The New Ledger » Daily Read

As Sparks Fly, Democrats Close in On 216 for Health Care

Ben Domenech — Sat, 20 Mar 2010 11:17:15 +0000

By the official TNL count, Democrats remain five votes short, but that’s arm-twisting distance, making Democrats confident “even as they dealt with abortion, a flare-up over regional Medicare reimbursement rates for doctors, senators’ decision not to sign a letter promising to pass a reconciliation bill with House “fixes” and a smattering of other individual issues.”

Stupak Abortion Language to be Added as “Tie Bar” to House Bill

Ben Domenech — Sat, 20 Mar 2010 11:13:26 +0000

Stupak’s anti-abortion Democrats will get their fig leaf: “According to a member of Congress who was briefed on the matter, Pelosi has agreed to let Stupak have a vote on his amendment, which instructs the Senate to substitute his language for the Senate language on abortion.”

Bush, Obama, and the Intellectuals

Ben Domenech — Thu, 18 Mar 2010 05:55:44 +0000

“America’s intellectual class seems to adore President Barack Obama nearly as much as it reviled his predecessor. While Bush was routinely derided for his purported lack of intelligence and learning, Obama has been embraced by the intellectuals as one of their own — to a degree unmatched by any president since perhaps Woodrow Wilson.”

Health Bill Has Democrats Scrambling to Find More Votes

Ben Domenech — Thu, 18 Mar 2010 05:54:08 +0000

“People close to the situation said House leaders Wednesday appeared about ten votes shy of the 216 needed to pass the legislation, which could be voted on this weekend. The tension was exacerbated by controversy in Washington over a possible tactic, known as ‘deeming,’ that Democrats are considering using to speed the vote.”

Conan and Fox in Talks for Late Night Return

Brad Jackson — Wed, 17 Mar 2010 16:18:59 +0000

Conan O’Brien may be returning to late night on the Fox mothership. “Key Fox executives, including Rupert Murdoch, are on board with the plan.” Fox is looking to nail down the details in time for the fall lineup presser on May 17. Come back Conan!

Take Your Hands Off My Pork

Brad Jackson — Wed, 17 Mar 2010 16:11:28 +0000

The Senate has decided to keep their pork, thank you very much. In a 68-29 vote they killed a move by conservatives to institute and earmark ban. Fifteen Republicans joined the Dems in the vote. Look for new frisbee golf courses, and bridges to no where in your state soon!

The Final Eleven

Brad Jackson — Wed, 17 Mar 2010 16:05:59 +0000

“Five more House Democrats said Tuesday that they will vote against Senate health care legislation, which puts opponents of reform just 11 votes shy of the 216 needed to prevent President Obama from scoring a major victory on his top domestic priority.”

Health Care: The Anti-Jobs Bill?

Ben Domenech — Tue, 16 Mar 2010 17:50:08 +0000

“Because employers would get penalized if any of their low- and moderate-wage workers ended up in the new subsidized insurance pool, they would avoid hiring such workers. Democrats claim they want to jam through HCR so they can turn their attention to jobs, but the bill provides a strong disincentive for businesses to hire.”

Dodd’s Financial Rules Package Would Result in More Fed Muscle

Ben Domenech — Mon, 15 Mar 2010 12:55:55 +0000

“Mr. Dodd’s bill would allow the Fed to examine any bank-holding company with more than $50 billion in assets, and large financial companies that aren’t banks could be lassoed into the Fed’s supervisory orbit. This came after Treasury officials pushed Mr. Dodd to bring more companies under the Fed’s purview.”

Credit Agency Warns U.S. and Others of Risk to Top Rating

Ben Domenech — Mon, 15 Mar 2010 12:51:56 +0000

“The United States, Germany and other major economies have moved “substantially” closer to losing their top-notch credit ratings and can not depend solely on economic growth to save them, a report warned on Monday.” The ratings of the Aaa governments are currently stable, but distance-to-downgrade ain’t looking good.

Wired Magazine, Conde Nast Scoop Breitbart, the ‘Bigs’ — HUD next O’Keefe Video Sting Target

Brad Jackson — Fri, 12 Mar 2010 19:21:45 +0000

This time, there are no prostitutes involved, just a shady, and serious, tax-fraud scheme. The ploy involves the Obama administration’s 10 percent tax credit to first-time home buyers. The law says that the credit maxes out at $8,000 for an $80,000 home. But at the Detroit office of the Department of Housing and Urban Development, the rule seems open to interpretation. O’Keefe asks a staffer, What if I bought a place for $50,000, but the seller and I agreed to write down $80,000 as the purchase price?

“Flip it any way you want,” the staffer replies.

What if the place is worth much less — like only $6,000?

“Yup, you can do that.”

China Threatens Google

Brad Jackson — Fri, 12 Mar 2010 19:15:36 +0000

The communist Chinese government threatened Google yesterday saying, “that the U.S. Internet company ‘will have to bear the consequences’ if its follows through on its pledge to stop censoring its Chinese search site.” Go get those commies Google!