Christie Knew About Lane Closings, Ex-Port Authority Official Says - NYTimes.com

In a letter released by his lawyer, the official, David Wildstein, a high school friend of Mr. Christie’s who was appointed with the governor’s blessing at the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey, which controls the bridge, described the order to close the lanes as “the Christie administration’s order” and said “evidence exists as well tying Mr. Christie to having knowledge of the lane closures, during the period when the lanes were closed, contrary to what the governor stated publicly in a two-hour press conference” three weeks ago.

Read the entire story by clicking on the following:  Christie Knew About Lane Closings, Ex-Port Authority Official Says - NYTimes.com

House votes to fund government through end of fiscal year - The Washington Post

 

 

 

By Rosalind S. Helderman,

Mar 06, 2013 07:10 PM EST

The Washington PostUpdated: Wednesday, March 6, 1:10 PM

The measure passed by the House on Wednesday would provide new flexibility to the Pentagon to manage the sequester’s deep, automatic spending cuts, but would otherwise leave the reductions in place for the year.

House Democrats pushed to be allowed to vote on an alternative that would replace the sequester with a mixture of higher taxes and different spending cuts. A total of 137 Democrats voted against the bill to register their unhappiness with allowing sequestration to remain in place. Fifty-three Democrats joined 214 Republicans in voting for it. Fourteen members did not vote.

“This has an impact right at the kitchen table for the American people,” said House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.), detailing some of the impacts of the broad spending cuts.

Senate Democrats and Obama have signaled that they will seek some amendments to the Republican-authored bill to help blunt the impacts of the $85 billion in cuts this fiscal year for domestic programs as well.

Click on the following for all of the details:  House votes to fund government through end of fiscal year - The Washington Post

US Corporate Tax Reform Must Come at a Price

Great article regarding what is wrong with the current corporate tax .

1. Reduction in the Corporate Tax Rate is a Necessity

2. Severe Budget Pressures Suggest Revenue-Neutral Corporate Reform

3. The Current Corporate Tax Favors Some Business Sectors over Others



4. International Tax Rules Favor Foreign Over Domestic Job Creation

Click on the following for more details:  tax.com: Corporate Tax Reform Must Come at a Price

To the Editor: No respect for constituents | The Rock River Times

 

To the Editor: No respect for constituents

Editor’s note: The following is a letter that was sent to U.S. Rep. Donald Manzullo (R-16), which the writer chose to share with us.

Dear Congressman Manzullo,

On March 22nd, 2010, a day after my 23rd birthday, I participated in three meetings with the staff of my elected representatives. I was in Washington, D.C., for Ecumenical Advocacy Days and there to learn about the undocumented illegal immigrants in this country. Little did I know, I would end up feeling like I had no voice, much like them.

I was treated with class and dignity by my first two appointments (Durbin and Gutierrez), not so much with the third. I am sorry to tell you, but my third meeting was with your staffers. Michele was very nice and seemed open to different opinions. Your other staffer, on the other hand, was not. He frequently checked his phone and texted even as others in my group were talking to him. When we mentioned that immigration reform would create jobs, he rolled his eyes at us. I felt absolutely terrible about myself.

He said you were working on immigration reform, so we asked him how. He said that when we do business with a foreign country such as Japan, you need to get a visa to travel over there or vice versa, and that takes many days. Your assistant said you are working to change that. Well, I believe that is just business as usual. I would like to see you work for the everyday man and woman.

Big business got us into this financial crisis we are suffering through, and is now responsible for the environmental crisis in the Gulf of Mexico. I had to finance part of the trip from my own pocket because I firmly believe in the cause. I felt very disrespected that your staffer could not treat your own constituents with the dignity and respect that they deserve. I felt marginalized like the people I had come to represent. Some of my friends have been here close to 20 years, and they are still not able to gain citizenship because they came here illegally. To me, they are more important than speeding up visas so business can continue as usual. Thank you for your time.

