Lankford criticizes Senate Democrats, Obama on budget

Rep. James Lankford (R-Okla.) hammered Senate Democrats on Saturday for not approving a budget resolution in nearly four years.

Lankford also criticized President Obama for falling behind on finalizing a budget proposal in time for next month's deadline, saying he has "already missed more budget deadlines than any of his predecessors."

"Every family and every business has a budget, our nation should have a budget as well," Lankford, the new chairman of the Republican Policy Committee, said during the GOP's weekly address.

Unlike the Senate, he said the House will pass its budget on time and vowed that "it will be a plan to slowly but surely walk our nation out of debt, deficit and decline."

House Republicans plan to pass a three-month increase in the debt limit next week. They will also seek to add a bill to it that will prevent lawmakers from being paid if the House and Senate fail to pass a budget resolution. Speaker John Boehner (R-Ohio) on Friday said the House will pursue strategies to force the upper chamber to pass a budget.

In his address, Lankford took a jab at a comment Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) made about the Senate choosing not to put forward a budget proposal.

"Majority Leader Harry Reid said it would be 'foolish' for his party in the Senate to produce a budget. We disagree. With more than 16 trillion dollars in debt, we believe it is foolish not to have a budget," the Oklahoma Republican said.

He argued that American families are hurt the most by Congress's failure to work out a budget.

"When day to day life costs more and jobs pay less, we don't solve the problem by delaying our federal spending decisions, raising taxes or refusing to tackle our nation's most pressing economic challenges," Lankford said.

While the inauguration and start of a new Congress provides "opportunity for a fresh start," Lankford warned that the GOP "will not simply provide a blank check for uncontrolled spending, irrational borrowing and constant nickel and dime tax increases."

"We should cut Washington's budget, not your family’s budget," he said.

Lankford encouraged both parties to work together on a plan and cited a quote from Martin Luther King, Jr. that said: "‘Life's most persistent and urgent question is: 'What are you doing for others?’"

“That is a good word for all of us and a clarion call that should ring in our ears on his birthday weekend," Lankford said. "Regardless of our differences, we all have the same dreams of a better future for our kids and grandkids."

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CNN Paddles Whole Foods CEO for Calling ObamaCare 'Fascism'

CNN's Carol Costello scolded Whole Foods CEO John Mackey for calling ObamaCare "fascism" on Friday. She also questioned why he was entering the ObamaCare debate at all and lectured him that many of his customers would disagree with his opposition to ObamaCare.

"And you realize when you say 'fascism' it brings up Nazi Germany and all sorts of things. And we really want that kind language out of our public forum at the moment, don't we?" Costello admonished Mackey. [Video below the break. Audio here.]

MSNBC host Keith Olbermann decried President Bush as a fascist back in 2008, but CNN made no mention of the controversy then. Yet only a day after Mackey termed ObamaCare "fascism," the network scolded him while he was on to talk about his latest book.

And as she did with NRA president David Keane, Costello dug through Facebook to find a nasty comment against her guest:

"Some of your customers though did express outrage at your use of that word. It was on the Whole Foods Facebook page. One person said, and I quote, 'Of course, he regrets his word choice. It affects his bottom line. I do not believe this apology any more than I believe Mitt Romney's attempt to get out from under his 47 percent comments.' Care to respond to that customer?"

Costello challenged Mackey why he was even debating ObamaCare, even though he provides health insurance to employees. "But why inject yourself into the debate over ObamaCare in the first place?" she asked. He responded that "these changes in the laws greatly affect us. It's raising our costs. It's making it more difficult to provide the insurance at affordable rates to our – to our team members."

And Costello lectured Mackey on what his customers would think of what he said. "I think, though, that many of your customers probably wouldn't agree with you since, I don't know, you kind of run a store that appeals to the more liberal in America in some ways.

A transcript of the segment, which aired on January 18 on CNN Newsroom at 9:45 p.m. EST, is as follows:

CAROL COSTELLO: Before we get into the book and it sounds like a great book, I'd like to address something you said about ObamaCare, the President's health care plan. You initially labeled the Health Care Act a form of socialism, and then on NPR you called ObamaCare "fascism." Why did you decide to change the terminology?

