "mystery" earmark request from John Murtha: the Pennsylvania Democrat was awarded $1 million for the Center for Instrumented Critical Infrastructure -- which it turns out does not exist -- but is a planned part of a non-profit technology center that has received millions in Murtha earmarks over the years.

Now The Hill reports the Energy Department is denying Murtha's claim that it supports the request. A DOE spokeswoman says the earmark is not a program that meets its "mission critical" threshold and that it is "inconsistent" with its 2008 budget.

Nevertheless, the House overwhelmingly defeated a move to deny the earmark.

Fox News Channel's Martin Hill contributed to this report.
Fox News.com ~ Political Grapevine - Brit Hume ** Union Oversight / Whose Money?
Update:
Fox News.com ~ Political Grapevine - Bret Baier ** John Murtha's 'Mystery' Earmark Request
Related: The Politico ~ Patrick O'Connor ** Earmarks Gone Wild: $1 Mil for Mystery Project
Charlie Rangel wants a $2 million earmark for the "Charles B. Rangel Center for Public Service"... Earmark Overload: The Earmark Congressman Rangel Wants to Include in Next Year’s Federal Spending
Not to mention, Hillary Clintax wants a $1 million earmark for a '69 Woodstock Music Festival Museum.

Posted by yaahoo_ at 3:48 AM EDT

Updated: Saturday, 21 July 2007 8:09 AM EDT

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Mood:  chatty

Two Stories In One: NY Times Reporter, We Leave Iraq, "Cataclysmic Violence" / Libtard Animal-Rights and Enviro-mental Group Terror

What One Reporter Thinks Would Happen if U.S. troops Left Iraq

Withdrawal Consequences

John Burns of The New York Times -- who is considered the best print reporter on the beat in Iraq -- disagrees with Democrats and other administration critics who think a U.S. troop withdrawal would make things better in Iraq.

Burns told Charlie Rose -- "It seems to me incontrovertible that the most likely outcome of an American withdrawal any time soon would be cataclysmic violence."

Burns says the Sunni minority has the most to lose. He said one senior American official told him that Sunni Vice President Tariq al-Hasimi -- when told of the serious possibility of a withdrawal -- said -- "then we will all be slaughtered."

Homegrown Terror

FBI officials say the most dangerous domestic terror groups in the U.S. might not be Islamic extremists -- but radical environmental and animal rights groups.

Recently-released excerpts of the National Intelligence Estimate say Americans can expect attacks from "single issue" groups within the next three years. In the past the FBI has said these include animal-rights and environmental groups.

Cybercast News reports a FBI counterterrorism official says actions such as the bombing of two California companies with ties to animal research in 2003 are part of "a relentless campaign of terror and intimidation." And a spokesman with the North American Animal Liberation group says the movement will use -- "any means necessary" to stop animal torture -- including violence.

Fox News Channel's Martin Hill contributed to this report. Fox News.com ~ Political Grapevine -
Brit Hume ** What One Reporter Thinks Would Happen if U.S. troops Left Iraq
Related: Environmentalist Wackos Vandalize Hummer...
Washington Post ~ Video ** Eco-vandals Attack Hummer

Posted by yaahoo_ at 3:27 AM EDT

Updated: Friday, 20 July 2007 3:57 AM EDT

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Mood:  loud

Libtards Want 'John Doe' Provision Cut, Report Terrorist Act & Dems Will Allow You To Be Sued...

Demented-crats Aid Radical Islamists, Trial Lawyers

RUSH: News item: "Democrats are trying to pull a provision from a homeland security bill that will protect the public from being sued for reporting suspicious behavior that may lead to a terrorist attack..." This bill was proposed by Peter King, and it was in the aftermath of the flying imams, those six of them that got on an airplane in Minneapolis and started behaving in a manner similar to what was reported on the flights on 9/11. So some passengers and flight crew reported 'em, and the imams threatened to sue the airline and the passengers and all that. So they introduced this legislation that would protect the public from being sued for reporting suspicious behavior.

