News Blog for social, fiscal & national security conservatives who believe in God, family & the USA. Upholding the rights granted by God & guaranteed by the U.S. Constitution, traditional family values, "republican" principles / ideals, transparent & limited "smaller" government, free markets, lower taxes, due process of law, liberty & individual freedom. Content approval rests with the ARRA News Service Editor. Opinions are those of the authors. While varied positions are reported, beliefs & principles remain fixed. No revenue is generated for or by this "Blog" - no paid ads - no payments for articles.Fair Use Doctrine is posted & used. Blogger/Editor/Founder: Bill Smith, Ph.D. [aka: OzarkGuru & 2010 AFP National Blogger of the Year] Contact: editor@arranewsservice.com (Pub. Since July, 2006)Home PageFollow @arra
One of the penalties for refusing to participate in politics
is that you end up being governed by your inferiors. -- Plato
(429-347 BC)
Tags:Public Enemy, Ebola, Climate Change Deniers, John Kerry, Secretary of State, satire, editorial, cartoon, AF BrancoTo share or post to your site, click on "Post Link". Please mention / link to the ARRA News Service. and "Like" Facebook Page - Thanks!
Republican Lawmakers Demand Answers From Justice Department on Operation Choke Point
by Kelsey Harkness: Thirty members of Congress demanded today that the Department of Justice launch an “immediate investigation” into the agency’s own Operation Choke Point and those involved in creating and implementing the initiative against enterprises that are out of favor with the Obama administration.
Led by Rep. Blaine Luetkemeyer, R-Mo., the 30 lawmakers sent a letter to Michael Horowitz, the Justice Department’s inspector general, and Robin Ashton, head of its Office of Professional Responsibility, calling Choke Point a “blatant abuse of legal authority.”
“This situation merits your full and immediate attention, and we request that you launch a comprehensive investigation on Operation Choke Point and the individuals charged with creating and carrying out this unprecedented initiative,” Luetkemeyer and the 29 other lawmakers write.
The letter from House members follows one sent to the Justice Department earlier this month by six Republican senators, demanding that Attorney General Eric Holder release information about Operation Choke Point.
The House members want a response to their request for an investigation by Nov. 12.
“There is no doubt in my mind that [Justice Department] officials have abused their authority to address consumer fraud issues while misleading business owners by claiming financial institutions have not suffered any actual losses,” Luetkemeyer said in a press release.
The senators wrote Holder Oct. 6 that Operation Choke Point “is inappropriately targeting business models not supported by the administration and is politicizing the payment system and access to credit markets.” They added: The result is causing banks and payment processors to deny or terminate loans and restrict access to payment systems for law-abiding and legitimate businesses to avoid unwarranted investigations and legal actions by the Department of Justice … and federal financial regulators.Signing the letter were Sens. Mike Crapo of Idaho, David Vitter of Louisiana, Mike Johanns of Nebraska, Jerry Moran of Kansas, Tom Coburn of Oklahoma and Dean Heller of Nevada.
They requested the following information by Nov. 2:
Four days after the senators wrote Holder, an editorial in The New York Times inaccurately described Operation Choke Point while defending the controversial actions taken by the Justice Department and federal regulators against politically disfavored industries.
“Lobbyists have tried to confuse the issue by accusing the government of unfairly targeting legal businesses and excluding them from the banking system without cause,” the editorial said. “But Operation Choke Point is directed at banks and third-party processors who flout the law. The regulators need to keep driving that point home.”
Earlier this year, however, the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee found that a mix of legal and illegal enterprises—including guns and ammunition sellers—were targeted by the Justice Department’s covert operation.
As proof, committee Chairman Darrell Issa, R-Calif., offered a list of businesses that was posted on the website of the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation’s website, but has since been removed.
-------------- Kelsey Harkness / (@kelseyjharkness) is a news producer at The Daily Signal where this article was first shared. Tags:republicans Senators, Representatives, demand answers, Justice Department, operation Choke Point, Kelly HarknessTo share or post to your site, click on "Post Link". Please mention / link to the ARRA News Service. and "Like" Facebook Page - Thanks!
Obama's Next Executive Order: Sending The National Guard to Fight Ebola in Africa
Bill Smith, Editor, ARRA News: The below article by Katie Pavlick could be a precursor to future Ebola problems in the United States. We already have active duty military ordered by President Obama to West Africa and thus placed in harms way of Ebola. So, what is the big deal about thousands of Guard members going to West Africa?
First regarding active duty service members. They normally return from their assignments to a stateside military base where they can be observed and if signs of Ebola raises its ugly head, then they can be isolated and treated in military medical facilities, etc. At this time, I am not going to belabor the point that active duty military troops did not enlist to to fight major diseases in Africa.
Regarding, Guard members, often called weekend warriors. When they return from active duty deployment, they return to their different communities within their home states. They return to families, work, and their community activities. If any of these Guard men or women were to bring back Ebola, the disease would have a much easier opportunity to spread throughout the heartland of America and would be harder to contain. A situation that is 100% preventable by not sending them to Africa!
This is a serious situation!
Why is President Obama ordering active duty military and National Guard members to West Africa? It is not in the job description of the military to be used for these purposes. Also, why has President Obama not placed a travel ban to and from regions where Ebola is a problem? Why has he not sealed our borders to illegals crossing our borders bringing potential disease, crime and terrorists? His actions require a lot of answers to these and other serious questions.
by Katie Pavlich, TownHall.com: President Obama will sign an executive order as soon as today deploying National Guard troops to Ebola stricken countries in West Africa according to a report from NBC News.President Barack Obama is expected to issue an executive order Thursday paving the way for the deployment of National Guard forces to Liberia to help contain the Ebola outbreak there, sources told NBC News.
The sources said that eight engineers and logistical specialists from the Guard, both active-duty and reservists, would probably be included in the first deployment. They are expected to help build 17 Ebola treatment centers, with 100 beds apiece. The sources said that no decision had been made.Fox News' Ed Henry confirmed this afternoon that a draft of the order is circulating through the White House and Pentagon.
A month ago President Obama announced the deployment of thousands of U.S. soldiers to Ebola stricken regions in Africa. The original number of soldiers deployed for the task was 3,000 but the Pentagon has upped that number to 4,000 this week.
At this point it is unclear what National Guard troops will be tasked with doing or how they will be protected from contracting the disease once they arrive. Earlier this month we learned U.S. military soldiers and medical personnel will be handling Ebola infected blood samples.The U.S. military mission to combat Ebola in West Africa is facing questions about the serious health risks American troops will encounter in heading to the epicenter of the deadly outbreak.
According to officials, a small group of trained military medical technicians on the ground will not be required to make direct contact with patients infected with the Ebola virus. However, they will have to handle infected blood samples, which Pentagon officials acknowledged Tuesday could be just as dangerous, if not more. More information {To Follow]
------------ Katie Pavlich is the News Editor at Townhall.com. Follow her on Twitter @katiepavlich. She is a New York Times Best Selling author. Her new book Assault and Flattery: The Truth About the Left and Their War on Women. Tags:President O,bama, sending National Guard, West Africa, Ebola, why?To share or post to your site, click on "Post Link". Please mention / link to the ARRA News Service. and "Like" Facebook Page - Thanks!
