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The White House on Monday fired back after former Vice President Dick Cheney called the Obama administration's decision to open a probe into alleged CIA abuses an "outrageous political act." White House Press Secretary Roberts Gibbs broadly dismissed Cheney's comments on "FOX News Sunday" as typical and unfounded.

Since launching three weeks ago, the White House Reality Check website on healthcare reform has been updated several times to debunk a growing number of alleged myths about the Democrats' plan. But the site is still silent on conservatives' charge that the plan will use taxpayer money to cover abortions. It's a stunning omission, given how much the government-funded abortion allegation has dominated this month's congressional town hall meetings on healthcare reform—and given that President Obama himself has called the charge a myth. "You've heard that this is all going to mean government funding of abortion," he said recently. "Not...

With its gleaming aluminum skin and black and white stripes, the Douglas DC-3 sitting next to the runaway at Thun Field in Pierce County wears its history well, thanks to Dan Merritt and Eric Thun. Its classic tail-dragger lines – cockpit and wings higher in the air than the tail that rests on a single tire – evoke another era. Two 1,200-horsepower engines power the three-bladed props that almost seem to touch the fuselage. Cloth covers the flaps and the rudder. Three years ago, Merritt and Thun first saw the plane on a cold snowy day at an airport in...

ANKARA, Turkey – Armenia and Turkey agreed Monday to establish diplomat relations, overcoming a seemingly intractable rift that dates to the early 20th Century and was marked by massacres of Armenians under Ottoman rule. The neighboring countries would be setting up and developing relations for the first time, Turkish Foreign Ministry spokesman Burak Ozugergin said. It is unclear, however, if the talks would touch on the dispute over the World War I-era killings. CONTINUED AT ARTICLE LINK

America has been greatly blessed by God and has stood as the greatest country in the history of the world for over 200 years. America has many foreign and domestic enemies that are seeking her destruction.This thread is a daily call and reminder for people of faith who believe in God and in the power of prayer to make a commitment to intercede for America at this critical time in her history2 Chronicles 7:14If my people, who are called by my name, will humble themselves and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, then will I...

Judging by some of the responses I've received to the previous posts in this health care series, I think it's important to make it clear that the illustrative features I talked about in my last post are not suggested components of some government run health care scheme. I oppose the government takeover of the health sector. It should also be clear from the ideas I've outlined that I oppose perpetuating the third party payer system in any form, whether as a single payer government run approach, or in continuation of the existing private corporate structure. One of the keys to...

With all the talk of Health Care Reform that has been going on lately, the one question that I have been asking myself lately is, “What does my country owe me?” Before I answer that question I would like to first, and, very briefly explain my background. I grew up in Long Island, NY. At 12 years old my father left the family and my mother subsequently could not afford the mortgage and our house was auctioned off. At that point, what did my country owe me? My mother and I moved in with a family friend. I wasn’t the...

I'll be your mummy and you be my little kitty cat: Anjana the chimp shows off her parenting skills...with a puma cub By Mail Foreign Service 31st August 2009 She has a tender heart, a nice hairy shoulder to cry on -and she knows where her zoo keeps the baby wipes. So Anjana the chimpanzee is well qualified to be a kitten-sitter. Since orphaned puma cub Sierra turned up at the zoo, Anjana has helped her human carers with all the feeding, cuddling and chasing duties. Primate mum: Anjana the chimp helps zookeepers to care for orphaned puma cub, Sierra...

I had a chance to watch the Dick Cheney interview on yesterday's Fox News Sunday broadcast with host Chris Wallace, who was excellent as always. All I have to say is that I'm certainly glad I'm not on the bad side of Cheney, for he's what we in the military used to call "born again hard." … And this is why I really admire the guy and think that he's far more a figurative Prince Valiant than any sort of Prince of Darkness. Unless you happen to be an Al Qaeda baddie captured by American military or CIA-type forces, that...

With public support waning, President Obama is at a crossroads on health care reform: Does he attempt to breathe life into Congress' efforts or do something more drastic -- offer his own solution? The president faces these questions as Congress returns next week from a summer recess which by most accounts took a heavy toll on reform legislation.

Sen. Edward Kennedy's family fortune not only fueled his brothers' presidential campaigns and his eight terms in the U.S. Senate, it also helped drive the family's liberal legacy and forge Kennedy's lifelong crusade for universal health care. Just how wealthy was Kennedy when he died Tuesday at the age of 77 after a yearlong battle with brain cancer? Untangling a family fortune that reaches back to the early days of the past century is murky business, but the annual federal financial disclosure reports Kennedy was required to file provide at least a' partial glimpse into his personal capital. As a...

