News of the Week
Election 2012 *************** Newt plans for moon base and using ten percent of NASA budget fo spaceflight milestone prizes There are many supposed "space experts" who say that Newt Gingrich's proposal for a permanent manned base on the moon by 2020 cannot be done. ************** Wisconsin Emerges As A Crucial Swing State When we think of swing states in presidential elections, Florida, with its fast-growing population, quickly comes to mind, followed by fading industrial powerhouses Ohio, Pennsylvania and Michigan. ************** Florida AG Pam Bondi Says Mitt Wants Romneycare In Every State ************** Arizona candidate off ballot over English skills YUMA -- A judge ruled that a city council candidate in Arizona must be removed from the ballot due to lack of English proficiency. ************** Bev Perdue Retiring: North Carolina Governor Reportedly Won't Seek Reelection RALEIGH, N.C. — Democratic North Carolina Gov. Beverly Perdue, the first woman elected governor in the state, said Thursday she would not seek re-election this year because she believes a bid would make it more difficult to fund education. ************** Newt pledges moon base by second term Newt Gingrich took the opportunity of being on Florida's space coast to revisit one of his favorite topics: space exploration. "By the end of my second term, we will have the first permanent base on the moon and it will be American," Gingrich said to applause. ************** Newt In Space! Newt Gingrich reveals his weirdest idea ever: a Northwest Ordinance for Space ************** Newtzilla Conquers All? Romney is losing time in his battle against Gingrich to connect with voters. ************** 33% of GOP Voters Say It Would Be Good If New Candidate Entered Presidential Race While many pundits have taken to describing the race for the Republican nomination as a two-man competition, a third of all voters nationwide think it would be good for the GOP if someone else jumped into the fray. *************** Dems fear union cash drain in Wisconsin Organized labor’s plans to spend heavily to recall Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker (R) has sparked angst on the left that the effort will come at the expense of Democrats in other states. *************** Dick Armey Predicts A Brokered Convention "But what is going to happen as I see this thing is, you're just not going to have a winner in this primary process. I'm looking for a brokered convention," former House Majority Leader Dick Armey (R-Texas) said on CNBC tonight. *************** The first Occupy candidate: Nate Kleinman Nathan Kleinman, a 29-year-old member of the Occupy Philadelphia movement, intends to run for congress in Pennsylvania's 13th district against Democratic incumbent Allyson Schwartz. ************** Newt might win over his party like it’s 1994 Eighteen years after Newt Gingrich quarterbacked the historic GOP takeover of Congress — the 1994 transfer of power dubbed the Republican Revolution — the former House speaker is once again angling to tap voter fury over big government, universal health care and an unpopular White House. ************** Throwing Hollywood under the bus could pay dividends for GOP A striking trend in Congress's reaction to Wednesday's protests against the PROTECT IP Act and the Stop Online Piracy Act was the partisan divide in the Senate. At least 16 Republican Senators—more than a third of all GOP members in the body—declared their opposition to PIPA for the first time on Wednesday. In contrast, as far as we can tell, only three Democrats jumped off the bandwagon that day. Occupy Wall Street *************** Day of clashes at Occupy Oakland ends with at least 400 arrests Occupy Oakland protesters broke into City Hall, stole an American flag from the City Council chamber and set it on fire Saturday night, punctuating a wild day in which police deployed tear gas, arrested more than 400 marchers and dodged hurling objects. ************** ‘Kill the Police’: Cops Arrest Hundreds of Occupy Oakland Protestors After Street Clashes Police arrested hundreds of Occupy Oakland protesters last Saturday night for failing to disperse hours after officers used tear gas on over a thousand demonstrators who threw rocks and flares at them and tore down fences. ************** 150 arrested at Occupy Oakland; protesters break into City Hall Police arrested 150 people Saturday as Occupy Oakland protesters were thwarted trying to take over a vacant convention center and a YMCA but later broke into City Hall, where they burned a flag taken from inside. ************** Contentious Hearing on Why Occupy DC Has Been Allowed to Violate the No Camping Law Yesterday, Darrell Issa held a congressional hearing on the state of McPherson Square which has been overrun by Occupy DC since October, despite the fact that camping is illegal in the Park. *************** Soros Gleefully Predicts “Occupy” Riots It’s all part of the plan. Obama’s Whiny Supporters have already spent the better part of four months on a nonstop crime spree across the country, and when their man loses in November they’ll really be out of control. ************** Unions And Rebranded ACORN Behind Violent Occupy San Francisco Clashes With Police by Lee Stranahan In San Francisco this past weekend, the Occupy movement bolstered by labor unions and the rebranded California ACORN group ACCE once again terrorized private businesses and got into direct clashes that included throwing furniture, bricks and Bibles at police officers. ************** It’s Official: #OccupyChicago Feeble