Fox News Poll: Voters reveal which state they want kicked out of the union

There’s lots of talk about it. Last month, Scotland voted against it. In 2013, some residents in California, Colorado and Maryland signed petitions to do it. And Texas has toyed with the idea off and on for years. What is “it”? 
Secession! 
But it’s a lot more talk than anything else, according to a Fox News national poll that asked voters if they would support their state splitting off from the United States. Just nine percent said they would. 
CLICK HERE TO READ THE POLL RESULTS
The poll also gave people another option: What if you could boot other states out of the union? 
Nearly twice as many -- 17 percent -- liked that idea.
Which state would be the first voted out? California. Of the voters willing to ditch a state or two, 53 percent pick the Golden State. 
Next out the door is New York (25 percent), followed by Texas (20 percent) and Florida (11 percent). Respondents were allowed to name multiple states they wanted out of the union.
Democratic pollster Chris Anderson says voters who want to kick out a state appear to have presidential politics in mind. 
“The top four states targeted for expulsion,” he observed, “are also the four most electorally rich states in the country.” Anderson conducts the Fox News poll with Republican pollster Daron Shaw, who for his part approvingly noted the first two states on the chopping block are solid blue. 
One reason more Democratic states end up on the chopping block is Republicans (21 percent) are more likely than Democrats (13 percent) to want to vote a state out of the union.
In addition, Republicans (12 percent) and independents (13 percent) are three times as likely as Democrats (4 percent) to want their state to secede. Nearly one in four voters who are part of the Tea Party movement would vote for their state to split off (23 percent). 
The Fox News poll is based on landline and cell phone interviews with 1,049 randomly chosen registered voters nationwide and was conducted under the joint direction of Anderson Robbins Research (D) and Shaw & Company Research (R) from September 28-30, 2014. The full poll has a margin of sampling error of plus or minus three percentage points.

Panetta unloads on White House for pulling US forces out of Iraq

Former Defense Secretary Leon Panetta is lashing out at President Obama’s inner circle for failing to secure a 2011 deal to leave U.S. troops in Iraq, effectively accusing the White House of sabotaging the talks – in turn, opening the door for the region to become a haven for the Islamic State.
Panetta, who served as CIA director and then Defense secretary during those negotiations, aired his complaints in his forthcoming memoir, “Worthy Fights.” Excerpts on the Baghdad talks were published by Time.
In them, Panetta explained that Iraqi leaders privately wanted some U.S. forces to stay behind after the formal 2011 withdrawal, though they would not say so publicly. The former secretary, though, said the U.S. had “leverage” to strike a deal, and the Defense and State departments tried to do exactly that.
“But,” he wrote, “the President’s team at the White House pushed back, and the differences occasionally became heated. … and those on our side viewed the White House as so eager to rid itself of Iraq that it was willing to withdraw rather than lock in arrangements that would preserve our influence and interests.”
He said the negotiations with then-Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki went down to the wire in December 2011, but the White House never stepped up.
“To my frustration, the White House coordinated the negotiations but never really led them,” Panetta charged. “Officials there seemed content to endorse an agreement if State and Defense could reach one, but without the President’s active advocacy, al-Maliki was allowed to slip away.”
The account from Panetta challenges the notion that the Obama administration would have left some troops behind – as U.S. military advisers wanted – if only the Iraqi government had been more willing to negotiate. While Panetta lays some blame at the feet of the Iraqis, he also argues that the White House never seized the chance at a deal.
Panetta claims that a residual troop presence like he and others had advocated could have made the difference.  
“To this day, I believe that a small U.S. troop presence in Iraq could have effectively advised the Iraqi military on how to deal with al-Qaeda’s resurgence and the sectarian violence that has engulfed the country,” he wrote.
Panetta also warned that the rise of the Islamic State “greatly increases the risk that Iraq will become al-Qaeda’s next safe haven.”
Gen. John Campbell, commander of the International Security Assistance Force in Afghanistan, was asked Thursday about Panetta’s comments, but said “we absolutely left [the Iraqis] in the best possible condition militarily that we could.”
He put to onus on the Iraqi government.
“Things that were done by the government did not bring all the different factions in Iraq together was not something that … the U.S. military could have done or changed once we left there in 2011,” he said.
Asked again whether leaving a force in Iraq could have helped, he said: “I think any military guy is going to tell you if you could leave a force, you'd always leave a force.” 
Sens. John McCain, R-Ariz., and Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., though, seized on Panetta's comments -- as well as similar remarks by former Iraq Ambassador Ryan Crocker that the U.S. "could have gotten that agreement" if officials had been more persistent. 
"The latest statements by two of the most respected national security officials to serve under President Obama definitively refute the falsehood that this Administration has told the American people for years about their efforts to leave a residual force in Iraq," the senators said in a statement. "As we have said all along ... the Obama Administration never made a full effort to leave a residual force in Iraq."

