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Former Homeland Security Secretary Tom Ridge on raising the terror alert level before the 2004 election: "We made the right decision, we did not go up."

LOS ANGELES (AP) -- Firefighters tried Monday to hold back a massive wildfire from consuming thousands of Los Angeles-area homes and a crucial communications center as they mourned two firefighters killed when their vehicle rolled down a mountain. About 12,000 homes, as well as communications and astronomy centers atop Mount Wilson, were threatened by fire. At least 6,600 homes were under mandatory evacuation orders Sunday night and over 2,500 firefighters were battling the flames. On the blaze's northwestern front, two firefighters were killed Sunday on Mount Gleason near the city of Acton.

We know that the great Chinese Republic, established at the cost of such sacrifice by progressive democrats among the Asian masses, recently encountered very grave financial difficulties. The six “Great” Powers, which are considered civilised nations, but which in reality follow the most reactionary policies, formed a financial consortium which suspended the granting of a loan to China. The point is that the Chinese revolution did not evoke among the European bourgeoisie any enthusiasm for freedom and democracy—only the proletariat can entertain that feeling, which is alien to the knights of profit; it gave rise to the urge to plunder...

Here is a CNN video report on a broom in a Prattville, Alabama Consignment shop that strangely "stands on its own." It seems a woman was moving a cabinet, and when she turned around the broom was standing on its own. The broom can be moved to various spots on the floor and will still stand on its own. . . . . . (Watch Video)

Washington, D.C. Mayor Adrian Fenty seemed silent and secretive about acting in the self-interest of his own children. Asked at a press conference about where his kids were attending school this academic year, he answered, in essence, “None of your business.” Why this sensitivity? Good school, bad schoolOne of Fenty’s sons started school this year at Lafayette Elementary, a public—read government—school in D.C. But the neighborhood school to which kids at Fenty’s residential address would normally be assigned is West Elementary. Lafayette is in one of the best parts of the city. It gets a 10 out of 10 rating...

Polite yet forceful.

Former Vice President Al Gore told guests at the Tennessee Democratic Party’s annual Jackson Day dinner that the country has “a moral duty to pass health care reform.

The Rasmussen Reports daily Presidential Tracking Poll for Monday shows that 30% of the nation's voters Strongly Approve of the way that Barack Obama is performing his role as President. Forty-one percent (41%) Strongly Disapprove giving Obama a Presidential Approval Index rating of -11 (see trends). Twenty-nine percent (29%) are confident that Congress knows what it’s doing when it comes to the economy. If Americans could vote to keep or replace the entire Congress, 57% would throw out all the legislators and start over again. Just 25% would vote to keep the Congress. The Presidential Approval Index is calculated by...

Let's see. The Democrats now control the White House as well as the House and Senate by huge majorities. So what is the attitude of the DUmmies? ANGER at the Republicans for somehow messing things up for them. Sorry, but if their beloved Barack Obama can't move legislation with all those odds stacked in his favor that shows incredibly POOR political ability. For all his faults, Lyndon B. Johnson was a master at politics and would have NO trouble moving legislation through congress under these conditions. How do I know? Because he did. It was called the Great Society....

The Rasmussen Reports daily Presidential Tracking Poll for Monday shows that 30% of the nation's voters Strongly Approve of the way that Barack Obama is performing his role as President. Forty-one percent (41%) Strongly Disapprove giving Obama a Presidential Approval Index rating of -11 (see trends).

In the wake of the Fatah Conference which recently took place, one very important item has deliberately not been reported on or covered by the biased media:And that is Fatah's "official endorsement" of the Al-aqsa Martyrs Brigades, a U.S. recognized foreign terrorist organization as the "military wing" of Fatah.The Palestinian Authority is run by Mahmoud Abbas's Fatah Party. In January of 2006 candidates representing Hamas, another U.S. recognized terrorist organization, won a majority of seats in the Palestinian Authority elections.This resulted in Congress immediately reacting by adaption of legislation to prohibit any further funding of the PA, as such funding would...

