'Trojan' asteroid shares Earth's orbit

(AFP) – 5 hours ago 

Earth and Trojan asteroid 2010TK7 revolving around the sun - video

Earth and asteroid 2010TK7 orbiting the sun together. The path of the asteroid is traced in green. Each loop or 'epicycle' takes one Earth year to complete. Despite the asteroid's complex motion, the centre of the epicycle is confined to the leading sector of the Earth's orbit

PARIS — Earth is not alone in its orbit around the Sun - a small 'Trojan' asteroid sits in front of our planet and leads it, according to British science revue Nature, which published the discovery Thursday.

This diminutive asteroid has a diameter of just 300 metres but is called a Trojan because of its particular position in a stable spot either in front of a planet or behind it. Because the asteroid and planet are constantly on the same orbit, they can never collide.

Jupiter, Mars and Neptune also have Trojan asteroids accompanying them, as do two of Saturn's moons.

NASA scientists discovered the asteroid, which lies 80 million kilometres (50 million miles) from Earth, using its Wide-field Infrared Survey Explorer (WISE) telescope.

Astronomers have long thought that Earth did have some Trojans but their discovery has proved elusive because of the difficulty of seeing them in daylight.

"WISE was a game-changer, giving us a point of view difficult to have at Earth's surface", said Martin Connors, a professor at Canada's Athabasca University and the lead author on the Nature paper on the discovery.

Our Trojan -- which is officially called 2010 TK7 -- has an unusual orbit that takes it further away from the sun that most Trojans go, moving above and below the line of the orbit, which is what attracted scientists' attention.

Connors and his team scanned the sky from January 2010 to February 2011 using additional data about near-Earth objects (NEOs) and the Canada-France-Hawaii telescope in Mauna Kea, Hawaii to try and pinpoint a Trojan.

But this asteroid is keeping its distance: its orbit is "stable for at least 1,000 years", says Connors, and it won't be coming nearer than 24 million kilometres (15 million miles) from Earth over the next 100 years, says NASA.

GOP nightmare: No vote on the Boehner bill

THURSDAY, JUL 28, 2011 19:05 ET

HOW THE WORLD WORKS

The debt ceiling follies continue, as House conservatives fail to rally behind their Speaker

BY ANDREW LEONARD

Reuters/Jonathan Ernst

John Boehner

(THIS STORY HAS BEEN UPDATED)

As I write these words, the U.S. House of Representatives is debating the appropriate name for a post office in Pasadena, Calif. Meanwhile, C-SPAN is running a crawl at the bottom of the screen that reads "Final Vote on Speaker Boehner's Plan to Raise Debt Ceiling Postponed."

And so, ludicrously, is history made. The Republican Party is on the cusp of one of the greatest self-inflicted disasters since a crack cadre of two-bit bumblers broke into the Watergate Hotel. Early Thursday evening, John Boehner could not count on enough Republican votes to pass his own debt ceiling bill. Tweets from news reporters at the Capitol reported that the speakerwas  summoning recalcitrant representatives to his office and presumably using every means at his disposal to switch their votes from no to yes, but on Thrusday he failed.

The House Rules Committee will meet Friday morning to consider "tweaks" to the bill that might make it more palatable to conservatives. But even if a new bill passes, instransigend House Republicans are still doing their best to hand  President Obama one of the biggest victories of his term.

Here's why: The Boehner bill is already a conservative bill that won't pass the Senate. Making it more conservative only reduces its viability. House Republicans are doing their absolute best to demonstrated that they are incapable of supporting any kind of compromise deal acceptable to both parties. They are effectively declaring themselves incapable of governing.

The longer they play this game, the more political cover President Obama gets for truly dramatic action, such as declaring the debt ceiling unconstitutional under the grounds of the 14th Amendment, or simple "necessities of state." If the House can't pass the speaker's own bill, with the entire nation (and the world) watching, with Wall Street on edge, and most amazingly of all, already having secured a deal that includes significant spending cuts without any revenue increases, House Republicans will be exposed as both irresponsible and incompetent.

