truesee's Blog

High Energy Prices Are Obama’s ‘Explicit Policy Goal,’ Inhofe Says

Thursday, March 10, 2011 

Christopher Neefus

(CNSNews.com) – A prominent GOP senator on energy issues accused President Barack Obama Thursday morning of having set an “explicit policy goal” of making energy prices more costly for Americans.

“My message today is simply this: higher gas prices - indeed, higher prices for the energy we use - are an explicit policy goal of the Obama administration,” said Sen. James Inhofe (R-Okla), ranking member of the Senate Environment and Public Works Committee. “Let me put it another way: the Obama administration is attacking affordable energy.”

Inhofe’s comments come as crude oil futures traded up on anxiety over unrest in the Middle East and broke the triple-digit mark in recent weeks. As of Thursday, light crude was trading at over $101 per barrel.

“We have, in fact, 163 billion barrels of recoverable oil - nearly six times higher than what President Obama and the Democrats like to claim,” Inhofe continued. “Let's think about 163 billion barrels for a moment: that is enough to maintain our current levels of production and replace our imports from the Persian Gulf for more than 50 years.”

The senator, who regularly rails against the Obama administration’s support of so-called “cap-and-trade” legislation, said such policies are about starving the country of energy supply.

“You see, the cap-and-trade agenda is also about energy austerity,” Inhofe said on the Senate floor. “The hope is that if we restrict enough supply, the price will increase, and we can then simply shift to less costly alternatives. Yet this is wishful thinking.”

“If you think $4.00 is too much for a gallon of regular, fasten your seat belts.”

Inhofe made the speech in support of the Energy Tax Prevention Act, legislation designed to bar the Environmental Protection Agency from moving to regulate carbon dioxide emissions under the Clean Air Act, which Republicans claim is outside the agency’s purview. After he introduced the bill last week, it quickly picked up 42 more co-sponsors, including Democrat Joe Manchin (W.Va.).

Police: Man upset over waiting for slow food at Denny's fires gun

Henry Pierson Curtis, Orlando Sentinel 7:52 a.m. EST, March 11, 2011 

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-1365046/Im-love-Bill-Friends-say-Monica-Lewinsky-got-married-kids.html

Atlanta News

 3:10 p.m. Friday, March 11, 2011

Ex-judge Camp sentenced to 30 days in prison

Senior U.S. District Judge Thomas Hogan said he could not give a sentence of only probation because Camp had breached his oath of office.

"He has disgraced his office," Hogan said. "He has denigrated the federal judiciary. He has encouraged disrespect for the rule of law."

Before being sentenced, Camp apologized for what he had done and thanked his family and friends, many of whom filled the courtroom.

"I have embarrassed and humiliated my family as well as myself," Camp said. "I have embarrassed the court I have served on and I am deeply sorry for that. When I look back at the circumstances which brought me here and look at what I did, it makes me sick."

Camp said that at the end of the day, "the only thing I can say is that I'm so very sorry."

Camp pleaded for leniency from Hogan, asking to be allowed to remain in his home and community to repair his marriage, receive psychiatric treatment and rebuild his name.

But Hogan, a Washington judge with 29 years on the bench, said he could not hand out a sentence of probation for crimes committed by a high-ranking government official. He then read aloud the oath of office Camp took 22 years ago in the ceremonial courtroom across the hallway and noted Camp had sworn to uphold the law.

"Instead, for whatever reasons, the demons he had made him go another way," Hogan said as Camp, stone-faced, looked on.

Hogan acknowledged Camp had disgraced himself and humiliated his family. Because of his conduct, Camp had essentially "chiseled a scarlet letter into his forehead for the rest of his life."

As a judge, Camp often meted out harsh sentences and rarely gave breaks to defendants who presented mitigating circumstances to explain their conduct. On Friday, Hogan was asked by Camp's lawyers to grant leniency because of the ex-judge's decades-long battle with a bipolar disorder and brain damage caused by a 2000 biking accident.

In court motion filed Thursday, Elizabeth Camp, the ex-judge's wife, asked Hogan for mercy and a sentence of probation, saying her husband is a changed man. Thanks to proper medical treatment, the couple has begun to repair the damage to their marriage, she said.

