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<p>Washington (CNN) - President Barack Obama Saturday said members of the House of Representatives face the chance of a lifetime as they consider legislation on health care reform.</p> <p>In a meeting with the House Democratic leadership, the president said he told lawmakers "that opportunities like this come around maybe once in a generation.</p>

Some AMA members are outraged that the group's trustees made the endorsement without the formal approval of the organization's House of Delegates. The American Medical Association's much-touted endorsement of the House health care reform bill has triggered a revolt among some members who want the endorsement withdrawn. Some members are outraged that the group's trustees made the endorsement without the formal approval of the organization's House of Delegates. On Monday, delegates will vote on a resolution offered by some members that, if approved, will withdraw the AMA’s endorsement of the bill. President Obama cited the endorsement of the influential AMA,...

The Treasury recently reported that the federal government recorded a total budget deficit of $1.4 trillion in fiscal year 2009, about $960 billion more than the deficit incurred in 2008. CBO notes, in its latest Monthly Budget Review, that the federal deficit rose as a share of the nation’s gross domestic product (GDP) from 3.1 percent in 2008 to 9.9 percent in 2009—the highest deficit as a share of GDP since 1945.As shown in the figure below, federal spending and receipts diverged dramatically in 2009, reflecting the weakening economy and the federal response. The increase in the deficit of...

The wavering Democrats have been specifically identified by the Left for a large amount of pressure. The following members were specifically targeted for pressure in a Kos article last night: Arcuri, Baird, Bean, Boyd, Carney, Donnelly, Kaptor, Kucinich, McMahon, Scott Murphy, Nye Well, we need to encourage these members as well. To keep objecting to the bill. And to vote "NO" Please note: not all of these guys are "blue dogs." Take Kucinich for an example. His objection is that the bill doesn't go far enough. So when you call and fax and meet and greet, make sure to look...

The American Medical Association's much-touted endorsement of the House health care reform bill has triggered a revolt among some members who want the endorsement withdrawn. Some members are outraged that the group's trustees made the endorsement without the formal approval of the organization's House of Delegates. On Monday, delegates will vote on a resolution offered by some members that, if approved, will withdraw the AMA’s endorsement of the bill. President Obama cited the endorsement of the influential AMA, along with AARP's, in a surprise appearance Thursday in the White House briefing room as he attempted to beat back criticism that...

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...

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...

Think the bluedog's will be feeling some heat? This from a CNN poll of all places: Of course CNN spins away with this headline: CNN Poll: Public wants Congress to keep working on health care Puhlease.... ...only a quarter say those bills should be passed pretty much as is, with a third suggesting that Congress should make major changes. The poll also indicates that one in four say lawmakers should start from scratch and 15 percent want Congress to stop all work on health care reform. (Excerpt) Read more at floppingaces.net

<p>Below is a list of selected Democrats and their positions on the House healthcare reform bill based on media accounts, press releases and spokesmen for the lawmakers.</p>

WASHINGTON, Nov 6 (Reuters) - President Barack Obama said on Friday the jump in the unemployment rate to 10.2 percent in October was a "sobering" figure that underscored the economic challenges ahead. Obama, speaking after the U.S. jobless rate unexpectedly rose to a 26 1/2-year high, also said he had signed a bill that extended jobless benefits and homebuyer tax credits. "I just signed into law a bill that will help grow our economy, save and create new jobs and provide relief to struggling families and businesses," Obama said in a statement delivered in the White House Rose Garden. "The...

Honduran President Manuel Zelaya, ousted in a military-backed coup four months ago, said today that a U.S.-brokered deal to end his nation's political crisis has collapsed. Zelaya pronounced the week-old agreement a "dead letter" after de facto rulers formed a new "reconciliation government" without Zelaya's participation, as the deal had required. "The accord is a dead letter," Zelaya said on a Honduran radio station... Under the accord, Zelaya and the man who replaced him, Roberto Micheletti, agreed to let the Honduran Congress vote on whether to reinstate Zelaya to office, as the international community has been demanding. But congressional leaders,...

While roaming the grounds of the US Capitol yesterday, Kristinn Taylor obtained a list of possible democrat defectors of the now infamous “Healthcare” bill. Kristinn was asked to post this list of wobbly democrats on FreeRepublic in an effort to mobilize our forces and overwhelm these members with phone calls and e-mails asking them to vote NO on the socialization of our healthcare. We also learned that Nancy Pelosi had just scheduled the vote for tomorrow; Saturday, November 7, 2009 at 6:00 PM. For all those who were unable to answer the call to surround the Capitol yesterday, here is...

