• Barack Obama,  CIA,  Polling

    Poll Watch: Majority Say CIA Harsh Interrogations Justified

    April 27, 2009 /

    Yet, a slim majority also say that they favor a government investigation into the use of harsh interrogation techniques used on terrorism suspects.

    A new Gallup Poll finds 51% of Americans in favor and 42% opposed to an investigation into the use of harsh interrogation techniques on terrorism suspects during the Bush administration. At the same time, 55% of Americans believe in retrospect that the use of the interrogation techniques was justified, while only 36% say it was not. Notably, a majority of those following the news about this matter “very closely” oppose an investigation and think the methods were justified.

    The fact is that President Obama has NOT declassified all of the CIA memos that describe the CIA enhanced interrogation techniques and their success, if any.

    Obviously, the Left’s and President’s argument that the techniques were not justified has not been accepted by a majority of Americans.

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  • California,  California Proposition 1 A,  Tea Party

    California Tea Party Political Action Committee Now Live – No on California Proposition 1A

    April 27, 2009 /
    Ca-Tea-Party-PAC

    A screen capture from the website

    From the press release:

    Formed in the spirit of the Tea Party theme associated with the Tax Day Tea Party, the California Tea Party Political Action Committee seeks to aid in preventing the passage of legislation encouraging tax increases and promoting legislation that decreases taxes.

    From the California Tea Party Political Action Committee Website (http://www.teapartypac.com):

    “Just as the original Boston Tea Party was fueled by excess taxes imposed upon American Colonists, the 2009 Tea Party Tax Revolt is inspired by unfair taxes imposed by the United States and California Governments. American Citizens are fed up with the excessive taxation and spending proposed by the Obama Administration. Additionally, the residents of California are now subjected to the highest tax burden in the United States with the recent addition of $16 billion dollars of taxes imposed by the California Legislature and Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger.”

    “The California Tea Party PAC is a non-partisan organization that works to channel the energy of the grassroots anti-tax political movement and apply it to current California legislation and create real change in government. Funds raised by the group are used to fight tax increases, and promote conservative, pro-growth, limited government candidates and issues in California government regardless of political affiliation.”

    The California Tea Party Political Action Committee’s primary agenda is the defeat of Proposition 1A. Their goal is to raise funds through online contributions that will be used specifically to support the No on Proposition 1A Campaign.

    California Residents are encouraged to make a $10, $50, $100 contribution or more at http://www.teapartypac.com/contribute to aid in the effort to defeat the $16 billion tax increase should Proposition 1A pass on the May 19, 2009 Special Election.

    The California Tea Party Pac is on Twitter here and also on Facebook.

    Go ahead and check it out. You will be glad you did.

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  • Swine Flu

    United Nations Secretary General: Swine Flu May Cause Global Pandemic

    April 27, 2009 /
  • Swine Flu

    40 Swine Flu Cases in the United States – Obama Says “Not a Cause for Alarm”

    April 27, 2009 /

    Custom agents are now finally checking people coming into the United States by land and air.

    President Barack Obama said Monday the threat of spreading swine flu infections was a concern but “not a cause for alarm,” while customs agents began checking people coming into the United States by land and air. The World Health Organization said there were 40 confirmed cases in the U.S. but no deaths.

    Countries across the globe increased their vigilance amid increasing worries about a worldwide pandemic, Obama told a gathering of scientists that his administration’s Department of Health and Human Services “has declared a public health emergency as a precautionary tool to ensure that we have the resources we need at our disposal to respond quickly and effectively.”

    But, not a cause for alarm.

    Right.

    Related Links:

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  • Medicine,  Socialized Medicine

    Shortage of Doctors to Derail Obama Universal Care?

    April 27, 2009 /
    shortage of drs

    No, the Obama Administration will simply enter the medical marketplace and train more doctors.

    Good luck with that.

    Obama administration officials, alarmed at doctor shortages, are looking for ways to increase the supply of physicians to meet the needs of an aging population and millions of uninsured people who would gain coverage under legislation championed by the president.

    The officials said they were particularly concerned about shortages of primary care providers who are the main source of health care for most Americans.

    One proposal — to increase Medicare payments to general practitioners, at the expense of high-paid specialists — has touched off a lobbying fight.

    Family doctors and internists are pressing Congress for an increase in their Medicare payments. But medical specialists are lobbying against any change that would cut their reimbursements. Congress, the specialists say, should find additional money to pay for primary care and should not redistribute dollars among doctors — a difficult argument at a time of huge budget deficits.

    Some of the proposed solutions, while advancing one of President Obama’s goals, could frustrate others. Increasing the supply of doctors, for example, would increase access to care but could make it more difficult to rein in costs.

    Every socialized plan by the Obama Administration and every argument for universal care leads to the main question: Who is going to pay for this?

    Unless you ration the care like the United Kingdom’s National Health Service, bureaucratize care and have government price controls, universal health care is simply too expensive for the government to provide. Even with that the NHS provides abysmal care with horror stories at least once a week in the U.K. press.

    Now, the Obamacare advocates are worried about the number of primary care physicians. They might want to address the question as to how many doctors will continue to practice if they radically change the health care system in the United States?

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  • Swine Flu

    Thermal Scanners Used to Screen for Swine Flu as Countries Race to Contain the Disease

    April 27, 2009 /
    hot-for-swine-flu

    There is NO panic but countries are rushing to contain the Swine Flu outbreak.

    Governments including China, Russia and Taiwan began planning to put anyone with symptoms of the deadly virus under quarantine. Other governments were increasing their screening of pigs and pork imports from the Americas or banning them outright.

