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As Washington digs itself out from under the Snowpocalypse, the region braces for yet more flurries. At least 18 inches of snow lie on the ground at Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport, and some places were blanketed under as much as three feet. More arctic blasts this week could drive 2010 into the history books as the capital's snowiest winter ever.

FRiends, I almost posted this last night...but since that giant walking wanker Robert Gibbs pulled his little stunt today, I thought we ought to take it a step further. Here is my hand today: I may change it tonight or tomorrow or some time in the future, but I would suggest we all put some messages on our hands...at least for a little while. Some conversation might be generated, and you might find more people agree with you than you think! :)POST your pics to this thread, and let's have fun!

Although our current projection continues to show that the Democrats will retain control of the U.S. Senate (52-48), we have now downgraded their chances in the following three states: Connecticut (D-Dodd, retiring) Washington (D-Murray) Wisconsin (D-Feingold) Each race has moved from DEM HOLD to LEAN DEM HOLD.

Berkeley's $144 million budget is in the trash can - literally. In a $10 million deficit announced last week, the single biggest factor - $4 million - was a decline in its refuse revenues. The city says, in part, that it's a victim of its own success. Residents pride themselves on aggressively recycling and composting, so they're switching to smaller, cheaper trash cans - the only collection for which the city charges. "The whole business model for recycling and garbage has been to incentivize recycling," said Andrew Clough, the city's deputy director of public works. "We're going to have to...

FLASH FLOOD WATCH FOR ORANGE COUNTY...THE INLAND EMPIRE...ANDTHE SAN BERNARDINO COUNTY MOUNTAINS BELOW 5000 FEET THROUGH TONIGHT... .A COLD...COMPACT LOW PRESSURE SYSTEM WILL TRACK SOUTHWARD JUST OFFTHE CALIFORNIA COAST TODAY...MOVING INLAND ACROSS NORTHERN BAJATONIGHT. THIS WILL BRING PERIODS OF LOCALLY MODERATE PRECIPITATIONTHROUGH TONIGHT WITH PERIODS OF HIGH INTENSITY RAINFALL FROMTHUNDERSTORMS AND HEAVIER SHOWERS POSSIBLE LATE THIS AFTERNOONTHROUGH TONIGHT.**************************************** PERIODS OF MODERATE RAINFALL ARE EXPECTED THROUGH TONIGHT ON TOP OF SOIL NEARLY SATURATED FROM RECENT RAINFALL. PERIODS OF HIGH INTENSITY RAINFALL LATE THIS AFTERNOON THROUGH TONIGHT FROM THUNDERSTORMS AND HEAVIER SHOWERS COULD INCREASE THE POTENTIAL FOR FLASH FLOODING.

A senior Amnesty International official has been suspended after attacking the human rights charity for allying itself with 'Britain's most famous supporter of the Taliban'. Gita Sahgal, head of the organisation's gender unit, branded Amnesty's links to former Guantanamo Bay detainee Moazzam Begg a 'gross error of judgment'. She was removed from her post within a few hours of her criticism...and now a bitter war of words is raging between the activist and her employer. Both have angrily defended their position over Mr Begg, 42, a Briton held at Guantanamo for three years until 2005 because of suspected links to...

Subject: Great Orators of the Democrat Party IN YEARS GONE BY: 'One man with courage makes a majority.' - Andrew Jackson 'The only thing we have to fear is fear itself.' - Franklin D. Roosevelt 'The buck stops here.' - Harry S. Truman 'Ask not what your country can do for you; ask what you can do for your country.' - John F. Kennedy NOW: And from today's Genius Democrats.............. 'It depends what your definition of 'is' is?'' - Bill Clinton 'That Obama - I would like to cut his NUTS off.' - Jesse Jackson 'Those rumors are false .......

During World War II in the Pacific, many native tribes were astounded by their first contact with an advanced technological civilization, when the Americans would come in, clear a strip in the jungle, set up a control tower and loud giant silver birds would appear from the sky bearing canned food, trinkets, fuel and other supplies. After the war, the Americans went away for the most part, but the memories remained. Many of the natives, changed forever by the experience, decided to replicate it. They cleared their own strips, built control towers of thatch and palm, and waited for the...

REYNOSA — At least six people were killed amid a barrage of grenade blasts and gunfire in a residential neighborhood on the city’s southwest fringe early Monday morning, officials said. The bloody confrontation between Mexican army soldiers and an unidentified criminal group broke out about midnight Sunday, local officials confirmed. Three army soldiers and three civilians involved in the attack died during the shootout. Four soldiers suffered injuries, as well. Authorities detained about 10 people after the attack. A van loaded with marijuana was also reportedly seized by authorities. Officials said the attack involved a well-armed group that sprayed gunfire...

