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With a h/t to Sissy Willis for one of these items. First, today via the AP. Can we significantly help solve our energy problems with natural gas? An unlikely source of energy has emerged to meet international demands that the United States do more to fight global warming: It's cleaner than coal, cheaper than oil and a 90-year supply is under our feet. It's natural gas, the same fossil fuel that was in such short supply a decade ago that it was deemed unreliable. It's now being uncovered at such a rapid pace that its price is near a seven-year...

Time magazine may think U.S. Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke is 2009’s “Person of the Year,” but Time is wrong: 2009 was dominated by Barack Obama, even though it wasn’t a great year for him. Obama’s human frailties surfaced. Words, not deeds, are his forte. Critics and fans tended to agree that, so far, his presidency is one of great intentions (if not great expectations). He’s good at saying what he’d like to do, but has difficulty doing (or being able to do) very much. Cheerleaders confuse rhetoric with results. Obama is the most accessible president in recent times. He’s...

Before reading this thread, try clicking this link or reading the excerpt below, from a post by FReeper littlejeremiah:HOW COLLECTIVISTS USE THE DIAMOND TACTIC TO SWAY PUBLIC MEETINGS AND HOW TO THWART THEM by G. Edward Griffin In the 1960s, I came across a small training manual distributed by the Communist Party that showed how a small group of people – as few as four – could dominate a much larger group and sway the outcome of any action taken by that group. It was called the Diamond Technique.The principle is based on the fact that people in groups tend...

Last weekend while you were preparing for the holidays with your family, Harry Reid’s Senate was making shady backroom deals to ram through the Democrat health care take-over. The Senate ended debate on this bill without even reading it. That and midnight weekend votes seem to be standard operating procedures in D.C. No one is certain of what’s in the bill, but Senator Jim DeMint spotted one shocking revelation regarding the section in the bill describing the Independent Medicare Advisory Board (now called the Independent Payment Advisory Board), which is a panel of bureaucrats charged with cutting health care costs...

PolitiFact, a misnomer if ever there was one, has named Sarah Palin's statement about health care rationing, which she termed a "death panel," the "lie of the year." Once again for the media and the Leftists, Governor Palin used the term "death panel" as a metaphor for health care rationing. The governor said: The Democrats promise that a government health care system will reduce the cost of health care, but as the economist Thomas Sowell has pointed out, government health care will not reduce the cost; it will simply refuse to pay the cost. And who will suffer the most...

Last weekend while you were preparing for the holidays with your family, Harry Reid’s Senate was making shady backroom deals to ram through the Democrat health care take-over. The Senate ended debate on this bill without even reading it. That and midnight weekend votes seem to be standard operating procedures in D.C. No one is certain of what’s in the bill, but Senator Jim DeMint spotted one shocking revelation regarding the section in the bill describing the Independent Medicare Advisory Board (now called the Independent Payment Advisory Board), which is a panel of bureaucrats charged with cutting health care costs...

Last weekend while you were preparing for the holidays with your family, Harry Reid’s Senate was making shady backroom deals to ram through the Democrat health care take-over. The Senate ended debate on this bill without even reading it. That and midnight weekend votes seem to be standard operating procedures in D.C. No one is certain of what’s in the bill, but Senator Jim DeMint spotted one shocking revelation regarding the section in the bill describing the Independent Medicare Advisory Board (now called the Independent Payment Advisory Board), which is a panel of bureaucrats charged with cutting health care costs...

WASILLA -- Sarah Palin got treated like a homecoming queen when she brought her national book tour to Wasilla today. About 1,000 people flocked to the Curtis D. Menard Memorial Sports Center in Palin's hometown to get the former governor and Republican vice presidential candidate's autograph on her best-selling memoir.

PolitiFact.com gave Sarah Palin their “Lie of the Year” award for warning on August 7 that the Democrat’s idea of “cost containment” implied rationing by “death panels.” The self-described fact-checking web site of the St. Petersburg Times claimed Palin was criticizing a provision in the House bill under which “Medicare would pay for doctors’ appointments for patients to discuss living wills, health care directives and other end-of-life issues.” The claim that Governor Palin confused one-on-one counseling between doctors and patients with any sort of “panel” was always ridiculous on its face. Indeed, that claim should itself have been a leading...

