The Sunday 'Report;' 05/06/2012

What The National Pamphleteers Don't Report:
Washington Needs A Lesson on Student Loans
by Mike Brownfield,
heritage.org
April 27, 2012
    You know a politician is looking for applause when he speaks in front of a crowd of college students and says he’s there to help them pay back their student loans. After all, who doesn’t like the prospect of free money? But as the saying (sort of) goes, beware of politicians bearing gifts. That’s especially true this week as President Barack Obama travels the country warning students that their student loan interest rates are set to double and that he has the answer to all their problems.
    Guess what? He doesn’t. But if there’s one thing the president has managed to accomplish, it’s in turning this issue into a political football. And now the House of Representatives is joining the game.  This all began back in 2007 when Democrats pushed for a five-year student loan interest rate reduction to 3.4 percent as a temporary subsidy in order to help make the loans more affordable. Now that “temporary” subsidy is set to expire, meaning that rates will return to their original 6.8 percent levels. In the midst of all this, the House is expected to vote today on a measure that would keep interest rates where they are — costing taxpayers $5.9 billion for a one-year extension. And under the proposal, the extension would be paid for by taking funds [....]
http://blog.heritage.org/2012/04/27/morning-bell-washington-needs-a-lesson-on-student-loans/?utm_source=Newsletter&utm_medium=Email&utm_campaign=Morning%2BBell

The India-China Rivalry
by Robert D. Kaplan
STRATfor.com
April 25, 2012
    As the world moves into the second decade of the 21st century, a new power rivalry is taking shape between India and China, Asia's two behemoths in terms of territory, population and richness of civilization. India's recent successful launch of a long-range missile able to hit Beijing and Shanghai with nuclear weapons is the latest sign of this development.
    This is a rivalry born completely of high-tech geopolitics, creating a core dichotomy between two powers whose own geographical expansion patterns throughout history have rarely overlapped or interacted with each other. Despite the limited war fought between the two countries on their Himalayan border 50 years ago, this competition has relatively little long-standing historical or ethnic animosity behind it.
    The signal geographical fact about Indians and Chinese is that the impassable wall of the Himalayas separates them. Buddhism spread in varying forms from India, via Sri Lanka and Myanmar, to Yunnan in southern China in the third century B.C., but this kind of profound cultural interaction was the exception more than the rule.  Moreover, the dispute over the demarcation of their common frontier in the [....]
http://www.stratfor.com/analysis/india-china-rivalry-robert-d-kaplan?utm_source=freelist-c&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=20120425&utm_term=brics&utm_content=copy2&elq=af3095da0c804a2c83c8a3461a6445bd 

America’s Budget Crisis in Pictures
by Mike Brownfield,
heritage.org
April 30, 2012
    It’s pretty clear to most Americans that Washington is broken and spending money well beyond the country’s means. In fact, Sunday marked three years since the U.S. Senate last passed a budget. Getting the fiscal house in order clearly isn’t their top priority. But just how bad is the country’s spending and debt crisis? Heritage has the answer in its newly released 2012 Edition of the Federal Budget in Pictures.
    Whether you’re interested in learning how fast federal spending is growing, how big the tax burden is, what debt will look like in the future, and how soon entitlement spending will implode, Heritage has the answer in easy-to-understand charts. Here’s a taste of just some of the information Federal Budget in Pictures offers:
Each American’s Share of Publicly Held Debt Is Skyrocketing
    As Washington continues to spend dramatically more than it can afford, every American will be on the hook for increasing levels of debt. Without reining in spending, the amount of debt per citizen will skyrocket. In 1970, each American’s share of publicly held debt was $6,435. Today, it’s $36,267. Where will it be in 2036? Click here to see the astounding facts for yourself.
What if Families Handled Finances Like the Federal Government Does?
    In 2010, median family income was $51,360. If a typical family followed the federal government’s lead, it would spend $73,319 and put 30 cents of every dollar spent on a credit card. This family would have [....]
http://blog.heritage.org/2012/04/30/morning-bell-americas-budget-crisis-in-pictures/?roi=echo3-11867538730-8536778-59f072e15e24db8b82aaf896b7e177fb&utm_source=Newsletter&utm_medium=Email&utm_campaign=Morning%2BBell

