Summers Withdraws Name from Fed Consideration

Lawrence Summers, seen as President Barack Obama's first choice to replace Ben Bernake as chairman of the Federal Reserve, has taken his name out of the running, according to The Wall Street Journal. 

Summers, who served as treasury secretary under President Bill Clinton and as chairman of Obama's National Economic Council, called Obama Sunday to inform him of his decision. 

"I have reluctantly concluded that any possible confirmation process for me would be acrimonious and would not serve the interest of the Federal Reserve, the Administration or, ultimately, the interests of the nation's ongoing economic recovery," Summers wrote in a letter that followed Sunday's phone call, the Journal reported.

Summers' nomination has been opposed by liberals and women's groups over statements he has made while serving as president of Harvard University. He also has been opposed by Democratic members of the Senate Banking Committee who see him as a symbol of the failures of financial regulation.

On accepting Summers' withdrawal, Obama described him as "a critical member of my team as we faced down the worst economic crisis since the Great Depression, and it was in no small part because of his expertise, wisdom, and leadership that we wrestled the economy back to growth and made the kind of progress we are seeing today," the Journal reported.
Via: Newsmax

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$2,472,542,000,000: Record Taxation Through August; Deficit Still $755B

(CNSNews.com) - The federal government raked in a record of approximately $2,472,542,000,000 in tax revenues through the first eleven months of fiscal 2013, which ran from Oct. 1, 2012 through the end of August, according to the Monthly Treasury Statement for August.

That is up about $285 billion from the approximately $2,187,527,000,000 in taxes the government took in through August of fiscal 2012.

Despite these record tax revenues, the federal government still accumulated a $755 billion deficit in the first eleven months of fiscal 2013. Totally federal spending through the first eleven months of the fiscal year was $3.228 trillion.

At the end of last year, the president struck a deal with Republicans in Congress at the to enact legislation that increased taxes. This included pushing the top income tax rate from 35 percent to 39.6 percent, increasing the top tax rate on dividends and capital gains from 15 percent to 20 percent, and phasing out personal exemptions and deductions starting at an annual income level of $250,000.

Via: CNS News

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Barney Frank: We Lost Money on Obama's Auto Bailout But Made Money on Bush's Bank Bailout

Most of America’s media think President Obama's 2009 bailout of General Motors and Chrysler was a huge success.

Former Massachusetts Democratic Congressman Barney Frank threw cold water on this meme on NBC’s Meet the Press Sunday correctly informing viewers that the auto bailout lost money for the federal government. By contrast, we made money from George W. Bush's 2008 bank bailout (video follows with transcript and commentary):

BARNEY FRANK, FORMER CONGRESSMAN (D-MASSACHUSETTS): First of all, many of the banks didn't want this money. It’s not that we did it for them. But secondly, the federal government made money on the advances to the banks. What cost us money was the automobile industry bailout. But we made money on the banks.

HENRY PAULSON, FORMER BUSH TREASURY SECRETARY: We got all the money back plus $32 billion.

Indeed. Meanwhile, the government’s investment in General Motors stock is still underwater.

Via: Newsbusters

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Obama: GOP Blocking My Efforts To Redistribute Wealth

The president has powers to fight income inequality, President Obama argued in an interview broadcast Sunday, adding that Republicans in Congress have hobbled his efforts to do it.

Appearing on ABC's "This Week" program, Obama acknowledged that the wealthiest Americans have benefited disproportionately from the economic recovery of recent years. But he was quick to add that much of that trend is due to globalization, technology and, not least, the GOP's opposition to his economic agenda – all factors he suggested are beyond his control.

"I think the president can stop it," Obama said, when asked about the growing income gap. "The problem is that there continues to be a major debate here in Washington, and that is, how do we respond to these underlying trends?"

Via: The Hill

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Australian election won’t deter U.S. carbon tax supporters

American carbon tax supporters are undeterred by Australian election results that were widely interpreted as a repudiation of the tax.

“We would say the Australian experiment shows precisely the wrong way to implement a carbon tax,” Ray Lehmann, spokesman for the R Street Institute, told The Daily Caller News Foundation. “Simply laying a new tax on top of citizens’ existing burdens is never going to be either popular or economically productive.”

Conservatives contend that the Australian election should serve as a warning to U.S. policymakers who seek to impose such a tax on the carbon dioxide emissions at home.

