Palin Speaks Out Against Evils of Socialized Medicine -

Read and mull over the following excerpt about Palin in the NY Daily News Today, Friends. My experience in politics is that when Obama says, “It ain’t so.” it probably is. Troubling, but it might be more entertaining to watch on government tv than the zoning variance hearings, etc. where folks are pleading for a heart operation rather than a variance on their lot setback line.

FROM THE STORY….”In a Facebook posting, the former GOP vice presidential candidate claimed that Obama’s scheme will create a “death panel” promoting euthanasia.

“The America I know and love is not one in which my parents or my baby with Down Syndrome will have to stand in front of Obama’s ‘death panel’ so his bureaucrats can decide, based on a subjective judgment of their ‘level of productivity in society,’ whether they are worthy of health care,” she wrote.

“Such a system is downright evil.”

And downright fictional, according to Obama, who said “political point-scorers” are spreading misleading information in an attempt to torpedo reform.

“Let me start by dispelling the outlandish rumors that reform will promote euthanasia, cut Medicaid, or bring about a government takeover of health care,” Obama said.

“That’s simply not true.”

The euthanasia rumor has been circulating for weeks, apparently based on a provision of the House of Representatives bill that would require Medicare to pay for end-of-life counseling sessions, on a voluntary basis.

During a town hall meeting last month, Obama said the Internet-based chatter about the provision was false.
“Nobody is going to be forcing you to make a set of decisions on end-of-life care based on some bureaucratic law in Washington,” he said ‘
Read more: http://www.nydailynews.com/news/politics/2009/08/08/2009-08-08_sarah_palin_facebook_posting_claims_obama_health_care_would_create_a_death_panel.html#ixzz0NbOIgWPi

Other stories of interest today:

 1.         Democratic Leaders Blast Americans Who Oppose Health Care

            Pelosi said “they’re carrying swastikas” (RCP).  Ma’am Boxer called them “well dressed people” out to “hurt President Obama” (YouTube).  The White House is joining in on the craziness, asking supporters to report “fishy” information on their political enemies (FOX News).  The LA Times did a story on how many Democrats see the events as “staged.”  The story insists “Much of the fiercest opposition has been fanned by talk radio and conservative advocacy groups” (LA Times).  One Democrat admitted “We have to be careful we don’t just jump to the conclusion and label every bit of opposition above a certain decibel level as organized and contrived” (Washington Post).  Unable to deal with live voters, Democrats are now looking at virtual town halls (CNS News).  They seek a controlled environment with questions they can handle (Washington Times).  This as the public continues to drift away from approval of Obamacare (Reuters).  And they’re drifting away from approval of Obama (WSJ).  From Victor Davis Hanson:  In response, Obama and the technocrats around him insist they know better than the average voter what is in America’s long-term environmental, health, educational and financial interests. So they’re rushing to save us from ourselves by planning all sorts of legislation that would change our lifestyles (RCP).  From Karl Rove:  President Barack Obama is no longer shaping the public dialogue on health-care reform. Instead, he is losing control of his agenda and resorting to rhetorical tricks and evasions (WSJ). From Michael Barone:  Most people in the rest of the world are free riders on the productivity and ingenuity of the American military and American medicine. They get the benefits of American military protection and American medical innovation without paying, or without paying in full, for them (Townhall).  CBS News listed ten “myths” about Health Care Reform – but leaned left.  The story includes this note:  the House Energy and Commerce Committee on Thursday adopted an amendment, proposed by Rep. Lois Capps (D-Calif.), that would prohibit taxpayer dollars from funding abortions (CBS News).  But Douglas Johnson, legislative director for National Right to Life noted “It’s a bookkeeping scheme. The plan pays for abortion, and the government subsidizes the plan.” (AP)  The story also neglects to note Lois Capps is staunchly pro-abortion.

 

John A. Boehner, 202 225-6205

Blue Dog Dem Mike Ross, 202 225-3772

Congressional Budget Office, 202 226-2600 

Heritage Foundation, 202 608-1544 

Senator Jeff Sessions, 205 731-1500  

Karl Rove, Karl@Rove.com

American Medical Association, 800 621-8335 

National Federation of Independent Business, 800 634-2669

Congressman Mark Kirk, 202 225-4835

Congressman Mike Pence, 202 226-4379

Cato Institute, 202 789-5200

Harry Reid, 775 882-7343 

Congresswoman Nancy Pelosi, 202 225-4965

Ma’am Boxer, 202 224-3553

2.         Cash for Clunkers Kills Auto Donations for Poor

            From the story:  Charities can offer a tax write-off as little as $500 next spring. But that just can’t compete with the program handing car buyers rebates of between $3,500 and $4,500 for trading in their gas-guzzlers for new, higher-mileage models (FOX News).  Meanwhile, the Senate reached a deal to continue cash for clunkers (AP). 

 3.         Tough Times:  Congress Spends $200 Million on New Jets for Themselves

            Somehow, this story was virtually ignored by the MSM (Roll Call).  Remember how congress ripped CEO’s of the auto industry for flying in private jets?  NY Democrat Gary Ackerman asked them “Couldn’t you have downgraded to first class or something, or jet-pooled or something to get here?” (WSJ). 

 

 

Courtesy of SALEM NATIONAL NEWS AND PUBLIC AFFAIRS and TOWNHALL.COM

 

 

 

Aspen’s thin air is working on Dan Rather…..

Dan Rather Calls on Obama to Save Democracy by Rescuing Drive-by Media From the article: “I personally encourage the president to establish a White House commission on public media,” the legendary newsman said. Such a commission on media reform, Rather said, ought to make recommendations on saving journalism jobs and creating new business models to keep news organizations alive. At stake, he argued, is the very survival of American democracy.  Aspen Daily News

What the heck? 

Stimulus Helps Fund Gay Porn  Somehow, millions of dollars went to the National Endowment for the Arts.  And, as usual, they used funds to help pump up disgusting stuff they call “art.”  From the story:  “Our review process is very comprehensive — we take great care with applicants and with grantees,” said NEA spokeswoman Victoria Hutter. “It’s a thorough, rigorous process that they all go through, and we’re proud of the projects that we’ve been able to support.”  Victoria is proud of Thundercrack, “the world’s only underground kinky art porno horror film, complete with four men, three women and a gorilla” (FOX News).  A video report of the mess (Breitbart). 

Holy Cow – I missed it!  Anybody interested in a 2001 Mustang convertible with 103,000 miles? How about clunker boats?

Cash for Clunkers Eats All $1 Billion in a Week  So, of course, the White House is looking to spend more.  As though they have it.    CBS News

If you think healthcare is expensive now, wait until it’s free…….

The Health Care Takeover Struggles to Answer Simple Questions

            Like how many people forced to get coverage will be able to afford it (NY Times).  From the Weekly Standard:  President Obama’s strategy to pass sweeping health care legislation rested on stealth and speed. The idea was to fill the conversation for months on end with vague talk about expanding coverage, “bending the cost-curve,” improving quality, and rooting out waste, without showing the public how the plan would actually work or what it would cost. Legislation, meanwhile, would be composed behind closed doors, and the bills would be introduced as close as possible to when they might come up for a vote to minimize the time in which they could actually be read and thought about by those who would vote on them and those who would live under them. By the time the details emerged, maybe momentum and being “closer than ever before” would be enough to overcome the torrent of objections that were sure to be raised when people got a real look at the nuts and bolts (Weekly Standard).  From the Wall Street Journal:  Under the system Democrats are trying to ram through Congress, these case-by-case choices, currently made between patients and care-givers, will gradually be replaced by rigid government schemes. “Part of what we want to do is to make sure that those decisions are being made by doctors and medical experts based on evidence, based on what works—because that’s not how it’s working right now,” Mr. Obama said. We await the President’s evidence that the nation’s pediatricians are striking it rich with unnecessary tonsillectomies (WSJ).  The very controlling Democrats don’t even want Republicans to be able to call this “government-run” healthcare (CNS News).  Texas governor Rick Perry said “I think you’ll hear states and governors standing up and saying ‘no’ to this type of encroachment on the states with their healthcare” (Star-Telegram).

Courtesy of Salem National Radio News

Worth the Click: If you would like to read what those in the Middle East are reading in their media, you should check out the intriguing reading at the Middle East Media Research Institute website:  http://www.memri.org/

If you can decipher what Secretary Clinton is saying about our position as a country, let me know. “…if the U.S. extends a defense umbrella over the region, if we do even more to support the military capacity of those in the Gulf, it’s unlikely that Iran will be any stronger or safer because they won’t be able to intimidate and dominate as they apparently believe they can once they have a nuclear weapon.”   Boston Globe

What the heck? Report:  Iranian Prison Guards Wed, Rape then Execute Girls  In the Islamic Republic it is illegal to execute a young woman, regardless of her crime, if she is a virgin, he explained. Therefore a “wedding” ceremony is conducted the night before the execution: The young girl is forced to have sexual intercourse with a prison guard - essentially raped by her “husband.”  “I regret that, even though the marriages were legal,” he said.  Jerusalem Post

More of the same? Ahmadinejad Vows to “Bring Down” West   Obama’s lack of meddling didn’t help after all (Reuters).  Meanwhile, Israel sent two warships to the Red Sea (Telegraph).  And The Stoning movie has seen positive reviews as it exposes the violence against women in Iran (BoxOfficeMojo).

Friends, the 4th of July weekend is a good time to contemplate the fiercely independent individuals who founded our country and ask where they’ve gone. I am sad for a country where many if not most of its people look to the government (others) for their needs. The allure of socialism is strong but requires the surrender of individualism. After WWII F. Heyek, an Austrian economist predicted that many of the world economies were on  ’the road to serfdom’  - Here’s a link to the illustrated guide to the Road to Serfdom - a little melodramatic, but worth reading - check it out.

From Salem National News and Townhall.com…..

