Drudge Retort

What Did Ron Paul Accomplish?

Doc_Sarvis — Wed, 16 May 2012 11:30:44 -0400

Not much, according to Jonathan Tobin, editor of the conservative magazine Commentary. "Though many on the left wrongly assume his extremist approach resonated with the party's base, the truth was, he had little to offer average Republican voters," Tobin writes. "Nor can it be credibly asserted that he moved the conservative discussion in his direction on any issue where it had not already moved. Every time he opened his mouth, he demonstrated the strong distinction between his own extremist approach and that of even most Tea Party hardliners."

Hawaii's Beaches Are in Retreat

zatoichi — Wed, 16 May 2012 09:50:00 -0400

Most beaches on Hawaii's three largest islands are eroding, and the erosion is likely to accelerate as sea levels rise, the United States Geological Survey warns. Over the last century, about 9 percent of the sandy coast on Hawaii, Oahu and Maui has vanished. Building seawalls just worsens the problem. "If we want beaches we have to retreat from the ocean," said USGS researcher Charles H. Fletcher. "It's easy to say retreat; it's much harder to implement it."

Pelosi Raises $43 Million for Dems

BruceBanner — Wed, 16 May 2012 09:32:53 -0400

Rep. Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.), became the most powerful woman in American history when she was sworn in as Speaker of the House in 2007. She lost that power four years later and is now hell-bent on winning it back. "They have endless money, secret, undisclosed, special interest money that they pour into elections," Pelosi said of Republicans. "But I think we can offset it. We have out-raised them, out-redistricted them, out-recruited them." Pelosi has raised more than $43 million for Democrats in this election cycle and attended nearly 500 fundraisers. The Democratic leader said she is motivated by more than winning back the Speaker's gavel. "It isn't about me, it is about what is at stake in this election and quite frankly I wish that so much were not at stake in this election."

Feds Deny Elderly Pain Meds

adammm — Wed, 16 May 2012 08:30:50 -0400

Reason.Com reports that under Administrator Michele Leonhart, the Drug Enforcement Administration has been engaged in a three-year battle against longterm care facilities that allow nursing staff to submit pain prescriptions for patients. The reasoning for this practice that a doctor isn't always around when a patient needs more painkiller medicine. So, historically, when a doctor hasn't been able to call in a prescription personally, nursing home staff have done so on the doctor's behalf. On the grounds that prescriptions may be called in, collected, and resold by nurses, the DEA has been trying to stop this practice since at least October 2009, when the Washington Post reported that the Obama administration was "denying some hospice and elderly patients needed pain medication."

'C'mon, Ladies, One Pound Fish'

tosser — Wed, 16 May 2012 07:31:14 -0400

Muhammad Shahid Nazir has become an Internet sensation for selling fish at Queen's market in east London with song. YouTube videos of Nazir performing his "One Pound Fish" song have received more than one million views and it is being covered by musicians including Mindless Behaviour and Alesha Dixon. "People too much like my song," he said.

TPM: What Really Caused the Deficit?

Doc_Sarvis — Tue, 15 May 2012 21:33:40 -0400

TPM: Under Obama's watch the national debt has risen from roughly $10 trillion to $15 trillion, a record high. But to what extent are his decisions while in office to blame? The answer: very little. The vast bulk of the debt is the result of policies enacted during the Bush administration coupled with automatic increases in federal spending and decreases in tax revenue triggered by the economic downturn.

Top Murdoch Exec Faces Charges

LetUsPrey — Tue, 15 May 2012 20:33:06 -0400

Rebekah Brooks, the former chief of News International and confidante of media mogul Rupert Murdoch, is to be charged with obstructing justice in the phone-hacking scandal that has rocked Britain. Prosecutors announced Tuesday that Brooks would be charged with three counts of "conspiracy to pervert the course of justice," all of them stemming from alleged attempts to conceal or remove evidence relating to the police probe into phone hacking and corruption at the News of the World and the Sun tabloids. In addition, Brooks' husband, Charlie, is to be charged with two counts of obstructing justice.