WASHINGTON - As the region braces for another major storm, one local government is having trouble keeping their plows on the roads, WTOP has learned. As many as 60 of the District's snow plows are not working -- bad news for thousands of residents still waiting for their streets to be cleared. According to an internal email obtained by WTOP, 25 percent of the District's snow plow fleet is down and they're having trouble getting replacement parts. D.C. is also now rationing their salt supply. The email states they'll have enough to get through the upcoming storm. DDOT has 9,000...

Sarah Palin will be in Orlando March 12 for a special speech. This is the date when the 2010 campaigns will begin in earnest, so it will be great, and a very big deal. Am arranging a special section for FReepers. A special two night discounted hotel package will be avaiable for FReepers only on that weekend. Remember, it's warm and no snow in Orlando. Watch FR for details and discounted hotel/travel/tickets.

Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) will introduce a jobs bill on Tuesday that he said would have Republican support. Reid told reporters the bill would be introduced on Tuesday, and that it would include an extension of the tax breaks, known as tax extenders, that expired last year. “As of last night, there will be Republican support for this bill,” Reid told reporters. He added that he doesn’t foresee changes to the bill that would cause it to lose Republican support. Reid also said the jobs bill would include a renewal of the highway trust fund through December. Sen....

Rumour of Day (Week? Month?) — Rafsanjani “Ultimatum” to Supreme Leader. The Green site Rah-e-Sabz, without citing a source, makes the following claim: Authorities went to arrest the wife of Mir Hossein’s chief advisor Alireza Beheshti, who was already detained, on Tuesday, but could not find her. She then called Hashemi Rafsanjani from her hiding place and told him, “Look where we have got to that the grandchildren of Shahid Beheshti have to be on the run in dahey-e fajr (the 10-Day Dawn preceding the anniversary of the 1979 Revolution).” This allegedly upset Rafsanjani to the point to tears. During...

Imagine if you could get full salary and benefits for a decent paying job and you didn’t have to work to get it. All you had to do was be accused of a crime. What crime, you ask? How about molesting school kids? That’s what the teachers‘ unions in states like California and New York State are doing: coddling accused criminals — at your expense. And it’s probably going on elsewhere as well. Believe it or not, New York is a lot tougher on them than California. From the New York Post: "At the beginning of his 32-year career as...

The U.S. Department of Homeland Security improperly conducted a threat assessment of Wisconsin pro- and anti-abortion rights groups before an expected rally last year. The department said in a memo released last year that it destroyed or deleted all of the copies of the assessment after an internal review found it violated intelligence gathering guidelines about "protest groups which posed no threat to homeland security." The assessment was shared only with the director of Wisconsin's intelligence-sharing center and police in Middleton, where the rally was expected to take place. The report was compiled prior to a February 2009 meeting in

(Feb. 9) -- It's only been a year since a helicopter flew him out of the capital right after the inauguration of President Barack Obama. But some Americans will be pleased to know that George W. Bush is out there, watching over them after all. From a billboard, high above Interstate Highway 35 near Wyoming, Minn., to be exact. And he wants to know if you miss him. Someone has placed a giant photo of the former president on a billboard with the question, "Miss Me Yet?" Until now, the billboard was thought to be a hoax, a clever doctoring...

The leftist pro-abortion group Planned Parenthood has released a new report calling for children as young as ten years old to be given access to contraceptives and taught to be "sexual beings"...

Top congressional Republicans, emerging from a 90-minute meeting with President Obama that side-stepped health care reform, said they may boycott Feb. 25 talks on health care reform. "It's going to be very difficult to have bipartisan conversations with regard to a 2,700 page health care bill that the Democrat majority in the House and the Democrat majority in the Senate can’t pass," House Minority Leader John Boehner said. "Why are we going to talk about a bill that can’t pass? It really is time to scrap the bill and start over." For now, Boehner said House Republicans are only willing...

WASHINGTON (AP) - Even the White House's top spokesman is getting in on the act of mocking former Republican vice presidential nominee Sarah Palin for looking to talking points written on her palm during a speech to "tea party" activists. Robert Gibbs showed the words "hope" and "change" on his hand as he started his daily briefing with reporters on Tuesday.

