text:
Guests: Eugene Robinson, Richard Engel, Milissa Rehberger, Ben Smith, Jack O'Reilly, Irshad Manji, Buddy Cianci
CHRIS MATTHEWS, HOST: Conspirators.
Let's play HARDBALL.
Good evening. I'm Chris Matthews in Washington.
Leading off tonight: Birth of a notion. There's an old saying, Don't waste your time arguing with someone whose job depends on not being convinced. Well, that's the question. The latest CBS News/"New York Times" poll shows 47 that percent—almost half—of Republicans buy the conspiracy theory that President Obama was not born in the U.S. More than a dozen state legislatures have so-called "birther bills" before them.
Well, tonight, how birthism was become—or has become a tool of the Republican Party and how people like Donald Trump could actually use it to launch their candidacies for president.
Plus, speaking of fighting something that doesn't even exist, that Koran-burning pastor from Florida is in Dearborn, Michigan, today, hoping to protest that city being under Sharia law. Of course, Dearborn, Michigan, isn't under Sharia law, nor is anyplace in the entire USA. But that won't stop the invasion of the body snatchers.
Also, the U.S. is deploying armed drones right now against Moammar Gadhafi's forces in the hopes of breaking that stalemate. NBC's Richard Engel is in Libya with a firsthand report tonight here on HARDBALL on the fighting and on all of America's wars right now.
And one of the most colorful politicians in America plays HARDBALL tonight. We're going to talk to Buddy Cianci, who's gone from city hall in Providence to the big house and then back.
Finally, when right-wingers collide. It's Beck versus Huckabee round three in the "Sideshow" tonight.
But we start with the birth of the birther movement. We got a great reporter here. Ben Smith is senior political writer for Politico and Eugene Robinson is the Pulitzer Prize-winning associate editor of "The Washington Post." He's an MSNBC political analyst.
Ben Smith, everybody's chatting here at HARDBALL about your big report today about the birth of birtherism. I believe the key issue here is, Do politicians sell it? Do they try to get elected on it? Do they believe it? Real politicians. There's always going to be crazy conspiracy theories. The distinction to me is not where it came from but who's using it to hurt the president? Your thoughts. Explain the birth of this thing.
BEN SMITH, POLITICO.COM: Well, I think what a lot of people don't realize is it was actually born in the spring of '08, as Hillary Clinton is collapsing, and as the previous smear, which is that he had been a Muslim, is sort of running up against the fact that he has this crazy Christian pastor he's being attacked over. And it's hard to kind of fit those things together.
And so out of the Muslim thing came this idea first that he wasn't eligible to be president because his father wasn't a citizen. And then when that kind of became legally obviously false, that maybe he was born somewhere else. And it kind of—you know, it wasn't a big deal in the 2008 campaign. It was a very minor thing. There were other smears and other chain e-mails that got more attention.
But right after that election, there was this frantic drive, partly from people who had supported Hillary, from people who had supported McCain, to write to electors to ask them to not certify Obama, and that's sort of when it really kind of blew up. And then it—you know, it was kind of in the nether world of the Internet for a year or two. It seemed like the Republican Party had marginalized it, if not really purged it. And then Donald Trump really kind of brought it to the fore again—
MATTHEWS: Yes, he sure did.
SMITH: -- this year.
MATTHEWS: Let me ask you, Ben—last question on that question of the genesis of this. Did anybody in the Hillary campaign that we've ever heard of, any name-brand person have anything with stirring this pie or this soup?
SMITH: No, not that I know. There were other crazy theories that they were clinging to in the late days, but this was not one of them. The "whitey" tape was their favorite crazy theory.
MATTHEWS: What's that? Oh, yes, the—
SMITH: Remember that?
MATTHEWS: What was that about? Well, let's not stir that up.
MATTHEWS: Let's let that die where it was. Let's talk—Gene, you're a great—an excellent analyst of this whole thing. I guess it did surprise me. But I keep going back to the question of, Where did Willie Horton come from? It came from Al Gore back—
EUGENE ROBINSON, "WASHINGTON POST," MSNBC POLITICAL ANALYST: Well, right!
MATTHEWS: -- in the campaign against Dukakis. So what does it mean?
ROBINSON: Well, it means that it actually doesn't matter where it starts. You know, it starts with somebody who doesn't like whoever the target is of the smear. But the question is, where does it go from there and how does it develop, who elaborates on it, who believes in it—
MATTHEWS: When you were writing back then—
ROBINSON: -- who embellishes it—
MATTHEWS: -- in '68 -- (SIC)
ROBINSON: -- and who exploits it—
MATTHEWS: You won a Pulitzer Prize for writing about the '08 campaign. Did you get stuff over the transom like this from people who were pro-Hillary? Did you ever -- (INAUDIBLE)
ROBINSON: No. No. I mean, I—look, whenever Reverend Wright—you know, during the Reverend Wright eruptions, my inbox would fill up with notes from Hillary people who wanted to make sure I had seen the latest Reverend Wright (INAUDIBLE) and that sort of thing. But no. I mean, there's no name person or nobody I know in the Hillary camp who—
MATTHEWS: OK. Ben, was it malice or looniness? Or tell us if you can because you've done the only work on this. I used to think—you know, we all grew up thinking all of the great jokes we heard all our life come from prison because people have time to sit around for hours cooking up these incredibly permanent jokes, we love, actually, in life.
Where did—does—do these conspiracy theories—do they come from malice? does somebody sit down and say, This'll—this'll rock his boat, this'll blow him out of the water, or does some loony person who really is paranoid believe this stuff? Where does it come from? Trutherism, birtherism—I read in your piece today that this one guy, Bill Berg (ph) is it, believed in both. He believed that George Bush blew up the World Trade Center and Barack Obama (INAUDIBLE) pump (ph) in the old movies—and he also—and he also—the other guy came from Africa. Your thoughts? How does it come from?
SMITH: Yes, I mean, you know, this guy particularly moves straight from 9/11 truth to birtherism with no stop in between. You know, I think it's mostly—it's mostly—it's mostly sincerely misguided people and getting forwards from their Uncle Larry who is also sincerely misguided. And this is really how the information travels, sort of a dark matter of the Internet is these forwarded e-mails.
You know, what happened with this which did not happen with 9/11 truth, where, you know, any Democrat who said that Bush knew, with occasional small exceptions, got—
MATTHEWS: You would not get elected.
SMITH: -- you know, got purged out of the party like Cynthia McKinney did.
MATTHEWS: Yes.
SMITH: You know, what you have here, a lot of state legislators, some
MATTHEWS: So why do you think the Republicans—
SMITH: -- members of Congress—
MATTHEWS: -- bought into this thing, rather than—no Democrat I've ever heard of, no politician's ever bought into trutherism. In other words, they—I have my own theories about the motives behind this war and how people sold it, but I certainly don't believe the president of the United States blew up any of these buildings or committed any crime in any way that way. But I also never have heard a Democrat—a Republican—or rather a Democrat buy into birtherism. There is no buy-in from Democrats to this thing the Republicans are selling.
SMITH: Yes, I mean, you know, I think the reason that a lot of it is that Republican, particularly state legislators—there doesn't seem to be a cost to them for it. They don't—
MATTHEWS: No cost.
SMITH: Either—you know, their constituents aren't saying, You're being a clown, stop. They're—I mean, I think—you know, I think on the presidential level, there will be a cost and I think that's why you see Mitt Romney and Tim Pawlenty—
MATTHEWS: -- let me tell you—let me now tell you about this. I believe it's the roach motel. Those who check into this theory, those who walk into the hotel, Mark, those who believe in birtherism come in here are never coming out of as presidential possibilities. They're not going to be elected president. You cannot sustain credibility. Do you believe that?
ROBINSON: Yes, I—
MATTHEWS: You cannot sustain credibility with the American people if you buy into this claptrap.
ROBINSON: Yes, I think have you a real problem. I mean, obviously, from the poll numbers, you have some credibility for some reason within the Republican Party, which is—which I think is weird, and I actually think that would change as time went on and people actually took a look at this thing. But with independents, with Democrats, with the country as a whole, no.
MATTHEWS: Does anybody really believe this is about a document? Does anybody really believe that if you go into that building down there in Honolulu and down on the island of Hawaii and you go into the building and pull out the paper and take a picture of it and show it that anybody's going to change their minds about Obama who already hates him?
ROBINSON: No. No. Obviously not because, you know, they said, Well, show us the birth certificate, and then they showed it, right? And they showed the birth certificate—
ROBINSON: -- and that had absolutely no impact.
MATTHEWS: It's just another way of saying, Screw you, isn't it? It's another—
ROBINSON: It's more than just, Screw you. It's, I don't like you. You're alien. You're other. Your foreign. You're not American in some way. You're a black guy with a weird name.
MATTHEWS: (INAUDIBLE) Less than a third of Republican voters now
believe—now, this is interesting. This is brand-new, and I think Trump
has a lot to do with this. Less than a third—look at that, 32 percent -
believe the president of the United States is legitimate, that he was born in the United States, which is a requirement to the office. According to the new "New York Times" poll/CBS poll, nearly half believe -- 47 believe he was born in another country. Another 22 are agnostic on this, which is another way of saying—I mean, I don't think anybody says this about any other president. Well, I don't know where he was born (INAUDIBLE)
Ben, what do you make of that, people who say they don't know? Isn't that a way of saying, I don't trust him?
SMITH: Yes, it is—
MATTHEWS: Because he said he was born here.
SMITH: You know, I—
MATTHEWS: He obviously wouldn't take the office if he wasn't born here.
SMITH: There's a history of people in polls saying nasty things of the president of the other party. I mean, Democrats in a poll in '06 and another one in '07 -- like, about half of Democrats said they thought maybe Bush had an idea about 9/11 before it happened. So I don't know how seriously to take those numbers. What I think is really different is that a lot of Republican politicians, as you say, are embracing it.
MATTHEWS: You mean because he got the memo? The presidential—daily presidential memo—
SMITH: You know—
MATTHEWS: -- that said bin Laden to attack within the United States?
SMITH: You know, the—
MATTHEWS: -- was warned in general terms.
SMITH: No, no. There was a poll—there was a poll question in '06, you know, Do you think that he deliberately ignored this in order to ignite a war—
MATTHEWS: Oh.
SMITH: -- in the Middle East? A real crazy conspiracy (INAUDIBLE) 51 percent of Democrats saying either very—
MATTHEWS: Yes, like the conspiracy theory—
SMITH: -- or somewhat likely.
MATTHEWS: -- that a lot of the Republicans bought back in the '40s that Franklin Roosevelt set the American navy in Pearl Harbor, bunched all the ships together and the airplanes together so that the imperial Japanese navy under what—Yamamoto would come and blow them all up so he could fight Hitler.
SMITH: People are eager to believe—
MATTHEWS: Talk about a weird theory that people would believe, when he could have just started—if he wanted to start a war with Hitler, he'd have done what he did, which is deploy our ships out there and say, If you go past this line, we're going to war with you, which is what he actually did. Your thoughts.
SMITH: You know, I think people are very eager to believe negative things about a president they hate. And so I think, you know, when you have a pollster calling up and saying—they'll say, yes, whatever, sure, I believe that. I'm not sure that means (INAUDIBLE) a deep-seated belief that they're going to vote on.
MATTHEWS: You know, I think so, too. Let's take a look at this. It's almost a Rorschach test. Let's take a look at this. It may be a competency test when we get to the presidency, Are you competent, do you believe this crap?
Here is 15 states are considering—actually have bills—look at this Now, that map doesn't tell you a whole lot, but it's certainly the heartland, Gene. I don't think it's the right wing. You know, it's not the mountain states (INAUDIBLE) But there you have pretty conservative states there in the middle who are actually investigating this thing. They're looking into birtherism. They want to pass laws on this.
ROBINSON: They want to pass laws saying you have to produce some sort of—
MATTHEWS: Yes, something—
ROBINSON: -- identification—
MATTHEWS: -- you've never had to (INAUDIBLE)
ROBINSON: -- to be on the presidential ballot or something like that?
MATTHEWS: Circumcision—I've learned something in this discussion.
There's such a thing as a circumcision certificate. Did you know that?
ROBINSON: I did not know that.
MATTHEWS: I didn't know that. It's like a baptism—
MATTHEWS: So the mohel has to write this thing out!
MATTHEWS: But I've never heard this before. There are documents for everything, Ben! Do you think now, having studied this, do you believe that the people who started this rumor on the Democratic side, some of them may be PUMAs if you will, public—party unity (INAUDIBLE) whatever it means, something awful—
SMITH: Good memory.
MATTHEWS: Do you think they feel guilty about this?
SMITH: No. I think—there are still—I mean, the Internet is full of all sorts. There are still sort of fever swamps of former Hillary supporters still kind of hammering away against Obama to this day. So no, I mean, but I don't think that's what matters, the kind of people out on the fringes who started it. The interesting thing is the degree to which it gets embraced by somebody like Donald Trump, and you know, put on—put on television constantly.
MATTHEWS: You're smiling, Ben!
SMITH: I was looking for my circumcision certificate—
MATTHEWS: No, I—I'm thinking through—
SMITH: -- but I couldn't find it.
MATTHEWS: -- your head, and having done most of the good reporting on this, do you think that Donald Trump is simply riding this horse, he doesn't really believe it?
SMITH: His long-time adviser, Roger Stone, made this very straightforward case about why, in this totally cynical way, help (ph) a good idea to press this to—it's a good way to get on TV, and it sure has been.
MATTHEWS: Yes, but he's told me—well, I know Trump and he has disowned Roger Stone. He says he has nothing to do with that guy.
SMITH: You know, you can believe him or not.
MATTHEWS: Do you?
SMITH: I'm not sure. I mean, Trump has said a number of things that have not been totally accurate this campaign and in his career.
ROBINSON: That is a model of understatement!
MATTHEWS: OK. Anyway, thank you. It's been an amazing week. It may not be like this next week, but it is—to me, I think we got something here. It's not about truth. It's not about digging up truth. It's not even about great reporting, like Ben's just done, though that's good for us to know. It's about attitude. The people who don't like this guy are willing to believe, as somebody said a minute ago, anything that's bad about him, like he's a foreigner and he snuck in this country.
ROBINSON: Yes, and it's about alienation and—
ROBINSON: -- this guy is not like us. And it's about reinforcing—
MATTHEWS: By the way—
ROBINSON: -- that and playing on that.
MATTHEWS: -- if you really can't handle the idea of an African-American president with an exotic, you know, African part—African background, it's best for you to just believe this stuff because it gets you to sleep at night. I don't think they can handle the truth. Remember the movie?
MATTHEWS: You can't handle it! He won the election! He got a majority of the vote! People like this guy! At least half the country does. Anyway, they can't handle that fact. Democracy is wonderful stuff. Anyway, Gene Robinson, thank you, sir. Thank you, Ben Smith. Congratulations on great reporting. We're all—we'll all be always talking about you in this regard. And those PUMAs are coming to get you!
