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links for 2010-12-29
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The Nielsen numbers are in for 2010, and in the battle for cable news ratings supremacy, Fox News took the title for the ninth year in a row — bludgeoning the competition for another year.
The blowout comes on the heels on Fox News’ surging 2009, when the News Corp.-owned channel posted its highest-rated year in the network’s 13-year history. (Overall, cable news audiences were down across the board — though FNC's decline was from a high-water mark.)
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Roger Ailes has left a permanent legacy in Fox News
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An issue of interest to two or more states can lead to a compact. It works this way: State legislatures approve a proposal, the states agree on the parts of mutual concern (such as buying insurance across state lines), then the compact is dispatched to Washington for ratification by Congress and the president (though the need for White House assent isn’t spelled out in the Constitution). Ratification turns the compact into federal law.
However, there’s a bigger reason for forming a compact against Obamacare. By banding together, states would have far more political clout in Washington. Backers of the health care compact figure they need more than 20 states to pressure Washington to go along. Their assumption is members of Congress (even Democrats who support Obamacare) would be inclined to vote for a formal request from their home state. Members who oppose Obama-care would vote for it as well.
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This sounds like a feasible idea. The states need to get crackin'
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U.S. home foreclosures jumped in the third quarter and banks' efforts to keep borrowers in their homes dropped as the housing market continues to struggle, U.S. bank regulators said on Wednesday.
The regulators said one reason for the increase in foreclosures is that banks have "exhausted" options for keeping many delinquent borrowers in their homes through programs such as loan modifications.
Newly initiated foreclosures increased to 382,000 in the third quarter, a 31.2 percent jump over the previous quarter and a 3.7 percent rise from a year ago, the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency and the Office of Thrift Supervision said in their quarterly mortgage report.
The number of foreclosures in process increased to 1.2 million, a 4.5 percent increase from the second quarter and a 10.1 percent increase from a year ago, according to the regulators.
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Obama concentrated on the disastrous ObamaCare while America burned jobs and now foreclosures.It is the economy, stupid.
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In October, Gary Shilling of A. Gary Shilling & Co., predicted that house prices would fall another 20%.
In the two months since, house prices have resumed their decline. Below, Gary outlines why he thinks the recent drops are just the beginning.
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In California, if Democrats push a repeal or revision of Prop 13, housing prices will go into a free fall.
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President Barack Obama enters the new year with a growing number of Americans pessimistic about his policies and a growing number rooting for him to fail, according to a new national poll.
But a CNN/Opinion Research Corporation survey released Wednesday also indicates that while a majority of the public says Republican control of the House of Representatives is good for the country, only one in four say the GOP will do a better job running things than the Democrats did when they controlled the chamber.
Sixty-one percent of people questioned in the poll say they hope the president's policies will succeed.
"That's a fairly robust number but it's down 10 points since last December," says CNN Polling Director Keating Holland. "Twelve months ago a majority of the public said that they thought Obama's policies would succeed; now that number has dropped to 44 percent, with a plurality predicting that his policies will likely fail."
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Obama either improves or he is looking at one term -
Tucker Carlson again filled in for Sean Hannity on Hannity tonight, and couldn’t resist, as others already had, delving into the issue of President Obama praising Philadelphia Eagles owner Jeffrey Lurie for giving quarterback Michael Vick a second chance following Vick’s prison sentence for dog fighting. And while Carlson said he “believe[s] fervently in second chances,” he didn’t in Vick’s case. At all.
Carlson differentiated between Vick and others because Vick “killed dogs…in a heartless and cruel way.” This is true. But what Carlson believed to be the proper punishment for Vick is sure to get some attention:
“I think, personally, he should have been executed for that.”
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Guess Tucker never watches LOCKUP on MSNBC – there even more characters there which should be considered before Vick
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Christine O’Donnell: Federal Investigation of Campaign Finances an “Establishment Trick”
Red alert for the former Delaware GOP U.S. Senate candidate Christine O’Donnell.Defeated Tea Party candidate Christine O’Donnell, who ran for vice president Joe Biden’s former Senate seat, is reportedly under federal investigation for using campaign funds for personal expenses, the Associated Press reports.
