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Thursday, April 15, 2010
Congratulations, Conan
Replacing Jay Leno on The Tonight Show should have been the capstone of a brilliant career and a ticket to a comfortable middle-age for O'Brien. Instead, he fell on his face. As the New York Timesnoted, O'Brien's show pulled in about 2.8 million viewers per night in the second half of 2009, including 1.5 million in the 18-49 demographic. On both counts, the ratings were substantially worse than the numbers Jay Leno had put up.
Coco wasn't alone in his struggle. In recent years, virtually all the stars in their late 40s and early 50s who ascended to iconic thrones of the old media universe have been abandoned by a fickle and increasingly diffuse audience.
GO HERE to read more.
Today Is The Best Tax Day Of Your Life
Almost nobody likes tax day, but people may look back nostalgically on tax day 2010 and those of earlier years because, almost certainly, taxes are going up in the future, and they may go up a lot. With hindsight, tax day 2010 may seem almost dreamy.
Why? For starters, almost half of U.S. households aren't paying any income taxes on their 2009 earnings. The exact figure is 47 percent, says the Tax Policy Center of the Urban Institute and Brookings Institution, two think tanks. Among elderly households, 55 percent pay no income tax; among all households with children (including those headed by single parents), the nonpaying share is 54 percent. By contrast, only 38 percent of married couples filing jointly don't pay. (Of course, this doesn't mean people pay no federal taxes; about three quarters of households pay more in Social Security payroll taxes than in income taxes.)
The personal exemption and standard deduction, combined with the child tax credit and the Earned Income Tax Credit, shield many poor and middle-class families from the income tax. In 2009 they got extra protection from President Obama's Making Work Pay tax credit, which was $400 for single workers (phasing out at $75,000 of income) and $800 for a couple (phasing out at $150,000 of income). Without that credit, probably only 40 percent of households or less wouldn't have paid income taxes. President Obama has proposed that the credit be renewed for 2011. But given the massive federal budget deficits, there's a good chance that the credit will someday expire.
GO HERE to read more.
Pope: Church Must Do Penance For Abuse
VATICAN CITY - Pope Benedict XVI broke his recent silence on the clerical abuse scandal Thursday, noting recent attacks on the church and the need for "we Christians" to repent for sins and recognize mistakes.
Benedict made the comments during an off-the-cuff homily at a Mass inside the Vatican for members of the Pontifical Biblical Commission.
Victims of clerical abuse have long demanded that Benedict take more personal responsibility for clerical abuse, charging that the Vatican orchestrated a culture of cover-up and secrecy that allowed priests to rape and molest children for decades unchecked.
GO HERE to read more.
Taxpayers Foot State Department's Stiff Liquor Bill
The booze buy wasn't unusual.
Last year alone, the State Department sent taxpayers tabs totaling nearly $300,000 for alcoholic beverages — about twice as much compared to the previous year, according to an analysis of spending records by The Washington Times.
The purchases, small and large, included $2,483 to pay for "assorted spirits for gratuities to vendors" at the U.S. mission to the United Nations in New York, and $9,501 in "Christmas gratuities" of whiskey and wine at the U.S. Embassy in South Korea.
GO HERE to read more.
NEW BIOSCIENCE JOBS FOR MONTGOMERY COUNTY
QIAGEN will expand Montgomery County campus by more than 100,000 square feet
ANNAPOLIS, MD (April 15, 2010) - Governor Martin O’Malley today announced that QIAGEN Inc., is expanding its North American headquarters in Germantown, Md., and adding at least 90 new fulltime jobs by 2015. QIAGEN will add 117,000 square feet of new manufacturing space and new office space to its corporate campus. The company expects to invest approximately $52 million in the project.
“QIAGEN’s commitment to invest and expand in Maryland reaffirms the State’s position as one of the world’s leading locations for biotechnology innovation,” said Governor O’Malley. “Building on our Bio 2020 initiative, Maryland continues to foster a supportive environment for innovative biotech companies like QIAGEN to ensure that we are well positioned for tomorrow’s economy. Maryland’s biotechnology and life sciences companies develop cutting-edge therapies and diagnostics that have positive implications for individuals here at home and across the globe.”
“We are experiencing rapid growth of our global business, and are pleased to expand our operations and employee base here in Maryland, a region that is an epicenter of bioscience and genomics research, discovery, manufacturing and commercialization,” said Sean Augerson, QIAGEN’s Senior Director of North American Operations. “We appreciate that state and county leadership is focused on not only attracting new bioscience companies to the region, but also to fostering the growth of companies established in this region such as QIAGEN by enabling physical facilities expansions.” Groundbreaking is anticipated in Fall 2010, with completion expected in 2012 – increasing square footage at the Germantown campus from 230,000 currently to 347,000 square feet at completion.
