Politics
The Hill: Specter says Obama ditched him after he provided 60th vote to pass health law
By Alexander Bolton
Former Sen. Arlen Specter (Pa.) writes in a new book that President Obama ditched him in the 2010 election after he helped Obama win the biggest legislative victory of his term by passing healthcare reform.
The Hill: Opinion: Moderation out of fashion on Capitol Hill
By Juan Williams
Even as more Americans identify themselves as independents — not Democrats or Republicans — there is a painfully sharp decline in moderate and independent voices in both houses of Congress.
http://thehill.com/opinion/columnists/juan-williams/215377-moderation-out-of-fashion-on-capitol-hill
The Hill: Tea Party groups pressure House GOP leaders to rev up Fast and Furious probe
By Jordy Yager
Local Tea Party activists are pressing House Republican leaders to pursue their investigation into the Operation Fast and Furious gun-tracking effort more aggressively.
The Wall Street Journal: GOP loses sure grip on some Senate seats
By Janet Hook
Republicans’ campaign to win control of the Senate this year— once seen as an smooth drive down a broad path—has hit some unexpected speed bumps.
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052702304537904577275650654864484.html?mod=ITP_pageone_2
The New York Times: Health care act offers Roberts a signature case
By Adam Liptak
Considered likely to join the Supreme Court majority either way the case is decided, Chief Justice John G. Roberts Jr. may never encounter a more important ruling.
Russia Boots out Biggest NGO – Paper
Russian Justice Initiative (RJI), Russia’s largest foreign non-governmental organization providing legal assistance to Russians in the European Court of Human Rights, was excluded from the list of authorized NGOs, the Kommersant daily said on Monday.
Since 2001, Russian Justice Initiative won about 10 million euros (almost $13 million) in Strasbourg Court actions on complaints from residents of Chechnya. In late 2010, it won a record lawsuit of 1.72 million euros (about $2.3 mln) against Russia over the killing of at least 24 Chechen villagers in an operation against militants in 2000.
http://en.rian.ru/russia/20120312/172109488.html
Economy
How Public Sector Layoffs Are Holding Back the Recovery
Heather Boushey, ThinkProgress:
“The current economic recovery is going well if one looks at private sector job creation. The pace of private sector job creation is slower than in the recovery from the early 1990s recession … Since early 2009, governments at all levels have shed nearly 700,000 jobs, most of them at the state and local level. Since August of 2008 state and local governments have shed a total of 647,000 workers, of which 64 percent were women workers.”
http://www.truth-out.org/how-public-sector-layoffs-are-holding-back-recovery/1331475605
Canadian Government Targeting Opponents of New Oil Sands
Lisa Song, InsideClimate News:
“As US environmental groups renew their battle against the resurrected Keystone XL oil pipeline, their counterparts in Canada are facing a deeper problem – a government campaign to limit their influence over Canada’s Northern Gateway pipeline…. As environmental groups have stepped up their campaigns against the project, key figures in the Harper administration have publicly denounced them as extremists, and a federal finance committee has announced plans to audit all of Canada’s charities.”
The Hill: Dodd-Frank panel faces pushback on rules for naming vital Wall Street firms
By Peter Schroeder
Federal regulators are facing opposition from business groups as they try to develop a system to ensure that large institutions do not cause another financial crisis.
Wars and Rumors of War
The Washington Post: Amid anger over Afghan killings, U.S. faces growing public weariness on war
By Craig Whitlock and Jon Cohen
The massacre of at least 16 Afghan civilians, apparently by an American soldier, forced the Obama administration Sunday to confront yet another nightmare from the war zone and fresh evidence that patience back home is increasingly wearing thin.
Obama is also a problem
The blame for the situation in Syria does not lie with Russia alone; one of the biggest problems is also the Obama administration, which has squandered a golden opportunity to get rid of a significant obstacle to security in the region — and by extension US national security, Bashar Al-Assad.
However, it is clear that Obama is not concerned with the security of the region — even though it impacts upon international security as a whole, especially with the chaos in Syria overlooking the Mediterranean — rather Obama is preoccupied with his re-election bid.
http://arabnews.com/opinion/columns/article586289.ece
Environmental
Environmental Protection Agency Puts Greenhouse Gas Rules for Oil Refineries on Backburner
Elizabeth McGowan, InsideClimate News:
“Election-year politics, $4-a-gallon gasoline and an anti-regulatory fervor on Capitol Hill have aligned to thwart EPA’s vow to issue final carbon emissions standards for oil refineries this year…. The pullback on refineries – combined with an earlier and separate delay on regulating greenhouse gases from fossil fuel power plants – means EPA has yet to control emissions from a pair of sizable industrial sources.”
http://www.truth-out.org/epa-puts-greenhouse-gas-rules-oil-refineries-backburner/1331479260
One year after catastrophe, Fukushima remains a threat
While the Japanese authorities promise to get residents of Fukushima prefecture home “as soon as possible”, the crippled nuclear plant remains a danger zone. Two specialists tell FRANCE 24 why it could still explode.
Misc
Maricopa County Sheriff Joe Arpaio says President Barack Obama’s birth certificate is not authentic
Uploaded by FederalJacktube6 on Mar 8, 2012
Maricopa County Sheriff Joe Arpaio said President Barack Obama’s birth certificate is not authentic.
Arpaio revealed the findings of a investigation into the president’s birth certificate at a 1 hour and 20 minute news conference Thursday, calling the certificate “suspect.”
Arpaio’s team of investigators said they found that the long-form birth certificate was created electronically and never existed in paper form.
The president’s Selective Service card was also questioned.
Arpaio’s investigators claimed the document has “failed every test we put it through.”
At Thursday’s news conference, investigators said they will request a criminal investigation. They also said they have identified a person of interest in the forgery of the birth certificate.
Arpaio said he is not accusing the president of the crime. He said they will investigate who is behind the “possible forgery and fraud.”
“I haven’t decided where to go with this yet,” Arpaio said. “I just wanted to get the facts of this situation. We haven’t accused anyone of anything.”
The controversy over the certificate has been widely debunked, but it remains alive in the eyes of some conservatives, namely members of the Tea Party who urged Arpaio to look into the matter.
For the past six months, Arpaio’s “Cold Case Posse” has been investigating the authenticity of those documents to see if there’s been any fraud or forgery involved.
“We conducted a very professional investigation; we have come up with I feel some probable cause, some evidence,” Arpaio said Wednesday.
Arpaio said the investigation was done at no cost to taxpayers.
“Just let me say the results may be interesting without using the word ‘shocked,'” Arpaio said prior to the conference. “I think it will reveal some information no one else has really developed in a professional law enforcement manner.”
The Cold Case Posse comprises volunteers who are former police officers and lawyers.
Arpaio is facing problems of his own, including a federal grand jury probe over alleged abuse of power and Justice Department accusations of racial profiling.
Rather than seek cover, Arpaio is moving into the spotlight in a fashion that has helped boost his career as a nationally-known law officer. http://www.kpho.com/story/17053035/arpaio-to-reveal-results-of-birther-probe
MCSO: Obama Eligibility Cold Case Investigation (Full Press Conference) http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=6Qm7Idz3OY8
PROOF!!! Obama Birth Certificate Fraud http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3g30VCl_cgk&feature=player_embedded
Trailblazing Journalist Mysteriously Dies Before Releasing Damaging Obama Video http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IldGbAWwD-I&feature=share
The Obama Deception HQ Full length version http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eAaQNACwaLw
Thanks to http://www.youtube.com/user/NWONEWS666 for the video
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