Chad’s Morning Brief: America’s Dependent Culture, 7 Years for Murder, LCU Candidate Forum, & More

Here is your Morning Brief for the morning of March 21, 2012. Give us your feedback below and tune in to Lubbock’s First News with Chad Hasty for these and many more topics from 6-9 am.

1. House Republicans Unveil Budget Blueprint (link)

On Tuesday, Rep. Paul Ryan and House Republicans unveiled their budget plan which Ryan said would move America away from a "dependent culture". According to FOX News:

The plan reprises a controversial proposal first pitched last year which would overhaul Medicare for those currently under 55. The plan would let those beneficiaries choose from a list of plans, including the traditional fee-for-service Medicare plan as well as private plans which the government would subsidize.

The deficit in 2015, for example, would drop to about $300 billion from $1.2 trillion for the current budget year.

But the plan has already hit resistance from the Democratic side, as it makes cuts to Medicaid, food stamps, Pell Grants and other Obama priorities.

The plan isn't sitting well with Democrats, many of whom have already come out and blasted the plan.

The truth is, it's going to be almost impossible for this plan to work. Not because it's a bad plan, but because you are taking away people's entitlements. Do we have a dependent culture here in the United States? You bet we do. We are dealing with a frame of mind in country that is terrible. It is one that expects to be given free stuff instead of working hard. Everyday more and more people are becoming more and more dependent on government and Democrats love it.

The GOP plan will probably hurt a little in some areas, but it might just help save this country.

2. LCU Candidate Forum

The LCU College Republicans hosted a Candidate Forum last night, and it was great seeing so many people attend. On the show today, I will give some of my thoughts on what the candidates had to say. There were some good speeches, and some not so good speeches. Some people, like Dwight Fullingim, left me wondering why he was running in the first place. Fullingim spoke after Paul R. Beane and said that he agrees with everything Beane said. Fullingim even said he was a fan of Beane, but was running to give people a choice.

The big question of the night went unanswered. Why is Chris Winn running for Congress? I still have no idea. Winn spoke about how Washington was broken and needed to be fixed for the children, but gave no plans and no reason why Neugebauer should be voted out. Maybe we will learn why soon, but if I was Winn, I'd stop wasting time and tell the voters why he should replace Neugebauer in D.C.

If you attended the LCU Forum, what were your thoughts?

3. 7 Years for Murder? (link)

Story out of Dallas where a 12 year old was given up to seven years in in juvenile prison for his involvement in the murder of a Dallas man.

A 12-year-old boy barely as tall as the judge's dais pleaded guilty Tuesday morning to aggravated robbery in exchange for up to seven years in juvenile prison in connection with the killing of a man pushed into a moving South Dallas DART train last year.

The boy could be in a Texas Juvenile Justice Department facility up until he turns 19, or he could be released on parole sooner, for his part in the killing of 19-year-old Octavius Lanier (right). A grand jury declined to approve a potentially harsher sentence that could have included decades in an adult prison for the Nov. 22 killing.

The boy is not being named because he is a juvenile.

He is the third boy to plead guilty in the slaying of Lanier, who was dragged about 30 feet at the MLK Station, severing his femoral artery. A 14-year-old boy and a 15-year-old boy separately pleaded guilty in exchange for 30-year sentences. Those two were said to be the most aggressive of the attackers, while the boy who appeared on Tuesday was the least aggressive, according to prosecutors

So a 19 year old is dead, and here you have the punishments. Are they harsh enough? Too harsh? What do you think about this? At what age do you know right from wrong?

4. Romney Takes on a College Student Who Wants Free Birth Control (link)

Good stuff from Mitt Romney. Also, this shows just how smart an Obama voter is.

Campaigning at Bradley University in Peoria, Ill. yesterday, Mitt Romney quickly criticized a student for wanting "free stuff" from the government.

"You're all for like 'yay freedom and all this stuff and yay pursuit of happiness,'" said the college-aged girl. "You know what would make me happy? Free birth control."

"Let me tell you something, if you're looking for free stuff that you don't have to pay for, vote for the other guy," Romney told the student. "That's what he's all about."

You can check out the video in the link above for more. What a great comeback from Mitt Romney though. What a moronic girl though. Seriously, she should be thrown out of college for asking that type of question. Free birth-control would make her happy? Why not a Lexus or BMW? In fact, I'm shocked she didn't just ask for free stuff all around because sure, that would make someone happy.

She isn't concerned about the debt, or finding a job once she leaves college. Instead, she just wants free birth-control.

5. Dumb story of the morning (link)

Good to see the Obama Administration holding a hard line on Iran.

The United States is offering some breathing room in its seemingly ironclad set of sanctions against Iran, underscoring the difficulty the U.S. and other countries may have in truly freezing out the Iranian regime.

The State Department on Tuesday announced exemptions for 11 countries from the newly passed economic sanctions expected to hit Iran's financial and energy sectors.

 

At the same time, the United States is allowing for the export of food, medicine and related products to Iran, under a long-established exemption for humanitarian items.

And that trade has spiked in recent weeks, with Iran buying wheat from the United States for the first time in three years.

According to the U.S. Department of Agriculture, U.S. companies have sold 180,000 tons of the staple crop to Iran in the past month.

6. Good Brews Good News of the Day (link)

10 year old saves sister.

A 10-year-old boy ran back into a burning home to save his younger sister. The fire broke out Sunday night in Newburg on Garda Avenue. Three children and their mother went to the hospital, but all are now out and recovering.

"I didn't know where to go because the fire was standing right by me, so I couldn't go nowhere," said 6-year-old Trinity Burks.

Everyday, Good Brews Coffee & Tea Lounge brings you the Good News of the Day!

Other Top Stories:

Mitt Romney Wins Big in Illinois

Meadow Teacher Arrested for Improper Relationship With Student

Bristol Palin Awaits Obama's Call

Rice Doesn't Want to be VP

Fried Girl Scout Cookies at the State Fair this Year

Guests Appearing on LFN Today:

Larry Williams at 7:37am

These and many more topics coming up on today’s edition of Lubbock’s First News with Chad Hasty. Tune in mornings 6-9am on News/Talk 790 KFYO, streaming online at kfyo.com, and now on your iPhone and Android device with the radioPup App. All guest interviews can be heard online in our podcast section after the show at kfyo.com.