KANSAS CITY, Mo. College students are facing a sea change in borrowing to pay for their degrees unfortunately, many would still be drowning in debt. The change, perhaps as soon as July, would end the Federal Family Education Loan program that has dominated the federal student loan pool for more than 40 years. Banks and other private sources would be cut out of the process by the Student Aid and Fiscal Responsibility Act, passed in September by the U.S. House. The measure still must be considered by the Senate. Colleges that once kept a long list of lenders are converting...

Say No To Government Health Care rally on Saturday NOVEMBER 7, 2009 OK fellow patriots… here we go again. We will assemble this Saturday (11/07) from 2:00-4:00 p.m. to drive home the message of this week’s election – we don’t want no stinkin’ government health care! We will meet at the intersection of Hershberger Road and I-581, near Valley View. Our meeting place is the site of the old Celebration Station on Hershberger, and we’ll line Hershberger as far as our numbers allow. The weather should be glorious – a wonderful day to be outside and celebrate your liberty. If...

The White House will today issue a Statement of Administration Policy today endorsing the health care reform legislation from House Democrats. It will not be a signal that the president favors the House bill over the one from Senate Democrats, officials say. The president will go to Capitol Hill to speak to House Democrats, likely on Saturday, to rally support for the bill.

For all that's transpired since his election as president, public opinion has not moved on the big issue, the current economy. The question a year later is how long Obama's got until it goes up, or he goes down – possibly with his party in tow. Health care reform draws a divided public response as well, with support for a variety of initiatives coupled with significant concern that they could do more harm than good. Some of Obama's best ratings lately have been in handling international affairs, contrary to questions during the 2008 campaign about his readiness for the global...

Just how deep the tentacles of communism reached into the heart of British government has now been revealed with the emergence of an extraordinary diary by Anatoly Chernyaev, the Soviet Union's contact man with the West at the icy height of the Cold War. Meticulously detailed and written by hand on lined notepaper, the diary has come to light in the U.S. National Security Archive.

Nov200905 admin Comments Congress Awards World Series to Washington Nationals to ‘Spread the Wealth’ A day after winning their 27th World Series championship, the New York Yankees were informed that Congress has decided to award the World Series to the Washington Nationals in order to make a more balanced and fair world.“This is about fairness and spreading the wealth,� said Congressman Barney Frank. “The Yankees have so many World Series titles, and the Nationals have none. They may not think it’s fair, but that just makes them selfish and greedy. We’re not taking all of their championships away. They...

Majority Leader Steny Hoyer Says Passage Will Come Saturday; AARP Announces Support for Legislation (AP) The second-ranking House Democrat predicted that historic health care legislation will be passed Saturday as the AARP, the nation's premier lobbying group for the elderly, announced it was signing on to the bill. Rep. Steny Hoyer said House leaders expect to have the 218 votes needed to pass the sweeping bill, which would extend coverage to tens of millions of uninsured people and ban insurance companies from turning people away. President Barack Obama has the health care overhaul the defining social goal of his young...

Speaker Pelosi’s Government-Run Health Plan Will Require a Monthly Abortion Premium Health care reform should not be used as an opportunity to use federal funds to pay for elective abortions. Health reform should be an opportunity to protect human life - not end it. Unfortunately, Speaker Pelosi’s 2,032-page government takeover of health care does just that. On line 17, p. 110, section 222 under “Abortions for which Public Funding is Allowed” the Health and Human Services Secretary is given the authority to determine when abortion is allowed under the government-run plan. The Speaker’s plan also requires that at least one...

Though Republicans oppose the so-called "public option," Rep. Joe Wilson, R-S.C., is proposing the requirement to draw attention to the plan's alleged flaws. Republican Rep. Joe Wilson proposed an amendment Wednesday that would force all members of Congress to receive health insurance coverage through the government-run plan proposed in the House's reform bill. Though Republicans oppose the so-called "public option," the South Carolina gadfly -- who gained notoriety for shouting "you lie" at President Obama during his address to Congress two months ago -- is proposing the requirement to draw attention to what he sees as the plan's flaws. "They...

A cartoon of Nancy Pelosi as Nurse Ratchet is at the link below....

