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nezuela is, once again, in the throes of a full-blown electricity crisis. Citizens complain of unannounced blackouts are shutting down factories, forcing shopping malls to close early, and otherwise wreaking havoc on an already-sputtering economy. The crisis is so severe that President Nicolás Maduro has curtailed working hours for government workers. Last week he even extended the Holy Week holiday to reduce power usage. And Venezuelans are preparing for even worse news. Many are anxiously monitoring the dwindling water supply of the enormous Guri dam, which supplies roughly half of the country’s electricity. Experts are predicting that, as soon as...

Lee Bollinger is an attorney turned academic. Past president of the University of Michigan, Bollinger now holds that position at Columbia University, home of the famed Columbia School of Journalism. Bollinger believes that coming J school graduates will provide a more valuable service if the American media becomes the de facto property of the federal government. “…I propose…an American World Service…”, writes Bollinger. “A media institution with sufficient funding to bring the highest quality American journalism to the global forum.” And that “sufficient funding” will be provided by the federal government. From taxpayers. Why is government funding necessary? Because “…the...

(CNSNews.com) - Wasting no time to raise funds, the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee is selling a photo of President Obama signing the repeal of "Don't Ask, Don't Tell." The legislation eventually will end the military's ban on openly homosexual troops. "Ending this discriminatory policy is truly a monumental achievement," the DSCC wrote just hours after Obama signed the bill before a large and appreciative audience on Wednesday. Supporters of the legislation are urged to "celebrate the repeal" by purchasing an unframed print for $25 or a "beautiful framed version" for $50. The DSCC's fund-raising pitch calls the end of DADT...

ROCKFORD, Illinois, December 6, 2010 (LifeSiteNews.com) - A man accompanying a woman into the notorious Rockford abortion mill on December 3 threatened to shoot pro-life sidewalk counselors, according to witnesses.Rockford pro-life veteran Kevin Rilott told LifeSiteNews that the incident happened on Friday, when a group of five abortion supporters from the Chicago area showed up at the Northern Illinois Women’s Center. They stood at the driveway to the abortion facility shouting at mothers not to talk with pro-life sidewalk counselors.Pro-lifers had parked a free mobile ultrasound motor home near the facility. Rilott said it appeared that the abortion supporters...

Kathy Griffin calls Bristol Palin fat at USO event, and soldiers boo her By Laura Donovan - The Daily Caller 11:06 AM 12/06/2010 ADVERTISEMENT Comedian Kathy Griffin wasn’t so popular with the troops during her USO Diva’s Salute stand-up act on Sunday, when she poked fun at Bristol Palin’s weight. “[Bristol Palin] is the only contestant in the history of ["Dancing with the Stars"] to actually gain weight.” Following a chorus of boos, Griffin went on to say, “No, come on, come on. She gained, like, 30 pounds a week. I swear to God, it was fantastic. She’s like the...

It’s zero hour for the DREAM Act...For two years, Barack Obama failed—or, if you prefer, refused—to nudge along a major immigration bill. The last-ditch hope is that departing Democrats, and a few Republicans, somehow band together in the lame-duck session and pass a law allowing illegal immigrants who came to the United States as minors to gain citizenship. Harry Reid promised to bring up the bill for a Senate cloture vote this week. Republicans vowed to scuttle it... But as Chicago congressman Luis Gutiérrez prepares for a rally at a church in Brooklyn, the DREAM Act seems like the end...

Of all the people in all the world, NBC chooses to honor the provocateur behind one of the most controversial projects in America. On Thanksgiving. This morning I spent a few minutes on the Pat Campbell Show in Tulsa, discussing the outrageous decision by the Park51 group — the group that’s developing the Ground Zero Mosque — to apply for $5 million in taxpayer funds to continue development of that monument. That has certainly reignited the debate over the mosque project itself, which is a $100 million effort that so far has a whopping $20,000 banked. Well, guess what? Park51...

SEN. JAY ROCKEFELLER (D-WV): "There's a little bug inside of me which wants to get the FCC to say to FOX and to MSNBC: 'Out. Off. End. Goodbye.' It would be a big favor to political discourse; to our ability to do our work here in Congress; and to the American people, to be able to talk with each other and have some faith in their government and more importantly, in their future."

WASHINGTON — A failure to reform the nation's immigration laws is the result of an electoral process that forces the parties to seek ideologically pure candidates, former President George W. Bush said in his new memoir. Bush proposed comprehensive immigration reform, one that would have granted citizenship to illegal immigrants who paid fines and learned English, during his second term in office, but he was rebuffed by congressional leaders in his own Republican Party. “The failure of immigration reform points out larger concerns about the direction of our politics,” Bush said in “Decision Points,” a 477-page autobiography out this week....

Dear Pro-Choice Supporter, Thank you. You were with us every step of the way helping to protect our pro-choice allies in Congress, and your partnership means so much. Our focus and passion makes losing the U.S. House of Representatives to anti-choice politicians all the more difficult. We came so far in recent elections, and you probably feel a lot like I do about yesterday’s outcome: frustrated and disappointed – but determined. We now face a Congress stacked with extreme anti-choice politicians, but we cannot give our opponents an inch! Starting today, we must send a message to John Boehner, who...

