An important development (sorry to be a few days late on the notice - this from the Associated Press:)
A federal judge upheld part of a South Dakota law that requires women to be told abortion ends a human life, but struck down disclosures that the procedure increases the likelihood of suicide and that they have an existing relationship with the fetus.
U.S. District Judge Karen Schreier's decision Thursday ends a lawsuit that Planned Parenthood Minnesota, North Dakota, South Dakota filed in response to a 2005 informed consent law that required several disclosures to women seeking an abortion.
She sided with the state in ruling that doctors must make the biological disclosure "that the abortion will terminate the life of a whole, separate, unique, living human being."
But Schreier said doctors can provide more information than the language in the statute, including that the term can be used in a biological sense and not ideological.
Schreier ruled in favor of Planned Parenthood by concluding that pregnant women do not need to be told abortion increases the likelihood of suicide or that they have an existing relationship with the fetus.
Both sides claimed victory.
Then again, Planned Parenthood has always been comfortable with the fact that abortion "will terminate the life of a whole, separate, unique, living human being".
I'm not comfortable with that.
Planned Parenthood is also busy trying to sneak into schools under Obamacare.
Tuesday, August 25, 2009
NBA Star Dirk Nowitzki’s ex-fiancee sentenced to five years
The former fiancée of Mavericks star Dirk Nowitzki, Cristal Taylor, was sentenced Monday to five years in prison on three felony counts, for violating probation in a 12-year-old forgery and theft case. The St. Louis-area native also earned a one-year jail term for a misdemeanor. Taylor, though, will only serve four years after she was credited for already serving a year in probation.
The sentence virtually ensures that Taylor, 38, will still be in prison when Nowitzki who has broken off all contact with her, and the Mavericks open the regular season in late October, but didn’t answer another big question. She would now be at least four-to-five months pregnant according to her claims in May of carrying Dirk’s baby, but dressed in a loose fitting orange jumpsuit no baby bump appeared obvious to court observers. Taylor also did not mention being pregnant in the four-page letter she submitted to Judge Schneider on July 20, requesting leniency, which seems odd. Nowitzki has previously filed a court document seeking custody of the unborn child.
Taylor, 38, is a woman with a checkered criminal past, but she lived together with Nowitzki for nearly two years and they were engaged to be married, at one time. Taylor was taken into custody and thrown into jail on May 6, when police showed up at Nowitzki’s Preston Hollow home, arresting her for on an outstanding parole violation, stemming from a 1999 Missouri conviction for passing bad checks and an outstanding warrant for an indictment for a theft of services charge, where she used a bad credit card for dental work she received in 2004, ranging from $1,500 to $20,000. Law enforcement officials from Missouri say she also has several aliases with a long criminal record of petty financial crimes.
NJ Wants To Reject Gadhafi At Tax Free Libyan Estate - But What About State?
How do you get to live tax free in hyper-taxed liberal New Jersey? Being from Libya doesn't hurt. Thirty-three New Jersey residents were killed in the Lockerbie attack. Now, Gadhafi wants to pitch a tent and stay at a tax free Libyan Mission-owned NJ estate when he's due to address the UN next month. The State Department has yet to react.
If our Federal government is good for anything, it often seems to be adding insult to injury for American taxpayers every chance they get. This stinks.
ENGLEWOOD, N.J. (AP) -- Libyan leader Moammar Gadhafi will set foot on U.S. soil for the first time next month when he comes to address the U.N. General Assembly. Now he wants to put down stakes in the middle of American suburbia.
Plans to set up a tent and allow him to stay at a Libyan-owned estate in this upscale community 12 miles north of Manhattan were attacked Monday by neighborhood residents and public officials, particularly after the hero's welcome Libya extended last week to the lone man convicted in the 1988 bombing of Pan American Flight 103.
The attack over Lockerbie, Scotland, thought to be the work of Libyan intelligence, killed all 259 people on board the flight, including 33 from New Jersey. Abdel Baset al-Megrahi was freed from a life sentence in a Scottish jail and returned to Libya on compassionate grounds because he is dying of cancer.
"Gadhafi is a dangerous dictator whose hands are covered with the blood of Americans and our allies," said U.S. Rep. Steve Rothman, whose district includes Englewood. He promised there would be "hell to pay" if the U.S. State Department violates a long-standing deal barring the dictator from staying at the Libyan estate.