To assist with project costs, the Maryland Department of Business and Economic Development (DBED) provided a $700,000 conditional loan through the Maryland Economic Development Assistance Authority and Fund (MEDAAF). In addition, Montgomery County provided a $300,000 grant under the Montgomery County Economic Development Fund. The company is also eligible for the State’s job creation tax credit, as well as local property tax credits and workforce and training programs. As a condition of the State’s loan, QIAGEN, which currently employs 580 individuals in Montgomery County and nearly 700 employees state-wide, will add the 90 new jobs here over the next five years. Overall, the company currently employs 1,150 individuals in the U.S. and has 3,500 employees worldwide.
"We’re very pleased that QIAGEN, one of the world’s premiere biotech companies with more than $1 billion in annual revenues, is expanding in Maryland,” said Christian S. Johansson, Secretary of the Department of Business and Economic Development. “A global company, QIAGEN has more than 30 locations worldwide where expansions can be contemplated. This is another outstanding example of the successful partnerships that can occur when state and county governments leverage their resources and work together to provide new economic opportunities and new jobs to our citizens.”
“It is wonderful to see QIAGEN’s continuing commitment to growth in Montgomery County through this significant facility and workforce expansion,” said Montgomery County Executive Isiah Leggett. “QIAGEN has been a leader in the county’s biotech community for the past decade, and we look forward to their continued success and ongoing contributions to the global biotech industry.”
QIAGEN moved its U.S. headquarters to Montgomery County 10 years ago, when it broke ground at its current Germantown location in 2000 and opened the building in 2002. QIAGEN has made significant investments in Maryland, with its 2007 acquisition of Gaithersburg-based Digene, its 2009 acquisition of Frederick-based SABiosciences and its recently announced 2010 license agreement with Johns Hopkins University focused on biomarkers for predicting and measuring the success of cancer treatments.
The biotech sector is one of the fastest-growing business segments in the State, accounting for approximately 50,000 jobs in Maryland. Designed to attract and nurture foreign and domestic biotech companies in the region, Governor Martin O'Malley's BIO 2020 initiative – a 10-year, $1.3 billion investment in the State’s bioscience industry – represents the largest per capita investment in the biosciences made by any state in the country.
About DBED:
The Maryland Department of Business and Economic Development stimulates private investment and creates jobs by attracting new businesses, encouraging the expansion and retention of existing companies, and providing workforce training and financial assistance to Maryland companies. The Department promotes the State's many economic advantages and markets local products and services at home and abroad to spur economic development and international investment, trade and tourism. Because they are major economic generators, the Department also supports the Arts, film production, sports and other special events. For more information, visit www.choosemaryland.org.
About the Montgomery County Department of Economic Development:
The Montgomery County Department of Economic Development is charged with implementing the County’s economic development vision of being a globally-competitive, highly-diversified and knowledge-based economy that provides for the retention and growth of existing companies, stimulates new job creation and enhances entrepreneurial opportunities for all businesses. The Department offers a broad range of programs, services, partnering opportunities and strategic financing resources to stimulate and expand the County’s business, job and tax base. To learn more, visit www.SMARTmontgomery.com.
About QIAGEN:
QIAGEN is the leading global provider of sample and assay technologies. Sample technologies are used to isolate and process DNA, RNA and proteins from biological samples such as blood or tissue. Assay technologies are used to make such isolated biomolecules visible. QIAGEN has developed and markets more than 500 sample and assay products and proprietary tests for the detection, screening and monitoring of human and veterinary diseases. The company provides its products to molecular diagnostics laboratories, academic researchers, pharmaceutical and biotechnology companies, and applied testing customers for purposes such as forensics, animal or food testing and pharmaceutical process control. QIAGEN's assay technologies include one of the broadest panels of molecular diagnostic tests available worldwide, including a broad suite of solutions for infectious disease testing and companion diagnostics as well as the digene HPV test – a test that was developed, commercialized and manufactured in Maryland and is regarded as a “gold standard” in testing for high-risk types of human papillomavirus (HPV), the primary cause of cervical cancer. QIAGEN employs more 3,500 people in over 30 locations worldwide. Further information about QIAGEN can be found at http://www.qiagen.com/. Media: please contact Shelley Ducker, QIAGEN’s Associate Director of Communications, at 240-686-7603.
Mark Alexander: The Power To Tax ... And Revolt
On December 16th, 1773, "radicals" from Boston, members of a secret organization of American Patriots called the Sons of Liberty, boarded three East India Company ships and threw into Boston Harbor 342 chests of tea.
