Rightwing Guy

Patrick Henry

2011-08-12T01:47:00.001-05:00

"Are we at last brought to such humiliating and debasing degradation, that we cannot be trusted with arms for our defense?" - Patrick Henry

A far wiser man than the one we have running this country.

Sent via BlackBerry from T-Mobile

Words of Wisdom

2011-08-07T07:36:00.000-05:00

"A popular government without popular information or the means of acquiring it, is but a prologue to a farce, or a tragedy, or perhaps both."
James Madison
Sent via BlackBerry from T-Mobile

Spiderman half black half latino and gay

2011-08-04T10:44:00.001-05:00

This is a joke. Marvel, dumb move.

http://www.christianpost.com/news/new-spiderman-to-be-half-black-half-latino-and-gay-53294/

Sent via BlackBerry from T-Mobile

Sad Day

2011-08-02T03:26:00.001-05:00

Such that it is that out country is even worse off than before. Politicians are doing nothing to help us, or the economy, but line their own pockets.
They are still spending like mad, with no regard for their actions. I wonder what our founding fathers would have done in this situation.

Wait! We all know what they would do.
Sent via BlackBerry from T-Mobile

Happy 4th of July

2011-07-04T13:56:00.001-05:00

Have a great and safe holiday and remember the words of Patrick Henry,

"Is life so dear or peace so sweet as to be purchased at the price of chains and slavery? Forbid it, Almighty God! I know not what course others may take, but as for me, give me liberty, or give me death!"

Sent via BlackBerry from T-Mobile

Gaza Flotilla Determined to Sail Despite Setbacks

2011-07-02T15:57:00.001-05:00

http://www.voanews.com/english/news/Gaza-Flotilla-Determined-to-Sail-Despite-Setbacks-124910404.html

Sent via BlackBerry from T-Mobile

Happy Mothers Day!

2011-05-08T09:48:00.001-05:00

Sent via BlackBerry from T-Mobile

OSAMA-BIN-LADEN-DEAD.

2011-05-04T02:00:00.001-05:00

Damn fucking right!
Sent via BlackBerry from T-Mobile

Bin Ladin

2011-05-01T21:43:00.001-05:00

They saying osama bin ladin is dead! We got his ass!
Sent via BlackBerry from T-Mobile

2011-04-16T10:26:00.001-05:00

"If the freedom of speech is taken away then dumb and silent we may be led, like sheep to the slaughter."
George Washington
Sent via BlackBerry from T-Mobile

Words of Reagan

2011-04-08T11:09:00.001-05:00

"Government's view of the economy could be summed up in a few short phrases: If it moves, tax it. If it keeps moving, regulate it. And if it stops moving, subsidize it." - Ronald Reagan
Sent via BlackBerry from T-Mobile

Quotes

2011-03-22T21:12:00.001-05:00

Government is not reason; it is not eloquent; it is force. Like fire, it is a dangerous servant and a fearful master.
George Washington

If the freedom of speech is taken away then dumb and silent we may be led, like sheep to the slaughter.
George Washington
Sent via BlackBerry from T-Mobile

Useful Advice

2011-03-22T17:29:00.001-05:00

"America will never be destroyed from the outside. If we falter and lose our freedoms, it will be because we destroyed ourselves." - Abraham Lincoln
Sent via BlackBerry from T-Mobile

Helen Thomas: Jews Control White House, Congress

2011-03-20T17:22:00.001-05:00

"Veteran US Journalist Helen Thomas said that Jews have "total control" over the White House and US Congress, telling Playboy magazine in an interview to be published in April, "Everybody is in the pocket of the Israeli lobbies."

Thomas, who covered the White House for more than six decades, was forced to resign from her position at Hearst Corp. last year, after saying in an interview that Jews should "get the hell out of Palestine" and "go home to Poland, Germany and the United States."

Thomas appeared to show no regret for last year's comments, reiterating in the Playboy interview her belief that "Israelis have the right to exist-but where they were born."

"Why shouldn't I say it? I knew exactly what I was doing-I was going for broke. I had reached the point of no return. You finally get fed up," Thomas said.

Thomas denied claims that she was anti-Jewish. "I think they're wonderful people. They had to have the most depth. They were leaders in civil rights. They've always had the heart for others but not for Arabs, for some reason. I'm not anti-Jewish; I'm anti-Zionist."

She explained her comment that Jews should go back to Poland and Germany meant "they should stay where they are because they're not being persecuted-not since World War II...If they were, we sure would hear about it." Thomas added that Jews "carry on the victimization. American people do not know that the Israeli lobbyists have intimidated them into believing that every Jew is a persecuted victim forever-while they are victimizing Palestinians."

When asked whether she believed their was a secret Jewish conspiracy at work in the US, Thomas stated that it is "not a secret. It's very open...Everybody is in the pocket of the Israeli lobbies, which are funded by wealthy supporters, including those from Hollywood. Same thing with the financial markets. There's total control.""

http://www.newsmax.com/InsideCover/helen-thomas-jews-white/2011/03/18/id/390000?s=al&promo_code=BE63-1

Sent via BlackBerry from T-Mobile

An Irish Blessing

2011-03-17T12:20:00.001-05:00

May the road rise to meet you. May the wind be always at your back. May the sunshine warm upon your face, the rain fall soft upon your fields, and until we meet again, may God hold you in the palm of His hand.......an irish blessing!

Happy St. Patricks day!
Sent via BlackBerry from T-Mobile

Benjamin Franklin

2011-03-15T22:15:00.001-05:00

"Those who would give up essential liberty to purchase a little temporary safety deserve neither liberty nor safety."

Benjamin Franklin, Historical Review of Pennsylvania, 1759.
US author, diplomat, inventor, physicist, politician, & printer (1706 - 1790)
Sent via BlackBerry from T-Mobile

Global Warming?

2011-02-21T13:53:00.001-06:00

Its funny the roads were clear yesterday morning, most of the snow gone and now look.
What a difference one day can make, thanks Al Gore!
Sent via BlackBerry from T-Mobile

Unions Suck

2011-02-21T09:05:00.001-06:00

What blood sucking maggots they are. Selfish people who want our money to pay for all, even if the state is broke.
Unions are a relic of a time now passed and now must die accordingly.
Sent via BlackBerry from T-Mobile

WI Madness

2011-02-18T12:52:00.001-06:00

Damn unions ruin everything!
Sent via BlackBerry from T-Mobile

What If?

2011-02-07T11:56:00.004-06:00

What if Washington actually listened to the people and not the lobbyist?
What if our "President" actually did what he said he was going to?
He lied again last night saying he has not raised taxes on anyone making less the $200,000.
The first bill he signed raised the taxes on smokers, so let him lie some more, but nobody is buying his BS anymore.
The people are tired of his lies and the media providing cover for him, Obama makes Carter look like Reagan, sad right?
What if we actually had a leader who wasn't an elitist , such as Obama, McCain, Clinton or Bush?

Strange Days

2011-02-02T12:51:00.001-06:00

One would think we are living in a complete different universe. Damn these politicians.

Crazy

2011-01-18T14:27:00.001-06:00

Why can't crazy people just be crazy? There doesn't have to be a reason.

Congresswoman Shot

2011-01-08T15:31:00.000-06:00

Jared Laughner,22, shot Congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords (D-Ariz.)
Pray for her.

Dear Mr Obama

2010-11-03T23:47:00.000-05:00

Please actually release your birth certificate, that would be a start.
Maybe stand up for this country and take responsibility like a man for your actions.
Listen to the American people who loudly said no more on Tuesday.
Stop dividing us through race and class warfare and be the force for unity that you campaigned on.
Let us keep our own money, we know best how to spend or invest it, not you.
If we must now live within our means than so must the government.
Secure our borders and don't denigrate and punish those who do.
If you bring respect, humility and good old fashion American common sense to that office you will actually be respected instead of the joke many think you are.
Sent via BlackBerry from T-Mobile

Elections!

