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Surprisingly little attention has been paid to former Sen. Chuck Hagel's 2008 memoir, America: Our Next Chapter. In it, Hagel lays out his thoughts on a wide range of issues, including the Israel-Palestinian conflict and Iran, to which he devotes one chapter each. Hagel's attempt to describe the origins and history of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict reveals that he does not know the facts--and fills the void with anti-Israel bias. Hagel identifies the origins of the conflict by claiming: "the Arab-Israeli standoff was first set in motion by the Balfour Declaration of 1919 promising the Jewish people a homeland and the...

Former U.S. Sen. Bob Kerrey has stepped down as president emeritus of the New School, a university in New York City. … Kerrey recently agreed to become executive chairman of the San Francisco-based Minerva Institute for Research and Scholarship. …

LINCOLN — Lt. Gov. Rick Sheehy resigned his post abruptly Saturday after questions were raised by The World-Herald about improper cell phone calls to four women, other than his wife, during the past four years. An investigation by The World-Herald discovered that Sheehy made thousands of late-night telephone calls to the women on his state-issued cell phone, many of them long conversations held in the wee hours of the night. Gov. Dave Heineman announced the resignation at a 10 a.m. press conference. "I've got a knot in my stomach. I'm deeply disappointed. He's done a lot of good things for...

Nebraska State Senator Kintner will be submitting LB482 which will ban Agenda 21 in the state of Nebraska. It's based upon the Alabama law which was passed in 2012. Here's the link so you can read the bill http://www.nebraskalegislature.gov/FloorDocs/Current/PDF/Intro/LB482.pdf Read below the action details....

The interminable fiscal cliff negotiations in Washington produced almost no substantial reform of taxes despite a general agreement that both our income and corporate tax codes are dense, confusing and layered with perverse incentives that favor some economic activities over others at the expense of overall growth. "The existing tax code makes compliance difficult," IRS Taxpayer Advocate Nina Olson recently wrote, "leaving many [taxpayers] unaware how their taxes are computed and even what rate of tax they pay. It enables sophisticated taxpayers to reduce their tax liabilities and...it undermines trust in the system." Just weeks into the new year, however,...

WASHINGTON — Ben Nelson has found gainful employment. The former Nebraska senator, a Democrat, is taking over as CEO of the National Association of Insurance Executives and joining the public affairs firm Agenda as a senior adviser. The insurance association said Nelson will act as the group's primary advocate and chief spokesperson, including outreach to the federal government and international organizations.

Chuck Hagel has been tapped by Obama for Secretary of Defense, which has resulted in a slew of push backs over his troubling record: criticism and lack of support for Israel; coddling of Hezbollah, Hamas, and Iran; and his almost immediate appointment after retiring as a senator to Deutsche Bank’s Americas Advisory Board, the mega bank that has been accused of funneling billions of dollars to Iran’s nuclear program. But the most troubling aspect of Chuck Hagel is the fact that he may have stolen both of his senatorial elections. In 1992, Hagel was CEO of Election Systems & Software,...

HELP SPREAD THE WORD...STOP AGENDA 21 IN NEBRASKA!!!! Senator Bill Kintner from Papillion has submitted a bill modeled after Alabama's state law to ban Agenda 21 in Nebraska! He needs our support to know that the conservatives are behind him - if you haven't yet emailed, called, or written him a personal note, would you please take a minute to do that? He needs to hear from ALL of us by Friday to know that we are out there and are grateful for his interest in this issue! THANKS A BUNCH!!! :) Senator Bill Kintner 402-471-2613 email: wkintner@leg.ne.gov address: State...

The metastasizing federal government may be in the process of doing anything and everything it can to stamp out the competitive virtues of federalism, but many states currently have Republican governors at the helm, even if they are conservatives of varying stripes — but state governments are going to be pretty much the only mitigating factor any of us can hope to have from the top-down economic wrath of a second Obama term. Even if we do have to deal with more mind-numbingly idiotic and intellectually deceitful proposals about how "asking the wealthy to pay a little more" will somehow...

LINCOLN — Gov. Dave Heineman called Tuesday for a "bold and courageous" plan to eliminate the state income tax, both individual and corporate. In exchange, the governor would eliminate certain sales tax exemptions, though he deferred until later this week offering details of his proposed multi-billion dollar tax shift. Heineman, a conservative Republican, unveiled his tax reform plan during his annual state of the state speech to the Nebraska Legislature. The governor's two-year state budget plan calls for a 4.9 percent increase in spending.

