Top News Stories - February 2009:
Radio Chip Could be Coming Soon to Your Driver's License
A radio chip that could electronically identify every adult in the United States as well as compile lists of people at Churches anti-government rallies could be coming to your driver's license. Information on the radio chip could be accessed by remote control even while in someone's pocket. Nicknamed the spychip, Christian groups are concerned over the chip's resemblance to the Biblical mark of the beast where man must use a numeric mark/chip to be able to buy and sell. --- read story
Radio Legend Paul Harvey Dies at Age 90
Paul Harvey, one of the most familiar voices of all time passed away Saturday. "And now you know the rest of the story" and "stand by for news" are two phrases made famous by the popular radio legend, who was heard nationally for nearly 60 years. --- read Paul Harvey story
Jewish Leaders Furious at Hillary Clinton for Changing Since Becoming Secretary of State
Hillary Clinton is being accused of shifting ways since leaving the Senate to become Secretary of State. --- read story
Clint Eastwood Thinks Political Correctness Has Made Society Humorless
Clint Eastwood is fed up with political correctness. He feels not laughing at ourselves has caused more harm than good. He said "we're all spending too much time and energy trying to be politically correct about everything." --- see Eastwood's quotes
China: American People's Economic, Social and Cultural Rights are Not Properly Protected
China's report on America's social and economic woes came after the US state department concluded in its annual report on human rights that China's human-rights record got worse in 2008. --- see the news article
Benjamin Netanyahu to Fight Israel Recession With Tax Cuts
Benjamin Netanyahu wants to fight the Israeli recession the old fashioned way, with tax cuts and smaller government. --- read story
Award-Winning Princeton University Physicist: More CO2 Would be Good for the Earth
Princeton University Physicist Dr. Will Happer says man-made global warming fears are mistaken and said "many people don't realize that over geological time, we're really in a CO2 famine now." He added that "children should not be force-fed propaganda, masquerading as science." Mr. Happer made his remarks at the Environment and Public Works Full Committee Hearing. --- read more
Senator Robert Byrd: Barack Obama in Power Grab
Sen. Robert Byrd (D-W.Va.) claims President Obama?s appointment of White House czars to oversee federal policy constitutes a power grab. Byrd said such positions "can threaten the Constitutional system of checks and balances." --- read story
Guantanamo Lawyer: Abuse Worse Since Obama Has Taken Office
A lawyer representing Guantanamo detainees claims treatment of prisoners has gotten worse since President Obama has been in office. read news report
Fact Checking President Obama's Address to Congress
A fact check of the President's first address to Congress. --- fact or fiction?
U.S. Consumer Confidence Hits All-Time Low
Barack Obama was unable to raise American's economic hopes as the Conference Board's confidence index dropped down to its lowest level ever at 25. --- read story
Barack Obama's Job Approval Ratings Down 10% Since Taking Office
Barack Obama has learned quickly that people's opinions can change in a hurry. President Obama's job approval ratings have dropped 10% in about one month in office. --- read story
Al Gore Pulls Misleading Slide from Presentation
A slide used by Al Gore during his global warming presentation that said there have been four times as many natural disasters in the last 30 years as in the last 75 has been pulled because it was so misleading. --- read story
New York Governor Paterson's Favorable Rating Plunges to 28%
Governor Paterson's job performance rating is down to 28% and only 19% said they would vote for him in 2010, according to a Siena College Research Institute poll. --- read story
Study: Vitamin D May Protect Against Colds and Other Respiratory Tract Infections
The largest such study to date shows that Vitamin D may protect against the common cold, especially people with asthma and other chronic lung conditions. The sunshine vitamin link was also there for other respiratory tract infections. --- read the health story
Acadamy Awards 2009: 3rd Worst Viewed Ever
The Acadamy Awards answered last year's worst ever ratings with the 3rd worst this year. --- read story
Review Finds Guantanamo Bay Meets Requirements of the Geneva Convention
A surprising review by the Pentagon revealed that Guantanamo Bay actually meets with the requirements set forth by the Geneva Convention. The report had been ordered by Barack Obama. --- read story
Transportation Secretary Suggests Taxing Americans for Miles Driven
