Health care debate begins; A wave of debt; Iran begins war games; Sharpening our teeth

1) Dems snare 60 votes to move ahead on health care WASHINGTON – Democratic leaders secured the last two votes to move ahead on historic health care legislation, clearing the way for a Saturday night showdown on President Barack Obama's top domestic initiative. In long-awaited speeches, centrist Sens. Blanche Lincoln of Arkansas and Mary Landrieu of Louisiana said they would stand with their party and vote "yes" on the crucial test vote despite deep reservations with elements of the 2,074-page bill to remake the nation's health care system. …Hours earlier, Landrieu had delivered her news. The two represent votes 59 and 60 for Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nev., who needs that many in the 100-member Senate to go forward. The Senate's 40 Republicans are unanimously opposed. Good for you, Republicans! …A largely overlooked provision in the Senate bill would send $100 million to Louisiana to help it cover costs for Medicaid, the federal-state health care program for the poor. In her speech, Landrieu rejected the notion that she was voting to advance the bill simply because of the money. Nah, it has nothing to do with that! …United in opposition, Republicans cast the bill as a costly government takeover, built on budget gimmicks. "Move over, Bernie Madoff. Tip your hat to a trillion-dollar scam," said Sen. Kit Bond, R-Mo., referring to the mastermind of a multibillion-dollar Ponzi scheme. Ah yes, that fancy fraud provision that allows them to start collecting taxes in 2010, but the actual health care “benefits” are not extended to Americans until 2013 or 2014. The action in the Senate comes two weeks after the House approved a health overhaul bill of its own on a 220-215 vote. After the vote Saturday night, senators will leave for a Thanksgiving recess. Upon their return, assuming Democrats prevail on the vote, they will launch into weeks or more of unpredictable debate on the health care bill, with numerous amendments expected from both sides of the aisle and more 60-vote hurdles along the way. See: http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20091121/ap_on_bi_ge/us_health_care_overhaul 2) Wave of Debt Payments Facing U.S. Government WASHINGTON — The United States government is financing its more than trillion-dollar-a-year borrowing with i.o.u.’s on terms that seem too good to be true. But that happy situation, aided by ultralow interest rates, may not last much longer. Treasury officials now face a trifecta of headaches: a mountain of new debt, a balloon of short-term borrowings that come due in the months ahead, and interest rates that are sure to climb back to normal as soon as the Federal Reserve decides that the emergency has passed. Even as Treasury officials are racing to lock in today’s low rates by exchanging short-term borrowings for long-term bonds, the government faces a payment shock similar to those that sent legions of overstretched homeowners into default on their mortgages. …The potential for rapidly escalating interest payouts is just one of the wrenching challenges facing the United States after decades of living beyond its means. …“The government is on teaser rates,” said Robert Bixby, executive director of the Concord Coalition, a nonpartisan group that advocates lower deficits. “We’re taking out a huge mortgage right now, but we won’t feel the pain until later.” See: http://www.nytimes.com/2009/11/23/business/23rates.html?_r=2&pagewanted=2 3) California Was Among States With Record Unemployment Nov. 20 (Bloomberg) -- California, Delaware, South Carolina and Florida registered record rates of unemployment in October as weakness in the labor market stretches from coast to coast and limits the economic recovery. Joblessness rose in 29 U.S. states last month compared with 22 in September, the Labor Department said today in Washington. Michigan had the highest jobless rate at 15.1 percent, followed by Nevada at 13 percent and Rhode Island at 12.9 percent. The national rate last month reached a 26-year high of 10.2 percent, weighing on consumer spending that accounts for about 70 percent of the economy. See: http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?utm_source=Newsletter&utm_medium=Email&utm_campaign=Morning%2BBell&pid=20601087&sid=aQsHAD0w1egE 4) Glenn Beck: The Plan I'm going to teach you how to be a community organizer next year, oh, because two can play at that game. I'm going to teach you how to be self-reliant next year. We've divided the country up into seven regions. I don't know how many of these we're going to be able to do, but we're going to do these, what would you even call them? Day-long education seminars, and the first one we announce is going to happen in March in Orlando, Florida, where we're going to teach you everything you need to know. And I'm going to try to bring in some experts. How do you build a lifeboat? What do we do right now to be able to save our country, to be able to get them to wake up before an election? Can we get them to wake up before the election? I've had enough of calling these clowns; they don't listen to us. Well, the next time we go to Washington, the next time, you know, Michele Bachmann says, hey, you've got to come to Washington, well, thousands of people did go to Washington and they still passed the damn thing. Because we don't have teeth. Well, it's time to find our teeth and sharpen our teeth, and we're going to do it (emphasis mine). …The reason why I say I think it's going to be the last large gathering on the mall is because our government has decided that there will be no more gatherings, large gatherings on the mall with Abraham Lincoln and the Lincoln Memorial as of 2011. This will be historic. In the meantime piece by piece, little by little I'm developing this plan, and I will explain more to you a little later. It's not something I take lightly. It is not something that is something I can whip out. But two can play at this game, and I'll give you more details as things continue. But I want you to know we are all stewards of this country, and I take my stewardship of my part of the republic seriously, and I take your faith in me extraordinarily seriously. We're in it together. See: http://www.glennbeck.com/content/articles/article/198/33466/ 5) Chris Matthews Shocker: Obama Making 'Carteresque' Mistakes Chris Matthews appears to have lost that loving feeling for Barack Obama. On "The Chris Matthews Show" Sunday, the once smitten MSNBCer called some of Obama's recent mistakes "Carteresque": CHRIS MATTHEWS, HOST: Welcome back. The word these days is optics, visuals, signals. In the Carter presidency, the optics were not exactly robust, and Ronald Reagan rode that to a big victory in 1980. Is the Obama White House sending some Carteresque signals these days? Some see that in the deep bow to the Emperor of Japan, an unforced error say critics. Then there was, there was what happened in China: Obama got nothing in the way of concessions over there in spite of playing the polite visitor. And his effort to speak directly to the Chinese was jammed by the government. Third, that decision to try the terrorists up in that federal court in New York City. Again, nothing that had to be done, and critics say it shows that Obama, his team doesn't understand this is a war we're in. David, that's the question. These optics are everything in a president. Carter used to carry that garment bag over his shoulder. This president is he making mistakes like in China like in Japan? See: http://newsbusters.org/blogs/noel-sheppard/2009/11/22/chris-matthews-obama-making-carteresque-mistakes?utm_source=Newsletter&utm_medium=Email&utm_campaign=Morning%2BBell 6) Major Hasan's E-Mail: 'I Can't Wait to Join You' in Afterlife United States Army Major Nidal Hasan told a radical cleric considered by authorities to be an al-Qaeda recruiter, "I can't wait to join you" in the afterlife, according to an American official with top secret access to 18 e-mails exchanged between Hasan and the cleric, Anwar al Awlaki, over a six month period between Dec. 2008 and June 2009. "It sounds like code words," said Lt. Col. Tony Shaffer, a military analyst at the Center for Advanced Defense Studies. "That he's actually either offering himself up or that he's already crossed that line in his own mind." Other messages include questions, the official with access to the e-mails said, that include when is jihad appropriate, and whether it is permissible if there are innocents killed in a suicide attack. "Hasan told Awlaki he couldn't wait to join him in the discussions they would having over non-alcoholic wine in the afterlife," Major Hasan also wrote, "My strength is my financial capabilities." But we mustn’t jump to conclusions, boys and girls. See: http://abcnews.go.com/Blotter/major-hasans-mail-wait-join-afterlife/story?id=9130339&page=1 7) Hacked e-mails reveal global-warming fraud?

Top climate scientists discuss hiding contrary data, marginalizing dissenters

Officials at a key global-warming research center in the United Kingdom have authenticated a series of e-mails and other documents apparently taken from their computer system by a hacker, but they cannot explain what scientists in internal exchanges meant by references to a "trick" that would "hide the decline" of global temperatures nor by instructions to delete contrary data. Author James Delingpole writes in a London Telegraph column the most damaging revelations indicate climate-change scientists may have "manipulated or suppressed evidence in order to support their cause." According to the Australian Investigate magazine, the 62-megabyte Zip file with documents, e-mail exchanges and other information from the University of East Anglia's Climate Research Unit apparently was posted by an unidentified hacker on a Russian web server. One e-mail said: "I've just completed Mike's Nature trick of adding in the real temps to each series for the last 20 years (ie from 1981 onwards) amd (sic) from 1961 for Keith's to hide the decline." Another expressed internal doubts: "The fact is that we can't account for the lack of warming at the moment and it is a travesty that we can't. The CERES data published in the August (Bulletin of the American Meteorological Society) 09 supplement on 2008 shows there should be even more warming: but the data are surely wrong. Our observing system is inadequate." Further, an e-mail exchange suggested the suppression of information: "Can you delete any e-mails you may have had with Keith re (Assessment Report 4)? Keith will do likewise. He's not in at the moment – minor family crisis." "And, perhaps most reprehensibly," Delingpole writes, "a long series of communications discussing how best to squeeze dissenting scientists out of the peer review process. How, in other words, to create a scientific climate in which anyone who disagrees with (anthropogenic global warming) can be written off as a crank, whose views do not have a scrap of authority." See: http://www.wnd.com/index.php?fa=PAGE.view&pageId=116657 8) Ultimatum: Investigate ACORN or more videos coming Undercover filmmakers warn Holder release will be timed to 2010 elections Andrew Breitbart, whose BigGovernment.com rocked Washington with undercover videos exposing ACORN corruption, has issued U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder an ultimatum: Conduct an investigation into ACORN, or more videos will be released just in time to drop a bombshell on the 2010 elections. "This message is to Attorney General Holder," Breitbart said on the Fox News network's "Hannity" last night. "I want you to know that we have more tapes, it's not just ACORN, and we're going to hold out until the next election cycle. … If you get into an investigation, we will give you the tapes; if you don't give us the tapes, we will revisit these tapes come election time." The show's host, Sean Hannity, responded, "This is a blockbuster, what you're saying here. You guys have more tapes, you'll release them before the election – that could have a big impact on the election." Breitbart's ultimatum joins the already growing number of U.S. representatives who earlier this week introduced a House resolution requesting Holder appoint a special counsel to investigate allegations regarding ACORN. See: http://www.wnd.com/index.php?fa=PAGE.view&pageId=116671 9) Case for Term Limits: Rep. John Murtha (BEGIN VIDEO CLIP: AUGUST 3, 2007, HOUSE FLOOR) REP. JOHN MURTHA, D-PA.: Pursuant to clause one, rule one, the journal stands approved. REP. FRANK JAMES SENSENBRENNER, R-WIS.: Speaker... MURTHA: The gentleman from Wisconsin. SENSENBRENNER: Speaker, pursuant to clause one of rule one, I demand a vote on agreeing to the speaker's approval of the journal. MURTHA: Approval of the journal. Those in favor say aye. LAWMAKERS: Aye. MURTHA: Opposed will say no. LAWMAKERS: No! MURTHA: In the opinion of the chair, the ayes have it. SENSENBRENNER: Speaker! Mr. Speaker! Mr. Speaker! Mr. Speaker! Mr. Speaker! (CROSSTALK) On that, I demand a division. UNIDENTIFIED MALE LAWMAKER: That doesn't count! MURTHA: The yeas and nays requested. Those favoring a vote by yeas and nays will please rise. SENSENBRENNER: Could the chair tell me how many members rose to request the recorded vote and the total number of members present in House upon which the chair made his decision? MURTHA: The chair's decision is not subject to question. (END VIDEO CLIP) BECK (VOICEOVER): It was a scene that played out on the House floor more than two years ago, but you probably haven't seen it. Pennsylvania Democrat John Murtha, one of the longest-serving members of Congress in U.S. history, a man who almost became House majority leader spitting on the graves of our Founding Fathers. BECK (VOICEOVER): That's how cap-and-trade will be passed. John Murtha has served in Congress for 35 years; 19 terms worth of shenanigans just like you saw. They've earned him a spot on the list of the most corrupt members of Congress according to the Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington. And Murtha's not denying that he's corrupt. In an interview with the Pittsburgh Post Gazette just this past March, the congressman said, quote, "If I'm corrupt, it's because I take care of my district." See: http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,575973,00.html 10) Iran begins war games to protect nuclear sites TEHRAN, Iran – Iran on Sunday began large-scale air defense war games aimed at protecting its nuclear facilities from attack, state TV reported, as an air force commander boasted the country could deter any military strike by Israel. It said the five-day drill will cover an area a third of the size of Iran and spread across the central, western and southern parts of the country. Gen. Ahmad Mighani, head of an air force unit in charge of responding to threats to Iran's air space, said Saturday the war games would cover regions where Iran's nuclear facilities are located. The drill involves Iran's elite Revolutionary Guard, the paramilitary Basij forces affiliated with the Guard as well as army units. See: http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20091123/ap_on_re_mi_ea/ml_iran_war_games

