1 Sept 2009
POLITICANS PLAY SOLITARE, WATCH BASEBALL DURING BUDGET DEBATE IN CONNECTICUT...
See:
http://www.courant.com/news/breaking/hc-monday-budget-meeting-pictures-0831,0,4194637.photogallery
[Agult] Stem-cell research 'sees' strides in retina care
8/31/2009
A team of scientists at the University of Wisconsin-Madison School of Medicine has successfully grown multiple types of retina cells from two types of stem cells.
For the future, it could mean that damaged retinas would be repaired by cells grown from the patient's own skin. Dr. John Whiffen, a retired orthopedic surgeon and spokesman for the Christian Medical & Dental Associations, says he is especially pleased because it is another example of why embryonic stem-cell research is a waste of time and money.
"Because they can now reprogram skin cells to, in this case, provide nerve cells for the retina, they have shown that we don't need to take cells from embryos," he explains. "So the whole medical [and] ethical issue of embryonic stem-cell research should be passé."
Many Christian and pro-life grouops believe stem-cell research kills a tiny being, while adult stem cells, such as skin, have proven to be useful and avoid the problem of rejection, such as in organ transplants. How soon might retina research be used in humans?
"In a few cases, it may be very close," he notes, "but in most cases it's quite a ways away yet."
Meanwhile, other types of adult stem-cell research are already being used to treat more than 70 diseases and medical conditions.
http://www.onenewsnow.com/Culture/Default.aspx?id=660554
CIA Counterterrorism Expert: Obama and Holder 'At War' with Agency
August 31, 2009 By: Kent Clizbe
read article at
http://www.newsmax.com/headlines/obama_holder_war_with_cia/2009/08/31/254698.html
Kent Clizbe is a former member of the CIA's Directorate of Operations. In 2001, in the aftermath of Sept. 11, he returned to the CIA to serve multiple counter-terrorism deployments. In 2005, he was awarded the Intelligence Community Seal Medallion for his anti-terrorism work.
Dealers Still Waiting For Clunker Cash
08/31/2009
Auto makers will release their monthly sales reports Tuesday and they're expected to show the first year-to-year increase since 2007. While the Cash for Clunkers program is getting all the credit, local car dealers are still waiting for their cash.
During the month long program, Billion Automotive sold close to a thousand vehicles but has only been reimbursed for 272 of them. Vern Eide sold over 200 cars and has only been paid for 27 of them, and that's fueling lots of concerns in the auto industry.
Billion Automotive cashed in during Cash for Clunkers, but owner Dave Billion is still waiting for the rest of his money from the government run program, $3.2 million.
"I wonder how long they'd wait if I owed them $3.2 million. I think they'd be at my door or at least my banker's door," Billion said.
Even though Billion is beginning to get some of his reimbursement money, he's still concerned because he says there doesn't seem to be any rhyme or reason to the program.
When Cash for Clunkers was first announced, dealers were supposed to be reimbursed within 10 days of a sale. Billion says that hasn't happened.
"The program started in July and we haven't gotten paid for cars we sold back then, but then on the other hand we got paid for a car we sold last week. They don't have an accurate format. It's not like they're taking the first deals that were submitted and working those. I don't know how they're doing it, no idea. I know it's very random" Billion said...
http://www.keloland.com/NewsDetail6162.cfm?Id=89419
Parents of teen convert affiliated with terrorism via mosque
9/1/2009
An Orlando, Florida, attorney has filed court documents to support his contention that a Columbus, Ohio-area mosque has ties to terrorist groups and would present a clear and present danger to a 17-year-old Christian convert from Islam who fled to Florida in fear of her life.
As OneNewsNow reported on Monday, Rifqa Bary fled from her parents after she claims her father threatened to kill her when he learned from members of his mosque, the Noor Islamic Cultural Center in Columbus, Ohio, that Rifqa converted from Islam to Christianity. Rifqa is staying with a Christian foster family in Orlando pending a court hearing this Thursday.
Her father says Rifqa can practice any religion she wants and that he only wants her to return home. But Orlando attorney John Stemberger said in a telephonic news conference on Monday afternoon that Rifqa fears for her life, and that Rifqa's family is heavily involved with the Noor Islamic Cultural Center.
"The primary issue in the case is the clear and present danger that is presented by the Noor Center mosque and its ties to terrorist activity. We believe that the facts are there that support the allegation that this mosque has ties to terrorist activity," he notes. "Rifqa's affidavit indicates that her parents were regularly involved with this mosque."
Stemberger points out it was the Noor Center that tipped off Rifqa's family about her conversion to Christianity.
"While Rifqa believes that her parents may have suspected that she had an interest in Christianity because they found a book in 2007, it wasn't until members of the Noor Center community, the leaders, contacted her father and informed him that they need to deal with this matter immediately," Stemberger says.
