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WASHINGTON -- Senate Democrats are poised to pass a landmark health care bill that could define President Barack Obama's legacy and usher in near-universal medical coverage for the first time in U.S. history. Ahead lie complex talks with the House to reach final legislation in the new year. "We stand on the doorstep of history," said Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, a Nevada Democrat. "We recognize that, but much more importantly, we stand so close to making so many individual lives better." The vote Thursday on the bill extending health care coverage to some 31 million uninsured Americans brings Obama...

University of Chicago Law Professor Richard A Epstein has brilliantly argued that the Reid bill unconstitutionally turns private health insurers into public utilities. Luckily for those who haven't time to study his detailed argument, he's now summarized it nicely in the Wall Street Journal: "As Harry Reid's 2,000 page health-care bill is being rammed through the Senate, most of the public debate has been focused on its expanded coverage, its now defunct public option, and its high taxes. Lost in the shuffle has been its intensely coercive requirements on health insurance issuers, especially in the individual and small group markets....

The biggest national security news last week barely made the news at all. It is troubling to watch Congress continue to play politics with the reauthorization of key counterterrorism tools in the Patriot Act (like the ability to tract terrorists as they jump from cell phone to cell phone) and basically see the White House stand on the sidelines. By law, these tools would “sunset” at the end of the year unless reauthorized by Congress. Obviously, these authorities are needed, but Congress has dithered and the White House has done little to pressure the legislators to act.

A leftist La Raza activist previously forced out of a U.S. ambassadorship for her close ties to a terrorist-sponsoring foreign government has been nominated by President Obama to a key administration post. Mari Del Carmen Aponte, a former director at the extremist Mexican group National Council of La Raza (see the press release applauding her nomination) and the Puerto Rican Legal Defense and Education Fund, has been handpicked by Obama to be the U.S. Ambassador to El Salvador. That means Aponte, an attorney and independent consultant, will represent the State Department in the civil war-ravaged Central American country. In 1998...

What's happening with ObamaCare this week in the Senate is raw, rank politics at its worst. PASSING LAWS has been compared to making sausage. But in the case of the mammoth health care bill expected to pass the Senate on Christmas Eve, that's an insult to employees at the Jimmy Dean plant. It's also a slap at Americans who want Congress to take its time to make thoughtful changes that will affect one seventh of the U.S. economy. President Obama campaigned on "change we can believe in." Most voters believed him. Yet many polls show that only a minority of...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PiC7S12cwhE "TV AD: HARRY REID FAILED!" Video - Description - quote: OurCountryPAC December 20, 2009 More info: http://www.TeaPartyExpress.org Senator Harry Reid has shown contempt for the American people and the people of Nevada. Now, "We The People" are fighting back, and the Tea Party Express (and its principal sponsor, the Our Country Deserves Better Committee) fights back with this TV ad campaign against failed Democrat Senator, Harry Reid. Category: News & Politics Tags: harry reid failed our country deserves better tea party express tv ad sharron angle sue lowden danny tarkanian

The gist: With his antics, U.S. Rep. Alan Grayson is making a mockery of his office and letting down constituents. * * * In a letter to U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder, the 8th District Democrat asked that a Lake County woman behind a Web site critical of Grayson be investigated, prosecuted, fined and imprisoned -- for five years. * * * Being the target of rough criticism is an occupational hazard for public officials, especially those as high-profile as a U.S. congressman. Any politician who pursues legal action against critics, even critics who may not have followed the letter...

Formally, it is known as H.R. 3590, the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act. But this week, it has acquired an unhelpful nickname: "Cash for Cloture." As Senate Democrats finally complete their health-care legislation, those combing through the bill have uncovered many backroom deals that were made to buy, er, secure the 60 votes needed to "invoke cloture" -- the legislative term for cutting off debate and holding a final vote. It will take years to see how well the measure reduces costs and expands insurance coverage. But already, the bill has been a bonanza for wordsmiths. First there was...

