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Hours after the Fort Hood massacre, a grieving nation looked to the president for consolation and leadership. Instead, it got light banter and a "shout-out" before President Obama read a perfunctory statement. The president has always had a reputation for coolness, but in this case, he was utterly detached. He can't blame the scriptwriter for his astonishing lack of empathy.

Political pundits were divided over the significance of Doug Hoffman’s successful bid to grab the “conservative” banner from Dede Scozzafava in the race for New York’s 23rd Congressional District. Scozzafava withdrew after finding herself trailing badly in three way polls between Hoffman and Democratic Candidate Bill Owens. The National Review saw Scozzafava’s defeat as the “first Republican scalp” of the Tea Party Movement, itself a kind of insurgency within the GOP demanding a return to the principles of small government and low taxes. Certainly Hoffman’s candidacy seems like perfect evidence for the proposition that both the Republican and Democratic Party...

How is Dede Scozzafava holding up after a conservative insurgent drove her from the New York House race? Michael Smerconish asks the former Republican candidate about the future of her party. Republican New York State Assemblywoman Dede Scozzafava was considered a shoo-in to win the special election for the United States House seat in upstate New York this week—until conservative activists from outside the district attacked her for being too moderate and drove her from the race. After Scozzafava dropped out, the Democratic candidate ended up beating the third-party conservative challenger, and the district went blue for the first time...

The hero cop who ended the bloody rampage at Fort Hood by pumping four bullets into the crazed gunman even though she was wounded is known for her toughness, friends say. Before relocating to Texas, civilian police Sgt. Kimberly Munley spent about five years as a cop in North Carolina where she forged a reputation as a no-nonsense officer. "I'd like to say I'm surprised, but I'm really not," said close friend Drew Peterson, 27. "She was born and bred to be a police officer. If you were ever to be in a fight, she'd be the first person to...

WASHINGTON — The killings of 13 people at Fort Hood, Texas, by an Army psychiatrist who also was a Muslim set off a rancorous debate Friday that once again spotlighted the fear among Muslims in America that they'll be collectively found guilty for the actions of one man. Vitriolic exchanges filled Internet sites devoted to military affairs, with some posters arguing that Muslims should be barred from the armed services. News reporters deluged the Silver Spring, Md., mosque where the Fort Hood shooting suspect once worshipped, demanding to know what the Quran, Islam's holy book, has to say about such...

PATERSON — Supporters of a Muslim cleric whose deportation case is to return to Immigration Court after an immigration appeals panel remanded it, plan today to publicly denounce the panel’s decision and vow to fight for the imam. Aref Assaf, spokesman for imam Mohammad Qatanani of the Islamic Center of Passaic County, said that at today’s press conference he and others will ask for “continued financial and emotional support” for the imam as he prepares to fight again against efforts by the Department of Homeland Security to deport him. “We will express our disappointment in the Board of Immigration Appeals’...

ABC News’ Rick Klein reports: Could the health care bill be in real trouble in the House? The Democratic defections are starting to pile up in advance of a vote scheduled for tomorrow on sweeping health reform efforts. (That schedule could slip to Sunday or beyond, if the votes aren’t there.) According to the National Republican Congressional Committee -- which, of course, has an interest in watching this vote particularly closely -- 15 House Democrats and counting are saying publicly that they’ll oppose the measure when it reaches a vote. Democrats can afford only 40 such defections to squeak the...

The Legislature's top administrators have asked Attorney General Jerry Brown to decide whether pending 18 percent cuts to lawmakers' pay and benefits were legally approved by the California Citizens Compensation Commission. Jon Waldie, chief administrative officer of the Assembly, and Greg Schmidt, chief executive officer of the Senate, suggest that the reductions were beyond the jurisdiction of the seven-member commission, which is appointed by the governor. Citing the state's dire fiscal condition, the panel in May cut the pay for state officials by 18 percent beginning in December 2010 – after the next round of legislative elections. The cut will...

Mayor Gavin Newsom was spotted this morning at City Hall, but there's still no word on his mysterious disappearance. He arrived at his office at about 9:30 a.m., walking past members of the media who were hoping he'd comment on his absence. No such luck. "The mayor is back, and he's busy conducting meetings in his office in City Hall right now," said his spokesman, Nathan Ballard. Newsom is meeting with staff and plans to meet with both sides of the hotel workers' dispute sometime today, Ballard said. He is not planning to make any public appearances. "He's been kept...

