Rick Santelli's Chicago Tea Party: July 2011

Sunday, July 31, 2011

Rick Santelli's Chicago Tea Party

Dueling mailers in Iowa: Bachmann slams Obama, Paul slams rival Republicans
Amazon, eBay split over online sales tax bill
President Barack Obama takes debt battle to Twitter, loses more than 40,000 followers in one day
OBAMACARE TAX: Medical Device Maker to Eliminate 1,200 jobs
Cop under fire for beating, arresting man videotaping police
Senate quickly kills House debt bill
Boehner debt ceiling bill’s 22 ‘no’ votes: Who’s who

Dueling mailers in Iowa: Bachmann slams Obama, Paul slams rival Republicans

Posted: 30 Jul 2011 08:57 AM PDT

By JENNIFER JACOBS, The Des Moines Register

Letters soliciting campaign donations landed in Iowa mailboxes today from presidential candidates Michele Bachmann and Ron Paul.

She asks for help to stop President Barack Obama and "his liberal allies."

He asks for help defeating his fellow Republicans in Iowa.

Bachmann says in her six-page letter: "Virtually every poll shows me in first or second place. But polls alone will not get us across the finish line."

She says she needs money to prevent Obama and the Democrats in Congress "from wasting our children's inheritance and jeopardizing our nation's promise."

She asks Iowans to check boxes saying she can count on them to travel to Ames to vote for her at the straw poll on Aug. 13, donate money, or volunteer in other ways to help her "insurgent conservative campaign."

Amazon, eBay split over online sales tax bill

Posted: 30 Jul 2011 08:54 AM PDT

By MICHELLE QUINN, Politico

Amazon supports a bill that would give states the ability to force online retailers to collect sales tax, but eBay does not.

Those were some of the reactions to the Main Street Fairness Act, which Sen. Dick Durbin (D-Ill.) introduced on Friday.

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Congress has considered the bill before, but Durbin is hoping there is momentum now for his effort. In the past year, numerous states have passed online sales tax laws and have been battling with online retailers, in particular Amazon, over the issue of requiring those retailers to collect sales taxes.

Amazon has fought some state laws by challenging them in court and by severing business partnerships in the state. In California, Amazon is backing a referendum to overturn the law.

The Durbin bill includes something it calls a "small seller" exemption. Determining who qualifies as a "small seller" will be the job of the Governing Board of the Streamline Sales and Use Tax Agreement, which promotes standardizing the myriad of state tax policies.

The senator has support for the bill from other Democrats, including South Dakota Sen. Tim Johnson, who will co-sponsor the bill. In the House, Reps. John Conyers (D-Mich.) and Peter Welch (D-Vt.) are planning to introduce an identical bill.

But missing among the bill's initial supporters is Sen. Mike Enzi (R-Wyo.), who has backed the proposal in the past.

"While Sen. Enzi continues to work with Sen. Durbin on this issue, he is not ready to move forward as an original co-sponsor at this time," a spokesman for Enzi said. "Sen. Enzi is working with his Republican colleagues to build greater support for the legislative concept."

President Barack Obama takes debt battle to Twitter, loses more than 40,000 followers in one day

Posted: 30 Jul 2011 08:46 AM PDT

BY ANJALI MULLANY, DAILY NEWS

President Obama brought his debt battle to Twitter and he lost – more than 40,000 Twitter followers.

Obama asked Americans Friday to call, email, and tweet Congressional leaders to "keep the pressure on" lawmakers in hopes of reaching a bipartisan deal to raise the nation's $14.3 trillion debt limit ahead of an Aug. 2 deadline.

Obama's campaign staff used the @BarackObama Twitter account to post the Twitter handles of tweeting GOP leaders – state by state, tweet by tweet.

"Tweet at your Republican legislators and urge them to support a bipartisan compromise to the debt crisis," Obama's campaign staff wrote on his account before launching the day-long Twitter campaign.

The campaign appears to have served its purpose: Republican Twitter accounts were flooded with pleas for compromise.

Not everyone is a fan of the presidential spam. By Friday evening, the President had lost more than 40,000 Twitter followers – and counting.

OBAMACARE TAX: Medical Device Maker to Eliminate 1,200 jobs

Posted: 30 Jul 2011 08:42 AM PDT

By Robert Weisman, Boston Globe

Boston Scientific Corp. said yesterday that it plans to eliminate 1,200 to 1,400 jobs worldwide during the next 2 ½ years to free money for new investments, the Natick medical device maker's second major round of cuts since last year.

The company would not say how many jobs will be lost in Massachusetts, where fewer than 2,000 of its 25,000 employees are based. In February 2010, Boston Scientific said it would pare 1,300 jobs worldwide, but similarly did not say where.

Yesterday's move, a day after Boston Scientific disclosed it was investing $150 million and hiring 1,000 people in China, raised fears that the company will gradually shift more work to foreign sites with less government oversight and lower costs than the United States.

"I've asked for information on where they are cutting jobs,'' said state Senator James B. Eldridge, an Acton Democrat. He has proposed so-called clawback legislation that would allow the state to recover money from businesses that receive tax breaks here – including Boston Scientific – and then reduce their workforces.

"My sense is, sadly, that like many other American companies, they are shedding jobs in Massachusetts and adding jobs overseas,'' Eldridge said. "And this is a company making greater profits, so it's even more outrageous.''