Pa. House majority leader implicated in corruption By: Jackie Massott HARRISBURG (AP) - The majority leader of the Pennsylvania House directed illegal campaign activities by legislative employees and raised campaign funds from inside the Capitol, according to witness testimony in transcripts obtained by The Associated Press. The witnesses in the widening probe, which has reached top levels of the state General Assembly, allege conduct similar to that for which 25 others have been charged. Todd Eachus has not been charged. John Paul Jones, a $62,000-a-year legislative research specialist until December 2007, told the grand jury that Eachus, D-Luzerne, brought him...

Tuesday, December 22, 2009 "Democrats Ensure America Will No Longer Be the Last Best Hope of Earth" by Dennis Prager SNIPPET: "As the passage of the bill that will start the process of nationalizing health care in America becomes almost inevitable, so, too, the process of undoing America's standing as The Last Best Hope of Earth will have begun." SNIPPET: "Just as the left has waged war on America's Judeo-Christian roots, it has waged war on individual liberty and responsibility." SNIPPET: "Barack Obama, Harry Reid and Nancy Pelosi are right about one thing -- they are indeed making history. But...

Press Conference of Senator __________, January 1, 2010 I have called this press conference because I have not slept since Christmas. Something inside me is deeply bothered and I realize I need to take a stand. Though I have been a member of the Democratic party all my life, I've come to realize since last year that my party has been a party in name only. I now know in my heart that the central goals and philosophy of my party are no different than the goals, tenets and philosophy of the Communist Party USA. I am worried about the...

Health Care: Democrats on the take and in the dead of night pass an execrable piece of legislation that they haven't read, the public doesn't want and only socialists could love. What has happened to this country? If we hadn't stayed up past midnight Sunday, we wouldn't have known what was going on. Here we thought a vote on the proposed health care overhaul wasn't going to take place until Thursday night — Christmas Eve. But there they were, the United States Senate, at 1 a.m. Monday, rushing to vote in the middle of a snowstorm to close debate on...

At least common thieves don't destroy an entire health care system and socialize the American economy when they commit their felonies. Too bad we can't say the same for our illustrious Democratic senators who sold out the nation. In exchange for criminally unconstitutional favors for their respective states, they voted to pass the Senate health care bill just 38 hours after it had been made available to the public for review. Everyone knows about Sen. Mary Landrieu's negotiating $300 million for her state in non-guaranteed Medicaid payouts. She was even cocky about her institutionalized larceny. Sen. Bernie Sanders finagled $10...

Congressman Alan Grayson is so angry about a parody website that he wants Attorney General Eric Holder to prosecute its creator and imprison her for 5 years, according to a Newser.com report. Grayson sent a complaint to Holder accusing Angie Langley, the woman behind MyCongressmanIsNuts.com, of lying to federal election officials, reported the Orlando Sentinel.

Gartman: Blame Democratic Mayors For Nationwide Poverty Vince VenezianiDec. 21, 2009, 10:24 AM In this morning The Gartman Letter, analyst Dennis Gartman segues off his usual topic of markets to focus on poverty levels and the political front: The Gartman Letter: Finally, we came across the following list over the weekend as we were going through e-mails and cleaning things up. We checked out the data, and it is correct, so the “correlation” seems reasonably to hold. Now, what do all of these cities have in common beyond their egregious poverty level rates? They all have had since 1989 and...

Barack Obama's quest for historic health-care legislation has turned into a parody of leadership. We usually associate presidential leadership with the pursuit of goals that, though initially unpopular, serve America's long-term interests. Obama has reversed this. He's championing increasingly unpopular legislation that threatens the country's long-term interests. "This isn't about me," he likes to say, "I have great health insurance." But of course, it is about him: about the legacy he covets as the president who achieved "universal" health insurance. He'll be disappointed. Even if Congress passes legislation -- a good bet -- the finished product will fall far short...

