Thursday, February 24, 2011

Yahoo! News: Politics News

Yahoo! News: Politics News

Troopers sent to homes of some Wisconsin Democrats (AP)

Posted: 24 Feb 2011 12:12 PM PST

Opponents of the governor's bill to eliminate collective bargaining rights for many state workers sleep on the floor of the rotunda at the state Capitol in Madison, Wis., Thursday, Feb. 24, 2011, at the start of the tenth day of protests at the Capitol. (AP Photo/Andy Manis)AP - Wisconsin state troopers were dispatched Thursday to the doorsteps of some of the AWOL Democratic senators in hopes of finding at least one who would come back to allow a vote on a measure to curb the power of public-employee unions.

Republicans move to kill housing rescue programs (Reuters)

Posted: 24 Feb 2011 01:22 PM PST

A Reuters - The Obama administration's key housing market rescue programs landed on the chopping block on Thursday as a committee in the U.S. House of Representatives scheduled a vote next week to terminate them.

Study says US wasted billions in Iraq, Afghanistan (AFP)

Posted: 24 Feb 2011 11:02 AM PST

A policeman mans a machine gun at Al-Sheiba oil refinery in the southern Iraq city of Basra February 24, 2011. REUTERS/Atef Hassan (IRAQ - Tags: CONFLICT ENERGY)AFP - Corruption and waste has cost the US government billions of reconstruction dollars in Iraq and Afghanistan, according to an official study on wartime contracting released on Thursday.

Probe ordered over possible psy-ops used on senators (AP)

Posted: 24 Feb 2011 10:01 AM PST

Chairman of the Joint Chiefs Admiral Mike Mullen, seen herein January 2011, and Pakistan's army chief of staff, General Ashfaq Kayani, met in the Oman capital Muscat and called a move to coordinate better the war against the Taliban and Al-Qaeda on Afghan border.(AFP/File/Jim Watson)AP - The top U.S. commander in Afghanistan is ordering an investigation into charges that an army unit trained in psychological operations was improperly told to manipulate American senators to get more money and troops for the war.

Analysis: Obama shifts stance on gay marriage (AP)

Posted: 24 Feb 2011 02:46 AM PST

Attorney General Eric Holder answers a student question after his speech commemorating the 100th anniversary of the Duquesne University School of Law in Pittsburgh, Wednesday, Feb. 23, 2011. All the questions had been submitted to faculty prior to the event. (AP Photo/Keith Srakocic)AP - One way for President Barack Obama to win the future, it seems, is to have his administration stop defending a federal law that bans recognition of same-sex marriage.

Obama confident oil prices will stabilize (AP)

Posted: 24 Feb 2011 01:16 PM PST

White House Press Secretary Jay Carney speaks during his daily news briefing at the White House in Washington, Thursday, Feb. 24, 2011. (AP Photo/Carolyn Kaster)AP - President Barack Obama said Thursday he's confident that markets will be able to ride out the situation in Libya and the price of oil will stabilize.

Newt Gingrich dismisses impact of his extramarital affairs on possible presidential candidacy (Daily Caller)

Posted: 23 Feb 2011 02:07 PM PST

Daily Caller - Former speaker of the house Newt Gingrich is widely believed to be considering a campaign for the Republican presidential nomination in 2012. One aspect of his past may prove an insurmountable obstacle.

Records claim Fox News chief urged publisher to lie to protect Rudy Giuliani’s White House bid (The Ticket)

Posted: 24 Feb 2011 01:00 PM PST

The Ticket - Did Fox News chief Roger Ailes order former publishing doyenne Judith Regan to lie to federal investigators about an affair with former New York Police Commissioner Bernard Kerik to protect Rudy Giuliani's presidential bid? That's what an unsealed affidavit in a lawsuit related to Regan's firing from News Corp. claims, according to the New York [...]

Boeing gets $35B A.F. tanker contract (Politico)

Posted: 24 Feb 2011 01:14 PM PST

Politico - After a decade of false starts, Boeing pulled off an upset to win the $35 billion contract.

Antitrust chief focuses on innovation (Politico)

Posted: 24 Feb 2011 12:13 PM PST

Politico - Christine Varney is the traffic cop at the intersection of business and tech.

Air Force awards $35B tanker contract to Boeing (AP)

Posted: 24 Feb 2011 02:19 PM PST

AP - The Air Force has awarded a $35 billion contract to build the next generation of air refueling tankers to Boeing Co.

Psst. No shutdown during a 'government shutdown' (AP)

Posted: 24 Feb 2011 02:26 PM PST

FILE - In this Feb. 11, 2005 file photo, trays of printed social security checks wait to be mailed from the U.S. Treasury's Financial Management services facility in Philadelphia. Social Security checks will go out and the troops will remain at post. Furloughed federal workers may get paid late but virtually every essential government agency, like the FBI, the border patrol and the Coast Guard would keep running if the budget standoff leads to a government shutdown. The little-known fact about a government shutdown is this: the government doesn't truly shut down. (AP Photo/Bradley C Bower, File)AP - Social Security checks would still go out. Troops would remain at their posts. Furloughed federal workers probably would get paid, though not until later. And virtually every essential government agency, like the FBI, the Border Patrol and the Coast Guard, would remain open.

