Mississippi's House of Representatives has passed a bill that could help save the lives of bicyclists, promote wellness, and spur tourism growth. MPB's Carl Gibson reports.
Senate Bill 3014, also known as the John Paul Frerer Bicycle Safety Act, is named after an 18-year-old man killed by a vehicle the day before he started his senior year of high school. Bruce Alt, an advocate for the bill, says Frerer's case is one of many.
"In 2009, there were two fatalities just on the Mississippoi portion of the Natchez Trace Parkway. A federal, low-speed, controlled-access roadway that's designed for recreational use. Still we have fatalities."
The bill mandates drivers to give cyclists at least three feet of room, and that cyclists use hand signals when riding on state roads. It would also penalize drivers who harass cyclists on the road. Representative Toby Barker of Hattiesburg says the bill could encourage a healthier lifestyle.
"This bill provides a safe environment for people who feel like they can get on the roads and cycle and do it safely."
House Transportation Chairman Warner McBride believes an emphasis on bike safety will also bring in more revenue through tourism.
"I think it sends the message that Mississippi is a biker-friendly state. And that we would like for you and your cycle group to come to our state and enjoy our beauty, and that we have a safe place for you to ride."
If the bill is signed, new laws will go into effect in July.
Mississippi Public Broadcasting
Tuesday, March 9, 2010
This would be funny if they weren't serious: Tax soda, pizza to cut obesity, researchers say
From Reuters today
Not to be left out, Mississippi's food police continue working on this too.
Why don't we we just tax the fat people?
Julie Steenhuysen
CHICAGO (Reuters) - U.S. researchers estimate that an 18 percent tax on pizza and soda can push down U.S. adults' calorie intake enough to lower their average weight by 5 pounds (2 kg) per year.
The researchers, writing in the journal Archives of Internal Medicine on Monday, suggested taxing could be used as a weapon in the fight against obesity, which costs the United States an estimated $147 billion a year in health costs.
"While such policies will not solve the obesity epidemic in its entirety and may face considerable opposition from food manufacturers and sellers, they could prove an important strategy to address overconsumption, help reduce energy intake and potentially aid in weight loss and reduced rates of diabetes among U.S. adults," wrote the team led by Kiyah Duffey of the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.
With two-thirds of Americans either overweight or obese, policymakers are increasingly looking at taxing as a way to address obesity on a population level.
California and Philadelphia have introduced legislation to tax soft drinks to try to limit consumption."
Read More
Not to be left out, Mississippi's food police continue working on this too.
JACKSON -- Legislation that would add a 24-cent tax on 12-ounce, sugar-laden soft drinks appeared dead Wednesday (February 17th), but not before the measure received a lengthy hearing about how strongly sugar contributes to Mississippi's distinction as the nation's most obese state.
"This is just the first batter in the first inning," the bill's sponsor, Rep. John Mayo, D-Clarksdale, said after a nearly two-hour hearing in the House Ways and Means Committee.
Mayo said he expected strong opposition to his Sweetened Beverages and Syrups Tax Law legislation from lobbyists for the state's soft drink association and businesses that would have to raise prices on the products and cut into their profits.
The legislation would require soft drink distributors and retailers to pay a tax of $2.56 a gallon, or two cents an ounce, for sweetened soft drinks.
The tax would amount to 24 cents per 12-ounce Coke, Pepsi or other soft drink sweetened with sugar.
Drinks that include artificial sweeteners would be exempt.
Business owners would have to pass the price increase on to consumers, and risk losing money, or absorb the increased cost themselves.
"I understand the position of private business," Mayo said. "But with a problem of this scope -- obesity -- private business will respond as a result of either implemented government policy or threatened government policy.
"It took us eight years to get movement on the tobacco tax, and if it takes another eight years on this, we'll get movement." See the rest of the article in The Commercial Appeal
Why don't we we just tax the fat people?
State, County and Flora officials join Monsanto to break ground on $2.4 million facility at Flora Industrial Park
Corn Breeding Facility To Focus on New Beneficial Products For Southern Farmers
Rain showers didn't dampen the spirits of Flora and Madison County officials today as they join state officials to welcome Monsanto to the Flora Industrial Park. Monsanto plans to open a new corn breeding station in Flora and groundbreaking ceremonies for the new facility will be held this afternoon. The $2.4 million facility further boosts the company’s investment in the South and is a reflection of Monsanto’s commitment to continue delivering new high-performing products to southern farmers.
The 26,000-square-foot corn breeding station will employ approximately 10 full-time and up to 50 seasonal workers. Corn production in the southern region has been growing in the last several years, and the new site’s research focus will be on using the latest breeding techniques to develop higher-yielding corn hybrids with greater resistance to disease and other environmental stresses, specifically adapted to the region.
The site will complement Monsanto’s global breeding program and become part of a network of more than 50 corn breeding locations around the world. Southern farmers also will benefit from the genetic diversity of Monsanto’s global germplasm pool.
“Our focus on research and development is what makes Monsanto a leader in agricultural productivity,” said Ted Crosbie, global breeding lead for Monsanto. “Our new facility in Flora will help further strengthen our R&D capabilities, and also is a great opportunity for us to strengthen relationships and collaborations in the southern states.”
