Morris fabricates "impeachable offense" out of alleged Sestak job offer

Morris fabricates "impeachable offense" out of alleged Sestak job offer

Reagan administration reportedly offered job for candidate to step down

Reagan adviser reportedly offered CA senator a job with the administration "if he decided not to seek re-election." A November 25, 1981, Associated Press article (from the Nexis database) reported that President Reagan's political adviser Ed Rollins planned to offer former California Sen. S.I. Hayakawa a job in the administration in exchange for not seeking re-election.

From the AP article:

Sen. S.I. Hayakawa on Wednesday spurned a Reagan administration suggestion that if he drops out of the crowded Republican Senate primary race in California, President Reagan would find him a job.

"I'm not interested," said the 75-year-old Hayakawa.

"I do not want to be an ambassador, and I do not want an administration post."

[...]

In an interview earlier this week, Ed Rollins, who will become the president's chief political adviser in January, said Hayakawa would be offered an administration post if he decided not to seek re-election. No offer has been made directly to Hayakawa, Rollins said.

Similarly, Hayakawa said in a statement, "I have not contacted the White House in regard to any administration or ambassadorial post, and they have not been in contact with me."

Oil-drilling would ‘interfere’ with Naval operations, writes Moran

Oil-drilling would ‘interfere’ with Naval operations, writes Moran

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Crime rates down for third year, despite recession - KansasCity.com

Crime rates down for third year, despite recession - KansasCity.com

Ind. Rep. Mark Souder to Resign over Affair with Staffer | Politics | Christianity Today

Ind. Rep. Mark Souder to Resign over Affair with Staffer | Politics | Christianity Today

Rep. Mark Souder an Indiana Republican known for his support of traditional family values, announced Tuesday that he will leave office, ending a tense week in which a key staffer confronted him with rumors about his alleged extramarital affair with a part-time aide.

Souder, who won Indiana's May 4 Republican primary, acknowledged to his chief of staff on May 12 that he was in a romantic relationship with Tracy Meadows Jackson, who has worked in various capacities in his district office. The allegations surfaced during the primary campaign when anonymous tipsters called Souder's aides and his opponent, according to sources familiar with the events.

The eight-term congressman immediately made plans to resign, according to the sources.

D Jour is D Jou

HONOLULU—A Honolulu city councilman has defeated two Democrats to give Republicans a midterm election victory in the U.S. congressional district where President Barack Obama grew up.

Charles Djou's win Saturday is the latest triumph for the GOP as it looks to take back control of Congress. And it came as a blow to Democrats who could not rally around a candidate and find away to win a congressional race that should have been a cakewalk. The seat had been held by a Democrat for nearly 20 years and is located where Obama was born and spent most of his
Boston Globe

Toyota Telsa Motors clean battery car partnership | Business 2.0 Press

Toyota Telsa Motors clean battery car partnership | Business 2.0 Press

Rand Paul - ABC GMA - video

Rand Paul – the Louisville Courier-Journal interview – video

Rand Paul Wants To Abolish The Americans With Disabilities Act, Citing Fairness ‘To The Business Owner’ - video

Federal official overseeing offshore oil development to retire early

Retired!

The man in charge of gas and oil drilling for the Minerals Management Service, Chris Oynes, has announced he'll retire at the end of the month, according the Washington Post. Oynes was promoted to Associate Director for Offshore Energy and Minerals Management with the Interior Department in 2007, despite being embroiled in a controversy over the friendly terms he signed for companies who leased land in the Gulf. That appointment was plenty controversial. Representative Carolyn Maloney, at the time:

MORE JOBS MIGHT BE CREATED THIS YEAR THAN DURING GEORGE W. BUSH'S PRESIDENCY.

First, the numbers: From February 2001, Bush's first full month in office, through January 2009, his last, total U.S. nonfarm employment grew from 132.5 million to 133.5 million, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics. That's an increase, obviously, of just 1 million. From January through April of this year, the economy created 573,000 jobs. Over a full year, that projects to 1.72 million jobs. Job-creation numbers are notoriously volatile, so the actual result could run above or below that estimate. But Obama administration economists are increasingly optimistic that job growth this year will exceed expectations. Few of them will be surprised if more jobs are created in 2010 than over Bush's two terms.

Although the immediate jobs picture is clearly brightening, lasting surges in U.S. job growth usually have followed technological breakthroughs (the personal computer, the Internet) or expanded access to education (mass primary schooling in the late 19th century and increased access to college after World War II). Obama is betting heavily on both fronts, with big increases in federal investment in education and new technologies, such as alternative energy. But the engine that will propel the next great burst of American job creation has yet to be discovered.

NRA Opposes Bill Banning Terror Watch List Suspects From Buying Guns - Politics | Republican Party | Democratic Party | Political Spectrum - FOXNews.com

NRA Opposes Bill Banning Terror Watch List Suspects From Buying Guns - Politics | Republican Party | Democratic Party | Political Spectrum - FOXNews.com





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Wal-Mart pledges $2 billion in food and grants to fight hunger

Not too bad.

Wal-Mart announced plans Wednesday to donate $2 billion over five years to food banks and hunger relief organizations, one of the largest charitable efforts that the nation's largest grocer has undertaken.

Wall Market Flash Crash - video

The Daily Show With Jon Stewart	Mon - Thurs 11p / 10c
A Nightmare on Wall Street
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Daily Show Full Episodes Political Humor Tea Party

Oil Containment - video

The Colbert Report	Mon - Thurs 11:30pm / 10:30c
Oil Containment Solution Randomizer
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Gates: Spending 'gusher' now off - Jen DiMascio - POLITICO.com

Gates: Spending 'gusher' now off - Jen DiMascio - POLITICO.com

Warning that the kind of massive budget increases seen since 2001 cannot continue, Defense Secretary Robert Gates is ordering the Pentagon to tighten its belt in ways that could squeeze its massive bureaucracy and create serious heartburn on Capitol Hill and in the defense industry.