During the 2008 campaign, I strongly endorsed Barack Obama for president. I did so early, when many Democratic leaders — including many prominent African-American politicians — believed the safe bet was to back then-front-runner Hillary Clinton. ... I still believe Obama can stand for positive change. But first he must make some hard changes of his own. The need is becoming more obvious by the day: He must overhaul his own team, replacing the admittedly brilliant advisers who helped elect him with others more capable of helping him govern. Getting elected and getting things done for the people are two...

President Barack Obama said Tuesday he’s prepared to cut deals with Republicans in order to create jobs and improve the nation’s health care system, but he said he’s seen few signs so far that the GOP is willing to support any of his policy initiatives. “I’m willing to move off of some of the preferences of my party in order to meet them halfway, but there’s got to be some give from their side as well,” Obama said during a surprise visit to the White House briefing room following a meeting with congressional leaders from both parties. However, the...

Recently I rented a DVD of the award-winning 2003 documentary Winged Migration. Famed as one of the most unique and beautiful films ever made, Winged Migration literally takes the viewer up into the sky as it follows birds on their long-distance seasonal flights around the world. Somehow, seemingly as if by magic, the cameras are right there amongst the migrating birds, and you feel as if you are flying thousands of feet in the air with your fellow avians over landscapes which range from the picturesque to the breathtaking. When the film was over, all I could say was “Wow!”...

Over at The Faculty Lounge, there are some pictures of sit-ins from the early 1960s. Regarding a 1963 sit-in in Jackson, Mississippi, TFL writes: “By one account, members of the all-White Jackson police force stood guard outside, while several FBI agents (the guys in back wearing shades) ‘observed’ from inside. That White guy at the counter, that’s Tougaloo professor and community activist Hunter Gray (John R. Salter) who helped organize the Jackson sit-ins. And that’s blood on his shirt. All of the protesters had been covered in slop, and some were beaten with brass knuckles and broken bottles.” The non-violent...

At his briefing on Tuesday, White House Press Secretary Robert Gibbs mocked Sarah Palin by writing notes on his left hand.

There's still the better part of a year to go, but prospects for some GOP House seat pickups in New Hampshire look pretty healthy: According to a new poll by the University of New Hampshire only 35% of likely voters approve of the job [Rep. Carol] Shea-Porter is doing in Congress. 40% disapprove. 24% are neutral or don’t know for sure how they feel. Even worse, all potential Republican candidates for Congress — even the lesser-known candidates — would defeat her if the election were held today. Former Manchester Mayor Frank Guinta performs best against Shea-Porter, defeating her in a...

Critics of Michael Steele's tenure as RNC chairman are motivated by racism, Steele suggested in an interview published today. Speaking to the Washingtonian Magazine (no online version), Steele wondered why his DNC counterpart doesn't get the same criticism he does. "I don’t see stories about the internal operations of the DNC that I see about this operation," Steele said. "Why? Is it because Michael Steele is the chairman, or is it because a black man is chairman?” The RNC has experienced significant staff turnover since Steele became chairman, especially in the communcations shop. That has prompted speculation about Steele's management...

Inflation Or Deflation, Which “ation” Is This? Economics / Economic Theory Feb 09, 2010 - 01:50 AM By: Graham Summers I’ve been receiving a number of emails lately asking me whether I am a deflationist or an inflationist. Just as often I am asked if we’re in a deflationary environment or inflationary environment. My answer to both questions is “yes.” Truthfully, most of the us would do better if we simply dropped the “it’s either that ” paradigm of thinking for investing. Case in point, one can easily argue that stocks are in a bear market rally. But then again,...

White House Press Secretary Robert Gibbs flashed his hand at the White House press corps to jab former Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin. Among the things he'd written in dark pen were "eggs, milk, bread," Gibbs said. This was, of course, a reference to Palin's notes she wrote on her hand during the question-and-answer portion of her address to the Tea Party Nation this weekend in Nashville. As the reporters in the room laughed, Gibbs added that he'd also written down "hope and change."

...In his first public comments since the release of President Barack Obama's proposed NASA budget last week, Mike Coats said the space center will have to find new missions besides the International Space Station to replace the waning space shuttle program and the seemingly doomed Constellation program... Of the 17,000 civil servants and contractors who are funded through Johnson Space Center's programs, 7,000 work under the shuttle and Constellation programs. ...Obama's proposed wholesale cancellation of Constellation — NASA's next-generation exploration program that entailed development of rockets to carry humans to orbit, the moon and beyond as well as a versatile...