Has Obama Turned on Israel?   Many American supporters of Israel who voted for Barack Obama now suspect they may have been victims of a bait and switch. Jewish Americans voted overwhelmingly for Mr. Obama over John McCain in part because the Obama campaign went to great lengths to assure these voters that a President Obama would be supportive of Israel. This despite his friendships with rabidly anti-Israel characters like Rev. Jeremiah Wright and historian Rashid Khalidi.     WSJ

Energy Bill Based upon Faulty Science  From the story:  Catastrophic sea levels, floods in lower Manhattan, California beaches permanently submerged. Ferocious hurricanes. Droughts. Food shortages, epidemic diseases, a quadrupling of heat-wave deaths. Aged sewer systems convulsing from massive storm runoff. Polar bears disappearing from the Arctic. It may be the most flagrant attempted con job in U.S. history (IBD).  Obama warned against a protectionist measure in the bill.  The story notes “The provision was pushed as a way to keep the U.S. competitive with other countries that haven’t imposed rules to reduce carbon emissions and promote clean energy” (FOX News).  The Democrats consider what could be the largest tax increase ever as the economy is still struggling (Reuters).  Some immigrants have gone from sending money back home to requesting money from back home (AP). 

Health Care Lies Five noted in this story (Forbes).  Meanwhile, Wal-Mart, wanting to level the playing field, expressed support for Obama’s plan to force employers to pay for health insurance (WSJ).   Another story claims Wal-Mart was caught in a lie supporting the plan (Business Insider). 

Iran Hanging Dissenters:  From the story:  As the Iranian authorities warned the opposition on Tuesday that they would tolerate no further protests over the disputed June 12 presidential elections, a report emerged of the hangings of six supporters of defeated candidate Mir Hossein Mousavi (Jerusalem Post).  Ahmadinejad declared “The enemies were not able to reach their objectives for the soft overthrow of the system” (LA Times). 

George Will:  The Country Will Regret Health Care Reform.  From the story:  The American Spectator, says that in 1960 the average American household spent 53 percent of its disposable income on food, housing, energy and health care. Today the portion of income consumed by those four has barely changed — 55 percent. But the health care component has increased while the other three combined have decreased. This is partly because as societies become richer, they spend more on health care — and symphonies, universities, museums, etc. It is also because health care is increasingly competent. When the first baby boomers, whose aging is driving health care spending, were born in 1946, many American hospitals’ principal expense was clean linen. This was long before MRIs, CAT scans and the rest of the diagnostic and therapeutic arsenal that modern medicine deploys.   Townhall

As Firefighters Vindicated, Spotlight on Sotomayor  As the story notes, the 20 firefighters — 19 white and one Hispanic – “sued the city of New Haven, Conn., arguing that they were discriminated against when the city threw out the results of a promotion test after too few minority firefighters scored high” (FOX News).  From George Will:  Although New Haven’s firefighters deservedly won in the Supreme Court, it is deeply depressing that they won narrowly — 5-4.  The egregious behavior by that city’s government, in a context of racial rabble-rousing, did not seem legally suspect to even one of the court’s four liberals, whose harmony seemed to reflect result-oriented rather than law-driven reasoning (Townhall).  From Investor’s Business Daily:  Thanks to the court’s ruling Monday in Ricci v. DeStefano, all the YouTube video clips from Judge Sotomayor’s old speeches and conferences take on a clearer meaning now.  Her claims that she was cheated when she took the racially skewed SATs, her contention that a Latina judge is morally superior to a white male judge, her mock sotto-voce declaration that appellate courts make policy — they have all been distilled and disposed of in one shot by the high court majority (IBD).  Text of the opinion (Supreme Court).

1.         Cap and Trade Potential Largest Tax in History

            With no intent to help the economy.  From the story on the so-called Climate Bill:  The whole point of cap and trade is to hike the price of electricity and gas so that Americans will use less. These higher prices will show up not just in electricity bills or at the gas station but in every manufactured good, from food to cars. Consumers will cut back on spending, which in turn will cut back on production, which results in fewer jobs created or higher unemployment. Some companies will instead move their operations overseas, with the same result. Later in the story:  Even as Democrats have promised that this cap-and-trade legislation won’t pinch wallets, behind the scenes they’ve acknowledged the energy price tsunami that is coming. During the brief few days in which the bill was debated in the House Energy Committee, Republicans offered three amendments: one to suspend the program if gas hit $5 a gallon; one to suspend the program if electricity prices rose 10% over 2009; and one to suspend the program if unemployment rates hit 15%. Democrats defeated all of them. (WSJ).  From another story:  Among the many reasons President Barack Obama and the Democratic majority are so intent on quickly jamming a cap-and-trade system through Congress is because the global warming tide is again shifting. It turns out Al Gore and the United Nations (with an assist from the media), did a little too vociferous a job smearing anyone who disagreed with them as “deniers.” The backlash has brought the scientific debate roaring back to life in Australia, Europe, Japan and even, if less reported, the U.S (WSJ).  One group is trying to get congressmen to at least read the thing before they vote (CBS News).  Democrats aren’t certain they have the votes needed to pass it (AP).  From the Denver Post:  Even supporters of this complex system acknowledge that the measure relies far too much on clean-energy technology break-throughs that remains only theoretical (Denver Post). 

2          Obama Threatens First Veto Over Fighter Jet Funding, Ignores Pork

            You’d think he’d have trouble with the pork congressman have tacked on to the defense authorization bill.  Nope.  Just those pesky F-22’s.            Reuters

3.         Health Care Takeover

            Ironically, making it sound as if the fed is saving you from high costs (FOX News).  The transcript (CBS News). His plan includes fines for those who don’t purchase health care – breaking a campaign promise.  Most politicians would be accused of lying.  ABC News gives him credit for “evolving” (ABC News).  From Larry Kudlow:  If it’s really to cover the truly uninsured, a much cheaper, targeted, small-ball approach would do the trick. But on the other hand, maybe the real goal is a larger, ultra-liberal plan aimed at a government takeover of the U.S. health system.  Later:  …we can give the truly uninsured vouchers or debit cards that will allow for choice and coverage, and even health savings accounts for retirement wealth. According to expert Betsy McCaughey, rather than several trillion dollars and socialized medicine, this voucher approach would cost only $25 billion a year — with no socialized medicine (Townhall).  Meanwhile, as Republicans criticized ABC News for the upcoming Obamacare ABC News Infomercial, ABC News shot back: “we are proud to work for a network and a company willing to devote valuable airtime to serious consideration of a subject so worthy.”  An admission that they are siding with the president on how important his agenda is (ABC News).  Meanwhile, the networks see an all-time low in viewers of their newscasts (Media Bistro). 

4.         “Global Warming” Bill

            From Steven Milloy, the founder and publisher of JunkScience.com and author of Green Hell:  Waxman-Markey is fundamentally anti-economic growth in nature. If you don’t yet grasp the significance of national economic growth, just look around at the recession we and the rest of the world are now enduring. Waxman-Markey would be a permanent clampdown on economic growth. The bill does this by making energy, the life blood of our economy, much more expensive and scarce (Human Events).  Another story notes Warren Buffett “repeated his criticism of “cap and trade” as a method to control pollution, saying it would be a huge, regressive tax” (CNBC).  A look at how poorly a similar program has played out in Spain (Townhall).  Nancy Pelosi stands to gain financially from the bill (Washington Examiner). 

5.         Obama Closes Door on Openness

            The rather short story begins:  As a senator, Barack Obama denounced the Bush administration for holding “secret energy meetings” with oil executives at the White House. But last week public-interest groups were dismayed when his own administration rejected a Freedom of Information Act request for Secret Service logs showing the identities of coal executives who had visited the White House to discuss Obama’s “clean coal” policies (Newsweek).  Meanwhile, the firing of AmeriCorps Inspector General Gerald Walpin continues to dog Obama (Washington Times).  From Michael Barone:  While promising a politics of mutual respect, he peppers both his speeches and impromptu responses with jabs at his predecessor. Basking in the adulation of nearly the entire press corps, he whines about his coverage on Fox News. Those who stand in the way, like the Chrysler secured creditors, are told that their reputations will be destroyed. Those who expose wrongdoing by political allies, like the AmeriCorps inspector general, are fired (Townhall). 

Dear old Dad would just shake his head at some of this, well,…………nonsense:

 From Salem National News and Townhall.com :

1.         Happy Father’s Day! Gutsy Book for Father’s Day:  What He Must Be. . . If He Wants to Marry My   Daughter.  In the no-nonsense book, Pastor Voddie Baucham explains, among other things, why he is against traditional dating (Christian Post).  A clip of Baucham on CNN regarding Sarah Palin and Obama.  He’s a very conservative articulate black pastor who is called “sexist” by the CNN reporter (CNN). 

 2.         Where does this line form? LA Looks at Paying Parents to Care for Their Own Children.  Will they then include them among the employed?  Do they get to form a union? (LA Times). 

 3.         If you can’t earn respect……Boxer Demands Brigadier General Call Her “Senator” In a bold display of ego, the California senator said “You know, do me a favor.  Could say ’senator’ instead of ‘ma’am?’  It’s just a thing, I worked so hard to get that title, so I’d appreciate it.”  The story notes military protocol advises that officers may use “sir” or “ma’am” when addressing anybody higher than them on the chain of command.  But Boxer looks so far down her nose at military, that wasn’t good enough (FOX News).  The must-see video (Politics Daily). While Sikhs Demand US Military Change Policy on Turbans and Beards   Sikh Coalition executive director Amardeep Singh said “Our country’s military needs to reflect what America is right now. It’s a diverse country, it’s a country that puts forth for the rest of the world the values of liberty, particularly religious liberty.”  Later in the story he said it “will send a very strong message to the rest of the world that we are who we say we are.”           FOX News

5.        The winds of war….. Christian Conservatives Battle Hate-Crimes Law.  From the story:  …a number of Christian conservatives have raised fears that pastors would be prosecuted for inciting hate crimes if they had preached against homosexuality, despite assurances that the law only targets physical violence.  “All violent crime is hate crime,” said Tom McClusky, vice president for government affairs at Family Research Council here in the capital. “What drives an individual to commit a violent crime but hate for their victim?”   USA Today  While Company Sued Over WWJD on Letter. It was called “offensive” and “harassing.”   Standard News Wire

6.        Who needs missile defense? U.S. Moves to Protect Hawaii from North Korea   You mean, like the Obama-rejected missile defense?  The story also notes “The U.S. military is tracking a ship from North Korea that may be carrying illicit weapons” (AP).  From another story on the ship:  The apparent violation raises the question of how the United States and its allies will respond, particularly since the U.N. resolution does not have a lot of teeth to it (FOX News).  Senator DeMint argues it’s time to put North Korea back on the terror list (Washington Times). 

