Archive for March 18, 2012

STORMWATCH: HOUSTON METRO AND SOUTHEAST TEXAS

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Posted March 18, 2012 by dmnewsi in Uncategorized

REPORTERS NOTEBOOK: IT’S THE ECONOMY STUPID! IT’S NOT PORN…OR GAY MARRIAGE…OR ABORTION

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The Republican party sounds mean. Instead of talking about jobs and the economy, the party of Lincoln is spending a lot of time talking about everything except jobs and the economy and trying, in earnest, to beat President Obama. There are a couple of problems. First, the American people are not really interested in the ad-nauseum commentary about pornography, gays and women’s rights as they are jobs and the economy. Conversely, someone in the Republican field has to win the nomination before they can take on Barack Obama and they are not even close.

It doesn’t help that they say some pretty stupid things. Campaigning in the St. Louis area Saturday, Republican presidential candidate Rick Santorum told Missourians he’s counting on them to maintain a streak in which he’s “won every state in the Midwest.” The problem is, according to the U.S. Census Bureau, the Midwest is a region that includes Ohio and Michigan – two states Santorum lost to front-runner Mitt Romney. Addressing voters at a library in Lewis and Clark Township, Santorum said, “If you look at the Midwest, all of the Midwest is one color. It’s our color. We’ve won every state in the Midwest. Let’s keep that going in the state of Illinois, obviously we need to keep that going here with the delegate selection here in Missouri.”

Responding quickly to the flub, Romney spokesman Andrea Saul issued a statement saying, “As usual, Senator Santorum has no regard for the facts. Mitt Romney beat him in both Michigan and Ohio because of his strong, pro-jobs message – and despite Senator Santorum’s desperate attempt to get Obama supporters to throw the primary his way.” Earlier in the day, speaking to a crowd in Ballwin, Mo., Santorum said has got some “new delegate math” that shows “this race is a lot different than what the consensus is.”

Here is the focus of the Santorum campaign:

1) ANNUL ALL SAME-SEX MARRIAGES: Arguing that gay relationships “destabilize” society, Santorum wouldn’t offer any legal protections to gay relationships and has pledged to annul all same-sex marriages if elected president. During his 99-country tour of Iowa, Santorum frequently compared same-sex relationships to inanimate objects like trees, basketballs, beer, and paper towels and even tried to blame the economic crisis on gay people. As Santorum explained back in August, religious people have a constitutional right to discriminate against gays: “We have a right the Constitution of religious liberty but now the courts have created a super-right that’s above a right that’s actually in the Constitution, and that’s of sexual liberty. And I think that’s a wrong, that’s a destructive element.”

2) ‘I’M FOR INCOME INEQUALITY’: “They talk about income inequality. I’m for income inequality,” Santorum said during an event in Pella, Iowa in December. “I think some people should make more than other people, because some people work harder and have better ideas and take more risk, and they should be rewarded for it. I have no problem with income inequality.”

3) CONTRACEPTION IS ‘A LICENSE TO DO THINGS’: Santorum has pledged to repeal all federal funding for contraception and allow the states to outlaw birth control, insisting that “it’s a license to do things in a sexual realm that is counter to how things are supposed to be.”

4) GAY SOLDIERS ‘CAUSE PROBLEMS FOR PEOPLE LIVING IN CLOSE QUARTERS’: During an appearance on Fox News Sunday in October, Santorum defended his support for Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell by arguing that gay soldiers would disrupt the military because “they’re in close quarters, they live with people, they obviously shower with people.” He also suggested that “there are people who were gay and lived the gay lifestyle and aren’t anymore.”

5) OBAMA SHOULD OPPOSE ABORTION BECAUSE HE’S BLACK: During an appearance on Christian television in January, Santorum said he was surprised that President Obama didn’t know when life began — given his skin color. “I find it almost remarkable for a black man to say ‘now we are going to decide who are people and who are not people,” he explained.

6) WE DON’T NEED FOOD STAMPS BECAUSE OBESITY RATES ARE SO HIGH: Speaking in Le Mars, Iowa in December, Santorum promised to significantly reduce federal funding for food stamps, arguing that the nation’s increasing obesity rates render the program unnecessary.

