Obama Waives Ethics Rules Again

When Bob Bauer replaced Greg Craig last year as White House counsel, it seemed inevitable that he’d be working on some of the same issues he had in his previous job as President Barack Obama’s personal and campaign lawyer.

So late Friday afternoon, in recognition of that reality, the White House issued Bauer a waiver to ethics rules established by Obama that prohibit officials in his administration from working on issues affecting their former clients for two years.

Those rules would have prevented Bauer “from performing roles that someone in the Counsel’s position ordinarily performs” and, therefore, neither “make sense” nor are they “in the public interest,” wrote White House ethics lawyer Norm Eisen in a post on the White House blog.

Eisen, who works under Bauer and wrote the waiver, stressed that it is limited, applying only to Bauer’s work at the powerhouse Democratic firm Perkins Coie as a private lawyer for the Obama family, and for the Democratic National Committee.

Bauer also served as the top lawyer for Obama’s presidential campaign and his confluence of positions made him a powerful member of Obama’s inner circle as well as the most influential Democratic election lawyer in town until he replaced Craig in November. - Politico Story

FEMA Broke - Obama Needs More Money

With a flooded Tennessee becoming the latest disaster to strike the United States, the Federal Emergency Management Agency is confronting its own emergency as its relief funds run perilously low.

Last month, FEMA Director W. Craig Fugate wrote a letter to Congress warning that its relief fund had fallen to $693 million as of April 7 but the agency owed $645 million to 47 states for past disasters. That doesn't include the $1.7 billion settlement the agency owes to the Gulf Coast state and city governments for Hurricane Katrina.

Now FEMA is handing out money to the residents of Tennessee after deadly floods ravaged the region last weekend.

FEMA has already approved $4.1 million in individual assistance and more than 16,200 Tennesseans had registered with FEMA for disaster assistance by Saturday morning with 650 inspections complete.

White House spokesman Robert Gibbs said Friday that FEMA will probably need a shot of supplemental funding. The administration is seeking $5.1 billion in emergency funding from Congress. - FOX News Story

Obama Touts Health Care Helping Millions - But, It isn't In Effect Yet?

WASHINGTON -- President Barack Obama said Saturday that millions of Americans already are reaping benefits from the new health care law, including tax breaks for some small businesses

and help for families with young adults.

In his weekly radio and Internet address, Obama vigorously defended the new law, which passed Congress with no Republican votes and continues to stir strong emotions nationwide. He acknowledged that many provisions will not take effect for years. But he said others are helping some families now.

Four million small business owners and organizations have been told of a possible health care tax cut this year, Obama said. On June 15, some elderly people with high prescription drug costs will receive $250 to help fill the so-called doughnut hole in Medicare's pharmaceutical benefits.

"Already we are seeing a health care system that holds insurance companies more accountable and gives consumers more control," the president said. - FOX News Story

Obama's Change Requires Him to Subvert The Constitution

Barack Obama promised to “fundamentally transform” America as our nation’s president. That’s not surprising, because in various ways most presidential candidates say they will do just that.

But it’s different with President Obama, because his plans, dreams, and vision for the United States are irreconcilably at odds with the most important thing our nation’s Founders gave us and hoped for us to keep safe forever: our Constitution. The Constitution of the United States stands in the way of what Barack Obama wants to do.

For Obama to remake our country into what he wants it to be, he must subvert the Supreme Law of the Land.

Key parts of the Constitution are designed to protect us from our own government. Obama knows he must execute an aggressive strategy to disarm those constitutional safeguards, to free himself from its constraints so that he can truly “fundamentally transform” this nation.

And that’s what he’s doing. - The Blue Print Book

Is Greece a Preview of America? Maybe, If we Don't Quit Spending Money We don't Have

While Barack Obama was making his latest pitch for a brand new, even more unsustainable entitlement at the health care "summit," thousands of Greeks took to the streets to riot. An enterprising cable network might have shown the two scenes on a continuous split-screen - because they're part of the same story. It's just that Greece is a little further along in the plot: They're at the point where the canoe is about to plunge over the falls. America is further upstream and can still pull for shore, but has decided, instead, that what it needs to do is catch up with the Greek canoe. Chapter One (the introduction of unsustainable entitlements) leads eventually to Chapter 20 (total societal collapse): The Greeks are at Chapter 17 or 18.

What's happening in the developed world today isn't so very hard to understand: The 20th century Bismarckian welfare state has run out of people to stick it to. In America, the feckless insatiable boobs in Washington, Sacramento, Albany and elsewhere are screwing over our kids and grandkids. In Europe, they've reached the next stage in social democratic evolution: There are no kids or grandkids to screw over. The United States has a fertility rate of around 2.1 – or just over two kids per couple. Greece has a fertility rate of about 1.3: 10 grandparents have six kids have four grandkids – i.e., the family tree is upside down. Demographers call 1.3 "lowest-low" fertility – the point from which no society has ever recovered. And, compared with Spain and Italy, Greece has the least-worst fertility rate in Mediterranean Europe.

