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To: steve harris who wrote (304649)	3/3/2011 11:07:44 PM
From: joseffy	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 306849

Obama: No Arming of U.S. Agents in Mexico March 03, 2011 foxnews.com President Obama on Thursday appeared to reject the idea of arming U.S. agents in Mexico, saying after a meeting with Mexican President Felipe Calderon that the two governments will look at other ways to protect American officials in the wake of a fatal shooting last month. "There are laws in place in Mexico that say that our agents should not be armed," Obama said, describing the U.S. role south of the border as an "advisory" one. "We do not carry out law enforcement activities inside of Mexico." The president's statement answers speculation about how far the administration would go in reforming safety measures in response to the killing three weeks ago of Immigration and Customs Enforcement agent Jaime Zapata in Mexico. The shooting death raised questions in the U.S. about Mexico's ability to control violence but U.S. officials earlier wouldn't say whether Obama would press the Mexican leader to allow U.S. agents to be armed. Coming out of the meeting Thursday afternoon, both presidents stressed that U.S. agents cannot be armed. Obama said he was nevertheless concerned about the safety of agents and that they would examine "procedures and protocols" for how to better protect them. Calderon said Mexican officials are "deeply analyzing alternatives." Obama, signaling the two presidents discussed the killing, thanked the Mexican government Thursday for its cooperation in the investigation and vowed that the United States would be a "full partner" in fighting the drug cartels. "Whether they live in Texas or Tijuana, our people have a right to be safe in their communities," Obama said. Shortly before the meeting, U.S. Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano also told a House committee that the administration would seek to extradite the suspects in the case so they can be prosecuted in the United States. Several suspects have been arrested in the killing of Zapata, and Mexican authorities say one has confessed. Napolitano declined to discuss reported statements from suspects being held in Mexico that the Feb. 15 killing was a case of mistaken identity Despite the ongoing concerns about the ICE agent killing, the president was able to announce a breakthrough in a longstanding trucking dispute between the two countries. Obama, speaking at a joint press conference with his Mexican counterpart, announced that the countries had "finally found a clear path" to resolving the trucking dispute, saying the proposal would lift tariffs on U.S. goods, expand U.S. exports and create jobs. The plan would open up U.S. highways to Mexican trucks, removing a long-standing roadblock to improved relations between the North American allies. An Obama administration official said the two leaders have agreed to a phased-in plan that would authorize both Mexican and U.S. long-haul carriers to engage in cross-border operations, provided that the Mexican trucks meet U.S. safety standards. Both countries were given this authority under the 1994 North American Free Trade Agreement, but the U.S. has refused to allow Mexican trucks access amid concerns over their ability to meet America's stringent safety and environmental standards. At the press briefing Thursday, Obama also re-emphasized his commitment to pursuing comprehensive immigration reform, something that has eluded him so far. The contentious debate over immigration dominated Calderon's visit to the White House in May, shortly after Arizona passed a law that makes it a state crime to be in the U.S. illegally and requires police to question people about their immigration status if there's reason to suspect they're illegal. Mexico's government strongly opposes the law, and the Mexican Senate this week urged Calderon to again vehemently make their opposition known to Obama. Congressional Hispanic Caucus Chairman Rep. Charles Gonzalez, D-Texas, said in a statement Thursday that his group remains "committed" to comprehensive immigration reform, despite the failure last year to pass a bill providing some illegal immigrant students and military members a pathway to legalized status. "Despite this impasse, the CHC remains committed to our stated goal of passing comprehensive immigration reform and will continue to work to find a bipartisan solution to one of our nation's most untenable problems," Gonzalez said. Obama and Calderon were also expected to discuss U.S. aid to help support Mexico in the drug war, something Obama touched on at the press briefing. A senior administration official said the U.S. plans to speed up implementation of the $1.4 billion Merida Initiative, with $900 million to be doled out by the end of the year. The official spoke on the condition of anonymity in order to preview the announcement. The announcement comes as the State Department issued a report praising Mexico's government for increased drug seizures and better efforts to combat narcotics trafficking and money laundering. But it said Mexican production of marijuana, heroin and methamphetamines was rapidly rising, and that cartels were becoming even more dangerous through use of sniper rifles, grenades and increasingly military tactics.

