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Focus Act testimony of Rand Paul on the Gibson Guitar raid.

The companies that administer two key college entrance exams have adopted new measures arguably designed to decrease participation in the tests - and, ultimately, enrollment in colleges in university - by minority and elderly students. The two companies that administer the tests, the College Board and ACT Inc., which administer the SAT and ACT tests, have announced that students taking the tests will be required to present photo IDs. The new requirement is being called a "key security upgrade" and comes in response to an alleged cheating scandal in which students allegedly paid someone else to take the tests for...

Voting Rights Act under siegeBy JOSH GERSTEIN | 2/19/12 7:06 AM EST In a political system where even the most trivial issues trigger partisan rancor, the Voting Rights Act has stood for several decades as a rare point of bipartisan consensus. Until now. An intensifying conservative legal assault on the Voting Rights Act could precipitate what many civil rights advocates regard as the nuclear option: a court ruling striking down one of the core elements of the landmark 1965 law guaranteeing African Americans and other minorities access to the ballot box. At the same time, the view that states should...

Uploaded by johnnyb34435 on Nov 13, 2011 I decided to have the usual Place year fun whenever veterans day or memorial day comes around I dress up in my best military costume go to the bar and get all the drinks I want for absolutely nothing it seems that the American sheeple will buy anyone all the drinks they want as long as they feel that they're paying back for the so call freedom they never lost.

http://judiciary.house.gov/hearings/mark_10132011.html

Last week, a report from a Republican working group revealed that administration officials, in the rush to pass Obamacare, ignored internal warnings from government experts about the fiscal sustainability of a long-term care insurance entitlement program included in the health reform law. Throughout the health care debate, officials within the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, as well as the Health and Human Services Department, repeatedly warned that the CLASS Act would be a fiscal disaster. Yet, the final version of Obamacare not only included the CLASS Act; it even counted CLASS as a cost-saving measure. Now, the Republicans behind...

I could not find a full text link anywhere on FR. If this has been posted already, please delete.

Here is Obama's plan.I did a search looking for this and I am not kidding the American alphabet media were having thrills posting only news headlines and articles on how great it is. The UK paper posted it.It was embargoed until after his speech. Click below to read the PDF easier reading version. American Jobs Act

For many students, getting a high school diploma doesn’t mark the end of a high school education. Three out of four graduates aren’t fully prepared for college and likely need to take at least one remedial class, according to the latest annual survey from the nonprofit testing organization ACT, which measured half of the nation’s high school seniors in English, math, reading and science proficiency. Only 25 percent cleared all of ACT’s college preparedness benchmarks, while 75 percent likely will spend part of their freshman year brushing up on high-school-level course work. The 2011 class is best prepared for college-level...

There has been no shortage of court cases regarding the constitutionality of the Affordable Care Act. Before today, four courts, including the Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals, examined the health reform law and found it constitutional. Today, a different court ruled against the Affordable Care Act’s individual responsibility provision. We strongly disagree with this decision and we are confident it will not stand. The individual responsibility provision – the main part of the law at issue in these cases – is constitutional. Those who claim this provision exceeds Congress’ power to regulate interstate commerce are incorrect. Individuals who choose to...

The maps released this afternoon show “VRA” or “Voting Rights Act” districts – state House and Senate districts designed to have at least “50% plus one” minority population. VRAs are required by a 1965 federal statute aimed at guaranteeing legislative representation for minorities.

Pentagon Sets Stage for U.S. to Respond to Computer Sabotage With Military ForceWASHINGTON—The Pentagon has concluded that computer sabotage coming from another country can constitute an act of war, a finding that for the first time opens the door for the U.S. to respond using traditional military force. The Pentagon's first formal cyber strategy, unclassified portions of which are expected to become public next month, represents an early attempt to grapple with a changing world in which a hacker could pose as significant a threat to U.S. nuclear reactors, subways or pipelines as a hostile country's military. In part, the...

