The Blaze

The Blaze

50 Treated After Massive School Bus Collision En Route to Six Flags

Sun, 20 May 2012 03:51:16 +0000

(The Blaze/AP)  As many as 200 middle school students were on their way to Six Flags Saturday when a chain collision stopped six school buses and a car east of Atlanta.One driver, identified as Angela Anthony, 44, of Midville, Ga, was seriously injured and had to be flown to Grady Memorial hospital, but miraculously, everyone else only suffered cuts and bruises.“It was scary,” a student on the bus commented. “No one knew what was going on. Some kids were hurt.”The students were reportedly told to evacuate through the back of the bus, and then wait in a ditch until the injured bus driver could be safely airlifted out.The accident happened on Interstate 20 when traffic on the highway slowed approaching Covington because of a closed lane, according to a spokesman for the Georgia State Patrol, which is investigating the accident.

As the buses reduced speed, one bus was struck from behind by another, setting off a chain reaction that soon affected six buses and a car.  The accident temporarily shut down westbound traffic on the major highway.Two other people suffered injuries, police said.One mother received a frantic call from her daughter after the accident.“I didn’t know where they were,” she said. “I [had] been getting updates from Facebook. The school should have told us something.”While a school spokeswoman maintain they were available all day for questions, parents reportedly only received an automated message saying the children could be picked up at a certain time, but no associated details.About 50 others were examined at regional hospitals for possible injuries after the wreck. Aside from the bus driver, school officials said none of the injuries appeared serious.”Just a few bruises, scrapes,” the school spokeswoman said. “Nothing bad happened to any of our children.”

Mark Zuckerberg Ends a Busy Week by Marrying Longtime Sweetheart

Sun, 20 May 2012 02:24:23 +0000

(The Blaze/AP) — Mark Zuckerberg has updated his Facebook status to “married,” literally.The 28-year-old Facebook founder and CEO has wed longtime girlfriend, 27-year-old Priscilla Chan, capping a busy week for the couple. His Facebook profile page showed the two married Saturday and included a photo of the newlyweds.

Zuckerberg took his company public in one of the most anticipated moves in Wall Street history Friday, and Chan graduated from medical school at the University of California, San Francisco, on Monday – the same day Zuckerberg turned 28.Even after the IPO, Zuckerberg remains Facebook’s single largest shareholder with 503.6 million shares, and he controls the company with 56 percent of its voting stock.The ceremony took place in Zuckerberg’s backyard before fewer than 100 guests, who all thought they were there to celebrate Chan’s graduation.

While details of the event are scarce, a company spokeswoman said Zuckerberg designed the ring himself to feature “a very simple ruby.”The move already has more than 200,000 “likes” on Facebook.

‘Suburban Suicide Bomber’: Allegedly Obsessed Man Blows Up Female Coworker’s House After Six Hour Standoff With Police

Sun, 20 May 2012 01:56:29 +0000

Canadians are baffled after a woman from Kamloops, British Columbia was held hostage Thursday night by an apparently obsessed co-worker, who had rigged his body to explode with a makeshift suicide vest.The woman was returning home with her boyfriend, her four children, and his two children, when they saw the still unnamed bomber.  According to the woman’s boyfriend, who asked only to be identified as David, the co-worker approached them calmly, but they all knew something was “off.”“At the time I knew just from glancing at him that we were in trouble,” David said. “He had a long box in his hand and his hand was inside, while his other hand was preoccupied with something underneath his coat.”  After the co-worker tried to talk to David’s girlfriend, she asked the man to leave and the he became very aggressive.”At that point I’m still pulling my four-year-old daughter out of the car,” David explained, but it was also at that point that he noticed that the crazed co-worker had a gun. 

They tried to hurry everyone into the house and shut the door, but the man with a gun was too quick, inserting the gun between the frame.  He fired a shot and missed everyone, but deafened David, who was holding the door.“The only thing I knew at that point was that we were going to die if something drastically didn’t happen,” he said.  Knowing that they couldn’t shut the door without getting in the line of fire, they all made a break for it amid the confusion.  David grabbed his youngest, a three-year old, and raised the alarm with the neighbors as the woman’s eldest, a 13-year old, helped get the rest out the window.  Only the mother didn’t make it out in time, but thanks to a skilled negotiator, she did make it out eventually. 

