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<p>The Obamacare disaster is coming. Sure, the president is delaying or dismissing parts of it because they’ve proved either unmanageable or unworkable in the legally allotted time to set them up, but the most invasive and damaging aspects are still coming. But there is a chance to stop them in their tracks, IF Republicans have the courage to do it.</p>

JULIA Gillard has called for a Labor leadership ballot to be held at 7pm tonight. ''Anyone who believes they should be Labor leader should put themselves forward for this ballot,'' the Prime Minister said. She said anyone who entered the ballot should commit, in the interests of the party, to resigning from parliament if they lost. The move forces the Rudd camp to bring forward their preferred timetable for a challenge. They had hoped to engineer a special caucus meeting tomorrow and a challenge on Friday. “I am asking my political party to endorse me as a leader and Prime...

KEVIN Rudd will challenge Julia Gillard for the Labor leadership tomorrow morning. A petition for a ballot circulated among Labor MPs is believed to now have the required numbers for a spill of the PM.

Barack Obama’s critics are loud enough and persistent enough, but maybe we’ve been baying at the wrong moon. It’s not the president’s ideology, his arrogance, his attention-deficit disorder, his endless deference to alien religious faith and his contempt for the faith of those close to home (or even his backswing) that’s what’s wrong with the man in charge of the government. It’s the sheer incompetence of the leader and his gang. This is the gang that can’t shoot straight, eager to stifle or soften the First, Second, Fourth and Fifth Amendments and ever ready to stumble abroad with timidity in...

Pollster John Zogby reports in our weekly White House report card that dithering in the White House has President Obama losing control of his agenda and administration. "President Obama has coined the term 'leading from behind'. Your humble pollster suggests that he 'falling behind in leading from behind' as things are getting out of control. After months of dithering, the U.S. has decided to arm the rebels in Syria, but this comes at a time when the Assad regime is in the ascendancy. (Sort of like Paul Revere screaming, 'The British were here. The British were here.') "Multiple reports...

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. . . . . . The office of Sen. Ted Cruz, a Republican from Texas, sent out a press release Wednesday pushing five amendments he filed to the bill, which generally tightens enforcement and provides a path to legal status for undocumented immigrants. Cruz’s amendments seek to further tighten border security, streamline the legal immigration process, deny public benefits to those here illegally, reform the high-skilled worker visa program and prohibit a path to citizenship for the undocumented. . . . . . . In a press release, America’s Voice, a leading national group that advocates for more lenient...

Democratic strategist and former Bill Clinton adviser James Carville said something about Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Tx.) on ABC's This Week Sunday that is guaranteed to raise eyebrows on both sides of the aisle. "I think he is the most talented and fearless Republican politician I’ve seen in the last 30 years." JAMES CARVILLE: I think he is the most talented and fearless Republican politician I’ve seen in the last 30 years. I further think that he’s going to run for president and he is going to create something. I’m not sitting here saying he’s going to win, and I think...

At the president's news conference Tuesday, when a reporter wondered whether setbacks on gun control and the sequester suggested Mr. Obama was having problems pushing his second-term agenda, the president replied, "Well if you put it that way, Jonathan, maybe I should just pack up and go home." Whoa, big fella. The presidency is a big game. We want you suited up and on the floor. That the presidency attracts individuals focused on Number One is no revelation. But it has always been possible that one of them would disappear so far into the ethers of ego that neither he...

There was a lot in common between former Indian Prime Minister Indira Gandhi and her British contemporary Margaret Thatcher as the two had struck up a close rapport and both felt the loneliness of high office. Besides being the first women to take charge of a largely male-dominated political world of their respective countries, the two women had an almost identical steely resolve on difficult issues. They may not have always agreed with each other and are believed to have had a number of fiery exchanges, but there was a grudging respect on both sides. "But in spite of everything...

This year, Hollywood hit award pay dirt for political dramas inspired by American history. Unlike “The Avengers” — the top-grossing superhero movie — best-picture nominees “Argo,” “Lincoln” and “Zero Dark Thirty” featured authentic, determined and courageous Americans who endured adversity and mortal danger to overcome morally inferior antagonists. Though we're living through the umpteenth act of a gory political spectacle involving the U.S. budget, Think Again if you expect that Quentin Tarantino will adapt it for the silver screen. Devoid of heroes or valiant rescues, the drama serially unfolding in Washington isn't even telenovela-worthy, particularly the latest installment known as...

