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

Mandatory insurance unconstitutional, GOP to take action on missle defense, Iran building nuke plant in Americas?

1) Kyl: Senate GOP Will Likely Take Action on Missile Defense Sen. Jon Kyl (R., Ariz.), the Senate minority whip, spoke with NRO this morning. It is becoming “increasingly clear,” he says, that Senate Republicans will “likely take some kind of action” in the coming days to oppose President Obama’s decision to abandon our missile-defense plan in Eastern Europe. “Like most of my colleagues, I’m not shocked that the administration would change the policy,” says Kyl, “but I have great bewilderment about how they changed it. It looks like a transparent play to the Russians. I’m mostly troubled by the fact that now the United States will be less able to credibly pursue our agenda abroad because of the perception that we will cave in to demands.” “This undercuts our national defense,” says Kyl. “With other players in the Middle East, especially those interested in throwing in their lot with us, it’s questionable whether they will stick with us. Our allies will have to ask: ‘Can the United States be trusted when the going gets tough?’” “Other than the obvious effect that this will have on our protection from an Iranian missile attack, the most serious consequence of this new policy is the damage it causes to the United States in international affairs,” says Kyl. “That’s why we will continue to engage in a public debate. There are still some decisions that can be made to ameliorate the effects of this. Not all of the final decisions have been made.” See: http://corner.nationalreview.com/post/?q=NDE4NDRmYTQ3NDk3NDkwYmQwMWRkMzQwMGIzNmU1NjU= 2) Obama Says Financial Regulations Must Be Strengthened Globally Obama’s gonna take over the US; Obama’s gonna take over the world (a new way to say the campaign rhetoric slogan, “Obama’s gonna save the US; Obama’s gonna save the world”) Sept. 19 (Bloomberg) -- President Barack Obama said tougher financial regulations are needed worldwide to protect consumers, provide economic stability and prevent future crises. …The administration has proposed an overhaul of U.S. financial regulations including oversight of the systemic risk large financial institutions pose to the economy, new ways for the government to dismantle failed companies and a regulator to oversee financial products for consumers. …Obama said a central element to this regulatory overhaul is a new agency to oversee consumer products, including mortgages and credit cards. See: http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601087&sid=aNRS9zQAgnBQ 3) Mandatory Insurance Is Unconstitutional  Why an individual mandate could be struck down by the courts. Federal legislation requiring that every American have health insurance is part of all the major health-care reform plans now being considered in Washington. Such a mandate, however, would expand the federal government’s authority over individual Americans to an unprecedented degree. It is also profoundly unconstitutional. Well, no kidding.  An individual mandate has been a hardy perennial of health-care reform proposals since HillaryCare in the early 1990s. President Barack Obama defended its merits before Congress last week, claiming that uninsured people still use medical services and impose the costs on everyone else. But the reality is far different. Certainly some uninsured use emergency rooms in lieu of primary care physicians, but the majority are young people who forgo insurance precisely because they do not expect to need much medical care. When they do, these uninsured pay full freight, often at premium rates, thereby actually subsidizing insured Americans. …Politically, of course, the mandate is essential to winning insurance industry support for the legislation and acceptance of heavy federal regulations. Millions of new customers will be driven into insurance-company arms. Moreover, without the mandate, the entire thrust of the new regulatory scheme—requiring insurance companies to cover pre-existing conditions and to accept standardized premiums—would produce dysfunctional consequences. It would make little sense for anyone, young or old, to buy insurance before he actually got sick. Such a socialization of costs also happens to be an essential step toward the single payer, national health system, still stridently supported by large parts of the president's base. See: http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052970204518504574416623109362480.html?mod=googlenews_wsj 4) Iran building backup nuke plant in Americas? Venezuelan site could give Hezbollah door to atomic mischief Iran may consider a proposal from Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez to build a backup "nuclear village" in his nation to produce nuclear energy and also to have a safe fall-back production capability in case there is an attack by Israel or the United States on nuclear facilities in Iran, according to a report from Joseph Farah's G2 Bulletin.  Chavez, in a visit last week to Iran, proposed to Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad the idea of building a project in Venezuela. See: http://www.wnd.com/index.php?fa=PAGE.view&pageId=110230 5) UN body urges Israel to allow nuclear inspection Arab states in the United Nations nuclear assembly on Friday won narrow approval of a resolution urging Israel to put all its atomic sites under the world body's inspection and join the Non-Proliferation Treaty.  Israel deplored the measure for singling it out while many of its neighbors remained hostile to its existence, and said it would not cooperate with it.  The non-binding resolution, which passed for the first time in 18 years of attempts thanks to more developing nation votes, voiced concern about "Israeli nuclear capabilities" and urged the International Atomic Energy Agency to tackle the issue. …UN Security Council members Russia and China also backed the resolution, which passed by 49 votes to 45 against in a floor vote at the IAEA's annual member states conference.  The vote split along Western and developing nation lines. There were 16 abstentions. …"The new U.S. [Obama] administration has certainly helped this thinking with its commitment to universal nuclear disarmament and nuclear weapons-free zones," they said. See: http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/1115650.html 5a) Israel Finds Strength in Its Missile Defenses Advanced System Could Alter Strategic Decisions in Region ASHKELON, Israel -- As it pushes for international action against Iran's nuclear program, Israel is steadily assembling one of the world's most advanced missile defense systems, a multi-layered collection of weapons meant to guard against a variety of threats, including the shorter-range Grads used to strike Israeli towns like this one and intercontinental rockets. …With the Arrow system in operation and the Iron Dome due for deployment next year, Israel "has something to stabilize the situation: the knowledge that an attack will fail," said Uzi Rubin, a private defense consultant who ran Israel's missile shield program in the 1990s. Iran, he said, now cannot be assured of a successful first strike against Israel, while groups such as Hamas in Gaza and Hezbollah in Lebanon may find one of their favored tactics undermined. Good thing. They’re going to need it… See: http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/09/18/AR2009091801787.html 5b) Iranian president raises stakes against Israel TEHRAN (Reuters) - President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad raised the stakes against Israel on Friday and called the Holocaust a lie, just as world powers try to decide how to deal with the nuclear ambitions of an Iran in political turmoil. "The pretext (Holocaust) for the creation of the Zionist regime (Israel) is false ... It is a lie based on an unprovable and mythical claim," he told worshippers at Tehran University at the end of an annual anti-Israel "Qods (Jerusalem) Day" rally. …"This regime (Israel) will not last long. Do not tie your fate to it ... This regime has no future. Its life has come to an end," he said in a speech broadcast live on state radio. See: http://in.reuters.com/article/worldNews/idINIndia-42553620090918 5c) Obama promised Jewish homes to Palestinians? Official says American president 'fed up' with Israel JERUSALEM – President Obama is "fed up" with Israel while his administration has given the Palestinians guarantees they will eventually take over Jewish homes and buildings throughout most of the West Bank, a top Palestinian Authority official claimed to WND.  "We heard from the U.S. that no matter what Israel is building in the West Bank, it will not affect a final status agreement to create a Palestinian state," said the PA official, who spoke on condition his name be withheld.  "The Americans told us (Prime Minister Benjamin) Netanyahu might construct in the West Bank for now but we (Palestinians) can enjoy these houses later. The evacuated homes will not be destroyed like some were when Israel pulled out of Gaza," the official said. See: http://www.wnd.com/index.php?fa=PAGE.view&pageId=110241 5d) New York hotel cancels banquet after learning Ahmadinejad invited New York's Helmsley Hotel said on Friday it canceled a banquet set for next week when it learned Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad was on the guest list, saying the man who called the Holocaust a lie was not welcome.  