“[The negotiator] phoned [the bomber] and he started stroking his ego, saying how smart he was,” David explained, while the police quickly evacuated the neighbors.
The Royal Canadian Mounted Police Sergeant Grant Learned explained what exactly the police were dealing with: “The suspect, who is an electrician by trade, provided specific details to the negotiator regarding how the explosives were wired and how he would be able to detonate the devices remotely.”Apparently, the man had an improvised explosive on his body and a remote with which he could also detonate a nearby van.

After nearly seven hours of negotiating, the co-worker let the woman go and cut off communications with the outside world.  Roughly ten minutes later, he blew up the entire house.Authorities were forced to put out the fire from a distance until a bomb squad arrived, concerned that the van would also blow.  Thankfully, bomb squad crews were able to reach it in time, and they found in it a five gallon can of gas, a 20 pound propane cylinder, and two improvised metal pipe bombs (one was on the console, the other was hidden underneath the vehicle).“Police are still on the scene and have cordoned off the area around the house which is now being treated as a crime scene,” Learned said.  “Investigators will start the arduous task of sifting through the rubble looking for the remains of the suspect and other evidence related to the explosions from within the house.”While some reports are saying that the bomber was actually an ex-boyfriend, David told CFJC-TV that his girlfriend only knew the suspect through work.Branded a “suburban suicide bomber” by the Daily Mail, one neighbor just commented: “Shocking, shocking, shocking.  That’s what it is.”

Going for the Triple Crown: See the Best Photos of ‘I’ll Have Another‘s’ Second Dramatic Win

Sun, 20 May 2012 00:45:42 +0000

(The Blaze/AP) —The horse called “I’ll Have Another” won the Preakness Stakes on Saturday to give him victories in the first two legs of the Triple Crown, after he won the Kentucky Derby.  If he wins the next race at the Belmont Stakes on June 9, he’ll be the first horse since “Affirmed” to win the coveted title.With a breathtaking closing rush, the smooth-striding colt won the Preakness Stakes by a neck at Pimlico Race Course on a sunny Saturday, a nail-biter of a finish that topped his win two weeks ago in the Kentucky Derby.The race unfolded the same way as the Derby, with the speedy Bodemeister moving to the lead under Mike Smith, with I’ll Have Another hanging back in fourth in the 11-horse field. The early fractions were slower than the Derby, but when it came time for Bodemeister to hang on, I’ll Have Another found another gear under young jockey Mario Gutierrez and ran down trainer Bob Baffert’s horse in the shadow of the wire.

“We’re thinking Triple Crown, baby,” an elated trainer Doug O’Neill said. “He’s a special horse. We’ll see how he comes out of it, and if he comes out of it in good shape, we’re heading to New York, baby.”It’s been 34 years since Affirmed swept the Derby, Preakness and Belmont and became the 11th and most recent Triple Crown champion. Since then, 11 horses have won the first two legs only to come up short in the Belmont. The most recent try came in 2008, when Big Brown was pulled up around the turn for home and did not finish. Before that, Smarty Jones was run down in the final 70 yards by Birdstone in the 2004 Belmont.With the two victories thrusting the colorful and controversial O’Neill squarely into the limelight, scrutiny is sure to intensify about his violations for giving his horses improper drugs. He was fined $1,000 and suspended 15 days in one incident. He is contesting another.

“We know we play by the rules,” O’Neill said. “It’s all about the horse, and we’re just going to focus on the horse.”If margins are an indication, perhaps I’ll Have Another has a Triple Crown in his future. Affirmed won the Derby by the identical 1½ lengths over Alydar, and then beat his rival by the same neck margin in the Preakness.”I didn’t feel confident we were going to get there until 10 yards from the wire,” owner J. Paul Reddam said.I’ll Have Another, sent off as the second choice at 3-1 over 8-5 favorite Bodemeister, covered the 1 3/16 miles in 1:55.94. The winner returned $8.40, $3.80 and $2.80. Bodemeister returned $3.20 and $2.80, and Creative Cause paid $3.60 to show.

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Creative Cause was third, 8¾ lengths behind hard-luck runner-up Bodemeister, followed by Zetterholm, Teeth of the Dog, Optimizer, Cozzetti, Tiger Walk, Daddy Nose Best, Went the Day Well and Pretension.Baffert, a five-time Preakness winner, thought his colt — named for his 7-year-old son, Bode — could pull off the win.”I felt really good about where he was,” Baffert said. “I really thought he was going to do it. The winner is a good horse. He should get the respect now that he deserves.”The chestnut colt has never been favored in any of his seven races, but won five of them along with $2,693,600 after he was purchased by Reddam for $35,000 on the advice of O’Neill’s brother, Dennis.

