The Kansas Progress

• Obama: Too much debt could fuel double-dip recession

  BEIJING (Reuters) - President Barack Obama gave his sternest warning yet about the need to contain rising U.S. deficits, saying on Wednesday that if government debt were to pile up too much, it could lead to a double-dip recession.
  
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  Posted: November 18, 2009, 11:10am EST
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• China orders Microsoft to halt some Windows sales — Reuters

  Microsoft will have to stop selling the Chinese versions of its Windows 98, 2000, 2003 and Windows XP, according to the court. It is unclear when the ruling will take effect or how many copies are affected. Microsoft said it will appeal the ruling. “Microsoft respects intellectual property rights. We use third [...]
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  Posted: November 18, 2009, 11:10am EST
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• Gold hits record above $1,150/oz as dollar falls

  LONDON (Reuters) - Gold rose to record highs above $1,150 an ounce on Wednesday as the dollar index languished, boosting interest in the metal as an alternative asset, after largely benign U.S. inflation data.
  
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  Posted: November 18, 2009, 11:09am EST
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• MRC — Surprise! Lauer Asks If Dobbs Was ‘Too Conservative’ For CNN?

  NBC’s Matt Lauer, on Tuesday’s Today show, actually asked Lou Dobbs, formerly of CNN, if he and the network parted ways because he was “too conservative” and if CNN was okay with Dobbs’ push for immigration reform when he was attacking George W. Bush but wasn’t happy when Dobbs started [...]
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  Posted: November 18, 2009, 11:09am EST
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• Newt Gingrich — A Stunning 22-Point Shift Away From Government Responsibilty for Health Care

  Polling data released last week by Gallup show a startling shift in public opinion: President Obama and Speaker Pelosi are actually convincing the country to rethink their attitudes and move toward the right and away from government solutions in health care (the same seems to be happening on spending, taxes, [...]
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  Posted: November 18, 2009, 11:08am EST
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• EU ombudsman rebukes EU over errors in Intel case

  BRUSSELS (Reuters) - The European Ombudsman rebuked European Union regulators on Wednesday for procedural errors in their antitrust probe of Intel but the censure will not affect a 1.06 billion euro ($1.58 billion) fine against the U.S. chipmaker.
  
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  Posted: November 18, 2009, 11:08am EST
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• MRC — Four Days After Airing Fake Photos of Sarah Palin, MSNBC ‘Fact Checks’ Former Governor

  Only four days after airing faked photographs purporting to be of Sarah Palin wearing a bikini and holding a gun, MSNBC hosts on Tuesday decided they were qualified to fact check the ex-governor of Alaska. Contessa Brewer chided Palin’s new memoir: “But can this book really be classified as fact, [...]
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  Posted: November 18, 2009, 11:07am EST
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• KU faculty, staff, students honored for promoting sustainable practices

  Nov. 18, 2009 Contact: Jeff Severin, Center for Sustainability, (785) 864-5804 KU faculty, staff, students honored for promoting sustainable practices More Information Center for Sustainability LAWRENCE - The Center for Sustainability at the University of Kansas recently presented its annual Sustainability Leadership Awards, recognizing faculty, staff and students for outstanding leadership and creativity in addressing [...]
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  Posted: November 18, 2009, 11:07am EST
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• KU film professor’s ‘The Only Good Indian’ wins three awards at festival

  Nov. 18, 2009 Contact: Mary Jane Dunlap, University Relations, (785) 864-8853 KU film professor’s ‘The Only Good Indian’ wins three awards at festival More Information Department of Film and Media Studies LAWRENCE - A film by a University of Kansas faculty member won three top awards at the 34th annual American Indian Film Festival held Nov. [...]
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  Posted: November 18, 2009, 11:05am EST
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• ALG — State Recessions, Big Government Obsessions

  Responsible state governments need to help their employees understand that, just as “a rising tide lifts all boats,” a sinking ship sucks everyone down. And since out-of-work private sector workers can no longer afford to employ public sector drones, the only just and equitable solution is for government to reduce [...]
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  Posted: November 18, 2009, 11:02am EST
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• ATR — Which Tax Hikes in Senate Health Bill Violate Obama’s Tax Promise?

  300 percent of the federal poverty line is well under $250,000. For a family of four, it’s $67,000. For an individual, it’s about $30,000. · Employer Mandate Tax. $400 per employee if health coverage is not offered. Note: this is a huge incentive to drop coverage, as $400 is [...]
  
