Archives for April 2009

We have Thursday’s top news… What is the Obama plan for keeping Chrysler afloat?  Who does he blame for not being part of the government plan for Chrysler?  What fate awaits Chrysler CEO Robert Nardelli?  How is this news being received in Detroit?  What action is Congress taking towards the credit card industry?  Why is Vice President Biden creating headaches for the White House on the swine flu scare?  What happened on Wall Street Thursday?  We have the answers as we bring you the biggest stories for Thursday, April 30, 2009.

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On Thursday, President Obama announced Chrysler would be merging with Fiat and going through a 60-day Chapter 11 bankruptcy process.  Will the bankruptcy court rubber stamp Obama’s plan or exercise some independence?  Why do some see this as a sweetheart deal for labor unions?  What is the real story behind Obama’s slamming of bondholders and hedge fund managers who are not going along with his plan?  And why is the merger with Fiat more disturbing than it is reassuring?  We ask John Berlau, director of the Center for Investors and Entrepreneurs at the Competitive Enterprise Institute.

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What grade should President Obama get for his first 100 days in office?  What grade should the media get for their conduct since Obama came to the White House?  Will Sen. Arlen Specter look back at his party switch as the move that saved his political career, or is this a crass political move that his constituents will reject?  Is the government handling the swine flu threat well or turning a minor outbreak into full-blown hysteria?  And how close are Taliban extremists to toppling the Pakistani government?  We ask John Gizzi, political editor at Human Events.

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One of the next major items on President Obama’s agenda is to pass health care reform legislation.  But while it sounds good to some that the government will intervene and make health care more affordable, what will be the real outcome?  Why will rationing have to take place if health care costs are really to be reduced?  What patients will simply be told their medicine or surgery won’t happen because it’s not ‘cost effective’?  How is this already happening in countries with government-run care?  Why will you still get sucked into the government system even if you stay with private insurance?  Why are Democrats not even planning to hold debate on this major legislation?  What is the Republican alternative?  We ask Arizona Rep. John Shadegg, a member of the House Energy and Commerce Committee.

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The U.S. is by far the most generous nation on earth – especially towards developing nations.  But who is leading the way?  It’s not foreign aid from the U.S. government, but increasingly generous contributions from religious congregations around the U.S.  So how much are churchgoing Americans giving to developing nations?  What exactly is that money going towards?  How is it being delivered?  And how does the U.S. stack up in comparison with other industrialized nations?  We ask Carol Adelman, director of the Hudson Institute’s Center for Global Prosperity.  The center just published its latest ‘Index of Global Philanthropy’.

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We have Wednesday’s top news… What is President Obama saying about the swine flu?  Why is the World Health Organization raising the pandemic threat level?  What legislative gift did Congress give the president on his 100th day in office?  What do the latest poll numbers suggest about support for Obama?  How did the economy perform in the first quarter of 2009?  What happened on Wall Street Wednesday?  We have the answers as we bring you the biggest stories for Wednesday, April 29, 2009.

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So what do Republicans think of President Obama’s first 100 days in office?  What philosophy have they seen emerge on the economy and many other issues?  Why is his approach to the military very concerning to others?  What’s the real impact of his upcoming energy plan?  And what do all Americans need to know about how Nancy Pelosi is running the House of Representatives?  We ask Utah Rep. Rob Bishop.

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Legislation has been introduced on Capitol Hill to install hate crimes protection against homosexuals.  But while touted as equal rights legislation, why is this really an assault on religious freedom?  What penalties could preachers face for teaching what the Bible says about homosexuality?  What penalties to people already face for sharing their faith with gay people?  And what do black Americans think about the gay movement calling their efforts a push for civil rights?  We ask Bishop Harry Jackson, Jr., founder of the High Impact Leadership Coalition.

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On Wednesday, the preliminary numbers show a 6.1 percent contraction of the economy.  What’s driving the decline?  What will the revised numbers look like?  What silver lining can be found in this dismal number?  And how big is the threat of inflation in the coming months?  We ask Bill Beach, director of the Center for Data Analysis at the Heritage Foundation.

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The much overrated ‘First 100 Days in Office’ has arrived for President Obama.  So how effective has he been in terms of getting things done?  What major problems could be just around the corner for him?  How long will Americans cut him some slack? And why can’t the media stop talking about him?  We ask Larry Sabato, professor of political science at the University of Virginia.  His latest book is “The Year of Obama”.

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