Boston Scientific has been under intense US regulatory scrutiny in recent years because of defects in a pair of its best-selling cardiac products: tiny mesh tubes known as stents that are used to keep cleared arteries open and implantable defibrillators that send electric shocks to restore heart rhythm.

And earlier this month, the Food and Drug Administration said it was investigating whether plastic mesh made by Boston Scientific and other companies should be banned for a procedure to treat a gynecological condition called pelvic organ prolapse.

Despite those setbacks – and the surprise departure of chief executive J. Raymond Elliott, scheduled for the end of this year – the company yesterday posted stronger-than-expected second-quarter earnings of $146 million, or 10 cents a share, up from $98 million, or 6 cents a share, in the corresponding period last year.

Cop under fire for beating, arresting man videotaping police

Posted: 30 Jul 2011 08:39 AM PDT

BY MIKE BLASKY, LAS VEGAS REVIEW-JOURNAL

A Las Vegas police officer under investigation for the videotaped beating of a man in March violated several Metropolitan Police Department policies, an internal investigation found.

Mitchell Crooks’ complaint about officer Derek Colling’s excessive force was sustained, Deputy Chief Gary Schofield said Friday.

The specific policy violations will not be released until the case is finalized.

Crooks, 36, received a letter from the Internal Affairs Bureau notifying him of the findings earlier this week.

He said he was pleasantly surprised.

“It seems like they’re saying he was guilty, which is what I’ve been saying,” Crooks said. “I really hope he gets fired.”

Colling has been on paid suspension since April 1.

Multiple supervisors in Colling’s chain of command will review the internal affairs report and decide his punishment, if any, Schofield said.

That review could take several weeks.

If Colling’s supervisors recommend his firing, he will go before a pre-termination board for a final appeal. The harshest punishment short of firing is a 40-hour unpaid suspension.

Senate quickly kills House debt bill

Posted: 30 Jul 2011 08:35 AM PDT

By Stephen Dinan-The Washington Times

The Senate late Friday rejected yet another House Republican proposal to stave off a looming debt crisis, acting just hours after the lower chamber had approved the measure and leaving the path to a deal still in doubt with just days to go before the Tuesday deadline.

Senators voted 59-41 vote to table the House bill, and vowed to vote on Democrats' own proposal early Sunday — though that has little chance of passing the chamber with Republicans and even some Democrats saying it doesn't strike the right balance.

"There is a filibuster. This is something that shouldn't be filibustered," said Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, Nevada Democrat.

SenateDemocrats have now rejected two different House proposals, but have yet to pass their own plan as the government prepares to bump up against its $14.29 trillion borrowing limit next week.

The House bill passed only after Republicans recovered from an embarrassing debacle Thursday, when they discovered in the middle of the debate they lacked the votes for passage, and had to pull their bill from the floor.

After rewriting the bill to make a future debt increase contingent on passing a balanced budget amendment to the Constitution, Republican leaders won enough support.

Boehner debt ceiling bill’s 22 ‘no’ votes: Who’s who

Posted: 30 Jul 2011 07:57 AM PDT

By ALEX ISENSTADT, Politico

There were 22 Republicans who lined up against House Speaker John Boehner's package to raise the nation's debt ceiling – a cast that's almost entirely made up of tea party-backed freshmen and a few deeply conservative veterans.

Of the nearly two dozen 'no' votes, about half were cast by freshmen who waged anti-Washington campaigns that railed against Congress's culture of spending – a group that includes Michigan Rep. Justin Amash, Tennessee Rep. Scott DesJarlais, and Minnesota Rep. Chip Cravaack, who explained in a statement following the vote that, "Last November, I told my constituents in the 8th District that I'm a numbers guy. I gave them my promise and my word that if the numbers don't add up, I'm not voting for it."Nearly all of those who voted 'no' are aligned with the tea party, including Illinois Rep. Joe Walsh and Florida Rep. Steve Southerland, two rookies who have distinguished themselves as especially vocal critics of the Washington establishment since arriving in Congress earlier this year.

Nearly all of those who voted 'no' are aligned with the tea party, including Illinois Rep. Joe Walsh and Florida Rep. Steve Southerland, two rookies who have distinguished themselves as especially vocal critics of the Washington establishment since arriving in Congress earlier this year.

One relatively small state accounted for almost a quarter of the votes against the Boehner bill: South Carolina, a hotbed of tea party activism. The state's entire five-member GOP delegation voted in unison, including the four freshmen – Reps. Jeff Duncan, Tim Scott, Mick Mulvaney, and Trey Gowdy – and veteran Rep. Joe Wilson, the conservative who famously yelled "You lie!" at President Barack Obama during a nationally televised joint session of Congress.

"This past November, Americans made it clear they expect their elected leaders to make meaningful fiscal reforms today so as to not burden future generations with crushing deficits and debts tomorrow," Wilson said after the vote.

To read ore, visit: http://www.politico.com/news/stories/0711/60270.html

Saturday, July 30, 2011

Rick Santelli's Chicago Tea Party

New NASA Data Blow Gaping Hole In Global Warming Alarmism
South Carolina Governor Rejects NAACP Push to Remove Confederate Flag
Presidential Run Questions Follow Gov. Christie’s Health Scare
Rep. West: Tea Party is ‘schizo’

New NASA Data Blow Gaping Hole In Global Warming Alarmism

Posted: 29 Jul 2011 02:27 PM PDT

By: James Taylor, Forbes.com

NASA satellite data from the years 2000 through 2011 show the Earth's atmosphere is allowing far more heat to be released into space than alarmist computer models have predicted, reports a new study in the peer-reviewed science journal Remote Sensing. The study indicates far less future global warming will occur than United Nations computer models have predicted, and supports prior studies indicating increases in atmospheric carbon dioxide trap far less heat than alarmists have claimed.

