News - It's Official: Obama Has Now Borrowed $3 Trillion (CNSNews)

From: E-Brief from CNSNews.com Sent: Tuesday, October 19, 2010 Subject: It's Official: Obama Has Now Borrowed $3 Trillion

It's Official: Obama Has Now Borrowed $3 Trillion  (CNSNews.com) - It took almost 200 years -- from 1776 until 1990 -- for the federal government to accumulate a total of $3 trillion in debt, according to the Treasury Department. But it took far less time -- from Jan. 20, 2009, the day President Barack Obama was inaugurated, until Oct. 15, 2010 for the Obama administration to add $3 trillion to the federal debt. Shots Fired at Pentagon on Tuesday and at National Marine Corps Museum Over the Weekend  (CNSNews.com) - Several bullets struck the Pentagon early Tuesday morning but did not penetrate the building. And in a similar incident that may or may not be connected, police also are investigating several shots fired at the National Marine Corps Museum in Triangle, Virginia -- about 36 miles south of Washington -- over the weekend. The bullets left holes in upper-level windows. Obama's Border Patrol Chief: Give Illegals 'Road to Citizenship,' Let Mexicans Work Here Legally  (CNSNews.com) - U.S. Customs and Border Protection Commissioner Alan Bersin, who oversees both the Customs Service and the Border Patrol, says the United States must create what he called "a legitimate labor market between the United States and Mexico." Maryland's Democratic Governor Calls Illegal Immigrants 'New Americans' (CNSNews.com) – Maryland Gov. Martin O'Malley, in his first televised debate with Republican challenger Bob Ehrlich, repeatedly referred to people who come to this country illegally as "new Americans" on Monday night. "We should not blame new Americans for the problems that our country is going through right now. It's wrong," O'Malley said. Moms Who Chose Life Over Abortion Become Activists on Capitol Hill  (CNSNews.com) – "I really didn't realize how much people do not know about pregnancy centers," one pro-life activist told CNSNews.com. And now that those centers are under attack by pro-abortion groups, "I really do want the senators and members of Congress to know the truth and to continue to support them." Vatican's Chief Justice: Catholic Politicians Who Support Abortion or Gay Marriage Must Publicly Repent  (CNSNews.com) – Catholic politicians who publicly support abortion or homosexual marriage and then seek to turn away from such "gravely sinful acts" must perform "public" acts of "repentance," said Raymond Burke, the archbishop emeritus of St. Louis and the current head of the highest court at the Vatican. Howard Dean: 'Racist Fringe' Exists in Tea Party That 'Media Hypes Up'  (CNSNews.com) - Former Democratic National Committee Chairman Howard Dean said Republicans "think they're on a mission. And I think their mission is well outside the mainstream." But he said he views the tea party "differently." Federal Appeals Court Finds Ill. School 'Moment of Silence' Is Constitutional  (CNSNews.com) – A federal appeals court has overturned a 2009 lower court ruling that a mandatory moment of silence in Illinois public schools was unconstitutional. Judge Daniel Manion, writing for the majority, said that a moment of silence law does not violate the Establishment Clause "by favoring some religions." Fight Looms Over 'Religious Defamation' Measure at the United Nations (CNSNews.com) – Supporters and opponents of the annual United Nations' "defamation of religion" resolution are gearing up for what may be the biggest battle yet, with Islamic states roused by recent controversies in the U.S. and critics energized by growing awareness about blasphemy laws. COMMENTARY Tribalism Returns to Europe By Patrick J. Buchanan  Is Europe's adventure in international living about to end? In Germany this past weekend, Chancellor Angela Merkel told young conservatives that Germany's attempt to create a multicultural society where people "live side by side and enjoy each other" has "failed, utterly failed." Backing up her rueful admission are surveys showing 30 percent of Germans believe the country is overrun by foreigners. What is happening in Europe partakes of a global trend. Multiracial, multi-ethnic, multicultural nations are disintegrating.  Is the EPA Trying to Destroy the USA?  