Senate Republicans have agreed to end their filibuster of Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid’s (D-Nev.) health care reform bill a few hours early on Christmas Eve, a move that will allow the GOP to technically stick to its promise to force Dec. 24 vote on the measure while still making it possible for Senators to return home for the holiday.

The entertainment media’s treatment of Sarah Palin and her family has been abhorrent. Like their biased and unjust hard news media brethren, entertainment outlets have gone out of their way to tarnish Palin’s image. While tabloids, semi-legitimate entertainment programs and celebrities issue incessant praise for President Obama and his leftist policies, Palin is showered with insults and inappropriate slurs. And let’s not forget the ongoing insensitive questioning about the birth of her special needs son, Trig. Since the end of the 2008 campaign, some of the most glaring examples of the entertainment media’s obsession with anti-Palin coverage have centered on...

Pelosi takes on Palin over 'death panel' claim By Michael O'Brien - 12/22/09 01:18 PM ET House Speaker Nancy Pelosi's (D-Calif.) called out former Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin (R) for having made the "lie of the year" for claiming the healthcare bill would set up "death panels." Pelosi's office circulated a special edition of its "mythbuster" email to reporters on Tuesday touting PolitiFact's determination that Palin's claim about death panels was their "lie of the year." Palin had claimed that seniors and the disabled would "have to stand in front of Obama's 'death panel' so his bureaucrats can decide, based...

Rep. Parker Griffith (D-AL R-AL) might be facing some opposition on right after his party switch, but he is being welcomed to the GOP by one top name: Sarah Palin. Palin posted this on her Twitter account: "Congratulations Alabama!And all Americans concerned about Capitol Hill's current agenda;Rep Parker Griffith just did the right thing.Welcome" Other big right-wing names, such as the Club For Growth and Erick Erickson, are already laying the groundwork for a primary challenge against Griffith by what they would think of as a truly loyal conservative. But so far at least, Palin is greeting the new GOP...

Dingy Harry Reid slipped in a provision into the health care legislation prohibiting future Congresses from changing any regulations imposed on Americans by the Independent Medical Advisory Boards, which are commonly called the Death Panels. It is section 3403 from pages 1,000 to 1,0007 of the Reid substitute. There is established an independent board to be known as the ‘Independent Medicare Advisory Board: PURPOSE.—It is the purpose of this section to, in accordance with the following provisions of this section, reduce the per capita rate of growth in Medicare spending. by requiring the Chief Actuary of the Centers for Medicare...

Senator Jim DeMint (R-SC) pointed out some rather astounding language in the Senate healthcare bill during floor remarks Monday night. First, he noted that there are a number of changes to Senate rules in the bill -- and it's supposed to take a 2/3 vote to change the rules. And then he pointed out that the Reid bill declares on page 1020 that the Independent Medicare Advisory Board cannot be repealed by future Congresses...

My fellow Americans you all are overlooking the obvious or refuse to accept the premise that we are not dealing with Americans. I read that it is unconstitutional; it flies in the face of the rule of law; a legal body cannot bind its equal. I agree whole heartily with all of these arguments, but again I repeat, you are denying the obvious. Until you accept the obvious, who we are really dealing with and after accepting that realization you’ll understand what needs to be done next and it has nothing to do with waiting for elections next November. These...

New Poll from MSM.... Bush bashed, Obama praised, while Palin ranks higher than Gore or Biden...our Veep actually ties with "None".

Sen. Jim DeMint (R., S.C.) has thumbed through Harry Reid's manager's amendment and discovered some "particularly troubling" rule-change provisions, especially with regards to the proposed Independent Medicare Advisory Board, which he finds could be unrepealable:

I was over at The Bean Walker and noticed an op/ed by David Mastio at The Des Moines Register. Who is David Mastio you may ask? I’m not familiar either, but (see update below) He is the “Senior Editor for Online Opinion” at The Washington Times, and obviously he thinks we should care about his opinion regarding who Iowa Republicans support in 2012 and who we give our money to. He chastises Iowa Republicans, and what is our crime? Not only did Iowa Republicans give Sarah Palin a high approval rating in a recent Iowa Poll, but we also spent...

While many on the Right may have been, or will soon be bemoaning the death of the American Republic on the heels of last night's heath care vote, I watched it play out, didn't blog too much and came away incredibly optimistic for America in the end. In a word, passion might serve best in summing up all the reasons why. And there are at least a few. Mainly on Twitter, I watched what we already knew would be the futile resistance as we moved through the night. It was serious, focused and at fever pitch. Polls suggest the majority...