Still ahead on HARDBALL: President Obama has authorized the use of Predator drones in Libya. This is fascinating. I think we're going in for the kill here. Drones are the things that go in your window, like the third window from the left, to get you because you're in there. They're going after Gadhafi, it looks like. What's our mission there? I think we're going to figure it out from the weapons we're using, and it could be our exit strategy.
You're watching HARDBALL, only on MSNBC.
MATTHEWS: Well, Mitt Romney's the only Republican with an edge over President Obama in New Hampshire, according to a new poll out from Dartmouth University, Romney would take the state in a presidential race with 47 percent of the vote to President Obama's 39 percent. That's significant. Romney, of course, has home field advantage, you could say. He was governor neighboring Massachusetts and has a house on Lake Winnipesaukee.
Good news for President Obama, he crushes the rest of the GOP field. He beats Huckabee by 8 in New Hampshire and he has a double-digit lead over everyone else. There it is.
We'll be right back.
SEN. JOHN MCCAIN ®, ARIZONA: I believe that Gadhafi should go and I believe that a stalemate would lead to serious consequences, including the possibility of the rise of the influence of radical extremists in whatever happens.
MATTHEWS: Welcome back to HARDBALL. That's, of course, Senator John McCain today in a surprise visit to Libya to show support for the rebel fighters over there. What a picture. Here's more of McCain's take on the situation. Let's listen to Senator John McCain.
MCCAIN: It was a mistake to withdraw the AC-130s and the A-10s, which are the best in the world, and our allies don't have those assets. I don't think there's any doubt that the United States leads NATO, and when we leave NATO to lead us or lead others, it's extremely difficult.
MATTHEWS: Well, NBC's chief foreign correspondent. Richard Engel, was there with McCain. He joins us now from Benghazi, Libya. Richard, it's always great to talk to you. What do you think the significance will be of McCain really throwing in with the rebels today?
RICHARD ENGEL, NBC CORRESPONDENT: This is the biggest support they've got from a public figure, certainly an American, coming to Benghazi, telling the rebels exactly what they want to hear. He called on the United States—Senator McCain called on the United States to recognize the rebel government, to release some of Gadhafi's frozen assets, give them to the rebels.
And he was calling for an increased military mission to be led by the United States, not just by NATO. He wants to see the United States taking up that leading role, as you heard in that bite. He said when U.S. leads NATO, good things happen. When NATO leads the United States, it becomes complicated.
MATTHEWS: What does it mean that we're now using drone—Predator drones over there? What are they used for?
ENGEL: Predator drones are used to give close air support and to try and eliminate small, precise targets. In Misrata, for example, there are snipers operating in buildings. There are vehicles that look just like civilian vehicles that are used by Gadhafi forces. If you're flying at 20,000 feet, a NATO jet certainly can't hit a sniper in a window and will have great difficulty identifying one Toyota Land Cruiser from another.
A Predator can stay in the air for a long time. It can watch the movement, who comes in and out of that Toyota Land Cruiser, and can fire a relatively small missile, a Hellfire missile—it's about the size of a poster tube—and take out a single car and not cause a lot of collateral damage.
It's involvement—it's much closer, more intimate military involvement without sending American boots on the ground or pilots—I guess that would American boots hovering over the ground.
MATTHEWS: Is this an intimidation to Gadhafi because we could target him or his family?
ENGEL: It's actually a lot less than the U.S. was doing. Before, the U.S. was using AC-130 (AUDIO GAP)
MATTHEWS: Well, I think we're having—
ENGEL: -- (AUDIO GAP) cargo plane with all the—are we still together?
MATTHEWS: Yes, we're still together, right now.
ENGEL: Oh, OK. I thought we dropped the connection. We're on a poor satellite phone here.
An AC-130 is basically a cargo plane with all the equipment and seats ripped out, and it's filled with guns. And that can hover over a target and circle over it a for a long period of time and target multiple vehicles, buildings, almost anything you like, and create an enormous amount of destruction.
Compared to that, a Predator is a—is a kite with a few weapons on it. And so the U.S. is involved but not nearly to the same degree it was even a couple of weeks ago.
MATTHEWS: Well, I guess the question I have had is the strategic question. I don't know if you can answer this, but it's certainly on the minds of most people here in the States.
How do you get Gadhafi out of there if he has no place to go? The Saudis don't want him.
ENGEL: That's—
MATTHEWS: The prince said he doesn't want him. How do you get—how do you end this thing?
ENGEL: Well, I will quote McCain. I'm not sure this is the universal view here, but it's—it was certainly one that drew a lot of applause in the auditorium when he was speaking to a very anti-Gadhafi audience.
He said the only places for Gadhafi to go right now are with his buddy Hugo Chavez, I think he said with his friend Hugo Chavez, with—in front of the International Criminal Court, or to join Hitler and Stalin.
MATTHEWS: Oh.
ENGEL: And you can imagine where they are presumed to be right now.
So McCain is taking a very hard line.
The—the opposition here, they clearly want Gadhafi to be put on (AUDIO GAP) but other countries, perhaps he could go to an African country. Perhaps he could go to Mali. He still has a lot of friends among the African Union states.
MATTHEWS: Yes, he does.
ENGEL: And that—that could be an option.
But—but I don't see him willing to go. I don't see him feeling the pressure. There's—there's no indication that he is intimidated at this moment. His forces are on the offensive in Misrata. And if the NATO airstrikes step back a little bit, he's on the offensive here, pushing in toward Ajdabiya within the hours. So, he has certainly not dialed it back or showing any signs that he wants to get on a plane to Venezuela or join Hitler and Stalin.
MATTHEWS: OK. So, he is going to be there for a while.
Let me ask you about us in Iraq. I got the report here in the papers today, on the front page of one of the major papers today, that the Iraqis don't want us to stay beyond our mandated time period.
How is that going to rub over there? Are we going to leave because they want us out? Is that what is going to happen in Iraq?
ENGEL: Well—well, this is a power—this is a propaganda play and a power play by Muqtada al-Sadr. Muqtada al-Sadr was an enemy of the United States. He has now emerged as a—I guess a quasi-Hassan Nasrallah figure. He wants to have an organization that is similar to Lebanon's Hezbollah.
And he is saying, well, we want to make sure that the Americans leave on time. Otherwise, we're going to create havoc. All indications are that the Americans are going to leave on time anyway, and then he can go back and claim to his followers that—
MATTHEWS: I got you.
ENGEL: -- it was his threats that—that forced them out.
So, I think it's a bit of domestic politics on this—on this game. But a lot of Iraqis frankly are concerned when U.S. troops leave. They think that people like Muqtada al-Sadr will rise to the forefront, that al Qaeda and Iraq, which was never completely eliminated, will come back, that the army could have a coup against the civilian government. That is certainly one of Maliki's concerns.
So, there are real dangers that could fall apart again once this safety net of the U.S. being in place is pulled away.
MATTHEWS: Finally, Afghanistan, lots of talk about Petraeus about clearing areas successfully, more successfully than we thought. But the long-term question, once you clear an area, what gives us the confidence—
I don't want to be argumentative here, but what is the outlook for the United States maintaining the edge we have developed under Petraeus in Afghanistan?
ENGEL: I think the larger question which—which answers this question is, what is the prospect of bringing democracy to Afghanistan and what is the prospect of convincing the people that they should accept Karzai, who is widely considered, according to international studies, according to the U.N., one of the most corrupt politicians in the world, with banks failing, banks like the national bank, the Kabul bank that was used effectively as an ATM by Karzai's—members of Karzai's family, members of his inner council?
So, if your mission is to bring democracy to Afghanistan, which is a
poor country, very low levels of education and a country that has a very
traditional value system, and you're trying to sell and back up a
government that is not just unpopular in Afghanistan, it's internationally
unpopular, then I think the—the very hard-fought gains that was carried
out by General Petraeus, who is widely considered a brilliant tactician,
and the American troops that he has with him, who have certainly worked
incredibly hard for it, it will be difficult to maintain those gains over -
those goals over—those gains over time.
MATTHEWS: Next year, we have an election in this country. Last question. What do you think? Based upon on your reporting again, what does President Obama need to have done on these three fronts, Libya, Iraq, and Afghanistan, by the time he faces the public next fall?
ENGEL: And he also has got to look at Syria, which is blowing up right now.
MATTHEWS: Right.
ENGEL: And you—I think, eventually, there is going to—you're going to look at Israel.
I think people will look back and say, was this idea of embracing all of these revolutions that have been going on in the Middle East a good thing or not? Was it a good idea to take an unstable region and encourage people to go out in the streets and to demand more rights and freedom?
Yes, it is a noble idea, but was it something that will lead to more peace and prosperity and stability, not only for the region in the short, medium and long term, but also for the United States and its allies in the region?
MATTHEWS: Well, thank you so much, Richard. Of course, you know you are one of the heroes to all of us back here. Your great reporting is just the best in the business. You know that.
Thank you.
You don't have to know it. We know it. Thank you, Richard Engel—
ENGEL: But thank you very much.
MATTHEWS: -- in the field for NBC News.
Up next: Glenn Beck and Mike Huckabee. Talk about going from the sublime to the ridiculous. We're going to talk about that little spat. How can we lose in this one? Keep fighting, guys. Aren't these guys supposed to be on the same team? Well, apparently they get a little intramural these days. The "Sideshow," where they belong, coming up next.
MATTHEWS: Back to HARDBALL now. Now to the "Sideshow." What a "Sideshow" tonight.
First up: Becky vs. Hucky. Yucky. The little kids' mud-throwing began when Glenn Beck used that naughty word, progressive, to describe his FOX News cohort, Mike Huckabee, for being large enough, I think—How dare he? -- to back Michelle Obama's anti-obesity push.
Huckabee retorted by saying he refuses to join Beck in every one of his attempts to, as he put it, conjure up boogeymen only he can see.
Well, today, more from the Beck playpen. The about-to-be-former FOX personality sniped back.
GLENN BECK, RADIO TALK SHOW HOST, "THE GLENN BECK PROGRAM": There are some really tough issues that real conservatives will have with Mike Huckabee.
But, look, Mike, I just—I want to point out, as a guy who has been in this battle now as well, if, sir, you are this thin-skinned about your politics, it might be best for you to stay on the sidelines.
MATTHEWS: Well, actually, it's Beck, soon to be ousted from his FOX News show, who will be watching this election from the video sidelines. As they say at FOX, Glenn, roger and out.
Up next, witch-trial? Christine O'Donnell has sent in corrections to the financial report she filed as a Senate candidate last year. She pointed to—quote—"inadvertent, inadvertent errors" in computer software that she said were the cause of mistakes in the report.
Well, Christine, who is probably harmless to society, is also writing a book she wants to call "Troublemaker."
Hey, publishers, look, if she actually writes the book, really writes it herself, we're going to have her on, but no ghost writers. She is scary enough.
Finally, the angry town halls are back. This time, it's Republicans in the hot seat. Watch U.S. Congressman Pat Meehan from Pennsylvania try his best to defend voting—defend voting himself—he did—for Paul Ryan's budget.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: If you voted to abolish Medicare, how will you explain that to people who are in their 50s who are out of work, that they will have not the Medicare that I have?
REP. PATRICK MEEHAN ®, PENNSYLVANIA: You said in your comment that I voted to abolish Medicare. And that is factually wrong.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Well, how is that wrong?
MEEHAN: One second, ma'am. Let me answer the question.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I will.
MEEHAN: And then I will talk to you. Thank you.
I voted for the Ryan plan, what Paul Ryan has put out as a blueprint, a sense of what we would like to do, a direction that we would like to go in.
MATTHEWS: Just a blueprint, huh, Mr. Meehan?
Well, when you buy a blueprint to build a house, as you did, people might get the idea you want to build the house. You got problems.
Up next: Terry Jones, the Koran-burning pastor, is at it again. He is in Dearborn, Michigan, today to protest what he says is the spreading threat of Sharia Law.
Well, ask the—we're going to ask the mayor of Dearborn what he thinks of Jones' latest stunt. What a piece of work.
You're watching HARDBALL, only on MSNBC.
MILISSA REHBERGER, NBC CORRESPONDENT: I'm Milissa Rehberger. The markets are closed for Good Friday. Here is what happening.
In Libya, the U.S. says coalition airstrikes have degraded Gadhafi's military by up to 40 percent, but rebels forces have lost momentum and are now locked in a stalemate.
Human rights group say at least 75 people were killed in Syria when security forces opened fire on anti-government protesters there.
Japan has unveiled an emergency budget that sets aside nearly $50 billion for cleanup and reconstruction in the wake of that devastating quake and tsunami.
And it was a question about the suffering in Japan that appeared to stump Pope Benedict during an unprecedented live Good Friday question-and-answer question.
The Coast Guard has released a scathing report on the Deepwater Horizon, accusing rig owner Transocean of serious safety lapses.
And a California jewelry store owner told a judge she waited a day before reporting a necklace stolen, hoping that Lindsay Lohan would return it to the store to give it back—back to HARDBALL.
MATTHEWS: Welcome back to HARDBALL.
Florida Pastor Terry Jones who burned the Koran last month and was
blamed for inciting violence in Afghanistan—in fact, 20 were killed—
was in court in Dearborn, Michigan, today—in fact, he's still in court -
fighting for permission to protest what he says is the threat of Sharia law, Muslim law, at a mosque there.
Well, here is part of Jones' closing argument.
PASTOR TERRY JONES, DOVE WORLD OUTREACH CENTER: We're protesting a radical element of Islam.
We are protesting a strictly Islamic problem, Sharia or jihad. But we are not accusing that mosque. We are not accusing the people of Dearborn. We are not accusing all Muslims. We are speaking out against that particular aspect that we all agree is—is real.
MATTHEWS: Well, Dearborn of course is not operating under Sharia law.
And Jones' insistence on demonstrating at the Islamic Center of America prompted Dearborn Mayor Jack O'Reilly to write an open letter to the pastor.
He said—quote—"Our commitment to the Constitution is unwavering, not merely convenient, which makes your hyperbole about Sharia law being practiced in the courts of—or civil law of Dearborn nonsensical. So, you are coming to protest against an imaginary threat that doesn't exist in our community. If Dearborn practiced Sharia law, would we have three adult entertainment bars and more alcohol licensed bars and restaurants per capita than most other cities? None of that should be allowed under Sharia law."
Well, Mayor Jack O'Reilly joins us now, as well as Irshad Manji, who is the director of the Moral Courage Project up in New York at NYU. She is author of the book "Allah, Liberty, and Love." It's coming out in June.
Mayor, thank you for joining us. And, Irshad, thank you for joining as well.
Mr. Mayor, that is the most amazing defense of a city. You basically said, hey, look, we have—
MATTHEWS: -- got a combat zone in this city. We have got some adults' entertainment going on here.
