Michele Bachmann

Minnesota Rep. Michele Bachmann on Saturday described the loss of "economic liberty" that young Americans face today as a "flash point of history" in which the younger generation will ask what their elders did to stop it.
In a speech to New Hampshire Republicans, Bachmann recounted learning about a horrific time in history as a child – the Holocaust – and wondering if her mother did anything to stop it. She said she was shocked to hear that many Americans weren't aware that millions of Jews had died until after World War II ended.

Government Shutdown Not Yet Averted As White House Meeting Fails To Produce Deal

President Barack Obama says another round of talks with congressional leaders has helped but there is no deal yet to avert a government shutdown.

Obama said he hoped to be able to announce a deal on Friday but "there's no certainty yet." He said he told House Speaker John Boehner and Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid that he wants an answer in the morning.

The president spoke briefly to reporters after meeting for roughly an hour in the Oval Office with Boehner and Reid. Those two leaders said jointly that the latest round of talks had narrowed the issues. They pledged to work through the night to break the impasse.

Government Shutdown Threatened By Republicans Over Planned Parenthood

The United States government is on the verge of shutting down over a dispute about subsidized pap smears, according to sources familiar with the budget negotiations.

The White House and Senate Democrats have publicly capitulated to ever-increasing Republican demands for spending cuts, but negotiations over the budget for the remainder of the fiscal year have shifted their focus from money to so-called riders -- provisions that restrict the federal government from spending money on certain projects or entities.

Riders are used by members of Congress to make social policy without going through the regular congressional committee process, or they are used to benefit business interests by specifically blocking the government from spending money to write or enforce certain regulations........

Disney Dollars Were Taken Thanks To Dick Durbin

Chase began, one of the largest source of debit cards, said its customers as a result of legislation sponsored by Senator Dick Durbin (D-Ill.) the company will not be able to offer Disney dream reward dollars.
Wall Street is pressing hard in recent weeks on the law by the Senate what is known as the delay as "a slap in repair fees," which requires the federal system that would reduce the amount of pay vendors for the use of debit cards to write to buffer the amount of "reasonable."
Chase demand comes amid a dramatic battle behind the scenes in the Senate that the Democrats dig against the Republicans and Democrats against Republicans, and Wal-Mart to Wall Street.
"We have treated adult yet, but there is no such thing as Wall Street banks to show their muscle strength," said Durbin HuffPost.
In the Senate Thursday, the second man accused in the Senate Democrat tried to follow the Senate to express his letters to customers. "Now, banks and credit card companies and pull all the stops. I learned yesterday that the Chase, which is one of the largest publishers of these debit cards in America, wrote a letter to its customers in several states, and said: You know, if you remember the Amendment Durbin, and we end up in a position where we are not able to give you all the rewards we offer you credit and debit cards, "said Durbin.
Durbin spokesman did not have a copy of the letter complained. HuffPost gave Chase a sample sent to customers, but declined to respond to the charge and Durbin.
"Congress recently enacted a new law known as the Durbin amendment that significantly affects debit cards," and stressed the message with the original sample."Because of this law, we will change our rewards discount. On July 12, 2011 will not earn Disney Dream Reward DollarsSM Disney Rewards when you use your debit card."

Michele Bachmann: I Wouldn't Have Gone Into Libya

A tea party-backed conservative congresswoman says President Barack Obama has failed to demonstrate a vital U.S. national security interest for going into Libya.

Rep. Michele Bachmann also says "I would not have gone in" to the strife-torn North African country where strongman Moammar Gadhafi is fighting to cling to power against a resistance force.

The Minnesota Republican is considering whether to seek her party's 2012 presidential nomination. She tells NBC's "Today" show she doesn't support intervening regularly in humanitarian crises.

She says the "Obama doctrine" would provide a rationale for the United States "to enter into one country after another." Bachmann says she's against giving military assistance to the rebels fighting Gadhafi, saying she fears there are al Qaida elements among their numbers.

Scarborough Hits Liberals For Hypocrisy On Libya

In his opinion piece at Politico today, Joe Scarborough asks, "How can liberals call for Qadhafi's ouster when they opposed the war against Saddam?"

It's a good question! And it would have helped if Scarborough had, you know, identified some liberals who were taking that stance, so they could be asked that. You know, like, maybe a link, or something? So I could see such hypocrisy in action? This is apparently too much to ask.

But, okay! Scarborough says that "for a decade," President George W. Bush and Vice President Dick Cheney were compared to Hitler and Stalin, "condemned as an immoral beast who killed women and children to get his bloody hands on Iraqi oil," by anti-war activists and CODE PINK, etc. "But," Scarborough says, "in the morally murky afterglow of the Obama years, the certainty of these secular saints has melted away."

Government Shutdown Could Slow Tax Refunds, Crimp Use Of Largest Federal Anti-Poverty Program

The government shut down for a long strike for many poor families of America, and to provide program access limited or significant delays in the federal government against poverty Income Tax Credit.
In the past year, 26 million families more than $ 59 billion U.S. dollars from the discount, according to the Ministry of Treasury. While the vast majority of the beneficiaries may be affected by the closure of government possible, which comes a little earlier for a week of the deadline this returns the tax April 18 the size of individual large recipients discount many families still affected by a problem with payments to alleviate poverty. May be such a pain an important federal effort to combat poverty during the economic downturn, the worst economic casting since the Great Depression.
Details of a possible shut down - including the potential duration and effects - is still not clear. Even if Congress can not reach an agreement on government operations continue to do so, some specific programs and functions of "core" and allowed to continue running.
But it remains to see exactly which programs will be considered basic, and some of the activities undertaken by the Internal Revenue Service may not be. And rejected the IRS and the Treasury Department to comment on this report, but political observers say that while it is very difficult for the government's closure will stop collecting taxes, and other core functions of the IRS - including the provision of billions in tax refunds may be affected - --.
"... Our expectations are the taxes will be processed as if it does not close," said Christina Martin Firvida, director of economic security for government relations of the Association. "We're unclear whether there will be a significant delay in the payment, including reimbursements to include discount."
For many people their money from tax rebate program is an important element of their annual income, and sometimes as much as 30 percent of funding to their households.The discount rate average of about $ 2.250, but some families receiving as much as $ 5,666, depending on the circumstances. Benefits are scaled to the number of children in the family and annual household income. Individuals $ 13.460 or less, receive $ 467 of the opponent, while families with three children, and $ 5,666 benefit if they receive less than $ 48.362. For families at the lower end of the economic spectrum, and the opponent is required to pay their bills.
Fortunately, most poor families file their payments early in the season relatively taxes, in the hope that the government controls the speed. But many families are still waiting until mid-April tax filing deadline, and about a quarter of American families to qualify for the discount does not really apply, as Adam Perry, an organizer of the builders of the area of ​​capital assets' discount capital assistance program. These people are often ignorant of the tax file in much later in the season, because they do not realize that they are eligible for benefits to combat poverty in the coming months.