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CONROE, Texas -- A Houston area law enforcement agency is prepared to launch an unmanned drone that could someday carry weapons, Local 2 Investigates reported Friday. The Montgomery County Sheriff's Office in Conroe paid $300,000 in federal homeland security grant money and Friday it received the ShadowHawk unmanned helicopter made by Vanguard Defense Industries of Spring. A laptop computer is used to control the 50-pound unmanned chopper, and a game-like console is used to aim and zoom a powerful camera and infrared heat-seeking device mounted on the front. "To be in on the ground floor of this is pretty exciting...

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The U.S. hospital and drug industries lashed out at provisions of President Barack Obama's deficit reduction plan that would saddle them with more than $200 billion in federal healthcare spending cuts. Lobbyists vowed to fight proposals for Medicare, which covers the elderly, that are aimed at saving $135 billion on prescriptions by requiring drugmakers to provide steeper rebates similar to those for Medicaid, which covers the poor.

The Obama administration is considering further actions to strengthen the housing market, but the bar is high: plans must help a broad swath of homeowners, stimulate the economy and cost next to nothing. One proposal would allow millions of homeowners with government-backed mortgages to refinance them at today’s lower interest rates, about 4 percent, according to two people briefed on the administration’s discussions who asked not to be identified because they were not allowed to talk about the information. A wave of refinancing could be a strong stimulus to the economy, because it would lower consumers’ mortgage bills right away...

<p>The US Federal Reserve’s meeting on Tuesday is likely to be one of its most difficult and divisive since, well, last August.</p> <p>Sharply weaker economic data in recent weeks, a new peak in the eurozone debt crisis, and a downgrade to the triple A credit rating of the US have shaken confidence in a way that could spiral towards a new recession. The Fed will be forced to consider fresh stimulus in response.</p>

Foreign Minister Erkki Tuomioja would like weapons to disappear from private homes, reports Social Democratic newspaper Uutispäivä Demari. Tuomioja says there is no need to keep weapons at home, adding that weapons obtained for hobby purposes, like hunting and shooting, can be stored on the premises of monitored clubs. He notes that such hobbies do not require automatic weapons or repeating firearms. According to the minister, the gun law reform that came into force in June was a step in the right direction, but there is still a way to go.

<p>The leader of a large group of House conservatives said Tuesday he was "confident" there weren't enough GOP lawmakers to pass a plan by Republican House Speaker John Boehner to increase the debt ceiling and reduce the deficit.</p> <p>Rep. Jim Jordan (R., Ohio), who said the Boehner plan didn't cut spending enough, heads a group that includes 178 of the 240 Republican House lawmakers.</p>

As federal criminal statutes have ballooned, it has become increasingly easy for Americans to end up on the wrong side of the law. Many of the new federal laws also set a lower bar for conviction than in the past: Prosecutors don't necessarily need to show that the defendant had criminal intent.

Double Red Alert Posted by Ann Barnhardt - June 24, AD 2011 9:01 AM MST Two HUGE intel leads in my email box this morning from way-back contacts that I've had for years, that are actually somewhat connected concepts. 1. File this one under "Now It All Makes Sense". A Missouri farming and ranching contact just got off a conference call wherein he was informed that the federal government is sending out letters to all of the flooded out farmers in the Missouri River flood plain and bottoms notifying them that the Army Corps of Engineers will offer to BUY...

WASHINGTON (Reuters) – The outlines of a deal that would allow the United States to avert a debt default emerged on Thursday as top Republican and Democratic lawmakers held their first meeting aimed at cutting the bloated U.S. deficit. Republicans edged toward a White House plan that would cut some spending now and set long-term deficit reduction targets, but said more difficult decisions on taxes and healthcare spending would have to wait until after the 2012 election. A top Republican lawmaker, Paul Ryan, said there would be no immediate "grand slam" agreement on tackling the budget deficit, expected to reach...

On top of everything else, some potentially troublesome environmental news out of the Gulf of Mexico again. The Times Picayune is reporting that the Coast Guard is investigating reports of a brand new deepwater oil spill. Multiple callers have reported that they have seen a huge sheen of oil not far from a deepwater rig....

Arizona Sen. John McCain and his Republican colleagues have long said they will only join Democrats on a comprehensive immigration reform deal if and when the southwest border is secured. Now McCain says he wants to develop a mutually-agreeable set of benchmarks with Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano for what level of security is sufficient and how to determine when that goal has been met. “We have to agree on certain criteria on what is successful securing of our border,” McCain said today during a Senate Homeland Security Committee hearing. “I think it would be very helpful to all of...