Catholic Theologian: I Fathered Child

rcade — Tue, 15 May 2012 20:05:20 -0400

The Rev. Thomas Williams, an American moral theologian in the Legion of Christ who is a prominent author, lecturer and TV personality, has admitted fathering a child after a secret relationship with a woman "a number of years ago." After it was revealed that Legion founder Marciel Maciel fathered three children and abused seminarians, Williams said in 2009 the news was "very, very hard blow to all of us." He's the author of the book Knowing Right From Wrong: A Christian Guide to Conscience.

Bush 43 Backs Romney

boaz — Tue, 15 May 2012 18:33:52 -0400

"I'm for Mitt Romney," President George W. Bush told ABC News this morning after he gave a speech in Washington D.C. on human rights. ABC News reports, "People who worked in the Bush administration say they doubt the former president will be campaigning for Romney this year. Even in his post-presidential life, Bush still gets a lot of the blame for the poor economy, according to polls."

McManus: Issue Ads Full of Lies

letusprey — Tue, 15 May 2012 17:31:46 -0400

Doyle McManus: The widely broadcast anti-Obama ad, paid for by a conservative group called Americans for Prosperity, is highly misleading -- a slick pastiche of untruths, half-truths and exaggerations. And it's a prime example of what's gone wrong with political advertising. Who put up the $6.1 million to air the Americans for Prosperity commercial? None of your business. That's the problem with the independent committees gearing up to flood the airwaves with "issue ads." Because their backers get to remain largely anonymous, they don't seem to feel much duty to stick to the truth.

We're Gobbling Up the Earth

Zatoichi — Tue, 15 May 2012 16:31:03 -0400

Humanity is outstripping the Earth's resources by 50 percent -- essentially using the resources of one and a half Earths every year -- according to LiveScience. The Living Planet report, which tracks biodiversity and species populations across the globe, finds over 40 years a loss of 30 percent of biodiversity, a massive decline in the number of different species of plants, animals and other organisms. Temperate species are doing relatively well, but tropical species have declined by 60 percent since the 1970s, said Colby Loucks of the World Wildlife Fund. "We're emptying the fridge, we're not really taking care of the lawn, we're not weeding the flower beds and we're certainly not taking out the garbage," Loucks said.

Robinson: Romney Short on Specifics

726 — Tue, 15 May 2012 15:31:15 -0400

Eugene Robinson: Republicans say they're eager for the presidential campaign to turn away from "distractions" and focus instead on the economy. Someone should warn them that if they're not careful, they might get their wish. It is true that voters' unhappiness with high unemployment and slow growth poses a challenge for President Obama as he seeks re-election. But for Mitt Romney and the GOP to take advantage of this potential opening, they'll have to do more than chant the word "economy" like a mantra. They have to make the case that their policies will work better than Obama's. And what might Romney's proposed economic policies be? Why, they're basically the same as those of George W. Bush, only worse.

Texas Executed the Wrong Carlos

skizziks — Tue, 15 May 2012 14:32:50 -0400

Texas executed the wrong man for murder in 1989, a five-year Columbia School of Law probe by a law professor and five students has concluded. Carlos DeLuna had the same first name as the killer, was near the crime scene and closely resembled him, but he was not guilty, the probe found. He was put to death after "a very incomplete investigation," said professor James Liebman. "No question that the investigation is a failure."

GOP Rejects Civil Unions in Colorado

rcade — Tue, 15 May 2012 14:12:26 -0400

A last-ditch effort by Colorado Gov. John Hickenlooper (D) to give gay couples in the state rights similar to married couples failed Monday after Republicans rejected the proposal during a special legislative session. "My family is the same as every one of yours," said state Rep. Mark Ferrandino, the Democrats' leader in the House and a gay lawmaker who co-sponsored the civil unions bill, moments before it was defeated. A state House committee voted 5-4 on party lines to kill the measure.