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"But why shut the [White House] doors on those kids in Iowa, and Florida, and Texas. I'll make you a deal, Mister President. Jay Carney, grab your pencil. "Let these families take their White House tours next wek and I'll cover the added expenses. Word is it will cost about $74,000. If I can get the White House doors open, I'll pick up the tab. "Mister Carney, you know this is an offer you can't refuse -- give me a call." (fast forward a little) "I will absolutely write the check if they open the doors next week." (video 6:04...

Pardoning the sequester? A great idea, voters say To illustrate the depth of public confusion about the "sequester" spending cuts, Jimmy Kimmel sent his roving reporter out on the streets to ask people deliberately nonsensical questions. Rather than admit their ignorance, interviewees claimed to have strongly-held views about bizarre issues such as whether the "sequester" should be pardoned, sent to Portugal, or used by South Korea to build robot terrorists.

As part of their sequestration-scaremongering roundup, the White House went straight for the worst-case scenarios that would hit all of the federal government’s departments and agencies in the spending cuts’ wake — terrible calamities, like “hundreds of thousands of Americans” losing access “to primary care and preventive care like flu vaccinations and cancer screenings.” The administration circulated their state-by-state report through Congress to that effect, detailing how thousands fewer children would receive vaccinations as a direct result. But wait a moment, said Maryland Republican Rep. Andy Harris during a House Appropriations subcommittee meeting on Tuesday that included Dr. Tom Frieden,...

As the President plans a fabulous vacation for his family to Martha's Vineyard, a new White House petition: Mr. President, stop charging U.S. taxpayers for your personal and family vacations while the sequester is in effect. We object to the President charging taxpayers for his vacations, since he has now imposed sequester cuts on the military and his own personal fortune of $12 Million is more than enough to cover his costs. Since 2009, the President and his family have spent tens of millions of taxpayer dollars for “working” vacations to Hawaii, golf outings, and trips for his wife and...

The Broadway musical "Annie" is enjoying another revival on Broadway. The show opened during the Carter administration when America was in need of some optimism. "The sun'll come out tomorrow," sang Annie, and with the election of Ronald Reagan in 1980, for a while, it did. Now we're back in "Hooverville," the name given to shanty towns that popped up during the Great Depression. It isn't that bad yet, though the Obama administration is forecasting gloom and doom if Republicans don't cave on another tax increase. "We'd like to thank you Herbert Hoover for really showing us the way," sang...

There's a secret lurking behind all that weeping and wailing over those across-the-board cuts in federal spending now going into effect -- and beginning to filter through the economy: They're working. The emphasis in the news continues to be on the economic repercussions of Washington's meat-ax approach to reining in the federal debt. "But lost in the talk of Washington's dysfunction," to quote a story from the New York Times over the weekend, "is this fact: On paper at least, President Barack Obama and Congress have reduced projected deficits by nearly $4 trillion over a decade -- the widely embraced...

So the people's house is now unavailable because of the sequester, but they still have plenty of money for calligraphers in the 21st Century.There's a slight problem with all of this...

Today's story has to be at least on the borderline of pettiness. The White House announced Tuesday that it would be canceling all tours after this coming Saturday. This announcement came because of the sequester spending cuts that began to take effect on March 1. A lot of people visit the White House every year, so I have no doubt it is being done to shape public opinion. President Obama and his administration is doing their best to let the spending cuts do damage where they will do the most good. That's plain to see for anyone who is paying...

The Broadway musical “Annie” is enjoying another revival on Broadway. The show opened during the Carter administration when America was in need of some optimism. “The sun’ll come out tomorrow,” sang Annie and with the election of Ronald Reagan in 1980, for a while, it did. Now we’re back in Hooverville, the name given to shanty towns that popped up during the Great Depression. It isn’t that bad yet, though the Obama administration is forecasting gloom and doom if Republicans don’t cave on another tax increase. “We’d like to thank you Herbert Hoover for really showing us the way,” sang...

