Yahoo News, April 1st, 2009

The Republicans are calling for a series of budget alternatives to repeal the stimulus, enact permanent tax cuts, and eliminate all tax brackets above 25%. There is no proposal to roll-back the Wall Street bailouts. The proposal cuts corporate taxes by more than 50%. It reduces Medicare and Social Security benefits for those under age 55.

Unveiled by Wisconsin congressman Paul Ryan, the plan calls for a total moratorium on non-defense expenditures and repeals most of the stimulus spending. The plan projects permanent annual deficits of $500 billion or more.

The tax code would be revised to make the initial tax bracket 10% graduating to a maximum tax bracket of 25% on all income above $100,000. Wealthy taxpayers would be benefited by literally trillions of future tax obligation.

The plan calls for the “privatization” of Medicare. It would create a voucher program so as to extend coverage to Americans who are 55 and older. Medicare would be administered by a “for-profit” insurance company. More…

More on this story from Politico.com

Bay Ledger News, April 2nd, 2009

The federal government would for the first time have regulatory powers over the tobacco industry under a bill the House approved Thursday after years of campaigning by anti-smoking forces.

The measure, passed 298-112, gives the Food and Drug Administration authority to regulate — but not ban — cigarettes and other tobacco products.

The Senate could take up its version of the bill later this month, and supporters have expressed confidence they can overcome expected resistance from tobacco-state senators. The White House supports the legislation, a shift from the Bush administration which threatened to veto a House-passed measure last year.

President Barack Obama has spoken publicly about his own struggles to kick a smoking habit. More…

The budget passed congress without a single Republican vote. Meanwhile U.S. unemployment increases by 663,000 people this week. Republicans could care less.

Congress Approves Budget

$3.5 Trillion Spending Plan To Pay for Obama Initiatives

Washington Post, April 2nd, 2009

Congressional Democrats overwhelmingly embraced President Obama’s ambitious and expensive agenda for the nation yesterday, endorsing a $3.5 trillion spending plan that sets the stage for the president to pursue his most far-reaching priorities.

Voting along party lines, the House and Senate approved budget blueprints that would trim Obama’s spending proposals for the fiscal year that begins in October and curtail his plans to cut taxes. The blueprints, however, would permit work to begin on the central goals of Obama’s presidency: an expansion of health-care coverage for the uninsured, more money for college loans and a cap-and-trade system to reduce gases that contribute to global warming.

The measures now move to a conference committee where negotiators must resolve differences between the two chambers, a prelude to the more difficult choices that will be required to implement Obama’s initiatives. While Democrats have sanctioned the president’s vision for transforming huge sectors of the economy, they remain fiercely divided over the details. More…

Huffington Post, April 3rd, 2009

As Norm Coleman struggles in what appears to be a losing battle to reclaim his Senate seat, and as faint rumors spread that he could replace Michael Steele as RNC Chair, a cloud of ethics scandal continues to gather over his head.

On Thursday, the former Minnesota Senator refused to say whether or not the FBI had contacted him over allegations that he and his wife had accepted (and failed to report) $75,000 in payments from a longtime benefactor. It was, close observers of the case note, the first time that Coleman has failed to deny being contacted by investigators.

“I can¹t say anything,” he told the Minnesota Post, after being asked if the FBI had contacted him. More…

Today the Department of Labor announced that 663,000 more Americans are unenployed. Obviously we are in a deep recession, and unemployment may be expected to exceed 10% of Americans shortly.

But it was also announced today that Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac want to pay hundreds of millions in bonuses in an effort to retain highly paid officers. Enough is enough.

We think it’s time for Congress to put an end to this seemingly endless greed and avarice.

Last week amid the AIG outrage, the House of Representatives passed a bill over the objections of Republicans that would bar companies that received a capital infusion from the federal government from paying any bonus or other compensation that is “unreasonable or excessive” as defined by the Treasury, until they had repaid their bailout money to the government. It is time for the United States Senate to enact similar legislation and send it to Barack Obama for signature.

We urge you to call or email your representatives and tell them that this must stop.

Sincerely, Mark Griffith, SaddleBrooke Democrats Webmaster

Here is an ad from the DNC that we liked. Enjoy…

McClatchy Washington Bureau, April 3rd, 2009

WASHINGTON — Republican Sen. Richard Burr of North Carolina is delaying the nomination vote and swearing-in of injured Iraq veteran Tammy Duckworth for a top post in the Veterans Affairs administration.

His actions angered some veterans groups Friday.

“Senator Burr has had plenty of time to ask questions of her,” Jon Soltz, the chairman of VoteVets.org, an organization of Iraq and Afghanistan veterans, said in a statement. “Senator Burr is only hurting American veterans with this nonsense. He should stop playing petty partisan games, stop needling the White House for the sheer fun of it and grow up.” More…

Large ice shelf expected to break from Antarctica

CNN News, April 3rd, 2009

(CNN) — A large ice shelf is “imminently” close to breaking away from part of the Antarctic Peninsula, scientists said Friday.

Satellite images released by the European Space Agency on Friday show new cracks in the Wilkins Ice Shelf where it connects to Charcot Island, a piece of land considered part of the peninsula.

The cracks are quickly expanding, the ESA said.

Scientists are investigating the causes for the breakups and whether it is linked to global climate change.

The Wilkins Ice Shelf — a large mass of floating ice — would still be connected to Latady Island, which is also part of the peninsula, and Alexander Island, which is not, said professor David Vaughan, a glaciologist at the British Antarctic Survey. Satellite images released by the European Space Agency on Friday show new cracks in the Wilkins Ice Shelf where it connects to Charcot Island, a piece of land considered part of the peninsula. More…

Washington Post, April 5th, 2009

PRAGUE, April 5 — In a speech grimly punctuated by current events, President Obama Sunday called for a world without nuclear weapons shortly after North Korea defied global warnings to fire a long-range rocket.

Speaking in front of the Prague Castle just hours after the North Korean launch, Obama vowed to immediately seek U.S. ratification of a ban on nuclear testing, convene a summit in Washington to stop the spread of nuclear material within four years and create a nuclear fuel bank to allow peaceful development of nuclear power. More…

Furious federal judge orders criminal investigation of Bush appointed prosecutors

By Del Quentin Wilber
Washington Post, Tuesday, April 7, 2009

A federal judge this morning tossed out the conviction of former senator Ted Stevens and assigned an outside lawyer to investigate allegations of misconduct by the prosecutors who tried him on public corruption charges.

In throwing out the October conviction, U.S. District Judge Emmet G. Sullivan called accusations that prosecutors mishandled evidence and witnesses “shocking and disturbing.” In his 25 years on the bench, the judge said he had “never seen anything approaching the mishandling and misconduct in this case.” He then urged Attorney General Eric H. Holder to better train prosecutors about the requirements for turning over evidence to defense lawyers that may help their case. More…