Rick Santelli's Chicago Tea Party |
- Anti-Obesity Soda Tax Fails as Lobbyists Spend Millions: Retail
- Department Of Justice Wants Court To Keep Google/NSA Partnership Secret
- Red meat is blamed for one in 10 early deaths
- Illinois primary pits leaders vs. Tea Party
- Tea Party group effort would take gay history out of school books
- Outrage after cop uses taser on 9-year-old truant — twice!
- Fed stress testing banks against 13% unemployment, 50% drop in stock market
| Anti-Obesity Soda Tax Fails as Lobbyists Spend Millions: Retail Posted: 13 Mar 2012 10:16 AM PDT
Last month, Hawaii lawmakers killed a proposed tax that would have added 17 cents to a single-serve bottle of soda. It was the second failed attempt, even though Governor Neil Abercrombie had pushed the proposed levy. Like many advocates of a sugary beverage tax, Abercrombie faced a well-funded lobbying campaign from soda makers opposed to such efforts, which are designed to stem rising rates of obesity. Since the beginning of 2009, PepsiCo Inc. (PEP), Coca-Cola Co. (KO) and the American Beverage Association have spent as much as $70 million on lobbying and issue ads, according to the Center for Science in the Public Interest, a proponent of soda taxes. Efforts to enact such levies have foundered in 30 states. "Whoever is loudest tends to control the discussion and, generally speaking, you buy your microphone with money," said Judith Phillips, a research analyst for Mississippi State University who studied the issue for lawmakers. Health advocates agree soft drinks are an unhealthy source of sugar in Americans' diets. More than 35 percent of U.S. adults and about 17 percent of youths — or roughly 90 million people — are considered obese, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Some say taxing soft drinks is one of the most effective ways to reverse the trend. To read more, visit: http://www.businessweek.com/news/2012-03-13/anti-obesity-soda-tax-fails-as-lobbyists-spend-millions-retail |
| Department Of Justice Wants Court To Keep Google/NSA Partnership Secret Posted: 13 Mar 2012 09:49 AM PDT
The Department of Justice will ask a federal court to uphold the secrecy that surrounds the working relationship between Google and the National Security Agency in a hearing that is scheduled for next week. Privacy watchdog group The Electronic Privacy Information Center (EPIC) is returning to court once again in an effort to disclose more information regarding the widely publicized partnership between the spy agency and the search engine giant. EPIC is suing to obtain documents that detail the relationship, and will appeal against the NSA's so-called "Glomar" response, claiming it "could neither confirm nor deny" the existence of any information about its relations with Google, because "such a response would reveal information about NSA's functions and activities." The NSA's response stated that the agency "works with a broad range of commercial partners and research associations" in order to oversee the security of important information systems, but did not provide any further detail. The issue rose to prominencein January 2010 following a highly sophisticated and targeted cyber attack on the corporate infrastructure of Google and some twenty other large US companies. To read more, visit: http://www.infowars.com/department-of-justice-wants-court-to-keep-googlensa-partnership-secret/ |
| Red meat is blamed for one in 10 early deaths Posted: 13 Mar 2012 09:39 AM PDT By Rebecca Smith, TelegraphUK Small quantities of processed meat such as bacon, sausages or salami can increase the likelihood of dying early by a fifth, researchers from Harvard School of Medicine found. Eating steak increases the risk of early death by 12%. The study found that cutting the amount of red meat in peoples' diets to 1.5 ounces (42 grams) a day, equivalent to one large steak a week, could prevent almost one in 10 early deaths in men and one in 13 in women. The scientists said that the government's current advice that people should eat no more than 2.5 ounces (70 grams) a day, around the level the average Briton already consumes, was "generous". Dr Frank Hu, co-author of the study, said: "Given the growing evidence that even modest amounts of red meat is associated with increased risk of chronic disease and premature death, 2.5 ounces (70 grams) per day seems generous. The bottom line is that we should make red meat only an occassional rather than regular part of our diet." To read more, visit: http://www.telegraph.co.uk/health/healthnews/9138230/Red-meat-is-blamed-for-one-in-10-early-deaths.html |
| Illinois primary pits leaders vs. Tea Party Posted: 13 Mar 2012 09:37 AM PDT
The primary battle between Reps. Adam Kinzinger (R-Ill.) and Don Manzullo (R-Ill.) has turned into a proxy war between the House Republican leadership and the Tea Party. This is the first election of 2012 to expose the schism between the two wings of the Republican Party, which have fought on policy issues since the conservative grassroots movement helped the GOP take control of the lower chamber in 2010. Republican leaders — including House Speaker John Boehner (R-Ohio), Majority Leader Eric Cantor (R-Va.) and Majority Whip Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) — have either endorsed or donated to Kinzinger, a rising star in the Republican Conference. But many Tea Party members who supported Kinzinger in 2010 feel betrayed by his more centrist voting record and are backing Manzullo. Manzullo told The Hill he's "not surprised" that House leaders are backing Kinzinger. To read more, visit: http://thehill.com/blogs/ballot-box/house-races/215631-illinois-primary-pits-leaders-vs-tea-party |
