Republicans Vote Against Raising Debt Ceiling

WASHINGTON — House Republicans dealt defeat to their own proposal for a $2.4 trillion increase in the nation's debt limit Tuesday, a political gambit designed to reinforce a demand for spending cuts to accompany any increase in government borrowing.
The vote was lopsided, with just 97 in favor of the measure and 318 against.
House Democrats accused the GOP of political demagoguery, while the Obama administration maneuvered to avoid taking sides – or giving offense to majority Republicans.
The debate was brief, occasionally impassioned and set a standard of sorts for public theater, particularly at a time when private negotiations continue among the administration and key lawmakers on the deficit cuts Republicans have demanded.
The bill "will and must fail," said Rep. Dave Camp, R-Mich., the House Ways and Means Committee chairman who noted he had helped write the very measure he was criticizing.
"I consider defeating an unconditional increase to be a success, because it sends a clear and critical message that the Congress has finally recognized we must immediately begin to rein in America's affection for deficit spending," he said.
But Rep. Sander Levin, D-Mich., accused Republicans of a "ploy so egregious that (they) have had to spend the last week pleading with Wall Street not to take it seriously and risk our economic recovery."
He and other Democrats added that Republicans were attempting to draw attention away from their controversial plan to turn Medicare into a program in which seniors purchase private insurance coverage.
The proceedings occurred roughly two months before the date Treasury Secretary Tim Geithner has said the debt limit must be raised. If no action is taken by Aug. 2, he has warned, the government could default on its obligations and risk turmoil that might plunge the nation into another recession or even an economic depression.

Story continues below

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2011/05/31/house-debt-ceiling-vote-budget-cuts_n_869395.html

 

Look at how proud of themselves they are.  You would think one of them had just given birth.  It would be one thing if they really voted against raising the debt ceiling for the reasons they decry, but you know as well as I do it’s all part of the game.  I don’t mind that they don’t want to raise the debt ceiling; in fact I too do not want the ceiling raised.  I don’t mind that they are using this issue as a political pawn, but tell me; do they have to look like such total dumb-a**es?

Hillary Clinton Arrives In Pakistan To Repair Frayed Relations

ISLAMABAD — U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton said Friday that relations between the United States and Pakistan had reached a turning point after the killing of Osama bin Laden and Islamabad must make "decisive steps" in the days ahead to fight terrorism.
Clinton made the remarks after meeting with Pakistani civilian and military leaders on a brief trip to Pakistan meant to repair relations that have been badly frayed the May 2 U.S. raid that killed the al-Qaida leader who had been hiding in a comfortable house in an army town not far from the capital, Islamabad.
The Pakistanis were angry that they weren't told of the raid in advance, while the location of bin Laden's hideout raised U.S. suspicions that members of the security services must have known bin Laden's whereabouts.
Adm. Mike Mullen, the chairman of the U.S. Joint Chiefs of Staff who also was in Pakistan, was blunt.
"I think we all realize the challenges under which this relationship now labors," he told reporters. "We had very candid discussions, the kind of discussion two friends should be able to have at times like this."
Clinton and Mullen are the highest-ranking U.S. officials to confer with Pakistani leaders since the raid, which splintered already fragile support in both countries for the agenda of cooperation that top U.S. and Pakistani officials say they want.
A portion of the meeting between Clinton and President Asif Ali Zardari briefly witnessed by reporters was stiff and awkward, with no smiles among the U.S. delegation.
Clinton said relations "had reached a turning point," but she thought Pakistan knew the stakes involved.
She said "it was up to the government of Pakistan to take decisive steps in the days ahead" against militants, but did not give any details.

Story continues below

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2011/05/27/hillary-clinton-arrives-in-pakistan_n_867859.html

I don’t want to repair frayed relationships.  I don’t want to be friends with Pakistan.  Didn’t they help hide the number one terrorist in the world?  Didn’t they deny and aren’t they still denying that they knew or might have known where OBL was living and hiding.  They are liars and cheats.  We give them billions of dollars in aid each year, and they can’t help us in our war on terrorism?  With friends like these. . . . . . . .

Pippa Middleton Oprah Show Rumors Make The Rounds

 This just in from the check-out line magazine rack: both National Inquirer and In Touch claim that Pippa Middleton is moving toward a television deal.
Per the Inquirer, caps lock theirs: "TV queens BARBARA WALTERS and OPRAH WINFREY are secretly DUKE-ing it out over DUCHESS KATE's baby sister in a battle royal to snag her for U.S. TV! Sources close to Baba and O confirm that both talk-show divas are deep into hush-hush talks with Ms. Pippa-licious."
O YES WE DID have to read that thrice to figure out what was being said. Apparently, Barbara previously tried to hire Catherine to co-host "The View," and is now smitten with Pippa. And Oprah is eyeing the 27-year-old for some OWN network programing.
Naturally, In Touch confirms.
Although we'd tune in daily to "Real Talk with Pippa Middleton," we won't begin to list the number of reasons this one isn't true (see some here). However, Kate's little sis was on TV this week in some capacity, apparently mentioned on the season finale of "Glee." USA Today writes:

Blaine said: "We're on our way to get some sheet music. Tomorrow is my audition for the summer show at Six Flags." Kurt replied: "Whereas I'm spending my summer composing Pip, Pip, Hooray, the broadway musical about Pippa Middleton."
Sam says: "I have no idea who that is but it sounds totally awesome!"

