Dems advertise in GOP Senate primaries

WASHINGTON (AP) ? Democrats have their thumbs on Republican scales in Senate primaries in Missouri and Wisconsin this summer, hoping to improve their own chances of maintaining a majority in November.

The idea isn't quite as far-fetched as it might sound.

Two years ago, Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid's allies invested heavily in an effort to help Sharron Angle win a contested GOP primary in Nevada after deciding she would be the easiest Republican to defeat in the fall. She won the nomination, but ultimately lost to Reid.

Now Democratic Sen. Claire McCaskill of Missouri is running a series of television advertisements that strategists in both parties say indicates a preference for Rep. Todd Akin over primary rivals John Brunner and Sarah Steelman.

At the same time, Majority PAC, a group with ties to Reid, has run television commercials selectively attacking Republican contenders in Missouri and Wisconsin, where primaries are set for next month.

At first glance, each of the three ads run by McCaskill's campaign appears to be an attack, one at each of her potential rivals.

Yet one calls Akin "too conservative" to be a senator and says he once referred to President Barack Obama as a "complete menace to our civilization" ? characteristics that seem more likely to appeal to Republican primary voters than to repulse them.

In a brief interview in the Capitol, McCaskill said she decided to advertise before the primary because she has been attacked heavily by Republican outside groups and didn't want to wait any longer before telling voters "how extremist, how flawed" the GOP field is.

She sidestepped when asked if she has a preferred opponent, saying they were "three of a kind, one and the same."

Republicans as well as some Democrats said the ad relating to Akin was running more often than the others, and one GOP official, citing detailed advertising information, said it was shown about five times for each airing of the others.

McCaskill's campaign declined to discuss the issue, except to say that all ads are airing statewide.

Democrats now hold a 53-47 majority in the Senate, including the support of two independents. Republicans must gain four seats this fall to be assured of winning control, although a pickup of three would be sufficient if Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney defeats Obama.

Beginning with a Republican runoff Tuesday in Texas, there are Senate primaries in 15 states through mid-September.

Most of the contested races involve Republicans, although Democrats have a competitive primary in Hawaii on Aug. 11 between Rep. Mazie Hirono and former Rep. Ed Case. The campaign is notable for the cross-party endorsement Hirono recently received from Republican Rep. Don Young of Alaska, a rarity in a hyperpartisan political environment.

Former Gov. Linda Lingle is the Republican in the race.

Missouri and Wisconsin figure to be among the most competitive Senate races this fall, and Republicans have unpredictable multi-candidate primaries in both. McCaskill has trailed in many public polls and has been hit with more than $8 million in attack ads so far by the U.S. Chamber of Commerce and other Republican-aligned groups.

In Wisconsin, surveys suggest Democratic Rep. Tammy Baldwin faces a difficult campaign to win the seat long held by retiring Democratic Sen. Herb Kohl. She, too, has been under attack.

It is fairly common for a candidate of one party to criticize the challenger of another before primaries are held in which there is no doubt about the outcome. But it is relatively rare in other cases, and even rarer that the strategy succeeds.

Two years ago, Reid's allies attacked then-front-runner Sue Lowden in the Nevada Republican primary in an attempt to prevent her from advancing to the general election. "I'm hoping that people see through it," she said not long before she lost to Angle.

While merely emphasizing Akin's conservativism in one ad, McCaskill's campaign seeks to undermine Brunner's credentials in another. It says he has failed to vote in 16 elections since 2000, and cites media reports that he "nearly killed the family business and ran up $245 million in debt. ... Around here, being reliable means showing up to vote, and conservative means you don't spend more than you make."

Steelman is depicted in the third ad as "more politics as usual," and says the former state treasurer was "taking gifts from lobbyists."

A spokesman for Brunner, Todd Abrajano, said, "It's been our contention since these ads were released that Claire McCaskill is trying to pick the winner of the GOP primary." Patrick Tuohey, an aide to Steelman, seconded that, saying that in the ad about Akin, she "picks up a lot of his themes."

Akin said he didn't agree, but acknowledged others might draw that conclusion. "I think she's taking each one of us and saying, 'What's my main axis of attack' in the fall," he said.

Strategists in both parties say McCaskill might have an easier race against Akin. They note the congressman has supported earmarks in the past, while the senator has been a prominent foe of them. Polls frequently show conservatives also oppose the practice, in which lawmakers direct federal dollars to pet projects.

