Trump: "Our Weak President That Kisses Everybody's Ass Is In More Wars Than I've Ever Seen...Nobody Respects Us"

Trump: "Nobody respects our leadership." O'Reilly's part 2 of the Trump interview has Donald really giving some straight talk on what he thinks. In this clip, Bill asks Trump what he would do on China, Iran, Iraq and Libya.


From thebrodyfile: Evangelical leaders say Donald Trump may find support from social conservatives

Video: Without Proper Training and Formal Command Structure, The Anti-Qaddafi Forces Are Firing At Random

These are the rebels that the U.S. and coalition forces are thinking about arming? They cannot even operate their own weapons, how are they gonna operate new ones? This CBS News reporters says "the greatest danger at the front, is often the rebels themselves." Here is very disturbing video

Gasoline Price Up 100% Under Obama, From $1.79 in January 2009 To Average of $3.58 Today

I'm still looking for all those stories on pain at the pump, I can't seem to find very many

washingtontimes

Feeling pain at the pump? Gas prices have doubled since Mr. Obama took office. According to the GasBuddy gasoline price tracking web site, the price of a gallon of regular gas was around $1.79 when Mr. Obama took office.

Today the national average is $3.58. The lowest average price in the continental United States is $3.31 in Tulsa Oklahoma, the highest is $4.14 in Santa Barbara, CA. Four-dollar-a-gallon gas has arrived on average throughout California, and a number of other states are headed in that direction.

Consumer price index (CPI) figures from February show an unadjusted 12 month gasoline inflation rate of 19.2%, but in the last month alone prices jumped 6.8%, probably because of oil price increases due to instabilities in the Middle East.

If the trend continues, gas prices would double again within a year. 100% gasoline price inflation is nothing to brag about, but imagine Mr. Obama going into the 2012 election having to explain why gas costs $7.00 a gallon. I'm sure the White House would spin it as one of their "Green" initiatives

Flashback: This is great, I found this while going through YouTube videos. During the 'pain at the pump' of 2008 when George W. Bush was president, the SEIU ran this ad. 'High gas prices? Vote Barack Obama because he doesn't take money from oil companies'...Roll tape (April 2008)

Stunning....

Kucinich Slams The Obama Administration For Libya Action Calling It "A Clear and Arrogant Violation of Our Constitution" (Video)

I'm guessing he won't be invited to go on Air Force One anymore like he was before the health care vote. This is an angry Dennis Kucinich on the House floor

Up to 1,000 Bodies Left Untouched Near Troubled Fukushima Nuclear Plant

Bodies have been exposed to high levels of radiation after death

kyodo

Radiation fears have prevented authorities from collecting as many as 1,000 bodies of victims of the March 11 earthquake and tsunami from within the 20-kilometer-radius evacuation zone around the stricken Fukushima nuclear plant, police sources said Thursday.

One of the sources said bodies had been ''exposed to high levels of radiation after death.'' The view was supported by the detection Sunday of elevated levels of radiation on a body found in Okuma, Fukushima Prefecture, about 5 km from the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Station.

The authorities are now considering how to collect the bodies, given fears that police officers, doctors and bereaved families may be exposed to radiation in retrieving the radiation-exposed bodies or at morgues, according to the sources.

They initially planned to inspect the bodies after transporting them outside the evacuation zone, but the plan is being reconsidered due to the concerns over exposure.

Local residents have been forced to leave the zone since the current nuclear crisis began unfolding at the Tokyo Electric Power Co

Japan's Nuclear Rescuers: 'Inevitable Some of Them May Die Within Weeks'

foxnews on the Fukushima 50

Workers at the disaster-stricken Fukushima nuclear plant in Japan say they expect to die from radiation sickness as a result of their efforts to bring the reactors under control, the mother of one of the men tells Fox News.

The so-called Fukushima 50, the team of brave plant workers struggling to prevent a meltdown to four reactors critically damaged by the March 11 earthquake and tsunami, are being repeatedly exposed to dangerously high radioactive levels as they attempt to bring vital cooling systems back online.

Speaking tearfully through an interpreter by phone, the mother of a 32-year-old worker said: “My son and his colleagues have discussed it at length and they have committed themselves to die if necessary to save the nation

GE CEO Jeffrey Immelt Blames Lack of Tax Liability on the Wall Street Meltdown (Video)

CNBC plays a clip of Immelt at the Economic Club in Washington a short time ago saying "The reason our tax rate is low in 2009-2010 is simple, we lost $32 billion in GE capital as a result of the financial crisis." Erin Burnett has tax numbers on GE

CNBC's John Harwood discusses GE's CEO, Jeff Immelt, breaking his silence on the company under fire for its paltry 2010 tax bill, with Peter Morici, University of Maryland's Smith School of Business

Obama Leads All Republicans in Florida 2012

This just boggles the mind. This is a must win for Republicans in 2012. You really have to wonder sometimes what people are thinking. Are they watching the same news we are? Almost everything the man has touched has been a failure. You have to conclude that there's a big portion of the voters that have no problem with being lied to

publicpolicypolling

It doesn't look like Florida will be losing its status as one of the most competitive states in the country at the Presidential level next year- voters in the state are almost evenly divided on Barack Obama's job performance and although he leads all six of the Republicans we tested him against, some of the margins are quite close.

48% of Florida voters approve of the job Obama's doing to 47% who disapprove. His numbers break down predictably- 81% of Democrats like him, Republicans dislike him at an even higher rate of 85%, and allowing him to have slightly positive overall numbers is that he's on positive ground with independents at 49/44.

Two potential Republican opponents- one quite plausible and the other a long shot- would start out virtually tied with the President. Mitt Romney does the best, trailing Obama 46-44.

