Protests Muted in Iran, Hotdogs for Iranian Tyrants, $300 Stimulus Road Signs, New Cyber Command, Sanford Returns

1) Intensified crackdown mutes protests in Iran CAIRO – Overwhelmed by police and left with limited alternatives, Iranian demonstrators resorted Tuesday to more subtle ways of challenging the outcome of the presidential election: holding up posters, shouting from rooftops and turning on car headlights. But the restrained expressions of discontent appeared to be scattered as Iran's ruling clerics dealt the opposition new setbacks, making clear they have no intention of holding a new vote and setting up a special court to deal with hundreds of protesters arrested in more than a week of unrest. Iran also expelled two diplomats from Britain — a nation it bitterly accuses of meddling and spying — and Britain in turn sent two Iranian envoys home. …In a boost for the regime, Russia said Tuesday it respects the outcome. Russia, a permanent member of the U.N. Security Council, has longtime political and economic ties with Iran, where it is helping build a nuclear power plan at Bushehr. In his only trip abroad since the vote, Ahmadinejad went to Russia last week for a conference, where he met with Russian President Dmitry Medvedev. See: http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20090624/ap_on_re_mi_ea/ml_iran_election 1a) US says hot dog diplomacy still on with Iran WASHINGTON (AFP) — The United States said Monday its invitations were still standing for Iranian diplomats to attend July 4 celebrations at US embassies despite the crackdown on opposition supporters. President Barack Obama's administration said earlier this month it would invite Iran to US embassy barbecues for the national holiday for the first time since the two nations severed relations following the 1979 Islamic revolution. See: http://www.google.com/hostednews/afp/article/ALeqM5hMtZsaQT4cTxcgA51WrpiUS6cWGg 2) Tax dollars to fund stimulus publicity signs Lawmakers 'pat themselves on back' with $300 plaques in every state After U.S. taxpayers shelled out $1.1 trillion on stimulus legislation this year, the government plans to use stimulus money to post $300 signs next to each project hyping the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act.  Sen. Judd Gregg, R-N.H., said the stimulus plan has failed to improve the nation's economy and taxpayers should not be forces to submit to more wasteful government spending.  "Unfortunately, the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act has been a disappointment so far. It has done little to address this ongoing crisis, create jobs, and turn around our nation’s economy," he said in a statement. "… Considering the disappointment surrounding the stimulus bill, it flies in the face of reason that signs are being constructed at a price tag of reportedly $300 each for lawmakers to pat themselves on the back about this legislation." See: http://www.wnd.com/index.php?fa=PAGE.view&pageId=101920 3) Sanford Returning to Work After Mystery Trip COLUMBIA, S.C. -- South Carolina Gov. Mark Sanford will cut short a secretive Appalachian Trail hike and return to work Wednesday after revelations he'd been gone for four days with no contact with his staff, wife or state leaders.  "Governor Sanford called to check in with his chief of staff this morning," Sanford spokesman Joel Sawyer said Tuesday in a statement. "It would be fair to say the governor was somewhat taken aback by all of the interest this trip has gotten. Given the circumstances and the attention this has garnered, the governor communicated to us that he plans on returning to the office tomorrow." …He left a couple of days after the Legislature adjourned after overriding his 10 vetoes and winning a court battle to force Sanford to request $700 million in federal stimulus cash. See: http://www.newsmax.com/insidecover/us_sc_governor_where/2009/06/23/228270.html 4) Gates Approves Creation of New Cyber Command WASHINGTON -- Defense Secretary Robert Gates has formally ordered the creation of a new military cyber command that will coordinate the Pentagon's efforts to defend its networks and conduct cyberwarfare.  A memo signed by Gates on Tuesday asks that U.S. Strategic Command begin plans to set up a subcommand and be prepared to provide a proposal by the fall.  Officials have said the new command would be located at Fort Meade in Maryland, and would be ready to go by the end of next year.  The low-key launch of the new military unit reflects the Pentagon's worry that the military not be seen as taking control over the nation's computer networks. See: http://www.newsmax.com/newsfront/us_pentagon_cyberwarfare/2009/06/23/228115.html

Increased Costs & Limited Choices, Double Digit Unemployment, ACORN changing name, Iran, NK, SC Governor Missing?

1) Dems Having Trouble Getting Republican Support for Health Plan (headline mine) …The contentious issue threatens any remaining prospects of bipartisan support for President Barack Obama's sweeping plan to remake the health care system. The public plan that most Democrats envision would be offered alongside private plans through a new kind of insurance purchasing pool called an exchange. Individuals and small businesses would be able to buy coverage through exchanges, but eventually businesses of any size might be able to join. Proponents say having a public plan in the marketplace would put a brake on costs and check the power of insurers. But Republicans, insurers and many business leaders say the government could drive private insurance companies out of business. House Minority Whip Eric Cantor, R-Va., Cantor, said Monday that "a government plan, no matter what you call it, will increase costs" and limit choices (emphasis mine). He spoke on ABC's "Good Morning America." See: http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20090622/ap_on_go_co/us_health_care_overhaul 2) Recovery's Missing Ingredient: New Jobs Despite signs that the recession gripping the nation's economy may be easing, the unemployment rate is projected to continue rising for another year before topping out in double digits, a prospect that threatens to slow growth, increase poverty and further complicate the Obama administration's message of optimism about the economic outlook. See: http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/06/21/AR2009062101859.html 3) Tarnished by Vote-Fraud Investigations, Liberal ACORN Launches Re-Branding Effort ACORN's entanglements with vote-fraud allegations have grown so radioactive that the organization may jettison the ACORN name altogether.  ACORN's global entity, ACORN International, announced June 17 that it has changed its name to "Community Organizations International." Speculation is rampant that the parent ACORN organization, whose formal name is the Association of Community Organizations for Reform Now, is considering a name-change as well.  The rebranding is seen as an indication that mounting fraud allegations are taking a heavy toll. See: http://www.newsmax.com/headlines/acorn_investigations/2009/06/22/227999.html 4) N.Korea accuses Obama of nuclear war plot North Korea has accused US President Barack Obama of plotting a nuclear war on the communist nation by reaffirming a US assurance of security for South Korea, the North's state media said. In a first official response to last week's US-South Korean summit, the state-run weekly Tongil Sinbo said in its Saturday edition Obama and South Korean President Lee Myung-Bak "are trying to ignite a nuclear war".  "The US-touted provision of 'extended deterrence, including a nuclear umbrella' (for South Korea) is nothing but 'a nuclear war plan,'" Tongil Sinbo said. See: http://www.breitbart.com/article.php?id=CNG.33b78ee19629f3815e9f9ef7e17315dc.281&show_article=1 4a) Official: N. Korean ship carries weapons to Myanmar SEOUL, South Korea – A North Korean-flagged ship under close watch in Asian waters is believed to be heading toward Myanmar carrying small arms cargo banned under a new U.N. resolution, a South Korean intelligence official said Monday. See: http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20090622/ap_on_re_as/as_koreas_nuclear 5) Shah's Son: Iran Conflict Could Trigger Nuclear War The exiled son of the late shah of Iran, Reza Pahlavi, warned Monday of dire consequences for the volatile Middle East and the rest of the world if the popular uprising in Iran is crushed.  The defeat of the movement protesting the outcome of presidential elections 10 days ago would not only threaten global stability but could lead to nuclear war, Pahlavi told a news conference here. "Their defeat will encourage extremism from the shores of the Levant to the energy jugular of the world," said Pahlavi, who left Iran a year before the ouster of his father, shah Mohammad Reza Pahlavi, in the 1979 Islamic revolution.  "At worst, fanatical tyrants who know that the future is against them may end their present course on their terms: a nuclear holocaust," Pahlavi told a room packed with reporters at the National Press Club in Washington. See: http://www.newsmax.com/insidecover/pahlavi_iran_conflict/2009/06/22/227840.html 5a) Iran preparing for 'bloodbath' crackdown Israeli security sources say regime has unleashed only fraction of capabilities JERUSALEM – Iran is preparing for a massive "bloodbath" crackdown on protesters in the near future if the demonstrations continue to escalate in the coming days, Israeli security sources estimated.  "What we have seen so far is a fraction of Iran's capabilities in suppressing the uprising," said one security source.  "The Islamist regime cannot afford for the protests to be successful. They know the world is watching, but they are still preparing for a bloodbath of proportions that we have yet to witness if it comes to that," the source said. See: http://www.wnd.com/index.php?fa=PAGE.view&pageId=101821 5b) Riot police use tear gas to halt protest in Iran CAIRO – Riot police cracked down anew on demonstrators in Iran's capital on Monday hours after the feared Revolutionary Guard threatened to crush any further post-election protests. A witness described an "air of sadness" marked by people wailing prayers into the night. See: http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20090622/ap_on_re_mi_ea/ml_iran_election 5c) NEWSWEEK Reporter Arrested Among the dozens of people arrested overnight in Tehran was NEWSWEEK reporter Maziar Bahari, who has covered Iran for the magazine for over a decade. Bahari was home asleep at 7 a.m. when several security officers showed up at his Tehran apartment. According to his mother, who lives with the 41-year-old reporter and documentary filmmaker, the men did not identify themselves. They seized Bahari's laptop and several videotapes. Assuring her that he would be their guest, they then left with Bahari. He has not been heard from since. See: http://www.newsweek.com/id/203036 6) SC governor's whereabouts unknown, even to wife COLUMBIA, S.C. – Where is South Carolina's governor? The lieutenant governor doesn't know, and neither does a state senator who's a close confidante. Even Gov. Mark Sanford's wife is in the dark. And while his staff said they knew where he was, a spokesman said he wasn't aware that any of them had spoken with the governor since Thursday. Sanford's wife said she hasn't heard from him in several days, including Father's Day. …Sanford, who's also chairman of the Republican Governors Association, earned a reputation as the nation's most vocal anti-bailout governor by refusing $700 million in federal stimulus money for schools until he lost a court battle earlier this month. His spokesman Joel Sawyer said the governor was taking a break after losing the fight. …Sawyer told The Associated Press that he hadn't spoken with Sanford since Thursday and wasn't aware that any other member of the governor's staff had, either. The governor told his staff where he was going last week and planned to check in. See: http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20090623/ap_on_re_us/us_sc_governor_where 6a) Sanford is hiking, governor's office says Gov. Mark Sanford’s staff said late Monday that the governor is hiking on the Appalachian Trail, ending four days during which staff and state officials said they had not heard from him. Neither Sanford’s office nor the State Law Enforcement Division, which provides security for governors, had been able to reach Sanford since he left the mansion Thursday in a black Suburban SUV assigned to his security detail, said state Sen. Jake Knotts , R-Lexington, and three others familiar with the situation, but who declined to be identified. Since then, the governor’s state and personal phones had been turned off, and Sanford had not responded to phone or text messages, a source said. Most mobile phones cannot be tracked if they are turned off. On previous unescorted trips, Sanford has not been out of all contact - including with his own office - for this long, a source said. See: http://www.thestate.com/local/story/836552.html 7) Drenched in blood of slavery The U.S. Senate voted unanimously last week to adopt a resolution apologizing for slavery.  Sen. Tom Harkin, D-Iowa, lead sponsor of the resolution, said, "You wonder why we didn't do it 100 years ago. It is important to have a collective response to a collective injustice."  Only after decades of public education ignoring and distorting U.S. history can such a huge lie be said with a straight face.  Senator, you didn't do it 100 years ago because 100 years ago you Democrats were enforcing Jim Crow segregation laws, poll taxes to keep blacks from voting, and riding around in sheets and pointy hats just in case blacks didn't get the message.  You say "It's important to have a collective response" because you want to bury the origins, purposes, and historical practices of your own party.  The worst part is, Republicans in the Senate let you get away with it.  Principled Republicans knowing their history would have authored a resolution reciting the facts that the Republican Party was formed, among other reasons, to oppose slavery and that the Republican Party and its first President Abraham Lincoln responded to Southern, Democrat-led secession with a successful war that preserved the union and freed the slaves. See: http://www.wnd.com/index.php?fa=PAGE.view&pageId=101760