Ahmadinejad was due in New York next week to attend the UN General Assembly, and his public appearances outside the meeting have generated controversy in recent years. "As soon as Helmsley corporate management learned of the possibility of either the Iranian mission or President Ahmadinejad holding a function at the New York Helmsley Hotel, they immediately ordered the cancellation of that function," hotel spokesman Howard Rubenstein said in a statement. Advertisement "Neither the Iranian mission nor President Ahmadinejad is welcome at any Helmsley facility," the statement said without saying why. Good for you, Helmsley! See: http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/1115660.html 6) 51% Say Congress Should Stop Funding ACORN Fifty-one percent (51%) of U.S. voters now say Congress should end all federal funding of the controversial community organizing group ACORN.  A new Rasmussen Reports national telephone survey finds that just 17% favor continued taxpayer support of the Association for Community Organizations for Reform Now. Thirty-two percent (32%) are not sure.  Among those who have been very closely following recent news stories about ACORN, which describes itself as “the nation’s largest grassroots community organization of low- and moderate-income people,” 80% think all federal funding should be ended. See: http://www.rasmussenreports.com/public_content/politics/general_politics/september_2009/51_say_congress_should_stop_funding_acorn 6a) ACORN votes are nothing but 'cover' Bachmann says disgraced group still eligible for billions of tax dollars U.S. Rep. John Boehner of Ohio, the top Republican in the U.S. House of Representatives, is demanding a straight up-or-down vote on a bill dedicated to removing ACORN from the list of recipients of federal largesse, or says he'll force the issue.  And a key conservative vote, U.S. Rep. Michele Bachmann, R-Minn., says unless there is such an action, it will mean the recent votes on that very issue were nothing but "cover." ..The result has been that the U.S. Census Bureau has cut ties to Acorn and both houses of Congress have taken votes to halt funding to the organization. The problem with that, Bachmann says, is that the votes were on amendments to different bills and "still have far to go before they reach the president's pen for signature into law." Bachmann warns, "ACORN still remains eligible for billions of your tax dollars."  "And don't think that the Democrats won't try to strip the ACORN language from whatever bill finally makes it to the White House," Bachmann continued. "These votes were their cover.  "They think that you'll be fooled into thinking that they've heard your outrage and are abandoning their good buddy, ACORN." See: http://www.wnd.com/index.php?fa=PAGE.view&pageId=110292 7) Ron Paul's Fed audit has majority support 'There's going to be a lot of hollering and screaming before this is over' U.S. House hearings are scheduled to start a week from now on a proposal from U.S. Rep. Ron Paul, R-Texas, to audit the Federal Reserve, which oversees U.S. monetary policy, and the congressman believes the plan actually could become law this time. …"We have 289 cosponsors for the bill, including 111 Democrats and all of the Republicans, so we're doing well," he told WND. "It's been referred to the financial services committee, and [Chairman Rep.] Barney Frank said he's willing to move it along."  Frank was the one who scheduled hearings on the proposal to start Sept. 25. See: http://www.wnd.com/index.php?fa=PAGE.view&pageId=110011

Alienating our friends, rewarding our enemies; Pelosi accuses Right of assasination; Obama website sends users to ACORN

1) Obama’s US continues to alienate its friends and reward its enemies…. Barack Obama surrenders to Russia on Missile Defence (Nile Gardiner) I blogged a couple of weeks ago that the Obama administration was about to abandon its plans for Third Site missile defence installations in Poland and the Czech Republic. I wrote then that “if enacted, this would represent a huge turnaround in American strategic thinking on a global missile defence system, and a massive betrayal of two key US allies in eastern and central Europe. Such a move would significantly weaken America’s ability to combat the growing threat posed by Iran’s ballistic missile program, and would hand a major propaganda victory to the Russians.” …This is bad news for all who care about the US commitment to the transatlantic alliance and the defence of Europe as well as the United States. It represents the appalling appeasement of Russian aggression and a willingness to sacrifice American allies on the altar of political expediency. A deal with the Russians to cancel missile defence installations sends a clear message that even Washington can be intimidated by the Russian bear. What signal does this send to Ukraine, Georgia and a host of other former Soviet satellites who look to America and NATO for protection from their powerful neighbour? The impending cancellation of Third Site is a shameful abandonment of America's friends in eastern and central Europe, and a slap in the face for those who actually believed a key agreement with Washington was worth the paper it was written on (emphasis mine). See: http://blogs.telegraph.co.uk/news/nilegardiner/100010237/barack-obama-surrenders-to-russia-on-missile-defence/ “Just like the Carter years, only it’s going to be far, far worse, for both Americans and their allies. Pelosi & crew have been sabotaging Iraq, Afghanistan etc for years, they don’t care their actions can cause the deaths of servicemen. Treason used to be the word. Now the President and his leftist advisors are in the mix as well. Dark days ahead for the civilised world.” comment posted by “yak40” in response to this article. Indeed.  1a) Morning Bell: Surrender and Betrayal Do Not Make Us Safer According to the Wall Street Journal, the Obama administration is justifying its decision on their determination that Iran’s long-range missile program hasn’t progressed as rapidly as previously estimated. This despite the facts that: -On February 2nd, Iran successfully launched a satellite into orbit using a rocket with technology similar to that used in a long-range ballistic missile. -On May 20th, Iran test-fired a 1200-mile solid-fueled two-stage ballistic missile. -On July 15th, Germany’s foreign intelligence service, BND, announced that Iran will be able to produce and test a nuclear weapon within six months. BND also stated that it has “no doubt” that Iran’s missile program is aimed solely at the production of nuclear warheads. -On August 3rd, The Times of London reported that Western intelligence sources concluded that Iran has not only perfected the technology to build and detonate a nuclear weapon, could assemble a weapon in just six months, and could deliver the weapon on Iran’s Shebab-3 ballistic missile. Just yesterday French President Nicolas Sarkozy said: “It is a certainty to all of our secret services. Iran is working today on a nuclear [weapons] program.” The only country other than Iran that is happy with President Obama’s decision is Russia. State Duma foreign affairs committee head Konstantin Kosachev told the Associated Press: “The U.S. president’s decision is a well-thought (out) and systematic one. Now we can talk about restoration of (the) strategic partnership between Russia and the United States.” But, in fact, the missile defense capitulation is just one in a long line of Obama surrenders to Russia. Yes, in exchange for NOTHING!!!!! This move vastly destabilized that whole region! He is setting us up for another World War! All these concessions the Russians pocketed, smiled, and moved on to new demands: European security reconfiguration; additional global reserve currency which would weaken the dollar; and a strong push-back on sanctions against the Iranian nuclear program. …. While the Russians clearly like the better atmospherics, and somewhat toned down the shrill anti-American rhetoric, the Iranians and the Venezuelans, who also received Obama’s “stretched hand” and, in case of Hugo Chavez, a pat on the back, are refusing to play ball. They, like their friends in Moscow, are also pocketing concessions while continuing the mischief. See: http://blog.heritage.org/2009/09/17/morning-bell-surrender-and-betrayal-do-not-make-us-safer/ 1b) Polish PM wouldn't take U.S. calls Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk confirmed today that he declined last night to take a call from the U.S. informing him of the decision to scrap planned missile-defense bases in his country. Two U.S.-based sources close to the Polish government said Thursday that Tusk also rejected a call from Secretary of State Hillary Clinton — on the grounds that, as the head of the government, he should speak to the president. "Hillary called — and the reason he turned it down was because of protocol," said a source. Questions about the exchanges surfaced in the Polish press after Obama reached the Czech prime minister late last night to warn of the policy change, but did not speak to the Pole until this morning. And the static offers a glimpse at the distress beneath the diplomatic facade being offered by Eastern European leaders. …Tusk said he declined to speak with President Obama during the night because he wanted to “properly prepare for the discussion." See: http://www.politico.com/blogs/bensmith/0909/Polish_PM_wouldnt_take_US_calls.html   2) AP NewsBreak: Nuke agency says Iran can make bomb VIENNA – Iran experts at the U.N.'s nuclear monitoring agency believe that Tehran has the ability to make a nuclear bomb and worked on developing a missile system that can carry an atomic warhead, according to a confidential report seen by The Associated Press. The document drafted by senior officials at the International Atomic Energy Agency is the clearest indication yet that those officials share Washington's views on Iran's weapon-making capabilities and missile technology — even if they have not made those views public. See: http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20090918/ap_on_re_eu/eu_iran_nuclear 2a) Iranian president raises stakes against Israel TEHRAN (Reuters) - President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad raised the stakes against Israel on Friday and called the Holocaust a lie, just as world powers