This iconic event, in protest of oppressive British taxation and tyrannical rule, became known as the Boston Tea Party.
Resistance to the Crown had been mounting over enforcement of the 1764 Sugar Act, 1765 Stamp Act and 1767 Townshend Act, which led to the Boston Massacre and gave rise to the slogan, "No taxation without representation."
The 1773 Tea Act and resulting Tea Party protest galvanized the Colonial movement opposing British parliamentary acts, which violated the natural, charter and constitutional rights of the colonists.
In response to the rebellion, the British enacted additional punitive measures, labeled the "Intolerable Acts," in hopes of suppressing the burgeoning insurrection. Far from accomplishing their desired outcome, however, the Crown's countermeasures led colonists to convene the First Continental Congress on September 5th, 1774, in Philadelphia.
Near midnight on April 18th, 1775, Paul Revere departed Charlestown (near Boston) for Lexington and Concord in order to warn John Hancock, Samuel Adams and other Sons of Liberty that the British army was marching to arrest them and seize their weapons caches. While Revere was captured after reaching Lexington, his friend, Samuel Prescott, was able to evade the Red Coats and took word to the militiamen at Concord.
In the early dawn of that first Patriots' Day, April 19th, Captain John Parker, commander of the Lexington militia, ordered, "Don't fire unless fired upon, but if they want a war let it begin here." That it did -- American Minutemen fired the "shot heard round the world," as immortalized by poet Ralph Waldo Emerson, confronting British Regulars on Lexington Green and at Concord's Old North Bridge.
Thus, by the time the Second Continental Congress convened on May 10th, 1775, the young nation was in open war for liberty and independence, which would not be won until a full decade later. (Read more here1.)
Today, the tax burden borne by most Americans, even those who pay no direct federal taxes but at the least pay a great hidden cost in federal regulation, is far greater than that which incited our Founders to revolution.
Thus, some 221 years after the ratification of our Constitution, Americans are once again at a crossroads with oppressive centralized government -- a point at which we must choose to turn up toward liberty or down toward tyranny and anarchy.
Those at the helm of the federal government, by way of generations of overreaching executive orders, legislative malfeasance and judicial diktat, have abandoned their sacred oaths2 to "support and defend the Constitution of the United States against all enemies, foreign and domestic," and to "bear true faith and allegiance to the same."
Although our Constitution provides the People with an authentic means for amendment as prescribed in Article V, successive generations of leftists have, by way of legislation, regulation and activist courts, altered that august founding convention well beyond any semblance of its original intent.
Consequently, they have undermined constitutional Rule of Law, supplanting it with the rule of men.
They have done so in order to win the allegiance of special interest constituencies, which then ensure perpetual re-election of their sponsors in return for political and economic agendas structured on Marxist-Leninist-Maoist collectivism.
How have leftist politicians succeeded in this assault?
They accomplished this through direct taxation on an ever-smaller number of Americans for the benefit of an ever-larger number of Americans -- "progressive taxation" and "social justice" as the Left so self-righteously calls it.
So, shouldn't those who have more give to those who have less?
Well, yes, in my humble opinion, but individuals should rightly be left to decide how best to use their resources for the benefit of others. And in this respect, Americans are the most generous people on earth and from any time of human history.
However, Barack Hussein Obama, an ideological Marxist, believes that government should be the ultimate arbiter for the redistribution of wealth. Indeed, he said as much on the campaign trail in 2008.
Obama claims our economy is "out of balance," and our tax policies "badly skewed."
To resolve this, he says we need a "tax policy making sure that everybody benefits, fair distribution, a restoration of balance in our tax code, money allocated fairly..."
"Fair distribution"?
By this, of course, he means "redistribution."
It's not enough that 20 percent of Americans are already forced to fund 80 percent of the cost of bloated government largess; if Obama can saddle them with 100 percent of this cost, then he could anoint himself king.
Never mind that progressive taxation constitutes, in effect, a "Bill of Attainder" as outlawed by Article I, Section 9, of our Constitution. Who in Washington these days pays that venerable old parchment any mind?
As devoted socialist George Bernard Shaw acknowledged, "A government which robs Peter to pay Paul can always depend on the support of Paul," which is the template for a bloodless socialist revolution.
Further, Obama asserts that free enterprise is nothing more than "Social Darwinism, every man or woman for him or herself ... [a] tempting idea, because it doesn't require much thought or ingenuity."
Free enterprise "doesn't require much thought or ingenuity"?
Only in the distorted worldview of a "community organizer" and lifelong adherent of Marxist doctrine could such an absurd assertion originate.