Study co-author Dr. Roy Spencer, a principal research scientist at the University of Alabama in Huntsville and U.S. Science Team Leader for the Advanced Microwave Scanning Radiometer flying on NASA's Aqua satellite, reports that real-world data from NASA's Terra satellite contradict multiple assumptions fed into alarmist computer models.

"The satellite observations suggest there is much more energy lost to space during and after warming than the climate models show," Spencer said in a July 26 University of Alabama press release. "There is a huge discrepancy between the data and the forecasts that is especially big over the oceans."

In addition to finding that far less heat is being trapped than alarmist computer models have predicted, the NASA satellite data show the atmosphere begins shedding heat into space long before United Nations computer models predicted.

The new findings are extremely important and should dramatically alter the global warming debate.

Scientists on all sides of the global warming debate are in general agreement about how much heat is being directly trapped by human emissions of carbon dioxide (the answer is "not much"). However, the single most important issue in the global warming debate is whether carbon dioxide emissions will indirectly trap far more heat by causing large increases in atmospheric humidity and cirrus clouds. Alarmist computer models assume human carbon dioxide emissions indirectly cause substantial increases in atmospheric humidity and cirrus clouds (each of which are very effective at trapping heat), but real-world data have long shown that carbon dioxide emissions are not causing as much atmospheric humidity and cirrus clouds as the alarmist computer models have predicted.

South Carolina Governor Rejects NAACP Push to Remove Confederate Flag

Posted: 29 Jul 2011 02:23 PM PDT

By Mary Quinn O’Connor, FOXNews.com

South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley isn’t retreating from her decision to keep the Confederate flag atop the north end of the Statehouse in Columbia despite complaints from the NAACP, whose president this week said the ethnic minority governor is a “contradiction” for allowing the flag to fly.

Speaking to a crowd at an NAACP national conference in Los Angeles on Monday, NAACP President Benjamin Jealous attempted to shame Haley into removing the flag by comparing African American slavery to oppression Haley’s ancestors in India faced under British rule.

“Perhaps one of the most perplexing examples of the contradictions of this moment in history is that Nikki Haley, South Carolina’s first governor of color, continues to fly the Confederate flag in front of her state’s capitol. Given the similarities between our struggles to end slavery and segregation, and her ancestors’ struggle to end British colonialism and oppression in India, my question to Governor Haley is one that Dr. King often asked himself: ‘What would Gandhi do?’” Jealous said.

The flag has been at the north end of the Statehouse since 2000. It was moved there after legislation passed in response to protests and an NAACP boycott of the state over the flag’s position atop the dome of the Statehouse, where it was placed in 1962 by an all-white South Carolina Legislature.

Haley was born in South Carolina, and her spokesman said the decision lies with the people of the Palmetto State.

“More than a decade ago, under the leadership of a Democratic governor, South Carolinians Republican and Democrat, black and white, came to a compromise position on the Confederate flag,” said Haley press secretary, Rob Godfrey.

Presidential Run Questions Follow Gov. Christie’s Health Scare

Posted: 29 Jul 2011 01:57 PM PDT

From: Newyork.cbslocal.com

HOBOKEN, N.J. (CBSNewYork) — Governor Chris Christie appeared in good spirits and good health when he left a Somerville hospital Thursday night.

With his health no longer an immediate concern, reporters at a news conference outside the hospital quickly turned to whether Christie would be fit enough to mount a run for the White House.

Christie has long denied any intention to seek the presidency in 2012. Even if he were to run, Christie said his health wouldn't be a concern.

"I certainly don't think this has any role to play with it all. I think you judge people by what they do every day," Christie said.

The governor kicked off the most recent speculation about a presidential bid Monday when he visited Iowa for an education summit and to raise money for a local congressman.

"At the end of the day, if I decided that I wanted to run for president, I think you know me Charlie, I'd do it. But if there are people who don't think I'm up for it, then don't vote for me," he said.

Rep. West: Tea Party is ‘schizo’

Posted: 29 Jul 2011 01:50 PM PDT

By JENNIFER EPSTEIN, Politico.com

Rep. Allen West said Friday that the tea party movement has "schizophrenia" if it's going to primary him for supporting House Speaker John Boehner's bill to raise the debt ceiling.

"If the folks who one minute they're saying that I'm their 'tea party hero' and what, three or four days later I'm a 'tea party defector' – that kind of schizophrenia I'm not going to get involved in it," The Florida Republican said on "The Laura Ingraham Show."

Several tea party groups including Tea Party Express, Tea Party Nation and United West have said this week that they will support primary opponents to West and several other Republican freshmen if they support the Boehner bill.

But West, who represents a district on the east coast of Florida, insisted that he will support the Boehner bill. "If they want to bring forth a primary challenge then so be it," he said.

"I think what we have to ask ourselves is, if you're telling me that I need to vote no against the Boehner plan, then what am I voting for," he said. ""I'm going to stand with this Boehner plan."

Friday, July 29, 2011

Rick Santelli's Chicago Tea Party

Tea Party = Hezbollah?
Palin to Speak in Iowa in September
Lord of the Zings: Tea Partiers Slam McCain Over ‘Hobbit’ Reference
Fuel economy deal pushes average to 54.5 mpg

Tea Party = Hezbollah?