Reid - vote on Sat to stop filibuster; Yes, it covers abortion; Double Dip Recession

1) Senate Health Care Bill Faces Crucial First Vote on Saturday The Senate is expected to vote Saturday on whether to take up the legislation. The majority leader, Harry Reid, Democrat of Nevada, refused to say Thursday whether he had the 60 votes needed to clear that procedural hurdle (meaning that if he is able, he will invoke cloture to stop a filibuster - this essentially means no opposing arguments can be heard when the bill itself is voted on). …Under the Senate bill, insurers would not be required or forbidden to cover abortion. But, the measure says, in every part of the country, the government would have to ensure that there is at least one plan that covers abortion and at least one that does not. The secretary of health and human services would decide whether a proposed new government insurance plan would cover abortion. In general, if insurers cover abortion, they could not use federal money to pay for the procedure. They could use only subscriber premiums and would have to keep the money separate from subsidies received from the federal government. Opponents of abortion describe this bookkeeping arrangement as a sham. “It’s a shell game,” said Senator Mike Johanns, Republican of Nebraska. But Mr. Johanns said he doubted that the Senate would accept the stringent restriction adopted by the House. “I don’t see it in the final bill,” Mr. Johanns said. “I don’t believe there are enough pro-life senators to break a filibuster to make this a part of the final bill.” Hmm. I think I remember saying that the final bill would cover abortion. …A major difference between the bills is the effective date for important provisions, like the requirement for people to obtain insurance and the obligation of employers to help pay for it. Many provisions of the House bill would take effect in 2013. But to help hold down the cost of the bill, Mr. Reid decided to delay the effective date for many provisions by one year, to 2014. See: http://www.nytimes.com/2009/11/20/health/policy/20health.html?_r=1 1a) Sen. Reid’s Government-Run Health Plan Requires a Monthly Abortion Fee Just like the original 2,032-page, government-run health care plan from Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s (D-CA), Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid’s (D-NV) massive, 2,074-page bill would levy a new “abortion premium” fee on Americans in the government-run plan. Beginning on line 7, p. 118, section 1303 under “Voluntary Choice of Coverage of Abortion Services” the Health and Human Services Secretary is given the authority to determine when abortion is allowed under the government-run health plan. Leader Reid’s plan also requires that at least one insurance plan offered in the Exchange covers abortions (line 13, p. 120). What is even more alarming is that a monthly abortion premium will be charged of all enrollees in the government-run health plan. It’s right there beginning on line 11, page 122, section 1303, under “Actuarial Value of Optional Service Coverage.” The premium will be paid into a U.S. Treasury account – and these federal funds will be used to pay for the abortion services. See: http://republicanleader.house.gov/blog/?p=690 1b) More details on the cloture vote… …Democrats hold 58 seats in the Senate, and two independents generally vote with them, but several moderate Democrats — Mary Landrieu of Louisiana, Ben Nelson of Nebraska and Blanche Lincoln of Arkansas — have yet to commit to allowing debate to begin. Reid met privately with the three before releasing his bill Wednesday, and Nelson later issued a statement strongly suggesting he would support fellow Democrats on the procedural vote. Landrieu said Thursday she has not yet decided how she'll vote, adding: "I want to get to the debate. I am not trying to derail this bill. Reid has pointedly declined to claim the 60 votes needed to clear a must-pass procedural hurdle this weekend before debate can begin. "We'll find out when the votes are taken," he said Thursday. On a controversial issue that threatened to derail the House-passed bill, Reid would allow the new government insurance plan to cover abortions and would let companies that receive federal funds offer insurance plans that include abortion coverage. See: http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20091119/ap_on_bi_ge/us_health_care_overhaul 1c) And more… …His immediate concern is whether the Senate's 58 Democrats and two independents will stick together to block a Republican filibuster of the massive health care bill. No GOP senators are expected to help, and it's not clear that any Republicans will vote for the final bill itself later this year. See: http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20091119/ap_on_go_pr_wh/us_obama 2) 3M CEO Sees Possibility Of A Double-Dip US Recession CHICAGO -(Dow Jones)- There is a "good chance" the U.S. economy will slip into a so-called double-dip recession next year, unless consumer spending improves and unemployment begins falling, 3M Co. (MMM) Chairman and Chief Executive George Buckley said Thursday. During remarks to the Executives' Club of Chicago, Buckley said the economy is reaching a plateau where excess inventories have been wrung out and industrial production is aligning with wholesale and retail market demand. But if retail demand doesn't turn higher and instead falls back early next year, U.S. GDP growth will lose momentum as well, effectively creating conditions for another recession. "I actually think there's a good chance of it," he said, noting that consumer spending remains under pressure because the U.S. unemployment rate remains high at more than 10%. See: http://www.nasdaq.com/aspx/stock-market-news-story.aspx?storyid=200911191706dowjonesdjonline000745&title=3m-ceo-sees-possibility-of-a-double-dip-us-recession 2a) Obama harbours fear of 'double-dip recession' Barack Obama has warned that the US economy could head into a “double-dip recession” unless urgent steps were taken to rein back America’s mounting levels of public debt. …“I think it is important though to recognise that if we keep on adding to the debt, even in the midst of this recovery, that at some point, people could lose confidence in the US economy in a way that could actually lead to a double-dip recession.” Really? See: http://business.timesonline.co.uk/tol/business/economics/article6922325.ece 3) Which leads us to the next story… The Cloward/Piven Strategy of Economic Recovery Using borrowed money for a band-aid bailout of the economy should seem backwards to most people. However, it likely is a planned strategy to promote radical change. Those naively believing that President Obama is simply rewarding his far-left base, and will then move to the political center, must wise up. The assumption that Obama will need the nation to prosper in order to protect the 2010 mid-term election incorrectly assumes that he esteems free market capitalism. He does not. Rather than win through superior ideas and policies, the Democrat plan for success in the mid-term elections is to win by destroying political opposition. …The Cloward/Piven Strategy is named after Columbia University sociologists Richard Andrew Cloward and Frances Fox Piven. Their goal is to overthrow capitalism by overwhelming the government bureaucracy with entitlement demands. The created crisis provides the impetus to bring about radical political change. …Because these programs are financed with deficit spending, the effect of the Cloward/Piven Strategy becomes doubly destructive. Talk about a perfect storm! The Democrat stimulus plan is a mechanism whose goal is the destruction of the traditional American way of life. It is bitter irony that the American taxpayer will actually fund the destruction of his own ability to live according to the values of our Founding Documents. It is not alarmist to identify this situation as a coup d'etat (emphasis mine). See: http://www.americanthinker.com/2009/02/the_clowardpiven_strategy_of_e.html 4) Senate confirms controversial judge WASHINGTON — The Senate on Thursday confirmed U.S. District Judge David Hamilton for the Chicago-based federal appeals court, approving a nominee targeted by conservatives as a liberal activist. Hamilton was approved on a 59-39 vote and became the eighth of President Barack Obama's judicial nominees to win confirmation. He is the third confirmed for a U.S. appeals court, which is usually the last stop for federal court cases. Republican senators — backed by their conservative allies outside Congress — had blocked a vote for five months until Democrats overcame a filibuster last Tuesday with a 70-29 vote. …Republicans attacked Hamilton's rulings and his work in the distant past for two liberal organizations: the American Civil Liberties Union in Indiana; and as a fundraiser over two months for the Association of Community Organizations for Reform Now, or ACORN, the troubled group that is under fire from Republicans on Capitol Hill. See: http://www.google.com/hostednews/ap/article/ALeqM5grQHSwLPcLkQZhThfU7x8m6vToTwD9C2R9KG0

9/11 conspirator spared death penalty; Gitmo inmates in IL?; Another radical judge