MAYOR JACK O'REILLY, DEARBORN, MICHIGAN: Right.
MATTHEWS: So, how could we be under strict Islamic law?
How did you find your way into that defense? Because I clearly believe you, sir. That is one thing I will tell you.
O'REILLY: Well, Chris, I mean, it's about the Constitution.
You know, we don't get to pick and choose. We follow the law. And so, when people have legitimate licenses, they carry out legitimate businesses. And that is what I said. You know, and, you know, we have got Dearborn Sausage, which is a company that, right now, at Easter, is selling more spiral-sliced hams than they can produce.
So, again, it's—it's that whole silly notion. And he really is way off the mark.
MATTHEWS: Let me go to Irshad on this.
It seems to me his game is—he does have something of a game going on here—it's not just to burn to protest—the Koran and do stuff like that, because he doesn't like the Koran. He wants to seek—prove that he can spark violence in the Islamic world, which he certainly proved the other day, when those 20 people were killed, I believe, in Afghanistan, because he wanted to do it.
What do you—what is this all about, from your perspective as an expert? What is going on? This weird—you get one crazy Westerner saying, I can tick off the Easterner on the other side of the world, to the point where they will kill some other Westerners, and then I will have proven my point, which is?
Go ahead. Your thought.
IRSHAD MANJI, AUTHOR, "THE TROUBLE WITH ISLAM TODAY": Chris, it will take a psychotherapist to figure out what his real point is.
And notice that I insert the word "real," because you're absolutely right, to suggest that this is a game going on. I said the last time I was on your show talking about this very issue, that this is all about politics and what his end game actually is, we don't yet know.
But may I just suggest here that I'm with the ACLU in Michigan on this one, that his hate speech ought to be combated not with censorship but with more speech. And let me quickly tell you why. Chris, as the demographics of this country changes, we are going to see more and more situations in which rights conflict. And so, we constantly have to be asking the question, what is the greatest good for the greatest number?
At the end of the day, freedom is the greatest good for the greatest number because even offended Muslims still benefit from freedom of assembly and they are exercising that as we are going live right now in holding a counter-protest to Terry Jones'.
So, I say that they are using freedom, and his freedom cannot be segregated from theirs. It's an invisible hold.
MATTHEWS: Your response to that, Mr. Mayor.
O'REILLY: Yes. The fact is I wish ACLU and others would actually come and follow the facts in Dearborn.
As mayor, I created permit free zones. These are places where anyone on the spur of the moment without any prior permission can come and have an event, give a voice to their concerns, do anything. We're so constitutionally friendly, it's not even funny.
The problem is that the site that he has selected does not allow—there is absolutely no logistical way, given the property itself that you can carry out the kind of event he planned to carry out. It's about balancing rights, which is the job of government all the time. We have competing rights and we have to balance them. He's always had—
MANJI: Mayor O'Reilly, I—
O'REILLY: I'm sorry. He always has had an opportunity to have an event and that's why we have an event going on right now with over—when I left, almost 400 to 5500 people were peacefully gathered at an alternative site and they were doing what they do best, exercising their rights.
MANJI: Well, Mayor O'Reilly, that is a very logical argument and I truly embrace your point about wanting to and having to balance rights. But the reality is that we are all humans and, at the end of the day, it's not just logic that drives us, it's also emotions.
And therefore, let me just point out that each the police chief of Dearborn has testified in court today that his worries about public safety are based, in part, on his own fears. He has actually said he has no evidence that Terry Jones will take it too far. It's just fear that the police chief is operating on.
So, Chris, let me say this much more.
O'REILLY: Well, you misconstrue. No, Chris. That is --
MANJI: We liberals are so good at calling out right wing ideologues when they operate on fear. Why the double standard here?
O'REILLY: There is no double standard.
MATTHEWS: Well, one of the reasons is 20 people died the last time this guy did his number, Irshad.
MANJI: We must also—
MATTHEWS: You don't have—
MANJI: -- blame Muslim extremists.
MATTHEWS: OK. Mayor, your thoughts. Mayor, first, and then, Irshad.
O'REILLY: Chris, I just want to say. I mean, she's not on the ground in our community. Yes, the chief was talking but you have to look at the whole context of what he was talking about. But what we know is they did a petition.
Now, we had Westboro Church here three months ago at the same site. We didn't have to do anything because three people showed up. And even though they were violating the law, we didn't exercise or hold them accountable because it didn't present any kind of danger or problem for anyone. But this one was different.
MATTHEWS: Westboro Church being the group that demonstrates against any funeral of a military person because they don't like gay rights basically. The soldier in that case wasn't a gay person but they used it as an opportunity for a platform.
O'REILLY: They don't like Islam either.
MATTHEWS: I generally like the First Amendment. In fact, I do support the First Amendment. And we're living in the world now that become that sort of a global pinball machine. The lights go on, the bells go off, all over the world the minute they hear that somebody—the terrible term on the Koran somewhere. And you hear, people will—they will escalate.
So, what do we know that people that their steps, however gross they are or un-American they are can achieve what they want. This pastor is smart enough to know that what he says or what he says, or burns a Koran, people die and he made his point. So, what do we do with these cases under the First Amendment?
MANJI: Chris, there is no magic bullet to this one. If there was, we wouldn't be having this discussion, let alone, a debate.
But let me just say, as a faithful Muslim myself, I think that the best response to these sorts of absurdities is, indeed, love. I know that is weird to say on cable television.
MATTHEWS: Well, it didn't work when he did that.
MANJI: Hold on a second.
MATTHEWS: We didn't get love. We got murder.
MANJI: Imagine—imagine Muslim Americans, OK, as they are doing right now, coming to massive counter-rallies with signs that say "Allah loves Terry Jones and so do I." What that does is it takes the bite out of the bigotry and the bigotry not just on the part of Terry Jones and that's very evident on his part, but also the bite out of the bigotry of Muslim extremists.
MATTHEWS: The trouble is we've got stonings going on in Afghanistan. It's very hard to believe that love is going to conquer it in this situation.
MANJI: I'm talking about America. We're not talking about Afghanistan right now. We're talking about America.
MATTHEWS: What we do here, what Terry Jones did in his little patch down in Florida caused 20 people to get killed, U.N. people killed over in Afghanistan. There is a global community and it's getting very close in.
Mayor, one second. That's all we got.
O'REILLY: Chris, there's another—
MATTHEWS: Give me 10 seconds.
O'REILLY: OK. There's a real issue here. In Dearborn, it wasn't just Muslims coming together, all of our faiths came together yesterday and we expressed the same message—
O'REILLY: -- for our whole greater Detroit—and that was that Islam is a faith that is part of our greater faith community and every one of our religious leaders embraced the fact that their congregations were told the desecration of any holy book is gone and that we have to all respect and treat each other as a part of this community.
MATTHEWS: OK. Thank you. Mayor, thank you. Mayor Jack O'Reilly, some people don't want peace.
Irshad, thank you so much. I appreciate your values here. Irshad, we live in a world that's not so nice.
Up next: one of the most entertaining politicians, colorful is the only beginning in describing this guy. Buddy Cianci is coming up. He's turned out—he's been around—he turned around Providence, Rhode Island. He spent some time behind bars in a gated community. He describes it. And he's also a free man, and as a good man as any now. He's out and paid his dues.
This is HARDBALL, only on MSNBC.
MATTHEWS: Well, now that John Ensign has resigned from the Senate in Nevada, U.S. Congressman Dean Heller of Nevada is the leading candidate to be named as his replacement. Heller is already running for Ensign's seat. But if appointed, he'll be able to run as the incumbent obviously next November.
How big of an advantage is that? Well, not as much as you might think. FiveThirtyEight.com's Nate Silver, our expert, ran the numbers—and appointed senators only won about half the time, about 50 percent of the time, much lower than the 88 percent re-election rate for regular incumbents.
We'll be right back.
MATTHEWS: Welcome back.
Well, the title of my next guest's book says it all, "Politics and Pasta: How I Persecuted Mobsters, Rebuild a Dying City, Dying with Sinatra, Spent Five Years in a Federally-Funded Gated Community and Lived to Tell the Tale." Every word of that is true, and the author is former Providence, Rhode Island Mayor Buddy Cianci, Vincent Cianci. And the federally gated community, of course, was prison.
Buddy, Mr. Mayor, your honor, thank you for coming on. I want to always thank you for welcoming you—welcoming me to your city when my son went to Brown about 10 years ago, then you got into trouble again, here you are back again.
I always say, whether you did anything wrong or not, we'll leave that open for a minute here. I always say once you're out, you're ago good as I am. So, I welcome you back to the community of innocent people. You've paid whatever dues you owed. I really mean that. I really mean that because I think a lot of politicians do things they never get caught doing and they get away with it and they get all these great obits when they're gone, because they never got caught.
Let me ask you about prison life. And I know this is—is it embarrassing? Are you embarrassed by anything that happened in prison, or is it not just as bad for a guy your age and your background and the kind of place, you're in Fort Dix, that it is for other people in prison?
BUDDY CIANCI, FMR. MAYOR OF PROVIDENCE, RI: Well, no, because, you know, if you're there, there's no way you're going to change it. And you have to do the time yourself. In other words, don't let the time do you. You have to do every minute of it.
And I always proclaimed my innocence, Chris. And that's why—
MATTHEWS: Well, doesn't everybody?
CIANCI: I was convicted—no—
MATTHEWS: In "Shawshank Redemption," they all say—all the prisoners say they're innocent. Morgan Freeman said that.
CIANCI: Well, that might be true. I never was there. And that one was not in the movie either.
But I can tell you I was indicted, I think, 27 charges, and to sit there and listen to 26 not guiltys, and then I have one guilty of a conspiracy to commit a RICO that I was not guilty of. So, that helps you get through it a little bit, because you know deep down that you didn't really do what they said you did.
But I can tell you that I went to prison and tried my best to get through the time. I was able to read like 400 books when I was in prison, and I met some interesting characters. And they're a subject of some of the stuff in the book here.
But how was I treated in prison? I never had any problems there. The warden wasn't exactly a cruise director on the QE2, and the food wasn't exactly from Le Cirque in New York. But I can tell you without any hesitation that it's doable. And you just have to put your mind through it and say, hey, listen, you've been through other things. You can get through this and you have to find some humor in things, that's what I did.
MATTHEWS: You'd think it would be a good book, and all the guys that spend time inside who are politicians—you know the old joke, you know, two guys eating in a mess hall in the prison. One says to the other, you know, the food was better when you were governor, you know? I'm sure it's not as funny to you as it is to me.
CIANCI: Right.
MATTHEWS: -- did they treat you different for being a pol? Did they everybody know—everybody knew you up there obviously, when you were in Fort Dix. Did they say, always a big shot, how does it feel to be one of us now? Did they treat you—did give you a rubbing, a ribbing, because you're a pol?
CIANCI: No, not at all. As a matter of fact, you know, one of the things I had going for me—I was a little older than most of the prisoners in there, and there's a lot of respect in prison. As long as you respect other people, they'll respect you. And that's the important thing.
Don't invade their space. Don't go sit in their bunk. Don't get deep into their personal life.
Just do your job and respect them. And you'll find out you get along very well. I got along very well. I didn't have any problems at all when I was in prison.
I'll tell you, did they treat me differently? Yes. When I first got there because I was a high profile prisoner, they made sure I had a job where everybody would see me work at. I was working in the kitchen, you know, doing pots and pans—
MATTHEWS: You mean they didn't give any special—you didn't have any special—you didn't get any easy job then?
CIANCI: No.
MATTHEWS: OK. We'll be right back with Buddy Cianci and his new book about "Politics and Pasta."
You're watching HARDBALL, only on MSNBC.
MATTHEWS: We're back with Mayor Buddy Cianci of Providence, Rhode Island. He's the author of the new book, "Politics and Pasta." Go on and buy it to find out what's going on.
Mr. Mayor, I've always been impressed by the fact you went back if you had the trouble before and built up Providence into a real city, a real downtown area. It didn't have much before you made it something.
Instead of putting you in a can, I would have sent you to Worcester, and said, fix that city and then you're free. Anyway, that's the way—that would be true justice.
I worry about your part of the country. I worry about Rhode Island. I have a friend up there, Pat (ph). I talked to him all the time. There's unemployment, there's—housing values is dying.
I worry about our economy. Is there anything we can do to create opportunities and job development in those older parts of the country that seem to be—I hate to use the word - dying?
CIANCI: Well, you know, we were faced with that kind of problem when I got elected first in 1974. That was a long time ago. And, you know, I looked at that mayoralty as being almost a social work, and then we've became risk takers later on and then entrepreneurs. You got to create jobs.
And the only way to create jobs is to really get involved and making sure that the workforce is capable of doing the kind of jobs that are available today or can be available. In my city, we're trying to build up biotech and trying to build up the new economy in the knowledge district. But I think what has to happen is we need to make—look at it more long term. We're not educating kids the way we ought to educate them. And so, when jobs do come available, they're not ready for them.
MATTHEWS: Yes.
CIANCI: And in addition to all of that, we got to fix our city governments, because the pension systems are unsustainable, cities are broke, and, frankly, there's not a lot of hope. But I think that, in this part of the country, we can do better if we only had the right leadership. And the right leadership has got to say, look, we've got to being, you know, kind of wonks and policy people and get back to the basic things in politics.
And that's—to run a good city, a city has got to be safe, number one. People have to want to be there because they're going to be safe. Number two, they're going to have to have a job. And number three, they're going to have to have a good house they can live in with affordable numbers.
MATTHEWS: OK. Great luck, best of luck to you, sir, getting back on your feet.
CIANCI: Thanks.
MATTHEWS: Best of luck with the book, "Politics and Pasta." You're a smart guy. I hope you do well.
That's HARDBALL for now. Thanks for being with us. Happy Easter to everybody who's honoring that weekend. Everybody understands Easter. Let's have a good one.
More politics ahead with Cenk Uygur.
Copyright 2011 CQ-Roll Call, Inc. All materials herein are protected by
United States copyright law and may not be reproduced, distributed,
transmitted, displayed, published or broadcast without the prior written
permission of CQ-Roll Call. You may not alter or remove any trademark,
copyright or other notice from copies of the content.>