Pawns of the NATO/G8 Protests While many laughed off Occupy Wall Street and predicted it would not last, the puppet masters have made their next move. Obamacare *************** Norm Coleman: We're Not Going to Repeal Obamacare Norm Coleman – the former senator from Minnesota and a prominent advisor for Mitt Romney – suggested over the weekend in an interview that no matter who the Republican nominee is, they are unlikely to fully repeal Obamacare. "Hide The Decline" *************** Spain Suspends Subsidies for New Renewable Energy Power Plants Spain halted subsidies for renewable energy projects to help curb its budget deficit and rein in power-system borrowings backed by the state that reached 24 billion euros ($31 billion) at the end of 2011. ************** What’s Wrong with Peak Oil Theory? Consider ‘Peak Gas’. In 1956, M. King Hubbert predicted that crude oil production in the U.S. (ex-Alaska) would peak in rate around 1970, to be followed by a long, irreversible decline. Hubbert nailed the timing of the peak, and in doing so, cemented his status as a technological visionary among neo-Malthusians and opponents of fossil fuels. ************** No Need to Panic About Global Warming There's no compelling scientific argument for drastic action to 'decarbonize' the world's economy. ************** Obama-backed electric car battery-maker files for bankruptcy An Indiana-based energy-storage company, whose subsidiary received a $118.5 million stimulus grant from the Energy Department, filed for bankruptcy Thursday. ************** Political Activists Gagging Our TV Meteorologists on Climate Issues Some one or some organization is attempting to influence the upcoming annual meeting of the American Meteorological Society (AMS). War & Terror *************** Iran Turns Embargo Tables: To Pass Law Halting All Crude Exports To Europe In what is likely a long overdue move, Iran has finally decided to give Europe a harsh lesson in game theory. Instead of letting Euro-area politicians score brownie points at its expense by threatening to halt imports and cut off the Iranian economy, the Iranian government will instead propose a bill calling for an immediate halt to oil deliveries to Europe. ************** Iran 'definitely' closing Strait of Hormuz over EU oil embargo Tensions in the Gulf could reach a breaking point as a senior Iranian official said Iran would “definitely” close the Strait of Hormuz if an EU oil embargo disrupted the export of crude oil, the semi-official Fars news agency reports. National *************** Space technologies that would help enable a more affordable Permanent Moon Base ************** California adopts “clean car” rules Automakers worked with regulators on policy that could influence the nation Automakers, regulators combine forces on policy that could influence nation ************** Google says privacy change won't affect government users Company downplays privacy, security concerns from former federal IT official ************** Justice Thomas Recalls Time as ‘Lonely Kid’ Before He Was Recruited to Holy Cross Justice Clarence Thomas became emotional during a speech at his college alma mater on Thursday as he remembered the time he had dropped out of the seminary and got kicked out of his home. ************** Obama says he second-guesses himself, makes mistakes Barack Obama said on Thursday he doubted his decisions "constantly" and made mistakes daily but thought he had become a better president with more on-the-job experience. ************** Twitter announces it will censor some tweets; activists worried Policy would allow same message to be seen in some countries but not others ************** Hawaii may keep track of all Web sites visited Hawaii's legislature is weighing an unprecedented proposal to curb the privacy of Aloha State residents: requiring Internet providers to keep track of every Web site their customers visit. ************** Biden Does Fake Indian Accent During Outsourcing Speech? ************** Indiana poised to deal crushing blow to labor In other words, Indiana is banning indentured servitude, which is how I define being forced to pay union dues when you have no desire to belong to a union. ************** Brewer, Obama exchange tense words over book, immigration at airport The following is a White House pool report filed shortly after President Barack Obama's arrival in Chandler, Arizona ************** Oak Ridge officers won't be charged in road-rage incident Knox County prosecutors will not file charges against two off-duty Oak Ridge police officers accused of pulling a handgun on a motorist during an alleged road-rage incident last month. ************** Google announces privacy changes across products; users can’t opt out Google will soon know far more about who you are and what you do on the Web. The Web giant announced Tuesday that it plans to follow the activities of users across nearly all of its ubiquitous sites, including YouTube, Gmail and its leading search engine. ************** Alternative Certification Is Coming The announcement of agreements between Burck Smith’s StraighterLine and the Education Testing Service (ETS) and the Council on Aid to Education (CAE) to provide competency test materials to students online is potentially very important, along with several other recent developments. A little economics explains why this is so. ************** NH Bill Would Allow Service Refusal To Gay Couples CONCORD, N.H. – New Hampshire business owners could soon have the legal right to decide who they serve. *************** Judge: Americans can be