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Tom Donohue sits for an interview with POLITICO. CEO and President of the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, Tom Donahue, talks with POLITICO about his relationship with the White House, the health care debate and the Chamber's membership. Photo: John Shinkle U.S. Chamber of Commerce President Tom Donohue says a campaign by the White House and its allies to undermine his $200-million-a-year association has largely failed — and actually has helped raise even more money for its pro-business efforts. In a 75-minute interview with POLITICO, Donohue dismissed recent defections by Apple and at least four other companies, which quit over the...

If Obama and his Chicago thugs simply focused on the country's real enemies rather than American citizens and institutions which provide constructive criticism and honest discourse on the policies emanating from the White House, effective policy might be put in place which would advance an agenda supported by a true majority of citizens. But rather, we see an administration so focused on what, in its paranoid state, it perceives as enemies, that all of its energies are centered on discrediting Bush and Cheney, Fox News, talk radio, Rush Limbaugh, town hall attendees, tea party organizers, health insurance companies, Wall Street...

Obama declares swine flu emergency 9 mins ago WASHINGTON (AFP) – President Barack Obama has declared swine flu a "national emergency," the White House said Saturday, as the United States reels from millions of cases of infection and over 1,000 deaths.

Dick Cheney, a man with a SPINE! I must say from the outset that I am on the side of those strategists who believe the best course in Afghanistan is to move to counter-terrorism … and not escalate in Afghanistan. But I bristled when I heard WHCOS Rahm Emanuel tell John King on CNN that questions on strategy had never been asked.

http://www.eastidahonews.com/podcasts/PA/PAHr2_Friday10022009.mp3 East Idaho News Broadcast - Newstalk 690 and 1260 - Probing America with Mark and Mel. This audio explains that Rham Emmanuel is over all of Obama's Czars and describes civil internships in the armed forces. 1. Paul Brown (rep from Georgia), is trying to bring attention to Obama's Civilian Corp as it is exactly what Hitler did. (and more...) 2. Rahm Emmanuel will be over this paramilitary civilian corp. Rahm's & Ezekiel's father was a member of IRGEN & STIRNGAIN assasins - responsible for terrorism and slaughter of the innocent. 3. An anonymous Navy Captain of 30 years...

The president's approval rating has fallen to an astonishingly low 4 percent in the Holy Land. As his envoy jumpstarts peace talks, Richard Wolffe reports on Obama's plans to win the ally back. Is Obama surrounded by self-hating Jews? That was one of the most ridiculous—and yet perversely telling—stories to emerge from the last several weeks of Israeli media coverage. Not because the president is surrounded by Jewish aides who want to sabotage their own identity. Far from it. David Axelrod openly reveres the old Jewish deli in Chicago known as Manny’s. He has a sign in his West Wing...

Following reports that White House Chief of Staff Rahm Emanuel has been orchestrating an effort to intimidate members of Congress and Governors who raise legitimate concerns regarding the effectiveness of the stimulus, House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform Ranking Member Darrell Issa (R-CA) sent a letter to Emanuel saying “While this type of scare tactic may work In Chicago, it will not work to intimidate me or other Members of the United States Congress.” “I and others have dared to bring these facts to the attention of President Obama, the Congress and the American people,” Issa wrote. “You’ve unfortunately...

<p>WASHINGTON - When I ask a liberal American Jew involved in politics what he thinks of the claim that Rahm Emanuel is an anti-Israeli fifth column in the Obama administration, he laughs. "So, do they really think in Israel that Rahm Emanuel, David Axelrod, Dan Shapiro, Mara Rudman, Dennis Ross and the other good American Jews who work with Obama are a fifth column?" And then he says slowly, like someone explaining something to a person who has difficulty understanding: "How many times do you have to be told ... "</p>

Ezekiel Emmanuel, Rahm’s health-wonk brother, wants the nation’s seniors to just get on with it. Death, that is. Believing that older Americans have already had their fair share of time, he suggests that they be denied health care resources—out of a concern for justice, apparently. This, from the Competitive Enterprise Institute, sums it up: 'In a January article published in the British medical journal Lancet, Emanuel and his co-authors advocate a health rationing policy that discriminates against older people. They wrote, “Unlike allocation by sex or race, allocation by age is not invidious discrimination … Treating 65-year-olds differently because of...