Recently, I sat down with a friend who has spent almost three decades working as an intelligence operative in the defense of our nation. During the course of our conversation, I asked him what -- based on his vast experience -- was the number one threat facing our nation? Without even pausing to think about it, he forcefully answered, “Our mainstream media.” More than Al Qaeda, more than homegrown terrorists, more than heavily armed Mexican drug cartels, more than non-existent borders, more than out-of-control and extremely violent domestic gangs, and even more than biological and nuclear terrorism, this dedicated intelligence...

PolitiFact's Lie of the Year: 'Death panels' By Angie Drobnic Holan Published on Friday, December 18th, 2009 at 5:15 p.m. Related rulings: Seniors and the disabled "will have to stand in front of Obama's 'death panel' so his bureaucrats can decide, based on a subjective judgment of their 'level of productivity in society,' whether they are worthy of health care." Sarah Palin, Friday, August 7th, 2009. Ruling: Pants on Fire! | Details Bookmark this story: Buzz up!ShareThis A winner in our "Lie of the Year" contest! Of all the falsehoods and distortions in the political discourse this year, one stood...

Williams on Team Sarah put together some DOZEN great side-by-side photos comparing Sarah Palin to Ronald Reagan. To all you non believers: get onboard or join Team Obama.

Tiger Woods life has changed dramatically ever since that fateful night at the neighbor's tree. He's stepped aside from the PGA Tour (for the moment) and his sponsors have all either dropped him or rearranged his "duties." We probably won't hear directly from Tiger again for some time. His own personal domestic issues have ruined his career and killed his reputation. Why did David Letterman get a pass? I would argue that Mr. Letterman's actions were a lot worse considering the circumstances. He abused his position of power over young, ambitious females to gain control over them in a sexual...

GETS FORMER SEQUOIA CO. VP NAMED AS ADVISER TO U.S. ELECTION ASSISTANCE COMMISSION Earlier this month, Obama made his first official move to corrupt and undermine the 2010 elections. The move consisted in the little noticed appointment of a technical adviser to the Technical Guidelines Development Committee (TGDC) of the U.S. Election Assistance Commission (EAC). The importance of the appointment was explained at The Brad Blog last Monday. The Official Press Release of the U.S. Election Assistance Commission read as follows: U.S. ELECTION ASSISTANCE COMMISSION 1225 New York Ave. NW – Suite 1100 Washington, DC 20005 For Immediate Release December...

The expansive asphalt parking lot in Fair Lakes Shopping Center in Fairfax Virginia was full and there wasn't a single Prius in sight. This is SUV territory and the campaign sticker on the back window of one big Ford summed up the mood: a play on the Obama campaign mantra of hope, this one said simply - "Nope". There are not too many Obama fans in Fairfax but there are hundreds of people prepared to line up for hours in the snow for a chance to meet the one political figure they believe might still be able to rescue the...

I was over at The Bean Walker and noticed an op/ed by David Mastio at The Des Moines Register. Who is David Mastio you may ask? I’m not familiar either, but he is the “Senior Editor for Online Opinion” at The Washington Times, and obviously he thinks we should care about his opinion regarding who Iowa Republicans support in 2012 and who we give our money to. He chastises Iowa Republicans, and what is our crime? Not only did Iowa Republicans give Sarah Palin a high approval rating in a recent Iowa Poll, but we also spent too much money...

Not being a fan or groupie of anyone or anything, I was surprised how compelled I felt to see Sarah Palin at her Billings book signing this week. It must be the newshound in me that had me RSVP to that event. I braved the cold weather, and even worse, the crowd, to get her picture and an up close and personal look at this now-national personality. I didn’t, however, stand outside and wait in line to get an autograph. I see the collector value in that, but didn’t have hours to spend waiting for the signature. Easily admitted to...

Did McCain explain to you why he picked her? The conversation was pretty brief. I just think he felt he had to do something maybe a little different than what would have been the traditional approach. And I think he felt good about his decision. Do you think Palin is qualified to be president? She is easily as qualified as Barack Obama. I would argue she's more qualified in terms of leadership, experience, management, and supervision—actually running something. She was a mayor, head of an energy commission, and governor. Did she help or hurt the ticket? My view is that...

Question - I have been hearing commentators state that the House can simply pass the Senate Health Care bill without the bill going to a conference committee. My question is this - because the Constitution requires all revenue bills to originate in the House, can the House even do this? Wouldn't the bill have to go to committee, then the House vote on the bill first, then the Senate?