try to decide how to deal with the nuclear ambitions of an Iran in political turmoil. "The pretext (Holocaust) for the creation of the Zionist regime (Israel) is false ... It is a lie based on an unprovable and mythical claim," he told worshippers at Tehran University at the end of an annual anti-Israel "Qods (Jerusalem) Day" rally. "Confronting the Zionist regime is a national and religious duty." …"This regime (Israel) will not last long. Do not tie your fate to it ... This regime has no future. Its life has come to an end," he said in a speech broadcast live on state radio. See: http://in.reuters.com/article/worldNews/idINIndia-42553620090918 3) Ex-CIA chiefs seek halt to interrogations probe (more alienating friends and rewarding our sworn enemies) WASHINGTON – Seven former CIA directors asked President Barack Obama on Friday to quash a criminal probe of harsh interrogations of terror suspects during the Bush administration. The CIA directors, who served both Democratic and Republican presidents and include three who worked under President George W. Bush, made their request in a letter Friday to the White House. …"If criminal investigations closed by career prosecutors during one administration can so easily be reopened at the direction of political appointees in the next, declinations of prosecution will be rendered meaningless," wrote the former directors. …In their letter, the former directors warned that the investigations could discourage CIA officers from doing the kind of aggressive intelligence work needed to counter terrorism and may inhibit foreign governments from working with the United States. See: http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20090919/ap_on_go_ca_st_pe/us_cia_interrogations’ 4) Obama in media blitz to push health care overhaul (the propaganda continues) WASHINGTON – President Barack Obama is sitting down for interviews with five television networks this afternoon, a highly unusual schedule even for a president who regularly uses the media to get his message across. Obama will be taping interviews with ABC, CBS, NBC, CNN and Univision that will be shown during the networks' Sunday morning talk shows. The only network missing from the lineup is Fox (How shocking!) Obama also is visiting David Letterman on Monday, the first appearance ever by a sitting president on Letterman's "Late Show." White House aides say Obama agreed to the interviews to reach as many people as possible with his health care overhaul message. See: http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20090919/ap_on_go_pr_wh/us_obama_media_blitz And: http://www.usatoday.com/news/washington/2009-09-17-Obama-TV_N.htm 4a) Health Care Reform Opposition to Health Care Plan Hits New High of 56% Fifty-six percent (56%) of voters nationwide now oppose the health care reform proposed by President Obama and congressional Democrats. That’s the highest level of opposition yet measured and includes 44% who are Strongly Opposed. See: http://www.rasmussenreports.com/public_content/politics/current_events/healthcare/september_2009/health_care_reform 4b) 45% Of Doctors Would Consider Quitting If Congress Passes Health Care Overhaul Two of every three practicing physicians oppose the medical overhaul plan under consideration in Washington, and hundreds of thousands would think about shutting down their practices or retiring early if it were adopted, a new IBD/TIPP Poll has found. See: http://www.investors.com/NewsAndAnalysis/Article.aspx?id=506199 4c) Pelosi warns right of inciting "violence" — invoking Harvey Milk murder (and cries crocodile tears) Pelosi stumbled when asked about Rep. Joe Wilson's "You lie!" outburst and its impact on civility in the House, momentarily overcome by emotion. "I think we all have to take action and responsibility for our words — we are a free country and this balance between freedom and safety is one that we, um, have to carefully balance," said Pelosi, who made no direct mention of Republicans. Boo Hoo. I wonder if she was overcome by the same emotion when Harry Reid called George W. Bush a liar, or when George W. Bush was booed by Democrats…my guess is probably not.  …The Pelosi scrap mirrors an earlier fight. In April, the Department of Homeland Security set off a firestorm of protest when it acknowledged it had produced a report titled: "Right-Wing Extremism: Current Economic and Political Climate Fueling Resurgence in Radicalization and Recruitment," which warned that right-wing groups could be spurred to violence by the election of the nation's first African-American president. …“Speaker Pelosi is right that the American people are upset, but it is her own words that continue to fuel voter frustration in America," Sessions said in a statement sent to POLITICO. "No longer content with criticizing concerned citizens for being ‘un-American,’ the Speaker is now likening genuine opposition to assassination (emphasis mine). Such insulting rhetoric not only undermines the credibility of her office, but it underscores the desperate attempt by her party to divert attention away from a failing agenda." See: http://www.politico.com/blogs/glennthrush/0909/Pelosi_warns_GOP_of_inciting_violence_Was_she_invoking_Milk_murder.html And: http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/09/17/AR2009091704514.html 5) House votes to deny all federal funds for ACORN WASHINGTON – The House voted Thursday to deny all federal funds for ACORN in a GOP-led strike against the scandal-tainted community organizing group that comes just three days after the Senate took similar action. "ACORN has violated serious federal laws, and today the House voted to ensure that taxpayer dollars would no longer be used to fund this corrupt organization," said second-ranked House Republican Eric Cantor of Virginia. The vote, on a provision attached to a student aid bill, was 345-75, with Democrats supplying all the "no" votes. See: http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20090918/ap_on_go_co/us_congress_acorn 5a) New Obama Site serv.gov Sends Users to ACORN RUSH: From Andrew Breitbart's BigGovernment.com website, Dana Loesch with this post: "The Obama Administration has placed a large premium on what it calls 'national service.' It has launched a website, www.Serve.gov, that is reported to act as a clearing house for Americans eager to 'give back' to their communities. Unfortunately, Americans looking for an opportunity to volunteer may get something they weren’t expecting. By typing 'ACORN' into the search field entitled 'What interests you' at Serve.gov, you’re transported to allforgood.org where you can choose from a list of volunteer opportunities, including 'healthcare activist.' This particular 'volunteer' opportunity is with the Tuscon ACORN office." So serve.gov is basically a circuitous way to get people back into ACORN, to join ACORN, and it's being run out of the White House. Check it out, take a look at it and see where it takes you, www.serve.gov. See: http://www.rushlimbaugh.com/home/daily/site_091809/content/01125104.guest.html 6) Federal Government to Take Over all Student Loans Rush: You know what the House of Representatives are voting on right now? Which means it's going to pass. Eliminating all private loans by 2010 in the student loan program. The federal government will take over the entire student loan program next year. That means that all higher-education loans will be controlled by Obama and his minions.  See: http://www.rushlimbaugh.com/home/daily/site_091709/content/01125104.guest.html And: http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/09/17/AR2009091702192.html?hpid=moreheadlines 7) Unemployment Hits 10.3% in New York City See: http://www.nytimes.com/2009/09/18/nyregion/18unemploy.html?ref=todayspaper 8) Democrats join GOP czar wars In the war on the czars, Glenn Beck and the GOP are picking up reinforcements from an unlikely source: the Democratic Party. …Democratic Sen. Russ Feingold of Wisconsin joined the anti-czar chorus Wednesday, asking Obama to detail the roles and responsibilities of all of the czars in his administration and to explain why he believes the use of czars is consistent with the Senate’s constitutional power to offer advice and consent on top-level executive branch officials.  “To the extent that this undercuts that role and people are put in the place of Cabinet people and really are the key authorities and you can’t question them, that’s something worth talking about,” Feingold said. “I think it’s a fair point.” …Although the czar charge has come mostly from the right, Feingold isn’t the only Democrat to voice concerns about the issue.  Sen. Dianne Feinstein said in an interview Wednesday that there needs to be better Senate oversight… Feinstein said she thinks it’s a “problem” when the White House appoints someone to a czar position that is not clearly defined. “I don’t know what a car czar does, for example,” she said.  Sen. Robert Byrd (D-W.Va.) — a fierce defender of congressional authority — argued in a letter last February that the czars may upset checks and balances in the federal government. See: http://www.politico.com/news/stories/0909/27265.html’ 9) Cass Sunstein wants to spread America's wealth Echoes Van Jones on using 'environmental justice' to redistribute money JERUSALEM – It is "desirable" to redistribute America's wealth to poorer nations, argued President Obama's newly confirmed regulatory czar, Cass Sunstein.  According to Sunstein, global climate change is primarily the fault of U.S. environmental behavior and can, therefore, be used as a mechanism to redistribute the country's wealth. …The Obama czar penned a 2007 University of Chicago Law School paper – obtained and reviewed by WND – in which he debated whether America should pay "justice" to the world by entering into a compensation agreement that would be a net financial loss for the U.S.  Sunstein heavily leans on the side of such an agreement, particularly a worldwide carbon tax that would heavily tariff the U.S.  A prominent theme throughout Sunstein's 39-page paper, entitled "Climate Change Justice," maintains U.S. wealth should be redistributed to poorer nations. He uses terms such as "distributive justice" several times. The paper was written with fellow attorney Eric A. Posner. See: http://www.wnd.com/index.php?fa=PAGE.view&pageId=110031 9a) Sunstein: Obama, not courts, should interpret law 'Beliefs and commitments' of nation's leader should supersede judges JERUSALEM – The interpretation of federal law should be made not by judges but by the beliefs and commitments of the U.S. president and those around him, according to President Obama's newly confirmed regulatory czar, Cass Sunstein.  "There is no reason to believe that in the face of statutory ambiguity, the meaning of federal law should be settled by the inclinations and predispositions of federal judges. The outcome should instead depend on the commitments and beliefs of the President and those who operate under him," argued Sunstein.  This statement was the central thesis of Sunstein's 2006 Yale Law School paper, "Beyond Marbury: The Executive's Power to Say What the Law Is." The paper, in which he argues the president and his advisers should be the ones to interpret federal laws, was obtained and reviewed by WND. See: http://www.wnd.com/index.php?fa=PAGE.view&pageId=110103