This kind of thing just doesn't happen. It is very very rare for the majority party to bring a major bill to the floor without knowing how the votes will go down. The last time, in fact, is seared into our cultural memory: the failed vote on TARP that set off a major market meltdown.

But that wasn't Speaker Pelosi's fault. On that infamous day, John Boehner failed to deliver his caucus. If history repeats itself, Washington will be a different town, and Boehner will be a neutered political leader. And those of us who lived through this period will wonder how in the world this man managed to hold the U.S. government hostage for so long, when he couldn't even control his own party.

Debt limit vote delayed

Published: 5:51 PM 07/28/2011 | Updated: 11:57 PM 07/28/2011

By Amanda Carey

House Speaker John Boehner of Ohio, pauses as he and other Republican leaders talk to reporters about the debt crisis showdown during a news conference on Capitol Hill in Washington, Thursday, July 28, 2011. (AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite)

The House of Representatives has delayed a vote on Speaker John Boehner’s Budget Control Act.

BREAKING: House Majority Whip Kevin McCarthy told reporters that the House will not vote on Boehner’s debt ceiling bill Thursday evening.

The vote was originally expected around 6:00 p.m. Thursday, but was delayed throughout the evening; McCarthy made his announcement around 10:30 p.m.

All day Thursday, the whip count did not bring Boehner’s bill “out of the woods.” If no Democrats cross party lines, the Speaker can’t afford more than 23 Republican defections if the measure is to pass and proceed to the Senate.

There are just four days until the Aug. 2 deadline, when the Treasury Department says the United States risks defaulting on its debts.

GOP leaders to conservatives: ‘How could you’?

Published: 1:23 PM 07/27/2011 | Updated: 10:07 AM 07/28/2011

FILE (Photo by Alex Wong/Getty Images)

The Republican conference erupted in anger Wednesday over how a conservative faction is undermining Speaker John Boehner’s debt ceiling plan.

Republican Study Committee chairman Jim Jordan apologized to members at a closed-door meeting because a junior RSC staffer, Wesley Goodman, earlier this week sent an email to conservative outside groups identifying which members were undecided on how they will vote on Boehner’s debt ceiling legislation. (RELATED: Conservatives face off over debt deal)

“There was a sense of frustration that, we’re on the same team, how could you do this?” says a source who was in the room.

When the subject of the email came up, one unidentified member of Congress yelled “Fire him!” about Goodman, who sent the email, the source said.

Additionally, Rep. Greg Walden read aloud from a separate email sent by Paul Teller, executive director of the RSC, charging him with hurting the party and disclosing privileged information.

Teller told Walden, “I’m not going to address that in this room,” according to the source.

Brian Straessle, a spokesman for Jordan, called the email from the junior staffer “inappropriate.”

“Earlier this week, an RSC staffer sent an inappropriate email to outside groups that identified members of Congress he believed were undecided on the debt reduction proposal offered by the Speaker. This action was clearly inappropriate and was not authorized by the Chairman or any other members of the staff. This has never been – and never will be – the way we do business at the RSC. We apologize to everyone affected, and we have already taken steps to ensure that it never happens again – either by this staffer or any other RSC staffer,” Straessle said.

Dan Holler, a spokesman for Heritage Action, one of the outside groups opposing Boehner’s debt ceiling plan, defended his group’s tactics.

“We see this as an amazing opportunity to get things right,” he said.

A second source says numerous members are threatening to leave RSC over the incident.

GOP Leaders = Budget Hypocrites

  

WED JUL 27 2011 10:51:00 GMT-0400 (EDT)  |  BY INFORMD

We think there’s a word for this. “Hypocrite” comes to mind.

Republicans – led by Speaker John Boehner, House Majority Leader Eric Cantor, House Budget Chairman Paul Ryan, and Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell – are currently holding America’s economy hostage. They are simply refusing to raise the debt limit – threatening the nation with a disastrous default – until Congress makes severe and lasting spending cuts. And gives tax breaks to the wealthy, of course.