Dick Morris thinks Mob-O-Care is dead after the Democrat electoral fiascos in the last week. I sincerely hope that Morris is right, but I'm not so sure. The trouble is that Obama and the Democrats have no other game plan -- their other ideas, like the suicidal Carbon Tax, are even more likely to get them tossed out of office. Obama's power has peaked -- and judging by the Clinton backlash of 1994, when the GOP won the  House for the first time in forty years, it's downhill from here on out. Nothing in politics is certain, and Obama will...

TALLAHASSEE, Fla. (AP) -- Gov. Charlie Crist is saying he did not endorse the $787 billion federal stimulus bill, a statement that might confuse some voters. Crist appeared with President Barak Obama in February to support the bill, asked Florida members of Congress to vote for it and previously told The Associated Press that he would have voted for it if he had been in the Senate. But when the Republican governor talked about the bill Wednesday on CNN, he said he didn't endorse it. Crist told CNN he understood that the bill was going to pass and wanted to...

Rules for Radicals by Saul Alinsky Vintage; Reissue edition (October 23, 1989) Buy It An inspiration to anyone contemplating action in their community! And to every organizer! Saul Alinsky wrote the book on American radicalism - two books, in fact: a 1945 best-seller, "Reveille for Radicals" and "Rules for Radicals" in 1971. The "Reveille" title page quotes Thomas Paine... "Let them call me rebel and welcome, I feel no concern from it; but I should suffer the misery of devils, were I to make a whore of my soul." Saul Alinsky, who was a labor and civil-rights activist from the...

Rules for Radicals by Saul Alinsky Vintage; Reissue edition (October 23, 1989) Buy It An inspiration to anyone contemplating action in their community! And to every organizer! Saul Alinsky wrote the book on American radicalism - two books, in fact: a 1945 best-seller, "Reveille for Radicals" and "Rules for Radicals" in 1971. The "Reveille" title page quotes Thomas Paine... "Let them call me rebel and welcome, I feel no concern from it; but I should suffer the misery of devils, were I to make a whore of my soul." Saul Alinsky, who was a labor and civil-rights activist from the...

Rules for Radicals by Saul Alinsky Vintage; Reissue edition (October 23, 1989) Buy It An inspiration to anyone contemplating action in their community! And to every organizer! Saul Alinsky wrote the book on American radicalism - two books, in fact: a 1945 best-seller, "Reveille for Radicals" and "Rules for Radicals" in 1971. The "Reveille" title page quotes Thomas Paine... "Let them call me rebel and welcome, I feel no concern from it; but I should suffer the misery of devils, were I to make a whore of my soul." Saul Alinsky, who was a labor and civil-rights activist from the...

Two weeks ago, the U.S. Chamber of Commerce was the target of an elaborate hoax by the Yes Men leading some major media outlets to believe that it had reversed its opposition to the Kerry-Boxer climate bill pending approval in the Senate. Now it seems the chamber has officially expressed support for legislation that would cut carbon emissions — but still in confusingly vague terms. Apparently, the organization sent a letter to Senators Barbara Boxer and James Inhofe (full text), the party leaders in the Senate’s Environment and Public Works Committee where the bill is being amended, supporting climate change...

http://www.StrikeAgainstSocialism.com Businesses nationwide shut down for one hour the day after the full Senate or the full House of Representatives passes a bill that moves America closer to socialized medicine but before a vote of both chambers on a final bill. This strike is part "trip-wire" and part "shock therapy" to let Washington politicians know we don't want the government to force us into a government-run health care monopoly. During that hour the businesses can call members of Congress and/or protest socialized medicine by holding signs near busy streets. Organizers are seeking business owners to join the strike and offer...

All young Americans need to wake up and pay attention. You are being sold out by the federal government. Your future will be bleak indeed if you do not heed my warning. You are being sold down the river on so many fronts that I cannot list them all in this short article, but I will attempt to give you a small glimpse of what your future holds if you do not stand up. You need to get informed NOW. You need to speak up and let your voices be heard....or become a working slave to support the federal addiction...

The National Education Association has made a glowing assessment of radical socialist community organizer Saul Alinsky and is enthusiastically recommending American public school teachers read two of his books, including one dedicated to Satan. On its website, the NEA dubs Alinsky "an inspiration to anyone contemplating action in their community! And to every organizer!" It recommends Alinsky's "Reveille for Radicals," a 1946 book about the principles and tactics of "community organizing," and "Rules for Radicals," a 1971 text that articulated a socialist strategy for gaining political power to redistribute wealth from the "haves" to the "have-nots." The NEA, the largest...