Don't look now but the last time President Obama allowed questions from the press was on April 5 during the budget battle. So far, the press doesn't seem to mind very much. They meekly accept the PR handouts offered by the White House press office and bombard press secretary Jay Carney with questions he couldn't possibly answer anyway. But some in the 4th Estate are noticing. President Obama today met King Abdullah of Jordan in the Oval Office -- statements, no questions. Still, it was better than last week's meeting with the NATO leader:

This paper uses variation across states to estimate the number of jobs created/saved as a result of the spending component of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA). The key sources of identi cation are ARRA highway funding and the intensity of state sales tax usage. We estimate the Act created/saved 450 thousand government-sector jobs and destroyed/forestalled one million private sector jobs. State and local government jobs were saved because ARRA funds were largely used to oset state revenue shortfalls and Medicaid increases (Fig. A) rather than boost private sector employment (e.g. Fig. B). The majority of destroyed/forestalled jobs were...

A recently unearthed agreement between the FBI and the San Francisco Police Department allows city cops assigned to a task force designed to combat terrorist attacks to gather intelligence on individuals even if they aren’t suspected of a crime, according to groups that have been in a legal fight with the SFPD over the agreement for months. The Asian Law Caucus and the American Civil Liberties Union obtained a copy of the March 2007 agreement signed by then-Police Chief Heather Fong this week after filing a freedom of information request in November. Under a policy established in 1990, the SFPD...

VANITY: I tried doing a search to find the list of the 1,000+ companies/unions/etc. that have been granted waivers from the "Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act." Needless to say, it is not a featured link on the HHS.gov website. I'm sure there are some great Freeper sleuths who know where we should be able to find this -- Google and Bing don't seem to want to help. Maybe HHS doesn't want people to know who is being granted waivers... Maybe HHS doesn't want people asking the question. I think it should be a FAQ on the HHS website because...

In 2020, the Clean Air Act will prevent 230,000 premature deaths and result in $2 trillion in economic benefits, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) reported on Tuesday. The EPA report, required by law, assesses the costs and benefits of the 1990 Clean Air Act amendments, which overhauled the country’s premier air-pollution law and included restrictions on ozone and a range of toxic air pollutants. “The Clean Air Act’s decades-long track record of success has helped millions of Americans live healthier, safer and more productive lives,” EPA Administrator Lisa Jackson said in a statement.

New York - A federal court ordered the Obama administration Thursday to act on five deep water drilling permits in the Gulf of Mexico within 30 days, calling the delays in issuing new decisions "unreasonable, unacceptable, and unjustified." In a case brought by the drilling company Ensco, U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Louisiana Judge Martin Feldmen ruled that the four to nine months the company has waited for a decision on the permits it has a stake in is simply too long. (Snip) A spokeswoman for the agency said it is reviewing the court's decision.

#2011-009 UNITED STATES OF AMERICA DEPARTMENT OF THE TREASURY COMPTROLLER OF THE CURRENCY In the Matter of: Zions First National Bank Salt Lake City, Utah AA-EC-11-04 CONSENT ORDER The Comptroller of the Currency of the United States of America ("Comptroller"), through his national bank examiners and other staff of the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency ("OCC"), conducted an examination of Zions First National Bank, Salt Lake City, Utah ("Bank"), specifically of the Bank's former foreign correspondent business, including its transactions with Casa de Cambio ("CDC") money service business customers located in Mexico. The OCC identified deficiencies in the...

Republicans block youth immigration bill AP WASHINGTON – Senate Republicans on Saturday doomed an effort that would have given hundreds of thousands of young illegal immigrants a path to legal status if they enrolled in college or joined the military. Sponsors of the Dream Act fell five votes short of the 60 they needed to break through largely GOP opposition and win its enactment before Republicans take over the House and narrow Democrats' majority in the Senate next month.

The DREAM Act got a last-minute reprieve on the Senate floor last night as Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid pulled the bill and gave its advocates more time to whip up the votes it still needs to break a Republican filibuster. The moment involved a bit of the Senate’s signature procedural drama. A motion to end debate—which requires 60 votes that haven’t yet materialized—was scheduled to take place just hours after the House made history Wednesday night, passing the decade-old DREAM Act for the first time in either chamber. But 15 minutes after the 11 a.m. “cloture” vote was supposed...

CNN -- Senate Democrats cancel vote on DREAM Act, meaning the immigration measure is likely dead for the year.

Outgoing Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi says the DREAM Act represents the new "American dream." "In coming here, these new comers, from that time a couple hundred years ago and to this day, by coming with that optimism and hope and commitment to a better future for the next generation, they made America more American. So tonight, we have an opportunity to identify with the aspirations of our founders," Pelosi said on the House floor prior to the vote.