By Alan Caruba Most Americans don't pay attention to the cast of characters setting the EPA's agenda. They include the president's top environment advisor, Carol Browner, a former EPA director under Bill Clinton; and Lisa Jackson, the current EPA administrator, and an acolyte of Browner. This is the most anti-energy administration in the nation's history, and it poses a grave threat to the economy. DHS Alerted Arizona Sheriffs That Mexican Drug Cartel Was Sending Assassins Into U.S., But Did Little To Warn Travelers Away  (CNSNews.com) – The Department of Homeland Security warned Arizona law enforcement officials in May that Mexican drug cartels were deploying assassins to kill bandits hijacking their drug loads in the Vekol Valley, 70 miles inside Arizona. That local law enforcement would be left to confront agents of a foreign cartel coming across the U.S. border to carry out a deadly drug war on U.S. soil is further evidence that the federal government is not doing its duty to secure the border, said Pinal County Sheriff Paul Babeu.  DOJ Awarded $324M to Subsidize Costs of Incarcerating Illegal Immigrants in FY2010  (CNSNews.com) - The Justice Department awarded $324 million in fiscal year 2010 to states and localities to help pay the salaries of corrections officers responsible for incarcerating criminal illegal immigrants. Those subsidies marked a decline of 18 percent from fiscal year 2009, when $394 million was distributed by the department. Former DNC Chairman: 'Elections Are Not the Time to Educate People'  (CNSNews.com) – Former Democratic National Committee Chairman Howard Dean said that Democrats campaigning for the Nov. 2 mid-term elections should wait until they win before "educating" constituents about the benefits they will derive from the new health care law. "You win the election, then you educate people afterwards," Dean told National Public Radio on Saturday. Obama Administration Uses Taxpayer Funding to Encourage 'Sustainable Communities' (CNSNews.com) – The U.S. government is stepping in with millions of taxpayer dollars to create affordable places for Americans to work and live. The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development last week announced nearly $100 million in new grants for 45 regions "to support more livable and sustainable communities across the country." U.S. Government Funding Translation of Marquis de Sade  (CNSNews.com) - The U.S. government is funding a translation of a novel by the Marquis de Sade that, according to the National Endowment for the Arts, "is replete with Sade's black humor, unique philosophy, and original thought." The Golden Hookah Award: National Endowment for the Arts Funds Translation of Marquis de Sade (CNSNews.com) - CNSNews.com presents its weekly "Golden Hookah" to the National Endowment for the Arts for spending $12,500 to fund the translation of a novel by the Marquis de Sade. Average U.S. Hourly Wage Dropped in September, Has Been Virtually Flat for a Year, Says Labor Department  (CNSNews.com) - The inflation-adjusted average hourly earnings for all U.S. employees dropped in September by 0.1 percent, the Bureau of Labor Statistic reported today. In fiscal year 2010, the average hourly wage in the United States remained virtually flat, increasing by only one half of one percent from September 2009 to September 2010. Obama Administration Hails the OIC's Growing Role in Afghanistan and Pakistan (CNSNews.com) - Islamic nations – members of the Organization of the Islamic Conference (OIC) -- are playing an increasingly important role in the international effort to support "democracy" in Afghanistan and Pakistan, according to the Obama administration. Of the eight Islamic countries whose contributions it cites favorably, however, only three are viewed as electoral democracies – Turkey, Malaysia and Bangladesh. Turkey-U.S. Relations in the Spotlight As Conference Begins in Washington (CNSNews.com) - An important conference on U.S.-Turkey ties is underway in Washington, D.C., on Monday, at a time when an apparent shift in Ankara's foreign policy priorities has raised questions about the relationship between the longstanding NATO allies. The Islamist-leaning government of Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan has drawn closer to Iran and Syria and away from Israel, voted against a U.N. Security Council Iran sanctions resolution last June, and recently held what is believed to be Turkey's first ever joint military exercise with China.

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