text:
Catholic Children Books and Coloring Books
Our Lady of Fatima Coloring Book
O.L. of The Miraculous Medal Coloring Book
Our Lady of La Salette Coloring Book
Our Lady of Knock Coloring Book
Our Lady of Beauraing Coloring Book
Our Lady of Banneux Coloring Book
Our Lady of Pontmain Coloring Book
Our Lady of Pellevoisin Coloring Book
St. Francis of Assisi Coloring Book
St. Anthony of Padua Coloring Book
St. Dominic Savio Coloring Book
St. Pius X Coloring Book
St. Teresa of Avila Coloring Book
St. Philomena Coloring Book
St. Maria Goretti Coloring Book
St. Frances Cabrini Coloring Book
St. Meinrad Coloring Book
The Brown Scapular Coloring Book
St. Rose of Lima
Treasure Box Book 1
Treasure Box Book 2
Treasure Box Book 3
Treasure Box Book 6
Treasure Box Book 8
Treasure Box Book 9
Treasure Box Book 10
Treasure Box Book 11
Treasure Box Book 12
Treasure Box Book 13
Treasure Box Book 14
Treasure Box Book 15
Treasure Box Book 16
Treasure Box Book 17
Treasure Box Book 18
Treasure Box Book 19
Treasure Box Book 20
Treasure Box Set Books 1-10
Treasure Box Set Books 11 - 20
Treasure Box Set Books 1 - 20
Vocabulary Quiz Workbook
DVDs on Padre Pio and Sr. Faustina
Each over 2 Hours Long
Best DVD
New DVD on Padre Pio over 2 Hours Long
New DVD on Sr. Faustina over 2 Hours Long
BOOK OF DESTINY By Fr. H.B. Kramer
CATHOLIC PROPHECY THE COMING CHASTISEMENT AND THE LAST DAYS By Yves Dupont
FORTY DREAMS OF ST. JOHN BOSCO By St. John Bosco
HISTORY OF ANTICHRIST By Fr. P. Huchede
LIFE OF ANNE CATHERINE EMMERICH By V. Rev. C. E. Schmoeger, C.SS.R.
PROPHECY FOR TODAY By Edward Connor (compiler)
THE PROPHETS AND OUR TIMES By Fr. R. Gerald Culleton
THE REIGN OF ANTICHRIST By Fr. R. Gerald Culleton
Divine Mercy and Sr. Faustina (Videos and Books)
Padre Pio (Videos)
Medjugorje - The Queen of Peace - Gospa (Videos, DVDs, Books and Audio CDs)
Prophecy of The Third Secret of Fatima
The Kingdom of the Bride
Record Album "ALL MY LOVE TO YOU JESUS"
Catholic Prophecy: Text of The Third Secret of Fatima - Complete Text
Books and Videos on Padre Pio
Videos and Books on Sr. Faustina and Divine Mercy plus Diary of Sr. Faustina
CATHOLIC BIBLES, Family Bibles, Spanish Bibles, Church, School and Catholic Study Bible Edidions
Bishop Fulton Sheen - Audio Tapes, Videos and Books
THE DOUAY-RHEIMS BIBLE - Now in Larger Print!
Why Should You Read Only the Douay-Rheims Translation of the Bible? - Catholic Traditional Translation Bible
Free Music Samples of Contemporary Christian Songs
The Reign of the Antichrist - Shocking DVD
Home Page / Statues / Crucifixes / Catholic Resources / Catholic Videos / Roman Catholic Books / Catholic Audio Tapes / Christian Music / Catholic News / Angels / Antisemitism / Animated 1 / Animated 2 / Animated - The New Testament / Animated - The Old Testament / Apparitions of Blessed Virgin Mary / Apologetics / Art Gallery / Audio Tapes / The Beatification of Padre Pio / Hilaire Belloc / Bible / Bibles / Books on Bible / Bishop Fulton Sheen / Books / Books on Divine Mercy / A Catholic Theme Park / Children and Youth - Animated / Church Documents / Church History / Creation vs Evolution / Creature from Jekyll Island / Devil - Satan / Catholic Family Resources / Divine Mercy / Diary of Sister Faustina / Dr. Bernard Nathanson / Errors - Problems of Modern Times / Eucharist and the Mass / Family and Marriage / Fr. Aloysius Ellacuria / Freemasonry / Garabandal / Gifts / Gods of the New Age / Global Tyranny / Health / Hell, Heaven and Purgatory / Home Schooling / John Paul II / Joan of Arc / Journeys of the Soul / Latest Message / Marianland / Marian / Marian Videos / Mariology / Charismatic / Marx and Satan / Medjugorje Miracles and the Message / Miracles in Catholic Church / Money System / Mother Teresa / Music / MP3 - Free Music Samples / Yoga / One World Government / Padre Pio (Videos) / Padre Pio (Books) / Pious Publications / The Priesthood / Pro-Life Videos and DVD / Pro-Life Books / Prophecy / Prophecy of The Third Secret of Fatima / Rafael's Art Gallery / Prof. Libor Brom / Religious Education-Adult / Catholic Religious Education-Grade School / Religious Education - High School / Rock/Pop Music, MTV, Hollywood, Satan, Satanism and Antichrist / ROSARY / Saints Part 1 / Saints Part 2 / Saints Part 3 / St. Patrick Apostle of Ireland / Scott Hahn, Kimberly Hahn and Bishop Sheen / Shocking Videos on Current Events / Spanish Videos / Spiritual Life / Sr. Faustina / Stigmata and Stigmatist / Theology / True Church and Bible / The UN's Crusade Against God and Family / Vatican II / Videos - Main Section / J. Paddy Nolan / Wayne Weible and Medjugorje / Latest news / Sin and Repentance / Fr. Faber / Catholic Marian DVDs and Videos as Seen on EWTN - TV Network of Mother Angelica - Catholic TV Network of Mother Angelica / Mother Teresa / Text of The Third Secret of Fatima / Catholic Books and Audio Tapes