GET READY FOR NEW MUSLIM INVASION “JUSTIFIED BY HUMANITARIAN CONCERNS” By Paul L. Williams, Ph.D. President Barack Hussein Obama, in a determination letter to Congress, has announced that he will allow an additional 80,000 immigrants – - mostly from Islamic countries – - to resettle in the United States during fiscal year 2011. Mr. Obama says that the increase in Muslim immigrants “is justified by humanitarian concerns or is otherwise in the national interest.” The following “goals” for new immigrants has been set as follows: Africa . . . . . . . . . . . . . ....

For 33 years, Florida forced them to hide behind a veil of secrecy. But now, prospective parents who are gay can legally adopt a child in Florida. Already, some are stepping forward, putting the process in motion. For others, it means a quicker end to their legal limbo. "We've had a lot of sleepless nights and a lot of tears,'' said Melanie Leon Alenier, who with partner Vanessa Alenier has been fighting the state over the right to adopt 21-month-old Ethan, a biological relative who has been with them since he was nine days old.

D.C. joins 13 states which serve three meals a day at school – and to the tune of $5.7 million. Officials here have embraced the program because they realize healthy, well-fed kids learn better. “We're reaching 10,000 kids a day at 99 of our 120 schools," said Anthony Tata, Chief Operating Officer of D.C. Public Schools. That's about 25 percent of the student population. And another big benefit of the after school dinners are that more kids are enrolling in after school programs where they can get some academic help as well. So the dinners are really serving three purposes...

A Homeland Security investigation to determine why a criminally convicted illegal immigrant was released before killing a nun in Virginia is complete but the administration that promised a new level of transparency and accountability WON'T RELEASE THE FINDINGS. The case ignited fury because the intoxicated illegal alien from Bolivia already had two drunk-driving convictions and an expired license when he crashed head-on into the car of three Catholic nuns. One died and two were critically injured. Media reports subsequently revealed that federal authorities released Montano on his own regognizance while he awaited a removal hearing for nearly TWO YEARS, despite...

President Barack Obama declared today that the “don’t ask, don’t tell” policy on gays in the military “will end and it will end on my watch,” even as his Justice Department was appealing a judge’s ruling that would have allowed homosexuals to serve openly in the military. Speaking at a town hall meeting put on jointly by BET, MTV and Country Music Television, Obama also said a person’s sexuality is not a choice. “I don’t profess to be an expert – this is a lay person’s opinion – but I don’t think it’s a choice,” he said. “People are born...

Carl Paladino's openly gay nephew -- whom the candidate points to as proof he's no homophobe -- said yesterday he was "very offended" by his uncle's anti-gay rants. Jeff Hannon, 23, a staffer for the Paladino campaign, also hasn't shown up at work since the bomb-throwing GOP gubernatorial hopeful made his caustic comments about homosexuality, one of Hannon's co-workers told The Post. In a brief phone interview yesterday, Hannon, in his first public remarks on the incident, told The Post, "Obviously, I'm very offended by his comments." Hannon said he had no further comments "right now," before hanging up. The...

MADRID, October 12, 2010 (LifeSiteNews.com) - According to Spanish Equality Minister Bibiana Aído, unborn human children are not human beings. In response to a formal inquiry made on the subject of abortion by a Spanish parliamentarian, Aído said last week that "the Government cannot share in the affirmation that the interruption of a pregnancy is the elimination of the life of a human being." "Having an abortion does not suppose that a human life is terminated, because there does not exist a unanimous opinion regarding the concept of a human being ... because 'human life' refers to a complex concept...

Sen. Charles Schumer blasted Board of Elections officials Monday for blowing a deadline for sending ballots to troops overseas - putting their chance to vote at risk. "Our troops sacrifice their lives to protect our freedoms. They should never, ever be denied the right to vote," Schumer said. There are approximately 50,000 New York City residents serving overseas - and 320,000 statewide. Elections officials were originally supposed to ship the ballots to troops by Sept. 17. Because New York primaries were held Sept. 14, the federal government granted local officials an extension until Oct. 1.

NY service members don't have ballotsShannon Ross Posted by: Emily Lenihan Updated: Monday, 11 Oct 2010, 8:55 AM EDT BUFFALO, N.Y. (WIVB) - Only 22 days remain until Election Day, and more than 300,000 New York service members and overseas voters still don't have their absentee ballots. Fox News reports that Albany has failed to send the ballots to military voters more than one week after the deadline, a violation of the "Move" Act.

At the Washington Times, we note an aspect of last week's Colbert brouhaha that has not gotten anywhere near the attention it deserves. The same congresswoman who invited Colbert is the one who, as chairman of the Ethics Committee, refuses to hold an ethics trial for Charlie Rangel and Maxine Waters. Oh, yes, ethics..... Where is the establishment media in demanding that these trials go forward?...... Original Washington Times editorial: http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2010/oct/5/colbert-before-ethics/