And what country can preserve its liberties, if its rulers are not warned from time to time, that this people preserve the spirit of resistance? Let them take arms. The remedy is to set them right as to the facts, pardon and pacify them. What signify a few lives lost in a century or two? The tree of liberty must be refreshed from time to time, with the blood of patriots and tyrants. - Thomas Jefferson 1) First US trial of 9/11 case was full of surprises …Prosecutors were surprised when they failed to get the death penalty — by the vote of one juror. …Moussaoui was charged in December 2001 with conspiracy for his role. The case churned through years of pretrial hearings and appeals as judges sought to balance national security with Moussaoui's constitutional rights, often over what evidence could be used. Constitutional rights? What idiot wrote this story? Only citizens have constitutional rights, not prisoners of war! …Documents later introduced at trial showed Moussaoui and Mohammed were well acquainted and Mohammed told interrogators he planned to use Moussaoui as a pilot for a second wave of hijacked jetliner attacks — plans that were eventually aborted. …Eventually, in 2005, Moussaoui pleaded guilty to conspiring with the Sept. 11 hijackers. Under the complex rules for federal death penalty cases, a separate sentencing trial was held in 2006 to determine whether Moussaoui would lose his life or spend the rest of it in prison. In the first phase, jurors concluded Moussaoui's actions were eligible for the death penalty, but in the second phase they spared his life — thanks to a lone holdout juror. See: http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20091118/ap_on_re_us/us_terror_trial_lessons 1a) Holder's Hidden Agenda …Today's announcement that KSM and other top al-Qaeda terrorists will be transferred to Manhattan federal court for civilian trials neatly fits this hidden agenda. Nothing results in more disclosures of government intelligence than civilian trials. They are a banquet of information, not just at the discovery stage but in the trial process itself, where witnesses — intelligence sources — must expose themselves and their secrets. Let's take stock of where we are at this point. KSM and his confederates wanted to plead guilty and have their martyrs' execution last December, when they were being handled by military commission. As I said at the time, we could and should have accommodated them. The Obama administration could still accommodate them. After all, the president has not pulled the plug on all military commissions: Holder is going to announce at least one commission trial (for Nashiri, the Cole bomber) today. Moreover, KSM has no defense. He was under American indictment for terrorism for years before there ever was a 9/11, and he can't help himself but brag about the atrocities he and his fellow barbarians have carried out. So: We are now going to have a trial that never had to happen for defendants who have no defense. And when defendants have no defense for their own actions, there is only one thing for their lawyers to do: put the government on trial in hopes of getting the jury (and the media) spun up over government errors, abuses and incompetence. That is what is going to happen in the trial of KSM et al. It will be a soapbox for al-Qaeda's case against America. Since that will be their "defense," the defendants will demand every bit of information they can get about interrogations, renditions, secret prisons, undercover operations targeting Muslims and mosques, etc., and — depending on what judge catches the case — they are likely to be given a lot of it. The administration will be able to claim that the judge, not the administration, is responsible for the exposure of our defense secrets. And the circus will be played out for all to see — in the middle of the war. It will provide endless fodder for the transnational Left to press its case that actions taken in America's defense are violations of international law that must be addressed by foreign courts. And the intelligence bounty will make our enemies more efficient at killing us (emphasis mine). See: http://corner.nationalreview.com/post/?q=NTVkN2ZhMTU0NzcwYWVmYTNmODI1ZTJjMTA1ZDFiODQ 1b) How Obama is Bringing Martial Law to America Until the Obama administration overturned two centuries of precedence, America had two systems of justice, the civil and the military. The military system played a very small and focused role. It served rough justice in the chaos of war and in places like the open sea in which no nation’s law governed. …For over two hundred years we were careful to keep a firewall between civil and martial law. We did so because civil and martial law are polar opposites. Civil law is focused on protecting the rights of the accused against the overwhelming power of the state. When there is doubt, the accused walks free. Martial law is focused on imposing a minimal order on bloody chaos. It was focused on allowing the military to complete its mission and win wars. When there is doubt, the accused is presumed guilty. …Our system of justice relies on precedent and equality of procedure. The same rules apply to every civil trail. We can’t say that it’s okay to deny the right against self-incrimination in one person’s trial while saying it’s okay in another. If the courts overturn the rights of one individual accused, it must overturn the rights of all of them. Nothing good will come of this trial. If it is conducted outside the bounds of normal civil law, it will be nothing but a corrupt show trial whose outcome was preordained by politicians. Instead of showing the world that America is a land of laws in which even our enemies receive fair treatment, it will show the world the opposite. If it is conducted within the bounds of normal civil law, then it will force the courts to choose between letting a mass murdering terrorist walk free and setting dangerous legal precedents that will undermine the basic civil rights of all Americans. Obama has unleashed something in America far, far more dangerous than any excesses Bush might have committed. He has taken all the horrible compromises we must make in war and driven them into the heart of the civil legal system. If the courts do not set Khalid Sheikh Mohammed free, the cancer of martial law will metastasize into the entire justice system. See: http://chicagoboyz.net/archives/10193.html 2) Official: Illinois prison eyed for Gitmo inmates CHICAGO – The Obama administration may buy a near-empty prison in rural northwestern Illinois to house detainees from Guantanamo Bay along with federal inmates, a White House official said Saturday. The maximum-security Thomson Correctional Facility, about 150 miles west of Chicago, was one of several evaluated by the Federal Bureau of Prisons, and emerged as a leading option to house the detainees, the official told The Associated Press on condition of anonymity because a decision has not been made. See: http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20091115/ap_on_re_us/us_illinois_prison_obama 3) Another Radical Judge Federal Bench: Yet another judicial nominee seeks to impose the "empathy" standard on the courts. He thinks judges should base rulings on a plaintiff's status, legislate from the bench and amend the Constitution. Indiana federal judge David Hamilton stands poised to be confirmed by the U.S. Senate to assume a seat on the 7th Circuit Court of Appeals serving Illinois, Indiana and Wisconsin. He's a former fundraiser for Acorn and a former leader of the Indiana chapter of the American Civil Liberties Union. He is also another in a series of activist judges who believe the U.S. Constitution is not etched in stone but made of clay, ready to be molded into anything they want. He shares the beliefs of Supreme Court Justice Sonia Sotomayor and Edward Chen, nominee for the Northern District of California, that laws can be made from the bench and that empathy, not original intent, should be a judge's guide. "Part of our job here as judges is to write a series of footnotes to the Constitution," Hamilton says. "We all do that every year in cases large and small." …After Hamilton blocked the enforcement of Indiana's informed consent abortion law, the Seventh Circuit disagreed, saying: "No court anywhere in the country ... has held any similar law invalid in the years since (the Supreme Court ruled in Planned Parenthood vs.) Casey. Indiana is entitled to put the law into effect and have that law judged by its own consequences." …Judges such as Hamilton, Chen and Sotomayor believe the courts should be used as instruments of social justice and not to discern the intent of those who wrote the U.S. Constitution. They believe their "life experience" should be the final arbiter of justice. We don't believe Hamilton deserves a promotion any more than Chen does or Sotomayor did. See: http://www.marklevinshow.com/goout.asp?u=http://www.investors.com/NewsAndAnalysis/Article.aspx?id=512030 3a) Reid speeds confirmation of anti-Jesus, pro-abortion judge Obama nominee claimed primary job to 'write footnotes in the Constitution' Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nev., announced his plans to move forward as early as Monday with a confirmation vote on the pro-abortion appeals court nominee who ruled against praying "in Jesus' name" on the floor of the Indiana Legislature. Reid said he plans to pursue a cloture process that would force a Senate vote on U.S. District Court Judge David Hamilton's nomination to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 7th Circuit if 60 senators vote for cloture. Republicans have attempted to block a vote on Hamilton's nomination. Alabama Sen. Jeff Sessions, the top Republican on the Senate Judiciary Committee, and Sen. James Inhofe, R-Okla., called for a filibuster in April and May. Sessions recently sent a letter to several Republican legislators in opposition to Hamilton, warning that in more than a few instances, he "has used his position as a district court judge to drive a political agenda." Sessions said Hamilton declared in a 2003 speech that a judge's primary job is "write footnotes in the Constitution" and said he believes "empathy" should sway a judge's decisions. See: http://www.wnd.com/index.php?fa=PAGE.view&pageId=115858 4) UN: Once-secret Iran nuke plant to start in 2011 VIENNA – Iranian construction of a previously secret uranium enrichment site is at an advanced stage, with high-tech equipment already in place at the fortified facility ahead of its 2011 startup, the International Atomic Energy Agency said in a report Monday. The revelation of the existence of the underground plant known as Fordo, near the holy city of Qom, has heightened concerns of other possible undeclared Iranian facilities that are not subject to IAEA oversight and therefore could be used for military purposes. See: http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20091117/ap_on_re_mi_ea/iran_nuclear 5) White House: Israeli housing plans dismaying WASHINGTON – The White House rebuked Israel with heavy criticism Tuesday after the Jerusalem city government moved toward the construction of 900 additional housing units in a Jewish neighborhood in East Jerusalem, which Palestinians claim for the capital of their future state. See: http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20091118/ap_on_go_pr_wh/us_us_israel 5a) Obama green-lights Arab land grab But Israel threatens retaliation if U.N. approves Palestinian state TEL AVIV – A top Palestinian Authority negotiator told WND that the Obama administration won't stand in the way of a Palestinian threat to unilaterally ask the United Nations to recognize a Palestinian state outside of negotiations with Israel. Despite widespread assumptions the U.S. would veto any such U.N. Security Council resolution, the PA negotiator said that in initial discussions, the Obama administration did not threaten to veto their conceptual unilateral resolution. "The U.S. told us that they prefer a negotiated settlement with Israel, but if we (Palestinians) insist on a resolution, the Americans will not necessarily reject it," the PA negotiator said. "The U.S. has a history of never before vetoing any UN move to create a new state," the negotiator pointed out. Chief Palestinian negotiator Saeb Erekat said yesterday the Palestinians had decided to turn to the U.N. Security Council to unilaterally declare a Palestinian state in the Gaza Strip, West Bank and eastern Jerusalem. See: http://www.wnd.com/index.php?fa=PAGE.view&pageId=116154

Pelosi: Jail for no health insurance is "fair"; Purging GOP civil servants; Hoffman may have won 23