subset: commoncrawl


text:
By Robert Samuelson
The "fiscal cliff" is a massive failure of presidential leadership. The tedious and technical negotiations are but a subplot in a larger drama. Government can no longer fulfill all the promises it has made to various constituencies. Some promises will be reduced or disavowed. Which ones? Why? Only the president can pose these questions in a way that starts a national conversation over the choices to be made, but doing so requires the president to tell people things they don't want to hear. That's his job: to help Americans face unavoidable, if unpleasant, realities. Barack Obama has refused to play this role.
Instead, he has cast the long-term budget problem as a question of whether the richest 1 percent or 2 percent of the population should pay more in taxes. Not only that, but he has insisted that the higher taxes be paid by raising rates, as opposed to reducing various tax breaks (deductions, exemptions, preferential rates) enjoyed heavily by upscale Americans. The obsession with rates is bad policy (higher rates may threaten risk-taking, work effort and hiring) but qualifies as good politics: It signals Obama's macho; he's tough on the rich, who are implicitly blamed for the nation's budget and economic woes.
Whatever one thinks about raising taxes at the top (and I have no objection to it as part of comprehensive budget package), it's not the crux of the problem. The crux of our problem — the problem being the bipartisan and untenable promises made to most Americans of both high government benefits and low taxes — arises from an aging population and high health costs, which cause rapid increases in spending on Social Security, Medicare and Medicaid. Let me repeat some statistics I've often cited. In 2012, Social Security, Medicare and Medicaid accounted for 44 percent of non-interest federal spending. As for taxes, the richest 5 percent paid almost 40 percent of federal taxes in 2009 (and within that, the richest 1 percent paid 22 percent of taxes).
The nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office puts it this way:
"With the population aging and health care costs per person likely to keep growing faster than the economy [gross domestic product], the United States cannot sustain the federal spending programs that are now in place with the federal taxes (as a share of GDP) that it has been accustomed to paying."
Until Obama conspicuously and consistently acknowledges these realities in straightforward and unmistakable language — something he hasn't done and shows no signs of doing — he cannot be said to be dealing honestly with the budget or with the American people. The main reason that we keep having these destructive and inconclusive budget confrontations is not simply that many Republicans have been intransigent on taxes. The larger cause is that Obama refuses to concede that Social Security, Medicare and Medicaid are driving future spending and deficits. So when Republicans make concessions on taxes (as they have), they get little in return. Naturally, this poisons the negotiating climate.
Of course, Obama would offend many Democrats if he entertained benefit cuts in Social Security and Medicare: higher eligibility ages, higher premiums for affluent elderly, structural changes in the health-care system to reduce costs. Just as many Republicans don't want taxes raised a penny, many Democrats don't want benefits cut a penny. Consider the highly technical proposal to shift from the standard consumer price index (CPI) to a "chained" CPI to adjust Social Security benefits. From 2013 to 2022, this change is estimated to reduce Social Security spending by $100 billion. Over that decade, total Social Security benefits are estimated at $10.588 trillion; the cut would be less than 1 percent. Yet, many Democrats reacted in horror, as if hordes of elderly would be impoverished.
Unfortunately, much of the media have accepted the Obama narrative that it's only Republican rigidity that frustrates negotiations and leads to deadlock. This means, of course, that there's even less incentive for Obama and congressional Democrats to engage in genuine bargaining.
The result is that we're not getting the debate we deserve and that budget choices are being made mainly by default. Just as important, the periodic, ugly confrontations over budget policy — the paralysis and bitterness they involve — corrode confidence and weaken the economy. A weak economy creates few new jobs, and the lack of jobs is the nation's No. 1 social problem. Obama's abdication of responsibility may be in his political self-interest, but it is profoundly hostile to the national interest.