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2011/05/27/pippa-middleton-oprah_n_867916.html

Well I for one just do not see the fascination with this . . . . . this Pippa girl.  So they’re going to take her from a party planner to a talk show host.  What are they thinking?  Who would want to watch Pippa Middleton on TV everyday at four o’clock on channel 4? 

Zach Galifianakis Hates to Be Loved

Zach Galifianakis walks up to the driver's side of a FedEx truck and, pretending it's his, pulls out a key. Then he leads me to a beat-up 1997 Subaru station wagon. This is not a joke. It's his car. I don't know exactly how much he got paid for The Hangover Part II, the new sequel to the highest-grossing R-rated comedy of all time. But if it was more than $500, he can afford a better car. At least one on which the inside handle of the passenger-side back door works.

For two weeks in 1997, Galifianakis lived on this street in Hollywood where the Subaru is parked. In the Subaru. The actor and stand-up comic had moved to Los Angeles from New York City after getting a holding deal from NBC to star in sitcoms, but he didn't want to ask his agent to rush the check. Fourteen years later, Galifianakis is wearing, as he usually does, a red plaid button-down shirt, a gray blazer, drab khakis and a battered L.L. Bean backpack his mom bought him in the early 1980s. He looks as if he's going to his job at an independent bookstore to pay for grad school. He has no publicist, and e-mailed me directly to set up our interview. He has no assistant. "I don't know what my assistant would do besides get me pot," he says. (Travel Tips: Stage Your Own Thailand Hangover)

Galifianakis — the deadpan foil of Due Date, HBO's Bored to Death and the Hangover movies — doesn't care about the kinds of things other people care about. Most noticeably, being liked. He's taking me around L.A. for the day, and when we stop for lunch at a pizza place, some guy a few tables away pretends to look at his cell phone, but he's really shooting Galifianakis' photo. Galifianakis pulls out his own phone and takes a picture of him back. There's no I-caught-you goofiness, no smile, no nod — just look-what-a-jerk-you're-being confrontation. The guy puts his phone down. Galifianakis switches seats so his back is to him for the rest of lunch.
It's not just that the guy was rude. It's also that Galifianakis actually dislikes his audience — both the frat-boy fans who dot Vegas casinos in T-shirts bearing his face and his socially awkward Hangover character's self-description, "One Man Wolfpack," and the fellow hipsters who go to see him at alternative-comedy clubs. In one recurring bit, he plays the piano until he hears people talk, at which point he walks over to them and screams at them to shut up. "My whole attitude is, You can't think of funny s--- yourself? You have to come watch me?" he says.

If Galifianakis didn't suffer fans gladly before The Hangover made him famous, you should see him now. "He has a hate-hate relationship with his audience," says Todd Phillips, the director of Due Date and the Hangovers. "Comedy is about the unexpected. That's about as surprising a thing as you can do — hate being loved." (See TIME's review of The Hangover.)

"It's not good for comedy to be like, Thanks for liking me," Galifianakis says. "Being popular is poison. My mom and dad are like, 'You're not enjoying any of this.' I say, 'It's your fault for not raising me to be superficial.'"
But he's hard not to like. Though he never realizes it, almost everything he does on our 14-hour day together is a favor for someone else. He is one of the few comedians who laughs easily at other people's jokes. He's naturally warm and friendly, and he's used that to get away with creating a new archetype: the loser alpha male. "You can do a stoner weirdo chubby guy with a beard," Galifianakis says, "but I don't think that you've seen a character who can't legally be near a Chuck E. Cheese. It's fresh." The Chuck E. Cheese line was taken from Galifianakis' stand-up act and given to his Hangover character, Alan, who lives with his parents, bosses people around, invites himself to a bachelor party and accidentally roofies his new friends, nearly destroying their lives and Las Vegas. In both his stand-up and his movies, Galifianakis makes his characters as detestable as possible, then sees if he can win the audience back.

Read more: http://www.time.com/time/arts/article/0,8599,2072446,00.html#ixzz1NX3FWmYC

What a great guy!  Very humorous and fun to watch. 

U.S. honors its war dead

ARLINGTON, Va., May 30 (UPI) -- Soldiers, families and people honor the nation's war dead on Memorial Day with ceremonies at cemeteries and service clubs across the United States Monday.
President Obama and first lady Michelle Obama will participate in a wreath-laying ceremony at the Tomb of the Unknowns and in a Memorial Day service at Arlington National Cemetery in Virginia.
Some honored fallen comrades from wars present and past by working behind the scenes so families and friends would see graves neatly trimmed and smartly dressed, CNN reported.
Staff Sgt. Bradley Falls, who served in Afghanistan, said he considered it an honor to come to Arlington National Cemetery to plant flags in the burial plots of soldiers past.
"It's especially an honor for us when you've been on the other side of it and now you can come here and you can bring honor to their final resting place," Falls told CNN. "We all know somebody buried here personally."
Civilians also commemorate U.S. soldiers killed in combat, including high school student Ricky Gilleland, 17, of Stafford, Va., who runs a Web site that acts as a virtual database for soldiers killed in the line of duty.
Gilleland said he was awed by the ages of the casualties of war when setting up and running Preserveandhonor.com.
"It's sad because I come here and look at the birth dates and death dates and I think, 'These are kids not much older than me,'" he told CNN.
Since its launch in October, Gilleland said, Preserveandhonor.com has received more than 1 million hits.