Dems Worried Health Care Lacks Votes, Hawaii unnerved, Iran, Cow Burps, Carter and Israel

1) Obama's own party worried health plan lacks votes WASHINGTON – A Republican senator seeking a bipartisan health deal spoke Sunday of "dialing down" expectations while one of President Barack Obama's Democratic allies questioned whether the White House had the votes necessary for a such a costly and comprehensive plan during a recession. Obama's proposal to provide health insurance for some 50 million Americans who lack it has become a contentious point for a Democratic-controlled House and Senate struggling to reach a consensus Obama desperately wants. Much of the concern came after the nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office estimated that the plan would cost $1 trillion over 10 years but cover only about one-third of those now lacking health insurance. See: http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20090622/ap_on_go_co/us_health_care_overhaul 2) Planned N. Korea launch unnerves Hawaii residents HONOLULU (AP) - Comforted by the U.S. military's missile defense systems, Hawaii residents doubt a North Korean missile would light up the clear island sky like fireworks on the Fourth of July.  But that doesn't mean the islands' laid-back beach-goers aren't worried that a long-range missile could be launched in the direction of Hawaii's emerald mountains and white sand beaches around Independence Day.  "The North Koreans are unbalanced and could try anything," said Dan Gleason while walking his Jack Russell mix dog in downtown Honolulu. "If they do hit Honolulu, I hope it's a good shot, because I don't want to go through the aftermath." Japanese media have reported the North Koreans appear to be preparing for a long-range test near July 4. Defense Secretary Robert Gates has ordered additional protections for Hawaii in case a missile is launched over the Pacific Ocean. …On Wednesday, a military radar system—shaped like a giant golf ball—slowly disappeared from Hawaii's coast as it headed out to sea. The 28-story missile X-Band defense radar is designed to work with ground-based missile interceptors on the island of Kauai to intercept and destroy ballistic missiles during their final phase of flight. See: http://www.breitbart.com/article.php?id=D98V3T0O0&show_article=1 3) House condemns Tehran crackdown on protesters WASHINGTON – In the strongest message yet from the U.S. government, the House voted 405-1 Friday to condemn Tehran's crackdown on demonstrators and the government's interference with Internet and cell phone communications. The resolution was initiated by Republicans as a veiled criticism of President Barack Obama, who has been reluctant to criticize Tehran's handling of disputed elections that left hard-liner President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad in power. Rep. Mike Pence, who co-sponsored the resolution, said he disagrees with the administration that it must not meddle in Iran's affairs. "When Ronald Reagan went before the Brandenburg Gate, he did not say Mr. (Mikhail) Gorbachev, that wall is none of our business," said Pence, R-Ind., of President Reagan's famous exhortation to the Soviet leader to "tear down that wall." See: http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20090619/ap_on_go_co/us_us_iran 3a) Events move Obama's approach to Iran President Obama condemned Iran’s repression of post-election protests Saturday as the turmoil turned violent and harrowing images of bloodied protesters flooded American television and computer screens.  The violent day in Iran, and the White House’s condemnation of the government's reaction, seemed to move America ever further from the hard-headed negotiations with a distasteful regime that Obama had promised on his campaign, and toward a focus on freedom and democracy more associated with Obama’s predecessor. Also on display: The tension between Obama's pragmatism and his sense for a historic moment. …The crisis marks, as much as anything else, how little the reality of American foreign policy can match up with campaign promises, though the White House was still careful to lag other foreign leaders’ sharper condemnations of Iran. See: http://www.politico.com/news/stories/0609/23973.html 3b) Iran prepared to track dissent on social networks The Iranian government has high-tech equipment that will enable it to trace thousands of activists who have encouraged the recent demonstrations and spread news about them by using Twitter, cell phones and other Web-based social networks.  The government recently bought sophisticated computer servers and monitoring devices from a German-Finnish joint venture that can catalog cell-phone calls and text messages. The regime also controls Web traffic through a single bank of computers, which makes it easier to filter sites such as Facebook and Twitter and to monitor Iranians who use these sites to communicate with the outside world. See: http://washingtontimes.com/news/2009/jun/20/iran-has-tech-to-track-tweets-texts/ 4) Jobless rate in Western US tops 10 percent WASHINGTON – The unemployment rate in the West jumped over 10 percent last month, the first time that regional threshold has been broken in about 25 years. On the state level, eight set record-highs and only two — Nebraska and Vermont — did not report increases. The Labor Department reported Friday that 48 states and the District of Columbia saw employment conditions deteriorate last month. The fallout from the longest recession since World War II, was the worst in Michigan as automakers cut tens of thousands of jobs. Its unemployment rate rose to 14.1 percent. See: http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20090619/ap_on_bi_go_ec_fi/us_state_unemployment 5) THE INFLUENCE GAME: Excuse me! Lobby wins on burps WASHINGTON – One contributor to global warming — bigger than coal mines, landfills and sewage treatment plants — is being left out of efforts by the Obama administration and House Democrats to limit greenhouse gas emissions. Cow burps. Belching from the nation's 170 million cattle, sheep and pigs produces about one-quarter of the methane released in the U.S. each year, according to the Environmental Protection Agency. That makes the hoofed critters the largest source of the heat-trapping gas. In part because of an adept farm lobby campaign that equates government regulation with a cow tax, the gas that farm animals pass is exempt from legislation being considered by Congress to limit greenhouse gas emissions. Well, thank God for some common sense. What kind of idiot thinks that taxing cow burps is a good idea? We shouldn’t need lobbyists to tell lawmakers that.  See: http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20090621/ap_on_go_co/us_climate_bill_cow_tax 6) EXCLUSIVE: Minn. lawmaker vows not to complete Census Outspoken Republican Rep. Michele Bachmann says she's so worried that information from next year's national census will be abused that she will refuse to fill out anything more than the number of people in her household.  In an interview Wednesday morning with The Washington Times "America's Morning News," Mrs. Bachmann, Minnesota Republican, said the questions have become "very intricate, very personal" and she also fears ACORN, the community organizing group that came under fire for its voter registration efforts last year, will be part of the Census Bureau's door-to-door information collection efforts.  "I know for my family the only question we will be answering is how many people are in our home," she said. "We won't be answering any information beyond that, because the Constitution doesn't require any information beyond that." See: http://washingtontimes.com/news/2009/jun/17/exclusive-minn-lawmaker-fears-census-abuse/?feat=home_top5_read 7) Carter helping Hamas open talks with White House Proposes plan bypassing U.S. demand for terrorist group to recognize Israel TEL AVIV – Former President Jimmy Carter presented Hamas with a written initiative intended to open talks between the Islamist group and the U.S. without Hamas having to accept all conditions previously laid out for dialogue by the American government, top Hamas officials told WND.  Those conditions, expressed twice by Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, are Hamas' renouncement of violence, recognition of Israel and agreement to abide by previous PLO commitments. The conditions were adopted by the Mideast Quartet, which consists of the U.S., United Nations, Russia and the European Union. …The Arab Initiative, originally proposed by King Abdullah of Saudi Arabia and later adopted by the Arab League, states that Israel would receive "normal relations" with the Arab world in exchange for a full withdrawal from the entire Gaza Strip, West Bank, Golan Heights and eastern Jerusalem, which includes the Temple Mount. The West Bank contains important Jewish biblical sites and borders central Israeli population centers, while the Golan Heights looks down on Israeli civilian zones and was twice used by Syria to mount ground invasions into the Jewish state. See: http://www.wnd.com/index.php?fa=PAGE.view&pageId=101665

More Power for Fed, More Firings of Inspectors General, NK on 7-4, ACORN and Americorps "Go Way Back"