2010-11-02T09:32:00.000-05:00

Make sure you get out and vote!
Sent via BlackBerry from T-Mobile

President Medvedev Bestows Highest Honors on Russian Spies

2010-10-18T10:15:00.000-05:00

"Russia's Interfax news agency is reporting that President Dmitry Medvedev has bestowed the country's highest state honors on the sleeper agents deported from the United States.

The report says the awards were made in a Kremlin ceremony on Monday, less than four months after the biggest spy swap between the U.S. and Russia since the Cold War. The report cites Medvedev's spokeswoman, Natalya Timakova.

In June, 10 Russian agents who infiltrated suburban America were deported in exchange for four people convicted in Russia of spying for the West.

The spies received a hero's welcome in Russia, with Prime Minister Vladimir Putin leading them in a patriotic singalong in July."

Http://world.foxnews.mobi/quickPage.html?page=23930&external=533698.proteus.fma
Sent via BlackBerry from T-Mobile

Funny

2010-09-28T21:28:00.000-05:00

Sent via BlackBerry from T-Mobile

We told you this would happen.

2010-09-23T13:05:00.000-05:00

I believe most thinkers and those who actually decided to look into Obama's backround new him not experienced and radical, but of course the media decided they didn't care.

They instead focused all there energy into destroying Sarah Palin for her lack of experience when she had much more than our glorious leader.

We all told you he would raise taxes and grow the government, but those calls fell on deaf ears.

As Jefferson said, " my reading of history shows that most bad government come from to much government".
Sent via BlackBerry from T-Mobile

Congressional Budget Office Says Iraq War Cost Less Than Obamas Stimulus Bill

2010-08-30T15:58:00.000-05:00

"As President Obama prepares to tie a bow on U.S. combat operations in Iraq, Congressional Budget Office numbers show that the total cost of the eight-year war was less than the stimulus bill passed by the Democratic-led Congress in 2009.

According to CBO numbers in its Budget and Economic Outlook published this month, the cost of Operation Iraqi Freedom was $709 billion for military and related activities, including training of Iraqi forces and diplomatic operations.

The projected cost of the stimulus, which passed in February 2009, and is expected to have a shelf life of two years, was $862 billion."

Rest of story at

Http://foxnews.mobi/quickPage.html?page=22995&content=42208132
Sent via BlackBerry from T-Mobile

"Recovery Summer" Is A Joke

2010-08-30T13:59:00.000-05:00

It was billed as "Recovery Summer" by the Obama administration, but by almost all accounts it has been an epic failure on all fronts.

We were promised that if we passed Obama's outrageously expensive stimulus bill that unemployment would not go above 8% and its been around 9.5% for how long now?

Even that number is a joke because they don't even count the people who stopped looking for work, the real number is upwards of 16%.

I see people working on the roads with fancy little signs letting everyone know that's its from Obama's stimulus fund.

This is utterly Infuriating because our state and local gas taxes, tabs and license taxs are what's suppose to be paying for such things.

If our glorious leader wants to right the economic ship than he needs to stop spending money we don't have, repeal Obamacare, lower taxes on all Americans, extend the Bush tax cuts, especially for dividends and capitol gains and stop bailing out companies that make poor choice and investments.

If he does not his reelection bid is as good as dead, if its not already.
Sent via BlackBerry from T-Mobile

Ground Zero Mosque

2010-08-15T14:42:00.000-05:00

So of course Obama is ok with it, once again showing how much he thinks of the people of this country and the victims of 9/11.

No one is saying they cannot build a mosque, all people are asking is that they respect the memory of 9/11 and don't build it so close to ground zero.

I do not believe that is unreasonable to ask that the location for the mosque be moved elsewhere, the governor of New York, a Democrat, has come out and offered other land for which they could use.

I do not believe any religion should have a church on that hollowed ground, it belongs to those who died in those attacks and to the brave souls who died trying to save those innocent people.

If you build there it will be nothing but problems, problems that could have been avoided.
Sent via BlackBerry from T-Mobile

Mmm

2010-08-06T12:55:00.000-05:00

Where are all you liberals and Democrats who launched visceral attacks on Bush for his economy when unemployment was at 4.5%.
Where are you now? More jobs lost last month under the Obama economy.
Sent via BlackBerry from T-Mobile

Memo Outlines Obamas Backdoor Amnesty Plan

2010-07-30T12:41:00.000-05:00

Found this at Newsmax.com.

With Congress gridlocked on an immigration bill, the Obama administration is considering using a back door to stop deporting many illegal immigrants - what a draft government memo said could be "a non-legislative version of amnesty."

The memo, addressed to U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services Director Alejandro Mayorkas and written by four agency staffers, lists tools it says the administration has to "reduce the threat of removal" for many illegal immigrants who have run afoul of immigration authorities.

"In the absence of comprehensive immigration reform, USCIS can extend benefits and/or protections to many individuals and groups by issuing new guidance and regulations, exercising discretion with regard to parole-in-place, deferred action and the issuance of Notices to Appear," the staffers wrote in the memo, which was obtained by Sen. Charles E. Grassley, Iowa Republican.

The memo suggests that in-depth discussions have occurred on how to keep many illegal immigrants in the country, which would be at least a temporary alternative to the proposals Democrats in Congress have made to legalize illegal immigrants.

Chris Bentley, a USCIS spokesman, said drafting the memo doesn't mean the agency has embraced the policy and "nobody should mistake deliberation and exchange of ideas for final decisions."

"As a matter of good government, U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services will discuss just about every issue that comes within the purview of the immigration system," he said in an e-mail statement. "We continue to maintain that comprehensive bipartisan legislation, coupled with smart, effective enforcement, is the only solution to our nation's immigration challenges."

He said the Homeland Security Department "will not grant deferred action or humanitarian parole to the nation's entire illegal immigrant population."

The memo does talk about targeting specific groups of illegal immigrants.

Mr. Grassley said it confirms his fears that the administration is trying an end-run around Congress.

"This memo gives credence to our concerns that the administration will go to great lengths to circumvent Congress and unilaterally execute a backdoor amnesty plan," Mr. Grassley said.

The memo acknowledges some of the tools could be costly and might even require asking Congress for more money.

At one point, the authors acknowledge that widespread use of "deferred action" - or using prosecutorial discretion not to deport someone - would be "a non-legislative version of 'amnesty.' "

The authors noted several options for deferred action, including targeting it to students who would be covered by the DREAM Act, a bill that's been introduced in Congress.

In testifying to the Senate Judiciary Committee on May 11, Mr. Mayorkas first said he was unaware of discussions to use these kinds of tools on a categorical basis, then later clarified that officials had talked about expanding the use of those powers.

"I don't know of any plans. I think we have discussed, as we always do, the tools available to us and whether the deployment of any of those tools could achieve a more fair and efficient use or application of the immigration law," he said.

He acknowledged, though, that he was not aware that those powers had ever been used before on a categorical basis.

Sen. John Cornyn, the Texas Republican who queried Mr. Mayorkas on the subject, warned him against pursuing that strategy.

"I think it would be a mistake for the administration to use administrative action, like deferred action on a categorical basis, to deal with a large number of people who are here without proper legal documents to regularize their status without Congress' participation. I will just say that to you for what it's worth," Mr. Cornyn, the ranking Republican on the Senate Judiciary immigration, border security and citizenship subcommittee, told Mr. Mayorkas.

