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President Obama and top aides have quietly stepped up talks with moderate Republican Sen. Olympia Snowe of Maine on a scaled-back health care bill, according to two sources familiar with the negotiations. The compromise plan would lack a government-run public health insurance option favored by Obama, but would leave the door open to adding that provision down the road under an idea proposed by Snowe, the sources said. One of the sources said White House officials are "deep in conversations" with Snowe on a much smaller health care bill than Obama originally envisioned. The modified proposal would include insurance reforms,...

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Has the Washington Post found its new “macaca,” the journalistic storyline to steer Virginia voters away from a GOP candidate? In 2006, the District’s major paper printed a rash of stories recounting something then-Sen. George Allen said during a public event about an opponent‘s staffer. The paper used Allen’s use of the word “macaca” as a cudgel to bludgeon his re-election chances. And it worked. The stories blanketed the paper, from the historical derivations of the word “macaca” to Allen’s attempts to explain precisely what he meant. Here’s the Aug. 15, 2006 Washington Post article’s initial attempt to whip up...

It comes as know surprise after months of speculation that Dan Hynes, the long-time Illinois comptroller would announce his candidacy for Rod Blagojevich's former position. Hynes joins acting Governor Pat Quinn as the front-runners for the Democratic nomination for the Governors seat. As a result, the only thing more entertaining that the Rod Blagojevich commercials that are likely to plaster Illinois televisions next fall will be the battle royale by that is sure to ensue between the two Democratic nominees. Although both Democrats have at times openly opposed former Governor Blagojevich, both candidates will have plenty of opportunities to tout...

It is easy for me, now 25, to imagine what a twenty-something forty years ago must have been feeling. Concern over a war raging abroad, dire economic conditions at home, and the role of government in a young person’s life always lingering. The U.S. was undergoing a societal, political, and cultural transformation during which the baby boomers, the young generation of the day, were at ground zero. Unhappy with the "establishment" and "the man" to whom they held responsible for their woes, they started a movement. With so many parallels to choose from in the problems facing our generation, we...

Finance ministers are now simply papering over cracks having squandered the opportunity to make real changes to the way the world economy works. There is a hideous hissing noise escaping from the world economy, the piercing sound of deflating ambitions. Any hopes that, in this crisis, we would find an opportunity to redesign our system of capitalism and finance are all but forlorn. Any prospect that the leading nations would overhaul either the banking system or the wider framework that ties our economies together, and so prevent another crisis, has pretty much disappeared. We know this because, this weekend, finance...

The Obama administration is setting a dangerous new precedent in American politics next week when the President carries out his plans to target the school aged children of this nation in a Presidential address. As parents, we have an obligation to first and foremost protect our children, and part of the protection is to prevent them from the challenges and issues that plague adults for as long as possible. I cannot deny that I am more than interested to see first-hand what the President's speech will encompass on September 8th, but at the same time I will make sure that...

In order that we might all raise the level of discourse and expand our language abilities, here is the daily post of "Word for the Day".doppelganger \ˈdä-pəl-ˌgaŋ-ər, -ˌgeŋ-, ˌdä-pəl-ˈ\ • noun 1 : a ghostly counterpart of a living person2 a : double b : alter ego c : a person who has the same name as another Example sentence: If anyone watches Monk, they know Randy was fixated on the doppelganger phenomena when he saw a picture of Frankie DePalma. Etymology: German Doppelgänger, from doppel- double + -gänger goer The sentence must, in some way, relate to the...

In his article, "How to Argue with (Guilty) Liberals," Carey Roberts wrote, "Like a demanding and ill-mannered child, liberals are used to getting their way. Whenever they lapse into the losing side of an argument, they reflexively resort to name-calling and mud-slinging. Epithets like "neo-Nazi," "crypto-fascist," and "imperialist stooge" buzz like mosquitoes hovering over a Potomac swamp. But how many conservatives who are targets of such slurs know these liberals are indulging in one of the greatest intellectual ruses in history? How many realize it's a matter of the red-faced pot calling the kettle black?" (http://www.chronwatch-america.com/5457/1/How-to-Argue-With-a-Guilty-Liberal/Page1.html) In response to Carey's...