JOHN MACKEY, Whole Foods CEO: Well clearly that was a bad choice of words. But traditionally socialism means that the means of production are run by the government and in fascism the means of production are still owned by private individuals but they're controlled by the government. And what's happening is, is our health care plan is moving – our health care system is moving away from free enterprise capitalism towards greater governmental control. That was a poor choice of words due to the baggage and associations that go along with it. So now I'm just calling it "government-controlled health care."

COSTELLO: And you realize when you say "fascism" it brings up Nazi Germany and all sorts of things. And we really want that kind language out of our public forum at the moment, don't we?

MACKEY: Apparently – apparently you can't use that word in America any longer, it's taboo.

(Crosstalk)

COSTELLO: That's right because some of your customers –

MACKEY: So be careful, you just used it.

COSTELLO: I did. Some of your customers though did express outrage at your use of that word. It was on the Whole Foods Facebook page. One person said, and I quote, "Of course, he regrets his word choice. It affects his bottom line. I do not believe this apology any more than I believe Mitt Romney's attempt to get out from under his 47 percent comments." Care to respond to that customer?

MACKEY: Well, everyone is entitled to their own opinions and beliefs. This is America.

COSTELLO: But why inject yourself into the debate over ObamaCare in the first place?

MACKEY: Whole Foods has 73,000 team members that we provide insurance for and these changes in the laws greatly affect us. It's raising our costs. It's making it more difficult to provide the insurance at affordable rates to our – to our team members, so I'm trying to protect them as well as I can.

COSTELLO: I think, though, that many of your customers probably wouldn't agree with you since, I don't know, you kind of run a store that appeals to the more liberal in America in some ways.

MACKEY: I don't understand what your question or your point is so –

COSTELLO: I'm just saying some people feel Whole Foods is a politically-correct grocery store because you sell organic goods, you're into health, et cetera, et cetera and some of your customers might be taken aback because – because of that.

MACKEY: They might be. I mean, Whole Foods is a very diverse company. We have a multiplicity of opinions. Again, we're the United States. We have freedom of speech. We're a democracy. We need to have a variety of opinions shared in order for us to remain a vital and prosperous country.

Matt Hadro is a News Analyst at the Media Research Center. Click here to follow Matt Hadro on Twitter.

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What The Daily Beast’s Absurd Vaccine Truther Screed Tells Us About Journalism

Pictured: The Daily Beast's approach to covering vaccination.

I’m not going to link to the execrable anti-vaccine screed published on The Daily Beast today. I’m not even going to link to the thoughtful, well-written counterpoint they published by a infectious disease specialist. To do either would reward a transparent attempt to gin up a pageview-inducing “controversy.” Moreover, it would treat the two pieces as if they were two sides of an argument, as opposed to medical fact and conspiratorial lunacy.

If you must read something on the topic, here‘s how many people die of influenza in the United States and here‘s an explanation of why vaccine panics aren’t worth taking seriously.

What’s particularly galling about The Daily Beast‘s vaccine “debate” is that it treats science criticism like punditry. Political writing is plagued by a consensus of bores, commentators who all have opinions within the same narrow band of “acceptable” views. The online journalism revolution opened this up a bit, but not nearly enough. Hence, as a matter of inclination, I’m reflectively skeptical about claims that editors should refuse to publish authors with certain political opinions simply because they’re “out of the mainstream.” More often than not, such arguments serve more to defend staid political views from challenge than anything else.

Science journalism has, if anything, the opposite problem. The basic task of a science journalist is to explain complicated scientific findings to people who don’t have the time or the expertise to learn it from primary sources. Increasingly, science journalists are acting as science critics as well as science expositors, but that doesn’t undermine the need to fully understand and embrace scientific methodology (if anything, it intensifies it). Science journalism, sadly, often fails in both of these roles. This generally happens when writers lack the time or background knowledge necessary to properly digest and explain the research in question.

That last problem is particularly pronounced because people have a tendency to accept science as fact. Setting aside (wrongly) politicized disciplines like climate science for the moment, people without scientific expertise reading write-ups of research findings are reasonably likely to accept them as fact. So science journalism needs to correct its flaws by more gatekeeping, not (as in politics) less. Editors should work to make sure that only people who are fair and knowledgeable observers of scientists’ work are in a position to explain easily-misinterpreted research to the public.

By setting up vaccination as an issue up for debate in the same way that political questions are, the Beast articles can leave a reader who isn’t aware of the overwhelming scientific consensus might simply throw up their hands (as happens in the climate debate) and say “who knows whose research is right?” But that’s not how it is. People who conclude that there’s a real case that the flu vaccine might do more harm than good are less likely to get flu vaccines, for them or their family. That makes people more likely to get sick and, possibly, die. There isn’t any real debate about this among epidemiologists. This should be settled.