Illinois Gov. Quinn embraces Obama, as other Dems keep distance

Unlike some other Democrats whose jobs depend on the November elections, Illinois Gov. Pat Quinn is not dodging an association with President Obama.
Despite a tough election, Quinn is embracing both the president and first lady.
“They do us proud. They stand for progress. They stand for doing the right thing. I’m with the president all the way,” Quinn said.
The president attended a fundraiser for the governor on Thursday, before delivering a speech on the economy that was heavy on election-year rhetoric.
Earlier, first lady Michelle Obama cut a radio ad for Quinn. “Pat’s fighting to raise the minimum wage,” she says in the ad, before reminding listeners she votes in Chicago. “For this election, Barak and I are casting votes for Pat Quinn.”
Quinn is in a statistical dead heat with Republican challenger and political newcomer Bruce Rauner. A few polls have put one or the other out in the lead, but the RealClearPolitics average puts the incumbent only a point-and-a-half ahead, 43.3 to 41.8 percent.
So, both candidates are trying to appeal to the everyman in Illinois. “If Pat Quinn wins, it’s because he is a populist,” pollster Mike McKeon said.
However, their attempts to appear average border on risible.
The former lieutenant governor, who moved up to the mansion, poses in a golf shirt and pretends he cuts his own lawn in one ad. “State government needed to be cut, like my lawn. So, I got to work,” Quinn says before he pushes a rickety manual mower across the grass, while wearing khakis.
Rauner, a North Shore billionaire, often poses in a workingman’s Carhartt jacket. In one ad, he highlights a rusty old van. “I've had this van 20 years,” Rauner says.
He’s also got nine homes.  
The attempts to connect take a backseat, however, to the negative barbs from the two candidates -- who seem to feel the attacks are working and appear to harbor a genuine dislike for each other.
A meeting with Quinn and Rauner before the Chicago Tribune editorial board melted down into a bickering match with extended index fingers. Quinn called Rauner a “profiteer,” who made “a fortune on the misfortune of others.” 
Rauner countered with a crack that involved the governor’s male pattern baldness. He said the only difference between Quinn and the now-imprisoned former Gov. Rod Blagojevich was the hair.
The ads run negative and blanket the airwaves. When it comes to mud, both candidates leave behind rich soil to be harvested – Quinn, for his years in politics; Rauner, for the time spent financing companies. Neither candidate has been in trouble himself, but some of the executives and managers they put in charge have.
Rauner chaired an equity firm called GTCR, which left in its wake the bankruptcy of Home Banc Mortgage Corp. The provided fodder for an ad claiming the CEO fled with a $5 million parachute, while the employees received $20 gift cards along with their pink slips.
Quinn created the Neighborhood Recovery Initiative, which took in $54.5 million and apparently blew it. A panel of lawmakers will convene next week to interview managers and determine if there was any criminal wrongdoing. Quinn is not directly in the crosshairs, but close enough to drive the partisan rhetoric.
What voters miss in the process is any specific information about plans to improve Illinois’ struggling budget or underfunded pension. The candidates are largely running on a message that they’re not as bad as the other guy.
“I’ve done well financially. I don’t need any special interest money. I don’t need any patronage workers,” Rauner said. “I’m going to work for families. I can’t be bought, bribed or intimidated.”