Read more: http://www.upi.com/Top_News/US/2011/05/30/US-honors-its-war-dead/UPI-88011306761108/#ixzz1NqIe5LTc

Is Pippa Middleton Good for U.K. Tourism?

After stealing the show at big sister Kate’s wedding in a tight-fitting, white bridesmaid’s dress, the world’s favorite royal-in-law, Pippa Middleton, is standing solo in the spotlight.

Now, observers are wondering if Pippamania might be the secret formula to boost tourism to the United Kingdom, a $130 billion a year industry that’s been hit hard by a weak dollar and drop off in American visitors.

The Lonely Planet guides came down hard on the U.K. this year, with reports that many restaurants, hotels and attractions are "overpriced or lacking in quality,” and an overall conclusion that "Britain ain't cheap.”

New York-based travel professional and Anglophile Barbara Gillam says, in spite of the challenges, “Pippa’s aura may very well boost tourism, not to mention Pilates and the designers’ outfits she’s seen in.”

Emma Thomas, the U.S. representative for VisitEngland.org says, “Royal weddings always raise the profile around English history and heritage. The news around Pippa is very positive.”
Sidestepping direct comments on the Royal Family, Visit Britain spokesperson Meredith Pearson says, “American travelers are generally interested in celebrity hot spots in the hopes of doing a bit of star spotting.”

VisitBritain’s Facebook page was the 6th most “Explosive Page” on Facebook during Royal Wedding week, according to All Facebook, and the cheeky “Pippa Middleton A** Appreciation Society” on Facebook already counts some 150,000 followers showing their, well, appreciation.

Films like “The King’s Speech” and the “Harry Potter” franchise, combined with top Brit celebrities like Ricky Gervais, David and Victoria Beckham and Simon Cowell have created a fresh round buzz for the U.K. in recent years. Pippa’s instantaneous popularity as party-girl and sexy maid of honor further adds a twinkle to Britain’s traditionally stuffy image.

Admittedly, “Minxy” Middleton’s younger fans are not likely to be able to afford a $500 a night stay in the cheapest room at the century-old Goring Hotel, a member of the Small Luxury Hotels portfolio, where she accompanied her sister on her last night as a single woman. After the wedding bookings at all of the group’s London hotels were up 77% compared to the same week last year.

Says Anne Scully, CTC at McCabe World Travel in Virginia: “The Goring has changed. The energy is electric. It has been attracting young people recently to its bar, and the Middleton’s will certainly enhance that even more…just look at them all, all lovely to look at, better dressed than the Royals really.”

Never one to let a moment slip by, British Airways will issue a fare sale in June, starting at $505 from New York to London.

Prince William and new bride Kate Middleton’s honeymoon in the Seychelles brought that remote spot into the public conscience, as well, just as tourism execs in Monaco are hoping to see an increase in visitor arrivals with the upcoming July 1 nuptials of His Serene Highness Prince Albert II and the elegant South African Olympic swimmer, Charlène Wittstock. According to Bob Titley, owner of the Robert Titley Consultancy, which represents Visit Wales in the U.S., adds that “Kate has been extraordinarily good for raising the profile of Wales.”

But the more we learn about Pippa, the better it is for just about anything she is associated with, be it an Alexander McQueen dress, a Zara jacket or Pilates, a core-building exercise discipline that may inspire the rest of us to stay in tip-top shape as we pack our bags for the new Britain.

Click here for more from FoxNews.com Travel

Read more: http://www.foxnews.com/leisure/2011/05/22/pippa-middleton-good-uk-tourism/#ixzz1NVlPTYm7

I seem to be suffering from Pippa over-saturation.  The world didn’t even know who she was until the Royal Wedding, and now she seems to be everywhere!  Is it the dress?  The smile?  What is it about the younger Middleton that fascinates us so? 

Life term for Elizabeth Smart kidnapper

SALT LAKE CITY, May 25 (UPI) -- The Utah man who said he was divinely instructed to take young wives was sentenced to life in prison Wednesday for kidnapping and raping Elizabeth Smart.
Brian David Mitchell sat singing hymns through most of the hearing, the Deseret News reported. He did not look at Smart when she spoke to him.
"I don't have very much say to you. I know exactly what you did, and I know that you know what you did was wrong and you did it with a full knowledge of that," she said. "I want you to know that I have a wonderful life now. No matter what you do, you will never affect me again. You took away nine months of my life that can never be returned. But I know that in this life or the next you will be held responsible for what you have done and I hope you're ready for that when it comes."
Smart, 23, was 14 when Mitchell and his wife, Wanda Barzee, abducted her from her bedroom in June 2002. She was kept as Mitchell's second wife, living with the couple in an encampment and traveling with them to California.
Mitchell, 53, was a homeless street preacher at the time. His trial was delayed for years by questions about his competency.