First Lady Michelle Obama called on the Latino community to put pressure on Republicans to support comprehensive immigration legislation. In an interview with Univision, the first lady said President Obama wanted to pass immigration legislation, but could not find enough support among Republicans to move a bill. The DREAM Act, a bill to give undocumented immigrants who came to the country as children and are pursuing higher education an opportunity to become U.S. citizens, had little support among Republicans, she said. The latest attempt to pass the legislation failed in December. “So I urge the Latino community, he needs help,...

Developing: Arizona Rep. Gabrielle Giffords was shot along with three of her aides by a gunman Saturday morning outside a grocery store in Tucson while holding a public event, Fox News has confirmed. Twelve others were shot as well at Giffords' first public event called "Your Corner." The gunman is in custody. Giffords was taken to a hospital but the condition of those shot was not immediately known, a senior congressional aide told Fox News.

Rep. Gabrielle Giffords and six others died after a gunman opened fire at a public event on Saturday, the Pima County, Ariz., sheriff's office confirms. The 40-year-old Democrat, who was re-elected to her third term in November, was hosting a "Congress on Your Corner" event at a Safeway in northwest Tucson when a gunman ran up and started shooting, according to Peter Michaels, news director of Arizona Public Media. At least three other people, including members of her staff, were injured. Giffords was transported to University Medical Center in Tucson. Her condition was not immediately known. Giffords was talking to...

Sacramento -- As California faces a budget deficit that could top $28 billion over the next 18 months, Gov. Jerry Brown and other state leaders are poised to shift the responsibility for providing some services from the state to counties and cities. In one of his first meetings as governor, Brown spoke with county leaders Tuesday about significantly restructuring government. He also attempted to allay the fears of some local officials that the state could pass off duties without providing sufficient means to pay for them."We're going to shift funding to the local level, we're going to make sure there's...

1 The "cost" of the bill is $857 billion...over 10 years = $85 billion/year 2 $85 billion/year is 2% of spending (proposed to be $3830 billion this year) 3 $721 billion out of $857 billion, or 84% of the bill, are keeping the tax cuts. Is this really "spending" to keep our own $? 4 Extending the estate tax "costs" $68 billion over 10 years, or $6.8 billion/year. That is 0.1% of spending this year. 5 Extending unemployment insurance costs $56 billion over 10 years, or $5.6 billion/year. 6 The payroll tax holiday costs $111 billion over 10 years, or...

A top House Democrat said Monday there's room to revise the contentious tax-cut package hammered out between the White House and Senate Republicans. Majority Leader Steny Hoyer (D-Md.) predicted the House would ultimately pass a tax-cut bill this month, but not before Democratic critics have had a chance to amend certain language — particularly a 35 percent estate tax provision that exempts the first $5 million of estates. "There certainly seems to me to be some room for a change which may or may not be perceived by some to be significant," Hoyer told reporters at the National Press Club....

With the situation in North Korea having gotten pretty dicey in recent months, Gov. Bill Richardson – a favorite of the North Korean government – may be heading back there next week. That’s according to the Washington Post: “Adm. Mike Mullen, the Joint Chiefs of Staff chairman, is off this week to South Korea to tell officials that the United States is standing with them. And there’s talk that outgoing New Mexico Gov. Bill Richardson may be off to North Korea next week for a private chat with top officials at the invitation of key people in the nuclear crowd...

We're Getting The First Details From The Commission To Reduce The Deficit Gregory White Nov. 10, 2010, 2:04 PM The President's deficit commission has just come through with their proposal for budget cuts, and they total $200 billion by 2015. The cuts are wide ranging and include cuts to defense, social security, and, oddly, taxes. That's right, tax reform is on the menu. From the early comments, it seems like headline taxes are going to be brought down under the plan, though some taxes would actually rise. There will also be significant cuts to federal employees, amounting to 10% of...

On Sept. 29, just before Congress recessed for the midterm elections, Democratic Senators Robert Menendez (New Jersey) and Patrick Leahy (Vermont) introduced a comprehensive immigration reform bill in the Senate. Although to some this seems to be an odd moment to be introducing such a thing, Menendez, Leahy and some immigrant rights activists think there is a chance of getting it passed during the lame duck session, between the election and the inauguration of the new Congress in January 2011. The bill, S 3932, has no cosponsors as yet. It is pitched to the right of the main comprehensive immigration...