1) Pelosi: Jail for Those Who Refuse to Buy Health Insurance is "Fair" RUSH: This is last Monday in Seattle at a Swedish Medical Center press conference. Pelosi spoke to the press. A news reporter, Shomari Stone, said, "Do you think it's fair to send people to jail for not buying health insurance?" PELOSI: For a long time now people who haven't had health care or provided it have placed the burden on others. Everybody is paying the price for uncompensated care. I don't need to tell you that in a hospital. And so what this is is to say we all have to do our part and that is the point of the bill. STONE: But, Madam Speaker, I'm just trying to understand. If you don't buy health insurance, you go to jail? You didn't answer my question. PELOSI: There -- there is, uh, uh -- there is -- I think the legislation is very fair in this respect. RUSH: There you have it. I mean it's not a mistake in there. "What are you in for?" "Yeah, I'm here for rape, incest and murder. What are you here for?" "I didn't buy health insurance." …And don't give me this automobile insurance because not everybody has to buy it. People that don't have cars don't have to buy it, people that don't have driver's licenses and don't drive don't have to buy it and automobile insurance you buy to protect against people that hit you, or that you hit. You're not insuring yourself per se. The analogy just doesn't work. So yesterday in Washington, the Speaker of the House continued speaking to the press and described her health care bill as such. See: http://www.rushlimbaugh.com/home/daily/site_111209/content/01125110.guest.html 2) Obama Administration Intends to Purge Republicans From the Civil Service Via Instapundit comes word that the federal government’s Office of Personnel Management (OPM) intends to purge the federal government of Republican civil servants all in the name of purify the federal bureaucracy. …It is a typical Washington process that many political appointees are able to take jobs within the civil service once their political appointment expires — usually at the conclusion of one administration. What often happens as well is Congressional staffers, before an election or shortly thereafter, will move over to the Executive Branch placed into the civil service, in effect, by appointment. So, for example, when George Bush became President in 2001, a number of Clinton political appointees became civil service employees. As a result, they became subject to civil service hiring and firing rules, which meant they could no longer be replaced simply for having been a Democratic appointee. Barack Obama is changing that. He intends to purge all Republicans from the federal bureaucracy retroactive to five years ago. Under his new rules, made retroactive for five years, the Office of Personnel Management will examine civil service employees who got their start as political appointees in the Bush administration and terminate those employees. The order is retroactive to 2004, that moment when a number of Republican congressional staffers and others sought to embed into the second Bush administration right after the election. …The memorandum goes on to apply this change to civil servants who were political appointees in the last five years, in effect freezing these employees out of other positions, denying them promotions, and forcing them out of their jobs. No one is allowed to stand in the way of Barack Obama’s agenda, including his own bureaucracy. This is what happens in third world kleptocracies and totalitarian regimes. This is scary stuff. Just for perspective: remember the Democrats threatened to throw Bush administration people in jail for firing United States Attorneys who happened to be Democrats. In that case, it was clear as crystal that U.S. Attorneys serve at the pleasure of the President and he can fire them whenever he wants. In this case, these people are now civil service employees who do not serve at the pleasure of the President and cannot be fired just because they are Republicans. in fact, the law is very clear on that point. See: http://www.redstate.com/erick/2009/11/12/obama-administration-intends-to-purge-republicans-from-the-civil-service/ 3) A Curious Subpoena Big Brother: The Justice Department wants an online news site to hand over its visitor list. Why? No one's quite sure yet. But if this is just a fishing expedition by the government, it's a troubling precedent. The unusual request for information, delivered via a grand jury subpoena to Philadelphia-based Indymedia.us, also demanded that the Web site "not ... disclose the existence of this request," unless the Justice Department approves it. For those who don't know, Indymedia is a far-left news aggregation site run by the Independent Media Center, not exactly known for its moderation either in content or tone. That said, we wonder what could be behind such a sweeping government attempt to search a journalistic organization's files? According to new reports, the subpoena from U.S. Attorney Tim Morrison in Indianapolis sought "all IP traffic to and from" the Web site for the day of June 25, 2008. It went much deeper than that, however. It also sought Internet addresses and "any other identifying information" of those who contacted the Web site — including e-mail addresses, home addresses, online accounts, Social Security numbers, and bank account and credit card numbers (emphasis mine). So much for privacy. The subpoena, we're told, has since been withdrawn. Someone, perhaps Morrison, had second thoughts. Still, the sweeping nature of the requests and the threat to prosecute Indymedia if it so much as revealed even the existence of the subpoena raises questions. See: http://www.investors.com/NewsAndAnalysis/Article.aspx?id=511955 4) Winning margin in NY House 23 race tightens ALBANY, N.Y. – The special election last week for the 23rd Congressional District seat in New York may not be over after all. Though Conservative candidate Doug Hoffman conceded and Democrat Bill Owens was sworn into Congress last week, the routine recanvassing of votes shows Owens' lead has narrowed to 3,026 votes, with about 5,800 absentee ballots received so far that have yet to be counted. The final outcome rests on uncounted absentee ballots, and more than 10,000 were sent out. See: http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20091113/ap_on_re_us/us_ny_special_election

4a) Recanvassing shows NY-23 race tightens even as Rep. Bill Owens is sworn into House seat

Washington -- Conservative Doug Hoffman conceded the race in the 23rd Congressional District last week after receiving two pieces of grim news for his campaign: He was down 5,335 votes with 93 percent of the vote counted on election night, and he had barely won his stronghold in Oswego County. As it turns out, neither was true. But Hoffman’s concession -- based on snafus in Oswego County and elsewhere that left his vote undercounted -- set off a chain of events that echoed all the way to Washington, D.C., and helped secure passage of a historic health care reform bill. Democratic Rep. Bill Owens was quickly sworn into office on Friday, a day before the rare weekend vote in the House of Representatives. His support sealed his party’s narrow victory on the health care legislation. Now a recanvassing in the 11-county district shows that Owens’ lead has narrowed to 3,026 votes over Hoffman, 66,698 to 63,672, according to the latest unofficial results from the state Board of Elections. In Oswego County, where Hoffman was reported to lead by only 500 votes with 93 percent of the vote counted election night, inspectors found Hoffman actually won by 1,748 votes -- 12,748 to 11,000. …Before Owens was sworn in Friday, Rep. John Garamendi, a Democrat who won a special election in California, was sworn in Thursday. The two gave Pelosi the votes she needed to reach a majority of 218 and pass the historic health care reform legislation in the House. The bill passed 220-215 late Saturday with the support of only one Republican. The Republican, Rep. Anh "Joseph" Cao of Louisiana, said he voted for the legislation only after seeing that Democrats had the 218 votes needed for passage. …Jerry Eaton, the Republican elections commissioner for Jefferson County, said inspectors found a problem in four districts where Hoffman’s vote total was mistakenly entered as zero. See: http://www.syracuse.com/news/index.ssf/2009/11/its_not_over_recanvassing_shows_ny23_race.html 5) Report: 10 states face looming budget disasters SACRAMENTO, Calif. – In Arizona, the budget has grown so gloomy that lawmakers are considering mortgaging Capitol buildings. In Michigan, state officials dealing with the nation's highest unemployment rate are slashing spending on schools and health care. Drastic financial remedies are no longer limited to California, where a historic budget crisis earlier this year grew so bad that state agencies issued IOUs to pay bills. A study released Wednesday warned that at least nine other big states are also barreling toward economic disaster, raising the likelihood of higher taxes, more government layoffs and deep cuts in services. The report by the Pew Center on the States found that Arizona, Florida, Illinois, Michigan, Nevada, New Jersey, Oregon, Rhode Island and Wisconsin are also at grave risk. Double-digit budget gaps, rising unemployment, high foreclosure rates and built-in budget constraints are the key reasons. …• Illinois, which has run deficits every year since 2001, is facing an $11.7 billion budget gap for its next fiscal year, beginning in July, according to the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities. Pew's Government Performance Project ranked Illinois behind only California and Rhode Island for its lack of fiscal management on paying medical bills and pension liabilities. Congratulations, Illinois! See: http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20091111/ap_on_re_us/us_state_budgets 6) Dare to Call It Terrorism (or, here’s my suggested headline: It’s NOT A RELIGION OF PEACE) …Sure, Osama bin Laden & Co. accurately quote Islamic scriptural injunctions to wage jihad against non-Muslims. But never mind that: Islam is an irenic, unmitigated good; in fact, it is one of our best weapons against terrorism. Come again? If all the terrorists are Muslims and all the terrorists say scriptures that plainly command killing are inspiring them to kill, how could Islam be an asset? Don’t go spoiling a feel-good theory by asking a lot of questions — that would be almost like an investigation, and when it comes to Islam, the FBI doesn’t do investigation. If it did, it might stumble onto all sorts of things we’d just as soon not know. We’d have to start acknowledging that Salafist ideology (the strain of Islam endorsed by the Muslim Brotherhood and Sunni terrorist organizations) is prevalent in American mosques. We’d have to concede that beliefs we optimistically call “radical” are actually quite mainstream among American Muslims and predominant among Muslims overseas — including the beliefs that sharia (the law of Islam) should govern the United States, that Muslims must resist American military and law-enforcement operations against other Muslims, that the U.S. military presence in Islamic countries renders American soldiers and those who support them legitimate targets of jihadist terror, and that Israel, America’s democratic ally in the Middle East, should not exist. Obviously, this reality of Islam defies the government’s wishful fiction. So the FBI doesn’t do Islam. It does politics. And if you’re going to do politics, you can’t do preventive counterterrorism of the kind the FBI, the Justice Department, the Homeland Security Department, the intelligence community, and the rest of Leviathan promised to do right after 9/11. See: http://article.nationalreview.com/?q=YTI1Yjc2MjBmMWUzY2I1Y2ZlZWQ5NGZiNmNlNTk4ZDE 7) Feds move to seize 4 mosques, tower linked to Iran NEW YORK – Federal prosecutors took steps Thursday to seize four U.S. mosques and a Fifth Avenue skyscraper owned by a nonprofit Muslim organization long suspected of being secretly controlled by the Iranian government. In what could prove to be one of the biggest counterterrorism seizures in U.S. history, prosecutors filed a civil complaint in federal court against the Alavi Foundation, seeking the forfeiture of more than $500 million in assets. The assets include bank accounts; Islamic centers consisting of schools and mosques in New York City, Maryland, California and Houston; more than 100 acres in Virginia; and a 36-story glass office tower in New York. Confiscating the properties would be a sharp blow against Iran, which has been accused by the U.S. government of bankrolling terrorism and trying to build a nuclear bomb. See: http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20091113/ap_on_re_us/us_mosque_forfeiture 8) Obama to attack guns as public-health threat? 2nd Amendment advocates worry over opinions of OSHA nominee Second Amendment advocates are expressing alarm that the most significant attack on gun rights across the United States in years soon could come in the form of a workplace "safety" regulation under President Obama's nominee to run the federal Occupational Safety and Health Administration. Obama has nominated David Michaels, a George Washington University professor and the chief of the Project on Scientific Knowledge and Public Policy, which reportedly partially is funded by George Soros. "The controversial OSHA nominee and left-leaning public health advocate also seems to have strong views on firearms," wrote Walter Olson at Overlawyered.com. "That's by no means irrelevant to the agenda of an agency like OSHA, because once you start viewing private gun ownership as a public health menace, it begins to seem logical to use the powers of government to urge or even require employers to forbid workers from possessing guns on company premises, up to and including parking lots, ostensibly for the protection of co-workers." See: http://www.wnd.com/index.php?fa=PAGE.view&pageId=115720

Buy health insurance or go to jail; Obama: Conservatives are 'extremists'; Jihadists fill every branch

