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Politics

guantanamo_bay_detention_center

Guantanamo Bay Detention Center, Cuba. (Photo: AP)

A bipartisan group of lawmakers Monday put the nails in the coffin of the President Obama’s plan to close the Guantanamo Bay detention center in Cuba. Lawmakers finalizing the annual defense policy bill rejected the idea to give the president authority to take steps to shut down the facility, nor will it have a provision giving the president the power to transfer terror suspects to the U.S.

Outgoing Michigan Democratic Sen. Sen. Carl Levin said, “Our language … (on Guantanamo) … will not be in,” Levin said.

Levin was one Democrat who backed giving the authority to Obama to transfer the suspects and even called it a “path to close Guantanamo” back in May. The House and Senate are expected to vote and overwhelmingly approve the sweeping policy bill in the coming days, which will send the bill to Obama.

The president has wanted to close the Gitmo detention center since his inauguration back in January 2009, despite the fact a strong majority of Americans are opposed to the plan.

“The closing of Guantanamo Bay remains a radical left position in America,” says PPD’s senior political analyst, Rich Baris. “The anti-Guantanamo crowd is loud, but they have been in the minority since Obama first made the issue a central campaign promise in 2008. Even a majority of Democrats oppose that idea.”

Obama has been met with strong resistance from Republicans and some Democrats in Congress, but the previous version of the defense bill, which was crafted by the still Democrat-controlled Senate Armed Services Committee, included the provision authorizing the transfer of terror suspects to the U.S. for “detention, trial and incarceration.”

The Republican House version of the defense bill specifically barred the transfer of detainees from the detention center to U.S. soil, which currently holds 142 men, including 73 already cleared for release. A recent report found U.S. intel officials believe upwards of 20 to 30 Guantanamo Bay detainees released by the Obama administration have joined the Islamic State in Iraq and Syria. Regardless, the U.S. has released a number of prisoners over the last few weeks, and more a slated to be released still.

A bipartisan group of lawmakers Monday put

Opinion, Video

MSNBC host Joe Scarborough called out the “B.S. being spewed” his own network and others on the shooting of Michael Brown in Ferguson, Missouri in August. Scarborough exposed the networks for reporting lies that claim Brown was shot in the back or with his hands up, citing the forensic evidence and witness testimony.

“I have sat here quietly and listened to B.S. being spewed all over this network and all over other networks,” Scarborough proclaimed. “I can’t take it anymore.”

Scarborough said he had it when five St. Louis Rams players emerged from the tunnel with their hands up, a common expression used by the rioters and so-called protestors that is based upon a widely debunked account. The initial claims came from Dorian Johnson, a co-conspirator in the strong arm robbery committed by Brown only moments before Officer Darren Wilson shot the teenager in self-defense.

“There are so many great people to embrace as heroes in the black community,” Scarborough added. “Deciding you’re going to embrace a guy that knocked over a convenience store and then, according to grand jury testimony, acted in ways that would get my children shot … that’s your hero, really?”

MSNBC host Joe Scarborough called out the

Politics

epa

July 7, 2010: An Environmental Protection Agency worker looks at oil from the Deepwater Horizon spill which seeped into a marsh in Waveland, Mississippi. (CREDIT: REUTERS)

In a Fox News exclusive, officials said the 8 Environmental Protection Agency employees racked up a total of more than ten years’ worth of paid “administrative leave” from 2011 to 2014 — which is valued at more than $1,096,000 — were involved in “cases of alleged serious misconduct.”

In a memorandum sent from EPA’s acting assistant administrator, Nanci  E. Gelb, to EPA’s inspector general, Arthur Elkins — which Fox News was able to get a hold of — the agency says that at least 3 of the affected employees have now left EPA.

All of the eight “were or are subject to a disciplinary process,” an EPA official told Fox News, adding that, “we cannot comment on the circumstances of their departure from the agency for those who are no longer employed by EPA.”

Read More From FoxNews.com

Meanwhile, the White House dumped more than 3,400 rules and regulations on the American people and economy during the Thanksgiving holiday, many of which administrated by the EPA.

Eight EPA employees, who racked up a

Economy

Moodys rating agency

Moody’s rating agency. (Photo: Reuters)

Moody’s Investors Service on Monday downgraded Japan’s sovereign debt rating by one notch to A1, citing rising uncertainty over the country’s national debt. The latest development puts Keynesian economics in the hot seat just a few short days before a pivotal election.

The U.S.-based rating agency said the downgrade reflected the uncertainty around the nation’s ability to hit its debt-reduction goal, which briefly sent the yen to a seven-year low against the dollar and pushed 10-year Japanese government bond (JGB) futures down by 10 ticks.

The downgrade came less than two weeks before Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe seeks re-election at a snap poll where his stimulus policies and a decision to delay a second sales tax hike will be among the key campaign issues.