Apart from McCaskill's own efforts, a group run by a longtime aide to Reid is airing a commercial that is critical of Brunner, in an evident attempt to cut into his support in the primary and potentially in the fall campaign as well. It says that while he pledges to cut the government debt, he "saddled his own company with nearly $195 million in debt ... and under Brunner's leadership the company nearly shut down."

The same group, Majority PAC, recently launched a television commercial in Wisconsin criticizing two of four Republican primary contenders. It says former Gov. Tommy Thompson worked at a "D.C. lobbying firm that represents pharmaceutical and insurance firms," and attacked Eric Hovde as a "D.C. fund manager who's invested in bailed out banks involved in fraudulent loans."

The ad makes no mention of former Rep. Mark Neumann, who runs third in the preprimary polls, and whom Democrats say privately could be an easier-to-beat challenger.

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/dems-advertising-several-gop-senate-primaries-120610667.html

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Concealed Weapons Permits Are AWESOME! (talking-points-memo)

Share With Friends: | | Politics - Top Stories News, RSS Feeds and Widgets via Feedzilla.

Source: http://news.feedzilla.com/en_us/stories/politics/top-stories/238255775?client_source=feed&format=rss

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Omega 3 Recipe | food and drink

If you are conscious about your health, maybe you exercise regularly and you cook everything from scratch to avoid eating additional salt and additives often added into ready-meals and sauces, then you are sure to live a very healthy lifestyle. As well as getting your five-a-day, there are also other nutrients you should try and incorporate into your diet. This includes healthful fats and oils found in Omega 3.

Omega oils are found in foods like eggs and oily fish like mackerel and salmon. They have been proven to help promote healthy skin as well as stimulate brain activity. But don?t be under the impression that after a couple of days of eating omega 3 you will suddenly become super-fast at completing your daily sudoku puzzle or your game of partypoker because it takes time and the results are more subtle. However, you will soon find that your hair is shinier and your skin is more moist and healthy looking. Below is a tasty salmon recipe for you to try out.

?

Super healthy salmon burgers (serves 4)
Ingredients:

4 boneless salmon fillets
2 tbsp Thai red curry paste

A small chunk of fresh root ginger , grated

1 tsp soy sauce
1 bunch coriander
1 tsp vegetable oil
1 lemon

Burger buns

1 carrot and 1 cucumber
1 tsp of white wine vinegar
1 tsp of golden caster sugar

Method:
1. Begin by chopping the salmon into chunks and blitzing it in a food processor along with the paste, ginger, soy and chopped coriander.
2. Next, tip the mix out and carefully shape it into four patties. Meanwhile, heat some oil in a non-stick pan and fry the patties for 4-5 minutes on each side. Cook until they look crisp and cooked through.
3. Then slice thin strips of carrot and cucumber using a peeler, place in a bowl and toss with the vinegar and sugar. Then toss through a few coriander leaves. Divide between four plates and top with the salmon burger. Alternatively, place the patty in a toasted sesame bun. Serve with a wedge of lemon.

?

Source: http://www.tangdulove.com/omega-3-recipe/

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Most would avoid higher taxes under Dem, GOP bills

WASHINGTON (AP) ? Do you make more than $200,000 annually, or $250,000 between you and your spouse? Do you expect to inherit an estate worth more than $1 million next year?

Do you claim the American opportunity tax credit to help pay college costs? Or are you a low- or moderate-income worker who relies on the earned income tax credit or the child tax credit to supplement your household budget?

If your answer to the above questions is no ? and that will be most of you ? then you're probably in that wide swath of people who Democrats and Republicans agree should not face higher taxes in January, when a slew of tax cuts expire unless Congress acts.

If you're among the roughly 30 million households who answer yes, then either the Democratic or GOP tax bills that the Senate is expected to reject this week might mean paying more taxes.

Despite the high-wattage political theater over taxes dominating Congress these days, there's a lot of consensus between the two parties over what should happen in the short term. In a campaign season dominated by the limp economy ? and with neither party eager to boost taxes on voters so close to the elections ? Democrats and Republicans want tax cuts for most Americans to continue through 2013 while lawmakers try to reduce the federal debt and overhaul the tax code.