Your president has immense respect for you: “Does anybody think that the teabag, anti-government people are going to support them if they bring down health care? All it will do is confuse and dispirit [Democratic voters] and it will encourage the extremists.” - Barack Hussein Obama. Mmm Mmm Mmm. 1) What the Pelosi Health-Care Bill Really Says The health bill that House Speaker Nancy Pelosi is bringing to a vote (H.R. 3962) is 1,990 pages. Here are some of the details you need to know. What the government will require you to do: • Sec. 202 (p. 91-92) of the bill requires you to enroll in a "qualified plan." If you get your insurance at work, your employer will have a "grace period" to switch you to a "qualified plan," meaning a plan designed by the Secretary of Health and Human Services. If you buy your own insurance, there's no grace period. You'll have to enroll in a qualified plan as soon as any term in your contract changes, such as the co-pay, deductible or benefit. • Sec. 224 (p. 118) provides that 18 months after the bill becomes law, the Secretary of Health and Human Services will decide what a "qualified plan" covers and how much you'll be legally required to pay for it. That's like a banker telling you to sign the loan agreement now, then filling in the interest rate and repayment terms 18 months later (emphasis mine). On Nov. 2, the Congressional Budget Office estimated what the plans will likely cost. An individual earning $44,000 before taxes who purchases his own insurance will have to pay a $5,300 premium and an estimated $2,000 in out-of-pocket expenses, for a total of $7,300 a year, which is 17% of his pre-tax income (emphasis mine). A family earning $102,100 a year before taxes will have to pay a $15,000 premium plus an estimated $5,300 out-of-pocket, for a $20,300 total, or 20% of its pre-tax income. Individuals and families earning less than these amounts will be eligible for subsidies paid directly to their insurer. …• Sec. 59b (pp. 297-299) says that when you file your taxes, you must include proof that you are in a qualified plan. If not, you will be fined thousands of dollars. Illegal immigrants are exempt from this requirement (emphasis mine). …• Sec. 1302 (pp. 672-692) moves Medicare from a fee-for-service payment system, in which patients choose which doctors to see and doctors are paid for each service they provide, toward what's called a "medical home." The medical home is this decade's version of HMO-restrictions on care. A primary-care provider manages access to costly specialists and diagnostic tests for a flat monthly fee. The bill specifies that patients may have to settle for a nurse practitioner rather than a physician as the primary-care provider. Medical homes begin with demonstration projects, but the HHS secretary is authorized to "disseminate this approach rapidly on a national basis." And that’s only the beginning. See: http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052748704795604574519671055918380.html 1a) Don’t buy health insurance? Go to jail! RUSH: Oh, and the "Ranking Member of the House Ways and Means Committee Dave Camp (R-MI) released a letter from the non-partisan Joint Committee on Taxation (JCT) confirming that the failure to comply with the individual mandate to buy health insurance contained in the Pelosi health care bill (H.R. 3962, as amended) could land people in jail. The JCT letter makes clear that Americans who do not maintain 'acceptable health insurance coverage' and who choose not to pay the bill’s new individual mandate tax (generally 2.5% of income), are subject to numerous civil and criminal penalties, including criminal fines of up to $250,000 and imprisonment of up to five years. In response to the JCT letter, Camp said: 'This is the ultimate example of the Democrats’ command-and-control style of governing -- buy what we tell you or go to jail. It is outrageous and it should be stopped immediately.'" You go to jail if you don't buy the proper amount of insurance. See: http://www.rushlimbaugh.com/home/daily/site_110909/content/01125107.guest.html 1b) Morning Bell: Who is the President Calling “Extremist?” Following last Tuesday’s election, the last thing Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) wanted to do was allow Members of Congress to go home and talk to their constituents about the $2.6 trillion health care bill she was marshaling through Congress. The centerpiece of Pelosi’s trap and pressure campaign was a Saturday address by President Barack Obama in the Cannon Office Building, where Obama warned Democrats: “Does anybody think that the teabag, anti-government people are going to support them if they bring down health care? All it will do is confuse and dispirit [Democratic voters] and it will encourage the extremists.” The extremists. That is how the President of the Unites States describes Americans who do not want to see the federal government control over half of all health care spending. And just who are some of these extremists? Looking over just today’s papers we find: -Newsweek’s Fareed Zakaria: “Obama’s message to the country appears to be, “We have a dysfunctional health-care system with out-of-control costs, and let’s add 45 million people to it.” Americans see a health-care bill that has been produced by the old Democratic machine rather than the new Democratic technocrats — more Lyndon Johnson than Larry Summers. It might be the only way to get a law passed, and it might please the party’s base, but it will dismay independents.” -The Washington Post’s Fred Hiatt: “Health-care reform should not add to the deficit. It should control health-care costs. And, once reform is passed, the government will get serious about deficit reduction. Unfortunately, the House bill fails his first test.” -Sen. Joe Lieberman (I-CT): “If the public option plan is in there, as a matter of conscience, I will not allow this bill to come to a final vote.” See: http://blog.heritage.org/2009/11/09/morning-bell-who-is-the-president-calling-extremist/ 1c) Tears, tempers fly in Nancy Pelosi's campaign …The beneficiary of this impasse was Stupak, an outspoken abortion-rights opponent (notice the “spin” here. As if it is a “right” to murder another human being) whom the leadership had tried to circumvent, in order to pick up the votes he claimed to represent. After months of stalemate, the speaker was forced to accept language Stupak first drafted over the summer that would bar anyone receiving a federal subsidy from purchasing a private plan that covers elective abortion. In addition, under Stupak, the public plans would not be allowed to offer abortion coverage prohibited under the Hyde amendment. While I commend Stupak, from a practical standpoint, this is meaningless. Abortion coverage WILL be in the final bill. See: http://www.politico.com/news/stories/1109/29305_Page2.html 1d) Senior Democrat is 'confident' that Stupak amendment will be stripped A House Democratic leader said Monday she's “confident” controversial language on abortion will be stripped from a final healthcare bill. …“I am confident that when it comes back from the conference committee that that language won't be there,” Wasserman Schultz said during an appearance on MSNBC. “And I think we're all going to be working very hard, particularly the pro-choice members, to make sure that's the case.” See: http://thehill.com/blogs/blog-briefing-room/news/66969-senior-dem-confident-stupak-amendment-will-be-stripped 2) Obama's Frightening Insensitivity Following Shooting President Obama didn't wait long after Tuesday's devastating elections to give critics another reason to question his leadership, but this time the subject matter was more grim than a pair of governorships. After news broke out of the shooting at the Fort Hood Army post in Texas, the nation watched in horror as the toll of dead and injured climbed. The White House was notified immediately and by late afternoon, word went out that the president would speak about the incident prior to a previously scheduled appearance. At about 5 p.m., cable stations went to the president. The situation called for not only his trademark eloquence, but also grace and perspective. But instead of a somber chief executive offering reassuring words and expressions of sympathy and compassion, viewers saw a wildly disconnected and inappropriately light president making introductory remarks. At the event, a Tribal Nations Conference hosted by the Department of Interior's Bureau of Indian affairs, the president thanked various staffers and offered a "shout-out" to "Dr. Joe Medicine Crow -- that Congressional Medal of Honor winner." Three minutes in, the president spoke about the shooting, in measured and appropriate terms. Who is advising him? Anyone at home aware of the major news story of the previous hours had to have been stunned. An incident like this requires a scrapping of the early light banter. The president should apologize for the tone of his remarks, explain what has happened, express sympathy for those slain and appeal for calm and patience until all the facts are in. That's the least that should occur. See: http://www.nbcchicago.com/news/politics/A-Disconnected-President.html 2a) Officials: U.S. Army Told of Hasan's Contacts with al Qaeda U.S. intelligence agencies were aware months ago that Army Major Nidal Malik Hasan was attempting to make contact with people associated with al Qaeda, two American officials briefed on classified material in the case told ABC News. According to the officials, the Army was informed of Hasan's contact, but it is unclear what, if anything, the Army did in response. …Investigators want to know if Hasan maintained contact with a radical mosque leader from Virginia, Anwar al Awlaki, who now lives in Yemen and runs a web site that promotes jihad around the world against the U.S. In a blog posting early Monday titled "Nidal Hassan Did the Right Thing," Awlaki calls Hasan a "hero" and a "man of conscience who could not bear living the contradiction of being a Muslim and serving in an army that is fighting against his own people." According to his site, Awlaki served as an imam in Denver, San Diego and Falls Church, Virginia. The Associated Press reported Sunday that Major Hasan attended the Falls Church mosque when Awlaki was there. The Telegraph of London reported that Awlaki had made contact with two of the 9/11 hijackers when he was in San Diego. He denied any knowledge of the hijacking plot and was never charged with any crime. After an intensive investigation by the FBI , Awlaki moved to Yemen. See: http://abcnews.go.com/m/screen?id=9030873 2b) Report: Suspect pushed Islam on patients

Co-worker says Nidal Hasan was disciplined for proselytizing

The Muslim Army psychiatrist who allegedly opened fire on fellow soldiers at Fort Hood and killed 13 aggressively pushed Islam on his patients to the point he was disciplined over the issue, according to a report today. See: http://www.wnd.com/index.php?fa=PAGE.view&pageId=115231

2c) Fort Hood gunman had told US military colleagues that infidels should have their throats cut