text:
UAW, CREW File Ethics Charges Against Romney for Hiding Auto Bailout ProfitsPosted: November 1, 2012 Filed under: 2012 presidential campaign, Mitt Romney, open thread, U.S. Economy, U.S. Politics | Tags: Ann Romney, Bob King, conflict of interest, CREW, ethics, Greg Palast, Paul Singer, The Nation, U.S. Office of Government Ethics, United Auto Workers 39 Comments
United Auto Workers (UAW) President Bob King and the Center for Ethics and Responsibility in Washington (CREW) will hold a press conference at 2PM today to announce that they are filing formal ethics charges against Mitt Romney with the US Office of Government Ethics for
improperly hid[ing] a profit of $15.3 million to $115.0 million in Ann Romney's so-called "blind" trust.
The union chief says, "The American people have a right to know about Gov. Romney's potential conflicts of interest, such as the profits his family made from the auto rescue," "It's time for Gov. Romney to disclose or divest."
The ethics complaint is based on investigative research by Greg Palast, published in The Nation on October 17. Briefly:
The Romneys' gigantic windfall was hidden inside an offshore corporation inside a limited partnership inside a trust which both concealed the gain and reduces taxes on it.
According to ethics law expert Dan Curry who drafted the ethics complaint, Ann Romney does not have a federally-approved blind trust. An approved "blind" trust may not be used to hide a major investment which could be affected by Romney if he were to be elected President. Other groups joining the UAW and CREW include Public Citizen, the Service Employees International Union (SEIU), Public Campaign, People for the American Way and The Social Equity Group….
In 2009, Ann Romney partnered with her husband's key donor, billionaire Paul Singer, who secretly bought a controlling interest in Delphi Auto, the former GM auto parts division. Singer's hedge fund, Elliott Management, threatened to cut off GM's supply of steering columns unless GM and the government's TARP auto bailout fund provided Delphi with huge payments. While the US treasury complained this was "extortion," the hedge funds received, ultimately, $12.9 billion in taxpayer subsidies.
Singer's fund ended up making $1.27 billion, after which he moved all Dephi production to Mexico along with 25,000 UAW jobs. The goal of the ethics complaint is to force the Romneys to reveal how much profit the made off this sleazy deal.
Feel free to use this as an open thread.
39 Comments on "UAW, CREW File Ethics Charges Against Romney for Hiding Auto Bailout Profits"
BB, i can't get the links to work.
Greg Palast did really great reporting on this. I wish this suit could have been filed sooner and I hope that every organization that has joined the suit and the lazy MSM, which has forgotten the meaning of the expression due diligence, stays on Mitt & Ann Romney's ass until the entire truth comes out. This is a prime example of how the rich suck the life out of the working class, then ship the jobs to low wage, no regulation countries. Mitt is a low-life.
I've been reading Greg Palast for a long time – his style is a little annoying but he's got a long history in this sort of research and has also been all over voting "irregularities" and election fraud here for years. I think he works for the Guardian in the U.K. of course, since the media here don't like investigative journalism, but he's American.
The problem with Republicans is smarminess is not a problem. As long as it's legal, and even if it's not – i.e. "they all do it" – the ends justify the means for them. I have a Republican friend who casually mentioned that he cheats on his taxes by deducting full retail prices for discounted food given to the food banks. They don't get what's wrong with compromising their personal integrity for personal gain, however miniscule.
So I'm afraid this wouldn't sway any of Mitt's fans. Nevertheless he needs to go down!
Bloomberg endorses Obama
Thousands without power in northeast Ohio
Better late than never. I should like to have seen this sooner. Six days before the election kind of sucks, but it beats the sh*t out of six days after!
I'm glad this man did this! Climate Change what?
How is it that the Auto workers union is involved in this suit?
Actually, Eliott Management, the hedge fund where Ann Romney's "blind trust" is managed, after fleecing General Motors and absconding with Delphi's pension fund, Eliott incorporated Delphi offshore in the Isle of Jersey, then moved Delphi to China into a factory China built for them. There is a reason why Romney doesn't want to release his 2008 and 2009 tax returns, they will show the millions his wife (and maybe he, too) made on Delphi. Eliott Management reported a profit of $15.3M for every million invested. It is reputed that Eliott made $1.28Bn on Delphi whose junk bonds Eliott bought for pennies and then extorted General Motors by telling GM if you don't pay me full price, I won't give you steering columns; I'll shut you down, too. As for Mitt Romney himself, he's cut from the same cloth as Paul Singer who owns Eliott Management. When Romney was in his 20s and head of Blain & Company, he fleeced the FDIC of $10M through similar tactics as Eliott Management did with GM. Not nice people.


text:
For screen reader problems with this website, please call207-772-00532 0 7 7 7 2 0 0 5 3Standard carrier rates apply to texts.
For use in the Minibulk washing machines when the minibulk cartridge is removed. This cup is used for dispensing single doses of liquid detergent. This will allow liquid detergent to remain in the dispensing drawer until the cycle starts and water is dispensed. Used on following models: MHW9000Y & WFW97HEX.


text:
Thursday, November 13, 2008
A Home Root Cellar
The challenge in New England is how to preserve food from November to May when the garden is bare (other than Kale, Chard, and Collards which grow well in cold frames).
During the month of October we pickled, canned, and froze our fruits and vegetables to prepare for the winter ahead.
We also created a root cellar in our basement to store turnips, potatoes, carrots, rutabegas and dozens of different types of squash. My favorite squash is Hubbard, which keeps for 6 months at 50-55 degrees. Hubbard squash used to be a very popular squash in the US, but today fewer people cook and the varieties available in supermarkets are limited.
Just about every home in New England has a basement. Most basements are too warm for winter food storage, but there are two techniques that work well. The first is easy - the bulkhead leading down to the cellar stays above freezing, so we loaded the steps down the basement with vegetables. The other is to create ventilation into a closed part of the basement.
Here's how it works.
Traditionally, the root cellar was an underground space built under or near the home, insulated by the ground and vented so cold air could flow in and warm air out in the fall. Then when winter temperatures arrived, the vents were closed, and the cellar stayed cold but not freezing. You can create an indoor version of the cellars that have long served homesteaders well by walling off a basement corner and adding the vents, allowing the temperature to remain near freezing through the winter months.
There are several good online resources describing how to build a root cellar
Mother Earth News
Earth House
Organic Gardening
Back to the Land
There are also several good books available for help in cellaring in the modern home or apartment.
Root Cellaring
Putting Food By
Over the next 6 months of cold weather, we'll see how long the root cellar lasts. I look forward to reliving the summer and fall harvest every time I cut open a squash or open a jar.
6 comments:
- Labandibar said...
I subscribe to a CSA every year. My solution to the abundance of vegetables is to parboil and freeze them.
- November 13, 2008 at 6:35 PM
- ManxMamma said...
I remember seeing an article on modern Japanese apartments that actually had a root cellar built below the kitchen floor...great idea. I'd also love to see potatoes come in paper sacks again.
I was surprised to see a Trader Joe's bag in your photo. I was horrified the first time I went there to find most of it's products come from the far east.
- November 14, 2008 at 11:54 AM
- John Halamka said...
The Trader Joes bag is for storing potatoes. It's a leftover bag from a Sake purchase last year
- November 17, 2008 at 2:38 PM
- April 8, 2009 at 11:03 PM
- Affordable Luxurious Wedding Dress Blog said...
cheap wedding gowns,
discount bridal gowns,
China wedding dresses,
discount designer wedding dresses,
China wedding online store,
plus size wedding dresses,
cheap informal wedding dresses,
junior bridesmaid dresses,
cheap bridesmaid dresses,
maternity bridesmaid dresses,
discount flower girl gowns,
cheap prom dresses,
party dresses,
evening dresses,
mother of the bride dresses,
special occasion dresses,
cheap quinceanera dresses,
hot red wedding dresses
- May 21, 2009 at 6:20 PM
市區、車站、機場免費接送 訂車專線:03-8221988 免費行程規劃
§ 凡事先完成預約手續者均可享特價再九折優惠(租多台、多天另有優惠)§
行程時間4小時,五人座房車2000元;八人座休旅車2500元;廿十一人座中巴5000元。 (含車資,司機薪水,油錢,乘客險)
◆花蓮租車 一日遊:
行程時間8小時,五人座房車2800元;八人座休旅車3500元;廿十一人座中巴7000元。 (含車資,司機薪水,油錢,乘客險)
- May 22, 2009 at 10:39 AM


text:
Alabama teenager sent home from school over dyed-red hair
(Reuters) - An Alabama teenager with dyed-red hair was sent home from school by her principal over concerns that her mane was too bright and distracting, the girl's mother said on Friday.
(Reuters) - An Alabama teenager with dyed-red hair was sent home from school by her principal over concerns that her mane was too bright and distracting, the girl's mother said on Friday.
Hayleigh Black, a 15-year-old student at Muscle Shoals High School in northwestern Alabama, had been dyeing her hair red for three years without incident until principal Chad Holden called her into his office last week, her mother said.
Black, who plays flute in the school's marching band and spent her summer volunteering at a camp for children, was driven to tears after being sent home on what was her first day of 10th grade, her mother, Kim Boyd, said.
"Her lips started quivering and her eyes started watering," Boyd said. "I'm brokenhearted for my child that had her feet kicked out from under her on first day of school."
School policy dictates that students cannot have an unnatural color that is distracting, Boyd said, adding that she had no problem upon learning that the principal had sent home kids sporting bright orange and purple hair.
"But red is a natural human hair color," she said. "It can be grown."
Boyd said she appealed to district administrators, including Superintendent Brian Lindsey, who was Black's principal last year, without success.
She has retained a lawyer, who has sent a letter asking that her daughter's absence be erased from the record and that her red hair be allowed.
Holden, promoted from assistant principal at the school this year, said in a statement that he was enforcing long-standing school policy and would continue to do so.
Lindsey did not immediately respond to messages seeking comment.
Black's stripped her hair back to its natural, dark blond color and was allowed back to school the next day, though some red splotches have remained, eliciting frequent questions from other students, Black said.
"My red hair is a part of me and is how my friends recognize me," she said. "I would really like to have my red hair back."