The White House is reaching out to fence-sitting Republican Senators trying to earn their vote on the DREAM Act. A new report from the National Journal says that members of the President's cabinet are targeting Sens. Collins and Snowe from Maine, Sen. LeMieux of Florida, and Sen. Hutchison of Texas. Call the Capitol Switchboard NOW and urge these Senators and your Members of Congress to oppose the DREAM Act Amnesty -- 202-224-3121.

Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) vowed on Spanish-language television to bring the DREAM Act back for a vote in the lame-duck session. On the Univision program "Al Punto," Reid was repeatedly hammered by host Jorge Ramos on whether the vote would happen, win or lose on Tuesday. "The answer is yes," Reid said. (Snip) Of the lack of Republican support he's received on the DREAM Act or comprehensive immigration reform, Reid said, "They want to keep talking about this issue, and I say it's demagoguery in its worst fashion and is unfair to the Hispanic community."

Reid: DREAM Act vote after midtermsBy SIMMI AUJLA | 10/29/10 6:39 PM EDT Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) is promising a vote on immigration legislation in the lame-duck session after the Nov. 2 midterms. He told Univision's Jorge Ramos in an interview scheduled to air Sunday morning on the network's "Al Punto" show that he will bring the bill to the floor during the session. Ramos wrote on Twitter that “Harry Reid told me that, win or lose, he will present again the Dream Act in the Senate after the elections.” The DREAM act would allow students in the...

It’s been less than a week and we have another example of violent imagery involving children from leftist environmentalists. This time its from a newly resurfaced slide show over at Treehugger.com (h/t Adam Baldwin), which is owned by Discovery, that rates environmental ads by how cool they are. Apparently hanging children is cool:

You would think that after the awful and failed commercial that liberal environmentalists released recently, that they would have learned their lesson about advertising the death of children... Here is a new ad by ACT, an environmental group that pleads with people to cut their carbon and green house emissions:

JENKS, Okla. (CNN/KOTV) - It was supposed to be just a practice. But an Oklahoma high school freshman managed to ace one the nation's toughest exams on her first try. Jolee Potts, only 15 years old, earned a perfect score on the ACT. "I just took it as practice my freshman year and I figured I'd take it again junior or senior year, so... I don't have to now," said Potts. Her freshman schedule is packed with four AP classes, Latin and orchestra where she plays the viola. She also makes award-winning documentaries. Potts says going into her first college...

FDIC's expanded authority is part of the 2,300-page Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act signed into law on July 21. The new regime for dissolving megacompanies -- one with almost no judicial oversight and in which creditors' rights are few. A company has essentially no choice about the FDIC taking over as receiver. "It may be difficult to try to draw a box around what that is," said Renée Dailey

Average scores on the ACT college entrance exam inched downward this year, yet slightly more students who took the test proved to be prepared for college, according to a report released Wednesday. The findings sound contradictory. But the exam's authors point to a growing and more diverse group of test-takers — many are likely scoring lower overall, but more are also meeting benchmarks used to measure college readiness. Last spring's high-school seniors averaged a composite score of 21.0 on the test's scale of 1 to 36, down slightly from 21.1 last year and the lowest score of the last five...

Feisal Abdul Rauf, born in Kuwait in 1948, boasts of his issue from an “Egyptian family steeped in religious scholarship.” 1 He presents himself as a Muslim moderate.2 Yet Feisal Rauf's Muslim Brotherhood provenance, radical by definition, is as authentic as it gets. Evidence of family, and direct Rauf Muslim Brotherhood connections * Rauf's father Dr. Muhammad Abdul Rauf (1917-2004), was an Egyptian contemporary of Muslim Brotherhood (MB) founder Hassan al-Banna. * Rauf's father studied and taught at Islam's closest equivalent to the Vatican --- Al-Azhar University --- beside Hassan al-Banna, perpetuating the pious family tradition of radicalism. * In...

Q: Sir, about the Jones Act, has this been waived? And if so, where are the foreign vessels? ADMIRAL ALLEN: Oh, there are a lot of foreign vessels operating offshore, Carol. The Jones Act—we have had no request for Jones Act waivers. If the vessels are operating outside state waters, which is three miles and beyond, they don't require a waiver. All that we require is an Affirmation of Reciprocity, so if there ever was a spill in those countries and we want to send skimming equipment, that we would be allowed to do that, as well, and that hasn't...