So you can't borrow against the future because, in the most basic sense, you don't have one. Greeks in the public sector retire at 58, which sounds great. But, when 10 grandparents have four grandchildren, who pays for you to spend the last third of your adult life loafing around?

By the way, you don't have to go to Greece to experience Greek-style retirement: The Athenian "public service" of California has been metaphorically face down in the ouzo for a generation. Still, America as a whole is not yet Greece. A couple of years ago, when I wrote my book "America Alone," I put the Social Security debate at that time in a bit of perspective: On 2005 figures, projected public pensions liabilities were expected to rise by 2040 to about 6.8 percent of GDP. In Greece, the figure was 25 percent: in other words, head for the hills, Armageddon outta here, The End. Since then, the situation has worsened in both countries. And, really, the comparison is academic: Whereas America still has a choice, Greece isn't going to have a 2040 – not without a massive shot of Reality Juice. - Politico

White House Spin Machine Being Questions on Oil Spill Reaction

SEAN HANNITY, HOST: Questions continue to mount about the administration's sluggish response to the oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico. Now in response, some of its highest ranking members are insisting they are absolutely on top of things and have been from day one.

Take a look.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIPS)

JANET NAPOLITANO, SECRETARY OF HOMELAND SECURITY: We had DOD resources there from day one.

NAPOLITANO: From day one they were already pre-deploying vessels and boom.

NAPOLITANO: The Navy has been onsite from day one.

NAPOLITANO: From day one we were prepositioning more than 70 vessels.

NAPOLITANO: They actually have been there from day one.

NAPOLITANO: From day one.

NAPOLITANO: From day one.

NAPOLITANO: From day one.

KEN SALAZAR, SECRETARY OF THE INTERIOR: From day one.

SALAZAR: From day one we've been preparing for the worst case scenario.

SALAZAR: They've been working really from day one to try to figure out a way of stopping it.

SALAZAR: The president has directed from day one that we spare nothing at all in terms of the effort to prevent damage onshore.

(END OF VIDEO CLIP)

HANNITY: Alright, now even at this point The New York Times is calling attention to the administration's inadequate response, quote, "The federal government had opportunities to move more quickly but did not do so while it waited for a resolution to the spreading spill from BP."

Now that only that but the former manager of oil spill cleanup at the government's National Oceanic and Atmospheric Association revealed that the government actually has a plan to deal with oil spills that was not activated even though it was preapproved for immediate use.

Quote, "They had preapproval. The whole reason the plan was created was so that we could pull the trigger right away instead of waiting 10 days to get permission."

And if that wasn't enough, the White House is now saying that this spill may jeopardize plans it had announced earlier this year for offshore drilling.

I knew it wouldn't take long for them to politicize the issue.

And joining me now with reaction is the author of the book — brand-new book, it's called "Power Grab," Chris Horner. And Eco Entrepreneur, clean tech investor, Howard Gould is with us.

Guys, welcome aboard.

You know, back to this guy from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, because his comments are even more devastating than that. He said they probably didn't have the materials on hand to conduct the burn because the plan was — which they had preapproved — that they could burn this oil off so it wouldn't get onshore.

That they didn't implement it. And they didn't have the materials there. And he says it's unconscionable. Is he right? - FOX News Story

Obama Administration Official Rushed to Oil Spill Site - Two Days Late and After White-water Rafting

The interior secretary's chief of staff went on a trip to the Grand Canyon last week as the oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico worsened, marking the second time in recent months that a top-level official has taken off in the middle of a major security incident.

Tom Strickland, who serves as chief of staff to Interior Secretary Ken Salazar, had to cut his trip short as the administration upped its response to the spill. A Park Service helicopter was used to airlift him out of the canyon and bring him directly to the Gulf.

ABC News first reported that Strickland was on the trip with his wife and that it included a white-water rafting excursion.

But Interior Department spokeswoman Julie Rodriguez said Strickland, who is also the assistant secretary for Fish and Wildlife and Parks, is responsible in that role for overseeing Grand Canyon National Park and Colorado River management. She said the trip last week was an "official" visit.

"As part of his official duties as assistant secretary, he participated in an official trip to the Grand Canyon to investigate issues related to that park's management," she said in a written statement.

She said the review covered everything from beach erosion to safety to wilderness management and that Strickland was accompanied by National Park Service staff members. She noted that spouses on the trip "covered their own personal expenses."