Rules Comm on C-Span 2 still going after 8 hrs. They are still trying to get votes. Keep calling Dems

Freddie Mac (NYSE:FRE - News; NYSE:FRE - News), the second largest provider of U.S. residential mortgage funding, on Friday posted a loss of $5 billion in the third quarter and predicted it would need more government support amid a "prolonged deterioration" in housing. Increases in the value of securities Freddie Mac held over the period helped buoy its net worth, however, erasing its need to tap government funds for a second straight quarter to stay solvent while continuing to buy and guarantee home loans. Including a $1.3 billion dividend payment on senior preferred stock bought by the Treasury in previous...

Global cooling charts have been updated through October 31, 2009. The chart trends definitely indicate why politicians such as Lindsey Graham, Boxer, Obama, Waxman and others are finding it so difficult to convince Americans that the world is suffering from "global warming" climate change.

Did Islamophobia Cause Fort Hood Massacre? Get Ready to Scream! thelastcrusade.org Major Nidal Malik Hasan was a victim of Islamophobia, according to members of his family.One cousin told the Associated Press that Major Hasan had been battling racial harassment because of his "Middle Eastern ethnicity.” The harassment, we are told, came from his fellow officers who failed to understand that “Islam is a religion of peace.” The cousin added that the harassed Hasan had been opposed to an imminent deployment overseas, describing it as his "worst nightmare,” since he would be called upon to do battle against his Muslim...

Members of Congress and the general public may not be aware of “potential emerging threats to the stability of the financial system,” thanks to a Thursday vote by a House panel shepherding the bill that’s supposed to end “too big to fail.” Members of Congress and the general public may not be aware of "potential emerging threats to the stability of the financial system," thanks to a Thursday vote by a House panel shepherding the bill that's supposed to end "too big to fail." The vote was on an amendment offered by Rep. Gregory Meeks, a New York Democrat, and...

The Motor City wants change. At least that was the message sent from the polls on Tuesday night’s general municipal election. While some of the election results had been easily predicted, there were some minor surprises. City Council President Kenneth Cockrel Jr. was expected to come out second if not on top of the city council race. Instead, voters demoted him, placing the former interim mayor fourth behind three fresh faces to the council. But as the polls predicted, Charles Pugh got the most votes, making him the new city council president. Gary Brown, who had been expected to be...

Ft. Hood Shooting News Conference.

<p>Sure, Election Day 2009 will scare moderate Democrats and make passage of Obamacare more difficult. Sure, it makes it easier for resurgent Republicans to raise money and recruit candidates for 2010. But the most important effect of Tuesday’s elections is historical. It demolishes the great realignment myth of 2008.</p>

Democrats' Ethics Targeted by GOP By BRODY MULLINS Republicans are seizing on newly revealed ethics probes of congressional Democrats ahead of next year's midterm elections, accusing House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and her colleagues of failing to make good on their pledge to clean up Washington when they regained control of Congress. None of the Democratic lawmakers under investigation by the House Ethics Committee is expected to lose in 2010. And ethics concerns are usually less important to voters than pocketbook issues. But Republican campaign strategists say ethics issues rumbling under the surface could help the GOP pick up a few...

on Voight: Democrats’ ‘Oppressive’ Health Care Bill Will ‘Decimate’ the U.S. Economy Friday, November 06, 2009 By Nicholas Ballasy, Video Reporter (CNSNews.com) - Thousands of Americans opposed to the Democrats’ health care plan marched on Capitol Hill Thursday urging lawmakers to “kill the bill.” Among the speakers at the rally was Hollywood actor Jon Voight who told CNSNews.com he does not believe the Constitution authorizes Congress to require individuals to purchase health insurance. He also said there are “a lot of things that are unconstitutional” going on in Congress. CNSNews.com asked Voight, “Does the Constitution authorize Congress to be able...

KIRO Team 7 Investigators have discovered a career criminal, nicknamed "the obituary burglar," is out of prison and into a new job. It's one that has victims, police and taxpayers alike shaking their heads in disbelief. Now, Investigative Reporter Chris Halsne reveals who hired a 22-time felon to work around senior citizens. Terry Lee Alexander gained notoriety a decade ago by ransacking the homes of elderly victims while they were away attending funerals. With that resume, the City of Kent thought Alexander would be a good employee and handed him the keys to the publicly-funded Senior Activities Center. It's Saturday...

Before addressing the article, people should know that the AMA has gone from an organization that virtually all MDs belong to down to only about 17%. Gee I wonder why? That said, according to the article "The American Medical Association (AMA) is facing a rebellion from some of its members, who have introduced a resolution to revoke the organization's endorsement of the Democrats' healthcare proposals. AMA delegates tell Newsmax that the association's board of trustees failed to obtain delegate approval before endorsing the reform proposals. The AMA's delegate assembly is considered the group's primary policy-making body. Dr. James Dolan, the...