The mania associated with bipolar disorder "has often been described as depression's evil twin, the insidious instigator that spurs one on to do all manner of lewd and immoral acts," Elizabeth Camp wrote. "Mania handcuffs and gags the conscience."

In late 2009, her husband was prescribed the wrong medication, she wrote. "I never knew which Jack Camp would walk through the door at the end of the day -- the humble, sincere, modest, frugal and unassuming man I married, or the over-confident, brash, forgetful, self-absorbed spendthrift who now saddened me with frequent visits to our nightly dinner table."

But now, she added, the man she married 35 years ago has returned. "What a delight to see the evil twin of mania defeated through a combination of modern medicine and Jack's solemn commitment to treatment," she wrote, telling Hogan a term of imprisonment would disrupt her husband's progress and his quest to rebuild his family and reputation.

Atlanta criminal defense attorney Paul Kish said Thursday that Camp rarely granted breaks to defendants when they presented mitigation arguments to explain their behavior.

"One school of thought is that he should be punished the same way he punished everyone else," Kish said. "The other is that he probably would not be punished for this in federal court, but for his position. It's all very sad."

Camp, 67, resigned from the U.S. District Court bench shortly before he pleaded guilty in November to federal charges -- giving the stripper, who he knew was a convicted felon, $160 to buy drugs.

Camp was a senior judge at the time of his arrest. He will continue to receive a $174,000-a-year salary, as do all federal judges who retire and have the requisite years of service.

Camp began paying the exotic dancer for sex and drugs after he met her last May at the Goldrush Showbar in Atlanta. By Oct. 1, the dancer had turned informant and Camp, who was armed, was arrested by FBI agents in an undercover drug sting.

After the drug deal was consummated, Camp told the undercover agent who was posing as the dealer, "We'll be calling you again," federal prosecutors said.

According to recent court filings, the U.S. probation office has determined that Camp faces a mandatory minimum term of 15 days in prison and up to 6 months imprisonment.

Camp's lawyers recently filed motions asking Hogan, a judge from Washington, D.C., to impose a sentence of probation, a fine and community service.

In response, federal prosecutors said Camp should serve at least 15 days in custody, but they did not recommend a specific term of confinement.

"Beginning in May 2010 this defendant, by his conduct, dishonored his community, his family and our system of justice and violated the very laws he swore to uphold," the Justice Department filing said. Camp's actions "cast dark aspersions on the criminal justice system and put the very integrity of the federal courts at issue."

LINK TO PHOTO OF JUDGE:

http://www.ajc.com/news/atlanta/ex-judge-camp-sentenced-867817.html

Originally Published:Thursday, March 10th 2011, 2:38 PM
Updated: Friday, March 11th 2011, 2:29 AM

Ward for NewsZhanna Smsarian, 16, leaves Brooklyn Criminal Court after her arraignment for allegedly throwing acid on her classmate during chemistry class.

Victim Eshimbaeva Albina told the News, 'I knew something bad was coming.'

A simmering feud between two Brooklyn high schoolers exploded when one of the girls tried to blind her helpless frenemy with acid, authorities said Thursday.

Zhanna Smsarian, 16, admitted she wanted "to burn the eyes out" of honor student Albina Eshimbaeva when she slipped up from behind with a bottle of acid in their Wednesday morning chemistry class, cops said.

Albina, 15, told the Daily News Thursday night that she had a feeling Smsarian was gunning for her the day of the attack in Fort Hamilton High School.

Smsarian "was standing against a wall staring at me in an evil way," Albina said. "She was smiling, but it was evil.

"I knew something bad was coming, but didn't know what it was. Two seconds later, I felt the liquid falling down my bangs."

Smsarian was in her ROTC uniform and wearing a pair of goggles as she swore in Russian and splashed the acid.

"My whole face was burning," recalled Albina, an immigrant from Kyrgyzstan. "I thought I was blind. I couldn't see anything."

Doctors who treated Albina said the teen only avoided losing her sight because the diluted solution was just 10% acid, sources said.

