Obama whines about filibuster; Cap on aid to Fannie and Freddie removed; Anti-terrorism system "worked"

1) AP sources: Al-Qaida link in failed plane attack ROMULUS, Mich. – A Nigerian man who said he was an agent for al-Qaida tried to blow up a Northwest Airlines plane Friday as it was preparing to land in Detroit, but travelers who smelled smoke and heard what sounded like firecrackers rushed to subdue him, the passengers and federal officials said. Flight 253 with 278 passengers and 11 crew members aboard was about 20 minutes from the airport when passengers heard popping noises, witnesses said. At least one person climbed over others and jumped on the man. Shortly afterward, the suspect was taken to the front of the plane with his pants cut off and his legs burned, a passenger said. …Smith said a passenger sitting opposite the man climbed over people, went across the aisle and tried to restrain the man. Syed Jafri, another passenger, said he saw a glow and smelled smoke. Then, he said, "a young man behind me jumped on him." What a hero! See: http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20091226/ap_on_re_us/us_airliner_disturbance 1a) Clown alert: Janet Napolitano says the “system worked;” Update: And now…J-No’s about-(clown)face It has been, in the words of Queen Elizabeth II, an “annus horribilis” for DHS Secretary Janet Napolitano. Beginning with her embrace of the impotent euphemism “man-caused disasters” to the hit job on conservatives and veterans that she was forced to apologize for, to her assertion that crossing the border illegally “isn’t a crime per se”, to her boneheaded claim that 9/11 terrorists came in through the Canadian border, Ja-No has confirmed time and again that she’s not ready for prime time. Today, she caps off her horrible year by playing Big Pollyanna in the wake of the Flight 253. The botched bombing — foiled by a faulty detonator and brave passengers, not by homeland security bureaucrats or any preemptive measures by intel officials — shows that the in Ja-No’s fantasy world. …If the “system” had “worked,” the U.S. consular officials who granted Abdul Farouk Abdulmutallab a short-term visa last June would have revoked it immediately upon being informed by his father that he was a Muslim radical with al Qaeda ties. If the “system” had “worked,” U.S. consular officials would have never granted Abdulmutallab — a rootless, young, single male — a visa in the first place… If the “system” had “worked,” Abdulmutallab would have been barred from the U.S. like he had been barred from Britain. The “system,” like Napolitano, was an epic fail. And as predicted, Napolitano also played the “lone nut” card — dismissing the Christmas Day jihadist as a single operator not part of “anything larger” despite his own testimony to the contrary. She’s Obama’s biggest joker. And there’s no Blame-Bush loophole to weasel through anymore. See: http://michellemalkin.com/2009/12/27/clown-alert-janet-napolitano-says-the-system-worked/ More on this…Rove continued, “This guy was treated not as an enemy combatant, and turned over to the FBI and the CIA for interrogation, he was charged criminally, which means he immediately lawyered up.” See: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZUtvgjOu6AY&feature=player_embedded%20 2) Obama says filibuster is harming democracy There's growing sentiment on the left--most recently evinced by SEIU President Andy Stern and New York Times columnist Paul Krugman--that the Senate's quiet acceptance of the filibuster--and therefore a 60 vote threshold for most legislation--is dangerous to the country's ability to govern itself, no matter who's in power. Well, they may have a powerful new ally. "[A]s somebody who served in the Senate, who values the traditions of the Senate, who thinks that institution has been the world's greatest deliberative body, to see the filibuster rule, which imposes a 60-vote supermajority on legislation - to see that invoked on every single piece of legislation, during the course of this year, is unheard of," says President Obama in a yet-to-air interview with PBS. Yeah, except when democrats are in power, but I digress. I think it speaks volumes that they could not garner a SINGLE Senate Republican vote for taking over 1/6 of the country’s economy. I can clearly see that you’ve put an end to “partisan politics”, Mr. Obama. Obama: “I mean, if you look historically back in the '50s, the '60s, the '70s, the '80s - even when there was sharp political disagreements, when the Democrats were in control for example and Ronald Reagan was president - you didn't see even routine items subject to the 60-vote rule.” Yeah, taking over 1/6 of the nation’s economy is a “routine item.” He continues: “So I think that if this pattern continues, you're going to see an inability on the part of America to deal with big problems in a very competitive world, and other countries are going to start running circles around us. We're going to have to return to some sense that governance is more important than politics inside the Senate. We're not there right now.” Obama even suggested that the filibuster, as it's currently being employed, harms democracy. “Look, the fact of the matter is, is that if used prudently, then I don't think it's harmful for our democracy," Obama said. "It's not being used prudently right now. And my hope would be that whether a Sen. is in the majority or is in the minority, that they're starting to get a sense, after looking at this year, that this can't be the way that government runs." What he means to say is that those darn Republicans (who are in the minority and whose votes are NOT needed to pass legislation) are slowing down his radical left agenda. He has a filibuster-proof Senate! See: http://tpmdc.talkingpointsmemo.com/2009/12/is-obama-growing-weary-of-the-gops-filibuster-everything-mo.php 3) Senate OK's health care bill in victory for Obama WASHINGTON – In an epic struggle settled at dawn, the Democratic-controlled Senate passed health care legislation Thursday, a triumph for President Barack Obama that clears the way for compromise talks with the House on a bill to reduce the ranks of the uninsured and rein in the insurance industry. The vote was 60-39, strictly along party lines, one day after Democrats succeeded in crushing a filibuster by Republicans eager — yet unable — to inflict a year-end political defeat on the White House. THIS is journalism? “Epic Struggle”? A “triumph for Obama”? “Rein in the insurance industry”? There’s a lie or half-truth every four words! “Republicans eager to inflict a year-end political defeat on the White House”? It has NOTHING to do with political defeat and everything to do with salvaging the remaining scraps of our liberty! See: http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20091224/ap_on_bi_ge/us_health_care_overhaul 3a) The Coming U.S. Doctor Shortage Health-care reform will mean 30 million more patients—and bigger crowds in waiting rooms Presuming Congress passes some version of a health-care bill and it is signed into law, some 30 million currently uninsured people will suddenly find themselves with access to doctors. But there may not be enough doctors to see them. In 1997, lawmakers placed a cap on the number of medical residencies—hospital training required for all doctors—in order to contain costs under Medicare, which pays for most of these training slots. Today the U.S. is in the grip of a nationwide doctor shortage… And this article doesn’t take into account the 45% of doctors who said they would leave their professions if this monstrosity passed… See: http://www.businessweek.com/magazine/content/09_52/b4161098202420.htm?campaign_id=mag_Dec23&link_position=link25 4) Treasury removes cap for Fannie and Freddie aid NEW YORK – The government has handed its ATM card to beleaguered mortgage giants Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac. The Treasury Department said Thursday it removed the $400 billion financial cap it will provide to keep the companies from failing. Already, taxpayers have shelled out $111 billion to the pair. Treasury Department officials said the $400 billion limit would be replaced with a flexible formula to ensure the two agencies can stand behind the billions of dollars in mortgage-backed securities they sell to investors. Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac provide vital liquidity to the mortgage industry by purchasing home loans from lenders and selling them to investors. Together, they own or guarantee almost 31 million home loans worth about $5.5 trillion, or about half of all mortgages. See: http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20091224/ap_on_bi_ge/us_mortgage_giants_ceos 5) Stop the KSM trial There is no justifying the Obama administration's decision to grant a civilian trial to Khalid Sheik Mohammed and four other 9/11 plotters who carried out the deadliest act of war ever committed on US soil. President Obama must not grant the worst of war criminals the same constitutional rights enjoyed by the nearly 3,000 US citizens they massacred on 9/11. If he won't reconsider, Congress must act. Beginning in the Revolutionary War, it has been recognized throughout our history that wartime enemies aren't mere criminal defendants. When they commit provable war crimes, they're tried by military commission — a process that permits them fewer rights than a civilian trial while shielding more national-defense information from disclosure to the enemy. …When he was first captured in Pakistan six years ago, KSM sneered that he expected to be brought to New York and given a lawyer. Instead, he was treated as an enemy operative, interrogated by the CIA and induced to disclose intelligence that saved lives. Yet the administration, after 11 months of unnecessary delay, now proposes to void the commission and transport the jihadists from the remote security of Guantanamo Bay to the stage KSM has always craved: federal court in Manhattan. There, KSM & Co. will be swaddled in the protections of the Bill of Rights and given a soapbox from which to mock their victims and our country. And that will happen only after they are given a year or two to rifle through sensitive government files during the civilian discovery process. In fact, representatives of these "defendants" have already announced that they now plan to plead not guilty so that they can exploit civilian legal procedures to put America on trial. …By contrast, in civilian court, a defendant has an absolute right to represent himself, a right the Supreme Court has long upheld. If the terrorists make this demand, they will have a very strong argument that civilian due process requires that they be given direct access to our intelligence (emphasis mine)!!!! See: http://www.nypost.com/p/news/opinion/opedcolumnists/stop_the_ksm_trial_9OTwT0Nn5aiu8vVOC4WgDJ 6) Obama gives foreign cops new police powers in U.S. Sovereignty apparently set aside as agency exempted from law A little-discussed executive order from President Obama giving foreign cops new police powers in the United States by exempting them from such drudgery as compliance with the Freedom of Information Act is raising alarm among commentators who say INTERPOL already had most of the same privileges as diplomats. At David Horowitz's Newsreal, Michael van der Galien said the issue is Obama's expansion of President Ronald Reagan's order from 1983 that originally granted those diplomatic privileges. Reagan's order carried certain exemptions requiring that INTERPOL operations be subject to several U.S. laws such as the Freedom of Information Act. Obama, however, removed those restrictions in his Dec. 16 amendment to Executive Order 12425. That means, van der Galien wrote today, "this foreign law enforcement organization can operate free of an important safeguard against government and abuse." …"In light of what we know and can observe, it is our logical conclusion that President Obama's Executive Order amending President Ronald Reagans' 1983 EO 12425 and placing INTERPOL above the United States Constitution and beyond the legal reach of our own top law enforcement is a precursor to more damaging moves," they wrote. …"For an added and disturbing wrinkle, INTERPOL's central operations office in the United States is within our own Justice Department offices. They are American law enforcement officers working under the aegis of INTERPOL within our own Justice Department. That they now operate with full diplomatic immunity and with 'inviolable archives' from within our own buildings should send red flags soaring into the clouds," they said. See: http://www.wnd.com/index.php?fa=PAGE.view&pageId=120363 7) In the UK: Girls using abortion as birth control and having up to FOUR terminations by the age of 18 Teenagers are using repeat abortions as a form of birth control, with some girls having four or more terminations by the age of 18, it has been claimed. Nearly 1,500 of the 19,000 girls under 18 who had a termination last year had previously undergone one earlier abortion for an unwanted pregnancy – and in at least one case a teenage girl had her eighth abortion. Department of Health data for 2008 reveals 74 teenagers had their third abortion and a further 15 girls under the age of 18 had previously had between three and six earlier abortions. No one is telling these young women that each successive abortion increases their chances of miscarrying a future wanted pregnancy due to incompetent cervix by 25% with each successive abortion. They are not only destroying human life, but destroying their ability to become mothers later on. See: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/health/article-1238612/Girls-using-abortion-birth-control.html