forced to decrypt their laptops American citizens can be ordered to decrypt their PGP-scrambled hard drives for police to peruse for incriminating files, a federal judge in Colorado ruled today in what could become a precedent-setting case. *************** Obama Puppetmaster Warren Buffett Biggest Winner From Keystone Pipeline Rejection Just when one thinks American crony capitalism couldn't hit new lows, here comes Warren Buffett and his personal puppet, the president, proving everyone wrong once more ************** The Ruinous Reign of Race-and-Gender Historians In a ruling likely to be appealed to the U.S. Supreme Court, the Montana Supreme Court last month upheld the state constitution's prohibition on corporations directly spending on state campaigns. For those concerned with academic matters, the case is important for reasons quite unrelated to political debates about Citizens United. In a significant case involving history (the Montana court relied heavily upon the scholarship and words of historians to reach its conclusions), all the books cited were more than 35 years old ************** Who Should Have Access to Student Records? Education data can be useful, but privacy experts are concerned about data misuse. ************** House committee to probe recess appointments The House Judiciary Committee will probe President Obama's recent decision to skirt the Senate with a handful of recess appointments. ************** EIA estimates California Monterey to have four times the technically recoverable oil of the North Dakota Bakken oil field The Monterey/Santos oil field in California is estimated to four times the technically recoverable oil as the Bakken Oil Field in North Dakota. ************** Sen. Kirk Likely Faces Permanent Physical Damage Prognosis better for mental recovery after stroke ************** High court: warrant needed for GPS tracking The Supreme Court ruled unanimously Monday that police must get a search warrant before using GPS technology to track criminal suspects. ************** Sen. Rand Paul ‘detained’ by TSA in Nashville, TSA denies Kentucky Republican Sen. Rand Paul’s press secretary Moira Bagley tweeted on Monday that Transportation Security Administration officials were detaining her boss in Nashville, Tenn. ************** Immigration authorities released man who went on to kill 3 in North Miami In a year-old mystery, a felon freed after he could not be returned to Haiti killed three people. Was it random, or was he working with someone? Economy
& Taxes *************** It's Official: German Economy Minister Demands Surrender Of Greek Budget Policy, Says It Is First Of Many Such Sovereign "Requests" ************** Why Isn’t Illinois A Bigger Story Than Greece? As the Greek default (and it is a default no matter what they end up calling it) is finalized this week, the consensus seems to be that failure to reach a deal would cause a global financial apocalypse. ************** The Silent Anschluss: Germany Formally Requests That Greece Hand Over Its Fiscal Independence ************** Greece Politely Declines German Annexation Demands Following yesterday's frankly stunning news that the Troika politely requests that Greece hand over its first fiscal, then pretty much all other, sovereignty to "Europe", here is the Greek just as polite response to the Troika's foray into outright colonialism: GREEK GOVERNMENT SPOKESMAN DECLARES THAT THE BUDGET IS SOLELY ITS RESPONSIBILITY ************** FITCH GOES ON RAMPAGE: CUTS SPAIN, ITALY, BELGIUM, CYPRUS, AND SLOVENIA Fitch just cut the long-term issuer ratings of 5 EU sovereigns: Belgium: AA+ to AA; Spain: AA- to A; Italy: A+ to A-; Cyprus: BBB to BBB-; Slovenia: AA- to A; It affirmed Ireland's BBB+ rating with a negative outlook. ************** Despite Unfair Tax Burden, Warren Buffett's Secretary Was Just Able To Buy A Second Home Despite a heavy tax burden, Warren Buffett’s secretary last year was able to purchase a second home in Arizona, a residence complete with a swimming pool and a “professional PGA putting green,” according to real estate records. ************** Obama pulls trigger on January Surprise: a mass refinancing plan for U.S. mortgages ************** Whence comes "value" ************** Mitt Romney's True Tax Rate: 44.75% When double taxation of investment income is taken into account, Mr. Romney most likely underestimated his effective tax rate on the campaign trail. The former Bain Capital CEO and Massachusetts governor caused a brouhaha last week when he estimated the tax rate on his investment income at 15%. "How unfair!" pundits exclaimed, noting that the top marginal rate for wage income is more than 30%. *************** End of Era for Japan's Exports One of the world's greatest export engines is running out of steam. For decades, Japan used the combination of manufacturing might and an export-oriented trade policy to shower markets around the world with its cars and consumer electronics and semiconductors. No longer. The Japanese government is expected to announce Wednesday that the country recorded its first annual trade deficit since 1980. If the yen remains strong and global demand weak, economists warn that Japan could run trade deficits for years to come. *************** Making It in America In the past decade, the flow of goods emerging from U.S. factories has risen by about a third. Factory employment has fallen by roughly the same fraction. The story of Standard Motor Products, a 92-year-old, family-run manufacturer based in Queens, sheds light on both phenomena. *************** U.S. sovereign