Given that there are two undecided Republicans for every Democrat in that match up you're basically looking at an even match. It's a sign of Romney's appeal in the Sunshine State that he actually does a hair better than former Florida Governor Jeb Bush, who trails Obama 48-45 in the state

FLORIDA 2012
Obama 46 Romney 44
Obama 48 Jeb Bush 45
Obama 48 Giuliani 42
Obama 50 Huckabee 43
Obama 50 Gingrich 42
Obama 52 Palin 39

Sky News: More Senior Libyans 'To Defect Within Days'

"We expect more ambassadors and senior figures to do the same in the coming days"

skynews

More senior Libyans are expected to follow the foreign minister in defecting from Colonel Gaddafi "within days", the country's mission to the UN told Sky News

A spokesman on behalf of the mission also said they had anticipated more senior Musa Kusa's decision to abandon the dictator.

"We've been expecting his defection for some time and we expect more ambassadors and senior figures to do the same in the coming days," he said.

"We welcome such an action. This will make the Gadaffi regime weaker. His defection exposes the lies that the regime are putting out.

"Kusa knows that Colonel Gadaffi is finished."It came as Prime Minister David Cameron used a press conference in Downing Street, to urge others within the regime to "come to their senses" and change sides.

"It shows a certain amount of distrust, decay and breakdown at the heart of the Gaddafi regime," he said. "The decision... to come to London to resign his position is a decision by someone right at the very top.

"It tells a compelling story of the desperation and the fear right at the very top of the crumbling and rotten Gaddafi regime

Debate Gets Heated Between Ed Schultz and The Nation Reporter Over Covert Support To Libyan Rebels (Video)

Last night on the Head Show. The Nation's Jeremy Scahill gets into a heated debate with Schultz after Reuters reported the Obama Adm. will give covert support to the rebels in Libya. He says 'Ed, this sounds a lot to me like Ollie North and the Iran Contra.' The 'U.N. Security Council resolution was a result of blackmail and cajoling on the part of the Obama administration'

Visit msnbc.com for breaking news, world news, and news about the economy

Aide: Wisconsin Governor Scott Walker To Halt Plans to Enact Union Law, Abiding By Judge Sumi's Court Ruling

AP

MADISON, Wis. Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker's top aide says the administration will abide by a judge's order to stop preparation to implement a divisive collective bargaining law.

Department of Administration Secretary Mike Huebsch said Thursday that the Republican governor's administration still believes the law took effect when a state office posted online last week. But he says Walker will abide by Dane County Circuit Judge Maryann Sumi's ruling earlier Thursday that the law hadn't taken effect.

Sumi's ruling came after Walker's administration ignored a restraining order she issued earlier this week saying work on the law should stop while she considers a lawsuit challenging the statute's legitimacy.

Walker officials had contended the order didn't apply to them because they weren't named as defendants in the lawsuit

Defense Secretary Gates: No Ground Troops While 'I Am In This Job'

"There are plenty of sources for it other than the United States...Somebody else should do that"

Associated Press

WASHINGTON – As the U.S. debates its future role in the Libyan conflict, Defense officials slammed the brakes on any broad participation Thursday, with Defense Secretary Robert Gates saying there will be no American ground troops in Libya "as long as I am in this job."

Under withering congressional probing and criticism of an ill-defined mission to aid a rebel force that officials know little about, Gates and Joint Chiefs chairman Adm. Mike Mullen sketched out a largely limited role for the U.S. military going forward, with Gates saying some other country could train the rebels trying to oust strongman Moammar Gadhafi.

"My view would be, if there is going to be that kind of assistance to the opposition, there are plenty of sources for it other than the United States," said Gates. "Somebody else should do that."

Asked by one lawmaker whether the U.S. involvement might inevitably mean "boots on the ground" in Libya, Gates replied, "Not as long as I am in this job."

The U.S. turned over control of the military operation to NATO Thursday, just hours before Gates and Mullen told Congress that future U.S. participation will be limited and will not involve an active role in airstrikes as time goes on

Just 21% Say U.S. Has Clearly Defined Mission in Libya

Voters not sure about America's kinetic military action. 62% think it's likely Qaddafi will be removed from power

rasmussenreports

Despite President Obama’s address to the nation Monday night, most voters still aren’t clear about why the U.S. military is engaged in Libya.

A new Rasmussen Reports national telephone survey finds that only 21% of Likely U.S. Voters think the United States has a clearly defined military mission in Libya. Fifty-six percent (56%) disagree and say the military does not have a clearly defined mission. Nearly one-in-four voters (23%) are not sure.

The president apparently did not close the sale with his address explaining his decision to commit U.S. forces to Libya. The survey was taken Monday and Tuesday nights, and the findings from the first night prior to the speech and the second night after the speech showed little change.

The numbers also didn’t change over the two nights when voters were asked if Libya is a vital national security interest for the United States these days.

While the president is hopeful that longtime Libyan dictator Moammar Gadhafi will step down, it is not a stated U.S. policy aim. But 62% of voters think it is at least somewhat likely that Gadhafi will be removed from power as a result of the military action now being taken by the United States and other countries. Just 23% say it’s unlikely. These findings include 30% who say Gadhafi’s removal is Very Likely and only three percent (3%) who believe it’s Not At All Likely. Fourteen percent (14%) are undecided

Morale Sinks As Libyan Rebels Lose Ground (Video)

NBC's Richard Engel reports Qaddafi forces are now using jeeps (similar to the rebels) instead of tanks to avoid detection and making it very difficult to be spotted by the air. Engel says the rebels have no communications, no commanders. They have mortars and surface to surface rockets but have no idea how to use them, they even fired rocket in the wrong direction into a civilian area. They are losing the fight...

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Low Levels of Radiation Found in US Milk

Washington state...

yahoo news

WASHINGTON – Very low levels of radiation turned up in a sample of milk from Washington state, the Environmental Protection Agency and the Food and Drug Administration said Wednesday, but federal officials assured consumers not to worry.

The FDA said such findings were to be expected in the coming days because of the nuclear crisis in Japan, and that the levels were expected to drop relatively quickly.

Japan's Fukushima Dai-ichi nuclear power complex began leaking radiation after it was damaged by a devastating earthquake and tsunami earlier this month.