The criminal probe is being conducted by two federal prosecutors and two FBI agents, an anonymous source told the AP. The matter has not yet been referred to a grand jury.
Spokespersons with the FBI in Washington and the Delaware Attorney General’s office declined to comment.
But O’Donnell campaign spokesman Matt Moran told ABC News the wire report was the first he had heard of an alleged investigation.
“The anonymous source seems politically-motivated and may well be tied to the ultra-liberal, George Soros-financed, former Sen. Biden staffer-run CREW [Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington] complaint,” Moran said.
The left-leaning watchdog group filed complaints with the Delaware U.S. Attorney’s office and Federal Election Commission in September alleging the Republican candidate misused campaign funds.
“These charges are already being addressed with the FEC,” he said. “We are confident that they will be resolved in the New Year, and put an end to the frivolous sensationalism regarding this matter.”
Moran called the allegations surrounding O’Donnell’s campaign finances unsubstantiated and “old news,” dating primarily to her 2008 campaign for then-Sen. Joe Biden’s seat. The issue first surfaced during O’Donnell’s repeat bid for the Senate earlier this year.
Christine O’Donnell has responded to the FLAP.
Christine O’Donnell on Wednesday night responded to reports her campaign is being investigated, saying the issue is being drummed up by liberals in an “establishment trick” to discredit the tea party movement.
The losing Republican Senate candidate issued a statement saying that Democrats had warned her about “phony” investigations.
O’Donnell’s campaign manager, Matt Moran, who will have a role in O’Donnell’s new political action committee, called the Associated Press report part of “the same unsubstantiated allegations and rumors that have been circulating in the press for months.” Moran said the campaign will cooperate with any investigation if one should materialize.
Moran also noted that Melanie Sloan of the ethics group Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington, which first raised questions about the campaign’s spending, was once a staffer for then-Sen. Joseph Biden. O’Donnell ran against Biden in 2008, and the Senate race in 2010 was for his former seat.
“There was no impermissible use of campaign funds. Period,” Moran said.The O’Donnell statement:
“Since anonymous sources are being taken seriously, please allow me to share some tips I’ve received and keep the tipsters’ identities anonymous. We’ve been warned by multiple high-ranking Democrat insiders that the Delaware Democrat and Republican political establishment is jointly planning to pull out all the stops to ensure I would never again upset the apple cart.
“Specifically they told me the plan was to crush me with investigations, lawsuits and false accusations so that my political reputation would become so toxic no one would ever get behind me. I was warned by numerous sources that the DE political establishment is going to use every resource available to them.
“So given that the King of the Delaware Political Establishment just so happens to be the Vice President of the most liberal Presidential administration in U.S. history, it is no surprise that misuse and abuse of the FBI would not be off the table. And further connecting the dots, do you think it is just a coincidence that Melanie Sloan was a senior Biden staffer just before she joined CREW and filed her complaint against me?!
“I have faith that our supporters and the general public will see right through these thug tactics. This is simply an Establishment trick to stop the anti-establishment Tea Party movement in its tracks.
“Heck, the Presidency is at stake in 2012.”
It might be too early, but this FLAP smells like a dirty trick.
Why release or “leak” that there is an investigation, rather than wait for an actual Grand Jury inquiry or that O’Donnell was called to testify before the Grand Jury.
Slow news cycle and somebody has an axe to grind = Moonbat LEFT
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Muhammad Cartoons “Mumbai-Style” Terror Plot Foiled by Danish Intelligence
Offices of the Jyllands-Posten Newspaper which published the Muhammed Cartoons
An imminent terrorist plot against the Danish newspaper Jyllands-Posten who published the infamous Muhammed Cartoons was foiled today.The Danish intelligence agency said Wednesday that it had arrested five men suspected of an “imminent” terror plot against the Danish newspaper that ran controversial cartoons of the Prophet Muhammad in 2005.