A quick search of the Interwebs for the term “political suicide” will return a significant number of stories on the pending Democrat-pushed healthcare “reform” legislation and their seemingly inexplicable political death spiral. Virtually every poll says that the public rejects the bills in the Senate and House, Barack Obama’s popularity is tanking, and virtually no one on the Right OR the Left is happy with them. So the natural question is: Why are the Democrats pushing this? The characterization of the Democrats’ actions as “political suicide” is somewhat inaccurate. It would be more apt to call it “political hari-kari”, as...

I'm wondering whether there's anyone out there with the guts to pretend that it's insignificant that President Barack Obama keeps appointing radical after radical to his czar positions. Can anyone honestly say Obama's appointments don't tell us a great deal about Obama himself -- as if we needed any further proof he is a left-wing extremist? I don't need to make a list of his radical appointees and detail proof of their extremism. Anyone paying attention knows it's irrefutably true that this has become a deliberate pattern. Statistically, Obama couldn't accidentally appoint this many radicals in two political lifetimes. Is...

How long will it be, do you think, before obama and his cohorts in crime come up with the next blame game? They can't go on blaming former President Bush, can they? I'm wondering when they will hit on the idea to blame conservative GOP leaders for their (the 'rats) mistakes. I foresee the argument going something like this: Well, the conservatives are forcing us to make bad decisions and pass bad laws. You see, the conservatives keep putting forward all the good ideas. We are democrats, and cannot be seen to be acting like a Republican or conservative. Therefore...

Representative Alan Grayson (D-Fla) has filed a complaint with U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder demanding that a pesky critic of his be prosecuted. The critic is one Angie Langley—originator of a web site called “mycongressmanisnuts.com.” “It’s a sad day for America when a nobody like Ms. Langley can harass a member of congress with impunity,” Grayson complained. “People should be taught respect for those of us who govern them. We shouldn’t have to endure the kind of round-the-clock mockery being dished out by the people who live under us.” The basis for Grayson’s contention that Langley ought to go to...

President Obama's scramble to close Guantanamo is picking up speed as his arbitrary one-year deadline approaches, with Yemen and Illinois as the latest detainee destinations. Neither decision will enhance U.S. security. The government of Yemen announced yesterday that it will take six detainees, and more could follow if this transfer goes smoothly. Yemenis account for 97 of the 210 men still left at Gitmo, and 34 have been cleared for release. The problem is that Yemen is emerging as one of the world's sanctuaries for al Qaeda, and its government has essentially run a nonaggression pact with the terrorists.

In his speech at the Copenhagen Climate Change Conference, President Obama told leaders from around the world that “the time for talk is over.� Obama pushed for all major economies to reduce greenhouse gas emissions but admitted some doubt as to whether a collective agreement would be reached. He could offer no concrete plans and nothing more than confidence that cap and trade legislation would be signed into law next year in the United States. While the focus of his speech was primarily on what actions the United States government was undertaking, he stressed that climate change should be addressed...

Note: 1 video and photos included. Home » News » Politics "After Covering Up Symbol for Jesus at Georgetown, White House Had Obama Speak in Front of Symbols for AMA, AARP and Human Rights Campaign" Thursday, December 17, 2009 By Nicholas Ballasy and Edwin Mora SNIPPET: "(CNSNews.com) – When President Barack Obama spoke at Gaston Hall at Georgetown University on April 14, the university complied with a White House request to cover up all signs and symbols on the wall of the stage behind where the president spoke. These included the monogram “IHS”-- a symbol for the name of Jesus--which...

A Public Policy Polling survey of South Dakota was released today, and it contains some disturbing news for Congresswoman Herseth-Sandlin.