“Australia is a great example of how not to do [a carbon tax]: not revenue-neutral, not coupled with regulatory and tax reform, and using a bad structure in cap-and-trade,” R Street’s Andrew Moylan said.

R Street bills itself as a group which supports “free markets; limited, effective government; and responsible environmental stewardship.” The group has been trying to muster up support for a $20 per ton carbon tax among conservatives, and contends that a carbon tax could be beneficial if coupled with regulatory and tax reform.

“I myself would certainly vote to repeal it were I an Australian MP or senator and would have voted Liberal0National were I a voter,” R Street’s president Eli Lehrer told TheDCNF.

Even liberal Vermont independent Sen. Bernie Sanders is not backing down from his support of a carbon tax in the aftermath of the Australian election.

The Daily Caller

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Backing Down On Syria Doesn’t Mean U.S. Won’t Strike Iran

President Obama declared that the United States is still prepared to act militarily to stop Iran from developing nuclear weapons despite the decision to pursue a diplomatic deal and not strike Syria over its alleged use of chemical weapons.

He also acknowledged that his approach to the Syria crisis has been uneven, but defended it as producing the right results.

Obama spoke in an interview broadcast Sunday on ABC’s “This Week With George Stephanopoulos,” taped Friday before the United States and Russia agreed on a plan to bring Syrian chemical weapons under international control in order to avoid military strikes.

But Obama said Iran should not interpret the diplomatic response — coming after he threatened to use strikes — as suggesting that the United States wouldn’t attack Iran to stop the development of nuclear weapons.

“I think what the Iranians understand is that the nuclear issue is a far larger issue for us than the chemical weapons issue, that the threat . . . against Israel that a nuclear Iran poses is much closer to our core interests,” Obama said. “My suspicion is that the Iranians recognize they shouldn’t draw a lesson that we haven’t struck [Syria] to think we won’t strike Iran.”

Via: Washington Post

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Congress: Hillary’s Benghazi Investigation Let Top Officials Escape Blame

The State Department’s investigation into the Sept. 12, 2012 attack on the U.S. mission in Benghazi was not independent and failed to hold senior State Department officials accountable for the failures that led to the death of four Americans, according to a new investigative report compiled by the House Oversight Committee.

The Administrative Review Board, chosen by then Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, unfairly placed the blame for the terrorist attack on four mid-level officials while ignoring the role of very senior officials in Clinton’s State Department for decisions about security in Benghazi, according to the new report led by Chairman Darrell Issa (R-CA). Also, the structure of the ARB and the culture in Clinton’s State Department raised questions about the independence and integrity of the review, according to Issa’s committee.

“The ARB blamed systemic failures and leadership and management deficiencies within two bureaus, but downplayed the importance of decisions made at senior levels of the Department. Witnesses questioned how much these decisions influenced the weaknesses that led to the inadequate security posture in Benghazi,” the report stated. “The ARB’s decision to cite certain officials as accountable for what happened in Benghazi appears to have been based on factors that had little or no connection to the security posture at U.S. diplomatic facilities in Libya.”

Via: Daily Beast

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Rep. Diane Black: Weekly Republican Address Sunday, September 15, 2013

Obama Weekly Address September 14, 2013

President Barack Obama intends to publish a weekly video address every Saturday morning of his presidency.

• Weekly Address: Pursuing a Diplomatic Solution in Syria

  President Obama follows up on his speech to the nation on Tuesday and describes the possibility for a diplomatic solution in Syria, partially because of the credible threat of U.S. military force.
  Via: WhiteHouse.gov

Poll: 92% Of Unionized Federal Workers Don’t Want Obamacare…

Forbes cites a new survey of federal workers that reveals over 92% of them think they should be allowed to keep their current health care plans, instead of being forced into ObamaCare.  Less than 3% of them are eager to jump aboard the train-wreck ObamaCare exchanges that so many private workers are being forced into.  Also, 96% of them want federal retirees to keep their current insurance programs, instead of Medicare.

Of course, as the Forbes piece notes, these people belong to unions that were instrumental in giving Barack Obama the political support he needed to force his lousy health-care scheme on the rest of us.  And Congress is getting that sweet, sweet taxpayer subsidy it technically doesn't qualify for, forcing the taxpayer to pick up costs for representatives and staffers that private-sector employees have to pay out of their own pockets.