Monsanto currently has 3 technology research sites in Mississippi – Scott, Leland, and Winterville – focused on delivering cotton and soy varieties and traits to meet the needs of southern farmers.
“We have always found that growing our crops where farmers will be growing theirs is the best way to develop new products that best meet the needs of our customers,” Crosbie said. “Our existing facilities in Scott, Leland and Winterville help serve the farmers’ need for innovative, higher-yielding products in cotton and soy. With the new site in Flora, we plan to do the same in corn.”
Southeast Industrial Properties I, LLC, a joint venture between Jackson, MS-based Hines Investments, Inc. and Duckworth Realty, Inc., has been awarded the build-to-suit project by Monsanto. Peoples Construction Corp. is the General Contractor.
The announcement comes just over a year after the town lost out to a site in Kansas to be the new location for a Department of Homeland Security Bio lab. Flora's Industrial Park currently has only one tenant, Primos Hunting Calls, locating there in May of 2002.
The 26,000-square-foot corn breeding station will employ approximately 10 full-time and up to 50 seasonal workers. Corn production in the southern region has been growing in the last several years, and the new site’s research focus will be on using the latest breeding techniques to develop higher-yielding corn hybrids with greater resistance to disease and other environmental stresses, specifically adapted to the region.
The site will complement Monsanto’s global breeding program and become part of a network of more than 50 corn breeding locations around the world. Southern farmers also will benefit from the genetic diversity of Monsanto’s global germplasm pool.
“Our focus on research and development is what makes Monsanto a leader in agricultural productivity,” said Ted Crosbie, global breeding lead for Monsanto. “Our new facility in Flora will help further strengthen our R&D capabilities, and also is a great opportunity for us to strengthen relationships and collaborations in the southern states.”
Monsanto currently has 3 technology research sites in Mississippi – Scott, Leland, and Winterville – focused on delivering cotton and soy varieties and traits to meet the needs of southern farmers.
“We have always found that growing our crops where farmers will be growing theirs is the best way to develop new products that best meet the needs of our customers,” Crosbie said. “Our existing facilities in Scott, Leland and Winterville help serve the farmers’ need for innovative, higher-yielding products in cotton and soy. With the new site in Flora, we plan to do the same in corn.”
Southeast Industrial Properties I, LLC, a joint venture between Jackson, MS-based Hines Investments, Inc. and Duckworth Realty, Inc., has been awarded the build-to-suit project by Monsanto. Peoples Construction Corp. is the General Contractor.
The announcement comes just over a year after the town lost out to a site in Kansas to be the new location for a Department of Homeland Security Bio lab. Flora's Industrial Park currently has only one tenant, Primos Hunting Calls, locating there in May of 2002.
Deadline to submit comments on proposed Mississippi Power plant is Friday
Anyone wishing to enter a written comment into the public record concerning the proposed Mississippi Power IGCC plant in Kemper County, should do so with the Public Service Commission no later than 5 p.m. Friday.
Mississippi Power Co. is petitioning the PSC for a certificate of public convenience and necessity authorizing the acquisition, construction and operation of an electric generating plant in Kemper County.
Final public comment concerning the proposed Kemper County IGCC Plant will be officially be accepted in writing through mail or e-mail until Friday.
Comments may be submitted by e-mail to southern.district@psc.state.ms.us or mailed to The Honorable Leonard L. Bentz, Mississippi Public Service Commission, P.O. Box 1174, Jackson, MS 39215-1174
For more information, call Bentz at the PSC at 800-356-6429.
The Hattiesburg American
Mississippi Power Co. is petitioning the PSC for a certificate of public convenience and necessity authorizing the acquisition, construction and operation of an electric generating plant in Kemper County.
Final public comment concerning the proposed Kemper County IGCC Plant will be officially be accepted in writing through mail or e-mail until Friday.
Comments may be submitted by e-mail to southern.district@psc.state.ms.us or mailed to The Honorable Leonard L. Bentz, Mississippi Public Service Commission, P.O. Box 1174, Jackson, MS 39215-1174
For more information, call Bentz at the PSC at 800-356-6429.
The Hattiesburg American
Monday, March 8, 2010
Northrup Grumman backs out of bid to build refueling tanker
Boeing got a big win Monday with the announcement by Northrop Grumman that it was pulling out of the competition to build a new Air Force refueling tanker.
The Air Force initially awarded the $35 billion contract to Northop Grumman, along with its European partner, EADS, the maker of Airbuses.
But such a stink was was raised by Boeing and lawmakers unhappy that a European company stood to benefit from the initial contract that the Pentagon conducted a special review of and eventually decided the Air Force should rebid the contract.
That process was underway when Northrop decided it wasn't worth its while. More specifically, the aerospace company indicated it couldn't justify the costs of competing for the contract again, and neither could its suppliers.
Governor Haley Barbour wasted no time offering a statement of his own to show his disgust with the news.
Miss. senate passes career-track courses bill
The Mississippi Senate has sent the governor a bill that allows the state’s high schools to offer career-track courses for students who don’t plan to attend a four-year university.
The Senate on Monday passed the bill, which had earlier passed the House.
The bill outlines 20 course unit requirements for the so-called career track curriculum. Students who choose to go that route would still have to earn four units of English and at least three each in math, science and social studies.
The legislation also allows a student to have a dual enrollment in a community or technical college.