Abe’s economic policies do not appear to have had an affect, and voters will have to decide whether they will revive the economy and restore the country’s tattered finances.

“This is particularly bad for Abe because the opposition can attack him for this before the election,” said Hiroshi Miyazaki, senior economist at Mitsubishi UFJ Morgan Stanley Securities.

The U.S. rating agency said the outlook was stable. However, the Bank of Japan, or BOJ, implemented a massive stimulus in April last year and expanded it on October 31. They bought more JGBs than the government issued last month, which rightfully increased fears of debt monetization, much like the United States.

Tom Byrne, regional credit officer of Moody’s, said the downgrade was closely linked to Abe’s decision to delay next year’s scheduled sales tax hike, which made it more challenging for Japan to achieve its target of reducing the primary budget deficit in fiscal 2020.

“There is concern that fiscal policy in its current state will not achieve the long-term fiscal goals,” he said.

The statement from Moody’s underscores the dangers of monetary policies that disregard increased national debt, and that its short-term benefits far outweigh the long-term costs.

“Rising interest rates would increase expenditure and offset gains from revenue buoyancy,” it said, adding that there was increasing uncertainty about how quickly Abe could even bring about his “third arrow” policy to increase Japan’s long-term growth.

Byrne said that while the BOJ’s stimulus policy was “unorthodox.”

“If you take Abe’s three arrows and combine them, the third arrow of economic growth policies hasn’t been supportive yet,” he said. The first two arrows are aggressive monetary and fiscal stimulus deployed to end nearly two decades of deflation.

Japan’s A1 rating is now just one slot lower than China and South Korea, but it is four lower than the United States and Germany, which have retained their top Aaa ratings.

The Moody’s downgrade brings its Japan rating into line with that of Fitch and one notch below Standard and Poor’s. However, Japan’s national debt is now twice the size of its overall gross domestic product, a course the U.S. is chartered to enter if no course correction is made.

Moody's Investors Service on Monday downgraded Japan's

Politics

white_house_regulations_thanksgiving_2014

President Barack Obama and daughters Sasha and Malia look in on Mac, one of two turkeys spared this year from the Thanksgiving dinner table by presidential pardon, in the East Room of the White House prior to the annual National Thanksgiving Turkey pardon ceremony, Nov. 26, 2014. (Photo: Pete Souza)

WASHINGTON –  Republican congressional aide Elizabeth Lauten resigned Monday morning after making controversial comments about President Obama’s teenage daughters, PPD confirmed Monday.

Lauten, who has been around Capitol Hill for nearly a decade, was the communications director for Rep. Stephen Fincher of Tennessee. She wrote a post on Facebook about their more-than casual demeanor during last week’s annual White House turkey pardon. She wrote that Sasha, 13, and Malia, 16, should “try showing a little class.”

“Rise to the occasion. Dress like you deserve respect, not a spot at the bar,” Lauten wrote. “And certainly don’t make faces during televised, public events.”

“When I first posted on Facebook, I reacted to an article and I quickly judged the two young ladies in a way that I would never have wanted to be judged myself as a teenager,” Lauten wrote. “After many hours of prayer, talking to my parents, and re-reading my words online I can more clearly see just how hurtful my words were.”

Lauten was certainly not the first and only person to make comment regarding their behavior and appearance, but Lauten was single-out and accused of crossing the line.

Further, Lauten caught additional criticism after her she failed to direct her first apology to Sasha and Malia.

In a second, tweaked version released on Monday, she wrote that she wanted to apologize to the teenagers and the entire Obama family.

Republican congressional aide Elizabeth Lauten resigned Monday

Economy

(Credit: Reuters)

The pace of growth in the U.S. manufacturing sector slowed less than expected in November, while a gauge of prices paid fell to its lowest in over two years, according to an industry report released on Monday.

The Institute for Supply Management (ISM) said its index of national factory activity fell to 58.7 from the 59 measured the month before. While the reading technically beat expectations of 57.8,according to a Reuters poll of economists, the slowdown is the latest sign of a sputtering manufacturing sector.

A reading above 50 indicates expansion in the manufacturing sector, while readings below 50 point to contraction.

The gauge of prices paid fell to 44.5 from 53.5, which is the lowest level since July 2012 and the first reading below 50 since July 2013. Economists’ expectations were more along the lines of a drop to only 52, according to a Reuters poll.

The employment gauge slipped to 54.9 from 55.5, as the new orders index increased to 66 from 65.8, which is good news and the highest level since August.

The Institute for Supply Management (ISM) said

US, Video

NBA Hall-of-Famer and TNT basketball analyst Charles Barkley slammed the Ferguson protestors and defended the grand jury decision not to indict Officer Darren Wilson for shooting 18 year-old Michael Brown in self-defense.

