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The 2009 Atlantic tropical season is heating up with Tropical Storm Ana forming about 1000 miles east of the Leeward Islands, and Invest 90, a large Cape Verde system showing substantial promise for development. Currently, neither of the two systems pose an immediate threat to land. Long term forecasts indicate potential threat to Florida, while a third tropical wave is poised off of the So. Florida coast. Tropical Storm Ana Public Advisories Updated every six hours. Tropical Storm Discussion Updated every six hours Three Day Tracking MapStorm Track Archive Nice animated progression of 5 day forecast tracks Buoy Data W...

Here is video from this morning updating the news on Tropical Storm Ana out in the Atlantic, and right behind her a Tropical Depression that has formed that has the potential to become a major hurricane. The weather man in the video says Ana is not expected to be as severe, and that it is headed in the direction of Puerto Rico and the southern tip of Florida. He was far more concerned with the tropical depression (likely to be named Bill) behind Ana, which he said could strengthen to a category 2 hurricane by the time it gets to...

Rep. Manzullo mocks health care billBy Eric Petermann GateHouse News Service Fri Aug 14, 2009, 08:27 PM CDT Freeport, Ill. - It doesn’t take long to determine where Congressman Don Manzullo stands on the proposed national health care bill. “People need to go to their windows, stick their heads outside and scream ‘We’re not going to take this anymore!’,” Manzullo said Friday, Aug. 14, 2009, in an interview at The Journal-Standard. The 16th District U.S. Representative, a Republican, has held town hall meetings in Elizabeth, Sycamore, and Oregon to gage public opinion on the controversial legislation and to inform people...

The Senate Finance Committee will drop a controversial provision on consultations for end-of-life care from its proposed healthcare bill, its top Republican member said Thursday. The committee, which has worked on putting together a bipartisan healthcare reform bill, will drop the controversial provision after being derided as "death panels" to encourage euthanasia by conservatives. "On the Finance Committee, we are working very hard to avoid unintended consequences by methodically working through the complexities of all of these issues and policy options," Sen. Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa) said in a statement. "We dropped end-of-life provisions from consideration entirely because of the way...

I would like to be able to read the bill so that I know what questions to ask.

Sen. Isakson: Health care bill's end-of-life provision not my ideaGeorgia senator says Obama wrongly credited him with being part of controversial legislation By Halimah Abdullah Thursday, Aug. 13, 2009 WASHINGTON — When Sen. Johnny Isakson takes the floor at a meeting at Macon’s Vineville Methodist Church today, he’ll no doubt face tough questions about why President Barack Obama credits the Georgia Republican as the inspiration behind the Democratic health care bills’ end-of-life counseling efforts that former Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin and some fellow conservatives call “death panels.” Both the president and Palin have it all wrong, Isakson said, seeking to...

History Unkind to Health Care ReformersAP Analysis: A Look to the Past May Help Predict President Obama's Chances of Changing System CHAPEL HILL, N.C., Aug. 12, 2009 (AP) President Barack Obama's campaign for a health care overhaul is an intense installment in a long-running story, dating to Theodore Roosevelt in 1912. It did not go well nearly a century ago. Roosevelt made national health insurance an issue in his last, losing campaign for the White House, and successive efforts to get it enacted have lost, too. The basic issue, affordable health care for all Americans, has not changed. But possible...

MIDI - I'M NOT LISA I'm not Willie...my name is Rodham I'm the Sec-re-tary of State I rode on his coattails to get where I now am In his shadow, is that my fate? I put up with his crap...I felt like such a sap Philandering and such humiliation I would be president...it was so evident That porky girl...caused such trouble plenty...plenty It's name was Arturo Fuente...one fine cigar I'm not Willie...my name is Rodham I'm the Sec-re-tary of State I rode on his coattails to get where I now am In his shadow, is that my fate? I'm...

A week after former President Bill Clinton traveled to North Korea to secure the release of two detained American journalists and stole the limelight from the start of his wife's first trip to Africa, Clinton was clearly displeased by the question at town hall forum in Kinshasa. "You want me to tell you what my husband thinks?" she replied incredulously when the male student asked her what "Mr. Clinton" thought of World Bank concerns about a multi-billion-dollar Chinese loan offer to the Congo. "My husband is not secretary of state, I am," an obviously annoyed Clinton said sharply.

He says ... Read health care bill, get chilled to the boneBy Bill Roe He says ... Reviewing facts of the Obama health care bill and the serious penalties on our senior population in eliminating quality medical for seniors, one business worth investigating is funeral homes located outside of senior developments and care centers. Business for them should be brisk if the bill is enacted in its present form. While traveling this weekend in middle America, books seen on the planes were Glenn Beck’s “Common Sense,” Mark Levin’s “Liberty and Tyranny” and “Catastrophe” by Dick Morris. These books are all...

