| Insider Report from Newsmax.com Headlines (Scroll down for complete stories):
1. Ahmadinejad: Israel on Way to ‘Annihilation’
2. Cheney Rebounds From Hospital for Speaking Tour
3. Unions Thwart Postal Service Reform
4. Gallup Poll: Government a ‘Threat’ to Americans
5. Huckabee Bristles at ‘Liberal’ Tag
6. National Debt Jumps for 53rd Straight Year
1. Ahmadinejad: Israel on Way to ‘Annihilation’ Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad said during a visit to Lebanon that Israelis are “the enemies of humanity” and are on their way to “annihilation.” Ahmadinejad on Thursday visited the town of Bint Jbeil near the Israeli border, where Iranian-backed Hezbollah fought battles with Israeli soldiers in 2006, and told thousands of Hezbollah supporters: “The world should know the Zionists are mortal. Today the Lebanese nation is alive and is a role model for regional nations. “The world should know that Bint Jbeil is proud and will stand against the enemies till the end.” Then during a visit to the nearby village of Qana, Ahmadinejad — who refuses to refer to Israel by name — said: “You are victorious and your enemies are defeated. “You will stay and your enemies, who are the enemies of humanity, are on their way to demise and annihilation. You are honored and your Zionist enemies are humiliated and weak.” During his visit to Lebanon, Ahmadinejad met at the Iranian embassy in Beirut with Hezbollah Secretary General Hassan Nasrallah, who has rarely emerged from his bunker since the 2006 war in Lebanon, the Israeli newspaper Haaretz reported. Nasrallah gave Ahmadinejad a gun he claimed had been taken from Israeli soldiers during the war. Israel’s Foreign Ministry said Ahmadinejad was “transforming Lebanon into a platform for his aggressive plans against Israel.” Editor's Note:
2. Cheney Rebounds From Hospital for Speaking Tour Former Vice President Dick Cheney is bouncing back from five weeks in a hospital and planning a speaking tour this year — plus a book tour when his memoirs are published next year. Cheney, 69, spent much of the summer at Inova Fairfax Heart and Vascular Institute in Virginia and in July had a pump placed in his heart to combat coronary artery disease. He reportedly hasn’t decided if he will seek a heart transplant. “It was a tough summer, and very serious surgery,” his daughter Liz Cheney told Politico, but “he’s got his strength back, is loving hanging out with the grandkids, planning his next hunting and fishing trips, finishing his book and getting back engaged in the issues the country’s facing.” Cheney’s book will likely be released next summer. Before that, he has booked about 10 paid speaking appearances for the remainder of this year. He recently appeared with his wife, Lynne, at the Bakersfield (Calif.) Business Conference, and a week earlier spoke to the Council of Insurance Agents & Brokers in Colorado Springs, Colo. Cheney’s book, according to Politico, will include humor and “a little score-settling,” plus an epilogue warning of the threat the United States faces from radical Islam. Editor's Note:
3. Unions Thwart Postal Service Reform The U.S. Postal Service is close to maxing out its $15 billion line of credit with the Treasury and could run out of operating cash by the end of the year. But its contract with the postal unions is preventing the USPS from implementing the cost reductions it needs to get its finances under control. Labor accounts for 80 percent of the USPS’s costs — the Service has the second largest civilian workforce in the nation, behind only Wal-Mart — and 85 percent of workers are protected by the collective bargaining agreement. “The unions have become a giant anchor on an already sinking ship,” Tad DeHaven, a budget analyst at the Cato Institute, wrote in an article appearing on The Daily Caller. Last year the average postal worker received about $79,000 in total compensation, compared to $61,000 for the average private sector employee. But the union contracts “inhibit the flexibility required to efficiently manage the USPS workforce,” according to DeHaven. He cited the “no-layoff” provisions that protect most workers, which forces the USPS to lay off lower-cost part-time and temporary workers before it can fire a full-time employee. Union contracts also make it difficult for the USPS to hire part-time workers, which could result in savings and give managers flexibility in dealing with fluctuations in workload. Only 13 percent of USPS employees are part-time, compared to 53 percent for UPS and 40 percent for FedEx. Despite the USPS’s difficulties, the American Postal Workers Union — which represents more than 200,000 workers — is in contract negotiations with the Service and union chief William Burrus insists a pay increase for his members is an “entitlement.” He said the union wants “more money, better benefits.” DeHaven concludes: “The postal unions are likely betting that in a worst case financial scenario for the USPS, policymakers will tap taxpayers for a bailout. Unfortunately, if recent history is a guide, they’re probably correct.” Editor's Note:
4. Gallup Poll: Government a ‘Threat’ to Americans Nearly half of Americans believe the federal government poses “an immediate threat” to the rights and freedoms of ordinary citizens, a new Gallup poll reveals. A bare majority — 51 percent — of poll respondents said they do not believe the government poses a threat, while 46 percent said it does. When that 46 percent were asked in “what ways” it presented a threat, 18 percent said “too many laws/government too big in general,” 17 percent said “too much involvement in people’s private lives,” 15 percent cited “taking away freedom of speech/violating First Amendment,” and 11 percent said “healthcare law.” Back in 2002, only 39 percent of those polled believed the government posed a threat. “An expanded proportion of Americans in 2010 believe the government has overstepped its bounds, growing too intrusive and too powerful,” Gallup said. In the new poll released on Wednesday, 66 percent of Republicans said the government posed a threat to freedoms, compared to just 21 percent of Democrats. The Gallup survey also found that 59 percent of respondents believe the federal government has too much power, while just 8 percent think it has too little power. Similarly, 58 percent of respondents said the government is doing too many things that should be left to individuals and businesses, and 49 percent said there is too much government regulation of business and industry. Editor's Note:
5. Huckabee Bristles at ‘Liberal’ Tag Mike Huckabee called on Ann Coulter to explain why she branded him with a name disdained by conservatives like the former Arkansas governor — “liberal.” When Coulter appeared on Huckabee’s Oct. 9 radio show, he referred to the conservative pundit’s recent statement that “all liberals are atheists. Only the ones who have to stand for election even bother pretending to believe in God. There’s only one true Christian liberal in the country and that’s Mike Huckabee.” Coulter tried to deflect Huckabee by saying “this was not our topic, Governor.” But she did defend the quote by stating that it was not an insult to Huckabee, but to President Barack Obama’s so-called Christian advisers — “they are such fake, phony frauds” — who she believes don’t sufficiently protest abortion in Obama’s presence. “Huckabee, perhaps not surprisingly, appeared more upset at the idea of being called a liberal than he did at any of Coulter’s typically unhinged analogies,” the Mediaite website observed. Coulter evidently based her “liberal” claim on Huckabee’s soft views on illegal immigration during his 2008 presidential run, according to Mediaite, and his assertion that children of illegal aliens should not be punished. Editor's Note:
6. National Debt Jumps for 53rd Straight Year The federal government reached an unhappy milestone with the announcement of the national debt figure for fiscal 2010 — it marked the 53rd straight year the debt had increased over the previous year. As of Sept. 30, the last day of fiscal 2010, the national debt stood at $13,561,623,030,891 — over $13.5 trillion — an increase of $1.65 trillion over fiscal 2009, according to data from the Bureau of the Public Debt, a division of the U.S. Treasury Department. The Bureau’s “total public debt outstanding” includes the portion of the debt held by the public in the form of securities such as Treasury bonds, plus the portion in the form of special government securities held by elements of the federal government itself, such as the Social Security trust fund, according to CNSNews. The Treasury Department has borrowed money from the trust fund to pay government expenses not related to Social Security. Between 1920 and 1930, the federal debt declined every year for 11 years. The last time the federal debt did not increase was in 1957, when Dwight Eisenhower was president. This year the debt stands at around $13.2 trillion more than the debt in 1957. During the federal government’s 53-year run of rising debt, the total has increased by an average of around $250 billion a year. This year’s increase of $1.65 trillion is the second largest rise in the nation’s history. The largest ever? Fiscal 2009’s $1.88 trillion. Editor's Note:
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