 7.         Saw it coming…..Next in Line:  Polyamorists Seek Right to Marry.   Exactly why the agenda-drive media needs to call traditional marriage laws what they are and stop calling them “anti-gay marriage.”  Remarkably, even in THIS VERY STORY, ABC News reverts back to the sloppy journalism with this sentence:  This nascent and as yet small effort to legalize group marriage is likely to enrage conservative religious groups that upheld Proposition 8, California’s ban on gay marriage.  “Gay marriage,” I note once again, is never mentioned in Prop 8.  The actual text:  “Only marriage between a man and a woman is valid and recognized in California.”    ABC News

 8.         Road to serfdom…..Obama Health Care Cost Likely to Rise, Not Cover Everyone After All  Congressional Budget Office estimated that the cost of the Kennedy-Dodd health care bill would run to at least $1.6 trillion over 10 years and that it would cover just one-third of the so-called “uninsured” (WSJ).  Obama’s own doctor is blasting his plan (Forbes)

9.         We are anesthetized….Store Clerk Shot and Killed, Customers Keep Shopping.  In a time when heroes are few, in this story we see heartless cowards.  From the story:  When asked what he finds most disturbing about the surveillance footage, Titus said, “The fact that people went in and out of the store and didn’t call police. There is a man laying there. Nobody thinks to dial 911 or check to see if he’s OK or anything.”    CBS Chicago

10.        Jimmy, Jimmy…Report:  Carter Wants Hamas Off Terrorist List.   From the story:  The White House is livid with Carter, according to an experienced Middle East expert who was quoted on the website of the widely respected Foreign Policy magazine. “They are very pissed,” he said. “Just like with President Clinton, Carter is becoming a huge problem and a growing concern for Obama” (Israel National News).  Meanwhile, from the Jerusalem Post:  Obama’s loyalties, and those of the majority of liberal American Jewry, don’t lie with Israel. So Israel needs to shop for another ally (Jerusalem Post). 

 11.         I thought Obama had studied Reagan…Obama Cuts Missile Defense.     From the story:  Lawmakers are demanding to know why the president’s proposed 2010 defense budget cuts missile defense by $1.2 billion and does not provide any funds for the European missile defense shield as Iran and North Korea defy the international community with missile testing (FOX News).  This comes just as another story notes “North Korea’s missiles could threaten the continental United States if the reclusive rogue nation continues to develop its weapons” (AP). 

 13.       Nobody is watching…. Letterman Apologizes to Palin   From the apology:  “…the joke really, in and of itself, can’t be defended.”  Later:  “So I would like to apologize, especially to the two daughters involved, Bristol and Willow, and also to the governor and her family and everybody else who was outraged by the joke. I’m sorry about it and I’ll try to do better in the future.”  Video included.    RCP 

13.        How many unflinching conservatives? Nearly Twice as Many People Identify as Conservative Rather than Liberal  40 percent to 21 percent.  35 percent say they are moderate.   Gallup

1. Paper of Plastic? UN Environment Chief: Get Rid of Plastic Bags. In typical UN control-the-world hyperbole, he said the bags “should be banned or phased out rapidly everywhere. There is simply zero justification for manufacturing them anymore, anywhere.”    McClatchy

2. Get your pay raise at the drivers license office? Obama Administration Looks at Controlling Pay at Private Companies.  From the story:  The new pay limits betray once again that Washington’s dominant impulse today is leveling and redistribution: Put caps on success, raise taxes on what you can’t cap, and then give the money to someone else. None of this will encourage the entrepreneurial spirits we need for a buoyant economic recovery (WSJ).  Barney Frank cut short an interview on the topic (YouTube). 

3.  Who’s afraid of the big bad wolf? Proctor and Gamble Former VP Sends Open Letter to Obama.  With a list of “you scare me because.”  He originally sent it to the New York Times but they ignored it.     Snopes

4. Make my day! Female Business Owners Arming Themselves.  One said “At the beginning, firing a gun was terrifying.  When I first started I couldn’t stop shaking.  But after your first few times, you look forward to coming in.”    WPTV

 5. I’m shocked. Obama Jobs Claim Exposed as Phony. Yet the media pretend it all makes sense (WSJ).  Another story notes “For the first time, the administration admitted the economic forecasts it used to sell the stimulus were overly optimistic” (AP).  Another story claims “Friday’s news that the official unemployment rate is now at a 26-year high of 9.4% is actually a rosy spin on what is really happening” (Money).  And from another:  Senior Chinese leaders have privately voiced fear over the soaring US budget deficit and are increasingly looking to diversify from the dollar, a Republican congressman said.  That Republican congressman is Mark Kirk of Illinois (AFP).  Suddenly high gas prices aren’t helping (NY Times). 

6. Get your healthcare at the post office? Health Care Battle Heats Up.   As Democrats are battling themselves on many of the issues (WSJ).

7. Wait a minute! Health Care Plan Would Require Employers to Pay or Face Penalty.    From the story:  All Americans would be guaranteed health insurance - under a draft bill circulated Friday by Sen. Edward M. Kennedy’s health committee (AP).  The Democrats are working on a massive grass roots effort to create public support (CNN).  From Hugh Hewitt:  If doctors were to demand a stop to the “government option,” it would quickly disappear, but the AMA has been silent, and doctors are too often too busy to even notice the steamroller headed their way (Townhall).  A Poll shows Americans want the deficit cut more than they want health care reform (Rasmussen). 

8. Docs are always too little too late: American Medical Association to Oppose Obama Health Plan. From the story:  While committed to the goal of affordable health insurance for all, the association had said in a general statement of principles that health services should be “provided through private markets, as they are currently.” It is now reacting, for the first time, to specific legislative proposals being drafted by Congress.  From the AMA statement:  The introduction of a new public plan threatens to restrict patient choice by driving out private insurers, which currently provide coverage for nearly 70 percent of Americans (NY Times).  A doctor helping Republicans develop a reasonable plan explains why Obama’s is a disaster (US News).  Karl Rove explains how Republicans can win the health care argument (WSJ).  From Michael Barone:  The blunt fact is that most Americans are satisfied with their health insurance and don’t believe major legislation will improve things for them. This gives opponents of the Democrats’ rush to legislate a strong talking point (Townhall).  Democrats have a plan to increase taxes to help pay for the massive costs (USA Today).  From Hugh Hewitt:  What most Americans with insurance don’t seem to realize is that many if not most of their employers will quickly dump them into a government-run plan as a way to limit health care costs and increase profits.  Even teachers and other public employees are going to wake up to find that their districts, cities, counties and states have off-loaded their expensive, gold-plated plans into the “government option” (Townhall). 

9. Maybe not. Doctors Form Group to Fight National Health Care. With the mission statement:  We are an organization of concerned physicians committed to the establishment of a health care system that preserves the sanctity of the doctor-patient relationship, promotes quality of care, supports affordable access to all Americans, and protects patients’ freedom of choice (Docs4PatientCare).  Hugh Hewitt notes “If the more than three-quarter of a million doctors actually began to demand the sorts of reform that befits the delivery of medical services, they could have an enormous impact on the debate that is beginning in earnest this month” (Washington Examiner). 

10. Oink Oink! Congress Finding Ways to Use Stimulus for Home Town Pork.  From the story:  “This is really subverting the intent of the legislation, when members call an agency and say, ‘Fund my project,’ ” says Thomas Schatz of the non-partisan Citizens Against Government Waste. “Especially if it’s an appropriations committee member that’s in charge of the agency’s budget, it’s likely the agency will accede to that request” (USA Today).  This, as much of the money is spent without transparency (Washington Times).  Meanwhile, Obama is suddenly telling Democrats to ease up on spending (Reuters).  But not when it comes to his high-priced health care plan (AP).  Democrats are working to jam the legislation through while “omitting most details on plans for raising more than $1 trillion needed to cover costs” (NY Times).  The unrelated provisions have slowed the bill down, especially for the IMF because Republicans have argued the extra items should be vetted through the normal congressional process rather than jammed into an emergency spending bill.  Reuters

 11. Does this include AlGore? Odd Claim:  200 Million People will be “Displaced” due to Climate Change.  And the radical environmentalists at the UN are using this number-out-of-a-hat to push their agenda (CNN).  Michael Barone called global warming alarmism “a kind of religion, complete with its own versions of sin, repentance, atonement, ritual (kids go through recycling drills) and indulgence (purchase carbon offsets to compensate for your private jet travel)” (Washington Examiner).  Regarding a bill Democrats are pushing through congress, Jonah Goldberg notes “the government would sell or give away waivers — call them ration cards — for carbon emissions, worth tens of billions of dollars. The system is destined to become politicized. Waivers will be granted to favored industries and donors in states with political clout” (Townhall). 

12. No Duh! Teens Who Stay Up Late More Likely to be Depressed.   From the story:  Middle- and high-schoolers whose parents don’t require them to be in bed before midnight on school nights are 42% more likely to be depressed than teens whose parents require a 10 p.m. or earlier bedtime. And teens who are allowed to stay up late are 30% more likely to have had suicidal thoughts in the past year. USA Today

13. Sadly. Poll:  Nobody Speaks for GOP.   Most people couldn’t name a leader.  Those who did cited Limbaugh, Gingrich and Cheney.   USA Today

Here are a number of talking points generated by the folks at Townhall.com this week for your Saturday morning reading pleasure……Johnnie Byrd

From Salem National News on May 28, 2009. For more information go to Townhall.com on the web and listen to WGUL 860 Tampa - political talk “where your opinion counts”. 

June 5, 2009

1.         Analysis of Obama’s Speech

            One story notes “In an apparent policy shift, President Obama on Thursday invited Hamas — a designated terror organization — to “play a role” in the future of the Palestinian people” (FOX News).  From Hugh Hewitt:  The world is the worse for this speech because it was not honest about the situation in the Middle East, not honest about the threat from Iran, not honest about Israel’s deep desire to be allowed to live in peace, and not honest about the determination of Hamas, Hezbollah and Iran to destroy Israel and to gain the weapons necessary to do so in an instant (Townhall).  From David Frum:  …he exhibited the amazing spectacle of an American president taking an equidistant position between the country he leads and its detractors and enemies. It is as if he saw himself as a judge in some legal dispute, People of the Islamic World v. United States. But the job to which he was elected was not that of impartial judge, but that of leader and champion of the American nation.  The president said: “I consider it part of my responsibility as President of the United States to fight against negative stereotypes of Islam wherever they appear. But that same principle must apply to Muslim perceptions of America. Just as Muslims do not fit a crude stereotype, America is not the crude stereotype of a self-interested empire.”  The same principle? Shouldn’t an American president feel an attachment to his own country above all? Shouldn’t misrepresentations aimed against that country energize him more? (New Majority).  A look at areas where Obama sounded like Bush (WSJ/Washington Times). 