“He showed he’s the real deal. He’s a real race horse. He gutted it out,” Reddam said. “The other horse was not stopping. He ran a bang-up race, to come and catch him, how can you criticize that? For those who have followed the horse and bet on him, that’s been pretty rewarding. I don’t know if that will be the case next time, though.Gutierrez, who was riding at Hastings Park in Western Canada until showing up in California last winter, displayed the calm and cunning of a veteran.”It’s not me, it’s him. It’s all about the horse,” the humble 25-year-old jockey from Mexico said. “He just keeps proving people wrong. I’m so happy for him because he’s such a great horse. He has a tremendous kick in the end.”

NAACP Backs Same-Sex Marriage as a ‘Civil Right’

Sat, 19 May 2012 23:31:38 +0000

(The Blaze/AP) — The NAACP, an African-American civil rights organization, passed a resolution on Saturday endorsing same-sex marriage as a civil right and opposing any efforts “to codify discrimination or hatred into the law.”The National Association for the Advancement of Colored People’s board voted at a leadership retreat in Miami to back a resolution supporting marriage equality, calling the position consistent with the equal protection provision of the U.S. Constitution.(Related: Obama: Same-Sex Marriage Should Be Legal)“The mission of the NAACP has always been to ensure political, social and economic equality of all people,” Board Chairwoman Roslyn M. Brock said in a statement. “We have and will oppose efforts to codify discrimination into law.”Same-sex marriage is legal in six states and the District of Columbia, but 31 states have passed amendments to ban it.”Civil marriage is a civil right and a matter of civil law. The NAACP’s support for marriage equality is deeply rooted in the Fourteenth Amendment of the United States Constitution and equal protection of all people” said NAACP President Benjamin Todd Jealous, a strong backer of gay rights.Gay marriage has divided the black community, with many religious leaders opposing it. In California, exit polls showed about 70 percent of blacks opposed same-sex marriage in 2008. In Maryland, black religious leaders helped derail a gay marriage bill last year. But state lawmakers passed a gay marriage bill this year.

Pew Research Center polls have found that African Americans have become more supportive of same-sex marriage in recent years, but remain less supportive than other groups. A poll conducted in April showed 39 percent of African-Americans favor gay marriage, compared with 47 percent of whites. The poll showed 49 percent of blacks and 43 percent of whites are opposed.The Human Rights Campaign, a leading gay rights advocacy group, applauded the step by the Baltimore-based civil rights organization.”We could not be more pleased with the NAACP’s history-making vote today — which is yet another example of the traction marriage equality continues to gain in every community,” HRC President Joe Solmonese said in a statement.What does this all mean politically?  According to the New York Times, the move could bolster support for the president with a key constituency: black Democratic voters who remain skeptical of same-sex marriage.

‘Allah, Liberty, and Love’: Gay Muslim Activist Launches Book in Malaysia Despite Government Pressure

Sat, 19 May 2012 23:15:30 +0000

Though one of her books is already banned in the country, a Canadian gay rights activist launched her new book on liberal Islam in Malaysia on Saturday, despite apparent government attempts to stop her.The man in charge of Islamic affairs in the country, Jamil Khir Baharom, said that Islamic officials and the Home Ministry would not allow the author’s “roadshow” in the country following complaints, since both the book and Manji’s openly gay lifestyle are offensive to Muslims.Urging Malaysian Muslims to be constantly on guard so as not to be influenced by her ideologies, he reiterated that all state religious departments had been instructed not to allow her to spread her worldview.However, despite all that went wrong, the author seemingly pulled it off in good spirits.  After two venues canceled on her, Irshad Manji wrote on Twitter: “Fantastic event in [Kuala Lumpur]! Great energy — except 4 cops who told latecomers that event is banned. Didn’t stop us. Congrats 2 all.”According to her website, this is what the cover of the book looks like in Malaysia:

The book, titled “Allah, Liberty, and Love” in English, is explained on her website: “[It] shows all of us how to reconcile faith and freedom in a world seething with repressive dogmas… This book is the ultimate guide to becoming a gutsy global citizen”.But Manji wasn’t only having problems in Malaysia.  According to AFP, the author also faced problems while touring Indonesia before she arrived.  The Islamic Defenders Front group held such violent protests condemning her views on Islam and her homosexuality that the police ended up shutting down several of her events.Protesters reportedly smashed windows, crockery, and computers while tearing up copies of her book and screaming “Where is Manji.”  Her supporters shielded her, and she mercifully escaped with nothing more than a bruised wrist.The co-founder of the Moral Courage Project at New York University, Manji says her mission is to teach students to “challenge political correctness, intellectual conformity and self-censorship — within their families, communities and organizations.”