Bill Smith, Editor, ARRA News Service -Jake Trapper an CNN Politics reported: "President Barack Obama will appoint Ron Klain his "Ebola czar, . . . Klain is highly regarded at the White House as a good manager with excellent relationships both in the administration and on Capitol Hill. His supervision of the allocation of funds in the stimulus act' . . . He does not have any extensive background in health care but the job is regarded as a managerial challenge. CNN Political analyst David Gergen said, 'that while Klain doesn't have a health care background, he does have both domestic policy and foreign policy assignments on his portfolio and both will come into play as the administration deals with Ebola.' Klain will report to both White House homeland security adviser Lisa Monaco and National Security Advisor Susan Rice. . . . A former chief of staff to Vice President Joe Biden and also to then-Vice President Al Gore, Klain is currently President of Case Holdings and General Counsel of Revolution, an investment group. He has clerked for the U.S. Supreme Court and headed up Gore's effort during the 2000 Florida recount and was portrayed in the HBO movie Recount by Kevin Spacey. He could not be reached for comment on Friday."
Gaff prone Vice President Joe Biden tweeted: "There's no one better at getting govt to work at its best than Ron Klain. He's a tested manager & problem-solver, and a trusted advisor. -vp"
Two days ago, President Obama was offering another person. WND reported at that time, "White House Homeland Security adviser Lisa Monaco, who has no professional medical expertise, was named by the White House as the point person in charge of coordinating the government’s response to the Ebola outbreak."
As previously identified, the new Czar will report to Lisa Monaco and Susan Rice. Expect a lot of "flotsam" coming out of the offices and lips of Rice and Monaco.
CBS DC noted, "Rep. Andy Harris, R-Md., slammed the decision on Twitter. 'Worst ebola epidemic in world history and Pres. Obama puts a government bureaucrat with no healthcare experience in charge. Is he serious?' Harris tweeted." In addition, they noted, "Meanwhile, the World Health Organization admitted to mistakes of its own in failing to contain the outbreak still spreading out of control in Liberia, Sierra Leone and Guinea. 'Nearly everyone involved in the outbreak response failed to see some fairly plain writing on the wall,' the U.N. health agency said in a draft internal document obtained by The Associated Press. The response was marred by incompetency and ineffective bureaucracy, the document says, and experts should have realized that traditional containment methods wouldn’t work in an African region with porous borders and broken health systems."
Rep. John Fleming (R-LA) is a physician. He responded that Klain's appointment "is inserting a highly political figure into this situation that's not political at all."
Now as William Warren's cartoon depicts, It is time "To Panic." Tags:Ebola, Ebola Czar, non-medical, political hack, Ron Klain, William Warren, cartoon, Now Panic, Bill Smith, ARRA News Service To share or post to your site, click on "Post Link". Please mention / link to the ARRA News Service. and "Like" Facebook Page - Thanks!
by Phyllis Schlafly: Americans against amnesty are not only worried about unemployed Mexicans crossing our southern border illegally to take U.S. jobs. More than ever, we need the fence that Congress voted for and President George W. Bush made a television photo event when he signed it into law.
Rep. Duncan Hunter (R-CA) said that at least ten ISIS thugs have crossed our southern border. Hunter added, if we caught ten, “you know there are going to be dozens more that did not get caught by the Border Patrol.”
Rep. Tom Cotton (R-AR) says the Islamic State, ISIS, is actively working with Mexican drug cartels to infiltrate and eventually attack Americans. ISIS has told us it wants to extend a caliphate over America, so why is anybody surprised that they are doing what they said they wanted to do?
The problem of invasion across our border is no longer just a jobs problem. It’s a national security problem, a welfare problem, a public school problem, and a dangerous disease problem.
It’s not a problem of accepting a few lost teenagers who arrived unannounced and demanded admission. It’s a problem of our public schools suddenly being invaded by thousands of young adults who have never been to any school, who are not familiar with basic hygiene, who can’t read or write, who don’t speak English or even familiar Spanish (but speak one of 21 different Spanish or Indian dialects), and who may carry new diseases such as EV-D68.
It’s a problem of requiring our newly burdened health-care establishment to deal with diseases that are not common in the United States. During the summer we suffered an outbreak of EV-D68, a polio-like enterovirus. The outbreak is widespread in Central America, from which many of the illegal kids came.
The CDC reports that at least 538 people, mostly children, in 43 states and the District of Columbia became ill with EV-D68. At least five U.S. children infected with EV-D68 died this fall.
Obama has refused to bar entry to the United States by people from countries where Ebola is epidemic. The problem we face is not just one African who entered our country and then died from Ebola. It’s a national health problem that has made our health care personnel carriers of a fatal African disease endangering Americans who never went to Africa.
Obama sent thousands of U.S. troops to Liberia, a country stricken with Ebola. He ignores the danger to our American troops and also to other Americans when these servicemen and women return home. The safety of the American people is less important to him than posing as a world citizen.
Marine Corps General John F. Kelly, commander of the U.S. Southern Command, told the National Defense University in Washington, DC that, if Ebola comes to Central America, “it will cause a panic,” that “it’s literally ‘Katie bar the door,’ and there will be mass migration into the United States.”
Meanwhile, the Centers for Disease Control reports that “By the end of the year, there will be 14 million people infected with Ebola and 62 percent of them dying.”
Ebola
Why doesn’t Obama impose a travel ban on persons flying here from Ebola-infected countries? It’s not enough to take the temperature of airline travelers and have them fill out a written form because we know that the African who died from Ebola after arrival in the U.S. had lied on his form.
Mark Krikorian points out that the U.S. has issued 13,000 visas for travel to America from the three most Ebola-infected West African countries: Liberia, Sierra Leone, and Guinea. Will Obama let those 13,000 people into America?
Dr. Anthony Fauci, the specialist on infectious diseases at the National Institute for Health, is very much opposed to closing the U.S. border. Instead, he is blaming the Dallas Hospital, saying, “They dropped the ball” by failing to determine the patient’s “travel history.”
Dr. Thomas Frieden, head of the CDC, blamed a supposed “breach of protocol” for a Dallas nurse getting Ebola, and called for an investigation of how she could get the disease while following full CDC precautions.
According to Louisiana Governor Bobby Jindal, the CDC was given nearly $3 billion to fight infectious diseases but spent only 6 percent of that for its declared purpose. A much larger share of the money was spent on community transformation grants to increase access to healthy foods and promote improvements in sidewalks to make it easy for people to walk and ride bikes.
We are hearing some common sense from a few Members of Congress. House Homeland Security Chairman Michael McCaul called for barring entry into the United States for people from West African countries wrestling with Ebola, and also temporarily suspending the 13,000 visas that have already been issued to people in those countries. Senator Ted Cruz said it best: “Our priority should be protecting the American people and preventing Ebola from coming here.”