2.         Sotomayor’s “Wise Latina” Remark Not Isolated

            Completely contradicting President’s Obama’s claim (AP).  The story (FOX News).  Meanwhile, proof she was a member of La Raza (The Hill). 

3.         Government Accounts for One of Six Dollars of Income

            The story notes it is “the highest percentage since the government began compiling records in 1929” (USA Today).  Meanwhile, Republicans have offered a plan to cut $23 billion in spending (Washington Examiner). 

4.         Microsoft:  Obama Taxes Could Force Microsoft Jobs Overseas

            More trouble as the president grows the government at the expense of business and jobs (Bloomberg).  And Democrats are now eyeing the web to help support their spending addiction (IBD). 

5.         FOX Reality Show to Arrange Marriages

            Where producers help chose the spouse and “brides-to-be don’t meet their husbands until they exchange vows.”  Marriage continues to become a superficial gag for entertainment.

            THR Feed

6.         San Diego Apologies for Stopping Bible Study

            The nonsense, for now, has stopped.

            Catholic

7.         France Reality Shows Now Forced to Pay Contestants

            Amazing sentence from the story:  The employment contracts will include “overtime, holidays, and even damages for wrongful dismissal should a contestant be eliminated from the show.”

            Daily Mail

8.         Secret Weapon Against Smoking Ban:  The Unions

            As a Pennsylvania ban is overturned after a union objection.

            FOX News

9.         Court Tells SC Gov:  You Must Take Stimulus Money

            Gov. Mark Sanford said “This decision is terrible news for every taxpayer in South Carolina, and even more so for future taxpayers who will ultimately bear the responsibility of paying for this so-called ’stimulus’ without seeing any benefit from it.”            CNN

June 4, 2009

1.         Obama Speaks to Muslims:  “As the Holy Koran Tells Us”

            According to this story, Obama is suddenly citing Muslim roots “as a tool for encouraging more moderate elements of Islamic society to rise up and ally with the United States” (FOX News).  USA Today had a live blog (USA Today).  Transcript (CBS News).  From the Washington Times:  Respect for Islam would be much more palatable if the Muslim world decriminalized conversion to other faiths and allowed true religious freedom, as Muslims enjoy in America (Washington Times).  Meanwhile, from another story:  Top Israeli officials continue to rebuff Obama’s call for the country to freeze all settlement construction in the West Bank. Obama’s demand, which he reiterated strongly in an interview with National Public Radio ahead of his trip, is seen as a far tougher stance than that taken by his predecessor in the White House (FOX News).  Also, regarding nukes and Iran:  Why is nuclear power a viable energy source for Iran but not for America? (IBD). 

2.         Rove:  Obama More Concerned with Growing Government than Economy

            As he points out “If the Obama administration were more serious about growing the economy than just growing government, the stimulus would have been front-loaded into this fiscal year.”            WSJ

3.         Group Rates US Only 83^rd Most Peaceful Nation

            But you must see why.  The group considers gun sales negative, which would make just about any country led by a dictator peaceful.  The second amendment is a problem.  Also negative:  Size of military.  That makes weak countries somehow more peaceful.  Cuba, China and Libya are among the countries rated above the United States.  Oh, and Jimmy Carter is one of those who endorses the group.           Washington Times.

4.         Homeschooling Continues to Rise

            From Dr. Albert Mohler:  Homeschooling is now a major force in American education, and Christian parents have been in the vanguard of this movement.  For many Christian parents, homeschooling represents the fulfillment of the biblical mandate for parents to teach their children.  These parents deserve our respect, our support, our advocacy, and our prayers.  This movement is a sign of hope on our educational horizon, and a phenomenon that can no longer be dismissed as a fringe movement.            Albert Mohler

5.         Obama Letter to Democrats Spells Out Health Care Demands

            Saying he believes “that Americans should have the choice of a public health insurance option.”  John A. Boehner said the president’s letter reaffirmed his “determination to enact a government-run health plan that would raise taxes and ration care” (NY Times).  Meanwhile, Canada’s New Democratic Party leader Jack Layton tried to positively compare Obama’s Healthcare plan to the mess they have in Canada (Washington Times). 

6.         Animal Rights Terrorism on the Rise

            From the story:  “There is an upswing,” said Laura Eimiller, a FBI spokeswoman in Los Angeles. “What’s really concerning is the tactics that are being used. Previously it was non-violent, mostly harassment or vandalism. Now we’re seeing the increased use of incendiary devices to target individuals.”  (FOX News).  Interesting that you don’t see PETA or Betty White blamed for the terror, as you saw pro-life groups and individuals blamed when a lone gunman killed Tiller (see story 9).

7.         New Hampshire the Latest to Bypass Voters and Approve Gay Marriage

            Gov. John Lynch, a Democrat, signed the measure even though he says he personally opposes the practice.    FOX News

8.         Gitmo Prisoners Upset Obama Hasn’t Released Them

            Also interesting to see how the writer of the story seems to have forgotten why these people are there.      AP

9.         Media Treats Abortion Doctor Death as Greater Tragedy than U.S. Army Recruiter Death

            We’ve been on this comparison for days, but here’s more.  The story notes “By contrast, the murder of Army Pvt. William Long and the wounding of Pvt. Quinton Ezeagwula outside a recruiting center in Little Rock, Ark., has drawn relatively scant coverage despite the background of the suspected shooter: he was a convert to Islam who police say probably had “political and religious motives for the attack” (FOX News).  Ken Blackwell looks at how Obama joined those condemning the death of Tiller while ignoring the death of the recruiter (Townhall). 

10.        Far Left Unsure Weather to Defend Obama or Battle Him

            As their annual meeting sees sparse attendance and a sharp divide.  Writer Naomi Klein complained “Obama is making us stupid.  Love can make you stupid.”           Washington Post

June 3, 2009

1.         Democrats Seek Swift. Unchallenged Passage of National Health Care

            From the story:  It’s not hard to see why Democrats are trying to hew to this full-speed-ahead timetable. Their health overhaul will run up a 13-figure price tag at a time when spending and deficits are already at epic levels and hook up the middle class to an intravenous drip of government health subsidies for generations to come. These are not realities that Democrats want the American people to mull over for very long. WSJ

2.         Obama:  America Could Be Considered “One of the Largest Muslim Countries in the World”

            He made the comment to a French television reporter (NY Times).  The transcript (White House)  And remember his denials of any Muslim connection during the presidential campaign?  Deputy National Security Adviser for Strategic Communications Denis McDonough said “the President himself experienced Islam on three continents before he was able to — or before he’s been able to visit, really, the heart of the Islamic world — you know, growing up in Indonesia, having a Muslim father — obviously Muslim Americans (are) a key part of Illinois and Chicago” (ABC News).  From another story, regarding Obama’s trip to Saudi Arabia and Cairo:  Many of those Muslims still smolder over Iraq, Guantanamo and unflinching U.S. support of Israel, but they are hoping the son of a Kenyan Muslim who lived part of his childhood in Indonesia, the world’s most populous Muslim country, can help chart a new course (FOX News). 

3.         Obama Declares June “Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and Transgender Pride Month”

            Declaring it “in the year of our Lord two thousand nine.”  The document also brags about how much he has done and is going to do for gay rights (White House).  Though he did issue a proclamation for the National Day of Prayer, he didn’t have nearly as much to say about it (White House). 

4.         Chavez Compares Obama to Himself and Castro

            From the story:  “Hey, Obama has just nationalized nothing more and nothing less than General Motors. Comrade Obama! Fidel, careful or we are going to end up to his right,” Chavez joked on a live television broadcast.  During a decade in government, Chavez has nationalized most of Venezuela’s key economic sectors, including multibillion dollar oil projects, often via joint ventures with the private sector that give the state a 60 percent controlling stake (  Reuters).  Jerry Bowyer explains why he believes Obama is a Fabian socialist (Forbes). 

5.         Sotomayor Struggling to Explain Race Comment

            From one story:  Sotomayor told several Democratic senators, in private meetings in the Capitol, that her comment that a “wise Latina woman” could render a better judgment than a white male judge was part of a much broader speech and that ultimately she was committed to following the rule of law above anything else. In defusing the controversy over the “wise Latina” comment, Democrats sought to put the spotlight back on Sotomayor’s extensive legal career, assure the public she was committed to following the law and is not an activist judge (Politico).  From Thomas Sowell:  What could such statements possibly mean — in any context — other than the new and fashionable racism of our time, rather than the old-fashioned racism of earlier times? Racism has never done this country any good, and it needs to be fought against, not put under new management for different groups (IBD).  More from Sowell (Townhall).  From Michael Medved: The core mistake of liberalism involves the confusion of charity and justice. How do we know it’s a disastrous error to blur the distinction between these two timeless virtues?  Because the Bible specifically warns us against it.  Last Saturday, Jewish people around the world read Leviticus 19:15 as part of the weekly “Torah Portion” – the specific segment of the Five Books of Moses assigned since ancient times for synagogue recitation on this particular Sabbath of the calendar. The text declares (in the best modern translation): “You shall not commit a perversion of justice; you shall not favor the poor and you shall not honor the great; with righteousness shall you judge your fellow” (Townhall). 

6.         Poll Shows “Strong and Virtually Across-The-Board Rejection” of Obama Gitmo Plan

            A look at details of the Gallup poll reveal Obama’s big trouble with shutting down Guantanamo.            Washington Examiner

7.         Obama Again Frustrates Israel

            From the story:  His face-to-face encounter with the Muslim world comes as he offers tough love to Israel, with whom he has recently offered tough words over settlements in the West Bank (FOX News).