...The major items include: The AMT will ensnare over 28 million families, up from 4 million last year. According to the left-leaning Tax Policy Center, Congress’ failure to index the AMT will lead to an explosion of AMT taxpaying families—rising from 4 million last year to 28.5 million. These families will have to calculate their tax burdens twice, and pay taxes at the higher level. The AMT was created in 1969 to ensnare a handful of taxpayers. Small business expensing will be slashed and 50% expensing will disappear. Small businesses can normally expense (rather than slowly-deduct, or “depreciate”) equipment purchases...

General James Mattis who recently took the helm of the US Central Command, or CENTCOM , has warned from the collapse of Yemen's security forces and the army. The US general cast doubt on the ability of the Yemeni forces to manage the war on northern front against the Shiite rebeles and in the south against the separatist movement and Al Qaeda. The new U.S. Central Command chief conveyed the regime of President Ali Abdullah Saleh is struggling to contain the "rebels" in the north and south, and due to the scale of the conflicts he warned of a possible...

The Obama administration is considering it. The idea is to have the U.S. Citizen and Immigration Services (USCIS) just start handing out green cards to illegals. USCIS, a part of the Obama administration, outlines the ideas in a draft memo that includes the possibility of issuing green cards to tens of thousands who entered the country illegally. "In the absence of Comprehensive Immigration Reform, CIS can extend benefits and/or protections to many individuals and groups by issuing new guidance and regulations," the memo advises.

so let me get this straight -- Obama thinks that illegal immigrants are vital to our economy, but he wants to harshly punish anyone who hires them -- small contradiction there

The Obama administration has been holding behind-the-scenes talks to determine whether the Department of Homeland Security can unilaterally grant legal status on a mass basis to illegal immigrants, according to Fox News. The source for this bombshell – which could ignite a national uproar given that a majority supports tougher laws against illegals – is an unidentified former Bush administration official who spoke with at least three people involved in those talks. The issue was raised publicly by eight Republican senators who wrote to the White House on Monday to complain that they had heard the administration was readying a...

The utter stupidity, the utter hypocrisy, in these stories are mind-boggling. First we have Michelle Obama telling a kid that WE need to fix the fact that her mom doesn't have papers. First lady Michelle Obama told the child of an apparent illegal immigrant on Wednesday that immigration policy should be "fixed" so her mother could remain in the United States. During a trip to an elementary school in Silver Spring, Md., with the first lady of Mexico, Margarita Zavala, Obama took questions from one young girl who said that she had heard "that Barack Obama is taking everybody away...

A third-grader at Brazos Elementary was given a week’s detention for possessing a Jolly Rancher. School officials in western Fort Bend County are defending the seemingly harsh sentence. The school’s principal and superintendent said they were simply complying with a state law that limits junk food in schools. But the girl’s parents say it’s a huge overreaction. “I think it’s stupid to give a kid a week’s worth of detention for a piece of candy,” said Amber Brazda, the girl’s mother. "The whole thing was just ridiculous to me." Leighann Adair, 10, was eating lunch Monday when a teacher confiscated...

The leaders of the three naval services on Monday argued for an increase in the fees retired military personnel and their families pay for health care, something Congress has refused to approve for more than a decade.Adm. Gary Roughead, the chief of naval operations; Gen. James Conway, the Marine Corps commandant; and Adm. Thad Allen, Coast Guard commandant, all complained about the soaring costs of healthcare and said increased contributions by the retirees for their TRICARE coverage is overdue.Speaking at the Navy League's annual symposium at the National Harbor convention center, Roughead disagreed strongly with the demand by House...

Report: Obama says immigration next on Dems' agenda By Michael O'Brien - 04/20/10 05:35 PM ET President Barack Obama told a Republican senator Tuesday that immigration is next on his agenda, according to a report. Sen. Scott Brown (R-Mass.) told the Wall Street Journal that the president told him that Democrats plan to move ahead with immigration reform legislation next month when the two spoke this afternoon. The Journal reported that Obama told Brown that immigration was next, and was lobbying the blue-state senator to take a look at the bipartisan legislation that Sens. Charles Schumer (D-N.Y.) and Lindsey Graham...

The Senate majority leader, Harry Reid, told an exuberant crowd at an immigration rally Saturday in Las Vegas that Congress would start work on immigration overhaul as soon as lawmakers return this week. “We’re going to have comprehensive immigration reform now,” he said in a speech to more than 6,000 people, mostly immigrants. “We need to do this this year,” Reid said, drawing cheers from the crowd. Reid told the crowd he believes he has 56 Senate votes in support of the legislation. He outlined legislation that would include border security measures and a temporary guest worker program. To gain...