"The broad range of tax cuts set to expire are ones both parties want to continue. The debate is over a fairly narrow but very symbolic range of taxpayers," said Robert Bixby, executive director of the bipartisan Concord Coalition, which favors controlling budget shortfalls.

The differences were playing out Tuesday as the Senate debated a tax-cut bill by Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nev.

Largely mirroring President Barack Obama's proposals, it has a 10-year price tag of $250 billion. It would continue the expiring tax cuts next year for everyone but individuals making $200,000 a year and couples earning $250,000, who would see their taxes rise. That would mean higher levies next year for 2.5 million households ? just 2 percent of the 140.5 million returns the Internal Revenue Service receives, according to 2009 figures.

Waiting in the wings is a rival bill by Sen. Orrin Hatch, R-Utah, which had a 10-year cost of $405 billion. It would include high earners in the extended tax cuts next year, but omit some tax breaks Reid would extend for college costs, children and low-income workers. Combined, that would end tax breaks for 25 million households, according to Treasury Department figures provided by the White House.

House Republicans unveiled a tax bill Tuesday similar to Hatch's. Speaker John Boehner, R-Ohio, plans to push it to House passage next week. Boehner's bill doesn't stand a chance of passing in the Senate, nor does Reid's in the House.

With neither side showing much inclination to compromise, the White House released a report illustrating what a stalemate that results in all the tax cuts expiring in January would mean. It said there would be an average $1,600 tax boost for 114 million households earning under $250,000 for couples or $200,000 for individuals, and blamed the GOP for the brewing impasse.

"The only reason the middle-class tax cuts have not been extended is that Republicans in Congress continue to insist on cutting taxes once again for the wealthiest few," the report said.

Republicans said it was Democrats pushing the battle to the brink so they can accuse the GOP of coddling the rich.

"To them, this is more about messaging or passing the buck than it is about helping anybody or preventing an economic calamity at the end of this year" when the tax cuts lapse, Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., said Tuesday.

The Senate planned to vote Wednesday on Reid's proposal, and a vote on Hatch's was possible as well. Neither will get the 60 votes needed to prevail, but the measures highlight each party's campaign-season priorities.

The main dispute is over denying tax cuts for the well to do, which Obama and Democrats want to do under their banner of tax fairness. Republicans say such increases would hurt job creation.

Following Obama's lead, Reid's bill would extend today's income tax rates through 2013 for everyone but the highest earners, whose top rates would grow from today's 33 and 35 percent up to 36 and 39.6 percent.

Reid would limit the itemized deductions and phase out the personal exemption those high earners could claim. And he would impose a top capital gains tax rate on them of 20 percent, up from today's 15 percent top rate.

Reid would also allow the expiration of today's estate tax rules, which impose a maximum 35 percent tax rate and exempt the first $5.12 million in an inherited estate's value. Instead, the top rate would rise next year to 55 percent, with only the first $1 million exempted.

Owners of 46,700 estates with values between $1 million and $5 million are projected to die next year, according to Congress' nonpartisan Joint Committee on Taxation, potentially exposing their heirs to the higher taxes proposed by Democrats.

Hatch's competing plan would continue the tax cuts for all, including high earners, whose income and capital gains tax rates would not rise and their deductions and personal exemptions would stay intact. Hatch would also retain today's lower rates and higher exemptions for inheritances, which the joint committee estimated would save 3,600 estates next year from higher taxes.

Hatch's bill ignores Reid proposals for one-year extensions of tax breaks that Obama's 2009 stimulus law created in three existing programs. Republicans say the provisions were temporary prods for the economy, but Democrats say they were always meant to be permanent.

Reid's bill would extend:

?The American opportunity tax credit, a maximum $2,500 credit per student for college expenses that phases out completely for individuals earning $90,000 and couples making $180,000. Ending it would cost 11 million families an average tax break of $1,100, Treasury Department data shows.

?Language making the earned income tax credit slightly more generous for working families with three children and for some married couples. The program provides tax credits of up to $5,891 for low-earning workers, defraying their tax bill and providing a government check to people who owe no taxes. Halting the improved benefits for larger families and couples would force an average $500 tax boost on 6 million households, Treasury figures show.

?A provision increasing the size of tax refunds that some families receive under the Child Tax Credit. Letting that language lapse would hit 12 million households with average tax increases of $800, according to Treasury. The child tax credit is worth up $1,000 per child, which both parties favor continuing.