Rodriguez said Strickland was in "constant contact by satellite phone" with headquarters and other operations in the Gulf but that he "cut short the trip" after two and a half days so he could be in the Gulf to "oversee and help accelerate" response efforts. - FOX News Story

School Sends Students Home for American Flag Shirt - Now Tensions are Increasing

Tensions are rising at a California high school where five students were sent home for wearing American flag T-shirts on Cinco de Mayo.

More than 200 Hispanic students reportedly skipped class on Thursday and marched to school district headquarters while chanting "we want respect" and "si se puedes" -- "yes we can" -- the Morgan Hill Times reported.

"We did this to support the Latino/Hispanic community," Francine Roa, a 2005 Live Oak High School graduate, told the newspaper.

At least six Morgan Hill police vehicles traveled alongside the students, many of whom carried Mexican flags. No arrests were made related to the march, the newspaper reported.

Police have been told to be on alert for gang-related retaliation against the boys, according to Ken Jones, whose stepson, Daniel Galli, was one of the students who refused to turn their T-shirts inside-out when asked by a vice principal on Wednesday.

"We just want this whole thing to die down," Jones told FoxNews.com. "We're not trying to keep these flames firing."

The five teens -- Galli, Austin Carvalho, Matt Dariano, Dominic Maciel and Clayton Howard -- were sitting at a table outside Live Oak High School Wednesday morning when Assistant Principal Miguel Rodriguez asked two of them to remove their American flag bandannas, one of the boys' parents told FoxNews.com. The youths complied, but were asked to accompany Rodriguez to the principal's office.

The students were then told they must turn their T-shirts inside-out or be sent home, though it would not be considered a suspension. Rodriguez told the students he did not want any fights to break out between Mexican-American students celebrating their heritage and those wearing American flags, the parent said.

But Jones said the preemptive action was unnecessary, and that Rodriguez "overstepped his bounds."

"The issue was, there was nothing going on," Jones told Fox News on Friday. "There was no sense of violence at all amongst the students, there was no conversation, there was no bullying.

"We just feel like the vice principal overstepped his bounds. He jumped in too quickly. We can understand he might be concerned something would happen, but there was no indication that was going to happen at all."

Officials at the high school, a 1,300-student institution in Santa Clara County, near San Jose, have not returned several messages seeking comment.

As of late Thursday, Jones said the five boys' parents have no plans to sue the school or Morgan Hill Unified School District, which has characterized the incident as "extremely unfortunate" and is conducting an ongoing investigation. Several attorneys have contacted the families offering to represent them pro bono, Jones said. - FOX News Story

Majority of Americans Support Arizona Immigration Law

Most American voters think Arizona was right to pass its own immigration law, and think the Obama administration should wait and see how the new law works rather than try to stop it, according to a Fox News poll released Friday.

The new poll finds 61 percent of voters nationally think Arizona was right to take action instead of waiting for the federal government to do something on immigration. That's more than twice as many as the 27 percent who think securing the border is a federal responsibility and Arizona should have waited for Washington to act.

Most Republicans (77 percent) and independents (72 percent) support Arizona taking action. Democrats are divided: 43 percent think the state was right, while 41 percent think Arizona should have let the federal government take the lead.

Click here to see the poll.

Republican Gov. Jan Brewer said Arizona had to act because Washington has failed to stop the stream of illegal immigrants from Mexico. Demonstrators and others opposed to the new law have called on President Obama to stop it from being implemented. The president has said the law is "misguided," and called on the Justice Department to examine it. - FOX News Story

Pelosi Gaining Unchecked Power in House

The fiercest old bulls who roamed the House when Nancy Pelosi came to power will be gone by the beginning of next year — replaced by new bulls who more clearly owe their positions to the powerful speaker.

At the beginning of this Congress, Pelosi ally Henry Waxman ousted House Energy and Commerce Committee Chairman John Dingell.

Sander Levin got the Ways and Means Committee chairmanship earlier this year after Charles Rangel gave it up under an ethics cloud — the result in part of Pelosi’s maneuvering to avoid an all-out mid-session race for the prestigious post.

Norm Dicks took over the Defense Appropriations Subcommittee after the death of John Murtha in February, and now he’s poised to take control of the Appropriations Committee after Dave Obey retires at the end of this term.

While Dingell, Rangel, Murtha and Obey were powerful House veterans long before Pelosi picked up the speaker’s gavel, each of the new bulls will owe his rise in part to the speaker’s good graces — and, in some cases, her political muscle.

It amounts to a subtle but striking natural consolidation of authority for a speaker who by any measure already wields historic levels of institutional and personal power within Congress.

Pelosi’s power is enhanced by her role in picking the new chairmen — with their ascent dependent upon her assent — and by the departure of veteran lawmakers who came to power before she did. - Politico Story

America Lacks Fiscal Leadership

Truth be told, America has little control over the deficit and debt burdens of other nations. But as the world's largest economy, we can and should lead by example. On fiscal issues, however, our leadership has been sorely lacking, as the deficit has ballooned to $1.7 trillion in this fiscal year. Shockingly, today's total federal revenue is only enough to fund Medicare, Medicaid, and Social Security; spending on all other programs, including our national security, is funded entirely by debt.

