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Here is audio from yesterday of Rush Limbaugh challenging President Obama to come on his raido show for a debate. A partial transcript was posted yesterday, but here is the actual audio. . . . . . (Watch Video)

Interactive map by county see graphic at link.

Commanders-in-Chief: Compare and Contrast. Video at the link

CARACAS, March 4 (Reuters) - President Hugo Chavez seized a unit of American food giant Cargill on Wednesday and threatened to take over Venezuela's largest private company, renewing a nationalization drive as the OPEC nation's oil income plunges. Chavez's clash with the food companies, demanding they produce cheaper rice, came less than three weeks after he won a referendum on allowing him to run for reelection and marked his first nationalization in seven months. "I warn you this revolution means business," said Chavez, whose government has struggled with lower oil income and minor food shortages this year. The anti-U.S. president,...

The NAACP and other community groups are calling on the Obama administration to reopen a federal investigation into what they say are civil-rights violations by Columbus police. At a City Hall news conference planned for 2 p.m. today, the groups will ask that the president and Attorney General Eric Holder reverse a 2002 Bush administration decision to drop the case. President Barack Obama and Holder are scheduled to be in Columbus on Friday for the swearing in of 26 police recruits whose jobs were saved by federal economic-stimulus money. The Rev. Joel King, a Gahanna resident and nephew of slain...

NEW YORK (CNNMoney.com) -- Stocks fell hard Thursday after a litany of grim developments: GM said its survival is in doubt, bank shares took a beating and Citigroup broke the buck. Adding to the global woes: China defied expectations by failing to boost its economic stimulus program. The Dow Jones industrial average (INDU) fell 196 points, or 2.9%, over two hours into the session. Earlier, the Dow fell as low as 6654.59, the lowest point since April 22, 1997.

Sources tell Virginia Virtucon that RPV Chairman Del. Jeff Frederick will NOT resign from his post and will stay and fight the attempt to remove him. A vote to remove Jeff is now scheduled for April 3. While the 3/4 majority of State Central Committee members necessary to remove a chairman have signed on to the letter, which is said to include ten allegations against Frederick, Jeff is currently working on peeling away support for the letter.

On Tuesday, liberal talk radio host Stephanie Miller called Rush Limbaugh's now well-publicized statement about wanting Barack Obama to fail "treasonous," and wondered if he should be executed for saying such a thing. Miller made this rather provocative comment on CNN's "Larry King Live," and oddly nobody batted an eye or seemed at all put off by it. Not surprisingly, the topic of discussion between King and his guests -- which other than Miller included the Huffington Post's Arianna Huffington, conservative talk radio host Lars Larson, and GOP strategist Nancy Pfotenhauer -- was all the brouhaha surrounding Limbaugh LARRY KING,...

Israeli boffins have developed a promising technique for "declawing" plutonium, which would let it be used as fuel but not for building bombs. They believe the technique could greatly expand peaceful use of nuclear power worldwide, while preventing weapons proliferation. Almost all plutonium is produced in nuclear reactors, which can run on either uranium or plutonium fuel rods. When the rods are replaced with new ones, the old fuel can be reprocessed - so yielding useful fissionable fuel including plutonium, and reducing the amount of waste requiring disposal or storage. Beyond basic reprocessing, there is also scope for more advanced...

Everyone has those moments when they wish they hadn’t said something, but that seems to be a theme this week. From arguably racist snarkisms to gross misrepresentations of fact, Obama and his friends and allies are tripping all over their tongues lately. There are a lot of reasons one may regret ones words, including saying something insensitive, saying something clearly wrong, and simply saying something so badly that it mangles the point. This week, the awards for tongue-gashing go to President Obama, Vice-President Biden, Secretary Clinton, Senator Byrd, the vast majority of the media industry, and many others. In the...

Star-Telegram Publisher Gary Wortel announced today that because of "unprecedented revenue declines due to the economic recession," the paper would be reducing its work force by about 12 percent and enact a wage cut. In a memo to employees, Wortel said the reductions would occur in virtually all areas of the paper's operations. In addition to involuntary layoffs, he said a voluntary buyout plan is being offered to many of the more than 1,000 workers. The Star-Telegram reduced its work force by about 18 percent last year through voluntary buyouts, layoffs, attrition and outsourcing. The paper also reduced expenses by...

