Rice: If you want another attack, abandon Afghanistan; Obama didn't know ACORN was getting federal $; Shoot down Israeli planes?

1) The Case for Killing Granny: Rethinking end-of-life care. WHAT?!?! The headline says it all. What more can I say? I won’t gratify this by pulling anything from this morally repugnant article.  See: http://www.newsweek.com/id/215291 1a) 'Killing Granny' (the culture of death - what results when God is taken out of the picture) A virulent moral blindness has seized hold of a substantial slice of America's educated elite. Convinced they know better, they argue for a shallow, illogical, and horrifying vision of people as disposable. I was wrong last week when I declared that Newsweek's cover showing a baby next to a headline declaring that we're all born racist was evidence that the mainstream media had hit bottom and destroyed itself. It was intellectual arrogance on my part that led me to underestimate the determination of Newsweek's editors to find new deeper bottoms to hit. This week's Newsweek cover exceeds the sheer breathtaking ugliness of last week's cover: "The Case for Killing Granny." Alongside a photo of an electrical plug. The cover story is penned by Evan Thomas, (Andover, Harvard, Virginia Law), currently teaching at Princeton, alongside Peter Singer, who believes newborn infants can be killed because they lack "rationality, autonomy, and self-consciousness" and thus don't qualify for personhood. …The central idea behind each of these three pieces is that we spend too much money on people during their last six months of life. We all should be more willing to die, say these writers. And, we should all be more willing to "let" other people die (by withholding medical treatment, water, food, air, etc.)  Newsweek seeks to make us more comfortable with the idea of killing our parents and grandparents. The ObamaCare deal they want us buy is that only if more old people die, will there be better medical treatment for everyone else. That is, you and me.  It's a sucker's deal. Because not only will more "old" people die with ObamaCare, but more of everyone else will die too. Because the quality of care for everyone will deteriorate for a long list of behavioral and economic reasons.  …T. R. Reid, while saying that the US is morally inferior to countries with socialized medicine, doesn't get around to postulating what it says about the "character" of those countries deprive older citizens of life-extending medicines and treatments.  I'll take a crack at it, though. I think that we (society, you, me, us) owe the oldest among us the most. The world we live in, our affluence, our civil rights, our drugs and life-extending technology, all exist because of their work. The America that we (and the entire world) benefit from would not exist but for the work and sacrifices of those people over 65, over 75, over 85. All the medicines and all the health care technology that we have we owe to them. They already "bought" them by making their discovery and invention possible. What kind of country would we be if we withheld the fruits of their labors so we can have them all for ourselves? I am nauseated by the arrogance and moral blindness I see on display here. When elites start regarding certain classes of people an inconvenience worth eliminating, a terrifying slippery slope is in prospect (emphasis mine). See: http://www.americanthinker.com/2009/09/killing_granny_1.html 1b) Democratic chairman pushes for health care changes WASHINGTON – Bidding for support from Democrats as well as a single Republican, the chairman of the Senate Finance Committee gaveled open a long-awaited debate over health care Tuesday with fresh plans to reduce costs on working-class families and impose new obligations on the insurance industry. …Democrats hope to push the bill through committee by the end of the week, although it was clear many Democrats want to see changes first. In one statement that could cause political heartburn for Democrats and President Barack Obama, the director of the Congressional Budget Office, Douglas Elmendorf, said the proposal could wind up reducing benefits for seniors enrolled in private Medicare plans. …Elmendorf also estimated in a letter to Baucus that some families with annual incomes in the range of $66,000 could wind up spending as much as 20 percent of that — $13,300 — in out-of-pocket health expenses such as premiums and copays. …Sen. Jon Kyl, R-Ariz., called the measure a "stunning assault on our liberty" and cited a requirement for individuals and families to buy insurance. Sen. Charles Grassley of Iowa, R-Iowa, who had been involved in private negotiations on the Baucus plan, said the Senate Democratic leadership had imposed a mid-September deadline, "causing the end to our bipartisan work before it was done." He called it an absurd move, "utterly and completely appalling." …Baucus also decided to reduce the penalty for families who defy a proposed mandate to purchase coverage, from $3,800 to $1,900. It’s not the amount of the tax. It’s the PRINCIPLE. It’s unconstitutional.  