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Obama’s health care tactics just like those he used in state Senate in 2004 Accusing critics of 'fear-mongering' was tactic he used in state Senate days August 31, 2009 BY LYNN SWEET AND DAVE McKINNEY Sun-Times Washington and Springfield Bureau Chiefs WASHINGTON -- Barack Obama, deflecting criticism of his top agenda item to deal with the health care crisis, accuses opponents of "fear-mongering," telling lies and miscasting his proposal as "socialized medicine." That wasn't President Obama in recent weeks, as the health care debate has been heating up in Congress and in town halls across the country. That was then...

This morning my dad was in a car accident. I don't have any details and would appreciate some prayer.

Video at link DALLAS - They’re not criminals. They’ve broken no laws. But they’re being held against their will by the State of Texas. Why? It’s a tragic story about what can happen when you are alone in the world and lose control of your rights, your money, and your ability to complain. Jean and Michael Kidd never imagined their retirement would play out like this. “I feel like I am not in America,” said Michael Kidd. “I can’t believe I have been hi-jacked off the street, virtually from the hospital, and imprisoned,” Kidd told FOX 4.

Democrats have embarrassed themselves by naming political buddies to replace Joe Biden and Barack Obama in the Senate, and now a Republican is showing he can do the same. On Friday, Florida Governor Charlie Crist picked a long-time aide and political consultant to fill his state's soon-to-be-vacant U.S. Senate seat, presumably as a placeholder until Mr. Crist can win the job himself in November 2010. The Florida vacancy is due to the strange decision by Republican Mel Martinez to abandon his post early for no other reason than that he seems sick of the job. His departure couldn't come at...

Means and Ends in the Age of ObamaOne of the stranger things about this eerie first eight months of the Obama administration is how brazenly its supporters have been about the noble ends justifying the disreputable means.Taxes for TheeTake taxes. I thought the mantra was that the Bush tax cuts — equal percentages of cuts to all involved, an even greater number of households excused from the tax rolls altogether — were supposed to be cruel and proof of conservative selfishness.Candidate Obama once in an interview seemed to agree that greater revenue ensued for the federal treasury, but he felt...

Open Cluster M25 Credit & Copyright: Jean-Charles Cuillandre (CFHT) & Giovanni Anselmi (Coelum Astronomia), Hawaiian Starlight Explanation: Many stars like our Sun were formed in open clusters. The above pictured open cluster, M25, contains thousands of stars and is about two thousand light years distant. The stars in this cluster all formed together about 90 million years ago. The bright young stars in M25 appear blue. Open clusters, also called galactic clusters, contain fewer and younger stars than globular clusters. Also unlike globular clusters, open clusters are generally confined to the plane of our Galaxy. M25 is visible with...

http://www.wunderground.com/tropical/tracking/ep200913_model.html#a_topad www.wunderground.com/tropical/tracking/ep200913_v5d.html?extraprod=v5d#a_topad

Here is video of Democrat Mary Landrieu telling CNN's John King yesterday that she would "tend not" to support a "Public Option" is Health Care legislation. She said the focus should be on "bending the cost curve." She also said it would be "very difficult" to support legislation that used tax-payer money to fund abortion. This would seem to show that even among the Democrats, they are cracking in their support of what Obama is trying to do. . . . . (Watch Video)

Colorful in public, ruthless and murderous in private, former Boston Mafia boss Gennaro "Jerry" Angiulo died this past Saturday of renal failure due to kidney disease. He was 90. For those of you unfamiliar with "The Underboss," you're about to get an education.

What shocked you most about Jaycee Lee Dugard's story? Was it the fact that she was abducted in plain sight, waking to a bus stop when she was 11 years old? Or the fact that she was still alive when discovered this past week, 18 years after disappearing? Was it the fact that for most of those 18 years, she was forced to live in a backyard of a couple's home in California, surrounded by fences, tents and sheds? Or the fact that nobody noticed? Was it the fact that she was allegedly raped repeatedly by her abductor, even though...