Withhold the consent of the governed; Stimulus spent on dems, not unemployment; 56% Disapproval rating

"Guard with jealous attention the public liberty. Suspect every one who approaches that jewel. Unfortunately, nothing will preserve it but downright force. Whenever you give up that force, you are inevitably ruined." --Patrick Henry, speech in the Virginia Ratifying Convention, 1778 1) We Are No Longer a Nation of Laws. Senate Sets Up Requirement for Super-Majority to Ever Repeal Obamacare If ever the people of the United States rise up and fight over passage of Obamacare, Harry Reid must be remembered as the man who sacrificed the dignity of his office for a few pieces of silver. The rules of fair play that have kept the basic integrity of the Republic alive have died with Harry Reid. Reid has slipped in a provision into the health care legislation prohibiting future Congresses from changing any regulations imposed on Americans by the Independent Medicare [note: originally referred to as "medical"] Advisory Boards, which are commonly called the “Death Panels.” It was Reid leading the Democrats who ignored 200 years of Senate precedents to rule that Senator Sanders could withdraw his amendment while it was being read. It was Reid leading the Democrats who has determined again and again over the past few days that hundreds of years of accumulated Senate parliamentary rulings have no bearing on the health care vote. On December 21, 2009, however, Harry Reid sold out the Republic in toto. Upon examination of Senator Harry Reid’s amendment to the health care legislation, Senators discovered section 3403. That section changes the rules of the United States Senate (emphasis mine). To change the rules of the United States Senate, there must be sixty-seven votes (emphasis mine).  Section 3403 of Senator Harry Reid’s amendment requires that “it shall not be in order in the Senate or the House of Representatives to consider any bill, resolution, amendment, or conference report that would repeal or otherwise change this subsection (emphasis mine).” The good news is that this only applies to one section of the Obamacare legislation. The bad news is that it applies to regulations imposed on doctors and patients by the Independent Medicare Advisory Boards a/k/a the Death Panels. …Senator Jim DeMint confronted the Democrats over Reid’s language. In the past, the Senate Parliamentarian has repeatedly determined that any legislation that also changes the internal standing rules of the Senate must have a two-thirds vote to pass because to change Senate rules, a two-thirds vote is required. Today, the Senate President, acting on the advice of the Senate Parliamentarian, ruled that these rules changes are actually just procedural changes and, despite what the actual words of the legislation say, are not rules changes. Therefore, a two-thirds vote is not needed in contravention to longstanding Senate precedent. What can I say about this? This is tyranny. If this continues, the “consent of the governed” will NO LONGER BE GRANTED. See: http://www.redstate.com/erick/2009/12/21/we-are-no-longer-a-nation-of-laws-senate-sets-up-requirement-for-super-majority-to-ever-repeal-obamacare/ 1a) An ugly finale for health-care reform …On Saturday, [Senator] Coburn likened the current situation to the period preceding the Civil War. "The crisis of confidence in this country is now at an apex that has not seen in over 150 years, and that lack of confidence undermines the ability of legitimate governance," he said. "There's a lot of people out there today who...will say, 'I give up on my government,' and rightly so (emphasis mine)." Earlier Sunday, Coburn, a medical doctor by training, held another news conference and accused Democrats of "corruption" in drafting the bill. He then went out onto the floor two hours later to discuss his prayer that one of the Democrats wouldn't make it to the chamber. A few days earlier, Republican Sens. Jim DeMint (S.C.) and Sam Brownback (Kansas) joined a public prayer for the bill's defeat… See: http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/12/20/AR2009122002872.html?hpid=topnews 1b) Everyone is asking, "What can I do?" Refuse to obey. Withhold the consent of the governed. CALLER: Longtime listener. Listen, I think even though I'd love to talk to you, I want to talk to small business in this country. I think small business could stop this health care dead in its tracks. All we have to do as small business for a short term pain for a long term gain is just shed your payrolls down 50%. Let's overrun the unemployment offices to where they cannot deal with this crisis and let them know that we as small businesses in this country are the ones in charge and without our money they can't do any of this. We are the ones that allow them to do to us what they are doing. If we quit sending our money to these people, they cannot implement these programs. They work for us. We do not work for them. I'm tired. I've run a company for almost 30 years. I'm in the housing market and I manufacture window products. And I can tell you this. I know that everybody this time is hurting, but you know what? For about two weeks we could bring Washington to their knees. …CALLER: They will not be able to sustain. They need unemployment numbers not to be at 500,000. They need them to be at 1.5 million for a week and then panic is going to have set in to let them know, "Look, business in this country runs this nation. You don't. And either you come back down to the table and talk to us --" we as businesspeople across this country have to make them come to us and then maybe we can get a dialogue. The way we're going about it now, there will be no dialogue. And the only way there's no dialogue now is we keep sending them our money. …Now, I don't think you would even need to layoff workers to do this. Just don't send the tax payments to Washington. That would be one way of doing this. Because Jim in St. Louis was right, I mean the feds rely on all those payroll taxes from all these businesses, sales tax and all this. If every business just banded together and said we're not sending the money, just stop sending it, put it in an escrow account, the feds do not have the personnel to even to attempt to collect those taxes. (interruption) Well, that's the thing, they'll just print the money, but, no, that would be unrest they would have to deal with. Here's the next AP headline: "After Calling for Mass Firings, Limbaugh Calls for Mass Tax Evasion Two Days Before Christmas." (laughing) Probably right. That's probably what's going to happen. …And people ask me all the time, "Rush, do you think that there would ever be a revolution?" Let me just tell you this. Here's the third AP headline, Snerdley. I do think the American citizens and their anger is going to translate into some sort of citizen action. You can feel it percolating in every one of these phone calls that we've taken for the past six months here. Rebel, maybe, I don't know how it would manifest itself. Firing people, laying people off, not paying taxes, it could be any of these things but it's going to be something huge. I don't pretend to know what it is. But with all of the millions of Americans out there asking, "What can I do?" Snerdley, tell me the truth, every call, if you chose to, you could have put up there for the past two months, "What can I do?" Every single call could have been, "What can I do?" Everybody out there wants to know what they can do, and at some point this is going to translate into action (emphasis mine). …No, no, no, that's what she did. She and some stupid hare-brained actor have cut a video for Rock the Vote and they basically tell people who don't support them on health care they're going to be frozen out of the bedroom and they're advocating everybody do that. Fine, you go play those games. We will withhold the consent of being governed (emphasis mine). …I just got a note here, a press release: "Today, US Senators Jim DeMint (R-South Carolina) and John Ensign (R-Nevada), raised a Constitutional Point of Order on the Senate floor against the Democrat health care takeover bill on behalf of the Steering Committee, a caucus of conservative senators. The Senate will vote tomorrow on the bill’s constitutionality. 'I am incredibly concerned that the Democrats’ proposed individual mandate provision takes away too much freedom and choice from Americans across the country,' said Senator Ensign. 'As an American, I felt the obligation to stand up for the individual freedom of every citizen to make their own decision on this issue. I don’t believe Congress has the legal authority to force this mandate on its citizens.' 'Forcing every American to purchase a product is absolutely inconsistent with our Constitution and the freedoms our Founding Fathers hoped to protect,' said Senator DeMint (emphasis mine)." See: http://www.rushlimbaugh.com/home/daily/site_122209/content/01125111.guest.html 1c) Health Care Bill’s Individual Mandate Is Unconstitutional, Conservative Group Argues (CNSNews.com) - Conservatives are discussing a constitutional challenge to the Democrats’ health care legislation, if and when it becomes law. Aside from constitutional questions about Sen. Ben Nelson’s deal with Democrats on behalf of Nebraskans, conservatives are eyeing the bill’s individual mandate – the requirement that every American citizen must purchase health insurance. See: http://cnsnews.com/news/article/58900 1d) Ala. Dem defects to GOP over health care, policy HUNTSVILLE, Ala. (AP) - A U.S. House Democrat who opposes the health care overhaul announced Tuesday he is defecting to the GOP, another blow to Democrats ahead of the midterm elections. U.S. Rep. Parker Griffith spoke to reporters at his home in northern Alabama, a region that relies heavily on defense and aerospace jobs. "I believe our nation is at a crossroads and I can no longer align myself with a party that continues to pursue legislation that is bad for our country, hurts our economy, and drives us further and further into debt," Griffith said as his wife Virginia stood by his side. See: http://apnews.myway.com/article/20091222/D9COJHCO0.html 1e) Left Now Admitting Obamacare Full of Budget Gimmicks President Barack Obama again asserted today that his health care plan would be deficit neutral chiding: “The argument that opponents are making against this bill does not hold water.” But while the President’s most ardent supporters are trying to explain to each other why the benefits of the bill do not start until 2014, they are openly admitting that Obama’s deficit busting claims are complete fiction: The Washington Post’s Ezra Klein: “The delay is a budget trick, an attempt to lower the 10-year cost of the bill at the expense of the very people we’re trying to help.” Mother Jones‘ Kevin Drum: “I’m pretty sure the 2014 date is mostly due to budget finagling. This stuff can’t be done overnight, but I’ll bet most of it could be implemented within 12 months, and it could certainly be implemented within 24.” Talking Points Memo’s Josh Marshall: “My impression is that some of the delays are there because it makes the budgetary accounting work better in terms of deficit neutrality. And I know the Dems would likely lose critical support without being able to show that the overall bill actually lowers the deficit. But if that’s the main reason, I suspect the legislative authors may be too clever by half since they may be slitting the bill’s and perhaps their own throats in the process.” See: http://blog.heritage.org/2009/12/21/left-now-admitting-obamacare-full-of-budget-gimmicks/?utm_source=Newsletter&utm_medium=Email 2) Daily Presidential Tracking Poll The Rasmussen Reports daily Presidential Tracking Poll for Tuesday shows that 25% of the nation's voters Strongly Approve of the way that Barack Obama is performing his role as President. Forty-six percent (46%) Strongly Disapprove giving Obama a Presidential Approval Index rating of -21 That’s the lowest Approval Index rating yet recorded for this President (see trends). Fifty-three percent (53%) of men Strongly Disapprove along with 39% of women. Most African-American voters (58%) Strongly Approve while most white voters (53%) Strongly Disapprove. Seventy-four percent (74%) of Republicans Strongly Disapprove as do 52% of unaffiliated voters. Forty-seven percent (47%) of Democrats Strongly Approve. For the second straight day, the update shows the highest level of Strong Disapproval yet recorded for this President. That negative rating had never topped 42% before yesterday. However, it has risen dramatically since the Senate found 60 votes to move forward with the proposed health care reform legislation. Most voters (55%) oppose the health care legislation and senior citizens are even more likely than younger voters to dislike the plan. …Overall, 44% of voters say they at least somewhat approve of the President's performance. Fifty-six percent (56%) now disapprove. See: http://www.rasmussenreports.com/public_content/politics/obama_administration/daily_presidential_tracking_poll 3) Is Obama's $789 billion buying votes instead of jobs? Studies show 'stimulus' spent on Democrats, not unemployment A pair of studies analyzing U.S. jobs and the effects of President Obama's American Reinvestment and Recovery Act suggest the so-called "stimulus" bill has boosted partisan interests far more than employment figures. White House projections in February claimed the $789 billion in spending would "create or save 3.5 million jobs over the next two years" and that over 90 percent of those jobs would be in the private sector. One year into the two-year projections, however, the studies show that not only has the money failed thus far to deliver on either of those promises, but it also has been doled out disproportionately to districts with Democrat representation. See: http://www.wnd.com/index.php?fa=PAGE.view&pageId=119441 4) China warns Obama deficit spending must stop Beijing reluctant to keep bankrolling president's belt-buster budget One day after the Chinese Prime Minister Wen Jiabao snubbed President Obama at the United Nation's Copenhagen Climate Summit, the Chinese warned the United States that China's ability to continue buying U.S. Treasury debt was limited. Zhu Min, the deputy governor of the People's Republic of China, told the Shanghai Daily that it is getting harder for the People's Bank of China to buy U.S. Treasuries because the shrinking U.S. current account is reducing the supplies overseas. This was dire news for the Obama administration that in 2010 and for the foreseeable future will be dependent on China to buy U.S. Treasury debt in order to fund the trillion-dollar federal budget deficits projected over the next decade. The Shanghai Daily reported that Zhu told an academic audience that it was inevitable the value of the dollar would fall in value given the increasing reliance of the Obama administration on issuing U.S. Treasury debt to finance deficit spending. "The United States cannot force foreign governments to increase their holdings of Treasuries," Zhu said. "Double the holdings? It is definitely impossible." Zhu's warning was clear. "The world does not have so much money to buy more U.S. Treasuries," he said. See: http://www.wnd.com/index.php?fa=PAGE.view&pageId=119537 5) Shocker! Detroit unemployment approaching 50% Workers who have abandoned job search not included in official count The mayor of Detroit, Mich., has hit the nation with an unemployment shocker. Despite an official rate of 27 percent, the city's actual unemployment rate is closer to 50 percent, according to Detroit Mayor Dave Bing. He said the higher rate is more accurate after taking into account those who have given up finding a job and those working fewer hours than they want, Jerome Corsi's Red Alert reports. See: http://www.wnd.com/index.php?fa=PAGE.view&pageId=119695 6) EXCLUSIVE: Transvestites, Mao And Obama Ornaments Decorate White House Christmas Tree Why let a holiday season come between the White House and making some political statements? The White House pegged controversial designer Simon Doonan to oversee the Christmas decorations for the White House. Mr. Doonan, who is creative director of Barney’s New York has often caused a stir with his design choices. Like his naughty yuletide window display of Margaret Thatcher as a dowdy dominatrix and Dan Quayle as a ventriloquist’s dummy. For this year’s White House, he didn’t disappoint. These photos (see link at end of this article) of ornaments on the White House Christmas tree in the Blue Room were taken just days ago. Of course, Mao has his place in the White House. And, of course, it wouldn’t be Christmas without an ornament of legendary transvestite Hedda Lettuce. He/She even signed it: And, so soon after collecting the Nobel Peace Prize, why wouldn’t the White House have an ornament super-imposing President Obama onto Mt. Rushmore: All around, a very Barry Christmas! See: http://biggovernment.com/2009/12/22/transvestites-mao-and-obama-decorate-white-house-christmas-tree/