What's All This About a Grassroots Cruise? Despite "OWS" Backlash, Still Better to Lead than Lose February 24, 2013 When the idea for this 7-day conference first began to stir among a small group of independent organizers, the first suggestion was to convene at a resort somewhere, like CPAC does. But a little research quickly revealed that an upscale Caribbean cruise was actually more economical, and probably more fun. With three volunteers, and plans for a social media campaign to get the word out, Freedom on the Sea was born. Since 2009, activists have grabbed training any way they can...

Considered a cancer-surviving “badass on a bike,” it turns out Lance Armstrong is just a badass — and a fraud. Armstrong's admission that he doped his way to seven Tour de France titles even prompted CBS News CEO Jeffrey Fager to Think Again about his network's role in the “Miracle Man's” narrative. “We helped create the myth,” he acknowledged, because “we wanted to believe this absolutely inspirational story. But we were duped.” Unearned moral superiority and blazing self-righteousness hastened Armstrong's rise as he slandered and sued whistle-blowers into submission. “I was a bully in the sense that I tried to...

Political commentary at its most irreverent! Tiz fearlessly floods the online airwaves telling it like it is – unafraid to speak her mind… daring to unearth truths and voice that which is foremost on the minds of … Americans today. Popular guest of hot talk radio and quoted by Coulter, Dobbs and the like… when you want relief from the lame stream media, tune in to the Tizzinator for shocking and revealing political analysis at its best! Libs love to hate her, conservatives rely on her honest appraisal of the political landscape… tune in for a wild ride with the...

Full Title: Conservatives Have No Credibility with the Low-Info Crowd Because We Don't Defend Our Own When They Come Under Attack BEGIN TRANSCRIPT RUSH: New Milford, Connecticut. Bill, thank you for calling. It's nice to have you with us. Hello. CALLER: Yeah, Rush. It's an honor to speak with you. RUSH: Thank you, sir. CALLER: Thank you for what you do. RUSH: I appreciate you saying that. CALLER: Hey, earlier you had talked about Obama blaming the Republicans on the debt crisis and on the money that's been spent. You know, since you're the head of the Republican Party, you...

.......... the United States needs its conservative leaders and activists in the public square now more than at any time in our lifetimes. If we hold on, we'll win. Blue State America is doomed, and the blue-staters represented by President Obama and his party cannot save it. ...... we red-staters must remain fully involved and fully engaged in American politics and culture. This is especially true after a year like 2012 -- when we lose. Better to quote U.S. General Joseph Stilwell after the loss of Burma to the Japanese. "I claim," Vinegar Joe said, "we took a hell of...

Dear Mr. Security Agent, Federal, state, or local. You, the man or woman with the badge, the sworn LEO or FLEA and those who inhabit the many law enforcement niches in between and on all sides. This essay is directed to you, because in the end, how this turmoil about gun control turns out will depend largely upon your decisions and actions over the coming months and years. I sincerely wish that members of Congress—who may soon be voting on new gun control measures—would read this essay, but I realize that’s a pipe dream, considering the impenetrable bubbles around those...

President François Hollande said on Thursday that Islamist groups holding French hostages in Africa were not trustworthy and should not be taken seriously after Al-Qaeda accused Paris of blocking negotiations for their release. There are a total of nine French hostages on the continent. On Tuesday the Al-Qaeda in Islamic Maghreb (AQIM) said France was snubbing talks proposed by the group to free four French citizens abducted in Niger in September 2010. "The less one speaks, the better one can work," Hollande told journalists during a visit to Rungis, a giant wholesale food market just outside Paris. "There have been...

The Republican Party doesn’t have a leader who is looked upon favorably by a majority of Americans, according to a Politico/George Washington University poll. Defeated presidential candidate Mitt Romney and his running mate, Wisconsin Rep. Paul Ryan, each garnered only 47 percent approval, according to the poll. …

Local and federal political conditions have created a climate where the people who make this country work have been penalized past the point of tolerance. This is partly because our leadership class has failed to meet its responsibilities. This is big. This is a failure at every level of society, in the public, private and nonprofit sectors, from the local to the national levels. The public-sector leadership is more culpable than the private sector’s, but neither can be pardoned. How did we get in this mess? Well, our leadership has lost its way, plunging us...