BAINBRIDGE, Ind. -- Republican Mitch Daniels has repeatedly insisted that his 2008 run for a second term as Indiana's governor was his last election and that he's not interested in the "savagery" of a national campaign. But like it or not, Daniels' name is being dropped in conservative GOP circles as someone to watch in 2012. Many say Daniels is just what the battered GOP needs, a blend of conservative values, cool demeanor and fiscal discipline. "Mitch has been steady to the cause, he's stayed principled," said Michael Steele, chairman of the Republican National Committee. "The nation is going to...

...All eyes now are on Joseph P. Kennedy II, the former US representative, with family members and political allies expecting him to make a decision very shortly on whether to enter the Democratic primary...

Reports: Bruschi to retire ESPN.com news services BOSTON -- Tedy Bruschi is retiring after a 13-year career marked by an inspiring return to the New England Patriots as a starting linebacker eight months after a stroke. A person familiar with his decision told The Associated Press that the 36-year-old Bruschi will announce his retirement at a news conference at 10:45 a.m. ET on Monday morning at Gillette Stadium. The person spoke on condition of anonymity because no announcement had been made. The team declined to comment Sunday night. The decision was first reported by Al Michaels during NBC's Sunday night...

Take your best educated guess at who will shine this year..QB? RB? WR? In my fantasy draft this year (keeper league), while everyone was stocking up on TE's and DEF's (in this league, TE is NOT required but can be used if desired), I stocked up on Moreno, Donald Brown and LeSean McCoy..

Pope Benedict XVI on Monday accepted the early retirement of a northeastern Pennsylvania bishop who critics say alienated parishioners with his leadership style. The brief announcement, keeping to Vatican tradition, did not say why Bishop Joseph Martino, 63, submitted his resignation. The usual retirement age for bishops is 75. Martino, who was installed in 2003, has been a controversial, conservative leader of the diocese that serves 350,000 parishioners. Earlier this year, he blasted a local Catholic university for sponsoring a lecture by a gay-rights advocate. He also threatened to cancel a traditional St. Patrick's Day parade Mass if parade organizers...

NASHVILLE – Former president Bill Clinton and former vice president Al Gore rallied Tennessee Democrats on Saturday night for health care reform and green energy, saying both are good for the economy, the country and the party. Clinton said the anger that arose this summer against health care was fueled by fear generated by opponents of reform, which he said is hard to win because health care is complicated, personal and the interests that benefit financially from the current system don’t want to give it up. “I don’t think all these people are coming to these town meetings raising cain...

To passers-by, the event at Lake Loveland on Wednesday looked like any other friendly picnic. Casseroles were served on disposable plates, and the local wasp population was abuzz in anticipation of finding a soda can left unattended for too long. But a closer inspection of the 10 or so participants showed it was more than just a dinner — it was an opportunity to send a message. Several local gun owners used the picnic at South Shore Scenic Park to show solidarity with a man who was approached last year by police because he was openly carrying a firearm. Six...

VANCOUVER, Wash. - A 78-year-old man with a licensed concealed pistol said he was trapped by two pit bulls he had never seen before, and the only way to survive was to shoot and kill one of dogs. Albert Gosiak (pronounced like go-shack) said he walked out of his East Vancouver house just for a minute Saturday morning. That's Albert Gosiak outside his Northeast Vancouver home. when he met two pit bulls in his walkway. Gosiak said the dogs were aggressive and he was trapped. He said he acted in self defense when he shot one of the pit bulls....

An 18 year old burglar was shot in self defense by the owner of an East St. Louis, IL home. Police reportedly say that just 18 year old Michael Holmes III and another person attempted to break in to a home. The home was being rehabbed by its owner, so that the owner, his wife, and their child could move in to the house. The owner, who is said to be a Navy service member, was working inside the house when the two men are said to have forced their way in. The homeowner opened fire in self defense, killing...