Ben Nelson caves; Yes, it still covers abortion; Nadal Hasan getting wink from Obama

1) Ben Nelson Caves: Ben Nelson Refused to Allow Pro-Life Group's Input on Abortion Funding Deal Washington, DC (LifeNews.com) -- Sen Ben Nelson is earning himself the ire of the majority of Americans who are pro-life on abortion with his 11th-hour deal allowing abortion funding to remain in the Senate health care bill. In comments to LifeNews.com the head of a pro-life group reveals how he refused to allow for pro-life input. The deal Nelson reached with Senate leader Harry Reid makes it so states must opt out of if they don't want to force their citizens to cover abortions. Residents of states that do not opt out of the abortion funding under the exchange will be forced to pay for abortions through government funds. Nebraska Right to Life executive director Julie Schmit-Albin told LifeNews.com that she feels her senator betrayed her group and pro-life Nebraskans. See: http://www.lifenews.com/state4667.html 1a) Analysis: How Nelson-Reid Compromise Allows Abortion Funding in Health Care Washington, DC (LifeNews.com) -- Pro-life groups have spent most of Saturday morning furiously analyzing the Nelson-Reid compromise language on abortion funding in the Senate health care bill. Their conclusion is that the language undermines the amendments they wanted to ban abortion funding. The compromise language appears in the manager's amendment Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid is offering to shore up the 60 votes he needs to overcome the filibuster against the pro-abortion health care bill. The language is not similar to the Stupak and Nelson amendments approved by the House and defeated in the Senate. Instead, Section 38 adds a provision allowing states to opt out of providing abortion coverage through the exchange and adds further layers of accounting requirements that pro-life groups are calling gimmicks to hide abortion funding. The result remains the same and, contrary to longstanding policy, the federal government will subsidize private health insurance plans that cover abortion. See: http://www.lifenews.com/nat5797.html 1b) While You Sleep: 1:00 AM Monday Vote Set on Obamacare Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-NV) has set the stage for a major vote Monday morning at 1:00 AM – one that would require the support of 60 Senators. That would, if all goes according to Senator Reid’s plan, set up a late-night Christmas Eve vote on final passage. Senator Reid also used a rare procedure to block any further amendments from being offered, debated or voted upon. When it comes time for Senators to cast their vote at 1:00AM Monday morning, shortly after Sunday Night Football ends and most Americans are in bed, they will have had less than 38 hours to understand a 383-page amendment that introduces several new concepts into the health care debate, including: -A scheme that gives the Office of Personal Management immense power in administering what amounts to a multi-state public plan; -How much a state “opt-out” of abortion coverage in the legislation erodes the long-standing Hyde-amendment; -The budgetary impact of ELIMINATING the physician reimbursement fix; and, -Multiple new taxes, federal regulations and sweet-heart deals aimed toward certain states like Nebraska. It is important for Americans to understand the process being used by the Senate. Barring any procedural snags (of which there are many in the Senate’s complex rules and precedents), the debate is likely to play out as follows: -Monday, 1:00 AM – Vote to invoke cloture (i.e. end debate) on the manager’s amendment. 60 votes are necessary. -Tuesday, 7:00 AM – Vote to approve the manager’s amendment. A majority vote is necessary. Tuesday, 8:00 AM – Vote to invoke cloture on the original Reid substitute amendment (the 2,000-page bill). 60 votes are necessary. -Wednesday, 2:00 PM – Vote to approve the Reid substitute amendment. A majority vote is necessary. -Wednesday, 3:00 PM – Vote to invoke cloture on the underlying bill. 60 votes are necessary. -Thursday, 9:00 PM – Vote to approve the underlying bill (i.e. the Senate’s version of Obamacare). A majority vote is necessary. Merry Christmas, America! You just lost one of your most basic freedoms. See: http://blog.heritage.org/2009/12/19/while-you-sleep-100-am-monday-vote-set-on-obamacare/ 2) Congressman: Why is Obama stifling Hasan investigation? Member of House intelligence committeee wants reports to prevent another attack A member of the House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence is wondering why President Obama apparently is suppressing information assembled by an investigation into the Nov. 5 attack at Fort Hood by Maj. Nidal Malik Hasan, an Army psychiatrist who reportedly shouted "Allahu akbar," or "Allah is greatest," while killing more than a dozen soldiers and civilians. Rep. Pete Hoekstra, R-Mich., expressed his concern in a recent commentary, saying, "There has been a troubling refusal by Obama officials to acknowledge that the shooting likely was an act of homegrown terrorism." "How can it be that the House Committee on Homeland Security has launched an investigation and called hearings within a week to look into the couple who crashed a recent White House state dinner, yet a month after Fort Hood there has yet to be a single congressional hearing into the Fort Hood attack?" Hoekstra said. "I fear that our nation is returning to the naive security outlook of Sept. 10, 2001, when radical Islamic terrorist attacks were considered law enforcement and criminal problems and not threats to our national security." See: http://www.wnd.com/index.php?fa=PAGE.view&pageId=119216 3) Copenhagen climate summit: 'most important paper in the world' is a glorified UN press release When your attempt at recreating the Congress of Vienna with a third-rate cast of extras turns into a shambles, when the data with which you have tried to terrify the world is daily exposed as ever more phoney, when the blatant greed and self-interest of the participants has become obvious to all beholders, when those pesky polar bears just keep increasing and multiplying – what do you do? No contest: stop issuing three rainforests of press releases every day, change the heading to James Bond-style “Do not distribute” and “leak” a single copy, in the knowledge that human nature is programmed to interest itself in anything it imagines it is not supposed to see, whereas it would bin the same document unread if it were distributed openly. After that, get some unbiased, neutral observer, such as the executive director of Greenpeace, to say: “This is the single most important piece of paper in the world today.” Unfortunately, the response of all intelligent people will be to fall about laughing; but it was worth a try – everybody loves a tryer – and the climate alarmists are no longer in a position to pick and choose their tactics. But boy! Was this crass, or what? The apocalyptic document revealing that even if the Western leaders hand over all the climate Danegeld demanded of them, appropriately at the venue of Copenhagen, the earth will still fry on a 3C temperature rise is the latest transparent scare tactic to extort more cash from taxpayers. See: http://blogs.telegraph.co.uk/news/geraldwarner/100020279/copenhagen-climate-summit-most-important-paper-in-the-world-is-a-glorified-un-press-release/