Every story about ObamaCare features another mass of American workers flung screaming into the public exchanges, which unionized workers and federal employees clearly regard as one of the lower circles of the Inferno, no matter what Administration propagandists are burning your tax money on advertising to tell you.  

So why not put the pedal to the metal, congressional Republicans?  If the public exchanges are so great, let's put every single damned federal worker into them.  Introduce legislation to abolish all federal health care plans.  Dump 100% of the massive government workforce into ObamaCare.  Let's hear what your charming friends across the aisle have to say about that.  Let's hear them explain why the train wreck is good enough for the rest of us, but not for government employees.

Via: Breitbart

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David Brooks warns of ‘the rise of Ted Cruz-ism,’ takeover of Republican Party [VIDEO]

On PBS’s “NewsHour” on Friday night, New York Times columnist David Brooks warned that Texas Republican Sen. Ted Cruz and similar legislators’ rise to prominence threatens the traditional Republican Party.

Brooks insists the motives of Cruz are less about legislation and policy and more about the politics of undermining the Republican establishment.

“What’s going on in the House, and a bit in the Senate, too, is what you might call the rise of Ted Cruz-ism,” Brooks said. “And Ted Cruz, the senator from Canada through Texas, is basically not a legislator in the normal sense, doesn’t have an idea that he’s going to Congress to create coalitions, make alliances, and he is going to pass a lot of legislation. He’s going in more as a media-protest person. And a lot of the House Republicans are in the same mode. They’re not normal members of Congress. They’re not legislators. They want to stop things. And so they’re just being — they just want to obstruct.”

“And the second thing they’re doing, which is alarming a lot of Republicans, is they’re running against their own party,” he continued. “Ted Cruz is running against Republicans in the Senate. The House Republican Tea Party types are running against the Republican establishment. That’s how they’re raising money. That’s where they’re spending their money on ads. And so they’re having a very obstructive role which is going on this week, and I think it’s going to make John Boehner’s life even more difficult.”

Watch:

Brooks hypothesized the reason the leadership in the House and Senate is unable to control the so-called Ted Cruz-ism movement is that members of it have become uninterested in any of the perks that the leadership has to offer.

Via: Daily Caller

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STATE BATTLES OVER GUN CONTROL INTENSIFY

Battles for and against gun control continue to intensify in various states around the country. Although Colorado took center stage with the recall of state senator John Morse (D-Colorado Springs) and Angela Giron (D-Pueblo) days ago, gun control is or has been the recent focus in Mississippi, Texas, Missouri, New York, and Connecticut.

The good news for gun owners is that the clear majority of the battles are against gun control.

In Mississippi, House Bill 2 was passed in the last legislative session and signed into law by Governor Phil Bryant (R). This law allows Mississippians to carry a firearm in plain sight for self defense, without a permit. Supporters of this law say it "confirms...the right to keep and bear arms." This law will soon take effect.

Continuing the effort to protect the right to keep and bear arms, CNN reports that Texas refashioned their concealed permit renewal process to make licenses easier and cheaper to renew. Legislators also passed an added discount on concealed carry licenses for military veterans and peace officers. Governor Rick Perry (R) supported both measures. 

In Missouri, the GOP-controlled legislature says it will override Governor Jay Nixon's (D) veto of a law nullifying federal gun laws within Missouri's borders. House Majority Leader John Diehl (R-87th Dist.) says they will override the veto of that law and other pieces of legislation; what they fail to override they will counter with new legislation in the coming session(s).

Colorado went pro-gun control, and that did not work out so well for Morse and Giron. Additionally, 55 sheriffs in the state have filed suit to have the gun control laws overturned. 

New York and Connecticut have seen the passage of extreme gun control laws since the heinous crime at Sandy Hook Elementary. But in NY, as in Colorado, a growing number of sheriffs say they will not enforce Governor Andrew Cuomo's (D) gun control laws.

It is also worth noting that as the clear majority of these states have been working to loosen or repeal gun control, the City of Chicago has been forced to end its 45-year-old gun registry and to stop requiring citizens to get a city permit for gun ownership. 