But as usual, these Republicans are refusing to hold themselves accountable for their own actions. During the Bush Administration, these leaders were more than happy to flip open the national checkbook. Each one of these Republican leaders VOTED IN FAVOR of the largest drivers of the nation’s debt in the past decade, according to an analysis by Bloomberg. Now that the bill has come due, they’re refusing to pay up. That’s not leadership. That’s hypocrisy. 

Here’s a summary of their hypocrisy:

• All four voted “AYE” to the war in Afghanistan.
• All four voted “AYE” to the war in Iraq.
• All four voted “AYE” to the 2001 Bush tax cuts.
• All four voted “AYE” to the 2003 Bush tax cuts.
• All four voted “AYE” to prescription drug benefits that weren’t paid for.
• And all four voted “AYE” to the Troubled Asset Relief Program, or TARP, which helped rescue the American auto industry and banks.

The cost of these programs? $3.4 trillion. 

So let’s just be clear about one thing: When these Republican leaders run around claiming the mantle of “fiscal responsibility” and blaming President Obama for the bulk of our nation’s debt, they are lying. They pushed through the spending that ran up the nation’s credit card. They had no problem spending money when President Bush was in the White House. They are partisan hypocrites.

They’re trying to erase their records and pin the blame on everyone but themselves. We won’t let them.

Christian groups pressure lawmakers to protect the poor in debt talks

July 27, 2011 By ChristianDems 1 Comment

From the article: “The religious leaders said Tuesday that they were reviewing the latest proposals from Reid and Boehner for steep cuts to the federal budget. They expressed concern that both plans appeared to endorse trillions of dollars in cuts that, according to the church leaders, would most likely hit the poor hard.” And THAT is against our “religion!” What would Jesus cut?

From The Washington Post:

A new coalition of influential Christian groups is ramping up pressure on President Obama and Congress to shield the poor from spending cuts in the debt-limit struggle, with one organization launching an advertising campaign Tuesday on Christian radio stations in politically important markets.

The ads, airing in the home states of Senate Majority Leader Harry M. Reid (D-Nev.) and Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.), and in the home district of House Speaker John A. Boehner (R-Ohio), feature local pastors declaring the federal budget a “moral document.”

“The book of Proverbs teaches that where there is no leadership, a nation falls, and the poor are shunned while the rich have many friends,” says Las Vegas pastor Tom Jelinekin one ad. “Sadly, Congress has failed to heed these biblical warnings.”

The ads are sponsored by the liberal evangelical group Sojourners, which has teamed up with other Christian organizations from across the political spectrum to form a coalition called the Circle of Protection.

The coalition includes black and Hispanic clergy organizations as well as more conservative groups, such as the National Association of Evangelicals and the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops.

The group’s Web site poses a question designed to send chills through any politician who looks to churches and religious groups as a source of large voting blocs: “What would Jesus cut?”

Coalition leaders met last week at the White House for 40 minutes with Obama, admonishing him to protect Medicaid, food stamps, aid to poor women with infant children, international development aid and other programs specifically targeted to the poor.

The group is responding to the heated battle between congressional Republicans and the White House over raising the country’s$14.3 trillion debt ceiling, which must be lifted before Aug. 2 or else the nation will go into default. Republicans seek drastic spending cuts and major reform of entitlement programs such as Medicare and Social Security; Democrats want new revenue along with decreased spending.

At the White House meeting, Bishop Ricardo Ramirez of New Mexico told Obama that his willingness to defend the poor from steep cuts would be a “fundamental moral measure” of his administration.

“There seem to be several ‘givens’ in this debate,” Ramirez said, according to an e-mail from his office. “For Republicans, no new taxes is a given. For some Democrats, no cuts in Medicare are a given. For others, no cuts in military spending is a given. For your administration, some additional revenues are a given. Sadly, if you listen to the debate it seems that protecting the poor and vulnerable is not a given. That is why we are here.”

Jim Wallis, president of Sojourners, said Tuesday that he was encouraged by Obama’s reaction to the group. The president, he noted, even cited the Bible during the private meeting in the Roosevelt Room, alluding to Jesus’s expressions of concern for the “least of these.”