Results from a March 25 milk sample taken from Spokane, Wash., showed levels of radioactive Iodine-131 that were still 5,000 times below levels of concern set by the FDA, including levels set for infants and children.

"Radiation is all around us in our daily lives, and these findings are a miniscule amount compared to what people experience every day," said Patricia Hansen, senior scientist.at the FDA. "A person would be exposed to low levels of radiation on a round-trip cross-country flight, watching television, and even from construction materials."

EPA said it was increasing the level of nationwide monitoring of milk, precipitation and drinking water.

Spokane, a city of 208,000 residents, is located more than 300 miles east of the Pacific coast. Kim Papich, spokeswoman for the Spokane Regional Health District, said the agency was aware of the EPA report and preparing to issue a statement to residents.

"This is not a major health concern," Papich said

Video: Bill O'Reilly Interviews Donald Trump

O'Reilly asks Trump about Wisconsin, illegal immigration, Muslims, gay marriage, pro-life, mosque at ground zero and the Obama birth certificate.

Democratic Senator Chuck Schumer Caught on Tape Instructing Fellow Dems on How to Spin Media, Networks Ignore

A non-story to ABC, CBS, and the NBC Nightly News. Just imagine if this was John Boehner or Mitch McConnell caught on tape saying something like this.

newsbusters

New York Senator Chuck Schumer was caught on tape Tuesday instructing his Democratic colleagues on how to spin the media with regard to “extreme” Republicans and their budget cuts. "I always use extreme...That is what the caucus instructed me to use,” Schumer blurted.

The liberal senator was apparently unaware his comments were being recorded (The remarks were made moments before a conference call with reporters began.) Tuesday’s nightly newscasts on NBC, ABC and CBS all skipped the story. On Wednesday, Good Morning America, Today and Early Show did the same.

While ABC’s GMA found no time for Schumer and his planned spin for journalists, the ABC program did cover breast-feeding dolls and whether it’s “too much too soon.”

CBS’s Early Show featured a former girlfriend of the late JFK Jr. She informed viewers that kissing him was “magical.”

NBC’s Today covered a conversation between two babbling babies

Schumer caught on tape (yesterday): "I always use the word extreme, that's what the caucus instructed me to do the other week" (Audio)

President Obama Authorizes Covert Help for Libyan Rebels

Just a no-fly zone....

abcnews

President Obama has a signed a secret presidential finding authorizing covert operations to aid the effort in Libya where rebels are in full retreat despite air support from U.S. and allied forces, a source tells ABC News.

The presidential finding discusses a number of ways to help the opposition to Moammar Gadhafi, authorizing some assistance now and setting up a legal framework for more robust activities in the future.

The finding does not direct covert operatives to provide arms to the rebels immediately, although it does prepare for such a contingency and other contingencies should the president decide to go down that road in the future. The White House press office issued a statement saying it does not comment on intelligence matters.

"I will reiterate what the President said yesterday – no decision has been made about providing arms to the opposition or to any group in Libya. We're not ruling it out or ruling it in," the statement said.

"We're assessing and reviewing options for all types of assistance that we could provide to the Libyan people." The revelation of the finding comes as Washington is debating whether to arm the rag tag army trying to oust Libya's long time strongman Moammar Gadhafi

Video report: Rebels in retreat despite air support from allies and hundreds of Tomahawk cruise missile strikes

'Pass the Damn Thing!': Boehner Unloads on Senate Democrats Over Looming Government Shutdown

**Update** Video below

BOEHNER: "The Senate says, 'we have a plan.' Well, great! Pass the damn thing, all right?

abcnews

House Speaker John Boehner blew up at Senate Democrats this morning, calling on them to pass their own version of government funding bill so that negotiations on a different compromise bill could continue.

“The House has passed our bill and it’s been nearly 40 days and yet we’ve seen nothing pass the United States Senate,” Boehner, R-Ohio, said. “It’s time for Senate Democrats to act on a bill. We know that reducing spending will lead to a better environment for job creators to create jobs in America. We’ve done our job.”

“Now the Senate says, ‘we have a plan.’ Well, great! Pass the damn thing, all right?!” Boehner blasted. “And send it over here and let’s have real negotiations instead of sitting over there rooting for a government shutdown.”

Boehner told reporters that the Senate should pass its own bill to establish the level of cuts the Senate could muster and bring back to the bicameral negotiations.

Video: "Pass the damn thing!...Instead of rooting for a government shutdown"

Rumsfeld on 'Kill Team' photos: 'Much worse' than Abu Ghraib (Video)

Rumsfeld also says "the overwhelming majority of the men and women in uniform are professional." The WaTimes interviewer asks Rumsfeld if Robert Gates should resign over this


washingtontimes

In an interview with the Washington Times on Tuesday, Donald Rumsfeld, former Secretary of Defense for President George W. Bush, gave his thoughts on the recent Afghanistan "kill team" photos and described the alleged incident as "much worse" than the photos taken of U.S. soldiers posing with detainees and putting the prisoners in humiliating positions at Iraq's Abu Ghraib prison

Obama's Approval Rating Hits Record Low of 42%

Record low in the Quinnipiac poll. Only 41% say he deserves reelection

This would be breaking news if these were Bush's approval numbers, but it looks like the lib media has no interest in President Obama's tanking numbers


politico

President Barack Obama’s approval rating and prospects for reelection have plunged to all-time lows in a Quinnipiac University poll released Wednesday.

Half of the registered voters surveyed for the poll think that the president does not deserve a second term in office, while 41 percent say he does. In another Quinnipiac poll released just four weeks ago, 45 percent said the president did not deserve reelection, while 47 percent said he did.

The decline in support for a second Obama term comes as his approval rating has dropped 4 percentage points since early March, landing at 42 percent – a record low – in the poll released Wednesday. His disapproval rating has risen from 46 percent to 48 percent.

The downward shift may in part be the result of dissatisfaction over U.S involvement in Libya, with 47 percent of those surveyed saying they oppose it. By a margin of 58 percent to 29 percent, registered voters said that Obama has not clearly stated U.S. goals for the mission.

