Green skeletons lurk in GOP closets

 

Conservatives are well aware of the GOP candidates' remarks and past statements of other party leaders, including President George W. Bush, who in his eighth year in office embraced a small cap on greenhouse gas emissions. Now, they say mandatory emission reduction policies are undermined by unsubstantiated gaps in historical data and a secret conspiracy among scientists to make the problem out to be much worse than it is.

Jim Connaughton, who served for eight years as Bush's top White House environmental adviser, said the slate of possible GOP presidential candidates are displaying collective amnesia in denouncing cap and trade when it "was the invention of conservative Republican economists as a better way to cut pollution than inefficient command and control regulations."
Read more: http://www.politico.com/news/stories/1210/46699.html#ixzz19tWiAMa6

Guess How Many Gun Stores in Mexico? Only ONE - Surprised?? - Hispanically Speaking News

Guess How Many Gun Stores in Mexico? Only ONE - Surprised?? - Hispanically Speaking News: "If one were to guess how many gun stores are in Mexico, it can almost be guaranteed that that guess would be wrong, because despite the highly publicized violence and number of guns the cartels are using, there is only one gun store in all of Mexico…and it’s run by the military."

Immigration Battle Shifts to States With Wave of Bills - NYTimes.com

Immigration Battle Shifts to States With Wave of Bills - NYTimes.com: "Legislative leaders in at least half a dozen states say they will propose bills similar to a controversial law to fight illegal immigration that was adopted by Arizona last spring, even though a federal court has suspended central provisions of that statute.

The efforts, led by Republicans, are part of a wave of state measures coming this year aimed at cracking down on illegal immigration.

Legislators have also announced measures to limit access to public colleges and other benefits for illegal immigrants and to punish employers who hire them.

Next week, at least five states plan to begin an unusual coordinated effort to cancel automatic United States citizenship for children born in this country to illegal immigrant parents."

The efforts, led by Republicans, are part of a wave of state measures coming this year aimed at cracking down on illegal immigration.

Republicans gained more than 690 seats in state legislatures nationwide in the November midterms, winning their strongest representation at the state level in more than 80 years.

Among the states expected to introduce bills similar to Arizona’s are Georgia, Mississippi, Nebraska, Oklahoma, Pennsylvania and South Carolina.

U.S. Department of Defense Announces Latest Contract Awards : Veterans Today

U.S. Department of Defense Announces Latest Contract Awards : Veterans Today: "Pratt and Whitney, East Hartford, Conn., was awarded a $272,552,404 contract modification to provide for 30 F117-PW-100 engines, spare engines, and associated data for the C-17 aircraft. At this time, the entire amount has been obligated. ASC/WNWK, Wright-Patterson Air Force Base, Ohio, is the contracting activity (FA8750-11-C-0045).
ARMY
The Boeing Co., Ridley Park, Penn., was awarded on Dec. 22 a $241,957,000 firm-fixed-price contract. The award will provide for 11 CH-47F Chinook remanufactured aircraft. Work will be performed in Ridley Park, Penn., with an estimated completion date of Sep. 30, 2013. One bid was solicited with one bid received. The U.S. Army Contracting Command, Contracting Center Aviation and Missile, Redstone Arsenal, Ala., is the contracting activity (W58RGZ-08-C-0098)."

Robber Holds Up Store With Big Stick -- ktla.com

Video: Stick Wielding Assailant Robs Convenience Store: MyFoxDC.com

Robber Holds Up Store With Big Stick -- ktla.com

Business Activity in U.S. Grows at Fastest Pace in Two Decades - Bloomberg

Business Activity in U.S. Grows at Fastest Pace in Two Decades - Bloomberg: "Businesses in the U.S. expanded in December at the fastest pace in two decades, adding to evidence the world’s largest economy is accelerating heading into 2011.

The Institute for Supply Management-Chicago Inc. said today its business barometer rose to 68.6 this month, exceeded the most optimistic forecast of economists surveyed by Bloomberg News and the highest level since July 1988. Figures greater than 50 signal expansion."

Chicago manufacturing gauge leaps in December Economic Report - MarketWatch

Chicago manufacturing gauge leaps in December Economic Report - MarketWatch: "The Chicago PMI rose to 68.6 in December from 62.5 in November, marking the 15th straight month that the gauge was over the 50 level indicating economic expansion and well above the 61 reading that economists polled by MarketWatch expected for December.

To put December’s report into context, the median showing of the Chicago report between 1970 and 2009 was 55.1."

Barney Frank Takes On Those Worried About 'Radical Homosexual Agenda' (VIDEO)

Barney Frank Takes On Those Worried About 'Radical Homosexual Agenda' (VIDEO): "The day before President Barack Obama signed the repeal of DADT into law, he addressed the next two bullet points on Frank's checklist, announcing he supports repealing the Defense Of Marriage Act, which defines marriage as between a man and a woman and allows states not to recognize bonds of any other nature, as well as the passage of the Employment Non-Discrimination Act, which would prohibit discrimination against workers based on sexual orientation or gender identity. While he said his opinion on gay marriage is 'evolving,' the president also indicated he still prefers gay couples opt for civil unions."

China's rare earths export cut raises trade concerns | Reuters

China's rare earths export cut raises trade concerns | Reuters: "China has raised fresh international trade concerns after slashing export quotas on rare earths minerals, risking action from the United States at the World Trade Organization.

China, which produces about 97 percent of the global supply of rare earth minerals, cut its export quotas by 35 percent for the first half of 2011 versus a year ago, saying it wanted to preserve ample reserves, but warned against basing its total 2011 export quota on the first half figures."

China to Tighten Limits on Rare Earth Exports in Early 2011 - NYTimes.com

China to Tighten Limits on Rare Earth Exports in Early 2011 - NYTimes.com: "China’s commerce ministry announced on Tuesday in Beijing a steep reduction in export quotas for rare earth metals in the first months of next year, a move that threatens to cause further difficulties for manufacturers already struggling with short supplies and soaring prices.

The reduction in quotas for the early months of 2011 — a 35 percent drop in tonnage from the first half of this year — is the latest in a series of measures by Beijing that has gradually curtailed much of the world’s supply of rare earths."