Obama: GOP and Dems Together Can Spur Job Growth CHARLES BABINGTON WASHINGTON – Appealing for bipartisanship in a town where it's hard to find, President Barack Obama sat down with Democrats and Republicans Tuesday to spur cooperation on job creation, deficit reduction and health care overhaul. He promised to do his part — but warned he would take Republicans to task if they don't do the same. "The people who sent us here expect a seriousness of purpose that transcends petty politics," Obama said afterward, making a surprise appearance in the White House briefing room. He started his remarks to...

Job openings fell by nearly one-quarter last year as layoffs also soared Finding a job got much tougher last year, as the number of available openings fell by nearly one quarter. At the same time, the unemployed population soared by more than one-third, leaving more laid-off workers competing for fewer jobs. All told, there were 6.1 unemployed workers in December, on average, for every available position, according to Labor Department data released Tuesday. That's a sharp increase from 3.4 jobless workers per opening in December of 2008, and much worse than the 1.7 unemployed people per opening in December 2007,...

Top military brass caving in after Obama declares support. Radical social agenda would bring terrible consequences. But Congress must change law before it happens. The change would be a crown jewel of the homosexual movement. By repealing this law, homosexuality would be officially recognized as normal. But more than that, it would be affirmed and even celebrated as it is in public schools, government and many corporations. There are few places in life where one individual holds such absolute power over another as in the military. Or where young men are forced to live in extremely close quarters day and...

Obama Has Miles To Go To Keep All Promises Elkhart sees some stimulus money, but job growth hasn't By Tom Curry National affairs writer msnbc.com Feb. 9, 2010 ELKHART, Ind. - If there were a report card for the promises President Barack Obama made a year ago in this struggling city in northern Indiana, he would probably get a C. It’s a passing grade, but it’s not the strong performance that people might have hoped for in a town with one of the highest jobless rates in the country. One year ago, on Feb. 9, 2009, Obama went to Concord...

It's only been a year since a helicopter flew him out of the capital right after the inauguration of President Barack Obama. But some Americans will be pleased to know that George W. Bush is out there, watching over them after all. From a billboard, high above Interstate Highway 35 near Wyoming, Minn., to be exact. And he wants to know if you miss him. Someone has placed a giant photo of the former president on a billboard with the question, "Miss Me Yet?" Until now, the billboard was thought to be a hoax, a clever doctoring of an image...

Obama's Outreach to Iran Unprecedented, Gates Says The Obama White House has gone further than any administration to reach out to Iran, and is disappointed with the response, Defense Secretary Robert Gates said Tuesday. The Islamic Republic announced Tuesday that it began enriching uranium to 20 percent purity level in defiance of world powers but under the supervision of inspectors from the U.N. nuclear watchdog, Iranian state media reported. Gates on Tuesday called the move "disappointing" and said Tehran is violating a Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty and is refusing to sign off on an IAEA-brokered deal that would allow Tehran to...

Employing a broad-based lobbying effort, the soft drink industry has smothered a plan to tax sugared beverages — a plan advocates said would have reduced obesity and helped finance health care reform. Only months ago, public health advocates thought the tax would be a natural for congressional Democrats looking for revenues to fund expanded health insurance coverage. The soaring costs of treating ailments related to excess weight — including diabetes and heart disease — added urgency to the issue. But the White House staff reviewing funding options never embraced the idea even after President Barack Obama expressed interest last summer....

Has Iran finally gone too far, pushing China into changing its mind about sanctions? Maybe not just yet. Tuesday, after Iran ratcheted up its uranium-enrichment program—elevating the purity of its enriched product to 20 percent—Beijing looked increasingly isolated in its calls to continue negotiations. "To talk about sanctions at the moment will complicate the situation and might stand in the way of finding a diplomatic solution," Chinese Foreign Minister Yang Jiechi said at a conference in Europe.Western countries have been lobbying China, a permanent member of the U.N. Security Council, to join them in supporting increased sanctions against the Tehran...

Sen. Inhofe’s Family Builds Igloo for Global Warming Spokesman Al Gore in Snow-laden D.C. Tuesday, February 09, 2010 By Christopher Neefus (CNSNews.com) – The family of Sen. Jim Inhofe (R-Okla.) had some fun at former Vice President and global warming spokesman Al Gore’s expense over the weekend after record snowfall blanketed the nation’s capital. The family spent Saturday and Sunday building an igloo near the U.S. Capitol building, and the Oklahoma senator posted photos of their handiwork on his Facebook page. They added signs to the snow dwelling that read, “AL GORE’S NEW HOME!” and “HONK IF YOU (LOVE) GLOBAL...

