Sunday, August 15, 2010

GOP strategist: RNC Chairman Michael Steele has ‘failed miserably’

GOP strategist: RNC Chairman Michael Steele has ‘failed miserably’ | Raw Story

Republican National Committee (RNC) Chairman Michael Steele is under fire from his own party once again.

But this time, he may not be getting another chance at redemption in the eyes of senior GOP leaders.

Appearing on CBS's Face the Nation on Sunday, Republican strategist Ed Rollins was asked to comment on the so-called "shadow RNC" that has sprung up to bypass Steele as the Republican party's core management. Rollins has in recent months emerged as a strong Republican critic of chairman Steele, after calling for his resignation in April.

Four Ships Robbed Off the Coast of Iraq

Four Ships Robbed Off the Coast of Iraq

Offspring of sperm donors seek changes so they can find their fathers more Easily

Offspring of sperm donors seek changes so they can find their fathers more easily

- This is a natural consequence of sperm donation and adoption that is never discussed. The offspring have rights. It is almost always the case that children born without not knowing who their biological parents are, want to know who they were. They should be allowed the choice to know.

Teen's Suspected Killer Beaten in Harris County Jail

Street justice should not be tolerated in a democracy, but you have to feel sympathy for the attackers of this animal. He deserves his day in court -- then execute him. That would be true justice.

A Harris County jail inmate awaiting trial for murder beat up a young illegal immigrant accused of robbing and fatally shooting a 14-year-old girl in the back as she was walking home Aug. 6.

Melvin Alvarado, 22, one of two men charged with capital murder in the death of Shatavia Anderson, was beaten Thursday evening, sustaining serious enough injuries that he required a trip to a hospital and stitches, said Alan Bernstein, with the Harris County Sheriff's Office.

Alvarado is in the U.S. illegally and has been twice deported.

Vows for Justice in NJ child Rape Falling Short

Vows for justice in NJ child rape falling short

Nearly five months later, vows for legal vengeance are falling short and officials aren't talking. Calls for justice have quieted and defense attorneys are raising questions about what happened - or didn't happen - that day.

"The case is falling apart and I think it's time to address that," said Bruce Throckmorton, the attorney for one of the juvenile defendants.

Video: 'Face The Nation' (8-15-10)

Wall St. Banker: Obama has Declared "War" on Us

From Newsweek:

President Obama and the business community have been at odds for months. But in July the chairman and cofounder of the Blackstone Group, one of the world’s largest private-equity firms, amped up the rhetoric. Stephen Schwarzman—the leading John McCain supporter in a firm that, in 2008, gave more money to Obama—was addressing board members of a nonprofit organization when he let loose. “It’s a war,” Schwarzman said of the struggle with the administration over increasing taxes on private-equity firms. “It’s like when Hitler invaded Poland in 1939.”

John Cornyn Jumps On Alvin Greene Obscenity Charges

John Cornyn Jumps On Alvin Greene Obscenity Charges

Senior Democratic operatives have long grumbled that the vast amount of media attention paid to the mercurial candidacy of South Carolina Democrat Alvin Greene is both unjustifiable and detrimental to the party. Greene, after all, had no chance of winning even before he managed to snag the Senate nomination. And yet, the homeless veteran -- who never did any formal campaigning -- has been the most covered candidate of any running for office this cycle.

On Friday, Greene was indicted on a felony charge of showing pornography to a South Carolina college student. And to the extent that voters are not aware of how odd both he and his campaign truly are, the impression can be left that it is a high-profile Democrat (not some mysterious eccentric) whose skeletons are being dragged out of the closet.

Right Wing Bloggers Name Their 25 Worst Figures In America

Right Wing Bloggers Name Their 25 Worst Figures In America

- They rank Obama above Timothy McVeigh and Aldrich Ames, as the worst.

ABC's 'This Week' Transcript: - Economic Panel (8-15-10)

Sen. Bob Corker, Martin Regalia, Laura Tyson and Jon Corzine. Plus, the 'This Week' roundtable:

AMANPOUR: Good morning. This was supposed to be the summer of recovery, but the effects of the so-called Great Recession continue to cloud this nation and much of the world. The number of U.S. workers seeking unemployment benefits rose unexpectedly to 484,000. It's the worst in almost six months. And in the housing sector, banks foreclosed on more than 90,000 properties in July, the second-highest total since the crisis began.

And these pictures speak to the desperation this week in Atlanta. Thirty thousand people waited for hours in sweltering heat to apply for 655 available spots of government-subsidized housing.

And I'm joined by four top voices on the economy. From Berkeley, California, member of the president's Economic Recovery Advisory Board Laura Tyson. From Chattanooga, Tennessee, Republican Senator Bob Corker of the Banking Committee. In New York, the former New Jersey governor and CEO of MF Global, Jon Corzine. And joining us here in Washington, chief economist for the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, Martin Regalia.

Thank you all for joining me. You've heard the figures. You've read about the figures. You can also probably palpably feel the concern and worry amongst the American people. And I want to read you something that was written about this joblessness, about the younger generation in the Atlantic recently. Look at what was written about unemployment.

"There is unemployment -- a brief and relatively routine transitional state that results from the rise and fall of companies in any economy, and there is unemployment -- chronic, all-consuming. The former is a necessary lubricant in any engine of economic growth. The latter is a pestilence that slowly eats away at people, families, and, if it spreads widely enough, the fabric of society. Indeed, history suggests that this is perhaps society's most noxious ill."

Let me turn to you right now, Martin Regalia. Do you agree with that? And do you think that that's what this country is in right now?

Petraeus cites Bush-era shortcomings in Afghanistan

Petraeus cites Bush-era shortcomings in Afghanistan

U.S. military leaders inherited a faulty strategy for the war in Afghanistan at the end of the Bush administration and are still working to “refine the concepts,” the U.S. commander said in an interview airing Sunday on NBC’s “Meet the Press.”

In his first interview since taking over as head of U.S. and NATO forces in Afghanistan, Gen. David Petraeus told NBC’s David Gregory that when “a lot of us came out of Iraq in late 2008 and started looking intently at Afghanistan, we realized that we did not have the organizations that are required for the conduct and the comprehensive civil/military counterinsurgency campaign.”

Stay hydrated in hot weather with lifestyle-geared tips

Stay hydrated in hot weather with lifestyle-geared tips

North Jersey opposition threatens Christie plan for Atlantic City

North Jersey opposition threatens Christie plan for Atlantic City

In 2014, the Meadowlands complex in East Rutherford, N.J., will host the Super Bowl.

By then, if North Jersey lawmakers have their way in Trenton, it could also house a new world-class casino - something South Jersey lawmakers and Atlantic City's struggling gambling halls are adamantly against.

Growing vitriol between North and South over where to put casinos threatens to derail Gov. Christie's plan to overhaul Atlantic City and salvage New Jersey's hemorrhaging gaming industry.

 Jobless millions signal death of the American dream for many


 Jobless millions signal death of the American dream for many | World news | The Observer 

Israel says Turkey snubbed its ambassador

Israel says Turkey snubbed its ambassador