Posted: 28 Jul 2011 02:41 PM PDT

By Thomas L. Friedman, sacbee.com

There is only one thing worse than Republicans and Democrats failing to agree to lift the debt ceiling, and that is lifting the debt ceiling without a well- thought-out plan and with hasty cuts totaling trillions of dollars over a decade. Maybe you can grow without a plan. But if you cut without a plan, you will almost surely hit an artery or a bone that could really debilitate you. That, I fear, is where we are heading.

What would it look like if we were approaching this problem properly? For starters, two years ago Congress and the Obama administration would have collaborated on a series of hearings under the heading: “What world are we living in?” They would have included a broad range of business, education and technology leaders testifying about what are the major trends and opportunities that are expected to shape the job market for the next decade. Surely, the hyperconnecting of the world, the intensification of globalization and outsourcing, the challenges of energy and climate and the growing automation of the work space that is rapidly increasing productivity with fewer workers all would have figured prominently.

Then we would have put together “The National Commission for 21st Century America,” with this assignment: Given these big trends, what will America need to thrive in this world and how should we adapt our unique formula for success? Yes, we have developed such a formula over the course of American history, and it is built on five pillars: educating the workforce up to and beyond whatever technology demands; building the world’s best infrastructure of ports, roads and telecommunications; attracting the world’s most dynamic and high-IQ immigrants to enrich our universities and start new businesses; putting together the best regulations to incentivize risk-taking while curbing recklessness (not always perfectly); and funding research to push out the boundaries of science and then let American innovators and venture capitalists pluck off the most promising new ideas for new business.

Only after we had done all that would we then sit down with a blank sheet of paper and figure tax hikes and program cuts.

After all, “We don’t just need a plan for regaining American solvency. We need a plan for maintaining American greatness and sustaining the American dream for another generation,” argues Michael Mandelbaum, the Johns Hopkins University foreign policy expert (and co-author with me of a forthcoming book). “Such a plan requires cutting, taxing and spending. It requires cutting because we have made promises to ourselves on Social Security, Medicare and Medicaid that we cannot keep without reforming each of them.”

But we cannot possibly generate the savings — or the new investments — by just taking funds from these social programs and shredding the social safety nets, adds Mandelbaum. “That would trigger a backlash against free-market capitalism.”

Palin to Speak in Iowa in September

Posted: 28 Jul 2011 02:37 PM PDT

By TRIP GABRIEL, Thecaucus.blogs.nytimes.com

Sarah Palin's flirtation with running for president was renewed Thursday with the announcement that she would visit Iowa over the Labor Day weekend to speak to a Tea Party group.

The Tea Party of America, a recently formed political action committee, said Ms. Palin would address its "Restoring America" rally on Sept. 3. It quoted her in a press release as saying that she looked forward to speaking to "independent liberty-loving Americans'' at the rally in Waukee, outside Des Moines.

Ms. Palin, who earlier this summer toured the East Coast in a bus and dropped into Pella, Iowa, for the premiere of a film about her, is certain to draw a large crowd. "She has such an appeal that just her name alone attracts people,'' said Charlie Gruschow, a founder of Tea Party of America. "Whether or not they would vote for her I honestly don't know.''

The state Republican Party decided last weekend not to include Ms. Palin, the former Alaska governor, as an unannounced candidate on the ballot of its much-watched straw poll in Ames next month. And she has taken almost none of the conventional steps normally taken by a candidate who hopes to be competitive in the Iowa caucuses early next year. She has indicated, most recently on Fox News, that her time frame for a decision was "August and September.''

"It seems like it'll be a pretty important speech in Des Moines,'' said Peter Singleton, an organizer unaffiliated with Ms. Palin who is rallying support for her in Iowa. He put Mr. Gruschow's group in touch with aides at SarahPAC, Ms. Palin's official political group. Mr. Gruschow, who until recently ran Herman Cain's campaign in Iowa, contacted Ms. Palin's aides more or less out of the blue. "I don't know if we were lucky or it's the credibility I had or she just wanted to be in Iowa again,'' he said.

Lord of the Zings: Tea Partiers Slam McCain Over ‘Hobbit’ Reference

Posted: 28 Jul 2011 02:32 PM PDT

From: FOXNews.com

Sen. John McCain is attracting the ire of Tea Party conservatives, including a couple prominent ex-Senate candidates, after ridiculing them as “hobbits” during a speech on the Senate floor Wednesday.

The Arizona senator and former GOP presidential nominee singled out both Sharron Angle and Christine O’Donnell, Tea Party-backed candidates who ran last year for Senate in Nevada and Delaware respectively.

Reading from a Wall Street Journal editorial that mocked Tea Party supporters as “hobbits” and criticized Tea Party-backed lawmakers for holding out on a debt-ceiling increase, McCain said: “This is the kind of crack political thinking that turned Sharron Angle and Christine O’Donnell into GOP Senate nominees.”

Angle issued a searing statement in response on Thursday, calling it “regrettable” that the senator has resorted to “name-calling.”

“Ironically, this man campaigned for TEA Party support in his last re-election, but now throws Christine O’Donnell and I into the harbor with Sarah Palin,” Angle said, adding that “as in the fable, it is the hobbits who are the heroes and save the land.”

Further, Angle mocked McCain for borrowing lines from a newspaper editorial, instead of writing the Tolkien-laced critique himself.