Jefferson's criminal sentencing, bankruptcy hearing a month apartBy Jonathan Tilove November 03, 2009, 6:52AM Former Rep. William Jefferson will face sentencing Nov. 13 on 11 counts of federal public corruption. But it will not be the last court hearing this fall for Jefferson. On Dec. 9, if he is still a free man, Jefferson is due to appear before Judge Jerry A. Brown in United States Bankruptcy Court in New Orleans to argue that he and his wife should be able to keep their wedding rings and that his family has the right to hold onto one of his guns....

Today, Ranking Member of the House Ways and Means Committee Dave Camp (R-MI) released a letter from the non-partisan Joint Committee on Taxation (JCT) confirming that the failure to comply with the individual mandate to buy health insurance contained in the Pelosi health care bill (H.R. 3962, as amended) could land people in jail. The JCT letter makes clear that Americans who do not maintain “acceptable health insurance coverage” and who choose not to pay the bill’s new individual mandate tax (generally 2.5% of income), are subject to numerous civil and criminal penalties, including criminal fines of up to $250,000...

The voters be damned: That seems to be Speaker Nancy Pelosi's attitude in the wake of big Democratic losses on Tuesday. "House Democratic leaders, undeterred by delays in the Senate or this week's Republican electoral triumphs, plan to call a vote Saturday on the most sweeping overhaul of U.S. health-care policy in four decades," Bloomberg reports: The House will move on the $1.05 trillion legislation that would cover 36 million uninsured people and create a government plan to compete with private insurers even after the election of Republican governors in New Jersey and Virginia. President Barack Obama will go to...

You know what? I think I can. I will continue to say what I’ve said before. You hear in this debate, you hear analogies, you hear references to, you see pictures about and depictions of individuals that are truly stunning, and you hear it all the time. People — imagine five years ago somebody comparing health care reform to 9/11. Imagine just a few years ago had somebody walked around with images of Hitler. Two possible explanations: (1) Gibbsy was trying to say something else and it came out very wrong; (2) Gibbsy was in a deep, deep coma for...

Man charged in soldier's death seeks trial delayPosted: October 27, 2009 - 12:40pm LITTLE ROCK (AP) — Attorneys for the man charged with capital murder of an Army soldier at a Little Rock recruiting station are asking for a delay in the start of his trial. Lawyers for 24-year-old Abdulhakim Muhammad say in a motion filed last week that they need more time to go through evidence in the case. The current trial date is Feb. 15. Muhammad was born Carlos Bledsoe. He's charged in the June shooting death of 23-year-old Pvt. William Long of Conway and in the wounding...

Today at 2pm the House Rules Committee will meet to consider the rule for H.R. 3962 , the Affordable Health Care for America Act. As of this morning 104 amendments had been filed with the Rules Committee for consideration. Republican’s have filed 87 amendments and Democrats have filed 17. The debate in the Rules Committee and a final vote could continue well into this evening.The rule being debated today will not only cover HR 3962 but will also apply to HR 3961, the Medicare Physician Payment Reform Act, also known as the Doc Fix. This is a procedural gimmick that...

Nov. 6 (Bloomberg) -- Eric Cantor, the second-ranking Republican in the U.S. House, said his party needs to be inclusive and criticized some comments by talk-show host Rush Limbaugh as inappropriate. “The Republican Party in its roots is a party of inclusion and we ought to be promoting that and making sure that voices are heard,” Cantor, of Virginia, said in an interview on Bloomberg Television’s “Political Capital with Al Hunt,” airing today.

This ad is hitting the airwaves next week: Video at site

Whether you call it a rally, press conference or "House Call," Republicans think Thursday's Capitol Hill Tea Party was a success -- and they are crediting Rep. Michele Bachmann for having the pizazz to increase turnout and press coverage. "We didn't know what to expect, we didn't know what kind of energy would be there, but this thing took a life of its own," Brendan Buck, spokesman for the Republican Study Committee, told TPMDC. "It came together better than we ever imagined it would in terms of size and energy," he said. After chatting with press aides from various Republican offices,...

