Sweetness & Light

The Hive – Please Talk Among Yourselves

Steve — Fri, 10 Feb 2012 20:15:45 +0000

Here is our usual weekend discussion thread, where comments on the general topics of the day are welcome. But please remember to post and comment on specific news items in the ‘News Selected By Our Correspondents’ thread below or via the link found in the sidebar. Thanks!

Selected News For The Week Feb 10 – Feb 16

Steve — Fri, 10 Feb 2012 20:14:15 +0000

This thread is for the busy bees of S&L to post news articles that may not warrant their own thread. Posting Guidelines To make the articles as readable as possible, please: Only post ‘hard news’ from establishment media outlets. Avoid editorials and ‘thought pieces’ unless they are truly newsworthy. Eschew major news items that most [...]

WH To ‘Accommodate’ Religious Organizations

Steve — Fri, 10 Feb 2012 15:03:31 +0000

From Jake Tapper, at ABC News: White House to Announce ‘Accommodation’ for Religious Organizations on Contraception Rule Jake TapperFebruary 10, 2012 With the White House under fire for its new rule requiring employers including religious organizations to offer health insurance that fully covers birth control coverage, ABC News has learned that later today the White [...]

State IG: No Improper Influence In Keystone

Steve — Fri, 10 Feb 2012 14:15:21 +0000

From a quietly outraged New York Times: Watchdog Clears State Department of Impropriety in Review of Pipeline Project By JOHN M. BRODER and DAN FROSCH February 9, 2012 WASHINGTON — The State Department’s inspector general has found no conflict of interest or improper political influence in the agency’s review of the disputed Keystone XL pipeline [...]

$25B Settlement To Spur More Foreclosures

Steve — Fri, 10 Feb 2012 13:03:13 +0000

From Bloomberg: Foreclosure Deal to Spur U.S. Home Seizures By Prashant Gopal and John Gittelsohn Feb 10, 2012 The $25 billion settlement with banks over foreclosure abuses may result in a wave of home seizures, inflicting short-term pain on delinquent U.S. borrowers while making a long-term housing recovery more likely. The first part of this [...]

Jobless Claims Down Again – Unexpectedly

Steve — Thu, 09 Feb 2012 15:32:32 +0000

From from a blindsided Reuters: Jobless claims brighten labor market picture February 9, 2012 WASHINGTON (Reuters) – The number of Americans filing new claims for unemployment benefits unexpectedly fell last week, underscoring a firming of the labor market. How can it be unexpected when last week Reuters and every other mainstream media outlet was crowing [...]

Obama To Waive ‘No Child Left Behind’ Rules

Steve — Thu, 09 Feb 2012 15:07:42 +0000

From a relieved Associated Press: Official: 10 states get ed waiver By BEN FELLER and KIMBERLY HEFLING February 9, 2012 WASHINGTON (AP) — President Barack Obama on Thursday will free 10 states from the strict and sweeping requirements of the No Child Left Behind law, giving leeway to states that promise to improve how they [...]

Heritage: Dependence On Gov’t Record High

Steve — Thu, 09 Feb 2012 14:31:28 +0000

From the indispensible Heritage Foundation: Dependence on Government at All-Time High Patrick Tyrrell February 8, 2012 The 2012 Index of Dependence on Government, released today, should be a wake-up call for America. Published by The Heritage Foundation for the past 10 years, the Index tracks the growth in government dependence dating back to the early [...]

Obama To Put More Women In Combat Roles

Steve — Thu, 09 Feb 2012 14:03:51 +0000

From a joyous ABC News: Pentagon to Lift Some Restrictions on Women in Combat By Luis Martinez February 8, 2012 The Pentagon on Thursday will propose rule changes that will allow more women to formally serve in jobs closer to the front lines. Defense officials say as many as 14,000 positions could be opened up, [...]

Sea Levels Drop, Himalayas Aren’t Melting

Steve — Thu, 09 Feb 2012 13:35:56 +0000

First we have this interesting detail from NASA: (Click to enlarge) NASA Satellites Detect Pothole on Road to Higher Seas The red line in this image (above) shows the long-term increase in global sea level since satellite altimeters began measuring it in the early 1990s. Since then, sea level has risen by a little more [...]

DOJ/States Shake Down Lenders For $25B

Steve — Thu, 09 Feb 2012 12:50:12 +0000

From CNN’s Money.Com: Big states set to make mortgage deal real By Jennifer Liberto February 9, 2012 WASHINGTON (CNNMoney) — New York and California will join just about all the other states in a settlement with the nation’s largest banks aimed at helping homeowners struggling with loans bigger than the value of their homes, according [...]

AP: Contraception Mandate Bludgeon For GOP

Steve — Thu, 09 Feb 2012 12:11:30 +0000

From the always fair and balanced Associated Press: Analysis: Obama contraceptive mandate has a price By RACHEL ZOLL February 9, 2012 The Obama administration’s new mandate that religious organizations pay for their workers’ birth control has become a bludgeon for Republican culture warriors, as social issues have surged to the forefront in the presidential campaign. [...]

French Slash Gov’t Spending 14%, Cut Deficit

Steve — Wed, 08 Feb 2012 16:54:14 +0000

From a clearly appalled Reuters: French deficit drops, auditor urges stronger action By Daniel Flynn and Jean-Baptiste Vey February 8, 2012 PARIS (Reuters) – France’s central government slashed its budget deficit last year by a third thanks to the end of one-off spending measures, the budget ministry said on Wednesday, but state auditors said much [...]

Earmarks Fund Properties Near Lawmakers

Steve — Wed, 08 Feb 2012 16:43:48 +0000

A random act of journalism from the Washington Post: Congressional earmarks sometimes used to fund projects near lawmakers’ properties By David S. Fallis, Scott Higham and Kimberly Kindy Published: February 6, 2012 A U.S. senator from Alabama directed more than $100 million in federal earmarks to renovate downtown Tuscaloosa near his own commercial office building. [...]

Santorum In Second Place In Delegate Race

Steve — Wed, 08 Feb 2012 14:37:50 +0000

From the Associated Press: Santorum jumps into second place in delegate race By STEPHEN OHLEMACHER, Associated Press February 8, 2012 WASHINGTON (AP) — Former Sen. Rick Santorum moved into second place Tuesday in the race for delegates with wins in Republican presidential caucuses in Colorado and Minnesota. Santorum picked up at least 28 delegates while [...]

WSJ: Waking Up To Dangers Of ‘Obama-Care’

Steve — Wed, 08 Feb 2012 14:11:02 +0000

From the editors at the Wall Street Journal: ObamaCare’s Great Awakening HHS tells religious believers to go to hell. The public notices. FEBRUARY 8, 2012 The political furor over President Obama’s birth-control mandate continues to grow, even among those for whom contraception poses no moral qualms, and one needn’t be a theologian to understand why. [...]