8.         Fed Accidentally Releases Secret Nuclear List Online

            From the story:  A 266-page document that gives detailed information about civilian nuclear sites and programs, marked “highly confidential,” was accidentally made public by the federal government, the New York Times reported Tuesday.            FOX News

9.         Vatican:  Fewer are Confessing Sins

            From the story:  The archbishop said in the interview Tuesday that if faithful don’t have a sense of sin, they might “confuse” confession with “the couch of a psychologist or a psychiatrist.”  He says the Vatican plans to publish this year a kind of handbook on confession to drum up enthusiasm among Catholics toward the sacrament.             AP

10.        Pot Sellers Open Shops as Los Angeles Looks Away

            From the story:  Some time last year, medical marijuana entrepreneurs discovered that the city attorney’s office was not prosecuting dispensaries that had filed hardship applications, saying the City Council needed to rule on them first. The council has not acted on any of the applications.  Los Angeles went from 4 medical pot dispensaries to 600.            LA Times

June 2, 2009

1.         Obama Takeover of GM Seen as Dangerous Precedent

From Kudlow:  Historically, we don’t own car companies - or banks or insurance firms. But we do now. Tick them off on your fingers: GM, Citi, American International Group Inc. Oh, and let’s not forget Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, those big, quasi-government taxpayer-owned housing agencies. California is broke and likely headed to bankruptcy. Will we the taxpayers own that, too? (Washington Times).  From Hugh Hewitt:  I won’t buy a socialist car, which means I won’t be buying a GM or Chrysler car for as long as the U.S. government owns huge blocks of the companies (Washington Examiner).  Details of the move (Forbes).  A look at how the union took down GM (WSJ). 

2.         Liberal Groups Band Together to Push Obama’s National Health Care

            From the story:  A coalition of liberal and progressive groups announced today plans to spend “at least $82 million this year on working to support President Obama’s plan and get a guarantee of quality affordable health care for all passed this year and in this Congress,” according to Richard Kirsch, national campaign manager for Health Care for America Now (HCAN).  The group’s campaign plan calls for spending most of those resources on grassroots organizing and paid advertising including television ads.  Mr. Kirsch boasts of having more than 140 organizers on the ground in 40 states at current count.  “With what can’t compete inside with the armies of lobbyists, we can compete where it really matters — at the grassroots,” said Kirsch

ABC News

3.         Barone:  GOP Can Win by Running Against the Center

            He explains:  Here I mean a different “center” — not a midpoint on an opinion spectrum, but rather the centralized government institutions being created and strengthened every day. This is a center that is taking over functions fulfilled in a decentralized way by private individuals, firms and markets.  This center includes the Treasury, with its $700 billion of TARP funds voted last fall to purchase toxic assets from financial institutions and used instead to quasi-nationalize banks and preserve union benefits for employees and retirees of bankrupt auto companies. It includes the Federal Reserve, which has been vastly increasing the money supply. It includes a federal government whose $787 billion economic stimulus has so far failed to lower the unemployment rate from where the government projected it would be without the stimulus package.           Townhall

4.         Obama Accused of Apology Tour

From Mitt Romney:  I take issue with President Obama’s recent tour of apology.  It’s not because America hasn’t made mistakes — we have — but because America’s mistakes are overwhelmed by what America has meant to the hopes and aspirations of people throughout the world (FOX News).   Obama’s people say he’s not apologizing, but Obama did tell the BBC “The danger, I think, is when the United States, or any country, thinks that we can simply impose these values on another country with a different history and a different culture” (BBC).  Dennis Prager writes the speech Obama should give (Townhall). 

5.         Court Bans Bible from Show and Tell

            From the story:  A U.S. court says a kindergartner’s mother cannot read Scripture during show and tell, even if the Bible is the boy’s favorite book.  Monday’s ruling is a victory for the Marple Newtown School District in suburban Philadelphia (FOX News).  How would Sotomayor rule?  

6.         North Koreans Starve While Leaders Live Like Kings

            From the story:  Their website identifies Kim Jong Il’s manicured residence in an area reserved for North Korea’s ruling elite. The pool’s glittering blue water contrasts sharply with the parched landscape of much of North Korea, where droughts and famines have led to an estimated two million deaths in recent years (Telegraph).  Meanwhile, a North Korean general is tied to a group counterfeiting US 100 dollar bills (Washington Times). 

7.         Pro-Abortion Groups Use Tiller Death to Slam Pro-Lifers

            From one story:  The shooting “brings home the impact of the kind of rhetoric that the hard right uses when they talk about abortion,” said Andy Wollen of the Kansas Traditional Republican Majority, a centrist group. “When they called him ‘Tiller the Killer’ and they call their political opponents ‘baby killers,’ as they do on regular basis, they’re opening the doors” to violence (USA Today).  Tiller is being treated like a hero (FOX News).  As one might expect, CNN found someone who cheered the murder of Tiller (CNN).  Dobson’s statement (Citizen).  Meanwhile, a Muslim fanatic kills a soldier in Arkansas and the outcry is muted (FOX News). 

8.         Cost of Obama’s Date Jumps

            To perhaps $250,000.  Why it matters:  In February, Obama scolded corporate executives (while also costing Las Vegas some $130 million) when he said: “You can’t get corporate jets. You can’t go take a trip to Las Vegas, or go down to the Super Bowl on the taxpayers’ dime” (Washington Times)  Meanwhile, members of congress continue to spend tax dollars like the world is made of money (WSJ). 

9.         Arctic Holds Much More Oil than Previously Thought

            But, as expected, environmentalists want it left alone (CNN)  Sotomayor is considered a friend to radical environmentalists (FOX News). 

June 1, 2009

1.         Obama:  Sotomayor Would “Restate” Female Hispanic Judge Comment

            Claiming she really didn’t mean what she clearly meant.  Also from the story:  Obama’s top spokesman, Robert Gibbs, told reporters about Sotomayor: “I think she’d say that her word choice in 2001 was poor” (AP).  Ironically, Obama said “What I hope is that we can avoid the political posturing and ideological brinksmanship that has bogged down this process, and Congress, in the past” (AP).  In the recent “past” it was Obama who wanted to filibuster a Supreme Court Nominee (ABC News).  And the LA Times completely misstates the effort to expose Sotomayor’s racial views by claiming Republicans are now focusing on her race, which they aren’t.  They’re simply focusing on her comments about her race. (LA Times).  In the middle of all this, the Supreme Court is expected to overturn one of Sotomayor’s key appellate rulings this month (LA Times).

2.         Thousands Rally to Support Traditional Marriage

            Following gatherings supporting gay marriage (LA Times).  In a tongue-twisting attempt to keep the left-wing view of the pro-marriage rallies live, AP, via FOX News, called it “support for the voter-approved ban on same-sex marriage” (FOX News). 

3.         Romney Blasts Government Takeover of GM

From the story:  Romney repeated his criticism of the auto policies followed by both the Bush and Obama administrations, saying GM and Chrysler should have been pushed into a restructuring, either in or out of bankruptcy court, months ago (Detroit News).   From the Wall Street Journal:  Welcome to Obama Motors, and what is likely to be a long, expensive and unhappy exercise in political car making (WSJ).  Some question whether Obama has the authority to take over GM (CNS News).  And according to this story, it was the union that brought GM down (Telegraph).

4.         Obama Sees No Check or Balance from Media

            From the story:  The study examined 1,261 stories by The Post, the New York Times, ABC, CBS and NBC, Newsweek magazine and the “NewsHour” on PBS. Favorable articles (42 percent) were double the unfavorable (20 percent), while the rest were “neutral” or “mixed.” Obama’s treatment contrasts sharply with coverage in the first two months of the Bush (22 percent of stories favorable) and Clinton (27 percent) presidencies.  Unlike George Bush and Bill Clinton, Obama received favorable coverage in both news columns and opinion pages. The nature of stories also changed. “Roughly twice as much of the coverage of Obama (44 percent) has concerned his personal and leadership qualities than was the case for Bush (22 percent) or Clinton (26 percent),” the report said. “Less of the coverage, meanwhile, has focused on his policy agenda.” The story also notes “the study of all the favorable coverage received little coverage.”            Washington Post

5.         North Korea Prepares Long Range Missile

            From the story:  Experts said the preparations were especially significant because the North has never launched a long-range missile from the northwestern base.  Kim Tae-woo, vice president of Seoul’s state-run Korea Institute for Defense Analyses, said he thinks the North chose the site because of its proximity to China, making it more risky for the U.S. to strike.

            FOX News

6.         Dershowitz:  Obama’s Policies Dangerous for Israel

            The Obama supporter wrote “President Obama seems unwilling to guarantee Israel that Iran will not be permitted to develop nuclear weapons. Without such a guarantee, Netanyahu is unable to end the occupation, because Israel is a democracy and the people of Israel will not accept a repeat of Gaza and southern Lebanon, this time with nuclear threat hanging over them” (Jerusalem Post).  Meanwhile, Ahmadinejad appears headed for an election landslide (Jerusalem Post). 

7.         Washington Times:  Obama Ditches Science in Auto Fuel Plan

            From the story:  The scientific evidence on car size and safety is overwhelming. The National Academy of Sciences, the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety, the Congressional Budget Office, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration and numerous academic studies are all in agreement on this point: Higher miles-per-gallon requirements lead to more deaths from car accidents.            Washington Times

8.         Left Targets Pro-Life Groups After Tiller’s Murder

            A look at several angry comments against the pro-life movement (Life News).  Salon wasted no time blaming O’Reilly (Salon).  Some choice moments from left-wing blogs (Newsbusters).  From Robert P. George:  Whoever murdered George Tiller has done a gravely wicked thing.  The evil of this action is in no way diminished by the blood George Tiller had on his own hands.  No private individual had the right to execute judgment against him.  We are a nation of laws.  Lawless violence breeds only more lawless violence.  Rightly or wrongly, George Tilller was acquitted by a jury of his peers (NRO).  From Dr. Albert Mohler:  Proponents of abortion rights often charge that the rhetoric of the pro-life movement leads to violence.  After all, we describe abortion as murder and point to the business of abortion as the murder of the unborn.  We make clear that abortion is the taking of innocent human life and that what goes on in abortion clinics is the business of death.  We make these arguments because we know they are true.  Abortion is murder.  What goes on in those clinics is institutionalized homicide, often for financial profit.  Abortion is a moral scandal and a national tragedy and a blight upon the American conscience.  But violence in the name of protesting abortion is immoral, unjustified, and horribly harmful to the pro-life cause.  Now, the premeditated murder of Dr. George Tiller in the foyer of his church is the headline scandal — not the abortions he performed and the cause he represented (Albert Mohler). 

