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http://www.glennbeck.com/content/blog/stu/the-truth-about-glenn%E2%80%99s-ratings/
Jeh C. Johnson, the Pentagon general counsel, and Caroline D. Krass, the acting head of the Justice Department’s Office of Legal Counsel, had told the White House that they believed that the United States military’s activities in the NATO-led air war amounted to “hostilities.” Under the War Powers Resolution, that would have required Mr. Obama to terminate or scale back the mission after May 20.See what he did here? The OLC is typically called “the president’s law firm” because it’s tasked with advising him on what he can and can’t legally do with his office. They study the law and consult with relevant agencies, and then they make a formal determination to guide his actions. That’s what should have happened here — they likely would have determined that he was violating the War Powers Act, which in turn would have forced him to go to Congress and finally request formal authorization of the mission. (In fact, Johnson, the Pentagon’s counsel, reportedly told Obama he’d be on firmer ground if he stopped the drone strikes, at least. Obama refused.) This time, because he almost certainly knew that they’d tell him that he was in violation, he bypassed the normal procedures to avoid a binding ruling and treated the OLC as if it was just one lawyer among many. He rigged the game because he knew what the probable outcome would be if he didn’t. Disgraceful.
But Mr. Obama decided instead to adopt the legal analysis of several other senior members of his legal team — including the White House counsel, Robert Bauer, and the State Department legal adviser, Harold H. Koh — who argued that the United States military’s activities fell short of “hostilities.” Under that view, Mr. Obama needed no permission from Congress to continue the mission unchanged.
Presidents have the legal authority to override the legal conclusions of the Office of Legal Counsel and to act in a manner that is contrary to its advice, but it is extraordinarily rare for that to happen. Under normal circumstances, the office’s interpretation of the law is legally binding on the executive branch…
The administration followed an unusual process in developing its position. Traditionally, the Office of Legal Counsel solicits views from different agencies and then decides what the best interpretation of the law is. The attorney general or the president can overrule its views, but rarely do.
In this case, however, Ms. Krass was asked to submit the Office of Legal Counsel’s thoughts in a less formal way to the White House, along with the views of lawyers at other agencies. After several meetings and phone calls, the rival legal analyses were submitted to Mr. Obama, who is a constitutional lawyer, and he made the decision.
"Every life is precious," Perry said, as his remarks were repeated by a translator in Spanish. He said the direction of stem cell research under the Obama administration was "turning the remains of unborn children into nothing more than raw material."The Obama administration is ignoring "the overriding responsibility of every government - that is to protect citizens at every stage of their lives, especially those who cannot protect themselves," Perry said.Despite his spokesman claiming "this is not a political event," taking the stage in a state where you are not governor for a rally in which you assail the sitting President seems like a move towards a campaign.Campaign insiders claim that a potential late entry into the race shouldn't hurt a candidate when it comes to fundraisers. Moreover, some of the big George W. Bush donors seem to be coalescing around the Texas Governor.
A special session that started last month, forced by a Democratic filibuster over funding for public education, could keep Mr. Perry cooped up at the Texas Capitol through June 29.But Sig Rogich, one of Mr. Bush's “Rangers” who collected more than $200,000 for his campaigns, argued that Mr. Perry’s work in Austin shouldn’t be seen as a disadvantage if Mr. Perry decided to get in the race.With what some consider to be gaping holes in the GOP field, an entrance by Governor Perry into the race could be a game-changer.
“Maybe today - more than I’ve seen in recent memory - coming from the back of the pack might be a real advantage,” Mr. Rogich said.
American Electric Power on Thursday announced it plans to shut down several coal-fired power plants, convert or retrofit others, and cut as many as 600 jobs in the next few years to comply with regulations proposed by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency.John Hinderaker has more on Obama’s plan to make America weaker and poorer.
Based on the proposed regulations, AEP will have to retire nearly 6,000 megawatts of coalfueled power generation; upgrade or install new advanced emissions reduction equipment on another 10,100 megawatts; refuel 1,070 megawatts of coal generation as 932 megawatts of natural gas capacity; and build 1,220 megawatts of natural gas-fueled generation.
The cost of AEP’s compliance plan could range from $6 billion to $8 billion in capital investment through the end of the decade. The company said high demand for labor and materials due to a constrained compliance time frame could drive actual costs higher than these estimates.
AEP said the plan, including retirements, could change significantly depending on the final form of the EPA regulations and regulatory approvals from state commissions.
The retirements and retrofits in the plan are in addition to more than $7.2 billion that AEP has invested since 1990 to reduce emissions from its coal-fueled generation fleet, according to the c o m p a n y.
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Let's play Chicken! |
THIS LOOKS LIKE A VERY GOOD BOOK TO READ. HERE IS AN EXCERPT FROM AND ABOUT IT: The book, released Tuesday, said Obama and his administra...