[This article in "The Lancet" describes the system under which Obama's health-care system would allocate medical resources] Because none of the currently used systems satisfy all ethical requirements for just allocation, we propose an alternative: the complete lives system. This system incorporates five principles (table 2): youngest-first, prognosis, save the most lives, lottery, and instrumental value.5 As such, it prioritises younger people who have not yet lived a complete life and will be unlikely to do so without aid. Many thinkers have accepted complete lives as the appropriate focus of distributive justice: “individual human lives, rather than individual experiences, [are]...

Ezekiel Emmanuel MD, Rahm Emmanuel’s brother, who is Barack Obama’s “Special Advisor for Health Policy�, is described by the [1] Huffington Post article as engaged in a very important mission: redesigning the US health care system. Emanuel and the White House are attempting to reorganize the delivery and reimbursement systems of health care, changing what the types of procedures doctors rely on, making people more aware of disease prevention, encouraging insurance companies to expand coverage, and so on. It is a process rife with sensitivities, trickeries and, of course, the potential for failure. It is not, he insists, impossible.“It...

Published in the New York Post February 17, 2009 News broke last week that Rahm Emanuel, now White House chief of staff, lived rent- free for years in the home of Rep. Rosa De Lauro (D-Conn.) - and failed to disclose the gift, as congressional ethics rules mandate. But this is only the tip of Emanuel’s previously undislosed ethics problems. One issue is the work Emanuel tossed the way of De Lauro’s husband. But the bigger one goes back to Emanuel’s days on the board of now-bankrupt mortgage giant Freddie Mac. Emanuel is a multimillionaire, but lived for the last...

ANCHORAGE, Alaska -- An ethics complaint has been filed against Gov. Sarah Palin, claiming the legal defense fund she established last week to challenge such claims is an ethics violation itself.

Steve Doocy discusses with Dan Gainor.

Today marks eight Tuesdays since Obama began chauffeuring nutty Nancy’s socialist agenda past Americans too distracted by disappearing assets to notice. As both Hillary Clinton and Rahm Emmanuel have noted, “A crisis is a terrible thing to waste.” And Obama is a proponent of waste management and recycling. Up until last week, the president was recycling fear and threatening Americans with economic doom, unless we did Nancy’s bidding and supported the Democrats’ grunting congressional porkfest. Last Thursday — post pork passage — the president announced, “Things are not as bad as we thought!” Yee-haw! Hares from hats! Rejoice en masse!...

Imagine a child falls down a well. Now imagine I offer to lend the parents my ladder to save her, but only if they promise to paint my house. Would you applaud me for not letting a crisis go to waste? Or would you think I’m a jerk, for want of a harsher word not printable in this space? I ask because I’m trying to come to terms with Rule No. 1 of the new administration. “Rule 1: Never allow a crisis to go to waste,” White House Chief of Staff Rahm Emanuel told the New York Times [NYT] right...

Rush Limbaugh is driving the GOP discourse. And now a toast: Rushtinis, anyone?

President Obama's chief of staff said conservative talk show host Rush Limbaugh is the de facto leader of the Republican Party, and suggested that Limbaugh's desire for the president's policies to fail is the uniform position of the GOP. Chief of staff Rahm Emanuel said Limbaugh is the "intellectual force" of the GOP and Republicans now have to live with that choice. "He is the voice and the intellectual force and energy behind the Republican Party. And he has been up front about what he views, and hasn't stepped back from that, which is he hopes for failure. He said...

In one of his first acts in office, President Obama yesterday ordered federal agencies to halt all pending regulations until further review. The action comes after George W. Bush's final weeks raised heated debate over rushing new rules into effect on the way out the door. The order went out in a memorandum signed by Obama's chief of staff, Rahm Emanuel. The notice of the action was contained in the first news release sent out by Obama's White House. The new president plunges into his new job in earnest today after capping inaugural festivities at a national prayer service this...

