Energy Tax: $2000/year, Federal Hate Crimes Bill Introduced in House, Guns in Mexico are NOT from US

1) Energy costs being bumped $2,000 per household Researcher says tax could be biggest levy ever in the U.S. The vice president for an energy research center says the administration of President Barack Obama is working now on what could end up being the biggest levy ever in the history of the United States, a tax that is expected to cost $2,000 per household. See: http://www.wnd.com/index.php?fa=PAGE.view&pageId=93778 2) Budgets Approved, With No G.O.P. Votes See: http://www.nytimes.com/2009/04/03/us/politics/03budget.html?ref=todayspaper 3) Federal workers may get bigger raises WASHINGTON — Despite President Obama's call for federal employees to "do their part" and accept smaller-than-usual pay raises, Congress is considering a budget that could spend an additional $1.3 billion or more on pay for civilian federal workers. See: http://www.usatoday.com/news/washington/2009-04-03-government-pay-raises_N.htm 4) Fannie, Freddie Bonuses Total About $210 Million In a compensation program that has drawn angry protests from lawmakers, Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac expect to pay about $210 million in retention bonuses to 7,600 employees over 18 months, according to a letter from the mortgage companies' regulator. See: http://online.wsj.com/article/SB123876318076986497.html 5) Federal hate crimes bill introduced in House  Measure lets feds prosecute bias-motivated violence Legislation that would allow the federal government to prosecute bias-motivated violence against LGBT people was introduced Thursday in the U.S. House. Rep. John Conyers (D-Mich.), chair of the House Judiciary Committee, introduced the legislation, H.R. 1913. As of Friday, the bill had 42 co-sponsors. The legislation would allow the Justice Department to assist in the investigation and prosecution of hate crimes committed against LGBT people that result in death or serious injury. The federal government could lend its assistance to local authorities or take the lead in cases if local officials are unwilling or unable to prosecute the cases. See: http://www.washblade.com/thelatest/thelatest.cfm?blog_id=24830 6) The Myth of 90 Percent: Only a Small Fraction of Guns in Mexico Come From U.S. EXCLUSIVE: You've heard this shocking "fact" before -- on TV and radio, in newspapers, on the Internet and from the highest politicians in the land: 90 percent of the weapons used to commit crimes in Mexico come from the United States. -- Secretary of State Hillary Clinton said it to reporters on a flight to Mexico City. -- CBS newsman Bob Schieffer referred to it while interviewing President Obama. -- California Sen. Dianne Feinstein said at a Senate hearing: "It is unacceptable to have 90 percent of the guns that are picked up in Mexico and used to shoot judges, police officers and mayors ... come from the United States." -- William Hoover, assistant director for field operations at the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, testified in the House of Representatives that "there is more than enough evidence to indicate that over 90 percent of the firearms that have either been recovered in, or interdicted in transport to Mexico, originated from various sources within the United States." There's just one problem with the 90 percent "statistic" and it's a big one: It's just not true. In fact, it's not even close. The fact is, only 17 percent of guns found at Mexican crime scenes have been traced to the U.S. …The exaggeration of United States "responsibility" for the lawlessness in Mexico extends even beyond the "90-percent" falsehood -- and some Second Amendment activists believe it's designed to promote more restrictive gun-control laws in the U.S. …"Reporter after politician after news anchor just disregards the truth on this," Cox said. "The numbers are intentionally used to weaken the Second Amendment." See: http://www.foxnews.com/politics/elections/2009/04/02/myth-percent-guns-mexico-fraction-number-claimed/ 7) Running out of ammunition …The shortage is the result of a confluence of events, industry observers say: a run on guns by consumers since the election of President Barack Obama, more ammunition being sent to fight the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, and the increased cost of raw materials needed to make bullets. "In the first three months of the year, we've already sold what we typically sell in an entire year," said Rex Gore, owner of Black Wing Shooting Center in Delaware. Sales now are limited to a few boxes at a time, depending on the caliber, he said. "We've never seen anything like this before," Gore said. "We've had spikes in demand before with other administration changes, after 9/11 and when people were preparing for Y2K, but nothing like this. See: http://www.columbusdispatch.com/live/content/local_news/stories/2009/04/02/ammo_shortage.ART_ART_04-02-09_A1_82DEC41.html?sid=101 8) Russia's Medvedev hails 'comrade' Obama LONDON (AFP) - - Russia's Dmitry Medvedev hailed Barack Obama as "my new comrade" Thursday after their first face-to-face talks, saying the US president "can listen" -- even if little progress was made on substance. The Russian president contrasted Obama as "totally different" to his predecessor George W. Bush, whom he blamed for the "mistake" of US missile shield plans fiercely opposed by Moscow. See: http://sg.news.yahoo.com/afp/20090403/twl-russia-us-g20-diplomacy-missile-7e07afd.html 9) Worries Rise as North Korea Nears Missile Launch President Barack Obama increased pressure on North Korea to halt moves toward a weekend test of a long-range ballistic missile, warning Pyongyang on Friday that a launch would be "provocative" and wouldn't go unpunished. U.S. defense officials said, however, there were no signs North Korea was curtailing its test and was instead making final preparations for the rocket shot, which could come as early as Saturday -- despite intensified diplomacy and increasingly strong objections from Mr. Obama and the U.S.'s Asian allies. See: http://online.wsj.com/article/SB123880166885488565.html 10) Democrats Try to Bully Coleman… Coleman faces hot seat even if he wins Even if Norm Coleman pulls off a long-shot legal victory in the extended Minnesota Senate race, Democrats are vowing to make him wish that he hadn’t. See: http://www.politico.com/news/stories/0409/20835.html 11) U.S. News' Bonnie Erbe Argues Abortion is a 'Good Decision' in a Recession See: http://newsbusters.org/blogs/colleen-raezler/2009/04/02/u-s-news-bonnie-erbe-argues-abortion-good-decision-recession 12) Iowa Supreme Court legalizes gay marriage See: http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20090404/ap_on_re_us/iowa_gay_marriage