| Tea Party group effort would take gay history out of school books Posted: 13 Mar 2012 09:35 AM PDT
REDLANDS – The Redlands Tea Party Patriots are working to collect signatures from residents to help repeal the FAIR Education Act (Senate Bill 48). Since its introduction into California law last July when the measure was signed by Gov. Jerry Brown, SB 48 has received its fair share of support and controversy. Those who are against the bill say that lessons will introduce the LGBT lifestyle into classrooms when the discussion of a gay individual is on a lesson plan, and that the discussion of the LGBT community should be handled under the discretion of a parent or guardian of a California student. Pastor Don Wallace of the Redlands Christian Center said the law will not allow students who are uncomfortable with the subject matter to opt out of any lesson on gay history. “My understanding is that it is supposed to be a historical teaching of those who are (gay) and have had a contribution to society. My point is that their sexuality should have nothing to do with it. If they made a contribution to our society, fine talk about their contribution and not their sexuality. This moves on from teaching to the promotion of a lifestyle that I don’t think is appropriate,” he said. To read more, visit: http://www.sbsun.com/ci_20159160/tea-party-group-effort-would-take-gay-history |
| Outrage after cop uses taser on 9-year-old truant — twice! Posted: 13 Mar 2012 09:31 AM PDT By Holly Zachariah, The Columbus Dispatch MOUNT STERLING, Ohio – Embattled police Chief Mike McCoy announced last night that he will soon resign from his village post, though he insisted it has nothing to do with the fact that one of his officers shocked a 9-year-old boy twice with a Taser last week. McCoy, who was placed on paid leave late last week after he did not tell Mount Sterling Mayor Charlie Neff of the incident, said he wasn't pressured to resign. Instead, after an hour-long, closed-door meeting between his personal attorney and village officials, McCoy read a statement that said the village's declining budget keeps him from doing his job. He said he did nothing wrong by not immediately telling Neff what had happened because, as chief, he felt he needed to check into the incident himself first. "I did what I was supposed to do to maintain the integrity of the incident," McCoy said. Neff said McCoy wasn't asked to quit, but he added that the past few days "have been tough." He said that lawyers are drafting a separation agreement and the council is expected to accept McCoy's formal resignation at its meeting in two weeks. McCoy will not be reporting back to his $49,900-a-year job, though. In the meantime, the entire part-time police force remains disbanded and the Madison County sheriff's office will patrol the village. There was no discussion of hiring a new chief or bringing back officers, and last week's incident is being reviewed by the Ohio Bureau of Criminal Investigation. Among the 70 or so people at the meeting was Michelle Perry, whose son Jared was shocked by Mount Sterling police Officer Scott O'Neil last Tuesday morning. Mrs. Perry didn't comment, but her attorney, Tracy Comisford, said after the meeting that when O'Neil came to arrest her son for truancy, Mrs. Perry never expected that he would be subdued with a Taser. "She certainly never wanted this to happen," Comisford said. Village officials released the police report yesterday. According to O'Neil's written account: He went to the boy's S. Market Street home about 8:30 a.m. to serve a complaint filed against Jared for truancy. To read more, visit: http://www.dispatch.com/content/stories/local/2012/03/12/9-year-old-tasered.html |
| Fed stress testing banks against 13% unemployment, 50% drop in stock market Posted: 13 Mar 2012 09:26 AM PDT By Joe Weisenthal | BusinessInsider.com The Fed just announced that the latest round of bank stress tests will come out Thursday at 4:30 PM ET. As a reminder, this is the doom scenario banks will be stress tested against: The supervisory stress scenario for CCAR 2012, which was designed in November 2011, depicts a severe recession in the United States, including a peak unemployment rate of 13 percent, a 50 percent drop in equity prices, and a 21 percent decline in housing prices. The supervisory stress scenario is not the Federal Reserve’s forecast for the economy, but was designed to represent an outcome that, while unlikely, may occur if the U.S economy were to experience a deep recession at the same time that economic activity in other major economies contracted significantly. More from the Fed announcement: The Federal Reserve evaluates institutions’ capital plans across a range of criteria, including a stress test that examines whether a firm could make all the capital distributions included in its plan–such as dividends and stock repurchases–while still maintaining capital above the Federal Reserve’s standards in a hypothetical supervisory stress scenario. Other considerations for capital distributions include an evaluation of the firms’ capital planning processes and plans to meet international capital agreements as new requirements are phased in beginning in 2013. The stress-test results, including projected capital ratios, revenues, and losses in the supervisory stress scenario, will be disclosed for the 19 large bank holding companies that participated. To read more, visit: http://www.businessinsider.com/fed-stress-tests-worst-case-assumption-2012-3 |
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