The Associated Press
The Senate on Monday passed the bill, which had earlier passed the House.
The bill outlines 20 course unit requirements for the so-called career track curriculum. Students who choose to go that route would still have to earn four units of English and at least three each in math, science and social studies.
The legislation also allows a student to have a dual enrollment in a community or technical college.
The Associated Press
Madison County School Board expected to vote on water park and amphitheater tonight.
The Madison County School Board tabled a vote March 1st on whether to allow a developer to build a water park and amphitheater in Gluckstadt off Interstate 55. The developer said the project will bring millions to the area. Some neighbors are skeptical. Proponents and opponents alike will get the word tonight from the school board on whether it will be allowed.
School board members have toured a 66-acre site where developers want to build a new water park and a 15,000 seat amphitheater. Developers said they're willing to pour $40 million into the project.
School board members have toured a 66-acre site where developers want to build a new water park and a 15,000 seat amphitheater. Developers said they're willing to pour $40 million into the project.
Oil and Gasoline Prices Begin to Creep Up
By CLIFFORD KRAUSS
Crude oil and gasoline prices are inching up again.
Various factors combined Monday to lift the prices of crude oil and gasoline. Here, fuel is delivered to gas pumps in Lynnfield, Mass.
A combination of reasonably upbeat economic data, new tensions in oil-producing Nigeria and reports that China intends to build up its strategic reserves lifted crude prices to around $82 on Monday, about a $10 increase over the last month.
Prices at the pump have followed suit, with the average national price for a gallon of gasoline rising 5 cents in the last week.
“That’s a drag on the economy,” said Tom Kloza, chief oil analyst at the Oil Price Information Service, who estimated that consumers are paying just over $1 billion a day at the pump, about $250 million more than this time a year ago.
Mr. Kloza predicted that gasoline prices would top $3 a gallon between April and June as warm weather encourages more driving, before dropping to as low as $2.50 after the summer driving season. “We’re in the fourth or fifth inning of the typical end of winter, early spring rise in gasoline prices,” he added.
The New York Times
Crude oil and gasoline prices are inching up again.
Various factors combined Monday to lift the prices of crude oil and gasoline. Here, fuel is delivered to gas pumps in Lynnfield, Mass.
A combination of reasonably upbeat economic data, new tensions in oil-producing Nigeria and reports that China intends to build up its strategic reserves lifted crude prices to around $82 on Monday, about a $10 increase over the last month.
Prices at the pump have followed suit, with the average national price for a gallon of gasoline rising 5 cents in the last week.
“That’s a drag on the economy,” said Tom Kloza, chief oil analyst at the Oil Price Information Service, who estimated that consumers are paying just over $1 billion a day at the pump, about $250 million more than this time a year ago.
Mr. Kloza predicted that gasoline prices would top $3 a gallon between April and June as warm weather encourages more driving, before dropping to as low as $2.50 after the summer driving season. “We’re in the fourth or fifth inning of the typical end of winter, early spring rise in gasoline prices,” he added.
The New York Times
Sen. Kerry lobbies for climate compromise; actual bill to come
By Jim Snyder
The three senators writing compromise climate legislation are lobbying business groups in hopes of winning their support for the effort. One obstacle: the absence of an actual bill.
Sen. John Kerry (D-Mass.) briefed a group of electric utility executives this week on a broad outline of the plan. Kerry and his cohorts, Sens. Joe Lieberman (I-Conn.) and Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.), have also reached out to Tom Donohue, the president and CEO of the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, who has been among the harshest critics of a climate bill stalled in the Senate.
Kerry, Graham and Lieberman have worked for weeks to break the impasse and craft a measure to reduce heat-trapping gases that could win centrist support. A key to their effort will be reducing the level of angst among business, given high unemployment levels and the effects that capping carbon dioxide could have on the economy. Supporters say climate legislation could create jobs by spurring growth of a clean energy industry in the United States.
As he tries to sell the legislation, Kerry is de-emphasizing its relation to climate change.
“What we are talking about is a jobs bill. It is not a climate bill. It is a jobs bill, and it is a clean air bill. It is a national security, energy independence bill,” he told reporters in the Capitol this week.
The Hill
The three senators writing compromise climate legislation are lobbying business groups in hopes of winning their support for the effort. One obstacle: the absence of an actual bill.
Sen. John Kerry (D-Mass.) briefed a group of electric utility executives this week on a broad outline of the plan. Kerry and his cohorts, Sens. Joe Lieberman (I-Conn.) and Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.), have also reached out to Tom Donohue, the president and CEO of the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, who has been among the harshest critics of a climate bill stalled in the Senate.
Kerry, Graham and Lieberman have worked for weeks to break the impasse and craft a measure to reduce heat-trapping gases that could win centrist support. A key to their effort will be reducing the level of angst among business, given high unemployment levels and the effects that capping carbon dioxide could have on the economy. Supporters say climate legislation could create jobs by spurring growth of a clean energy industry in the United States.
As he tries to sell the legislation, Kerry is de-emphasizing its relation to climate change.
“What we are talking about is a jobs bill. It is not a climate bill. It is a jobs bill, and it is a clean air bill. It is a national security, energy independence bill,” he told reporters in the Capitol this week.