-------------------- Phyllis Schlafly has been a national leader of the conservative movement since 1964. She founded and is president of Eagle Forum. She has testified before more than 50 Congressional and State Legislative committees on constitutional, national defense, and family issues. Tags:Stop Disease, at the border,travel, Ebola virus, CDC, Phyllis Schlafly, Eagle ForumTo share or post to your site, click on "Post Link". Please mention / link to the ARRA News Service. and "Like" Facebook Page - Thanks!
19 Times Government Withheld Documents It Didn’t Want You to See
Note: None of the below missing documents have anything to do with all the sealed / hidden records / documents associated with incumbent President Obama (i.e, prior associations, FBI records, academic records, and myriad of other undisclosed documents). The author's list addresses 19 Withheld Government Documents spanning the Clinton, Bush and Obama administrations.
by Sharyl Attkisson / (@SharylAttkisson): Lost and missing government records are not isolated to one administration or political party. The list below includes 19 examples of public files that went missing, were withheld or lost and then found. It includes the most recent example of former Deputy Assistant Secretary of State Raymond Maxwell’s account of Benghazi documents.
Lost and missing government records are not isolated to one administration or political party. The list below includes 19 examples of public files that went missing, were withheld or lost and then found. It includes the most recent example of former Deputy Assistant Secretary of State Raymond Maxwell’s account of Benghazi documents, which The Daily Signal revealed last month.
1) Missing: Hillary Clinton S&L Records. In 1988, according to congressional investigators, Hillary Clinton “ordered the destruction of records relating to her [legal] representation of [Jim] McDougal’s Madison S&L” when federal regulators were investigating the insolvency of the Arkansas savings and loan. Bill Clinton was Arkansas governor at the time.
The Clintons and McDougal were business partners in the failed Whitewater real estate venture. McDougal later was convicted of fraud for attempting to use S&L funds to cover Whitewater losses. His wife, Susan, served prison time for refusing to answer grand jury questions about whether Bill Clinton lied in his testimony during her Whitewater trial.
2) Missing: Clinton Counsel’s Foster Records. In 1993, according to a Secret Service official, first lady Hillary Clinton’s chief of staff, Maggie Williams, removed records from the office of White House Deputy Counsel Vincent Foster the night of his suicide.
Other Clinton officials, including White House Counsel Bernard Nussbaum, later testified that they conducted an improper search of Foster’s office. At least one file was marked “Whitewater” and another was marked “taxes.”
Another White House counsel, Bob Barnett, later picked up a box of Foster’s documents. Associate counsel Clifford Sloan’s contemporaneous notes cite the Clintons’ initials: “get Maggie—go through office—get HRC, WJC stuff.”
3) Missing: Clinton Counsel’s Foster Suicide Note. Also in 1993, the White House released an official statement incorrectly saying that no Foster suicide note had been found. However, more than 24 hours after a note had been found, White House counsel Nussbaum turned it over to Attorney General Janet Reno.
4) Missing: Hillary Clinton Law Firm Records. In 1996, after nearly two years of searches and subpoenas, the White House reported it found copies of missing documents from Hillary Rodham Clinton’s law firm that described her work for Madison S&L in the 1980s. The White House previously said it did not have the records. The originals have not turned up.
5) Missing: Bush Administration Energy Emails. In 2002, the conservative watchdog Judicial Watch said more than 25,000 documents were missing from records released regarding deliberations between Vice President Dick Cheney’s energy task force and industry executives, possibly including documents related to the Enron scandal.
6) Missing: Clinton Terrorism Documents. In 2003, former Clinton national security adviser Sandy Berger smuggled classified documents related to the 9/11 terrorist attacks from the National Archives. Berger said he removed handwritten notes by hiding them in his jacket, pants and socks, and also inadvertently took copies of classified documents.
7) Missing: Bush Administration ‘Torture’ Documents. In 2004, critics of the Bush administration’s “enhanced interrogation techniques” for suspected terrorists, which they regarded as torture, said key documents were missing from newly declassified White House materials regarding torture and other mistreatment of prisoners. These included memos to and from the FBI and CIA, and documents dated after April 2003.
8) Missing: Millions of Bush Administration Emails. In 2005, the White House discovered some emails were not properly archived. It later was revealed that missing emails from Jan. 3, 2003, to July 28, 2005, might total 5 million.
9) Lost and Found: Katrina Conference Call Transcript. Also in 2005, Bush administration officials told Congress that they could not locate a transcript of an Aug. 29 videoconference call about Hurricane Katrina. Officials produced a transcript in 2006.
10) Missing: Bush Administration’s Abramoff Emails. In 2006, Special Counsel Patrick Fitzgerald found that missing emails from the 2003 period could be relevant to the criminal probe into influence peddling by lobbyist Jack Abramoff, who later was convicted of bribery and corruption.
11) Missing: Bush Administration Political Emails. In 2007, it was revealed that 88 White House officials used Republican National Committee email accounts — but that the RNC preserved no emails for 51 of the officials.
12) Missing: Bush Administration Interrogation Video. Also in 2007, it was discovered that the Pentagon had lost a crucial recording of an al-Qaeda operative being interrogated in a U.S. military brig.
13) Withheld: Obama Administration ‘Fast and Furious’ Documents. In 2012, Attorney General Eric Holder withheld emails regarding the “Fast and Furious” scandal. President Obama invoked executive privilege to prevent some emails from being turned over to Congress under subpoena.
14) Missing: Obama State Department Records. This year, it was revealed that the State Department may have lost some $6 billion because of incomplete or missing contract records over six years, mainly during Hillary Clinton’s tenure as secretary of state.
15) Missing: Obama Administration IRS Emails. Also this year, the Internal Revenue Service said it had lost key emails of Lois Lerner and other officials regarding improper IRS targeting of conservative nonprofit groups.
16) Missing: Obama HealthCare.gov Records. Also this year, the Obama administration revealed that records Congress is seeks in its investigation of the Obamacare website, HealthCare.gov, are missing.
17) Missing: Obama EPA Records. Also this year, the Environmental Protection Agency told Congress it was having trouble finding emails relevant to a probe into the environmental impact of a proposed gold and copper mine in the Bristol Bay watershed in Alaska. In a separate case, a federal judge found that the EPA willfully failed to keep emails and other records relevant to a Freedom of Information Act request regarding the delay of unpopular regulations until after the 2012 election.
18) Missing?: Hillary Clinton Benghazi Documents. Also this year, former Deputy Assistant Secretary Raymond Maxwell said he witnessed a Benghazi document-sorting session in October 2012 in the State Department basement. He said then-Secretary of State Hillary Clinton’s chief of staff, Cheryl Mills, and her deputy, Jake Sullivan, were present.
19) Missing: Obama EPA Text Messages. Last week, the Environmental Protection Agency said it didn’t save text messages at issue in a Freedom of Information case seeking records about the agency’s plans to crack down on coal power plants. An EPA spokesman contends that federal law doesn’t require the messages to be retained.