The two girls were once close, with the victim even attending Smsarian's Sweet 16 party.

Albina, who also participates in the school's ROTC program, said she broke off their friendship after tiring of Smsarian's lies and rumor-mongering.

The victim's mother, Syrga Eshimbaeva, said the older girl resented her daughter's success in the school's gifted and talented students program.

"It's all over nothing," said the 42-year-old mom of three girls. "Just for being jealous of my daughter."

A sobbing Smsarian - still in the military outfit she wore to school Wednesday - was freed yesterday on $7,500 bail and left the Brooklyn courthouse in her father's waiting SUV. A judge issued an order of protection blocking Smsarian from contacting Albina.

"She's never been in any problems before," defense lawyer Igor Vaysberg told the judge. "She's an honor roll student with excellent grades."

Classmates said the teens also had a feud over a 22-year-old graduate of their high school, but police sources said there was much more to it than that.

"They have had a beef with each other for awhile," one source indicated. "It boiled over [Wednesday]. This dispute has nothing to do with a guy. It's a lot more complicated than that."

The Eshimbaevas also denied there was any man involved.

Still, a young man who said he came between the girls told The News that he had complained to Smsarian that Albina had become too clingy.

"Zhanna said she was going to take care of it," said the man, who gave his name only as Mohammed. "I told her to do what she had to do, but I didn't expect her to throw acid."

http://www.nydailynews.com/lifestyle/pets/galleries/rare_birds/rare_birds.html

http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/nation/la-naw-hawaii-warning-20110312,0,5340743.story

Magnitude 8.9 earthquake rocks Japan

The quake strikes off the northeast coast, triggering a tsunami that sweeps away cars, boats and even buildings. In Tokyo, all trains are halted and black plumes of smoke rise over the skyline.

Barbara Demick, David Pierson and Kenji Hall

Los Angeles Times

2:02 AM PST, March 11, 2011

Reporting from Beijing and Tokyo

A massive earthquake struck off the northeast coast of Japan on Friday, setting off a devastating tsunami that swallowed swaths of coastal territory and fanned out across the Pacific Ocean, threatening everything in its path.

The 8.9-magnitude earthquake -- the world's fifth largest since 1900, according to the U.S. Geological Survey -- struck at 2:46 p.m. local time, shaking buildings violently in Tokyo for several minutes and sending millions fleeing for higher ground.

Initial reports said eight people had died, though that number is expected to rise dramatically as more aftershocks and tsunami waves batter the region.

Japanese television showed aerial footage of an ominous 13-foot muddy wave washing across the northeastern coast near the epicenter, consuming farms and small rural communities.

Sendai, a city of 1 million in Miyagi prefecture, was struck by a wave 20 feet high and then another 33 feet high. Large ships in port were seen lying on their sides.

The city's airport was flooded and people could be seen on the roof of the terminal to avoid the waters. In other locations, live TV coverage showed massive damage from the waves with dozens of cars, boats and even buildings carried along by waters. A large ship swept away by the tsunami rammed into a breakwater in Kesennuma city in Miyagi prefecture. Waves could be seen splashing into city streets and over bridges.

Further south in Chiba prefecture, firefighters battled an out-of-control oil refinery blaze that spewed fireballs into the sky.

Japanese Prime Minister Naoto Kan in a press conference called for people to remain calm and reported that the nation's nuclear power plants showed no signs of damage. However, "The government will make its utmost efforts to secure people's safety and limit any damages to the minimum," Kan said.

All trains in Tokyo were stopped, and black plumes of smoke rose over the skyline. Office workers rushed out of their buildings. Subways were halted, trapping commuters underground. In the nation with the world's third largest economy, all airports were closed.

"The train was rocking sharply back and forth," said Anthony Weiss, a 29-year-old from Florida studying Japanese in Tokyo who was on a train when the quake hit. "People covered their heads with their bags as dust and small debris fell. Something sprung a leak, as there was a lot of water on the platform."

Many riders evacuated the train and headed for the archways, but not Weiss. "I stayed on because I was concerned about the roof and hanging lights and ventilation systems," he said. "Lights went on and off in the train. It felt a lot like the earthquake attraction at Universal, to be honest, but it wasn't stopping.