Rep Jan Schakowsky (D-IL) recently met with senior officials of Goldman Sachs. The confusion she displayed during that meeting is astonishing. Here is her report : This week I had an opportunity most Americans would relish, just as I did. I was able to unload on two top executives of Goldman Sachs who descended from on high to my office because I clearly needed some educating. One was a Vice President and the other their Chief Risk Officer. I had authored a letter on October 28, along with Congressman Peter Welch, that read, "We understand Goldman Sachs is expected to...

The Obama adminstration must react responsibly to China’s declaration that military operations in space are inevitable, a top China expert says. “How will the US react to Chinese diplomatic efforts in light of the PLA’s blunt statements on space warfare? This is something the Obama administration has to take into account,” said Dean Cheng, China specialist at Washington’s Heritage Foundation. “Are we going to see outrage, any meaningful reactions to the Chinese statements or again that it was someone speaking out of school and we just aren’t sure.” Cheng was referring to what appears to mark a major shift...

Fannie Mae will tap the Treasury again; bad mortgages and foreclosure prevention efforts resulted in a $18.9B net loss in Q-3. F/M was seized by the govt last year. The Q-3 loss stems from $22B in expenses: charges on impaired loans it bought from mortgage-backed securities on loans modified under Obama's foreclosure prevention plan. Anticipating more losses, F/M also boosted provisions for credit losses in future quarters.

Senate Republicans are gearing up to block the appeals-court nomination of U.S. District Judge David Hamilton, whose resume includes a stint as a fundraiser for ACORN, the community-organizing group recently tripped up by a series of embarrassing undercover videos. Conservative legal groups have described Hamilton as "ultra-liberal." His appointment to the 7th Circuit Court of Appeals in Chicago would provide an aerie perch from which to rule on appeals from Indiana, Illinois, and Wisconsin. On Wednesday, Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nev., told fellow senators that before Veterans Day "We are going to [vote on] Judge David Hamilton, Seventh Circuit,...

Link only - Matheson to vote against health reform

Charlie could catch a breakBy DAPHNE RETTER Last Updated: 7:50 AM, November 6, 2009 WASHINGTON -- Rep. Charles Rangel is likely to be cleared on one of a half-dozen ethics charges, it was reported yesterday. Rangel and four other members of the Congressional Black Caucus may be exonerated of allegations of rule violations stemming from a 2008 trip to the Caribbean for a conference, according to the Capitol Hill newspaper Roll Call. **SNIP** Members of Congress are barred from accepting multiday trips from companies that employ lobbyists.

Over ONE MILLION copies sold! On the NYTimes Bestseller List for 19 weeks, 12 weeks at #1!Buy it… read it… live it!“Conservatism is the antidote to tyranny precisely because its principles are the founding principles.” --Mark Levin in Liberty and TyrannyWelcome to “The Levin Lounge”… Step in and have a virtual FRink.Taking the country by storm, one radio station at a time – and kicking the BUTTS of the competition! Welcome all, to the most FUN LIVE THREAD on FreeRepublic.com! You can call Mark’s show: 1-877-381-3811

From the House Ways and Means Republicans: Today, Ranking Member of the House Ways and Means Committee Dave Camp (R-MI) released a letter from the non-partisan Joint Committee on Taxation (JCT) confirming that the failure to comply with the individual mandate to buy health insurance contained in the Pelosi health care bill (H.R. 3962, as amended) could land people in jail. The JCT letter makes clear that Americans who do not maintain “acceptable health insurance coverage” and who choose not to pay the bill’s new individual mandate tax (generally 2.5% of income), are subject to numerous civil and criminal penalties,...

President Obama met with several journalists for lunch today at the White House, according to source with knowledge of the event. The attendees for Friday’s lunch were as follows: CNN's David Gergen, Washington Post's Chris Cillizza, Newsweek's Jon Meacham and Howard Fineman, the Atlanta Journal-Constitution's Cynthia Tucker, POLITICO's Mike Allen, NPR/ Fox's Mara Liasson, Talking Points Memo's Josh Marshall and New York Times trio David Brooks, Andy Rosenthal, and Gail Collins. Also on hand were administration officials: David Axelrod, Anita Dunn, Bill Burton, and Robert Gibbs. The off-the-record lunch lasted about two hours, and included a green salad, halibut and...

Reporting from Sacramento - The state Legislature is quietly seeking to block a steep cut in lawmakers' salary and perks. Executives of the Assembly and Senate have asked the state attorney general to determine whether the scheduled 18% pay reduction and additional 18% cuts to living expenses and car allowances are illegal. The lowered benefits are due to kick in next month, while base pay is set to be slashed from $116,000 to $95,000, starting with lawmakers elected starting year. Senate Secretary Greg Schmidt, who co-signed the letter requesting the legal opinion, said the Legislature's top attorney has said the...