Read more:
 http://www.upi.com/Top_News/US/2011/05/25/Life-term-for-Elizabeth-Smart-kidnapper/UPI-68751306362515/#ixzz1NSkBAaAU

What are we (as a society) going to do about all the freaks; Loughner, Mitchel, Anthony and the many others?  Justice should be swift and decisive.  There has to be a way to weed these people out and deal with them before they have a chance to act.  Here are a few hints:  If your neighbor has a girl tied to a tree in the backyard; he may be a freak.  If you see a bald headed uncle Fester type walking to a political event with a bag full of guns and ammo, he may be a freak.  If you know a young mother, whose child turns up missing and the next night she’s out dancing to the heavy bass of Usher and Beyonce she may be a freak.  Do you see a common denominator?  Freaks act like. . . . . well; they act like freaks.  I know you can’t blame the family and friends of these people, but come on!  Remember Ted Kaczynski, the Unabomber?  His own brother admitted that he knew Ted had lost it and was in a crazy state.  It was after all his brother who turned him in, but only after Mr. Kaczynski had left death and destruction in his wake.  Sometimes you can spot a freak by their appearance alone.  Loughner had made several outbursts in class; his friends and family were giving him a wide berth.  They should have been giving him a berth in a psych ward.  We owe it to ourselves; we owe it to each other to sound the Freak-alarm whenever we see one.  Freaks walk among us, and history has shown that at some point somehow they will act on their freaky inclinations.

Ed Schultz Apologizes: Laura Ingraham Comments 'Vile And Inappropriate

Ed Schultz apologized for his comments about Laura Ingraham on Wednesday, before beginning a week-long suspension from MSNBC.
Appearing at the top of his Wednesday show, Schultz said that calling Ingraham a "right-wing slut" on his Tuesday radio show was "vile and inappropriate," and apologized unreservedly to her, as well as to his wife, his family and MSNBC.
"I am deeply sorry, and I apologize," he said. "It was wrong, uncalled for and I recognize the severity of what I said."
After learning of the comments, MSNBC met with Schultz and the two sides agreed that he would be suspended for a week without pay from his program. It marks the third such punishment that the network has meted out to a host in the last year. In November, both Keith Olbermann and Joe Scarborough were suspended for violating MSNBC's policy about political donations. (Olbermann, of course, is no longer with the network.)
However, Schultz's punishement is more severe; neither Scarborough nor Olbermann were suspended for something they said, let alone something they said on a non-MSNBC program, and both spent fewer days off the air than Schultz will.
Schultz called the situation "the lowest of low for me," and said, "I have never been in this position before to the point where it has affected so many people." He revealed that had tried to contact Ingraham but could not reach her.
Ingraham did respond on Facebook and Twitter, where she wrote, "MSNBC suspends Schultz. Oh great, now his ratings will go up."

After finishing his apology, Schultz handed the program off to Thomas Roberts--the same person who filled in for Olbermann when he was suspended.

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2011/05/26/ed-schultz-apologizes-laura-ingraham_n_867308.html

 

When your passion turns to hate, you say stupid things!  The talking-heads and of course the politicians are so busy throwing stones at each others glass houses occasionally there is collateral damage.  If we could lose the need to shock; control the urge to defame, and maintain control of our passion, the airwaves would be a lot friendlier.  I think name-calling like this is disgusting.  Is this the fifth grade?  Ed you can make your point without calling someone a slut.  What if Laura Ingram was your sister, or your mother, or your wife, and some joker with a radio show, decided to call one of them a slut.  You are a disgrace to broadcasters.  If I was Chris Mathews or Anderson Cooper I would vote you out of the club!

 

Obama To Offer Help In Healing In Joplin, Missouri

WASHINGTON — President Barack Obama is pivoting from diplomacy on the world stage to the intimate and delicate domestic task of acting as healer-in-chief to a devastated community.
The president travels to tornado-wrecked Joplin, Mo., on Sunday, a day after returning from a six-day European tour of Ireland, England, France and Poland.
After days of focusing on the U.S. relationship with the rest of the world, he'll turn to an even more critical connection: his own, with the American people.
The president will visit with survivors and family members of the worst tornado in decades, a monster storm that tore through Joplin a week ago leaving more than 130 dead and hundreds more injured. About 100 others are unaccounted for, and the damage is massive.
The president will tour destroyed neighborhoods in the city of 50,000 in southwestern Missouri, and speak at a memorial service being held by local clergy and Gov. Jay Nixon for those who lost their lives. He'll offer federal assistance, and his own condolences.
It's a role Obama has had to assume with increasing frequency of late, after the mass shooting in Arizona in January in which Rep. Gabrielle Giffords was injured, when tornadoes struck Tuscaloosa, Ala., last month and more recently when flooding from the Mississippi inundated parts of Memphis, Tenn.
Such moments can help define a president, but habitually even-tempered Obama is more apt to offer handshakes and hugs than tears and deep emotion.
Though times of trouble can erase politics and unite people, a phenomenon Obama has commented on, his task as healer Sunday will be carried out on unfriendly political ground as his re-election campaign approaches. Obama narrowly lost Missouri to Republican John McCain in 2008, but in Jasper County, where Joplin is located, McCain won by a large margin: 66 percent to 33 percent.

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2011/05/29/obama-joplin-tornado_n_868545.html

Wow!  I thought Presidents only flew over disaster areas, from the comfort of Air Force One.  OK; some of this is politically motivated, but still, what a classy thing to do.  It’s a shame; George W. didn’t have the same panache.

Lamborghini Hints at 'Everyday' Model Coming Soon

With luxury car purchases taking a hit since the recession hit, and über-luxury brands seeing an even deeper dip in sales, Lamborghini has come up with a brilliant – though almost blasphemous – idea: a cheaper car.