ACORN: murder and ties w/Barbara Boxer, Silencing House speech, Venezuela goes nuclear w/help from Russia

1) Poll: Americans Overwhelmingly Oppose Obamacare on Key Points …Asked if they agree or disagree that the federal government should require all Americans to purchase health insurance or face a fine — a provision favored by Democrats — 70.2 percent said they disagree, and only 18.5 percent agree. The rest are not sure.  A resounding 75 percent of respondents said that taxes should not be raised to fund a government-run health insurance program for Americans who do not have health insurance.  The pollsters stated: "President Obama is promoting a new government agency called the 'Independent Medicare Advisory Council,' and some people believe this agency should use its powers to deny payment for procedures it deems unnecessary or futile."  Critics say such power would interfere with the doctor-patient relationship, the pollsters noted, and many consider it a form of healthcare rationing. Nearly 59 percent said they oppose the creation of the council, and just 30.6 percent support it.  Some Republicans have called for provisions allowing Americans to purchase health insurance from providers outside their state as an alternative to Obama's proposed government-supported "public option" insurance plan. Respondents said they favor such provisions by an overwhelming margin, 82.8 percent to 6.9 percent.  Also, 78.5 percent of those polled believe tort reform is needed to lower the cost of medical malpractice insurance, an issue that Obama has not seriously addressed. And 77.3 percent oppose plans to tax employer-provided healthcare benefits. See: http://www.newsmax.com/headlines/obama_healthcare_zog/2009/09/14/259999.html 2) GOP senator wants investigation of ACORN WASHINGTON – A Republican lawmaker on Tuesday urged the Justice Department to investigate ACORN, a community organization under fire for several voter-registration fraud cases. Sen. Mike Johanns, R-Neb., wrote Attorney General Eric Holder requesting the investigation. He cited reports that ACORN, which stands for the Association of Community Organizations for Reform Now, may "have been engaged in illegal activity" by aiding and abetting tax evasion, prostitution, human trafficking, fraud and conspiracy. The Senate voted Monday to block the Housing and Urban Development Department from giving grants to ACORN following a measure introduced by Johanns. The Nebraska lawmaker said the organization has received more than $50 million in taxpayer funds since 1994. Hidden-camera videos released by conservative activists posing as a prostitute and a pimp have shown ACORN employees giving advice on home buying and how to account on tax forms for the woman's income. See: http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20090916/ap_on_go_co/us_congress_acorn 2a) Exposing ACORN (from a Sean Hannity e-mail post): Hannah Giles, who posed as a prostitute in the undercover ACORN videos, and Andrew Breitbart both joined Sean on the NewsMaker hotline. Breitbart and Giles have released the hidden camera videos from three separate locations, Baltimore, Washington D. C. and Brooklyn, exposing ACORN dishing out the same advice. Breitbart plans to release two additional videos tonight! When asked about ACORN’s threats to sue over the release of the videos, Breitbart replied firmly, “bring it on (emphasis mine).” If ACORN does file suit, Breitbart and his attorneys will be entitled to “discovery,” granting them inside access to ACORN – a catastrophe for an organization so allegedly corrupt. Make sure to tune in tonight to Hannity on FoxNews to watch the latest video from Breitbart exposing ACORN for what it really is. 2b) ACORN mulls suit against Fox News Facing intensifying scrutiny after the release of several disturbing hidden camera videos, the community organizing group, ACORN, is threatening to sue Fox News, the website Breitbart.com and the two conservative activists who produced the exposes.  ACORN is alleging that the filmmakers committed a felony by shooting the footage of ACORN employees in the act of providing advice on how to falsify tax forms and set-up a child prostitution business—to a man and a woman posing as a pimp and a prostitute.  A lawyer for ACORN said Monday that statutes in Maryland and the District of Columbia made the undercover filming illegal and that the same laws should prohibit the rebroadcast of the tapes by the Web site BigGovernment.com, where they were first posted last week, and on Fox News, which aired clips of the videos. Unbelievable… …If it is determined that the audio portion now being heard on YouTube was illegally obtained, it is also illegal under Maryland Law to willfully use or willfully disclose the content of said audio. The penalty for the unlawful interception, disclosure or use of it is a felony punishable up to 5 years. See: http://www.politico.com/news/stories/0909/27139.html And: http://www.glennbeck.com/content/articles/article/198/30570/ 2c) Worst Acorn video yet If you didn't think ACORN could get any worse after several of their employees (in multiple locations) tried to help a prostitute buy a house, lie to the IRS and run a brothel with underage hookers from El Salvador...you were wrong. It gets much worse. In today's tapes, this ACORN employee gives away the farm -- she names names of politicians she talks to each day, plus what bills they are lobbying heavily for (with taxpayer money). Oh, this Acorn employee is also a former hooker herself, who (in this audio tape) admits to killing her abusive husband. Your tax dollars hard at work! See: http://www.glennbeck.com/content/articles/article/198/30591/ …"I shot him. I shot him," she states. "I just picked up the gun and said f--- you and I shot him and he died right there." She confirms it was in self-defense.  "Before that I had done … some groundwork, went into the domestic violence shelter, pleaded my case with them, so everybody in town would know this was happening," she continued.  She also boasts of her influence with area politicians, including Sen. Barbara Boxer, and tells the undercover operatives they can run their business the way they want.  "It's about how you want it to be run. You can mold it into the level of decency or indecency (you want)," she said.  There's also nothing wrong with using the ill-gotten gains to run a political campaign, as the operatives have portrayed, she said.  "Do you think that even Obama, our new president, or any of them actually put down every single resource where they got their money?" she said. See: http://www.wnd.com/index.php?fa=PAGE.view&pageId=109954 3) Lawmaker's 'You lie' outburst draws House rebuke WASHINGTON – Bitterly divided along party lines, the House formally rebuked Republican Rep. Joe Wilson Tuesday for shouting "You lie" at President Barack Obama during last week's nationally televised speech to Congress. The rare resolution of disapproval was pushed through by Democrats insisting that Wilson, a South Carolina lawmaker, had violated basic rules of decorum and civility in his outburst. Republicans dismissed the vote as a political "witch hunt" and a waste of precious time and taxpayers' money. Wilson had called the White House to apologize shortly after the incident, and he said at the time that the president "graciously accepted my apology and the issue is over." Republicans agreed, but several Democrats pressed the issue. …The Office of the House Historian said the resolution marked the first time in the 220-year history of the House that a member had been admonished for speaking out while the president was giving an address. A resolution of disapproval is less severe than other disciplinary action available to the House, including censure or expulsion. See: http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20090915/ap_on_go_co/us_health_care_heckling 3a) Source: Wilson breaks $1 million A source on Rep. Joe Wilson's campaign says his fundraising has broken $1 million -- and surpassed that of his Democratic rival, Rob Miller -- since his outburst of "You lie!" during President Obama's address to Congress Wednesday. The source said Wilson's current tally is $1,005,021 from 18,859 donations amid a high-profile campaign on the Drudge Report and elsewhere telling conservatives that Wilson is "under attack" for his willingness to take on Obama. See: http://www.politico.com/blogs/bensmith/0909/Wilson_campaign_Fundraising_breaks_1_million_passes_Miller.html 3b) House guidelines for Presidential put-downs House Rules Committee Chairwoman Louise Slaughter (D-NY) has released a helpful, updated primer for members regarding their conduct on the floor and in committees. Especially useful: The section on how to properly insult the executive branch in the in the chamber. "Disgrace" and "nitwits" -- okay. "Liar" or "sexual misconduct" -- ixnay. Under section 370 of the House Rules and Manual it has been held that a Member could: • refer to the government as “something hated, something oppressive.” • refer to the President as “using legislative or judicial pork.” • refer to a Presidential message as a “disgrace to the country.” • refer to unnamed officials as “our half-baked nitwits handling foreign affairs.” Likewise, it has been held that a member could not: • call the President a “liar.” • call the President a “hypocrite.” • describe the President’s veto of a bill as “cowardly.” • charge that the President has been “intellectually dishonest.” • refer to the President as “giving aid and comfort to the enemy.” • refer to alleged “sexual misconduct on the President’s part.” Brilliant and shining proof that the Constitution is indeed a rag and that 1st Amendment free speech rights no longer exist. I couldn’t make this stuff up if I tried.  