Jan 21, 2011
Please pray for Israeli President Shimon Peres as he mourns the passing of his wife, Sonia, 87. Please pray, too, for their entire family and friends, that the Lord would comfort them and draw them each to His heart. "This is my comfort in my affliction,that Your word has revived me," wrote King David in Psalm 119:50. "Peres is survived by her husband, their three children Tzvia, Yonatan, and Hemi, eight grandchildren and two great-grandchildren," reports Haaretz. "Her son-in-law and physician, Dr. Raphael Walden, told Israel Radio she died peacefully in her sleep. The president arrived at the Peres family home Thursday afternoon. The presidential residence publicity adviser announced that the family is currently in deep mourning, and will issue another release soon…."
Friday, January 21, 2011
Bachmann to deliver her own response to State of the Union
- 01/21/11 03:40 PM ET
Rep. Michele Bachmann (R-Minn.) will deliver her own response to President Obama's State of the Union address on Tuesday, even though the GOP selected one of her House colleagues to give an official rebuttal.
The Tea Party Express will host Bachmann's response to Obama's speech to Congress on its website "shortly after" his speech and the official Republican response concludes, according to a release from the group.
"We’re doing this broadcast to demonstrate that the hardworking citizens of this country have a powerful voice in Washington, even if they still aren’t being heard in the White House," Bachmann said in the release.
The move could highlight the burgeoning divide between Tea Party activists and conservative GOP lawmakers and party leaders over spending following one of the most-watched political events of the year.
Democrats sought to play up the split.
“A man who wants to eliminate Social Security and Medicare. A woman who called the president ‘anti-American.’ Extreme ideas and extreme rhetoric," Jon Summers, a spokesman for Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.), said. "That tells you all you need to know about the current state of the Republican Party."
Conservative members have pressured leaders to stick to their campaign pledge to immediately cut $100 billion in non-defense discretionary spending. Their were bolstered by 73 newly elected freshmen who joined the Republican Study Committee, a large bloc of House conservatives.
The man selected to give the official GOP response, House Budget Committee Chairman Paul Ryan (R-Wis.), has targeted about $60 billion in cuts.
Bachmann's decision to give her own rebuttal could also fuel ongoing speculation about her desire to mount a presidential bid. The Tea Party favorite visited Iowa Friday, where she met with top state GOP officials and Tea Party activists and plans to deliver remarks to a political action committee.
The Minnesota Republican ran for the position of House GOP conference chairman after last year's midterm elections, but later bowed out of the race. She has since been mum about her aspirations for higher office, but has not ruled out a run for president.
-- This post was updated at 4:45 p.m. and at 4:54 p.m.
Eight GOP freshmen to join House Foreign Affairs panel
- 01/21/11 03:22 PM ET
Eight freshmen will join their Republican colleagues on the House Foreign Affairs Committee in the 112th Congress.
Chairwoman Ileana Ros-Lehtinen (R-Fla.) announced the lineup, which includes the last Congress's roster of Foreign Affairs veterans, on Friday.
Rep. Jean Schmidt (R-Ohio), who won her third full term in November, also joins the panel.
The GOP freshmen coming on board are Reps. Bill Johnson (Ohio), David Rivera (Fla.), Mike Kelly (Pa.), Tim Griffin (Ark.), Tom Marino (Pa.), Jeff Duncan (S.C.), Ann Marie Buerkle (N.Y.) and Renee Ellmers (N.C.).
In an interview with The Hill just after being named head of the panel, Ros-Lehtinen enthusiastically embraced the freshman class and hoped that a good number of its members would end up on the committee.
"I am so enthusiastically awaiting our freshman members because they get it," she said. "They understand that America is the world's superpower and they're not ashamed of it. They're not like President Obama — whether we want to be or not — yes, hell yes, we are and we're darn proud of it, and they understand the difference between our allies and our enemies."
Ros-Lehtinen has outlined an agenda of greater oversight this Congress, as well as vowed to confront Iran and its growing nuclear ambitions.
Chart of the Day: Done By 40
| Fri Jan. 21, 2011 11:51 AM PST
I suspect this is surprising only to people like Brad and me (and most of our readers): that is, college educated, white collar workers who make pretty good incomes and work in jobs where continual lifetime advancement is the norm. But that's definitely not the norm for the vast majority of the country. If you work as a truck driver or a waitress or an accounts payable clerk, then by the time you're 40 you've peaked out. Your job pays what it pays, and once you've accumulated a few years of experience you make as much as you're ever going to make. It's a different world from the one lived in by the upper middle class, and unfortunately, it's an increasingly foreign one to a lot of us.
We're Still at War:
Photo of the Day for January 21, 2010
Fri Jan. 21, 2011 2:30 AM PST
Sgt. 1st Class Jeffrey Cesaitis, front, and Spc. Daniel Scott walk though the Shajoy bazaar during a quality assurance, quality control site visit Jan. 18. Sergeant Cesaitis and Specialist Scott are assigned to Provincial Reconstruction Team Zabul. U.S. Air Force photo/Staff Sgt. Brian Ferguson
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