GOP gets guts; Nelson still holds out!; Iran launches missle; House increases debt limit; Chavez gets ovation

"It is natural to man to indulge in the illusions of hope. We are apt to shut our eyes against a painful truth -- and listen to the song of that syren, till she transforms us into beasts. ... Are we disposed to be of the number of those, who having eyes, see not, and having ears, hear not?" --Patrick Henry 1) Morning Bell: The Left’s Righteous War Against the Individual Mandate Explaining why he would vote against the Senate version of Obamacare if he were a Senator, former-Democratic National Committee Charmian Howard Dean told MSNBC last night: “You’re going to be forced to buy health insurance from a company that is going to take on average of 27% of your money … and there is no choice about that. If you don’t buy that insurance you are going to get a fine.” For this heresy, White House Press Secretary Robert Gibbs suggested Dean was irrational, and asked: “I would ask Dr. Dean, how better do you address those who don’t have insurance: passing a bill that will cover 30 million who don’t currently have it or killing the bill?” Later in the day, the successor organization to Dean’s 2004 presidential campaign, Democracy for America, shot back at the White House, blasting out an e-mail that reads: What they are actually talking about is something called the “individual mandate.” That’s a section of the law that requires every single American buy health insurance or break the law and face penalties and fines. So, the bill doesn’t actually “cover” 30 million more Americans - instead it makes them criminals if they don’t buy insurance from the same companies that got us into this mess. …Conservatives have been making nearly identical critiques of the individual mandate since the beginning of the debate. Of course, we differ with the left on whether the public option would solve the above problems, but both progressives and conservatives are now in complete agreement that the current Senate bill would be a health care disaster for Americans. And the American people agree. In the latest NBC News/Wall Street Journal poll, the American people oppose Obamacare 51% to 44%. But when asked about specific provisions of health care reform, guess which aspect is the least popular: the individual mandate. A full 57% Americans told NBC News they do not want Obamacare to create “a law that requires everyone to have health insurance coverage.” With only 38% of Americans supporting it, the individual mandate is the least popular portion of the bill. See: http://blog.heritage.org/2009/12/17/morning-bell-the-left’s-righteous-war-against-the-individual-mandate/ 1a) Public Reading of 767-Page Amendment Ends After Senator Withdraws Measure Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., withdrew a measure calling for an all-government health care system after a Republican colleague on Wednesday called for its 767 pages to be read aloud. Sanders' amendment to the Senate's health care legislation would have created a single-payer insurance plan. The amendment was all but dead on arrival, but Sen. Tom Coburn, R-Okla., ordered that the measure be read in its entirety -- which Senate aides said likely would have taken 17 hours to complete. Coburn, disparaged by some Democrats as "Dr. No" for challenging bills in which he finds costly earmarks, had sought approval to require that any amendment considered by the Senate must be offered 72 hours in advance and with a full cost report. When he was rebuffed by Democratic Sen. Max Baucus of Montana, Coburn invoked his right to require that an amendment by another lawmaker be read aloud. That sent the Senate into limbo. The Republicans are finally getting some guts! Good! See: http://www.foxnews.com/politics/2009/12/16/senator-forces-clerk-read-page-amendment-aloud/ 1b) Holdout Sen. Nelson rejects abortion compromise WASHINGTON (AP) - A moderate Democrat whose vote could be crucial said Thursday an attempted Senate compromise on abortion is unsatisfactory, raising doubts about whether the chamber can pass President Barack Obama's health care overhaul by Christmas. "As it is, without modifications, the language concerning abortion is not sufficient," Nebraska Sen. Ben Nelson, a key holdout on the health care bill, said in a statement after first making his concerns known to Majority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nev. Nelson said there were positive improvements dealing with teen pregnancy and adoption, and that he was open to further negotiations. But in a radio interview earlier in the day with KLIN in Lincoln, Nebraska, Nelson also said that abortion wasn't his only concern and he didn't see how the Christmas deadline was achievable. The development came with Senate leaders working round the clock trying to finalize their 10-year, nearly $1 trillion bill in time for a final vote on Christmas Eve. Nelson is emerging as a major obstacle - perhaps the only remaining one - since Democrats need his vote to have the 60 necessary to overcome Republican stalling tactics. See: http://apnews.myway.com/article/20091217/D9CL9K000.html 1c) Bennett: Obama outdoes LBJ in strong-arming tactics President Barack Obama's treatment of lawmakers far exceeds the strong-armed tactics once employed by President Lyndon Johnson, a GOP senator argued Thursday. Sen. Robert Bennett (R-Utah) accused Obama of bullying lawmakers on healthcare reform, specifically the rumored threat to centrist Sen. Ben Nelson (D-Neb.) that an Air Force base would be closed unless Nelson agreed to vote for health reform. "This would be one of the most outrageous demonstrations of presidential power I've ever seen," Bennett said on a conservative news radio syndicate. "I'm old enough to have been around the town in the days of Lyndon Johnson," Bennett added. "He was pretty imperial and he would beat up members of the Senate really quite brutally. I don't think even Lyndon Johnson would try anything like this." …At issue is a rumor that the Obama administration threatened to close or rename Offutt Air Force Base in Nebraska, a rumor which Nelson rejected on Thursday, but into which Republican senators are demanding an investigation. "Nobody's threatened me. As a matter of fact, in any discussion with the White House or the leadership or any of my colleagues, the question about the base or even the name of the base has never come up," Nelson said during an interview on KLIN radio in Nebraska. "Nobody has talked about anything of that kind." Nelson said he knows the source of that rumor, suggesting that Republicans would be red-faced if details of the source of the rumor came out. Hmmm…puzzling. See: http://thehill.com/blogs/blog-briefing-room/news/72797-bennett-obama-outdoes-lbj-in-strong-arming-tactics 1d) 20 senators demand probe of health-care vote 'threat' Did White House say it would close Air Force base if Nelson didn't play? Twenty senators are demanding an investigation into reports the Obama administration threatened to close Offutt Air Force Base in Nebraska if that state's Democratic senator, Ben Nelson, didn't join other Democrats in voting for health-care reform. The group of 20, all Republicans, today called for a hearing in a letter to Senate Armed Services Committee Chairman Carl Levin, D-Mich., and the committee's top Republican Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz. The text of the letter states: It has been reported that the Obama Administration threatened the closure of a U.S. military installation for political purposes, thereby bringing into question the integrity of the Base Realignment and Closure (BRAC) process. The BRAC process was established to remove political influence so that the decision to close or not to close a military installation could be based upon military utility. Specifically, various media reports have stated that the Obama Administration would put Offutt AFB in southeastern Nebraska on a future BRAC list because of a vote on healthcare reform. While we recognize the importance of Offutt AFB as the headquarters of U.S. Strategic Command and the approximately 10,000 individuals that work there, we feel that this installation should remain open or be closed on its own merits. Therefore, we respectfully ask that a hearing be held as to whether the BRAC process has been compromised. We do not want to see the name of a base from our state on a BRAC list and think it has been put there to settle partisan scores. We also do not want our bases to be more vulnerable to closure because political arm-twisting has taken another installation off the table. National security not partisanship should determine how BRAC decisions are made. See: http://www.wnd.com/index.php?fa=PAGE.view&pageId=119239