The current debacle of progressive taxation is the result of Franklin Delano Roosevelt's class-warfare decree: "Here is my principle: Taxes shall be levied according to ability to pay. That is the only American principle."
We beg to differ. Roosevelt's "principle" was no more American than Obama's. Roosevelt was merely paraphrasing Karl Marx, whose maxim declared, "From each according to his abilities, to each according to his needs."
At the time Marx was formulating his collectivist manifesto, classical liberal Claude Frederic Bastiat, a prominent 19th-century political economist, wrote, "Government is the great fiction through which everybody endeavors to live at the expense of everybody else. ... Sometimes the law defends plunder and participates in it. Thus the beneficiaries are spared the shame and danger that their acts would otherwise involve. But how is this legal plunder to be identified? Quite simply. See if the law takes from some persons what belongs to them and gives it to the other persons to whom it doesn't belong. See if the law benefits one citizen at the expense of another... Then abolish that law without delay; No legal plunder; this is the principle of justice, peace, order, stability, harmony and logic."
Now, according to Heritage Foundation's Index of Dependence on Government3, "Despite the famed 1996 Welfare Reform Act and the more recent welfare adjustments in 2006, 60.8 million Americans remain dependent on the government for their daily housing, food, and health care. Starting in 2016, Social Security will not collect enough in taxes to pay all of the promised benefits -- which is a problem for all workers, but especially for the roughly half of the American workforce that has no other retirement program. Add in spiraling academic grants, flat-out farm socialism, and the swelling ranks of Americans who believe themselves entitled to public-sector benefits for which they pay few or no taxes -- and Americans must ask themselves whether they are near a tipping point in the nature of their government." (Also see How the Tax Code is Expanding Government4.)
Perversely, almost half of all American workers pay no income tax per the current tax code scheme, though under the Obama plot many now qualify for a tax refund.
Once a majority of Americans can be "protected" from a tax burden, they will ignore the constitutional, moral and civic implications of "progressive taxation."
The fact is that the only way to ensure fiscal accountability at the federal level is to directly spread the cost of government to a much broader number of taxpayers so all Americans "feel the pain." Of course, the Left understands that in order to escape any fiscal accountability, they need only ensure that the cost of government is borne by a targeted minority of income earners.
Obama is now poised to propose the implementation of a supplemental value-added tax, a national sales tax. Though this would seemingly spread the cost of government to all Americans (precisely what liberals want to avoid), Obama's VAT coupled with the myriad proposed exempt products and "rebates" to the "poor," would most assuredly be yet another avenue for the central government to use the tax code to bludgeon a minority of consumers in order to expand its authority and constituencies.
Vladimir Lenin asserted, "The way to crush the bourgeoisie is to grind them between the millstones of taxation and inflation."
And that is precisely Obama's political model.
But the problem with the socialist model is, as former British Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher aptly noted, "they always run out of other people's money."
If I could emphasize but one point, it would be this: The Left has bankrupted the nation and the bill for freeloading on others is coming due. It will most certainly be paid back in the currency of liberty.
The time is at hand when we must inquire with a unified voice: "If there is no constitutional authority for most laws and regulations enacted by Congress and enforced by the central government, then by what authority do those entities lay and collect taxes to fund such laws and regulations?" (See the Patriot Declaration5.)
It is time for tenacious resistance and rebellion against the current throne of government. This is not a call for revolution but for restoration -- a call to undertake whatever measures are dictated by prudence and necessity to restore constitutional Rule of Law.
Thomas Jefferson declared, "Honor, justice, and humanity, forbid us tamely to surrender that freedom which we received from our gallant ancestors, and which our innocent posterity have a right to receive from us."
Two centuries later, Ronald Reagan similarly affirmed, "There are no easy answers, but there are simple answers. We must have the courage to do what we know is morally right. ... You and I have a rendezvous with destiny. We will preserve for our children this, the last best hope of man on earth, or we will sentence them to take the last step into a thousand years of darkness."
Which will it be?
The cause of, and necessity for, the American Revolution was the violation of fundamental rights, those to which Americans and all peoples are entitled by the Laws of Nature and Nature's God.
Unjust taxation was the catalyst for the first American Revolution. Today, once again, our fundamental rights are being violated by unjust taxation for purposes not authorized by our Constitution.
There is a groundswell of protest across the nation, which is far more powerful than what Obama dismissed as "malcontents" who are "waving their little teabags."
Millions of American Patriots are, "with a firm reliance on the protection of divine Providence, mutually pledging to each other our Lives, our Fortunes and our sacred Honor," in our endeavor to restore our Constitution's integrity and the Rule of Law.