See: http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20090922/ap_on_go_co/us_health_care_overhaul 1c) Gov't investigates health insurance company mailer WASHINGTON – The government is investigating a major insurance company for allegedly trying to scare seniors with a mailer warning they could lose important benefits under health care legislation in Congress. The Health and Human Services Department launched its investigation of Humana after getting a complaint from Sen. Max Baucus, D-Mont., a senior lawmaker usually viewed as a reliable ally of the insurance industry. "It is wholly unacceptable for insurance companies to mislead seniors regarding any subject — particularly on a subject as important to them, and to the nation, as health care reform," Baucus said Monday, disclosing the HHS investigation. How about “it is wholly unacceptable for GOVERNMENT to mislead and lie to its PEOPLE???” They WILL lose important benefits under health care legislation currently in Congress! See: http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20090921/ap_on_go_ot/us_health_care_overhaul_medicare/ 2) FDIC weighs extraordinary steps to shore up fund WASHINGTON – The Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. is weighing several costly — and never-before-used — options as it struggles to shore up the dwindling fund that insures bank deposits. The agency is considering borrowing billions from healthy banks. Alternatively, it may impose a special fee on the banking industry. Each option carries risk: Drawing money from healthy banks would take dollars out of the private sector, making that money unavailable for investment in the weak economy. But charging the whole industry a fee to replenish the fund could push weaker banks toward failure. A third option — borrowing from the Treasury — is politically unpalatable, since it would resemble another taxpayer-financed bailout. See: http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20090922/ap_on_bi_ge/us_banks_fdic_bailout 3) Stephanopoulos points out Merriam-Webster definition of taxes to president in interview President Obama and George Stephanopoulos disagreed on what actually defined a tax increase in a feisty exchange on ABC’s This Week, causing the host to pull out the Merriam-Webster dictionary definition of taxes. Stephanopoulos pressed the president on his health care plan in the interview airing Sunday morning, specifically on the individual mandate—which essentially forces people to buy health insurance. Asked how that could not be considered a hike, Stephanopoulos inquired, "Under this mandate, the government is forcing people to spend money, fining you if you don't. How is that not a tax?"  President Obama responded “ No, but -- but, George, you -- you can't just make up that language and decide that that's called a tax increase.” Stephanopoulos then gave the dictionary definition – “I don't think I'm making it up. Merriam- Webster's dictionary: Tax, "a charge, usually of money, imposed by authority on persons or property for public purposes."  See: http://whitehouse.blogs.foxnews.com/2009/09/20/stephanopoulos-points-out-merriam-webster-definition-of-taxes-to-president-in-interview/ 3a) Obama didn’t know ACORN was getting federal money PRESIDENT OBAMA: If you say something outrageous, you're there in a hot second.  STEPHANOPOULOS: But if some of your allies made it easier if you are handed some ammunition like ACORN, for example -  PRESIDENT OBAMA: Well, look. The - you know, I think that are there folks in the Democratic camp or on the left who haven't, haven't always operated in ways that I'd appreciate? Absolutely.  STEPHANOPOULOS: Congress said they should cut off all funding for ACORN. Are you for that?  PRESIDENT OBAMA: Is that true on the other side as well? Of course that's true.  STEPHANOPOULOS: How about the funding for ACORN?  PRESIDENT OBAMA: Frankly it's not really something I followed closely. I didn't even know that ACORN was getting a whole lot of federal money.  STEPHANOPOULOS: But the Senate and the House have voted to cut it off.  PRESIDENT OBAMA: What I know is that what I saw on that video was certainly inappropriate and deserved to be -  STEPHANOPOULOS: So you are not committing the cutting off the federal funding?  