The Hill
Program Will Pay Homeowners to Sell at a Loss
By DAVID STREITFELD
In an effort to end the foreclosure crisis, the Obama administration has been trying to keep defaulting owners in their homes. Now it will take a new approach: paying some of them to leave.
This latest program, which will allow owners to sell for less than they owe and will give them a little cash to speed them on their way, is one of the administration’s most aggressive attempts to grapple with a problem that has defied solutions.
More than five million households are behind on their mortgages and risk foreclosure. The government’s $75 billion mortgage modification plan has helped only a small slice of them. Consumer advocates, economists and even some banking industry representatives say much more needs to be done.
For the administration, there is also the concern that millions of foreclosures could delay or even reverse the economy’s tentative recovery — the last thing it wants in an election year.
The New York Times
In an effort to end the foreclosure crisis, the Obama administration has been trying to keep defaulting owners in their homes. Now it will take a new approach: paying some of them to leave.
This latest program, which will allow owners to sell for less than they owe and will give them a little cash to speed them on their way, is one of the administration’s most aggressive attempts to grapple with a problem that has defied solutions.
More than five million households are behind on their mortgages and risk foreclosure. The government’s $75 billion mortgage modification plan has helped only a small slice of them. Consumer advocates, economists and even some banking industry representatives say much more needs to be done.
For the administration, there is also the concern that millions of foreclosures could delay or even reverse the economy’s tentative recovery — the last thing it wants in an election year.
The New York Times
Voter ID push wins spot on Miss. ballot
Secretary of State Delbert Hosemann says petitioners gathered more than enough signatures to put a voter ID initiative on Mississippi’s ballot in November 2011.
Hosemann said Monday his office had determined that 131,678 signatures of registered voters were collected. That’s significantly more than the minimum 89,285 needed.
Republican organizers submitted the signatures last month, and the secretary of state’s office spent weeks double-checking the numbers.
Mississippians will be asked to decide whether the state constitution should be amended to require each voter to show a government-issued photo identification at the polls.
Supporters say voter ID would help deter fraud, while opponents say it could decrease turnout among older black voters who were once subject to Jim Crow laws.
The Associated Press
Hosemann said Monday his office had determined that 131,678 signatures of registered voters were collected. That’s significantly more than the minimum 89,285 needed.
Republican organizers submitted the signatures last month, and the secretary of state’s office spent weeks double-checking the numbers.
Mississippians will be asked to decide whether the state constitution should be amended to require each voter to show a government-issued photo identification at the polls.
Supporters say voter ID would help deter fraud, while opponents say it could decrease turnout among older black voters who were once subject to Jim Crow laws.
The Associated Press
Congress should do the right thing—nothing
The same ethical advice for doctors also makes sense for Congress as it considers several pending global warming bills – first do no harm. Given serious questions about global warming science as well as the efficacy of costly proposals to address it, the best choice for Washington is none of the above.
With economy-wide cap and trade stalled in the Senate, a number of slightly scaled back variants have been proposed, including measures targeting selected industries or a carbon tax. All threaten to do more harm than good.
Before considering these measures, Congress should first get to the bottom of Climategate, Glaciergate, Hurricanegate, Amazongate, and other scandals that raise troubling questions about scientific credibility. Virtually every scary claim used to justify precipitous action—unprecedented temperatures, rapidly melting glaciers, increasing hurricanes, plummeting crop yields, disappearing rainforests—is under genuine suspicion. The fact that temperatures have been statistically flat since 1995 is another reason not to treat global warming as a dire crisis.
Haste in light of these scientific doubts is all the more troublesome given the cost of cracking down on fossil fuels, no matter how imposed. All of the legislative proposals have one thing in common—they reduce carbon dioxide emissions by driving up the cost of energy so that individuals and businesses are forced to use less. Inflicting significant economic pain (likely trillions of dollars and millions of jobs for cap and trade, somewhat less for watered down measures) is how this all works.
These measures have another thing in common—their uselessness. Even if one still believes the worst case scenarios of global warming, unilateral action against the American people and American economy would hardly dent the upward trajectory of emissions. China alone out emits the U.S. and its emissions growth is projected to be nine times higher than ours. And it is hard to ignore Chinese government officials’ frequent and unambiguous statements that they will never impose similar restrictions on themselves, though some global warming activists still try.
Washington cracking down on fossil fuels in the name of addressing global warming would result in much economic pain for little if any environmental gain. First do no harm.
The Heritage Foundation
With economy-wide cap and trade stalled in the Senate, a number of slightly scaled back variants have been proposed, including measures targeting selected industries or a carbon tax. All threaten to do more harm than good.
Before considering these measures, Congress should first get to the bottom of Climategate, Glaciergate, Hurricanegate, Amazongate, and other scandals that raise troubling questions about scientific credibility. Virtually every scary claim used to justify precipitous action—unprecedented temperatures, rapidly melting glaciers, increasing hurricanes, plummeting crop yields, disappearing rainforests—is under genuine suspicion. The fact that temperatures have been statistically flat since 1995 is another reason not to treat global warming as a dire crisis.
Haste in light of these scientific doubts is all the more troublesome given the cost of cracking down on fossil fuels, no matter how imposed. All of the legislative proposals have one thing in common—they reduce carbon dioxide emissions by driving up the cost of energy so that individuals and businesses are forced to use less. Inflicting significant economic pain (likely trillions of dollars and millions of jobs for cap and trade, somewhat less for watered down measures) is how this all works.