1) New financial rules: Major changes for big, small WASHINGTON – From simple home loans to Wall Street's most exotic schemes, the government would impose and enforce sweeping new "rules of the road" for the nation's battered financial system under an overhaul proposed Wednesday by President Barack Obama. Aimed at preventing a repeat of the worst economic crisis in seven decades, the changes would begin to reverse a determined campaign pressed in the 1980s by President Ronald Reagan to cut back on federal regulations. What idiot wrote this article? Yeah, that was the reason for the financial crisis - the lack of federal regulations. No, it was forcing loan companies to make loans to people who had no business receiving those loans, and no ability to pay them pack. But I digress… …Dodd, who had been at Obama's side in the East Room of the White House for the announcement, raised questions about one of the plan's key features — giving the Federal Reserve authority over huge, intertwined financial institutions. "There's not a lot of confidence in the Fed at this point," Dodd said. …But the proposal also would do away with a restriction imposed on the Fed in 1999 when Congress lifted Depression-era restrictions that allowed banks to get into securities and insurance businesses. The Fed, as the regulator for the larger financial holding companies, had been prohibited from examining or imposing restrictions on those firms' subsidiaries. Obama's proposal specifically lifts that restriction, giving the Fed the ability to duplicate and even overrule other regulators (emphasis mine). See: http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20090618/ap_on_go_pr_wh/us_financial_overhaul 2) ‘45 Million Americans’ — Who Are Those Guys? About 45 million Americans lack health care insurance. Or do they?  A pro-"universal health care" television host recently cited this widely accepted "fact." The number is bogus.  Here's the skinny.  Start with the math. We have 300 million Americans. Subtract the 45 million — 15 percent of us — with no health insurance. That leaves 255 million Americans, or 85 percent, with it. …Nearly half of the 45 million fall in the category of my 26-year-old nephew. He smokes cigarettes, dates, eats out, goes to movies and, like all young people, lives through his cell phone. With a slight change in priorities, he could afford health insurance, the cost of which at his age and health starts at about $100 a month. Take a look at a Reason Foundation video (http://reason.tv/video/show/560.html) of interviews with a bunch of non-health-insured 20-somethings. Millions more can access health care — through SCHIP (State Children's Health Insurance Program), Medicaid or other government programs. But for whatever reason, 11 million people simply refuse to take advantage of them. …So now we're down to the Americans without health insurance on a persistent, long-term basis. This is approximately 10-15 million, a big number to be sure. But does this warrant a government takeover of the entire health care system? See: http://jewishworldreview.com/cols/elder061809.php3 3) Senator asks about firings of watchdogs Removal of 2 inspectors general prompts questions The dispute comes as Grassley, ranking Republican on the Senate Finance Committee, is looking into the abrupt firings within the last week of two other inspectors general one of whom was fired by the White House and the other by the chair of the International Trade Commission. Both inspectors general had investigated sensitive subjects at the time of their firings. Grassley is now concerned about whether a pattern is emerging in which the independence of the government's top watchdogs -- whose jobs were authorized by Congress to look out for waste, fraud and abuse -- is being put at risk. See: http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/nationworld/chi-tc-nw-inspectors-0617-0618jun18,0,5718990.story 3a) AmeriCorps and ACORN Go Way Back The cynical, politically motivated, and apparently illegal firing of AmeriCorps Inspector General Gerald Walpin shocks the conscience.  I'm not going to examine here the circumstances surrounding the termination of Walpin but I do wish to remind readers that AmeriCorps has long been ripe for abuse.  ACORN took advantage of the federal agency a decade ago. As I wrote previously, ACORN, which is now notorious for its commingling of funds within its network of affiliates, used government resources to promote legislation.  A congressional report noted that there was "apparent cross-over funding between ACORN, a political advocacy group and ACORN Housing Corp. (AHC), a non profit, AmeriCorp [sic] grantee" that is a major affiliate of ACORN.  The government-funded AmeriCorps, which promotes public service, suspended AHC's funding "after it was learned that AHC and ACORN shared office space and equipment and failed to assure that activities and funds were wholly separate."  The report noted that, "AmeriCorps members of AHC raised funds for ACORN, performed voter registration activities, and gave partisan speeches. In one instance, an AmeriCorps member was directed by ACORN staff to assist the [Clinton] White House in preparing a press conference in support of legislation." ("Report on the Activities of the Committee on Economic and Educational Opportunities During the 104th Congress," Report 104-875, January 2, 1997) See: http://spectator.org/blog/2009/06/17/americorps-and-acorn-go-way-ba 4) Officials: US tracking suspicious ship from Nkorea WASHINGTON – The U.S. military is tracking a ship from North Korea that may be carrying illicit weapons, the first vessel monitored under tougher new United Nations rules meant to rein in and punish the communist government following a nuclear test, officials said Thursday. Defense Secretary Robert Gates said he has ordered additional protections for Hawaii just in case North Korea launches a long-range missile over the Pacific Ocean. The suspect ship could become a test case for interception of the North's ships at sea, something the North has said it would consider an act of war. …Gates, speaking at the same news conference, said the Pentagon is concerned about the possibility of a North Korean missile launch "in the direction of Hawaii." Gates told reporters at the Pentagon he has sent the military's ground-based mobile missile system to Hawaii, and positioned a radar system nearby. The Terminal High Altitude Area Defense system is designed to shoot down ballistic missiles in their last stage of flight. "We are in a good position, should it become necessary, to protect Americans and American territory," Gates said. A Japanese newspaper reported Thursday that North Korea might fire its most advanced ballistic missile toward Hawaii around the Fourth of July holiday. See: http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20090619/ap_on_go_ca_st_pe/us_us_nkorea 5) House Armed Services Committee Says No to Missile Defense Interceptors Today, the House Armed Services Committee was marking up the FY 2010 budget for the Defense Department. The liveliest debate was over Congressman Turner’s (R-OH) amendment to re-insert $120 million to fund the remaining 14 ground-based interceptors. For the past several years, the plan was to have 44 interceptors dispersed among California and Alaska bases. As of right now, we have 30. Because the House Armed Services Committee rejected Congressman Turner’s amendment, the Department of Defense will stop any further deployment of the 14 interceptors. Defense Secretary Gates spurred the decision when he said that the current number of interceptors (30) is sufficient to protect against the North Korean threat. The same Secretary Gates who budgeted for and approved the construction of 44 interceptors the year before. See: http://blog.heritage.org/2009/06/16/house-armed-services-committee-says-no-to-missile-defense-interceptors/ 6) GREEN LIGHT FOR A CRACKDOWN OBAMA'S SILENCE FAVORS THE MULLAHS SILENCE is complicity. Our president's refusal to take a forthright moral stand on the side of the Iranian freedom marchers is read in Tehran as a blank check for the current regime.  The fundamentalist junta has begun arresting opposition figures, with regime mouthpieces raising the prospect of the death penalty. Inevitably, there are claims that dissidents have been "hoarding weapons and explosives." Foreign media reps are under house arrest. Cellphone frequencies are jammed. Students are killed and the killings disavowed.  And our president is "troubled," but doesn't believe we should "meddle" in Iran's internal affairs. (Meddling in Israel's domestic affairs is just fine, though. - Emphasis mine)  We just turned our backs on freedom. See: http://www.nypost.com/seven/06182009/postopinion/opedcolumnists/green_light_for_a_crackdown_174811.htm

State-Run Media: ABC Obama Infomercial, Russia Suggests "Distributing Global Wealth More Fairly", Carter and Hamas

1) ABC TURNS PROGRAMMING OVER TO OBAMA; NEWS TO BE ANCHORED FROM INSIDE WHITE HOUSE On the night of June 24, the media and government become one, when ABC turns its programming over to President Obama and White House officials to push government run health care -- a move that has ignited an ethical firestorm! The network plans a primetime special -- 'Prescription for America' -- originating from the East Room, excluding opposing voices on the debate. …Today, the Republican National Committee requested an opportunity to add our Party's views to those of the President's to ensure that all sides of the health care reform debate are presented. Our request was rejected. I believe that the President should have the ability to speak directly to the America people. However, I find it outrageous that ABC would prohibit our Party's opposing thoughts and ideas from this national debate, which affects millions of ABC viewers. See: http://www.drudgereport.com/flashaot.htm 1a) State-Run Media: ABC Turns Over Its Network to Obama Propaganda RUSH: Getting tons of e-mail today, folks, from people who are surprised and upset over the news that ABC is turning over their network to President Obama. Eight days from now, ABC's World News Tonight will be broadcast from the Blue Room of the White House, and then they'll do a special that night on health care, and everybody's upset about it. See: http://www.rushlimbaugh.com/home/daily/site_061609/content/01125106.guest.html 2) Russia challenges dollar, China offers loans YEKATERINBURG, Russia – China and Russia sought greater international clout at a summit Tuesday, with China promising a $10 billion loan to Central Asian countries, while Russia challenged the dominance of the U.S. dollar as a global reserve currency. Russia also gave a prominent platform to Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad amid massive protests in Iran over his bitterly disputed re-election and questions in the West about the vote. Chinese leader Hu Jintao said China will extend a $10 billion loan to a regional group that also includes Russia and four Central Asian states. The move adds muscle to China's role in the Shanghai Cooperation Organization, a six-nation group Russia and China use to counter the Western influence in resource-rich, strategically placed Central Asia. The other members of the organization Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan and Uzbekistan. …He added, however, that the creation of new reserve currencies should help distribute global wealth more fairly (oh, he must be friends with Obama! - comment and emphasis mine) and also encourage economic leaders to pursue a more balanced economic policy. …"If we have more reserve currencies, we will be able to insist and even demand a more responsible approach by countries which issued the global currencies," Dvorkovich said. "Those who issue reserve currencies today don't always take the interests of the global economy into account." …The Treasury Department on Monday said that foreigners, including China and Japan, the two biggest buyers of U.S. government debt, cut their Treasury holdings in April. See: http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20090616/ap_on_re_as/eu_russia_summit_talks 3) The White House Fires a Watchdog  The curious case of the inspector general and a Presidential ally. President Obama swept to office on the promise of a new kind of politics, but then how do you explain last week's dismissal of federal Inspector General Gerald Walpin for the crime of trying to protect taxpayer dollars? This is a case that smells of political favoritism and Chicago rules. See: http://online.wsj.com/article/SB124511811033017539.html 4) Preliminary Analysis of Major Provisions Related to Health Insurance Coverage Under the Affordable Health Choices Act …According to our preliminary assessment, enacting the proposal would result in a net increase in federal budget deficits of about $1.0 trillion over the 2010-2019 period. When fully implemented, about 39 million individuals would obtain coverage through the new insurance exchanges. At the same time, the number of people who had coverage through an employer would decline by about 15 million (or roughly 10 percent), and coverage from other sources would fall by about 8 million, so the net decrease in the number of people uninsured would be about 16 million or 17 million. See: http://cboblog.cbo.gov/?p=293 4a) Analysis: Doctors' boos show Obama's tough road WASHINGTON (AP) - Barack Obama isn't used to hearing boos.  For all the young president's popularity, the response he got Monday from doctors at an American Medical Association meeting was a sign his road is only going to get rockier as he tries to sell his plan to overhaul the nation's health care system.  The boos erupted when Obama told the doctors in Chicago he wouldn't try to help them win their top legislative priority—limits on jury damages in medical malpractice cases. See: http://www.breitbart.com/article.php?id=D98RBO9G0&show_article=1 5) IRS to Tax Employer-Provided Cell Phones The Obama Administration’s desperation for new revenue to feed its massive spending appetite is becoming more apparent every day. The latest tax hike proposal, this time from the IRS, is to tax 25 percent of the value of employer-provided cell phones or Blackberries. See: http://blog.heritage.org/2009/06/15/irs-to-tax-employer-provided-cell-phones/ 6) Iran Cracks Down On Foreign Media Iran's hard-line regime, starting to show stress under the mounting pressure of massive opposition rallies, has told foreign media that if they're seen on the streets of Tehran today with a camera, they will be arrested. See: http://www.cbsnews.com/blogs/2009/06/16/world/worldwatch/entry5091219.shtml 7) Carter to Obama: Remove Hamas From Terror List Former President Jimmy Carter will urge the Obama administration to remove Hamas from the terrorist list, FOX News has learned.  …Carter was visiting with Hamas leaders to try to persuade them to accept the international community's conditions for ending its boycott of the Islamic militant group. The international community has asked Hamas to recognize Israel, renounce violence and accept previous peace deals as part of ongoing efforts for Palestinians overall to acquire their own country. Hamas has refused. See: http://www.foxnews.com/politics/2009/06/16/bomb-plot-carter-gaza-discovered/ 7A) 'Obama administration sent message to Hamas' Official with terror group says Carter 'right person' to serve as middle man JERUSALEM – Former President Jimmy Carter passed a message to Hamas from the Obama administration, according to senior sources in the Islamist group.  The sources did not disclose the content of the purported message or whether the communication was written or oral. They spoke on condition of anonymity, because they said Hamas had not yet reached a decision on officially releasing the information they were divulging. Separately, in an interview with WND today, Ahmed Yousef, Hamas' chief political adviser in Gaza, refused to confirm or deny that any message was passed to his group from the White House.  Youssef said, however, Carter is the "right person" to serve as a middle man between Hamas and the Obama administration. See: http://www.wnd.com/index.php?fa=PAGE.view&pageId=101288