Major Nidal Malik Hasan, the gunman who killed 13 at America's Fort Hood military base, once gave a lecture to other doctors in which he said non-believers should be beheaded and have boiling oil poured down their throats. He also told colleagues at America's top military hospital that non-Muslims were infidels condemned to hell who should be set on fire. The outburst came during an hour-long talk Hasan, an Army psychiatrist, gave on the Koran in front of dozens of other doctors at Walter Reed Army Medical Centre in Washington DC, where he worked for six years before arriving at Fort Hood in July. Colleagues had expected a discussion on a medical issue but were instead given an extremist interpretation of the Koran, which Hasan appeared to believe. …One of Hasan's neighbours described how on the day of the massacre, about 9am, he gave her a Koran and told her: "I'm going to do good work for God" before leaving for the base. A civilian police officer who shot him, bringing the rampage to an end, said Hasan appeared "calm" during the massacre, hiding behind a telephone pole and shooting fellow soldiers in the back as they tried to get away (emphasis mine). See: http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/northamerica/usa/6526030/Fort-Hood-gunman-had-told-US-military-colleagues-that-infidels-should-have-their-throats-cut.html 2d )Military jihadists fill 'every branch' Ultimate 5th column penetration, warns best-selling 'Muslim Mafia' "Muslims should stand up and fight the aggressor." That's what Army Maj. Nidal Malik Hasan said about America before he and possibly other Muslim soldiers at Fort Hood shot 43 fellow soldiers, killing 12, who were returning from Iraq and Afghanistan. "He said Muslims had a right to attack" the U.S., said Col. Terry Lee, who worked with Hasan at the Texas post, where the devout Sunni Muslim refused deployment. "He said Muslims shouldn't be fighting Muslims," he added. "He was very clear on that." Shockingly, a growing number of other Muslim American soldiers as well as civilian contractors have put their religion before their duty. Some like Hasan have killed, or tried to kill, their fellow soldiers. Others have infiltrated the military in order to undermine it and aid and comfort the enemy. According to an explosive new book, "Muslim Mafia: Inside the Secret Underworld That's Conspiring to Islamize America," Hasan is just the tip of a jihadist Fifth Column operating within the ranks of the U.S. military – which is too blinded by political correctness to see the threat. Quoting from a classified military briefing, "Muslim Mafia" reveals that this Fifth Column has penetrated "every branch of the U.S. military." The Islamist enemy has even infiltrated the al-Qaida detention camp at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba. Security officials at Gitmo have been investigating a possible new spy ring involving several "dirty" Arabic linguists who are accused among other things of: -omitting valuable intelligence from their translations of detainee interrogations; -slipping notes to detainees inside copies of the Quran; -coaching detainees to make allegations of abuse against interrogators; and -meeting with suspects on the terrorist watchlist while traveling back in the United States. More than 75 former Gitmo detainees have returned to the battlefield or anti-American jihad (emphasis mine). Some met with the suspect Muslim translators. Others were privately counseled by chaplains also under investigation for security breaches. See: http://www.wnd.com/index.php?fa=PAGE.view&pageId=115218 3) Who's watching the watchers? Feds ramp up plans for new electronic security centers The Department of Homeland Security and the National Security Agency both recently announced plans for huge new electronic security centers that could monitor, sort and archive e-mails, telephone calls and other intercepted communications. But critics wonder just who is watching the watchers. "The director of the NSA is in charge of an organization three times the size of the CIA and empowered in 2008 by Congress to spy on Americans to an unprecedented degree," said James Bamford, author of the recently published book about the NSA, "The Shadow Factory." He told WND the agency's ability to deal with cybersecurity and other communications is enormous. "In 2008, the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court loosened its control on the NSA and allowed for warrantless eavesdropping," he said. "Congressional oversight is very weak. A whistleblower for AT&T reported that AT&T has switch rooms in several parts of the country. "And it wasn't Congress that found out about the extensive warrantless eavesdropping; it was a couple reporters," he said. …The Department of Homeland Security also recently announced, via Secretary Janet Napolitano, that a new complex planned in Arlington, Va., will mean more security coordination. "Securing America's cyber infrastructure requires a coordinated and flexible system to detect threats and communicate protective measures to our federal, state, local and private sector partners and the public," Napolitano's announcement said. …At virtually the same time, Deputy Director for Intelligence Collection Glenn Gaffney announced the groundbreaking of the NSA's Camp Williams, Utah, facility that is to "provide intelligence and warnings related to cybersecurity threats, cybersecurity support to defense and civilian agency networks, and technical assistance to the Department of Homeland Security." "The NSA didn't have these facilities a few years ago, but they do now," continued Bamford. "The question is, 'Why do they need them now when they didn't need them a few years ago?' See: http://www.wnd.com/index.php?fa=PAGE.view&pageId=115541 4) Obama's No. 2 Iran man on Soros-funded council Expected to negotiate with radical regime while serving group opposing sanctions A former U.S. diplomat slated to become the No. 2 Iran official at the State Department serves on the board of a controversial Iran council that has argued against imposing sanctions on Tehran and has received funding from groups tied to billionaire George Soros. John Limbert, a former ambassador to Mauritania, reportedly was appointed to serve as deputy assistant secretary for Iran in the Bureau of Near Eastern Affairs. State Department sources were quoted by Politico saying Limbert would play an active role in negotiations with Iran, working with Undersecretary of State for Political Affairs William Burns. But Ed Lasky, writing at American Thinker, points out that Limbert also serves on the National Iranian American Council's advisory board. NIAC describes itself as advancing the interests of the Iranian-American community. It has been accused of largely toeing the line of the Iranian regime. See: http://www.wnd.com/index.php?fa=PAGE.view&pageId=115445 5) Unborn baby 'fighting for its life' during abortion Ex–Planned Parenthood exec talks about reasons for quitting industry A former affiliate director for Planned Parenthood, the nation's largest abortion provider, says she decided she could no longer be part of the industry after she watched an ultrasound of a baby being aborted and realized it was fighting for its life. Abby Johnson, who resigned as director of a Texas Planned Parenthood branch, now is the target of a restraining order sought by the organization. In an earlier interview with WND, Johnson told of Planned Parenthood's abortion quotas, which she said were needed to generate revenue for the organization. "We'd have a goal every month for abortion clients and for family planning clients," she said. Johnson, 29, said the Bryan, Texas, Planned Parenthood clinic performed surgical abortions every other Saturday, but it began expanding access to abortion to increase earnings. "Abortion is the most lucrative part of Planned Parenthood's operations," she said. "Even though they're two separate corporations, all of the money goes into one pot. With the family planning corporation really suffering, they depend on the abortion corporation to balance their budget, help get them out of the hole and help make income for the company." She continued, "They really wanted to increase the number of abortions so that they could increase their income." Now Planned Parenthood has retaliated against Johnson, filing a restraining order against her because the clinic fears she may leak confidential information. …"For whatever reason I was called in to help. My job was to hold the ultrasound probe on the abdomen," she said. "When I looked at the screen, I saw a baby on the screen. She was about 13 weeks pregnant at the time. I saw a full side profile. I saw face to feet on the ultrasound. "I saw the probe going into the woman's uterus. At that moment I saw the baby moving, trying to get away from the probe," she continued. "I thought, 'It's fighting for its life.' I thought, 'It's life. It's alive.' "I dropped the ultrasound probe. I scrambled and put [the probe] back in place. So many things were going through my mind. I was thinking about my daughter, who's three," she said. "I was just thinking, 'What am I doing here? What am I doing here? There was life in here and now there's not.'" See: http://www.wnd.com/index.php?fa=PAGE.view&pageId=115476 6) Gen. Casey Lends Sway to Request for Troops WASHINGTON -- The Army's top general, who has long raised concerns that repeated deployments to Iraq and Afghanistan could damage the military's readiness, said he backed an increase in U.S. forces in Afghanistan. The comments by Gen. George Casey, the Army chief of staff, were the latest sign that the Obama administration is leaning toward dispatching thousands of reinforcements to bolster existing U.S. troops fighting in Afghanistan. "I believe that we need to put additional forces into Afghanistan to give Gen. [Stanley] McChrystal the ability to both dampen the success of the Taliban while we train the Afghan security forces," Gen. Casey said on the NBC News program "Meet the Press," referring to the U.S. commander in Kabul. See: http://online.wsj.com/article/SB125773723953737767.html?mod=WSJ_hpp_MIDDLTopStories 7) Chavez Says Venezuela to Prepare for War as Deterrent (Update3) Nov. 8 (Bloomberg) -- Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez told the military and civil militias today to prepare for war as a deterrent to a U.S.-led attack after American troops gained access to military bases in neighboring Colombia. Chavez said a recently signed agreement that gives American troops access to seven Colombian bases is a direct threat to his oil-exporting country. Colombia has handed over its sovereignty to the U.S. with the deal, he said. “Generals of the armed forces, the best way to avoid a war is to prepare for one,” Chavez said in comments on state television during his weekly “Alo Presidente” program. “Colombia handed over their country and is now another state of the union. Don’t make the mistake of attacking: Venezuela is willing to do anything.” See: http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=newsarchive&sid=aZuAU4StKAQY

Fort Hood was terrorism; Protestors descend on Washington; Senate advances climate change bill