Conyers missed an opportunity in this situation to both set an example and engage in little community outreach. With reading this particular bill becoming such a big issue, he could have joined with a literacy advocacy group such as RIF (Reading Is Fundamental), and gotten individuals or corporate entities to sponsor his reading of the Health Care bill. He could have even read selections from the bill on his wife’s local television show. All the money that could have been raised from this stunt could have gone to non-profits that help get kids excited about reading. He didn’t do this....

I was just listening to 740KTRH and heard the poll question of the day. Who has more clout? Secretary of State - Hillary Clinton or former President - Bill Clinton? I thought it was a fair question. The North Koreans called Hillary a 'school girl' Yet, President Bill, does free the reporters and brings them back home almost single handedly.

You have to see this animated gif:

Obama tried, and failed, to get the legislation passed before the August recess. This is because he knows that the more people who understand his plan, the less support it will receive. This is one of the biggest problems I have with certain politicians today. They don’t care whether people support them or not, they want their way, regardless of how devastating their actions may be. It is the kind of Chicago politics that makes the political realm so slimy. I can only hope that once I am a public servant, that my actions can help clean up some of...

Pelosi vows to press on despite bad news on health billBy: Susan Ferrechio Chief Congressional Correspondent July 27, 2009 Even with the latest Democratic plan to control costs in a proposed expansion of health coverage getting low marks from independent analysts, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., still says she has the votes to pass a health bill. “When I take this bill to the floor, it will win,” Pelosi declared on CNN’s “State of the Union.” “This will happen.” Talks broke down Friday between the House Democratic leadership and the fiscally conservative Democratic Blue Dog coalition over costs. With 52...

Congress’s failure to deliver major health care legislation by President Barack Obama’s deadline next month transforms the traditionally sleepy August recess into what could be the decisive moment in the battle to win support for the legislation, especially from conservative Democrats considered crucial to its fate. The recess, scheduled to begin August 7, will put to the test Obama’s vaunted, high tech political machine and the coordinated network of progressive groups that has been quietly preparing for months for this battle. They face, on the other side, a bruised Republican camp hoping to revive itself through a winning campaign against...

Liberal and Conservative Democrats Feud Over BillBy Perry Bacon Jr., Paul Kane and Ben Pershing Washington Post Staff Writers Saturday, July 25, 2009 House Democrats feuded openly over health care Friday before shaking hands on a deal that guaranteed only that they would keep negotiating, wrapping up a week in which consensus on a sweeping overhaul of the nation's health-care system seemed to diminish by the day. White House aides announced a week ago that President Obama was ready to "take the baton" for his biggest domestic campaign initiative, and indeed Obama campaigned for his proposals nearly nonstop this week,...

Link to the flow chart.

Take a look at what actually is in the Health Care bill. Obama makes disingenuous comments like "You'll still keep your doctor" or "You'll keep your existing health care." He is either lying to us or he has no idea what is in it. Take a peek at the full report, or look at some of the highlights here:

(CNSNews.com) – The Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions (HELP) Committee’s health care legislation will give the Health and Human Services secretary the authority to develop “standards of measuring gender” -- as opposed to using the traditional "male" and "female" categories -- in a database of all who apply or participate in government-run or government-supported health care plans.

CBO Scores Confirm Deficit Neutrality of Health Insurance Reform BillJuly 18th, 2009 by Karina News from the Energy & Commerce, Ways & Means, and Education & Labor Committees on the CBO estimates released last night on America’s Affordable Health Choices Act: July 17, 2009 Washington, D.C. — The Congressional Budget Office (CBO) released estimates this evening confirming for the first time that H.R. 3200, America’s Affordable Health Choices Act, is deficit neutral over the 10-year budget window - and even produces a $6 billion surplus. CBO estimated more than $550 billion in gross Medicare and Medicaid savings. More importantly, the...

Blue Dog: 'No way' House bill could passBy PATRICK O'CONNOR | 7/16/09 2:46 PM EDT Arkansas Rep. Mike Ross, a key negotiator on health care for moderate Blue Dog Democrats, has warned that "there's no way they can pass the current bill on the House floor. Not even close." Ross doesn't believe the bill unveiled Tuesday comes close to curtailing the ever-escalating costs of health care spending, particularly for Medicare. The conservative Arkansas Democrat also objects to the surtaxes included in the bill, saying, "I don't like the idea of raising taxes in the worst economic crisis since World War...