Fuel economy deal pushes average to 54.5 mpg

Posted: 28 Jul 2011 02:27 PM PDT

By Martin LaMonica, cnetnews.com

The White House and automakers are expected to announce an agreement tomorrow to raise the fuel economy for vehicles, paving the way for a steady increase in mileage ratings.

According to published reports, a compromise has been largely worked out between the White House and automakers to set efficiency standards from 2017 to 2025. The agreement would require mileage to average 54.5 miles per gallon for passenger cars and light trucks by 2025, according to a Washington Post report.

It’s a significant step up from the 2016 level where cars and light trucks must average 31.4 miles per gallon or 250 grams per mile of carbon dioxide equivalent. This year, the fuel economy of all 2011 cars and trucks sold has to average out to 27.3 miles per gallon.

The agreement is structured so that each automaker will be given targets that reflect the types of vehicles it sells where very efficiency vehicles will offset gas guzzlers, according to a CNN report.

Automakers that sell large trucks and SUVs as well as more efficient compacts and hybrids might have a different target than a company that only sells small cars, the report said.

The corporate average fuel economy (CAFE) standards are structured so that cars will need an average 5 percent improvement each year from 2017 to 2025, while trucks would need to go up 3.5 percent through 2012, according to the CNN report.

The expected compromise falls short of the 60 mpg standard that environmental groups were advocating. But passage would set a national standard and create more certainty for industry in the near term. The deal builds off a landmark agreement that the Obama administration worked out two years ago to create a single national standard, rather than have automakers comply with federal, California, and EPA mandates.

Thursday, July 28, 2011

Rick Santelli's Chicago Tea Party

California Taxes In Heart Of Amazon Country
Boehner tries to tame GOP on debt ceiling plan
Tea Party Wants Boehner, Obama Fired
NSA Lawyer Questioned Over Cellphone Location Tracking of Americans
Long-term, universal flu shot on horizon
‘RIGHT OUT OF ATLAS SHRUGGED’: HEAR AN EXASPERATED ALABAMA BUSINESSMAN TELL THE FEDS – ‘I’M JUST QUITTING’
Town Moves To Ban Free Speech in Private Homes, Group Meetings
McCain Blasts Tea Party for ‘Foolish’ Demands in Debt Debate
Iowa Polling to Test Paul’s Move to Mainstream

California Taxes In Heart Of Amazon Country

Posted: 27 Jul 2011 05:51 PM PDT

By: Robert W. Wood, Forbes.com

Like mosquitoes, Amazon taxes are swarming in states like New York, Illinois, Rhode Island, North Carolina, and Colorado. Arizona, Hawaii, Minnesota, Mississippi and Vermont taxes are on the way. But California—often a leader when it comes to controversy—passed the newest and toughest of law. It requires many online merchants to collect California sales tax on shipments into California.

California's law—Steve Forbes has labeled California the "pickpocket state"—reaches far beyond making retailers collect tax if they have a physical presence in the Golden State. Online affiliates in the state trigger the obligation. Plus, California collects sales tax if the retailer (directly or through a subsidiary) designs or develops products sold by the retailer. As expected, Amazon cut ties with its California affiliates.

Meanwhile, California is gearing up. Jerome Horton, Chair of California's Board of Equalization tax agency announced enforcement steps:

Register. Out-of-state online retailers who meet the criteria "must" register with the Board of Equalization and collect and remit the use tax. If the out-of-state retailers refuse to comply, the state will enforce the law.

Constitutionality? The Board of Equalization doesn't have the power to declare a statute unenforceable or to refuse to enforce a statute. It can only do so if an appellate court or a referendum by the people has made a determination the statute isn't enforceable. Until then, pay up.

Key date. The Board of Equalization will have its first indication of non-compliance on October 31, 2011 when California sales and use tax returns for the third quarter of 2011 are due. At that time, the Board may begin issuing estimated billings to retailers that have failed to comply.

Heart of Darkness? Amazon argues the law is unconstitutional and wants California voters to decide whether to overturn it. A petition for a referendum has been filed with the California Attorney General which could require voters to decide on the new law. "This will likely set the stage for a potentially high-dollar ballot fight next year that would pit business against business," said Chairman Horton.

Boehner tries to tame GOP on debt ceiling plan

Posted: 27 Jul 2011 05:46 PM PDT

By JAKE SHERMAN & JOHN BRESNAHAN, Politico.com

A dust up among a major House conservative bloc and the prospect of tens of billions of dollars in new spending cuts has Republican leadership feeling as if it quelled an uprising on the right after struggling to line up votes for much of the week.

Speaker John Boehner of Ohio, Majority Leader Eric Cantor of Virginia, Majority Whip Kevin McCarthy of California and Chief Deputy Whip Peter Roskam of Illinois continued their hard sell of a two-step debt-limit package, meeting in Capitol offices to close the deal and avoid a default on the nation's $14.3 trillion debt.

In a closed-door Republican Conference meeting on Wednesday, Boehner demanded his wavering members "get your ass in line" to back his proposal, and some members obliged. Michigan Rep. Thad McCotter, who is running for the GOP presidential nomination in 2012, switched from voting no to yes during the 90-minute session. Reps. Blake Farenthold of Texas, Billy Long of Missouri and Jeff Denham of California are now backing the speaker's plan, as are Reps. Darrell Issa of California, Renee Ellmers of North Carolina, Nan Hayworth of New York and Dan Lungren of California. Lungren even got up during the meeting and likened Boehner to Ronald Reagan, the conservative icon who was president during Lungren's first stint in the House. Other hard "no" voters have flipped to leaning no or even undecided.