2) U.S. House Approves $154 Billion Jobs Bill, Debt Limit Increase

Dec. 17 (Bloomberg) -- The U.S. House approved a $154 billion economic-aid package and a $290 billion increase in the legal limit on government borrowing as the chamber wrapped up its legislative business for the year. The lawmakers voted 218-214 yesterday to raise the debt ceiling to $12.394 trillion, the fourth such increase in 18 months. Hours later, the House approved on a 217-212 vote the new spending for infrastructure projects, extended unemployment benefits and aid to state governments. The chamber also passed a $636 billion defense budget bill yesterday. All three measures await Senate action. See: http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601087&sid=afE_3egIaUSs&pos=9 3) Obama's Safe Schools Czar Tied to Lewd Readings for 7th Graders President Obama's "Safe Schools Czar," already a target of social conservatives for his past drug abuse and what they say is his promotion of homosexuality in schools, is under fresh attack after it was revealed that the pro-gay group he formerly headed recommends books his critics say are pornographic. The group under fire is the Gay, Lesbian and Straight Education Network (GLSEN), which Kevin Jennings, now the assistant deputy secretary for safe and drug-free schools in the Department of Education, founded and ran from 1990 to 2008. GLSEN says it works to create a welcoming atmosphere for homosexual students in schools, and that effort includes recommending books for students of all ages. But critics say many of the books, particularly some that are targeted for children between Grades 7 to 12, are inappropriately explicit. A full list is available at the blog Gateway Pundit, which has published dozens of controversial passages from the books. One recommended book is titled "Queer 13: Lesbian and Gay Writers Recall Seventh Grade." On pages 43 through 45, writer Justin Chin tells of how as a 13-year-old, he went along with "near-rapes" by older men, but "really did enjoy those sexual encounters." Chin also recounts each sexual action he performed with an "ugly f*** of a man" he met on a bus. See: http://www.foxnews.com/politics/2009/12/14/obamas-safe-schools-czar-tied-lewd-readings/ 4) Islamic mosque built at NYC Ground Zero Muslim business leader: 'This has hand of the divine written over it' A new Islamic mosque will open its doors just steps from Ground Zero where Muslim terrorists murdered 2,751 people in the name of Allah on Sept. 11, 2001 – and its leading imam, who conducts sensitivity training sessions for the FBI, has reportedly blamed Christians for starting mass attacks on civilians. The five-story building at Park Place, just two blocks north of the former World Trade Center site, was the site of a Burlington Coat Factory. But a plane's landing-gear assembly crashed through the roof on the day 19 Muslim terrorists hijacked the airliners and flew them into the Twin Towers in 2001. Now Muslim worshippers currently occupy the building, and they plan to turn it into a major Islamic cultural center. "The men and women stand up, raise their hands on either side of their head, murmur 'Allahu akhbar,' bow and kneel again," reports Spiegel Online. "Only in New York City is this possible," Daisy Khan, executive director of the American Society for Muslim Advancement, or ASMA, told the magazine. Khan is the wife of Imam Feisal Abdul Rauf, founder of ASMA. They have leased the new prayer space as an overflow building for another mosque, Masjid al-Farah, at 245 West Broadway in TriBeCa, where Rauf is the spiritual leader. See: http://www.wnd.com/index.php?fa=PAGE.view&pageId=119328 5) Hugo Chavez gets standing ovation ...Then President Chavez brought the house down. When he said the process in Copenhagen was “not democratic, it is not inclusive, but isn’t that the reality of our world, the world is really and imperial dictatorship…down with imperial dictatorships” he got a rousing round of applause. When he said there was a “silent and terrible ghost in the room” and that ghost was called capitalism, the applause was deafening. But then he wound up to his grand conclusion – 20 minutes after his 5 minute speaking time was supposed to have ended and after quoting everyone from Karl Marx to Jesus Christ - “our revolution seeks to help all people…socialism, the other ghost that is probably wandering around this room, that’s the way to save the planet, capitalism is the road to hell....let’s fight against capitalism and make it obey us.” He won a standing ovation. See: http://www.theaustralian.com.au/politics/penny-wong-jeered-hugo-chavez-cheered/story-e6frgczf-1225811179614 6) Pre-massacre concerns about Hasan may have been off limits to FBI WASHINGTON – FBI agents who discovered Maj. Nidal Malik Hasan's extremist ties before the Fort Hood massacre may not have had access to key Army records on the psychiatrist, U.S. Sen. Susan Collins said Tuesday. The Maine Republican said some information that terrorism investigators need stays in military education or training files "and does not make its way to the personnel files" – the records that intelligence agencies would see when deciding whether to investigate someone. Collins is the top Republican on the Senate Homeland Security and Government Affairs Committee, which is investigating how pre-massacre intelligence was handled. She spoke after a closed-door hearing with Defense Department officials. Hasan's colleagues and superiors repeatedly raised concerns about him during his psychiatric training. Issues included his fundamentalist Islamic leanings, religious proselytizing, work performance and mental stability. "It doesn't appear that the military has updated its personnel policies to reflect the threat of Islamic extremism," Collins said. "There appears to be a real gap in the protocols in the personnel procedures." See: http://www.dallasnews.com/sharedcontent/dws/news/texassouthwest/stories/DN-militaryfiles_16nat.ART.State.Edition2.4bede79.html 7) Iran tests missile, stoking tensions with the West TEHRAN, Iran – Iran on Wednesday test fired an upgraded version of an advanced missile capable of hitting Israel and parts of Europe, an apparent show of strength aimed at discouraging attacks on its nuclear facilities. The test of the medium-range Sajjil-2 fueled calls for tougher sanctions against Tehran, which has resisted U.N. demands that it rein in its nuclear ambitions. Iran touted the launch as a success proving it can deter any U.S. or Israeli military strike against its nuclear facilities. See: http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20091216/ap_on_re_mi_ea/ml_iran_missile 8) Obama Writes Letter to North Korean Leader Kim, Official Says Dec. 16 (Bloomberg) -- President Barack Obama wrote a letter to North Korean leader Kim Jong-Il as the U.S. is seeking to reopen negotiations on North Korea’s nuclear program, an administration official said. Obama’s special envoy, Stephen Bosworth, delivered the letter during a three-day visit to North Korea’s capital last week, said the official, who spoke on condition of anonymity. The official wouldn’t divulge the contents. Bosworth’s trip marked the first official contact between the two governments since Obama took office in January signaling a willingness to engage with the communist regime. See: http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601087&sid=ai1EiiTcBQfs&pos=9

Dems play politics with national security; Coming debt panic; Smart meters prompt revolt