Woman Admits Dancing, Waving Wand, Throwing FlowersLAURENS COUNTY, S,C. -- A woman who says she had no connection to a funeral danced in front of the service, waved a wand over the casket, opened it and touched the deceased man and then threw the flowers from the casket at the family, deputies said. Laurens County deputies responded to reports of a disturbance at the Church of God in Gray Court on Tuesday. Those attending the funeral said that the woman had joined the procession. They said once they were seated inside the church, the woman then danced in front of...

I have just returned from Afghanistan shocked by the depth of the disconnect between reality and reporting. The coalition officers that I spoke with expressed confidence that with the U.S. reinforcements now flowing into the country, they will be able to score victories against insurgents who have been given free reign in some areas because of a paucity of NATO resources. But even before the 17,000 additional U.S. troops arrive, the situation is hardly critical. Kabul and the other major cities are safe, and even large swathes of the countryside are hardly infested by insurgents. That is the reality. This...

Vince Li has been found not criminally responsible in the unprovoked killing and beheading of fellow passenger Timothy McLean on a Greyhound bus last summer. Manitoba Court of Queen's Bench Judge John Scurfield said Thursday that Li, 40, could not be found guilty of murder and is not criminally responsible for the crime because he was mentally ill at the time of the killing. "These grotesque acts are appalling... but are suggestive of a mental disorder," the judge said. "He did not appreciate the act he committed was wrong." Li had pleaded not guilty to a charge of second-degree murder....

WASHINGTON (Reuters) – President Barack Obama takes on healthcare reform at a White House forum on Thursday, seeking to design an overhaul of a costly and inefficient system he believes is threatening the U.S. economy. Obama, who has nominated Kansas Governor Kathleen Sebelius as his health secretary, will gather about 120 people representing everyone from doctors and patients to health insurers and lawmakers to discuss how to fix U.S. healthcare. It's a challenge that has defeated earlier presidents. But officials say the current U.S. economic crisis only makes it more imperative. "If we want to create jobs and rebuild our...

HANNIBAL, Mo. -- The man accused of killing two people last Saturday in a Hannibal apartment had a valid driver's license, Social Security number and other forms of identification, police officials say. Manuel Cazares, 32, has been charged with two counts of second-degree murder in connection with the stabbing deaths of Amanda Thomas and Patrick Epley. Police discovered Cazares, who was working as a waiter at the Gran Rio Mexican restaurant, had entered the country illegally by running a check after he turned himself in mid-morning Saturday.

“Perhaps no one has told the President that stopping research for a program that will lower gas prices, increase our national security, increase out GDP by eight trillion dollars and create a million jobs every year is a criminally stupid idea.” -Comment about the FY2010 budget.

WASHINGTON — As he introduced his new choice for secretary of health and human services in the East Room this week, President Obama turned his head from right to left, but he wasn’t looking at the audience. He was reading from two teleprompters, strategically set up outside the tight television camera shot. ... Presidents have been using teleprompters for more than half a century, but none relied on them as extensively as Mr. Obama has so far. While presidents typically have used them for their most important speeches to the nation — an inauguration, a State of the Union or...

Global Opposition Movement Challenges JSF Mar 4, 2009 By Bill Sweetman The first major military aircraft project of the Internet-era, the Joint Strike Fighter, faces a new opposition: a global, networked movement comprising independent and think-tank analysts, retired air force leaders and industry professionals and politicians concerned with the JSF’s financial and operational risks. All of them have immediate access to worldwide news, official reports and program briefings to an extent that was inconceivable when the F-22 was at the same stage of development a decade ago. There are a few main themes that run through many JSF critiques—some of...

[video] Here’s a deep philosophical question for you to consider: Is it possible to be a rap artist without being a complete idiot? Kanye West, the simple-minded rapper who’s most famous for saying “George Bush doesn’t care about black people,” has offered up a few more brilliant observations. While taping a program for VH1, West recently expressed opinions on a wide range of people he apparently likes better than Bush. “Can’t we give Chris a break,” he said about girlfriend-beating singer Chris Brown, “…I know I make mistakes in life.” “Michael Jackson, amazing. Michael Phelps, amazing… [...more]