Employment in the service sector -- the main source of U.S. jobs -- fell 61,000 in October. Business and professional services companies shed 18,000 jobs. Retail trade cut 40,000 jobs and leisure and hospitality employment fell by 37,000.

Today, Ranking Member of the House Ways and Means Committee Dave Camp (R-MI) released a letter from the non-partisan Joint Committee on Taxation (JCT) confirming that the failure to comply with the individual mandate to buy health insurance contained in the Pelosi health care bill (H.R. 3962, as amended) could land people in jail. The JCT letter makes clear that Americans who do not maintain “acceptable health insurance coverage” and who choose not to pay the bill’s new individual mandate tax (generally 2.5% of income), are subject to numerous civil and criminal penalties, including criminal fines of up to $250,000...

While no one yet knows what ignited Major Nidal Malik Hasan's murderous rage Thursday afternoon, Nov. 5, at Fort Hood, the kindling was hiding in plain sight. The Army had ordered Hasan, wrestling with the conflicting demands of being a soldier, a psychiatrist and a Muslim, to the post with the highest toll of Army suicides. Fort Hood is one of the Army's most stressed posts because of its units' revolving-door deployments to Afghanistan and Iraq. Finally, the Army made clear that Hasan couldn't escape his own pending deployment to Afghanistan, where he'd have to salve the mental wounds of...

Obama Officially Endorses Abortion-Funding Health Care Bill Washington, DC -- With a new statement released today from the White House, President Barack Obama finally officially put his imprimatur on the House health care bill that contains massive abortion funding. Obama has previously been criticized for saying he wanted no abortion funding but lobbying for the bill. http://www.lifenews.com/nat5626.html

The U.S. Marine Corps today released video of its V-22 Ospreys arriving in Afghanistan. Ten MV-22s flew from the USS Bataan and are now operating in southern Afghanistan. The video is of MV-22Bs with the Marine Medium tiltrotor Squadron 263, 22nd Marine Expeditionary Unit taking off in three waves from the flight deck of the Bataan. And here is video of the arrival and flight of the first Osprey to be use in Afghanistan.

U.S. President Barack Obama says new figures that show the nation's unemployment rate reached double digits in October are a reminder of the challenges that remain. The 10.2 percent jobless figure is the highest since 1983. President Obama stood in the White House Rose Garden shortly after the number was announced, and said the U.S. economy has more work to do on reducing unemployment. "Although we lost fewer jobs than we did last month, our unemployment rate climbed to over 10 percent, a sobering number that underscores the economic challenges that lie ahead," said President Obama. The Labor Department says...

In honor of those mourning the victims, Obama said he has ordered all flags at the White House and other federal buildings to be flown at half staff until Veteran's Day, Nov. 11.

A Nevada Democratic Party leader who pleaded guilty to hitting his teenage son and throwing him on the hood of a car has resigned, according to a letter received Friday by a newspaper. Paul Belt, the party chairman of Douglas County, said in a letter to the Record-Courier that he resigned his post after his "regrettable actions." He pleaded guilty on Wednesday to a misdemeanor count of domestic battery. He was sentenced to a suspended one-year jail term and ordered to attend counseling. Belt, 45, was accused of punching his 15-year-old son several times on Oct. 22 when he learned...

November 5, 2009MEMORANDUMTo: Congressional staff From: Richard Doerflinger Secretariat of Pro-Life Activities U.S. Conference of Catholic BishopsRe: The Ellsworth amendment to H.R. 3962 on abortion: Initial observationsThe House leadership is asking members for reactions to new abortion language proposed by Rep. Brad Ellsworth (D-IN) for H.R. 3962, the Affordable Health Care for America Act. The Ellsworth amendment (henceforth “the amendment”) is said to be a “compromise” addressing pro-life concerns raised against the current bill.  However, on examination it is not a meaningful compromise. It addresses none of the substantial criticisms offered by the Catholic bishops’ conference and other pro-life...

ALBANY, New York, November 6, 2009 (LifeSiteNews.com) - Gov. David Paterson has convoked an extraordinary session of the New York State Legislature to address the state's soaring budget deficit, as well as to pass legislation that would legalize same-sex "marriage."Paterson issued a special proclamation Thursday announcing the special session would convene on November 10 at noon. He said the legislature would take up consideration of the Governor's $5.2 billion "Deficit Reduction Plan" - a proposal which promises steep cuts in government spending - along with several other items including the same-sex "marriage" bill already passed by the Assembly.The fate of...