G-8 Leaders Juggle Eurozone Crises at Camp David

Sat, 19 May 2012 22:12:20 +0000

(The Blaze/AP) — President Barack Obama and the leaders of other wealthy nations underscored an increasing consensus that their countries need to adopt growth measures and relentless budget cutbacks in order to resolve their debt troubles during the G-8 Summit, and underscored their desire to keep Greece on the Euro, even as the country battles financial crisis.It’s a juggle that’s much harder in real life than it is on paper.Their eight-paragraph statement from the presidential retreat at Camp David, Md., on Saturday bridged both sides of the austerity versus growth debate and let each decide exactly what the new growth emphasis is going to mean, though it said little about where the money for more spending might come from.Their agreement – reached quickly after a morning’s discussion at Camp David – bridged disagreement by not rejecting one approach in favor of the other, but rather by combining them.  Balance budgets, yes, but find ways to spend, or rather “invest,” on things like education and public works, too.

The statement clearly reflected Obama’s wish for Europeans to go beyond the austerity approach championed by Germany.  Obama’s stance appears to show concern that a deep European recession or financial implosion from Greece leaving the euro could hurt the U.S. economy and complicate his already difficult re-election bid.According to the Guardian: “After three years of facing European leaders committed to deficit reduction, Obama has a new ally in Hollande. Speaking at Camp David, Hollande said European leaders were trying to balance the competing aims of reining in their budgets while stimulating their economies: ‘As President Obama noted, we need to pursue these two goals simultaneously: budgetary solvency and maximum growth.’”In particular, the G-8 statement blesses some things that eurozone leaders are likely already doing, such as letting some indebted countries like Spain and Italy move a bit more slowly to close their large budget deficits. Countries need “sustainable” efforts to fix their finances, meaning they can “take into account countries’ evolving economic conditions.”That could mean slower cuts.  Spain, a recent focus of the crisis along with Greece, has sunk into recession and seen unemployment jump to 24 percent, 51 percent for people under 25.  Spain is supposed to cut its deficit to the 3 percent EU limit next year, even though the European Commission itself predicts the deficit will come in at twice that.  Economists predict that the EU may give them and others more time.Yet Europe’s chief apostle of austerity, German Chancellor Angela Merkel, gave up very little.  She said that she was open to investment in things that would boost growth over the long term, but made it clear that didn’t mean “stimulus,” a word that, like “spending” does not appear in the document.

“This is not about stimulus programs in the usual sense, the way we applied them after the crisis,” she said. “What’s needed much more than that are investments in research and infrastructure, for instance in Europe in digital networks.”She conceded she was “open” to more use of Europe’s EIB development bank and unspent EU infrastructure funds to help tiny, bankrupt Greece, now in the fifth year of a profound recession, but insisted Greece’s promises to cut back in return for bailout loans must be strictly observed. The country has no elected government right now and faces new elections June 17; an indecisive election May 6 showed a majority against the austerity measures demanded under the bailouts. Greek rejection of those terms could lead already exasperated eurozone leaders to cut off more bailout payments. That would leave the country unable to pay its bills, a step that could mean an even more savage recession and reintroduction of a devalued drachma in an effort to gain international competitiveness.Money for investment could come from “a range of mechanisms,” it said, without specifics.The ugly truth is that there isn’t a lot of money available to spend in many countries. Failure to keep reducing deficits could mean Spain and Italy would be viewed as bad risks and could no longer borrow affordably, leading to defaults that would dwarf Greece’s troubles.

‘Kill the Gay’: Lesbian Couple Charged After Allegedly Faking Hate Crime

Sat, 19 May 2012 21:26:39 +0000

Back in October, a lesbian couple in Colorado called the police after they allegedly found the words “Kill the Gay” scrawled in red across their garage, and a noose hanging from their front door.When asked, the couple told officers they believed that the hateful acts were retaliation from their neighbors and the homeowner’s association, who were allegedly upset that the couple did not pick up after their dogs. However, they refused to “submit to hate” and posted these signs on their garage in defiance:

Perhaps the women didn’t anticipate how seriously the issue would be treated, because nearly eight months later, with the full force of the FBI involved, authorities are saying the women themselves may have been responsible for the acts. They have been charged with both criminal mischief and false reporting, and one of the women, Aimee Whitchurch, faces an additional charge of forgery.Fox 31 reported on the matter, saying the couple declined to take a lie detector test, but maintain their innocence.”It’s a betrayal.  This is a government that’s supposed to protect us.  People came out and pretended they were interested in what’s going on,” Whitchurch declared.  “This is a fight I’m right on…I have every right to live where I want to live.”Watch Fox 31′s full report, below:(H/T: Gateway Pundit)

Family Spends $1.5 Million on College for Five Daughters

Sat, 19 May 2012 20:46:37 +0000

Marc and Beverly Ostrofsky of Houston, Texas have five daughters.When the time came, each one of them opted for pricey, out of state universities, and while the parents are proud, they’re also stunned at the price of today’s undergraduate education.After tuition, housing, food, and spending money, Ostrofsky estimates, he and his wife are easily spending $60,000-$70,000 a year on each girl, per year– and that’s a “really conservative” estimate.This means, then, that the family will have spent nearly $1.5 million on their daughters’ college careers, after taxes, when all is said and done.It’s unclear whether they’ll also foot the bill for graduate school, but one of the girls is already talking about getting her PhD., according to reports.“We’re fortunate that we can take care of it,” Beverly said, according to ABC. “We decided a long time ago we didn’t want the girls to take out college loans, so that was our commitment to them.”Two of the girls are graduating from Washington University in St. Louis and Duke University, respectively, this year, while the eldest graduated from Berklee College of Music in 2011.  Another is still enrolled at the University of Denver, while the youngest will head to Boston University in the fall.ABC elaborates:

Though the greatest expense is room and board, the family also picks up the tab for many other miscellaneous expenses such as food, clothing and three of the girls have cars.“I’ve got five daughters so let’s put a separate line item for shoes,” Marc said. “At one point we had four different colleges going at the same time. It’s a little bit hectic.” Marc added he also picks up the cost of other activities such as sorority participation and athletics such as snowboarding.With the last child leaving home for college, Marc says he and Beverly are going to “take a breather.”“It’s like wipe the sweat off the brow now—it’s time think about what can mom and dad do,” he said.

But what about all of the families who could never afford such an expense, and the students who balk at such debt hanging over their heads?”I think in the future it’s going to be different. I don’t think a lot of people are going to play that game,” Ostrofsky speculated. Rather, he thinks, a combination of online and traditional classes will emerge.The best-selling author of “Get Rich Click,” Ostrofsky warns families about encouraging their kids to stay in school.”Be careful what you wish for!”

Vast Right Wing Conspiracy: Dems Accuse GOP of Economic Sabotage — Again

Sat, 19 May 2012 20:06:49 +0000
WASHINGTON (AP/The Blaze) — Are Republican lawmakers deliberately stalling the economic recovery to hurt President Barack Obama’s re-election chances? Some top Democrats say yes, pointing to GOP stances on the debt limit and other issues that they claim are causing unnecessary economic anxiety and retarding growth.The latest Democratic complaint came after House Speaker John Boehner said Tuesday that when Congress raises the nation’s borrowing cap in early 2013, he will again insist on big spending cuts to offset the increase. Boehner, R-Ohio, continues to reject higher tax rates, which Democrats demand from the wealthy.That led Sen. Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., to say Boehner is virtually assuring another debt-ceiling crisis as bad or worse than the one that shook financial markets nine months ago.”The last thing the country needs is a rerun of last summer’s debacle that nearly brought down our economy,” Schumer said in a statement. In an interview, Schumer added: “I hope that the speaker is not doing this because he doesn’t want to see the economy improve, because what he said will certainly rattle the markets.”

Sen. Chuck Schumer (D-NY)