----------------- Sharyl Attkisson is an Emmy award-winning investigative journalist and senior independent contributor to various publications. She is the author of the forthcoming book, "Stonewalled: My Fight for Truth Against the Forces of Obstruction, Intimidation, and Harassment in Obama's Washington." Tags:Sharyl Attkisson, Stonewalled. government documents, withheld, obstruction, Intimidation, harrassment,To share or post to your site, click on "Post Link". Please mention / link to the ARRA News Service. and "Like" Facebook Page - Thanks!
by Alan Caruba, Contributing Author: The tendency of pundits is to address the decline in American culture and traditional moral values. The concerns addressed include the rather sudden, but widespread embrace of same-sex marriages or calls for the legalization of marijuana so anyone can get high without the fear of arrest.
You can probably name a few things you consider evidence of decline, but there is one you are not likely to notice much. It’s the nation’s infrastructure of highways, airports, waterways and ports. It’s only dramatic declines such as the decay of Detroit, once one of the nation’s most dynamic cities that get attention because it is so blatant. We judge the backwardness of third world nations by their bad roads and lack of infrastructure to support their economies.
We don’t, however, think of the U.S. as a nation in decline, but we are.
A September study released by the National Association of Manufacturers (NAM) revealed that overall spending on public infrastructure fell 10.5% between 2003 and 2012. As reported by The Wall Street Journal, “Spending on highways and streets by federal, state and local governments, dropped a higher 19% during that same period, according to the study.”
NAM president, Jay Timmons, said, “The United States is stuck in a decade-long decline (in infrastructure spending) that will eventually harm job creation, future productivity and our ability to compete head-to-head with companies all over the globe.” When a manufacturer cannot transport their product in a timely fashion, it puts them at a disadvantage. Multiply that by the nation’s many manufacturers and you have a very big problem for lack of adequate highways, roads, and bridges
The great power of America’s infrastructure was supported by the maintenance it requires. The 2013 study was commissioned by the Building America’s Future Educational Fund and NAM to survey manufacturers. It found that they “overwhelmingly viewed America’s infrastructure as old, inefficient, and badly in need of modernization.”
Findings included 70% who believed that U.S. infrastructure is in fair or poor shape and needs a great deal or quite a lot of improvement. The same percentage believe that road are getting worse and 65% did not believe that infrastructure, especially in their region, is positioned to respond to the competitive demands of a growing economy over the next 10-15 years.
This may not seem very exciting compared to news of combat in the Middle East or the threat of Ebola, but consider that, in early October, the Financial Times reported that “China has surpassed the US in terms of GDP based on purchasing power parity (PPP), becoming the largest in the world by this measure, International Monetary Fund estimates show. In 2014 China reached $17.6 trillion or 16.48 percent of the world’s purchasing-power-adjusted GDP, while the US made slightly less, 16.28 percent or $17.4 trillion, according to IMF data.“
We are now number two in the global economy.
The NAM study’s research, said University of Maryland Professor Jeffrey Werling, “helps confirm what engineers and executives both know, The quality and quantity of current U.S. infrastructure is deficient, and these deficiencies are already hampering economic growth.”
For years, a federal fuel tax has helped underwrite needed highway construction, but it hasn’t been increased since 1993 and annual collections have been declining due to fuel-efficient vehicles and motorists who have been driving less than in the past. The Wall Street Journal reported that “Congress has shown little interest in raising the 18.2 cent-a-gallon tax” and has relied on stop-gap funding.
There was a time when a politician would jump at the chance to have a bridge or a strip of highway named after him. Those days are over. We have a Congress that can barely agree on anything, let alone something as undramatic as funding infrastructure projects. The States and local communities are squeezed for their own funds, burdened with pensions and other costs.
None of this bodes well, but at least we can say we’ve been warned, eh?
----------------- Alan Caruba is a writer by profession; has authored several books, and writes a daily column, Warning Signs". He is a contributor to the ARRA News Service. Tags:American Decline, National Association of Manufacturers, public infrastructure, China, Alan Caruba, Warning SignsTo share or post to your site, click on "Post Link". Please mention / link to the ARRA News Service. and "Like" Facebook Page - Thanks!
Today in Washington, D.C. - Oct 16, 2014
Although Congress is not in session and will not return until Nov. 12th after the Federal elections, today, the House Energy and Commerce Subcommittee on Oversight and Investigations will convene this afternoon to hear testimony from Centers for Disease Control and Prevention Director Tom Frieden and a number of witnesses on the Ebola outbreak.
In advance of this meeting, Rep. Tim Murphy (R-PA) chairman of the House Energy and Commerce Subcommittee on Oversight and Investigations said in a released statement, “Questions continue to emerge as this outbreak has continued, further heightening our concerns about the response and preparedness efforts both at home and abroad.”
The subcommittee will question and hear testimony from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention Director Tom Frieden, National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases Director Anthony Fauci, the Assistant Commissioner of Counterterrorism Policy at the Food and Drug Administration Luciana Borio, Robin Robinson a Health and Human Services director in the Office of the Assistant Secretary for Preparedness and Response, Acting Assistant Commissioner in the Office of Field Operations at Customs and Border Protection John Wagner, and the Senior Vice President at Texas Health Resources Daniel Varga.
In previous statement this week, Energy and Commerce Committee Chairman Fred Upton (R-MI) focused on the the lack of apparent preparedness and the expressed concern about the threat, “Ebola has been on the world's radar screen since March and yet the United States and the international community are still scrambling to stay ahead of and stop this outbreak. We remain gravely concerned about this ongoing threat and the committee will continue diligently investigating the response efforts and preparedness plans. .... The stakes could not be any higher, and as I have said before, we cannot afford to look back at this point in history and say we could have done more.”
In August, CDC Director Friedman also testified before a Congressional hearing on Ebola which had claimed 800 lives in West Africa. Brietbart.com reported his testimony: “We can stop Ebola. We know how to do it. It will be a long and hard fight,” and noted that the U.S. would need to deal with the disease domestically at some point. Inevitably there will be travelers, American citizens and others, who go from these three countries or from Lagos, if it doesn't get it under control, and are here with symptoms. Those symptoms might be Ebola or something else,” he added back in August. “So we’re having to deal with Ebola in the U.S. in a way we've never had to deal with it before."
Unfortunately, as this week, Ebola has claimed over 4,400 lives, largely in Africa, and has made it to the United States. In at least one intial reported case carried to Dallas Texas by Liberian national Thomas Duncan who has died. In addition, Ebola has been transmitted to at least two people and there are at present unknown potential cases due to people fleeing Africa. In addition, there are concerns over the weaponization of Ebola by terrorists and a seemingly unpreparedness in handling the situation in the United States.
Today, RealClearPolitics executive editor Tom Bevan calls out Democrats in Washington for their series of delays of unpopular policies that they’d prefer voters don’t pay attention to before Election Day.
Bevan writes, “[F]aced with a tough political map, an unpopular president, and an electorate that is exceedingly anxious and angry, the Democrats have taken this strategy [of avoiding difficult policy issues] to an almost comical extreme this year. The number of significant issues they have attempted to kick down the road and dodge until after the midterms is substantial -- and growing by the day.“The Keystone XL pipeline, having already been punted by the president in two previous elections, remains in limbo, buried deep within the bowels of the State Department.