These measures have another thing in common—their uselessness. Even if one still believes the worst case scenarios of global warming, unilateral action against the American people and American economy would hardly dent the upward trajectory of emissions. China alone out emits the U.S. and its emissions growth is projected to be nine times higher than ours. And it is hard to ignore Chinese government officials’ frequent and unambiguous statements that they will never impose similar restrictions on themselves, though some global warming activists still try.
Washington cracking down on fossil fuels in the name of addressing global warming would result in much economic pain for little if any environmental gain. First do no harm.
The Heritage Foundation
Pitching for America
By Patrick J. Buchanan
It was Father’s Day, 1964, when the Phillies’ Jim Bunning, a father of seven, took the mound against the Mets.
Ninety pitches later, Bunning had struck out 10 and allowed not one batter to reach first base. Twenty-seven up, 27 down. The first perfect game in 86 years in the National League, and the finest hour of the Hall of Famer’s baseball career.
Beginning last week, Jim Bunning took the Senate floor for five straight days to object to Harry Reid’s call for unanimous consent to waive through a $10 billion spending bill. First, the Kentucky senator demanded, show me how we’re going to pay for it.
His own leadership abandoned Bunning. Susan Collins of Maine assured the Senate and country that Republicans did not back their colleague: “Senator Bunning’s views do not represent a majority of the caucus. It’s important that the American people understand that there is bipartisan support for extending these vital programs.”
Vital programs?
Had Bunning blocked rescue flights to Port au Prince or Santiago, or ammunition for the Marines in Marja?
No. Bunning had held up for a couple of days a vote on a $10 billion bill to extend unemployment benefits, make payments to doctors under Medicare and extend satellite TV to rural America. Reportedly, some 2,000 Transportation Department workers were furloughed for a few days.
“If we cannot pay for a bill that all 100 senators support,” Bunning said, “how can we tell the American people with a straight face that we will ever pay for anything?”
Good question.
Indeed, the behavior of senators suggests that neither party appreciates the depth of the crisis we are in or the pain that will be required to get us out. Last week, Bunning did more than any senator in many moons to raise the consciousness of the country to the magnitude of the deficit-debt crisis.
His taking to the barricades may have inconvenienced some, but Bunning forced us all, briefly, to stare into the chasm.
Consider. Congress this year will spend $1.6 trillion more than it collects in revenue, with the largest outlays in that FY 2010 budget for defense at $719 billion and Social Security at $721 billion.
Thus, if the U.S. Government on Oct. 1, 2008, had shut down the Pentagon and furloughed every soldier and civilian here and around the world, and announced that it would not send out a Social Security check for a full year to any of the 50 million retired and elderly, we would still be $160 billion short of balancing the budget. If you zeroed out federal benefits to veterans for a full year, that, added in, would bring us close.
Such is the magnitude of the fiscal crisis facing the country.
To balance the budget this year would require a 43 percent across-the-board cut in every category of federal spending — defense, Social Security, Medicare, Medicaid, Homeland Security, highways, etc. — or, if one used taxes alone, a 72-percent increase in federal tax revenues.
Budget cuts of that magnitude are impossible. They would cause a revolution. And any attempt at tax hikes of that magnitude would drain off all available consumer capital and hurl the economy into another Depression.
For the foreseeable future, then, this nation is going deeper into debt.
And when Harry Reid and colleagues wave through yet another $10 billion for unemployment checks and making sure farm folks get yard dishes to see reruns of “The Sopranos,” the United States must go to Beijing, Tokyo or Riyadh and borrow the money.
That is the hole we are in.
And when one stares at some of those budget numbers, the priorities of the Obama administration seem almost surreal.
In George W. Bush’s last full year in office, we spent $29 billion for “international affairs.” The lion’s share of that was foreign aid. In FY 2011, the year for which Congress has begun to budget, spending for international affairs and foreign aid is to jump to $54 billion and continue to surge through the Obama years.
What is the rationale for the United States, the world’s greatest debtor nation, putting itself deeper in debt to China to send foreign aid to nations that will never repay us and that vote habitually with China and against us in the United Nations?
This city does not seem to grasp that the days of wine and roses are over. We are not in the 1950s or 1960s anymore. Then, we could throw open our markets to imports from the world. Then, we could dish out foreign aid and fight wars in Vietnam with 500,000 men, while maintaining 50,000 troops in Korea and 300,000 in Europe.
America is headed for a time when, like the British Empire, she is going to have to make painful choices, or have them forced upon us.
He may have been booed all last week, but Jim Bunning pitched one of the best games of his career.
Patrick J Buchanan
It was Father’s Day, 1964, when the Phillies’ Jim Bunning, a father of seven, took the mound against the Mets.
Ninety pitches later, Bunning had struck out 10 and allowed not one batter to reach first base. Twenty-seven up, 27 down. The first perfect game in 86 years in the National League, and the finest hour of the Hall of Famer’s baseball career.
Beginning last week, Jim Bunning took the Senate floor for five straight days to object to Harry Reid’s call for unanimous consent to waive through a $10 billion spending bill. First, the Kentucky senator demanded, show me how we’re going to pay for it.