But the government itself is telling us to do this. "Be vigilant out there! Keep an eye out! Keep a sharp eye out for suspicious behavior!" Now, the Democrats are trying to take this out. "This legislation moves to a House and Senate conference committee this afternoon and will implement final recommendations from the 9/11 Commission, and Peter King said, 'Democrats are trying to find any technical excuse to keep immunity out of the language of the bill to protect citizens who, in good faith, report suspicious activity to the cops or law enforcement. It's a slap in the face of good citizens who do their patriotic duty and come forward and it caves in to radical Islamists.'" It does! What in the world is the benefit to the Democrats of this? The trial lawyers! All right. "How dare you try to limit lawsuits?" is the answer to the question, ladies and gentlemen. The trial lawyers. This is a potential goldmine out there waiting to be raked in. I'm glad you asked.

Washington Times ~ Audrey Hudson ** Tipster shields lifted by Democrats

Posted by yaahoo_ at 2:27 AM EDT

Updated: Friday, 20 July 2007 2:35 AM EDT

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Mood:  loud

There Is No Civil War in Iraq

Al-Qaeda created a fictional leader of a phony civil war

BEGIN TRANSCRIPT
RUSH: A senior operative for Al-Qaeda in Iraq, who was caught this month -- now, this is not, by the way, Khaled Abdul-Fattah Dawoud Mahmoud al-Mashhadani, who was captured yesterday. This is a different guy. He was caught this month and he has told his US military interrogators that a prominent Al-Qaeda-led group in Iraq is just a front and that it's leader is fictitious and they hired an actor to be this guy on the Internet and so forth, and make videos and streaming, and so forth. Brigadier General Kevin Bergner told a news conference that Abu Omar al-Baghdadi -- and that means "of Baghdad," like Saddam Hussein's full name was Saddam something or other, you know, Abdul al-Tikriti, because he was born in Tikrit. Anyway, "Abu Omar al-Baghdadi, leader of the self-styled Islamic State of Iraq, which was purportedly set up last year, did not exist. The Islamic State of Iraq was established to try to put an Iraqi face on what is a foreign-driven network, Bergner said. The name Baghdadi means the person hails from the Iraqi capital. Bergner said the information came from an operative called Khalid al-Mashadani who was caught on July 4 and who he said was an intermediary to Osama bin Laden. He said Mashadani was believed to be the most senior Iraqi in the Sunni Islamist al Qaeda in Iraq network. 'In his words, the Islamic State of Iraq is a front organization that masks the foreign influence and leadership within al Qaeda in Iraq in an attempt to put an Iraqi face on the leadership of al Qaeda in Iraq,' Bergner said."

What this means is that this is not a sectarian war. What it means is that this is not a civil war. What it means is that the Al-Qaeda in Iraq group is a phony group, its leader fictitious, designed to make it look like there is a civil war in Iraq but actually this is Al-Qaeda, Al-Qaeda in Pakistan and Afghanistan, or wherever they are. By the way, this Mashhadani is talking, and he's saying a lot. His cooperation, according to US officials, stems from his "strong sense of nationalism" and "anger" that foreign Al-Qaeda operatives were creating the false front and using Iraq as a staging ground for their own gain. This quote comes from Rear Adm. Gregory Smith in a telephone call from Iraq yesterday with the Washington Times. So the guy is out there blabbing his head off, folks, and he's apparently an Iraqi. He's very much upset that this outside group's coming in, trying to make it look like there's a group inside Iraq doing things, when it's not. His anger is that foreign Al-Qaeda operatives created this false front using Iraq as a staging ground for their own gain.

Here's something else. "Over the past two months, U.S. forces have killed or captured 26 al Qaeda senior operatives, but every month, nearly 60 to 80 foreign insurgents enter the country, he added. Most foreign operatives in Iraq came from Saudi Arabia, with jihadists from Syria, Egypt and Pakistan also common. The move by coalition forces to continue to put pressure on the al Qaeda network in Iraq is inhibiting the Islamist terrorist organization from developing a national movement from within the country, Adm. Smith said." So this is more evidence that the surge is working. And, you know, people are talking about this whole situation over there being a killing ground. It sounds like it's a burying ground for Al-Qaeda. It sounds like Petraeus, you know, we don't talk in body counts anymore, he told Hugh Hewitt this the other day on the radio, we don't talk about body counts anymore, but they're pretty significant here. He really praised his Special Ops. We had the call from the wife yesterday of the naval Special Ops unit, and apparently Petraeus is just singing the praises of these guys. They're out every night. They're doing some great stuff.