The poll as conducted March 22-28 and surveyed 2,069 registered voters. The error margin is plus or minus 2.2 percentage points

Approval among Independents down to 39%

Video: Passing Car Gets Swept Away By Japan Tsunamai

Video of the massive tsunami that hit Japan taken from a rooftop

Harry Reid: The Country Doesn't Care About the Tea Party

'Stop listening to the tea party'

Republicans should stop listening to the tea party? The one's who help them pick up 63 seats in the House in election 2010? Good one...

thehill

Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) encouraged Republicans to stop listening to the Tea Party, saying the country doesn't care about the grassroots conservative movement.

"The country doesn't care much about the Tea Party,” Reid said Wednesday. “There is a new CNN poll out today that says this very directly.”

Reid was referring to a CNN poll released on Wednesday that said only 47 percent view the Tea Party in a favorable light

The majority leader made his remarks as part of the update in budget negotiations. Talks have resumed between Senate Democrats and House Republicans. Reid has called on the GOP to consider a Democratic offer to cut an additional $20 billion from the 2011 budget. Republicans, under pressure from conservatives allied with the Tea Party movement, are pushing $61 billion in spending cuts

"Fifty percent of the American people don't want anything to do with the Tea Party,” explained Reid. “Only a small percentage identify with the Tea Party. And the interesting thing, and I think the important thing to the country, is that the Tea Party's unpopularity continues to grow because the American people see how unreasonable they are

Evan Bayh Admits Obamacare Doesn’t Reduce Health Costs

Evan Bayh on Laura Ingraham Show

INGRAHAM: "Do you think in retrospect that you should have voted against health care reform given everything we know now"

BAYH: "The real issue that was not addressed, Laura, that you’ve raised now, and I think appropriately, is the cost, the cost to both the government and to your listeners. We need to take steps now to get the costs of health care under control. That was not dealt with really in an aggressive way in this legislation. I think it now needs to be.

Michael Moore On Libya: The U.S. And Our Military 'Needs To Go To The Time Out Room, We Shouldn't Be Dropping Bombs or Invading Anybody Else'

A disappointed Michael Moore says "We need the United States and especially our military, needs to go to the time out room. We really shouldn’t be dropping bombs or invading anybody else for some time to come...We've behaved badly"

Obama's Libya Address Ratings Down From Previous Speeches

Down 12% from his speech on Iraq. The address on Libya delivered 25 million viewers Monday night, the address on Afghainstan in December 2009 had 40 million viewers

Entertainment Weekly

President Obama’s speech viewership keeps on slipping.

Monday night’s policy address on Libya delivered 25.6 million viewers, continuing the president’s trend of declining ratings for his issue-oriented telecasts.

The speech was down 12% from Obama’s address on Iraq last August (29.2 million), which fell 9% from his speech on the Gulf Coast oil spill in June (32.1 million), which in turn dropped 21% from his Afghanistan speech back in December of 2009 (40.8 million).

Last night’s address could have been dinged by starting slightly before primetime, at 7:30 p.m. (which also kept Obama from making ABC choose between the commander-in-chief and airing Dancing With the Stars at its usual time).

The president’s telecast was carried across eight networks, including ABC, CBS, NBC, TEL, CNN, CNBC, Fox News, and MSNBC

Home Values Dropping Across U.S., Down in 19 out of 20 Major Markets

"The bottom line is economists don't think the housing market is going to come back for at least 2 more years."

CBS News business and economics correspondent Rebecca Jarvis speaks to Erica Hill about dropping home values across the U.S. and why the dip is happening

7 months of decline could be the beginning of a double dip-CBS Chart on home values
The only 2 major American cities to buck the trend were Washington D.C and San Diego

Kucinich: "The President Has Exceeded the Constitutional Authority of His Office"

"What the president has done is drive a stake into the heart of representative government by declaring he has the executive privilege to wage war whenever he wants...The action he has taken is pretty dangerous constitutionally" says Kucinich. BTW, I think Dennis Kucinich is a nut, but at least he's consistent

Michigan Republican Primary 2012: Romney Leads Huckabee 26% to 20%

Romney's numbers are down from the 2008 primary where he captured 39%

publicpolicypolling

Mitt Romney leads the Republican field for President in Michigan...but the numbers suggest a fair amount of slippage from his support in the state in 2008.

26% of GOP primary voters say Romney's their first pick followed by 20% for Mike Huckabee, 15% for Newt Gingrich, 12% for Sarah Palin, 7% for Ron Paul, 5% for Mitch Daniels, and 3% for Tim Pawlenty and Scott Walker.

On the surface Romney's lead is good news for him. But in 2008 he took 39% in the primary in the state while Huckabee got only 16%. So compared to then Romney is down by 13 points while Huckabee's improved by four. That sort of trend in Romney's numbers compared to the support he got in his first bid is becoming common place in our polls.

But with 'very conservative' folks he just ties Huckabee at 20%. More over his favorability with them is only 63% compared to 83% for Palin, 71% for Huckabee, and even 65% for Gingrich. Romney's weak standing with the far right is his greatest hurdle to potentially winning the nomination.

GOP 2012 Michigan: Romney leading with 26%, Pawlenty last at 3%

Obama: 'Qaddafi Will Ultimately Step Down' (Video)

At the 4:30 mark, Williams asks Obama about his quote from 2007 saying 'the President does not have the power under the constitution to unilaterally authorize a military attack in a situation that does not involve stopping a actual or imminent threat to the nation." Obama responds 'we had to move quickly to save lives'

Visit msnbc.com for breaking news, world news, and news about the economy

President Barack Obama predicted Tuesday that continued military and diplomatic pressure will force Libyan leader Moammar Gadhafi to "ultimately step down."

In an interview with NBC Nightly News anchor Brian Williams a day after he addressed the nation to explain his Libya policy , Obama refused to rule out providing direct U.S. military assistance to the rebels fighting Gadhafi's government. But he said that was unlikely and that his comments shouldn't be interpreted as signaling wider U.S. intervention in the region.