"The American public's confidence in the federal government's ability and commitment to enforce our immigration laws is at an all-time low," Mr. Cornyn said in a statement. "This apparent step to circumvent Congress – and avoid a transparent debate on how to fix our broken immigration system – threatens to further erode public confidence in its government and makes it less likely we will ever reach consensus and pass credible border security and immigration reform."

After reports earlier this year that the agency was working on these sorts of plans, Senate Republicans, led by Mr. Grassley, have sent letters to President Obama and Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano asking for details.

In one letter, the senators warned the president against making an end-run around congressional authority to write immigration rules, and asked for Mr. Obama to promise that he would not use the rules to grant mass pardons.

Rosemary Jenks, government relations manager for NumbersUSA, an organization that advocates for stricter immigration limits, said the memo is "an outrageous usurpation of congressional authority. It is unconstitutional, and a slap in the face to the American people."

She said that the memo could explain why the push for an immigration bill has faltered in Congress.

"This makes sense of the fact that [Senate Majority Leader Harry] Reid and [House Speaker Nancy] Pelosi and Obama are sitting back calmly content with not moving immigration reform this year - because they know Obama is trying to take care of it for them, without Democrats having to be tied down to a vote before the election," she said.

On the other side of the political spectrum, immigrant rights groups have demanded that Mr. Obama halt deportations until he secures a broad legalization bill from Congress - legislation that supporters call "comprehensive immigration reform" because it would tackle enforcement, some aspects of legal immigration and the status of illegal immigrants at the same time.

Two senators earlier this year wrote asking the administration to use its powers to stop deporting students who might be eligible for the DREAM Act, which would allow illegal immigrant college students brought to the U.S. at a young age to gain legal status. The legislation has not been passed by Congress.

Mr. Obama has rejected halting deportations, but his administration has been more careful about whom it pursues.

According to new figures from Immigration and Customs Enforcement, the administration has stepped up its efforts to deport illegal immigrants convicted of crimes, but removal of "non-criminal" illegal immigrants has slowed so far in fiscal 2010.

Http://www.newsmax.com/m/Article/S02
Sent via BlackBerry from T-Mobile

More Judicial Activism

2010-07-28T16:32:00.000-05:00

Its just another day in Obama's America when a radical activist judge can usurp the will of the people, who's only goal was to actually enforce immigration law.

To those who oppose the law because they are worried about themselves, maybe you shouldve worried about that before you broke our laws.

People here illegally are not just committing that crime, but cast numbers of identity crimes, social security fraud, Medicare fraud just to list a couple.

Yes its sad when a parent is deported and leaves a child here, to bad though, you shouldn't have broken the law and now you are making your family pay for.

I'm sick of paying for illegals education, illegals welfare and illegals healthcare.

I have my own bills and own faimly to pay for. They can come back they right way or fix their own country.

Here's a novel idea, how about we actually enforce the laws we have on the books? Its so crazy it might actually work.
Sent via BlackBerry from T-Mobile

Another Example

2010-07-24T20:50:00.000-05:00

Its been shown to us repeatedly, that this administration does not care about the truth, it only cares about pushing its agenda down our throats.

It is not even close to post racial as they try and claim, very evident by Obama own words. If you need evidence of that just look what he said about his own grandmother or the events leading up to last years "beer summit".

I personally don't care what color he is, just as long as he improves this country and that's something he is not doing.

Obama and his administration have done nothing but sow the seeds of division between the people of this country in the hopes of advancing their agenda.

His biggest promise during his campaign was that if you make less than 250,000 dollars a year you will not see a tax increase and what was his the first bill he signed? A tax increase on all smokers, most of whom make far less than 250,000, to pay for the Schip program.

I just want him to tell us the truth, something he is not doing and has not done ever and it will be quite foreign to him and his administration, but for the good of the country he must and than follow through on it.
Sent via BlackBerry from T-Mobile

King of Pork Dies

2010-06-28T23:24:00.000-05:00

Former kkk grand wizard, longest serving member of congress and king of pork himself, Robert Byrd died today.

Who crying themselves to bed tonight? I know I will be!
Sent via BlackBerry from T-Mobile

Blah

2010-04-26T09:23:00.001-05:00

what another crappy Monday in the US of Obama and socialism run amok.

Just a Thought

2010-03-30T21:32:00.000-05:00

If Obamacare is such a great thing than why did the politicians who voted for it exclude themselves?
Sent via BlackBerry from T-Mobile

St. Patrick's Day

2010-03-17T11:50:00.000-05:00

Everyone have a fun and safe time!
Sent via BlackBerry from T-Mobile

Scott Brown Wins, Screws Obama

2010-01-20T09:28:00.000-06:00

What a crushing defeat for President Obama and his leftist healthcare agenda.

If they continue to try and push it down our throats the American people will revolt as they have done in Massachusetts.

We don't want your government run healthcare mr. President, we don't want your cap and trade and we sure as hell don't want your higher taxes and more government intrusion into our lives.
Sent via BlackBerry from T-Mobile

Campaign signs taken down from polling locations amid complaints

2010-01-19T11:58:00.000-06:00

By Ashley Badgley

BOSTON (Mass) —In Dorchester's District 15, three out of seven polling places had signs illegally posted within 150 feet of the building.

Signs within 150 feet of a polling place are prohibited, according to the Secretary of State's Election Day Summary.

Polls located at the following addresses in Dorchester had signs posted in support of candidate, Martha Coakley.

1) Fire Station, Ladder 7, Engine 17: 7 Parish St., 2 signs posted.
2) Pasciucco Apartments: 330 Bowdoin St., 1 sign posted.
3) John Marshall School: 35 Westville St., 3 signs posted.

When signs are posted too close to a polling place, the polling wardens and other election employees are not allowed to take them down. They are, however, required to report it to city hall if they receive a complaint,

Warden Wilma Brown from the polls at 330 Bowdoin St. said."[The sign] is not mine to take down," Brown said.

Brown said she called city hall because she received a complaint. There were no issues and the sign was quickly removed, she said."It is my obligation as the warden here," Brown said. "There was a complaint and I called and they took it down.

"Despite the rules forbidding election workers and voters from removing the signs, one of the signs in front of the Fire Station at 7 Parish St. was quickly torn down by a man standing outside.

Marianne Armstrong, registrar with the City of Boston Elections office, said the number of complaints thus far is not yet known.

She said when they receive complaints, the warden tells the police officer on location to take it down."There is an officer at every location," Armstrong said.

"If the warden tells the police officer, the officer takes the sign down."Brown has been working at the 330 Bowdoin St. location for 18 years.

Every year, she said signs are posted where the removed Coakley sign was. Up until this year, she said, no complaints have ever been filed.

"People have always posted signs," she said. "People can't stand there with signs, but signs have always been there."As of 9 a.m., about 60 people had voted at Brown's location.
Sent via BlackBerry from T-Mobile

Democrats Pending Defeat

2010-01-19T09:16:00.000-06:00

Today is the day that this country starts the comeback from oblivion and the black hole that is liberalism.

Massachusetts is the battleground for this particular fight.

The prize, the Senate seat of the late Ted Kennedy, our favorite fat drunk.

I can't wait to hear what the liberal talking heads say to spin the loss tonight and tommarow, it will be interesting.
Sent via BlackBerry from T-Mobile

Obama Effigy Hanged in Georgia

2010-01-04T09:16:00.000-06:00

"The US Secret Service is investigating an effigy of President Barack Obama found hanging from a building in the hometown of ex-president Jimmy Carter, The Atlanta Journal-Constitution reported on Monday.

The paper said footage from the local WALB-TV station showed the doll was hanging by a noose in front of a red, white and blue sign that says, "Plains, Georgia. Home of Jimmy Carter, our 39th President."

A witness told the television station that the doll wore a sign with Obama's name on it, according to the report.