His own leadership abandoned Bunning. Susan Collins of Maine assured the Senate and country that Republicans did not back their colleague: “Senator Bunning’s views do not represent a majority of the caucus. It’s important that the American people understand that there is bipartisan support for extending these vital programs.”
Vital programs?
Had Bunning blocked rescue flights to Port au Prince or Santiago, or ammunition for the Marines in Marja?
No. Bunning had held up for a couple of days a vote on a $10 billion bill to extend unemployment benefits, make payments to doctors under Medicare and extend satellite TV to rural America. Reportedly, some 2,000 Transportation Department workers were furloughed for a few days.
“If we cannot pay for a bill that all 100 senators support,” Bunning said, “how can we tell the American people with a straight face that we will ever pay for anything?”
Good question.
Indeed, the behavior of senators suggests that neither party appreciates the depth of the crisis we are in or the pain that will be required to get us out. Last week, Bunning did more than any senator in many moons to raise the consciousness of the country to the magnitude of the deficit-debt crisis.
His taking to the barricades may have inconvenienced some, but Bunning forced us all, briefly, to stare into the chasm.
Consider. Congress this year will spend $1.6 trillion more than it collects in revenue, with the largest outlays in that FY 2010 budget for defense at $719 billion and Social Security at $721 billion.
Thus, if the U.S. Government on Oct. 1, 2008, had shut down the Pentagon and furloughed every soldier and civilian here and around the world, and announced that it would not send out a Social Security check for a full year to any of the 50 million retired and elderly, we would still be $160 billion short of balancing the budget. If you zeroed out federal benefits to veterans for a full year, that, added in, would bring us close.
Such is the magnitude of the fiscal crisis facing the country.
To balance the budget this year would require a 43 percent across-the-board cut in every category of federal spending — defense, Social Security, Medicare, Medicaid, Homeland Security, highways, etc. — or, if one used taxes alone, a 72-percent increase in federal tax revenues.
Budget cuts of that magnitude are impossible. They would cause a revolution. And any attempt at tax hikes of that magnitude would drain off all available consumer capital and hurl the economy into another Depression.
For the foreseeable future, then, this nation is going deeper into debt.
And when Harry Reid and colleagues wave through yet another $10 billion for unemployment checks and making sure farm folks get yard dishes to see reruns of “The Sopranos,” the United States must go to Beijing, Tokyo or Riyadh and borrow the money.
That is the hole we are in.
And when one stares at some of those budget numbers, the priorities of the Obama administration seem almost surreal.
In George W. Bush’s last full year in office, we spent $29 billion for “international affairs.” The lion’s share of that was foreign aid. In FY 2011, the year for which Congress has begun to budget, spending for international affairs and foreign aid is to jump to $54 billion and continue to surge through the Obama years.
What is the rationale for the United States, the world’s greatest debtor nation, putting itself deeper in debt to China to send foreign aid to nations that will never repay us and that vote habitually with China and against us in the United Nations?
This city does not seem to grasp that the days of wine and roses are over. We are not in the 1950s or 1960s anymore. Then, we could throw open our markets to imports from the world. Then, we could dish out foreign aid and fight wars in Vietnam with 500,000 men, while maintaining 50,000 troops in Korea and 300,000 in Europe.
America is headed for a time when, like the British Empire, she is going to have to make painful choices, or have them forced upon us.
He may have been booed all last week, but Jim Bunning pitched one of the best games of his career.
Patrick J Buchanan
Friday, March 5, 2010
UMMC Physiology Professor's research leads to national award, lectureship
The $4,000 Mandel Award, established in 1999, is given annually to a scientist who demonstrates outstanding promise based on his or her research in epithelial or renal physiology. Chade can apply the monetary award toward his research expenses.
The award is named in memory of Lazaro J. Mandel, professor of physiology at Duke University and long-standing APS member. In addition, as recipient of the Water and Electrolyte Award, Chade has been invited
to make a presentation at the Experimental Biology meeting in Anaheim, Calif. in April. Each recipient receives an honorarium of $1,000 and coverage of expenses.
The APS gives section awards yearly to young investigators based on outstanding contribution to physiology subject areas, one of which is water and electrolyte homeostasis. Chade's research focuses on identifying the mechanisms activated by chronic reduction in blood flow to the kidney. He found that chronic obstruction, brought on by inflammation and fibrosis of the arteries feeding blood to the kidneys, reduces the density of the kidney's tiniest blood vessels. That reduces circulation in the kidney and deteriorates function. By promoting new microvascular growth, kidney function significantly improves.
Chade holds an M.D. from the Universidad De Cuyo in Mendoza, Argentina. Following residency and fellowship in cardiology he completed a post-doctoral research fellowship and worked as a research associate specializing in nephrology and hypertension at the Mayo Clinic's Department of Internal Medicine. Chade joined UMMC in 2007 as an assistant professor.
The Growth of Dependency on Government Threatens the Future of American Democracy
From virtually the first day of his presidency, Barack Obama and his top deputies have advanced programs and initiatives that deepen and expand American citizens’ dependency on government. From new federal programs designed to boost economic activity to health care reform that could place the U.S. government at the center of the nation’s health care system, the central thrust of policy since January 2009 has been to increase Americans’ daily dependency on Washington.