Fed Gets More Power?, Single Payer System, Obama Fires Inspector General, Durbin Insider Trading

1) The Fed to Get More Power? The White House is set to unveil its much-anticipated revamp of the financial regulatory system this Wednesday, reports WSJ. Among the big, new changes: The Federal Reserve is set to get the power to unwind and shut down large institutions as the FDIC currently has for more plain vanilla banks. …Lawmakers are expected to take issue with several of the plan's more thorny issues, including how to create a system that won't simply bail out large financial companies when they topple. Giving the Fed more clout -- in light of recent criticism from lawmakers, both Republican and Democratic, of its secrecy and accumulation of power -- will also be a controversial idea. See: http://www.businessinsider.com/this-guys-getting-more-power-2009-6 2) The 'Public Plan' Would Be the Only Plan The Obama administration and the Democratic congressional leadership appear poised to create a "competing" government health insurer as part of its health-care reform. President Obama believes this would provide "a better range of choices, make the health care market more competitive, and keep the insurance companies honest," as he wrote to Sens. Edward Kennedy and Max Baucus on June 2. In reality, equal competition between a public plan and private plans would be impossible. The public plan would inexorably crowd out private plans, leading to a single-payer system. …The simple truth is that equal competition between a government health-insurance plan and private plans would be impossible. An ostensibly competing public plan would make a single-payer system inevitable. Health-care providers and other Americans should recognize this reality and be prepared for the consequences. See: http://online.wsj.com/article/SB124502127377113741.html 2a) Obama’s Unhealthy Reform It's hard to know whether President Obama's health-care "reform" is naive, hypocritical or simply dishonest. Probably all three. The president keeps saying it's imperative to control runaway health spending. He's right. The trouble is that what's being promoted as health-care "reform" almost certainly won't suppress spending and, quite probably, will do the opposite. …The one certain consequence of expanding insurance coverage is that it would raise spending. When people have insurance, they use more health services. That's one reason Obama's campaign proposal was estimated to cost $1.2 trillion over a decade (the other reason is that the federal government would pick up some costs now paid by others). Indeed, the higher demand for health care might raise costs across the board, increasing both government spending and private premiums. See: http://www.newsweek.com/id/202015 3) Dick Durbin and Insider Trading RUSH: Here are the details from Dick Durbin. Ed Morrissey posted this at Hot Air on the 13th of June. "As U.S. stock markets plummeted last September, the Senate's No. 2 Democrat, Dick Durbin, sold more than $115,000 worth of stocks and mutual-fund shares and used much of the money to invest in Warren Buffett's Berkshire Hathaway Inc. The Illinois senator's 2008 financial disclosure statement shows he sold mutual-fund shares worth $42,696 on Sept. 19, the day after then-Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson and Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke urged congressional leaders in a closed meeting to craft legislation to help financially troubled banks." One day after being briefed on how bad it was, Durbin sells stocks in one place and sends 'em to another place. The same day" as the briefing "he bought $43,562 worth of Berkshire Hathaway's Class B stock...  "Altogether, Durbin sold investments worth $116,000 in September. By Oct. 2, he had invested $98,046 in Omaha, Neb.-based Berkshire Hathaway, the form shows. The Standard & Poor's 500 index plunged 4.7 percent last Sept. 15 after the bankruptcy of Lehman Brothers Holdings Inc. and Bank of America Corp.'s government-engineered takeover of Merrill Lynch & Co. By the end of October, the index had fallen 22.6 percent." Durbin got out before any of it happened, after meeting with Paulson and Bernanke.   "Durbin's spokesman says that the September meeting revealed nothing of an insider nature, and that Durbin traded along with the market as the storm clouds gathered," says Ed Morrissey. Don't buy it, folks. Martha Stewart went to jail for something far less than this.  See: http://www.rushlimbaugh.com/home/daily/site_061509/content/01125104.guest.html And: http://hotair.com/archives/2009/06/13/durbin-cashed-out-on-inside-information-sun-times/ 4) Gerald Walpin speaks: The inside story of the AmeriCorps firing The White House's decision to fire AmeriCorps inspector general Gerald Walpin came amid politically-charged tensions inside the Corporation for National and Community Service, the organization that runs AmeriCorps. Top executives at the Corporation, Walpin explained in an hour-long interview Saturday, were unhappy with his investigation into the misuse of AmeriCorps funds by Kevin Johnson, the former NBA star who is now mayor of Sacramento, California and a prominent supporter of President Obama. Walpin's investigation also sparked conflict with the acting U.S. attorney in Sacramento amid fears that the probe -- which could have resulted in Johnson being barred from ever winning another federal grant -- might stand in the way of the city receiving its part of billions of dollars in federal stimulus money. After weeks of standoff, Walpin, whose position as inspector general is supposed to be protected from influence by political appointees and the White House, was fired. See: http://www.washingtonexaminer.com/opinion/blogs/beltway-confidential/Gerald-Walpin-speaks-the-inside-story-of-the-AmeriCorps-firing-48030697.html 4a) Probe launched in suspicious firing of inspector general Senator blasts administration: 'Intimidation or retaliation cannot be tolerated' …As WND reported, President Obama fired Gerald Walpin, the inspector general in charge of rooting out corruption in the AmeriCorps program, shortly after Walpin called for action against a prominent Obama supporter, Sacramento Mayor Kevin Johnson, who had misappropriated hundreds of thousands of dollars in federal grants. …Included in those protections is a requirement that the president submit to Congress, in writing, his reasons for dismissing any inspector general.  President Obama's initial explanation, however, was merely, "It is vital that I have the fullest confidence in the appointees serving as inspectors general. That is no longer the case with regard to this inspector general."  "That's a conclusion, not a reason," Walpin told Fox News television host Glenn Beck today. "This is shocking. I know of no other I.G. who has been terminated like this."  Walpin further told Beck he's considering "all alternatives," but said, "The most important thing is that the public knows."  According to the Inspector General Reform Act of 2008, co-sponsored by Obama, inspectors general must also be given 30 days notice of their dismissal.  The firing of Walpin, however, took on a very different form.  Walpin confirmed to WND that he received last week a sudden and unexpected ultimatum from White House counsel Norman L. Eisen: Resign within the hour or suffer being fired. See: http://www.wnd.com/index.php?fa=PAGE.view&pageId=101243 4b) Glenn Beck: It's us vs. them Have you seen the story I'm shocked. No one is on this story yet. President Obama fired an inspector general on Thursday night. Now, inspector generals, their job is to be independent. Their job is to be the watchdog. Well, he fired him on Thursday night, said, I want your resignation or you're terminated. Well, the problem with that is is that violates the law. There's this law, and the president probably didn't know, but there is this new law that was passed and it was, you can't fire inspector generals without giving them 30 days notice and you also have to alert congress and tell them why and detail all the details on why you are firing them. Well, I shouldn't I was going to say the president shouldn't know about it. Well, the president shouldn't, but Senator Obama should know because it was Senator Obama's bill that passed that law. So he violated his own law. Now, why would he fire this inspector general of AmeriCorps? He fires the inspector general of AmeriCorps, speculation is because this inspector general is looking into fraud, possibly perpetrated by one of Obama's good friends. See: http://www.glennbeck.com/content/articles/article/198/26682/ 5) Smuggled: $134 billion in U.S. bonds Case could be largest documented counterfeit crime in history Italy's financial police, Guardia Italiana di Finanza, have arrested two Japanese citizens as they attempted to smuggle $134 billion worth of U.S. bonds in the false bottom of a suitcase by train into Switzerland, Jerome Corsi's Red Alert reports.  "With the U.S. Treasury now printing the nearly $2 trillion in government bonds needed to finance the Obama administration's anticipated $1.8 trillion 2009 budget deficit, the incident has raised eyebrows around the world," Corsi wrote. See: http://www.wnd.com/index.php?fa=PAGE.view&pageId=101134 6) US cities may have to be bulldozed in order to survive Dozens of US cities may have entire neighbourhoods bulldozed as part of drastic "shrink to survive" proposals being considered by the Obama administration to tackle economic decline. The government looking at expanding a pioneering scheme in Flint, one of the poorest US cities, which involves razing entire districts and returning the land to nature. Local politicians believe the city must contract by as much as 40 per cent, concentrating the dwindling population and local services into a more viable area. See: http://www.telegraph.co.uk/finance/financetopics/financialcrisis/5516536/US-cities-may-have-to-be-bulldozed-in-order-to-survive.html 7) 'U.S. told us don't take Netanyahu seriously' Senior Palestinian official declares Obama's promises are 'what counts' JERUSALEM – The Palestinian Authority has received signs from the U.S. that it should not take seriously Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's recent major address, according to a top PA official speaking to WND.  Nimer Hamad, senior political adviser to PA President Mahmoud Abbas, also said the PA is not concerned about Netanyahu's policies since Abbas relies on American support for key Palestinian demands.  During Netanyahu's speech Sunday, the Israeli leader called for a demilitarized Palestinian state and said Jerusalem would always be united under Jewish sovereignty.  Hamad countered: "No matter what is the position of the Israeli government and no matter what are the statements of Netanyahu, what counts is what was promised to us by Obama, which is totally the opposite [of Netanyahu's positions]." See: http://www.wnd.com/index.php?fa=PAGE.view&pageId=101215 8) America's 'Bermuda solution' angers Britain Senior aides to President Barack Obama accompanied four Uighur prisoners as they were flown from Guantanamo Bay to the British colony of Bermuda, without the UK being informed, it was revealed yesterday. See: http://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/americas/americas-bermuda-solution-angers-britain-1704147.html 9) NKorea warns of nuclear war amid rising tensions SEOUL, South Korea (AP) - North Korea's communist regime has warned of a nuclear war on the Korean peninsula while vowing to step up its atomic bomb-making program in defiance of new U.N. sanctions. See: http://apnews.myway.com/article/20090614/D98QDSOO0.html 10) Iran's Sham Election Iran's government is not a true democracy but a theocratic dictatorship that cloaks the rule of the ayatollahs with a façade of representative government. The clerical regime hand-picked the four contending candidates from a pool of 475 who initially sought to run for the presidency. The senior clerics on the Guardian Council, which vets the candidates, severely narrowed the choices to less than 1 percent of the original field of challengers. The four who were permitted to run for the presidency share a deep commitment to the extremist Islamist ideology that sparked Iran's 1979 revolution. See: http://www.heritage.org/Research/MiddleEast/wm2480.cfm

