Topicfire Politics News

Mitt Romney condemns "breach of trust" in Washington as controversy reigns

2013-05-18T21:19:25+00:00

2012 Republican presidential nominee pans Obama administration's handling of IRS scandal, Benghazi attack

Obama DOE Approves 2nd Fracked Gas LNG Export Terminal

2013-05-18T21:19:05+00:00

Freeport LNG, TexasCross-Posted from DeSmogBlog Friday is the proverbial “take out the trash day” for the release of bad news among public relations practitioners and this Friday was no different. In that vein, yesterday the Obama Department of Energy (DOE) announced a conditional approval of the second-ever LNG (liquefied natural gas) export terminal. LNG is the super-chilled final...

Jacksonville's "I Spy" Program

2013-05-18T21:16:14+00:00

Jacksonville, Florida , and 11 other counties in northeast Florida are the latestto introduce a program encouraging people to report people they see engaging in behavior they deem suspicious and possibly terrorism-related. The program is called... [[ This is a content summary only. Visit my website for full links, other...

Google Glass. Creepy privacy invasion or the new normal?

2013-05-18T20:30:07+00:00

Vision You’ve seen Google Glass on the news, right? (Or “the Google glasses” as I keep calling them.) You’re to be forgiven if you haven’t seen them in person, since they don’t seem to be offically “out” yet and the only ones in circulation are being given to beta testers and...

Marine Ordered To Dump Toxins: Cancer Was Payback

2013-05-18T20:21:19+00:00

CAMP LEJEUNE, N.C. -- Ron Poirier couldn't escape the feeling that his cancer was somehow a punishment. As a young Marine electronics technician at Camp Lejeune in the mid-1970s, the Massachusetts man figured he'd dumped hundreds of gallons of toxic solvents onto the ground. It would be decades before he realized...

Jindal Takes Swipe At Dem 'Gift' To GOP

2013-05-18T20:21:13+00:00

Louisiana Gov. Bobby Jindal kicked off the state Republican Convention in Richmond last night, telling a packed house that Ken Cuccinelli, the GOP nominee for governor, has the courage of his convictions. Jindal, a son of immigrants from India who is a potential 2016 presidential candidate, also called upon the national...

Why One Issue Won't Go Away

2013-05-18T20:21:00+00:00

WASHINGTON -- The night of smoke, chaos, gunfire and grenades that killed four Americans in Benghazi, Libya, is well-documented. Eight months later, it is the decisions made back in Washington that remain murky and in perpetual dispute. Why was a diplomatic outpost left so poorly protected? Should the Pentagon have rushed...

What Happens When Congress Needs To Use Something They Accidentally Cut?

2013-05-18T20:18:20+00:00

The sequester was designed to be so awful and impractical to the American people that Democrats and Republicans would have no alternative but to put aside their petty differences and work out a reasonable budget.

Twitter Will Damn Your Soul, Religious Cleric Says

2013-05-18T20:16:50+00:00

On May 15, Abdul Latif Abdul Aziz al-Sheikh, the most senior religious authority in Saudi Arabia, declared that Saudi citizens who use Twitter are risking damnation, according to a report from the BCC. A Saudi who tweets "has lost this world and his afterlife," he said. As the BBC elaborates, Abdul...

Colbert At U.Va.: You Owe The Previous Generation Nothing

2013-05-18T20:16:45+00:00

Comedian Stephen Colbert thanked the University of Virginia during his speech Saturday at its 2013 valedictory exercises for inviting him to be the keynote speaker, which he took to mean he had been awarded an additional honor. "I believe that means I am this year's valedictorian, and I am as shocked...

Radio Host Makes Shocking Claim About Shooting Hillary Clinton

2013-05-18T20:16:43+00:00

Radio host Pete Santilli made shocking remarks about former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, claiming she should be "shot" for being "involved in the killings of American troops." Santilli hosts a show on his website, but says he's "ready to take my show to national syndication; that is, of course, if...

Waitaminute. Isn't the IRS Supposed to Watch Out for Tax Cheats?

2013-05-18T20:16:04+00:00

As if it weren't already clear that the so-called "IRS scandal" is nothing of the sort, now it's becoming even clearer that it's a just another bit of that down-the-rabbit-hole-up-is-downism in which conservatives have come to specialize in recent years. The Institute for Research and Education in Human Rights -- which,...

