By: Jamie Weinstein
Halting Hagel -- Playing the system -- Dale Peterson and the death of journalism -- Minimum wage nonsense -- Tweet of Yesterday -- Today in North Korean News | 1.) Halting Hagel -- Chuck Hagel is no longer the shoe-in for secretary of defense he was once thought to be, the AP reports:
"Senate Republicans on Thursday blocked the nomination of former GOP senator Chuck Hagel as the nation’s next defense secretary over unrelated questions about President Barack Obama’s actions in the aftermath of the deadly raid on the U.S. diplomatic mission in Libya. Obama accused Republicans of playing politics with national security during wartime, and Democrats vowed to revive the nomination after Congress’ weeklong break. By 58-40, with one abstention, the Senate fell short of the 60-vote threshold required to advance Hagel’s nomination to a final, up-or-down vote on his confirmation. ... Obama reacted immediately, hammering Republicans for an unprecedented filibuster of a nominee for defense secretary and insisting that Hagel — a former two-term Republican senator from Nebraska and twice-wounded Vietnam combat veteran — will eventually win confirmation."
It was reported Thursday that in a 2007 speech Hagel made, he claimed the State Department was controlled by Israel. This raises many questions, including: Who in the world thinks that the State Department is excessively pro-Israel? TheDC Morning still suspects Hagel will be confirmed --- but if new material is uncovered revealing something embarrassing, who knows what could happen. | 2.) Playing the system -- TheDC's Caroline May reports on immigrants benefitting from America's welfare state:
"Even though federal law largely bars illegal immigrants from obtaining Medicaid coverage, the program annually pays out more than $2 billion in free emergency coverage that mostly goes to illegal immigrants, according to Kaiser Health News. The vast majority of the total emergency care reimbursements cover delivering babies, Kaiser reports. Based on a Kaiser data analysis of the states believed to have the greatest populations of illegal immigrants — including California, New York, Texas, North Carolina, Arizona, Illinois and Florida — more than 100,000 people annually receive emergency care that is reimbursed by Medicaid." | 3.) Dale Peterson and the death of journalism -- History remembers very few stories. If it has a sense of humor, it will remember this one. TheDC 's Alex Pappas reports:
"Dale Peterson, the Alabamian best known for his viral campaign videos railing against 'thugs and criminals,' said on the radio Thursday that he’s fighting an arrest back home after police accused him of trying to steal two cases of beer from Wal-Mart last year. According to Peterson, he was falsely accused by police and store employees who didn’t understand that he 'just had to pee' and was planning on paying for the beer after he relieved himself in the store bathroom. 'Apparently, I’m a thief according to Wal-Mart,' Peterson said on the Matt Murphy Show in Birmingham, Ala. on Thursday, going on to explain his version of events from his October 2012 arrest."
Is there a lawyer out there willing to go down there and fight for Peterson? This aggression should not stand. | 4.) Minimum wage nonsense -- Economist Adam Carolla attacked President Obama's desire to raise the minimum wage Thursday. TheDC's Jeff Poor reports:
"On his Wednesday podcast, comedian Adam Carolla mocked President Barack Obama’s State Of The Union call to raise the Minimum Wage to help families with two kids, saying that when someone is making minimum wage and has two kids, 'you’re not paying your fair share' so parents should 'stop shitting out kids.' 'We know our economy is stronger when we reward an honest day’s work with honest wages,' Obama said. 'But today, a full-time worker making the minimum wage earns $14,500 a year. Even with the tax relief we’ve put in place, a family with two kids that earns the minimum wage still lives below the poverty line.'”
It turns out that Carolla is not an economist. But considering how badly real economists have fared recently, TheDC Morning considers that a credential. | | 5.) Tweet of Yesterday -- Philip Klein: Would probably make a better SecDef RT @daveweigel: Solution: Get the Treasury to mint a $1 trillion Chuck Hagel robot. | | 6.) Today in North Korean News -- BREAKING: Greetings to Kim Jong Un from Syrian President | VIDEO: Confidential, expensive USDA sensitivity training says "The Pilgrims were illegals aliens"
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