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The Morning Flap: March 7, 2013

Rand PaulSenator Rand Paul

These are my links for March 6th through March 7th:

  • Mr. Paul Goes To Washington To Protect Your Constitutional Rights – Rule Of Law: At press time Wednesday, Sen. Rand Paul was holding forth on his filibuster against the nomination of John Brennan as head of the CIA. It’s good to know someone in Washington still cares about the Constitution.It started out as a simple question from Paul to Attorney General Eric Holder as to whether President Obama “has the power to authorize lethal force, such as a drone strike, against a U.S. citizen on U.S. soil, and without trial.”The plain, simple answer is no, since it clearly violates the U.S. Constitution’s Fifth Amendment due-process protection. But that wasn’t the answer that came back from Holder, compelling Paul to filibuster Brennan.

    “It is possible, I suppose,” wrote Holder, “to imagine an extraordinary circumstance in which it would be necessary and appropriate under the Constitution and applicable laws of the United States for the President to authorize the military to use lethal force within the territory of the United States.”

    It’s unbelievable that the nation’s top law officer would answer in that way. And, with the explosion in the number of drones filling the nation’s skies, it’s more than an idle question or philosophical musing.

    That’s why Paul is filibustering Brennan’s controversial nomination as CIA head. Paul knows he likely won’t succeed. But he’s making an important point.

  • Obamacare requirements will drive up premiums – In 2007, candidate Barack Obama declared, “I will sign a universal health care bill into law by the end of my first term as president that will cover every American and cut the cost of a typical family’s premium by up to $2,500 a year.” As president, he signed national health care legislation that is formally known as the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act, popularly known as Obamacare. But according to a new report from Congressional Republicans, the law will actually cause premiums to more than double for some Americans.The report, which is based on a compilation of independent studies on the effect of the law’s new regulations, finds that Obamacare could increase premiums by 40 percent on average and by as much as 202 percent for young adults living in Chicago.
  • 2016 Democratic Field May Not Wait for Clinton – She is not an incumbent president — or even currently employed — but the deference fellow Democrats have afforded Hillary Clinton regarding a potential 2016 White House run has been something to behold.With the official start of the next presidential campaign still three years away, friends and potential Democratic foes alike have bent over backwards to praise Clinton and talk up her chances of finishing what she started in her 2008 campaign — and for good reason.
  • Obama’s Rx: Maximize America’s pain – In an e-mail to an official of the Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (part of the Department of Agriculture), a North Carolina official was told he had no latitude in managing cuts: “You need to make sure you are not contradicting what we said the impact would be,” came the word from Washington.The real reason behind the vise-tightening has nothing to do with money, though. It’s all political, the kickoff to the 2014 congressional elections.The GOP managed to hang on to its House majority last fall — and under the Constitution all spending bills must originate in the House. But the president told House Democrats last month that he means to make Nancy Pelosi the speaker yet again.

    And he pointedly said of GOP spending-cut ideas versus his own tax-hike proposals, “If that’s an argument they want to have before the court of public opinion, that’s an argument I’m more than willing to engage in.”

  • Holder does not rule out drone strike scenario in U.S.
  • Republicans emerge from Obama dinner optimistic about deficit deal – Senate Republicans are more optimistic about the prospect of a grand bargain on the deficit after an intimate dinner with President Obama Wednesday evening in downtown Washington.
  • Republicans, Led by Rand Paul, Finally End Filibuster – A small group of Republicans, led by Senator Rand Paul of Kentucky, stalled the Senate on Wednesday by waging a nearly 13-hour old-school, speak-until-you-can-speak-no-more filibuster over the government’s use of lethal drone strikes — forcing the Senate to delay the expected confirmation of John O. Brennan to lead the Central Intelligence Agency.Mr. Paul, who opposes Mr. Brennan’s nomination, followed through on his plan to filibuster the confirmation of President Obama’s nominee after receiving a letter this month from Attorney General Eric H. Holder Jr. that refused to rule out the use of drone strikes within the United States in “extraordinary circumstances” like the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks.
  • North Korea says it will launch nuclear attack on America – Missile Defense!
  • Flap’s Blog @ Flap Twitter Daily Digest for 2013-03-06 – Flap’s Blog – FullosseousFlap’s Dental Blog – Flap’s Blog @ Flap Twitter Daily Digest for 2013-03-06 #tcot
  • The Morning Flap: March 6, 2013 – Flap’s Blog – FullosseousFlap’s Dental Blog – The Morning Flap: March 6, 2013 #tcot
  • Flap’s Blog @ Flap Twitter Daily Digest for 2013-03-05 – Flap’s Blog – FullosseousFlap’s Dental Blog – Flap’s Blog @ Flap Twitter Daily Digest for 2013-03-05 #tcot
  • Garcetti finishes first, then Greuel and James – runoffs ahead* – LA Observed – Garcetti finishes first, then Greuel and James – runoffs ahead* – LA Observed #tcot
  • Destinations / Spacecraft Dragon at the International Space Station – Spacecraft Dragon at the International Space Station via @pinterest
  • Decades later, 1972 Supreme Court decision overturning the death penalty has lasting impact | abc7news.com – Decades later, 1972 Supreme Court decision overturning the California death penalty has lasting impact
  • Garcetti finishes first, then Greuel and James – runoffs ahead* – LA Observed – RT @LAObserved: Here are the lineups for LA city runoff elections, including three for city council.
  • Flap’s Dentistry Blog: The Morning Drill: March 4, 2013 – The Morning Drill: March 4, 2013
  • Flap’s Dentistry Blog: Dentistry Wednesday Watch: March 6, 2013 – Dentistry Wednesday Watch: March 6, 2013