1) Joe Lieberman: Ready to vote for reform Sen. Joe Lieberman (I-Conn.) said Tuesday afternoon he thinks he's ready to vote for the Senate health care reform bill — and that his positions on the Medicare buy-in do not contradict his previously stated stances on the issue. "To be as explicit as I can be now, if as it appears to be happening, the so-called public option, government-run insurance program is out, and the Medicare buy-in—which I thought would jeopardize Medicare, cost taxpayers billions of dollars over the long haul, increase our deficit—is out, and there's no other attempts to bring things like that in, then... I am getting to that position to where I can say what I wanted to say all along, that I'm ready to vote for health care reform." Except how it will work, my dear Lieberman, is that after it passes in the Senate and goes into committee, where the work of reconciling the Senate and House Bills will begin, the public option will go back in. See: http://www.politico.com/news/stories/1209/30623.html 1a) The liberals' weaselly panic Harry Reid can rightly claim to be making history. If he passes health-care re form, he'll depend on a series of historic "firsts." It'd be the first time Congress had passed a major new entitlement program without bipartisan support; it'd be the first time it passed such a program without popular support; and the first time it passed such a program without knowing or particularly caring what's in it. John McCain complained last week that he had no idea what constituted the highly touted backroom deal that Reid sent to the Congressional Budget Office for evaluation. The No. 2 Senate Democrat, Dick Durbin, reassured McCain that he didn't know, either. This is bipartisanship Harry Reid-style -- nontransparency for everyone. Reid reportedly proposed giving the uninsured aged 55-65 entree into Medicare, a departure from the program's long-standing limit to retirees age 65 and older. This is a radical change that didn't have a full and frank airing among senators, let alone a committee hearing. Reid wanted the provisions of the deal kept secret because -- as recounted by Joe Lieberman -- he thought they'd be "mauled" if made public. Who needs openness and legislative details when you're remaking one-sixth of the economy? …Reid's struggle getting to 60 makes some liberals fear that America has become "ungovernable." In other words, it isn't putty in their grasping little hands. Unfortunately for them, the Founders created a balky system resistant to precipitate change. It is designed to frustrate ideologically drunken (and perhaps temporary) majorities insistent on passing sweeping, unpopular legislation. Reid's difficulty is exactly the way James Madison would have wanted it. …But Reid knows long-term persuasion isn't an option. As his approval rating sags below 40 percent back in Nevada, even he might not be returning to Washington after 2010. Every day, every hour matters in the now-or-never calculus of Democrats who already feel their moment slipping agonizingly away. …especially if you donate to his only conservative opponent with legislative experience. Please go to http://www.sharronangle.com/ and make a contribution to freedom. See: http://www.nypost.com/p/news/opinion/opedcolumnists/the_liberals_weaselly_panic_ecP4ynDjysSmWeB4lFPANM 1b) Source: Dems Threaten Nelson In Pursuit of 60 While the Democrats appease Senator Lieberman, they still have to worry about other recalcitrant Democrats including Nebraska Senator Ben Nelson. Though Lieberman has been out front in the fight against the public option and the Medicare buy-in, Nelson was critical of both. Now that those provisions appear to have been stripped from the bill, Lieberman may get on board, but Nelson's demand that taxpayer money not be used to fund abortion has still not been met. According to a Senate aide, the White House is now threatening to put Nebraska's Offutt Air Force Base on the BRAC list if Nelson doesn't fall into line. Offutt Air Force Base employs some 10,000 military and federal employees in Southeastern Nebraska. As our source put it, this is a "naked effort by Rahm Emanuel and the White House to extort Nelson's vote." They are "threatening to close a base vital to national security for what?" asked the Senate staffer. Indeed, Offutt is the headquarters for US Strategic Command, the successor to Strategic Air Command, and not by accident. STRATCOM was located in the middle of the country for strategic reasons. Its closure would be a massive blow to the economy of the state of Nebraska, but it would also be another example of this administration playing politics with our national security (emphasis mine). See: http://www.weeklystandard.com/weblogs/TWSFP/2009/12/source_dems_threaten_nelson_in_1.asp 2) Senate sends $1.1 trillion spending bill to Obama WASHINGTON – The Senate on Sunday passed a $1.1 trillion spending bill with increased budgets for vast areas of the federal government, including health, education, law enforcement and veterans' programs. The spending bill combines six of the 12 annual appropriation bills for the 2010 budget year that began Oct. 1. Obama has signed into law five others. …The final one, a $626 billion defense bill, will be used as the base bill for another catch-all package of measures that Congress must deal with in the coming days. Those include action to raise the $12.1 trillion debt ceiling and proposals to stimulate the job market. …All but three Democrats voted for the bill, while all but three Republicans opposed it. Democrats said the spending was critical to meet the needs of a recession-battered economy. "Every bill that is passed, every project that is funded and every job that is created helps America take another step forward on the road of economic recovery," Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nev., said after the vote. Republicans decried what they called out-of control spending and pointed to an estimated $3.9 billion in the bill for more than 5,000 local projects sought by individual lawmakers from both parties. …The legislation also contains numerous items not directly related to spending. It provides help for auto dealers facing closure, ends a ban on funding by the District of Columbia government for abortions (emphasis mine) and allows the district to permit medical marijuana, lets Amtrak passengers carry unloaded handguns in their checked baggage and permits detainees held at Guantanamo Bay to be transferred to the United States to stand trial, but not to be released. …Congress must soon raise the debt ceiling, now at $12.1 trillion, so the Treasury can continue to borrow, and Democratic leaders are eyeing a new figure close to $14 trillion, pushing the issue past next November's election. See: http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20091214/ap_on_bi_ge/us_congress_spending 3) The coming debt panic Only bipartisan action can avoid it. IT'S TIME to stop worrying about the deficit -- and start panicking about the debt. To put it another way, short-term deficits aren't the real problem. The punishing hangover of borrowed money is. The ballooning national debt once looked like a long-term problem. Now, the long-term has become the middle-term, fast-forwarded by the cratering economy and the unavoidable and immense spending in the service of saving it. Consider: In the space of a single fiscal year, 2009, the debt soared from 41 percent of the gross domestic product to 53 percent. By way of comparison, the average for the past half-century has been 37 percent. This sum, which does not include what the government has borrowed from its own trust funds, is on track to rise to a crushing 85 percent of the economy by 2018. Getting the debt back down to a reasonable level will require extraordinary, almost unimaginable, fiscal discipline and political cooperation. Failing to do so will lower the national standard of living and ultimately threaten America's economic stability. See: http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/12/13/AR2009121302442.html 4) ‘Smart’ Electric Utility Meters, Intended to Create Savings, Instead Prompt Revolt WASHINGTON — Millions of households across America are taking a first step into the world of the “smart grid,” as their power companies install meters that can tell them how much electricity they are using hour by hour — and sometimes, appliance by appliance. But not everyone is happy about it. Customers in California are in open revolt, and officials in Connecticut and Texas are questioning whether the rush to install meters benefits the public. Some consumers argue that the meters are logging far more kilowatt hours than they believe they are using. And many find it unfair that they will begin to pay immediately for the new meters through higher rates, when the promised savings could be years away. …Ms. Keogh reported to the utility that the meter recorded 646 kilowatt-hours in July, for which she paid $66.50; last year it was 474 kilowatt-hours, or $43.37. …Scores of electric customers with similar complaints have turned out at similar hearings. At one in Fresno, Calif., Leo Margosian, a retired investigator, testified that the new meter logged the consumption of his two-bedroom townhouse at 791 kilowatt-hours in July, up from 236 a year earlier. And he had recently insulated his attic and installed new windows, Mr. Margosian said. See: http://www.nytimes.com/2009/12/14/us/14meters.html?_r=2 5) Inflation rising …Overall wholesale prices jumped 1.8 percent in November, the Labor Department said. That was more than double the gain analysts had expected. Core inflation, which excludes energy and food, rose 0.5 percent, the sharpest increase in more than a year. …Wholesale energy prices posted their biggest surge since August. The price increases for gasoline and home heating oil were especially sharp. See: http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20091215/ap_on_bi_go_ec_fi/us_economy 6) Inconvenient truth for Al Gore as his North Pole sums don't add up There are many kinds of truth. Al Gore was poleaxed by an inconvenient one yesterday. The former US Vice-President, who became an unlikely figurehead for the green movement after narrating the Oscar-winning documentary An Inconvenient Truth, became entangled in a new climate change “spin” row. Mr Gore, speaking at the Copenhagen climate change summit, stated the latest research showed that the Arctic could be completely ice-free in five years. …However, the climatologist whose work Mr Gore was relying upon dropped the former Vice-President in the water with an icy blast. “It’s unclear to me how this figure was arrived at,” Dr Maslowski said. “I would never try to estimate likelihood at anything as exact as this.” See: http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/environment/copenhagen/article6956783.ece 6a) CLIMATE CHANGE IS NATURAL: 100 REASONS WHY HERE are the 100 reasons, released in a dossier issued by the European Foundation, why climate change is natural and not man-made: 1) There is “no real scientific proof” that the current warming is caused by the rise of greenhouse gases from man’s activity. 2) Man-made carbon dioxide emissions throughout human history constitute less than 0.00022 percent of the total naturally emitted from the mantle of the earth during geological history. 3) Warmer periods of the Earth’s history came around 800 years before rises in CO2 levels. 4) After World War II, there was a huge surge in recorded CO2 emissions but global temperatures fell for four decades after 1940. 5) Throughout the Earth’s history, temperatures have often been warmer than now and CO2 levels have often been higher – more than ten times as high. 6) Significant changes in climate have continually occurred throughout geologic time. 7) The 0.7C increase in the average global temperature over the last hundred years is entirely consistent with well-established, long-term, natural climate trends. 8) The IPCC theory is driven by just 60 scientists and favourable reviewers not the 4,000 usually cited. 9) Leaked e-mails from British climate scientists – in a scandal known as “Climate-gate” - suggest that that has been manipulated to exaggerate global warming 10) A large body of scientific research suggests that the sun is responsible for the greater share of climate change during the past hundred years. 11) Politicians and activiists claim rising sea levels are a direct cause of global warming but sea levels rates have been increasing steadily since the last ice age 10,000 ago. And it goes on and on and on… See: http://www.dailyexpress.co.uk/posts/view/146138 7) Rules of engagement killing U.S. soldiers You won't believe how politics handcuff troops in Afghanistan WASHINGTON – New military rules of engagement ostensibly to protect Afghan civilians are putting the lives of U.S. forces in jeopardy, claim Army and Marine sources, as the Taliban learns to game plan based the rules' imposed limits. The rules of engagement, or ROEs, apply to all coalition forces of the United States and the North Atlantic Treaty Organization. Their enactment is in response to Afghan President Hamid Karzai's complaints over mounting civilian deaths apparently occurring in firefights. …The impact of new restrictions has created increasing frustration and concern among U.S. Army and Marine Corps troops who now are compelled to follow these rules despite the danger of letting the Taliban live to fight again another day.

The actual ROEs are said to be classified U.S. and NATO secrets, but based on individual soldier accounts, those restrictions include the following:

-No night or surprise searches -Villagers are to be warned prior to searches -Afghan National Army, or ANA, or Afghan National Police, or ANP, must accompany U.S. units on searches -U.S. soldiers may not fire at insurgents unless they are preparing to fire first -U.S. forces cannot engage insurgents if civilians are present -Only women can search women -Troops can fire on insurgents if they catch them placing an IED but not if insurgents walk away from where the explosives are. See: http://www.wnd.com/index.php?fa=PAGE.view&pageId=118941 8) Court to hear case of Christian student group that refused to admit gays The Supreme Court agreed today to hear an appeal from a Christian student group in San Francisco that refused to admit gays and lesbians and to decide whether the group’s right to religious liberty and freedom of association can trump a university’s ban on discrimination based on sexual orientation. The case, to be heard next year, could set new rules for campus groups across the nation. The UC Hastings College of Law says its officially recognized student groups must be open to all of its students. The law school also has a general non-discrimination policy that applies to student groups and programs. It forbids discrimination based on “race, color, religion, national origin, ancestry, disability, age, sex or sexual orientation.” See: http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/dcnow/2009/12/court-to-hear-case-of-christian-student-group-that-refused-to-admit-gays.html

61% Oppose HC; Huge marriage penalty; New salary caps; Iran says US blocking Mahdi