The first thing I would do is stop the domestic spending binge by going back to fiscal 2008 level for non-security discretionary spending and freezing it for a number of years. Second, we need to set annual budget deficit targets of at least three percent of GDP, which are enforced by automatic across-the-board spending cuts if they are exceeded in any year. Third, we must address our own entitlement spending time bomb. Like Greece, much of our federal budget goes to income support and transfer payments for the elderly, which will consume an unsustainable share of our budget and economy by the end of this decade. We need to repeal and replace the new health care law, which is an expensive new entitlement that we simply cannot afford. More importantly, we must have serious national discussion about strengthening and modernizing Social Security and Medicare, which has to include raising the retirement age and changing the benefit formulas for future retirees.

Finally, we need a tax code that rewards innovation, investment and growth. We should lower marginal tax rates, close tax loopholes, and streamline the tax base a la the 1986 Reagan tax reform, or better yet, implement a flat tax, which would unleash our economy, and provide a model for the rest of the world to follow. - Politico

Not even Illinois Supporting Obama

President Barack Obama’s enemies like to call him a creature of the “Chicago machine,” but when it comes to the politics of his home state of Illinois, the White House doesn’t seem to know where the gears are.

Indeed, Chicago has delivered an unending stream of embarrassment, frustration and discomfort to the administration of its favorite son, from an indicted governor to a failed Olympics bid to a series of smaller political blows.

In the latest encounter with political quicksand, the White House — already burned by a series of failures to fill Obama’s Senate seat with a chosen candidate — has been forced to proceed with extreme caution toward the damaged Democratic Senate nominee, Alexi Giannoulias, waiting to see if he drops out even as some of its allies want the White House to take a heavier hand.

Giannoulias is only the candidate, after all, because Obama, a proud Chicagoan, first failed to persuade Illinois’s Democratic governor to appoint Valerie Jarrett, the perceived favorite — at least without cash on delivery. Then, after the governor’s indictment, the White House tried, and failed, to keep Roland Burris from warming Obama’s seat. After that, Obama couldn’t persuade Illinois’s popular attorney general to run for a federal office that would be seen, in most states, as an obvious promotion.

When it came to the final hours of health care legislation, a horde of Democratic legislators — including the brand-new inheritor of Rahm Emanuel’s own House seat — objected, from the left and right, and needed to be frantically corralled back into line. One Chicago Democrat, Rep. Daniel Lipinski, almost inexplicably voted to oppose the legislation. - Politico Story

Federal Government Dropped the Ball on Times Square Bomber

CBS News has learned that Senator Charles Grassley (R-IA) is launching an inquiry into how Faisal Shahzad became a naturalized U.S. citizen in 2009 despite multiple law enforcement investigations into his background over the last 10 years.

Grassley sent Department of Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano a letter today asking for the "Alien" file for Shahzad and his family members and for everyone who has been a reference or a sponsor for the terror suspect.

An Alien or "A" file includes visa and travel history, financial and personal information as well as any derogatory information from law enforcement. Grassley wants to know if this file was in the hands of the official who approved Shahzad's citizenship.

Grassley also wants Shahzad's arrival forms that he filled out each time he re-entered the United States and whether or not he sponsored other individuals to become citizens.

CBS news reported Wednesday that Faisal Shahzad had appeared on a Department of Homeland Security watchlist between 1999 and 2008 because he brought $80,000 of cash into the United States.

The New York Times reported on May 4, 2010 that the man who bought a condo from Shahzad, six years ago in May 2004 was visited at that time by investigators from the Joint Terrorism Task Force who asked questions about Shahzad.

Grassley wants to know how Shahzad became a US citizen if there was so much scrutiny into his background over the last decade. Grassley wants the documents by May 11, 2010. - CBS News Story

Imagine that, and this is the same Government who wants to run Health Care? What is wrong with US!!!

Racism Alive and Well in Ann Arbor, Michigan - But where is the ACLU?

An elementary school principal in Michigan is under investigation for authorizing a field trip last week for 30 black students to meet with an African-American rocket scientist. Students who are not black were excluded from the outing -- a possible violation of a state law that bans racial favoritism in public schools.

"The district is investigating the allegations of violation of the State of Michigan Proposal 2," a spokeswoman for the Ann Arbor, Mich., school district told FoxNews.com. "There was no ill-intent or malice in the principal and teachers planning this field trip," she added.

The principal, Mike Madison, who is black, said the trip was part of an effort to close the achievement gap between black and white students. But some parents whose children were not included say it clearly was illegal.