<p>The United States should consider raising taxes to help bring deficits under control and may need to consider a European-style value-added tax, White House adviser Paul Volcker said on Tuesday.</p>

March 21, 2010 (CHICAGO) (WLS) -- Tens of thousands gathered on the National Mall in Washington,DC Sunday for a rally focused on immigration reform. Some of those gathered are from the Chicago area. They say they fear reform efforts have been put on the back burner. While in the shadow of Sunday's health care reform vote, tens of thousands of protesters from around the country marched in Washington to push for a long-awaited immigration overhaul, as their fellow advocates in the Chicago area demanded the president make good on his promise of change. "One thing we want to see [is]...

Stupak evidently met with Pelosi tonight. And has a press conference scheduled for the morning ... On my Twitter feed, I see Diana DeGette (radical liberal feminist, if you need a broadbrush label — Yuval wrote everything you ever need to read about her a few years ago here) is not happy. My understanding if a fix were to happen via an enrollment corrections bill, the Senate would have to pass it first. I would think Barbara Boxer would sooner give up her seat (which she might have to) than allow that happen ... for one thing. UPDATE: Here's how...

President Barack Obama plans to focus attention on immigration next week by meeting at the White House with two senators crafting a bill on the issue. White House spokesman Nicholas Shapiro said Obama will meet with Democratic Sen. Chuck Schumer of New York and Republican Sen. Lindsey Graham of South Carolina on Monday. The president is "looking forward to hearing more about their efforts toward producing a bipartisan bill," Shapiro said Friday. The meeting will be the first Obama has had with Schumer and Graham on the proposal they are developing since they began focusing on it last year. Immigration...

<p>In the category of it’s never too early to start looking, a new poll found Mitt Romney is the early favorite in Texas for the 2012 Republican presidential nomination.</p> <p>The survey by Public Policy Polling of North Carolina found Romney leading with 32 percent support, followed by Mike Huckabee at 29 percent and 23 percent for Sarah Palin.</p>

ALBANY — Angered by the defeat last year of a bill that would have allowed same-sex couples to marry, a group of well-financed gay rights advocates has started a political action committee to take aim at state senators who have opposed same-sex marriage. In total, the political action committee, called Fight Back New York, is prepared to raise and spend in the high six figures range in the State Senate races this year, according to people involved with the committee. Financing and organization will come, in part, from some of the most politically sophisticated and financially powerful gay rights advocates...

I just heard Martha McCallum on FOX News interview JD Hayworth who is running against (RINO) John McCain in Arizona. Martha said that Sarah Palin will be in Arizona throwing her support behind John McCain in a few months in an effort to defeat conservative JD Hayworth. Is this all about GRATITUDE? Does Sarah feel if it were not for John McCain picking her for the VP position that she would not be in this position today. And what does this say about Sarah Palin and politics in general? Has anything REALLY CHANGED?

WASHINGTON, Feb. 22 (UPI) -- Former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney Romney kicks off a 19-state book tour observers say could be an effort to garner support for a 2012 presidential run. The three-month tour to promote his book, "No Apology: The Case for American Greatness," includes speeches and appearances in early-primary states as the one-time 2008 Republican presidential hopeful wages what some see as the most methodical campaign of any GOP presidential wannabe for the 2012 party nod, USA Today reported Monday. The tour begins next week. At the Conservative Political Action Conference in Washington during the weekend, Romney polled...

President Barack Obama dropped his threat to bypass the Senate and install nominees to their positions through recess appointments -- at least for now. Recess appointments can be made while the Senate is out of session and are a way for presidents to get around the need for a confirmation vote. The president said in a statement Thursday evening that he is encouraged by confirmation earlier in the day of 27 high-level nominees. On Tuesday, Obama threatened to make the recess appointments to get around senators who had placed "holds" on his nominees, which prevent, or at least delay, the...

Based on surveys done after the 1986 amnesty program, it concludes that even during the recession, legalizing undocumented workers would benefit the economy. Not everyone agrees. Even during the ongoing recession, immigration reform legislation that legalizes undocumented immigrants would boost the American economy, according to a new study out of UCLA. The report said that legalization, along with a program that allows for future immigration based on the labor market, would create jobs, increase wages and generate more tax revenue. Comprehensive immigration reform would add an estimated $1.5 trillion to the U.S. gross domestic product over 10 years, according to...