The Patriot Post
What Will Md General Assembly Ban Next?
Yet another example of liberal tyranny in action… are you kidding me??? This should just about do it for making Maryland the most business-unfriendly state in the country. Look at Mike Busch’s comments in the 3rd paragraph. Most people can drive while sipping a soda, or munching fries. Liberals seem to think you can idiot-proof all of life… it just takes a little more regulation. This makes me sick to my stomach! We daily edge closer to living life in this Marxist/Socialist state like Stalinst Russia. Oh, I wish the Eastern Shore had seceeded and formed our own state free of those cocksuckers in Annapolis!! CR
ANNAPOLIS — April 13, 2012 - Baltimore Sun
State legislators voted to close drive-throughs yesterday in a late-night, pizza-fueled frenzy in which they passed 20 other bills in the last minutes before the end of the session.
They said the ban, part of legislation outlawing eating while driving, will save lives. They also described it as one more victory in the war against distracted driving, which studies show is a major cause of accidents. Other distractions on the hit list: GPS systems, smoking, applying makeup, radios, Hooters billboards — and passengers, who may be required to be silent in coming years.
"We did not have the votes for a comprehensive ban on all distractions this year," said House Speaker Michael E. Busch. "But we're hopeful we'll push it through next year."Fast food chain restaurant owners were blindsided by the vote, they said. "How can you ban drive-throughs?" said Mike Schmidt, who owns a McDonald's in Annapolis. "They are the quintessential American dining experience."
Another said there was no way to enforce it, since people could buy food to go and still eat in their cars. "Are they going to station cops outside our driveways, like bars?" asked Michelle Smith, who owns a Taco Bell in Dundalk.
Legislators could not say whether the ban would stop people from eating in their cars, pointing out that after hand-held cell phones and texting were banned in New Jersey, the number of people who admitted to texting while driving rose, according to a study by Fairleigh Dickinson University of New Jersey drivers.Maryland has not analyzed whether its ban on using hand-held devices two years ago has reduced accidents. But Maryland reports $2 million higher revenue this year from tickets related to it.
Senate President Thomas V. Mike Miller said it didn't matter whether the bill worked. "We needed to do something. We can tinker with it later." He said banning drive-throughs was the logical next step after banning texting and talking on hand-held cell phones while driving in 2010 and then extending the ban last year to any use of a cell phone while driving.
The fiscal analysis attached to the bill said it would generate $15 million in fines for the next budget year,(this is what it's all about for the Libs - control of every aspect of ones life and money......CR note) a tiny drop in the state's $2 billion structural deficit. Since no other state has banned drive-throughs, Department of Legislative Services analysts said the figure was only a "guesstimate," however.
One mother questioned how legislators could enforce this law or a stricter one next year.
"My son doesn't listen to legislators," said Baltimore City resident Marie Campbell, mother to Thomas, 18 months. "He doesn't even listen to me," she said. The harried mom says the only time she has to eat most mornings is in the car and questioned how legislators intend to force toddlers to be quiet if they pursue a stronger bill next year.
Others wondered whether police would be distracted from catching speeders and other dangerous drivers in their quest to root out motoring masticators.
And one convenience store owner worried if his chips and other snacks would be next on legislators' hit list. "When legislators doubled the cigarette tax, I lost a quarter of my business," said Greg Ali, who owns a Royal Farms in Rockville. "If they ban snack food, I'm a goner."
He said he was scouting new locations to open his business in Virginia, where "legislators are less schizophrenic."
Anti- obesity groups praised the bill for one of its unintended consequences. "From now on, hungry motorists will have to eat their fast food the slow food way, sitting in a chair at a table, or face a ticket," said Tracy Delgado, an obesity researcher at Johns Hopkins University. She said the drive-through ban was a good first step to forcing people to eat healthier and hoped it would prompt legislators to consider banning all processed food.
David Kessler, former Food and Drug Administration commissioner and author of "The End of Overeating," praised Maryland as a "model for other states to follow to help people help themselves."
Legislators are exempted from the ban on eating in their cars if they are on en route to Annapolis during the session or on legislative business, according to the law.
Marta H. Mossburg is a senior fellow at the Maryland Public Policy Institute and a fellow at the Franklin Center for Government and Public Integrity. Her column appears regularly in The Baltimore Sun. Her e-mail is martamossburg@gmail.com.
Dems Struggle To Find Deficit Solutions (While They Keep On Spending..)
Along with creating jobs, looking at the “fiscal balance” of the country is one of the two major items the House will focus on, Majority Leader Steny Hoyer (D-Md.) said this week.