Stemberger has filed an affidavit from Rifqa along with an Investigation and Intelligence Memorandum on the Noor Center activities to support his petition that the court keep Rifqa in the custody of the state of Florida until her eighteenth birthday.
http://www.onenewsnow.com/Legal/Default.aspx?id=661906
Britain facing blackouts for first time since 1970s
31 Aug 2009
Demand for power from homes and businesses will exceed supply from the national grid within eight years, according to official figures.
The shortage of supplies will hit the equivalent of many as 16 million families for at least one hour during the year, it is forecast.
Not since the early 1970s when the three-day week was introduced to preserve coal has Britain faced the prospect of reationing energy use.
The gap between Britain's energy needs and demand throws fresh doubt on the Government's assertion that renewable energy can make up for dwindling nuclear and coal capabilities.
Over the next 10 years, one third of Britain's power-generating capacity needs to be replaced with cleaner fuels. But last night the Conservatives said that Labour had refused to face up to the problem.
The admission that Britain will face power-cuts is contained in a document that accompanied the Government's Low Carbon Transition Plan, which was launched in July.
Ed Miliband, the Energy and Climate Change Secretary, outlined the plan amid much fanfare.
Under the plan, 40 per cent of the UK's electricity will need to come from low-carbon energy sources including clean coal, nuclear and renewables.
Accompanying the report is an appendix, only published online, which warns of power shortages. It details supplies and expected demand between now and 2030.
Greg Clark, the shadow climate and energy change secretary, said: "Britain faces blackouts because the Government has put its head in the sand about Britain's energy policy for a decade. Over the next 10 years we need to replace one third of our generating capacity but Labour has left it perilously late, and has been forced to admit they expect power cuts for the first time since the 1970s.
"The next government has an urgent task to accelerate the deployment of a new generating capacity, and to take steps to ensure that as a matter of national security there is enough capacity to provide a robust margin of safety."
Mr Clark also pointed out that the scale of the blackouts could in fact be three times worse than the Government predictions. He said some of the modelling used was "optimistic" as it assumes little or no change in electricity demand up until to 2020.
It also assumes a rapid increase in wind farm capacity. There is also the assumption that existing nuclear power stations will be granted extensions to their "lifetimes".
Home Schoolers Top National Average on ACT
(CNSNews.com) – Compared with other students, homeschoolers scored higher than the national average on this year's ACT, a national standardized test used to gauge educational development and college readiness...
http://www.cnsnews.com/news/article/53292
Pollster Rasmussen: Obama Ratings at All-Time Low, May Fall Further
August 31, 2009
Public opinion pollster Scott Rasmussen tells Newsmax that opposition to President Barack Obama's healthcare reform plan is "weighing down" his job approval rating — which is now at an all-time low.
Rasmussen also declared that if the economy does not improve over the next year, Obama's approval numbers will deteriorate even further and Democrats will suffer in the 2010 elections.
http://www.newsmax.com/insidecover/rasmussen_obama_poll_low/2009/08/31/254627.html
Zogby: Obama Approval Plummets to 42 Percent
August 31, 2009
President Barack Obama's job approval rating is down to 42%, with a decline in approval from Democrats the leading factor.
The latest Zogby Interactive poll of 4,518 likely voters conducted from August 28-31 found 48% disapprove and 42% approve of the job Obama is doing...
http://www.newsmax.com/insidecover/zogby_obama_poll/2009/08/31/254617.html
Sen. Harry Reid Gets Thumped by 11 Points in Newest Poll
September 1, 2009
Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, one of the nation's most powerful Democrats, is in danger of losing his seat to either a former Miss America runner-up or the son of a famous basketball coach who never has held high public office.
At least that what a recent poll says.
The Nevada lawmaker, who will be seeking a fifth term in office November 2010, is trailing Republican challenger Danny Tarkanian, scion of the legendary Jerry Tarkanian, former hoops coach at the University of Nevada at Las Vegas, by 11 percent points, according to a poll taken in mid-August by Mason-Dixon Polling & Research Inc.
Mr. Reid also would lose by five points to Sue Lowden, the Nevada Republican Party chairwoman and a former state senator, the poll shows.
So is the career of Nevada's senior statesman doomed? Don't bet on it, political experts say.
"Is he vulnerable? Yes. Is he a lame duck? Absolutely not," said Eric Herzik, chairman of the political science department at the University of Nevada at Reno.
"One thing you have to remember is, Harry Reid has never been this overwhelmingly popular politician. He's never had real good numbers, and yet he still wins," Mr. Herzik said. (Gee, I wonder how that happens...?)
http://www.newsmax.com//insidecover/harry_reid_trails_in_poll/2009/09/01/254830.html
David Bennett <><
posted by David Bennett | 3:23 AM
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