The Democrats have consistently cultivated a public image as the party of the little guy, the party that stands up against big interests and protects the rights of minorities. You would think that a program that helps minority students, lowers costs, and increases funds for public schools would be right up their alley. You would be wrong. The Democrats in Congress have essentially killed Washington D.C.’s Opportunity Scholarship Program effectively throwing nearly 2000 disadvantaged students back into one of the worst school systems in the country. The very popular program had a long waiting list and has strong support in...

Americans admire excellence and authenticity. The rise of the Hollywood movie star was built on powerful performances that projected the idea of authentic emotions. Film audiences experienced a magical connection—often, deeply intimate—with scores of charismatic actors. Lillian Gish’s heartbreaking performance as the abused daughter in Broken Blossoms (1919) cemented the image of a sensitive and vulnerable child/woman. It did not matter that Gish was, in fact, rigid and hard-headed. The huge shadows on the silver screen settled the matter in the public’s mind. Garbo’s close-ups—she was gawky in long shot and her best director, Clarence Brown, kept her in tight...

Russian analysts accuse Britain’s Meteorological Office of cherry-picking Russian temperature data to “hide the decline” in global temperatures. Is Copenhagen rooted in a single tree in Siberia? Michael Mann, a Penn State meteorologist, wrote in Friday’s Washington Post that “stolen” e-mails from the University of East Anglia’s Climate Research Unit still don’t alter the evidence for climate change. Mann, a creator of the discredited hockey-stick graph used in reports from the U.N.‘s Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change to show man-made warming, attacks climate skeptics, including former Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin, saying they “confuse the public.”

Before Sarah Palin became John McCain's running mate last year, we spent a morning in her Alaska office while she was still governor. We sat down for a one-hour TV interview, and I was most impressed with her insights, traditional values, grasp of issues, and just what a sincere and genuinely warm person she was. The morning in her office made it clear why so many Americans across the board respond to and connect deeply with her brand of politics. However, the former governor has become an icon to many and a disaster waiting to happen for others. America loves...

A fundraising gala, set for April 15 in Hamilton Ontario, was initially to be held to benefit two local hospitals; the Juravinski Cancer Centre and St. Peter’s Hospital were to be the recipients of the funds raised. The organizers thought that they had struck gold when they booked former Alaska governor Sarah Palin as the main speaker. They should have known. Shortly after Palin’s presence but made public, Hamilton Health Services began to receive nasty telephone calls and emails. Some people who contacted the organization described themselves as donors and indicated that they would never ever donate again if Palin...

Before Sarah Palin became John McCain's running mate last year, we spent a morning in her Alaska office while she was still governor. We sat down for a one-hour TV interview, and I was most impressed with her insights, traditional values, grasp of issues, and just what a sincere and genuinely warm person she was. The morning in her office made it clear why so many Americans across the board respond to and connect deeply with her brand of politics. However, the former governor has become an icon to many and a disaster waiting to happen for others. Are Americans...

Exposed at last – the truth about those Facebook postings!!

CNN: Sarah Palin's 'Death Panel' Comment Wins 'Lie of the Year' By Noel Sheppard Created 2009-12-20 18:44 If President Obama or any Democrat had actually won the dubious honor of committing PolitiFact's "Lie of the Year," do you think CNN would have reported it? Fat chance, right? Before you answer, consider the glee exhibited by CNN's Josh Levs Sunday when he announced Sarah Palin had "won" for her Facebook comment concerning a "death panel" in healthcare reform legislation (video embedded below the fold with transcript, h/t Story Balloon [1]): BETTY NGUYEN, CO-ANCHOR: Well, let's talk about politics, shall we? Something...

Bankruptcy And Fiscal Collapse,Global Economic Crisis Tipping Point Forecast For Spring 2010 Economics / Global Debt Crisis Dec 19, 2009 - 07:04 AM By: Global_Research LEAP/E2020 believes that the global systemic crisis will experience a new tipping point from Spring 2010. Indeed, at that time, the public finances of the major Western countries are going to become unmanageable, as it will simultaneously become clear that new support measures for the economy are needed because of the failure of the various stimuli in 2009 (1), and that the size of budget deficits preclude any significant new expenditures. If this public deficit...