See: http://www.politico.com/blogs/glennthrush/0909/House_guidelines_for_Presidential_putdowns.html 4) Press Accuracy Rating Hits Two Decade Low Public Evaluations of the News Media: 1985-2009 The public’s assessment of the accuracy of news stories is now at its lowest level in more than two decades of Pew Research surveys, and Americans’ views of media bias and independence now match previous lows.  Just 29% of Americans say that news organizations generally get the facts straight, while 63% say that news stories are often inaccurate. In the initial survey in this series about the news media’s performance in 1985, 55% said news stories were accurate while 34% said they were inaccurate. That percentage had fallen sharply by the late 1990s and has remained low over the last decade. No kidding… See: http://people-press.org/report/543/ 5) Obama supports extending Patriot Act provisions WASHINGTON – The Obama administration supports extending three key provisions of the Patriot Act that are due to expire at the end of the year, the Justice Department told Congress in a letter made public Tuesday. Lawmakers and civil rights groups had been pressing the Democratic administration to say whether it wants to preserve the post-Sept. 11 law's authority to access business records, as well as monitor so-called "lone wolf" terrorists and conduct roving wiretaps. The provision on business records was long criticized by rights groups as giving the government access to citizens' library records, and a coalition of liberal and conservative groups complained that the Patriot Act gives the government too much authority to snoop into Americans' private lives. …The lone wolf provision was created to conduct surveillance on suspects with no known link to foreign governments or terrorist groups. It has never been used, but the administration says it should still be available for future investigations. See: http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20090915/ap_on_go_ca_st_pe/us_patriot_act 6) Venezuela to Develop Nuclear Energy With Russian Help (Update1) Sept. 13 (Bloomberg) -- Venezuela President Hugo Chavez said the South American country plans to develop a nuclear energy program with Russia and doesn’t want to build an atomic bomb.  Chavez said that the country’s oil and gas reserves won’t last forever and the government will seek alternative energy sources. Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin agreed to help Venezuela’s nuclear energy program during a meeting in Moscow last week, Chavez said.  “We’re not going to make an atomic bomb, so don’t bother us like with Iran,” he said on state television. “We’re going to develop nuclear energy with peaceful purposes.” Sure, Chavez, sure, sure.   See: http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601086&sid=aElQ3UEU9eYM 7) Obama school 'safety' chief: How to jam homosexuality President Obama's choice to monitor school safety once boasted that he introduced homosexual advocacy into the school system in Massachusetts by manipulating the message presented to lawmakers. The revelations about Kevin Jennings, who was named assistant deputy secretary for the office of Safe & Drug Free Schools in the U.S. Department of Education, come just as several of Obama's "czars" have come under scrutiny for their actions, opinions and affiliations. …Technically, Jennings is not one of Obama's "czars," who are special advisers to the president accountable to no one but the president. Jennings was named to a post in the Department of Education. However, his hiring did not require legislative oversight, such as the Senate vetting process required for other appointees.  Jennings is the founder and former executive director of the Gay, Lesbian, and Straight Education Network, which "works to make schools safe for all students, regardless of sexual orientation or gender identity," according to the government announcement of his appointment. See: http://www.wnd.com/index.php?fa=PAGE.view&pageId=109556 8) Evangelical journalist boycotted by U.N. Refused permission to cover coming meetings A journalist who has written 38 books, including five New York Times best-sellers, hundreds of articles for the Jerusalem Post and Washington Times and has appeared on Fox, NBC, CNN and MSNBC, has had his request for permission to cover the coming U.N. meetings in New York rejected because the U.N. said it couldn't establish his bona fides.  Michael Evans contends it is a simple matter of picking him out for refusal because of his conservative beliefs and opposition to the scheduled appearance by Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad at the meetings in New York.  "I am certain this is why the U.N. has rejected my application for accreditation," Evans, who for two decades has been a specialist on the Middle East, told WND. "There is no good and valid reason for them to say that I'm not a legitimate journalist." See: http://www.wnd.com/index.php?fa=PAGE.view&pageId=109852

Bomb threat to Tea Party organizers, O Hijacks 9/11, Iran beware, Pro-lifer murdered, Planned P in schools?

1) Thousands march to US Capitol to protest spending WASHINGTON – Tens of thousands of people marched to the U.S. Capitol on Saturday, carrying signs with slogans such as "Obamacare makes me sick" as they protested the president's health care plan and what they say is out-of-control spending. The line of protesters spread across Pennsylvania Avenue for blocks, all the way to the capitol, according to the D.C. Homeland Security and Emergency Management Agency. People were chanting "enough, enough" and "We the People." Others yelled "You lie, you lie!" and "Pelosi has to go," referring to California congresswoman Nancy Pelosi. The crowd included my husband… See: http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20090912/ap_on_re_us/us_taxpayer_rally 1a) Bomb Threat Forces Evacuation of DC TEA Party Planners …A FreedomWorks staffer told ABC News that the organization's offices at 601 Pennsylvania Avenue were evacuated on Friday afternoon by DC Metro Police because of a bomb scare.  DC Metro police has confirmed to ABC News' Jason Ryan that the DC Metro police had, indeed, evacuated the organization's offices after being told by the organization that it had received a bomb threat.  The threat came when a man called the FreedomWorks main line and told the organization's female receptionist: "I put a bomb in your building, bxtxh." The FreedomWorks staffer who spoke with ABC News said that the organization has received multiple threats but that for some reason, the DC Metro police thought that this one was credible enough to evacuate the building (emphasis mine). More “pacifist” tactics… See: http://blogs.abcnews.com/george/2009/09/bomb-threat-forces-evacuation-of-dc-tea-party-planners.html 2) Federal deficit hits $1.38 trillion through August WASHINGTON – The federal deficit surged higher into record territory in August, hitting $1.38 trillion with one month left in the budget year. The soaring deficits have raised worries about the willingness of foreigners to keep purchasing Treasury debt. The Chinese, now the largest foreign owners of U.S. Treasury securities, have expressed concerns about runaway deficits. Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner and other administration officials have sought to address those concerns by insisting that once the recession is over and the financial system is stabilized, the administration will move forcefully to get the deficits under control. However, Republican critics contend the administration does not have a credible plan to address future deficits. Private economists worry the country could face the grim prospect of seeing interest rates soar in future years and the dollar weaken as foreigners dump their U.S. holdings. See: http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20090911/ap_on_bi_go_ec_fi/us_federal_budget 3) Obama Hijacks 9/11, Twists it Into National Day of Service to the State RUSH: President Obama was in New York earlier this week to memorialize Walter Cronkite, but just a few days later President Obama did not come to New York to memorialize what happened at the Twin Towers eight years ago today, nor did he send Biden to New York to memorialize Cronkite, but he did send Biden to memorialize 9/11. But he did not. But I do want to start with my own remembrance of 9/11, eight years ago today. I often think of Todd Beamer when I think of 9/11. Todd Beamer, his impromptu Band of Brothers, they were on Flight 93 eight years ago today. Small group of private citizens, remarkable patriots, American heroes; didn't wait for a government official to tell them what to do. They were every bit as heroic and necessary for the survival of America as any of our military fighting forces have been through the years, and that's not to diminish anybody but to elevate both groups of people. Todd Beamer and his Band of Brothers on Flight 93 loved their country; they fought bravely for it; they saw evil; they fearlessly dealt with it. On that day without notice or training they gave the full measure of devotion.   …Before I go further, I want you to hear how President Obama is commemorating 9/11. This could be the most outrageous moment yet of the Obama presidency, twisting 9/11 into a nationalist day of service to the state. OBAMA: On this first National Day of Service and Remembrance, we can summon once more that ordinary goodness of America to serve our communities, to strengthen our country, and to better our world. Let us renew our common purpose, let us remember how we came together as one nation, as one people, as Americans, united not only in our grief but in our resolve to stand with one another, to stand up for the country we all love. RUSH: This is an outrage, to take this day and to twist it into a nationalist day of service to the state and to our communities is insulting. It's insensitive. It is beyond the pale, but it's typical of who Obama is. This happened this morning in Arlington at the Pentagon, the 9/11 memorial service.  See: http://www.rushlimbaugh.com/home/daily/site_091109/content/01125106.guest.html 3a) HHS Remembers 9/11 with Swine Flu Prevention? All over the country, people are remembering the Sept. 11 attacks in their own various ways - visiting memorial sites, attending ceremonies, reflecting on their own experience, watching the television coverage.  But at the Department of Health and Human Services, Sept. 11 is another way to remember...swine flu prevention.  Huh? See: http://www.politico.com/click/stories/0909/with_swine_flu_prevention.html 4) Census Bureau Severs Ties With ACORN The Census Director has sent a letter to the National Headquarters of ACORN notifying the group that it will no longer have a role in conducting the 2010 census. ACORN had previously been tapped to help with low level data gathering. It’s about time! See: http://www.foxnews.com/politics/2009/09/11/census-bureau-severs-ties-acorn/ 4a) ACORN Fires More Officials for Helping 'Pimp,' 'Prostitute' in Washington Office Two more ACORN officials were fired Friday after a second video surfaced showing staffers in the community organizers' Washington office offering to help a man and woman posing as a pimp and prostitute acquire illegal home loans that would help them set up a brothel. The firings came less than 24 hours after another pair of ACORN officials from the group's Baltimore office were canned for instructing the "pimp" and "prostitute" how to falsify tax forms and seek illegal benefits for 13 "very young" girls from El Salvador that pair said they wanted to import to work as child prostitutes. Both of the encounters were videotaped on a hidden camera wielded by 25-year-old independent filmmaker James O'Keefe, posing as the pimp — tapes that have ignited calls for investigations of ACORN, the Association of Community Organizations for Reform Now. See: http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,549241,00.html 5) House Democrats to Wilson: Apologize or Face Censure Sen. Arlen Specter, angling to win over liberals as he tries to fend off a primary challenge from Rep. Joe Sestak, has called for the censure of Rep. Joe Wilson for shouting "You Lie" during President Obama's speech to a joint session of Congress.  "Rep. Wilson apologized immediately afterward but I don't think that’s adequate," Specter wrote on Twitter this morning. "There ought to be a reprimand or censure of Rep. Joe Wilson to discourage that kind of conduct in the future."  Elsewhere, the Politico reminds us that Harry Reid called President Bush a liar, and refused to apologize (emphasis mine). See: http://spectator.org/blog/2009/09/10/specter-calls-for-censure-of-j And: http://www.foxnews.com/politics/2009/09/10/house-democrats-consider-punishing-wilson-outburst/ And: http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20090912/ap_on_go_co/us_health_care_heckling_wilson And: http://blogs.abcnews.com/thenote/2009/09/house-will-vote-on-disapproval-of-joe-wilson-comments.html And: http://www.politico.com/news/stories/0909/27021.html 5a) Wilson Appeals for Funds, 'Will Not Be Muzzled' Rep. Joe Wilson released a combative fundraising video on Thursday asking supporters for donations, saying his outburst during President Obama's health care address was "wrong," but that he "will not be muzzled." "The supporters of the government takeover of health care and the liberals who want to give health care to illegals are using my opposition as an excuse to distract from the critical questions being raised about this poorly conceived plan," Wilson said in the video. "I will not be muzzled. I will speak up loudly against this risky plan." See: http://www.foxnews.com/politics/2009/09/11/rep-wilsons-outburst-boosts-opponents-fundraising/?test=latestnews 6) Boehner: GOP leaders haven't met Obama for health talks since April The ball is in President Obama's court to reach out to Republicans if he wants a bipartisan bill on healthcare reform, House GOP Leader John Boehner (Ohio) said Monday morning. Boehner told reporters that the president has not invited House GOP leaders to the White House for meetings on healthcare reform since the end of April. Earlier this year, GOP leaders sent a letter to the president in May stating that they would like to work with the administration to find "common ground" on healthcare reform. But the administration responded with a tersely worded letter indicating that they had healthcare reform under control. See: http://thehill.com/blogs/blog-briefing-room/news/57859-boehner-gop-leaders-havent-met-obama-for-health-talks-since-april 6a) Republicans to Obama: Here Are Our Health Plans Republicans have drawn up 35 different health care proposals this year, undermining President Obama's statements in recent weeks that opponents of his health care plan have no solutions. Republicans have an offer -- or 35 -- for President Obama if he is serious about wanting to listen to alternative proposals. "You've got the House working group -- solutions working group on health care; you've got a proposal there. You've got H.R. 3400. Or you could go to healthcare.gop.gov and you can see all of the proposals -- all of them. They're right there," House Minority Leader John Boehner, R-Ohio, told reporters on Thursday. H.R. 3400 is the Small Business Health Fairness Act. It calls for small businesses to offer employees health insurance through group health plans. It's one of several options Republicans are hoping to use to gain some traction in the debate.  See: http://www.foxnews.com/politics/2009/09/10/republicans-obama-heres-health-plans/ 6b) Obamacare gives Planned Parenthood entry to schools? The House's proposed health national health plan would establish "school-based health clinics" on campuses, and one group is warning it could give Planned Parenthood direct access to American schoolchildren at taxpayer expense.  The American Family Association, or AFA, is warning that Section 2511 of H.R.3200, or the House plan, titled "School-Based Health Clinics," allows a "non-profit health agency" to serve as a "sponsoring facility" for health clinics that operate during school hours. AFA has provided a document with actual language from H.R.3200 that outlines requirements for the program.   AFA notes that under this provision Planned Parenthood would be authorized to serve as a "sponsoring facility" for the nation's schools.  "Although the bulk of the health care bill is scheduled to go into effect in 2013, this particular provision is slated to go into effect next summer, in time for clinics to appear in public schools by next fall," an AFA memo stated. See: http://www.wnd.com/index.php?fa=PAGE.view&pageId=109450 7) Cass Sunstein confirmed in 57-40 vote Cass Sunstein, a White House nominee who has drawn serious fire from the right, cleared the Senate on a mostly partisan vote Thursday.  Sunstein was confirmed as director of the White House Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs, a largely bureaucratic position in which he’ll oversee the effectiveness of federal regulations. But his nomination has roiled conservatives, led by Fox News host Glenn Beck, who have taken aim at Sunstein for some of his more liberal positions on animal rights and end-of-life care. See: http://www.politico.com/news/stories/0909/27019.html 7a) Obama's regulatory chief pushes new 'bill of rights' Cass Sunstein part of effort to change interpretation of Constitution by 2020 NEW YORK – A government that is constitutionally required to offer each citizen a "useful" job in the farms or industries of the nation.  A country whose leadership intercedes to ensure every farmer can sell his product for a good return.  A nation that has the power to act against "unfair competition" and monopolies in business.  This is not a description of Cuba, communist China or the old USSR. It's the vision of the future of the U.S, as mandated by a radical new "bill of rights" drawn up and pushed by President Obama's newly confirmed regulatory czar, Cass Sunstein. Until now, Sunstein's proposal has received little scrutiny. In 2004, Sunstein penned a book, "The Second Bill of Rights: FDR'S Unfinished Revolution and Why We Need It More than Ever," in which he advanced the radical notion that welfare rights, including some controversial inceptions, be granted by the state. His inspiration for a new bill of rights came from President Roosevelt's 1944 proposal of a different, new set of bill of rights.  