The Week in Review ~ 3.12.2012
Hey, moms are busy people! And in the midst of all the chaos, who’s got time to keep up with the ever-evolving (yet important) world of politics? At MomStop, we keep track of the 5 biggest political stories each week so you don’t have to. These are the stories that the ‘people-in-the-know’ are talking about! So grab some coffee (the Bailey’s is optional) and pull up a chair, because here we go…
U.S. Soldier Goes ‘Rogue,’ Murders 16 Afghan Civilians - In the early hours of Sunday morning, a U.S. soldier left his military base and went on a killing rampage that left at least 16 Afghan civilians dead, and several others wounded. According to the reports, 9 children and 6 women were among the dead. The incident comes at a critical moment in U.S.-Afghan relations. As we brought you last month, 6 U.S. soldiers and more than 30 Afghan civilians were killed during a week of violent protests in the war-torn country after it was discovered that American troops had mistakenly burned some Korans at a military base near Kandahar. After the latest shootings, the U.S. soldier who committed these horrific acts apparently returned to his base and turned himself in. No doubt, this incident will deepen the divide between American forces and Afghan civilians, and will fan the flames of the ongoing debate over whether it’s time for America to get out of Afghanistan, once and for all.
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White House Organizes ‘Prayer Vigil’ for ObamaCare Outside Supreme Court - When public opinion is against you and all else fails, look to a Higher Power. Apparently, that’s the message being promulgated from the White House leading up to the Supreme Court oral arguments over ObamaCare, scheduled for later this month. The New York Times reported this week that White House officials recently summoned dozens of leaders of nonprofit organizations that strongly back the health care law to help them coordinate plans for a ‘prayer vigil,’ ‘press conferences’ and ‘other events’ outside the high court while the arguments are going on inside. They’ve even come up with a slogan for the rally/vigil – “Protect our health care, protect the law.” It will be interesting to see whether this ‘prayer vigil’ is actually allowed to take place, given that just 20 months ago, a group of Christian students was barred by police from bowing their heads and engaging in prayer outside of the Supreme Court based on some vague federal law. Oh, and no word yet on whether the organizers will be passing out free contraceptives at the vigil, but we’ll keep you posted…
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Lottery Winner Still Collecting Food Stamps - A 24-year-old Michigan woman won $1 million last fall from her state’s lottery. What did she do with the money, you ask? Well, it seems Amanda Clayton went and bought herself a new house, a new car and…oh, by the way, she’s still collecting $200 a month in food stamps… Wait, what? That’s right, the ‘welfare-recipient-turned-one-percenter’ continued to receive her benefits from the state of Michigan, even after dialing up the winning digits. After being caught on camera by a local tv station using her “bridge card,” the woman responded with this little nugget –> “I mean, I have bills to pay. I have two houses…” After the story broke late Wednesday, and following public outcry from taxpayers, the State Department of Human Services finally took Clayton off of the food stamp program. Well, fooey… guess she’ll have to sell one of those houses now.
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New Government-Subsidized Light Bulbs Carry Hefty Price Tag - Last year, the Obama Administration announced a $10 million award, called the “L Prize,” for any manufacturer that could create the best “affordable green” light bulb. As you may know, the federal government has mandated that all traditional incandescent light bulbs must be phased out by 2014. Supposedly, the ‘Edison’ light bulb is killing Mother Earth, or something… Last week, the winner of the “L Prize” was announced - Philips will receive $10 million of U.S. taxpayer money for creating a new light bulb that will cost consumers about $50 to purchase. That’s $50 per bulb. Just like the story on the failure of the government-subsidized Chevy Volt that we brought you last week, the ‘Fifty-Buck-Bulb’ is just the latest example of the ‘Reverse-Midas-Touch’ the federal government has when it comes to inserting itself into matters which have historically been left to the free market. Or, as the editorial page at The Washington Times puts it, “The 50-dollar light bulb is a good metaphor for the Obama administration - way too expensive for most Americans to put up with.” Take heart, only 8 more months until election day… 
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Iran Threatens: ’11,000 Missiles Ready to Launch’ at Israel, U.S. Targets - On Saturday, an Iranian ambassador to Lebanon unequivocally stated that the country was prepared to launch ’11,000 missiles within the first minute’ against Israel and U.S. interests in the region if Iranian nuclear facilities are attacked. The threat came on the heels of a meeting earlier in the week between Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and President Obama wherein the American President promised to “have Israel’s back” in the event diplomatic efforts aimed at preventing Iran from obtaining nuclear weapons failed. While U.S. military commanders believe that ‘Iran is not as strong as it portrays itself,’ there still is grave cause for concern, as it remains clear that the Iranians do, in fact, have the ability to launch substantial attacks against nearby Israel and the approximately 250,000 American troops currently located in the region, including in Iraq, Afghanistan and the Persian Gulf. Stay tuned and stay engaged…
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