Last week, the U.S. House of Representatives passed HR5175, also known as the Disclose Act, by a 219-206 vote. "Disclose," you see, is an acronym for "Democracy Is Strengthened by Casting Light on Spending in Elections." The measure's author, Rep. Chris Van Hollen, D-Md., also happens to chair the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee -- so you know that the bill has nothing to do with helping Democrats retain their seats. (Just kidding.) Two Republicans voted for the measure; 36 Democrats voted against it. The bill now goes to the Senate, where it deserves to molder. This bill may have passed...

Day 53 of the Gulf oil disaster and no end in sight!On Day 52, I asked: "Does Obama Care More About Protecting Unions Than Cleaning Up Oil Spill? Why hasn't he accepted cleanup help from friends overseas?" Today, we have another report on the Jones Act. Pay special attention to the words of James Carafano from the Heritage Foundation: [VIDEO AT SITE] Jones Act Slowing Oil Spill Cleanup? by: Brian Wilson Fox News June 10, 2010 ...After 50 plus days of oil flowing freely into the gulf, the question could be asked: Why do effective and proven foreign clean up...

When the administration slapped the wrist of one of its top technology officials this spring for violating Barack Obama’s ethics pledge, a spokesman claimed the breaches were isolated incidents. But a Daily Caller investigation reveals a cavalier attitude at the Obama White House toward longstanding safeguards designed to prevent abuses of the Presidential Records Act and other laws – including acts that carry serious legal implications. Two sources say a top White House technology official, Chief Information Officer Brook Colangelo, routinely asked technology vendors for special deals based on his position as a public official.

One of most ironic and stupid things about Congress is its propensity to name bills in a manner that has nothing to do with the substance of the bill. One example is the Fiscal Responsibility Act of 2009. It had nothing to do with responsibility. The newest boondoggle is a monstrosity called DISCLOSE. It stands for Democracy Is Strengthened by Casting Light On Spending in Elections Act, or DISCLOSE Act. It won't strengthen democracy and it wouldn't cast light on anything. An analysis reported in the WSJ shows how wrong things would go. The Disclose Act exacerbates many of these...

After a week of preemptive attacks on a possible IMF bailout of Greece, Rep. Mike Pence (R-Ind.) introduces the European Bailout Protection Act, aimed at preventing taxpayer dollars from going to a rescue plan. "This legislation would require that countries like Greece cut spending and put their own fiscal house in order," says Pence, backed up by other members of the House GOP, "instead of looking to the United States for a bailout. We face record unemployment and a debt crisis of our own, and American taxpayers should not be forced to bear the risk for nations that have avoided...

Caught in the ACT Malcolm A. Kline, April 28, 2010 Although public schools like to trumpet their relevance, the education they deliver usually shows how out of touch they are. “Of the 1.5 million high school graduates who took the ACT during academic year 2008-2009, 33 percent were not ready for college-level English, 47 percent were not ready for college social science, 58 percent were not ready for College Algebra, and 72 percent were not ready for college Biology,” Cynthia B. Schmeiser, the president of the education division of ACT, Inc., told a Senate committee today. “Overall, only 23 percent...

WASHINGTON -- The House of Representatives reauthorized the Patriot Act for one year Thursday. The vote was 315-97 . Many liberals in the House opposed the controversial act, saying it tramps Constitutional protections and civil liberties. *snip* The Senate ok'd the package earlier this week. President Obama is expected to sign the bill into law.

Obama Quietly Backs Patriot Act ProvisionsWilliam Fisher NEW YORK, 23 Nov (IPS) - With the health care debate preoccupying the mainstream media, it has gone virtually unreported that the Barack Obama administration is quietly supporting renewal of provisions of the George W. Bush-era USA Patriot Act that civil libertarians say infringe on basic freedoms. And it is reportedly doing so over the objections of some prominent Democrats. When a panicky Congress passed the act 45 days after the terrorist attacks of Sep. 11, 2001, three contentious parts of the law were scheduled to expire at the end of next month,...