Note: The following text is a quote: http://www.usdoj.gov/opa/pr/2009/January/09-crm-021.html Roy Belfast Jr., A/K/A Chuckie Taylor, Sentenced on Torture Charges WASHINGTON – Roy M. Belfast Jr. was sentenced by U.S. District Court Judge Cecilia M. Altonaga today to 97 years in prison for crimes related to the torture of people in Liberia between April 1999 and July 2003, announced Acting Assistant Attorney General Matthew Friedrich of the Criminal Division and U.S. Attorney R. Alexander Acosta for the Southern District of Florida. Belfast, a/k/a Chuckie Taylor, Charles Taylor Jr., Charles Taylor II and Charles McArther Emmanuel, was convicted on October 30, 2008, by...

It's time for Barack Obama's Chief of Staff, Rahm Emmanuel, to resign, and you can sign the petition calling for Rahm Emmanuel to resign - HERE.The Obama administration has told lie after lie about their involvement in the corruption scandal concerning Illinois Democrat Governor Rod Blagojevich's alleged efforts to sell off the U.S. Senate seat held by Obama.Days after the November election, Obama's campaign manager, David Axelrod, admitted that Obama and Blagojevich had discussions about who Blagojevich should appoint to replace him.  You can see the video with this admission here:  SEE AXELROD ADMIT OBAMA & BLAGOJEVICH DISCUSSIONS -...

The other corrupt politicians in Chicago are nervous tonight. The investigation into their statewide scam promises to widen, as embattled Governor and entertainment dynamo Hot Rod Blagojevich vowed to keep fleecing the people of Illinois today, until they drag him out in handcuffs. Oh wait, they already did that. This promises to drag out the news on this even more, exposing us to the mucho corrupto nature of Chicago politics. In his trademark flamboyantly street tonality, he jabbed his finger at the camera and promised to "Fight, fight, fight." Citing the same voters that Illinois Dems refuse to let vote...

Emanuel talked directly to gov: source DEEPER ROLE? | Pushed Jarrett for Senate seat December 18, 2008 BY NATASHA KORECKI Federal Courts Reporter nkorecki@suntimes.com President-elect Barack Obama's incoming chief of staff Rahm Emanuel had a deeper involvement in pressing for a U.S. Senate seat appointment than previously reported, the Sun-Times has learned. Emanuel had direct discussions about the seat with Gov. Blagojevich, who is is accused of trying to auction it to the highest bidder. Emanuel talked with the governor in the days following the Nov. 4 election and pressed early on for the appointment of Valerie Jarrett to the...

We're going to make some fun of Blago, theorize about Rahm, and wonder what the heck is going on in Minnesota. It's going to be a busy half hour. Listen and call in! The button is on the left side of the page...

As reported here last week, there is speculation about how deeply involved Obammunist Chief of Staff Rahm Emmanuel is. We all know he has had conversations with Hot Rod Blagojevich's office, but it isn't the previously reported six. It's as many as TWENTY-ONE conversations with Blago's staff between the election and Handcuff Day. That comes out to a conversation almost every business day! There should be no doubt now that Rahmbo is deeply involved in this.

Blago drama for Obama RAHM EMANUEL | Pressed for Jarrett appointment to Senate December 17, 2008 BY NATASHA KORECKI AND FRAN SPIELMAN Staff Reporters President-elect Barack Obama's incoming chief of staff, Rahm Emanuel, was pushing for Obama's successor just days after the Nov. 4 election, sources told the Chicago Sun-Times. Emanuel privately urged Gov. Blagojevich's administration to appoint Obama confidante Valerie Jarrett, and the Sun-Times learned Tuesday that he also pressed that it be done by a certain deadline. » Click to enlarge image Rahm Emanuel (right) and Gov. Rod Blagojevich at a news conference in 2004. Sources told the...