Via: Breitbart

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TEXAS MAN’S PREGNANT WIFE NEVER WANTED TO HAVE A GUN IN THE HOUSE – BUT NOW SHE’S SURE GLAD HE INSISTED

A Texas man’s pregnant wife made it clear she was against having a firearm in their house. However, the husband insisted she learn how to use a gun to protect herself just in case. In fact, it was just a few months ago that he took her out to teach her the basics.

On Saturday, she was extremely thankful to have the protection of a gun on her side.

The pregnant woman, identified only as “Alex,” told KGBT-TV that she was startled by the sound of a man banging loudly on her front door while another man walked around to the back of her Palmview, Texas, home. Her husband had just left 20 minutes before.

(KGBT-TV)

“I’m a young woman, I’m pregnant, I’m home alone. I’m not going to answer the door – I mean, I know better,” she recalled.

Via: The Blaze

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Hashing Out a Sweetheart Obamacare Deal: Obama Meeting With AFL-CIO

Guess who's at the White House today? The AFL-CIO of course. And who are they meeting with? President Obama himself. Why? They're trying to secure a sweetheart Obamacare waiver and they want you to pay for it. 

President Barack Obama is meeting with union leaders at the White House to discuss labor's growing concerns about the new health care law.

Friday's meeting comes after the AFL-CIO approved a resolution this week saying the law could drive up the cost of union-sponsored health plans, encouraging some employers to drop coverage.

White House officials and labor leaders have been trying to work out a possible resolution. Unions want members to be eligible for the same federal subsidies available to low-income workers in the new health exchanges. The White House has resisted that fix, saying the law doesn't allow it.

Earlier this week the AFL-CIO passed a resolution warning Obamacare will drive up the costs of union worker healthcare plans, forcing workers to abandon them.

Let's take a step back here. Congress has granted themselves an Obamacare waiver. Corporations and businesses have been granted an Obamacare waiveruntil 2015 and labor unions are working to secure their waivers. The average American citizen however, is still required to comply with all aspects of the law and the individual mandate. And Obama says he's for the little guy? 

Via: Townhall

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Mom Urges Congress to Bestow Gold Medal on Fallen Benghazi Heroes

A campaign is gaining momentum in Congress to honor Glen Doherty and Tyrone Woods, the two Navy Seals who died defending the compound in Benghazi, by granting them the Congressional Gold Medal -- the highest civilian award bestowed by the U.S. Congress.

Pro-military veteran activist Debbie Lee spent the one-year anniversary of the deadly attacks on the U.S. diplomatic mission in Benghazi meeting with members of Congress to seek their support for the awards. Lee is founder of America’s Mighty Warriors, an activist group she founded in honor of her son, Marc Alan Lee, the first Navy Seal to be killed in Iraq. The group actively supports veterans and their families. 

Lee tells Newsmax that she’s urging Congress to honor Doherty and Woods because of her unique empathy for the profound sacrifice that the two men and their families made on behalf of their country.

“I think the least we can do to honor them is award them the Congressional Gold Medal,” Lee says. “The statement that this makes to their families is that we will never forget the sacrifice that they made. 

Tyrone Snowden Woods was a Navy Seal who had served multiple tours in Afghanistan and Iraq before he joined the State Department Diplomatic Security unit. Glen Doherty, a friend of Woods, also was a former Navy Seal. He had seen extensive action in the Middle East before retiring to become a private contractor for the State Department. 

On Sept. 11, 2012, the two men took to the rooftop of the Benghazi compound to fight off the jihadi rebels swarming into the facility. The battle in Benghazi spanned over 7-and-a-half hours, and has become the focus of congressional hearings.

Via: Newsmax

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Vitter accuses Reid, Boxer of ‘bribery’ and ‘intimidation’

Louisiana Republican Sen. David Vitter on Friday accused Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid and California Democratic Sen. Barbara Boxer of engaging in a “intimidation and payoff scheme” to “bribe” colleagues to vote a certain way on a bill, after it was reported Friday morning that Democrats were trying to rekindle Vitter’s 2007 prostitution scandal to stop him from opposing an energy bill.

Politico first reported that Democrats were drafting legislation that would deny any lawmaker government contributions to their health care, a perk of life in Congress, if there is “probably cause” that he or she solicited prostitutes.

In 2007, Vitter’s phone number was found in an investigation into the “DC Madam” prostitution ring, and he apologized for committing a “sin,” but did not elaborate.

The draft legislation is in retaliation for Vitter holding up a floor debate this week on an energy efficiency bill by trying to attach an amendment to the bill that would take away government contributions to lawmakers’ health-care coverage.