PRESIDENT OBAMA: George, this is not the biggest issue facing the country. It's not something I'm paying a lot of attention to. See: http://www.glennbeck.com/content/articles/article/198/30884/ 4) Stadiums, hotels on alert amid terror probe NEW YORK – The government expanded a terrorism warning from transit systems to U.S. stadiums, hotels and entertainment complexes as investigators searched for more suspects Tuesday in a possible al-Qaida plot to set off hydrogen-peroxide bombs hidden in backpacks. Police bolstered their presence at high-profile locations. Extra officers with bulletproof vests, rifles and dogs were assigned to spots such as Grand Central Terminal in New York. Plainclothes officers handed out fliers at a nearby hotel with a warning in large block letters: "If you suspect terrorism, call the NYPD." See: http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20090923/ap_on_re_us/us_nyc_terror 5) Obama open to newspaper bailout bill The president said he is "happy to look at" bills before Congress that would give struggling news organizations tax breaks if they were to restructure as nonprofit businesses. Sen. Ben Cardin (D-Md.) has introduced S. 673, the so-called "Newspaper Revitalization Act," that would give outlets tax deals if they were to restructure as 501(c)(3) corporations. That bill has so far attracted one cosponsor, Cardin's Maryland colleague Sen. Barbara Mikulski (D). See: http://thehill.com/blogs/blog-briefing-room/news/59523-obama-open-to-newspaper-bailout-bill 6) Military growing impatient with Obama on Afghanistan WASHINGTON — Six months after it announced its strategy for Afghanistan, the Obama administration is sending mixed signals about its objectives there and how many troops are needed to achieve them.  The conflicting messages are drawing increasing ire from U.S. commanders in Afghanistan and frustrating military leaders, who're trying to figure out how to demonstrate that they're making progress in the 12-18 months that the administration has given them. Adding to the frustration, according to officials in Kabul and Washington, are White House and Pentagon directives made over the last six weeks that Army Gen. Stanley McChrystal, the top U.S. military commander in Afghanistan, not submit his request for as many as 45,000 additional troops because the administration isn't ready for it. …In Kabul, some members of McChrystal's staff said they don't understand why Obama called Afghanistan a "war of necessity" but still hasn't given them the resources they need to turn things around quickly. Three officers at the Pentagon and in Kabul told McClatchy that the McChrystal they know would resign before he'd stand behind a faltering policy that he thought would endanger his forces or the strategy. See: http://www.mcclatchydc.com/227/story/75702.html 6a) Is Obama at Odds with Military Commanders Calling for More Troops in Afghanistan? Secret Assessment by McChrystal Calls for More Troops to Prevent 'Mission Failure' The leak of a secret assessment by the top military commander in Afghanistan laying out the need for more troops there has raised the question of whether President Obama is at odds with the Pentagon over the direction of the war.  The report by Gen. Stanley McChrystal says that more troops are urgently needed in Afghanistan to prevent "mission failure," while Obama has repeatedly said he will not rush into a decision on whether to increase the U.S. military presence there until after he conducts a review of his administration's strategy for the region. See: http://abcnews.go.com/Politics/gen-mcchrystal-calls-troops-afghanistan-secret-assessment-obama/story?id=8630229 And: http://online.wsj.com/article/SB125350906414427191.html?mod=rss_com_mostcommentart 6b) Rice: If You Want Another Attack, Abandon Afghanistan "The last time we left Afghanistan, and we abandoned Pakistan, that territory became the very territory on which Al Qaeda trained and attacked us on September 11th. So our national security interests are very much tied up in not letting Afghanistan fail again and become a safe haven for terrorists. It's that simple, if you want another terrorist attack in the U.S., abandon Afghanistan." See: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2009/09/22/condoleezza-rice-if-you-w_n_294755.html 7) Former National Security Advisor Brzezinski: Shoot Down Israeli Planes Brzezinski: “… How aggressive can Obama be in insisting to the Israelis that a military strike might be in America’s worst interest? We are not exactly impotent little babies. They have to fly over our airspace in Iraq. Are we just going to sit there and watch? What if they fly over anyway? Well, we have to be serious about denying them that right. That means a denial where you aren’t just saying it. If they fly over, you go up and confront them. They have the choice of turning back or not.” Ah, yes. We should shoot down the airplanes of our allies. After all, "we’re not impotent little babies."  