Democrats will be looking to return “to the fiscal health that we had, frankly, as we began this decade in 2000,” Hoyer said Tuesday.
But while work continues on various proposals to create jobs, a legislative portfolio for reducing the deficit and moving into fiscal balance is taking much longer to develop and move forward.
Part of the problem is the size of the deficit, which at an estimated $1.3 trillion cannot be reduced significantly in the near term without unthinkable spending cuts or tax increases.
What’s more, a fiscal reform commission created by an executive order issued by President Barack Obama — which is supposed to consider even the most politically unpalatable options, such as drastic changes to entitlement programs — won’t submit its recommendations to Congress until December, a full month after the November elections that Hoyer acknowledged will be, to some degree, about the deficit.
Another problem is that most of the ways the deficit could be significantly lowered are politically untenable, or would threaten to hurt the economy at a time when Democrats are looking for growth in jobs.
Since passing a pay-as-you-go law, Congress has been burning through items that have been marked as exempt, including a $154 billion jobs bill that House leaders still hope to take into conference with the Senate.
A number of House Democrats — beyond the usual group of Blue Dogs — have taken note of the trend, and are not pleased.
“We need to be more judicious and selective about what constitutes an ‘emergency’ spending bill,” said Rep. Gerry Connolly (D-Va.), a member of the centrist New Democrat Coalition. “The other thing is we can’t accept false promises.”
Some Democrats also worry that with liberals posturing against entitlement cuts and Republicans pre-emptively rejecting tax increases, the fiscal reform commission amounts to just that.
But the non-political alarm bells are getting louder as well.
On Wednesday, Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke warned the Joint Economic Committee that Congress must soon make “difficult choices” on the deficit or risk putting the economy in even greater jeopardy.
“At some point, the markets will make a judgment, really not about our economic capacity but our political ability, our political will, to achieve longer-term sustainability,” Bernanke said.
Bernanke conceded that, in the short term, there is little that can be done to close the budget gap, but he said that a “credible plan” to reduce the deficit is urgently needed.
Study: Networks Snub, Malign 'Tea Party'
"Rather than objectively document the rise and impact of this important grassroots movement, the 'news' networks instead chose to first ignore, and then deplore, the citizen army mobilizing against the unpopular policies of a liberal president and Congress," wrote MRC Research Director Rich Noyes.
As a nation-spanning "Tea Party Express" caravan plans to pull into Washington for a "tax day" rally on Thursday, a Rasmussen poll finds that the number of people who say they're part of the tea party movement nationally has grown to 24 percent, up from 16 percent a month ago.
"The rise in tea party support is perhaps not surprising at a time when more voters than ever (58 percent) favor repeal of the national health care plan just passed by Democrats in Congress and signed into law by President Obama," the pollster wrote.
More from the Washington Times
RNC Chairman: GOP Wants To Help Black Community
Michael Steele, the Republican National Committee's first black chairman, told an audience that his party wants to help the black community but they need to do a better job of depending on themselves and not the government to create opportunities.
Steele received a warm welcome from hundreds of black activists at the annual meeting of the National Action Network, an organization founded by the Rev. Al Sharpton, a noted civil rights activist and former Democratic presidential candidate.
Steele has come under fire from some Republicans after saying he is held to a different standard because he is black. He is also battling accusations that he has allowed RNC money to be misspent.
Polls continue to show that most black voters favor the Democratic Party and approve of President Barack Obama, the nation's first black president.
The audience reacted somewhat skeptically when Steele invoked Thurgood Marshall, the first black Supreme Court justice. Marshall once said that while people need to pull themselves up by their bootstraps, a teacher or religious figure probably "bent down and helped us pick up our boots."
Steele called that a Republican message.
"The Republican National Committee wants to bend down and help," he said, drawing cries of "How?" and "Not the Tea Party!" — the largely white, antitax movement that Steele has tried to woo into the GOP fold.
Steele honored other civil rights leaders like Harriet Tubman and the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. and invoked slavery to encourage blacks to own their own businesses.
"I want to own, I don't want to be owned," he said to applause.
Steele acknowledged that blacks still trail whites in education and employment opportunities but urged the audience to apply business- and community-oriented solutions to solve those problems. He said depending on government stifled black progress.
Poll: Huge Spike In Opposition To Obamacare
A new Associated Press-GfK poll finds Americans oppose the health care remake 50 percent to 39 percent. Before a divided Congress finally passed the bill and Obama signed it at a jubilant White House ceremony last month, public opinion was about evenly split. Another 10 percent of Americans say they are neutral.