But despite having momentum on their side, Boehner and his top lieutenants don't have a big margin for error. Few, if any, Democrats are expected to vote for the debt ceiling package, so Republicans must cobble together 217 votes on their own. They can lose just 23 lawmakers and still pass it. As of press time, at least a dozen lawmakers were whipping "no."

Indiana Rep. Mike Pence — former House Republican Conference chairman who is running for governor — has emerged as a late-game player, of sorts, in the debt debate. Pence and a dozen undecided Republicans met with McCarthy on Wednesday afternoon with a new request designed to win their support for the Boehner plan — GOP leaders must hold a vote on a "clean" balanced-budget amendment similar to that passed by the chamber in 1995. If that happens, they may throw their support to the Boehner plan, said one of the lawmakers.

Pence's position is in contrast to earlier positions of the conservative Republican Study Committee, which he once chaired. The RSC has pushed a balanced-budget amendment that requires a supermajority to raise taxes. Pence's argument is that GOP leaders should launch a "serious effort" to pass a balanced-budget amendment as part of this debt deal by putting forth a bill that could garner Democratic votes.

Tea Party Wants Boehner, Obama Fired

Posted: 27 Jul 2011 05:43 PM PDT

By PAUL BEDARD, USNews.com

If House Speaker John Boehner or his senior leadership team thought they had the support of the Tea Party movement, they better think again. An internal poll of the largest group in the movement, the Tea Party Patriots, found that they are dissatisfied with the House leaders, Boehner in particular, and simply can’t stand President Obama.

National Director Jenny Beth Martin told Whispers bluntly: “We’re really not satisfied with any of them.” [Check out editorial cartoons about the Tea Party.]

She said that the Tea Party Patriots on Tuesday surveyed “tens of thousands” of their members in 3,500 affiliates about the current leadership and found these stunning results:

–81.5 percent are not satisfied with the House GOP leadership.

–74.1 percent, asked if they want a new House speaker, said yes or maybe.

–71.7 percent are not satisfied with the performance of the House.

–97.6 percent are not satisfied with the performance of the Senate.

–98.8 percent are not satisfied with Obama’s performance.

–Whopping majorities believe that their House representative and senators are more concerned with party politics than “what’s best for America.”

–62.8 percent trust neither party to fix the debt problem; 36.4 percent trust the GOP to fix it; less than one percent trust the Democrats.

Worse for those like Boehner and Obama trying to cut a debt ceiling increase, most do not want a deal unless it includes massive spending cuts, likely over the $4 trillion figure earlier under negotiation.

NSA Lawyer Questioned Over Cellphone Location Tracking of Americans

Posted: 27 Jul 2011 05:38 PM PDT

By Jennifer Valentino-DeVries, WSJ.com

Is the government using cellular data to track Americans as they move around the U.S.?

According to the general counsel of the National Security Agency, it may have that authority. Matthew Olsen, who is currently at the NSA and has been nominated to lead the National Counterterrorism Center, discussed the possibility at a confirmation hearing Tuesday morning in the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence.

"There are certain circumstances where that authority may exist," he said. His comments came after Sen. Ron Wyden (D., Ore.) asked him several times whether the government has the authority to "use cell site data to track the location of Americans inside the country."

Although Olsen acknowledged the possibility, he also said "it is a very complicated question" and that the intelligence community is working on a memo that will provide a better answer for the committee.

Sen. Dianne Feinstein, the California Democrat who chairs the committee, asked that such a memo be prepared in time for the committee's first hearing in September, after the August recess.

The questions come after Sens. Ron Wyden and Mark Udall (D., Colo.) wrote a letter to the Director of National Intelligence James Clapper asking whether the agencies he leads, including the NSA and the CIA, "have the authority to collect the geolocation information of American citizens for intelligence purposes."

Long-term, universal flu shot on horizon

Posted: 27 Jul 2011 05:35 PM PDT

By Dan Vergano and Liz Szabo, USATODAY.COM

A universal flu vaccine that protects against all strains may be within reach in the next five years, replacing annual shots developed for specifics flu viruses, the chief of the National Institutes of Health predicts.

Francis Collins told USA TODAY’s Editorial Board on Tuesday that he is “guardedly optimistic” about development of a long-term shot to replace the one “you’d have to renew every year.”

About 200,000 people are hospitalized with the flu every year, and an estimated 3,000 to 49,000 die, making the flu one of the chief causes of preventable death in the USA.

Collins cited the long-term flu shot in a wide-ranging discussion of many advances coming from NIH research. Amid budget debates now underway in Washington, D.C. that could also trim NIH’s $31billion budget, he made the case for research investments that improve the nation’s health.

A universal flu vaccine “seemed completely out of reach only a few years ago,” Collins said. That’s because flu viruses mutate yearly, causing small changes in surface coatings, which make old vaccines obsolete.

Recently however, scientists have found “there are parts of the viral coat that don’t change …. If you designed a vaccine to go after the constant part of the virus, you’d be protected against all strains,” Collins said.

‘RIGHT OUT OF ATLAS SHRUGGED’: HEAR AN EXASPERATED ALABAMA BUSINESSMAN TELL THE FEDS – ‘I’M JUST QUITTING’

Posted: 27 Jul 2011 03:22 PM PDT

Town Moves To Ban Free Speech in Private Homes, Group Meetings

Posted: 27 Jul 2011 03:18 PM PDT

McCain Blasts Tea Party for ‘Foolish’ Demands in Debt Debate

Posted: 27 Jul 2011 10:20 AM PDT

By Sunlen Miller, ABC News

As Speaker of the House John Boehner is looking for votes on his House debt bill, one Senate Republican sent a strong message to the Tea Party block in the House and Senate that are still withholding their support: get on board.