Netanyahu Endorses Palestinian State?, Genachowski and Media Censorhip, $1800/Year for Your Neighbor's Healthcare

1) Netanyahu endorses Palestinian independence JERUSALEM – Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu endorsed a Palestinian state beside Israel for the first time on Sunday, reversing himself under U.S. pressure but attaching conditions such as having no army that the Palestinians swiftly rejected. A week after President Barack Obama's address to the Muslim world, Netanyahu said the Palestinian state would also have to recognize Israel as the Jewish state — essentially saying Palestinian refugees must give up the goal of returning to Israel. With those conditions, he said, he could accept "a demilitarized Palestinian state alongside the Jewish state." …Netanyahu also came under criticism from within his own government — a coalition of religious and nationalistic parties that oppose Palestinian independence.  Zevulun Orlev, a member of the Jewish Home Party, which represents Jewish settlers and other hard-liners, said Netanyahu's speech violated agreements struck when the government was formed. "I think the coalition needs to hold a serious discussion to see where this is headed," he told Israel Radio. See: http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20090615/ap_on_re_mi_ea/ml_israel_palestinians 2) Pushback sought against talk radio censorship Coalition says coming hearing on FCC nominee critical The chief of a coalition set up to fight attacks on America's First Amendment rights has issued a warning that Tuesday will be a pivotal point in the history of free speech, as the Senate Commerce Committee is scheduled to hold a confirmation hearing for Julius Genachowski.  President Barack Obama's longtime pal is his pick to be chief of the Federal Communications Commission, but is causing nightmares among the U.S. talk radio industry members because of his views.  Syndicated talk radio host Roger Hedgecock of San Diego, who was picked by members of the American Radio Free Speech Foundation to be the chief of its Don't Touch My Dial campaign, said censorship, racial quotas for radio stations, and other new demands from the government are inevitable if Genachowski is confirmed. See: http://www.wnd.com/index.php?fa=PAGE.view&pageId=100929 3) How to Stop Socialized Health Care It was a sobering breakfast with one of the smartest Republicans on Capitol Hill. We can fix a lot of bad stuff President Barack Obama might do, he told me. But if Mr. Obama signs into law a "public option," government-run insurance program as part of health-care reform we won't be able to undo the damage. I'd go the Republican member of Congress one further: If Democrats enact a public-option health-insurance program, America is on the way to becoming a European-style welfare state. To prevent this from happening, there are five arguments Republicans must make. The first is it's unnecessary. Advocates say a government-run insurance program is needed to provide competition for private health insurance. But 1,300 companies sell health insurance plans. That's competition enough. Second, a public option will undercut private insurers and pass the tab to taxpayers and health providers just as it does in existing government-run programs. For example, Medicare pays hospitals 71% and doctors 81% of what private insurers pay. Who covers the rest? Government passes the bill for the outstanding balance to providers and families not covered by government programs. This cost-shifting amounts to a forced subsidy. Families pay about $1,800 more a year for someone else's health care (emphasis mine) as a result, according to a recent study by Milliman Inc. It's also why many doctors limit how many Medicare patients they take: They can afford only so much charity care. Third, government-run health insurance would crater the private insurance market, forcing most Americans onto the government plan. Fifth, the public option puts government firmly in the middle of the relationship between patients and their doctors. If you think insurance companies are bad, imagine what happens when government is the insurance carrier, with little or no competition and no concern you'll change to another company. See: http://online.wsj.com/article/SB124467554761003983.html 4) 23 State Attorneys General To Attorney General Holder: "No Semi-Auto Ban" On June 11, the top law enforcement officials of nearly half the states signed a letter to U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder, expressing their opposition to reinstatement of the federal ban on semi-automatic firearms.  "We share the Obama Administration's commitment to reducing illegal drugs and violent crime within the United States. We also share your deep concern about drug cartel violence in Mexico. However, we do not believe that restricting law-abiding Americans' access to certain semi-automatic firearms will resolve any of these problems," the letter said.  The 23 state Attorneys General, in alphabetical order, by state, are:  Arkansas – The Honorable Dustin McDaniel Alabama - The Honorable Troy King Colorado - The Honorable John W. Suthers Florida - The Honorable Bill McCollum Georgia - The Honorable Thurbert E. Baker Idaho - The Honorable Lawrence G. Wasden Kansas - The Honorable Steve Six Kentucky - The Honorable Jack Conway Louisiana - The Honorable James D. Caldwell Michigan - The Honorable Mike Cox Missouri - The Honorable Chris Koster Montana - The Honorable Steve Bullock Oklahoma - The Honorable W.A. Edmonson Nebraska - The Honorable Jon Bruning Nevada - The Honorable Catherine Cortez Masto New Hampshire - The Honorable Kelly A. Ayotte North Dakota - The Honorable Wayne Stenehjem South Carolina - The Honorable Henry McMaster South Dakota - The Honorable Lawrence Long Texas - The Honorable Greg Abbott Utah - The Honorable Mark L. Shurtleff Wisconsin – The Honorable J.B. Van Hollen Wyoming - The Honorable Bruce A. Salzburg See: http://www.nraila.org/Legislation/Federal/Read.aspx?id=4971 5) Palin: David Letterman 'pathetic' Sarah Palin called David Letterman “pathetic” Tuesday after the CBS “Late Show” host said the Alaska Republican governor sports a “slutty flight attendant look.”  “What a commentary there,” Palin said of the comment during an interview on conservative host John Ziegler’s Los Angeles-based radio show. “That’s pretty pathetic, good ole David Letterman.”  In a follow up to Palin’s weekend trip to New York, Letterman’s “Top Ten” list on Monday featured “highlights of Sarah Palin’s trip to New York.” Number two on the list was “bought makeup at Bloomingdale’s to update her ‘slutty flight attendant’ look.” See: http://www.politico.com/news/stories/0609/23536.html 6) Defying sanctions, NKorea vows to make more nukes SEOUL, South Korea – North Korea responded to new U.N. sanctions with more defiance, promising Saturday to step up its nuclear bomb-making program by enriching uranium and threatening war on any country that dares to stop its ships on the high seas. The North's threats were the first public acknowledgment that the reclusive communist nation has been running a secret uranium enrichment program. Suspicions of the program touched off the latest nuclear crisis in 2002. …North Korea also warned that any attempted blockade by the U.S. and its allies would be regarded as "an act of war and met with a decisive military response." See: http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20090613/ap_on_re_as/as_koreas_nuclear 7) Top Sunni lawmaker killed outside Baghdad mosque BAGHDAD – The moderate leader of the largest Sunni bloc in parliament was assassinated Friday after delivering a sermon at a Baghdad mosque, a killing that could set back efforts to reconcile differences between the two Muslim sects before national elections. …The brazen daylight shooting in a heavily guarded area raised fresh concerns about the ability of Iraqi forces to maintain security with U.S. forces withdrawing from cities by the end of the month.  See: http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20090612/ap_on_re_mi_ea/ml_iraq 8) Election battles turn into street fights in Iran TEHRAN, Iran – Opponents of Mahmoud Ahmadinejad clashed with police in the heart of Iran's capital Saturday, pelting them with rocks and setting fires in the worst unrest in Tehran in a decade. They accused the hard-line president of using fraud to steal election victory from his reformist rival. See: http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20090613/ap_on_re_mi_ea/ml_iran_election