Judge Napolitano discusses emails from the Department of Agriculture that proves the sequester cuts are not predetermined therefore by doing things like releasing prisoners, laying off soldiers or not inspecting meat President Obama is putting the American public in danger, which is impeachable.

TOPEKA, Kan. (WIBW) - The forced federal budget cuts have forced cancellation of a special concert at Washburn Rural High School. The school says it was informed Wednesday by the Navy Sea Chanters chorus that it cannot travel and keep its performance dates due to sequestration. The event was set for Saturday. There was no word on the possibility of rescheduling. --------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Barack Obama says he wants to ban more classifications of firearms because he wants to keep Americans safe from gun crime. Do you believe it? I don’t. I don’t believe Obama cares a whit about the safety of the American people – and I think I can prove it. First of all, the statistics Obama ignores demonstrate conclusively that firearms in the hands of law-abiding citizens actually saves lives. It’s not even a close call. This fact is illustrated further by the fact that the urban areas that have outright banned firearms possession have become virtual shooting galleries, with more...

Just like Republicans, Democrats say President Barack Obama has overhyped the effects of the automatic spending cuts and offered a confusing message about it. Initially the White House was full of doom and gloom, warning of interminable lines at airports, widespread firings of teachers, and quick, huge job losses in the private sector as government contracts were canceled. That was going overboard, says former Pennsylvania Democratic Gov. Ed Rendell. … A top Democratic congressional aide scolded Obama for strategic incompetence. … Even Michigan Rep. Sander Levin, the ranking Democrat on the Ways and Means Committee, who basically agrees with Obama...

NEW YORK (CNNMoney) The automatic cuts in federal spending known as sequestration could take a bite out of crucial medical research, such as the recently unveiled study in which a toddler was cured of HIV. The National Institutes of Health, which co-funded the study, stands to lose $1.6 billion of its $31 billion budget through September as a result of the sequester, which went into effect on Friday. As the largest supporter of biomedical research in the United States, it could slash funding for hundreds of research programs, such as the HIV case. The NIH, in conjunction with the Foundation...

Video at link

No, silly. Not that way. That would be racist! I’m talking about the Big White Closing! Big guy said the sequester would be devastating, butt I didn’t think it would be this bad. This is going to wreak havoc on my first quarter results. The sequester has already had a devastating impact on our economy. And by our economy, I mean moi: my little boutique is closing too! Technically - if you’re in DC - you can still shop until Saturday 3/9/2013 (10-5:00 PM Today & Thursday, 10-8:00 PM Friday). Directions to the MOTUS boutique if you happen to be...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cKbMhr-cfh8

For all the dire warnings, most Americans welcome a five percent cut in overall federal spending this year. But the defense budget is another matter. The public by nearly 2-1, 61-33 percent, supports cutting the overall budget along the lines of the sequester that took effect last Friday. But by nearly an identical margin, Americans in this ABC News/Washington Post poll oppose an eight percent across-the-board cut in military spending. These views come before the $85 billion in cuts this year have taken hold, leaving open the question of how the public will respond once the reductions hit home. Nonetheless,...

It wasn't supposed to be this way. For all the criticism of John Boehner and Mitch McConnell we've witnessed over the last months, some congratulations are in order. Boehner and McConnell have Obama tied up in knots. WASHINGTON (AP) — Congressional Republicans' unyielding stand against income tax increases has caught President Barack Obama and his allies off guard, resulting in the spending-cuts-only approach to deficit reduction that Democrats most wanted to avoid. It also has dimmed hopes for broader efforts this year to start taming the costly and fast-growing "entitlement" programs of Medicare and Social Security. The result is a...

A leaked email from an Agriculture Department field officer adds fuel to claims President Obama's political strategy is to make the billions in recent federal budget cuts as painful as possible to win the public opinion battle against Republicans. The email, circulated around Capitol Hill, was sent Monday by Charles Brown, a director at the agency’s Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service office in Raleigh, N.C. He appears to tell his regional team about a response to his recent question on the amount of latitude he has in making cuts. According to the partially redacted email, the response came from...