"It was pretty scary," Weiss said in an e-mail to a friend. "It felt pretty strong. People were scrambling for the doorways. The aftershocks are continuing even now."

"It felt like a jet had come too close to the window and everything started shaking and rocking, and there was a huge rumbling noise," said David Pierson, a 32-year-old U.S. Army helicopter pilot who was at Tokyo's Narita International Airport. "All the signs started swaying and fixtures started popping out. When I saw the panic on people's faces, I made a move for the exit."

The epicenter of the quake was 81 miles off the coast of Sendai, and it struck at a depth of 15 miles. The combination of how close it was to the coast and how shallow it was made it a "perfect storm for the tsunami generation," said Susan Hough of the U.S. Geological Survey in Pasadena.

Japan has a lengthy history of large earthquakes, and its buildings are well-girded to withstand damage. Observers said this could help minimize the number of casualties.

LINK TO VIDEO:

 http://www.latimes.com/videobeta/33ced5b1-c02b-4f79-9f52-1ebfde46b24b/News/Japan-Hit-by-8-9-Magnitude-Quake

Times staff writers Demick and Pierson reported from Beijing and special correspondent Hall from Tokyo. Staff writer David Pierson in Beijing and Times wire services contributed to this story. Times staff writers Thomas H. Maugh II and Ron-Gong Lin II contributed to this report from Los Angeles.

Women who post lots of photos of themselves on Facebook value appearance, need attention, study finds

Shari Roan, Los Angeles Times

March 10, 2011, 6:45 a.m.

EDITORIAL: Is Obama a war criminal yet?

Liberal double-standard is in full view over Gitmo

The Washington Times6:15 p.m., Tuesday, March 8, 2011

Al Qaeda and Taliban detainees in orange jumpsuits sit in Guantanamo Bay, Cuba. Americans have faith that the U.S. justice system will handle the five accused Sept. 11 terror plotters in federal court in New York City, Rep. Chris Van Hollen said. (Agence France-Presse/Getty Images)

President Obama quietly signed an executive order on Monday instituting a system for indefinitely holding terrorist detainees at the U.S. military prison at Guantanamo Bay (Gitmo), Cuba. The administration also announced that terrorist trials by military commission would recommence. This is a win for U.S. security, but the country has paid a heavy price for Mr. Obama's on-the-job training in counterterrorism.

The low-key announcements stand in marked contrast with the bombast with which Mr. Obama approached this issue just a few years ago. During the 2008 presidential campaign, then-Sen. Barack Obama harshly criticized President George W. Bush's detainee policies. When he took office, Mr. Obama theatrically announced that he would close Gitmo in a year and find a way to give the terror detainees the full due-process rights enjoyed by American citizens. In so doing, he legitimized the complaints of the worst critics of American counterterrorism policies, including the terrorists themselves.

Two years later, some learning appears to have occurred at the White House. The president's hasty "close Gitmo" pledge foundered on practical and political grounds. Contrary to the story line peddled by anti-war alarmists, the Bush administration already had released most of the detainees that had been held there, and those who remained were the hard cases who truly threatened U.S. national security. Trying the detainees in civilian courts raised a multitude of nettlesome questions about public evidence, speedy trials, Miranda warnings and the other aspects of due process that didn't support the Bush administration's warfighting approach.

With civilian trials, the prospect loomed of repeated government defeats in court, or the necessity of simply releasing detainees when no prosecution was possible without fatally compromising intelligence sources and methods. Likewise, Mr. Obama discovered that releasing detainees to their home countries was problematic because in many cases the terrorists would be freed almost immediately upon their return. Of course, members of the Bush administration consistently raised these points, but the Obama team simply brushed them off.

The big losers in this decision are members of Mr. Obama's hardline anti-war base. It is the latest in a string of disappointments to the Code Pinkers, Moveon-ers and other formerly Obama-loving peaceniks. The surge in Afghanistan and the ever-lengthening timetable for withdrawal provided them with one regret. The widening and intensifying use of drone aircraft as a counterterrorism tool was another. Now the Gitmo detainees are back in their cages for good. The distraught workers in the peace movement have to be asking themselves how much more they can stand before they begin to mutter the words "Obama" and "war criminal" in the same breath.