The arrests come only a couple weeks after central Stockholm was rocked by two explosions that Swedish police have deemed a terror attack. The plots in the two Scandinavian countries are unusual because the region has been largely removed, until now, from the terrorism concerns that grip much of Western Europe.
Three of the men linked to the plot in Denmark are Swedish citizens and one of the five men arrested was arrested in Sweden, the New York Times reported. The men are not connected with the attack in Sweden, in which only the bomber was killed.
he men arrested in Denmark are a 44-year-old Tunisian, a 29-year-old Swede born in Lebanon, a 30-year-old Swede, and a 26-year-old Iraqi asylum seeker. The man arrested in Sweden was a 37-year-old Swede with Tunisian roots, Agence France-Presse reported. The Copenhagen Daily reports that the arrests stem from collaboration between Danish intelligence and Swedish law enforcement in a long-term surveillance operation.
The cartoons, published in 2005 in the Danish daily Jyllands-Posten, featured caricatures of the Prophet, which are considered blasphemous by most Muslims and prompted anger and violent rioting in some Muslim countries.
The men planned to kill as many as possible in the building housing the newspaper, the Copenhagen Daily reports.
The New York Times account of the “Mumbai-style” attack is here.
This is not the first time the newspaper or Kurt Westergaard, the cartoonist who drew the Muhammed Cartoons. Remember the Somali who was linked to Radical Islamic al-Shabab and al Qaeda who tried to assassinate Westergaard with an axe?
And, the attack in Sweden may have been linked to another controversial caartoon.
…the e-mail threat connected to the attack references Lars Vilks, a Swedish cartoonist who drew caricatures of the Prophet Muhammad as a dog in 2007 in the Swedish newspaper Tidningarnas Telegrambyra, the Monitor reported.
“Now, your children — daughters and sisters — will die like our brothers and sisters and children die,” the recording said, according to the Times. “Our actions will speak for themselves. As long as you do not end your war against Islam and the insult against the prophet and your stupid support for that pig Vilks.”
Of course, there was security in the building just as Westergaard had a “panic room” installed in his residence.
The Jyllands-Posten building was already under high security before the arrests, said Lars Munch, the director of the newspaper’s corporate owner, on the newspaper’s Web site. He called the plot “appalling” and said the newspaper was cooperating with Danish police in their investigation.
Prime Minister Loekke Rasmussen of Denmark told reporters that he was “shocked” by the attack.
“Regardless of today’s event, it remains my conviction that terrorism must not lead us to change our open society and our values, especially democracy and free speech,” he said.
And, here are the cartoons that have created this “EXCUSE” for terrorist activities.
And, all of this for what?
Cartoons of Muhammad
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Election 2012, George Allen, Jim Webb, Jon Tester, Kent Conrad, National Republican Senatorial Committee
GOP NRSC Targets Montana, Virginia, Nebraska, Florida and North Dakota in 2012 Senate Races
Montana Democrat U.S. Senator Jon Tester – a GOP target in 2012
The National Republican Senatorial Committee has released its target list for 2012.The National Republican Senatorial Committee (NRSC) has its eyes on five key races that could pave the way for the GOP to take the majority in the upper chamber in 2012.
NRSC Executive Director Ron Jesmer said in an interview with CNN published Wednesday that the committee believes there is “fertile ground” for Republicans gains in Montana, Virginia, Nebraksa, Florida and North Dakota.
Jesmer said that centrist Nebraska Sen. Ben Nelson (D) is in “serious trouble and kind of in a league of his own,” and that Senate Budget Committee Chairman Kent Conrad (D-N.D.) also “is in a lot of trouble.”
“There are other states where depending on if one candidate runs, there could be some other good challenges,” he added.
The official’s comments provide an early preview to the GOP’s strategy heading into the 2012 Senate campaign, when the party is expected to make gains on the Democrats and take the majority.
Montana, Nebraska and North Dakota were won by 2008 GOP presidential nominee John McCain. Florida and Virginia flipped from red to blue two years ago, but some see the states tilting back to the GOP after the party picked up a number of House seats in each state.
