Day: January 16, 2014

THIS JUST IN . . .

by goodolewoody, posted in Congress, FINANCIAL SYSTEM, Politics, U.S. SENATE

THE HILL

News from The Hill:

Senate approves $1.1T omnibus
By Pete Kasperowicz

The Senate approved the $1 trillion omnibus spending bill Thursday, sending it to the White House for President Obama’s signature and sparing the government from another government shutdown. Senators voted 72-26 in favor of the bill, and all no votes came from Senate Republicans, including GOP Leader Mitch McConnell and Minority Whip John Cornyn (Texas). That followed a 72-26 vote to end debate, which needed 60 votes.

Read the story here.

The Trammps – “Disco Inferno”

by goodolewoody, posted in ENTERTAINMENT, MUSIC, Politics

STEPHEN COLBERT: “Ad for America”

by goodolewoody, posted in COMEDY, ENTERTAINMENT, Politics

“Obamacare survives another court challenge”

by goodolewoody, posted in Barack Obama, BLACKS, DEMOCRATS, Healthcare, JUSTICE IN GOVERNANCE, OBAMACARE, Politics, POOR WHITES, POVERTY

MSNBC

By Geoffrey Cowley

The last significant legal challenge to Obamacare suffered a setback today, when a Washington DC District Court rejected it. Plaintiffs backed by the conservative Competitive Enterprise Institute are seeking to block health-care subsidies to low- and moderate-income consumers in 34 states where the federal government is either running or facilitating new health-insurance exchanges. They say the law restricts that support to states that operate exchanges on their own. But in a sweeping and closely argued ruling, Judge Paul L. Friedman thrashed that notion, saying that Congress “clearly intended to make premium tax credits available on both state-run and federally-facilitated exchanges.”

The dispute centers on a single phrase in the health care law. As written, it says the federal government will extend tax credits to qualified consumers who buy health coverage through insurance exchanges “established by the state.”

Represented by Michael Carvin, the lawyer who unsuccessfully challenged the Affordable Care Act before the Supreme Court in 2012, the plaintiffs claim that the phrase was no mere drafting glitch. According to their legal complaint, Congress intended to use the consumer subsidies as “carrots” to motivate the states to create their own insurance exchanges. “States rejecting the offer got a stick instead: the imposition of a federally-established, federally-operated exchange in the state, with no subsidies at all.”

FULL ARTICLE

“What’s in Congress’ $1.1 trillion spending bill?”

by goodolewoody, posted in Congress, CONSERVATIVES, ECONOMY, FINANCIAL SYSTEM, Human Interest, John Boehner, Politics, REPUBLICANS

CBS NEWS

CBS_SPENDING_2014-01-16_0629

By the time they leave town Friday for a one-week work period in their home states, senators are expected to pass a $1.1 trillion, 1,582 page spending bill that will avert the threat of a government shutdown for the next several months and help Congress get back to the normal process of budget and spending money that preceded the gridlock of recent years.

The House passed the so-called “omnibus” spending bill Wednesday afternoon by a vote of 357 to 64, despite objections from some outside conservative groups that the bill undid some of the mandatory spending cuts in the sequester.

FULL ARTICLE

BIBLE VERSE OF THE DAY

by goodolewoody, posted in CHRISTIANITY, Human Interest, JESUS CHRIST, Jews, Politics, Religion

ENGLISH STANDARD VERSION

 download

GALATIANS 5:16

[ Keep in Step with the Spirit ] But I say, walk by the Spirit, and you will not gratify the desires of the flesh.

TODAY IN HISTORY, JANUARY 16th

by goodolewoody, posted in EDUCATION, ENTERTAINMENT, Human Interest, Politics

New Hampshire House Votes for Legal Weed

by goodolewoody, posted in Politics

U.S.

The New Hampshire state House voted Wednesday to legalize up to one ounce of marijuana for recreational use by anyone 21 or older.

Modeled on the measure that legalized marijuana in Colorado last year, the bill passed 170-162 and now goes to the legislative body’s tax committee, the Associated Press reports. If made law, the measure would tax the sale of pot sold at a rate of $30 per ounce and allow people to grow up to six plants of their own.

But don’t count on anyone in the granite state blazing up in public any time soon. New Hampshire’s Governor Maggie Hassan has promised she’ll veto the bill.

[AP]

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Washington D.C. Steps Closer to Decriminalizing Marijuana

by goodolewoody, posted in Politics

U.S.

A District of Columbia city council panel approved a bill Wednesday that would decriminalize marijuana in the U.S. capital, Reuters reports.

If passed, the legislation would reduce the penalty for possession of less than one ounce of marijuana to a mere $25 fine, and would bring Washington D.C. into line with a handful of cities and states that have already made possession a civil offense. The full 13-member council is expected to pass the bill, which has the support of nine members and Mayor Vincent Gray.

Marijuana has a particularly divisive history in Washington. An American Civil Liberties Union report in June found that the District of Columbia has a higher arrest rate for marijuana possession than any other state, and that black people were eight times more likely to be arrested for possession than non-blacks.

The bill’s supporters say decriminalization will reduce police and legal costs. Possession of any amount of marijuana currently…

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First Lady Michelle Obama turning ’50 and fabulous’

by goodolewoody, posted in Politics

CNN Newsroom

Brooke talks with “Hot Flashes of Inspiration” Blogger Emma Nicholson about First Lady Michelle Obama’s 50th birthday.

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