The White House detainee policy volte-face vindicates the policies of President George W. Bush. At the very least, Mr. Obama should apologize to his predecessor for smearing his reputation so thoroughly during the 2008 campaign. Our novice commander in chief has learned the valuable lesson that talking about being president, at which Mr. Obama was so adept, is a far cry from actually being president, at which he clearly is not.

 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x-4MnL7HhMU&tracker=False

10 Things Newt Gingrich Doesn’t Want You To Know About Him

Think Progress  Zaid Jilani  Mar 3rd, 2011 at 7:50 

Today, former Republican House Speaker Newt Gingrich announced that he is taking steps to consider becoming the GOP nominee for president in 2012.

As Gingrich begins the long process of possibly running for President, he is likely to take every effort to mold his image to make himself palatable to American voters. Yet the public deserves to know every important detail about the history of the man who may seek to be their leader. ThinkProgress has assembled a list of ten things Gingrich probably doesn’t want you to know about him:

1. DESPITE BATTLING THE “SECULAR SOCIALIST” AGENDA, GINGRICH CHEATED ON HIS WIVES SEVERAL TIMES: 

One of Gingrich’s main themes in his columns and speeches over the past few years has been the need to stop the “secular socialist” takeover of America, which he blames for the demise of the family. Yet he had several of these affairs while attacking President Bill Clinton for his own. He justified his hypocrisy to his second wife once, telling her, “It doesn’t matter what I do.”

2. WHILE DEMONIZING GOVERNMENT LARGESS, GINGRICH POURED MORE FEDERAL MONEY INTO HIS DISTRICT THAN ALMOST ANY OTHER: 

 The politics of the mid-1990′s was marked by the right’s attempt to decimate the social safety net. As Gingrich waged his campaign to destroy unemployment insurance and aid for needy families, he made his own district the recipient of huge amounts of federal aid. Under Gingrich, his district in Cobb County, GA received more “federal subsidies than any suburban county in the country, with two exceptions: Arlington Virginia, effectively part of the Federal Government, and Brevard County Florida, the home of the Kennedy Space Center.”

3. IN 2007, GINGRICH BACKED CAP-AND-TRADE, THEN FLIP-FLOPPED TWO YEARS LATER: 

Talking to PBS just four years ago, Gingrich said, “I think if you have mandatory caps combined with a trading system, much like we did with sulfur, and if you have a tax-incentive program for investing in the solutions, then there’s a package that’s very, very good. And frankly, it’s something I would strongly support.” He even cut an ad with House Democratic Leader Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) warning of the dangers of climate change. Just two years later, Gingrich ended all of his green advocacy in favor pandering to far-right views on the environment. “Imposing stunningly high taxes on an economy in the middle of a recession is fundamentally wrong. … [A]rtificially capping their economy is the wrong approach,” he said in testimony before Congress.

  4. GINGRICH BLAMED THE MASSACRES AT COLUMBINE AND VIRGINIA TECH ON “LIBERALISM”:

Showing that his cynicism knows no bounds, Gingrich blamed “the liberal academic elite, the liberal political elite” for the Columbine shootings in Littleton, CO. He followed the same script after the massacre at Virginia Tech, saying liberalism is responsible for the “dehumanization” that led to the killings.

5. GINGRICH WANTED THE RICH TO DECIDE WHEN THEIR OWN TAX CUTS WOULD END:

During last winter’s debate over extending the Bush tax cuts, Gingrich said that we should “have the business leadership of the country describe the number” of months that the cuts for the wealthiest should last.

6. DESPITE RAILING AGAINST THE “PARTY OF FOOD STAMPS,” GINGRICH PROPOSED EXPANDING THEM:

One of the memes Gingrich has pushed over the past year is that Democrats are the “party of food stamps” because they believe in federal food assistance for the indigent. Yet in 2002, when President George W. Bush proposed expanding some food stamp programs, Gingrich backed him, saying that the “welfare reform” law he helped author in the 1990s went too far in cutting food assistance.