The controversy began last week when the 30 students, members of an African-American academic support group, were taken to hear the rocket scientist, Alec Gallimore, speak at the University of Michigan, where he is an aerospace engineering professor and propulsion lab director.

The goal of the trip, Madison said, was to close test score gaps and inspire the students to consider careers in the sciences. - FOX News Story

Violent Film Declares War on Arizona - Where is the Federal Government?

A violent new film from cult director Robert Rodriguez is declaring war on Arizona with a "special Cinco De Mayo message" in the wake of the state's controversial illegal immigration law.

That message is: "They just f---ed with the wrong Mexican."

"Machete," which features a knife-wielding Mexican assassin out for revenge against double-crossing gringos, won't be in theaters until September, but it is already sparking a political melee over Wednesday's stab at the Grand Canyon State.

In the trailer for the film, the title character is hired to assassinate an anti-immigration U.S. senator played by Robert De Niro. Protesters are seen waving nationalist signs as the senator speaks to a charged-up rally: "We are at war," he booms. "Every time an illegal dances across our border, it is an act of aggression against this sovereign state — an overt act of terrorism."

But before the trailer even begins, the battle-scarred title character stares out from the screen as he tells viewers that what's about to unfold — an immigration-laced slasher grindhouse flick — is about the current border battle in Arizona. - FOX News Story

A small malitia in Michigan makes idol threats and gets raided and jailed by the Federal Government, here is a movie who puts violent front and center at against a State Government and I haven't heard a peep from the same Federal Government.

Hmmmm. Seems a lot like a double standard to me.

School Sends Students Home for Having Shirt with American Flag?

Administrators at a California high school sent five students home on Wednesday after they refused to remove their American flag T-shirts and bandannas -- garments the school officials deemed "incendiary" on Cinco de Mayo.

The five teens were sitting at a table outside Live Oak High School in Morgan Hill, Calif., on Wednesday morning when Assistant Principal Miguel Rodriguez asked two of them to remove their American flag bandannas, the Morgan Hill Times reported. The boys told the newspaper they complied, but were asked to accompany Rodriguez to the principal's office.

The five students -- Daniel Galli, Austin Carvalho, Matt Dariano, Dominic Maciel and Clayton Howard -- were then told they must turn their T-shirts inside-out or be sent home, though it would not be considered a suspension. Rodriguez told the students he did not want any fights to break out between Mexican-American students celebrating their heritage and those wearing American flags.

"They said we were starting a fight," Dariano told the newspaper. "We were fuel to the fire."

The boys told Rodriguez and Principal Nick Boden that turning their shirts inside-out was disrespectful, so their parents decided to take them home, the newspaper reports.

"I just couldn't believe it," Julie Fagerstrom, Maciel's mother, told the newspaper. "I'm an open-minded parent, but it's got to be on both sides. It can't be five kids singled out." - FOX News Story

Since when does a Foreign Holiday over rule our own National Pride. Is it against the rules for Mexicans to wear a Mexican Flag on their shirts during 4th of July?

Obama on Defense in War on Terror

In the past two days, Robert Gibbs has taken to the podium in the White House briefing room to talk up a major administration win in the anti-terror fight – the fast capture of suspected Times Square bomber Faisal Shahzad.

Yet during both Q-and-A sessions Tuesday and Wednesday, President Barack Obama’s press secretary fielded more than 75 tough questions about things that nearly went awry — and about several missteps that nearly allowed the 30-year old naturalized U.S. citizen from Pakistan to slip the dragnet.

“I think maybe the tale of this is law enforcement continues to do a superb job in keeping us safe,” a beleaguered Gibbs reminded reporters on Tuesday — after fielding a dozen queries about how Shahzad managed to board a Dubai-bound plane despite being listed on the federal no-fly list.

Gibbs’s grilling reflects a larger dilemma of the Obama administration in selling the public on the idea that they are waging a successful war on terror – especially after discarding of the uppercase “War on Terror” label coined by the Bush administration.

Making that argument even harder: The increasingly unpredictable and asymmetrical nature of the evolving threat of Islamic terrorism – and the administration’s change-on-the-fly approach to fixing holes in their own anti-terrorism policy.

On Tuesday, Gibbs suggested some of the blame for Shahzad’s boarding of the plane Sunday lay with the airline itself, because the company allowed him to board.

But on Wednesday, the administration announced the problem was with the rules for the government’s no-fly list. From now on, Gibbs announced, carriers would be required to refresh their lists every two hours, instead of the once-a-day currently mandated. - Politico Story

Pennsylvania Tax Ad - Big Brother Scare Tactic?

A threatening TV commercial appearing in Pennsylvania has residents of the state spooked by its "Orwellian" overtones, and critics are calling it a government attempt to scare delinquent citizens into paying back taxes.

