Joe Biden said on Friday "the hard lifting" is done for the year and now it is time for Democrats to campaign

Vice President Joe Biden said on Friday “the hard lifting” is done for the year and now it is time for Democrats to campaign on their achievements ahead of November 2 congressional elections.Biden spoke at a fund-raising event in Columbia, South Carolina, for Democratic Representative John Spratt’s re-election campaign.

Democrats are trying to prevent Republicans from regaining control of Congress in the November 2 elections amid a weak U.S. economy and a stubbornly high 9.5 percent nationwide unemployment rate.Legislative achievements by President Barack Obama and the congressional Democrats so far have not led to a big vote of confidence from Americans in their leadership.A CNN-Opinion Research poll released on Friday said 42 percent of Americans approve of Obama’s handling of the U.S. economy, compared to 57 percent who disapprove.

Biden, who was a U.S. senator from Delaware for 36 years from 1973 to 2009 until he became vice president, said Democrats in the next three months need to emphasize the tough decisions they have had to make.Since taking office 18 months ago, Obama has pushed through Congress an $862 billion economic stimulus plan, bailed out banks and auto companies, and overhauled the U.S. healthcare system and financial regulations.

“Here’s the problem — we’ve been working so hard to get these major new building blocks laid down,” Biden said. “They are so big, so heavy, that the American people don’t understand what’s in it for them yet.””Now that the hard lifting is done, we’re going to spend the next 90 days going out explaining to people exactly what it means to them,” Biden said.

All 435 seats in the House of Representatives are up for grabs in the November elections and 37 Senate seats. Democrats control both chambers.Analysts believe enough House seats are in play that Republicans could conceivably win the House while falling short of controlling the Senate.

Biden said it is understandable that many Americans are angry about the economy. Once voters pay attention to Republican policies, he said, Democrats will see improved prospects.”They don’t want to think about anything other than what’s made them mad,” he said.Eventually Americans will “have to look at the alternatives and not just be generically angry,” said Biden.(Reuters)

priest wins $100,000 for church in poker game

poker tournament

COLUMBIA, S.C.  A South Carolina priest missed the $1 million top prize in a poker tournament to be televised this weekend but he won $100,000 for his church and he hopes his participation gives viewers a “fun twist” on their perceptions of the priesthood.The Rev. Andrew Trapp said he entered the PokerStars.net Million Dollar Challenge in hopes of putting St. Michael Catholic Church “super close” to its $5.5 million fundraising goal to build a new facility. He also wanted to strike a public relations blow for priests.”At the very least, even if I didn’t win any prize money, I was hoping it would help people to see that priests can have fun and be normal people and hopefully get a little bit of a fun twist on the image of the priesthood,” the assistant pastor said Tuesday.

The top prize went to retired New York Police detective Mike Kosowski. But Trapp won $100,000, untaxed, in a semifinal round in October for the coastal church’s building fund, which has amassed $4 million after four years of fundraising.

For the final episode, a camera crew filmed a Sunday Mass at the church, about 10 miles southwest of Myrtle Beach, and taped Trapp talking about the need for a new building.

“It’s really old. It’s too small for our needs, and it’s really vulnerable if a hurricane comes,” he says in a segment on PokerStars.net.He adds, “God gave me a gift of playing cards – that interest, that hobby – and I could put it to use to help build our church. That just was really exciting for me.”Congregants will gather Sunday afternoon at the church to watch the final televised round.

The 28-year-old Aiken native said he started playing poker in middle school at family gatherings. But it was in seminary in Columbus, Ohio, that he learned Texas Hold ‘Em.

“We just played for fun,” he said. “It was just a way to hang out with each other and to enjoy each other’s company.”Ordained in July 2007, Trapp is the youngest Catholic priest in the statewide diocese.”A lot of young people out there, young Catholics, have never seen a young priest,” he said, adding that maybe the show will lead others to consider the profession.

Before playing, Trapp got permission from his pastor, who told him to “go for it.” The Charleston bishop later gave him permission to be on TV, he said.Joseph Ohens, executive assistant to the bishop, confirmed Trapp had the bishop’s permission. “He wanted to show the world that priests are human beings like every one of us. … He wanted to demystify priesthood.”

To earn a spot on the poker finals, Trapp had to place among the top 10 in a free Internet tournament involving 10,000 contestants, then submit a two-minute audition video.Trapp said he knew he would be chosen if he could just earn the right to audition: A poker-playing priest would attract attention and viewers. He played in his priestly attire. Since that’s what he’s used to wearing, it would’ve felt weird not to, he said.

PokerStars.net notes Trapp’s profession in promoting the show, calling it “a story of biblical proportions.” Officials from PokerStars.net did not immediately return a message seeking comment.

Trapp calls it a game show where, instead of answering trivia questions, he plays cards. “This isn’t even gambling, so to speak,” he said, since everything, including the trips to Los Angeles, was cost-free to him and the church.

Trapp said the Catholic church doesn’t see a moral problem with playing cards or games of chance, within reason.”It’s a question of moderation – just like anything else,” he said. “We believe it’s fine to enjoy a beer or glass of wine, but not to abuse it to get drunk.”

Three accused al-Qaida associates have been arrested in Africa and brought to New York

drugs terrorism

WASHINGTON Three accused al-Qaida associates have been arrested in Africa and brought to New York on charges they conspired to support terrorism by smuggling drugs bound for Europe, authorities said Friday.The arrests mark the first time U.S. authorities have captured and charged al-Qaida suspects in a drug trafficking plot in Africa, in a case officials say demonstrates the spread of the terror network into global criminal activity.The three suspects – believed to be in their 30’s and originally from Mali – were arrested in Ghana earlier this week and arrived in the United States early Friday morning, according to law enforcement officials speaking on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to discuss the case.

The three suspects are expected to appear Friday in federal court in New York on charges stemming from a months-long undercover investigation by the Drug Enforcement Administration.

Authorities say the men are members of al-Qaida’s North African branch, and told DEA informants that al-Qaida could protect major shipments of cocaine in the region.A criminal complaint unsealed Friday charges that Oumar Issa, Harouna Toure, and Idriss Abdelrahman worked with al-Qaida in the Islamic Magreb.

Oumar Issa

Harouna Toure

The three face narcoterrorism conspiracy charges, as well as conspiracy to provide material support to terrorists.Court papers say the DEA infiltrated the al-Qaida offshoot in western Africa by using informants posing as supporters of Columbia’s rebel army, the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia, or FARC, which the U.S. government considers a terrorist organization.

In recent years, drug networks in South America are increasingly using Africa to funnel cocaine into Europe, according to U.S. officials.The three suspects allegedly claimed to be associated with al-Qaida in the Islamic Magreb, and said they had been moving shipments of drugs in Africa.During the negotiations, according to law enforcement officials, the al-Qaida suspects offered to move cocaine from west Africa to north Africa for about 3,000 euros – roughly $4,200 – per kilogram.

The criminal complaint claims that when the informant asked how their drug shipments could be protected, “Issa confirmed that the protection would come from al-Qaida and the people that would protect the load would be very well armed.”

The DEA has long seen close ties between Afghanistan terrorists and the booming drug trade there, but the African case marks an expansion of both al-Qaida’s illegal activities around the globe and U.S. efforts to stop the type of black market deals that generate money for terror operations.

Al-Qaida in the Islamic Magreb is an Algeria-based group that joined Osama bin Laden’s terrorist network in 2006 and conducts dozens of bombings or ambushes each month.It operates mainly in Algeria but is suspected of crossing the country’s porous desert borders to spread violence in the rest of northwestern Africa.