Obama = Putin?, Holder Winks at Voter Fraud, Gov Health Care = Rationed Care, Miranda Rights for Terrorists

1) No. 2 House Republican compares Obama to Putin WASHINGTON – The No. 2 Republican in the House on Thursday compared President Barack Obama's plans for the auto industry to the policies of Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin, saying the White House has stripped credit holders of rights and given them to Democratic allies. "They said, 'Set aside the rule of law, let's strip secured creditors, bondholders, of their rights. Take them away outside of the bankruptcy process and give them to the political cronies and the auto workers' unions," Rep. Eric Cantor, R-Va., said in an interview with The Associated Press. "It's almost like looking at Putin's Russia," added Cantor, the GOP's House whip. "You want to reward your political friends at the expense of the certainty of law?" See: http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20090612/ap_on_go_co/us_cantor_obama 2) Holder Winks at Voter Intimidation  On ballot integrity, the Justice Department is taking us backward. When Eric Holder became U.S. attorney general, he promised to administer the law in an objective, nonpolitical manner. So it's disappointing that the Justice Department had spent the last several months misinterpreting key voting rights laws for nakedly political reasons. Exhibit A: Justice's inexplicable dismissal of a civil lawsuit for voter intimidation against the New Black Panther Party. The Black Panthers weren't content to endorse Barack Obama. They sent their members to the polls last November to "patrol election sites." Fox News aired a video of two Black Panthers in military-style uniforms in a Philadelphia precinct. One of them was carrying a nightstick. The complaint the Justice Department filed in January (before Messrs. Obama and Holder took over) says the Panthers made "racial threats and racial insults" to voters and "menacing and intimidating, gestures, statements and movements directed at individuals who were present to aid voters." One witness, Bartle Bull, a civil-rights lawyer who worked with Charles Evers in Mississippi in the 1960s, called it the worst voter intimidation he had ever seen. …Registration numbers from the November 2008 election show that more than a dozen counties in Missouri have more registered voters than the Census shows they have voting-age residents. Clearly, the state isn't keeping its lists current. However, in March, one month after Secretary of State Robin Carnahan (a Democrat and the defendant in the lawsuit) announced she was running for the Senate seat being vacated by Republican Kit Bond, the Justice Department dismissed the lawsuit without explanation. …All of these decisions seriously undermine confidence in the rule of law and our election process. Under the Voting Rights Act, the Department of Justice is charged with protecting voters, no matter what their racial or ethnic background. Under the Help America Vote Act and the National Voter Registration Act, the department is also charged with securing the integrity of the voter registration process. In just the first five months of this administration Justice seems to be moving as fast as it can to defeat that charge. See: http://online.wsj.com/article/SB124451552193396877.html 3) Health care bill is the ball game  …The administration is hoping that a health bill will be voted on by early August, which may be overly optimistic but still means that this summer will be dominated by the health care debate. Its outcome will determine the overall success or failure of Obama's effort to torque America toward the European model of statism. It isn't just that the health care sector accounts for 17 percent of the U.S. economy. It is also the case that if enacted, a nationalized health service — no matter how crushingly expensive or bureaucratic — will vitiate arguments about the proper scope of government. All future pleas for reducing the size of the state will run into the accusation that the small government advocate is eager to take antibiotics from the mouth of a child or insulin from a diabetic. Whereas the Clinton administration advertised the overhaul of American health care primarily as a means of covering the uninsured, President Obama is making the bolder claim that revamping health care is a way to save money. Really? Medicare is already the program that ate the government, scheduled to go into bankruptcy itself in 2019. As the trustees report put it, "while Medicare's annual costs were 3.2 percent of Gross Domestic Product (GDP) in 2008, or about three quarters of Social Security's, they are projected to surpass Social Security expenditures in 2028 and reach 11.4 percent of GDP in 2083." …If he follows the lead of Great Britain, Canada, or other systems he admires, he can definitely bring down costs. He can do it the way they have, by rationing care. But Americans should bear in mind this summer that when the president promises to get health care costs under control he is really promising less care. There is a better way. More competition, not less. More market discipline, not less. This will affect every American for generations to come. The stakes could hardly be higher. See: http://jewishworldreview.com/cols/charen060909.php3 4) Administration, Congress seek to rein in exec pay The administration plans to seek legislation that would try to rein in compensation at publicly traded companies through nonbinding shareholder votes and by decreasing management influence on pay decisions. But some Democrats on the House Financial Services Committee said Thursday the administration's efforts to hector the private sector into reforming executive pay might not go far enough. "I do differ with the administration in that hope springs eternal and their position seems to be that if we strengthen the compensation committees we will do better," said the committee chairman, Rep. Barney Frank, D-Mass. See: http://finance.yahoo.com/news/Administration-Rein-in-pay-apf-15500519.html?.v=6 Rush’s Comments on Above: RUSH: "The Obama administration today says that excessive executive compensation must be better managed to prevent the sort of risk-taking that jeopardizes the economy." Gene Sperling, who advises Timmy Geithner at the Treasury department, "said today that the administration does not want to impose caps on executive pay, but he also laid out for the House Financial Services Committee a list of guidelines calling on publicly held companies to link compensation to long-term performance, not short-term gains." They don't want to cap, they want to control, and then they lay out how they're going to do it, in typical Obama fashion, "No, we're not going to control. We're not going to cap anything! We'll let the shareholders decide." Well, who the shareholders more and more are becoming is the United States government!   See: http://www.rushlimbaugh.com/home/daily/site_061109/content/01125107.guest.html 5) Obama gives terrorists 'right to remain silent' FBI ordered to read Miranda warning to U.S. enemies The Obama Administration has ordered the FBI and CIA to inform terrorists overseas that they "have the right to remain silent" before probing them for information to save American lives. See: http://www.wnd.com/index.php?fa=PAGE.view&pageId=100731 6) AP source: NKorea may be prepping new nuclear test WASHINGTON – North Korea may be preparing for its third nuclear test, a show of defiance as the United Nations considers new sanctions on the dictatorship for conducting an underground nuclear explosion in May, according to a U.S. government official. See: http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20090612/ap_on_go_ca_st_pe/us_north_korea_nuclear 7) Rev. Jeremiah Wright says "Jews" are keeping him from President Obama In an exclusive interview at the 95th annual Hampton University Ministers' Conference, Wright told the Daily Press that he has not spoken to his former church member since Obama became president, and he implied that the White House won't allow Obama to talk to him. "Them Jews ain't going to let him talk to me," Wright said. "I told my baby daughter that he'll talk to me in five years when he's a lame duck, or in eight years when he's out of office. See: http://www.dailypress.com/news/dp-local_wright_0610jun10,0,7603283.story 8) Brewer Spars With Ziegler About Palin, Shuts Off His Mike MSNBC's Contessa Brewer invited documentarian John Ziegler on her program Wednesday, and got into quite a battle with him over why Sarah Palin should have been at all insulted by David Letterman saying she dresses like a "slutty flight attendant" and her daughter was recently "knocked-up by Alex Rodriguez" during a Yankee game. See: http://newsbusters.org/blogs/noel-sheppard/2009/06/10/brewer-spars-ziegler-about-palin-shuts-his-mike

Obama: "Sort of God"?, Obama to Business: Drop Dead, Kneecapping FedEx, NK: A Merciless Offensive