“In April, the Environmental Protection Agency announced it would delay issuing a regulation forcing new power plants to reduce their greenhouse gas emissions until after the midterm elections.
“In September, President Obama, at the behest of vulnerable Senate Democrats . . . decided to delay taking executive action on immigration until after November.
“This week we learned that Obama acquiesced to another request by Senate Democrats: to delay naming a new attorney general until after the election for fear that a ‘controversial nominee’ might harm their 2014 midterm chances.
“It was also revealed this week that the enrollment period for Obamacare this year -- when the public will be able to see how premium rates have been affected -- doesn’t begin until Nov. 15, 11 days after voters go to the polls. Last year, the enrollment period began on Oct. 1. On Tuesday, White House Press Secretary Josh Earnest assured the press political considerations had nothing to do with the date change.”He concludes, “The president is fond of another age-old cliché: ‘good policy makes good politics.’ His fellow Democrats apparently aren’t so sure that’s true this year. We’ll see what voters think in a few short weeks.”
As Senate Republican Leader Mitch McConnell said about the president’s announced delay on a potential executive action on immigration, “What’s so cynical about [this] immigration announcement is that the President isn't saying he'll follow the law — he's just saying he'll go around the law once it's too late for Americans to hold his party accountable in the November elections. This is clearly not decision-making designed around the best policy — it's Washington politics at its worst. The President is required to take care that the laws are faithfully executed, not — as he has admitted--make them up as he sees fit.” Tags:U.S., House hearings, Ebola, Senate, Democrats, avoiding, Keystone, EPA War on Coal, Immigration, Obamacare, AG nomination, editorial cartoon, AF BrancoTo share or post to your site, click on "Post Link". Please mention / link to the ARRA News Service. and "Like" Facebook Page - Thanks!
Ebola In America: Day 14 | Democrats: "It's The Republican's Fault
by Gary Bauer: Ebola In America: Day 14 - There is dismay at the disappointing news in Dallas that a nurse who treated Thomas Duncan has contracted the deadly Ebola virus. The Centers for Disease Control's initial reaction was to blame the nurse for a "breach of protocol." But the breach has yet to be identified and how the nurse became infected remains a mystery.
Needless to say, there is growing concern for the other health workers who helped to treat Mr. Duncan. CDC Director Dr. Thomas Frieden said, "We have to rethink the way we address Ebola infection control, because even a single infection is unacceptable." Dr. Frieden added, "We're concerned, and unfortunately would not be surprised if we did see additional [Ebola] cases in healthcare workers." And this is coming from the very folks who repeatedly assured us that everything was under control.
Adding to the confusion, and the lack of confidence in the government's efforts, is the fact that the CDC doesn't know exactly how many hospital workers were treating Thomas Duncan. The Associated Press suggests it could be as many as 70 people.
Unfortunately, the nurse's unexplained infection is raising disturbing concerns, including the possibility that the virus may somehow spread through droplets in the air. That still seems unlikely, but the CDC's credibility is dropping by the day.
How Nigeria Succeeded - When news of Thomas Duncan's Ebola infection broke, priority number one for the Obama Administration was to reassure the public. But Ebola seemed to be such a low priority at the White House that it was nearly a week before Obama told the American people that his administration would be "working on protocols to do additional passenger screening" at airports. It took several days for the geniuses at the White House to come up with that?
When news of the second infection broke, Mr. Obama was -- of course -- on the golf course for his 200th round.
Out of curiosity, I re-read press accounts of how Nigeria responded after its first confirmed Ebola case this year. According to USA Today, Nigeria succeeded in stopping Ebola from spreading because, "The government immediately imposed strict measures to quarantine those who were ill and to screen thousands of their contacts. . ." Nigeria also imposed flight restrictions on "Ebola-infected countries," something the Obama Administration isn't even considering.
Rep. Michael McCaul, chairman of the House Homeland Security Committee, suggested Sunday that the U.S. should consider "temporarily suspending the 13,000 visas" currently held by individuals in the most afflicted countries. Such a proposal would be widely popular with the American people -- and it is the right thing to do.
A new ABC News / Washington Post poll finds that nearly two-thirds of Americans are concerned about an Ebola outbreak in this country and only 33% believe the Obama Administration is doing enough to prevent it. When asked whether they would support "restricting entry to the United States by people who've been in affected countries," 67% of those surveyed said "Yes."
Democrats Blame Republicans - Democrats are now running ads blaming Republicans for the Ebola outbreak in Dallas. The ad, entitled "Republican Cuts Kill," blames budget cuts at the CDC for Ebola. The ad will begin airing in Kentucky and will run in at least three other states. Not surprisingly, the ad was produced by the same group that created a spot depicting Rep. Paul Ryan pushing an elderly woman in a wheelchair off a cliff.
Democrats know they are vulnerable on the issue and they are doing what they usually do when in trouble -- attacking conservatives.
The charge that budget cuts are responsible for the Ebola outbreak is, of course, ludicrous. It was also predictable. And at least one Republican Senate candidate was prepared to respond to it.
During a debate last night, Democrat Senator Mark Warner of Virginia suggested that sequestration budgets cuts prevented the CDC from creating an Ebola vaccine. His GOP challenger, Ed Gillespie, shot back, noting that Senator Warner voted for the sequestration cuts. Gillespie also said, "It's time to impose a flight ban . . . that's what this administration should do."
Responding to the Ebola ad this morning, RNC Chairman Reince Priebus said, "They're walking this dangerous path. . . if you look at the president's record on anything from ISIS to the Secret Service to the CDC to Syria to the border . . . every single thing the administration . . . touches, it's not turning to gold, I can tell you that. It's turning into something else."
Priebus is right. Republicans could have a field day talking about the myriad ways in which Democrats have politicized health care. As we have pointed out before, it was Obama who cancelled quarantine regulations drafted by the Bush Administration.
Meanwhile, the government seems to have plenty of money for politically correct studies including one examining why lesbians are obese. After the Sandy Hook shootings, you may recall that Barack Obama ordered the CDC to conduct a study on gun violence as if it were some sort of disease. (The results were not what he had hoped for.)
Budget cuts aren't the problem. It's left-wing bureaucrats with blank checks we need to be worried about.
------------- Gary Bauer is a conservative family values advocate and serves as president of American Values and chairman of the Campaign for Working Families Tags:Ebola, America, Day 10, Democrats, republicans Fault, Gary Bauer, Campaign for Working FamiliesTo share or post to your site, click on "Post Link". Please mention / link to the ARRA News Service. and "Like" Facebook Page - Thanks!
Obama Isn’t On The Ballot, But His Policies And Supporters In Congress Are!
by Steven "Buck" Adams, Letter to Editor: TERRORISM IS DEFEATED AND AL-QUIDA IS ON THE RUN was a 2012 election campaign proclamation by President Obama...truth or just another deceptive campaign strategy?