But Wallis and several others expressed dismay that Obama, in his nationally televised address Monday night, focused mostly on protecting the middle class. “No mention of the poor or the most vulnerable,” Wallis said.

Aides to Obama and congressional leaders did not respond immediately to requests for comment on the radio ad campaign.

Coalition officials said they have met in recent weeks with Reid and top aides to Boehner, as well as with House Budget Committee Chairman Paul Ryan (R-Wis.).

The religious leaders said Tuesday that they were reviewing the latest proposals from Reid and Boehner for steep cuts to the federal budget. They expressed concern that both plans appeared to endorse trillions of dollars in cuts that, according to the church leaders, would most likely hit the poor hard.

David Beckmann, president of Bread for the World, one of the coalition partners, said the speaker’s plan appeared to include an exemption for means-tested programs if automatic cuts are triggered, which Beckmann called a welcome development.

“I don’t think they want to make kids hungrier,” he said. “But if you have deep, unspecified cuts in spending, they will make kids hungrier.”

Reid: Senate Democratic Caucus Stands United Against Boehner’s Short-Term Debt Plan

JUL 27, ’117:35 PM

In Letter, 51 Senate Democrats and Two Independents Pledge To Oppose House Speaker’s Plan Should It Advance To Senate

In Closed-Door Meeting Earlier Today, Boehner Told House GOP Caucus Senate Would “Fold” And Accede To His Debt Plan

Boehner Plan Not Only Puts America’s Credit Rating at Risk, But Would Empower House GOP To Hold Economy Hostage Again In 6  Months

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-NV) announced late Wednesday that the entire Senate Democratic caucus has signed a letter to House Speaker John Boehner stating they will vote against his short-term plan to raise the debt ceiling should it pass the House.

According to published reports, the Speaker, in an effort to quell a rebellion among conservatives in his caucus, pressed his case for House passage by predicting that the Senate would “fold like a cheap suit” and accept his plan.  The letter, signed by all 51 Senate Democrats and two independents, shows otherwise.

“We heard that in your caucus you said the Senate will support your bill,” the Senators wrote  “We are writing to tell you that we will not support it, and give you the reasons why.”

The senators continued: “In addition to risking a downgrade and catastrophic default, we are concerned that in five or six months, the House will once again hold the economy captive and refuse to avoid another default unless we accept unbalanced, deep cuts to programs like Medicare and Social Security, without asking anything of the wealthiest Americans.”

In the last two days, the Speaker’s plan to raise the debt ceiling has faced mounting difficulty. Since Tuesday, the Speaker faced opposition from House conservatives who rejected the proposal in favor of the “Cup, Cap and Balance” plan.  Also, CNN has reported that S&P would likely downgrade America’s credit rating if the Boehner plan was signed into law.

Today, while hastily rewriting portions of the legislation, Speaker Boehner went before his caucus seeking to secure enough votes to pass the measure.  His claim that the Senate would simply pass whatever the House sent them was part of this final pitch. The Democratic caucus’ letter tonight officially disproves that claim.

The full text of the letter is below and available here as a PDF.

July 27, 2011

Speaker John Boehner
U.S. Capitol, H-232
Washington, DC  20515

Dear Speaker Boehner:

With five days until our nation faces an unprecedented financial crisis, we need to work together to ensure that our nation does not default on our obligations for the first time in our history. We heard that in your caucus you said the Senate will support your bill.  We are writing to tell you that we will not support it, and give you the reasons why.

A short-term extension like the one in your bill would put America at risk, along with every family and business in it.  Your approach would force us once again to face the threat of default in five or six short months.  Every day, another expert warns us that your short-term approach could be nearly as disastrous as a default and would lead to a downgrade in our credit rating.  If our credit is downgraded, it would cost us billions of dollars more in interest payments on our existing debt and drive up our deficit.  Even more worrisome, a downgrade would spike interest rates, making everything from mortgages, car loans and credit cards more expensive for families and businesses nationwide.