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  Posted: November 17, 2009, 9:39pm EST
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• Citizens Against Gov’t Waste — Taxpayers Go Trick-or-Treating

  Trick: The American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA), or “stimulus,” was supposed to create millions of jobs. But the Associated Press reported on October 28 that the figures are bogus, making those jobs as real as Casper the ghost, especially with the unemployment rate above 10 percent. The stimulus ensures [...]
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  Posted: November 17, 2009, 9:38pm EST
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• Heritage — New Health Care House Bill Has Plenty of New Taxes

  The new House health care plan released by Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) contains more tax increases than were in the original House plans known as the “tri-committee bill.” While Blue Dog Democrats can take some consolation in the fact that a few more small businesses will be exempt from the [...]
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  Posted: November 17, 2009, 9:36pm EST
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• ATR — Obama’s $250,000 Tax Pledge Timeline

  President Barack Obama’s central campaign promise was a “firm pledge” not to raise “any form” of taxes on families making less than $250,000 per year. Rather than immediately and unequivocally re-affirming the tax pledge during interviews, this timeline of statements by Obama and White House staff and advisors raises questions understandably [...]
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  Posted: November 17, 2009, 9:36pm EST
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• Nat’l Taxpayers Union — An Open Letter to the United States House of Representatives: Oppose H.R. 3905, the Estate Tax Relief Act of 2009

  Dear Representative: On behalf of the 362,000 members of the National Taxpayers Union (NTU), I write to ask that you oppose H.R. 3905, the so-called “Estate Tax Relief Act of 2009,” which dramatically hikes taxes by canceling repeal of this onerous levy in 2010, while slowly moving toward an exemption level [...]
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  Posted: November 17, 2009, 9:35pm EST
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• Christopher Klicka: Warrior for Educational and Religious Freedom — A Tribute by Dr. John A. Sparks

  A young dark-haired student, Chris Klicka, sat in my U.S. Constitutional History class at Grove City College, Grove City, Pennsylvania around 1980. He was an excellent student with a particularly keen interest in questions about religious liberty and how that liberty might be protected. What I did not know at [...]
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  Posted: November 17, 2009, 9:34pm EST
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• ATR — New Movie Unveils Corrupt New Jersey Public Schools

  “Teachers punished for speaking out. Principals fired for trying to do the right thing. Union leaders defending the indefensible. Bureaucrats blocking new charter schools. Teens who can’t read, parents desperate for change, and teachers struggling to launch stable alternative schools for inner city kids who want to learn.” This is [...]
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  Posted: November 17, 2009, 9:33pm EST
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• A Friendly Response Regarding School District Transparency — Brett Davis

  Given that a local blogger has both complimented and taken issue with our blog post from last week calling for school districts to post their budgets and warrants (check registers) online, we thought it pertinent to address his concerns, since others may have similar observations. In the warm-and-fuzzy titled blog, The [...]
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  Posted: November 17, 2009, 9:33pm EST
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• Dangerous Schools — Don Soifer

  Can you name a school you would describe as “persistently dangerous?” You might think so, but according to official education statistics, there are only 38 persistently dangerous public schools in the United States, and these occur only in a small handful of states (see chart below). Even though parents consistently [...]
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  Posted: November 17, 2009, 9:32pm EST
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• Center for Individ Freedom — Education Reform Awakens the Silent Majority

  In 1965, a young economist named Mancur Olson published a book that revolutionized the study of interest group politics. In “The Logic of Collective Action,” Olson turned the conventional wisdom about the economics of political power on its head. Up until that point, the foremost anxiety of good government devotees had [...]
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  Posted: November 17, 2009, 9:31pm EST
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• Kansas GOP on Tom Wiggans’ announcement for Governor vs. Sam Brownback

  KSGOP CHAIR RESPONDS TO WIGGANS ANNOUNCEMENT For Immediate Release November 17, 2009 Contact: Lisa Burgess (785) 766-0663 Topeka, KS - Kansas Republican Party Chair Amanda Adkins released the following statement today regarding Tom Wiggans’ announcement to run for Governor: “It is hard to imagine Kansas Democrats would actually nominate for Governor someone who has never voted [...]
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  Posted: November 17, 2009, 4:38pm EST
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• Great Black Friday Prices Via Twitter & Facebook

  NEW YORK (AP) - You may want to check Facebook and Twitter before heading to the mall the day after Thanksgiving. Office supplies chain Staples Inc. this week used social media to advertise price cuts of nearly 50% for Nov. 27 on certain laptops, GPS devices and computer monitors, and still [...]
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  Posted: November 17, 2009, 4:36pm EST
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• KMBC — Under New Management: Your Credit Card