In the 30-second ad, ominous mechanical sounds whir in the background as a satellite camera zooms in through the clouds and locks onto an average Pennsylvania home. The narrator begins her cold and calculating message:

Your name is Tom ... You live just off of 5th Street ... Nice car, Tom — nice house. What's not so nice is you owe Pennsylvania $4,212 in back taxes. Listen Tom, we can make this easy. Pay online by June 18th and we'll skip your penalty and take half off your interest because Tom, we do know who you are. - FOX News Story

Rep. David Obey Retiring - This is Good News for America

Bone-tired and facing a tough political landscape at home, House Appropriations Committee Chairman David Obey announced Wednesday that he won’t seek re-election, ending a 41-year House career stamped by his unique talent and tempestuousness.

Rarely does a committee chairman of such power just walk away, and Obey’s decision is both a blow to Democrats and marks the passing of one of the last major leaders of the 1970’s reforms that reshaped the modern House.

“I am ready to turn the page, and frankly, I think that my district is ready for someone new to make a fresh start,” Obey said in an afternoon press conference in his committee’s meeting room.

Despite poor polls at home, he insisted that could win re-election in November but admitted he feared another reapportionment fight in the next Congress and a shift in the public mood against the aggressive public investments which have been his trademark.

“I do not want to be the position as chairman of the Appropriations Committee of producing and defending lowest common denominator legislation that is inadequate to that task,” Obey said, “And given the mood of the country, that is what I would have to do if I stayed.” - Politico Story

False Advertising Complaint Filed against GM

When General Motors two weeks ago released a new commercial bragging that it had "repaid its government loan in full," it's a safe bet the automaker believed the ad would boost consumer confidence in the company.

It may have done that, but it has also generated a serious backlash in Washington.

A libertarian think tank today filed a formal complaint with the Federal Trade Commission, urging the agency to investigate the automaker's "deceptive advertising."

In the complaint, the Competitive Enterprise Institute argued that the ad, which ended its run last week, "gives the false impression that GM has used its own funds to pay back all the bailout money that it received from the federal government. In fact, GM has only repaid a fraction of those funds -- barely 10 percent. Moreover, GM apparently repaid its own loan by using other federal funds." - ABC News Story

Obama Press Man Mad at FOX again - Imagine That

Bin Laden Alive and Well in Iran - US Government Knows it?

Usama bin Laden gets up each morning in his dark, damp cave in northern Pakistan, gripped by fear, listening carefully for the telltale sound of a drone that is searching for him. His isolation is almost complete. Only a few trusted associates know where he is, and they visit rarely -- bringing food and news, but careful not to fall into a routine. There is no radio or other electronic device whose signal might be followed. He can’t go out in daytime for fear of satellites. It is a grim, lonely existence.

At least, that is the picture that has emerged of the life of the world’s most wanted man since he fled Tora Bora in 2001.

But a new and vastly different picture of the Al Qaeda leader's life has been emerging over the past few years. In this scenario, he wakes each morning in a comfortable bed inside a guarded compound north of Tehran. He is surrounded by his wife and a few children. He keeps a low profile, is allowed limited travel and, in exchange for silence, is given a comfortable life under the protection of Iran's Revolutionary Guard.

The idea that Bin Laden is in Iran got a strong boost recently with the premiere of a documentary called “Feathered Cocaine.” In it, Alan Parrot, the film’s subject and one of the world’s foremost falconers, makes a case that Bin Laden, an avid falcon hunter, has been living comfortably in Iran since at least 2003 and continues to pursue the sport relatively freely. He is relaxed, healthy and, according to the film, very comfortable.

To make his case, Parrot, president of the Union for the Conservation of Raptors, took two Icelandic filmmakers, Om Marino Arnarson and Thorkell S. Hardarson, into the secretive world of falconers. It's a world in which some birds can sell for over $1 million, and in which the elite of the Middle East conduct business in luxurious desert camps where money, politics and terror intermingle. - FOX News Story

Multiple Arrests in Failed Times Square Bombing

A man has been arrested in Karachi in connection with the investigation of the Times Square bombing attempt, Pakistani intelligence sources told Fox News.

The capture comes after the arrest of a Pakistani-born U.S. citizen, who was minutes away from fleeing the U.S. when his Dubai-bound flight was returned to its gate at New York's Kennedy Airport and U.S. officials escorted him from the plane, along with two other men.

The suspect, Faisal Shahzad, will appear in court Tuesday to face charges that he tried to set off a massive fireball and kill Americans after parking his car on a street lined with restaurants and Broadway theaters, federal authorities said.

The U.S. attorney's office in Manhattan was handling the case against Shahzad, 30, but has not yet made the charges against him public. FBI agents searched the home at a known address for Shahzad in Bridgeport, Conn., early Tuesday, said agent Kimberly Mertz, who wouldn't answer questions about the search.