Senator John McCain's, R-AZ., message was in particular aimed at those who are withholding their support for any debt ceiling bill – Republican or Democratic –holding the Balanced Budget Amendment passage as a precondition to the debt limit increase.

"To hold out and say we won’t agree to raising the debt limit until we pass a Balanced Budget Amendment to the constitution. It's unfair, it’s bizarre," McCain railed on the Senate floor, "And maybe some people have only been in this body for six or seven months or so really believe that. Others know better.”

Many of the most conservative members of the House have said they will not vote for any debt ceiling increase that does not include a Balanced Budget Amendment and deeper spending cuts. Similarity, some conservatives Republicans in the Senate have said the same.

McCain called this "amazing," foolish" and "deceiving" that some members believe that this can happen, now with only 6 days left until the nation defaults on its debts with the August 2 deadline for action looming.

"To somehow think or tell our citizens that if we have enough debate and amendment here in the Senate in the short term in the next six days that we will pass a balanced budget amendment to the constitution is unfair to our constituents," McCain said.

Iowa Polling to Test Paul’s Move to Mainstream

Posted: 27 Jul 2011 08:22 AM PDT

By TRIP GABRIEL, The New York Times

CEDAR RAPIDS, Iowa — Representative Ron Paul has a message for the ardent followers who read his books with a highlighter and donate to his fund-raising "money bombs" on the Internet: Winning the Iowa Straw Poll next month would "rock the establishment."

Mr. Paul's libertarian views have moved from the fringe toward the mainstream of conservative thinking in the past several years, with his warnings about fiscal meltdown gaining new resonance and the 2008 financial crisis allowing him to press his longstanding critiques of the Federal Reserve.

Now, as he again seeks the Republican presidential nomination, he is hoping to show that he can translate the new attention into votes. And his first test is the straw poll next month, where he is hoping he can organize his band of followers into a political machine capable of beating some or all of his brand-name rivals.

Even if he does not win, a strong showing by Mr. Paul could dent the campaigns of other candidates, especially Tim Pawlenty and Representative Michele Bachmann.

The straw poll, to be held in Ames on Aug. 13, is, if nothing else, a closely watched test of organizing capabilities and an early rehearsal for the Iowa caucuses after the turn of the year. Particularly for candidates needing to raise their profiles, it is an opportunity to exhibit credibility and win media attention and donors.

Wednesday, July 27, 2011

Rick Santelli's Chicago Tea Party

House Republicans Scramble to Rewrite Debt Bill in Bid to Draw More Support
Volunteers Wanted to Transcribe ‘Lost Gospels’
Sanders: Would be ‘good’ for Obama to face primary challenge
Atheist group wants to stop World Trade Center cross
Tea Party activists tell Boehner to stand firm

House Republicans Scramble to Rewrite Debt Bill in Bid to Draw More Support

Posted: 26 Jul 2011 06:22 PM PDT

By FOXNews.com

With just a week to go until the Treasury says the federal government will run out of money to pay all of its bills, House Republicans are scrambling to rewrite a deficit-reduction bill pushed by Speaker John Boehner that failed to garner any significant support in either political party.

The rewrite came one day before the House was set to vote on the legislation, which sought to cut $1.2 trillion in spending over the next decade. But the nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office said Tuesday that the package would cut less than $1 trillion.

“We’re here to change Washington — no more smoke-and-mirrors, no more ‘phantom cuts.’ We promised that we will cut spending more than we increase the debt limit — with no tax hikes — and we will keep that promise,” Boehner spokesman Michael Steel said.

“As we speak, congressional staff are looking at options to re-write the legislation to meet our pledge,” Steel said. “This is what can happen when you have an actual plan and submit it for independent review — which the Democrats who run Washington have refused to do.”

House conservatives refused to throw their support behind Boehner’s bill, and a source told Fox News that there were no House Democrats who would vote for it. House Republican leaders were very worried about putting the bill on the floor Wednesday and seeing it fail or being forced to yank it while the stock markets were open, possibly triggering a repeat of the steep market drop after the first Wall Street bailout vote failed in 2008, the source said.

Republicans say they are rewriting the bill to develop more savings than what the CBO projected. But the source said they are rewriting it because they lack the votes to pass it.

Republicans have only two options for a rewrite — they can lower the debt-ceiling increase (which means it would need a further increase before the spring 2012 mark initially discussed) or they could enhance the number of cuts.

Earlier Tuesday, Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid warned that the bill is “dead on arrival” in his chamber, as the Obama administration issued a formal veto threat and pushed lawmakers to reach a “compromise.”

Republican leaders had their own caucus to deal with, too, as conservatives voiced concerns about the bill proposed by Boehner.

Volunteers Wanted to Transcribe ‘Lost Gospels’

Posted: 26 Jul 2011 06:19 PM PDT

By NewsCore, FOXNews.com

OXFORD, England – Thousands of volunteers are needed to help transcribe two million segments of ancient Greek writings in a bid to find the next “lost gospel,” researchers at the University of Oxford said.

Some 200,000 segments of the ancient papyri, found in Egypt, were uploaded to the website www.ancientlives.org — and now volunteers are needed to transcribe the Greek letters using character-recognition tools.