A Secret Service spokesman said the doll was removed Saturday but declined further comment, the paper said."

Http://m.newsmax.com/site?t=V3IM279VO.trVKdSaxRv6A&sid=newsmax
Sent via BlackBerry from T-Mobile

Where's The Global Warming Al Gore?

2009-12-10T12:15:00.000-06:00

When I woke up yesterday morning and went to start my car, I couldn't help but notice all the global warming as I trudged my way through over 6 inches of snow that accumulated during the night and dealed with temperatures 20 below zero with wind chill included.

Those of us who live in real world have known for sometime that global warming is a joke and with the recent "climategate" we have been proven even more correct, and of course the media says nothing, they circle the wagon.

Global warming is nothing but a vehicle for people to gain control of others and control the way they live, the way they eat, the kind of car they drive and the kind of home you live in.

Is sad that they can't find productive things to do other than hamper and inconvenience hard working Americans.

If Al Gore wants to, he is more than welcome to come to Minnesota and shovel my sidewalk, with negative 20 temps and try and convince me of his lie.
Sent via BlackBerry from T-Mobile

Sarah Palin visits Minnesota

2009-12-08T08:54:00.000-06:00

Yesterday former Alaskan governor Sarah Palin visited the Mall of America in another stop on her book tour.

Reports state that a group of atleast 600 people were waiting to meet the governor hours before the event was to even take place.

Of course the liberals were not far behind and some idiot decided to toss a couple of tomatoes at Palin, missing her and hitting a police commander and getting himself arrested in the process.

This once again shows the stupidity of the left and the amount of hatred they have for a strong conservative woman.

Its amazing to watch the left constantly act like 5 year olds and the utter disrespect they show for anyone who doesn't conform to their point of view.

So sad and pathetic is the left.
Sent via BlackBerry from T-Mobile

Dems Propose 'War Tax' to Pay for troop Increase

2009-11-24T21:22:00.000-06:00

"The troops will supply the blood if the rich will supply the treasure.

That's the message from two top Democrats who say they want to impose a new tax on the wealthy to finance any increase in U.S. troops for the Afghanistan war.

Rep. David Obey, D-Wis., chairman of the purse string-controlling House Appropriations Committee, is calling the idea a "war surtax." He said that just as the federal government is expected to pay for its proposed intervention in the health care sector with new taxes, any escalated involvement in Afghanistan should come with a payment plan.

"If we have to pay for the health care bill, we should pay for the war as well ... by having a war surtax," Obey told ABC News in an interview that aired Monday. "The problem in this country with this issue is that the only people that has to sacrifice are military families and they've had to go to the well again and again and again and again, and everybody else is blithely unaffected by the war."

Sen. Carl Levin, chairman of the Senate Armed Services Committee, is making a similar demand.

President Obama plans to hold his ninth meeting Monday evening with his national security team to discuss options for overhauling the strategy in Afghanistan. The president has been considering requests for tens of thousands more U.S. troops from his top commander, Gen. Stanley McChrystal, for nearly three months. He is not expected to announce his new strategy before Thanksgiving.

But any request would likely come with a hefty price tag. One option presented by McChrystal would bring 40,000 more troops into Afghanistan -- a proposal estimated to cost about $40 billion, according to the Office of Management and Budget.

Obey said if an increase like that is approved without any payment mechanism, then other domestic initiatives would be wiped out.

"On the merits I think it's a mistake to deepen our involvement. But if we are going to do that, then at least we ought to pay for it. Because if we don't, if we don't pay for it, then the cost of the Afghan war will wipe out every other initiative that we have to rebuild our economy," he said. "Ain't going to be no money for nothing if we pour it all into Afghanistan."

Obey's proposal would be a "graduated tax" on income. It reportedly would start at 1 percent for low-income earners and rise to 5 percent for high-income earners. He's calling it a surtax because it would essentially be a tax on income that is already subject to federal income tax."

For the rest of the story click below.

Http://politics.foxnews.mobi/quickPage.html?page=21270&content=26670616&pageNum=-1
Sent via BlackBerry from T-Mobile

Obama Rejects All Afghanistan War Options

2009-11-12T09:04:00.000-06:00

"President Barack Obama does not plan to accept any of the Afghanistan war options presented by his national security team, pushing instead for revisions to clarify how and when U.S. troops would turn over responsibility to the Afghan government, a senior administration official said Wednesday.

That stance comes in the midst of forceful reservations about a possible troop buildup from the U.S. ambassador in Afghanistan, Karl Eikenberry, according to a second top administration official.

In strongly worded classified cables to Washington, Eikenberry said he had misgivings about sending in new troops while there are still so many questions about the leadership of Afghan President Hamid Karzai.

Obama is still close to announcing his revamped war strategy -- most likely shortly after he returns from a trip to Asia that ends on Nov. 19.

But the president raised questions at a war council meeting Wednesday that could alter the dynamic of both how many additional troops are sent to Afghanistan and what the timeline would be for their presence in the war zone, according to the official, who spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss Obama's thinking.

Military officials said Obama has asked for a rewrite before and resisted what one official called a one-way highway toward war commander Gen. Stanley McChrystal's recommendations for more troops. The sense that he was being rushed and railroaded has stiffened Obama's resolve to seek information and options beyond military planning, officials said, though a substantial troop increase is still likely.

The president was considering options that include adding 30,000 or more U.S. forces to take on the Taliban in key areas of Afghanistan and to buy time for the Afghan government's small and ill-equipped fighting forces to take over. The other three options on the table Wednesday were ranges of troop increases, from a relatively small addition of forces to the roughly 40,000 that the top U.S. general in Afghanistan prefers, according to military and other officials.

The key sticking points appear to be timelines and mounting questions about the credibility of the Afghan government."

For the rest of the story click below.

Http://politics.foxnews.mobi/quickPage.html?page=21292&content=25767489&pageNum=-1
Sent via BlackBerry from T-Mobile

Lou Dobbs Quits CNN

2009-11-11T21:17:00.000-06:00

"CNN's Lou Dobbs, a lightning rod for criticism following his transition from a business journalist to an opinionated anchor on such issues as illegal immigration, told viewers on Wednesday that he was quitting his nightly show to pursue new opportunities.

"This will be my last broadcast," Dobbs said after giving the day's headlines. Dobbs, who hosts a daily radio show unrelated to CNN, said the network had allowed him to be released early from his contract."

For the rest of the story click below.

Http://www.newsmax.com/insidecover/lou_dobbs_quit_cnn/2009/11/11/285104.html?s=al&promo_code=90C1-1
Sent via BlackBerry from T-Mobile

Radical Imam Urges Muslims to 'Follow' Ft Hood Terrorist

2009-11-10T14:38:00.000-06:00

The personal Web site for a radical American imam living in Yemen who had contact with two 9/11 hijackers is praising alleged Fort Hood shooter Maj. Nidal Malik Hasan as a hero.

The posting Monday on the Web site for Anwar al Awlaki, who was a spiritual leader at two mosques where three 9/11 hijackers worshipped, said American Muslims who condemned the attacks on the Texas military base last week are hypocrites who have committed treason against their religion.

Two U.S. intelligence officials told The Associated Press the Web site was Al Awlaki's. They spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss intelligence collection.

Anwar said the only way a Muslim can justify serving in the U.S. military is if he intends to "follow in the footsteps of men like Nidal."

Http://world.foxnews.mobi/quickPage.html?page=17040&external=108766.proteus.fma
Sent via BlackBerry from T-Mobile

Iran Reportedly Charges 3 American Hikers With Espionage

2009-11-09T08:06:00.000-06:00

"Three American hikers who have been detained in Iran after crossing into the country from Iraq have been charged with espionage, according to reports by Iran's State News Agency.