34 US Nobel Laureates Urge inclusion of $150 billion in Climate Legislation BillPosted on: Thursday, 16 July 2009, 11:01 CDT A group of 34 U.S. Nobel Laureates is calling on President Obama to urge Congress to include the president's proposed $150 billion Clean Energy Technology Fund in the climate legislation it is considering. The climate bill approved by the House in June falls far short of this goal, they told the president in a letter sent to the White House today. "The stable support this Fund would provide is essential to pay for the research and development needed if the...

(CNSNews.com) - There is a knock at the front door. Peeking through the window, a mother sees a man and a woman, both in uniform. They are agents of health-care reform. “Excuse me, ma’am,” says the man. “Our records show that your eleven-year-old daughter has not been immunized for genital warts.” “And your four-year-old still needs the chicken-pox vaccine,” says the woman. “He will not be allowed to start kindergarten unless he gets that shot, you know,” says the man—smiling from ear to ear. “So, can we please come in?” asks the woman. “We have the vaccines right here,” she...

Small-business owners are warning that the economy would suffer under a health care bill proposed by House Democrats, which would drive tax rates for high-income taxpayers to levels not seen since before President Reagan's tax reform of 1986. The top federal income tax rate, which Mr. Reagan and a bipartisan Congress lowered from 50 percent to 28 percent, would reach 45 percent in 2011 if Congress and President Obama enact the surtaxes that are part of the health care reform plan that House Democrats announced Tuesday.

Mail Order Tobacco And the Global War On Terror The good news is that the Democrat-controlled Congress is finally taking the fight to Hamas, Hezballah and Al Qaeda! In a blow sure to bring these terrorist groups to their knees, the House overwhelmingly, yet quietly, passed H.R. 1676 on the 21st of May. This bill was sent to the Senate, where it is also likely to pass. There it is known as the “Prevent All Cigarette Trafficking Act of 2009” – that’s ‘PACT’ for short. The .pdf for this bill is here It’s a relatively small bill, at only 74...

WASHINGTON — If the Senate doesn't pass a bill to cut global warming, Democratic Sen. Barbara Boxer says, there will be dire results: droughts, floods, fires, loss of species, damage to agriculture, worsening air pollution and more. She says there's a huge upside, however, if the Senate does act: millions of clean-energy jobs, reduced reliance on foreign oil and less pollution for the nation's children. Boxer is engaged in her biggest sales job ever. The stakes couldn't be higher as she faces one of the toughest high-profile acts of her lengthy career: getting Congress to sign off on historic legislation...

Rangel to Unveil Health Bill MondayBy Steven T. Dennis Roll Call Staff July 10, 2009, 4:33 p.m. House Ways and Means Chairman Charlie Rangel (D-N.Y.) said Friday afternoon that the House’s health care bill would be unveiled Monday and would include a $540 billion tax increase on people making more than $350,000 a year. The tax increase, which would take effect in 2011, would hit the wealthiest Americans, Rangel said. Rates would become progressively higher, with those making at least $500,000 paying one rate and those bringing in $1 million or more paying the highest rate. He said the surtax...

Health Care Reform Bill May Be DelayedLast Updated: 11:12 PM Jul 9, 2009 Reporter: Associated Press The drive to remake the nation's health care system suffered yet another setback in Congress on Thursday when a pivotal group of House Democrats demanded changes in legislation the leadership was drafting on a fast track. The emerging bill "lacks a number of elements essential to preserving what works and fixing what is broken," 40 members of the Blue Dog Coalition of moderate to conservative Democrats wrote party leaders. To win their support, they said, any legislation would need to be much more aggressive...

Lars Larson on “Cap and Tax”Thursday, May 28. 2009 Late last week we finally got a look into some of the details of that crazy “Cap and Trade” scheme (I like to call a “Cap and Tax” scheme) that the U. S. Congress is considering. First of all, it’s almost a thousand pages long. Do they have speed readers looking at that thing so that Congress actually knows what’s in it? One part in particular seems to be especially telling to me. The President is trying to sell this crazy scheme and says it will create new jobs. If that’s...

Fed up with his congressman's vote on a sweeping climate-change bill that passed the House of Representatives in late June, the proprietor of McArthur's Bakery took to his street sign and posted a clear message to all passersby: "Russ Carnahan voted to ... close us and other ... small business." McArthur told FOXNews.com that every aspect of his business relies on the forms of energy targeted by the American Clean Energy and Security Act, and that his congressman, Carnahan, was supporting "a direct tax increase on small business" by voting for it. "We make (our product) with electricity, we bake...