1) CNN Poll: 61% Oppose Senate Health Care Bill The Democrats' health care legislation is now polling worse than President Bush's failed effort to reform Social Security did in 2005. As I noted below, a new CNN poll asked, "As you may know, the U.S. Senate is considering a bill that would make major changes in the country's health care system. Based on what you have read or heard about that bill, do you generally favor it or generally oppose it?" It found that that 61 percent of Americans oppose the Senate health care bill, compared to 36 percent who support it. See: http://spectator.org/blog/2009/12/10/health-care-bill-polling-worse 1a) Marriage Penalty Hidden in Health Care Reform A closer look at premium payments in both the House and Senate health care bills shows higher premiums that might discourage couples tying the knot. For instance, in the House version, an unmarried couple each making $30,000 a year would pay $1,320 combined each year for private health insurance. If that couple chose to marry, their premium would jump to $12,000 a year, a difference of $10,680. Allen Quist, a former Minnesota State legislator and current candidate for Congress, discovered the penalty while looking at numbers from the Committees on Ways and Means, Energy & Commerce, and Education & Labor. "This extraordinary penalty people will pay, should they marry, extends all the way from a two-person combined income of $58,280 to $86,640, a spread of $28,360," he wrote in a blog post. "A large number of people fall within this spread. As premiums for private insurance escalate, as expected, the marriage penalty will become substantially larger." The Senate bill includes a similar penalty. "The Senate bill stipulates that two unmarried people, 52 years of age, with private insurance and a combined income of $60,000, $30,000 each, will pay a combined cost of $2,483 for medical insurance," Quist wrote. "Should they marry, however, they will pay a combined cost of $11,666 for insurance — a penalty of $9,183 for getting married." The numbers are based on the government's definition of "poverty level." Those above poverty level will pay higher premiums, and the excess would be redistributed to those in lower income levels. A marriage penalty. Brilliant! That will be great for society. See: http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2405035/posts 1b) Health care loophole would allow coverage limits WASHINGTON – A loophole in the Senate health care bill would let insurers place annual dollar limits on medical care for people struggling with costly illnesses such as cancer, prompting a rebuke from patient advocates. The legislation that originally passed the Senate health committee last summer would have banned such limits, but a tweak to that provision weakened it in the bill now moving toward a Senate vote. No, there’s no rationing. None at all. See: http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20091211/ap_on_go_co/us_health_overhaul_senate_loophole 1c) High Premiums in Senate Democrats’ Health Plan WASHINGTON — Senate Democrats have provided few details about their latest health care proposal, but this much seems clear: Anyone who wants to buy the same health benefits as members of Congress, or to buy coverage through Medicare, should be prepared to fork over a large chunk of cash. According to the Congressional Budget Office, a family of four earning $54,000 in 2016, when the health legislation is fully in effect, would be eligible for a subsidy of $10,100 to help defray the cost of insurance under the health legislation being debated by the Senate. By then, one of the most popular federal plans, a nationwide Blue Cross and Blue Shield policy, is projected to cost more than $20,000. That could leave the family earning $54,000, slightly more than the current median household income, with monthly premium costs of more than $825. See: http://www.nytimes.com/2009/12/11/health/policy/11insure.html?_r=1 2) Feinberg Issues New Salary Caps for TARP Firms New compensation rules issued Friday will cap 2009 pay at $500,000 cash for about 450 employees at four companies that have received government bailout funds. The new guidelines affect the 26th- through 100th-highest-paid employees at the affected firms, which include Citibank, GM, AIG and GMAC. Chrysler and its financing arm were not included because none of their employees make more than $500,000, pay czar Kenneth Feinberg told reporters this morning at a briefing. So, following the logic that if you receive government money, the government can determine your salary, then if you have received a government student loan, I suppose then the government can determine where you get a job, or how much you make, too. Who would have thought that we could get to the point in the UNITED STATES that a “pay czar” would determine how much you could make. See: http://www.pbs.org/newshour/rundown/2009/12/feinberg-issues-new-pay-caps-for-tarp-firms.html 3) For feds, more get 6-figure salaries  Average pay $30,000 over private sector The number of federal workers earning six-figure salaries has exploded during the recession, according to a USA TODAY analysis of federal salary data. Federal employees making salaries of $100,000 or more jumped from 14% to 19% of civil servants during the recession's first 18 months — and that's before overtime pay and bonuses are counted. Federal workers are enjoying an extraordinary boom time — in pay and hiring — during a recession that has cost 7.3 million jobs in the private sector. The highest-paid federal employees are doing best of all on salary increases. Defense Department civilian employees earning $150,000 or more increased from 1,868 in December 2007 to 10,100 in June 2009, the most recent figure available. …"There's no way to justify this to the American people. It's ridiculous," says Rep. Jason Chaffetz, R-Utah, a first-term lawmaker who is on the House's federal workforce subcommittee. …The growth in six-figure salaries has pushed the average federal worker's pay to $71,206, compared with $40,331 in the private sector. See: http://www.usatoday.com/printedition/news/20091211/1afedpay11_st.art.htm?loc=interstitialskip 4) **Exclusive** Leaked Justice Department Memo: Terrorists To Be Moved to Camp Gitmo Illinois The Land of Lincoln may still be licking its wounds–and certain real estate transactions–over Chicago’s losing the Olympics to Rio, but the Obama Administration has delivered up a small consolation prize: the state’s very own federal prison for terrorists. Big Government has received what is claimed to be a leaked DOJ memo that was allegedly sent yesterday from Eric Holder’s Department of Justice to Defense Secretary Robert Gates. See: http://biggovernment.com/2009/12/11/exclusive-leaked-justice-department-memo-terrorists-to-be-moved-to-camp-gitmo-illinois/ 5) Clinton-Appointed Judge Imposes Injunction on Congressional Ban on ACORN Funding “On the same day that ACORN’s violation of Delaware state lobbying laws was revealed, a liberal, Clinton-appointed activist Judge has ruled to usurp the prerogatives and authority of the United States Congress. This left-wing activist Judge is setting a dangerous precedent that left-wing political organizations plagued by criminal accusations have a constitutional entitlement to taxpayer dollars. The Obama Administration should immediately move to appeal this injunction.” From the second citation below:…a Clinton appointed judge has ruled in favor of ACORN in their suit to stop Congress from defunding them and in essence saying that once an organization gets payments from the federal government then Congress can no longer decide to stop those payments unless a court rules they are guilty of some law breaking. See: http://sdrostra.com/?p=1591 And: http://www.floppingaces.net/2009/12/11/activist-judge-congress-cannot-stop-payments-to-acorn/ 6) Furious Reaction To Sick Editorial Calling For Global One Child Dictatorship

An article featured in Canada’s Financial Post newspaper calling for China’s draconian one child policy, where woman are kidnapped off the streets, drugged, and forced to undergo compulsory abortions, to be imposed worldwide has been met with widespread hostile reaction, yet such measures are being debated at the United Nations climate summit in Copenhagen. In her editorial published on Tuesday, columnist Diane Francis wrote that, “A planetary law, such as China’s one-child policy, is the only way to reverse the disastrous global birthrate.” I think it‘s about time for Diane to start dyin‘. If she wants to save the world, let it begin with her. Just days later, the Chinese government delegation at the Copenhagen climate change conference argued that the Communist dictatorship’s one child policy should “serve as a model for integrating population programs into the framework of climate change adaptation.” As we have exhaustively documented, the overpopulation myth is often cited by control freak phony environmentalists as a justification for the implementation of drastic policies, yet it has no basis in reality whatsoever (emphasis mine). Due to falling fertility rates globally, humans will soon stop replacing themselves and population numbers will naturally fall (emphasis mine). See: http://www.prisonplanet.com/furious-reaction-to-sick-editorial-calling-for-global-one-child-dictatorship.html And: http://www.financialpost.com/story.html?id=2314438 7) Food prices to skyrocket as supplies plunge Low inventories, lack of farmers brings on 'perfect storm' In a recent report on the state of the economy, the New York Times said food stamps are being used by a record number – one in eight – Americans and one in four children. At the same time, food banks run by churches are being overrun with requests for help. And if that isn't troubling enough, other data point to a much darker future. According to the National Inflation Association, food costs are about to skyrocket. Officials cite agricultural commodities which have remained at historically low levels despite a worldwide shortage of farmers and record low food inventories. They equate this to a "perfect storm" that could bring about a dramatic rise in food prices. See: http://www.wnd.com/index.php?fa=PAGE.view&pageId=118656 8) Obama administration 'assures Jewish evacuation' PA official says U.S. won't counter proposal giving Temple Mount to Palestinians

JERUSALEM – Members of the Obama administration recently assured the Palestinian Authority that most Jewish communities in the strategic West Bank will be evacuated, a top PA official told WND yesterday. The official also said Obama will soon offer the Palestinians a public pledge that a Palestinian state will encompass most of the West Bank and eastern Jerusalem with the exception of what is known as the three main settlement blocs – Ariel, Gush Etzion and Maale Adumim. The pledge will likely be oral and not in the form of a letter, said the PA official. Further, both the PA official and a source in Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's office told WND the Obama administration refused to counter a European Union draft document that supports the division of Jerusalem, with the Temple Mount going to the Palestinians. See: http://www.wnd.com/index.php?fa=PAGE.view&pageId=118495 9) Ahmadinejad Reportedly Claims U.S. is Blocking Return of Mankind's Savior Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad claims the United States is attempting to thwart the return of mankind's savior, according to reports from Al Arabiya, a television news station based in Dubai. Ahmadinejad reportedly claims he has documented evidence that the U.S. is blocking the return of Mahdi, the Imam believed by Muslims to be the savior. “We have documented proof that they believe that a descendant of the prophet of Islam will raise in these parts and he will dry the roots of all injustice in the world,” Ahmadinejad said during a speech on Monday, according to Al Arabiya. "They have devised all these plans to prevent the coming of the Hidden Imam because they know that the Iranian nation is the one that will prepare the grounds for his coming and will be the supporters of his rule," Ahmadinejad was quoted as saying. If Islam’s Mahdi is the Antichrist of the Bible, and there is considerable evidence that that is the case, then way to go U.S. See: http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,579640,00.html 10) Mysterious lights in Norway: Russian missile test Citizens of Norway got quite a shock this week when a giant spiral with a green-blue beam of light shooting from its center appeared up in the sky. This Wednesday, the strange light, or series of lights, lit up the skies above Norway. Russian officials originally denied that they had anything to do with it and later claimed responsibility stating that it was a failed missile test. According to Russian defense officials, this is what took place: The missile's rocket motor spun out of control shortly after it was launched, this likely created the heavenly spiral pattern of white light. The missile was launched from a submarine located in the White Sea. The phenomenon was witnessed by people all over Norway and caused emergency call center's phone boards to light up. The lights were reported around 8 a.m. local time or 2 a.m. EST. Why Russia initially denied involvement in the incident is unclear, but it could be that it was the 6th failure of the last 13 launches of the Bulava ballistic missile. See: http://www.examiner.com/x-958-Tampa-Space-Program-News-Examiner~y2009m12d11-Mysterious-lights-in-Norway-Russian-missile-test

Abortion equivalent to viagra; Dems raise debt ceiling; Stimulus III; TSA helps terrorists

1) Here is the asinine quote of the day, by Senator Barbara Boxer: “The men who have brought us this [amendment] don’t single out a procedure that is used by a man, or a drug that is used by a man, that involves his reproductive health care, and say they have to get a special rider...There is nothing in this amendment that says if a man some day wants to buy Viagra, for example, that his pharmaceutical coverage cannot cover it, that he has to buy a rider." As if a drug used to enhance sexual pleasure were the equivalent of murdering an unborn baby! And how dare she claim to speak for women. How dare she.   And here is #2: "Is it morally right to use tax dollars from pro-life Americans to cover insurance plans that cover abortion?" Feinstein said: "Is it morally correct? Yes, I believe it is. Abortion is legal, and there (are) certain very tragic circumstances that a woman finds herself in. Married, with an unborn baby that’s unable to survive outside of the womb, her doctor tells her it’s a threat to her health. I think she ought to have a policy available to her." First of all, 95% of abortions are elective - not based on the ability of baby or mother to survive. Secondly, the Hyde and Stupak Amendments include exceptions for rape, incest, and the life of the mother.