WND has learned that in April 2005, Sunstein opened up a conference at Yale Law School entitled "The Constitution in 2020," which sought to change the nature and interpretation of the Constitution by that year. See: http://www.wnd.com/index.php?fa=PAGE.view&pageId=109529 8) U.S., 5 Partner Countries Accept Iran's Offer to Hold International Talks WASHINGTON -- The United States and five partner countries have accepted Iran's new offer to hold talks, even though Iran insists it will not negotiate over its disputed nuclear program, the State Department said Friday. See: http://www.foxnews.com/politics/2009/09/11/partner-countries-accept-irans-offer-hold-international-talks/ 8a) Iran beware: Israel tests 'secret weapon' Netanyahu's trip to Russia a diversion? The mystery that surrounded Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's unannounced trip to Russia on Monday was created by the Israeli government in a calculation to divert attention from a secret weapons test, according to sources.  The test, held at undisclosed Israeli military base while Netanyahu was traveling, was done with top-secret authorization from the White House, the sources reported.  Trusted confidential Israeli sources in Jerusalem close to the government told WND the Israeli military conducted the secret weapons test in preparation for a planned pre-emptive strike on Iran. …The plan to create a mystery out of Netanyahu's trip to Russia was deliberate – calculated to transform what in truth was a routine visit by the prime minister into the appearance of a secret mission involving Iran, the sources said. See: http://www.wnd.com/index.php?fa=PAGE.view&pageId=109511 9) Gibbs bashes CNN: Says 'checking would be good' White House press secretary Robert Gibbs chastised CNN Friday morning for its reporting on a Coast Guard training exercise on ... ... the Potomac River, which suggested a security incident was in progress in the nation's capital.  "Before we report things like this, checking would be good," Gibbs said.   Responding directly to a CNN reporter's question about whether the public should have been notified about a training exercise, Gibbs was harshly sarcastic: "If anybody was unnecessarily alarmed based on erroneous reporting that denoted that shots had been fired, I think everybody is apologetic about that." See: http://www.politico.com/politico44/perm/0909/gibbs_bashes_cnn_33aa28ad-a9c1-4873-84cb-60024cc0096d.html And: http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20090911/ap_on_go_ca_st_pe/us_coast_guard_sept11 10) Texas governor sends Rangers to Mexico border Perry accuses federal government of failing to ‘adequately secure’ zone HOUSTON - Special teams of Texas Rangers will be deployed to the Texas-Mexico border to deal with increasing violence because the federal government has failed to address growing problems there, Gov. Rick Perry said Thursday. ...The forces, dubbed "Ranger recon" teams, are the latest effort "to fill the gap that's been left by the federal government's ongoing failure to adequately secure our international border with Mexico," he said. See: http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/32793136/ns/us_news-security/ 11) Pro-Life Advocate Murdered Outside Michigan School While Protesting Abortion Owosso, MI (LifeNews.com) -- Local officials and state police are confirming that a pro-life advocate was shot and killed outside a high school in this Michigan town. The person, who is described as well-known but whose identity has not been released, was shot multiple times while protesting abortion outside Owosso High School. LifeNews.com has learned that the pro-life advocate is James Pouillon and the local Argus Press newspaper in Owosso has confirmed that to be the case. He was reportedly shot multiple times. …Sara Edwards, the chief assistant prosecutor for Shiawassee County, has confirmed that Pouillon's pro-life stance was the reason he was targeted and said the suspect officials have in custody disapproved of his abortion protests outside the schools. “There was some displeasure with how open he was,” she said. “He tended to carry big signs with very graphic pictures of fetuses.” Those “pacifists” are at it again… See: http://www.lifenews.com/state4409.html 11a) Slain Pro-Life Advocate Jim Pouillon Known as the Peaceful Abortion Sign Guy See: http://www.lifenews.com/state4410.html 12) What does Pelosi know about Obama's eligibility? Online images for certification of nomination raise questions A commentator at Canada Free Press says he has obtained copies of two documents apparently prepared by Democrats to certify Barack Obama as their nominee for president in 2008 that suggest House Speaker Nancy Pelosi knew there was an unresolved issue with his eligibility under the U.S. Constitution.  Writer JB Williams describes himself as a "no nonsense commentator on American politics, American history, and American philosophy." And he say's he's gotten possession of copies of the documents in question.  The first includes a verification that Obama and Joe Biden, then-candidate for vice president, "are legally qualified to serve under the provisions of the United States Constitution (emphasis mine)." …The second form obtained by Williams appears identical, although the signatures are different, including the same strategic typographical error. But in this one, the verification of eligibility under the requirements of the U.S. Constitution is gone (emphasis mine). See: http://canadafreepress.com/index.php/article/14583 And: http://www.wnd.com/index.php?fa=PAGE.view&pageId=109363 13) John Stossel Joins FOX News, FOX Business Network (Leaves ABC) Award-winning journalist John Stossel is joining FOX News Channel and FOX Business Network. Stossel, best known for his work as co-anchor of ABC News' "20/20," will anchor "Stossel," a weekly program on FOX Business Network, and make regular appearances on FOX News Channel, it was announced Thursday. The one-hour program will feature in-depth reports on domestic and international libertarian issues and will debut during the fourth quarter of this year in FBN's primetime lineup. Stossel and a panel of experts will explore a wide range of topics including civil liberties, the business of health care and Social Security. See: http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,548989,00.html

Obama, YOU lie!, 53% how oppose HC, ACORN arrests, Obama to chair UN, Netanyahu visits Russia?

1) Congressman Yells 'You Lie' During Obama Speech President Obama's address Wednesday to Congress was greeted warmly with applause from Democrats, but also some disruptions, including one moment in which a congressman accused Obama of lying. The incident came directly after Obama said, "There are also those who claim that our reform effort will insure illegal immigrants. This, too, is false. The reforms I'm proposing would not apply to those who are here illegally." South Carolina Republican Rep. Joe Wilson shouted, "You lie!" Rep. Wilson is correct. Obama is lying. And not just about illegal aliens. And, immediately before Wilson call him a liar, Obama called those opposing him liars. But I digress.  See: http://www.foxnews.com/politics/2009/09/09/congressman-yells-lie-obama-speech/ RUSH: You want a summary of the lies? He lied about only 5% of Americans being forced to the public option. Not true. He lied about the money he would drain from Medicare. Not true what he said. He lied about end-of-life decisions which comes down to rationing. He lied about coverage for illegal aliens, on and on and on, having attacked and lied throughout this thing. He then claims he wants to work with Republicans with whom he has not met since April. He claims to be nonpartisan, above the fray.   See: http://www.rushlimbaugh.com/home/daily/site_091009/content/01125106.guest.html 1a) SC voters surprised by Wilson's 'You lie' outburst WEST COLUMBIA, S.C. – Rep. Joe Wilson is known as a mild-mannered congressman fond of making short speeches. His shortest got the most attention. "You lie!" Wilson blurted out during President Barack Obama's health care address to a joint session Wednesday night, an outburst that made some supporters shudder even as others believed it could give Wilson a political boost in his conservative hometown. "He's the only one who has guts in that whole place. He'll get re-elected in a landslide," said John Roper, an insurance agent, as he sat among patrons at a diner near Columbia. Still, Southern sensibilities reign in the district the 62-year-old has represented for the past eight years. Added Roper, "He probably shouldn't have said it in that context." See: http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20090911/ap_on_go_co/us_health_care_heckling_wilson 2) Rasmussen: 44% Favor President’s Health Care Plan, 53% Oppose A Rasmussen Reports national telephone survey conducted Tuesday and Wednesday nights finds that 44% favor the plan while 53% are opposed. These numbers are little different than those in late August. See: http://www.rasmussenreports.com/public_content/politics/current_events/healthcare/september_2009/44_favor_president_s_health_care_plan_53_oppose 2a) AP Poll: Public disapproval of Obama's handling of health care rises to 52 percent WASHINGTON - Public disapproval of President Barack Obama's handling of health care has leaped to 52 percent, according to Associated Press-GfK poll that underscores the country's glowering mood as the White House made a renewed pitch for an overhaul. Just 42 percent approve of the president's work on the high-profile health issue. The survey was released Wednesday before his nationally televised effort to persuade Congress and voters to back his drive to reshape the nation's $2.5 trillion-a-year medical system. See: http://www.startribune.com/lifestyle/health/58086622.html?elr=KArksLckD8EQDUoaEyqyP4O:DW3ckUiD3aPc:_Yyc:aU1yDEmP:QMDCinchO7DU 3) Congressman wants all 'czars' to testify Rep. Patrick McHenry (R-N.C.) on Wednesday called for President Obama's "czars," or appointed high-level advisers, to testify before Congress about their "authority and responsibilities" in the executive branch.  