Staffer once claimed to have fathered child of former candidate's mistress ABC News will air an exclusive interview next month with the man who once claimed to have fathered the child of former Sen. John Edwards' mistress, the network said Wednesday. ABC News correspondent Bob Woodruff's interview with Andrew Young will air Jan. 29 on "20/20." Young was a longtime friend and aide to Edwards, the Democratic nominee for vice president in 2004. Young will discuss his upcoming book, "The Politician," an account of Edwards' 2004 campaign and the Rielle Hunter scandal, the network said. Hunter's video production firm worked...

Impassioned parents demanded jail time for educators and district officials Saturday following the release of test scores that showed fourth- and eighth-graders had the worst math scores in the nation. City students took the National Assessment of Educational Progress test this year, and 69 percent of fourth-graders scored below the basic level in math and 77 percent of eighth-graders scored below basic. The Detroit scores on the progress test were the lowest in its 40-year history. The sample of students included 900 of Detroit's 6,000 fourth-graders and 1,000 of the district's 6,000 eighth-graders. Sharlonda Buckman, CEO of the Detroit Parent...

Now the fourth Democrat to announce his retirement in four weeks, Rep. Bart Gordon (D-Tenn.) said this morning in a released statement that he will not run for re-election next year. Gordon, a moderate Democrat from a Republican-leaning district, follows three other Democratic congressmen in similar political situations -- Brian Baird (WA-3), John Tanner (TN-8), and Dennis Moore (KS-3). President Obama won Moore and Baird's districts in 2008, but both were also won by President Bush in 2004. "Turning 60 has led me to re-evaluate what's next," Gordon said in a statement. "I have an 8-year-old daughter and a wonderful...

<p>US President Barack Obama has awarded himself a B plus for his first 11 months in office, stressing in an interview with Oprah Winfrey that there was still much to be done.</p> <p>"A good solid B plus," Mr Obama said during an hour-long, intimate soft-focus ABC network Christmas at the White House special, when Winfrey asked what grade he would give himself.</p>

Senator Mary Landrieu (D-La) rejected the notion that determining the Constitutionality of pending legislation was part of her job. The Senator’s shucking of this responsibility came in response to a questioner asking her where in the US Constitution is there the authority for congress to force people to buy health insurance. “My job is to get all I can for my constituents,” Landrieu argued. “Unlike most of my peers, I got $300 million in added benefits for my constituents in exchange for my vote in favor of the health care bill. I’m not going to let myself be bothered by...

U.S. Rep. Chet Edwards has secured several million dollars in federal funding for local projects, including $12.2 million for a new headquarters building for an Army brigade based in Bryan, his office announced this week. ...... The House passed the 2010 appropriations bill 221-202 Thursday, receiving no support from Republicans. A Senate vote is expected over the weekend. Edwards' office said it is expected to pass.....These are "projects that come from local leaders, mayors and sheriffs and research universities in our district," said Josh Taylor, an Edwards spokesman. "As such, these are investments that have a positive impact on the...

Melodee Hanes, Baucus' former state director and now his live-in girlfriend, reportedly met at least twice with the Montana Democrat's divorce attorney to talk about the Baucuses' divorce eight months before the senator and his wife separated. The last person to know that Sen. Max Baucus wanted a divorce may have been his wife of 25 years. It appears that Wanda Baucus was in the dark even as a member of Baucus' staff -- Melodee Hanes, the woman who is now his live-in girlfriend -- was plotting out the senator's life without a wife. Hanes, Baucus' former state director, reportedly...

Chris Dodd (D-Conn) has been in the Senate for five terms, rising through the ranks to become one of the most powerful lawmakers in Congress. Yet it seems he may have an uphill battle in trying to secure a sixth. "It is increasingly clear to both independent analysts and Democratic leaders that Dodd is just too badly damaged to have a decent shot at getting re-elected, almost regardless of who wins the Republican nomination," writes Jennifer Duffy, a Senate race analyst at the Cook Political Report, which is now predicting a Dodd loss. For much of the past year, Dodd,...