Commentary, mine. The quotes you can find all over any internet search engine.

2) Dems to lift debt ceiling by $1.8 trillion, fear 2010 backlash

In a bold but risky year-end strategy, Democrats are preparing to raise the federal debt ceiling by as much as $1.8 trillion before New Year’s rather than have to face the issue again prior to the 2010 elections. “We’ve incurred this debt. We have to pay our bills,” House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer told POLITICO Wednesday. And the Maryland Democrat confirmed that the anticipated increase could be as high as $1.8 trillion — nearly twice what had been assumed in last spring’s budget resolution for the 2010 fiscal year. See: http://www.politico.com/news/stories/1209/30417.html?utm_source=Newsletter&utm_medium=Email&utm_campaign=Morning%2BBell 3) Stimulus III Democrats want TARP to become a revolving line of political credit. If at first fiscal stimulus doesn't succeed, spend, spend again. That's the motto President Obama embraced yesterday, even if he didn't use the word "stimulus," which has managed to set a political record in the speed with which it has become unpopular with voters. This time, the spending is being called "Proposals to Accelerate Job Growth and Lay the Foundation for Robust Economic Growth." But wasn't that also supposed to be the point of last February's $787 billion stimulus, or for that matter of the Nancy Pelosi-George W. Bush $165 billion stimulus of February 2008? Nearly two years after that first Keynesian stimulus that was supposed to prevent a recession, and nearly a year after the second that the White House said would keep the jobless rate below 8%, the President now feels obliged to propose a third. Like the joke about Paul Krugman having predicted seven of the last two recessions, sooner or later the White House is bound to get the political timing right. See: http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052748703558004574584221812178920.html?utm_source=Newsletter&utm_medium=Email&utm_campaign=Morning%2BBell 4) ObamaJobs: Uncle Sam's Hiring Hall The U.S. can't have new entrepreneurs and tax them too. Every serious person should welcome the president's proposals to lift the dormant economy and reduce unemployment. Not because every serious person would agree with them but because they are a clear test of how a left-wing government would run the American economy. If this works, hats off to them and we become France. If not, Americans may finally dump left-wing economics into the ash heap of history, starting next November and then in the next presidential election, which can't come soon enough. …Everyone in politics genuflects in the direction of the job-creation powers of "entrepreneurs" and their ideas. But the generation of Democrats who rose to power with the Obama presidency and the current House majority don't really trust or much like real entrepreneurs. Entrepreneurship, the kind that creates industries and jobs on the scale we'll need in the next century, is about two things: Ideas that spring randomly from some slightly crazed dreamer's head; and worse, they often get filthy rich if the dreams are real. The left likes neither. …Barack Obama campaigned for a year against "the top 1%" and "the wealthiest." It sounded like more than economics to me. But a nation can't have entrepreneurs and eat them, too. Asia is overflowing with rich entrepreneurs. Google "China's auto industry." They have more new auto manufacturers than you can count. If the U.S. has any hope of competing long term with this rising force, it will have to let some Americans get as rich as nouveau riche Asians. This presidency won't do that. At the jobs summit, Mr. Obama said "I want to hear from CEOs what's holding back our business investment." Really? How about the world's highest corporate tax rate? How about the 5.4% health-care surtax on top of the expiring Bush tax cuts, which will push the top marginal individual rate, paid at the outset by many entrepreneurs, well over 40% (emphasis mine)? See: http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052748704240504574586351637609092.html 5) House Democrats double tax Obama said he’d cut House Democrats keep stepping on President Obama's applause lines about innovation and job creation. On Tuesday, Mr. Obama announced that "we're proposing a complete elimination of capital gains taxes on small business investment" for one year. Responding with rare dispatch, the House voted yesterday to change the capital gains rate for venture capitalists who invest in technology start-ups. But rather than eliminating the tax, the House more than doubled it, moving the tax rate to 35% from 15% by reclassifying such gains as ordinary income. Private equity fund managers and managers of real-estate and oil-and-gas partnerships would also get socked with this 133% tax-rate increase. Now there's a way to encourage economic growth and new jobs. See: http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052748704240504574586274278223030.html 6) Bush closes the gap …Perhaps the greatest measure of Obama's declining support is that just 50% of voters now say they prefer having him as President to George W. Bush, with 44% saying they'd rather have his predecessor. See: http://www.politico.com/blogs/bensmith/1209/Bush_closes_the_gap.html 7) TSA accidentally reveals airport security secrets The Transportation Security Administration inadvertently revealed closely guarded secrets related to airport passenger screening practices when it posted online this spring a document as part of a contract solicitation, the agency confirmed Tuesday. …Criticism from Congress was scathing. Sen. Susan M. Collins (Maine), the ranking Republican on the Senate homeland security committee, called the document's release "shocking and reckless." "This manual provides a road map to those who would do us harm," she said. See: http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/12/08/AR2009120803206.html

7a) More on this…TSA Posts ‘How To’ Guide For Terrorists

…Among the most disturbing disclosures concern the settings used to test and operate metal detectors. For instance, officers are instructed to discontinue use of an X-ray system if it cannot detect 24-gauge wire. The manual also describes when to allow certain firearms past the checkpoint, and when police, fire or emergency personnel may bypass screening.

The document identifies the minimum number of security officers who must be present at checkpoints, how often checked bags are to be hand-searched, and screening procedures for foreign dignitaries and CIA-escorted passengers. It also says that passport-holders from Cuba, Iran, North Korea, Libya, Syria, Sudan, Afghanistan, Lebanon, Somalia, Iraq, Yemen and Algeria should face additional screening. Of course it is probably this last line that will get the TSA in trouble. We must not have profiling. See: http://sweetness-light.com/archive/tsa-posts-how-to-guide-for-terrorists 8) GOP opposes expanded water act

Calls bid stealthy power grab

A group of 28 Republican lawmakers from Western states is fighting efforts by Democrats in the House and Senate to quietly expand the scope of the Clean Water Act, the federal government's main tool for regulating the quality of the nation's waterways.

The lawmakers sent a letter Tuesday to House Speaker Nancy Pelosi of California and Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid of Nevada opposing efforts to rush through Congress the Clean Water Restoration Act, a bill that would allow the federal government to protect all waters of the U.S. from pollution, not just the "navigable" waters covered in current law. The letter says that the lawmakers would vote against any legislation that contains the expansion. See: http://washingtontimes.com/news/2009/dec/10/gop-opposes-expanded-water-act/ 8a) EDITORIAL: Leave our fish ponds alone Not content to have the government control the very air we exhale, some liberal members of Congress want to regulate every drop of water in the country and the land on which it sits. If they get their wish, the government would exercise dominion over land, air and sea to an extent never before seen. Earlier this week came news of the decision by the power-hungry Environmental Protection Agency that carbon dioxide, which all animals and people exhale with every breath, amounts to an "endangerment" of human health. Now comes Rep. James Oberstar, Minnesota Democrat and chairman of the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee, to try to match a Senate committee that already advanced a bill to radically expand the scope of federal water regulations. Last week, Mr. Oberstar's staff repeated his determination to do likewise by year's end, with a bill misnamed the Clean Water Restoration Act (CWRA). The Senate version of the legislation looks deceptively like a minor change. As confirmed in several recent U.S. Supreme Court cases, federal regulatory authority currently extends only to waters that are navigable or perhaps directly connected to navigable waters. The Senate bill would remove the word "navigable." The significance of the dropped word is that any backyard fish pond or birdbath, any swimming pool or even a piece of low ground that is prone to forming puddles after rains, could be subject to the dictates of bureaucrats at the EPA and the Army Corps of Engineers (emphasis mine). See: http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2009/dec/10/leave-our-fish-ponds-alone/ 9) Promotion day arrives for white Conn. Firefighters NEW HAVEN, Conn. – Amid blaring bagpipes, the crowd erupted with even louder cheers, whistles and shouts when firefighters entered a high school auditorium to receive their promotional badges after a 5-year legal battle that ended with a U.S. Supreme Court victory. The high court ruled in June that New Haven officials violated white firefighters' civil rights when they threw out 2003 test results in which too few minorities did well. …The case became an issue in confirmation hearings for Supreme Court Justice Sonia Sotomayor, who ruled against the white firefighters when she served on a federal appeals court (emphasis mine). See: http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20091211/ap_on_re_us/us_firefighters_lawsuit 10) ACLU loses its biggest donor: $19 million a year Previously anonymous giver says economy has taken toll on his finances GOOD! NEW YORK - The American Civil Liberties Union has lost a quarter of its yearly donations after a major donor cut off $19 million in annual donations because of economic difficulties. David Gelbaum, a wealthy California conservationist, said he was indefinitely stopping the donations that had made him the New York-based group's largest anonymous donor. See: http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/34364175/ns/us_news-giving