Authorities removed filled plastic bags from the house overnight in a mixed-race, working-class neighborhood of multi-family homes in Connecticut's largest city. A bomb squad came and went without entering as local police and FBI agents gathered in the cordoned-off street.

Faisal Shahzad, a Pakistani-American, has been arrested after he and two others were removed from a Dubai-bound flight at JFK airport.

In all, three passengers were removed from Emirates Airline Flight EK202 late Monday night as Shahzad was taken into custody by FBI agents and New York Police Department detectives.

But Shahzad told investigators he acted alone and denied any ties to radical groups in his native Pakistan, a U.S. law enforcement official familiar with the investigation told Reuters.

Though Attorney General Eric Holder said Tuesday that Shahzad was identified by customs agents and taken into custody before boarding his flight, a representative for Emirates Airlines confirmed to Fox News that Flight 202 "was called back by the local authorities prior to departure," and that the three passengers who were removed had already boarded the plane.

"Full security procedures were activated including the deplaning of all passengers and a thorough screening of the aircraft, passengers, and baggage," the airline representative told Fox News. "Emirates is cooperating with the local authorities." The plane was delayed about seven hours and took off for Dubai at approximately 6:30 a.m. ET.

Shahzad is a naturalized U.S. citizen and had recently returned from a five-month trip to Pakistan, where he had a wife, according to law enforcement officials who spoke to The Associated Press on condition of anonymity because of the sensitivity of the investigation into the failed car bombing. - FOX News Story

What really strikes me is that the Attorney General Tells us one story and everyone else is telling a different story.

Obama Team in PR Overload With Oil Spill

The ferocious oil leak in the Gulf of Mexico is threatening President Barack Obama’s reputation for competence, just as surely as it endangers the Gulf ecosystem.

So White House aides are escalating their efforts to reassure Congress and the public in the face of a slow-motion catastrophe, even though it’s not clear they can bring it under control anytime soon.

“There is no good answer to this,” one senior administration official said. “There is no readily apparent solution besides one that could take three months. ... If it doesn’t show the impotence of the government, it shows the limits of the government.”

Hope and change was Obama’s headline message in 2008, but those atop his campaign have always said that it was Obama’s cool competence — exemplified by his level-headed handling of the financial meltdown during the campaign’s waning days — that sealed the deal with independents and skeptical Democrats. The promise of rational, responsive and efficient government is Obama’s brand, his justification for bigger and bolder federal interventions and, ultimately, his rationale for a second term. - Politico Story

Federal Government Case Against Michigan Militia Falling Apart

Nine members of a Michigan militia will be released from jail pending trial after a federal judge on Monday harshly criticized the government's claim they had conspired to overthrow the U.S. government.

The decision is a significant defeat for federal authorities, who spoke in tough and triumphant terms after arresting members of a southern Michigan group called the Hutaree in March and charging them with conspiracy to commit sedition and attempted use of weapons of mass destruction.

The government "need not wait until people are killed before it arrests conspirators," U.S. District Judge Victoria Roberts said. "But the defendants are also correct: Their right to engage in hate-filled, venomous speech is a right that deserves First Amendment protection."

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"The feds are in big trouble," said Lloyd Meyer of Chicago, a former terrorism prosecutor who won decades-long prison sentences against violent militia members in western and northern Michigan. "If they can't persuade the judge by clear and convincing evidence that the defendants are dangerous, how can they convince 12 jurors beyond a reasonable doubt? Her ruling looks like the feds are prosecuting U.S. citizens for jibber-jabber." - ABC News Story

Obama's Not a Leader - Not to Dems or Repubs

A day after highlighting the need for immigration reform at an Iowa town hall meeting, President Barack Obama last week raised doubts about whether Congress really had “an appetite immediately to dive into another controversial issue.”

Immigration activists were shocked, to say the least — “pissed” is how Frank Sharry, executive director of America’s Voice, described his reaction — and the remarks undercut the next day’s unveiling of an immigration reform framework, while providing Republicans more leeway to accuse Democrats of demagoguing on the issue.

Clarissa Martinez, the National Council of La Raza’s immigration and national campaign director, put the onus squarely on the president. “To me, what was an opportunity for his leadership to emerge strongly ... well, it’s not quite there yet,” she said.

For veterans of the health care debate who had championed the doomed public option, it was a déjà vu moment. For more than a year, the president flirted with their cause, alternating between endorsing it and diminishing its viability. MoveOn Executive Director Justin Ruben reflected on the campaign and concluded: “The president consistently left wiggle room and never went to the mat.”