However, the rapid expansion of dependency-creating programs did not begin with Barack Obama’s inauguration. Indeed, President Obama inherited substantial momentum toward greater dependency on government from the George W. Bush Administration and prior governments. President Bush’s years saw growth in all dependency creating categories, but particularly in programs aimed at health, education, and working-age income support.
The Heritage Foundation
Obama advisers set to recommend military tribunals for alleged 9/11 plotters
Move seen as a precursor to closing Guantanamo Bay Military Prison and move detainees to U.S. soil
By Anne E. Kornblut and Peter Finn
President Obama's advisers are nearing a recommendation that Khalid Sheik Mohammed, the self-proclaimed mastermind of the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks, be prosecuted in a military tribunal, administration officials said, a step that would reverse Attorney General Eric H. Holder Jr.'s plan to try him in civilian court in New York City.
The president's advisers feel increasingly hemmed in by bipartisan opposition to a federal trial in New York and demands, mainly from Republicans, that Mohammed and his accused co-conspirators remain under military jurisdiction, officials said. While Obama has favored trying some terrorism suspects in civilian courts as a symbol of U.S. commitment to the rule of law, critics have said military tribunals are the appropriate venue for those accused of attacking the United States.
If Obama accepts the likely recommendation of his advisers, the White House may be able to secure from Congress the funding and legal authority it needs to close the U.S. military prison at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, and replace it with a facility within the United States. The administration has failed to meet a self-imposed one-year deadline to close Guantanamo.
The administration officials, who spoke on the condition of anonymity to discuss internal deliberations, said the president's legal advisers are finalizing their review of the cases of Mohammed and four alleged co-conspirators. Asked about the process, White House press secretary Robert Gibbs said that "no decisions have been made."
Washington Post
By Anne E. Kornblut and Peter Finn
The president's advisers feel increasingly hemmed in by bipartisan opposition to a federal trial in New York and demands, mainly from Republicans, that Mohammed and his accused co-conspirators remain under military jurisdiction, officials said. While Obama has favored trying some terrorism suspects in civilian courts as a symbol of U.S. commitment to the rule of law, critics have said military tribunals are the appropriate venue for those accused of attacking the United States.
If Obama accepts the likely recommendation of his advisers, the White House may be able to secure from Congress the funding and legal authority it needs to close the U.S. military prison at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, and replace it with a facility within the United States. The administration has failed to meet a self-imposed one-year deadline to close Guantanamo.
The administration officials, who spoke on the condition of anonymity to discuss internal deliberations, said the president's legal advisers are finalizing their review of the cases of Mohammed and four alleged co-conspirators. Asked about the process, White House press secretary Robert Gibbs said that "no decisions have been made."
Washington Post
Safety Is Issue as Budget Cuts Free Prisoners
By MONICA DAVEY
In the rush to save money in grim budgetary times, states nationwide have trimmed their prison populations by expanding parole programs and early releases. But the result — more convicted felons on the streets, not behind bars — has unleashed a backlash, and state officials now find themselves trying to maneuver between saving money and maintaining the public’s sense of safety.
Jessica R. Cooper, a Michigan prosecutor, urges a more careful approach to releasing prisoners.
In February, lawmakers in Oregon temporarily suspended a program they had expanded last year to let prisoners, for good behavior, shorten their sentences (and to save $6 million) after an anticrime group aired radio advertisements portraying the outcomes in alarming tones. “A woman’s asleep in her own apartment,” a narrator said. “Suddenly, she’s attacked by a registered sex offender and convicted burglar.”
In Illinois, Gov. Patrick J. Quinn, a Democrat, described as “a big mistake” an early release program that sent some convicts who had committed violent crimes home from prison in a matter of weeks. Of more than 1,700 prisoners released over three months, more than 50 were soon accused of new violations.
An early release program in Colorado meant to save $19 million has scaled back its ambitions by $14 million after officials found far fewer prisoners than anticipated to be wise release risks. In more than five months, only 264 prisoners were released, though the program was designed to shrink the prison population by 2,600 over two years.
The New York Times
In the rush to save money in grim budgetary times, states nationwide have trimmed their prison populations by expanding parole programs and early releases. But the result — more convicted felons on the streets, not behind bars — has unleashed a backlash, and state officials now find themselves trying to maneuver between saving money and maintaining the public’s sense of safety.
Jessica R. Cooper, a Michigan prosecutor, urges a more careful approach to releasing prisoners.
In February, lawmakers in Oregon temporarily suspended a program they had expanded last year to let prisoners, for good behavior, shorten their sentences (and to save $6 million) after an anticrime group aired radio advertisements portraying the outcomes in alarming tones. “A woman’s asleep in her own apartment,” a narrator said. “Suddenly, she’s attacked by a registered sex offender and convicted burglar.”
In Illinois, Gov. Patrick J. Quinn, a Democrat, described as “a big mistake” an early release program that sent some convicts who had committed violent crimes home from prison in a matter of weeks. Of more than 1,700 prisoners released over three months, more than 50 were soon accused of new violations.
An early release program in Colorado meant to save $19 million has scaled back its ambitions by $14 million after officials found far fewer prisoners than anticipated to be wise release risks. In more than five months, only 264 prisoners were released, though the program was designed to shrink the prison population by 2,600 over two years.