"Gadhafi's been greatly weakened," Obama said. "He does not have control over most of Libya at this point, and so for us to continue to apply this pressure, I think, will allow us the space and the time to forge the kind of political solution that's necessary."

Obama said that nine days into the U.S. action in Libya, "The degree to which we've degraded Gadhafi's forces ... has been significant."

His comments came after U.S. ships and submarines were reported to have fired cruise missiles at Libyan missile facilities in and around Tripoli overnight.

"Our primary military goal is to protect civilian populations and to set up the no-fly zone," he said, but "we're not taking anything off the table at this point

If Obama's speech was so clear last night, why did he feel the need to go on NBC, ABC and the CBS evening news tonight?

Judge Sumi Again Blocks Implementation of Collective Bargaining Law in Wisconsin

Dane County Judge Maryann Sumi says 'further implementation of the act is enjoined'

journal sentinel

Madison - A Dane County judge Tuesday blocked the state from implementing Gov. Scott Walker's collective bargaining measure.

"Further implementation of the act is enjoined," said Dane County Judge Maryann Sumi.

Sumi noted her original restraining order issued earlier this month was clear in saying that the state should not proceed with implementing the law. The Walker administration did so after the bill was published Friday by a state agency not included in Sumi's earlier temporary restraining order.

"Apparently that language was either misunderstood or ignored, but what I said was the further implementation of Act 10 was enjoined. That is what I now want to make crystal clear," she said.

But minutes later, outside the court room, Assistant Attorney General Steven Means said the legislation "absolutely" is still in effect.Assembly Minority Leader Peter Barca (D-Kenosha) balked at that statement.

"It's just startling that the attorney general believes you should not follow court orders anymore," he said.

The restraining order is in effect until Friday, when more testimony will be taken. At that point, Sumi could rule on whether the law should be suspended for a longer period.

Sumi noted she has not yet found that lawmakers violated the open meetings law, but noted the Legislature could resolve the matter by passing the bill again. Andrew Welhouse, a spokesman for Senate Majority Leader Scott Fitzgerald (R-Juneau), said there are no plans to try to pass the bill again.

House Majority Leader Eric Cantor: No More Stop-Gap Spending Measures

"Time is up here"

thehill

House Majority Leader Eric Cantor (R-Va.) raised the stakes in the budget showdown on Capitol Hill Tuesday by ruling out another stopgap funding measure. “I want to see a long-term CR here,” he said. “We've got bigger things to deal with. Time is up here."

That leaves House and Senate lawmakers and White House officials little more than 10 days to negotiate a long-term continuing resolution to fund the government through the end of the fiscal year in September.

Later in the day, at a press event with the full GOP House leadership team, House Speaker John Boehner (R-Ohio) stopped short of ruling out another emergency funding bill. “I’m not going to put any options on the table or take any options off the table. Our goal is to cut spending because it’s going to lead to a better environment for job creators in America,”

Boehner said at the late afternoon event. Cantor called out Senate Democratic leaders — and President Obama — during a press availability in his Capitol suite Tuesday afternoon. "We need to see [Senate Majority Leader] Harry Reid and [Sen.] Chuck Schumer get serious,” he said. “We need to see the president get involved.” The House approved a government funding measure 39 days ago that would cut $61 billion from current spending levels.

The Senate failed to pass the House version or a Democratic alternative to cut some $10 billion. At the leadership event, Boehner denied reports that House Republicans were close to striking a deal with the White House that would cut $20 billion more from current spending level

Workers at Japan Nuke Plant 'Lost the Race' to Save Reactor, Expert Says

Indications from the reactor to radiation readings suggest that the core has melted through the bottom of the pressure vessel in unit two

foxnews.com

Workers at the crippled Fukushima Dai-ichi nuclear plant appeared to have "lost the race" to save one of the reactors, a U.S. expert told the Guardian.

Richard Lahey, who was head of safety research for boiling water reactors at General Electric when the company installed the units at the Japan plant, says the radioactive core in the Unit 2 reactor appears to have melted through the bottom of its containment vessel and on a concrete floor.

"The indications we have, from the reactor to radiation readings and the materials they are seeing, suggest that the core has melted through the bottom of the pressure vessel in unit two, and at least some of it is down on the floor of the drywell," Lahey told the paper.

Lahey did add there was no danger of a Chernobyl-style catastrophe.

Japan was hit by another earthquake Wednesday after a magnitude-5.5 earthquake struck off the east coast of Honshu, according to the U.S. Geological Survey

Joe Biden 2007: We Need to Stop Talking and Act in Darfur With Troops and a No-Fly Zone (Video)

During Obama's speech last night he said, "I refuse to wait for slaughter and mass graves before taking action." This is Joe Biden nearly 4 years ago saying we need to "stop talking' on the genocide in Darfur..."We should impose a no-fly zone...."You're gonna have thousands and thousands of people die, we gotta stop talking and act." June 2007. This is from the same people who told us we couldn't wait to act in Libya



"Everything in our power"

Ambassador Susan Rice: We've Not Ruled Out Arming Libyan Rebels (Video)

"We've not made that decision but we've certainly not ruled that out." I thought this was just a no-fly zone?


abcnews

The Times of London reporting that Italian officials are developing a plan that would grant Gadhafi immunity from war crimes prosecution if he goes into exile. And when I asked UN Ambassador Susan Rice about the idea on this morning’s "GMA", she opened the door pretty far.

“The expectation, both of the Libyan people and the international community is that there needs to be justice for the crimes that are committed,” she said. “But obviously should there be an opportunity for some sort of arrangement for Gadhafi to step aside that is something the Libyan people will have to judge and we will take it as it comes.”

Rice suggested twice that the U.S. would follow the lead of the Libyan rebels. If they’re ok with the deal, all indications point to the U.S. signing off too. Administration officials also say that the U.S. is still getting feelers about a peaceful endgame from people close to Gadhafi. Amb. Rice didn’t deny that either, but said the U.S. needs to see something more concrete.