debt crisis: Tipping-point scenarios and crash dynamics *************** Under Obama, Price of Gas Has Jumped 83 Percent, Ground Beef 24 Percent, Bacon 22 Percent So far, during the presidency of Barack Obama, the price of a gallon of gasoline has jumped 83 percent, according to data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics. ************** 11 stunning revelations from Larry Summers’s secret economics memo to Barack Obama A lengthy piece in The New Yorker looks at policymaking in the Obama White House. A key source for writer Ryan Lizza is a 57-page, “Sensitive & Confidential” memo written by economist Larry Summers—eventually to be head of Obama’s National Economic Council—to Obama in December 2008. ************** Denying California's plight won't ease it California's officials don't believe in the private sector. They are representatives of the government class, and Jerry Brown is that group's highest-ranking member. ************** The Man Who Bought North Dakota How wildcatter Harold Hamm became the biggest winner in the biggest American oil find since Prudhoe Bay ************** Americans Are Deleveraging, But Not Because They Want To *************** International *************** Japan, Russia Build Ties As Asian Balance Shifts Japan and Russia have agreed to expand ties and are trying to work around if not resolve their dispute over the ownership of territories the Soviet Union seized from Japan at the end of World War Two. Russia seems to be hinting that further progress on the islands may be possible after Russian presidential elections later this year. ************** China funds new home for African Union New African Union headquarters was built by China, with questions of influence also stacking up. ************** Uneven Development and the “African Time Bomb” The Olympics, like the world, is a complicated field of winners and losers. Some countries win often: the U.S. mens’ 400-meter swimming relay team has won thirteen straight times, a streak going back to 1960. Other countries are accustomed to losing: the Central African Republic has never won any medal. Still other countries win some and lose some, reveling in a particularly good haul one year but then suffering through a slump with few or no medals in the next competition. ************** Nigeria Crisis Deepens While a compromise solution to the Nigerian fuel crisis seems to have been found, the deeper and more dangerous regional and religious crisis is getting worse. Significantly worse. ************** Will Spain Keep Scotland in the UK? Via Meadia readers have been following the progress of Scotland’s push for a referendum on secession from the UK. Evidence that the English want the Scots out may dampen the ardor for independence north of the Border; now comes the news that Spain may block any effort by a newly independent Scotland to join the EU. *************** Opinion *************** It’s Working in Walker’s Wisconsin The governor’s controversial labor reforms are already saving taxpayers millions. One morning last February, Wisconsin governor Scott Walker called his staff into his office. “Guys,” he warned, “it’s going to be a tough week.” Walker had recently sent a letter to state employees proposing steps—ranging from restricting collective bargaining to requiring workers to start contributing to their own pension accounts—to eliminate the state’s $3.6 billion deficit. That day in February was when Walker would announce his plan publicly. ************** The Suicide Club John Stuart Mill famously described Conservatives as “the stupid party.” The description has unwritten boundless hilarity among liberals for more than a century, but that is only because they (stupidly?) neglected to take Mill’s deeper message on board. Every true partisan of liberalism, Mill wrote, should pray for the enlightenment and acuity of Conservatives if for no other reason than intelligent opposition tends to have a tonic effect on Liberalism itself. ************** Alternative Certification and 'Colorblind Racism' The sooner the higher-education bubble bursts, the better. ************** The new American divide The ideal of an 'American way of life' is fading as the working class falls further away from institutions like marriage and religion and the upper class becomes more isolated; Charles Murray on what's cleaving America and why ************** Postmodernism is dead A new exhibition signals the end of postmodernism. But what was it? And what comes next? ************** What Became of “Real Men”? ************** "I’m Right and You’re Stupid!" *************** Why Contemporary Western Elites Don’t Understand the World and Why Their Foreign Policies Fail One of the benefits of spending much of my time talking to people from around the world is getting an original, fresh perspective on the United States, its policies, politics, and political culture. *************** State Dependency on the Federal Government The president’s fiscal 2013 budget proposal is scheduled to be released on February 13th. State officials are predictably sounding the alarm on the coming “deep cuts” to federal subsidies now that stimulus funds are running out and Washington is being forced to confront its mounting red ink. ************** Universities Abandon Western Civilization Most students no longer are taught their nation’s triumphs that would equip them to be knowledgeable citizens. ************** It’s time to free the West Federal lands belong under state control *************** |
News of the Week Mainpage
Follow me on Twitter: @ThePoliticalHat