Barring any GOP blow up in the next year, I see a relatively easy time for the GOP to take control of the Senate in 2012 – or at least come within a few seats, but have an in effect operating majority.
Ben Nelson in Nebraska is toast as are North Dakota’s Kent Conrad and Montana’s Jon Tester.
Former Virginia Senator George Allen has a good chance to best the irascible and weird Jim Webb (if he runs).
It will be good Dem Senate hunting for the GOP in 2012.
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Video: Sarah Palin “Person of the Year” In the Pole Position for GOP Presidential Nomination
As I have said before, it is Sarah Palin’s nomination to either accept or decline. Pat Bucchanan, conservative pundit extraordinaire is RIGHT.
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Sarah Palin Faces Gloomy New Poll Numbers – But Does It Matter?
Former Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin, center, is interviewed by Fox News Channel journalist Greta Van Susteren during her visit to a cholera treatment center run by Rev. Franklin Graham’s relief organization Samaritan’s Purse in Cabaret, Haiti, Saturday Dec. 11, 2010.
A new set of poll numbers released on Tuesday reinforced the daunting challenge that former Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin would face in turning the tide in her favor among both Republican primary and general election voters if she were to decide to run for president in 2012.
Perhaps the most discouraging new number as it relates to Palin’s presidential ambitions was a CNN/Opinion Research Corporation poll, which showed that 49 percent of Republicans said that they were now “very” or “somewhat likely” to support a Palin presidential bid.
At first glance, 49 percent may appear to be a promising slice of the GOP electorate, but it is down dramatically from the 67 percent of Republicans who said that they were likely to support a Palin run when they were asked in a previous CNN poll conducted in December of 2008.
Sixty-seven percent of Republicans in the new CNN poll said that they were somewhat or very likely to support former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee in 2012, while 59 percent said the same of former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney.
The CNN poll was conducted by telephone from December 17-19 and had a margin of error of plus or minus three percent.
And, looking at another survey, she does not do better.
Compounding those dour numbers for Palin was the release on Tuesday of a series of Democratically-affiliated Public Policy Polling (PPP) state surveys, which were conducted over the past couple of months. The PPP polls showed the former Alaska governor with low favorability ratings among voters in key battleground states.
In Ohio, North Carolina, Florida, Virginia, Wisconsin, Minnesota, and Michigan, Palin’s overall favorability rating ranged from 34 percent to 37 percent. Meanwhile, her unfavorable rating in those seven bellwether states ranged from 52 percent to 60 percent.
But, the real question for Sarah Palin is whether she thinks a run against President Obama is winnable in nine or ten key battleground states.
- Ohio – 20 (electoral votes): -2 after reapportionment
- Virginia – 13
- Colorado – 9
- Florida -27: +2 after reapportionment
- Nevada – 5: +1 after reapportionment
- Wisconsin -10
- New Hampshire – 4
- Indiana – 11
- North Carolina – 15
I think Palin could win a multi-way GOP primary election/caucus against Mitt Romney, Mike Huckabee and/or Newt Gingrich. And, win easily and EARLY.
But, can she beat Obama in the states above?
Palin does not have to decide anytime soon (she will hold off a final decision until April 2011) and watch her political events in these states.
Sarah will be watching her polls and then it is time for deciding. If there is a chance of beating Obama, she runs.
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Day By Day December 29, 2010 – MarsVenus
Chris, a high level of audio encryption will be required for Sam’s phone sex conversations with Zed who is in Afghanistan. Yeah, Sam misses him.But, it is a war zone after all……
On the day after the day after, New Yorkers were left wondering what happened. There are still many streets that haven’t seen a plow yet.
“I’m curious as to why none of this has been plowed yet,” one person told CBS 2?s Lou Young. “All the streets around here, very few have been plowed. One was half-plowed.”
“I think they get an F-minus,” said Arlene Buonintane of Queens Village. “I think they really screwed up because, you know, this is ridiculous. You still have ambulances that have to get out. You still have police and firefighters that have to get through and none of the side streets are plowed.”
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