The Heroic ActThe Merriam-Webster dictionary defines a hero as "a mythological or legendary figure of great strength or ability; or a man admired for his achievements and qualities." A hero goes above and beyond the call of duty to help others. It is someone who has made a sacrifice for the benefit of those who could not help themselves.There are heroes in the Catholic Church. They are the canonized saints. It is true, that all people who enter Heaven are saints, but the canonized saints have done something that is extraordinary and have been made role models for future generations...

Note: The following text is a quote: Maryland Scientist Charged with Attempted Espionage WASHINGTON—A Maryland scientist who once worked in varying capacities for the Department of Energy, the Department of Defense and the National Aeronautics and Space Administration has been arrested for attempted espionage, David Kris, Assistant Attorney General for National Security, Channing D. Phillips, Acting U.S. Attorney for the District of Columbia, and Joseph Persichini, Jr., Assistant Director for the FBI’s Washington Field Office, announced today. A criminal complaint unsealed today in the District of Columbia charges Stewart David Nozette, 52, of Chevy Chase, Maryland, with attempted espionage for...

Video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_qxjocm5fCc Video Description - quote: "Homosexuals Must Be Killed" Muslims speak out - Muslim Day Washington, DC October 16, 2009 Disturbing video of Shariah Law anti-gay sentiment uncovered by ACT for America Randy McDaniels (Jacksonville, FL) during Muslim Day prayer event Washington, DC Category: News & Politics Tags: Muslim Day ACT for America Washington DC Homosexual Gay

Patrick Gaspard, considered one of the most powerful figures in the Obama White House, is a "longtime ACORN operative" and former union official, according to a report posted Monday on the American Spectator's online blog. Gaspard's name recently surfaced as the official President Obama dispatched to urge beleaguered New York Gov. David Paterson not to run for another term. Paterson insists he'll continue to run for governor even without Obama's support. Gaspard has extensive ties to organized labor and community-organizing groups. One measure of his influence in the White House: He holds the same "political affairs director" title that belonged...

Many of us are having discussions today about the meaning of the gatherings yesterday. I am sure many are thinking in terms of a new political party. I would suggest another direction. The pitfalls of a 3rd party have been made manifest many times in the past. Furthermore, some of our Founding Fathers warned of the dangers of party loyalty. How else might we hold fast to Constitutionalism/Conservatism/Capitalism/ and not be held hostage to a political party whose members too frequently clash with these principles? I suggest a permanently grass-roots association of patriots who strictly adhere to the idea of...

In a speech to the AFL-CIO, the president accuses critics and special interests of using scare tactics and spreading 'lies' in healthcare debate. Reporting from Cincinnati - In a combative Labor Day speech, President Obama said that the healthcare debate had gone on too long and accused opponents of spreading "lies" meant to persuade Americans that his proposed overhaul would cruelly deny care to the elderly. The president, speaking at an AFL-CIO picnic, said that "special interests" were determined to "scare the heck out of people.

Compared with other students, homeschoolers scored higher than the national average on this year’s ACT, a national standardized test used to gauge educational development and college readiness. Like the SAT, ACT scores are used in the college admissions process to evaluate applicants. Virtually all colleges accept either test, Ed Colby, spokesman for the ACT, told CNSNews.com. Scores are based on the 1.48 million students who graduated in 2009, Colby said. Among those students were 11,535 homeschoolers, he said. Homeschoolers are further prepared for college because they must take initiative to accomplish projects, Slatter said.

Until recently, few Republicans had wanted to challenge Harry Reid for his Senate seat in Nevada, as Reid had built a huge warchest and had expected to use it to coast to victory. New polling, however, shows that Reid is quite vulnerable even with his campaign coffers stuffed to the brim. Danny Tarkanian, a relative newcomer to Nevada politics, has an eleven-point lead on Reid in the latest Mason-Dixon polling in Nevada, and the state GOP chairwoman also leads Reid:

Core Curricula Deconstruct by: Malcolm A. Kline, August 24, 2009 The rush to relevance begun by college administrators in the 1960s never stopped. “The low marks received by many institutions show students are graduating without math, science and other fundamentals and underscore the urgent need for parents, students, and policymakers to focus on what colleges expect of their students,” the American Council of Trustees and Alumni (ACTA) declares. ACTA has just published a study entitled, What will they learn? A report on General Education Requirements at 100 of the Nation’s Leading Colleges and Universities. “Out of 100 institutions we...