“He loves me, he loves me not” — liberal activists feel such an acute sense of seduction and abandonment on a wide swath of issues that Obama has championed. - Politico Story

Warren Buffett Supports Goldman Sachs, Nothing Wrong with What They Did

(CBS) Warren Buffett and Charlie Munger again defended Goldman Sachs Group Inc. on Sunday, saying faulty government regulations are to blame for most of the economic turmoil of the past few years, not investment banks.

Berkshire Hathaway's top two executives met with reporters a day after taking questions before a crowd of about 37,000 at the Omaha company's annual meeting.

Buffett has been one of Goldman's biggest supporters before and since the Securities and Exchange Commission filed its civil lawsuit against the bank last month. Berkshire holds $5 billion in preferred shares of Goldman. Buffett said he has no plans to sell those shares because they remain a very good investment and are paying 10 percent interest a year.

Goldman shares have fallen 22 percent since the SEC filed its suit on April 16, closing Friday at $145.20. Berkshire holds warrants that would let it buy the stock at a discount price of $115 per share.

Warren Buffett's Life and Career

The government has charged that Goldman misled investors about a deal, called Abacus, involving complex mortgage-related investments that later plunged in value. Buffett said he's studied the charges against the investment bank and has "no problem with that Abacus transaction."

The SEC claims Goldman misled investors by failing to disclose important information about the Abacus deal. Goldman allegedly didn't tell investors that one of its clients, hedge fund Paulson & Co., was betting against the securities.

Buffett said ACA, the bond insurer involved in the Abacus deal with Goldman, was responsible for assessing the transaction's risks, and that it shouldn't have mattered that Paulson was betting against ACA's interests.

Berkshire Vice Chairman Charlie Munger said he believes Goldman is the nation's best investment bank in terms of morality and competency. He said vilifying Goldman won't solve the problems created by what he called faulty government regulation of the financial industry. - CBS News Story

Illegals Vow to Keep Coming Regardless of Law

The line of Mexicans waiting to go shopping in Arizona snakes twice around the sun-drenched plaza, even as politicians nearby slap stickers on cars calling for a boycott of the U.S. state.

And the illegal migrants targeted by a tough new Arizona law dismiss it as just another obstacle that pales in comparison to the extortion, arrests and kidnappings they already risk to reach U.S. soil. They vow to keep on coming.

Resentment has erupted throughout Mexico over the immigration law in Arizona that is considered racist here. But crossing back and forth between the countries is so intrinsic to their lives that many Mexicans find it hard to give it up despite calls by immigration activists for a boycott of Arizona.

"Border cities depend on each other and it has been that way for many years," said Maria Romero, a nurse from Nogales, which lies across from the Arizona town of the same name. "It seems they don't understand that on the other side and are always looking for ways to make things more difficult." - ABC News Story

Health Care Bill May Cost Many Billions More than Thought?

The first major decision for the states under the new health care law—on establishing high risk insurance pools—has come and gone with the decisions so far made mostly along party lines.

By the Friday deadline, most Democratic governors largely decided to help the Department of Health and Human Services by creating the pools themselves with federal funding.

Most Republican governors decided to allow the federal government to establish its own high-risk insurance pool in their states, essentially punting.

The pools, which are temporary until 2014, could be a telling sign of how well the states and federal government work together on putting the rest of the overhaul into action.

The pools need to be in place one way or the other by this summer to help adults with pre-existing conditions buy insurance coverage. Many such adults have trouble finding insurers at reasonable cost.

Not all states have responded to HHS yet. But of those that did, 15 said they would leave the job to HHS. Twenty eight states, plus the District of Columbia, agreed to do the work under contract.

HHS spokeswoman Jenny Backus said the department was pleased with the results from the states.

“We … look forward to working together to provide people who have been denied coverage for so long, access to some much needed relief through the creation of temporary high-risk pools,” she said in a statement. “Whether states create these pools or the federal government creates them for states, the pools will be paid for by 100 percent federal dollars and most importantly —- uninsured people around the country will soon have access to another affordable coverage option.”

The department had assumed that some states would opt to have HHS implement the program – some states are so small that they could even benefit from having their residents in a larger, federal pool that spreads the risk among more people.

But the results show just how divisive the health reform plan still is.

Of the 15 states that turned down the contract, three are led by Democratic governors – Wyoming, Tennessee and Delaware. Many of those that turned it down cited concern that the $5 billion HHS had set aside for the pools wouldn’t be enough and that the states would be left with the tab. HHS told state officials in a conference call recently that they wouldn’t let that happen.

“After careful analysis of the new law, consultation with state health and insurance officials and communications with state lawmakers and HHS, the state of Texas cannot today commit to operating the new high-risk pool due to the lack of program rules or reliable federal funding,” Texas Gov. Rick Perry said late on Friday. “I do not believe the aggressive implementation and the lack of assurances on financial solvency of the program are in the best interest of Texas taxpayers, families, patients or health care providers.” - Politico Story