“The true story came out from the grand jury testimony,” Barkely said, noting that “three or four witnesses, who were black, said exactly what the cop said.”

Speaking to Philadelphia sports radio station 97.5 The Fanatic, Barkley said those inciting racial animosity and rioting aren’t “real black people.” He also slammed the press for attempting to “lead people to jump to conclusions.”

“I can’t believe anything I hear on television anymore. And, that’s why I don’t like talking about race issues with the media anymore, because they [media] love this stuff, and lead people to jump to conclusions,” Barkley said. “The media shouldn’t do that. They never do that when black people kill each other. ”

Barkley begins the interview responding to criticism over his recent comments on “brain-washed blacks,” specifically referring to his past comments about Russell Simmons. He said there is an effort by some blacks — like Simmons — to put down other blacks who try to rise above victimization and the inner-city counter-culture.

“There’s a perception among some black people that if you’re not a thug, a hood rat or you don’t wear your pants around your ass, then you’re not black enough,” Barkley said. “And they’re always holding us back, plain and simple.”

After months of incitement from hucksters like Al Sharpton, the New Black Panthers and Brown family attorneys, widespread rioting and looting broke out in the wake of the decision.

“Those aren’t real black people, those are scumbags,” he said of the rioters, who destroyed mostly minority-owned businesses. “There is no excuse for people to be out there burning down people’s businesses, burning down police cars.”

NBA Hall-of-Famer and TNT basketball analyst Charles

Economy

holiday_shopping_consumers

Consumers ready for holiday shopping, the busiest time of the year for retail outlets. (Photo: Reuters)

Consumers spent an average 6.4 percent less on in-store purchases than they did on Thanksgiving weekend last year, according to a report from the National Retail Federation.

Early holiday promotions and increased online shopping took a toll on in-store U.S. sales, but the NRF estimated shoppers on average spent $380.95 in total at stores this holiday weekend, which began on Thursday, compared with $407.02 a year ago, and total consumer spending during the pivotal holiday shopping weekend fell about 11 percent to $50.9 billion.

NRF President and Chief Executive Matthew Shay said there is “an evolutionary change in holiday shopping by both consumers and retailers, and expect this trend to continue in the years ahead.”

The new data underscores the growing slice of the market taken from online sales and the waning importance of Black Friday. But the trend had already to begun before the prominence of online sales. Up until a few years ago, Black Friday traditionally kicked off the holiday shopping season in the United States, but more retailers open their doors on Thanksgiving Day and start discounting merchandise earlier in November.

According to the NRF of 4,631 consumers, most shoppers said they shopped online on Black Friday (46.7 percent), even though 36.3 percent say they shopped online on Saturday. Further, more than one-quarter (26.2 percent) of holiday shoppers were online on Thanksgiving Day.

The Thanksgiving weekend is an early gauge of consumer sentiment and consumer confidence during a season that generates about 30 percent of sales and nearly 40 percent of profit for retailers. Of course, consumer spending represents nearly two-thirds of gross domestic product.

As far as products, Americans found discounted high-end apparel, televisions and toys to be the most popular this year, followed by video games, home furnishings and jewelry, according to the NRF survey.

Department stores like Macy’s (NYSE:M) were the most visited followed by discount retailers like Wal-Mart (NYSE:WMT), Target (NYSE:TGT) and electronic chains like Best Buy <BBY.N>.

On Saturday, research firm ShopperTrack said sales at retail stores fell 0.5 percent.

RetailNext, another analytics firm, on Sunday said it found overall shopper traffic on Black Friday fell 14 percent, but on average shopper spending rose 1.9 percent, as conversion rates were higher, with shoppers spending more once in the store.

“Sales on Black Friday were very disappointing but retailers managed to drive a lot of people to their websites early on which helps us remain optimistic about the overall holiday season,” said Shelley Kohan, vice president, retail consulting, at RetailNext.

However, the NRF stuck to its forecast for retail sales to rise 4.1 percent this holiday season.

“Though much shopping has been done by this point, it’s important to remember that there are still many weeks left in the holiday season, and savvy shoppers will continue to look for exclusive prices to purchase holiday gifts,” said Prosper’s Principal Analyst Pam Goodfellow.

“As competition for customer dollars heats up, consumers will be the ultimate winners in the end. Shoppers this year have made it clear that they no longer only value deep discounts on Thanksgiving and Black Friday, they want the entire package from beginning to end – free shipping, early promotions, convenient ways to use their mobile devices and, of course, hard-to-beat online deals.”

The survey, conducted November 28-29, 2014 by Prosper Insights & Analytics for NRF, polled 4,631 consumers and has a margin of error of plus or minus 1.5 percentage points.