As Barack Obama marks one year since his historic election, one of the architects of his campaign acknowledges the president has not forged the post-partisan atmosphere that he had hoped to achieve. Senior Adviser David Axelrod said the president "is not a magician. You don't with a wave of a wand make everything different." The top White House aide said while the president has "extended a hand of cooperation, some in the other party made a political decision that isn't in their interest." Speaking with CBS Radio News, Axelrod was hard-pressed to specify areas of cooperation with Republicans on any...

Darwin’s bulldog—Thomas H. Huxley --snip-- Huxley, although an unbeliever, was thoroughly familiar with the gospel, and had little time for Christians who compromised their position by supporting the anti-biblical belief of evolutionary naturalism. He wrote: ...

....Chavez blames the water problems for El Niño but...it can not be blamed for what is happening. Problems with Venezuela’s water and electricity’s supplies are not new. When Chavez came to power, the Caldera Government was thinking of privatizing some of the regional electric power companies for the simple reason that the investments required with oil at around US$ 12 per barrel were beyond the capability of the country’s government.cChavez clearly disagreed with this even as he was not using the word socialism at the time. And he stopped the nationalizations, while simultaneously freezing rates for water and electric services....

The pace of layoffs eased in October, but progress in the labor markets remains painfully slow. Private-sector jobs in the U.S. fell 203,000 last month, according to a national employment report published Wednesday by payroll giant Automatic Data Processing Inc. and consultancy Macroeconomic Advisers. The ADP loss is right on par with the drop projected by economists in a Dow Jones Newswires survey. The estimated change of employment from August to September was revised by 27,000 from a decline of 254,000 to a decline of 227,000. The ADP survey tallies only private-sector jobs, while the Bureau of Labor Statistics' nonfarm...

Long lines at public flu clinics -- initially intended to primarily serve the uninsured -- are now commonplace nationwide as doses of the vaccine remain scarce. Many clinics report seeing large numbers of people who have insurance but have been unable to get H1N1 vaccines from private doctors, who say they have either already run out or have yet to get any. The line at the Glendale clinic, the first to be held in that city since Los Angeles County received doses late last month, was the longest yet, county Department of Public Health officials said. And the stakes were...

The House health-care reform plan unveiled last week by House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) would do more than regulate insurance companies – it would even regulate vending machines. The bill, which is posted online, would require that vending machine operators either create new machines that allow the customer to view nutrition facts or post nutritional information for each product near “each article of food or the selection button.” The regulation could wind up costing vendors millions of dollars to make the changes, according to industry estimates. Section 2572 of the bill (H.R. 3962) says, “In the case of an article...

Divisions in the majority party in the House and Senate could delay legislation into the new year. Abortion funding in particular shows a chasm between party liberals and moderates. Reporting from Washington - House Democratic leaders, while insisting that the finish line is in sight on their overhaul of the nation's healthcare system, have hit a last-minute snag over the abortion issue. Senate Democratic leaders, meanwhile, are continuing to have problems winning over moderates in their own party -- raising the possibility that the climactic votes on healthcare might be pushed into next year. The delays in both houses reflect...

By seizing gubernatorial seats in Virginia and New Jersey, Republicans on Tuesday dispelled any notion of President Obama's electoral invincibility, giving the GOP a lift and offering warning signs to Democrats ahead of the 2010 midterm elections. With Obama slipping in polls and many voters unhappy with the Democratic-run Congress, "it's been increasingly clear over the last few months that Democrats were likely to have a tough midterm next year," said Charlie Cook, who handicaps races nationwide for his nonpartisan Cook Political Report. "What we've seen tonight doesn't dispute that assumption." Tuesday's gubernatorial results certainly won't help Democrats. Perceptions are...

Washington (CNN) -- Victories in New Jersey and Virginia Tuesday provided a major shot in the arm for the Republican Party heading into the 2010 elections, but the Democratic losses of these two governorships should not be interpreted as a significant blow to President Obama. While the economy and jobs were the chief concern for voters in both states, 26 percent of New Jersey residents said property taxes was also a major issue, while another 20 percent mentioned corruption, according to CNN exit polling. In a similar CNN survey taken in Virginia, health care was the most important issue for...

