Rick Santelli's Chicago Tea Party |
- GOP questioning Mont. gov’s line-item veto on tax
- Sen. Snowe braces for tea party challenge in Maine
- ACLU, tea party unite in Northern California over free speech
- Huntsman Inches Toward White House Bid
- Silver Plunge Spreads
- The U.S. Secret Service is following you on Twitter
- Muslim leaders say they were taken off Tenn flight
- Congress scrambling to draft ‘do not track’ laws
| GOP questioning Mont. gov’s line-item veto on tax Posted: 08 May 2011 05:00 AM PDT By MATT GOURAS, Bloomberg.com Republican legislative leaders said Thursday that Montana Gov. Brian Schweitzer may have overstepped his line-item veto authority a day earlier by nixing a new fee on many businesses, a notion the governor quickly contested by pointing to a past court decision on the issue. The lawmakers asked for a legal opinion from their staffers and made it clear it could lead to a lawsuit over amendatory vetoes Schweitzer has issued. Senate President Jim Peterson said lawmakers will discuss the issue next Friday. Schweitzer used his line-item veto authority Wednesday to strike a provision embedded in one of the budget bills. The provision would have levied a 2.75 percent tax on workers’ compensation insurance to pay off an old account with the State Fund insurance program. “This was the most outrageous act by Republican legislators in the dark of night since they pushed utility deregulation through,” Schweitzer said. “I would say I am outraged by that behavior. I have never allowed the Legislature to raise taxes before, and I will not allow these Republicans to raise taxes now.” Republicans argue the assessment is needed to pay the bills for the old account that currently come out of the state’s general fund. Schweitzer argues it is unfair to levy another tax on businesses since that old account is the state’s responsibility. To read more, visit: http://www.businessweek.com/ap/financialnews/D9N2019O0.htm |
| Sen. Snowe braces for tea party challenge in Maine Posted: 08 May 2011 05:00 AM PDT
WASHINGTON — Maine’s Olympia Snowe has long thrived as one of the Senate’s leading GOP moderates, but she has recently sided with tea partyers on high-profile votes involving Libya, the budget and the environment as she braces for a primary challenge from the right. Such votes could help Snowe fend off tea party foes who mock her as a “RINO” — Republican In Name Only — and hope to sink her bid for a fourth term next year. Snowe insisted she’s been true to her moderate roots. “I am who I am,” Snowe said. “I haven’t changed.” Another test for Snowe could come as Senate Democrats push for a vote on a GOP House budget plan that calls for deep cuts and privatizing Medicare. Democrats who see the plan as politically unpopular want to put Republicans like Snowe on the hot seat. She backed a motion by Kentucky Sen. Rand Paul, a tea party hero, to undercut President Barack Obama’s use of military force in Libya. Snowe joined nine Republican senators, most of them conservatives, supporting Paul’s motion, but it failed, 90-10. Maine GOP Sen. Susan Collins voted for it, lending Snowe political cover. Other moderates like Arizona Sen. John McCain opposed it. To read more, visit: http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/42932585/ns/politics/ |
| ACLU, tea party unite in Northern California over free speech Posted: 08 May 2011 05:00 AM PDT By ROBIN HINDERY, Associated Press, MercuryNews.com SAN FRANCISCO — A free-speech dispute in a Northern California city has forged an unlikely alliance between two strange political bedfellows: the regional chapter of the American Civil Liberties Union and a local tea party group. The ACLU of Northern California and the North State Tea Party Alliance are often at opposite ends of the ideological spectrum, but they have come together in their opposition to new restrictions on leafleting in front of the library in Redding. The policy requires reservations for leafleting at the library and restricts the activity to about 10 percent of the main entrance. It also prohibits pamphleteers from approaching patrons or placing materials on car windshields in the library parking lot. The two groups filed parallel lawsuits last week claiming the new regulations are unconstitutional. Shasta County Superior Court Judge Monica Marlow on Wednesday issued a temporary restraining order blocking implementation of the Outdoor Public Forum Policy, which was approved last month by the Redding city council. The plaintiffs acknowledge that the two groups are unexpected allies, but say free speech is an issue that unites people of all political stripes. “We have differences of opinion, but on this issue we agree,” said Don Yost, a plaintiff in the ACLU lawsuit and chair of the organization’s Shasta-Tehama-Trinity chapter. “First Amendment freedoms aren’t just for people you agree with.” To read more, visit: http://www.mercurynews.com/crime-courts/ci_17999235?nclick_check=1 |
| Huntsman Inches Toward White House Bid Posted: 07 May 2011 02:29 PM PDT By: FOXNews.com It’s been a busy first week back in the United States for Republican Jon Huntsman. President Obama’s former ambassador to China no sooner stepped off the plane from Beijing than he was meeting with advisers in Washington, courting donors in New York and wooing lawmakers on Capitol Hill. He also swiftly set up a federal political committee and hired staff, all clear signs he’s moving rapidly toward a White House run. Huntsman made his first public appearance Saturday with a commencement address at the University of South Carolina in a state that holds the first-in-the-South primary in the race for the Republican nomination. “Things are moving pretty quickly,” Huntsman told reporters Friday after meeting privately with South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley. He signaled that he’d decide sooner rather than later whether to run, adding: “Whatever timeline one is looking at can’t be more than a couple months.” The former Utah governor said he and his family are “seriously considering our options and taking a good serious look at maintaining some level of activity in public service.” To read more, visit: http://www.foxnews.com/politics/2011/05/07/huntsman-inches-white-house-bid/ |