I have in my possession a copy of the Branson Daily Independent newspaper from early October 2012. In that paper is an (AP) article titled: “Al-Qaida revival begins after US troop withdrawal”. That withdrawal was completed in December, 2011 against the advice of many chief military advisors and the Secretary Of Defense, Leon Penetta.
THE ARTICLE in summary says: al-Qaida has been setting up training camps for insurgents in the Iraq’s western deserts and has been seizing on regional instability and government security failures to rebuild their strength. Attacks have been on the increase for the last 10 weeks. It is believed that most of the fighters are former prisoners that were released or escaped from Iraqi jails after the U.S. military withdrawal in December 2011. The insurgent group has more than doubled in numbers from about 1,000 to 2500 over the past year, and the number of attacks from 75 a week to 140 a week from earlier this year according to Pentagon data. Sen Lindsey Graham stated: AQI is coming back!
My assumption: Either this (AP) article is a fabrication or it is further proof that we are being deliberately mislead (or out-right lied to) by our President!
I shared the article with a local newspaper editor about two weeks before the 2012 election and asked if he was aware of the article. He said no. My guess is that the article was available to all newspaper companies throughout the nation, but to protect the President, and his political allies, many didn’t publish it. Why? Probably because many undecided voters as well as some likely faithful party liners would be very concerned about a resurgence of terrorism and the threat to U.S. security...as well as the threat to friendly nations and strategic Muslim nations. This along with potential exposure of the Benghazi cover up and our porous Mexican border situation could have spelled re-election doom for Obama and his political party support group in Congress.
Since 2012 you can add the exchange of five Muslim terrorists for an apparent U.S. military deserter (the Army recently stated it will not release information on the investigation); the indecisive, sluggish, and delayed military intervention to combat the surge and takeover by ISIS of vital territories in Iraq and Syria; Christians being bullied, killed, and driven from their homes; and the slaughter of many defenders in that region. Of course, it took the beheading of two American journalists to even alert a lot of the public to the danger and threat ISIS poses and to get the liberal media outlets to fess up about the resurgence of terrorism.
So, you may be asking why is it so important for making an issue of this matter at this particular time — Obama is not up for re-election! Well, Obama isn’t up for re-election, but his policies and many supporters in Congress are!!! It is a Democrat controlled Congress that leaves the doors open for him to impose his will…; get by with dodging and stonewalling concerning scandals and cover-ups …; and gives little resistance to his side-stepping the Constitution when he can’t go through Congress to impose his will.
I may be going out on a limb…, BUT, have suspicions at times: WHOSE SIDE IS HE ON!?!
I just hope that those potential voters that are really concerned about the leadership of our NATION and our National security get out and vote!
------------- Steven "Buck" Adams is the pen name of a conservative grandfather who is concerned about out of control big government and the effect it will have on America and his children and grandchildren. Tags:Steven "Buck" Adams, Letter to Editor, Al-Qaida, resurgence, terrorism, threat, U.S. security, ISIS, delayed U.S. military action, Benghazi cover up, porous Mexican border, 2014 Election, Obama's policies, and supporters, up for election, Democrat controlled Congress, elections, vote To share or post to your site, click on "Post Link". Please mention / link to the ARRA News Service. and "Like" Facebook Page - Thanks!
Ireland is set to announce sweeping changes to its corporate tax structure in its budget on Tuesday, phasing out a loophole that has allowed multinationals to save billions of dollars in tax on their worldwide income.This is the tax code equivalent of having Jay-Z rewrite Shakespeare. Why would Ireland hamstring itself?The country has faced sustained criticism over the past 18 months from other European Union members and the United States for its tax rules and Finance Minister Michael Noonan is expected to lay out plans to end an arrangement that has enabled firms such as Google and Apple to cut their overseas tax rates to single digits.Uber-high tax nations don’t like being scorned. So the EU is trying to force people to like them - which didn’t work in elementary school and won’t work now. And the United States has the highest corporate tax rate on the planet - so we too are in the cafeteria dining alone.
Ireland has to know they’re damaging themselves, right?
To maintain Ireland as an attractive destination for business, Noonan could at the same time make improvements to the intellectual property tax regime, and also has room to cut income tax….So they realize lower and less government impediments mean higher returns. How do they have “room to cut income tax” (which every government on the planet in fact does)?…(Because of) the economy's surprisingly strong rebound from the debt crisis.Get that? Ireland’s rebound from the debt crisis has been “surprisingly strong” - because they fostered such a capital-friendly environment. While the anti-capital US and EU have continued to founder and flounder.
Hey Huge Government US and EU - don’t hate, emulate. Ireland as it has been - and Luxembourg and the Netherlands as they are still. Amazon’s Taxes Draw Europe’s Scrutiny
Europe’s top regulator said it believes the online retailer has been receiving state aid from Luxembourg for over a decade by taking advantage of a preferential tax deal with the nation.
Apple, Starbucks, and a unit of the automaker Fiat are also under investigation in Europe for similar tax arrangements in Ireland, the Netherlands and Luxembourg.
The European Commission said it is investigating whether Amazon purposely shifted its money around within European countries to avoid paying higher tax rates.“Shifting money around…to avoid paying higher taxes” is now an EU crime?“National authorities must not allow selected companies to understate their taxable profits by using favorable calculation methods,” said Joaquin Almunia, Europe’s top competition watchdog. “It is only fair that subsidiaries of multinational companies pay their share of taxes.”Apparently, disturbingly so. And the US?Overseas ‘Tax Inversions’ Are Unpatriotic: Obama
President Barack Obama says a loophole that lets companies dodge U.S. taxes by moving their headquarters overseas is unpatriotic….Here’s a thought - let’s lower tax rates and remove government impediments to entice them to return. Mr. President?The Obama administration is weighing plans to circumvent Congress and act on its own to curtail tax benefits for United States companies that relocate overseas to lower their tax bills….Not so much. Nothing like the democratic process.“Putting companies on notice is, I think, part of it,” (White House press secretary Josh Earnest) said.Nothing like putting out the Welcome Back mat.
Should we and the EU continue to pummel people with Huge Government policies? Or should we be more like the Less Government likes of Luxembourg, the Netherlands and Hong Kong - a little more inviting to the private investment pols incessantly claim they want?
The coming cascade of cash - rolling out of Ireland and into much more capital-friendly locales - will be yet another visual aide we really shouldn’t need.
------------- Seton Motley is the President of Less Government and he contributes to ARRA News Service. Please feel free to follow him him on Twitter / Facebook. Tags:people, money, breaking news, for leftist, Seton Motley, Less GovernmentTo share or post to your site, click on "Post Link". Please mention / link to the ARRA News Service. and "Like" Facebook Page - Thanks!
by Alan Caruba, Contributing Author: If President Obama does not want the Ebola virus to kill Americans, why has his administration done nothing to restrict any flights from Liberia, Guinea, and Sierra Leone, the hot spots in Africa where it appears the virus is spreading?
One of the reason flights from Liberia were not stopped, we have been told, was the historical link of the U.S. with that nation, founded as a place freed slaves could migrate. That is no excuse in the face of the threat of a single Liberian with Ebola getting off a flight in any U.S. airport.