"It does not take a majority to prevail ... but rather an irate, tireless minority, keen on setting brushfires of freedom in the minds of men." --Samuel Adams 1) More evidence that Islam is definitely a religion of peace…Troubling portrait emerges of Fort Hood suspect WASHINGTON – His name appears on radical Internet postings. A fellow officer says he fought his deployment to Iraq and argued with soldiers who supported U.S. wars. He required counseling as a medical student because of problems with patients. There are many unknowns about Nidal Malik Hasan, the man authorities say is responsible for the worst mass killing on a U.S. military base. Most of all, his motive. But details of his life and mindset, emerging from official sources and personal acquaintances from officials, and are troubling. For six years before reporting for duty at Fort Hood, Texas, in July, the 39-year-old Army major worked at the Walter Reed Army Medical Center pursuing his career in psychiatry, as an intern, a resident and, last year, a fellow in disaster and preventive psychiatry. He received his medical degree from the military's Uniformed Services University of the Health Sciences in Bethesda, Md., in 2001. …At least six months ago, Hasan came to the attention of law enforcement officials because of Internet postings about suicide bombings and other threats, including posts that equated suicide bombers to soldiers who throw themselves on a grenade to save the lives of their comrades. They had not determined for certain whether Hasan is the author of the posting, and a formal investigation had not been opened before the shooting, said law enforcement officials who spoke on condition of anonymity because they are not authorized to discuss the case. One of the officials said late Thursday that federal search warrants were being drawn up to authorize the seizure of Hasan's computer. Retired Army Col. Terry Lee, who said he worked with Hasan, told Fox News that Hasan had hoped President Barack Obama would pull troops out of Afghanistan and Iraq. Lee said Hasan got into frequent arguments with others in the military who supported the wars, and had tried hard to prevent his pending deployment. …On a form filled out by those seeking spouses through a program at the mosque, Hasan listed his birthplace as Arlington, Va., but his nationality as Palestinian, Khan said. "I don't know why he listed Palestinian," Khan said, "He was not born in Palestine." See: http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20091106/ap_on_go_ca_st_pe/us_fort_hood_shooting_suspect More on this…A cousin, Nader Hasan, told Fox News Malik Hasan has "always been a Muslim" and was not a convert as had been reported. …Retired Maj. Gen. Robert Scales told Fox News the massacre did not appear to be the act of a mentally ill or extremely stressed person. "This was a deliberate act of execution," he said. See: http://www.wnd.com/index.php?fa=PAGE.view&pageId=115137 1a) Gunman made 'outlandish' comments about foreign policy 'He said, precisely, that maybe the Muslims should stand up and fight against the aggressor' See: http://www.breitbart.tv/co-worker-ft-hood-gunman-made-outlandish-comments-condemning-us-foreign-policy/ 2) 'Kill the bill' protesters target health care WASHINGTON – Chanting "Kill the bill," thousands of conservatives incensed over the Democrats' health care overhaul protested at the Capitol on Thursday, arguing that the legislation amounts to a government takeover of the nation's medical system. The crowd, invited on national television by Rep. Michele Bachmann, R-Minn., was staunchly anti-government — "Politicians lie, people die," read one sign — but loudly cheered the House Republicans who hosted the event. The protest attracted many of the so-called Tea Party demonstrators angry with increased spending and an expanded government role under the Obama administration. "This bill is the greatest threat to freedom that I have seen," House Republican leader John Boehner of Ohio told the crowd. "We're not going to leave this Hill until we kill this bill," declared Rep. Steve King, R-Iowa. That's highly unlikely. House Democrats hope to pass the sweeping legislation on Saturday, buoyed by endorsements on Thursday from the American Medical Association and the AARP, the powerful seniors lobby. President Barack Obama makes a final appeal to Democrats during a rare visit to the Capitol Friday. …Capitol Police arrested a dozen anti-abortion protesters in the hall outside Pelosi's office in the Cannon House Office Building. See: http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20091106/ap_on_go_co/us_health_overhaul_capitol_rumble 2a) GOP's Boehner: Pelosi plans 'monthly abortion premium' House minority leader says 2,032-page health-care takeover specifies payments U.S. House Minority Leader Rep. John Boehner, R-Ohio, is warning voters across America that the "government takeover of health care" pushed by House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., contains a "monthly abortion premium" for participants of a proposed government insurance company. The issue of abortion funding in the Democratic plan has been contentious, with many moderate Democrats who recognize their constituents oppose mandating taxpayer funding for abortion concerned about the underlying support for the industry in the proposals. Members of the GOP largely have opposed the health-care plan for a multitude of reasons, including abortion funding. Today on his House blog, Boehner said the plan sets up funding for abortion-industry leaders that could include Planned Parenthood. "Health care reform should not be used as an opportunity to use federal funds to pay for elective abortions," Boehner wrote. "Health reform should be an opportunity to protect human life – not end it." But, he said, line 17 of page 110 of Pelosi's 2,032-page plan specifically states, "Abortions for which Public Funding is Allowed." There, Boehner explained, the Health and Human Services Secretary "is given the authority to determine when abortion is allowed under the government-run plan." "What is even more alarming is that a monthly abortion premium will be charged of all enrollees in the government-run plan," Boehner continued. "It's right there on line 16, page 96, section 213, under 'Insurance Rating Rules.' The premium will be paid into a U.S. Treasury account – and these federal funds will be used to pay for the abortion services." See: http://www.wnd.com/index.php?fa=PAGE.view&pageId=115123 2b) Anti-abortion activists arrested at Pelosi's suite WASHINGTON — U.S. Capitol Police have arrested a dozen anti-abortion activists outside House Speaker Nancy Pelosi's office after a massive protest against the Democrats' health care bill. The charges ranged from unlawful conduct to disorderly conduct and unlawful entry in the incident, which happened around 2:15 p.m. EST Thursday outside a second-floor suite in the Cannon House Office Building, Capitol Police spokeswoman Sgt. Kimberly Schneider said. Pelosi's aides said the suite is hers. The speaker also has offices in the Capitol, which is harder to enter to stage a protest. It was unclear whether the group attended the Tea Party protest that ended around that time. But the speaker's staff said those arrested were objecting to language in the health care overhaul that they said would allow federally subsidized abortions. See: http://www.google.com/hostednews/ap/article/ALeqM5hmYVBGgbSpIRUL_SEY4lCkWK5ZEAD9BPKB2O0 2c) Block the Pelosi Health Care Agenda The pro-life issue is all that is standing between Nancy Pelosi and her radical health care legislation. Now, she is attempting to peel away opponents of health care reform by pressuring them to accept a phony pro-life compromise called the Ellsworth Amendment. All this amendment does is create a middle man to handle the federal funding of abortions. Since she is using trickery to prevent debate on abortion funding, pro-life Representatives are forming a coalition to vote down the Rule to prevent any debate on health care reform whatsoever. Urge your Representative to join this coalition. See: http://www.sba-list.org/c.ddJBKJNsFqG/b.5424609/siteapps/advocacy/ActionItem.aspx?aid=13293&msource=c4alerts 2d) Obama's 'army' crashes colleges for health 'reform' Students recruited to lobby Congress in major push for Obamacare President Obama's "grassroots army" has descended upon college campuses, knocking on dorm doors to recruit students and slam lawmakers with phone calls pushing health-care "reform." Obama for America, Obama's 2008 political campaign, merged with the Democratic National Committee in January and is now known as Organizing for America. The grassroots army that some refer to as "Obama 2.0" is hosting a contest to see which college can call the most state and U.S. representatives by the end of November, the Arizona State University campus newspaper reports. According to the report, Arizona OFA Director Jessica Jones said students may win bragging rights and other prizes if they blast legislators with the most calls in favor of health-care legislation. See: http://www.wnd.com/index.php?fa=PAGE.view&pageId=115078 3) The Love Affair is Over: In 2008 Independents Proved They Weren’t Racist by Voting Obama. In 2009, Independents Vote GOP to Prove They Aren’t Socialist. New York’s 23rd Congressional District is, at this writing, too close to call, but it looks like the GOP Establishment’s candidate helped throw the race to the Democrat after the GOP spent $900,000.00 on her. That said, the Democrat’s lead keeps shrinking and there are 10,000 absentee ballots to count. We know for certain that if we combined the Republican and Conservative votes, that team would win. What we do know for sure, from Virginia and New Jersey, is that in elections without the unusual circumstances of NY-23, is that the voters threw out the Democrats big time. …In every state in which Barack Obama campaigned for a candidate, the candidate lost. Too bad he did not make it up to NY-23. See: http://www.redstate.com/erick/2009/11/03/the-love-affair-is-over-in-2008-independents-proved-they-werent-racist-by-voting-obama-in-2010-independents-vote-gop-to-prove-they-arent-socialist/ 4) Senate Democrats advance climate bill without GOP WASHINGTON – Senate Democrats sidestepped a Republican boycott Thursday, pushing a climate bill out of committee in an early step on a long and contentious road to passage. Other committees still must weigh-in on the measure, but the partisan antics early on threatened to cast a pall over the bill — one of President Barack Obama's top priorities — as it makes its way to the Senate floor and as nations prepare to meet in Copenhagen, Denmark next month to hammer out a new international treaty to slow climate change. Sen. Barbara Boxer, chairman of the Senate Environment & Public Works Committee, had delayed the crucial vote for days because of a Republican protest over whether the cost of the legislation had been fully examined. But the California Democrat moved quickly to pass the bill Thursday, which for the first time would set mandatory limits on heat-trapping gases, without any of the seven GOP senators on the panel present. The measure cleared the panel on a 11-1 vote. …Sen. James Inhofe of Oklahoma, the ranking Republican on the committee, implored the panel to not proceed with what he called a "nuclear option" minutes before the vote. He left shortly after making his statement. "We have not been able to find a time when a bill has been marked up without minority participation," Inhofe said. Later, in a statement, Inhofe said the move would signal "the death knell" for the Kerry-Boxer bill. …Now the legislation will be merged with legislation written by at least five other Senate panels. And in the hopes of broadening support, Kerry announced Wednesday he was working with Connecticut independent Joseph Lieberman, South Carolina Republican Lindsey Graham and the White House to secure votes. The House narrowly passed its version of the bill in June. See: http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20091105/ap_on_bi_ge/us_climate_bill And: http://www.reuters.com/article/politicsNews/idUSTRE5A42WB20091105 5) Israel: Commandos seize huge Iranian arms shipment JERUSALEM – Open crates from a cargo ship seized Wednesday by Israel revealed dark green missiles inside. Containers from the vessel bore writing in English that said "I.R. Iranian Shipping Lines Group." Israel alleged that the shipment of hundreds of tons of rockets, missiles, mortars, grenades and anti-tank weapons — the largest it ever seized — was headed for Hezbollah guerrillas in Lebanon. Israel stopped the ship, named the Francop, off the coast of Cyprus and towed it to the port of Ashdod. It carried orange, red, white and blue containers piled three deep on its deck. Rows of crates from the vessel were displayed on the dock, and inside were rockets, hand grenades, mortars and ammunition. At least 3,000 missiles were on board, the Israeli military said. The seizure spotlighted the dangerous tensions between Israel and Iran. Israel considers Iran a strategic threat because of its nuclear program and long-range missile development, dismissing Iranian denials that it is building nuclear weapons. See: http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20091104/ap_on_re_mi_ea/ml_israel_arms_boat 5a) Clinton: US wants Israel settlement halt 'forever' CAIRO – Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton defended the U.S. stance toward Israeli settlement building to worried Arab allies on Wednesday, saying Washington does not accept the legitimacy of the West Bank enclaves and wants to see their construction halted "forever." Still, she said an Israeli offer to restrain — but not halt — construction represents "positive movement forward" toward resuming Israeli-Palestinian peace negotiations. See: http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20091104/ap_on_re_mi_ea/clinton 6) Obama appoints anti-Israel senator to head intel team Israelis were given yet another reason to view US President Barack Obama with suspicion last week when he appointed former senator Chuck Hagel as the new head of his Intelligence Advisory Board. Hagel has long rubbed Israel and its supporters the wrong way, and last month he reiterated his antagonistic positions when addressing the liberal Jewish lobby group J-Street. Hagel told his audience that meeting Arab demands for a Palestinian state on ancient Jewish lands is "is central, not peripheral, to U.S. vital security interests in combating terrorism." …Hagel also said that while the US may have a special relationship with Israel, the Middle East's only true democracy, it "must not come at the expense of our Arab relationships." …Hagel strongly criticized former President George W. Bush during his first term for refusing to meet with Yasser Arafat, while at the same time questioning the loyalty of American Jews who pushed for the US to back Israel against its enemies. Later, Hagel refused to join an effort to convince the European Union to declare Hizballah a terrorist organization, and was one of only four senators to not sign a declaration backing Israel at the outset of the second Palestinian intifada, better known as the "Oslo War." See: http://www.israeltoday.co.il/default.aspx?tabid=178&nid=19891 7) Maine voters reject gay-marriage law PORTLAND, Maine – Maine voters repealed a state law Tuesday that would have allowed same-sex couples to wed, dealing the gay rights movement a heartbreaking defeat in New England, the corner of the country most supportive of gay marriage. Gay marriage has now lost in every single state — 31 in all — in which it has been put to a popular vote. Gay-rights activists had hoped to buck that trend in Maine — known for its moderate, independent-minded electorate — and mounted an energetic, well-financed campaign. See: http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20091104/ap_on_el_st_lo/us_gay_marriage_maine

NEA recommends reading Alinsky; GOP wins; CIT bankrupt; Soros: US a "drag on global economy"