Consumers spent an average 6.4 percent less

US

st-louis-rams-hands-up

Nov 30, 2014; St. Louis, MO, USA; St. Louis Rams wide receiver Stedman Bailey (12) and wide receiver Tavon Austin (11) and tight end Jared Cook (89) and wide receiver Chris Givens (13) and wide receiver Kenny Britt (81) put their hands up to show support for Michael Brown before a game against the Oakland Raiders at the Edward Jones Dome. (Photo: Jeff Curry-USA TODAY)

The St. Louis Rams are on the receiving end of blowback from fans and police after several players came out of the tunnel with arms raised in a show of support for the Ferguson riots.

Wide receivers Tavon Austin, Stedman Bailey, Kenny Britt, Chris Givens, and tight end Jared Cook all exited the tunnel Sunday with the “Hands Up, Don’t Shoot” display used by protestors and rioters in Ferguson, Missouri.

“I just think there has to be a change,” tight end Jared Cook said, without mentioning a word about the businesses that were destroyed or the lives ruined as a result of the violence in reaction to the grand jury decision. “There has to be a change that starts with the people that are most influential around the world. No matter what happened on that day, no matter how the whole situation went down, there has to be change.”

A St. Louis police officers’ group called on the NFL to punish the five Rams players who stood with their hands raised before trotting onto the field for pre-game introductions Sunday.

The St. Louis Police Officers’ Association said it was “profoundly disappointed” with a “display that police officers around the nation found tasteless, offensive and inflammatory.” It called for the players involved to be disciplined and for both the league and team to issue a “very public apology.”

“All week long, the Rams and the NFL were on the phone with the St. Louis Police Department asking for assurances that the players and the fans would be kept safe from the violent protesters who had rioted, looted, and burned buildings in Ferguson,” SLPOA Business Manager Jeff Roorda said in a statement. “Then, as the players and their fans sit safely in their dome under the watchful protection of hundreds of St. Louis’s finest, they take to the turf to call a now-exonerated officer a murderer, that is way out-of-bounds, to put it in football parlance.”

The so-called “Hands Up, Don’t Shoot” gesture that has been commonly used by rioters and protestors originated from the now-debunked witness testimony claiming Officer Darren Wilson shot 18-year-old Michael Brown when his hands were in the air. However, in reality, all but two witnesses who made that claim admitted they lied when confronted with the forensic evidence and a majority of witness testimony corroborating Wilson’s story.

Still, after months of incitement, anger over the decision from the grand jury not to indict Officer Darren Wilson festered, leading to widespread looting and rioting. The damage to the mostly minority-owned business district, in many cases, is beyond repair.

Apparently, Cook and the other players not only were too busy to read the grand jury evidence, but also too busy to go to Ferguson and show their support in person, he said. Further, “it’s kind of dangerous down there and none of us want to get caught up in anything.”

“It takes some guts, it takes some heart, so I admire the people around the world that have been doing it,” he added.

Coach Jeff Fisher said he’d not been aware the gesture had been planned by the players, all of whom were black.

Meanwhile, across the street from the stadium, a group of approximately 75 protestors assembled during the second half of the game. They chanted “Hands Up, Don’t Shoot!” and ”No Justice, No Football!” They also repeated, ”This is what democracy looks like,” which is a statement made by radical liberal professor Marc Lamont Hill on CNN over the weekend, and “We’re here for Mike Brown.”

It wasn’t the first time so-called protestors took their demonstrations to the St. Louis Rams game.

In October, protestors outside the Edward Jones Dome clashed with fans after the Rams game against the Seattle Seahawks. “F*** all you white motherf***ers!” can be heard in a video supplied by the St. Louis Dispatch and previously published on PPD. The same black female hurling racial epithets at white fans later spit on one man and assaulted another by punching him in the face when his back was turned.

“I know that there are those that will say that these players are simply exercising their First Amendment rights,” police spokesman Roorda said. “Well I’ve got news for people who think that way, cops have first amendment rights too, and we plan to exercise ours.”

Roorda also noted that the Rams are not only disrespecting those who have worked so hard to ensure their safety, but also that they are biting the hand that feeds.

“I’d remind the NFL and their players that it is not the violent thugs burning down buildings that buy their advertiser’s products,” he added. “It’s cops and the good people of St. Louis and other NFL towns that do. Somebody needs to throw a flag on this play. If it’s not the NFL and the Rams, then it’ll be cops and their supporters.”

Several St. Louis Rams are on the

Opinion, Video

Kim Strassel, Julie Pace, Robert Costas, and Bob Woodward discuss “how much hand-wringing” the White House felt over the tragedy in Ferguson, MO and the impact of the media’s coverage of the unrest.

In the second half of  Fox News Sunday on 11-30-2014, the panel discusses the firing and replacement of Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel, and the extension of the Iran nuclear talks.

Kim Strassel, Julie Pace, Robert Costas, and

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