  Your favorite credit card may soon be under new management. With nearly 100 banks going out of business in the first nine months of 2009, bank failures remain the most common way that cardholders can find themselves dealing with a new creditor. But with the banking industry in upheaval, cardholders may [...]
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  Posted: November 17, 2009, 4:36pm EST
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• The Street: Cool New Cars Under $5K

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  Posted: November 17, 2009, 4:35pm EST
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• The Street — Ridiculous Start-Up: Billionaire Auction Site

  BillionaireXchange.com made its debut last week, after a trial version of the site launched several months earlier. The site is marketing itself as the first and only online marketplace specifically designed for billionaires. But, as ABC reports, this may be a bit of a stretch.
  
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  Posted: November 17, 2009, 4:35pm EST
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• Marco Rubio campaign — VIDEO: Why Honesty & Credibility Matter

  Honesty and credibility.  They are among the most important qualities our leaders should have.  And yet, they are often among the most lacking. Too frequently, politicians say and do almost anything to win elections or to get by the latest political crisis.  Marco believes you deserve better.   He believes you have a right [...]
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  Posted: November 17, 2009, 4:33pm EST
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• Sen. Merkley: Authority to Force People to Buy Health Insurance is Part of Congress’ Very First Enumerated Power

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  Posted: November 17, 2009, 4:32pm EST
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• Sessions to Filibuster Obama’s Judicial Nominee David Hamilton

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  Posted: November 17, 2009, 4:31pm EST
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• House Health Care Bill Provides Grants to Increase Teen Contraception Use

  (CNSNews.com) - A provision in the recently passed House health care reform bill (H.R. 3962) creates a grant program to reward groups that promote contraceptive use among teens.
  
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  Posted: November 17, 2009, 4:30pm EST
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• Ed Week — Half of States Now Offer Online-Learning Programs

  Test scores on state assessments for students with disabilities have increased in recent years, according to a new study released today. The Washington-based Center on Education Policy examined state mathematics and reading test results from the 2005-06 school year to the 2007-08 school year. Those state tests are used to determine [...]
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  Posted: November 17, 2009, 4:29pm EST
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• ATR — Global Flat Tax Revolution

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  Posted: November 17, 2009, 12:54pm EST
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• ATR — Where Does Obama Stand on the “Aspirin Tax”

  Just before adjourning, House Ways and Means Committee Chairman Charlie Rangel (D-NY) snuck in an additional tax hike . It would prevent Americans with health spending accounts like FSAs, HSAs, and HRAs from using the money to buy over-the-counter medicines. Under current law, families can use the money in these [...]
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  Posted: November 17, 2009, 12:53pm EST
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• Steve Moore’s Keys to Prosperity — AFP

  Many of you asked for Steve Moore’s slides after his excellent presentation in the “Bankrupting America” panel at RightOnline. For your convenience we are posting his entire slide presentation (including the ones he skipped) as a Scribd PDF file here:
  
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  Posted: November 17, 2009, 12:53pm EST
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• AFP — Americans for Prosperity Exposes the Left’s ‘Secret Plan’ to Use Forced Unionization to Take Over the Country

  Contact: Phil Kerpen or James Valvo (202) 285-9714 Americans for Prosperity Exposes the Left’s “Secret Plan” to Use Forced Unionization to Take Over the Country PITTSBURGH - Competing panels at new media conferences presently taking place in Pittsburgh-NetRoots Nation and RightOnline-highlight what’s at stake in the fight over the so-called Employee Free [...]
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  Posted: November 17, 2009, 12:53pm EST
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• SuzyB — Latest Health Care Distortion: Health Care Reform Will Reduce Abortions

  As President Obama begins a ramped-up effort to increase support for the proposed reform, liberal groups are trying their hardest to spin the facts and distort the truth. This latest effort comes with a guarantee from Third Way that the reform bill “would not use taxpayer money to fund abortions,…would [...]
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  Posted: November 17, 2009, 12:51pm EST
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• Business And Media Institute — 16 Percent Unemployment or Worse, On Its Way

  When President Obama took office, I set the over-under for reported unemployment at 16 percent. I have a few wagers on the over, which I would gladly forfeit should he resign and turn the reins over to somebody not hell-bent on destroying the American economy. But I fully expect to [...]
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  Posted: November 17, 2009, 12:49pm EST
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• ATR — Big Labor’s Political Wish List

  Here at AWF, we have compiled what we are calling Big Labor’s “wish list“. This list contains just some of the most egregious pieces of legislation that labor unions want passed. Many bills, like the Employee Free Choice Act, will permenately change labor relations in the United States. As always, AWF [...]
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  Posted: November 17, 2009, 12:48pm EST
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• Voters Want Green… In Their Wallets– Howard Rich

  As the fallout continues to settle from the 2009 elections, among the more overlooked results was a ballot issue in Boulder County, Colorado that would have extended an existing sales tax to fund the acquisition of additional “open space.”
  