"We are going to have a third model. It has to be an everyday car. We want to have a car which is able to be used on a daily basis," Lambo's CEO Stephan Winkelmann told Reuters. Bolstered by increasing demand from emerging nations – the company expects to sell 1 out of 5 Lamborghinis this year to China alone – they are looking to produce a model that's more accessible for the everyman

Read more:
http://newsfeed.time.com/2011/05/25/affordable-extravagance-lamborghini-hints-at-everyday-model-coming-soon/#ixzz1NRIr6SvQ

A nice house, a white picket fence and a Lambo in every driveway; it’s the American dream in racing yellow.  I have waited all my life for the price to come down.  I hope they come out with a mini-van. 

A New 'Idol' Is Crowned

LOS ANGELES -- Scotty McCreery is the new "American Idol," defeating fellow country crooner Lauren Alaina.

McCreery, a fresh-faced 17-year-old from Garner, N.C., with a strikingly deep voice, received more viewer votes than Alaina, a peppy 16-year-old from Rossville, Ga.

It was the first all-country finale for the Fox singing contest, now in its 10th season.

McCreery's victory Wednesday continued a recent pattern: He's the fourth male in a row to win "Idol." The last female to win was 17-year-old Jordin Sparks in 2007.

Alaina competed in Tuesday's final sing-off despite a vocal cord injury that required medical treatment. She received raves from the judges, who said she won the night. But the consistently popular McCreery claimed the title and a record contract.

Read more:
 http://www.foxnews.com/entertainment/2011/05/25/new-idol-crowned/#ixzz1NRD9GRBy

How much longer will American Idol allow teenage girls to decide the winner of its contest?  I submit that a rule change is in order.  Scotty is great; there’s no doubt about that, but Lauren Alaina was clearly better.  Both of them deserved the top two spots (after Pia Tuscano was voted out) but to me the order was wrong.  It’s not too late to change the rules in time for next season.

Mickey Mouse Surrenders to Navy SEALs in Trademark Battle

Well, that was quick: Mickey Mouse has waved the white flag and surrendered to the real SEAL Team 6.

Disney is withdrawing its applications to trademark the name of the elite Navy squad responsible for killing Usama bin Laden, the Navy said on Wednesday.

"The Navy is committed to fully protecting our trademark rights as it pertains to this matter and will continue to examine all our legal options," Navy spokeswoman Amanda Greenberg told FoxNews.com, adding that the military continues to broaden Navy's existing portfolio. 

Disney did not return numerous requests for comment.

A spokesman for the U.S. Patent & Trademark Office also did not return calls and email requests for comment. 

Earlier on Wednesday, FoxNews.com reported that U.S. Navy had countered Disney's trademark applications with filings of its own.

Two days after the not-so-secret-anymore elite unit took out bin Laden, Disney filed trademark applications expressing intent to use the name "SEAL Team 6" for purposes including: entertainment and education; video games, toys, Christmas ornaments, snow globes; clothing, hats, shoes.

Ten days later, on May 23, the Navy fought back with trademark applications of its own, the first for anything indicating membership in a military organization, the second for use in the category of clothing, footwear and headwear. 

But a battle of the century never materialized, as just hours after FoxNews.com's original article was published, Mickey Mouse said G-O-O-D-B-Y-E to "SEAL Team 6."

Read more: http://www.foxnews.com/politics/2011/05/25/mickey-mouse-surrenders-navy-seals-trademark-battle/#ixzz1NR9n8DO5

There are just some things that should be off-limits.  Really?  Were you really out to profit from the Navy Seals?  I thought Disney had a little more class than this! 