Chris Benson

Loves Park, Ill.

Click on following for the Rock River Times:  To the Editor: No respect for constituents | The Rock River Times

Robert Reich's Blog

 

The following is Mr. Reich’s statement  from his  October 9, 2009 blog.

Why Obama Should Not Have Received the Peace Prize -- Yet

President Obama's only real diplomatic accomplishment so far has been to change the direction and tone of American foreign policy from unilateral bullying to multilateral listening and cooperating. That's important, to be sure, but not nearly enough. The Prize is really more of Booby Prize for Obama's predecessor. Had the world not suffered eight years of George W. Bush, Obama would not be receiving the Prize. He's prizeworthy and praiseworthy only by comparison.

I'd rather Obama had won it after Congress agreed to substantial cuts in greenhouse gases comparable to what Europe is proposing, after he brought Palestinians and Israelis together to accept a two-state solution, after he got the United States out of Afghanistan and reduced the nuclear arm's threat between Pakistan and India, or after he was well on the way to eliminating the world's stockpile of nuclear weapons. Any one of these would have been worthy of global praise. Perhaps the Nobel committee can give him half the prize now and withhold the other half until he accomplishes one or more of these crucial missions.

Giving the Peace Prize to the President before any of these goals has been attained only underscores the paradox of Obama at this early stage of his presidency. He has demonstrated mastery in both delivering powerful rhetoric and providing the nation and the world with fresh and important ways of understanding current challenges. But he has not yet delivered. To the contrary, he often seems to hold back from the fight -- temporizing, delaying, or compromising so much that the rhetoric and insight he offers seem strangely disconnected from what he actually does. Yet there's time. He may yet prove to be one of the best presidents this nation has ever had -- worthy not only of the Peace Prize but of every global accolade he could possibly summon. Just not yet.

Click on the following to view this and other of Mr. Reich’s blog postings:  Robert Reich's Blog

Northwest Herald | Manzullo to host health care town hall at MCC

 

U.S. Rep. Don Manzullo, R-Egan, will host a health care reform town hall meeting Sept. 20 in Crystal Lake.

The public is encouraged to attend the meeting from noon to 2 p.m. Sept. 20

Northwest Herald | Manzullo to host health care town hall at MCC

Orbitz endorses to end Cuban travel ban

The following is an email letter I recently received.

Dear William,
At Orbitz we believe passionately in the power of travel to transform lives. And we believe that people should have the freedom to travel wherever they choose.
Americans today have the right to travel to any country in the world except Cuba. Recently, we launched OpenCuba.org, a campaign that gives people a way to petition U.S. leaders to end the 50-year Cuba travel ban and give all Americans the freedom to travel to Cuba.
159 Congressmen and 29 Senators recently sponsored the bipartisan Freedom to Travel to Cuba Act, which seeks to open up travel to Cuba for all U.S. citizens. The opportunity to end the 50-year ban hangs in the balance.
Be part of the movement to give Americans the right to travel wherever they choose by signing the petition.

The momentum behind this issue is growing. A recent Orbitz-Ipsos poll shows that 67% of Americans favor allowing all Americans to travel to Cuba.
Cuban American groups, such as the Cuban American Alliance and the Cuban American Commission for Family Rights, have endorsed OpenCuba.org. Our position on opening up travel to Cuba is aligned with that of Human Rights Watch.
Over 50,000 people have already signed the petition. Seize the moment and join us in urging U.S. leaders to give all Americans the freedom to travel to Cuba:
http://www.OpenCuba.org
We recognize that some of you may have different perspectives on this subject; however, our position on this is premised on two core beliefs:

• People should have the freedom to travel where they choose
• Travel -- and the resulting exchange of ideas between people from different countries -- can be a powerful force for positive change

Thank you for considering our request to join us on this issue.
Barney Harford
President & CEO, Orbitz Worldwide