Al Shabaab's Threat to Kenya
by Scott Stewart,
STRATfor.com
April 26, 2012
    The U.S. Embassy in Nairobi, Kenya, released a message April 23 informing U.S. citizens in the country that it had received credible information regarding a possible attack against Nairobi hotels and prominent Kenyan government buildings. According to the message, the embassy has reason to believe the attack is in the last stages of the attack planning cycle.
    The warning comes as thousands of Kenyan troops occupy much of southern Somalia. Along with a force of Ethiopian troops, local militias and a contingent of African Union Mission in Somalia (AMISOM) troops, the Kenyans are placing heavy pressure on al Shabaab, the al Qaeda-linked Somali militant group in southern Somalia.  This external military pressure has exacerbated frictions within al Shabaab between nationalist and transnationalist elements. Mukhtar Robow, aka Abu Mansur, leads the nationalist faction, which is based in the Bay and Bakool regions. Ahmad Abdi Godane, aka Abu Zubayr, leads the [....]
http://www.stratfor.com/weekly/al-shabaabs-threat-kenya?utm_source=freelist-f&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=20120426&utm_term=sweekly&utm_content=readmore&elq=3b7728bc5f2e4d00823be964472adb1d

White House Indicates Support for Cybersecurity Bill That Includes CISPA-Like Language
by Donny Shaw,
opencongress.org
May 4, 2012
    After indicating that they may veto the House’s cybersecurity bill (CISPA) over privacy concerns, the Obama Administration is reaffirming its support for a competing cybersecurity bill in the Senate, the Lieberman-Collins “Cybersecurity Act of 2012.” Problem is, the Lieberman-Collins bill is nearly as bad on privacy as CISPA.  During a taping for C-SPAN this morning, White House Cybersecurity Coordinator Howard Schmidt indicated that while he would still recommend that President Obama veto CISPA, the Administration is now pushing for passage in the Senate of the Lieberman-Collins bill, mainly because of a package of regulations it contains for critical infrastructure, like the electrical grid and transportation systems, that is not in CISPA.
    While the Lieberman-Collins bill is a much bigger bill than CISPA, one thing they have in common is a provision that would give internet service providers and web companies preemptive legal immunity for sharing information about their users with [....]
http://www.opencongress.org/articles/view/2490-White-House-Indicates-Support-for-Cybersecurity-Bill-That-Includes-CISPA-Like-Language

The Continuing Threat of Libyan Missiles
by Scott Stewart,
STRATfor.com
May 3, 2012
    In March 2011, while many of the arms depots belonging to the government of Libya were being looted, we wrote about how the weapons taken from Libyan government stockpiles could end up being used to fuel violence in the region and beyond. Since then we have seen Tuareg militants, who were previously employed by the regime of former Libyan leader Moammar Gadhafi, leave Libya with sizable stockpiles of weapons and return to their homes in northern Mali, where they have successfully wrested control of the region away from the Malian government.
    These Tuareg militants were aided greatly in their battle against the government by the hundreds of light pickup trucks mounted with crew-served heavy weapons that they looted from Libyan depots. These vehicles, known as "technicals," permitted the Tuareg rebels to outmaneuver and at times outgun the Malian military. Moreover, we have recently received reports that Tuareg rebels also brought back a sizable quantity of SA-7b shoulder fired surface-to-air missiles, also known as man-portable air defense systems (MANPADS).
    While we have not yet seen reports of the Tuaregs using these missiles, reports of close interaction between the Tuaregs in northern Mali and regional jihadist franchise al Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb (AQIM) raise concern that AQIM could buy or somehow acquire them from the Tuaregs. We have seen unconfirmed reports of AQIM fighters possessing MANPADS, and Algerian authorities have seized MANPADS among the weapons being smuggled into the country from Libya. For example, in mid-February, Algerian authorities seized 15 SA-24 and 28 SA-7 Russian-made MANPADS at a location in the southern desert called In Amenas.
    For the Tuareg militants, the MANPADS are seen as a way to protect themselves against attack by government aircraft. They also serve the same function [....]
http://www.stratfor.com/weekly/continuing-threat-libyan-missiles?utm_source=freelist-f&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=20120503&utm_term=sweekly&utm_content=readmore&elq=1a10df38bd9f438e9eb44206a05b7414

Another Excuse from Both Ways Barack
by John Ransom,
townhall.com
April 27, 2012
    Now that the advance GDP growth number for the first quarter has come in lower than expected, the White House is trotting out their favorite excuse for a slow economy: not enough government spending.
Cue the soundtrack blaming the rich- and bin Laden.
If Obama could only dispatch the rich with the same resolution he bare-handedly killed Osama bin Laden, man, GDP sure would grow then, huh?  These are probably the same distractions the administration will use next month when they revise downward the first quarter GDP number to 1.9 percent from the disappointing 2.2 percent advance that was reported Friday by the Commerce Department.  The newest GDP numbers have confirmed what the poor numbers in the job market have been telling us: This is a weak [....]
http://finance.townhall.com/columnists/johnransom/2012/04/27/another_excuse_from_both_ways_barack/page/full/