Boehner responded in a statement: “Republicans have passed nearly 30 bills that would help small businesses create jobs and we are waiting on Senate Democrats to vote on these common-sense measures. The failure to act on these jobs bills, as well as our crushing debt burden, is undermining economic growth and job creation.”Democrats say Republicans loaded their jobs bills with provisions certain to doom them in the Senate, such as restrictions on unions and on regulatory agencies such as the Environmental Protection Agency.Regardless of whether Schumer’s suspicions are correct, there’s evidence that unceasing partisan gridlock and the prospect of big tax increases and spending cuts in January are causing some companies to postpone expansions. Even small economic slowdowns are bad news for Obama, who is seeking re-election amid high unemployment.The Washington Post this past week compiled a list of military contractors, hospitals and universities that are delaying hires and bracing for cuts, partly because of fears that Washington’s partisan divisions will not abate.The most obvious showdown will happen soon after the Nov. 6 election. Unless a lame-duck Congress can make deals, the economy will suffer a double whammy of large tax increases and spending cuts, starting Jan. 1. The tax increases would hit virtually every working American and the spending cuts would affect military and domestic programs.Economists say that what Federal Reserve chairman Ben Bernanke calls a “fiscal cliff” could possibly lead to another severe recession.On top of that, perhaps by late January or so, Congress and the president — be it Obama or Republican Mitt Romney — will again confront the need to raise the country’s borrowing limit or else trigger a first-ever government failure to pay its debts. A partisan showdown over this issue last summer led to a downgrade in the nation’s credit worthiness and a sharp stock market drop.These crucial decisions will occur after the presidential election. But investors, planners and business owners make decisions about hiring, expansion and investments months in advance. The more they worry about a serious economic downturn in nine months or so, the more reluctant they are to expand operations and hire workers now.”All that uncertainty has us cautious, and we’re scaling back our hiring expectations,” said Eric Remington, vice president of Kaman Corp., which recently canceled plans to hire 200 new workers at a defense aerospace plant in Jacksonville, Fla.Schumer and other top Democrats have said for months that GOP lawmakers may be trying to strangle the economic recovery for political reasons.”Their strategy is to suffocate the economy for the sake of what they think will be a political victory,” Obama’s campaign manager, Jim Messina, wrote in an email to supporters last October, when Congress was debating a jobs bill.Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nev., said his Republican counterpart was not cooperating on that legislation “in hopes that he can get my job, perhaps.”

Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-NV)

Maryland Gov. Martin O’Malley, chairman of the Democratic Governors Association, told The Associated Press last year that some GOP lawmakers, “through their intransigence, cleverly set up a situation for America’s economy to fail, either by needlessly driving us to default, or needlessly driving us into massive public-sector layoffs.”Federal, state and local government layoffs have been under way for months. They may be necessary to reduce deficits and survive recessions. But they increase unemployment, a problem for any president seeking a second term.Since February 2010, when the Labor Department started reporting a steady decline in unemployment, the private sector has gained 4.2 million positions. But federal, state and local governments during that time have cut more than 500,000 jobs – and those are just job cuts in the public sector.What about the number of people who have dropped out of the workforce?“In April the number of people not in the labor force rose by a whopping 522,000 from 87,897,000 to 88,419,000 [emphasis added],” Zero Hedge reports.Bottom line: the economy created only 115,000 jobs in April, 522,000 people left the labor force, the “official” unemployment rate is 8.1 percent, and total employment for the month actually fell 169,000, according to CNBC.House Democratic leader Nancy Pelosi of California did not ascribe partisan motives to Boehner’s latest warnings about the next debt ceiling showdown. But she said he may be unnecessarily hurting the economy. “It already can be damaging, just the fact that it’s brought up,” Pelosi told reporters Thursday.

House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi (D-CA)

Republicans say it’s absurd to make such an accusation. They point to bipartisan efforts to pass jobs-creation bills, trade pacts and, after some arguments, an extension of the payroll tax cut that Obama originally had proposed for only one year.GOP lawmakers want Congress to act this year to ensure that none of the Bush-era income tax cuts will expire, as scheduled, on Jan. 1. Such assurance, they say, could lead investors and business owners to start expanding and hiring now.Democrats say the move, by itself, would increase the deficit dramatically. They want to end the tax cuts for the wealthiest and they note that the economy boomed during Bill Clinton’s presidency, before the big tax cuts of 2001 and 2003 were enacted.Boehner’s aides say the speaker supports tax law changes, including eliminating some loopholes and exemptions, that could result in greater revenue even if rates remain the same or are reduced.

House Speaker John Boehner (R-OH)

As for the debt limit, “allowing America to default would be irresponsible,” Boehner said Tuesday at an economic forum. “But it would be more irresponsible to raise the debt ceiling without taking dramatic steps to reduce spending and reform the budget process.”Democrats say that’s precisely the type of economic saber-rattling that can frighten investors and employers, and damage Obama’s re-election hopes. Boehner disagrees.”I said that we should not wait until the 11th hour to address these issues,” Boehner told reporters Thursday. “The only ones who are talking about drama or brinksmanship are my Democrat colleagues.”The danger of another credit-rating downgrade “comes from continued inaction on the deficit, and our piling debt,” he said, not from “calls for action.”The Associated Press contributed to this report.                

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