WashPost: Defense Secretary Robert M. Gates vowed Saturday to lead an effort to cut as much as $15 billion in overhead costs from the Pentagon's $550 billion budget and warned that without the savings, the military will not be able to afford its current force.

Under Gates's plan, the billions taken from the Pentagon's vast administrative bureaucracy would be used to pay for weapons modernization programs and the overall fighting force in Iraq and Afghanistan. Gates also hinted that additional cuts to major weapons programs would probably be necessary in the coming years.

44,000 manufacturing jobs were created in April, the largest increase since 1998.

The report found that 573,000 jobs have been created since December, including 483,000 in the private sector; jobs have now been created in five of the last six months. In addition, 44,000 manufacturing jobs were created in April, the largest increase since 1998.

However, the unemployment rate rose slightly to 9.9 percent from 9.7 percent as a result of 805,000 more people entering the workforce, due to growing optimism.

The BLS also revised upward its March job numbers to 230,000 jobs created (from the 162,000 originally reported). The February numbers were also revised up to +39,000 (from -14,000).

Seattle Detective Shandy Cobane Apologizes for Racial Epithet, Beating - Video

KICK THAT MEXICAN HEAD??
Seattle Detective Shandy Cobane Apologizes for Racial Epithet, Beating - AOL News

290,000 jobs added in April, a 4-year high – rate 9.9%

Private employers -- the backbone of the economy -- added 231,000 jobs, the most since March 2006.

Also adding jobs were:

• Leisure and hospitality, up 45,000

• Manufacturing, up 44,000

• Construction, up 14,000

BLS: http://www.bls.gov/news.release/empsit.toc.htm

Video

Bank fails - 68

Bank Failures Bring Total to 68

Regulators on Friday shut down banks in Florida, Minnesota, Arizona and California, bringing the number of bank failures to 68 this year.

The Bank of Bonifay, based in Bonifay, Fla., which had $242.9 million in assets and $230.2 million in deposits; and Access Bank, in Champlin, Minn., with $32 million in assets and $32 million in deposits.

The agency also seized Towne Bank of Arizona, in Mesa, with $120.2 million in assets and $113.2 million in deposits; and 1st Pacific Bank of California in San Diego, with $335.8 million in assets and $291.2 million in deposits.

First Federal Bank of Florida, in Lake City, agreed to acquire Bonifay’s deposits and about $78.1 million of its assets. The F.D.I.C. will keep the remainder for eventual sale.

PrinsBank of Prinsburg, Minn., will assume Access’s deposits and assets.

With the 68 closures so far this year, the pace of bank failures is double that of 2009.

Senior Republicans distance themselves from 'drill, baby, drill' - The Hill's E2-Wire

Two senior Republicans on Tuesday distanced themselves from the controversial "drill, baby, drill" phrase first used by Republican National Committee Chairman Michael Steele and repeated prominently by 2008 GOP vice presidential candidate Sarah Palin.

Speaking in the wake of a massive oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico that might have as many political repercussions as environmental ones, GOP Whip Jon Kyl of Arizona and Sen. Pat Roberts of Kansas both said Senate Republicans never endorsed the phrase. And Kyl specifically avoided referring to Steele by name.

Senior Republicans distance themselves from 'drill, baby, drill' - The Hill's E2-Wire

Fishing ban imposed in oil-affected Gulf of Mexico

The US government banned Sunday for 10 days all commercial and recreational fishing in parts of the Gulf of Mexico due to health risks from the massive crude oil spill.
"NOAA is restricting fishing for a minimum of ten days in federal waters most affected by the BP oil spill, largely between Louisiana state waters at the mouth of the Mississippi River to waters off Florida?s Pensacola Bay. The closure is effective immediately," said the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.
Louisiana accounts for an estimated one-third of the country's total oyster output, and the Gulf of Mexico are prime spawning waters for fish, shrimp and crabs, as well as a major stop for migratory birds.

Oil Slick Closes on U.S. Coast, Some Fishing Closed - CNBC

Oil Slick Closes on U.S. Coast, Some Fishing Closed - CNBC

Jokes

Why is the President joking when Louisiana!!!

 

C-SPAN

Tax on Oil May Help Pay for Gulf Spill Cleanup – NYTimes

Hell, I don’t want to pay for it!

The federal government has a large rainy day fund on hand to help mitigate the expanding damage on the Gulf Coast, generated by a tax on oil for use in cases like the Deepwater Horizon spill.

Up to $1 billion of the $1.6 billion reserve could be used to compensate for losses from the accident, as much as half of it for what is sometimes a major category of costs: damage to natural resources like fisheries and other wildlife habitats.

Under the law that established the reserve, called the Oil Spill Liability Trust Fund, the operators of the offshore rig face no more than $75 million in liability for the damages that might be claimed by individuals, companies or the government, although they are responsible for the cost of containing and cleaning up the spill.

The fund was set up by Congress in 1986 but not financed until after the Exxon Valdez ran aground in Alaska in 1989. In exchange for the limits on liability, the Oil Pollution Act of 1990 imposed a tax on oil companies, currently 8 cents for every barrel they produce in this country or import. The tax adds roughly one tenth of a percent to the price of oil. Another source of revenue is fines and civil penalties from companies that spill oil.

The result is a rainy-day fund, which over the years has been used mostly for spills that exceed the liability caps by relatively small amounts. But the trust fund managers have warned that a single big spill could make a sizable dent in the reserve.