9.         Gosslins See Rating Soar as Marriage Sinks

            From the story:  “The happiness of your children always comes first,” said psychologist Jeffrey Gardere. “So what’s the point of making all of that money if your family ends up being unhappy? If you end up getting divorced that money means nothing” (ABC News).  To keep the insanity going, the Octuplets’ mom gets a reality show (CNN). 

From Salem National News on May 28, 2009. For more information go to Townhall.com on the web and listen to WGUL 860 Tampa - political talk “where your opinion counts”. 

1.         Democrats Prepare Costly Health Care “Reform”

            The story notes “The total cost of overhauling health care is estimated at over $1 trillion.”  One detail still missing:  How to pay for it. Just think about taking a number at the drivers license office - that’s the direction we’re headed.

            CNN

 2.         White House:  Watch What You Say About Sotomayor  - AND WHAT YOU THINK

            From press secretary Robert Gibbs:  “I think it is probably important for anybody involved in this debate to be exceedingly careful with the way in which they’ve decided to describe different aspects of this impending confirmation” (Politico).  Gibbs was specifically referring to remarks by Newt Gingrich (Washington Times).  Obama voted against both Roberts and Alito (Newser).   Opposing sides prepared their arguments (WSJ).  From Karl Rove:  “Empathy” is the latest code word for liberal activism, for treating the Constitution as malleable clay to be kneaded and molded in whatever form justices want. It represents an expansive view of the judiciary in which courts create policy that couldn’t pass the legislative branch or, if it did, would generate voter backlash.  There is a certain irony in a president who routinely praises America’s commitment to “the rule of law” but who picks Supreme Court nominees for their readiness to discard the rule of law whenever emotion moves them (WSJ).  Gun rights groups are greatly concerned. One reason, the 2004 criminal case, U.S. v. Sanchez-Villar, where three-judge panel that included Sotomayor wrote “the right to possess a gun is clearly not a fundamental right” (CBS News).  Some on the left are worried she isn’t liberal enough (US News).   

3.         The Next Step in Gay Marriage

            From Michael Medved:  …the whole concept of carving out special “religious protections” (reported as a major trend by Peter Steinfels in the New York Times and now favored by leading gay activists as part of their push for same sex marriage) reflects the certainty that faith-based organizations will become an immediate and prime target of the gay rights movement. Regardless of any legislative efforts to protect dissenters in their exercise of conscience, the granting of government sponsorship of same sex matrimony will clearly put the force of bureaucratic power and social sanction on the other side (Townhall).  A cluster of odd Hollywood comments, including this twitter from Demi Moore:  “There’s no room 4 judgment it only creates separation & i’m pretty sure we R all equal in God’s eyes. luv is luv in whatever form! … Amazing the country that likes 2 pride itself on liberty & justice 4 all can continue 2 fail certain groups!” (USA Today).  Already, a lawsuit has emerged and gay activists worry it comes too soon (San Francisco Chronicle). 

4.         Democrats Considering National Sales Tax - ARE YOU SURPRISED?

            If they can’t get it from you one way, they’ll find another.  From the story:  …it would increase the cost of just about everything, from a carton of eggs to a visit with a lawyer. It is also hugely regressive, falling heavily on the poor. But VAT advocates say those negatives could be offset by using the proceeds to pay for health care for every American — a tangible benefit that would be highly valuable to low-income families.  (Washington Post).  Tax revenue dropped 34 percent in April (USA Today).  Credit scores of the average American has also dropped (USA Today).  And a story claims the recovery will take five years (Reuters). 

 5.         Obama Energy Advisor:  Paint Your Roof White

            Home Owners Associations be aware.  He explained “If you look at all the buildings and if you make the roofs white and if you make the pavement more of a concrete type of color rather than a black type of color and if you do that uniformally, that would be the equivalent of… reducing the carbon emissions due to all the cars in the world by 11 years – just taking them off the road for 11 years.” (Telegraph).  Apparently he wasn’t as big on the tire pressure theory (YouTube).  And France heads the other way, as Sarkozy appoints a skeptic (FT). 

 6.         Hospital Reprimands Employee for Flag Right Before Memorial Day

            Kindred Hospital in Mansfield, Texas of all places.  After many calls and much controversy, the hospital now claims “The disagreement was over the size of the flag and not what it symbolized. We have invited the employee to put the flag back up.”  The CEO has since apologized.            CBS

 7.         Man Who Shot Robber Charged With Murder

            Key point in the story:  District Attorney David Prater said Ersland was justified in shooting Parker once in the head, but went too far when he shot Parker five more times while Parker lay unconscious on the floor. 

            AP

 8.         Study:  “Clear Link Between Drugs and Crime” - NO DUH

            Many of those interviewed for the story are on the left. 

            USA Today

9.        NAACP Wants Confederate Flag Banned from Races

            Even thought they are brought in by fans.

             FOX News

January 13, 2009
 

1.         Hamas Raids Aid Trucks, Sells Supplies

            The story begins “Hamas on Monday raided some 100 aid trucks that Israel had allowed into Gaza, stole their contents and sold them to the highest bidders” (Jerusalem Post).   Anther story notes of Hamas:  Senior Hamas officials in Gaza are hiding out in a “bunker” built by Israel, intelligence officials suspect: Many are believed to be in the basements of the Shifa Hospital complex in Gaza City, which was refurbished during Israel’s occupation of the Gaza Strip (Haaretz).  Dennis Prager points out it is the Jews who care about the lives of Palestinians (Townhall).  Larry Elder gives a little history of Israel (Townhall). 

2.         Obama Looks to Close Gitmo Right Away

            Possibly on day one.  From the story:  What remains the thorniest issue for Mr. Obama, the advisers said, is what to do with the rest of the prisoners — including at least 15 so-called “high value detainees” considered among the most dangerous there.  Detainees held on U.S. soil would have certain legal rights that they were not entitled to while imprisoned in Cuba. It’s also not clear if they would face trial through the current military tribunal system, or in federal civilian courts, or though a to-be-developed legal system that would mark a hybrid of the two.  Where to imprison the detainees also is a problem.

            CBS News

3.         Obama Chooses Gay Bishop to Open Inauguration, Activists Giddy

            The story notes Gene Robinson “was among the many who criticized Obama’s choice of Warren — the best-selling author and pastor of a California mega-church — to open the swearing-in ceremony Jan. 20. He called the move “a slap in the face.”

            USA Today

4.         States Keep Spending, Count on Fed Bailout

            From the story:  South Carolina Gov. Mark Sanford says the expected bailout, which he opposes, has helped states avoid fiscal responsibility. “If Washington will wave a magic wand and bail you out, the obvious answer in politics is to avoid decisions you don’t want to make,” says Sanford, a Republican.

            USA Today

5.         Barnes: Bush Deserves Better

            From the story:  His presidency was far more successful than not. And there’s an aspect of his decision-making that merits special recognition: his courage. Time and time again, Bush did what other presidents, even Ronald Reagan, would not have done and for which he was vilified and abused. That–defiantly doing the right thing–is what distinguished his presidency (Weekly Standard)  Audio from Bush’s final press conference.  Transcript (RCP). 

6.         ACLU Sues to Keep Catholic Agency out from Helping Victims of Human Trafficking

             Because Catholics don’t encourage contraception and abortion, the ACLU doesn’t want the U.S. government using them.

            Reuters

7.         Residents Bailing on California

            The story notes one man left due to “years of rising taxes, dead-end schools, unchecked illegal immigration and clogged traffic.”  The story also points out that this “is the fourth consecutive year that more residents decamped from California for other states than arrived here from within the U.S.”

            AP

8.         Woman Auctioning off Virginity Says Price is Up to $3.7 Million

            Oddly, she lives in San Diego where prostitution is not legal.

            FOX News

9.         UK:  Food Police go Door to Door

            In a lovely bit of irony, telling people what they should do to avoid waste.

            Telegraph

January 12, 2009

1.         Israel Keeps Pressure on Hamas

            From the story:  The army announced Sunday that it had begun sending reserve units into Gaza to assist thousands of ground forces already in the territory. The use of reserves is a strong signal that Israel is planning to move the offensive, which already has killed some 870 Palestinians, into a new, more punishing phase (FOX News).  More on the conflict (Jerusalem Post). 

2.         Obama Climate Czar has Socialist Ties

            From the story:  Until last week, Carol M. Browner, President-elect Barack Obama’s pick as global warming czar, was listed as one of 14 leaders of a socialist group’s Commission for a Sustainable World Society, which calls for “global governance” and says rich countries must shrink their economies to address climate change. By Thursday, Mrs. Browner’s name and biography had been removed from Socialist International’s Web page, though a photo of her speaking June 30 to the group’s congress in Greece was still available. 

            Washington Times

3.         Democrats Eye Gun Regulation, Abortion as Obama Takes Office

            The story begins:  Democrats are hoping to roll back a series of regulations issued late in the Bush administration that weaken environmental protections and other restrictions. “Congress is going to have to roll up its sleeves and review these midnight regulations,” Oregon Senator Ron Wyden said. Potential targets include regulations allowing concealed weapons in some national parks and forbidding medical facilities that get federal money from discriminating against doctors and nurses who refuse, on religious grounds, to assist with abortions.

            NY Times

4.         National Safety Council:  Ban Cell Phones While Driving

            Even hands free cells.

            FOX News

5.         Doctors Screen Out Breast Cancer Baby

            From the story:  The embryo was screened for the altered BRCA1 gene, which would have meant the girl had a 80% chance of developing breast cancer. Women in three generations of her husband’s family have been diagnosed with the disease in their 20s.  Later:  This is before conception - defined as when the embryo is implanted in the womb. Doctors then select an embryo free from rogue genes to continue the pregnancy, and discard any whose genetic profile points to future problems.

            BBC

6.         Obesity on the Increase

            According to the story, more people are obese than those merely overweight.

            Reuters

7.         Marriage Film Based on Scripture has Big Weekend

            Not Easily Broken finished 9^th overall, covering the cost to make the film in the first weekend.