The controversial climate bill that is set to be taken up by the Senate on Monday after its passage in the House will legislate home inspections by government regulators who will demand to audit every aspect of your property under the threat of substantial and repeated fines if their visits are denied or their demands not satisfied. The climate legislation is written in a manner that automatically assumes that global warming is taking place and that it is attributed to rising CO2 levels, despite the fact that this is a highly contentious question and is being rejected by more and...

Senate bill fines people refusing health coverageBy RICARDO ALONSO-ZALDIVAR – 58 minutes ago WASHINGTON (AP) — Americans who refuse to buy affordable medical coverage could be hit with fines of more than $1,000 under a health care overhaul bill unveiled Thursday by key Senate Democrats looking to fulfill President Barack Obama's top domestic priority. The Congressional Budget Office estimated the fines will raise around $36 billion over 10 years. Senate aides said the penalties would be modeled on the approach taken by Massachusetts, which now imposes a fine of about $1,000 a year on individuals who refuse to get coverage....

Liberal health reform advocates have talked about ramming a reform plan — including a Medicare-like public insurance option — through the Senate with only 51 Democratic votes. But a leading Senate player says it won’t work.

Madoff Sentenced to 150 Years, Waxman and Markey Remain FreeJune 29, 2009 BEGIN TRANSCRIPT RUSH: Bernie Madoff, 150 years. One-hundred-fifty years for Bernie Madoff means he'll be out by next spring, probably. While Bernie Madoff gets 150 years, Waxman and Markey weren't even cited in their scheme, their rip-off, this climate bill. Do you realize there was not even a bill? There was not even a copy of the bill in the well of the House, which is standard. It wasn't even written. These people voted on this bill -- not read it, it wasn't written, they couldn't have read...

The Cap-and-Trade bill that passed the House yesterday will be a declaration of war on the American economy if it ever is enacted into law. It is ostensibly supposed to help the American economy transition from the old, carbon-based industrial economy to the broad, sunlit (and presumably unpolluted) uplands of a post-industrial one. According to an infomercial masquerading as an AP news story, the “climate bill may spur energy revolution.” Overlooked by the AP and other minions of the left is the fact that that revolution has been underway, largely without the federal government’s help, for more than a generation...

US climate bill fights heats up as vote loomsWASHINGTON, Jun 24, 2009 Supporters of sweeping US legislation to fight climate change ramped up their push for a "green energy revolution" Wednesday with a vote on the massive bill expected at week's end. **SNIP** It would creates a "cap-and-trade" system limiting overall pollution from large industrial sources and then allocating and selling pollution permits. But Republicans have charged that the effect will be to increase energy costs for consumers already struggling with a paralyzing recession and put Americans in some industrial sectors out of work. "The 'cap and trade' bill will...

B A controversial law in Massachusetts could go national if Congressman Barney Frank gets his way. Frank has filed a bill that would eliminate federal penalties for personal possession of less than 100 grams of marijuana. It would also make the penalty for using marijuana in public just $100. "I think John Stuart Mill had it right in the 1850s," said Congressman Frank, "when he argued that individuals should have the right to do what they want in private, so long as they don't hurt anyone else. It's a matter of personal liberty. Moreover, our courts are already stressed and...

DEMS PRESENT DRAFT OF HEALTH CARE BILLCLAIM IT COVERS ALL UNINSURED PEOPLE IN US ASSOCIATED PRESS Last updated: 5:08 pm June 19, 2009 WASHINGTON -- Democrats in the U.S. House of Representatives presented draft health care legislation Friday that they said would cover virtually all the nation's nearly 50 million uninsured, as President Barack Obama has promised. They offered few details on how to pay for its trillion-dollar-plus price tag. The president welcomed their action as "a major step toward our goal of fixing what is broken about health care while building on what works." Meanwhile, in the Senate, two...

The running joke [me - it's a real knee slapper] in Washington is that nobody has read the 900-plus-page energy bill sponsored by Reps. Henry A. Waxman (D-Calif.) and Edward J. Markey (D-Mass.), which the House will consider in coming weeks. . . . In fact, the bill also contains regulations on everything from light bulb standards to the specs on hot tubs, and it will reshape America's economy in dozens of ways that many don't realize. Here is just one: The bill would give the federal government power over local building codes.

Climate bill floor debate possible before July 4, House leader saysBy DARREN SAMUELSOHN, Greenwire Published: June 3, 2009 House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer said today that Democrats are considering floor debate this month on energy and climate legislation, even as six committees work through details of the comprehensive measure. "Can I rule it out? No," the Maryland Democrat told reporters when asked about taking up the legislation before the Fourth of July recess. "And I wouldn't rule it out." Democratic leaders are trying to juggle both global warming and health care reform, two top priorities of the Obama administration. But...

