Gov. Controlling Compensation, Town Halls Gone Wild, Anti-Abortion Measure Fails, Terrorist Sues Obama, Anti-Birthers

1) House votes to clamp limits on Wall Street bonuses WASHINGTON – Bowing to populist anger, the House voted Friday to prohibit pay and bonus packages that encourage bankers and traders to take risks so big they could bring down the entire economy. Passage of the bill on a 237-185 vote followed the disclosure a day earlier that nine of the nation's biggest banks, which are receiving billions of dollars in federal bailout aid, paid individual bonuses of $1 million or more to nearly 5,000 employees. "This is not the government taking over the corporate sector," (Then what do you call it!?!?!?! That’s like saying A is not equal to A. It reminds me of when Charlotte asked me, “What does 2 + 2 equal, Mommy?“ I said, “4, unless you’re a liberal.“ ) Rep. Melvin Watt, D-N.C, said of the House action. "It is a statement by the American people that it is time for us to straighten up the ship." …Because the new legislation would apply to all financial firms, even if they did not receive bailout money, the effect will be to force "institutions who did not contribute to the crisis to pay for the mistakes of others," said Rep. Michael Castle, R-Del. See: http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20090801/ap_on_go_co/us_bailout_bonuses 2) Town halls gone wild Screaming constituents, protesters dragged out by the cops, congressmen fearful for their safety — welcome to the new town-hall-style meeting, the once-staid forum that is rapidly turning into a house of horrors for members of Congress.  On the eve of the August recess, members are reporting meetings that have gone terribly awry, marked by angry, sign-carrying mobs and disruptive behavior. In at least one case, a congressman has stopped holding town hall events because the situation has spiraled so far out of control. …Bishop isn’t the only one confronted by boiling anger and rising incivility. At a health care town hall event in Syracuse, N.Y., earlier this month, police were called in to restore order, and at least one heckler was taken away by local police. Close to 100 sign-carrying protesters greeted Rep. Allen Boyd (D-Fla.) at a late June community college small-business development forum in Panama City, Fla. Last week, Danville, Va., anti-tax tea party activists claimed they were “refused an opportunity” to ask Rep. Thomas Perriello (D-Va.) a question at a town hall event and instructed by a plainclothes police officer to leave the property after they attempted to hold up protest signs. The targets in most cases are House Democrats, who over the past few months have tackled controversial legislation including a $787 billion economic stimulus package, a landmark energy proposal and an overhaul of the nation’s health care system. …Asked later how or whether the GOP would use the confrontations against Democrats, Sessions responded: “Wait till next year.” See: http://news.yahoo.com/s/politico/20090731/pl_politico/25646 3) Healthcare Bill Tweets - Fact Check A good summary of the truth/falsehood of some of the proposed healthcare changes. See: http://www.glennbeck.com/content/articles/article/198/28739/ 3a) Dems win approval of health bill in committee WASHINGTON – In a triumph for President Barack Obama, Democrats narrowly pushed sweeping health care legislation through a key congressional committee Friday night and cleared the way for a September showdown in the House. The main expansion of coverage would not come until 2013 — after the next presidential election. Even so, the political stakes are enormous for Obama and the Democrats as they strive to pass legislation that has proven elusive for years. Republicans are overwhelmingly opposed to the approach they chose, and outside groups on both sides of the issue arranged a heavy dose of television advertising over August. See: http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20090801/ap_on_go_co/us_health_care_overhaul 3b) Anti-Abortion Measure in Health Bill Fails WASHINGTON -- An anti-abortion amendment to a sweeping health overhaul bill was voted down in a House committee late Thursday — a dramatic reversal just hours after the measure initially was approved. See: http://www.newsmax.com/headlines/us_health_overhaul_aborti/2009/07/31/242256.html 4) Revenge of the ‘Shoe Bomber’  The terrorist sues to resume his jihad from prison. The Obama administration caves in. …Reid was arrested in 2001 for attempting to blow up American Airlines Flight 63 from Paris to Miami with 197 passengers and crew on board. Why had Attorney General Eric Holder decided not to renew his security measures, kept in place since 2002?  