GOP Botches Multiple Facts, Calls Elizabeth Warren A Liar

WASHINGTON -- Republicans attempting to grill Elizabeth Warren on the creation of the new Consumer Financial Protection Bureau had to be schooled repeatedly by the former Harvard professor Tuesday for botching basic facts and accusing her of lying.
Warren, appointed by President Obama to implement the consumer watchdog mandated by last years' Dodd-Frank financial reform law, testified at a House Oversight subcommittee hearing dubbed "Who's Watching the Watchmen?"
But those overseers seemed to lack the basic facts about the new agency they were trying to oversee, with the hearing dissolving at the end in a remarkable dispute over how long Warren was supposed to testify.
Rep. Ann Marie Buerkle (R-N.Y.) betrayed the first misunderstanding, quizzing Warren on why people getting hired at the CFPB earned better salaries than the average government employee. Warren eventually noted federal financial regulators are usually paid better (but not very well compared to the people they regulate).
Rep. Frank Guinta (R-N.H.) mistakenly thought the CFPB was unique among financial regulators in having a leader with a five-year term and in not being subject to annual Congressional appropriations -- neither of which is true.
"I don't believe anyone else in history has had that period of time as an appointment," Guinta contended of the five-year term.
"Congressman, I think many terms are five-year terms," Warren answered, pointing out that the head of the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency had just finished such a term.
Guinta then suggested that the agencies Warren compared to the CFPB actually had more oversight from Congress through annual approriations.
"Those entities I think are at the discretion of Congress," Guinta argued. "There's an oversight process through appropriations -- you're excluded from that."
"No, Congressman, I'm sorry," Warren answered. "There is no banking regulator who is subject to the political process or to appropriations." Regulators such as the FDIC and others take fees from financial institutions for their budgets.
Rep. Trey Gowdy (R-S.C.) grilled Warren to find out whether the bureau would make public the complaints it gets. She answered that the complaint issue was a work in progress, but that at the very least there was progress in a system for large credit card companies.
"Are any of the complaints public?" Gowdy demanded.
"Congressman, we don't have any complaints yet," Warren said of the still-being-born agency. "What we're trying to do is build the system."
Gowdy also seemed to think that Warren had written the Dodd-Frank law, and was determined to know what Warren meant by defining "abusive" practices as something that "materially interferes" with the ability of a consumer to understand a term or a condition.
"That suggests to me that some interferences are immaterial. Is that what you meant by that?" he asked a momentarily perplexed-looking Warren.
"Congressman, I believe the language you are quoting is out of the Dodd-Frank act," she said. "This is the language that Congress has adopted."
Still, Gowdy insisted on her answer, although the definitions and regulations required by the law are still being written.
"You don't want me standing here shooting from the hip about how I might want to interpret individaul language," she said.
Several members raised the new agencies budget, which unlike any other regulator, is capped by law at nearly $600 million.
So Warren offered up the budget for the CFPB's first two years: $143 million for the rest of 2011 and $329 million for 2012.
Republicans have cast the consumer protection bureau as a huge new agency with powers beyond anything that exists currently, arguing it's free from any outside restraints to punish financial firms at whim. They have offered legislation to turn it into a commission, make it easier for other federal agencies to overrule it and delay its start.
But Warren countered that the oversight and restrictions on the new bureau were in fact "unprecedented."
“The bureau is the only bank regulator whose rules can be overruled by a council made up of other federal agencies,” Warren said.
The subcommittee chairman, Rep. Patrick McHenry (R-N.C.) began the proceedings by suggesting Warren had lied to the committee in a previous hearing that had questioned the CFPB's role in offering advice to state attorneys general negotiating a settlement with abusive mortgage servicers.
At the time, she said she was proud her agency had been able to help, at the request of the Treasury Secretary. But McHenry brought up the memo again, suggesting it showed that she hid a larger role in the negotiations from Congress.
"This is our job, and we're trying to do our job, to be helpful to other agencies, and to help those agencies to hold those who break the law accountable," Warren said, repeating that she was proud of the work.
The exchange prompted Rep. John Yarmuth (R-Ky.) to say he was sorry.
“I apologize to the witness for the rude and disrespectful behavior of the chair," Yarmuth told Warren. "The questioning of your veracity when there is documented evidence that you are being totally truthful indicates to me that this hearing is all about impugning you because people are afraid of you ."
But perhaps the ugliest moment in the contentions sessions came at the end, when Rep. Elijah Cummings (D-Md.), the top Democrat on the Oversight Committee, pointed out that based on the emails his staff had gotten, McHenry was keeping Warren later than an agreed 2:15 p.m. ending time.
The session had been moved repeatedly, with the timing changing as late as Tuesday morning.
But McHenry insisted there had been no agreement, even though he, the subcommittee members and Warren all arrived their an hour early.
"I'm not trying to cause you problems, Ms. Warren," McHenry said.
"You are causing problems," Warren answered. "We had an agreement for a later hearing. Your staff asked us to move around so that we had to change everything on my schedule to try to accommodate your time..."
"We agreed that I would be out of here at 2:15 because there are other things now scheduled at 2:30," she said.
"That was a request, " McHenry snapped.
"Congressmen, you told us one thing," Warren responded
"I did not tell you anything," he shot back, before adding to audible gasps in the hearing room: "You're making this up, Ms. Warren. This is not the case."
A shocked Cummings intervened, saying: "You just accused the lady of lying. I think you need to clear this up with your staff."
Cummings noted the time changes in the hearing, and a CFPB source later confirmed to Huffington Post that there had been a specific agreement.
McHenry later felt no apology was warranted, and slammed Warren in a statement, saying she had refused to answer all questions because two members had not had a chance with her.
“Committee staff worked diligently to accommodate Ms. Warren’s schedule," McHenry said.
"I was shocked by Ms. Warren’s blatant sense of entitlement," he added. "She was apparently under the assumption that she could dictate a one-hour time limit for her testimony to Congress and that we were there at her behest instead of the other way around. This is just further example of her disregard for congressional oversight.”

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2011/05/24/elizabeth-warren-liar-gop-facts-cfpb_n_866505.html

 

This is a long story, but I ask that you read it.  It shows you just how confused typical members of Congress can be.  Not only do they display their stupidity with the questions they ask, but they (most of them anyway) are totally pompous and arrogant.  Ms. Warren was in a committee meeting to explain her new office.  This is an oversight agency which Congress created.  As you can see in the article, she is asked ridiculous questions, it is inferred that she wrote the law itself, and then she is treated amazingly rude by the oversight committee. 

Rep. Patrick McHenry (R-N.C.) was the worst!  Several of them asked stupid questions, but McHenry was downright rude.  This woman was appointed to head up the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau; this is an agency mandated by the Dodd-Frank law which was enacted by congress, and here is the rude committee Chair (Patrick McHenry) treating this woman with absolute disrespect.  Men and women in Congress are voted in to office to represent us; the American people.  You Mr. McHenry are there at the behest of the American people; not the other way around.  You need to climb down off your high-horse and lose your contempt for a woman who is only trying to do her job. 

Ms. Warren is likely to be the best thing that has ever happened to a government oversight agency.  She is smart, she knows her business and those of you in congress would be smart to get out of her way and let her do her job.. . . . .  or is that the problem?  You don’t really want the consumer Financial Protection Bureau to work; is that it?  Oh yeah; you have financial institutions lobbying you, and contributing to your campaigns and wining and dining you.  That’s the point isn’t it?  Ms. Warren has no skin in your stupid political game.  She is all about doing the job she was hired to do.  I wish I could say the same for the members of congress.  Don’t forget who hired you, Mr. McHenry! 