Science journalism isn’t like political writing: it really could benefit from tighter editorial control on the sorts of views expressed. Judging by today, I wouldn’t look to The Daily Beast to point the way forward.

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Presidential Proclamation -- Martin Luther King, Jr., Federal Holiday, 2013

The White House

Office of the Press Secretary

MARTIN LUTHER KING, JR., FEDERAL HOLIDAY, 2013

- - - - - - -

BY THE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA

A PROCLAMATION

At a time of deep division nearly 50 years ago, a booming voice for justice rang out across the National Mall, reverberated around our country, and sent ripples throughout the world. Speaking to thousands upon thousands rallying for jobs and freedom, the Reverend Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., delivered his "I Have a Dream" speech, challenging America to take up the worthy task of perfecting our Union. Today, we celebrate a man whose clarion call stirred our Nation to bridge our differences, and whose legacy still drives us to bend the arc of the moral universe toward justice.

By words and example, Dr. King reminded us that "Change does not roll in on the wheels of inevitability, but comes through continuous struggle." Throughout the 1950s and 1960s, he mobilized multitudes of men and women to take on a struggle for justice and equality. They braved billy clubs and bomb threats, dogs and fire hoses. For their courage and sacrifice, they earned our country's everlasting gratitude.

A half-century later, the march of progress has brought us closer than ever to achieving Dr. King's dream, but our work is not yet done. Too many young people still grow up in forgotten neighborhoods with persistent violence, underfunded schools, and inadequate health care, holding little hope and few prospects for the future. Too many Americans are denied the full equality and opportunity guaranteed by our founding documents. Today, Dr. King's struggle reminds us that while change can sometimes seem impossible, if we maintain our faith in ourselves and in the possibilities of this Nation, there is no challenge we cannot surmount.

Every year, Americans mark this day by answering Dr. King's call to service. In his memory, let us recall his teaching that "we are caught in an inescapable network of mutuality, tied in a single garment of destiny. Whatever affects one directly, affects all indirectly." In keeping with Dr. King's example, let us embrace the belief that our destiny is shared, accept our obligations to each other and to future generations, and strengthen the bonds that hold together the most diverse Nation on earth.

NOW, THEREFORE, I, BARACK OBAMA, President of the United States of America, by virtue of the authority vested in me by the Constitution and the laws of the United States, do hereby proclaim January 21, 2013, as the Martin Luther King, Jr., Federal Holiday. I encourage all Americans to observe this day with appropriate civic, community, and service projects in honor of Dr. King and to visit www.MLKDay.gov to find Martin Luther King, Jr., Day of Service projects across our country.

IN WITNESS WHEREOF, I have hereunto set my hand this eighteenth day of January, in the year of our Lord two thousand thirteen, and of the Independence of the United States of America the two hundred and thirty-seventh.

BARACK OBAMA

The Kids Inaugural Concert: Our Children, Our Future was held to show military kids how much the country appreciates the sacrifices they make while their parents are serving.

The First and Second families kick off Inauguration weekend by participating in the National Day of Service.

First Lady Michelle Obama and Dr. Jill Biden hosted a roundtable for reporters from some of the leading magazines for kids to talk about Joining Forces.

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Armed School Guard Leaves Gun In Student Bathroom

A gun was left in the bathroom of a Michigan public school by an armed guard paid to protect it, according to the school’s director. The Chatfield School, a charter school that teaches K-8 students, hired a retired police weapons instructor to provide armed protection after the massacre at Sandy Hook Elementary. The result wasn’t exactly what they intended:

The security officer “made a breach in security protocol” and left an unloaded weapon in a restroom “for a few moments,” said Chatfield School Director Matt Young.

Young said the school has been in contact with local authorities about the matter and wouldn’t discuss any possible repercussion for the officer, calling it “a personnel matter.” Young also declined to name the security officer.

Experts on gun violence believe that armed guards are unlikely to deter or head off school shootings. Guards also have a track record of abusing students, often in a racially discriminatory fashion.

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McCain visits Syrian refugee camp in Jordan

Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.) tweeted on Saturday that he visited with Syrian refugees at the Zaatari refugee camp in Jordan and said "the world is failing the people of Syria."