6 Dividend Paying Stocks With Recent Insider Buying
by Dividend Stocks Online,
February 15, 2012
    Insider buying can be a signal of future stock price appreciation but it's important to not rely on insider trades alone before making an investment. When employees at the director level and above make a purchase of stock in the company they work for that information must be made public. While these stock purchases are not a tell all we still do prefer to see insiders buying their stock verses selling. The following 6 dividend stocks have yields [....]
http://seekingalpha.com/article/367111-6-dividend-paying-stocks-with-recent-insider-buying

Britain's Strategy
by George Friedman,
STRATfor.com
May 1, 2012
    Britain controlled about one-fourth of the Earth's land surface and one-fifth of the world's population in 1939. Fifty years later, its holdings outside the British Isles had become trivial, and it even faced an insurgency in Northern Ireland.  Britain spent the intervening years developing strategies to cope with what poet Rudyard Kipling called its "recessional," or the transient nature of Britain's imperial power. It has spent the last 20 years defining its place not in the world in general but between continental Europe and the United States in particular.
The Rise of Britain
    Britain's rise to its once-extraordinary power represented an unintended gift from Napoleon. It had global ambitions before the Napoleonic Wars, but its defeat in North America and competition with other European navies meant Britain was by no means assured pre-eminence. In Napoleon's first phase, France eliminated navies that could have challenged the British navy. The defeat of the French fleet at Trafalgar and the ultimate French defeat at Waterloo then eliminated France as a significant naval challenger to Britain for several generations.  This gave Britain dominance in the North Atlantic, the key to global power in the 19th century that gave control over trade routes into the Indian and Pacific oceans.  This opportunity aligned with [....]
http://www.stratfor.com/weekly/britains-strategy?utm_source=freelist-f&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=20120501&utm_term=gweekly&utm_content=readmore&elq=1b17d0971eff4dcfb4fb2555069241bf


Legislators Ignore Constitutionality Of The Laws They Enact

by Staff Reports,
exposeobama.com
April 30, 2012    On April 25th the Tennessee State Senate voted unanimously to allow federal and state law enforcement officials full access to the medical records of the citizens of Tennessee. According to SB 2407,“…state and federal law enforcement personnel authorized to have access under 53-10-306 shall be permitted to have real time electronic access to the database…” The statute continues by stating that access is permitted “without the necessity of obtaining a search warrant.” It is a law which is scheduled to go into effect on July 1,2012 as “the public welfare [requires] it.”
    Outraged Tennessee residents who wrote and emailed their state senators about the Constitutionality of the law received the following replies from 2 of the lawmakers:
1.) “Legislation is only unconstitutional when the high court deems it so,” and
2.) “Then I’m sure it will be struck down in court.”
    As Liberty Legal Foundation head counsel Van Irion so rightly puts it,“Both of these statements reflect a shocking disregard for the Constitution,for the Senators’ Oaths of Office and for the rights of their constituents.”  From Roe v Wade in which [....]
http://www.exposeobama.com/2012/04/30/legislators-ignore-constitutionality-of-the-laws-they-enact/

Condi for Veep?
66% View Former Secretary of State Favorably

by Scott Rasmussen,
rasmussenreports.com
Friday, April 27, 2012
    Former Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice has said publicly she’s not interested in being Mitt Romney’s running mate, but a lot of her fellow Republicans like her just the same.  With speculation running wild over who Romney will choose to run with him for the vice presidency, Rasmussen Reports is testing the waters for a number of prominent Republicans around the country. The latest national telephone survey finds [....]
http://www.rasmussenreports.com/public_content/politics/elections/election_2012/election_2012_presidential_election/april_2012/condi_for_veep_66_view_former_secretary_of_state_favorably

