From NPR:
Obama supports extending Patriot Act provisions
“The Obama administration supports extending three key provisions of the Patriot Act that are due to expire at the end of the year, the Justice Department told Congress in a letter made public Tuesday.
Lawmakers and civil rights groups had been pressing the Democratic administration to say whether it wants to preserve the post-Sept. 11 law’s authority to access business records, as well as monitor so-called “lone wolf” terrorists and conduct roving wiretaps.”
Another instance of Obama carrying on in Bush’s footsteps? Blech.
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From Reuters:
BP makes “giant” oil find in Gulf of Mexico
“Oil major BP Plc said it has made an oil discovery in the Gulf of Mexico, which analysts believe could contain over 1 billion barrels of recoverable reserves, reaffirming the Gulf’s strategic importance to the industry.
BP said in a statement on Wednesday that it had made the “giant” find at its Tiber Prospect in the Keathley Canyon block 102, by drilling one of the deepest wells ever sunk by the industry.”
A giant oil discovery in Mexico? I wonder when the US will meddle more in Mexico to make sure that oil gets to it’s “proper” home?
From the Associated Press/Google News:
US releases $214 million to aid Mexico drug fight
“The U.S. has released $214 million of an aid package to help Mexico fight drug trafficking, including funds for five helicopters for the military to be delivered by year’s end, a top State Department official said Tuesday.
The helicopters will be the first to be sent to Mexico under the Merida Initiative, a three-year, $1.4 billion program to train and equip law enforcement to deal with the ruthless cartels, said David Johnson, U.S. assistant secretary for international narcotics and law enforcement.
He said $214 million of the package has been spent or committed. The funds have gone to training Mexican federal investigators and providing technology such as X-ray machines to check for contraband at border crossings.”
Play up the drug and violence angle before the oil news is public. Clever.
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From News 9:
75 Percent of Oklahoma High School Students Can’t Name the First President of the U.S.
“Only one in four Oklahoma public high school students can name the first President of the United States, according to a survey released today.
The survey was commissioned by the Oklahoma Council of Public Affairs in observance of Constitution Day on Thursday.
Brandon Dutcher is with the conservative think tank and said the group wanted to find out how much civic knowledge Oklahoma high school students know.
(snip)
Dutcher said this is not just a problem in Oklahoma. He said Arizona had similar results, which left him concerned for the entire country.
“Jefferson later said that a nation can’t expect to be ignorant and free,” Dutcher said. “It points to a real serious problem. We’re not going to remain ignorant and free.”"
Mr. Radical ym’d me this story. My response was “This makes the fundie homeschoolers look smart. Sure they don’t believe in evolution but at least they know US history.” Sarcasm? Check.
Posted by Vixen as News at 10:52 PM CDT