Per the link, buried on page 328 and entitled, "SEC. 10502. INFRASTRUCTURE TO EXPAND ACCESS TO..", there is an appropriation for an undisclosed state to receive from the Federal Treasury $100,000,000, to build or expand a state university medical school. The language reads... "(a) APPROPRIATION.—There are authorized to be appropriated, and there are appropriated to the Department of Health and Human Services, $100,000,000 for fiscal year 2010, to remain available for obligation until September 30, 2011, to be used for debt service on, or direct construction or renovation of, a health care facility that provides research, inpatient tertiary care, or...

RINO Hutchinson does it again…LIES about her vote for the filibuster and votes with the Democrats to accelerate a vote on Obamacare.

Candidates are already lining up donors and political action committees in hopes of securing the 2012 Republican nomination. At least six potential candidates already visited Iowa in the past six months. Next year, we will see many more GOP hopefuls putting the Hawkeye State on their travel itinerary. A victory in Iowa could boost the winner to the GOP nomination. So, as 2009 draws to a close, here is a look ahead at the top ten Republican hopefuls for 2012:

On the Sunday, December 20, syndicated Chris Matthews Show – during which the panel weighed in on who should be granted various dishonors for the year – Matthews seemed to lump conservatives like Sarah Palin and Rush Limbaugh in with what Matthews saw as "white tribalism" as he also fretted over the "birthers" who promote the fringe conspiracy theory that President Obama was not born in America. Matthews had notably expressed frustration about "white tribalism" being stirred up in America at the end of last week’s show. Matthews seemed to compare Glenn Beck and Limbaugh to swine flu as he...

John McCain Addresses Sarah Palin's "Visor-gate" -- Daily Intel

One is a former vice presidential candidate who has been vilified in much of the press. The other is a former two-term vice president who has been celebrated in much of the press. So which is more respected by the public at large? In the Wall Street Journal/NBC poll released a few days ago, pollsters Peter Hart and Bill McInturff asked, "I'm going to mention some people who have served in public life at some point in the past decade. Please tell me which one or two of these people, if any, you have the most regard and respect for."...

Whew! Man, that Sarah Palin sure has started a real firestorm now that she has attacked the Holy Church of Global Warming! It’s one thing to knock ObamaCare on it’s backside, there are only billions of dollars in payoffs and corruption riding on that deal. But the global warming hustle truly is the whole enchilada! Not billions, but trillions of dollars will change hands. Government control like you’ve never even dreamed of will come to pass. Taxes will flow into incompetent government hands like never before. Energy will “necessarily skyrocket.”

Who is Sarah Palin? Her vice presidential nomination acceptance speech in 2008 was written by Republican Party speechwriter Matthew Scully. In the subsequent campaign, her op-ed published in the Wall Street Journal on Sept. 9 was plagiarized from a McCain speech given nearly six months earlier (spokesperson Ashley Huston said the Journal would "decline comment" when I questioned her). Palin's autobiography, "Going Rogue" was penned by ghostwriter Lynn Vincent. So how should an audience assess this week's Washington Post op-ed with Palin's byline? In view of this history of words ascribed to Palin being written by someone else, it remains...

WASHINGTON (AP) — Sen. John McCain says he understands why Sarah Palin blacked out his name on a McCain campaign visor so she could avoid recognition while on vacation in Hawaii. The Arizona Republican made the comments about his 2008 running mate on "Fox News Sunday."

The now-finished climate change summit in Copenhagen marks the "arrogance of man," former Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin (R) said this weekend. Palin, who had urged President Barack Obama not to attend the conference in Denmark, blasted the agreement world leaders made late on Friday to begin stemming emissions that contribute to climate change. 
Palin tweeted early Saturday morning: Copenhgen=arrogance of man2think we can change nature's ways.MUST b good stewards of God's earth,but arrogant&naive2say man overpwers nature Earth saw clmate chnge4 ions;will cont 2 c chnges.R duty2responsbly devlop resorces4humankind/not pollute&destroy;but cant alter naturl chng

Florida FReepers and others beware! Dem operatives and other ne'er-do-wells are trying mightily to co-opt the Tea Party moniker. In Florida, a Democratic lawyer has registered the name "Tea Party" as an official party and has been recognized by the state as such. This clown is obviously trying to capitalize on the Tea Party name and fame and also trying to split conservatives and harm their effort to retake the Republican Party. Do not be fooled. Warning Will Robinson! Burn after reading...