President Obama will be forced by circumstances to apologise:
Genuine Birth Certificate surfaces –
Americans have been led to believe otherwise, revelation to change the political landscape

by Staff Reports,
African Press International
March 9, 2012
    Now it is here and places the president in the African continent. The debate surrounding it will now end after the revelation, and those who have not been telling the truth will have to be made answerable one way or another.  The revelation, however, coming during this election year 2012 is doing no good to the democratic party.  API on Tuesday the 6th March evening received President Obama’s genuine birth certificate. API decided not to hurry in publishing it immediately because we wanted to be sure of the content value.  Now that the scrutiny has been done, the publishing of the Birth certificate that will clear the air once and for all is being done without prejudice. This may force the US president to apologise to the American people for having been kept in the dark on the issue for a long time now on demanding the publishing of the birth certificate [....]
http://africanpress.me/2012/03/09/president-obama-will-be-forced-by-circumstances-to-apologise-genuine-birth-certificate-surfaces-americans-have-been-led-to-believe-otherwise-revelation-to-change-the-political-landscape/

Rumors Of Overseas Company Tabulating 2012 Election Results Addressed By Division Of Elections
by Tom Tillison,
Florida Political Press
May 2, 2012
There has been much consternation over rumors that the Spanish online voting company Scytl, which is said to have ties to George Soros, a.k.a. ‘Spooky Dude’, bought the largest vote processing corporation in the United States and will tabulate the results of the 2012 election.
The rumor goes as such;
SOE, the Tampa based corporation purchased by SCYTL, supplies the election software which records, counts, and reports the votes of Americans in 26 states–900 total jurisdictions–across the nation. As the largest election results reporting company in the U.S., SOE provides reports right down to the precinct level. But before going anywhere else, those election returns are routed to individual, company servers [....]
http://www.floridapoliticalpress.com/2012/05/02/rumors-of-overseas-company-tabulating-2012-election-results-addressed-by-division-of-elections/
[Related Content]
http://www.snopes.com/politics/ballot/scytl.asp
[Related Content]
http://www.scytl.com/en/customers-c-10.html

Federal Pay is Out of Line with Private Sector Pay:
CBO Supports Heritage, AEI Conclusions
by Jason Richwine, Ph.D. ,
James Sherk and
Andrew G. Biggs, Ph.D.

heritage.org
February 15, 2012
More Abstract: A January 2012 report by the Congressional Budget Office (CBO) shows that federal government employees receive substantially higher compensation than similarly skilled workers in the private sector. The report’s methodology and conclusions are broadly similar to previous studies from both The Heritage Foundation and the American Enterprise Institute. This Q&A discusses the CBO’s findings, highlighting the similarities and differences among the three approaches. Three studies, three approaches, three similar results—make a strong case for reforming federal wages and benefits.
   The Congressional Budget Office (CBO) recently released a report showing that federal employees receive substantially higher compensation than similarly skilled workers in the private sector.[1]
    The CBO report was spurred in part by two years of work conducted by The Heritage Foundation and the American Enterprise Institute (AEI). Both institutions have released studies concluding that federal employees receive a compensation premium over comparable private-sector workers, and that Congress can make targeted reductions in federal compensation without harming the quality of public services. Last year, James Sherk and Andrew Biggs testified before Congress to this effect.[2]
While we have some quibbles, the CBO’s methodology and conclusions are broadly similar to our own. This Q&A discusses the CBO’s findings, highlights [....]
http://www.heritage.org/research/reports/2012/02/federal-pay-is-out-of-line-with-private-sector-pay-cbo-supports-heritage-aei-conclusions


Constitution 101 Schedule

by Staff Reports,
Hillsdale College
[Ongoing]
    Each lecture is pre-recorded and lasts approximately 40 minutes. Lectures and other study materials will be released by noon each Monday according to the schedule. Once released, they are available to view at your convenience.
You will receive an email each week informing you that new material is available.
About Constitution 101

“Constitution 101: The Meaning and History of the Constitution”
is a 10-week online course presented by Hillsdale College.
    Featuring an expanded format from the “Introduction to the Constitution” lecture series with Hillsdale College President Dr. Larry Arnn, Constitution 101 follows closely the one-semester course required of all Hillsdale College undergraduate students.
In this course, you can:
•watch lectures from the same Hillsdale faculty who teach on campus;
•study the same readings taught in the College course;
•submit questions for weekly Q&A sessions with the faculty;
•access a course study guide;
•test your knowledge through weekly quizzes; and
•upon completion of the course, receive a certificate from Hillsdale College.
    You must register in order to participate in Constitution 101. Even if you have already signed up for a previous Hillsdale webcast or seminar, we ask that you complete the simple registration process for Constitution 101. There is no cost to register for this course, but we ask [....]
http://www.hillsdale.edu/constitution/
Until Next Sunday....