Privacy concerns "fueled" outrage at Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood's suggestion that motorists be taxed based on how many miles they drive. Speculation and anger picked up steam over why such a move would be needed, given that Americans are already taxed at the gas pump. The Barack Obama Administration was forced to quickly respond to LaHood's comments with Press Secretary Robert Gibbs saying: "It is not and will not be the policy of the Obama administration." --- read story
Huffington Post Corrects Fox News Hoax
The controversial Huffington post had to apologize after posting a doctored Fox News Video in which John Gibson appeared to refer to Attorney General Eric Holder as a monkey with a "bright blue scrotum." The Huffington Post claimed no knowledge of who altered the video. --- read story
Barack Obama Orders 17,000 More Troops to Afghanistan
While the war continues in Iraq, United States President Barack Obama has ordered 17,000 additional tropps to Afghanistan. --- read story
New York Governor Paterson Gave Secret Raises Amid 'Freeze'
New York's Governor David Paterson secretly granted pay raises of as much as 46% to over a dozen staffers after cutting the pay of 130,000 state workers. The secret raises came after the governor required the state to cut spending and impose a "hard" hiring freeze. --- read story
Urgent Stimulus Bill on Hold for Barack Obama's Long Weekend
After stressing for weeks about the urgency of passing the stimulus package, Barack Obama put off signing the bill to take a long weekend. Obama is expected to sign the bill on Tuesday, after the House and Senate passed it on Friday. --- read story
Widow of 9/11 Victim Was Aboard Flight 3407
The widow of a Buffalo native who lost his life in the September 11 terrorist attack on the World Trade Center was aboard the ill-fated flight 3407. Beverly Eckert was also co-chairwoman of Voices of Sept. 11, pushing for a formal commission to investigate intelligence failures, as well as a proper memorial to the victims. --- read story
Controversial Stimulus Bill Passes
The stimulus bill passed its last hurdle and awaits signature from Barack Obama. House Minority leader John Boehner said: "this is an act of generational theft that our children and grandchildren will be paying for far into the future." --- read story
Rep. John Culberson: Pelosi Rushed Stimulus Bill to Leave for European Vacation
Rep. John Culberson revealed on Houston's KSEV radio that Nancy Pelosi was rushing through the Stimulus bill because of a planned trip to Europe. The trip includes an award from an Italian legislative group and drew concerns that it may also have been funded with taxpayer money. --- read story
Gregg Withdrawal Casts Obama In a Bad Light
Sen. Judd Gregg withdrew from consideration for the post of Commerce Secretary citing irresolvable conflicts with President Obama over the economic stimulus and 2010 census. --- read story
Las Vegas Mayor: Obama should apologize for Vegas Remarks
Barack Obama's comments discouraging companies from traveling to Vegas drew anger from Las Vegas Mayor Oscar Goodman. --- read story
Mike Huckabee: Stimulus Package is 'anti-religious'
"The dust is settling on the 'bipartisan' stimulus bill and one thing is clear: It is anti-religious," Mike Huckabee wrote on Tuesday. --- read story
Vladimir Putin Tests Barack Obama
Russia announced it will be closing the sole American air base in Central Asia, a crucial transit point for supplies and NATO troops going to Afghanistan. Despite having mutual interests in opposing the Taliban, Russia is using what some call veiled blackmail to get concessions from the United States. --- read story
Senator James Inhofe: The Bill is 93% Spending and Only 7% Stimulation
"While I appreciate the efforts of my colleagues to bring down the price tag of this bill, the fact is we still face a trillion dollar spending bill." --- read the statement
Barack Obama Warns of Financial Crisis that Might Be Irreversible
Barack Obama's dire warnings came as he tried to promote the passage of the economic stimulus package. Opponents of the stimulus package have called for more tax cuts and less pork in the bill. --- read story
Dick Cheney: Obama Administration Not Equipped to Prevent Nuclear or Biological Terrorist Attack
"When we get people who are more concerned about reading the rights to an Al Qaeda terrorist than they are with protecting the United States against people who are absolutely committed to do anything they can to kill Americans, then I worry," former Vice President Dick Cheney said. --- read story
Benjamin Netanyahu Vows to Topple Hamas if Elected
"A government under my leadership will overthrow the Hamas rule in Gaza and bring about a cessation of rocket fire," Netanyahu said. --- read story
Tom Daschle Withdraws His Nomination as Barack Obama's Health Secretary
Tom Daschle withdrew from his nomination as health secretary following revelations of unpaid back taxes. Daschle's withdrawal came right after Nancy Killefer withdrew from her nomination as Obama's chief performance officer, also over tax problems. --- read story