EXCERPT Now, some critics are questioning whether using her own daughters as examples is fair to them. "Was it hurtful to her girls?" asked one blogger who focuses on Mommy issues. Psychology Today even questioned the first lady for using the word "chubby" to describe her daughters. While her heart is in the right place, Michelle may not have considered or been familiar with the delicate balance between preventing obesity and triggering eating disorders. She mentioned that she put her children on a diet after her pediatrician and their father felt they were getting “chubby.” Words like “chubby” don’t cause...

While perusing some of the review comments to the IPCC’s Fourth Assessment Report, I came across the contributions of Andrew Lacis, a colleague of James Hansen’s at GISS. Lacis’s is not a name I’ve come across before but some of what he has to say about Chapter 9 of the IPCC’s report is simply breathtaking. Chapter 9 is possibly the most important one in the whole IPCC report – it’s the one where they decide that global warming is manmade. This is the one where the headlines are made. Remember, this guy is mainstream, not a sceptic, and you may...

Newspapers Blast NOW for Saying Tebow Ad Promotes Domestic Violence Washington, DC -- Just as they defended the pro-life Tim Tebow commercial before it aired during the Super Bowl, newspaper columnists are defending the commercial from the latest attack by the pro-abortion National Organization for Women (NOW) claiming it promoted domestic violence. http://www.LifeNews.com/nat5983.html

Making a surprise appearance in the briefing room, President Obama says his meeting with bipartisan congressional leaders went "well." "We all understand there are legitimate and genuine differences within the parties," he says, but the public demands that they come together on some issues. "I'm going to continue to seek the best ideas from either party." Obama says they spent "a lot of time" talking about a jobs package, but also discussed the deficit. And he says, contrary to what Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell and House Minority Leader John Boehner said at a stakeout, that they "touched briefly" on...

It's like a real life Robin Hood -- some schmuck in Finland robbed from the rich (a bank) and gave to the poor (itself) and did it all with a spring-loaded bow and arrow. And there's another catch: Cops are unsure if the suspect, who's still at large, is a man or a woman. Officials in Finland tell TMZ the suspect was dressed like a woman ... but spoke like a man.

...White criticized Perry by name or inference six times... ...(Shami) stumbled on the issue of voter identification, inaccurately saying the state requires a driver's license now to vote and he would not support changing the law. The issue that nearly shut down the Legislature last year was a battle over whether to require a photo identification to vote. White seized on the issue to make another attack on Perry, describing voter identification as a political wedge issue. “That is a classic illustration of where Governor Perry has brought the partisan politics of Washington to the statehouse,” White said. “Under both...

U.S. and allied commanders in Afghanistan are preparing for the biggest battle of the eight-year war, knowing that its outcome will reveal the chances of success for President Obama's revamped Afghan strategy. About 20,000 U.S., British and Afghan troops will soon storm Marja, the Taliban's final redoubt in the southern province of Helmand. A town of 80,000, Marja has for years been a den of narcotics traffickers and insurgents, serving as a launching pad for roadside bombs and suicide attacks. If the U.S. and its allies succeed in driving out the Taliban - and, perhaps more importantly, bring a measure...

He must be worried. Sounding all conciliatory about health care resolution, etc. etc.

February 9, 2010 Safe Schools Czar Declares That Heterosexuality Is Not The Norm. If you think it is then you are a “heterosexist”. In his efforts to “make public schools safe” GLSEN founder Kevin Jennings will introduce rules about what will not be allowed on public school campuses across this nation. Jennings has stated that if you express the belief that homosexuality is “psychologically, spiritually, or morally wrong” you are engaging in “heterosexism” which is a “prejudice” just like “racism, anti-Semitism, and sexism.” (GLSEN website) Once liberals label something an “ism” you tend to get in trouble for doing it....

Last week was the final straw for Bruce Bethke and his family. His wife, Karen, answered the phone, and it was a collections call from T-Mobile, demanding payment on the cell phone account of her stepdaughter, Emily Bethke. She burst into tears and told the agent what the family, in increasing irritation mixed with their sorrow, had been telling T-Mobile for months: Emily is dead.....

Right now Rush is talking about the billboard in Minnesota with a picture of George Bush smiling and asking : “Miss me yet?”. Everyone is asking “Where did this come from? And Whose great idea was this?” Jonathan Maney The Tee Shirt Guy that’s who! The phrase “Miss me yet?” with a picture of a smiling George Bush on the billboards in Indiana (a caller mentioned another billboard in Indiana) and Minnesota comes from a tee shirt he conceived and designed. I’m wearing one right now. I brought it with me on a cruise for conservative activists last month featuring...