State department officials said no decision had been made on the issue.
Rothman was mayor of Englewood 26 years ago when the city learned the Libyan Mission to the United Nations had purchased the Palisade Avenue estate. He said local officials worked out a deal with the U.S. State Department limiting its use to the recreational activities by the ambassador and his family. Gadhafi was expressly forbidden to live there, he said.
The Libyans don't pay taxes on the estate under the deal, current Englewood Mayor Michael Wildes said.
If our Federal government is good for anything, it often seems to be adding insult to injury for American taxpayers every chance they get. This stinks.
ENGLEWOOD, N.J. (AP) -- Libyan leader Moammar Gadhafi will set foot on U.S. soil for the first time next month when he comes to address the U.N. General Assembly. Now he wants to put down stakes in the middle of American suburbia.
Plans to set up a tent and allow him to stay at a Libyan-owned estate in this upscale community 12 miles north of Manhattan were attacked Monday by neighborhood residents and public officials, particularly after the hero's welcome Libya extended last week to the lone man convicted in the 1988 bombing of Pan American Flight 103.
The attack over Lockerbie, Scotland, thought to be the work of Libyan intelligence, killed all 259 people on board the flight, including 33 from New Jersey. Abdel Baset al-Megrahi was freed from a life sentence in a Scottish jail and returned to Libya on compassionate grounds because he is dying of cancer.
"Gadhafi is a dangerous dictator whose hands are covered with the blood of Americans and our allies," said U.S. Rep. Steve Rothman, whose district includes Englewood. He promised there would be "hell to pay" if the U.S. State Department violates a long-standing deal barring the dictator from staying at the Libyan estate.
State department officials said no decision had been made on the issue.
Rothman was mayor of Englewood 26 years ago when the city learned the Libyan Mission to the United Nations had purchased the Palisade Avenue estate. He said local officials worked out a deal with the U.S. State Department limiting its use to the recreational activities by the ambassador and his family. Gadhafi was expressly forbidden to live there, he said.
The Libyans don't pay taxes on the estate under the deal, current Englewood Mayor Michael Wildes said.
Much more on the Miami Heat's Michael Beasley and other NBA news
There's much more information out there today on the Michael Beasley saga, including this piece on ESPN.com that discusses the fact that NBA teams don't do much critical research into a player's background before drafting him.
In The Sporting News, Sean Deveney takes a look at the difficulty young players have in bypassing college somewhat or altogether and transitioning into the pros as Beasley did.
In The New York Post today, it's reported that disgraced convicted referee Tim Donaghy has been arrested on a violation of his probation not long after being released from prison.
And here's a link to a story in The Dallas Morning News about the sentencing of Dirk Nowitzki's ex-fiance to prison time for a probation violation.
In The Sporting News, Sean Deveney takes a look at the difficulty young players have in bypassing college somewhat or altogether and transitioning into the pros as Beasley did.
In The New York Post today, it's reported that disgraced convicted referee Tim Donaghy has been arrested on a violation of his probation not long after being released from prison.
And here's a link to a story in The Dallas Morning News about the sentencing of Dirk Nowitzki's ex-fiance to prison time for a probation violation.
Gordon Brown finally breaks silence on Lockerbie
Gordon Brown today broke his silence on the release of the Lockerbie bomber, saying that the UK government had done no deal with Libya and that he was "angry and repulsed" at the scenes of jubilation in Tripoli.
Atty. Gen. Holder Opens Up Prelim. Probe into Interrogation of Terrorist Suspects
Some people argue that the administration should move on and forget the past. Others say this nation can’t ignore the past. At this point, it can’t hurt to look into the matter and dig up the truth. No one should oppose the truth.
By Josh Meyer
Los Angeles Times
WASHINGTON — Atty. Gen. Eric H. Holder Jr. today opened a preliminary investigation into whether some CIA operatives broke the law in their coercive interrogations of suspected terrorists in the years after the Sept. 11, 2001 attacks — prompting sharp criticism from both the right and the left.
Holder said that he decided to establish what he called a “preliminary review” after he conducted a thorough examination of past reviews of the interrogations, including an internal CIA investigation completed in 2004 by the agency’s inspector general and separate reviews by Justice Department internal affairs watchdogs and line prosecutors.
