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

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