text:
These two projects by Studio Brave are without a doubt my favorites from their portfolio. Everything about each of these projects seem right on. I'd like to tip my hat particularly to the Long Photography branding. One of the things I've been asked about quite a bit recently is on how to brand photographers. What steps to take and whether to create very personalized icons or marks versus focusing on keeping the logo typographically driven. I attempted to answer some of those in my Ian Matteson branding process post, but if not I'd be happy to answer.
Going back to these pieces, what both do really well is handle consistency without being literally repetitive. I feel like I've seen a lot of cases here over consistency takes place. At some times it becomes hard to find the middle ground between inconsistent and overly consistent. I know I've done branding projects where I've gone overboard with consistency and then had to pull it back.


text:
ERM Report 2008 - More and better jobs: Patterns of employment expansion in Europe
A key element of European policy is the emphasis on boosting employment and maximising its quality – creating 'more and better jobs' – with a view to shaping a competitive, knowledge-based economy. Over the period 1995 - 2006, considerable growth in employment took place in most European countries. This report seeks to determine if those jobs created were also of better quality. It analyses the level of employment growth across the wage spectrum in each Member State by sector, occupation, type of contract, and gender.


text:
Message Board
Judy Chicago Message Board
Talk about the novels, new and used books that Chicago has written!
Author Chicago's Book Reviews
Through the Flower
Judy Chicago's first autobiography tells the story of the first 35 years of her life. Spanning from her childhood, in which her father, a radical leftist, died when she was a teenager, through her college career and adult life as an artist, Chicago discusses the difficulties she faced as a female artist. Chicago is candid about love, sex, art, and feminism. The book was written only two years before Chicago created her most famous installation, The Dinne...


text:
Pampers Swaddlers Active Baby Diaper Size 5
Product Details
Wrap your baby in our softest comfort with Pampers Swaddlers diapers. Designed to keep skin dry and healthy, Pampers Swaddlers are the only diapers with a BreatheFree Liner that wicks away wetness and mess, allowing your baby's skin to breathe. Specially designed with your baby's comfort in mind, our Soft Flexi-Sides provide a soft cushiony stretch for a secure and comfortable fit. Plus, our Pampers Wetness Indicator lets you know when your baby might need a change, to help keep baby's skin dry and healthy. For protection that's gentle on your baby's skin, Pampers Swaddlers is hypoallergenic and free of parabens and latex.
- LockAway Channels absorb wetness and lock it away from skin
- BreatheFree Liner helps soothe and protect baby's skin
- Soft Flexi-Sides for comfortable fit
- Gentle on baby's delicate skin, Pampers Swaddlers is hypoallergenic and free of parabens and latex (Natural rubber)
- Protect your newborn's delicate belly with our Umbilical Cord Notch (Sizes N-2)
- Pampers Wetness Indicator
- Packaging and products may vary
Ratings and Reviews
Metro Market is not responsible for the content provided in customer ratings and reviews. For more information, visit our Terms and Conditions.


text:
By BETH HALE
Briton jailed for four years in Dubai after customs find cannabis weighing less than a grain of sugar under his shoe
A father-of-three who was found with a microscopic speck of cannabis stuck to the bottom of one of his shoes has been sentenced to four years in a Dubai prison.
Keith Brown, a council youth development officer, was travelling through the United Arab Emirates on his way back to England when he was stopped as he walked through Dubai's main airport.
A search by customs officials uncovered a speck of cannabis weighing just 0.003g – so small it would be invisible to the naked eye and weighing less than a grain of sugar – on the tread of one of his shoes.
Dubai International Airport is a major hub for the Middle East and thousands of Britons pass through it every year to holiday in the glamorous beach and shopping haven.
But many of those tourists and business travellers are likely to be unaware of the strict zero-tolerance drugs policy in the UAE.
One man has even been jailed for possession of three poppy seeds left over from a bread roll he ate at Heathrow Airport. Painkiller codeine is also banned.
If suspicious of a traveller, customs officials can use high-tech equipment to uncover even the slightest trace of drugs.
Mr Brown was detained and arrested in September last year and has been held in a cell with three other men in the city prison ever since.
This week the youth worker, who has two young children and a partner at home in Smethwick, West Midlands, was sentenced to four years in prison.
A 25-year-old Briton who was found with a similar speck in one pocket as he arrived on holiday has been awaiting sentence since November.
Meanwhile a Big Brother TV executive has so far been held without charge for five days after being arrested for possessing the health supplement melatonin.
The authorities claim to have discovered 0.01g of hashish in his luggage.
Last night Mr Brown's brother Lee said his case "defied belief".
"For that sort of amount common sense should prevail, from where it was found it was obviously something that had been crushed on the floor – it could have come from anywhere."
Rastafarian Mr Brown had been returning from a short trip to Ethiopia, where one of his children lives and where he owns property.
He was travelling with his partner Imani, who was also stopped and detained for more than a week.
Normally he flew direct to and from the UK, but decided to stop off in Dubai.
"He was incensed when he called me," said driving instructor Lee, 57. "It would be funny if the circumstances weren't so unpleasant.
"Bugs are crawling out of his mattress when he's sleeping. His family are frantic with worry and can't call him."
Last night campaign group Fair Trials International advised visitors to Dubai and Abu Dhabi to "take extreme caution".
Chief Executive Catherine Wolthuizen said: "We have seen a steep increase in such cases over the last 18 months.
"Customs authorities are using highly sensitive new equipment to conduct extremely thorough searches on travellers and if they find any amount – no matter how minute – it will be enough to attract a mandatory four-year prison sentence."
Mrs Wolthuizen added: "We even have reports of the imprisonment of a Swiss man for 'possession' of three poppy seeds on his clothing after he ate a bread roll at Heathrow.
Held: A campaign is underway to secure the release of Cat Le-Huy from a Dubai jail
"What many travellers may not realise is that they can be deemed to be in possession of such banned substances if they can be detected in their urine or bloodstream, or even in tiny, trace amounts on their person."
Only two months after Mr Brown was stopped economics graduate Robert Dalton was detained in almost identical circumstances.
Mr Dalton, from Gravesend, on Kent was with two friends when he was stopped and asked to empty his pockets.
Officials found 0.03g of cannabis in a small amount of fluff. He is currently on trial and if convicted, is likely receive a four-year prison sentence.
Last night his brother Peter, 26, told how it took 24 hours to find out why he had been stopped.
"As we understand, the amount of cannabis was barely visible to the human eye and was at the bottom of the pocket of an old pair of jeans.
"He's not a drug user, but he goes clubbing and the speck was so small."
Last week Cat Le-Huy, a London-based German national, was arrested on arrival at the airport.
Mr Le-Huy, 31, head of technology with Big Brother production company Endemol, was arrested on suspicion of possessing illegal drugs after customs officers found melatonin, a health supplement used for jet lag available over the counter both in Dubai and in the US.
Authorities also claim they discovered fragments in one of his bags which they believe to be hashish. Fair Trials International said the amount was 0.01g.


text:
Where I'm working at the moment we're using the Yahoo Geocoding API but aren't very happy with it. I've been asked to look into how we can improve our geo coding.
Geo coding services vary greatly in accuracy, precision, availability, throughput capping, and other attributes. So it can help to try multiple services until you get sufficient confidence in the result.
It seems there are plenty of modules on CPAN for geocoding from a single source, including Yahoo, Google, Mapquest, Multimap, Cloudmade and Bing. The only one that I could find that handles multiple services was Geo::Coder::Multiple.
I'm writing this blog post for two reasons…
Firstly I'm interested in your experiences with geocoding services. Which you've tried, and which you'd recommend (for geocoding for US addresses). What problems you've encountered and any advice you'd like to pass on.
Secondly I'm interested in your thoughts on working with multiple services.
Geo::Coder::Multiple looks interesting but quite limited. For example, it'll accept the first valid response even if it's of low precision. There's also no provision for checking multiple results to derive some measure of confidence, for "knowing when to stop".
Some feature ideas:
- Ordered list of geocoders
- Auto rate limit by detecting over-limit response and disabling for a period, perhaps with exponential back-off.
- Result-filter callback to discard uninteresting responses, e.g., precision too low to be useful.
- Result-picking callback to pick best result from those collected so far. It could tell if there were more to try and return undef to mean "keep going".
- Some pre-defined result-picking callbacks for common use cases.
Any thoughts on those?
What kind of features would you like to see?
Want to help build this?


text:
This blog is hosted by JISC Involve who provide blogs for the JISC community.
Till recently JISC Involve was running on an old version of WordPress (1.2.5). Earlier this month the JISC Digital Communications Team upgraded their server to the latest version of WordPress (2.9.2) and then migrated all the JISC Involve's blogs over to the new installation.
Although all blog posts, comments, attachments, user accounts, permissions and customisations were supposed to move over easily JISC Involve users were encouraged to back-up the content of drafts etc. 'just in case'.
Unfortunately there were some technical problems migrating the content and as a consequence the original theme was lost and URLs now redirect.
Luckily the JISC PoWR team were able to locate the original theme and reinstall it.
However the process has made them aware of the need to record details of the technical components and architecture of the blog. This information can be critical in a migration process and when 'closing down' a blog.
The JISC PoWR team will ensure that such information is routinely recorded.
Is there any other information that is important for preservation or migration purposes?


text:
Quickly exit this site by pressing the Escape key Leave this site
This site is a beta, which means it's a work in progress and we'll be adding more to it over the next few weeks. Your feedback helps us make things better, so please let us know what you think.
Once you've made a complaint there are several possible outcomes. Every complaint is different, but we'll follow the legislation and the Independent Office for Police Conduct (IOPC) guidelines to try to find a satisfactory solution.
If the reasons for your complaint are clear and no investigation is needed, we'll log your complaint and try to get back to you quickly with information or an explanation.
If we need to look at your complaint in more detail, we'll pass it to our standards team. They'll log it and contact you to explain the next steps.
If you make a complaint to the IOPC, they'll forward it to us. We'll then follow the same process as if you'd contacted us directly.
After logging your complaint, we'll assess its nature and seriousness.
We'll allocate a complaint handler who isn't directly connected to your complaint to look into it. They'll get in touch with you to clarify any missing details and answer any questions you may have.
For some more serious complaints, we'll carry out an investigation. You'll be told how your complaint will be investigated and how a decision will be reached. We'll ask you how you'd like to be contacted and keep you informed on the progress.
However we handle your complaint we'll write to you to tell you the outcome and explain whether you can request an appeal or a review. Find out more about what you can do if you're unhappy with the outcome of your complaint.
We'll refer serious complaints we receive to the IOPC. Serious complaints would include action (or lack of action) that led to a person's death or serious injury, serious assault, serious sexual offence, or serious corruption. They may choose to investigate these cases themselves, independently of us.
Your complaint won't be progressed if it's not 'reasonable and proportionate' for us to do so.
This could be because we've already looked into it previously, you weren't directly affected by the events the complaint is about or there's a more appropriate process for raising the complaint, for example, the Victims' Right to Review Scheme.