Supersecret IRS Obamacare Qualification Form Revealed!!

2013-05-18T20:15:17+00:00

Are you now, or have you ever been a member of the Republican Party?

Solicitor General files invitation briefs for June 6 Conference

2013-05-18T20:15:10+00:00

Every Term, thousands of litigants file petitions for certiorari, asking the Justices to review their cases on the merits. In roughly a dozen, the Justices initially neither grant nor deny review. Instead, they issue an order “invit[ing] the Solicitor General to file a brief expressing the views of the United...

Have the Pentagon Brass Learned From the Catholic Bishops?

2013-05-18T20:03:26+00:00

Watch Coming to Independent Lens: The Invisible War on PBS. See more from Independent Lens. In watching and listening to the unfolding stories over the last week of sexual assault in the military, I could not help but notice how similar the military’s mess is to the situation in the Roman...

When Your Safety Cuts Into Industry’s Bottom Line You Lose…Your Fingers

2013-05-18T19:30:04+00:00

I just read a really amazing story about a product that stops table saws from cutting off people’s fingers. You might think that manufacturers would race to incorporate this feature into their products. Yet the opposite happened. A coalition of table saw makers have taken multiple steps over years to...

President Hollande Has Signed France’s Marriage Bill Into Law

2013-05-18T19:19:55+00:00

It’s official! From BBC News: France’s president has signed into law a controversial bill making the country the ninth in Europe, and 14th globally, to legalise gay marriage. On Friday, the Constitutional Council rejected a challenge by the right-wing opposition, clearing the way for Francois Hollande to sign the bill. He said: “I...

The Newest Bank Scam That May Get You - And You Won't Know It

2013-05-18T19:18:46+00:00

Of course. After all, it's not as if anyone is going to stop them! They crashed the world economy and got nothing more than a couple of taps on the wrist, so why wouldn't they do this? California Attorney General Kamala Harris, who filed suit against JPMorgan Chase last Thursday, says...

Romney: Benghazi talking points had no bearing on presidential election

2013-05-18T19:18:09+00:00

The administration’s talking points have been a key focus of Republican criticism over the handling of the attack. Read more...

Video: Gas prices hit $4.39 a gallon in the Twin Cities

2013-05-18T19:16:25+00:00

Capacity. A couple of weeks ago, I was griping that I had to pay $3.50 a gallon or so after a longtime partnership between my grocery store and a local gas station was canceled. Yesterday, I had to fill up my tank again … and I practically had to fill out...

Very Close Race for Senate Nomination in Georgia

2013-05-18T18:31:01+00:00

A new GaPundit poll in Georgia finds an extremely tight race for the GOP Senate nomination with Rep. Jack Kingston (R) at 18%, Rep. Phil Gingrey (R) at 16%, Karen Handel (R) at 16%, Rep. Paul Broun (R) at 14% and David Perdue (R) at 6%.

Come Saturday Morning: The Conservative Crack-Up, 2013: Minnesota Marriage Equality Edition

2013-05-18T17:47:01+00:00

Bradley Dean “Bradlee Dean” Smith’s giving the the prayer for the May 2011 opening of the Minnesota Legislative session for that summer. This was the Minnesota public’s first taste of what their newly-elected GOP lege would be like, and it likely helped lead to the MN GOP’s losing the...

Gomez hits Markey for lack of events

2013-05-18T17:46:49+00:00

A Boston College political scientist says it's "surprising" that the Massachusetts Democrat stayed under the radar this week. Read more...

Bacon Bacon Bacon Restaurant Smells Like Bacon

2013-05-18T17:34:44+00:00

Regular commenter Michael Reynolds alerted me to an epic scandal in the Bay Area. It appears to be on its way to peaceful resolution, however. NBC Bay Area (“SF Bacon Restaurant Must Close Due to Aroma Issue“): The bacon smell smelled so much of bacon that now, the bacon must go. A San...

“Mass demonstration” at Ft. Meade supporting Manning

2013-05-18T17:30:04+00:00

Crowd sourcing So what have you got planned for June 1st? Given the time of year, some of you may be thinking of vacation, fishing, or possibly just grilling some burgers and enjoying the approach of summer. But if you don’t have anything else planned, you might want to hop on...