The New York Times
Abortion coverage dispute divides House Democrats
By RICARDO ALONSO-ZALDIVAR (AP)
WASHINGTON — On the other side of the obstacle course that President Barack Obama must clear to get his health care overhaul, a final trapdoor is lurking: the divisive politics of abortion.
The issue pits House Democrats against each other just when Obama is calling on them to unite for one last push on health care in a perilous election year. The fate of the sweeping legislation to expand coverage and revamp the health insurance market hangs in the balance.
House Democrats opposed to abortion, as well as their counterparts who support abortion rights, are resisting funding restrictions on the procedure spelled out in the Senate health care overhaul bill. But the plan Democratic leaders have worked out for the health care endgame calls for House Democrats to pass that same Senate bill, with little prospect of changing the abortion language.
Although each chamber is also supposed to pass a companion package of agreed-upon changes, abortion funding is not among them. It doesn't appear likely to be included.
Speaker Nancy Pelosi vented her frustration Thursday, telling reporters she will not stand for health care legislation getting dragged down in a battle over abortion. "This is not about abortion," said Pelosi, D-Calif. "This is a bill about providing quality affordable health care for all Americans."
She may not have a choice, says a leading abortion foe.
Rep. Bart Stupak, D-Mich., says he and a dozen fellow Democrats who supported the House bill will vote against it this time unless the Senate language is replaced with stiffer restrictions previously adopted by the House. The House health care bill passed by 220-215 last November, only after Pelosi was forced to give Stupak a floor vote that incorporated his strict abortion funding provision in the measure.
Nothing has changed, says Stupak. "I don't think they have the votes to pass it," he said.
Associated Press
WASHINGTON — On the other side of the obstacle course that President Barack Obama must clear to get his health care overhaul, a final trapdoor is lurking: the divisive politics of abortion.
The issue pits House Democrats against each other just when Obama is calling on them to unite for one last push on health care in a perilous election year. The fate of the sweeping legislation to expand coverage and revamp the health insurance market hangs in the balance.
House Democrats opposed to abortion, as well as their counterparts who support abortion rights, are resisting funding restrictions on the procedure spelled out in the Senate health care overhaul bill. But the plan Democratic leaders have worked out for the health care endgame calls for House Democrats to pass that same Senate bill, with little prospect of changing the abortion language.
Although each chamber is also supposed to pass a companion package of agreed-upon changes, abortion funding is not among them. It doesn't appear likely to be included.
Speaker Nancy Pelosi vented her frustration Thursday, telling reporters she will not stand for health care legislation getting dragged down in a battle over abortion. "This is not about abortion," said Pelosi, D-Calif. "This is a bill about providing quality affordable health care for all Americans."
She may not have a choice, says a leading abortion foe.
Rep. Bart Stupak, D-Mich., says he and a dozen fellow Democrats who supported the House bill will vote against it this time unless the Senate language is replaced with stiffer restrictions previously adopted by the House. The House health care bill passed by 220-215 last November, only after Pelosi was forced to give Stupak a floor vote that incorporated his strict abortion funding provision in the measure.
Nothing has changed, says Stupak. "I don't think they have the votes to pass it," he said.
Associated Press
Thursday, March 4, 2010
Pentagon on lockdown after shooting
Metro officials have reported a shooting outside the Pentagon station, near the entrance to the military facility. The shooting has put the Pentagon on lockdown and has closed the station. Three people reportedly were shot.
Chris Layman, a spokesman for the Pentagon Force Protection Agency, said that two of the people shot are Pentagon Force Protection Agency police officers. He was not certain of their condition. He said they have one person in custody, according to The Washington Post.
The Pentagon Metro Station has been closed and trains are being diverted to the Pentagon City station.
Washington Examiner
Chris Layman, a spokesman for the Pentagon Force Protection Agency, said that two of the people shot are Pentagon Force Protection Agency police officers. He was not certain of their condition. He said they have one person in custody, according to The Washington Post.
The Pentagon Metro Station has been closed and trains are being diverted to the Pentagon City station.
Washington Examiner
Unhealthy Hype
BY: Thomas Sowell
Do we really want to sacrifice world-renowned quality for the sake of vague promises of cost savings?
With all the controversies, charges, counter-charges and buzzwords swirling around the issue of medical care in the United States, there is a lot to be said for going back to square one and asking just what is the fundamental problem.
The quality of the medical care itself is not the problem. Few — if any — countries can match American medical training or medical technology, or the development of life-saving pharmaceutical drugs in the United States. Most countries with government-controlled medical care cannot come close to matching how fast an American can get medical treatment, particularly from specialists.
Political hype is no reason to throw all that away. In fact, policies based on political hype over the years are what have gotten us into what is most wrong with medical care today — namely, the way it is paid for.
National Review
Do we really want to sacrifice world-renowned quality for the sake of vague promises of cost savings?
With all the controversies, charges, counter-charges and buzzwords swirling around the issue of medical care in the United States, there is a lot to be said for going back to square one and asking just what is the fundamental problem.
The quality of the medical care itself is not the problem. Few — if any — countries can match American medical training or medical technology, or the development of life-saving pharmaceutical drugs in the United States. Most countries with government-controlled medical care cannot come close to matching how fast an American can get medical treatment, particularly from specialists.
Political hype is no reason to throw all that away. In fact, policies based on political hype over the years are what have gotten us into what is most wrong with medical care today — namely, the way it is paid for.
National Review
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