Friday, December 22, 2017

In the news, Thursday, December 14, 2017


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DEC 13      INDEX      DEC 15
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Information from some sites may not be reliable, or may not be vetted.
Some sources may require subscription.

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from CNSNews.com (& MRC & NewsBusters)
RIGHT BIAS

NBC Omits Popular Deductions Staying in GOP Tax Bill, Parrots Dems
Congressional Republicans were one step closer to realizing their hopes for tax reform on Thursday as it appeared as though the House and Senate had reconciled nearly all of the legislation. Hearing the recommendations and concerns of the public, the Republicans preserved the current tax code’s deductions for student loans, medical bills, and added a $10,000 cap for state and local taxes. But of the three major network news outlets, NBC was the only one that left them out of their evening broadcast. Instead of reporting what was known to be in the GOP tax reform bill, NBC Nightly News instead chose to run two reports that played up the GOP “scrambling” to get votes and blatantly pasted off Democratic Party talking points as facts.

No, 'Decency' Did Not Win In Alabama
By rejecting Roy Moore, Alabamians will instead by represented in Congress by a man who stands in open favor of the largest genocide in the history of mankind. By rejecting Moore, Alabamians will have as one of their highest elected leaders a man whose campaign was vehemently supported by Planned Parenthood, an organization that makes boatloads of cash carving up babies like rotisserie chickens, and is currently under federal investigation for selling off fetal eyeballs and livers harvested from butchered infants to scientists to be played with in petri dishes. By rejecting a man who may very well have sexually abused children, Alabamians gained a senator who advocates for murdering them outright.

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from EUobserver

EU countries are not 'tax havens', parliament says
Malta, the Netherlands, Luxembourg and Ireland cannot be considered as tax havens, the European Parliament agreed on Wednesday (13 December). A Socialist group amendment listing the four EU member states specifically by name was part of 211 recommendations contained in a report by a special inquiry committee into money laundering, tax avoidance and evasion, the PANA committee. The proposal obtained 327 votes against, 327 in favour and 24 abstentions, which means it could not be adopted as there was no majority.

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from FEE (Foundation for Economic Education)
RIGHT-CENTER BIAS, HIGH, non-profit organization

Net Neutrality Isn't Neutral At All
The Open Internet rules the FCC devised based on Title II authority expressly permit ISPs to block, filter and curate content.

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from First Things

SEX, SCANDAL, AND POLITICS
The many conservative votes Roy Moore received in Alabama suggest that The Moral Majority is less and less willing to play its role as upholder of decency.

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from The Heritage Foundation
RIGHT BIAS, MIXED, think tank in Washington, D.C

Trump's Colombia Envoy Should Know Something about Drug Wars
Effectively addressing Colombia’s challenges while advancing the bilateral relationship means more than just keeping the lights on at the embassy. The United States needs an ambassador with a direct line to President Trump who can shape the direction of policy.

5 Myths About Tax Reform, and Why They’re Wrong
Next week, the House and Senate will take their final votes on tax reform. The president’s goal is to sign the legislation into law before Christmas. Although there are still some unknown details, the important parts of the bill for most Americans are already known and would greatly improve our current, woefully out-of-date tax code. The bottom line is that taxpayers across America can expect a tax cut. The bill would lower tax rates for individuals and businesses, double the standard deduction, and significantly increase the child tax credit.

Doomed Deference Doctrines: Why the Days of Chevron, Seminole Rock, and Auer Deference May Be Numbered
The U.S. Supreme Court famously declared in Marbury v. Madison that it is “emphatically the province and duty of the judicial department to say what the law is.” In a series of decisions, however, the Court has adopted a controversial rule allowing administrative agency officials—rather than judges—to have the final say in the interpretation of statutes and agency rules. This turns Marbury v. Madison on its head and has contributed to the accumulation of power in administrative agencies. The modern administrative state touches nearly every aspect of Americans’ daily lives, from highways to electricity to health care, but as of late, all three branches of the federal government are paying close attention to the excessive power delegated to agencies. Fortunately, the day of reckoning may be coming for these deference doctrines.

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from The Hill
LEFT-CENTER BIAS, MIXED, newspaper in Washington, D.C.

Congress has much to accomplish with the budget, but little time
The current fiscal year (2018) began Oct. 1. Congress is already two and a half months late on enacting a new federal spending package. Surprise! They just kicked the can another two weeks down the road, and the new deadline, Dec. 22, puts Christmas-time drama on the table.

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from Indian Country Today Media Network
[Information from this site may be unreliable.]

The Biggest Federal Tax Overhaul in 30 Years: Native American Tribes Are Not Included
A $1.5 trillion dollar increase in the federal deficit will create pressure to cut federal programs and services that are extremely important to tribal communities.