1) Newsweek Editor Evan Thomas: Obama Is "Sort Of God" CHRIS MATTHEWS (HOST):Evan Thomas is editor at large for Newsweek magazine. Evan, you remember 1984. It wasn't 100 years ago. Reagan and World War II and the sense of us as the good guys in the world, how are we doing?  EVAN THOMAS: Well, we were the good guys in 1984, it felt that way. It hasn't felt that way in recent years. So Obama's had, really, a different task We're seen too often as the bad guys. And he, he has a very different job from ... Reagan was all about America, and you talked about it. Obama is - we are above that now. We're not just parochial, we're not just chauvinistic, we're not just provincial. We stand for something, I mean in a way Obama's standing above the country, above the world, he's sort of God (emphasis mine). See: http://www.realclearpolitics.com/video/2009/06/05/newsweek_editor_evan_thomas_obama_is_sort_of_god.html 2) High court clears way for Chrysler's sale to Fiat NEW YORK – The Supreme Court on Tuesday cleared the way for Chrysler's partnership with Italy's Fiat, rejecting an appeal by a trio of Indiana pension and contruction funds, consumer groups and others to block the automaker's sale. The sale of Chrysler LLC's assets to Fiat Group SpA had been expected to close more than a week ago, but Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg's Monday decision to delay the sale while studying an appeal by the Indiana state funds threatened to derail Chrysler's restructuring plans. A federal appeals court in New York had earlier approved the sale, but gave opponents until Monday afternoon to try to get the Supreme Court to intervene. The Indiana funds, which hold less than 1 percent of Chrysler's secured debt, claim the sale unfairly favors Chrysler's unsecured stakeholders such as the union ahead of secured debtholders like themselves. …"Obviously the supreme court of the land is the supreme court of the land," Mourdock said. "The United States government has, I continue to believe, acted egregiously by taking away the traditional rights held by secured creditors (emphasis mine)." See: http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20090610/ap_on_bi_ge/us_chrysler_bankruptcy 3) Dems advance proposals to spread health coverage WASHINGTON – Democrats at both ends of the Capitol accelerated their drive to enact health care legislation on Tuesday, outlining proposals to extend coverage to uninsured millions but omitting most details on plans for raising more than $1 trillion needed to cover costs. …A first-ever tax on employer-provided health benefits also figures prominently among options under consideration in Congress, but Obama campaigned against that last year and its inclusion in the bill would require him to reverse course. Well, that hasn’t stopped him so far… See: http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20090610/ap_on_go_co/us_health_overhaul 3a) Understanding the House Democrats’ health care bill Here are 15 things to know about the draft Kennedy-Dodd health bill and the House bill outline. 1. The Kennedy-Dodd bill would create an individual mandate requiring you to buy a “qualified” health insurance plan, as defined by the government.  2. The Kennedy-Dodd bill would also create an employer mandate. Employers would have to offer insurance to their employees. …5. Guaranteed issue and renewal combined with modified community rating would dramatically increase premiums for the overwhelming majority of those Americans who now have private health insurance.   …7. People from 150% of poverty up to 500% (!!) would get their health insurance subsidized (on a sliding scale). If this were in effect in 2009, a family of four with income of $110,000 would get a small subsidy. The bill does not indicate the source of funds to finance these subsidies. …13. The bill does not specify what spending will be cut or what taxes will be raised to pay for the increased spending. That is presumably for the Finance Committee to determine, since it’s their jurisdiction. See: http://keithhennessey.com/2009/06/09/house-health-bill/ 4) 10 big banks get OK to repay $68B in bailout money WASHINGTON – Ten of the nation's largest banks were given the green light Tuesday to repay $68 billion in government bailout money, freeing them from restrictions on executive compensation that they say are making it hard to keep their top-performing executives. …"We all know why the senior executives want to repay this money: It's a burden to manage the TARP politics," said Mark Williams, a finance professor at Boston University and former Fed examiner. …Banks have been chafing under limits on executive compensation and say key employees have been leaving for small private firms and foreign banks. JPMorgan Chief Executive Jamie Dimon has railed against government restrictions on hiring foreign employees. See: http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20090609/ap_on_bi_ge/us_tarp_winners_and_losers 5) SPIN METER: Obama's new 'accelerated' recovery plan is neither new nor accelerated Obama faces souring public opinion over his handling of the economy, which has shed 1.6 million jobs since the stimulus was signed in February. That total has far overshadowed White House announcements estimating the effort has saved 150,000 jobs, a figure that is so murky it can never be verified. See: http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/politics/sns-ap-us-obama-stimulus,0,2704688.story 5a) Analysis: Obama recovery plans sowing some unease WASHINGTON (AP) - President Barack Obama offered his domestic-policy proposals as a "break from a troubled past." But the economic outlook now is more troubled than it was even in January, despite Obama's bold rhetoric and commitment of more trillions of dollars.  And while his personal popularity remains high, some economists and lawmakers are beginning to question whether Obama's agenda of increased government activism is helping, or hurting, by sowing uncertainty among businesses, investors and consumers that could prolong the recession.  Although the administration likes to say it "inherited" the recession and trillion-dollar deficits, the economic wreckage has worsened on Obama's still-young watch.  Every day, the economy is becoming more and more an Obama economy.  More than 4 million jobs have been lost since the recession began in December 2007—roughly half in the past three months.  Stocks have tumbled to levels not seen since 1997. They are down more than 50 percent from their 2007 highs and 20 percent since Obama's inauguration. See: http://www.breitbart.com/article.php?id=D96P7RC80&show_article=1 5b) Obama Tells American Businesses to Drop Dead: Kevin Hassett June 8 (Bloomberg) -- I’ve finally figured out the Obama economic strategy. President Barack Obama and his team have been having so much fun wielding dictatorial power while rescuing “failed” firms, that they have developed a scheme to gain the same power over every business. The plan is to enact policies that are so anticompetitive that every firm needs a bailout.  Once that happens, their new pay czar Kenneth Feinberg can set the wage for everybody and Rahm Emanuel can stack the boards of all of our companies with his political cronies. I know, it sounds like an exaggeration. But look at it this way. If there were a power ranking of U.S. companies, like the ones compiled by football writers for National Football League teams, Microsoft would surely be first or second to Google. But last week, Microsoft Chief Executive Officer Steve Ballmer came to Washington to announce what Microsoft would do if Obama’s multinational tax policy is enacted.  “It makes U.S. jobs more expensive,” Ballmer said, “We’re better off taking lots of people and moving them out of the U.S.” If Microsoft, perhaps our most competitive company, has to abandon the U.S. in order to continue to thrive, who exactly is going to stay? See: http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=washingtonstory&sid=aaaBdVMkjPnU 6) EDITORIAL: Kneecapping FedEx FedEx Express is learning what could be the Democrats' economic motto -- "Never Let Success Go Unpunished."  Led by Rep. James L. Oberstar, Minnesota Democrat, the House on May 21 passed legislation that contains an almost hidden provision -- a mere 230 words -- that would hobble FedEx Express. It would do so by completely changing the labor laws under which the company operates. Unless the Senate removes the language from the underlying bill reauthorizing the Federal Aviation Administration, a mere dozen or so workers in just one city could hamstring much of the nation's overnight delivery service. …Lawmakers have long recognized that certain sorts of transportation companies are the lifeblood of interstate commerce. That's why they wrote the Railway Labor Act to apply special labor-relations rules to railroads and, eventually, airline-based businesses such as FedEx Express. Since 1926, the RLA has provided successfully for means other than strikes to resolve labor disputes fairly and quickly, without favoring either side.  The RLA does not, however, apply to non-rail, mostly ground-transportation companies such as the United Parcel Service. UPS instead is governed by the National Labor Relations Act (NLRA), the terms of which favor unions such as the Teamsters, which represents UPS drivers. Naturally, this means UPS and the Teamsters both have an interest in kneecapping FedEx Express. Together, the ground-delivery company and the union have executed what The Hill newspaper called a lobbying "pincer movement" to transfer authority over FedEx Express from the RLA to the NLRA.  The UPS corporate political action committee has "given more money to federal lawmakers than any other company over two decades," according to Bloomberg News, with $77,900 from UPS employees going to Mr. Oberstar since 1989. The Teamsters, who lean heavily Democratic, have donated $86,500 to Mr. Oberstar during that period. See: http://washingtontimes.com/news/2009/jun/09/kneecapping-fedex/?feat=home_editorials 7) The Labour Party and the EU Take A Beating in Britain’s Elections The polls said it would be bad for Labour. But no one expected it to be this bad. On Thursday, Britons voted in local county elections and elections for the European Parliament. The result was a devastating repudiation of Gordon Brown’s tottering government, and of the cause of European integration. First, the local numbers. England’s divided up into 34 counties. After the elections, the Conservatives control 30 of them. The Liberal Democrats run one county council. The remaining three are not controlled by any one party. There are 2,362 council seats. The Conservatives went into the election with over a thousand more than Labour. They now have 1,531. Across all of England, Labour lost 291 seats and now has only 178. The Tories now completely dominate local government in England, with only the Liberal Democrats retaining any strength. As bad as that is, the results in the European elections were even worse for Labour. It took third place, with just over 15 percent of the vote. It was lucky to do that well: the Liberal Democrats were only two percentage points behind it. The winners were the United Kingdom Independence Party (UKIP), on over 17 percent of the vote, and, of course, the Tories, with over 28 percent. Both UKIP and the Conservatives increased their vote share. All in all, it was the worst showing for Labour in a national election since 1918. See: http://blog.heritage.org/2009/06/08/the-labour-party-and-the-eu-take-a-beating-in-britain’s-elections/ 8) North Korea Threatens A “Merciless Offensive” Consistent with the highly-belligerent posture North Korea has taken in the past three weeks, and the “rapid-fire series of provocations“ it has initiated since the beginning of 2009, Pyongyang yet again chose to escalate its rhetoric, this time threatening to use its nuclear weapons in a “merciless offensive” if provoked. After testing its second nuclear device in less than three years, numerous ballistic missile tests, deciding to withdraw from the 1953 armistice that ended the Korean War, and sentencing two American journalists to 12 years hard labor, North Korea took another unprecedented step in announcing for the first time it was prepared to use nuclear weapons in an offensive capacity. Up until now North Korea has insisted its nuclear program was purely for defensive purposes. See: http://blog.heritage.org/2009/06/09/north-korea-threatens-a-“merciless-offensive”/#more-8209

Obama Defies the God of Israel, Obama: The Man Who Would Be King, One World Currency