Nevada has always been a somewhat unpredictable State when it comes to politics. Despite a demographic makeup that would favor Democratic candidates, Nevada's tourism reliant residents understand, more than most Americans, the need to maintain low taxes and a strong economy. As a result, Nevada has a history of struggling between the election of Democrat and Republican candidates, but past electoral confusion may not be an issue in 2010. Despite mixed electoral results in the past, Senator Harry Reid has remained a mainstay in Nevada politics, but his role as the Senate Majority leader and allegiance to a left-wing agenda...

Rep. Barney Frank, the chairman of the U.S. House of Representatives Financial Services Committee, said he plans legislation to restrict the Federal Reserve's emergency lending powers and subject the central bank to a "complete audit." At a recent town hall meeting, Frank said the House would pass a bill to use an audit to crack open the central bank's books more widely, but in a way that will not encroach on the central bank's monetary policy independence. In addition, he said the House would move to rein in the authority that allows the Fed to lend to a wide range...

(Do permissive attitudes about weight contribute to the rise in rampant fatness?) An obesity epidemic is not the first thing that comes to mind when thinking about health problems in Africa. You're far more likely to associate the region with infectious diseases like HIV/AIDS and malaria, or starvation and malnutrition. In fact, though, the past two decades have seen a dramatic increase in obesity in sub-Saharan Africa. In South Africa alone, 64 percent of the black population and 50 percent of the white population are overweight or obese, according to a study by the International Association for the Study of...

Here is video of Democrat James Carville saying yesterday that he is "slightly miffed" that President Obama has not yet made a visit to New Orleans as President. Carville was reacting to a question from CNN's John King about progress made in New Orleans since Hurricane Katrina hit four years ago. . . . . . (Watch Video)

(Graphic images of diseased body parts could become the norm on packaging) Would a gruesome picture of a cancer-ravaged mouth with rotting teeth make you think twice about buying a pack of cigarettes? That's the goal of new federal regulations expected to go into effect within three years. The rules will require tobacco companies to cover at least half of the front and back of packages with graphic -- and possibly gruesome -- images illustrating the dangers of smoking.If U.S. regulations are modeled after those already in place in Canada and other countries, the warnings will be shocking: blackened lungs,...

It is a fact that that 90% of Americans have some kind of health care. We can conclude that it is affordable, because those that have it are affording it. It may be expensive, but it is expensive because the quality dictates the price. Price may be higher because there are only a few companies that provide it, but there is hardly a monopoly [like our utilities are]. The only reason that government should stay out of health care is because of the fact that 90% have it without government involvement. For an industry to reach 90% of the population...

If it wasn’t before, the ultimate purpose of Dictator Barack Hussein Obama should now be clear to even his most die-hard fans. With Obama’s planned and now-revised Cybersecurity Act of 2009, his inordinately broad and sweeping powers to take control of the Internet AND private networks is making its way through the Senate. The bill gives Obama’s Executive Branch the power to shut down the Internet for any reason he considers to be a “Cybersecurity emergency.“ That, of course, is anything Obama decides to declare an emergency. Those who have been living in a cave for the last several years...

Dr. Li Zhisui met Mao Zedong for the first time on April 25, 1955, late in the afternoon. The doctor had finished a busy day in his clinic, but Mao was just starting his day's work. On a wooden bed beside his indoor swimming pool, the chairman lounged "naked beneath an open terry-cloth robe . . . his lower body loosely covered by a towel." Dr. Li was impressed by Mao's healthy appearance: broad shoulders, a big belly, thick black hair, "skin like butter, delicate, and hairless." Dr. Li, summoned by the awesome and remote Great Leader, was nervous, but...

Palin gets 1,070+ invitations By: Mike Allen August 31, 2009 08:50 AM EST Former Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin this week will begin accepting and rejecting the more than 1,070 invitations she has received for paid speeches and political appearances since she resigned as Alaska governor, aides said. Twenty speakers’ bureaus made offers to represent her. She has signed with Washington Speakers Bureau, which represents everyone from George and Laura Bush to Bob Woodward and Katie Couric to Alan Greenspan, Colin Powell and Rudy Giuliani. More than 950 requests for speeches have poured in for Palin, and over 120 candidates for...