“As a result of my analysis of all of this material, I have concluded that the information known to me warrants opening a preliminary review into whether federal laws were violated in connection with the interrogation of specific detainees at overseas locations,” Holder said in a statement.
For Full Story
Visit msnbc.com for Breaking News, World News, and News about the Economy
Gun Allegedly Used in Jimmy Hoffa Death Turned Over to FBI
There have been so many promising leads and theories that have gone nowhere in one of the great mysteries of the 20th Century. This one looks pretty shaky.
By Paul Egan
The Detroit News
HARTLAND TOWNSHIP — A family member of a late Teamsters official has turned over to the FBI a handgun that an ex-convict claims was used to kill former union boss James R. Hoffa, an author of a book about Hoffa said Monday.
The ex-con, Ted Lee Stall, 60, also claims he witnessed the burial of Hoffa at a farm in Hartland Township in the weeks after the former Teamsters boss disappeared from outside the Machus Red Fox Restaurant in Bloomfield Township in July 1975.
But the Genesee County prosecutor describes Stall as “a serial flim-flam artist.”
And Dan Moldea of Washington, D.C., author of “The Hoffa Wars,” said: “The longer I dealt with this guy, it became clear that his credibility was completely suspect.”
U.S. Flying Illegal Immigrants Back to Mexico
For the sixth straight summer, the U.S. has been running these flights. And in all likelihood these flights don’t charge extra for checking in luggage.
By JACQUES BILLEAUD
Associated Press Writer
PHOENIX -- Immigration authorities are flying illegal immigrants deep into their native Mexico from Southern Arizona to discourage dangerous crossings in triple-digit desert heat.
The twice-daily flights from Tucson to Mexico City are intended to keep immigrants away from border towns where they would likely run into smugglers who want to sneak them back into the U.S.
“This is where the probability of losing their lives can really increase. We offer that opportunity for them to get out of that cycle,” John Torres, a special adviser to the assistant secretary of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, said Monday in Tucson.
For Full Story
Judicial Watch Obtains New CIA Documents Detailing Results of Detainee Interrogations
Obama Administration Had Denied Former Vice President Cheney Access to These Records
Judicial Watch, the public interest group that investigates and prosecutes government corruption, announced today that it has obtained documents from the Central Intelligence regarding the results of the detainee interrogation program. The documents, obtained by Judicial Watch through a Freedom of Information Act lawsuit filed on July 14, 2009, include two reports entitled, "Khalid Shaykh Muhammad: Preeminent Source On Al-Qa'ida" and "Detainee Reporting Pivotal for the War Against Al Qa'ida."
The records, were previously held by the Office of former Vice President Cheney. On March 31, 2009, Vice President Cheney personally issued a request to the National Archives Presidential Libraries section for declassification review of these same documents. The Archives then passed on the request to the CIA for review on April 8, 2009. Vice President Cheney has said the reports show the effectiveness of enhanced interrogation techniques that were used on some detained terrorists, such as Khalid Shaykh Muhammad and Abu Zubaydah.
In March, President Obama overruled objections from national security officials and released documents detailing the government's enhanced interrogation program of terrorists (the so-called "torture" memos). However, President Obama initially withheld information detailing the results of this program, including alleged terrorist plots that the program prevented. It is these documents that Judicial Watch has obtained. They have never before been released to the public.
CIA interrogations have been the subject of great controversy over the last few months. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi came under fire in April when she claimed she was never briefed about the CIA's use of the waterboarding technique during terrorism investigations. The CIA produced a report documenting a briefing with Pelosi on September 4, 2002 that suggests otherwise.
"These documents suggest that enhanced interrogation techniques prevented terrorist attacks and protected our country," said Judicial Watch President Tom Fitton. "Now, the American people can have a more complete understanding of whether these enhanced interrogation programs are effective. We are very pleased to be able to bring these documents to light for the first time."
Judicial Watch filed its original Freedom of Information Act request with the CIA on May 18, 2009. On June 25, 2009, the CIA acknowledged receipt of the request but provided no documents and did not specify when Judicial Watch would receive a substantive response, prompting Judicial Watch's lawsuit. By law, the CIA had until June 30, 2009 to provide any non-exempt records.