7) ABORTION EXCEPTIONS TO PROTECT WOMEN’S HEALTH ARE ‘PHONY’: While discussing his track record as a champion of the partial birth abortion ban in June, Santorum dismissed exceptions other senators wanted to carve out to protect the life and health of mothers, calling such exceptions “phony.” “They wanted a health exception, which of course is a phony exception which would make the ban ineffective,” he said.

8) HEALTH REFORM WILL KILL MY CHILD: Santorum, who claims that Obamacare motivated him to run for president, told reporters in April that his daughter Bella — who was born with a genetic abnormality — wouldn’t survive in a country with “socialized medicine.” “Children like Bella are not given the treatment that other children are given.”

9) UNINSURED AMERICANS SHOULD SPEND LESS ON CELL-PHONE BILLS: During a meeting with the editorial board of the Des Moines Register in August, Santorum said that people who can’t afford health care should stop whining about the high costs of medical treatments and medications and spend less on non essentials. Answering a question about the uninsured, Santorum explained that health care, like a car, is a luxury resource that is rationed by society and recalled the story of a woman who said she was spending $200 a month on life-saving prescriptions. Santorum told her to stop complaining and instead lower her cable and cell phone bills.

10) INSURERS SHOULD DISCRIMINATE AGAINST PEOPLE WITH PRE-EXISTING CONDITIONS: Santorum sounded like a representative from the health insurance industry when he addressed a small group of high school students in Merrimack, New Hampshire in December. The former Pennsylvania senator not only defended insurers for denying coverage to people with pre-existing conditions, he also argued that individuals who are sick should pay higher premiums because they cost more money to insure.

Santorum also accused Romney of paying lip service to the idea of repealing the Obama health care law. “How long does he talk about Obamacare and the fact that he’ll repeal it? Oh, he puts out that one liner. But does he really get into the core issues? No. Because he can’t,” Santorum said. “I feel like in many respects I am running against Barack Obama here in this primary because Mitt Romney has the same positions,” he said. The problem for Santorum is that while he is winning some primaries, independents and moderates wont buy this insanity. Not for a minute.

Posted March 18, 2012 by dmnewsi in Uncategorized

SUNDAY MORNING

Houston, Texas this morning.

Obama celebrates St. Patrick with Guinness Obama celebrates St. Patrick with GuinnessThe president stopped by a local Washington, D.C. Irish pub

Gallagher slowly being taken out of sedation Gallagher slowly being taken out of sedationComedian Gallagher is resting in a hospital after suffering a heart attack on Wednesday night

Ashley Judd's TV drama "Missing" debuts Ashley Judd’s TV drama “Missing” debutsActress plays a retired CIA agent searching for her kidnapped son on the new ABC series

Fans hunger for "The Hunger Games" Fans hunger for “The Hunger Games”Clamoring for one of year’s most anticipated films; Will it live up to the hype?

Celtic Woman loves St. Patrick's Day in America Celtic Woman loves St. Patrick’s Day in AmericaThe Irish group Celtic Woman says Americans’ St. Patrick’s Day spirit makes them proud to be Irish

Alaskan beauty queen goes bald for good cause Alaskan beauty queen goes bald for good causeThe reigning Miss Chugiak-Eagle River shaved her head to raise money for children’s cancer research

John Ramsey's journey from grief to grace John Ramsey’s journey from grief to graceFifteen years after the murder of 6-year-old JonBenet Ramsey, her father discusses his book, “The Other Side of Suffering”

Kate visits art charity with her in-laws Kate visits art charity with her in-lawsDuchess of Cambridge joins Prince Charles and Camilla to see the work of The Prince’s Foundation for Children and the Arts in London

  • CBS News Sports Blog
Peyton Manning: Broncos, Titans or 49ers? Peyton Manning: Broncos, Titans or 49ers?Star QB will work out for Denver after marathon meeting with Tennessee; Miami, Arizona may be out of hunt

  • Baseball
Ex-Red Sox manager: Beer ban won't work Ex-Red Sox manager: Beer ban won’t workTerry Francona says news team policy of banning booze in clubhouse is just a “PR move” in wake of last season’s controversy

  • NBA
Greg Oden cut, Nate McMillan fired by Portland Greg Oden cut, Nate McMillan fired by PortlandRelease of former No. 1 overall draft pick and firing of longtime head coach part of massive overhaul by Trail Blazers

Posted March 18, 2012 by dmnewsi in Uncategorized

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