A new front is opening in the Senate confirmation fight over former Sen. Chuck Hagel as senators from states with nuclear bases are questioning the defense secretary nominee’s role in the Global Zero commission that advocates eliminating all nuclear weapons and making unilateral strategic arms cuts. Six senators with home-state nuclear bases or membership on the Senate Armed Services Committee said they are either opposing Hagel’s nomination or questioning his judgment for backing the international anti-nuclear movement. Hagel is among some 300 international and national public figures supporting the group’s stated goal of seeking “the elimination of all nuclear weapons.”...

Backlash Against Wendy’s, Taco Bell for Cutting Hours and Blaming Obamacare By Elizabeth S. Mitchell on January 9, 2013 12:11 PM Few things grab the public’s attention like a celebrity-backed boycott, protest, or backlash against a specific brand or company. Today, Wendy’s and Taco Bell find themselves on the wrong end of just this sort of upheaval. Roughly 100 Wendy’s employees in the Omaha, Nebraska area will have their weekly schedules reduced to 28 hours a week so that they will no longer qualify for the health care benefits that “Obamacare” mandates for full-time employees. A Taco Bell in Guthrie,...

Chuck Hagel's Record On Gay Rights 1996: ... says he would have voted for the Defense of Marriage Act 1999: ... opposes repealing the military's "Don't Ask, Don't Tell" policy 2005: ... Hagel calls on the [Nebraska] court to reverse its decidsion, complaining the court had overridden Nebraska voters who opposed gay marriage Chuck Hagel's Apology: Too Little, Too Late Log Cabin Republicans ...

That's not speculation, either. CBS News reports this morning that the Foreign Ministry in Tehran believes that the nomination of Chuck Hagel signals "practical changes" in the US approach to Iran --- and they're probably right: Iran's Foreign Ministry says it is hopeful the appointment of former Nebraska Republican Sen. Chuck Hagel to lead the Pentagon would improve relations between Tehran and the U.S.Asked about Hagel's nomination, ministry spokesman Ramin Mehmanparast said Tuesday that Tehran was hopeful that there would be "practical changes" to U.S. foreign policy, and that nations would change their attitude towards the U.S. if it respected...

"Hezbollah started out as purely a terrorist organization back in the early ’80s and has evolved significantly over time. And now it has members of parliament, in the cabinet. There are lawyers, doctors, others who are part of the Hezbollah organization... And so, quite frankly, I’m pleased to see that a lot of Hezbollah individuals are in fact renouncing that type of terrorism and violence and are trying to participate in the political process [in Lebanon] in a very legitimate fashion. " AUDIOWhite House counterterrorism adviser and nominee for Director of the CIA, John Brennan

President Obama has selected one of the worst possible candidates imaginable to become Secretary of Defense. Chuck Hagel has a history of being weak on Jihad and terrorism, the greatest threat to American lives and national security today. Hagel’s nomination should become a “teaching moment.” Just because someone served honorably in the uniform of the United States military or has an “R” instead of a “D” after his name, does not automatically mean that the person is strong on national security policy. Chuck Hagel is as bad on the threat of Jihadist terrorism as anyone in America. Not only has...

'...out of the mainstream of thinking on most issues regarding foreign policy' _____________________________________________________________________ Despite the fact many people see former Republican Chuck Hagel -a man who still considers the heroically-successful Iraq surge a 'foreign policy mistake'- having a poor chance of being confirmed for Defense Secretary -with plenty of Democrats unsupportive as well- you have to wonder what Obama was thinking, presenting such a puzzling nomination- that is, unless you understand the sheer and utter contempt the Obammunist left holds for Israel, the Jewish people, and the Amercian right as well... the foreign-policy front of their wider war on success,...

Defense: The president's selection as defense secretary has called for direct negotiations with the mortal enemies of our closest ally in the Middle East and said the administration's gutting of defense hasn't gone far enough. If personnel is policy, President Obama's selection of former Nebraska Republican Sen. Chuck Hagel to be Leon Panetta's replacement as defense secretary should put the lie to the administration's already tarnished claim to be a strong supporter of Israel. "Not only has he said you should directly negotiate with Iran, sanctions won't work, that Israel must negotiate with Hamas, an organization, terrorist group, that lobs...

Media cult coverage to begin shortly.

Iran's Foreign Ministry says it is hopeful the appointment of former Nebraska Republican Sen. Chuck Hagel to lead the Pentagon would improve relations between Tehran and the U.S. Asked about Hagel's nomination, ministry spokesman Ramin Mehmanparast said Tuesday that Tehran was hopeful that there would be "practical changes" to U.S. foreign policy, and that nations would change their attitude towards the U.S. if it respected their rights.