Democrats in the U.S. Congress have reached a deal to boost support to the International Monetary Fund, lawmakers' aides said on Tuesday, a victory for President Barack Obama who pledged to help the lender assist countries in the global economic crisis. The war funding measure will provide a $100 billion credit line to the IMF, increase the U.S. member contribution to the IMF by $8 billion and authorize the United States to back the IMF's plan to sell 400 tons (12.97 million ounces) of gold, said the aides, who declined further identification. Obama had pleaded with the House of Representatives...

WASHINGTON -- Florida Rep. Alcee Hastings spent $24,730 in taxpayer money last year to lease a 2008 luxury Lexus hybrid sedan. Ohio Rep. Michael Turner expensed a $1,435 digital camera. Eni Faleomavaega, the House delegate from American Samoa, bought two 46-inch Sony TVs.

President Obama is insisting on arcane procedural language tucked away in the budget resolution conference report that will dramatically expand the federal government's control over your personal health care decisions and our nation's health care system, all without a single hearing or a public debate. That's right, without debate. The White House hopes to include its proposed wholesale transformation of the nation's health care delivery system in the budget reconciliation process, enabling Democrats to enact a sweeping government takeover with just 51 Senate votes instead of the usual 60 votes required to authorize new programs.

Obama, House Leaders Promise Health Bill By AugustMay 13, 2009 6:30 pm US/Eastern WASHINGTON (CBS) - President Obama and key congressional leaders announced on Wednesday that the House of Representatives will vote on a comprehensive health care reform package before August. "Our legislation will be on the floor by the end of July, I am quite certain," House Speaker Nancy Pelosi said outside the White House. Mr. Obama and Vice President Joe Biden had just finished meeting in the Oval Office with congressional Democratic leaders heading up health care reform, including Pelosi, House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer, House Ways and...

Former President Bill Clinton speaks about his Clinton Global Initiative University at Laurie Auditorium in San Antonio, Texas on Friday May 8, 2009. Former President Bill Clinton holds the Harry S. Truman Public Service Award during a ceremony at the Truman Presidential Museum & Library Wednesday, May 6, 2009, in Independence, Mo. The award is given out annually by the city of Independence and Clinton was honored for his work during and after his presidency. Former U.S. President Bill Clinton talks to attendees at the William J. Clinton Foundation's Millennium Network Event in Los Angeles, California April 30, 2009. Former...

Durbin blames lobby for bankruptcy billLisa Lerer, Victoria Mcgrane Thu Apr 30, 7:28 pm ET Senate Majority Whip Dick Durbin blames the powerful banking lobby for Thursday’s defeat of legislation he championed empowering bankruptcy judges to modify some troubled mortgages. But some Democrats suggest he look to 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue as well. Democratic supporters of the measure say that President Barack Obama invested far less political capital in the controversial bankruptcy measure than he did credit card legislation, another campaign priority over which Democrats are going head-to-head against big financial interests. “I cannot tell that President Obama has used [his]...

A measure that would prevent radio and television broadcasters from airing advertising between 6 a.m.-10 p.m. related to erectile dysfunction has popped up again in Congress. Jim Moran, the left-leaning Virginia Democrat who first introduced the Families for ED Advertising Decency Act in Congress in 2005, along with fellow Democrat Robert Brady of Pennsylvania, reintroduced the measure on April 29 with the aim to "prohibit as indecent the broadcasting of any advertisement for a medication for the treatment of erectile dysfunction and for other purposes." The prohibition would apply to all "pioneer and generic drugs that are medications for treatment...

Former President Bill Clinton speaks during a conference at the National Constitution Center in Philadelphia on Tuesday April 28, 2009 Former President Bill Clinton meets with participants, including Mayor Michael Nutter, second from right, during a conference at the National Constitution Center in Philadelphia on Tuesday April 28, 2009.

Recession-hit restaurants are helping themselves to your wallet by serving you an extra side of super sneaky charges. The Post last week found city eateries subtly billing customers for things usually free -- including bread and butter. Although managers claim the prices are clearly marked on menus, the outrageous charges can backfire on restaurants, experts said. Unexpected costs found by The Post include: * A $1-per-person charge for water at West Village restaurant Bobo -- noted on the menu but not mentioned by waiters. The drink is filtered tap water. Staff said the money funds the filtration. "If anyone doesn't...