Here's the list, per a release from Rep. Mike Pence's office. My personal favorite -- #108, the "Program for treatment of child sexual abuse victims and perpetrators." Personally, I kind of like Gov. Jindal's program for the treatment of child sexual abuse perpetrators. I am curious, though, as to what Pelosi has in mind. Maybe Republicans ought to move to strike the "and perpetrators" part of that program? * * Excerpt: 1. Retiree Reserve Trust Fund (Section 111(d), p. 61) 2. Grant program for wellness programs to small employers (Section 112, p. 62) 3. Grant program for State health access...

I have discussed with Freepers over the last 4 months that I am back in school earning my Masters degree. Today my head about exploded when not only my professor but people (grown adults) said Communism was a fear on paper but never a real threat to the U.S. Let me give you direct quotes taken from today's lecture. "Exactly where does communism fit in today's classroom, newspapers, and television sets? It doesn't, only the right wing fringe in this country wants you to believe that is the case, where is the proof? America feared communism based on it being...

CHICAGO (AP) - Nearly half of all U.S. children and 90 percent of black youngsters will be on food stamps at some point during childhood, and fallout from the current recession could push those numbers even higher, researchers say. The estimate comes from an analysis of 30 years of national data, and it bolsters other recent evidence on the pervasiveness of youngsters at economic risk. It suggests that almost everyone knows a family who has received food stamps, or will in the future, said lead author Mark Rank, a sociologist at Washington University in St. Louis. "Your neighbor may be...

Republicans followed through this morning on their threat to boycott a Senate committee's work this week on a sweeping climate change bill. The only one to show up, AP reports, was George Voinovich of Ohio, the ranking Republican on the environment committee, and he only attended to explain why the GOP is staying away. He said the tactic "is not a ruse" to block the bill, but reflects concern that the full economic impact of the bill has not been studied or made clear. Many Republicans deride the cap-and-trade system at the heart of the legislation's heart as a job...

The Obama administration announced Friday that federal stimulus money had created or saved about 7,200 education jobs in Ohio as of Sept. 30. Although a couple of hundred of those jobs were in Columbus City Schools, the district acknowledged yesterday that many of the "saved" jobs definitely wouldn't have been lost in the first place, and others might not have been lost at all. Although other areas of the district's budget might have suffered without the stimulus, district officials said, the jobs report nonetheless highlighted the fuzzy math involved in pinpointing a saved-jobs number.

Al Gore has been advocating for climate change for 30 years and the former vice president says he is more than willing to put his "money where his mouth is" and invest in green companies. In an interview on "Good Morning America" this morning the climate change guru commented on a quote from a story in Tuesday's New York Times which referred to Gore as the first "carbon billionaire," and said he was profiting from policies he supports. Gore said the comment was from a "denier" and "certainly not true." "I am proud to put my money where my mouth...

Voters for the first time are blaming President Obama nearly as much as President Bush for the country’s continuing economic problems. A new Rasmussen Reports national telephone survey finds that 49% still blame the economic situation on the recession that began under Bush. But 45% now say the nation’s economic problems are caused more by Obama’s policies. Just a month ago, 55% pointed the finger at Bush, while only 37% said the policies Obama has put in place since taking office were at fault. These findings had remained largely unchanged since May. Sixty-two percent (62%) now trust their own judgment...

Money paid by rich countries to fight global warming will have to "be scaled up" from the $100bn a year on offer, the UN secretary general Ban Ki-moon said today. Developing nations are demanding significant new funding at the climate negotiations, which are continuing this week in Barcelona, and deep cuts in rich country emissions in exchange for pledges to curb their own fast growing carbon emissions. A critical issue, he said, was a lack of trust between developed and developing nations, which a suitably large financial settlement would help to bridge. "Too many countries have domestic problems," he added,...

NEW YORK (Reuters) - U.S. climate legislation would hike gasoline prices about 13 cents a gallon as oil companies push the price of carbon permits on to consumers, according to report by Point Carbon, an independent consulting company that tracks global carbon and energy markets. Point Carbon analyst Emilie Mazzacurati said oil companies would face substantial carbon permit costs under the legislation because they would get few of the permits the government would distribute to companies during the first years of a cap-and-trade program. But that should not hurt integrated oil companies very much, she said, because they could largely...

There is full employment — yet no one is working. No one is working — yet the factory quotas are fulfilled. The factory quotas are fulfilled — yet the stores have nothing to sell. The stores have nothing to sell — yet people got all the stuff at home. People got all the stuff at home — yet everyone is complaining. Everyone is complaining — yet the voting is always unanimous. Economic justice: America is capitalist and greedy — yet half of the population is subsidized. Half of the population is subsidized — yet they think they are victims. They...