Box Office Mojo/Deadline Hollywood

8.         Globes Winners Rip Prop 8 and Palin

            Notice the writer doesn’t bother hiding his/her glee over the left-wing politics.

            E Online

9.         Pepsi Goes Obama with Logo at Cannes

            At the Cannes Lions International Advertising Festival on the French Riviera.  From the story:  What’s red, white and blue, round in shape and has some curvy lines? President-elect Barack Obama’s logo. Pepsi’s new logo, too. Adding to “Obama brand” and “Pepsi brand” similarities: Both camps are preaching a message of optimism and hope.   Pepsi spokeswoman Nicole Bradley says that no marketing ideas were exchanged between the Pepsi and Obama teams. “We can’t speak to the president-elect’s design sensibilities, but we’re all over his prevailing spirit of optimism,” she says. “That’s as refreshingly bipartisan as it gets.”

            USA Today

10.        Harvard University Physicist Claims Google has Carbon Footprint

            The story claims “The global IT industry generates about 2 percent of global carbon dioxide emissions, or about as much greenhouse gas as the world’s airlines” and notes Google “has actively campaigned for reducing the amount of energy consumed by the IT industry.”  But according to the physicist, a typical search on a desktop computer generates about 7 grams of carbon dioxide, which is comparable to bringing a kettle to boil (CBS News).  From another story:  Google is secretive about its energy consumption and carbon footprint. It also refuses to divulge the locations of its data centers (FOX News). 

January 8, 2009

1.         Israel Attacked from the North

            The story notes “the rockets on Israel’s north raised the specter of renewed hostilities with Hezbollah, just 2½ years after Israel battled the guerrilla group to a 34-day stalemate. Hezbollah started the 2006 war as Israel was battling Palestinian militants in Gaza” (USA Today).  As expected, the UN is putting pressure on Israel (Reuters).  Hamas, meanwhile, is pulling back into crowded cities (Washington Post).  And the Los Angeles Times printed an “opinion” piece from the terrorists (LA Times).  Hugh Hewitt spoke with Michael Oren, a fellow at the Shalem Center in Jerusalem, professor in the School of Foreign Service at Georgetown University and author of “Six Days of War: June 1967 and the Making of the Modern Middle East” (Townhall). 

2.         Obama Expected to Force Military to Accept Gays

            The story managed to completely ignore all arguments against the idea.

            AFP

3.         Obama Plans Hampered by Economy

            Support for his stimulus package may be slipping (McClatchy).  Another story notes “Barack Obama pledged Wednesday to tackle out-of-control Social Security and Medicare spending and named a special watchdog to clamp down on other federal programs” (AP). 

4.         Governor Rendell the Latest Democrat in Trouble

            He’s accused of awarding a no-bid contract to a California company headed by a member of his transition team for the Department of Revenue.  The story notes “Since then, CDR Financial Products has collected nearly $600,000 as a financial adviser to the housing agency, according to figures provided by Brian Hudson, the agency’s executive director.”

            Pittsburgh Tribune-Review

5.         Reid:  Coleman Will “Never Ever Serve”

            Also from the story:  Senate Republican leadership has threatened to filibuster any attempt to seat Franken before his victory is officially certified (Politico).  From Dick Morris:  Watching Al Franken and the Democrats steal this election, vote by vote, is a horrific sight that makes a mockery of the electoral process, the fundamental element in our democracy. If this travesty is allowed to stand, it essentially means that any close election constitutes an open invitation to try to steal the victory (Townhall). 

6.         Man Forced to Pay Child Support Though He’s Not the Father

            Because he once thought he was.  Also an issue in this story from Canada, what about the relationship between the man and the children?

            National Post

7.         OJ:  “If I have to be in prison, this is the place to be”

            A look at his not-so-bad life in prison.

            FOX News

“In his first State of the State address, Governor David A. Paterson outlined his plan for a stronger New York including the need to confront the current fiscal crisis head on. He laid out a progressive policy agenda to help working families during these difficult times including calling for one of the most ambitious clean energy plans in the nation, setting a “45 by 15” goal that 45 percent of New York State’s electricity needs will be met through improved energy efficiency and greater use of clean renewable energy by 2015. This goal will also create 50,000 new jobs for New Yorkers. Governor Paterson also announced that he will introduce legislation to expand family health coverage to cover family members up through the age of 29 and he laid out a five-point plan to address the growing obesity epidemic that now affects one in four children in the State of New York. ” Read More

States are investing in technology - that is the future!

“MURRAY HILL, N.J. July 31, 2002 — Hot on the heels of New York state’s SEMATECH North coup, New Jersey Gov. James McGreevey announced the Garden State’s bid to grow into a small tech powerhouse. The heart of the plan: transforming part of Lucent Technologies’ Bell Laboratories into the nonprofit New Jersey Nanotechnology Consortium (NJNC). …” READ MORE IN SMALL TIMES

January 7, 2009

1.         Jews Attacked in Europe

            As the conflict in Gaza continues.  The story notes “assaults against Jews and arson attacks on Jewish congregations in France, Sweden and Britain” (AP).  Jonah Goldberg examines the hatred (NRO).  Michael Medved looks at the odd, twisted media view of this conflict (Townhall). 

2.         Media Wrong on Teen Sex Story

            They gleefully ran with a story claiming teens who pledged to wait until marriage were just as likely as the rest to have premarital sex.  But they were wrong.

            WSJ

3.         Democrats Still Upset Over Panetta Choice

            From the story:  Speaking for the first time publicly about the choice, Mr. Obama said Tuesday that Mr. Panetta and other members of the new administration would be “committed to breaking with some of the past practices” that had “tarnished the image” of the United States’ intelligence agencies (NY Times).  Defending Obama’s choice:  Hugh Hewitt wrote “In Panetta’s favor is the likelihood of access and his experience managing the White House under Clinton.  Panetta is widely regarded as very smart as well, and widely liked across both parties.  Though a liberal, the experience of having skippered a White House staff will have schooled Panetta in the art of getting to the president when it must happen and in the ways of winning internal Executive Branch dust-ups.  The Congressional background didn’t help Porter Goss much, but perhaps it will help Panetta keep the budget cutters away.  Panetta’s a patriot, an experienced Washington hand, and close to the president-elect.  As with many of the other early appointments on the incoming national security team, conservatives should be asking themselves if they ought not to be thanking their stars that the new team appears very realistic about the world they are being called on to lead and the enemies they will be facing” (Townhall). 

4.         Coleman Files Suit

            As expected.  From the story:  Coleman told reporters that the Canvassing Board wrongly double-counted some ballots for Franken and accepted 650 absentee ballots that were improperly registered.

            FOX News

5.         Judge Allows Arguments to Ban God from Inauguration Ceremony

            Saying Michael Newdow had “good cause.”

            DC Examiner

6.         Feds:  Economy to Get Worse

            From the story:  If the current recession, which began in December 2007, lasts throughout 2009, that would make it the longest U.S. economic downturn since the Great Depression.

            CNN

7.         Congressman Requests Pelosi Shut Down Congress During Championship Game

            She has declined.

            FOX News

Flashback to another tax showdown

Published May 12, 2003

“Neither Senate pressure nor editorial jabs have budged the House speaker during a budget showdown.” St. Pete Times - STEVE BOUSQUET

TALLAHASSEE - A smiling Johnnie Byrd arrives for his daily news conference, trailed by an entourage of aides and lawmakers. The House speaker from Plant City sees a tape recorder on a lectern and leans over the machine.

“No new taxes. Live within your means,” Byrd says in a self-mocking tone, drawing laughs. “Just when you’re tired of saying it, maybe it will sink in with this crowd.”

Byrd has been saying it for months, and the message, replayed over and over, has sunk in. Senate President Jim King has ended his quest for more money and will enter this week’s special session in agreement with Byrd on the bottom line. King said senators won’t be “obstructionists.”

By standing firm, Byrd looks like the winner of the tax brawl.

A new St. Petersburg Times poll shows more voters agree with him than disagree, but it is a mixed message. A majority of 55 percent said they do not support an increase in state taxes, but 52 percent said they would support higher taxes to avoid layoffs or cuts in summer school.

“The bottom line is that a majority of the people put Republicans in office, and the Republican philosophy is one of fiscal restraint,” said Byrd, who keeps a copy of the book Those Dirty Rotten Taxes on his desk in the Capitol. “You don’t raise taxes in the bottom of a recession. You cut taxes.” MORE

1.         Biden: No on Prop 8 or Anything Like It

            He admits, with that statement, the Obama/Biden ticket backs gay marriage.  Biden congratulates Ellen DeGeneres on her marriage, completely contradicting his lie during the debate with Palin.

2.         Crowds Protest LA Times for Refusal to Release Obama Tape

            Pictures and video of the protest (Jewish Journal).  McCain discussed the tape and other issues with Hugh Hewitt (Townhall Transcript/Audio) While ignored by nearly all but FOX News, ABC News finally covered the story, only to put out a commentary to say the Times shouldn’t release the tape (ABC News). 

3.         Krauthammer: Obama’s Dangerous Domestic Agenda

            From the story:  What will you get?  (1) Card check, meaning the abolition of the secret ballot in the certification of unions in the workplace. Large men will come to your house at night and ask you to sign a card supporting a union. You will sign.  (2) The so-called Fairness Doctrine — a project of Nancy Pelosi and leading Democratic senators — a Hugo Chavez-style travesty designed to abolish conservative talk radio (Townhall)  A look at Obama’s welfare plan (Philadelphia Business Journal).  Focus on the Family founder James Dobson runs through the vast differences between the candidates (Citizen). 