Treasury says that because some families receive benefits from more than one of the provisions Reid would extend, a total of 25 million households would be affected if the language expired.

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/most-avoid-higher-taxes-under-dem-gop-bills-184109677.html

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Calls to speed AIDS response expected at world meet

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Source: http://news.yahoo.com/calls-speed-aids-response-expected-world-meet-034009207.html

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Colo. shooting spurs campaigns to limit schedules

WASHINGTON (AP) ? The deadly shooting at a movie theater in Colorado has briefly silenced the presidential campaign, prompting both President Barack Obama and likely Republican challenger Mitt Romney to cut short their schedules and pull advertising in the state out of respect for the victims and their families.

Obama said Saturday in his weekly radio and Internet address that he hopes everyone takes time this weekend "for prayer and reflection ? for the victims of this terrible tragedy, for the people who knew them and loved them, for those who are still struggling to recover."

The president said Americans should also think about "all the victims of the less publicized acts of violence that plague our communities on a daily basis. Let us keep all these Americans in our prayers."

Aides said Obama received updates Saturday from his homeland security adviser, John Brennan, on the investigation into the shooting and the attempts by authorities to gain access to the suspect's apparently booby-trapped apartment.

Obama and Romney used campaign appearances on Friday to focus attention on the need for national unity in the aftermath of the shooting in Aurora, which killed 12 people and wounded dozens of others. Their campaign teams rescheduled Sunday show appearances by top aides and surrogates, essentially providing a break in what has been an increasingly testy campaign.

The rampage injected a new tone into the campaign after Obama and Romney had clashed repeatedly over the economy, Medicare and tax returns.

Obama was set to start his second day of events in Florida when the shooting occurred, prompting his team to address the violence at a previously scheduled rally in Fort Myers, Fla., and scrapping an event in suburban Orlando. Obama told supporters in Fort Myers that the shooting served as a "reminder that life is very fragile."

"Our time here is limited and it is precious. And what matters at the end of the day is not the small things, it's not the trivial things," he said. "Ultimately, it's how we choose to treat one another and how we love one another."

Romney echoed Obama's call for unity, saying at a previously scheduled event in Bow, N.H., that he joined with the president and first lady in offering condolences for those "whose lives were shattered in a few moments, a few moments of evil in Colorado."

"The answer is that we can come together. We will show our fellow citizens the good heart of the America we know and love," Romney said.

Other prominent lawmakers called the shooting a time for unity. House Speaker John Boehner, R-Ohio, said in the Republican address Saturday that lawmakers joined Obama in offering condolences and prayers to the loved ones of those who were killed and wounded.

"I know that when confronted with evil we cannot comprehend, Americans pull together and embrace our national family more tightly," Boehner said.

Yet, beyond the calls for a higher purpose, the shooting could raise the profile of gun rights in the presidential campaign, an issue which has played a minor role so far.

As a senator Obama voted to leave gun makers and dealers open to civil lawsuits, and as an Illinois state lawmaker he supported a ban on all forms of semiautomatic weapons and tighter state restrictions generally on firearms.

Following the killing of six people and wounding of then-Rep. Gabrielle Giffords in Tucson, Ariz., in 2011, Obama called for a series of steps to "keep those irresponsible, law-breaking few from getting their hands on a gun in the first place."

Among those steps was a better federal background check system. The administration said Friday that it has indeed improved the amount and quality of information poured into that system, allowing background checks to be more thorough.

But the administration has offered no detailed, public explanation of how it is following up on all of Obama's previous promises, and it had no comment about any need for new legislation.

"The president believes that we need to take common-sense measures that protect Second Amendment rights of Americans, while ensuring that those who should not have guns under existing law do not get them," said White House press secretary Jay Carney.

Romney backed some gun control measures when he was governor of Massachusetts. When he challenged Sen. Edward M. Kennedy in 1994 he declared, "I don't line up with the NRA." In April, Romney told the National Rifle Association he was a guardian of the Second Amendment.

Romney spokeswoman Andrea Saul said the Republican candidate believes that the "best way to prevent gun violence is to vigorously enforce our laws."

New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg, in a radio interview, urged the president and his challenger to address gun violence forcefully.

"You know, soothing words are nice," Bloomberg said, "but maybe it's time that the two people who want to be president of the United States stand up and tell us what they are going to do about it, because this is obviously a problem across the country."