Another version of the bill would take away the benefits from anyone who voted to end such benefits, meaning Vitter, and anyone who voted for his amendment, would lose that government contribution.

Vitter said this is an attempt at “bribery” and “threatening their colleagues in the Senate with increased personal health-care costs if they do not vote a certain way on a particular amendment proposed by me concerning the 2010 Affordable Care Act.”

“Even if the proposed amendment is not actually introduced,” Vitter wrote in a letter to the Ethics Committee, “the fact that such legislation has not only been drafted, but also released to the press, has already induced the intended intimidating effect.”

He asked that the Ethics Committee launch an investigation into Reid and Boxer. He asks that Boxer, who chairs the committee, recuse herself from the investigation, and suggests she be removed from the committee if found guilty of an ethics violation.

Via: Daily Caller

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House GOP Votes to Replace Obamacare Subsidy Verification Program

As the October 1 implementation of parts of Obamacare nears, House Republicans continue to pass legislation aimed at highlighting the health care law's flaws and weaknesses. On Thursday, the House passed a bill to reform an Obamacare verification process that would better stop fraudulent claims to health insurance subsidies. Politico reports:

The bill, which passed 235-191, would mandate a verification program to make sure Americans don’t collect more insurance subsidies than they’re qualified for. HHS is already putting such a program in place, but Republicans insisted their measure is necessary in light of extra leeway the Obama administration granted states over the summer.

In contrast with previous Obamacare votes — which mostly aimed to repeal, delay or defund the Affordable Care Act—this bill would instead shift around responsibilities within the law. But Republicans’ intent is the same: to paint Obamacare as a disastrous law, the implementation of which is being hopelessly bungled by the Obama administration.

“You can’t go into a store, restaurant or gasoline station and pay on the honor system,” Ways and Means Health Subcommittee Chairman Kevin Brady said. “But the Obama administration has botched the law … taxpayer dollars will go out the door as individuals pinky-swear their income is accurate.”

Via: Weekly Standard

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D.C. Blows Off Obamacare Illegal Alien Insurance Ban

Though Obamacare prohibits subsidizing health insurance for those living the United States illegally local officials near the nation’s capital are offering illegal aliens coverage through a new insurance exchange created to comply with the law.

This essentially means that the District of Columbia is flipping the finger at the president, who masterminded the hostile takeover the country’s healthcare system, as well as top Democrats. It was not that long ago that House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi assured that taxpayers will never cover healthcare costs for illegal immigrants, even those who stay under the Obama amnesty.

In May a congressional newspaper quoted Pelosi: “It is stated very clearly in the Affordable Care Act, [and] it is our position in the immigration bill: no access to subsidies in the Affordable Care Act. Secondly, no access to Medicaid; no cost to the taxpayer,” Pelosi told reporters in the Capitol. “That has always been the Democratic position.”

D.C.’s new exchange tells a different story, however. It was created to comply with an Obamacare mandate that forces states to establish a health insurance exchange in accordance with federal rules. The feds will create an exchange in states that refuse to do it. D.C.’s exchange (D.C. Health Link) is described as an on-line marketplace created for individuals, families, and small business owners to shop, compare, and select health insurance that meets their health needs and budgets.

That seems to be in accordance with Obamacare, but scroll down on the D.C. Health Link page and there’s this: “Are there health insurance options available for residents who are not eligible for most programs due to immigration status?” Here’s the answer: “The District of Columbia operates a locally funded health insurance program known as the D.C. Healthcare Alliance for District residents. You may qualify for coverage even if you do not qualify for other health insurance programs due to your immigration status.”

As outrageous as this is, it’s hardly surprising considering who’s running this perpetually corrupt municipality. D.C. already has a sanctuary policy that was issued via executive order by its scandal-plagued mayor, Vincent Gray, in 2011. It bans police and other city agencies from asking people about their immigration status. The order also guarantees that local law enforcement officials will not detain illegal aliens, report them to federal agencies or even make them available for federal immigration interviews without a court order.

Gray, a veteran D.C. councilman who has been embroiled in a series of corruption scandals throughout his political career, claims the order ensures public safety by assuring that police resources are deployed wisely and that immigrant communities feel safe cooperating with cops.

Via: Judicial Watch

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