Disapproval for Obama's handling of health care also increased from 46 percent in early March before he signed the bill, to 52 percent currently — a level not seen since last summer's angry town hall meetings.
Nonetheless, the bleak numbers may not represent a final judgment for the president and his Democratic allies in Congress.
Only 28 percent of those polled said they understand the overhaul extremely or very well. And a big chunk of those who don't understand it remain neutral. Democrats hope to change public opinion by calling attention to benefits available this year for seniors, families with children transitioning to work and people shut out of coverage because of a medical problem.
"There are some things I like, because I think that there are some people who need health care," said Jim Fall, 73, a retired computer consultant from Wrightwood, Calif.
But "I don't like the idea of the government dictating what health care should be like," added Fall. "Nor do I like them taking money out of Medicare. They are going to create more waste and they are going to take away benefits."
Seniors — reliable voters in midterm congressional races — were more likely to oppose the law. Forty-nine percent strongly opposed it, compared with 37 percent of those 64 and younger. Seniors' worries that Medicare cuts to insurers, hospitals and other providers will undermine their care represent a formidable challenge for Democratic congressional candidates this fall.
Analysts said the level of public wariness on such a major piece of social legislation is unusual.
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Tea Anyone?
Thousands of taxpayers from across the nation are planning to descend on the White House Thursday, and a million more are expected to take their fight against excessive spending, growth of big government and soaring deficits to more than 700 rallies in U.S. cities this week.
Tea Party Patriots estimates that there are currently 737 Tax Day tea party events scheduled by local organizations across the nation. The group offers a list of many of the events for those interested in attending and a zip code search feature to find local rallies. Also, FreedomWorks, leading organizer of the Washington rally, has a separate list of nearly 200 events scheduled for April 15.
"This April 15 will be the largest network of events across the country that I believe we've seen in a long time," FreedomWorks President Matt Kibbe said in a recent conference call. "We expect millions of people to show up across the country protesting a government that is out of control, a government that does not listen to the American people. We want to take our country back."
Meanwhile, FreedomWorks is asking for last-minute donations to fund a live stream broadcast of the event and purchase portable restrooms, security barriers and signs for a massive tea party at the White House Ellipse from 5:45 p.m. to 9:30 p.m. Tea Party TV also plans to provide streaming coverage of the Tax Day tea parties and is inviting citizens to submit their own videos and photos of the events.
Speakers at the Washington rally include Lord Monckton, Andrew Breitbart, former Rep. Dick Armey, Rep. Ron Paul, R-Texas, Tucker Carlson, Rep. Tom Price, R-Ga., and Rev. C.L. Bryant.
Kibbe said they will talk about the major economic issues of the day, including strategies to combat the Democrats' recently passed health-care legislation, energy taxation and a 50-state strategy to take America back.
Correspondent Shut Out Of Questions, Again
That was one of two questions prepared by Les Kinsolving, WND's correspondent at the White House, to ask at Wednesday's daily press briefing with Press Secretary Robert Gibbs.
The second question was, "Is the president aware of Frederick Douglass' statement of "many colored men in the Confederate Army … real soldiers, having musket on their shoulders and bullets in their pockets."?
But Kinsolving was allowed to ask neither question, as Gibbs declined to recognize him. That was while he was recognizing Urban Radio for five questions and NBC, the New York Times and Fox News for four each.
Kinsolving, who ranks third in seniority on the White House beat, reports Gibbs has declined to allow him to ask questions more times than any of the other 14 White House press secretaries he's covered since he started the beat during the last year of the Nixon administration.
He had wanted a White House reaction to McCartney's statement: "The Confederacy ranks a few notches down from Naziism in the hierarchy of immoral regimes. ..."
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NPR Changes Archive Regarding President's Birth
WND reported recently when the archives of the subsidized broadcast outlet referenced Obama's birthplace as Kenya and called him a "son of Africa."
But the records were altered shortly after the WND story was posted, and NPR ombudsman, Alicia Shepard, has explained, "I would hope they would correct factually inaccurate information since Obama was born in Hawaii."
She explained further.
"I have looked into it. Someone writing a summary of a story that aired on NPR incorrectly wrote that the story said Barack Obama was born in Kenya. The story said Obama's father was from Kenya."
However, she declined to explain what documentation or evidence provided the reason for the change.
Blogger Todd Starnes also asked NPR about the issue, and was told the statement was a "typo."
Other organizations have made similar changes. As WND has reported, United Press International and Snopes.com both at one time had statements that President Obama was born at Queen's Medical Center in Honolulu, Hawaii.
But they later changed their records to reference Kapi'olani Medical Center for Women and Children, also in Honolulu.