The decision not to stop flights has nothing to do with health and everything to do with politics, Obama’s far left ideology, and his dislike for America that has been on display for anyone paying any attention. It has driven every decision Obama has made since first taking office.
The White House has decided that stopping flights would heighten public concerns, possibly creating an aura of panic. This is a very bad, very lethal decision. It demonstrates the indifference to facts and to common sense for which the White House is now famous.
Every poll demonstrates that Americans want our borders protected and access from West Africa denied.
It is likely that the White House wants to tamp down any sense of heightened public concern until the midterm elections on Nov. 4. Then add to that the criminal lack of truthfulness that has accompanied anything affecting this White House has done from Benghazi to setting free five Taliban generals in exchange for someone likely to be deemed a deserter from the U.S. Army.
When the Director of the Centers for Disease Control (CDC), Dr. Thomas Friedman, became the focus of news media inquiries regarding the virus, it was clear that he did not have any greater knowledge of the problem, other than the scope of its threat, than anyone else. Indeed, within a week of his first press conference, he said that the CDC and U.S. medical community needed to come up with a whole new approach to Ebola.
When Thomas Duncan, the Liberian in whom the virus was not initially detected died, we were treated to scenes of intensive decontamination efforts at the Dallas hospital, but a nurse who treated him became the first U.S. victim and Dr. Friedman was quick to blame a “protocol breach” as the likely reason. Now a second nurse has Ebola.
The likely reason can be found in the fact that thousands of people die every year from viruses and infections they acquire at a hospital.
The first and likely the second nurse wore protective outfits from top to bottom while dealing with Duncan. In Africa, the earliest victims have been the doctors and hospital staff tending those with Ebola. Any U.S. medical personnel returning from Africa should be quarantined after they arrive. The President has dispatched more than 4,000 military personnel to Liberia and their quarantine should be far longer than the 21 days we keep hearing about. We are now hearing it should be up to 40 days.
The notion that airport staff has any capacity at all to spot someone with Ebola is ludicrous, yet we are being treated to the charade of passengers having a device waved over them to detect a fever.
All this is a political approach rather than a medical one. It is political theatre.
One example of this was a statement by Dr. Francis Collins, the head of the National Institutes of Health, who blamed the lack of funding the NIH has received for research, including vaccinations for infectious diseases. He noted that the NIH has been working on Ebola vaccines since 2001, but does it strike anyone as odd that in all the time since then nothing has been developed?
In fairness, though, the NIH budget has declined 23% over the past decade. The current budget, however, is $29.31 billion. That is a substantial amount.
Congress represents more politics. Dr. Collins remarked that it did not appear “enthusiastic” about passing an emergency supplemental appropriation. For those in government the only answer to any problem is to throw more money at it.
Worse, a Democratic Party advertisement even claimed that the Ebola threat is due to Republican cuts in funding of healthcare research, but those cuts were bipartisan by virtue of the sequestration limits imposed. Not mentioned was an Obama administration decision to abandon a set of regulations which the CDC considered essential to prevent international travelers from spreading deadly diseases inside the U.S. At this point, the question is why?
So far Ebola has been located in West Africa, but in this world of global air travel, but without rigid restrictions it is only a matter of time before it begins to show up elsewhere including here again.
When that happens you can point a finger at Barack Hussein Obama who thinks it’s more important to have good relations with Liberia than it is to shut down any possibility that an African or anyone else at risk of having Ebola will arrive on our shores.
At that point, however, it will be too late.
----------------- Alan Caruba is a writer by profession; has authored several books, and writes a daily column, Warning Signs". He is a contributor to the ARRA News Service. Tags:politicizing, plague, Ebola, Alan Caruba, Warning SignsTo share or post to your site, click on "Post Link". Please mention / link to the ARRA News Service. and "Like" Facebook Page - Thanks!
Five Reasons Why Hispanic Americans Should Vote For Conservatives
Photo via Rockin' On The Right Side
by Tom Balek, Contributing Author: Our nation is graced with millions of loyal, legal Hispanic Americans. They work hard, they raise beautiful families, and they vote - almost always for Democrats.
I recently talked politics with a couple of Mexican business acquaintances who both immigrated to the United States over twenty years ago, and was surprised at how similar our values and political leanings are. We agreed on every issue, right down the line. But when I asked them what they think of Republicans, or Conservatives, or the Tea Party, the fear and distrust was palpable.
You could say the Democrats have done an outstanding job of demonizing their Conservative opponents. Hispanic Americans are convinced that Conservatives are hateful racists who want to hurt them and hold them back in every way possible.
Apparently Hispanic Americans just don't know what we Conservatives believe in and stand for. There can't be any other explanation for the way they vote.
Here are five reasons why Hispanic Americans should vote for Conservatives and support our mission to downsize our over-reaching, destructive and unaffordable federal government. 1 - Conservatives want to improve the private economy and support businesses so that jobs are plentiful, pay rates improve, and families can enjoy a higher standard of living. That can't happen when so much of our cash flows through a bloated, inefficient federal government. We think families should keep more of their earnings, and will make better spending decisions than the government can on their behalf. Millions of Hispanics came to this country for economic opportunity, and are willing to work hard to succeed. Why would they support Democrats whose policies have slashed personal income, exploded the national debt, reduced labor participation to record low levels, eliminated the middle class, and put one in five Americans on food stamps? If you want to be part of a thriving and growing economy, you are a Conservative.
2 - While Democrats work tirelessly to put more control and authority in the hands of the federal government, conservatives believe in personal freedom and responsibility. Most of our Hispanic immigrants came from countries with oppressive governments, where only those with connections or money have influence and opportunity. It makes no sense for them to support the party that pushes the United States toward socialism and heavy-handed government control. If you love opportunity and don't want every detail of your life regulated by the government, you are a Conservative.
3 - Most Hispanic Americans have strong family and religious values. While Democrats fervently support the rights of Muslims, they find Christianity abhorrent, lashing out at any display of Christian faith with a vengeance. They have done all in their power to destroy the traditional family structure in our country. They promote gay marriage, endorse single motherhood through tax and welfare policy, and encourage abortion. If you treasure your family and your church, you are a conservative.
4 - Democrats are great at making promises, but somehow when they are in control, things seem to get worse. Is there anything the Democrats have done that has made life better for Hispanic Americans? For that matter, has any Socialist government in history improved the lives of its citizens? If you think the US Constitution and laws, and our rich history of defending freedom and truth are what made the United States the greatest and most prosperous nation on earth, you are a conservative.
5 - Fairness is important to all people, including Hispanic Americans. And nothing is fairer than being allowed to keep the property you worked for and to use it as it best serves you. Conservatives believe that our government should not try to seize or control our private property. And it should defend our property from those who would try to take it from us. My Hispanic American friends agree that our borders must be enforced, and we can't provide benefits to those who only come here to take and not contribute. And our military forces must be ready and able to defend our homeland. If you want your property and the safety of your family to be secure, you are a conservative.I know that most Hispanic Americans - and for that matter Native Americans, African Americans, Asian Americans, and traditional homeland-born Americans - are Conservatives at heart. We all want the same things. We just have to set aside political correctness and the Democrat agenda of deceit to find the higher common ground.