So Mashhadani, al-Mashhadani, Mahmoud al- whatever, is speaking, and this is a pretty big admission here that the whole Al-Qaeda in Iraq is a front. Well, I hope we did obtain it through forceful means. The point that the general is making, we didn't have to do anything. This guy is mad, and he's speaking on his own. I know that there will be some who will question the veracity. Well, this could be a giant lie. This guy could be setting us all up, or Bush and Cheney decided to do it.

END TRANSCRIPT
Read the Background Material...
Sydney Morning Herald: US says Iraqi rebel head is an invention
HH: General David Petraeus on the conditions on the ground in Iraq
WPH: Iraq terror leader exposes al Qaeda network
*Note: Links to content outside RushLimbaugh.com usually become inactive over time.
Rush Limbaugh.com ** There Is No Civil War in Iraq

Posted by yaahoo_ at 1:50 AM EDT

Updated: Friday, 20 July 2007 2:08 AM EDT

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Mood:  chatty

'RUDE' REID; SENATE RELATIONS REACH NEW LOW

Sen. Arlen Specter didn't just complain that he was interrupted Wednesday, he made a point that he was rudely interrupted by the Senate majority leader, Harry Reid.

Other Republican senators complained that relations in the Senate had reached a new low, the New York Times plans to front on Friday, newsroom sources tell the Drudge Report.

Democrats were not quite so severe but the state of partisan accommodation is definitely shaky and does not bode well for what promises to be even more trying months ahead, notes the paper's Carl Hulse.

Drudge Report Exclusive ** 'Rude' Reid; Senate Relations Reach New Low

Posted by yaahoo_ at 1:19 AM EDT

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Mood:  d'oh

Judge dismisses Valerie Plame's lawsuit accusing members of the Bush administration of leaking her identity...

Valerie Plame Lawsuit Against Bush Administration Thrown Out

WASHINGTON — A federal judge on Thursday dismissed former CIA operative Valerie Plame's lawsuit against members of the Bush administration in the CIA leak scandal.

Plame, the wife of former Ambassador Joseph Wilson, had accused Vice President Dick Cheney and others of conspiring to leak her identity in 2003. Plame said that violated her privacy rights and was illegal retribution for her husband's criticism of the administration.

U.S. District Judge John D. Bates dismissed the case on jurisdictional grounds and said he would not express an opinion on the constitutional arguments. Bates dismissed the case against all defendants: Cheney, White House political adviser Karl Rove and former White House aide I. Lewis "Scooter" Libby.

Plame's attorneys had said the lawsuit would be an uphill battle. Public officials are normally immune from such lawsuits filed in connection with their jobs.

AP's earlier story is below.

WASHINGTON (AP) - A federal judge on Thursday dismissed former CIA operative Valerie Plame's lawsuit against members of the Bush administration in the CIA leak scandal.

Plame, the wife of former Ambassador Joseph Wilson, had accused Vice President Dick Cheney and others of conspiring to leak her identity in 2003. Plame said that violated her privacy rights and was illegal retribution for her husband's criticism of the administration.

The Seattle Times ~ Associated Press - Matt Apuzzo ** Valerie Plame's lawsuit dismissed
Original story: Breitbart.com ~ Associated Press ** Valerie Plame's Lawsuit Dismissed
Also at: My Way News ~ Associated Press ** Plame Lawsuit Dismissed in CIA Leak Case
Latest: My Way News ~ Associated Press ** Plame Lawsuit Dismissed in CIA Leak Case

I'm sure the attention whore and her supporters are blowing their stack like that steam pipe that blew on 41st street!