The changes came after WND reported Obama claimed he was born at Kapi'olani.NPR's promotion for the story had included a brief description of West African correspondent Ofeibea Quist-Arcton, who "describes the stories that have been exciting, including the U.S. presidential race of Kenyan-born Sen. Barack Obama."
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SHOREBIRDS ON VERGE OF 1,000TH WIN IN 15TH ANNIVERSARY SEASON
Salisbury, MD – With the 15th Anniversary Season in full swing, the Delmarva Shorebirds are one win shy of reaching 1,000 in the history of the franchise. The Shorebirds play the Greensboro Grasshoppers on Thursday, April 15th in Greensboro, N.C. before returning to Arthur W. Perdue for the home opener on Friday, April 16th at 7:05 p.m.
The Delmarva Shorebirds brought baseball back to the Eastern Shore in 1996 as a Montreal Expos affiliate and posted an 83-59 record. The 83 wins by the inaugural team are still the most wins in a single-season in Shorebirds history. Current Shorebirds pitching coach Troy Mattes played an integral part in leading the ‘Birds to the South Atlantic League championship series.
The Shorebirds won their two league titles in 1997 and 2000 as an Orioles affiliate. In 1997, current Shorebirds manager Ryan Minor anchored the offense with a .307 batting average, 24 home runs and 97 RBIs. Calvin Pickering also pulverized the South Atlantic League with a .311 batting average, 25 home runs and 79 RBIs. In 2000, Joe Ferguson, the all-time leader in managerial wins, led the ‘Birds to the league title. Willie Harris, Napolean Calzado and Eddie Rogers were key contributors in the run to the league crown.
Over the years, many former Shorebirds have progressed up to the major leagues. The list includes: Michael Barrett, Nick Markakis, Brian Roberts, Erik Bedard, Ryan Minor, Troy Mattes, Willie Harris, Jayson Werth, Javier Vazquez, Brad Bergesen and Chris Ray.
No shortage of highly touted prospects have dawned the Shorebirds orange and white over the years. In fact, 15 first round draft picks have played for the Shorebirds including current pitcher and 2009 fifth overall selection, Matt Hobgood.
The Shorebirds have reached the postseason six different times in the last fourteen years. Further, the ‘Birds have posted seven winning seasons since 1996.
The Shorebirds will pay tribute to the last 15 years of baseball on the Eastern Shore in variety of ways throughout the 2010 campaign. The 15th Anniversary Team, which will consist of the top 30 players in the history of the franchise, will be unveiled in the next week. The Shorebirds will also hold five 15th Anniversary Team Card Strip Giveaways during the season, in which each member of team will be featured on a baseball card.
The Shorebirds host the Hagerstown Suns at 7:05 p.m. at Arthur W. Perdue Stadium on Friday, April 16th. For information about the “Opening Night Bash” and to purchase tickets to the home opener, call the Shorebirds Box Office at 410-219-3112.
Year-by-Year Results
1996 - 83-59
1997 - 77-65
1998 - 81-61
1999 - 58-80
2000 - 74-62
2001 - 61-79
2002 - 76-64
2003 - 67-71
2004 - 69-69
2005 - 72-67
2006 - 64-73
2007 - 68-68
2008 - 78-61
2009 - 66-70
2010 - 5-2
SOMETHING TO TAKE TO THAT T-PARTY TODAY!
Print one or more copies and display or circulate this flyer at the rally in downtown Salisbury today – at the Government Office Building, starting at 5 PM. If the mainstream media is there, show it to the reporter and ask that he/she interview Rick Pollitt to ask why he does not listen to the people.
Stimulus Spending Update: $329 Billion Out the Door
by Sebastian Jones,
The Obama administration has spent close to $329 billion in stimulus funds, according to numbers from Recovery.gov. The latest total includes about $210 billion in spending and $119 billion in tax cuts. Overall, just over 41 percent of the nearly $800 billion stimulus package has entered the economy.
You can track stimulus spending by agency on our interactive Stimulus Progress Bar. You can also see how fast that money is moving out the door, by checking out our Stimulus Speed Chart.
Tea Time On Tax Day
Rally officials hope President Barack Obama's administration will hear their appeals as the 7-9:30 p.m. event is a stone's throw from the White House. A press conference is planned for 9 a.m. with a "People's Tax Revolt" to follow at 11 a.m. at Freedom Plaza.
"The Tea Party isn't really a political party," said photojournalist David Lent, who shot a feature news story for Austrian Television on the Tea Party Movement. "It's a voice to the voiceless of people drawn together to express their fear of big government taxing and spending, anti-health care reform and a desire to return to the ideals of the of era of Ronald Reagan."
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