Belgrade hopes to start Kosovo talks in March (AFP)

Posted: 24 Feb 2011 10:10 AM PST

Serbia's chief negotiator Borko Stefanovic speaks during an interview with AFP in Belgrade. Borko Stefanovic said Thursday that he expected EU-brokered talks between Belgrade and Pristina to start in March and yield results by summer.(AFP)AFP - Serbia's chief negotiator said Thursday that he expected EU-brokered talks between Belgrade and Pristina to start in March and yield results by summer.

US, allies pressure Gadhafi to halt Libya violence (AP)

Posted: 24 Feb 2011 02:35 PM PST

A Libyan gunman flashes a V sign as he stands on a military truck loaded with launcher rockets at Al-Katiba military base after it fell to anti-Libyan leader Moammar Gadhafi protesters few days ago, in Benghazi, Libya, on Thursday Feb. 24, 2011. Army units and militiamen loyal to Moammar Gadhafi struck back Thursday against rebellious Libyans who have risen up in cities close to the capital, attacking a mosque where many were holding an anti-government sit-in and battling others who seized control of an airport. Medical officials said 15 people were killed in the clashes. (AP Photo/Hussein Malla)AP - The Obama administration threw its weight Thursday behind a European effort to expel Libya from the U.N.'s top human rights body and said it was readying a larger sanctions package against Moammar Gadhafi's regime that it will take up with allies in the coming days.

Why Are Lobbyists Being Kept Away From White House? (The Atlantic Wire)

Posted: 24 Feb 2011 01:54 PM PST

The Atlantic Wire - The Obama White House isn't crazy about lobbyists, and lobbyists apparently aren't crazy about that. Bloggers, meanwhile, find the whole thing hypocritical.To the Obama folks, a meeting with a lobbyist is like a date you take to a hidden Chinese restaurant where you're guaranteed not to run into anyone you know. Meetings between White House aides and lobbyists are held off-site, sometimes at a nearby complex of row houses, other times at a Caribou Coffee. Politico's Chris Frates reports that logs aren't kept at these meetings, but some lobbyists have recently been asked "to sign confidentiality agreements barring them from disclosing what was discussed at meetings with administration officials."According to Frates, "lobbyists are particularly stung by what they see as a double standard, with Obama bashing their profession as part of what's wrong with Washington while his staff routinely sits down with lobbyists to discuss key issues." While some lobbyists are hurt by what they think is a politically-motivated snub, others, like immigration lobbyist Tamar Jacoby, are just happy to have any face time with a White House staffer to promote their agenda. Jacoby told Politico, "The most important thing, for all the prohibitions, is that they're realizing that you can't govern in America without a.), getting the input of experts and b.), getting in touch with the business community. No matter how they do that, whether it's on the up-and-up or off-the-charts, so to speak, the important thing is that they know that they have to do it."Bloggers, though, are questioning the White House's motivation for hiding lobbyists. Conservative blogger Michelle Malkin, takes the Politico story as proof that her skepticism of Obama's transparency pledge was warranted. "Obama lied, transparency died," she writes. "See, I told you so." Red State's Erick Erickson is also not surprised, but curious as to with whom Obama's staff is actually meeting. "We know the White House is happy to have routine visits from the AFL-CIO and SEIU. And if they want those to be known, who exactly are they ashamed of you knowing about? Or scared?" he asks. Of the secrecy, Thomas Ferdousi at Pundit Press writes, "there's something Nixon-esque here." The Texas Insider also points out that this is not the first time the White House has been busted circumventing it's own transparency promise. It notes that such instances in which the Administration has avoided "public scrutiny of their actions [do] not speak well to its ability to operate with the unmatched level of transparency, participation and accountability promised by the President."

Rand Paul: Tea Party won’t branch off GOP, become third party (Daily Caller)

Posted: 24 Feb 2011 12:39 PM PST

Daily Caller - Kentucky Sen. Rand Paul said he doesn't think the Tea Party will ditch the GOP and become a third party, reports the Lexington Herald-Leader.

New York City uses Recovery Act funds to poll residents on soda tax (Daily Caller)

Posted: 24 Feb 2011 09:29 AM PST

Daily Caller - While the Big Apple is busy using Recovery Act money to urge its citizens to drink less soda and eat less salt, it is also using stimulus funds to survey New Yorkers on the possibility of a soda tax.

Tea party vision for Mont. raising concerns (AP)

Posted: 24 Feb 2011 02:13 PM PST

A Tea Party activist prepares for a 'Get Out The Vote' rally in Philadelphia. A variety of Tea Party-driven bills pending in local legislatures include one which might effectively legalize gay discrimination in Iowa; proclaim climate change to be AP - With each bill, newly elected tea party lawmakers are offering Montanans a vision of the future.

Who do moderate Republicans like best in 2012? The answer might surprise you (The Ticket)

Posted: 24 Feb 2011 01:37 PM PST

The Ticket - With no candidates officially in the race, a new Gallup Poll finds there is still no clear frontrunner for next year's GOP presidential nomination. Mike Huckabee, Mitt Romney and Sarah Palin continue to be virtually tied among Republican voters asked about who they believe should be the party's 2012 nominee. But there are some surprising [...]
Posted by Harshad at 3:07 PM

No comments:

Post a Comment

Subscribe to: Post Comments (Atom)