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from The Inlander

Forgiveness and Faith
As a woman who survived eight years of child/teen sexual abuse, I wish to thank all the men who, through strong personal convictions and integrity, have kept their hands, and others body parts, to themselves or solely to their wives. Thank you, thank you, thank you! However, with the adult entertainment industry (porn) raking in billions of dollars a year, strong sexual overtones in the fashion industry, sexually explicit music lyrics easily accessible, sex trafficking, etc., why should it surprise us when sexual abuse and/or harassment among prominent members of our society (or anyone for that matter) comes to light? Do you really believe that we can be a morally lawless nation and not become morally corrupt?

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from NPR (& affiliates)

FCC Repeals 'Net Neutrality' Rules For Internet Providers
After weeks of heated controversy and protests, the Republican majority of the Federal Communications Commission voted along party lines on Thursday to loosen Obama-era regulations for Internet providers. The rules, put in place in 2015, banned cable and telecom companies from blocking or slowing down any websites or apps. They also prohibited broadband providers from striking special deals that would give some websites or apps "priority" over others.

The USDA Rolled Back Protections For Small Farmers. Now The Farmers Are Suing
An organization representing the interests of small farmers across rural America fired a legal salvo Thursday aimed at a Trump administration they feel has let them down. The lawsuit, filed by the Organization for Competitive Markets — a small-farmers think tank based in Lincoln, Neb. — and three farmer plaintiffs, did not shake the halls of Congress. Nor will it go viral on social media. But to the 40,000 contract poultry farmers, 900,000 cattle ranchers, and 70,000 hog farmers in America's heartland whose interests it seeks to represent, the lawsuit represents the tip of an iceberg of financial and emotional despair. At issue is the Trump administration's withdrawal of two Obama-era rules designed to protect small farmers, who say they are being exploited by the meatpacking companies they supply. The suit, filed on behalf of OCM by the Capitol Hill legal watchdog Democracy Forward, charges U.S. Department of Agriculture Secretary Sonny Perdue and his agency with "arbitrary and capricious" behavior in rolling back those two rules. One of them would have made it easier for individual farmers to sue for anti-competitive behavior.

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from Orthodox Christianity
Organization in Moscow, Russia

THE LORD WILL FORCE ALL TO ACCEPT THE AUTOCEPHALY OF THE KIEV PATRIARCHATE, SCHISMATIC SYNOD SAYS
The synod of the self-styled “Kiev Patriarchate” (KP) have addressed their supporters and the Ukrainian people with an explanation of their position regarding the dialogue with the Russian Orthodox Church. The address from their session yesterday has been posted on the schismatic church’s site.

HOLY MOUNTAIN MOURNS THE SCHISM IN THE UKRAINIAN CHURCH—ABBOT OF VATOPEDI
Mt. Athos is very grieved about the schism in the Ukrainian Orthodox Church, created and continued by the self-styled “Patriarch” Philaret Denisenko of the unrecognized “Kiev Patriarchate.” Abbot Ephraim of the Athonite monastery of Vatopedi spoke about this trouble in an address to Ukrainians published on the YouTube channel of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church.

THE ROYAL ARMY NURSE
The life of Olga Alexandrovna Romanov, the last Grand Duchess of Russia, was filled with such numerous sorrows as rarely befall a person in a lifetime. But through her kindness, modesty and courage she withstood all the miseries that lay in store for her in the twentieth century. In the early centuries of Christianity, even pagans admired the virtues of Christian women. Likewise, Grand Duchess Olga, unshakable and radiant, can be a source of inspiration and consolation to modern people as well. She was the benefactress of a large number of schools, hospitals, courses, almshouses, and charitable societies, and during the First World War she was a simple army nurse.


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from POLITICO
[Information from this site may not be reliable.]

Paul Ryan Sees His Wild Washington Journey Coming to An End
He felt he was ‘made for this moment.’ But now, on the verge of achieving his long-sought legislative dream, he’s got his eyes on the exits.

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from The Spokesman-Review
Newspaper in Spokane, Washington

Window displays bring historic holiday spirit of the Crescent store to downtown Spokane
Historic Christmas window display figures have been uncovered and given new life at select locations in downtown Spokane this Yule season. The figures are among those featured in department store window displays over the years at the historic 1917 Crescent store at 707 W. Main Ave.

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from The Wall Street Journal

The Internet Is Free Again
Killing Obama-era rules will remove the FCC as political gatekeeper.

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from We the Governed
[Information from this site may not be reliable.]

Democratic Party attacks campaign transparency in Washington
In a stunning public reversal of their public statements about campaign finance laws, the Washington State Democratic Party is declaring war on the state’s Public Disclosure Commission.  Concerns have been raised by conservative and socialist activists alike, but Tina Podlodowski, chair of the Washington State Democratic Party appears determined to destroy the foundation of the state’s campaign finance laws by promoting and financially benefiting from the dissolution of local Democratic Party Political Committees in a conspiracy to evade legal liability.  If the Democratic Party succeeds in this fraudulent conveyance scheme, there will no longer be a reason for the Public Disclosure Commission to exist.

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