___

Obama's address: http://www.whitehouse.gov

Boehner's address: http://www.youtube.com/JohnBoehner

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/colo-shooting-spurs-campaigns-limit-schedules-190154508.html

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UN, DRC helicopter gunships attack M23 rebels

The United Nations and Democratic Republic of Congo army used helicopter gunships Thursday to attack rebels thought to be threatening the main eastern city of Goma.

Three helicopters from the UN country mission and two from the DRC army (FARDC) were seen around the villages of Nkokwe and Bukima, where the so-called M23 rebels are thought to have positions.

The UN and the Congolese army sent MI24 and MI25 helicopters flown by Ukrainian pilots. The gunships, first made by the Soviet Union, strafed hillsides with 30mm rounds and fired rockets, a UN source said.

"We made several passes on rebel positions," the UN official said.

The UN and the troops from the Democratic Republic of Congo, which claims the rebels are a Rwandan proxy, had earlier deployed tanks around Goma in Nord-Kivu province.

However, the rebels said they had no plans to seize the regional capital and only wanted to negotiate with the government in Kinshasa.

"The FARDC are currently attacking our positions, but they don't know where we are. There's no problem," a colonel from the rebels told AFP.

The M23 rebels -- named after a failed 2009 peace deal signed on March 23 -- are led by Bosco Ntaganda, nicknamed the "Terminator", who is wanted by the International Criminal Court for recruiting child soldiers a decade ago.

His co-accused and former boss Thomas Lubanga was sentenced to 14 years in jail on Tuesday.

The mutineers are ex-rebels who were integrated into the regular army in 2009 as part of a deal that followed their failed 2008 offensive on Goma, under the command of Tutsi leader Laurent Nkunda.

They defected in April, ostensibly over pay, but experts argue Ntaganda and his men are flexing military muscle to clinch further rights over the area's lucrative mines.

In Thursday's gunship attacks, a group of women working in fields near Bukima claimed they were caught in the crossfire.

"We were hiding in the banana groves when the helicopters opened fire. There was one person with us who was hit and died immediately," said one woman who asked not to be named.

Nkokwe and Bukima are on the western border of the Virunga national park, some 50 kilometres (30 miles) from Goma and home to critically endangered mountain gorillas and the location of two active volcanoes.

The M23 mutineers had launched an offensive in recent days, easily overwhelming the FARDC. Around 600 regular troops and tens of thousands of civilians were forced to seek refuge in Uganda.

"Our mission is not to go to Goma. We are strong but we are also disciplined," M23 spokesman Vianney Kazarama said.

The mutineers had seized a number of towns along the Ugandan border and promptly withdrew from all but Bunagana.

"We have pulled out of those towns, our mission is not to control them. What we want is that the Congolese government sit down at the negotiating table," Kazarama said.

Almost uninterrupted conflict over DR Congo's vast mineral resources -- which include gold, diamonds, coltan, tin, tungsten and many others -- has left at least two million people dead since 1999, say rights groups.

A diplomat in Kinshasa said an M23 offensive on Goma appeared unlikely.

"Everything in the way that the mutineers have withdrawn from Rutshuru indicates that they don't intend to take big towns like Goma," the diplomat said, speaking on condition of anonymity.

The DR Congo government and a UN panel of sanctions experts have said Rwanda is supplying arms and fighters to M23 rebels.

Rwanda has denied involvement and in turn accuses Kinshasa of renewing cooperation with Rwandan Hutu rebels who have been based in eastern DRC since the 1994 Rwandan genocide.

Rwanda Thursday joined neighbours in calling for an end to the fighting.

"All negative forces, in particular M23, should immediately stop all armed activities," the International Conference on the Great Lakes Region, an intergovernmental bloc, said in a statement.

UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon has "expressed grave concern" over reports the M23 "are receiving external support and are well-trained, armed and equipped" and urged immediate dialogue, spokesman Martin Nesirky said.

The UN's mission in DR Congo, MONUSCO, is one of the largest UN peacekeeping operations in the world.

Neighbouring Uganda has also warned that fighting between the rebels and DR Congo troops risked destabilising the wider region.

Tens of thousands have fled fighting into Uganda in recent months.

"The crises and conflicts affecting eastern DRC can rapidly destabilise the country and also spread even to the entire region," the foreign ministry said in a statement.

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/dr-congo-mutineers-deny-plans-advance-goma-110820950.html

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