In addition to risking a downgrade and catastrophic default, we are concerned that in five or six months, the House will once again hold the economy captive and refuse to avoid another default unless we accept unbalanced, deep cuts to programs like Medicare and Social Security, without asking anything of the wealthiest Americans.

We now have only five days left to act.  The entire world is watching Congress.  We need to do the right thing to solve this problem.  We must work together to avoid a default the responsible way – not in a way that will do America more harm than good.

Sincerely,

Harry Reid (D-Nev.)
Dick Durbin (D-Ill.)
Charles Schumer (D-N.Y.)
Patty Murray (D-Wash.)
Daniel Inouye (D-Hawaii)
Patrick Leahy (D-Vt.)
Max Baucus (D-Mont.)
Carl Levin (D-Mich.)
Jeff Bingaman (D-N.M.)
John Kerry (D-Mass.)
Tom Harkin (D-Iowa)
Jay Rockefeller (D-W.Va.)
Barbara Mikulski (D-Md.)
Kent Conrad (D-N.D.)
Herb Kohl (D-Wis.)
Joe Lieberman (I-Conn.)
Daniel Akaka (D-Hawaii)
Dianne Feinstein (D-Calif.)
Barbara Boxer (D-Calif.)
Ron Wyden (D-Ore.)
Tim Johnson (D-S.D.)
Jack Reed (D-R.I.)
Mary Landrieu (D-La.)
Bill Nelson (D-Fla.)
Tom Carper (D-Del.)
Debbie Stabenow (D-Mich.)
Maria Cantwell (D-Wash.)
Ben Nelson (D-Neb.)
Frank Lautenberg (D-N.J.)
Mark Pryor (D-Ark.)
Bob Menendez (D-N.J.)
Benjamin Cardin (D-Md.)
Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.)
Sherrod Brown (D-Ohio)
Jim Webb (D-Va.)
Bob Casey (D-Pa.)
Claire McCaskill (D-Mo.)
Amy Klobuchar (D-Minn.)
Sheldon Whitehouse (D-R.I.)
Jon Tester (D-Mont.)
Mark Udall (D-Colo.)
Tom Udall (D-N.M.)
Jeanne Shaheen (D-N.H.)
Mark Warner (D-Va.)
Kay Hagan (D-N.C.)
Jeff Merkley (D-Ore.)
Mark Begich (D-Alaska)
Michael Bennet (D-Colo.)
Kirsten Gillibrand (D-N.Y.)
Al Franken (D-Minn.)
Joe Manchin (D-W.Va.)
Chris Coons (D-Del.)
Richard Blumenthal (D-Conn.)

CPC Calls for Clean Debt Ceiling, Supports The America Pays Its Bills Act

7/28/11

With Republicans in Washington continuing to risk default on the full faith and credit of the United States, the Congressional Progressive Caucus (CPC) is urging an end to political posturing to avert this catastrophe. Yesterday the CPC adopted a resolution in support of H.R. 2663, The America Pays Its Bills Act offered by Rep. Welch. This bill calls for a clean debt ceiling vote “in order to end the Republican-created Default crisis.”
The CPC remains committed to finding a long-term solution to our deficit while protecting Medicare, Medicaid, and Social Security. In the immediate future, it is imperative for Congress to do what is right to protect the economy and the livelihoods of millions of working Americans.
The resolution also calls for President Obama to use the 14^thAmendment to raise the debt ceiling failing a “timely, satisfactory legislative agreement.”
The CPC hopes mature discussions about building a sustainable economy will continue after a default is prevented. In April, the CPC presented The People’s Budget, the most responsible budget proposal, which would eliminate the deficit in 10 years. The People’s Budget protects Medicare, Medicaid and Social Security and creates a fairer tax system by ending tax breaks for the wealthiest Americans while extending breaks for the middle class.
Full text of the resolution is below.
^^^

Congressional Progressive Caucus

U.S. House of Representatives

Washington, DC 20515

July 27, 2011

Be it resolved that by recorded vote on July 27, 2011, the Congressional Progressive Caucus (CPC) has agreed to endorse H.R. 2663, The America Pays Its Bills Act offered by Mr. Welch of Vermont. The bill calls for a clean debt ceiling vote in order to end the Republican-created Default crisis.
 Be it further resolved that failing a timely, satisfactory legislative agreement to end the Republican- created default crisis, the CPC urges the President to use his powers granted under section 4 of the 14^thamendment to the United States Constitution in order to raise the ceiling.