Researchers from the project already discovered previously-unknown “gospels,” including stories about Jesus casting out demons that were written in the third century.

But now the project is looking for people across the world — who are not required to read classical Greek — to help translate the ancient documents because the task is too big for the research team.

The software allows people to match Greek letters with the symbols on the papyri, then translates the words and stores them on a searchable database.

The scripts include a range of bills, receipts, letters and other everyday documents, but researchers believe they also could contain more stories about Jesus.

Sanders: Would be ‘good’ for Obama to face primary challenge

Posted: 26 Jul 2011 05:56 PM PDT

By Michael O’Brien, The Hill

One of the Senate’s liberal stalwarts suggested over the weekend that President Obama could benefit from a primary challenger over the next year.

Sen. Bernie Sanders (Vt.), an Independent who caucuses with Democrats, said it would be a “good idea” for Obama to face a primary challenger, if for nothing else than as a counterweight to Republican voices in the presidential debate.

“My suggestion is, I think one of the reasons the president has been able to move so far to the right is that there is no primary opposition to him, and I think it would do this country a good deal of service if people started thinking about candidates out there to begin contrasting what is a progressive agenda as opposed to what Obama is doing,” Sanders told talk show host Thom Hartmann over the weekend. “I think it would be a good idea if President Obama faced some primary opposition.”

Liberals like Sanders have been critical of Obama for engaging with Republicans in negotiations over how much to cut spending, in connection with an agreement to raise the nation’s debt ceiling. Sanders in particular has been a vocal opponent of any plans to transform entitlement programs like Social Security and Medicare.

Atheist group wants to stop World Trade Center cross

Posted: 26 Jul 2011 05:50 PM PDT

By CNN

A group of atheists has filed a lawsuit to stop the display of the World Trade Center cross at a memorial of the 9/11 terror attacks.

The “government enshrinement of the cross was an impermissible mingling of church and state,” the American Atheists say in a press statement.

The group says it filed the lawsuit this week in state court in New York and posted a copy of the lawsuit on its website.

The lawsuit names many defendants, including the state of New Jersey, the city of New York , New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg and New Jersey Governor Chris Christie.

The World Trade Center cross, two intersecting steel beams that held up when the twin towers collapsed on September 11, 2001, is seen as iconic to some.

The cross was moved Saturday from near a church to its new home at the 9/11 Memorial and Museum. There was also ceremonial blessing of the cross in a service led by Father Brian Jordan, a Franciscan monk who ministered to workers clearing the area after the 9/11 attacks.

Joe Daniels, 9/11 Memorial president, said Saturday that the cross is “an important part of our commitment to bring back the authentic physical reminders that tell the history of 9/11 in a way nothing else could.

Tea Party activists tell Boehner to stand firm

Posted: 26 Jul 2011 04:20 PM PDT

From International Business Times

Tea Party activists demanded House of Representatives Speaker John Boehner deliver on budget cuts at a rally on Monday at his Ohio offices, urging the Republican leader to “stand strong” in debt negotiations.

About 100 people chanted “no more spending” and hoisted banners and signs reading “No New Taxes” and “Do Not Cave” outside the 11-term Republican’s offices near Cincinnati.

“He needs to hear a resounding message that Americans want him to BE BOLD, STAND STRONG, CUT THE SPENDING,” said the rally announcement from the local Tea Party.

Around the same time as the rally, Boehner outlined his party’s budget strategy as pressure grew on Congress to raise the government’s $14.3 trillion debt ceiling before an August 2 deadline.

Demonstrators listening to Boehner on the radio cheered when he urged President Barack Obama, a Democrat, to put “people before politics” in resolving the stalemate.

Saturday, July 23, 2011

Rick Santelli's Chicago Tea Party

Obama 41%, Ron Paul 37%

Posted: 22 Jul 2011 11:58 AM PDT

From Rasmussen Reports

Congressman Ron Paul may be a long shot to win the Republican presidential nomination, but he runs competitively with President Obama right now.

The latest Rasmussen Reports national telephone survey of Likely Voters shows Paul picking up 37% of the vote, while the president earns 41%. The Texas congressman joins Mitt Romney, Michelle Bachmann, and Rick Perry as candidates within hailing distance of the president at this time.

Rudy Giuliani is another potential candidate who is considered a long shot for the nomination but is competitive with the president. The former mayor of New York City trails Obama by five, 44% to 39%.

But the real story in the numbers is that the president continues to earn between 41% and 49% of the vote no matter which Republican is mentioned as a potential opponent. This suggests that the race remains a referendum on the incumbent more than anything else.

Obama posts a 12-point lead over former Minnesota Governor Tim Pawlenty, 44% to 32%.

Rick Santelli's Chicago Tea Party

Sunday, July 31, 2011

Rick Santelli's Chicago Tea Party

Rick Santelli's Chicago Tea Party

Saturday, July 30, 2011

Rick Santelli's Chicago Tea Party

Rick Santelli's Chicago Tea Party

Friday, July 29, 2011

Rick Santelli's Chicago Tea Party

Rick Santelli's Chicago Tea Party

Thursday, July 28, 2011

Rick Santelli's Chicago Tea Party

Rick Santelli's Chicago Tea Party

Wednesday, July 27, 2011

Rick Santelli's Chicago Tea Party

Rick Santelli's Chicago Tea Party

Saturday, July 23, 2011

Rick Santelli's Chicago Tea Party

Rick Santelli's Chicago Tea Party

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