According to court documents filed in a 2007 civil lawsuit against the government, Reid claimed that SAMs (Special Administrative Measures) violated his First Amendment right of free speech and free exercise of religion. In a hand-written complaint, he asserted that he was being illegally prevented from performing daily “group prayers in a manner prescribed by my religion.” Yet the list of Reid’s potential fellow congregants at ADX Florence reads like a Who’s Who of al Qaeda’s most dangerous members: Ramzi Yousef and his three co-conspirators in the 1993 World Trade Center bombing; 9/11 conspirator Zacarias Moussaoui; “Millennium bomber” Ahmed Ressam; “Dirty bomber” Jose Padilla; Wadih el-Hage, Osama Bin Laden’s personal secretary, convicted in the 1998 U.S. Embassy bombing that killed 247 people. See: http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052970203609204574317090690242698.html?mod=googlenews_wsj%22 5) The Only Thing Weirder Than The Birthers.... The only thing weirder than the Birthers are the anti-Birthers, who blame the Birthers for being conspiracy theorists yet actively feed the conspiracy by refusing to call for President Obama to release his birth certificate.  The state official in Hawaii who manages such things has reiterated that there is indeed an original birth certificate on file which would confirm President Obama's having been born in Hawaii and that she has seen it, but state law won't allow her to release it unless the president authorizes it.  So what's the problem here? Release the original and let's be done with this madness. I realize there are some faith-based Obama supporters who believe without seeing, but the rest of us in the reality-based world are starting to get that strange feeling we got when Mark Sanford tried to convince us that he was away from his family on Father's Day, hiking the Appalachian trail in order to clear his head and write a book.  During the last campaign, John McCain faced similar questions and promptly responded by releasing his original birth certificate. That's how normal people with nothing to hide handle these things. See: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/mark-joseph/the-only-thing-weirder-th_b_248227.html 5a) Radio talkers canned for Farah interview Obama eligibility issue does in Louisiana co-hosts WASHINGTON – A pair of Louisiana FM radio talkers say they got canned following an interview with WND Editor and Chief Executive Officer Joseph Farah on the subject of Barack Obama's constitutional eligibility for office.  "The end began for us a couple of weeks ago when Joseph Farah from WorldNetDaily.com was interviewed on our show regarding the 'Where's The Birth Certificate?' campaign," said Daniel "Spike" Harville. "That afternoon I stopped by the AM radio station and the owner, Mrs. Ruby Collins, took the opportunity to give me an earful about the show with Mr. Farah. She told me, and I later confirmed with the secretary, the phones had been ringing off of the hook all morning with complaints that we would question Obama's eligibility to be president. Several of those callers threatened to call the FCC and complain."  Harville said Collins told him she was "afraid of the Obama administration sending a bunch of lawyers, the IRS and the FCC to close her down, so we needed to cool it." See: http://www.wnd.com/index.php?fa=PAGE.view&pageId=105249 6) Obama fails to name anti-Semitism envoy The Obama administration has failed to name an envoy for monitoring and combating anti-Semitism around the world as mandated by US law since the previous ambassador was relieved of his duties at the start of the president's term more than six months ago, officials said Thursday. See: http://www.jpost.com/servlet/Satellite?cid=1248277936628&pagename=JPost%2FJPArticle%2FShowFull 6a) Obama slammed as 'racist' at Jerusalem rally 'This insolence will bring about the downfall of the American leadership' JERUSALEM – President Obama's policies against Jewish construction in eastern Jerusalem and the strategic West Bank were slammed as "racist" today by participants in a rally drawing about 2,000 Israelis in front of the U.S. consulate in Jerusalem. …Mitchell, Obama's envoy to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, is here discussing the American administration's call for a halt to all