As reported here this weekend, the last 72 hours have been difficult for Mr. Emmannuel, with reports now coming that factions within that Obama camp are increasingly agitating for his resignation.After reportedly being taped having detailed discussions with Blago's recently departed chief of staff, Emmanuel, along with Governor Hot Rod Blagojevich, has helped illustrate, to those of us who didn't know, what machine politics are all about.... (cont)

It's looking more and more like Rahm Emmanuel may be the next shoe to drop in the ongoing Blagojevich investigation. The Chief of Staff of the "most transparent administration in American history" is holed up somewhere in Chicago and we still have more than a month before the inauguration. It's an inauspicious start, to say the least... (video)

The leaking sludge of the Blagojevich investigation is threatening to stain the Obama presidency before it gets off the ground. The reports out of Chicago indicate a tense weekend for the Obammunists. There is rampant speculation about the extent and content of Rahm Emmanuel's six contacts with Blagojevich and, perhaps even more pressingly, a concern that perhaps the media blanket that has been protecting Obama may be showing signs of wear... (continued)

Chicago has gone quiet this weekend. Investigative journalists, having spent the last few months in Alaska and shadowing plumbers in Ohio, are finally starting to turn their attention to the newly elected president. As the Obammunist camp draws their wagons into a circle and become more defensive with a press that is showing signs of slowly waking up.

Is Rahm Emmanuel the next chip to fall in the widening corruption investigation in Chicagoland? That's one of the rumors floating around right now. The stunned media is reeling....

WASHINGTON (AP) - People who have been briefed on the Illinois governor corruption investigation say Barack Obama chief of staff Rahm Emanuel is not a target of the probe. Emanuel, a Chicago congressman who would have been a likely contact between the Obama transition office and Gov. Rod Blagojevich, has been a focus of media attention since Obama said Thursday he has asked for an internal review of contacts between his staff and Blagojevich. Emanuel has been refusing to answer questions about whether he's the "president-elect adviser" referred to in the criminal complaint that accuses Blagojevich of putting Obama's Senate...

Is Obama's tendency to conceal the truth hanging Emmanuel out to dry? According to the FBI report, Obama would not cooperate in a quid pro quo with Blago for Obama's old Senate seat. Any reasonable person would know that in order for a bribe to be rejected, it must first be offered. And, who on Earth would believe Team Obama would have zero contact with the governor since the election, when this is someone who both he and Rahm knew well and campaigned for? If Obama had said, "he offered, we rejected", would there have been legal (not political) implications...

Last night, Fox News in Chicago was already reporting that Rahm Emmanuel personally met with the governor "on several occasions" to discuss the patronage Senate seat being vacated by Obama. This is getting very sticky already. There are already many cracks in Obama's story, and rumors range from suggestions of his complicity and knowledge to suggestions that his camp blew the whistle on the Blagojevich crime spree. Was the crime stopped before it had an opportunity to implicate Obama? (video)

- snip - "I’ve also always recognized that there is a balance; that we should never allow the basic functions and solemn responsibilities of government to be subjugated to or take a backseat to politics or party interests." -snip- "Not since the days of Watergate, when our judicial system and intelligence community were deployed by the White House in the service of partisan politics, have we seen such abuses. And in many ways, what we have seen from this administration is far more extensive than that scandal." -snip- "Recently, even those who had become somewhat inured to the intense partisanship...

In holiday season many Christians have been merrily, joyously, and some perhaps even seriously, solemnly, and reverently, celebrating the birth of Jesus Christ. However, one wonders how many gave any significant thought to the issue of when was Christ born. If they had they would quickly have discovered that despite all thy mythology and legend that surrounds this holiday season, we really do not know when Christ was born. We know neither the year, nor the month, nor the day. For that matter we don’t know the time of day either. God in his wisdom has chosen not to reveal...

If John McCain during the second debate was, as Mark Steyn famously called him, Yosemite Sam when the dynamite failed to go off, the post-election Barack Obama is shaping up to be Daffy Duck. Like Daffy, he is not suffering from a self-esteem deficit. As he announced early in the campaign, “we are the ones we’ve been waiting for!” When he made his acceptance speech, he was careful to remove anyone who might detract attention from himself, like his running mate and his family. But things often go awry for Daffy, despite his supreme confidence. And Obama got off to...