Shane Bauer, 27, Sarah Shourd, 31, and Josh Fattal, 27, have been detained in Iran since July 31. Their families say they entered the Islamic Republic accidentally while hiking in a scenic area of northern Iraq.

The families, who have had no contact with the detainees, released videos in October that showed them dancing and singing before they were captured by Iranian authorities.

Iranian Foreign Minister Manouchehr Mottaki said that the fate of the three hikers rests with judicial authorities. Bauer, Shourd and Fattal have been visited by Swiss diplomats who oversee U.S. interests in Iran.

Mottaki gave no other details on the case. Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad said in an interview with The Associated Press in September that he could ask the judiciary to "take a look at the case with maximum leniency."

http://foxnews.mobi/quickPage.html?page=17316&content=25521600&pageNum=-1
Sent via BlackBerry from T-Mobile

Iran Tested Advanced Nuclear Warhead

2009-11-06T14:01:00.000-06:00

"The U.N. nuclear watchdog has asked Tehran to explain evidence suggesting that Iranian scientists have experimented with an advanced secret nuclear warhead design, according to a report published Friday.

Citing what it calls "previously unpublished documentation" from an International Atomic Energy Agency compiled report, Britain's The Guardian newspaper said Iranian scientists may have tested high-explosive components of a "two-point implosion" device.

The report said that even the existence of two-point implosion nuclear warhead technology is officially secret in both the U.S. and Britain. The technology allows for the production of smaller and simpler warheads, making it easier to put a warhead on a missile, the newspaper said.

The IAEA said in September it has no proof Iran has or once had a covert atomic bomb program.

The U.N. watchdog's statements followed reports from the Associated Press quoting what it called a classified IAEA document saying agency experts agreed Iran now had the means to build atomic bombs and was heading towards developing a missile system able to carry a nuclear warhead.

Extracts of the report have been published before, but it was not known the document included information on such a sophisticated warhead, the newspaper said.

A nuclear site, which Iran revealed in September three years after diplomats said Western spies first discovered it, added to fears of secret Iranian efforts to develop nuclear bombs. Iran claims it is enriching uranium only for peaceful electricity use."

http://topstories.foxnews.mobi/quickPage.html?page=17224&content=25290222&pageNum=-1
Sent via BlackBerry from T-Mobile

Fort Hood Gunman in Custody After 12 Die

2009-11-06T03:15:00.000-06:00

"An Army psychiatrist who reportedly feared an impending war deployment is in custody as the sole suspect in a shooting rampage at Fort Hood in Texas that left 12 dead and 31 wounded, an Army official said Thursday night.

The gunman, Major Nidal Malik Hasan, first said to have been killed, was wounded but alive in a hospital under military guard, said Lt. Gen. Bob Cone at Fort Hood. He was shot four times, and was on a ventilator and unconscious, according to military officials. "I would say his death is not imminent," Cone said.

Two other soldiers who were taken into custody for questioning were later released, Cone said. A female first responder who shot at Hasan also survived, contrary to earlier reports that she had died.

The rampage was believed to be the deadliest at a U.S. military base in history.

Soldiers rushed to treat their injured colleagues by ripping their uniforms into makeshift bandages. Officials have not ruled out the possibility that some casualties may have been victims of "friendly fire," shot by authorities amid the mayhem and confusion at the scene, said a senior U.S. official who spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss matters that were under investigation.

Republican Sen. Kay Bailey Hutchison said generals at Fort Hood told her that Hasan, a Virginia native and a Muslim, was about to deploy overseas. Retired Col. Terry Lee, who said he had worked with Hasan, told Fox News he was being sent to Afghanistan.

Lee said Hasan had hoped Obama would pull troops out of Afghanistan and Iraq and got into frequent arguments with others in the military who supported the wars.

Before Thursday's shooting, Hasan reportedly gave away all of his furniture along with copies of the Koran to neighbors, KXXV-TV reported.

Video from the scene showed police patrolling the area with handguns and rifles, ducking behind buildings for cover. Sirens could be heard wailing while a woman's voice on a public-address system urged people to take cover.

"I was confused and just shocked," said Spc. Jerry Richard, 27, who works at the center but was not on duty during the shooting. "Overseas you are ready for it. But here you can't even defend yourself."

Soldiers at Fort Hood don't carry weapons unless they are doing training exercises.

Federal law enforcement officials told the Associated Press that Hasan had come to their attention at least six months ago because of Internet postings that discussed homicide bombings and other threats. The officials said they are still trying to confirm that he was the author.

One of the Web postings that authorities reviewed is a blog that equates homicide bombers with a soldier throwing himself on a grenade to save the lives of his comrades.

"To say that this soldier committed suicide is inappropriate. Its more appropriate to say he is a brave hero that sacrificed his life for a more noble cause," said the Internet posting. "Scholars have paralled (sic) this to suicide bombers whose intention, by sacrificing their lives, is to help save Muslims by killing enemy soldiers."

They say an official investigation was not opened."

For the rest of the story click below.

Http://us.foxnews.mobi/quickPage.html?page=16486&content=25248569&pageNum=-1
Sent via BlackBerry from T-Mobile

GOP Win Governor's Races in New Jersey, Virginia

2009-11-04T11:36:00.000-06:00

"Republicans swept to victory in the New Jersey and Virginia governor's races Tuesday, scoring a pair of decisive wins in states that voted for President Obama a year ago.

The Democrats were able to prevent a shut-out, though, pulling out a narrow victory in a closely watched congressional election in upstate New York. Democrat Bill Owens beat Conservative Party candidate Doug Hoffman in that race.

The Republican victories nevertheless marked a potential turnaround after two consecutive cycles of midterm losses. In New Jersey, Republican Chris Christie beat out Democratic Gov. Jon Corzine, even though Obama campaigned heavily for the incumbent in the closing days of the race and the state has not elected a Republican governor since 1993.

In Virginia, Republican Bob McDonnell beat Democrat Creigh Deeds by a huge margin, heading up a successful GOP ticket. McDonnell's victory ends eight years of Democratic control of the governorship.

The victories could spell trouble for Democrats' legislative agenda in Washington and stand as harbingers of GOP gains in the 2010 midterm elections. Republicans claimed the races Tuesday served as a collective rebuke of Democrats' policies on Capitol Hill and at the White House."

For the rest of the story click below.

Http://politics.foxnews.mobi/quickPage.html?page=21292&content=25087801&pageNum=-1
Sent via BlackBerry from T-Mobile

List Of New 'Bureaucracies' In Healthcare Bill

2009-11-03T14:58:00.000-06:00

1. Retiree Reserve Trust Fund (Section 111(d), p. 61)

2. Grant program for wellness programs to small employers (Section 112, p. 62)

3. Grant program for State health access programs (Section 114, p. 72)

4. Program of administrative simplification (Section 115, p. 76)

5. Health Benefits Advisory Committee (Section 223, p. 111)

6. Health Choices Administration (Section 241, p. 131)

7. Qualified Health Benefits Plan Ombudsman (Section 244, p. 138)

8. Health Insurance Exchange (Section 201, p. 155)

9. Program for technical assistance to employees of small businesses buying Exchange coverage (Section 305(h), p. 191)

10. Mechanism for insurance risk pooling to be established by Health Choices Commissioner (Section 306(b), p. 194)

11. Health Insurance Exchange Trust Fund (Section 307, p. 195)

12. State-based Health Insurance Exchanges (Section 308, p. 197)

13. Grant program for health insurance cooperatives (Section 310, p. 206)

14. "Public Health Insurance Option" (Section 321, p. 211)