I hope they are taking up all the sharp objects over at the Demented-cratic Underground, because the libtard meltdown has started...
Democratic Underground.com ** Valerie Plame's lawsuit dismissed

Posted by yaahoo_ at 1:13 AM EDT

Updated: Friday, 20 July 2007 1:53 AM EDT

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Mood:  spacey

Evidence of Aliens Breeding in 1948!

Roswell, New Mexico -- Land of the Alien Crash...

I thought you would enjoy this little blurb of nonfiction: Many will recall that on July 8, 1947, witnesses claimed that an unidentified object with five aliens aboard crashed onto a sheep and cattle ranch outside Roswell, New Mexico.

This is a well-known incident. Many say the total truth of it was, and has long been, covered up by the U.S. Air Force and the Federal Government.

However, you may NOT know that in the month of March 1948 -- exactly nine months later:

Albert Arnold Gore, Jr.;

Hillary Rodham Clinton;

John F. Kerry;

William Jefferson Clinton;

Howard Dean;

Nancy Pelosi;

Dianne Feinstein;

Charles E. Schumer; and

Barbara Boxer

...were born.

See what happens when aliens breed with sheep?! This piece of information may clear up a lot of things.

Posted by yaahoo_ at 6:00 PM EDT

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Mood:  surprised

Norwegians express 'outright hatred' for high taxes...

Irritation grows over taxes

Norwegians have long accepted high taxes to finance their social welfare state, but a new survey indicates rising dissatisfaction and, in some cases, outright hatred of some taxes that are viewed as way too high and unfair.

Norwegians are among the most heavily taxed people in the world, and that in turn has made Norway one of the most expensive countries in which to live. Most accept the taxes they're ordered to pay on income and even net worth and property, but growing numbers are publicly complaining about sky-high taxes on everything from cars to fuel to consumer goods.

Norwegians differentiate between skatter (taxes) and avgifter (duties, fees or user taxes) and the latter is the most hated. They're what causes a glass of house wine at an Oslo restaurant to cost the equivalent of nearly USD 16, or a gallon of gas to cost nearly USD 9 at current exchange rates.

"It's clear that taxes are much too high in oil-rich Norway," Oslo resident Gro Pettersen told newspaper Aftenposten. "It's sick!"

The taxes placed on new cars, which can more than double the price of the car itself, are another bone of contention, even though most Norwegians support measures to protect the environment. "The car tax is much too high, but so are most all the other avgifter also," said Ernst Bendiksen of the northern city of Vadsø, where Norwegians are far more dependent on their cars than those living in cities with good public transit systems. "We certainly don't get anything in return for them."

A study conducted by research firm MMI for the Norwegian Tax Payers Association (Skattebetalerforeningen) showed that the most hated taxes are those on new cars and a transfer tax levied when real estate changes hands. The so-called dokumentavgift on real estate transactions, which implies that it's meant to cover the costs of property registration, costs homebuyers around 2.5 percent of the purchase price.

Three of four Norwegians believe that's too high, according to the MMI study, and absolutely no one believed it was too low. With even a modest flat in Oslo costing a few million kroner these days, the tax amounts to a fair bit of change.

Regressive inequality
The study also showed that 67 percent of the population think Norway's inheritance taxes are too high, while 63 percent think fuel taxes are too high. Norway's hefty 25 percent VAT (like a sales tax) on nearly all consumer items is considered too high by 53 percent of the population.

Only 32 percent, meanwhile, believed tobacco taxes are too high, while 44 percent believed liquor taxes are too high.

The user taxes, or avgifter, are also unpopular because they're largely regressive taxes that hit people with low incomes much harder than those with high incomes. Filling the car's gas tank, and paying the taxes that requires, is much more expensive for someone earning NOK 300,000 than it is for a car owner earning NOK 900,000.

The head of the tax payers' association, Jon Stordrange, said he thinks user taxes should be adjusted to reflect actual costs inflicted on society. "Then I think people would have more respect for the system," he said.

Aftenposten English Web Desk -- Nina Berglund
Aftenposten Multimedia, Norway ~ Nina Berglund ** Irritation grows over taxes

Posted by yaahoo_ at 4:28 AM EDT

Updated: Thursday, 19 July 2007 4:32 AM EDT

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