And we certainly we don’t want anything to happen that might offend the Iranians. They might not be willing to talk to us. …Brzezinski, who was former president Jimmy Carter's national security adviser, endorsed Barack Obama's presidential campaign. However, he has no role in the current administration. See: http://sweetness-light.com/archive/brzezinski-shoot-down-israeli-planes And: http://www.jpost.com/servlet/Satellite?cid=1253198162423&pagename=JPost%2FJPArticle%2FPrinter 8) High Noon for politicized arts funding The next Breitbart tape debuts at noon today (EDT). The National Endowment for the Arts and White House official Buffy Wicks are bracing for the new bombshell coming from Andrew Breitbart and BigGovernment.com. The website offers a preview this morning on BigGovernment.com, citing the notorious and likely illegal politicization of the NEA, bullying artists receiving grants into works supporting the administration's legislative priorities.  …That Obama administration officials would make even tacit suggestions about potential artistic output to a collection of federal grant recipients is, itself, troubling. That these suggestions matched-up with very specific and time-sensitive legislative priorities should give us all pause. But, there is even a larger issue that hasn't yet received much attention in the press. Among the Obama Administration officials on the call were Buffy Wicks, Office of Public Engagement and the lead White House official on the President's Serve.Gov initiative to promote national service. Also on the call was Nell Abernathy, Director of Outreach for Serve.Gov. One of their main goals on the call, it seems, was to encourage artists to produce works that would reinforce the President's call for service; specifically through the Serve.Gov web-portal. See: http://www.americanthinker.com/blog/2009/09/high_noon_for_politicized_arts.html 9) Propaganda being shown in schools - “The Story of Stuff” Glenn Beck just did an expose´ on this video being show in schools indoctrinating your children. The NYT’s had a front page story on this in May about what a hit it’s become in the classroom! According to the NYT’s over 7,000 American schools or churches have ordered the video. From the Heritage Foundation Blog The Foundry: The Story of Stuff highlights the very extreme left’s Greenpeace view of America. Essentially it tells the story of how America is not a nation to be proud of, and in fact, your child should be ashamed for living in it. snip…Now, the million dollar question is how is this video getting into the classroom? While nobody denies liberal Greenpeace activists their point of view, even if factually wrong, surely airing a 20 minute political ad to little kids wouldn’t be supported by mainstream outlets, would it? Well, first, the New York Times won’t even go as far as to call the video’s creator, Greenpeace activist Annie Leonard, extreme. Nor liberal. Nor even left of center. They call her “independent.” That is like calling Hugo Chavez a centrist. …And who has produced this video? The Tides Foundation which is a part of the axis of George Soros, this group is in bed with SEIU, ACORN and the Appollo Group. All are members of Obama’s inner circle. This is what the so-called Progressives want to teach your children and you need to pay attention. See: http://bearcreekledger.com/2009/09/22/propaganda-being-shown-in-schools-the-story-of-stuff/ And: http://www.glennbeck.com/content/articles/article/198/30944/ 10) Islamic rally on Capitol clouded by organizer's terror ties As 50,000 Muslims prepare for D.C., leader's history called into question As an anticipated 50,000 Muslims prepare to descend on Capitol Hill for "A Day of Islamic Unity" this Friday, several blogs and online news sources have spotlighted the history of the movement's leader and his ties to terrorists in the U.S.  As WND reported, one of the key organizers is Hassen Abdellah, an attorney from Elizabeth, N.J. Abdellah formed part of the legal team that defended four men in the 1993 World Trade Center bombing, including Mahmud Abouhalim, who was convicted and sentenced to prison. …Building on the Islamic interest in Obama's inauguration, when Muslims claimed in a magazine that "It's our time," the event planners are calling for 50,000 Muslims to attend the event on the National Mall on Friday. See: http://www.wnd.com/index.php?pageId=110585 11) U. of C. researcher dies after exposure to plague bacteria A University of Chicago molecular genetics professor studying the origins of harmful bacteria died last weekend after contracting an infection linked to the plague, officials said today.  University hospital officials said there "does not appear to be a threat to the public" following the death of Malcolm J. Casadaban, 60, at the campus' Bernard Mitchell Hospital on Sept. 13. See: http://www.chicagobreakingnews.com/2009/09/uofc-researcher-dies-after-exposer-to-plague-bacteria.html