The president's "czars" have become a point of controversy among his opponents because they do not have to be confirmed by the Senate as cabinet-level officials do.  McHenry wrote to committee chairman Edolphus Towns (D-N.Y.) and ranking member Darrell Issa (R-Calif.) asking the appointed officials to testify. "If the czars have high-level, decision-making authority as their titles would indicate, then it is my concern that their appointment without Senate approval represents a circumvention of our Constitutionally-mandated confirmation process," McHenry, who is a member of the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee, said in his letter. See: http://thehill.com/blogs/blog-briefing-room/news/57849-congressman-wants-all-czars-to-testify 4) Glenn Beck: The most dangerous Czar Last night when we got off the air they announced that Harry Reid was going to push for cloture on Cass Sunstein so he would be confirmed today. Forget about healthcare. Rush Limbaugh, I saw a statement from him last night. He's absolutely right. It is a Trojan horse. You have no idea, neither do I, what they're building. But it ain't about health and it ain't about care. There is no compromise on anything. Engines at full stop. The republic is at stake, and there are too many people playing too many games. There are too many people playing - they don't understand. They're willing to compromise because they're still playing the game as the game has always been played. The game was wrong in the first place, and the game is about to be over. Cass Sunstein is a guy who is against the Second Amendment who believes that the purpose of the Second Amendment is not an individual right but a federal right. He says almost all gun control legislation is constitutionally fine and if the Court is right, the fundamentalism does not justify the view. The Second Amendment protects an individual right to bear arms. He believes that the Second Amendment is the biggest - I'm looking for the - I'm looking for the exact quote - is the biggest lie in American history. He also believes that we ought to ban hunting. He says willingness to subject animals to suffering will be seen as a form of barbarity, morally akin to slavery and the mass extermination of human beings. He believes that animals should have a right, should be able to bring suit because they are not property. You can't own a dog. They should be able to sue you. They would also have a right to property as well. So if you've got an animal that is roaming around, well, gee, we have to have their - that's their property. That's where they live. …On civil liberties courts should ordinarily require restrictions on civil liberties to be authorized by the legislature. On taxes Sunstein scolds readers like small-minded selfish children for opposing the size, scope, expansion and skyrocketing expense of the government. Quote: In what sense in the money in our pockets and bank accounts are fully ours. Did we earn it by our autonomous efforts? Could we have inherited it without the assistance of probate courts? Do we save it without the sport of bank regulators? Could we spend it if there were no public officials to coordinate the efforts and pool the resources of the community in which we live. Without taxes there is no liberty. He also believes that we need a second Bill of Rights (emphasis mine).  See: http://www.glennbeck.com/content/articles/article/198/30255/ 5) ACORN Turns in Florida Workers on Voter Fraud Charges Arrest warrants have been issued in Miami for 11 people suspected of falsifying information on hundreds of voter registration cards -- including registering the name of the late actor Paul Newman -- the Florida state attorney told FOXNews.com.  The FBI and state authorities took seven people into custody Wednesday as it issued 11 arrest warrants for voter registration fraud in Homestead, Fla., in June 2008. Florida state attorney Katherine Fernandez-Rundle said 11 workers hired to register voters by the Association of Community Organizations for Reform Now -- or ACORN -- submitted 888 fraudulent names. She said the names included people who were already registered voters, fictitious names, and the name of the late actor Paul Newman, who died in Sept. 2008. See: http://www.foxnews.com/politics/2009/09/09/acorn-turns-florida-workers-voter-fraud-charges/ 5a) ACORN Officials Caught Telling 'Pimp,' 'Prostitute' How to Lie to IRS Officials with the controversial community organizing group ACORN were secretly videotaped offering to assist two individuals posing as a pimp and a prostitute, encouraging them to lie to the Internal Revenue Service and providing guidance on how to claim underage girls from South America as dependents. The videotape was made public Thursday on BigGovernment.com, a political blog launched by Andrew Breitbart as a companion site to his BigHollywood.breitbart.com blog. In the videotape, made on July 24, James O'Keefe, a 25-year-old independent filmmaker, posed as a pimp with a 20-year-old woman named "Kenya" who posed as a prostitute while visiting ACORN's office in Baltimore. The couple told ACORN staffers they wanted to secure housing where the woman could continue to maintain a prostitution business. See: http://biggovernment.com/ And: http://www.glennbeck.com/content/articles/article/198/30321/ And: http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,548827,00.html 6) Federal Program rejects “card check” effort Democratic allies in Congress press to allow private-sector workers to unionize by signing authorization cards instead of voting by secret ballot, the government's legal-aid program for the poor has declared the so-called "card check" strategy "unreliable" and rejected an effort by some of its own workers to organize that way.  The Legal Services Corp., a congressionally chartered, taxpayer-funded entity, even hired a law firm to rebuff the efforts of workers in its oversight offices to gain union representation by the International Federation of Professional and Technical Engineers (IFPTE), forcing the workers to conduct a vote by secret ballot later this week.  The LSC's decision has prompted concerns on Capitol Hill that the government may be trying to impose a solution on private businesses that its own agencies and panels are reluctant to follow (emphasis mine). See: http://washingtontimes.com/news/2009/sep/09/public-service-agency-rejects-card-check/ 7) Obama to seal US-UN relationship Barack Obama will cement the new co-operative relationship between the US and the United Nations this month when he becomes the first American president to chair its 15-member Security Council. The topic for the summit-level session of the council on September 24 is nuclear non-proliferation and nuclear disarmament – one of several global challenges that the US now wants to see addressed at a multinational level. …Mr Obama will join other heads of government in New York during the week of the nuclear summit for the opening of the 64th session of the UN General Assembly. The annual meeting of world leaders is this year raising expectations on a number of fronts. UN officials hope a climate change debate on September 22 will give fresh impetus to the search for a global climate deal at Copenhagen in December. There are also hopes a possible meeting between Benjamin Netanyahu, Israeli prime minister, and Mahmoud Abbas, Palestinian Authority president, that Mr Obama would host, could lead to a breakthrough about a timetable for Middle East peace. This is the stuff of Biblical prophesy… See: http://www.ft.com/cms/s/0/7d0c7a3a-9ca4-11de-ab58-00144feabdc0.html?nclick_check=1 8) As is this…Netanyahu mystery trip sets off flap in Israel JERUSALEM – Benjamin Netanyahu dropped out of sight for most of a day this week, a mysterious absence that has set off feverish speculation about what the Israeli leader was up to — and accusations he lied to cover up a clandestine trip to Moscow. After initially issuing a vague statement about visiting a top-secret Mossad installation inside Israel, Netanyahu kept silent Thursday as reports emerged that he flew to Moscow aboard a private jet for urgent talks on Iran. According to various accounts, the Israeli prime minister was either pushing the Russians to halt arms sales to Iran, or warning of an impending strike against Iranian nuclear facilities or discussing the recent disappearance of a Russian-crewed freighter. …The Haaretz daily said Netanyahu discussed Russian arms deals with Iran and Syria, and that Israel presented evidence that Russian arms were making their way to Iranian-backed Hezbollah guerrillas in Lebanon. In another report, the paper said the talks were also focused on sophisticated anti-aircraft missiles that Russia has agreed to sell to Iran. The delivery of the S-300 missiles would make it much more difficult for Israel to carry out an attack on Iran. See: http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20090911/ap_on_re_mi_ea/ml_israel_netanyahu_mystery 9) 'Gay' man sues Bible publisher for 'mental anguish' $10 million sought for 'negative connotation' toward homosexuals A homosexual man is suing a third national Bible publisher for "mental anguish" after he says the company published Bibles with a negative connotation toward homosexuals. Bradley LaShawn Fowler of Canton, Mich., alleges William Tyndale Publishing manipulated Scripture when it published Tyndale’s New Living Translation Holy Bible and the New Life Application Study Bible by using the term "homosexuals" in a New Testament passage, 1 Corinthians 6:9.  "One Bible dictates homosexuals will not inherit the Kingdom of God, while the other is completely void on the issue altogether," Fowler wrote in a statement on his blog. Wonder what “other” he’s talking about? What color is the sky in his world? See: http://www.wnd.com/index.php?fa=PAGE.view&pageId=109356