--------------- Tom Balek – Rockin' On the Right Side is a fellow conservative activist, blogger and musician. Tom and the ARRA News Service Editor left part of their hearts in Montana. Tom resides in South Carolina and between playing in weekend bands, he seeks to educate those too busy with their work and families to notice how close to the precipice our economy has come." Powers keep on lyin'
While your people keep on dyin'
World keep on turnin'
'Cause it won't be too long Higher Ground – Stevie Wonder I know, Stevie Wonder is an avowed liberal Democrat, blind in more than the obvious way. But hey, he’s an amazing musician and it’s a great song. Tags:Tom Balek, Rockin' On the Right Side, five reasons, Hispanic Americans, vote for conservatives, vote, conservatives, Stevie Wonder, Higher GroundTo share or post to your site, click on "Post Link". Please mention / link to the ARRA News Service. and "Like" Facebook Page - Thanks!
Dr. Ben Carson On Ebola: Worries, 'We're Not Acting Logically'
Dr. Ben Carson Weighs In On Ebola: "We're not actually logically. We Should Be Thinking About Worst-Case Scenarios." Benjamin Solomon "Ben" Carson Sr. is an American author and retired neurosurgeon. He is credited with being the first surgeon to successfully separate conjoined twins joined at the head. In 2008 he was awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom by President George W. Bush. . . . He received his M.D. from the University of Michigan Medical School. Carson was a professor of neurosurgery, oncology, plastic surgery, and pediatrics, and he was the director of pediatric neurosurgery at Johns Hopkins Hospital. At age 33, he became the youngest major division director in Johns Hopkins history, as director of pediatric neurosurgery. He was also a co-director of the Johns Hopkins Craniofacial Center.
According to Johns Hopkins Hospital literature, “Dr. Carson focuses on traumatic brain injuries, brain and spinal cord tumors, achondroplasia, neurological and congenital disorders, craniosynostosis, epilepsy, and trigeminal neuralgia. He is also interested in maximizing the intellectual potential of every child." . . . After medical school, he became a neurosurgery resident at Johns Hopkins Hospital in Baltimore. Starting off as an adult neurosurgeon, Carson became more interested in pediatrics. He believed that with children, “what you see is what you get,... when they’re in pain they clearly show it with a frown on their face or when they are happy they show it by smiling brightly. In 1987 Carson successfully separated conjoined twins, the Binder twins, who had been joined at the back of the head, making them craniopagus twins. The 50-member surgical team, led by Carson, worked for 22 hours. At the end, the twins were successfully separated and can now survive independently." ~ WikepediaObviously. it is time for our country to listen to the brightest medical minds verses bureacrats on how to address and stop Ebola before it ravages the American people.
Tags:Dr. Ben Carson, Ebola, worries, Not acting logically videoTo share or post to your site, click on "Post Link". Please mention / link to the ARRA News Service. and "Like" Facebook Page - Thanks!
by Romina Boccia / (@RominaBoccia): This week, the Treasury Department releases the actual deficit figure for fiscal year (FY) 2014 which ended on September 30. At about half a trillion dollars, this year’s deficit adds more than $4,000 to the per-household national-debt burden. What’s worse, the 2014 deficit marks a low point in the ten-year projection. The total deficit over the period is expected to ring in at more than $9 trillion.
The United States is not necessarily doomed to a fate of chronic and growing deficits. Congress can rein in the biggest drivers of spending and debt growth and turn the tide on the U.S. budget.
Excessive spending and borrowing suppress economic growth. Rather than try to balance the budget with tax increases that would impede growth, Congress should focus directly on the sources of spending growth. These five steps would control the deficit and unleash growth in the decade ahead:
1. Move Toward Patient-Centered, Market-Based Health Care:
Half of the projected growth in government spending over the next decade comes from health-care programs. Congress should adopt a premium-support payment structure. This would make Medicare more efficient and save both taxpayers and seniors money. Medicaid dollars, too, should follow the individual, allowing beneficiaries to choose coverage and participate in the better-functioning private market. Instead of continuing Obamacare’s expansion of government control over health care, Congress should move the United States toward patient-centered, market-based healthcare.
2. Reform the Social Security Retirement and Disability Programs:
Social Security’s twin programs are the other key driver of spending growth over the next decade. The Disability Insurance (DI) trust fund is projected to be exhausted by the end of 2016. DI has increasingly become an early retirement and long-term unemployment program. Congress should act to preserve it for the truly disabled, limiting unnecessary awards and encouraging beneficiaries to return to work as they are able. Addressing the shortfalls in both programs simultaneously, lawmakers should immediately: replace the current COLA adjustment with the more accurate chained CPI, raise the early- and full-retirement ages and index both to changes in longevity. Social Security benefits should focus on those who need assistance the most, encouraging Americans to save more for their own nest egg.
3. Control the Welfare State:
The government runs over eighty means-tested welfare programs that provide cash, food, housing, medical care and social services to poor and lower-income Americans. Total government means-tested welfare spending has grown to nearly $1 trillion annually. Congress should place a cap on total welfare spending, thereby requiring policy makers to prioritize among welfare-spending categories. Welfare programs should first and foremost promote self-sufficiency, requiring all able-bodied adults to work, prepare for work or look for work in exchange for receiving assistance.
4. Root out Waste, Duplication and Obsolete Spending:
Congress knows how to add new programs, but has fallen behind in its oversight responsibilities to control and eliminate bad spending. Congress should adopt a specifically dedicated, independent commission with the charge to eliminate waste, duplication and unnecessary and obsolete government programs. Government programs that benefit special-interest groups, especially corporate welfare, should be first on the chopping block.
5. Cap the Growth in Spending:
Spending caps encourage lawmakers to say no to special interests and protect American taxpayers from wasteful-spending burdens. Most importantly, spending should not be allowed to grow faster than the economy to prevent spending and debt from choking off economic growth.
In presenting its latest budget projections, the Congressional Budget Office (CBO) explained that chronic and growing deficits and debt harm economic growth and restrict lawmakers’ ability to respond to crises. The CBO specifically warned that “the large amount of debt could also compromise national security by constraining defense spending in times of international crisis or by limiting the country’s ability to prepare for such a crisis.”
Considering this year’s deficit figure in its proper context, lawmakers should realize that America is in the eye of the hurricane. If the country hopes to weather the storm, policy changes need to happen now.
------------- Romina Boccia focuses on federal spending and the national debt as the Grover M. Hermann fellow in federal budgetary affairs in the Roe Institute for Economic Policy Studies at The Heritage Foundation. Glenn Foden is an editorial cartoonist at the The Daily Signal Tags:Romina Boccia, Glenn Foden, Treasury Dept, Deficit. CBO, controlling deficitTo share or post to your site, click on "Post Link". Please mention / link to the ARRA News Service. and "Like" Facebook Page - Thanks!
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