Attached to the tweet is photo of McCain at what appears to be the refugee camp. The Arizona Republican also posted another photo on Twitter of a group of Syrian children at the camp.

McCain, the ranking member of the Senate Armed Services Committee, has slammed the Obama administration's handling of the Syrian crisis and called for the United States to arm the rebels fighting against President Bashar al-Assad.  

The Zaatari refugee camp is located close to the border between Jordan and Syria, and many Syrians have entered the camp to flee the violence in their home country, according to the BBC.

On Friday McCain tweeted that he met with military officials and service members in Afghanistan.

McCain and Sen. Joe Lieberman (I-Conn.) visited a Syrian refugee camp on the Turkey-Syria border this spring. During the trip, the two said the international community is "failing the people of Syria" by only providing humanitarian aid and urged the U.S. to arm the rebels battling against Assad's forces. 

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Is Washington DC Trying To Hide Its Homeless Population During Inauguration?

This weekend, as many as 800,000 people will show up in downtown Washington D.C. to watch President Obama’s second inauguration. What they won’t see, however, is D.C.’s homeless population.

That’s because on Thursday, the city issued a special order requiring homeless shelters, which normally close during the day, to remain open on Sunday and Monday. As a result, many of the city’s homeless people will be indoors on inauguration weekend, out of public sight.

In and of itself, giving homeless people a refuge during the day is laudable. Doing so solely on the two days when world’s eyes will be on D.C. raises questions about whether the city is simply trying to hide its homeless residents.

On a typical day, shelters open in the afternoon or evening and accept people who need a place to sleep. Everyone must then leave early the following morning. The only times shelters are required to stay open during the day is during a hypothermia alert when the temperature dips below 32 degrees Fahrenheit.

However, as confirmed to ThinkProgress by phone Friday, the city has already made a special declaration because of the inauguration that all shelters shall remain open during the day on Sunday and Monday, regardless of the weather. There is currently a high of 47 degrees on Sunday during the day, though it will be cold with wind chill.

Willis Johnson, a 53-year-old man who has spent time in the DC shelter system after moving here last year, didn’t take kindly to the city’s move, but he understood their motivation. “D.C. wants to look good for visitors,” Johnson told ThinkProgress. “Its an unfortunate means to an end.” He went on to call it a “band-aid measure to a neglected ongoing social challenge.”

Indeed, the District’s homeless population is growing. In 2012, 6,954 homeless people in Washington D.C., a 6 percent increase from the year before.

Another man currently living in a shelter, Charlie, told ThinkProgress he didn’t necessarily take umbrage at the city’s move, saying that perhaps it’s necessary for security. He was looking forward to being able to stay inside over the weekend.

It’s hard to criticize the District for devoting more resources to helping homeless people get shelter this weekend. But the question is are they willing to be as generous when the cameras are off and the city isn’t the center of attention? Last year’s city budget, which cut homeless services by $7 million even as the District enjoyed a $140 million surplus, might be an indication.

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Lesbian Military Spouse Rejects ‘Offensive’ Guest Membership To Spouses Group

This morning came news that the Association of Bragg Officers Spouses (ABOS) at Ft. Bragg had extended a “guest membership” to Ashley Broadway, the lesbian spouse of Lt. Col. Heather Mack. This concession was to serve as a temporary solution until the group reconsidered its membership policies, which it arbitrarily changed to exclude her. This afternoon, the L.A. Times is reporting that Broadway has rejected the offer, calling it ”not only offensive, but just plain hurtful”:

BROADWAY: My wife wears the same uniform as the spouses of [the club] and she’s just as prepared to give her life for our country. I wake up each and every day to the reality that I’m not equal, that my 15 years of love and faithfulness to my wife and country does not mean I’ll receive support as a military spouse.

Broadway and Mack married in November, but have been together for 15 years. The Pentagon has been supposedly reviewing military benefits for same-sex couples since the repeal of “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” took effect in September 2011, but has yet to take action.

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Raise the Age for Medicare & Soc. Security?

 Highlight transcript below to create clipTranscript:  Print  |  Email Go  Click text to jump within videoFri 18 Jan 13 | 04:33 PM ET CNBC's John Harwood reports House Republicans are going to propose to extend the debt limit until April 15; and Max Richtman, National Committee to Preserve Medicare; and Bill George, Harvard Business School professor, debate whether eligibility for these programs should be raised to age 70.

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