“Any world order that elevates one nation or group of people over another will inevitably fail.” Barak Hussein Obama in his speech at Cairo University, June 4, 2009 Deuteronomy 7:6: For you are a people holy to the LORD your God. The LORD your God has chosen you out of all the peoples on the face of the earth to be his people, his treasured possession. "Your problem isn't with Prime Minister Netanyahu, nor is it with the People of Israel. Your problem, Mr. President [Obama], is with the almighty God of Israel!" - Esther Pollard, demonstrator in Jerusalem (see: http://www.jpost.com/servlet/Satellite?cid=1244034988150&pagename=JPost%2FJPArticle%2FShowFull) 1) Morning Bell: Leadership Lacking in Cairo …Israel and Palestine - Obama tried to connect the civil rights movement in the U.S. with the Palestinians’ struggle for an independent state. This was a mistake, because the American civil rights movement did not have the goal of destroying the U.S., while many Palestinians, including those in Hamas and other Islamist extremist movements, remain implacably committed to destroying Israel. He vaguely talked about Hamas as if it were just another political party, without acknowledging its revolutionary Islamist ideology, which rejects not only peace negotiations with Israel but Israel’s very existence. See: http://blog.heritage.org/2009/06/05/morning-bell-leadership-lacking-in-cairo/ 1a) MKs Respond: 'Zionist Vision is Stronger than Any President' MK Danny Danon (Likud): “The president has crossed all lines. His implied comparison between the Israeli government and the Nazi regime said everything. He has made a covenant with the Arab world and rewarded it for more than 60 years of aggression.” See: http://www.israelnationalnews.com/News/News.aspx/131709 2) Karna Small Bodman (Served in Reagan White House) on Obama's Czars  (The Man Who Would be King) CALLER: Since it's Open Line Friday, I thought I'd bring up a point about the great amassing of executive power that this new president's been going through that hasn't really gotten a lot of press coverage. I mean, for example, look. The man has now appointed -- I think I'm right on this, I do a lot of research -- 21 White House czars.  RUSH: Yes. CALLER: He's got the energy czar, the urban affairs, the faith-based czar, the regulatory czar, the climate czar, and today we got word of the pay czar: "The Special Master for Compensation." RUSH: Yes. CALLER: You know, Rush, (laughs) the Russians, starting in the year 1600, up to the last of them, they appointed 22 czars. It took them, you know, 400 years or so, and they had one at a time. Obama's got 21 of them in five months, and what people don't realize is that these people serve quote "at the pleasure of the president." They're not confirmed by the Senate (emphasis mine). Most of these activities are ones that would normally take place in a cabinet office. RUSH: Yeah, that's right. That was my point. He was superseding his cabinet people. CALLER: Well, precisely. He's setting up all kinds of problems there, that's another issue. But all the cabinet people are confirmed by the Senate down to the assistant secretary level. They go up to the Hill, give testimony, and so the Hill, of course, has oversight and all that sort of thing. I mean, even Senator Bobby Byrd has been upset about this. He's tried to put out a couple of press releases questioning the way this is threatening the constitutional balance of power (emphasis mine). …CALLER: Well, he's absolutely right. As I said Bobby Byrd is right, too, and all of these czars that they're mentioning: the urban affairs czar, the car czar, the cyber czar, the regulatory czar, the climate czar, you know, they are all developing these little fiefdoms inside the White House without oversight at all on the part of the Congress (emphasis mine). And it's absolutely amazing all of these people. There's one other example that I could give you, Rush, if I could. I served in the Reagan White House for six years -- See: http://www.rushlimbaugh.com/home/daily/site_060509/content/01125111.guest.html 3) Dollar Declines as Nations Mull Reserve Currency Alternatives June 2 (Bloomberg) -- The dollar weakened beyond $1.43 against the euro for the first time in 2009 on bets record U.S. borrowing will undermine the greenback, prompting nations to consider alternatives to the world’s main reserve currency. The euro gained for a fourth day versus the dollar as the Russian government said emerging-market leaders may discuss the idea of a supranational currency. The pound rose to the highest level since October and the Canadian dollar traded near an eight-month high on speculation signs of a recovery in U.S. and U.K. housing will spur higher-yield demand.  “There’s been a lot of talk out of Russia about a new global currency, and that’s contributing toward this latest bout of dollar weakness,” said Henrik Gullberg, a currency strategist in London at Deutsche Bank AG, the world’s largest currency trader. “These latest comments are just adding to the general dollar weakness we’ve seen recently.” …Russian President Dmitry Medvedev may discuss his proposal to create a new world currency when he meets counterparts from Brazil, India and China this month, Natalya Timakova, a spokeswoman for the president, told reporters by phone today. Russia’s proposals for the Group of 20 meeting in London in April included studying a supranational currency.  “We need some kind of universal means of payment, which could create the basis of a future international financial system,” Medvedev said in a June 1 interview with CNBC. “Naturally, because of the crisis in the American economy, attitude to the dollar has also changed.” See: http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601087&sid=a3X76sjV801Y&refer=worldwide 4) Plan to Help Banks Clear Their Books Is Halted WASHINGTON — The Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation indefinitely postponed a central element of the Obama administration’s bank rescue plan on Wednesday, acknowledging that it could not persuade enough banks to sell off their bad assets. …Diane Casey-Landry, chief operating officer for the American Bankers Association, said the lack of interest in selling the assets stemmed from fears that Congress would impose restrictions on executive pay and other issues for banks and investors in the program. “There’s a lot of uncertainty out there in terms of how the program would operate,” she said. “What we would rather see is the market working.” See: http://www.nytimes.com/2009/06/04/business/04bank.html?partner=rss&emc=rss 5) Kennedy bill would make employers provide care WASHINGTON – Employers would be required to offer health care to employees or pay a penalty — and all Americans would be guaranteed health insurance — under a draft bill circulated Friday by Sen. Edward M. Kennedy's health committee. The bill would provide subsidies to help poor people pay for care, guarantee patients the right to select any doctor they want and require everyone to purchase insurance, with exceptions for those who can't afford to. Insurers would be supposed to offer a basic level of care and would be required to cover all comers, without turning people away because of pre-existing conditions or other reasons. Insurance companies' profits would be limited, and private companies would have to compete with a new public "affordable access" plan that would for the first time offer government-sponsored health care to Americans not eligible for Medicare, Medicaid or other programs. …The draft doesn't address how this would all be paid for. That remains a major sticking point. See: http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20090606/ap_on_go_co/us_health_overhaul 6) Barney Frank, Car Czar  Let GM restructure…except in my state. President Obama may have "no interest" in running General Motors, as he averred Monday. But even if that's true, we are already discovering that he shares Washington with 535 Members of Congress, many of whom have other ideas. The latest self-appointed car czar is Massachusetts's own Barney Frank, who intervened this week to save a GM distribution center in Norton, Mass. The warehouse, which employs some 90 people, was slated for closure by the end of the year under GM's restructuring plan. But Mr. Frank put in a call to GM CEO Fritz Henderson and secured a new lease on life for the facility. Mr. Frank's spokesman, Harry Gural, says the Congressman discussed, among other things, "the facility's value to GM." We'd have thought that would be something that GM might have considered when it decided to close the Norton center, but then a call from one of the most powerful Members of Congress can certainly cause a ward of the state to reconsider what qualifies as "value." A CEO who refuses the offer can soon find himself testifying under oath before Congress, or answering questions from the Government Accountability Office about his expense account. To that point, Mr. Henderson spent Wednesday with Chrysler President Jim Press being castigated by the Senate Commerce Committee for their plans to close 3,400 car dealerships. Every Senator wants dealerships closed in someone else's state. See: http://online.wsj.com/article/SB124416281882387463.html 6a) GM's dismantling opens doors for foreign carmakers …In the shake-up, well-known brands are changing flags quicker than an oil tanker in pirate-infested waters. Italy's Fiat SpA is waiting for U.S. courts to approve its acquisition of Chrysler LLC's assets. GM has worked deals to turn its German subsidiary Adam Opel GmbH over to a Canadian auto parts company with Russian backing. And Hummer may be going Chinese, although state media there reported Friday that the deal has hit regulatory hurdles. See: http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20090606/ap_on_bi_ge/automakers 6b) Michael Moore: GM's Bankruptcy Fills Me With Joy Filmmaker and leftist activist Michael Moore said the demise of General Motors filled him with ‘joy’ Monday and then suggested the Obama administration launch into a massive socialization of U.S. industry to build ‘green’ autos and bullet trains.  To pay for it all, he suggests a $2 per gallon federal tax. See: http://www.newsmax.com/insidecover/moore_gm_bankruptcy/2009/06/01/220369.html 7) Gov't posts sensitive list of US nuclear sites WASHINGTON (AP) — The government accidentally posted on the Internet a list of government and civilian nuclear facilities and their activities in the United States, but U.S. officials said Wednesday the posting included no information that compromised national security. …The 266-page document was published on May 6 as a transmission from President Barack Obama to Congress. According to the document, the list was required by law and will be provided to the International Atomic Energy Agency. See: http://www.google.com/hostednews/ap/article/ALeqM5hCsPqjzeLAVBSZ0nrjjDm7Ywu-sAD98J9BA00 8) Guest Blogger: House Republican Whip Eric Cantor (R-VA): Why is Obama cutting defense spending? If anything is certain in these most uncertain times, it is that threats to the homeland will persist. Consider the recent provocations by North Korea and Iran. Last week the North tested a nuclear weapon and fired off a salvo of missiles. It is also reportedly preparing to test a longer-range missile in the near future. Meanwhile, Iran is defiantly developing the material to build the nuclear bomb. Last month, it brazenly test-fired a surface-to-surface missile with a range of 2,000 km. The nuclear and ballistic missile threat from these rogue nations is undeniably growing. Both regimes have shown a willingness to share their illicit technology and know-how with terrorists or other unpleasant regimes. It would be unwise to assume either regime would not pass nukes on to terrorists or anyone else willing to pay. So why is the administration conceding Iran has a right to nuclear energy, as if Iran’s nuclear weapons program wouldn’t forfeit that right? Why on earth, as domestic discretionary spending reaches stratospheric heights, is President Obama planning to cut defense spending to a meager 3.5% of GDP in five years, and 3.1% in 10 years? Why, given the expanding nature of the missile threat, is President Obama cutting missile defense by more than $1 billion? See: http://blog.heritage.org/2009/06/04/guest-blogger-house-republican-whip-eric-cantor-r-va/ 9) Police swarm Tiananmen Square on anniversary BEIJING – In Tiananmen Square, police were ready to pounce at the first sign of protest. In Hong Kong, a sea of candles flickered in the hands of tens of thousands who vented their grief and anger. Two starkly contrasting faces of China were on display Thursday, the 20th anniversary of the military's bloody crackdown on pro-democracy demonstrators — from Beijing's rigid control in suppressing any dissent, to freewheeling Hong Kong, which enjoys freedoms all but absent on the mainland. Tiananmen Square was blanketed by uniformed and plainclothes security officers who were ready to silence any potential demonstration, and there were few hints that the vast plaza was the epicenter of a student-led movement that was crushed on June 3-4, 1989, shocking the world. See: http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20090604/ap_on_re_as/as_china_tiananmen 10) Gun-loving pastor to his flock: Piece be with you LOUISVILLE, Ky. -- A Kentucky pastor is inviting his flock to bring guns to church to celebrate the Fourth of July and the Second Amendment. New Bethel Church is welcoming "responsible handgun owners" to wear their firearms inside the church June 27, a Saturday. An ad says there will be a handgun raffle, patriotic music and information on gun safety. "We're just going to celebrate the upcoming theme of the birth of our nation," said pastor Ken Pagano. "And we're not ashamed to say that there was a strong belief in God and firearms - without that this country wouldn't be here." The guns must be unloaded and private security will check visitors at the door, Pagano said. See: http://www.forbes.com/feeds/ap/2009/06/04/ap6507167.html