Democratic National Committee National Press Secretary Hari Sevugan says Rep. John Boehner (R-OH) lied about the lack of jobs that are being created in his home state by the stimulus package “to score some cheap political points.”
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By Mariko Lamb, Talk Radio News Service
Chris Redfern, Ohio Democratic Party Chairman, and Hari Sevugan, Democratic National Committee Press Secretary, denied claims made by House Minority Leader John Boehner (R-Ohio) that his home state was not receiving construction projects from the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act.
“Multiple independent fact checking organizations have now found that John Boehner went on national TV and lied about the jobs that are being created in his home state–to score some cheap political points–and he continues to do so through his tax payer funded office,” said Sevugan.
According to research organizations, including PolitiFact and the Cleveland Plain Dealer, 52 projects worth $84 million were lined up to boost Ohio’s economy at the time of Boehner’s public statements.
“He ought to be ashamed of himself. He ought to apologize to people of his district and the rest of the state for bashing the jobs that are being saved and created there by the Recovery Act,” said Sevugan.
Chairman Redfern said that locals are pleased that stimulus dollars are being invested in Ohio and that jobs will be created and retained.
“John really needs to get home and listen to people in his district,” he advised.
By Jonathan Bronstein, Talk Radio News Service
Jonathan Bronstein recounts the Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi’s (D-CA) recent comments during her weekly press conference. Pelosi asserted that the CIA knowingly lied to her and mislead the American people, and she even called for the creation of a Truth Commission in order to illuminate the facts about the CIA’s use of torture.
Minority Leader John Boehner (R-Ohio) responded to Pelosi’s allegations by warning her and other Democrats to be careful what they wish for because the commission’s discoveries may directly implicate them in the investigation.
Furthermore, Peter Brookes, an analyst for the Heritage Foundation, criticized the idea of a Truth Commission because he felt that it may hinder the CIA and other agencies from adequately protecting the American people.
But with each passing day the frustration of the American people mounts as they finally want to know what happened during the Bush Administration. (1:58)
By Kayleigh Harvey – Talk Radio News Service
Edward Liddy, Chairman and CEO of AIG appeared before the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee today. Appearing frustrated and angry at Liddy’s responses throughout the hearing, Congressman Dennis Kucinich (D-Ohio), told Liddy that AIG’s behavior was “unacceptable.” Adding, “You cheated people who saved lives, who save our children, what are you going to do about this?”
Liddy said he would work with Congress and offered to meet with Kucinich after the hearing.
Kucinich told Liddy that until this matter is resolved “Congress is not going to let you go,” shouting that this was “unacceptable” behavior. He told Liddy that Congress “will keep calling you back here,” until this issue was concluded.
Kucinich agreed to meet with Liddy following the hearing.
By Suzia van Swol, University of New Mexico-Talk Radio News Service
One-time giant Chrysler filed for bankruptcy protection today, but President Obama says he has every confidence it will emerge from this process stronger and more competitive.
After speaking with the President today, U.S. Rep. Marcy Kaptur (D-OH) said that the auto industry is important to the U.S. defense industrial base and the economic power of Northern Ohio. “Most important are the 30,000 jobs saved at Chrysler,” said Kaptur.
Kaptur said that the auto industry was brought down by Wall Street and it deserves to flourish. “The government will stand behind the working capital for Chrysler in the form of working capital and loans,” said Kaptur.
Striking comparison with other bailouts, Kaptur said that if you look at who got the big money, “the AIG gets 70 billion, one company?” She went on to say that TARP should have been opened up for vehicle sales
and for the financing of dealership showroom floors. Instead, there was a total credit strangle hold, which still is impacting this industry, and unemployment started to tick up all across the country.
The federal bankruptcy court will ultimately determine Chrysler’s immediate future, but Jeeps might still get a chance to four-wheel over mountains.
By Michael Ruhl, University of New Mexico – Talk Radio News Service
House Minority Leader John Boehner (R-Ohio) expresses concern at President Barack Obama’s national security approach, and questions the wisdom of releasing detainees from Guantanamo Bay without knowing where they will be sent. (00:44)
The Supreme Court Monday heard arguments from an Ohio man who claims that he has already been found to be mentally retarded, a status which renders him ineligible for the death penalty. The state of Ohio is trying to reopen examination into his mental capacity so that it can carry out his death sentence.
