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Defense Secretary Leon Panetta told troops at a military base in Italy that only soldiers needed assault weapons. From Reuters: Asked by a soldier what President Barack Obama would do to protect school children from gun violence without infringing Americans’ right to own guns, Panetta said action was needed after the attack on a Connecticut school in December in which a gunman killed 20 children and six adults. He told members of the 173rd Airborne Brigade Combat Team at Vicenza that there were areas where steps could be taken, “I mean who the hell needs armor-piercing bullets except you guys...

Labor insiders expect a federal appeals court to rule in the near future on a landmark case challenging President Barack Obama’s controversial recess appointments to the National Labor Relations Board. The D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals heard oral arguments in December in Noel Canning v. NLRB. At issue is the legitimacy of three NLRB board members appointed by Obama while the Senate remained in pro-forma session in an attempt to block the president from making a recess appointments. Insiders expect the court to expedite the proceedings. “Given the importance of this case, the decision should come out in the next...

....The biggest news of the day comes from the official Buba announcement that, in its official capacity as a prudent central bank, it - as first of many - is looking to repatriate some 300 tons of gold from the New York Fed. That, however, is not today's news - that was Monday's news. What is news is that courtesy of the supplied calendar of events in the Buba statement, it will take the Fed some seven years to procure Germany's 300 tons of gold. This is the same Fed that, in its own words, holds some "216 million troy...

In what is sure to be a complete non-starter with the Obama administration, WSJ reports that Paul Ryan said that "Republicans are discussing whether to support a short-term increase in the nation's borrowing authority, possibly linking the debt ceiling to future talks aimed at reaching a major deficit deal...."Mr. Ryan wouldn't say what he meant by a temporary debt-ceiling increase, declining to give a specific increase figure or timeframe for an extension."

but Biden’s remarks at the Capitol Hilton mark the first declaration that the White House plans to barnstorm to build support for its gun proposals. “We’re going to take this fight to the halls of Congress, Biden said. “We’re going to take it beyond that. We’re going to take it to the American people. We’re going to go around the country making our case and we’re going to let the voices, the voices of the American people be

Four years ago--January 20, 2009 to be exact--the First Lady stepped onto the world's stage in a white one-shouldered gown by Jason Wu and catapulted the young designer to insta-fame. What followed was a trajectory any designer would envy, including a Target collection, a slew of celeb fans, a new bridge line, and the impressive company of other designers who have dressed first ladies, including Carolina Herrera and Oscar de la Renta.

The gun-control agenda that President Obama unveiled with urgency on Wednesday now faces an uncertain fate in a bitterly divided Congress, where Republican opposition hardened and centrist Democrats remained noncommittal after a month of feverish public debate. By pursuing an expansive overhaul of the nation’s gun laws, Obama is wagering that public opinion has evolved enough after a string of mass shootings to force passage of politically contentious measures that Congress has long stymied. Yet there was no indication on Wednesday that the mood on Capitol Hill has changed much. Within hours of Obama’s formal policy rollout at the White...

As you can see above, at one time, the DUmmies had no greater hero than Dennis Kucinich. There was nobody they liked better. The former Boy Mayor of Cleveland, the former Wunderkind of the Cuyahoga, the truest, bluest progressive in Congress, the prog-preferred presidential aspirant in '04 and '08, and a moonbat as wacky as the DUmmies themselves--there was no one who could surpass Dennis Kucinich in the eyes of the DUmmies. But all that has changed now. Due to Ohio losing a seat in Congress, Rep. Kucinich was forced into a primary against fellow congressperson Marcy Kaptur--and he...

WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange has been called many things but he may soon become a business ethics course. Kathleen V. Willis of Indiana University-Purdue University, Columbus, is exploring the possibility of doing so. “Assange launched WikiLeaks in 2006 to challenge world hegemony,” Willis said at the 2013 annual meeting in Boston of the Modern Language Association. In order to do so, he “leaked military and diplomatic correspondence,” Willis noted. Willis admits that Assange’s own background makes him problematic but focuses her inquiry upon his enterprise. “Where is Assange’s ethical slippage?” Willis asked. “According to his own business ethics?” “Who is...