To: steve harris who wrote (304649)	3/3/2011 11:09:47 PM
From: joseffy	Respond to of 306849

Execs of PBS, NPR make more $ than Obama----- Public Broadcasting Should Go Private If these outfits can afford to pay lavish salaries to their heads, they don't need taxpayer help. By JIM DEMINT MARCH 4, 2011 online.wsj.com When presidents of government-funded broadcasting are making more than the president of the United States, it's time to get the government out of public broadcasting. While executives at the Public Broadcasting Service (PBS) and National Public Radio (NPR) are raking in massive salaries, the organizations are participating in an aggressive lobbying effort to prevent Congress from saving hundreds of millions of dollars each year by cutting their subsidies. The so-called commercial free public airwaves have been filled with pleas for taxpayer cash. The Association of Public Television Stations has hired lobbyists to fight the cuts. Hundreds of taxpayer-supported TV, radio and Web outlets have partnered with an advocacy campaign to facilitate emails and phone calls to Capitol Hill for the purpose of telling members of Congress, "Public broadcasting funding is too important to eliminate!" PBS President Paula Kerger even recorded a personal television appeal that told viewers exactly how to contact members of Congress in order to "let your representative know how you feel about the elimination of funding for public broadcasting." But if PBS can pay Ms. Kerger $632,233 in annual compensation—as reported on the 990 tax forms all nonprofits are required to file—surely it can operate without tax dollars. The executives at the Corporation for Public Broadcasting (CPB), which distributes the taxpayer money allocated for public broadcasting to other stations, are also generously compensated. According to CPB's 2009 tax forms, President and CEO Patricia de Stacy Harrison received $298,884 in reportable compensation and another $70,630 in other compensation from the organization and related organizations that year. That's practically a pittance compared to Kevin Klose, president emeritus of NPR, who received more than $1.2 million in compensation, according to the tax forms the nonprofit filed in 2009. Today's media landscape is a thriving one with few barriers to entry and many competitors, unlike when CPB was created in 1967. In 2011, Americans have thousands of news, entertainment and educational programs to choose from that are available on countless television, radio and Web outlets. Getty Images PBS President and CEO Paula Kerger Despite how accessible media has become to Americans over the years, funding for CPB has grown considerably. In 2001, the federal government appropriated $340 million for CPB. Last year it got $420 million. As Congress considers ways to close the $1.6 trillion deficit, cutting funding for the CPB has even been proposed by President Obama's bipartisan deficit reduction commission. Instead, Mr. Obama wants to increase CPB's funding to $451 million in his latest budget. Meanwhile, highly successful, brand-name public programs like Sesame Street make millions on their own. "Sesame Street," for example, made more than $211 million from toy and consumer product sales from 2003-2006. Sesame Workshop President and CEO Gary Knell received $956,513 in compensation in 2008. With earnings like that, Big Bird doesn't need the taxpayers to help him compete against the Nickleodeon cable channel's Dora the Explorer. Taxpayer-subsidized broadcasting doesn't only make money from licensing and product sales. It also raises plenty of outside cash. Last year, for example, the Open Society Foundation, backed by liberal financier George Soros, gave NPR $1.8 million to help support the latter's plan to hire an additional 100 reporters. When NPR receives million-dollar gifts from Mr. Soros, it is an insult to taxpayers when other organizations, such as MoveOn.org demand that Congress "save NPR and PBS" by guaranteeing "permanent funding and independence from partisan meddling," as the liberal interest group did last month. It was even more insulting when PBS posted a message on Twitter thanking MoveOn.org—the group that once labeled Gen. David Petraeus as "General Betray Us"—for the help. The best way to stop the "partisan meddling" in public broadcasting that MoveOn.org complains about is by ending the taxpayers' obligation to pay for it. The politics will be out of public broadcasting as soon as the government gets out of the business of paying for it. Public broadcasting can pay its presidents half-million and million dollar salaries. Its children's programs are making hundreds of millions in sales. Liberal financiers are willing to write million-dollar checks to help these organizations. There's no reason taxpayers need to subsidize them anymore. Mr. DeMint, a Republican, is a senator from South Carolina.