Jewish settlement activity, including natural growth or accommodating the needs of existing Jewish populations in the areas in question. …"Obama should not be pressing Israel to compromise and freeze building in Judea, Samaria and eastern Jerusalem," protest organizer Yaacov Steinberg told WND. …"Obama beware. This insolence will bring about the downfall of the American leadership. Anyone who dares give an order to prevent Israeli life in Jerusalem or anywhere else in the land of Israel is destined to fall," he said. Pinchas Wallerstein, director of the Yesha council of Jewish communities in the West Bank, told the crowds, "This week the American pressure reached new highs that are a shame to democratic societies." See: http://www.wnd.com/index.php?fa=PAGE.view&pageId=105173 7) Disturbing content on New Black Panther's MySpace page The Department of Justice recently dropped the conviction of Jerry Jackson member of the “New Black Panther Party for Self-Defense” (NBPP). The Washington Times has covered the Black Panther reversal at the Department of Justice revealing, "Associate Attorney General Thomas J. Perelli, No.3 official in the Obama Justice Department, was consulted and ultimately approved a decision in May to reverse course and drop a civil complaint accusing three members of the New Black Panther Party of intimidating voters in Philadelphia during November's election, according to interviews." …***Since Friday evening (July 31st) to Saturday morning (August 1st), Mr. Jackson's MySpace page has changed radically since the posting of this blog. However, there are screen captures available below from Mr.Jackson's original MySpace page. A sample of some of the phrases and images on his MySpace page include:(***Warning the following image links are extremely offensive in nature***) "BLACK POWER,BLACK LOVE,BLACK UNITY,BLACK MINDS,KILLIN CRAKKKAS" "F*** Whitey's Christmas" An image of an execution scene from the cult hit film "Pulp Fiction" A photo of a man holding a sign saying, "DEPORT WHITE PEOPLE" See: http://www.washingtontimes.com/weblogs/watercooler/2009/jul/30/disturbing-content-new-black-panthers-myspace-page/ 8) Warship christened at Maine shipyard for NY Marine BATH, Maine – In a solemn ceremony punctuated by talk of courage, service and sacrifice, the mother of a Marine corporal on Saturday christened a warship honoring her son, who died after covering an exploding grenade to protect his comrades in Iraq. After composing herself and taking a deep breath, Deb Dunham smashed a bottle of champagne over the bow of the 510-foot warship Jason Dunham, then held the bottle aloft before a cheering crowd of more than 1,500 people. She was joined by the Marines who served with her son, by her husband, Dan Dunham, and their daughter Katelyn Dunham. Two other Dunham boys also were in the audience. Retired Gen. Michael Hagee, a former Marine commandant who was with the Dunhams when their son died at Bethesda Naval Hospital days after the explosion, said Jason gave the "gift of valor." Hagee said the warship will serve as a reminder that freedom "is paid for by the men and women who wear the cloth of this nation." See: http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20090802/ap_on_re_us/us_hero_warship_christening 9) Keep using Tamiflu, top doctor urges parents, as he admits children may suffer nightmares and nausea The government's chief medical officer Sir Liam Donaldson has said Tamiflu should still be given to children, despite more than half of young recipients who take the drug suffering side effects such as nausea and nightmares (emphasis mine).  The drug being used to fight swine flu can also produce stomach pain, diarrhoea and sleeping problems. …The findings will cause deep concern among parents and raise the question of whether the powerful anti-viral should be handed out so widely when the vast majority of swine flu cases involve only a mild illness. Do ‘ya think??!?!?? …The new studies will increase concern over the potential side effects of Tamiflu - liver  failure is one of those listed on the box. …It also emerged yesterday that Japan has advised its GPs not to give the drug to youngsters between 10 and 19 because of high rates of ' neuropsychiatric side effects' such as feeling confused and having bad dreams. …The first study, of 103 children at three London schools, showed that 53 per cent suffered side effects. See: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-1203345/Children-treated-Tamiflu-suffer-nightmares-nausea.html