Sen. Max Baucus (D-Mont.), chairman of the powerful Senate Finance Committee, gave a nearly $14,000 pay raise to a female staffer in 2008, at the time he was becoming romantically involved with her, and later that year took her on a taxpayer-funded trip to Southeast Asia and the Middle East, though foreign policy was not her specialty.

Climate deniers are on the offensive, even here. Check out the press release to see the way these guys operate. In the advisory, they call themselves the Committee for a Constructive Tomorrow (CFACT) and they are inviting the press to an International Climate Eco-Summit (ICE 2009). Sounds so smooth. Meanwhile tomorrow's event comes after another one organized by the Americans for Prosperity just yesterday where a group of fifty U.S. clean energy youth activists stormed the stage in Copenhagen during a live webcast also featuring endless climate crisis denier Christopher Monckton. He goes buck. Here's the video (Monckton spills the...

WASHINGTON (AP) - Democratic Rep. Brian Baird said Wednesday he will not seek re-election next year so he can spend more time with his family and pursue other ways to serve. The six-term congressman who represents southwest Washington said the job has been the highest honor and greatest responsibility of his life. Baird, 53, of Vancouver, serves on the House science and transportation committees. While his 3rd District seat is considered competitive, he easily won re-election in 2008 and was not considered in jeopardy this cycle. "I find it is increasingly difficult to spend the time I need with my...

State senator won't run for re-election, says he'll leave office after 18 years December 09, 2009 1:57 PM Corey Friedman State Sen. David Hoyle has decided not to seek a 10th term in the General Assembly and will leave office next December after representing Gaston County for 18 years. “I didn’t intend to serve for as long as I have,” Hoyle said Wednesday. “I thought I’d serve for 10 or 12 years, but the citizens kept electing me.” Hoyle, D-Gaston, took office in 1993 and was re-elected eight times, fending off Republican challengers in his heavily conservative home county. Of...

Jason Carter Will Run For DeKalb Seat. The Atlanta lawyer and Democrat says he will run for a seat representing part of DeKalb County. The District 42 post is currently held by David Adelman, who has been nominated by President Barack Obama to be ambassador to Singapore. If Adelman is confirmed in January, a special election will be held March 16.

Central Kentucky voters rejected an attempt by Gov. Steve Beshear to erode Republican control of the state Senate Tuesday, choosing the GOP’s Jimmy Higdon over Democrat Jodie Haydon in a special Senate election. The election — one of the most expensive legislative races in state history — marks a setback for Beshear and the horse industry, who had hoped to advance a proposal to allow electronic slot machines at racetracks by narrowing the Republican majority in the Senate to one. [Snip] Though he was outspent, Higdon said it was “great strategy” by the state Republican Party to nationalize the race....

War On Terror: The anti-war crowd says the small number of enemy fighters inside Afghanistan doesn't justify sending 30,000 fresh troops there. They fail to understand the larger problem. Sen. Barbara Boxer complains al-Qaida is scarcely in Afghanistan. She cites an intelligence report leaked to ABC News that only 100 fighters are actually present inside the country, along with several thousand Taliban fighters. "I do not support adding more troops," the California Democrat argued, "because there are now 200,000 American, NATO and Afghan forces fighting roughly 20,000 Taliban and less than 100 al-Qaida." In other words, why are we even...

Home • Briefing Room • Statements & Releases The White House Office of the Press Secretary For Immediate Release December 07, 2009 President Obama Announces More Key Administration Posts, 12/7/09 WASHINGTON – Today, President Barack Obama announced his intent to nominate the following individuals to key administration posts: David T. Matsuda, Administrator, Maritime Administration, Department of Transportation Michael P. Huerta, Deputy Administrator, Federal Aviation Administration, Department of Transportation President Obama said, “I am grateful that such talented individuals have joined my administration at this important moment in our nation’s history. I look forward to working with them in the coming...