With the healthcare battle still unfinished, the Obama administration has been laying plans to take up an issue that could prove even more divisive -- a major overhaul of the nation's immigration system. Senior White House aides privately have assured Latino activists that the president will back legislation next year to provide a path to citizenship for the estimated 12 million illegal immigrants living in the United States. In a recent conference call with proponents, White House Deputy Chief of Staff Jim Messina, political director Patrick Gaspard and others delivered the message that the White House was committed to seeing...

-snip- For the first time in two years, a measure billed as "comprehensive immigration reform" has been introduced in Congress. The bill — HR 4321 — filed Tuesday by Rep. Luis Gutierrez, D-Ill., incorporates most of the provisions of a measure introduced in June by Rep. Mike Honda, D-Campbell. At last count Tuesday night, it had 89 co-sponsors. Honda's bill focused on legal immigration issues such as eliminating visa backlogs and giving green-card holders the same rights as citizens to bring their spouses and children to the U.S. But Gutierrez's bill is much more sweeping. It includes a provision that...

Congressional Democrats on Tuesday launched a renewed effort to pass comprehensive immigration reform legislation. Rep. Joe Baca, D-San Bernardino, is a co-sponsor of the bill that provides a path to citizenship for the estimated 12 million illegal immigrants in the country. The bill by Rep. Luis Gutierrez, D-Illinois, would also repeal the 287(g) program that allows local law enforcement agencies to perform some immigration functions.

The Democratic amnesty bill is almost like something I'd write as a parody. Sec. 157, for instance, prohibits the arrest of any illegal or criminal alien on the premises of, or in the immediate vicinity of, a childcare provider, a school, a legal-service provider, a Federal court or State court proceeding, an administrative proceeding, a funeral home, a cemetery, a college, university, or community college, a victim-services agency, a social-service agency, a hospital or emergency-care center, a health-care clinic, a place of worship, a day-care center, a head-start center, a school bus stop, a recreation center, a mental-health facility, or...

Firedoglake, a prominent liberal blog has posted an article calling Barack Obama a homosexual rapist straight out of the classic 1972 movie Deliverance who has forced himself on Democrats, violently raping them with his policies.Writing at the aptly titled "Seminal" blog at Firedoglake, Alabamagunn vents in a sometimes incorehent rant that he/she was seduced by Obama, and then horridly violated:I admit I kinda began to believe the hype–another bad omen; should’ve listend to Flav. When promises to end a senseless war, revive the middle class, combat and prosecute war crimes, meaningfully reform healthcare, curtail Wall Street’s abuse of power and...

"Saturday Night Live" opened its show last night with a comedy sketch that scorched President Obama over his economic policies including health care, "Cash for Clunkers" and borrowing billions of dollars from China. The NBC program featured comic Fred Armisen portraying the commander in chief at a news conference with Chinese President Hu Jintao, played by Will Forte, who spoke through an interpreter, comic Nasim Pedrad. Jintao began by asking Obama about the success of his economic stimulus. "I'm curious. How many jobs has it created?" asked the Chinese leader. "None," answered Obama. "But our health-care reform plan, we're confident,...

Okay, I was planning on doing a special DUFU edition today about my recent trip to the island paradise of Culebra in the Caribbean. However, I will write that up in the near future because I have to SHARE with you one of the most HILARIOUS SNL episodes ever as you can see in this VIDEO.I can't get enough watching it. The skit portrays the press conference with Obama and Chinese President Hu (Hu's on first?). I must have seen it at least a dozen times today and still can't get enough of it. It is falling down laughing...

U.S. Rep. Paul E. Kanjorski, D-11, Nanticoke, wants to reform the regulatory structure of the U.S. financial services industry. So he has introduced four pieces of legislation that would reform credit-rating agencies, protect investors, address private funds - such as hedge funds and private equity, which were unregulated in the past - and create a federal insurance office. Mr. Kanjorski, chairman of the House Financial Services Subcommittee on Capital Markets, Insurance, and Government Sponsored Enterprises, is also the second-ranking member of the House Financial Services Committee. Credit-rating agency Mr. Kanjorski said he introduced the credit-rating agency legislation because of the...

Just in from the Senate Majority Leader’s press shop: Washington, DC—Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid will hold a press conference this afternoon to give an update on the merger of Senate health insurance reform proposals. Today, Monday, October 26, 2009, at 3:15 p.m. Practically every report agrees that Reid will deliver a bill to the CBO today for scoring, and that it will include a public option with the potential for states to opt out.

Since taking office as the President of the United States, President Obama has encountered crisis after crisis. His next major crisis will be oil prices. Read full article... http://newsflavor.com/politics/international-relations/next-major-obama-crisis/