Becton College [of Fairleigh Dickinson University] and the SGA [Student Gov't Assn.] proudly present a Special Hot Topics Event Ralph Nader on “Health Insurance and Health Care: The Battle in Washington” When: Tuesday, September 15, 7:00 p.m. Where: Lenfell Hall, the Mansion, Fairleigh Dickinson University, Madison (NJ) campus. RSVP required: By Thursday, September 10 to mmcmahon@fdu.edu [You could also try telephoning direct to 973-443-8750.] Important Note: Doors close promptly at 6:50. No admission after that time.

Real life thuggery. 'Nuff said.

Many pundits, Alaskans, and simple political observers have pondered why Former Governor of Alaska Sarah Palin resigned from office. One answer now seems apparent—money. Since her resignation, Palin has been offered over 1,000 invitations to make paid speeches, appear, and campaign on behalf of politicians and political groups. She has received offers from numerous speakers’ bureaus (scouts for speechmakers) and has reportedly signed with at least one of them, the Washington Speakers Bureau. Washington Speakers Bureau’s clientele currently consist of Former President George W. Bush and Laura Bush, Bob Woodward, Katie Couric, Colin Powell, Rudy Giulianni, Alan Greenspan, and many...

SAN JOSE, Calif. - Ex-Marine Jack Burke went toe-to-toe with his congresswoman at a street fair in San Carlos earlier this month, convinced President Barack Obama's health care reform would mean politicians, not doctors, would make his medical decisions. It wasn't just health care making him angry, Burke said a few moments later. It was Obama's plan to limit global warming; it was the auto industry and all the other bailouts; AND it was health care. The retiree said it all felt so wrong, so contrary to how he was raised. "I just feel the government is intruding in our...

Mike Daugherty asked his 11-year-old son Logan what he wanted for his birthday. The boy said, "I want a cannon." Dad didn't scoff at Logan's request by saying, "How about a hippopotamus instead," as a Christmas song from another era lamented. No, Daugherty is not that kind of guy. He granted his son's wish and built him a Civil War-era cannon not a model, the real deal. The howitzer fires and rivals anything seen at Civil War reenactments across the country. He said it took him about two weeks to build and is worth about $6,000. "It looks like something...

What caused the Great Depression? There are plenty of theories and arguments out there, and I don’t plan to review them. But a new one (at least new to me) is contained in a paper by Lee Ohanian, a U.C.L.A. economist, that was released today by the National Bureau of Economic Research. He blames Herbert Hoover. That is not exactly original; the Democrats ran against Hoover for a generation after he left office, much as some would now like to run against George W. Bush. But his criticism is that Hoover was too kind to workers, which is not exactly...

The biggest spur to deal-making among banks isn't private-equity cash or foreign investors. It is the federal government. To encourage banks to pick through the wreckage of their collapsed competitors, the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. has agreed to assume most of the risk on $80 billion in loans and other assets. The agency expects it will eventually have to cover $14 billion in future losses on deals cut so far. The initiative amounts to a subsidy for dozens of hand-picked banks. Through more than 50 deals known as "loss shares," the FDIC has agreed to absorb losses on the detritus...

RALEIGH, N.C. -- North Carolina consumers are about to feel another pinch in their wallets at the mall, the convenience store and most every retailer in between. The state's sales tax goes up a full penny Tuesday, bringing the total rate charged in most counties to 7.75 percent. At the same time, cigarettes, beer, wine and liquor will have higher excise taxes, all of which are likely to be passed on to retail buyers. Gov. Beverly Perdue agreed to raise these taxes in early August as part of a $991 million package designed to narrow a portion of a budget...

50,000 Muslims expected for Islamic prayer on Capitol HillBy creeping The news Creeping Sharia broke to you first here back in July. It won’t be the first “jummah” on Capitol Hill either – as we’ve reported here and here.  Details are emerging on the mass outdoor Islamic prayer event that will turn Capitol Hill into a giant outdoor mosque. The Star Ledger out of New Jersey reports the mosque organizing the event is the Dar-ul-Islam* mosque in Elizabeth, New Jersey and the event has a website.   September 25 ,2009 Jummah PrayerOn Capitol Hill50,000 believers in the Greatness of Allah...