The president admits that green policies hurt business. The Obama administration used last week's jobs summit to promote policies the president admits will kill jobs. In case no one in the White House has noticed, unemployment has become a bit of a pressing issue. According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, the number of jobs lost in 2009 far surpasses the number in any other year since World War II. More than 3 million jobs have evaporated into the ozone layer since President Obama took office. Everything the administration is doing threatens to dig that hole deeper. Mr. Obama has...

MIDI - I SAW MOMMY KISSING SANTA CLAUS - 2nd version) I caught Maxie doing Melodee in the staffer's office late one night He had a lot of fun...oh, that old sonofagun But now the story's out there and the facts have come to light Yes, I caught Maxie doing Melodee...he had such a big smile on his face Because he is a Democrat, well, this stuff is old hat I saw Maxie doing Melodee I caught Maxie doing Melodee...then she's nominated for the job But take this to the bank...she's not shared with Barney Frank There isn't a...

Cap and trade legislation may be one of the biggest issues facing the oil and gas industry according to Dr. Daniel Fine, Associate of Policy, Strategy and Development at New Mexico Tech. He also serves on the New Mexico Center for Energy Policy which is hosting the presentation by former Shell Oil executive, John Hofmeister tonight. “What is the purpose to cap and trade?” asks Fine. “Is the purpose to raise revenue? Is the purpose to lower CO2? Or both?” The bill (Waxman-Markey) coming out of the U.S. House of Representatives claims both purposes without a clear policy declaration.

So Senator Baucus is nominating his girlfriend for U.S. Attorney jobs, while she was on his staff: http://www.politico.com/news/stories/1209/30228.html While Homeland Security Chairman Bennie Thompson is holding hearings to get money from the credit card industry (according to his own former staffer): http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/12/04/AR2009120402256.html?hpid=topnews

DALLAS (AP) - The U.S. Justice Department made the right call in dismissing a voter intimidation lawsuit against the New Black Panther Party and recent questions about that ruling are a "political witch hunt" to discredit Attorney General Eric Holder, the party's leader said this week. Malik Zulu Shabazz, national chairman of the New Black Panther Party for Self-Defense, told The Associated Press the civil lawsuit filed by the federal government had "no merit" because the party doesn't condone voter intimidation. Shabazz said he was speaking publicly about the issue for the first time because he wanted to set the...

LINK ONLY http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/09338/1018440-100.stm

Democracy would be wholly valueless to the proletariat if it were not immediately used as a means for putting through measures directed against private property and ensuring the livelihood of the proletariat. The main measures, emerging as the necessary result of existing relations, are the following: (i) Limitation of private property through progressive taxation, heavy inheritance taxes, abolition of inheritance through collateral lines (brothers, nephews, etc.) forced loans, etc. (ii) Gradual expropriation of landowners, industrialists, railroad magnates and shipowners, partly through competition by state industry, partly directly through compensation in the form of bonds. (iii) Confiscation of the possessions of...

BALTIMORE - Baltimore’s mayor was convicted yesterday on a single charge she took gift cards intended for the city’s poor. Although Sheila Dixon was acquitted of felony theft charges, her misdemeanor conviction could force her from office. Jurors deliberated more than six days after hearing accusations that the Democrat improperly used or kept $630 worth of gift cards. She was accused of soliciting most of the cards from a developer and buying electronics at Best Buy, clothes at Old Navy, and knickknacks at Target. The jury convicted her on one count of fraudulent misappropriation by a fiduciary and acquitted her...

Senate Breaks Health Stalemate; First Votes TodayBy ROBERT PEAR and DAVID M. HERSZENHORN Published: December 2, 2009 WASHINGTON — At the end of a third day of Senate debate over sweeping health care legislation, Democrats and Republicans said Wednesday night that they had broken an impasse over the seemingly simple question of how and when to vote on the first amendments. But even as lawmakers announced an agreement to begin voting Thursday, Democrats accused Republicans of stalling debate and obstructing the legislation. In a closed-door meeting of his caucus, the Senate majority leader, Harry Reid of Nevada, told Democrats that...