“I think we will be more persuaded by actions rather than prospects or feelers and I think that the message for Gadhafi and those closest to him is that history is not on his side, time is not on his side, the pressure is mounting, the sanctions are biting and he needs to take a decision that will be for the benefit of the Libyan people,” she said.

Rice also didn’t rule out having the U.S. arm the Libyan rebels if Gadhafi doesn’t go.

Obama Heads Off To $31,000 New York Fundraiser

Washington Post

Less than 24 hours after delivering a major policy address on Libya, President Obama will shift to another role of a modern president: fundraiser-in-chief.

Obama will spend Tuesday night at two different fundraising events in Harlem. The first, at 6 p.m, is billed as a “small dinner and discussion,” with Obama at Red Rooster, a new restaurant run by Marcus Samuelsson, a chef who cooked at the state dinner Obama hosted for the prime minister of India in 2009. About 50 guests are expected, according to sources, and they will have donated to the Democratic National Committee $30,800, the yearly maximum.

An hour later, Obama will attend a “thank you reception” for a larger group of past donors at the Studio Museum, an art center in Harlem. The reception is not a fundraiser, but the president is likely to encourage these donors to give when he ramps up his reelection effort

Poll: Do You Think Barack Obama Was Born in the United States?

cnn poll
41. Do you think Barack Obama was definitely born in the United States, probably born in the United States, probably born in another country, or definitely born in another country


Breakdown by party

Hugo Chavez Wins Journalism Award in Argentina

Nice. This to a man who shuts down opposition television stations.


Associated Press

BUENOS AIRES, Argentina – Hugo Chavez is getting a journalism award in Argentina.

The Venezuelan leader regularly threatens opposition media, but the University of La Plata is giving him an award for what it describes as his work giving people without a voice access to the airwaves and newspapers.

Chavez's government has bankrolled the growth of the Telesur network, providing a state-funded alternative to privately financed broadcast stations across Latin America.

He met Tuesday with his ally President Cristina Fernandez. She is trying to transform Argentina's communications industry through a law that would break up media monopolies and force cable TV providers to include channels run by unions, Indians and activist groups

Libya: Woman Claiming Rape To Face Charges

The woman's mother also says she is being held inside Col. Qaddafi's compound despite reports of her being released.

telegraph

A Libyan woman who has accused government soldiers of raping her has been charged with defamation after the men accused of assaulting her launched a legal caseLibyan officials have refused to provide firm information on 26-year-old Iman al-Obeidi's whereabouts since she was dragged from a five-star hotel after presenting her claims of gang rape on Saturday. She said she had been taken at a checkpoint by militia members and held for two days.

Officials said she was at a party with five men, including the son of a high-ranking officials, when the alleged incident occurred.

Moussa Ibrahim, the Libyan government spokesmen, said the men questioned for the crime wanted to defend their honour by murdering their accuser.

"The boys accused of doing this are furious. They want to kill her," he said. "They have filed a case to defend their family name. In our culture these are very serious charges that will last for generations."

While Mr Ibrahim has said Miss Obeidi had been released to return to her sister's home in Tripoli, her mother has said she is still being held in Col Muammar Gaddafi's Bab al-Azzizia compound

Of course, Western journalists are being denied access...

NBC's Maceda: After Obama Speech, Qaddafi Likely 'Feeling A Lot Better, Like They Dodged a Bullet'

"He thinks he can probably negotiate his way out of this as he has over the past 41 years in other situations." This is from MSNBC's Morning Joe with Willie Geist

newsbusters

JIM MACEDA: Well, there hasn't been any official comment, Willie, from Gaddafi or from the regime or from the compound, yet. I can tell you that the whole, the atmospherics here of the government officials and minders is very different. They had gone to ground for a number of days: very quiet, very tense.

They're looking much more themselves: much more bellicose, much more defiant in the past 24 hours. I would think, it's an educated guess but I would say that Gaddafi, after hearing that speech, of course it wasn't on Libyan TV but anyone with satellite television could have watched it, that the regime now is feeling a lot better. That they're feeling that they dodged a bullet. If NATO's taking over, they like that. They've got much better relations with NATO than with the United States in general. And they love the idea that the US position as stated by Obama is that they're not looking for regime change. Soon as he heard that, I'm sure Gaddafi was quite excited. He thinks he can probably negotiate his way out of this as he has over the past 41 years in other situations

Republican Marco Rubio on ABC News Rules Out 2012 Presidential Run (Video)

"I just got elected 3 months ago, how can I be a full-time United States senator if my eye is on something else"

abcnews

Few new senators arrived in Washington this year with more fanfare than Marco Rubio, R-Fla. But he has kept a decidedly low profile since winning election in November, concentrating on Florida issues and turning down all national interview requests. That is, until now.

In a wide-ranging interview -- his first national interview since being elected -- Rubio discussed the military campaign in Libya, President Obama's leadership, the so-called birther movement and his political plans for 2012 and beyond.

ABC News spent several days with Rubio in Washington and Florida, getting exclusive, behind-the-scenes access to a 39-year-old Republican whom many conservatives would like to see run for presiden

Bolton: "President Obama May Be The Only Person in the World Who Doesn't Understand That NATO is the Extension of American Military Power"

John Bolton on Fox News says "the speech was a dog's breakfast as far as I was concerned, there wasn't much that was new and what was new was trivial...I thought it was pathetic." (I knew he was gonna blast Obama and his speech as soon as he came on)

BOLTON: ""Giving it over to NATO is like handing from your right hand to your left hand...The supreme commander of NATO is an American, the operational commander here is a Canadian. Really, all the intelligence, surveillance, reconnaissance, communications, backbone of the operations will remain American, so in the military sense I'm very happy with that. Unfortunately it's the political direction that we still don't have from the president

Col. Jack Jacobs on CNBC: "Let's Put the Truth on It, We're Actually After Regime Change No Matter What the President Said" (Video)

Kudlow with Col. Jack Jacobs, Jon Harwood and Dan Senor following Obama's address. Senor also makes a good point here. From tonight's Kudlow

Video: Senator Rand Paul Responds To President Obama's Speech on Libya

"We are taking sides in a conflict and on behalf of a people who we no nothing about. When and if there is regime change in Libya, what kind of leadership will replace Qaddafi?"