 

Mark Haines Dies: CNBC Anchor Dead At 65

NEW YORK -- Mark Haines, co-anchor of CNBC's morning "Squawk on the Street" show, died unexpectedly on Tuesday evening, the network said. He was 65.
The network said he died in his home. It did not specify the cause of death.
Haines worked at CNBC for 22 years after working as a news anchor at TV stations in Philadelphia, New York and Providence, R.I.
He was the founding anchor of CNBC's "Squawk Box" morning show. In 2005, he started co-anchoring "Squawk On The Street," a 9 a.m. to 11 a.m. show, with Erin Burnett, while "Squawk Box" was pushed to an earlier slot. Burnett recently left CNBC to host a general news show on CNN.
CNBC President Mark Hoffman said Haines was "always the unflappable pro."
"He was an authentic voice in business media," said Eric Jackson, who runs the hedge fund Ironfire Capital. "He resonated with so many people because he would speak out, and with opinion. Too often the media lets the corporate PR army and highly trained CEOs get their points across without question. He wouldn't let that happen."
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2011/05/25/mark-haines-dies-cnbc-anc_n_866720.html

Wow!  What a shame.  He was like your uncle who knew everything about the way the markets work, and wanted to share it all with you.  I will miss you Mark!

Sarah Palin Documentary

In this six minute documentary you’ll learn:

How Sarah cuts holes in glacier ice.

How to see Russia from your house.

How to be totally uninformed when running for the Vice Presidency

Which magazines you should say you read, even when you’ve never picked one up

How to quit your job only half way through your term

That Africa is a continent and not a country

There are 50 states instead of 48

Really Sarah?  Who will buy this documentary?  It should have enough hot air that the weather channel will want to show it.

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2011/05/25/sarah-palin-documentary-s_n_867226.html

Westboro Baptist Church

Lisa Lampanelli vs. Westboro Baptist Church: Comedian Donates $50,000 To Gay Charity In Church's Name

The Westboro Baptist Church may have met its match in Lisa Lampanelli, longtime supporter of gay rights and Comedy's "lovable Queen of Mean."
Lampanelli recently told TMZ she would donate $1,000 to the Gay Men's Health Crisis organization for every Westboro Baptist Church member that showed up to protest her show in Topeka, Kansas. Well, now the nation's oldest HIV/AIDS prevention and service organization will be getting a hefty $50,000 check from Lampanelli -- in the church's name.
Nearly 50 people showed up to protest the show, some of whom you can see in the video below as Lampanelli greets them with a few zingers. After the show, Lampanelli tweeted that the GMHC would be getting $44,000, but after another count showed 48 protesters instead of 44, she updated again via Twitter: "I won't quibble. I'll make it an even $50,000!!!"

To see the video:
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2011/05/23/lisa-lampanelli-vs-westboro-baptist-church_n_865291.html

Nothing like a successful comedian to put her money where her mouth is.  Maybe every time these freaks protest we should all donate a dollar to a charity in this churches name.  The only criteria; it has to be a charity the Westboro Baptist Church would totally despise and it has to be a dollar for each of their protesters who show up.  Let’s fight their nonsense with dollars and cents!

Fox News: Roger Ailes Doesn't Think Palin Is Stupid

Fox News responded on Monday to a blockbuster story that alleged that its CEO, Roger Ailes, thinks Sarah Palin is "stupid" and an "idiot."
The article, which was written by New York's Gabriel Sherman, said that among the many problems Ailes is facing at Fox News is Palin. Beyond the fact that she did not follow his advice about her infamous "blood libel" video, a "Republican close to Ailes" told Sherman:

"He thinks things are going in a bad direction. Roger is worried about the future of the country. He thinks the election of Obama is a disaster. He thinks Palin is an idiot. He thinks she's stupid. He helped boost her up. People like Sarah Palin haven't elevated the conservative movement."

The quote was an incendiary one--and Bill Shine, Fox News' executive vice president for programming, issued a flat denial to the New York Times:

"I know for a fact that Roger Ailes admires and respects Sarah Palin and thinks she is smart. He also believes many members of the left-wing media are extremely terrified and threatened by her. Despite a massive effort to destroy Sarah Palin, she is still on her feet and making a difference in the political world. As for the 'Republican close to Ailes' for which the incorrect Palin quote is attributed, when Roger figures out who that is, I guarantee you he or she will no longer be 'close to Ailes.' "

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2011/05/23/fox-news-new-york-ailes-palin-stupid_n_865678.html

I don’t care!  Now we’re going to have a scandal about a scandal.  Palin is an idiot and so is Roger Ailes.  Shut up! Shut up! Shut up!  Can someone please make them all shut up?  Sarah you need to move to Arizona.  Roger you need to retire from Fox News.  Sarah you need to launch your campaign and become the spoiler you were born to be.  You will never win the election, but you’ll pull votes away from the wing nuts like Newt and Romney and the others.  Now that Huckabee has decided that his paycheck is more important than his country your only hope for a viable candidate has vanished. 

