links for 2010-12-16

Earlier today it was reported that far left Representative Emanuel Cleaver (D-MO) proposed a $48 billion earmark to redistribute taxpayer money to the inner city.
It was the Mother of All Earmarks…
Liberal Rep. Emanuel Cleaver proposed a whopping $48 BILLION EARMARK that would redistribute wealth to the inner cities and gift money to the poor and thereby produce a much larger consumer class to buy the goods and services produced in this country.

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Criminal if this Omnibus Spending bill passes.

Incoming House Speaker John Boehner's recent interview on "60 Minutes" with Lesley Stahl, where he once again cried publicly, has created a minor controversy among pundits, with observers trying to figure out the cause of his unusual behavior.

Is it depression? Or is Boehner simply in touch with his emotions? Does he wear his heart on his sleeve, or does he cry on a dime because he has a tender spot for all things American?
While it's impossible to know, some are beginning to speculate that Boehner's penchant for turning on the waterworks might have some connection to his consumption of wine. Liberal MSNBC host Ed Shultz, half-jokingly, called Boehner a "cheap drunk" the other day, Capitol Hill aides of both parties are wondering, and there's even a web page devoted to it.
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Well, if he has a problem then the GOP Caucus should find another Speaker

Republicans will paralyze the Senate floor for 50 hours by forcing clerks to read every single paragraph of the 1,924-page, $1.1 trillion omnibus spending bill.

Senate clerks are expected to read the massive bill in rotating shifts around the clock — taking breaks to drink water and pop throat lozenges  — to keep legislative business on track, according to a Democratic leadership aide.

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The GOP should do nothing but a short continuing resolution to keep the government open and then go home

Democrats will try one more time to bring up a controversial immigration bill in the lame-duck session of Congress, a key Senate chairman said Wednesday evening.

Sen. Tom Harkin (D-Iowa), the chairman of the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions (HELP) Committee, said that Democrats would make one last stab at passing the DREAM Act in the Senate.

"We are going to try to bring the DREAM Act up one more time. And again, that may be filibustered by the Republicans," Harkin said last night on MSNBC. "If it is, well then, we'll have to be in here after Christmas."

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As expected – so melt the phones to squishy GOP Senators to filibuster

California air quality regulators are poised to adopt the nation's most sweeping regulations to give power plants, refineries and other major polluters a financial incentive to reduce their greenhouse gas emissions.
The Air Resources Board was expected to pass this key piece of the California's 2006 climate law, called AB32, at its meetings Thursday or Friday, with the hope that other states and nations will follow the lead of the world's eighth largest economy.
"AB32 was passed primarily to fill the vacuum created by the failure of Congress to pass any kind of climate or energy legislation for many years now," said Mary Nichols, the air board's chairwoman. "The goal was to lead by example, and being a leader you have to bring others along with you."
California's cap-and-trade rules would set up the largest U.S. carbon trading market as the way to enforce the state's gradually tightening cap on emissions.

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More business will leave and more unemployment. Budget deficits increase

Indiana Gov. Mitch Daniels is setting a deadline for when he must decide whether to seek the Republican presidential nomination in 2012.
Daniels, a favorite among Republican insiders who respect his fiscally conservative record, said Wednesday that he must figure out his plans by the end of April, when Indiana's legislative session is slated to wrap up.

"I think the decision has to come at the end of this General Assembly session, if not before. No later than that," Daniels told Fort Wayne television station WANE. "In fairness to people from all over the place – many of whom I've only read about before – who like this idea [of Daniels running for president], I owe them some kind of an answer."
Daniels has remained mostly cagey about his intentions. Though the governor has resisted invitations to visit key primary states, he's also welcomed national reporters to Indiana to discuss the possibility.

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Well, DUH! He will need to ramp up fundraising.

It's been a whirlwind of excitement since the first rumors that Sen. Harry Reid would be passing online poker legislation during the lame-duck session of Congress, but that excitement halted immediately Wednesday night. According to multiple sources, the bill will not be voted on or attached to another bill during the last few days of this session.

"We are disappointed that Congress failed to act and provide the necessary consumer protections and sensible oversight over this multi-billion dollar industry," John Pappas, executive director of the Poker Players Alliance, wrote in an e-mail to ESPN.com. "Sadly, some politicians remain with their heads firmly in the sand. The leadership of the Poker Players Alliance got the debate this far and we are determined to see this through."

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This is not a surprise since the bill is a blatant payback to Harrah's and MGM who contributed so heavily for Reid.

Online poker looks almost dead especially if the feds enforce UIGEA