15. Ombudsman for "Public Health Insurance Option" (Section 321(d), p. 213)

16. Account for receipts and disbursements for "Public Health Insurance Option" (Section 322(b), p. 215)

17. Telehealth Advisory Committee (Section 1191 (b), p. 589)

18. Demonstration program providing reimbursement for "culturally and linguistically appropriate services" (Section 1222, p. 617)

19. Demonstration program for shared decision making using patient decision aids (Section 1236, p. 648)

20. Accountable Care Organization pilot program under Medicare (Section 1301, p. 653)

21. Independent patient-centered medical home pilot program under Medicare (Section 1302, p. 672)

22. Community-based medical home pilot program under Medicare (Section 1302(d), p. 681)

23. Independence at home demonstration program (Section 1312, p. 718)

24. Center for Comparative Effectiveness Research (Section 1401(a), p. 734)

25. Comparative Effectiveness Research Commission (Section 1401(a), p. 738)

26. Patient ombudsman for comparative effectiveness research (Section 1401(a), p. 753)

27. Quality assurance and performance improvement program for skilled nursing facilities (Section 1412(b)(1), p. 784)

28. Quality assurance and performance improvement program for nursing facilities (Section 1412 (b)(2), p. 786)

29. Special focus facility program for skilled nursing facilities (Section 1413(a)(3), p. 796)

30. Special focus facility program for nursing facilities (Section 1413(b)(3), p. 804)

31. National independent monitor pilot program for skilled nursing facilities and nursing facilities (Section 1422, p. 859)

32. Demonstration program for approved teaching health centers with respect to Medicare GME (Section 1502(d), p. 933)

33. Pilot program to develop anti-fraud compliance systems for Medicare providers (Section 1635, p. 978)

34. Special Inspector General for the Health Insurance Exchange (Section 1647, p. 1000)

35. Medical home pilot program under Medicaid (Section 1722, p. 1058)

36. Accountable Care Organization pilot program under Medicaid (Section 1730A, p. 1073)

37. Nursing facility supplemental payment program (Section 1745, p. 1106)

38. Demonstration program for Medicaid coverage to stabilize emergency medical conditions in institutions for mental diseases (Section 1787, p. 1149)

39. Comparative Effectiveness Research Trust Fund (Section 1802, p. 1162)

40. "Identifiable office or program" within CMS to "provide for improved coordination between Medicare and Medicaid in the case of dual eligibles" (Section 1905, p. 1191)

41. Center for Medicare and Medicaid Innovation (Section 1907, p. 1198)

42. Public Health Investment Fund (Section 2002, p. 1214)

43. Scholarships for service in health professional needs areas (Section 2211, p. 1224)

44. Program for training medical residents in community-based settings (Section 2214, p. 1236)

45. Grant program for training in dentistry programs (Section 2215, p. 1240)

46. Public Health Workforce Corps (Section 2231, p. 1253)

47. Public health workforce scholarship program (Section 2231, p. 1254)

48. Public health workforce loan forgiveness program (Section 2231, p. 1258)

49. Grant program for innovations in interdisciplinary care (Section 2252, p. 1272)

50. Advisory Committee on Health Workforce Evaluation and Assessment (Section 2261, p. 1275)

51. Prevention and Wellness Trust (Section 2301, p. 1286)

52. Clinical Prevention Stakeholders Board (Section 2301, p. 1295)

53. Community Prevention Stakeholders Board (Section 2301, p. 1301)

54. Grant program for community prevention and wellness research (Section 2301, p. 1305)

55. Grant program for research and demonstration projects related to wellness incentives (Section 2301, p. 1305)

56. Grant program for community prevention and wellness services (Section 2301, p. 1308)

57. Grant program for public health infrastructure (Section 2301, p. 1313)

58. Center for Quality Improvement (Section 2401, p. 1322)

59. Assistant Secretary for Health Information (Section 2402, p. 1330)

60. Grant program to support the operation of school-based health clinics (Section 2511, p. 1352)

61. Grant program for nurse-managed health centers (Section 2512, p. 1361)

62. Grants for labor-management programs for nursing training (Section 2521, p. 1372)

63. Grant program for interdisciplinary mental and behavioral health training (Section 2522, p. 1382)

64. "No Child Left Unimmunized Against Influenza" demonstration grant program (Section 2524, p. 1391)

65. Healthy Teen Initiative grant program regarding teen pregnancy (Section 2526, p. 1398)

66. Grant program for interdisciplinary training, education, and services for individuals with autism (Section 2527(a), p. 1402)

67. University centers for excellence in developmental disabilities education (Section 2527(b), p. 1410)

68. Grant program to implement medication therapy management services (Section 2528, p. 1412)

69. Grant program to promote positive health behaviors in underserved communities (Section 2530, p. 1422)

70. Grant program for State alternative medical liability laws (Section 2531, p. 1431)

71. Grant program to develop infant mortality programs (Section 2532, p. 1433)

72. Grant program to prepare secondary school students for careers in health professions (Section 2533, p. 1437)

73. Grant program for community-based collaborative care (Section 2534, p. 1440)

74. Grant program for community-based overweight and obesity prevention (Section 2535, p. 1457)

75. Grant program for reducing the student-to-school nurse ratio in primary and secondary schools (Section 2536, p. 1462)

76. Demonstration project of grants to medical-legal partnerships (Section 2537, p. 1464)

77. Center for Emergency Care under the Assistant Secretary for Preparedness and Response (Section 2552, p. 1478)

78. Council for Emergency Care (Section 2552, p 1479)

79. Grant program to support demonstration programs that design and implement regionalized emergency care systems (Section 2553, p. 1480)

80. Grant program to assist veterans who wish to become emergency medical technicians upon discharge (Section 2554, p. 1487)

81. Interagency Pain Research Coordinating Committee (Section 2562, p. 1494)

82. National Medical Device Registry (Section 2571, p. 1501)

83. CLASS Independence Fund (Section 2581, p. 1597)

84. CLASS Independence Fund Board of Trustees (Section 2581, p. 1598)

85. CLASS Independence Advisory Council (Section 2581, p. 1602)

86. Health and Human Services Coordinating Committee on Women's Health (Section 2588, p. 1610)

87. National Women's Health Information Center (Section 2588, p. 1611)

88. Centers for Disease Control Office of Women's Health (Section 2588, p. 1614)

89. Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality Office of Women's Health and Gender-Based Research (Section 2588, p. 1617)

90. Health Resources and Services Administration Office of Women's Health (Section 2588, p. 1618)

91. Food and Drug Administration Office of Women's Health (Section 2588, p. 1621)

92. Personal Care Attendant Workforce Advisory Panel (Section 2589(a)(2), p. 1624)

93. Grant program for national health workforce online training (Section 2591, p. 1629)

94. Grant program to disseminate best practices on implementing health workforce investment programs (Section 2591, p. 1632)

95. Demonstration program for chronic shortages of health professionals (Section 3101, p. 1717)

96. Demonstration program for substance abuse counselor educational curricula (Section 3101, p. 1719)

97. Program of Indian community education on mental illness (Section 3101, p. 1722)

98. Intergovernmental Task Force on Indian environmental and nuclear hazards (Section 3101, p. 1754)

99. Office of Indian Men's Health (Section 3101, p. 1765)

100. Indian Health facilities appropriation advisory board (Section 3101, p. 1774)

101. Indian Health facilities needs assessment workgroup (Section 3101, p. 1775)

102. Indian Health Service tribal facilities joint venture demonstration projects (Section 3101, p. 1809)

103. Urban youth treatment center demonstration project (Section 3101, p. 1873)

104. Grants to Urban Indian Organizations for diabetes prevention (Section 3101, p. 1874)

105. Grants to Urban Indian Organizations for health IT adoption (Section 3101, p. 1877)

106. Mental health technician training program (Section 3101, p. 1898)

107. Indian youth telemental health demonstration project (Section 3101, p. 1909)

108. Program for treatment of child sexual abuse victims and perpetrators (Section 3101, p. 1925)

109. Program for treatment of domestic violence and sexual abuse (Section 3101, p. 1927)

110. Native American Health and Wellness Foundation (Section 3103, p. 1966)

111. Committee for the Establishment of the Native American Health and Wellness Foundation (Section 3103, p. 1968)

Http://politics.foxnews.mobi/quickPage.html?page=16484&content=24985702&pageNum=-1
Sent via BlackBerry from T-Mobile

Candidate Obama vs. President Obama

2009-11-02T16:59:00.000-06:00

"Barack Obama made a lot of promises during his two-year campaign for change.