GOP Proposes Budget Cuts To Domestic, Foreign Food Aid

WASHINGTON -- House Republicans are targeting domestic nutrition programs and international food assistance as they try to control spending in next year's budget.
In a bill released Monday, Republicans proposed cutting $832 million – or 12 percent – from this year's budget for the federal nutrition program that provides food for low-income mothers and children. The 2012 budget proposal for food and farm programs also includes a decrease of almost $457 million, or 31 percent, from an international food assistance program that provides emergency aid and agricultural development dollars to poor countries.
The legislation would provide $71 billion for food stamps, $2 billion less than the Obama administration projected would be necessary for next year.
Republicans who wrote the bill said the cuts in domestic food programs are taken from excess dollars in those accounts, and participants won't see a decrease in services.
Domestic nutrition programs are mined for dollars in tight budget times because they often have extra money sitting in their accounts. Money is allocated for the programs based on projections of need and food costs, and those needs are sometimes overestimated.
Hunger advocates have warned against stripping those programs of those reserves. Two analysts from the liberal research and advocacy group Center on Budget and Policy Priorities, Zoe Neuberger and Robert Greenstein, said Monday that the cuts could mean turning away as many as 475,000 people from the Women, Infants and Children program if food prices continue to rise.
Almost 9 million low-income mothers and children participate in the WIC program, which provides food, health care referrals and nutrition education.
Rep. Rosa DeLauro, D-Conn., said the GOP budget "rolls back years of progress."
"This budget threatens the health and security of American families, while asking the most of low-income seniors and the most vulnerable among us," she said.

Story continues below

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2011/05/23/house-gop-proposes-budget_n_865915.html

 

Really?  You’re going to cut food programs?  How about the billions in oil subsidies, the billions in aid to Pakistan, the bridges to nowhere and all the other fluff?  Instead we’re going to cut programs that directly effect people.  We can feed the world, but the GOP wants to cut food programs in the United States.  Are we ever going to put our own people first?  Are we ever going to be more concerned about the health of our own, before we worry about lining our pockets or aiding other countries, which in most cases hate us?  How pathetic! 

Condom makers seek upscale market

NEW YORK, May 22 (UPI) -- The maker of the world's most expensive condoms says $65 a dozen is pretty fair considering the quality of the product.
Jud Ireland, CEO of Naked, tells the New York Post his condoms include a high-priced lubricant and are made with latex that is both thinner and softer than most brands found on drugstore shelves in the United States.
And, according to Ireland's sister, Marie, they have a visual appeal. "I'd rather have sex with someone who has a Naked condom," she told the Post. "The guy looks better, I think."
While Naked sells for $5 per unit as opposed to $1 for Brand X, the market for upscale condoms is growing. Ireland called Naked's target audience "edgy, hip and rich."

Naked Foundation is committed to giving
20% of profits to increase condom use worldwide.
Annually, 340 million people get STDs and 5 million get HIV.
Buy Naked and help prevent millions of STDs
and save hundreds of thousands of lives.
Naked Foundation loving people through science,
art, education and the environment.

NAKED GIVES AWAY ONE CONDOM FOR EVERY ONE SOLD

Read more: http://www.upi.com/Odd_News/2011/05/22/Condom-makers-seek-upscale-market/UPI-47701306092410/#ixzz1N8gh6oVy

Finally someone has made a condom for the couple with discerning taste and lots of money.  At $5.00 a pop it better be worth it.  I don’t think you can return a condom. . . .

The good news:  The Naked foundation; they donate one condom for each one sold.

Study Shows Men Spend More than Women

Fellas, don't even try to complain the next time your girlfriends drag you to the mall. We now know that you secretly like to tag along.
According to research from British firm Npower, modern men spend more money on impulse buys than women do. Well, at least they do in Britain.
A poll of 2,000 Brits found that men spend approximately £25 (over $40) per week on impulse buys, while women spend only £19 (over $30). Additionally, the research determined that more than £70,000 (approximately $114,300) will be frivolously spent over an adult's lifespan, all in an effort to satisfy the insatiable urge to shop.

(MORE: Would man-specific aisles mean more male shopaholics?)

That's a whole lot of cash being blown on unnecessary items like clothes, magazines, booze, books and DVDs — all of which were determined to be in the top 10 impulse buys — especially during an economic downturn.
But men can feel better about one thing: While they end up spending more, it's a safe bet that they aren't shopping more than women. That's because women are much more likely to search incessantly for the best deals, while men are happy to pay more just to be done with the task of shopping. In fact, six out of 10 female respondents in the Npower study admitted that they are likely to give into the temptation to buy if there's a sale. For men, it's only four out of 10.


Read more: http://newsfeed.time.com/2011/05/22/shopaholic-shift-study-shows-men-spend-more-than-women/#ixzz1N8C7AIqy

Hold on a minute. 

I am no shopaholic.  We needed the new ferret cage that I ordered on line; it arrived last Thursday.  We also needed the new TV that arrived the following day.  These were not impulse buys.  I gave each purchase a whole lot of thought.  As I was going on line to buy these things, I thought long and hard while I logged in on my laptop.  (that reminds me; I need to buy a new laptop) What is the time limit?  How long do you have to wait before an impulse buy turns into a smart purchase?   . . . . To answer that question, I just went on line and ordered the Emily Post book on Purchasing Etiquette, and the Suze Orman book titled: “How to fight the urge to impulse buy”  Now that I have these new books coming, I also ordered a new reading light, set of book shelves, and a set of matching, artistic book marks.