    Many nations issued travel warnings for Mexico.

    Australia said airlines would have to identify passengers who may be infected, who would then be assessed by quarantine officers and sent for medical treatment if necessary.

    “Before flights will be able to land here in Australia, pilots will have to ascertain whether anyone on board has flu-like symptoms,” Health Minister Nicola Roxon said.

    Tests were also under way on people with flu-like symptoms in Israel, France and Spain.

    In the United States, at least 11 cases of swine flu have been confirmed. Canada’s chief public health officer Dr. David Butler-Jones said six cases had been confirmed there, and all had links to people who had traveled to Mexico.

    In Singapore, the health ministry said it began using thermal scanners Sunday at Changi International Airport to check passengers arriving from the United States. Travelers with high temperatures would be given a thorough medical examination, it said.

    Thermal scanners and upgraded checks for flu-like symptoms were also being put in place at main airports in Japan, Thailand and Indonesia.

    Hong Kong and Taiwan said visitors returning from flu-affected areas with fevers would be quarantined.

    China said anyone experiencing flu-like symptoms within two weeks of arrival had to report to authorities.

    A Russian health agency said passengers from North America running a fever would be quarantined until the cause is determined.

    Many measures recalled those taken across Asia during the 2003 severe acute respiratory syndrome, or SARS, epidemic and used more recently to monitor bird flu.

    And, now Fox News is reporting that the United States State Department is FINALLY discouraging American travelers to Mexico.

    Compared to the rest of the world, the United States seems to be slow to react to the outbreak.

    Stay tuned……

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  • Del.icio.us Links

    links for 2009-04-27

    April 27, 2009 /
    • Facebook Opens Site To Developers Of Services
      Facebook Inc. is expected to announce significant plans to open up core parts of its sites — namely the information that appears in the stream of updates on users' homepages and profiles — to third-party developers so that they can build new services on top of it, people familiar with the matter say.

      The announcement, expected Monday, means developers can build services that access the photos, videos, notes and comments users upload to Facebook, with users' permission. That's a big change for the social-networking site, which has exercised tight control over the look and feel of its service and how developers can interact with it.

      Facebook isn't charging for the feature, instead hoping that developing new ways to access the information it houses will build user loyalty and get people to engage more often with the site, say people familiar with the matter.

      (tags: Twitter facebook)
    • Facebook drops other shoe tomorrow?
      The Wall Street Journal is reporting Facebook will open up most if not all of their user-contributed data to developers at a developer event tomorrow. This has been long expected and will likely trigger a wave of third-party integration of Facebook streams with other popular feeds, most notably that of Twitter.

      Should players such as Seesmic Desktop and FriendFeed roll out an integrated service, we will be a major step closer to a single stream of realtime events. This in turn will rapidly accelerate a convergence around micromessaging similar to the one around email when it achieved a critical mass following AOL’s opening up of the limited educational and government mail systems to average users.

      (tags: Twitter facebook)
    • In GOP base, a 'rebellion brewing'
      "There is a sense of rebellion brewing," said Katon Dawson, the outgoing South Carolina Republican Party chairman, who cited unexpectedly high attendance at anti-tax “tea parties” last week.

      That same sense is detectable in New Hampshire, where Union Leader publisher Joseph McQuaid – a stalwart of the base – warned in a column last weekend that the push for same-sex marriage in the state legislature was really about “forcing society to embrace and give positive reinforcement to their lifestyle and agenda in our schools and in every other area of public life imaginable.”

      And it is perhaps most tangible in Iowa, where same-sex marriage will become the law this month in response to a state Supreme Court ruling. There, Republican activists and officials say the party is as resolute as ever, if not more so, on cultural issues – regardless of the soundings of some party elites.

      (tags: GOP conservative gaymarriage)
    • Russia Suspends Mexican, Some U.S. Meat Imports on Swine Flu
      Russia suspended imports of all meat from Mexico and the U.S. states of Texas, California and Kansas shipped after April 21 on concern about the spread of swine flu, the country’s veterinary watchdog said.

      The suspension also affects pork from Guatemala, Honduras, the Dominican Republic, Columbia, Costa Rica, Cuba, Nicaragua, Panama, Salvador, and the U.S. states of Alabama, Arizona, Arkansas, Georgia, Kansas, Louisiana, New Mexico, Oklahoma and Florida, the watchdog added in a statement on its Web site today.

      Swine flu, known as the H1N1 virus, originated in Mexico where it has been linked to as many as 81 deaths.

      (tags: swine_flu)
    • World Health Organization: Swine Flu Could Become More Dangerous – Mutate
      The swine flu virus that has killed more than 80 people in Mexico may mutate into a "more dangerous" strain, the World Health Organisation has warned. Skip related content

      "It's quite possible for this virus to evolve… when viruses evolve, clearly they can become more dangerous to people," said Keiji Fukuda, of the global health watchdog.

      Mr Fukuda also called for international vigilance as health experts wait to see whether the virus will turn into a worldwide pandemic.

      Over 1,300 people are now thought to have contracted the virulent H1N1 swine influenza after it mutated into a form that spreads from human to human.

      (tags: swine_flu)
    • US says not testing travelers from Mexico for flu – and why not?
      The United States is not testing airplane travelers from Mexico for the swine flu virus that has heightened fears of a possible pandemic, U.S. Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano said on Sunday.

      "Right now we don't think the facts warrant more active testing or screening of passengers coming in from Mexico," she said at a White House briefing.

      (tags: health swine_flu Janet_Napolitano)