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  Posted: November 17, 2009, 12:48pm EST
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• SuzyB: Unborn Learn Accents While in the Womb

  New research shows babies don’t just wail to any tune. Rather, newborns cry with accents! ABC News featured the research in an article this week, showing that children mimick the natural cadence of their parents’ native languages. French newborns in the study ended their cries with a lilt at the end [...]
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  Posted: November 17, 2009, 12:47pm EST
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• ATR — Stimulus: A Picture is Worth a Thousand… Jobs?

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  Posted: November 17, 2009, 12:47pm EST
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• Recent Funk’s Front Porch

  Funk’s Front Porch 15 November 2009 Dear Folks, This Week’s City Business In his quest to find every method available to communicate with his constituents, the Mayor is hosting his first-ever telephone town hall meeting this coming Wednesday evening, November 17th, at 7 p.m. On Monday, a phone call will go out to over [...]
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  Posted: November 17, 2009, 12:08pm EST
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• When the Rich Get Poorer, Look Out Below — Mark Skousen, Human Events

  The financial crisis has hit the rich hard — the net worth of rich Americans has fallen an average 24% in the past year, according to a new Merrill Lynch Wealth Management report. The number of people with investable assets over $1 million has fallen from 3 million to 2.5 [...]
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  Posted: November 17, 2009, 12:07pm EST
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• Taking On Soda Taxes

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  Posted: November 17, 2009, 12:05pm EST
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• ATR — “Public Plan” or No “Public Plan,” House Dem Health Bill Bad for Taxpayers

  Whether the final health bill has a public plan (a.k.a. “co-op”) or not, it’s important for taxpayers to realize that the tax increases will stay. In particular, there are four tax hikes in the House bill that violate Obama’s promise not to raise taxes on familes making less than $250,000 [...]
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  Posted: November 17, 2009, 12:05pm EST
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• Rasmussen: 51% Oppose Decision To Try Terrorists in New York City, Just 29% Approve

  Seventy-two percent (72%) of Republicans and 56% of voters not affiliated with either major political party oppose trying the terrorist detainees in a civilian court. Democrats are more closely divided, with a plurality (46%) in favor of the administration’s decision to treat the cases as criminal matters for trial in [...]
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  Posted: November 17, 2009, 10:17am EST
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• Israel displays coins from ancient Jewish revolt

  JERUSALEM (AP) - Israel displayed for the first time Wednesday a collection of rare coins charred and burned from the Roman destruction of the Jewish Temple nearly 2,000 years ago.
  
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  Posted: November 17, 2009, 10:15am EST
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• AFP — Internet inches closer to ‘internationalisation’

  The first applications were accepted on Monday for internationalised domain names (IDNs), in one of the most significant steps to making the Internet more accessible around the globe. The Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN) has opened the application process, ending the exclusive use of Latin characters for website [...]
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  Posted: November 17, 2009, 10:15am EST
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• Denver: Medical marijuana dispensaries subject to sales tax, retail license laws

  Attorney General John Suthers said in a legal opinion released late today that the sale of medical marijuana is subject to taxation. Responding to a query from Gov. Bill Ritter’s office, Suthers, a Republican, said, “Medical marijuana is tangible property that is generally subject to state sales tax.”
  
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  Posted: November 17, 2009, 10:14am EST
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• Wesley Pruden: Obama bows, the nation cringes

  So far it’s a memorable trip. He established a new precedent for how American presidents should pay obeisance to kings, emperors, monarchs, sovereigns and assorted other authentic man-made masters of the universe. He stopped just this side of the full grovel to the emperor of Japan, risking a painful genuflection [...]
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  Posted: November 17, 2009, 10:13am EST
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• NFL Owner Fined $250,000 — Titans Owner Flipped Off Bills Fans

  MYFOXNY.COM - The NFL has fined Tennessee Titans owner Bud Adams $250,000 for making an obscene gesture at Bills fans. It happened Sunday in Nashville. After the Titans beat the Bills 41-17, Adams was seen “flipping off” fans from his luxury suite at the stadium.
  
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  Posted: November 17, 2009, 10:12am EST
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