4.         As Polls Vary, Pollsters Worry about Reputation

            The story notes “Pollsters are becoming punchy as the presidential race tightens just as final predictions are being prepared” (Boston Herald).  FOX News claims the gap has closed from nine to three.  From the story:  The race has tightened in part because of changes in a couple of important swing voting groups. Independents back Obama by 5 percentage points today, down from a 9-point edge last week. Similarly, among white Catholics, Obama held an 11-point edge over McCain last week and today they split 46-46 (FOX News).  Zogby still has it at seven (Zogby)  CBS News, which has had Obama’s lead in double digits for several weeks, still has Obama up by 11 (CBS News).  As before, the CBS poll uses far more Democrats than Republicans (CBS News). The Human Events prediction:  Obama will win, but it won’t’ be a blowout.  Dems will gain in House and Senate, but won’t gain the 60 Senate seats they desire.  If their prediction is correct, McCain is one state away (Pennsylvania) from victory (Human Events).  Byron York gives advice on winning Pennsylvania:  If you really want to win Pennsylvania, you might want to make sure that everyone in the state hears Obama’s “bitter clinging” soundbite at least once an hour from now until Election Day.  And while you’re at it, send Palin to central, southern, western, and northern Pennsylvania — pretty much every except Philadelphia. “I love her, and I was so thrilled when John McCain picked her,” a woman named Janice, from Mechanicsburg, tells me. “I think she’s more qualified than Barack Obama. They say she’s not qualified, but they ought to look at the top of their ticket” (NRO).   In Pennsylvania, one recent poll has Obama up 13, another recent poll has the lead cut to 4 (RCP). 

5.         Colorado Professors Back Ayers

            An amazing look at the lunatics teaching your kids.  (Denver Channel)  Meanwhile, another story notes that Obama is the only politician Ayers has ever donated money to (Seattle Post Intelligencer). 

6.         Iraqis Worry about Obama Presidency

            From the story: “The Iranians believe that if Obama is elected he will not take action against them despite their nuclear ambitions. That worries me,” said Ali, sitting on an old bench in Al-Zahawi coffee shop (AFP)  Meanwhile, another story notes the Saudi’s are pulling for Obama (Saudi Gazette). 

7.         Two Arrested for Hanging Obama Effigy

            Interesting because no charges were filed against the man who did the same with Sarah Palin.  Notice the remarkably different language used to describe the events.  From the college campus president on the Obama incident:  “As outrageous and offensive an act as the effigy was, I truly believe it has mobilized our campus, the community and the state in an effort to battle racism” (Herald-Leader)  But, from a city spokesman involved in the Palin story:  “People have First Amendment rights (to free speech.) I would speculate that if it’s part of a Halloween display then its political satire” (Reuters). 

8.         Catholic Church Urges Followers to Vote Pro-Life

            They story ends “Polls show a majority of Catholic voters plan to vote for the Democratic presidential ticket of Barack Obama and Joseph Biden. Both are pro-choice — and Biden is a Catholic.”

            KKTX

9.         Cliff the Mailman Does Ad Against Franken

            Also in this ad, Victoria Jackson, who was on Saturday Night Live with Franken.

            YouTube

10.        Pro Marriage Gaining in California

            But still trailing by five, according to the story.

Sacramento Bee

11.        Los Angeles Councilman Proposes Tax on Large Homes

            Another attempt to punish/gain from the rich and redistribute the wealth.

            LA Times

12.        Woman Buys House at Auction, Gives Back to Prior Owner

            A citizen doing what some are demanding of the government.

            FOX News

1.         Obama Airs Infomercial

            Surprisingly, this AP story begins “Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama was less than upfront in his half-hour commercial Wednesday night about the costs of his programs and the crushing budget pressures he would face in office” (AP).  From CBS News:  But the very bigness of his ideas is the problem: he seems blind to the concept his numbers don’t add up (CBS News).  Interestingly, this comes just as a story released reveals Americans believe too much is being spent on the campaigns.  But then comes this disturbing paragraph:  Even so, Democrat Barack Obama hasn’t paid much of a political price for opting out of public financing this year, the first major-party nominee to do so since it was established after the Watergate scandal. Nearly two-thirds of Americans say they aren’t sure whether Obama or Republican John McCain are participating in the system (USA Today).  Another story notes of the infomercial “The campaign hired Davis Guggenheim, executive producer of former Vice President Al Gore’s Academy Award-winning documentary “An Inconvenient Truth” (MSNBC). 

2.         LA Times/Obama Story Still Ignored by Nearly All Mainstream Media

            Except FOX News.  From Hugh Hewitt on the significance of this story:  This is an astonishing moment in the history of journalism.  In the last presidential campaign, an arm of MSM attempted to influence the race by inventing a major story.  This time, a different arm is influencing the race by censoring the news (Townhall).  From John McCain:  I guarantee you, if there was a tape with me and Sarah Palin and some neo-Nazi or one of those, you think that that tape wouldn’t be made public? Of course, Americans need to know, particularly about Ayers, and also about the PLO. So hopefully there will be enough pressure on the L.A. Times that it’ll come out, but it’s really unfortunate that we have to go through this (FOX News).  The Times didn’t hesitate to expose Schwarzenegger right before the election in 2006 (LA Times). 

3.         Obama Dodges Socialist Label

            In a strange rebuttal of McCain’s warning of Obama’s Socialist talk, Obama said “I don’t know what’s next.  By the end of the week, he’ll be accusing me of being a secret communist because I shared my toys in kindergarten. I shared my peanut butter and jelly sandwich” (AP).  But Obama’s socialist talk also comes from his wife Michelle, who said earlier this year “The truth is, in order to get things like universal health care and a revamped education system, then someone is going to have to give up a piece of their pie so that someone else can have more” (Weekly Standard). 

4.         Sowell:  Fear the Obama Judges

            He notes “We can vote a president out of office at the next election if we don’t like him. But we can never vote out the federal judges he appoints in courts across the country, including justices of the Supreme Court.  The kind of judges Barack Obama wants to appoint can still be siding with criminals or terrorists during the lifetimes of your children and grandchildren.”

            Washington Times

5.         Frank Pastore:  The Christian Case Against Barack Obama

            Salem host (KRLA) Frank Pastore examines Obama’s faith, in three parts on You Tube.

            Part one

            Part two

            Part three

6.         Polls: Obama Gets a Few Points Back.  Maybe

            Though the gap was at three on Rasmussen and Gallup yesterday, Zogby, which has been spastic over the last week, has Obama back up 7 this morning.  In the last week, Zogby had Obama up 12, then it dropped to 4 and back up to 7 (Reuters).  Time Magazine claims Obama is gaining in key states (Time).  One story claims, at least in Nevada, the young and Hispanic voters they are expecting in record numbers aren’t materializing (Las Vegas Review-Journal).  Another oddity that may help McCain:  In Florida, Democrats are thrilled that they are greatly outpacing Republicans in early voting.  But, this story notes, “A Los Angeles Times/Bloomberg poll gave McCain a 49-45 lead over Democrat Barack Obama among Floridians who have already voted” (Florida Today).   In trying to figure out why Obama hasn’t put McCain away, Howard Fineman cites racism, but not Obama’s flirtation with socialism (Newsweek). 

7.         UK: Early Snow During Global Warming Bill Debate

            First Ocbober snow since 1922.

            The Register

1.         McCain Jumps on “Redistribution” Comments from Obama

            Seems this is the only way to get the media, beyond FOX News, to cover it (AFP).  McCain also said, of your money, “Do you want to keep it and invest it in your future, or have it taken by the most liberal person to ever run for the Presidency, and the Democratic leaders who have been running Congress for the past two years — Nancy Pelosi and Harry Reid?” (Politico).  From another story:  Dolphins owner H. Wayne Huizenga said Sunday no date has been set for selling up to 45 percent more of the team to Stephen Ross, but the presidential election is among the issues weighing on his decision.  That’s because a Barack Obama administration is expected to mean higher capital-gains taxes.  “He wants to double the capital gains tax, or almost double it,” Huizenga said. “I’d rather give it to charity than to him” (Sun-Sentinel). 

2.         Polls:  One Week Out, Slight Closing of the Gap

            From Zogby, which had Obama with a 12 point lead less than a week ago, McCain is back by only four points (Reuters).  The average is down to 6.2 (RCP).  ABC News has the difference at 7, with McCain gaining ground on the economy (ABC News). Whites who attend church weekly prefer McCain more than 2-1 (Gallup).  CNN has a great electoral map calculator.  You can click to shift a state to either candidate to see how it changes the race (CNN).  While Obama leads, the race for battleground states is close (FOX News). 

3.         Obama Camp Bans Another News Station from Interviews

            Biden again flips when given tough questions. (Breitbart)  Bill O’Reilly spoke with the reporter who was also banned by Obama’s people (YouTube). 

4.         Obama Education Groups Funded Controversial Organizations

            Like ACORN, Ayers and Trinity United Church of Christ (   FOX News).  Daniel Pipes looks at two other “unsavory ties” (Jerusalem Post).  Meanwhile, French President Nicolas Sarkozy expressed concern over an Obama presidency.  From the story: Following their July meeting, Sarkozy repeatedly expressed disappointment with Obama’s positions on Iran, concluding that they were “not crystallized, and therefore many issues remain open,” the Israeli source said. Advisors to the French president who held separate meetings with Obama’s advisors came away with similar impressions and expressed similar disappointment (Haaretz). 

5.         Obama Breaks Spending Records with Mysterious Donors

            From the story:  Obama hasn’t given any details at all about whom his small donors are, drawing extra criticism after he raised a record-shattering $150 million last month alone.  “The fact that the Obama camp has not provided more information about who these small donors are really run counter to his ‘transparency’ message,” said Sheila Krumholz of the Center for Responsive Politics.

            CBS News

Contact:  Center for Responsive Politics, 202 354-0111

6.         Reporter Embarrassed by Media Bias

            He writes “…for the first time in my adult life — to be embarrassed to admit what I do for a living.”  Later:  If the current polls are correct, we are about to elect as president of the United States a man who is essentially a cipher, who has left almost no paper trail, seems to have few friends (that at least will talk) and has entire years missing out of his biography.  That isn’t Sen. Obama’s fault: His job is to put his best face forward. No, it is the traditional media’s fault, for it alone (unlike the alternative media) has had the resources to cover this story properly, and has systematically refused to do so.

            ABC News

7.         Black Turnout Could Help Traditional Marriage

            From the story:  In this historic presidential election year, political observers say high voter turnout for Democratic frontrunner Barack Obama — who is predicted to draw record numbers of church-going African Americans and Latinos — may spell the demise of legal gay marriage in California.

            ABC News

8.         Palin Mannequin Hung by Noose at Home

            Called Halloween fun by the owner.  Obviously, there would be much greater outrage had this been Obama.  But even Hillary would have garnered massive media attention. Most of the media didn’t cover the story.

            FOX News

9.         Home Owners Association Removes Welcome Home Signs for Soldier

            Because, according to the story, “they could be viewed as political and supporting the war.”

            First Coast News