text:
- SCHR Education Bursaries
- Careers
- Job Opportunities
- Tools for Internationally Educated Health Professionals
- New Employee Pre-Orientation
- Mentorship Program
- Practicum Placements
- Pre-Health Professions Club
- Professions in Sun Country
- Financial Support
- Employee Health Benefits
- Gateway Online
- Unions
- Interactive Map
Root Vegetables
Root vegetables like potatoes, carrots, parsnips, turnips, sweet potatoes and onions are often great bargains at the grocery store or farmer's market; use them in soups and stews.
Contact Us
Box 2003
Weyburn, Saskatchewan
Tel: (306) 842-8399
For General Inquiries:
Frequently Asked Questions about paperless pay stubs adopted by Sun Country Health Region in 2012, Online pay stubs will be available from Gateway Online, an icon on the website and on the desk top of your computer.
1.     How do I access my pay statement?
Gateway Online can be accessed through the internet at https://mygatewayonline.com. This website will become available the week of April 11, 2012.
2.     Why would I want to view my pay information online?
- View your pay statement from home 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.
- View your pay statement as early as Wednesday at 5 p.m. prior to Friday's bank deposit.
- Your pay history is available for loan applications, financial transactions or agencies requesting wage verification.
- This is a convenient and secure way of delivering your confidential pay information.
- Online pay statements are more cost effective and environmentally friendly than paper pay statements.
3.     Why was my paper pay statement discontinued?
- The process of delivering a paper pay statement is labour intensive, with many people handling the statements before they reach the employee.
- Many paper pay statements are left unattended and many are discarded without being opened.
- Distribution of paper pay statements may result in lost statements. Employees are concerned about who may have access to their pay information.
4.     When can I access my current pay statement?
You can access your current pay statements online every second Wednesday at 5 p.m. starting April 11, 2012. Should you receive pay on a non pay week, this statement will be available on the following Wednesday at 5 p.m.
5.     When does this change come into effect?
For the April 13, April 27, May 11 and May 25, 2012 pay days, you will have access to
Gateway Online and will receive a paper pay statement. Starting on the June 8 pay day, you will not receive a paper pay statement.Â
6.     How will my pay statement display?Â
- You will now be able to view all your pay statements in one place. After entering your username and password, click View Pay Statement. Clicking on Choose a Period will show you all the pay statements that you are able to view. Click on the pay period you would like, and then click View Pay Statement.
- The Personal Information section is where you will find your name, address and phone number. This important information is now on the top of each pay statement for you to review for accuracy. If you notice that changes need to be made to this information, please contact your Manager.
- The Net Pay section displays your total earnings, less your deductions, less any advances.
- The Deposit Information section now contains the payment date, which is the date you will receive the money in your bank account. This shows a summary of amounts being directed to your bank account(s). The statement also shows your personal tax exemption amounts. If these need to be updated (example: you are no longer claiming any school expenses), please fill in the TD1 and TD1SK form and provide to the payroll department. Should an asterisk (*) appear on the top right corner of these amounts, this signifies you have an exemption other than the basis amount.
- Earnings This Pay Period displays all earnings and allowanced being paid or adjusted in the current pay period.
- Deductions This Pay Period displays all deductions in the current pay period.
- Year to Date Employer Contributions displays the amounts your employer has contributed on your behalf this payroll year.
- Year to Date Earnings and Year to Date Deductions display the year to date earnings and year to date deductions in the current payroll year.
- Accrued Banks display the current balances of selected banks.
7.     Is this website secure?
Yes. All information in this system is protected with high level security, is kept confidential and remains the property of 3S Health. Â
Keeping information private is your responsibility as well. It is your responsibility to:
- Protect your username and password.
- Regularly change your password when requested to do so every 90 days.
- Ensure that your workstation is not left unattended.
- Ensure that sensitive information being displayed on your workstation or printed is not visible to others.
- Remember to log out of Gateway Online and close the internet browser when finished.
8.     Do I require a username and password?
You will require a unique username and password to access the website. Your username will be attached to your March 30, 2012 paper pay statement. If you did not receive pay for this pay period, Payroll will mail the username and password configuration to your home address.
9.     What type of password do I need to set?
You will be given an initial password and will be required to change it when you first log in to the system and every 90 days after that.
A valid password must contain the following:
- Must be at least 8 characters in length
- Cannot be more than 32 characters in length
- Are a combination of alpha and numeric characters.
- Are case sensitive
- Contain characters from 3 of the following 4 categories:
- English uppercase characters
- English lowercase characters
- numbers (0 through 9)
- non-alphanumeric characters (!, $, #, %)
- A password that has not been used in 365 days
- A password that does not contain your username
To safeguard against unauthorized usage, the system locks if it detects five minutes of inactivity. If this occurs, an employee is prompted to once again log in to the system prior to continuing their activities.
10. What if I forget my password?
The initial password is set for you. After you have entered the system using your preset password, you will be required to change your password and enter a set of personal questions and answers. If you forget your password, the system will ask you these questions and answers to verify your identity. Â
To safeguard against unauthorized individuals trying to determine an individual's username and password combination through repeated trial and error attempts, the system will lock after seven failed attempts. The only way to unlock the website is to contact eHealth Saskatchewan at 1-888-316-7446 or 337-0600, Monday to Friday between 7a.m. and 9 p.m..
11. Â Can I change my username?
No, you will not have the ability to change your username. You only have the ability to change your password. In the event of a legal name change, you may request a username change by contact your Manager.
Questions 12-21, along with illustrations, are attached in the file below. Both this list and the file can be printed for your convenience.


text:
CBKB: South Carolina's Downey scores 30 to take down No. 1 Kentucky
AP Sports Writer
COLUMBIA, S.C. Kentucky's return to No. 1 might not last very long.
Devan Downey scored 30 points and South Carolina sent No. 1 Kentucky to its first loss of the season with a 68-62 victory tonight.
The Wildcats (19-1, 4-1 Southeastern Conference) moved atop the rankings for this week for the first time since 2003. They were cautioned by no less a fan than President Barack Obama earlier Tuesday to keep their focus and play with the same passion that brought them to the top.
The president or Kentucky didn't count on Downey, the SEC's leading scorer to break the 30-point mark for the fourth time in six league games for South Carolina (12-8, 3-3).
The Gamecocks had lost all seven previous games they'd played against No. 1-ranked teams.
DeMarcus Cousins matched his career best of 27 points to lead Kentucky, which had been the nation's last unbeaten team.
Fans rushed the Colonial Life Arena floor when the buzzer sounded, Downey hugging whomever he could and screaming, "I told you so!"
Downey had seemingly hit a game-winner at Florida on Saturday, scoring on a driving layup with 5 seconds left until the Gators' Chandler Parsons outdid him with a winning 3-pointer.
This time, though, Downey and the Gamecocks would not be stopped even after the Wildcats fabulous freshmen of John Wall and Cousins seemed to take things over.
The pair combined for 13 points during a 14-3 run midway through the second half that put the Wildcats up 47-42. That's when Downey took over.
South Carolina's senior had a three-point play and two foul shots to tie it up.
Downey had another three-point play with 4:06 left to give the Gamecocks the lead for good at 54-51.
Wall's three-point play with 40.1 seconds left brought Kentucky within 62-61. But Brandis Raley-Ross followed with two free throws to restore the edge.
Raley-Ross finished with 17 points.
Cousins had 12 rebounds to go along with his points, which tied his best performance set earlier this season against Seton Hall.
Kentucky was on its longest win streak to start a season in 44 years and figured to continue its roll against depleted South Carolina.
But the game followed a head-in-the-clouds moment earlier Tuesday when President Obama called to congratulate Coach John Calipari and the players for helping raise more than $1 million for Haitian relief.
Along with the praise came Obama's caution stay focused Wildcats or bad things might happen.
The president's words were prophetic.
The Wildcats were ragged and out of sync. Wall, who Obama greeted with "What's going on all-star?" when they spoke by phone, was 6 of 16 from the field with four of Kentucky's 15 turnovers.
Wall ended with 19 points.
No Wildcat could corral Downey.
While the Gamecocks' senior didn't have his shooting touch (9 of 29), he went 10 of 11 at the free throw line.


text:
An expert which is licensed to do kinds of procedures or surgical treatments to improve and cure oral defects is called a dental physician. Typically, there is an excellent set of teeth but on account of some unfavorable habits and procedures your dental situation deteriorates and those that suffer will be the pearly whites. Today, should you suffer from extreme dental issues, it is actually widely recommended to technique an oral operating specialist to cure your problem. Oral surgical treatment is also suggested for removing a wisdom tooth, one of the very difficult to deal with teeth. With all the present-day technologies right now, there are already several oral surgeries that you can take advantage of.
Mouth surgical treatment is a salient method that needs real skills to carry out. That is why you will need to find a dental physician that is not merely permitted to complete oral surgical treatment but also experienced enough specially in the problem that you simply wanted to cure. This is certainly required for the surgery to generate an efficient end result instead of exacerbating your condition.
Locating a dental operating specialist is not actually challenging. There are ways and discoveries to get a mouth operating specialist such as searching for the web oral surgeons' directories. On this page, it is possible to view as many clinics by state and judge who and where you wish to have your mouth surgical treatment. Also, these sites you are searching may give information regarding the field of expertise of the listed dental doctors.
You also can look for mouth surgeons in newspapers, periodicals, and also in mobile phone web directories. Especially media paperwork and magazines, there are much advertising you could learn about the dental medical clinic along with its mouth operating specialist or specialists. Recommendation from relatives and buddies is another great resource for sports activity for an oral surgeon. These people can reveal their real knowledge about the center along with the doctor to you apart from discussing the info concerning the center and ways to contact them.
When you had identified the mouth physician that could solve your dental issue, you also have to do a backdrop verification with the operating specialist. At the very least determine the operating specialist really includes a qualification.
Inspired by: ezinearticles