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1.) There is no work in America, and the streets are paved with food stamps — In case anyone missed the international meetings and Spanish-language soap operas promoting welfare and food stamps for new immigrants, DHS has them covered. TheDC’s Caroline May reports:
“’Welcome to USA.gov,’ a website maintained by the Department of Homeland Security’s U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS), bills itself as the ‘primary gateway for new immigrants to find basic information on how to settle in the United States’ — featuring a prominent section for new immigrants about how to access government benefits. ‘Depending on your immigration status, length of time in the United States, and income, you may be eligible for some federal benefit programs,’ the Web page reads. … The DHS page offers links to government websites that explain how to access benefits including food stamps, Supplemental Security Income (SSI), Medicaid, Medicare, Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) and the ‘official website with information on all available federal benefit programs.’ … WelcometoUSA.gov also boasts to immigrants that ‘[f]ree public education for children is one reason many immigrants come to the United States.’”
Looks like old JFK is a little out of date these days. A more fitting mantra might be, “Ask not what you can do for your new country, but what your new country can do for you.”
2) Define “neoconservative” — It’s a little tricky to describe the former-liberals-turned-hawks that earned the monicker “neoconservative” without using the word “Kristol,” but here it looks like Bill Kristol may have done the work for us. TheDC’s Jeff Poor reports:
“Bill Kristol is sticking to his guns, contending again that raising taxes shouldn’t be completely out of bounds for Republicans — even for conservative Republicans. … ‘I just don’t think Republicans have the leverage, or that it’s worth using all their — whatever leverage they have — to maintain rates at 35 percent instead of 37 or 38, especially if you can take it up to millionaires,’ Kristol continued. ‘I just don’t think it’s economically, as a matter of policy, important enough. Then the big deal has to be big tax reform with lower rates, I think.’”
Unfortunately, the strategy of beating the liberals by becoming more liberal isn’t all that new. Barry Goldwater even had a term for it: “Dime-store New Dealer.”
3.) Cliff diving — Jumping off cliffs is a sport best left to those too dumb to know better or too crazy to care, which is why we’re a little concerned when we hear that both sides may be working themselves into that zone. TheDC’s Alexis Levinson reports:
“’I think Barack Obama has nothing to lose from hitting the fiscal cliff, going off the fiscal cliff,’ King told The Daily Caller in an interview after Florida Sen. Marco Rubio spoke Saturday night at a fundraiser for Gov. Terry Branstad. ‘I think he’ll drive the hardest of bargains because he’s happy to see they Bush tax brackets go up. He’s happy to see the death tax go up to 55 percent. That fits his class envy. … So I don’t know why Barack Obama would blink. And if he’s willing to walk away from the table — and I think he is — if we’re not willing to, then he’ll get everything he’s willing to fight for,’ King said. ‘That’s just how it is.’ King said he is willing to walk away if that’s what it takes.”
And this isn’t the kind of cliff diving that ends with a sprained ankle and a funny YouTube clip — it’s the kind that raises our taxes and slashes our defense.
4.) The gift that keeps on giving — For all those folks who weren’t entertained enough by Jill Kelley claiming diplomatic protection or Bubba the Love Sponge’s strange cameo in the unfolding Petraeus affair, there’s more. TheDC’s Monique Hamm reports:
“Jill Kelley, the woman whose complaint to the FBI led to the discovery of then-CIA Director David Petreaus’s affair, requested $80 million from an energy company seeking to hire a lobbyist with military connections. Adam Victor, the president of a New York-based energy company, originally wanted Kelley to lobby the South Korean president for their $4 billion deal due to her connections with Petraeus, the Daily Mail reports.”
Stay tuned. This program isn’t ending anytime soon.
5.) There’s no need to fear, Joe Biden is here — When there’s something strange in the neighborhood (namely, the neighborhood was washed away), the citizens of New Jersey know who to call. TheDC’s Alex Pappas reports:
“Vice President Joe Biden on Sunday proclaimed that he’s a ‘homeboy’ that victims of Hurricane Sandy can continue to count on for assistance as they recover from the storm. ‘So as the president said when he was up here with the governor, we’re not going anywhere,’ Biden said Sunday in New Jersey after visiting the area, according to a pool report. ‘We’re not — not — going anywhere. And you’ve got a homeboy in the deal who gets it.'”
Somehow, we doubt Mr. Biden is a suitable replacement for electricity, running water and a roof, but it’s nice to know he’s down with the lingo.
6.) Tweet of Yesterday: — TED: I’ve probably learned more from Google than I have from school.
VIDEO: Melbourne’s Metro releases ‘Dumb Ways to Die’ PSA [VIDEO]