Rep. Tim Mahoney paid $121,000 to a former mistress who worked on his staff and sued him after he threatened her job when she tried to end the relationship, former and current staff aides told ABC News on Monday. Mahoney, D-Fla., won his congressional seat in 2006 after Rep. Mark Foley, a Republican, was forced to resign in the wake of a scandal involving a congressional page. According to ABC News, Mahoney, who is married, started an affair with Patricia Allen while campaigning against Foley on a morality platform. Allen came on to his staff after he won the election...

USA TODAY article. Cannot post. Here is the link. http://www.usatoday.com/printedition/news/20070129/1a_bottomstrip29.art.htm

The disappointing results of the recent election have led to a lot of discussion about WHY this happened. In the search for the grand unifying theory of why we lost, there seems to be an inordinate amount of bitterness and recrimination.The problem is that we all are looking at this through the perspective of our own beliefs. Conservatives look at the loss of Chaffee and Northrup and think "If only we had had a real conservative in those seats." Moderates point to the loss of Hayworth and Santorum and caution about moving too far to the right. Some blacks look...

Rahm’s War By Jenni Vinson Trejo November 9, 2006 “We have captured the House”, was the cry bellowed from the political battlefield on Tuesday night after Americans set out to vote. “We hope to besiege the Senate”, was the second cry uttered by elated political soldiers as they assessed the position they had fought their way to. Their general, Rahm Emmanuel, trained ballet dancer turned Clinton finance manager, turned Illinois Representative has been the driving force behind the successful Democrat campaign. Ironically, those most opposed to the idea of war, availed themselves of the science and techniques of the art...

President Bush signed H.R. 2520, the Stem Cell Therapeutic and Research Act of 2005, to expand federal support of [I assume this means: existing lines of] embryonic stem cell research. Vice President and Mrs. Cheney, on a multi-purpose visit in Pakistan, cut short their trip so the VP could cast a tie-breaking Senate vote on deficit reduction if necessary. Welcome to Sanity Island!

One phrase that no Member of Congress should ever use lightly is "political hack." The ironic possibilities are too rich. So we weren't sure whether to laugh or cry last week when Senator Minority Leader Harry Reid called Federal Reserve Chairman Alan Greenspan "one of the biggest political hacks in Washington." Mr. Greenspan's sin had been to suggest, in answer to questions posed by Members of Congress, that he favors personal investment accounts for Social Security. He couched his endorsement in his usual jargon and caveats, but he clearly touched a political nerve. Liberal pundits fired their air rifles, and...

SOUNDTRACK: Messiah, Handel (40kb midi) ISAIAH 9:6 For unto us a child is born, unto us a son is given: and the government shall be upon his shoulder: and his name shall be called Wonderful, Counsellor, The mighty God, The everlasting Father, The Prince of Peace. Luke 2: 11 - 14AND LO, the angel of the Lord came upon them, and the glory of the Lord shone round about them: and they were sore afraid. And the angel said unto them, Fear not: for, behold, I bring you good tidings of great joy, which shall be to all people!...

<!-- /* Font Definitions */ @font-face {font-family:"Tempus Sans ITC"; panose-1:4 2 4 4 3 13 7 2 2 2;} /* Style Definitions */ p.MsoNormal, li.MsoNormal, div.MsoNormal {margin:0in; margin-bottom:.0001pt; font-size:12.0pt; font-family:"Times New Roman"; color:black;} h1 {margin-right:0in; margin-left:0in; font-size:24.0pt; font-family:"Times New Roman"; color:black;} a:link, span.MsoHyperlink {color:#660000; text-decoration:underline;} a:visited, span.MsoHyperlinkFollowed {color:#996633; text-decoration:underline;} @page Section1 {size:8.5in 11.0in; margin:1.0in 1.25in 1.0in 1.25in;} div.Section1 {page:Section1;} --> z);->       Well, Christmas Day has already come, the stockings have been hung   and harvested and sweeter contents few winter socks have ever had.  Many candies, nuts, and cookies have discovered their destinies under the rosy...