In 1992 an Ohio jury convicted Michael Bies of beating and murder of a 10-year-old boy near Cincinnati. The jury sentenced Bies to death, even though he had an IQ of about 68. Doctors generally define mental retardation as having an IQ below 70, having significant limitations in two or more areas of adaptive behavior, and presenting evidence that the limitations became apparent before the age of 18. Bies filed several appeals to higher courts, and each found that Bies’s borderline mental retardation was a mitigating factor, but aggravating factors made the death penalty still appropriate.
In 2002 the U.S. Supreme Court ruled in Atkins v. Virginia that the 8th Amendment’s prohibition against “cruel and unusual punishment” prevented states from executing the mentally retarded.
Yesterday, Bies brought his case to the Supreme Court, arguing that because the appeals courts had earlier said he was mentally retarded, the state could not revisit that issue. Ohio wants to hold a hearing to show that he is not mentally retarded, and therefore that he is eligible for the death penalty.
Ohio’s Solicitor General, Benjamin Mizer, argued that lower courts had not yet considered factors other than Bies’s IQ, so a new hearing should be held to examine Bies’s mental state for Atkins purposes. Further, Mizer argued that the lower courts had examined Bies’s mental capacity as part of a variety of factors, so the intermediate determination that Bies is mentally retarded should not be considered binding.
Justices Souter and Ginsburg are normally the most liberal of their colleagues on the bench. Both drove home the point that only if a court’s conclusion on a single point is “necessary” to its final decision can that intermediate conclusion be binding on later courts. If the court could have sentenced Bies to death without concluding he was mentally retarded, the conclusion on his mental capacity was not necessary to the final decision.
The Court will issue a ruling before its term ends in early June.
By Michael Ruhl, University of New Mexico – Talk Radio News Service
Correspondent Michael Ruhl reports on the recent release of the unemployment statistics for March.
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Long Segment [01:00m]: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download Short Segment [00:32m]: Play Now | Play in Popup | DownloadBy Michael Ruhl, University of New Mexico – Talk Radio News Service
Bureau of Labor Statistics Commissioner Keith Hall testifies before Congress on the nation’s unemployment numbers from March 2009, and how the recession has affected employment.
Hall said that unemployment numbers have climbed from 8.1 percent to 8.5 percent, and that the industries hardest hit are manufacturing, construction, and temporary services.
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By Michael Ruhl, University of New Mexico – Talk Radio News Service
A day after President Barack Obama’s budget was passed by a Congress boiling with partisanship, the Bureau of Labor Statistics released a report showing unemployment at its highest since 1983. There are now 13.2 million Americans out of work.
The pouring rain in Washington mirrored the sobered mood in the room, as the Joint Economic Committee heard the testimony of Keith Hall, the Commissioner of the Bureau of Labor Statistics.
March was one of the worst Months on record for unemployment, and when asked outright, Hall told the committee that there were no “bright spots” in the report.
National unemployment climbed to 8.5 percent in March, rising from the level of 8.1 percent in February and 7.6 percent in January.
Hall said that two-thirds of the job loss has happened in the past 5 months. Every state is in recession for the first time in 30 years, according to Carolyn Maloney (D-NY).
Official unemployment numbers do not encompass underemployed Americans or those who have officially left the workforce. It is reported that 16 percent of the country is out of work or underemployed. One in four of those unemployed have been out of work for more than six months, and of those, half have been looking for work for over a year, Hall said.
Maloney highlighted that last month, 8,000 jobs were lost in the news publishing industry. Those losses total 70,000 job cuts since Dec. 2007, Hall said, adding that most job losses have been see in the manufacturing, construction, and temporary services industries. The only area to see any growth in March was the Healthcare industry, Hall said.
Ranking Committee member Senator Sam Brownback (R-KA) noted that the impact of the ongoing recession was not severe for almost a year after it began in December 2007. Brownback attributed recent dramatic jumps in job losses over the past five months to the lockup in the credit markets and the government bailouts that followed.
The Federal Reserve believes that unemployment will peak at 8.8 percent this year, but Ranking House Committee Member Kevin Brady (R-TX) said that the unemployment rate is already higher than what the administration anticipated for 2009. Brady said that the Obama Administration’s “optimistic assumptions” would not get the country out of its current mess.
President Obama’s Economic Stimulus package was passed by Congress earlier this year, and saw an unprecedented amount of money placed into public works meant to put people back to work. Obama has pledged the legislation will save or create three to four million jobs over the next two years.
Read the report here: Bureau of Labor Statistics Report