These posts will be sporadic over the next two weeks or so, as I help finish editing the final draft of Sharron Angle’s book. Her campaign against Harry Reid is gaining steam; please send a donation if you are able (see: http://www.sharronangle.com/). 1) GOP sweep: Big governor victories in Virginia, NJ WASHINGTON – Republicans surged to victory in governor's races in Virginia and New Jersey on Tuesday, wresting control from Democrats in both states as independents who swept Barack Obama to a historic 2008 victory broke big for the GOP. It was a troubling sign for the president and his party heading into an important midterm election year. Conservative Republican Bob McDonnell's victory in the Virginia governor's race over Democrat R. Creigh Deeds and moderate Republican Chris Christie's ouster of unpopular New Jersey Gov. Jon Corzine was a double-barreled triumph for a party looking to rebuild after being booted from power in national elections in 2006 and 2008. …The president had personally campaigned for Deeds and Corzine, seeking to ensure that independents and base voters alike turned out even if he wasn't on the ballot. Thus, the losses were blots on Obama's political standing to a certain degree and suggested potential problems ahead as he seeks to achieve his policy goals, protect Democratic majorities in Congress and expand his party's grip on governors' seats next fall. …The Associated Press exit polls showed that nearly a third of voters in Virginia described themselves as independents, and nearly as many in New Jersey did. They preferred McDonnell by almost a 2-1 margin over Deeds in Virginia, and Christie over Corzine by a similar margin. Last year, independents split between Obama and Republican John McCain in both states. See: http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20091104/ap_on_el_ge/us_election_rdp 2) CIT files for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection WASHINGTON – After struggling for months to avert bankruptcy, lender CIT Group has filed for Chapter 11 protection in an attempt to restructure its debt while trying to keep badly needed loans flowing to thousands of mid-sized and small businesses. CIT made the filing in New York bankruptcy court Sunday, after a debt-exchange offer to bondholders failed. CIT said in a statement that its bondholders overwhelmingly opted for a prepackaged reorganization plan which will reduce total debt by $10 billion while allowing the company to continue to do business. The Chapter 11 filing is one of the biggest in U.S. corporate history, following Lehman Brothers, Washington Mutual, WorldCom and General Motors. CIT's bankruptcy filing shows $71 billion in finance and leasing assets against total debt of $64.9 billion. …Analysts warned that the bankruptcy could add to the uncertainty around loans for the nation's small businesses, especially retailers, which make up a significant portion of CIT's clients and are already struggling with tight credit markets. See: http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20091102/ap_on_bi_ge/us_cit_group_bankruptcy 3) George Soros speaks of US as a “drag on the global economy” GLENN: Here is George Soros, a visitor of the White House, and we're talking now about, you know, who's really in charge? What is happening to our country? Are they trying to fix it or are they trying to fundamentally transform it into something that Americans don't recognize? Here's George Soros. VOICE: What sort of a financial deal should Obama be seeking to strike when he travels to China next month? SOROS: No, I think this would be the time because you really need to bring China into the creation of a new world order, financial world order. …SOROS: The system we have now has actually broken down. Only we haven't quite recognized it. And so you need to create a new one. PAT: Did you catch that? The system we have now. GLENN: Capitalism, free market. PAT: Capitalism, free market system broken down. STU: Hasn't broken down for him. PAT: Hasn't broken down for him. He just made $9 billion in hedge funds. We just don't know it yet. So we have to create a new one. …SOROS: And this is the time to do it. VOICE: In the United States how worried are you about the budget deficit and maybe about the possibility of inflation? SOROS: Well, certainly a decline in the value of the dollar is necessary in order to compensate for the fact that U.S. economy will remain rather weak, will be a drag on the global economy (emphasis mine). See: http://www.glennbeck.com/content/articles/article/198/32718/ 3a) Ben Bernanke: The Real Pay Czar …Ultimately, if someone gets paid in dollars--no matter how rich or how poor--the Fed has massive influence over the amount of goods and services they can buy with what they've earned. Lately, the U.S. dollar has fallen sharply on world foreign-exchange markets. Since early March, the dollar has lost 15% of its value vs. the euro and 8% vs. the yen. What this means is that, relative to other countries (and currencies), U.S. citizens have taken a pay cut. Our standard of living, when measured by purchasing power, has declined--we now have to work harder and export more in order to afford the same imports. …Now the dollar is consistently hitting new lows against foreign currencies, and gold is near an all-time high in dollar terms. And while all of this is important, what we are really seeing is the early signs (the canary in a coal mine) of what we expect to be a significant increase in inflation (emphasis mine). …The worst part of the pay cut is that the people who get hit the hardest by higher inflation will be low-income workers who spend a larger share of their income on the commodities that will go up the most in price. Getting a pay cut is never good, but when it doesn't help the economy grow over the long run, it's bound to generate more worker frustration, potentially leading to a vicious cycle of economic populism, where frustration leads to more government action, leading in turn to even more frustration. See: http://www.forbes.com/2009/11/02/ben-bernanke-pay-czar-bank-bonuses-opinions-columnists-brian-s-wesbury-robert-stein.html 4) $160,000 Per Stimulus Job? White House Calls That 'Calculator Abuse' Posting its results late this afternoon at Recovery.gov, the White House claimed 640,329 jobs have been created or saved because of the $159 billion in stimulus funds allocated as of Sept. 30. …The White House argues that the actual job number is actually larger than 640,000 -- closer to 1 million jobs when one factors in stimulus jobs added in October and, more importantly, jobs created indirectly, such as "the waitress who's still on the job," Vice President Biden said today. So let's see. Assuming their number is right -- 160 billion divided by 1 million. Does that mean the stimulus costs taxpayers $160,000 per job? Jared Bernstein, chief economist and senior economic advisor to the vice president, called that "calculator abuse." He said the cost per job was actually $92,000 -- but acknowledged that estimate is for the whole stimulus package as of the end of 2010. See: http://blogs.abcnews.com/politicalpunch/2009/10/160000-per-stimulus-job-white-house-calls-that-calculator-abuse.html 5) Clunkers: Taxpayers paid $24,000 per car …The Cash for Clunkers program gave car buyers rebates of up to $4,500 if they traded in less fuel-efficient vehicles for new vehicles that met certain fuel economy requirements. A total of $3 billion was allotted for those rebates. The average rebate was $4,000. But the overwhelming majority of sales would have taken place anyway at some time in the last half of 2009, according to Edmunds.com. That means the government ended up spending about $24,000 each for those 125,000 additional vehicle sales. See: http://money.cnn.com/2009/10/28/autos/clunkers_analysis/index.htm 6) Sources: House Health Bill Totals $1.2 Trillion WASHINGTON -- The health care bill headed for a vote in the House this week costs $1.2 trillion or more over a decade, according to numerous Democratic officials and figures contained in an analysis by congressional budget experts, far higher than the $900 billion cited by President Barack Obama as a price tag for his reform plan. While the Congressional Budget Office has put the cost of expanding coverage in the legislation at roughly $1 trillion, Democrats added billions more on higher spending for public health, a reinsurance program to hold down retiree health costs, payments for preventive services and more. See: http://www.foxnews.com/politics/2009/11/02/sources-house-health-totals-trillion/ 6a) The Worst Bill Ever Epic new spending and taxes, pricier insurance, rationed care, dishonest accounting: The Pelosi health bill has it all. Speaker Nancy Pelosi has reportedly told fellow Democrats that she's prepared to lose seats in 2010 if that's what it takes to pass ObamaCare, and little wonder. The health bill she unwrapped last Thursday, which President Obama hailed as a "critical milestone," may well be the worst piece of post-New Deal legislation ever introduced. In a rational political world, this 1,990-page runaway train would have been derailed months ago. With spending and debt already at record peacetime levels, the bill creates a new and probably unrepealable middle-class entitlement that is designed to expand over time. Taxes will need to rise precipitously, even as ObamaCare so dramatically expands government control of health care that eventually all medicine will be rationed via politics. Yet at this point, Democrats have dumped any pretense of genuine bipartisan "reform" and moved into the realm of pure power politics as they race against the unpopularity of their own agenda. The goal is to ram through whatever income-redistribution scheme they can claim to be "universal coverage." The result will be destructive on every level—for the health-care system, for the country's fiscal condition, and ultimately for American freedom and prosperity. …All of this is intentional, even if it isn't explicitly acknowledged. The overriding liberal ambition is to finish the work began decades ago as the Great Society of converting health care into a government responsibility. Mr. Obama's own Medicare actuaries estimate that the federal share of U.S. health dollars will quickly climb beyond 60% from 46% today. One reason Mrs. Pelosi has fought so ferociously against her own Blue Dog colleagues to include at least a scaled-back "public option" entitlement program is so that the architecture is in place for future Congresses to expand this share even further. As Congress's balance sheet drowns in trillions of dollars in new obligations, the political system will have no choice but to start making cost-minded decisions about which treatments patients are allowed to receive. Democrats can't regulate their way out of the reality that we live in a world of finite resources and infinite wants. Once health care is nationalized, or mostly nationalized, medical rationing is inevitable—especially for the innovative high-cost technologies and drugs that are the future of medicine. Mr. Obama rode into office on a wave of "change," but we doubt most voters realized that the change Democrats had in mind was making health care even more expensive and rigid than the status quo. Critics will say we are exaggerating, but we believe it is no stretch to say that Mrs. Pelosi's handiwork ranks with the Smoot-Hawley tariff and FDR's National Industrial Recovery Act as among the worst bills Congress has ever seriously contemplated (emphasis mine). See: http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052748703399204574505423751140690.html?mod=rss_opinion_main 7) NEA raves to teachers about Alinsky 'guidebook' Recommends texts by radical community organizer who 'encouraged positive social change' The National Education Association has made a glowing assessment of radical socialist community organizer Saul Alinsky and is enthusiastically recommending American public school teachers read two of his books, including one dedicated to Satan (emphasis mine). On its website, the NEA dubs Alinsky "an inspiration to anyone contemplating action in their community! And to every organizer!" It recommends Alinsky's "Reveille for Radicals," a 1946 book about the principles and tactics of "community organizing," and "Rules for Radicals," a 1971 text that articulated a socialist strategy for gaining political power to redistribute wealth from the "haves" to the "have-nots." The NEA, the largest labor union in the United States, represents public school teachers, college and university faculty, retired education employees and college students preparing to become teachers. The association describes Alinsky as a "master political agitator, tactical planner and social organizer" who wrote a "guidebook for those who are out to change things." "He sets down what the goal is: a society where people are free to live, and also aren't starving in the streets. A society where there is legal and economic justice," the NEA explains to educators. "Then he sets out to say how to get there." The NEA continues, "Alinsky's goal seems to be to encourage positive social change by equipping activists with a realistic view of the world, a kind of preemptive disillusionment. If a person already knows what evil the world is capable of, then perhaps the surprise factor can be eliminated, making the person a more effective activist. Alinsky further seems to be encouraging the budding activist not to worry to [sic] much about getting his or her hands dirty. It's all a part of the job, he seems to say." …Alinsky dedicated the first edition of his book, "Rules for Radicals," to Satan: "Lest we forget at least an over-the-shoulder acknowledgment to the very first radical known to man who rebelled against the establishment and did it so effectively that he at least won his own kingdom – Lucifer." See: http://www.wnd.com/index.php?fa=PAGE.view&pageId=114881 8) Did Black Panther make secret White House visit? Malik Zulu Shabazz, national chairman of the radical New Black Panther Party, refused to confirm or deny to WND whether he visited the White House since President Obama took office, despite his name appearing on a recent administration disclosure. Shabazz' namesake was among the 110 names and 481 visits released by the White House on Friday as part of the Obama administration's so-called volunteer disclosure policy. The names were just a fraction of the hundreds of thousands of visitors who have gone through the White House's doors since January. Among the famous names that stood out on the brief list were Shabazz, Jeremiah Wright and William Ayers. The White House blog claimed all three names were "false positives" – names that make you think of a well-known person, but are actually someone else. Added the official blog: "In September, requests were submitted for the names of some famous or controversial figures (for example Michael Jordan, William Ayers, Michael Moore, Jeremiah Wright, Robert Kelly, and Malik Shabazz). The well-known individuals with those names never actually came to the White House. Nevertheless, we were asked for those names, and so we have included records for those individuals who were here and share the same names." Other famous names confirmed to have visited the White House include Oprah Winfrey and George Soros. Asked by WND to confirm or deny he had visited the White House, Shabazz replied by e-mail "no comment on that one." See: http://www.wnd.com/index.php?fa=PAGE.view&pageId=114727