He pledged to reform the health care system, wind down the war in Iraq, ramp up the war in Afghanistan, change the way the international community views the United States ... all while keeping a sharp eye on spending and shielding the middle class from tax increases.

With the president coming up on the one-year mark since his election, now's a good time to take a look at his track record.

FoxNews.com reviewed some of Obama's biggest campaign promises, and how his actions have measured up. The verdicts are ranked as promise kept, partly kept, work in progress, not yet addressed and promise broken.

AFGHANISTAN

Pledge: "I would send two to three additional brigades to Afghanistan." -- Obama, during a Sept. 26, 2008, debate at the University of Mississippi

Verdict: Promise Kept. Since taking office, Obama has ordered 21,000 troops to Afghanistan. He ordered two brigades to the battlefield in February, and then announced an additional 4,000 troops during a strategy address in March. However, the administration is now mulling Gen. Stanley McChrystal's request for an additional 40,000 troops. As Obama and his security team reassess strategy for the Afghanistan war, it's unclear whether McChrystal's request will be granted.

FORECLOSURE PREVENTION

Pledge: "Obama will create a foreclosure prevention fund to help people facing foreclosure stay in their homes and renegotiate with their lenders or sell their homes." -- Obama campaign policy paper

Verdict: Promise Kept. Obama in February announced a $75 billion foreclosure prevention plan aimed at keeping millions of families in their homes. It was bigger than anticipated and more expensive, drawing its funding from the Wall Street bailout as well as Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac. The plan, though, has gotten off to a slow start with only a fraction of eligible borrowers reportedly participating.

OUTREACH TO MUSLIM WORLD

Pledge: "In the first 100 days of my administration, I will travel to a major Islamic forum and deliver an address to redefine our struggle. I will make clear that we are not at war with Islam." -- Obama, during an Aug. 1, 2007, speech in Washington, D.C.

Verdict: Promise Kept. In early April, Obama delivered an address to the Turkish parliament in which he declared the United States "is not and will never be at war with Islam." Obama gave a similar address in Cairo in June.

HILLARY CLINTON

Pledge: "Well, Hillary, I'm looking forward to you advising me as well." -- Obama, during a Dec. 13, 2007, debate in Des Moines

Verdict: Promise Kept. Though the above quip was not meant as a compliment, Obama ended up following through after he won the election. He appointed Hillary Clinton as his secretary of state.

IRAQ

Pledge: "We can safely redeploy our combat brigades at a pace that would remove them in 16 months -- that would be the summer of 2010." -- Obama, during a July 15, 2008, speech, ahead of his trip to the Middle East

Verdict: Partly Kept. Obama is withdrawing U.S. combat brigades out of Iraq, but on a slightly slower schedule than advertised during the presidential campaign. Obama in February set Aug. 31, 2010, as the deadline for withdrawing combat brigades. That's 19 months, as opposed to 16 months. However, Obama in 2008 clarified that he reserved the right to make "tactical adjustments" to his withdrawal strategy -- he exercised that right after taking office. The Iraq withdrawal is underway and expected to pick up next year. All military personnel are expected to be out of the country by the end of 2011.

MIDDLE-CLASS TAXES

Pledge: "I can make a firm pledge. Under my plan, no family making less than $250,000 a year will see any form of tax increase. Not your income tax, not your payroll tax, not your capital gains taxes, not any of your taxes." -- Obama, during a Sept. 12, 2008, speech in Dover, N.H.

Verdict: Partly Kept. Middle-class earners got their tax relief in the $787 billion economic stimulus passed one month into Obama's term. But some claim Obama has broken his pledge by sneaking in taxes and tax-like programs in other areas. Republicans over the summer released a list of six programs and proposals they claim would raise taxes on the middle class -- including the tobacco tax hike and proposals to include coverage mandates in health care reform legislation. After all, the health care reform plan proposed by Sen. Max Baucus, D-Mont., explicitly labeled the penalty attached to the requirement to obtain health insurance as an "excise tax." Back in August, Treasury Secretary Tim Geithner suggested tax increases are inevitable. But the White House continued to say the president is committed to shielding those making less than $250,000 from an increase.

DETAINEE TREATMENT

Pledge: "When I am president, America will reject torture without exception. America is the country that stood against that kind of behavior before, and we will do so again." -- Obama, during an Aug. 1, 2007, speech in Washington, D.C.

Verdict: Partly Kept. Obama issued an executive order in January banning "torture" and ordering interrogators to follow the guidelines in the Army Field Manual. He has since moved to overhaul the way interrogations are conducted -- following the recommendations of a special task force which called for the establishment of a High-Value Detainee Interrogation Group, to be housed in the FBI and subject to oversight from the White House-based National Security Council. But the president's record on other matters of detainee treatment is not as clear. While he called for an end to "extreme rendition," officials say the controversial practice of rendition, where prisoners are transferred to foreign governments, will continue -- only the administration says it will seek assurances that those prisoners not be "tortured" overseas. While Obama criticized the military commissions system during the campaign, as president he moved to revive it -- only with expanded legal protections for prisoners. And while Obama the candidate called for efforts to "restore habeas corpus," Obama the president has acknowledged that some detainees might have to be imprisoned indefinitely. These changes in tone have drawn heated criticism from civil rights groups.

HEALTH CARE REFORM

Pledge: "Now is the time to finally keep the promise of affordable, accessible health care for every single American." -- Obama, during his Aug. 28, 2008, Democratic nomination acceptance speech in Denver

Verdict: Work in Progress. Obama has made health care reform the No. 1 priority of his first year in office. Despite several delays and roadblocks along the way, all five relevant committees in Congress have passed a version of the bill and the administration is trying to guide a unified package to the floors of the House and Senate. The bill seeks to make health care more "affordable" and "accessible" with new restrictions on the insurance industry and the possible inclusion of a government-run plan. No bill is expected to ensure every single person in America is covered, but estimates show the overhaul would significantly reduce the number of uninsured.

NUCLEAR WEAPONS

Pledge: "We'll work with Russia to take U.S. and Russian ballistic missiles off hair-trigger alert, and to dramatically reduce the stockpiles of our nuclear weapons and material." -- Obama, in an Oct. 2, 2007, speech in Chicago

Verdict: Work in Progress. Obama has reached out to Russia to work toward that goal. He and Russian President Dmitry Medvedev announced in July that they were on the path to "reset" relations and laid out the guidelines for a new Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty, or START. The treaty is set to expire in December, and a new arrangement would commit the nations to sharper cuts in both warheads and delivery systems. The two countries are still negotiating the treaty.

GUANTANAMO BAY

Pledge: "Guantanamo has become a recruiting tool for our enemies. ... The first step to reclaiming America's standing in the world has to be closing this facility. As president, Barack Obama will close the detention facility at Guantanamo." -- Obama campaign policy paper

Verdict: Work in Progress. Two days after being sworn into office, Obama issued an executive order calling for the detention center at Guantanamo Bay to be closed within one year. However, that effort has hit snags along the way and top officials now warn that it may be difficult to meet the January 2010 deadline. Defense Secretary Robert Gates in September said it would be "tough" to meet that goal. Attorney General Eric Holder conceded the same in early October. "In the end, Guantanamo will be closed," he assured.

