Morning Media Summary
Tech:
Brumby promises every doctor in public hospitals an iPad:
“Victorian Premier, John Brumby, yesterday promised every doctor in the state’s public hospital system would be issued with an Apple iPad if his incumbent Labor Government was returned to power in the state’s upcoming election.”
Global Warming / Environment / Energy:
Walk Score Ranks The Most Walkable Cities In The U.S (Photos):
“It wasn’t just the botched technical decisions. BP and other companies’ management, communication and overconfidence in dealing with risk led to the Gulf of Mexico oil spill, investigators for the presidential commission said Tuesday.”
Gov. Christie says he’s skeptical that global warming is caused by humans:
“Gov. Chris Christie says he’s skeptical that humans are responsible for global warming.”
Insurance / Gambling:
Mobil gaming industry looks like safe bet:
“The market has been slow to develop, mainly due to the uncertainty about future regulation of remote gambling and online gambling. Some gaming companies, however, have begun offering mobile platforms in anticipation of growth in the segment.”
Health / Safety:
Bad news Jesse Jackson: Repealing ObamaCare would mean “creeping genocide”:
“I’m tempted to ask how this imbecile defines “genocide” based on the examples he gives in the clip, but frankly, I’d rather not know. Just remember this: Once, long ago, he used that word to describe abortion before conveniently turning pro-choice in time for his 1988 Democratic presidential campaign. That’s how seriously he takes this concept.”
Great news: FDA ready to require photos of corpses on cigarette packs:
“Don’t blame them. It was your elected representatives, in bipartisan fashion, who passed an anti-smoking statute last year requiring the FDA to impose more “graphic” health warnings on cigarette packaging. Evidently putting “you’ll get cancer” on the side of the carton is no longer deemed a sufficient deterrent to lighting one up, so now we’re actually going to thrust photos of putrefying flesh into smokers’ faces in hopes of steering them away. Coming soon, presumably: Mandating special flavor additives to ciggies so that you actually throw up while smoking.”
Economics:
Violence at Tory HQ overshadows student fees protest:
“Demonstrators stormed a building in Westminster housing the Conservative Party headquarters, smashed windows and got on to the roof.”
Deficit Panel’s Leaders Push Cuts:
“The leaders of a White House commission laid out a sweeping proposal to cut the federal budget deficit by hundreds of billions a year by targeting sacrosanct areas of U.S. tax and spending policy, such as Social Security benefits, middle-class tax breaks and defense spending.”
Rand Paul looking to make D.C. splash with Senate Tea Party Caucus:
“Kentucky Republican Senator-elect Rand Paul is already making waves in Washington, D.C. with plans to organize either a Senate or bicameral Tea Party Caucus.”
Panel Seeks Social Security Cuts and Tax Increases:
“The chairmen of President Obama’s bipartisan commission on reducing the national debt outlined a politically provocative and economically ambitious package of spending cuts and tax increases on Wednesday, igniting a debate that is likely to grip the country for years.”
Legal:
Justice, Denied:
“Under attorney general Eric Holder, the Obama Department of Justice (DOJ) is dangerously politicized, radically leftist, racialist, lawless, and at times corrupt. The good news is that it’s also often incompetent. This means the Holderites can bungle their leftist lawlessness so badly that even the most reticent of judges are obliged to smack them down.”
Terror chief tries to board plane with banned liquids:
“Britain’s anti-terror chief launched an astonishing attack on airport security staff after they stopped her taking a banned amount of liquid onto a plane.”
Tobacco settlement – a pinnacle of corporate government collusion – faces challenge in Supreme Court :
“The free-market Competitive Enterprise Institute (where I once served as a journalism fellow) filed a suit, arguing that the pact was unconstitutional. CEI has now filed a brief with the Supreme Court, asking the body to hear the group’s complaint.”
Tobacco Settlement Could Go to the Supreme Court:
“Now, thanks to the efforts of a pro-free market organization called the Competitive Enterprise Institute, the agreement may be headed to the United States Supreme Court because, the groups argues, it violates the Compact Clause of the U.S. Constitution.”
Labor:
BA Cabin Crew Ballot Called Off, Union Says:
“A vote on strike action now looks likely after members of the union refused to back a new deal put forward by the airline.”
California’s Largest State Worker Union Seals Deal With Schwarzenegger:
“On Tuesday, Service Employees International Union Local 1000 announced that its members had ratified a labor agreement expected to reduce state spending by about $400 million this year, the Sacramento Bee reports.”
Transportation/ Land Use:
Madison Mayor Not Giving Up On High-Speed Rail:
“The federal stimulus bill allocated $810 million for a Madison-to-Milwaukee line. But Walker wants to use the money for other purposes or give it back.”