| Posted: 07 May 2011 02:26 PM PDT By: John Melloy, Executive Producer, Fast Money, CNBC.com A cascading crash in commodities beginning with silver a week ago spread to oil and copper as exchanges took steps to rein in speculation, economic data pointed to a global selloff and big name investors took profits. Silver [SICV1 35.283 -0.948 (-2.62%) ] was the first to crack five trading days ago and is now down more than 27 percent since its high last Friday, including a 10 percent drop today alone. The silver panic forced traders to sell other hard assets to raise cash, with the selling spreading to oil and copper over the course of the last two days. Oil [CLCV1 97.18 -2.62 (-2.63%) ] fell below $100 Thursday, more than 13 percent from its high on May 2. Copper plunged more than 3 percent, extending losses from its high five days ago to greater than 7 percent. Selling in silver intensified this afternoon into the end of open outcry trading as traders borrowing on margin got a tap on the shoulder to pay up under the new CME requirements. Of all the declines, it was the participation of copper in the bloodbath that worried investors most. "I think of copper as a better indicator of economic activity than some of the other commodities," said Karen Finerman, president of hedge fund Metropolitan Capital Advisors and a 'Fast Money' trader. "For example, oil can move on unrest in the Middle East and gold and silver can move more easily on speculation and some of these margin requirements." The CME has hiked silver margin requirements five times this month. The moves helped push silver down from within $1 of its highest price ever. Selling intensified this week after the Wall Street Journal reported that big investors like George Soros were taking profits in the metal. Yesterday, it was revealed that Carlos Slim, the richest person in the world, had begun to sell the metal. But traders kept coming back to the drop in copper [HGCV1 3.9635 -0.022 (-0.55%) ] Thursday as the real reason for concern. Silver, like gold, is used as a store of value and has a history as an actual currency as well. The metal was therefore getting a similar speculative boost based on concern the Fed's easy money policies are leading to inflation. It doesn't have nearly the industrial use of copper, which is an essential component in construction. To read more, visit: http://www.cnbc.com/id/42921284 |
| The U.S. Secret Service is following you on Twitter Posted: 07 May 2011 02:21 PM PDT By: Chris Moody – The Daily Caller, YahooNews.com The U.S. Secret Service launched an official Twitter account this week, with plans to use the social media site to promote its visibility and investigative work. The federal agency charged with protecting the nation's highest government officials will use the account to "highlight the investigative missions, press releases, and distribute information to communities hosting national special security events, to explore Secret Service history and and promote any recruiting opportunities," said Secret Service spokesman Max Milien. For example, the agency plans to use the account during the APEC conference in Honolulu, Hawaii, in November to spread the word about roads and buildings that will be closed off for the event. The Secret Service joins a number of federal agencies that already use social media tools like Twitter and Facebook. The agency's Office of Government and Public Affairs will run the account and plans to post its first tweet Monday, May 9. As of this writing, the account already has nearly 500 followers. |
| Muslim leaders say they were taken off Tenn flight Posted: 07 May 2011 02:18 PM PDT By RANDALL DICKERSON, Associated Press, YahooNews.com NASHVILLE, Tenn. – Two Muslim religious leaders say they were asked to leave a commercial airliner in Memphis on Friday and were told it was because the pilot refused to fly with them aboard. Masudur Rahman, who is also an adjunct instructor of Arabic at the University of Memphis, said by phone from the terminal at Memphis International Airport that he and another imam had already been allowed to board their Delta Connection flight to Charlotte, N.C., before they were asked to get off the plane. Transportation Security Administration spokesman Jon Allen in Atlanta confirmed the incident and said it was not initiated by that agency. A Delta Air Lines spokeswoman said the flight was operated by Atlantic Southeast Airlines, which is also based in Atlanta. “We take security and safety very seriously and the event is currently under investigation,” Atlantic Southeast spokesman Jarek Beem said Friday evening. Both passengers are Memphis-area residents. Rahman said he was dressed in traditional Indian clothing and his traveling companion was dressed in Arab garb, including traditional headgear. Rahman said he and Mohamed Zaghloul, of the Islamic Association of Greater Memphis, were cleared by security agents and boarded the plane for an 8:40 a.m. departure. The aircraft pulled away from the gate, but the pilot then announced the plane must return, Rahman said. When it did, the imams were asked to go back to the boarding gate where Rahman said they were told the pilot was refusing to accept them because some other passengers could be uncomfortable. To read more, visit: http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/us_imams_airline |
| Congress scrambling to draft ‘do not track’ laws Posted: 07 May 2011 02:13 PM PDT By Cecelia Kang, Washington Post, sfgate.com Lawmakers said Friday they will introduce two “do not track” privacy bills that would allow people to block companies from following their activity on the Internet. The proposals reflect Congress’ growing focus on passing first-time privacy laws for all Internet users and updating children’s privacy laws as more young people get on the Web through mobile devices. Web firms generally oppose “do not track” rules, first recommended by the Federal Trade Commission, arguing that companies can create tools to help users manage tracking. Some firms, such as Microsoft and Mozilla, have come up with browser-based privacy controls without government mandates. In the House, Reps. Edward Markey, D-Mass., and Joe Barton, R-Texas, issued a draft of a children’s privacy bill, called the “Do Not Track Kids Act of 2011,” which seeks to protect the youngest users from tailored marketing and from the risk of exposing personal information without parents’ consent. The bill specifies that the privacy rules would apply to mobile phone apps, an area unregulated by the federal government. It would require companies to get parental consent to collect location information from children 12 and younger. Teens would have to expressly agree to location collection. Sen. Jay Rockefeller, D-W.Va., said he would introduce a bill covering all Internet users, making it illegal for websites and marketers to track anyone who had opted out of data collection. The measure would also require companies to destroy user information or make it anonymous once it is no longer useful. The FTC would be in charge of enforcement. To read more, visit: http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2011/05/06/MNTC1JD50U.DTL#ixzz1LfKf7Xz8 |
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