Ebola patient’s family quarantined as officials search for possible exposures

The family of Ebola patient Thomas Eric Duncan were legally quarantined Thursday after they did not comply with Dallas health officials requests that they stay home.
Doctors are taking the temperatures of four family members in the unit where Duncan was staying twice a day to monitor symptoms as part of the health surveillance efforts being led by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and local Dallas government.
“If people leave, even though they’re asymptomatic, if they’re not at home when we go out to do our surveillance test on them, then that defeats the purpose of that surveillance test and that endangers them … if they were to be infected, they need to know that as quickly as possible,” said Dallas County Judge Clay Jenkins. “So it’s for their benefit and everyone else’s.”
Texas health officials said during a press conference Thursday that the family would be quarantined in their apartment unit for the next 20 days until the potential incubation period for Ebola is over.
Health officials widened their search Thursday to 100 individuals possibly exposed to the disease – tracing contacts of the patient and medical staff who initially treated him. Also on Thursday, officials said three more young children potentially had contact with Duncan, bringing the number of kids being monitored to eight.
“We’re going to break that risk down to high-risk, no-risk and low-risk, and that’s going to be the basis of our contact tracing,” said David Daigle, associate director for communications, public health preparedness and response at the CDC.
Daigle expressed concern about infection control at Texas Health Presbyterian Hospital, where Duncan is currently in isolation, and said that a team was dispatched to conduct the same kind of contact tracing officials are doing in the local community.
Zachary Thompson, director of Dallas County Health and Human Services, tried to quell fears in the community of the virus spreading and stressed transparency during the investigation.
“A lot of the individuals that we come in contact with will not have any symptoms, they will not have any association other than the fact that someone said they were there, or they might have had contact,” Thompson said. “This is local public health surveillance at its best, in what we do day in and day out.”
Police were stationed at the Ivy Apartment complex where the family lives Thursday to keep the peace and assist residents and health officials in the community during the investigation.
“We want to make sure we create a calm and safe environment for [health officials] to do their work – that’s our primary focus.  We have had reverse 911 calls to all the residents … We’ve talked to them, we’ve explained what happened, and we’ve given them the option to call us back,” said Dallas city mayor, Mike Rawlings. ”If citizens have any questions, they need to call 311. We will be able to give them a full explanation of what’s happening and answer any questions that are challenging.”
Additional nurses and health professionals were called into schools where the five students that were potentially exposed to Ebola attended.
“Our nurses are making two rounds every school day to every classroom just to check to see if anyone has questions or if there are any symptoms,” said  Mike Miles, superintendent of Dallas Independent School District, adding that additional custodial staff was on hand to clean and disinfect the buildings the students attended. Miles stressed the fact that the potential for contamination in the schools was minimal, but said they were doing extra cleaning to take the possibility off the table.
The eight students in the potential contacts were enrolled in a homebound program where they will receive curricular and technology support to complete their coursework while they are out of school. Attendance at the five schools involved in the investigation was down 10 percent Thursday, but Miles said he expects it to go back up.
Sally Nuran, manager of the Ivy Apartments where Duncan was visiting family, said during a press conference Thursday that health officials alerted her of the Ebola case on her property late Monday night. She confirmed that the lease for that particular unit lists one adult and two children, but said she does not know how many people are currently occupying the space.
As part of the monitoring process, the CDC has quarantined the family inside the unit, with strict instructions not to leave the apartment or even step out on the porch, according to Nuran. The family was set to move out of the apartment when their lease expired on September 30.
According to Dr. David Lakey, commissioner of Texas Department of State Health Services, the family’s apartment will be cleaned by a cleaning company.
“The house conditions need to be improved,” Lakey said in a press conference Thursday. “We have been working to identify an entity that will go out and there and do cleaning— there has been hesitancy… but we have identified and that will take place today.”
Lakey also noted that there is a local law enforcement agent monitoring the apartment.
The complex is home to residents of many different nationalities and translators have been on hand to distribute information in at least eight different languages, according to Nuran, who said she’s working with the CDC and other government agencies to educate residents about the current situation.
Fliers were placed on residents’ doors in the apartment complex Wednesday night and more translated fliers will be handed out during a community meeting Thursday, according to Nuran, who said that language barriers have made it difficult to disseminate information. Nuran added that all common areas have been disinfected by the CDC.

White House Cartoon

Krauthammer: 'We have a presidency falling apart'

Charles Krauthammer said Wednesday on "Special Report With Bret Baier" that President Obama is dealing with a "crisis of competence," adding he believes Obama's presidency "is falling apart."
Krauthammer, a syndicated columnist and a Fox News contributor, cited the scandals surrounding the IRS, the VA and the Secret Service as examples of problems plaguing the administration.
"All the institutions in the past you'd make a movie about," he said. "Secret Service is the hero ... all of these agencies we had trust in, under this administration are showing how bad the government is run. You combine them and you get a sense that things are out of control."
Krauthammer said Obama's policies have led to these various crises. 
"I think it is a sense in the country," he said. "Now we have a presidency that is falling apart. And it isn't as if it all happened at once."

Palestinians draft UN resolution calling for Israel to withdraw from West Bank, East Jerusalem

