*Update added spending summary* 
(ATR) — President Obama released his budget this morning. Rather than focusing on Washington’s over-spending problem, the budget calls for higher taxes on families and small businesses to pay for even more government spending. Under the Obama budget, tax revenues will grow from 14.4% of GDP in 2011 to 20% of GDP in 2021. By comparison, the historical average is only 18% of GDP. (more…)
h/t WeeWeed…. (Roll Call)- Maricopa County Sheriff Joe Arpaio led a field of potential Republican Senate candidates in Arizona with 21 percent in a poll of likely GOP primary voters last week. Rep. Jeff Flake, who announced his candidacy for the seat of retiring Senate Minority Whip Jon Kyl (R-Ariz.) on Monday, finished second with 16.8 percent in the Summit Consulting Group survey. Former Rep. J.D. Hayworth took third, with 16.6 percent. He was unsuccessful in his primary challenge to Sen. John McCain last year. (more…)
(NewsMax) Is a civil war brewing between the Obama White House and Hillary Clinton’s State Department? A New York Times story published this weekend suggests one may have erupted already. On Saturday, the Times, quoting numerous White House sources, sought to explain the Obama administration’s erratic policy statements during the Egyptian crisis. (more…)
Whats on your mind today? What stories, articles, or considerations would you like to see followed?
h/t StellaP (TWS) Unconfirmed reports are circulating that former Egyptian president Hosni Mubarak has fallen into a coma in Sharm al-Sheikh. The independent Egyptian daily Al Masry Al Youm’s English-language website says that Mubarak fainted twice during his final speech Thursday night. The report also seems to confirm long-time speculation that it was Egyptian first lady Suzanne Mubarak who was eager to see her son Gamal succeed as president. “You got me into this, you and your mother,” Mubarak reportedly told Gamal. “You have ruined my history in Egypt.” (more…)
No that ain’t a headline from any reputable media outlet. It’s all mine. I just got done reading a bunch of articles about the proposed budget. Unicorn farts… rainbow butterflies…. pancakes in a canoe…. elephants wearing cherry sneakers…, all that makes about as much fiscal sense as this budget. Which is exactly ZERO. Nada, Zippo, Zylch, Nyet. (Here is one from Fox) President Obama’s budget was released Monday, and notably absent were most of recommendations from the deficit commission that he created via an executive order.
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Just less obvious and perhaps more difficult to find….. (CNN) — Graciousness can pay priceless dividends; And it doesn’t cost a thing. You may have heard the story about what happened between White House adviser Valerie Jarrett and Four-star Army Gen. Peter Chiarelli at a recent Washington dinner. (more…)
Told ya so….. (AMAY – English) In a statement on Monday, Egypt’s largest opposition group, the Muslim Brotherhood, said it would establish itself as a political party once the Constitution has been amended to allow it to do so. The group asserted its confidence that Egypt’s Supreme Council of Armed Forces would meet all its promises pledged in its fifth statement to the nation on Sunday. (more…)
Hillary Clinton Announces Support For Iranian Protesters…WASHINGTON (AP) – Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton has expressed support for the tens of thousands of protesters in Iran’s capital, saying they “deserve to have the same rights that they saw being played out in Egypt and are part of their own birthright.” (more…)
(Daily Mail) — It is an assembly hall of the sort found in any ordinary school. Boys aged 11 and upwards sit cross-legged on the floor in straight rows. They face the front of the room and listen carefully. But this is no ordinary assembly. Holding the children’s attention is a man in Islamic dress wearing a skullcap and stroking his long dark beard as he talks. ‘You’re not like the non-Muslims out there,’ the teacher says, gesturing towards the window. (more…)