A series of storms that hit Scotland's Shetland Islands over the holidays revealed what archaeologists believe could be 2,000-year-old human remains. Local archaeologist Chris Dyer said the ancient skeleton looked as if it were contemporary with the remains of Iron Age structures revealed nearby. Researchers then identified evidence of one or possibly two more burials at the site, but another storm caused a further chunk of the cliff to crumble, covering up the discovery. "The original burial now lies under several tons of fallen bank, and the Iron Age structures have also disappeared from view," Dyer said in a statement...

Kevin Madden, a GOP strategist who worked on Mitt Romney’s presidential campaign last year, said the retreat gives lawmakers a chance to start laying the groundwork necessary to re-establish the GOP brand. “Right now, we are caught in a vicious cycle of just reacting to events that happen in two-week increments. Instead, we have to look at our challenge of rebuilding in a much more comprehensive fashion,” Mr. Madden said. “What is the positive impression that we want voters to have two years from now, and then four years from now, when we have another presidential election?” SNIP Ford O’Connell,...

President Obama is tripling the number of Cabinet agencies with gun control law enforcement responsibilities in his new bid to track guns, adding six agencies to the three typically included--Justice, Homeland Security and Defense. Section 1.e of his executive order released Wednesday adds State, Treasury, Interior, Agriculture, Energy, and Veterans Affairs. It reads: "For purposes of this memorandum, 'Federal law enforcement agencies' means the Departments of State, the Treasury, Defense, Justice, the Interior, Agriculture, Energy, Veterans Affairs, and Homeland Security, and such other agencies and offices that regularly recover firearms in the course of their criminal investigations as the President...

A loyal dog whose owner died late last year has apparently been showing up for Mass every day for the last two months at the church where the funeral was held. Tommy, a 7-year-old German shepherd, used to accompany his owner, Maria Margherita Lochi, to services at Santa Maria Assunta church in San Donaci, Italy, according to the Daily Mail, and was allowed to sit at her feet. After Lochi died, the dog "joined mourners at her funeral service" according to locals and "followed after Maria's coffin" as it was carried into the church. Tommy, a stray who was adopted...

Mr. Wiskers spins out, loses control and crashes...oh the humanity.... http://iowntheworld.com/blog/?p=166306

A procedure that inserts fecal matter from a healthy person into the intestines of someone with diarrhea has been found to be a better treatment than antibiotics.

BAMAKO, Mali — Kidnappers and at least some of their hostages were killed on Thursday as Algerian forces raided a gas facility where a heavily armed group of Islamist extremists was holding dozens of captives, including Americans and other foreigners, the Algerian government announced. In a statement on national radio, the communications minister, Mohand Saïd Oublaïd, said that many of the hostages had been freed, but he warned that the military assault was not yet complete and that some captives remained trapped inside the remote facility in the Algerian desert. “The operation resulted in the neutralization of a large number...

After reviewing President Obama‘s 23 “executive actions” signed into law yesterday, Joe Scarborough said Thursday morning that his Republican Party had better proceed with caution, seeing as how he believes the policy proposals have the “overwhelming” support of the American people. The president’s plan included universal background checks on gun purchases, which Scarborough said has the support of at least “85% of Americans.” The president’s call for a

MOSCOW, January 17 (RIA Novosti) – Long shirts, no vodka and dry armpits – these are just a few of the recommendations Russian doctors, swimmers and priests are giving to those who plan on dipping into ice-cold water to mark the Russian Orthodox Christian holiday of Epiphany on January 19. The nerve-testing tradition symbolizes Jesus Christ’s baptism in the Jordan River and traditionally lures the hardiest churchgoers, and not only, to rivers and lakes across Russia. Through holes cut in the ice, celebrators plunge into the water – typically three times, in honor of the Holy Trinity – around midnight,...

With Americans being held hostage in Algeria, the U.S. embassy in that country is posting Facebook photos of ... "Rubik’s Cubes Portrait of Martin Luther King Jr." Here's a screen grab:

Why you can't compete with Chinese labor Check out this video: Chinese Labor