Judicial Watch, the public interest group that investigates and prosecutes government corruption, announced today that it has obtained documents from the Central Intelligence regarding the results of the detainee interrogation program. The documents, obtained by Judicial Watch through a Freedom of Information Act lawsuit filed on July 14, 2009, include two reports entitled, "Khalid Shaykh Muhammad: Preeminent Source On Al-Qa'ida" and "Detainee Reporting Pivotal for the War Against Al Qa'ida."
The records, were previously held by the Office of former Vice President Cheney. On March 31, 2009, Vice President Cheney personally issued a request to the National Archives Presidential Libraries section for declassification review of these same documents. The Archives then passed on the request to the CIA for review on April 8, 2009. Vice President Cheney has said the reports show the effectiveness of enhanced interrogation techniques that were used on some detained terrorists, such as Khalid Shaykh Muhammad and Abu Zubaydah.
In March, President Obama overruled objections from national security officials and released documents detailing the government's enhanced interrogation program of terrorists (the so-called "torture" memos). However, President Obama initially withheld information detailing the results of this program, including alleged terrorist plots that the program prevented. It is these documents that Judicial Watch has obtained. They have never before been released to the public.
CIA interrogations have been the subject of great controversy over the last few months. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi came under fire in April when she claimed she was never briefed about the CIA's use of the waterboarding technique during terrorism investigations. The CIA produced a report documenting a briefing with Pelosi on September 4, 2002 that suggests otherwise.
"These documents suggest that enhanced interrogation techniques prevented terrorist attacks and protected our country," said Judicial Watch President Tom Fitton. "Now, the American people can have a more complete understanding of whether these enhanced interrogation programs are effective. We are very pleased to be able to bring these documents to light for the first time."
Judicial Watch filed its original Freedom of Information Act request with the CIA on May 18, 2009. On June 25, 2009, the CIA acknowledged receipt of the request but provided no documents and did not specify when Judicial Watch would receive a substantive response, prompting Judicial Watch's lawsuit. By law, the CIA had until June 30, 2009 to provide any non-exempt records.
OBAMAGEDDON!!!... Budget Deficits For 2010 Increased 19% to $1.5 Trillion
Team Obama increased their 2010 budget deficit forcast 19% to $1.5 Trillion.
Bloomberg reported:
U.S. unemployment will surge to 10 percent this year and the budget deficit will widen to $1.5 trillion next year, reflecting a “deeper recession” than previously expected, White House budget chief Peter Orszag said.
The Office of Management and Budget also forecasts that the U.S. economy will shrink 2.8 percent this year, worse than the 1.2 percent contraction the OMB projected in May. For next year, the budget office said the gross domestic product will grow 2.0 percent, less than the 3.2 percent expected in May. By 2011, the economy would be well on its way to recovery, growing at a 3.8 percent annual rate, according to the administration’s mid-year economic review, released this morning.
The budget shortfall for 2010 will mark the second straight year of trillion-dollar deficits. The projected deficit for the fiscal year that begins Oct. 1 is higher than the $1.26 trillion forecast in May and reflects expectations economic growth will be slower this year and next because of “the severity of the crisis in the U.S. and in our trading partners,” said Christina Romer, White House chief economist, who along with Orszag briefed reporters on the report.
It gets worse...
The White House also announced that the nations debt will double under the Obama plan and that the national debt will be three-quarters the size of the entire national economy by 2019.
There's more from Yahoo Finance, via Drudge:
Figures released by the White House budget office foresee a cumulative $9 trillion deficit from 2010-2019, $2 trillion more than the administration estimated in May. Moreover, the figures show the public debt doubling by 2019 and reaching three-quarters the size of the entire national economy.
Obama economic adviser Christina Romer predicted unemployment could reach 10 percent this year and begin a slow decline next year. Still, she said, the average unemployment will be 9.3 in 2009 and 9.8 percent in 2010.
"This recession was simply worse than the information that we and other forecasters had back in last fall and early this winter," Romer said.
The grim administration projections came on a day of competing economic news. The Congressional Budget Office, which has predicted less economic growth than the White House in the past, was also scheduled to announce revised budget projections on Tuesday.
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