Pentagon: Cost of Libya Intervention $600 Million for First Week

abcnews

One week after an international military coalition intervened in Libya, the cost to U.S. taxpayers has reached at least $600 million, according figures provided by the Pentagon.

U.S. ships and submarines in the Mediterranean have launched at least 191Tomahawk cruise missiles from their arsenals, costing $268.8 million, the Pentagon said.

U.S. warplanes have dropped 455 precision guided bombs, costing tens of thousands of dollars each.

A downed Air Force F-15E fighter jet will cost more than $60 million to replace.

And operation of ships and aircraft, guzzling ever-more-expensive fuel to maintain their positions off the Libyan coast and in the skies above, could reach millions of dollars a week, experts say.

"Each sortie, even if it drops no munitions, is very pricey," said Winslow Wheeler of the Center for Defense Information. "These airplanes cost us tens of thousands of dollars to operate per hour, and the fancier you get in terms of planes, the costs get truly astounding."

The three B-2 stealth bombers that flew from Missouri to Libya and back on an early bombing mission each cost an estimated $10,000 per hour to fly, a defense official said.

That means the planes, each on a 25-hour round-trip flight, ran up a bill of $750,000, and the 45 Joint Direct Attack Munitions (JDAM) they dropped added at least $1.3 million more

Pew Poll: 50% Say U.S. Has No Clear Plan In Libya

After Obama's speech tonight, this number will probably go up
people-press

After several days of airstrikes on Libya by the United States and its allies, the public has mixed reactions to the military operation. Nearly half of Americans (47%) say the United States made the right decision in conducting air strikes in Libya while 36% say it was the wrong decision. Fully one-in-six (17%) express no opinion.

On balance, however, the public does not think that the U.S. and its allies have a clear goal in taking military action in Libya. Just 39% say the U.S. and its allies have a clear goal, while 50% say they do not.

The latest national survey by the Pew Research Center for the People & the Press, conducted March 24-27 among 1,002 adults, finds modest public attentiveness to the events in Libya. Just 15% say they are following the airstrikes more closely than any other story of the week

"Ten Commandments Judge" Roy Moore To Run For President

cbsnews

Roy Moore, the former Alabama Supreme Court chief justice who lost his job after erecting a monument of the Ten Commandments outside the state's courthouse, plans to announce in mid-April that he is setting up a presidential exploratory committee, an aide told CBS News.

The aide, Zachery Michael, said Moore's platform will be focused on repealing the health care overhaul law, replacing the progressive income tax with a flat tax and bringing "commonsense solutions" on immigration and border control

Michael said Moore is entering the fray because "we're just seeing the same type of politicians run for president." He said Moore is someone "who can connect with over 300 million Americans across the country, which is something we've been lacking with today's leaders across society."

Michael said Moore should not be thought of simply as a culture warrior, arguing that he has been a strong advocate for limited government.

"He not only stood up for his faith, he stood up against the tyranny of government," he said.

Contacted by the Associated Press Monday, Moore stopped short of confirming that he would set up the exploratory committee, saying only that he is "considering" doing so and is being encouraged by supporters

V.P. Joe Biden Vacations in Aspen Amid Libya Questions and Florida Reporter's Detainment

Where is Obama's brilliant strategist on foreign affairs? He's vacationed in Colorado over the weekend

Since last week, Joe Biden went to Yankee's spring training, 2 fundraisers in Florida for Senator Bill Nelson and then off to Colorado. We haven't heard a peep out of Biden on the situation in Libya, I'm guessing he probably thinks we should partition Libya into 3 regions

washingtontimes

On the eve of President Barack Obama's address to the nation on U.S. military action in Libya and a recent story about a local Florida reporter who was locked in a storage closet during a fundraiser he attended for Florida Democratic Senator Bill Nelson, Vice President Joe Biden can only be found vacationing in the ritzy resort city of Aspen, Colorado, reports the Aspen Times.

According to the Aspen Times' article published on Friday, Mr Biden was described as "vacationing" in Aspen by a local sheriff after the Vice President flew in from headlining two fundraisers for Sen.Nelson in Florida:

Biden's motorcade left the Eagle County airport headed west and picked up Interstate 70 in Gypsum, traveling through Glenwood Canyon and eventually to Snowmass.

“It's a pretty low-key visit, definitely a vacation,” according to Pitkin County Sheriff Joe DiSalvo.

His office and the Snowmass Village Police Department will handle Biden's local security. They'll also get lots of Secret Service protection, DiSalvo said.

Biden flew to Eagle County from Florida, where he was the headliner in two fundraising events for Sen. Bill Nelson.

A Whopping 81% Know Someone Out of Work and Looking for a Job

Only 25% of Americans think unemployment will be lower a year from today. We're definitely not back from the brink

rasmussenreports

Eight-out-of-10 Americans continue to know someone who is unemployed and currently looking for work. Most adults also remain pessimistic about the future job market.

A new Rasmussen Reports national telephone survey finds that 81% of Adults know someone who is out of work and looking for a job. Although that finding is up five points from October, it's generally consistent with findings going back to August 2009. Only 13% don’t know someone who is jobless and currently searching for one.

The national unemployment rate is 9.5%, and only 25% of Americans think unemployment will be lower a year from today. That’s down 11 points from late January when 36% felt that way. Twenty-six percent (26%) say unemployment will be higher in a year's time, while a plurality (41%) says it’ll stay about the same.