If we're lucky, the recession is winding down, and life will start to feel a bit more comfortable before long. But that doesn't mean things will go back to the way they used to be. The global recession that began in America's housing market has shaken the world's economic order and possibly knocked the United States down a notch or two. The spendthrift American consumer is out of money. American wages are flat. Despite some hopeful signs, the U.S. economy could muddle along for years. Meanwhile, actions in China—rather than the United States—may have been the initial trigger for a...

The Great Clunker Con proved one thing, at least: New cars are too expensive for a growing number of consumers. But chop $4,500 or so off the price and all of a sudden buyers are a lot more interested. The problem is the interest (and sales) could only last as long as the payola continued to flow. Taking money from Taxpayer A to help Taxpayer B get behind the wheel of a brand-new car is ultimately just another government transfer payment scheme. Now that the handouts are finished with, sales will almost certainly recede to where they were.

As it is in Heaven Today's Scripture "Your kingdom come, Your will be done on earth as it is in heaven" (Matthew 6:10, NIV) Today's Word from Joel and Victoria God longs to give you a glimpse of heaven while you are here on earth. He wants to show you His wonderful plan and bring it to pass in your life. Have you ever thought about how God's will is accomplished in heaven? In heaven, God's will is automatic. There are no opposing forces of darkness or anything that can come against His will. On earth, His will is...

Charlie Rangel's "forgetfulness" is apparently contagious. Two of his top aides are among about a dozen highly paid staffers on the powerful tax-writing Ways and Means Committee who have filed a flurry of amendments correcting their financial-disclosure statements since 2002. Jim Capel, chief of staff for Rangel's personal office, failed to file any such statements for six years. On the afternoon of July 14, Capel filed five years' worth of delinquent reports.

It has been my contention for the past decade that when it comes to politics, as Florida goes, so goes the nation. Think about the 2008 presidential election. First, following the CNN-YouTube debate, the last major Republican debate to be held before the Iowa caucus, our firm polled Floridians for the Florida Chamber of Commerce. We asked respondents who won the debate. A then-unknown candidate was the clear winner, and the boost he received in Florida gave Mike Huckabee a win in Iowa just over a month later. The tipping point in the Republican presidential contest was Florida Gov. Charlie...

As much as I have disagreed with the policies and apparent beliefs of President Obama, I have tried to keep my opposition civil and free from claims that Obama was actually born in Kenya or was a secret Muslim even though I have received hundreds of e-mails attesting to both of these assertions. My blogs on Obama’s missing birth certificate and the hidden records of his early years and school experiences have focused on the bizarre aspect of his continuing secrecy in these matters. What is he hiding? Today, however I find myself in a state of such anger over...

Pouring Out the Water of Satisfaction "He would not drink it, but poured it out to the Lord" —2 Samuel 23:16 What has been like "water from the well of Bethlehem" to you recently— love, friendship, or maybe some spiritual blessing (  2 Samuel 23:16 )? Have you taken whatever it may be, even at the risk of damaging your own soul, simply to satisfy yourself? If you have, then you cannot pour it out "to the Lord." You can never set apart for God something that you desire for yourself to achieve your own satisfaction. If you try...

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Since the emergence of the H1N1 flu in April of this year, and its classification in June by the World Health Organization as a global pandemic, I have been dreading the fall. As the mother of two elementary school children, fall is not only the back-to-school season, but also the virus-spreading season. The first year our oldest child was in childcare, she rarely became ill, but my husband was sick for about nine months. It seemed that, as soon as he became well, he would catch something else. The good news is that he acquired immunities to the various childhood...

Biden: Stimulus doing more `than we had hoped' Vice President Joe Biden will claim Thursday that the $787 billion stimulus plan "is doing more, faster, more efficiently and more effectively than we had hoped." In a speech planned to mark the 200-day mark since the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act took effect, Biden will say that $62.5 billion in tax cuts have been delivered, $1.9 billion in contracts have been awarded to small businesses, and more than 10,000 transportation projects have been approved. In many areas, he'll say that work has exceeded goals:

As President Obama prepares to talk health care reform on Sept. 9 at a joint session of Congress, he is being warned by several of his own allies not to walk away from a government insurance option. "Why would the White House step away from something that is going to weaken their side and that isn't going to pick up a single vote on the other side?" asked Richard Kirsch, the national campaign manager of Health Care for America Now, in an interview with ABC News. Some of Obama's progressive allies are questioning whether the president is preparing to back...