Rebuild the Dream Rally

Uploaded by RepKeithEllison on Jul 28, 2011

Members of the Progressive Caucus join the Rebuild the American Dream Movement to rally against Republicans holding our country hostage to dismantle the our country's safety net

Issa: Boehner plan is a serious approach to curbing our national debt

Majority Leader Eric Cantor: It's Time For Senator Harry Reid To Act

Uploaded by EricCantor on Jul 28, 2011

Majority Leader Eric Cantor: It's Time For Senator Harry Reid To Act

Statement on the Budget Control Act

Congressman Ron Paul

This evening Congress is asked to vote for a bill that claims to reduce spending in the future, thereby accepting the fiction that legislation passed today somehow can control Congress in the future. The fate of legislation like Gramm-Rudman-Hollings in 1985 and the 1997 Balanced Budget Act prove the fallacy that laws passed today somehow will restrain congressional spending in the future. More recently, I would remind my colleagues that the legislation creating the Medicare Part D prescription drug plan contained language requesting congressional action to control Medicare costs when program expenditures reached a certain “trigger.” When this trigger was reached, Congress simply passed legislation delaying the date at which Congress would have to implement the cost controls supposedly mandated by the original bill.  The claim that spending cuts in this bill equal the amount by which it increases the debt ceiling also is mistaken. First, as explained above, it is highly unlikely that Congress will abide by these caps in the future. Second, an immediate $1 trillion increase in borrowing authority does not equal a $1 trillion cut if that cut is phased in over ten years. To pretend otherwise totally ignores the time value of money, not to mention the inevitable erosion of the purchasing power of the U.S. dollar as the Federal Reserve continues desperately to try to breathe life into the stagnating economy via QE 3,4,5,6, etc. Mr. Speaker, even if Congress adheres to all the spending caps of this bill, spending still will not be reduced. This is because the “draconian cuts” contained in this bill are not really reductions in spending at all—instead the bill merely reduces future spending increases already “baked into” the Congressional Budget Office’s “baseline” budget forecasts! Perhaps the most disturbing aspect of this bill is that it disenfranchises the majority of Congress by denying them the chance for meaningful participation in the crucial areas of entitlement and tax reform.  It proposes to cede power to draft legislation to a special commission, hand-picked by the House and Senate leadership.  We can stand assured that such leaders will pick members to serve on the commission who promote the same goals as the congressional leaders themselves! The legislation produced by this commission will be considered via a fast-track procedure, where Members will not have the opportunity to offer any amendments. Approval of the recommendations of the “Super Congress” is tied to yet another debt ceiling increase. This guarantees that Members will face tremendous pressure to vote for whatever comes out of this commission-- even if it includes tax increases. Of course, Mr. Speaker, this commission's mandate does not allow it to suggest cutting one penny of the trillions spent on internventionist wars and overseas adventurism. Mr. Speaker, to those who say Congress is behaving irresponsibly if it fails to raise the debt limit, I must strongly disagree.  Raising the debt limit may protect the credit rating applied to our Treasury debt in the short term, but in the long term it sends a terrible message to bond markets.  It signals those markets that Washington intends to continue borrowing and spending as usual, and it is precisely this lack of serious austerity planning that will drive interest rates higher.  Unless we act now to control spending, potential purchasers of our bond debt will soon demand a much higher premium to offset the very obvious risk that they will be repaid in highly depreciated dollars. It is time to tear up the federal credit card and implement large spending cuts now, starting with overseas expenditures and unconstitutional bureaucracies. This will not only lead us to a balanced budget, but more importantly it will restore freedom and prosperity to the American people.