7. FOR THE PAST FEW YEARS, GINGRICH HAS FRONTED FOR THE HEALTH INDUSTRY:

Gingrich helped found a number of major businesses, including a for-profit health care firm called the “Center for Health Transformation” (CHT) and a communications firm called the “Gingrich Group.” CHT serves approximately 94 health industry corporations and lobby groups. Despite many meetings with Republican lawmakers to shape health care legislation, Gingrich refuses to register as a lobbyist.

8. GINGRICH REFERRED TO JUSTICE SOTOMAYOR AS A “LATINA WOMAN RACIST”:

During the debate over the confirmation of Supreme Court Justice Sonya Sotomayor, Gingrich took to his Twitter account to say that Sotomayor, who is a “latina woman racist” should withdraw from the nomination.

9. GINGRICH FLIP-FLOPPED ON THE INDIVIDUAL MANDATE:

In 2008, Gingrich suggested “insurance mandates for people who earn more than $75,000 a year.” Yet by 2010, he was blasting the mandate as unconstitutional.

10. GINGRICH SAID WE SHOULD ALLOW SOME TERRORIST ATTACKS TO REMIND US OF THE DANGER:

During a book tour, Gingrich told an audience in a speech that was televised on C-SPAN that the Bush administration had been very successful at intercepting terrorists, but had not gotten credit for it, explaining that maybe we should’ve “allowed an attack to get through to remind” Americans about the danger of terrorism.

Throughout his career, Gingrich has devoted himself to constantly changing his views on a whim and trying to position himself relative to the political climate of the moment . While he claims to have changed, the facts haven’t, and ThinkProgress will keep you informed about his latest flip flops and turnarounds in the coming months.

FOLLOW-UP STORY 

Gingrich: Love of country contributed to affair

SHANNON McCAFFREY

Associated Press

Wed Mar 9, 6:18 pm ET

ATLANTA – Newt Gingrich says his passion for his country contributed to his marital infidelity. In an interview posted Wednesday by The Christian Broadcasting Network, Gingrich — who recently converted to Catholicism — said he had sought God's forgiveness for mistakes in his past.

"There's no question at times of my life, partially driven by how passionately I felt about this country, that I worked far too hard and things happened in my life that were not appropriate," Gingrich said.

"What I can tell you is that when I did things that were wrong, I wasn't trapped in situation ethics, I was doing things that were wrong, and yet, I was doing them," he said. "I found that I felt compelled to seek God's forgiveness. Not God's understanding, but God's forgiveness."

Gingrich went on to say that he and his third wife, Callista, now have a great marriage.

"Forget about all this political stuff. As a person, I've had the opportunity to have a wonderful life, to find myself now, truly enjoying the depths of my life in ways that I never dreamed it was possible to have a life that was that nice," he said.

The twice-divorced former U.S. House speaker has admitted he had an affair with Callista, a former congressional aide, while married to his second wife. It happened at the same time he was attacking President Bill Clinton for his relationship with White House intern Monica Lewinsky.

The interview with the Christian broadcaster comes as Gingrich gears up for a likely presidential run. He has been courting religious and social conservatives who would be critical in a GOP primary.

Gingrich said Wednesday if he runs for president he will likely announce in early May outside Independence Hall in Philadelphia.

The former House speaker outlined his plans on a conference call with former aides, according to people who were on the call.

The participants declined to be identified because they were not authorized to speak for Gingrich.

Gingrich said he has not made a final decision on whether he will seek the White House, but said he is clearly leaning toward running.

At an appearance last week in Atlanta, Gingrich said he's exploring a presidential bid but stopped short of forming an exploratory committee.

He conceded Wednesday that the announcement was mishandled and said he expects to open a campaign office soon in his old home state of Georgia.

He also said former Georgia Gov. Zell Miller, a Democrat who has backed many Republicans in recent years, will serve as a co-chairman of his national campaign effort.

 http://www.orlandosentinel.com/videobeta/0b680d3d-4f30-4494-a625-92eb95446fd3/News/Woman-trashes-Oakland-Park-Burger-King