Only 16% of adults believe the job market is better than it was a year ago, down eight points from the previous survey. Thirty-six percent (36%) think the market is worse than last year, while 44% say it’s about the same

Number from the US Debt Clock: 13.4 million Americans unemployed, actual unemployment (those who quit looking or are working part-time instead of full-time added) is 24.1 million

Senator Harry Reid Urges GOP to Ditch Tea Party

Dingy...

thehill

Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) on Monday urged Speaker John Boehner (R-Ohio) to ditch members of the Tea Party and cut a deal with Democrats to avert a government shutdown.

Reid insisted it is those GOP internal divisions that are threatening to shut down the government after April 8, in less than two weeks.

“For the sake of our economy, it’s time for mainstream Republicans to stand up to the Tea Party and rejoin Democrats at the table to negotiate a responsible solution that cuts spending while protecting jobs," he said.

Last week Reid put $7.5 billion in discretionary cuts and $3.5 billion in mandatory savings on the table as a counteroffer to the $51 billion in additional cuts the GOP is seeking.

“I am extremely disappointed that after weeks of productive negotiations with Speaker Boehner, Tea Party Republicans are scrapping all the progress we have made and threatening to shut down the government if they do not get all of their extreme demands," Reid said in a statement.

Flashback: Reid says the Tea Party 'will disappear as soon as the economy gets better' (From January)

Rush On Libya: It’s Not A Humanitarian Mission, It’s About European Oil

RUSH: "This is no more a humanitarian mission than it is to save the animals and the pets in Libya, this is about European energy, pure and simple"


Chart of oil installations in Libya from Stratfor [click to enlarge]

Video: Jimmy Carter Arrives in Cuba

Fail...

HAVANA (AP) - Former President Jimmy Carter arrived in Cuba Monday to discuss economic policies and ways to improve Washington-Havana relations, which are even more tense than usual over the imprisonment of a U.S. contractor on the island.

Carter was scheduled to meet with Jewish leaders — suggesting that his visit will deal at least partly with the case of Alan Gross, who was arrested in December 2009 while working for Bethesda, Maryland-based Development Alternatives Inc. on a USAID-backed democracy-building project.

Gross has said he was trying to improve internet access for Cuba's small Jewish community. Jewish leaders here, however, have denied working with him, and he was convicted and sentenced to 15 years in prison earlier this month.

During his visit, Carter is expected to meet with President Raul Castro, other government officials and Roman Catholic Cardinal Jaime Ortega before leaving on Wednesday.

Libya Rebels Surge Toward Qaddafi Home Town of Sirte

Qaddafi sending reinforcements. Tripoli-based journalists returning from a government trip to Sirte saw 17 pickup trucks filled with Qaddafi fighters entering the town. They also saw what appeared to be civilian cars piled with luggage fleeing Sirte

washingtonpost

Libyan rebels fought their way toward Moammar Gaddafi’s home town on the Mediterranean coast Monday as his government sent in reinforcements, setting up a potentially crucial battle in the six-week-old uprising against him.

Aided by airstrikes launched by a Western-led coalition, rebels seeking to end Gaddafi’s 41-year rule pushed westward to the town of Nawfaliyah and vowed to move in the coming days on Sirte, Reuters news agency reported. Sirte, the Libyan leader’s birthplace and stronghold, is about 90 miles west of Nawfaliyah.

At the same time, Tripoli-based journalists returning from a government trip to Sirte saw 17 pickup trucks filled with Gaddafi fighters entering the town. They also saw what appeared to be civilian cars piled with luggage fleeing Sirte.

The rebel advance was made possible by Western airstrikes that forced Gaddafi loyalist troops to abandon the strategic city of Ajdabiya last week and flee westward. As the loyalists withdrew, the ragtag rebel army recaptured the key oil hubs of Brega and Ras Lanuf and the town of Bin Jawwad on the highway that follows the coastline of the Gulf of Sidra

Obama Featured On Chicago Anti-Abortion Billboards

HuffPo

An anti-abortion group behind a controversial New York billboard targeting African Americans is now taking its message to the South Side of Chicago, in a billboard targeting supporters of President Obama.

Life Always is expected to unveil billboards featuring Obama's face and the words "Every 21 minutes, our next possible leader is aborted" on Tuesday at 11 a.m.

The first billboard will be near an empty lot at 5812 S. State Street, according to a press release from Life Always"Our future leaders are being aborted at an alarming rate,"

Life Always Board Member Reverend Derek McCoy said in a statement. "These are babies who could grow to be the future Presidents of the United States, or the next Oprah Winfrey, Denzel Washington or Maya Angelou." The group's New York billboard, which read "The most dangerous place for an African-American is in the womb," was taken down after Soho residents and members of the black community voiced their outrage.

Civil rights activist Rev. Al Sharpton said the New York billboard "depicted black women in an unfair way," according to the Chicago Sun-Times. He praised Lamar Advertising's decision to remove it. The billboard is part of a growing trend in the anti-choice community that accuses abortion providers of "black genocide" via abortions

More at thatsabortion.com

Facebook Said To Be Courting Former White House Press Secretary Robert Gibbs

Facebook and Baghdad Bob in 'early discussions'

politico

Could Robert Gibbs be preparing to accept a friend request?

The former White House press secretary is said to be under consideration for a job at Facebook, where he’d have a senior communications position, The New York Times reported late Sunday.

And Gibbs isn’t the only former presidential press secretary to be considered for the position, a person familiar with the process told POLITICO on Monday. Joe Lockhart, who spent two years as Bill Clinton’s press secretary, interviewed for the job and “went pretty far down the road” with Facebook before deciding to pull himself out of consideration for personal reasons.

When Gibbs announced in January that he was planning to leave the White House, he said he could best serve President Barack Obama from “outside this building.” At the time, he indicated that he planned to get on the paid speaking circuit and to help launch the president’s reelection campaign.

Discussions for the Facebook job are still in their early stages and could fall apart, people briefed on the negotiations told The Times. The company is pushing Gibbs to make a quick decision on the position, the sources said, putting him in a tough spot because he had hoped to work on building the Obama campaign before taking a private sector job