The Palestinians have drafted a United Nations resolution calling on Israel to withdraw from the West Bank and East Jerusalem by November 2016 as part of a new push for independence and full U.N. recognition. 
The draft resolution, which was given to Fox News Wednesday by a diplomat who wished to remain anonymous, has not yet been shared with all of the Security Council's 15 members. Jordan, as the Arab Group's representative on the Security Council, would be charged with introducing the resolution. 
The resolution calls for Israel to return all territory seized since the 1967 Six-Day War, a condition that Israel has not agreed to in any of the recent U.S.-backed peace negotiations with the Palestinian Authority. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has argued that ongoing rocket attacks from the Hamas-run Gaza Strip, as well as Israel's relatively small amount of territory, make it too perilous for his government to accept a return to the pre-1967 borders. 
The draft calls for intensified efforts, including through negotiations, to reach a peaceful settlement of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict and "a just resolution" of the status of Jerusalem as the capital of two states and of the Palestinian refugee problem.
The Associated Press reported that Abbas told a meeting of the Palestinian leadership in Ramallah on Wednesday evening that the draft was submitted last Friday "and we hope to get an answer within a month."
"Of course we are not sure whether the Security Council will agree on it or whether we will get the right number of countries on our side. But whatever will happen, we have something to say. We put it in writing and this is clear. We don't need to repeat it again," he said.
It is the first time that the U.S. has had to consider such a forceful draft Security Council resolution. U.S. Ambassador to the U.N. Samantha Power said on Tuesday that Washington’s position remains that a solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict can only be reached through negotiations. Several Arab diplomats have told Fox News that they expect US opposition to the text. They say, however, that if Washington vetoes the resolution it will isolate the United States in world opinion. The United States is one of five permanent, veto-holding members of the Security Council.
In his address to the U.N. General Assembly last Friday, Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas said that he would ask the council to set a deadline for a pullout and dictate the ground rules for any further talks with Israel. Abbas also accused Israel of conducting a "war of genocide" in during the 50-day conflict in Gaza over the summer, a charge that drew a furious response from Netanyahu Monday. 
Decrying Hamas for its use of human shields and rocket attacks against Israeli civilians, Netanyahu said, addressing Abbas, "these are the war crimes committed by your Hamas partners in the national unity government which you head and you are responsible for. And these are the real war crimes you should have investigated, or spoken out against from this podium last week."

Hospital reportedly failed to follow protocol by releasing Ebola patient

Officials at a Dallas hospital apparently failed to follow federally issued guidelines last week when they sent home the patient later diagnosed with the first case of the Ebola virus on U.S. soil.
The Dallas Morning News reports that Thomas Eric Duncan arrived in the emergency room of Texas Health Presbyterian Hospital late on the evening of Sept. 25 complaining of a fever and abdominal pain. When questioned by a nurse, Duncan admitted that he had been in Liberia as recently as the prior week. 
At that point, according to an Aug. 1 protocol issued by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), Duncan should have been placed in an isolation unit and tested for Ebola immediately. However, the News reports that key medical personnel at the hospital were not told of Duncan's travel history, and he was given antibiotics and sent home, a decision that could have exposed dozens of people to the virus for several hours. 
Duncan's condition later worsened, and he returned to the hospital Sunday in an ambulance. At that point, the CDC protocol was followed. The Ebola diagnosis was confirmed by health officials Tuesday. 
Dr. Mark Lester, the southeast clinical leader for hospital parent company Texas Health Resources, acknowledged Wednesday that Duncan had voluntarily provided his travel history. However, Lester said, "that information was not fully disseminated." Lester did not say who he thought might be responsible for the miscommunication. 
Hospital officials defended the initial handling of Duncan, issuing a statement describing his fever as "low-grade," and insisting "his condition did not warrant admission." They added that they are still investigating why Duncan's travel history was not conveyed to the doctors who sent him home. Hospital epidemiologist Dr. Edward Goodman told the Associated Press that the patient did not show the riskier symptoms of vomiting and diarrhea.
KDFW reported late Wednesday that Duncan's condition had been upgraded to serious. Goodman wouldn't comment on drugs being used to treat the patient, but he said that there isn't any more ZMapp available. ZMapp is an experimental drug that was used on two previous Ebola patients.
Meanwhile, a nine-member team of federal health officials has begun tracking anyone who had close contact with him after Duncan fell ill on Sept. 24. The group of 12 to 18 people included three members of the ambulance crew that took Duncan to the hospital and a group schoolchildren. They will be checked every day for 21 days, the disease's incubation period.
Neither the ambulance crew nor the children showed any symptoms and were being monitored at home. It was not clear how Duncan knew the children, but his sister told the AP he had been visiting with family, including two nephews.
The CDC sent a team to the airport in the Liberian capital, Monrovia, on Wednesday to make sure health officials there are screening passengers properly. All people traveling from the outbreak zone are supposed to be checked for fever and asked about their travel history before being allowed to leave. Plastic buckets filled with chlorinated water for hand-washing are present throughout the airport.
"There were no signs of any disease when the gentleman boarded the flight," said Dr. Tom Kenyon, director of the CDC's Center for Global Health. "This was not a failure of the screening process at the airport."
Since the man had no symptoms on the plane, the CDC stressed there is no risk to his fellow passengers.
The Dallas apartment complex where Duncan was believed to be staying was cordoned off Wednesday, and the management was turning away visitors. TV cameras lined the fence of the parking lot, and at least one helicopter hovered overhead.