FINANCIAL REGULATION

Pledge: "We must build upon the ideas I have laid out over the last several years about how to modernize our financial regulation in this country, and establish commonsense rules of the road for our financial system to help restore confidence in our financial system." -- Obama, during a Sept. 19, 2008, speech in Miami

Verdict: Work in Progress. The Obama administration has proposed a host of financial regulatory measures, including the creation of a consumer protection agency. Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke urged Congress last week to take action on such legislation. But some of the swiftest and most decisive changes have come from Obama's so-called "pay czar" Kenneth Feinberg and his interactions with firms that took federal bailout money. Feinberg has already cracked down on executive compensation at Citigroup and Bank of America, and last week ordered steep pay cuts for the seven firms that received the most aid from the rescue package.

IMMIGRATION REFORM

Pledge: "We need comprehensive reform ... We have to require that undocumented workers, who are provided a pathway to citizenship, not only learn English, pay back taxes and pay a significant fine, but also that they're going to the back of the line, so that they are not getting citizenship before those who have applied legally." -- Obama, during a Feb. 21, 2008, debate in Austin

Verdict: Not Yet Addressed. With health care reform, two wars and other major issues on his plate, Obama has conceded he's not getting to immigration reform this year. But during a trip to Mexico in August, the president stressed that he still wants to pursue a pathway to citizenship for illegal immigrants. He said he expected some movement on the issue before the end of the year but nothing concrete until 2010.

ARMENIAN GENOCIDE

Pledge: "As a senator, I strongly support passage of the Armenian Genocide Resolution, and as president I will recognize the Armenian Genocide." -- Obama, in a Jan. 19, 2008, statement

Verdict: Not Yet Addressed. Obama declined to label the deaths of up to 1.5 million Armenians during World War I as a "genocide" during his trip to Turkey in early April. During a joint news conference alongside Turkish President Abdullah Gul, Obama said he did not want to "focus on my views." Later in the month, he again refrained from calling the massacre a genocide while marking the anniversary of the killings. In a written statement, he said his view of that history "has not changed," but did not use the word genocide.

LOBBYIST RULES

Pledge: "When you walk into my administration, you will not be able to work on regulations or contracts directly related to your former employer for two years." -- Obama, during a June 22, 2007, speech in Manchester, N.H.

Verdict: Promise Broken. This pledge was broken from the very beginning of Obama's presidency, with the nomination of William Lynn as deputy defense secretary. Lynn was registered until last July as a defense lobbyist for Raytheon Co., where he advocated for a range of military programs. Even though Obama did issue the ethics rules he promised on the campaign trail, he ended up issuing a waiver on Lynn's behalf after senators threatened to hold up the nomination. Lynn was confirmed, and the administration continued to grant waivers for subsequent former lobbyists.

SPENDING

Pledge: "When George Bush came into office, our debt -- national debt was around $5 trillion. It's now over $10 trillion. We've almost doubled it. ... But actually I'm cutting more than I'm spending so that it will be a net spending cut." -- Obama, during an Oct. 7, 2008, debate in Nashville

Verdict: Promise Broken. The federal budget deficit for fiscal 2009 tripled to a record $1.4 trillion, according to a Congressional Budget Office estimate out in early October. That's nearly $1 trillion more than the $459 billion deficit recorded in President Bush's last full year. The recession-driven declines in revenue accounted for a large part of Obama's red ink, but so did increases in spending -- on everything from the economic stimulus to Wall Street bailouts (sealed before Obama took office). Though Obama still says he wants to bring the deficit down significantly before the end of his first term, projections show the fiscal 2010 deficit will also exceed $1 trillion. Even if Obama does make major changes to fiscal policy and cut the deficit in half, that's still hundreds of billions of dollars every year to the national debt.

TRANSPARENCY

Pledge: "That's what I will do in bringing all parties together, not negotiating behind closed doors, but bringing all parties together, and broadcasting those negotiations on C-SPAN so that the American people can see what the choices are." -- Obama, during a Jan. 31, 2008, debate in Los Angeles

Verdict: Promise Broken. While Obama and his congressional allies have given countless briefings and speeches on health care reform, much of the negotiations have taken place behind closed doors. These private meetings have grown more common since the Senate Finance Committee passed its version of the bill in mid-October, becoming the last of five congressional panels to clear the bill. Lawmakers are now trying to hammer out versions that can pass the full House and Senate.

HEALTH INSURANCE MANDATE

Pledge: "If you've got a health care plan that you like, you can keep it. All I'm going to do is help you to lower the premiums on it. You'll still have choice of doctor. There's no mandate involved." -- Obama, during an Oct. 7, 2008, debate in Nashville

Verdict: Promise Broken. All of the health care reform plans before Congress endorse some kind of requirement for people to get health insurance. And during his Sept. 9 address to a joint session of Congress, Obama endorsed the idea as well. "Improving our health care system only works if everybody does their part," the president said. Obama expressed a wholly different point of view during the Democratic primaries, when one of the few policy differences between him and Hillary Clinton was that she supported an individual mandate while he did not. He persistently defended the decision, arguing that the reason people don't have health insurance is because they can't afford it -- not because they don't want it."

Http://politics.foxnews.mobi/quickPage.html?page=16484&content=24900484&pageNum=-1
Sent via BlackBerry from T-Mobile

Chris Christie Edges Past Jon Corzine in New Jersey Poll

2009-11-02T09:45:00.000-06:00

"Republican challenger Chris Christie is edging ahead of Democratic incumbent Jon Corzine in the New Jersey gubernatorial race, according to a new poll.

But with the election one day away, the race is still a virtual dead heat.

The Quinnipiac University poll released Monday showed Christie with a 2-point lead over Corzine. Among likely voters, 42 percent backed Christie and 40 percent backed Corzine.

Christie's lead is within the margin of error, but marks a gain from a Quinnipiac survey released last week, in which Corzine enjoyed a 5-point lead.

Independent candidate Chris Daggett is still attracting a sizeable amount of support, with 12 percent backing his candidacy in the latest poll, down from 13 percent a week ago.

The poll of 1,533 likely voters in New Jersey was taken between Tuesday and Sunday. It had a margin of error of 2.5 percentage points."

Http://politics.foxnews.mobi/quickPage.html?page=16484&content=24957199
Sent via BlackBerry from T-Mobile

GOP Set to Propose Its Healthcare Bill

2009-11-02T03:04:00.000-06:00

"Republicans are preparing an alternative health-care bill to Democratic legislation, House Republican Leader John Boehner said, marking a shift in strategy as the full House is set to begin debate on the issue this week.

Boehner said Sunday the Republican bill would extend health-insurance coverage to "millions" of Americans but wouldn't try to match the scope of the House Democratic bill unveiled last week. The Democratic legislation, if passed, is estimated to expand coverage to more than 30 million Americans now without insurance. Its estimated gross cost is $1.055 trillion over 10 years.

"What we do is we try to make the current system work better," Boehner, of Ohio, said on CNN's "State of the Nation." The GOP plan would likely be less costly to taxpayers and involve less government intrusion into the private sector. Boehner said the bill would take "a step-by-step approach" to expanding coverage.

It would, among other things, propose new limits on medical malpractice lawsuits and make it easier for individuals and small businesses to pool resources to purchase insurance.

Boehner said the Republican bill would also propose grants for states that use "innovative" solutions to expand coverage. He pointed to states that have created special "high-risk pools" to provide insurance to individuals with pre-existing conditions.

He said the bill wouldn't raise taxes, nor mandate that individuals and businesses purchase insurance, as the Democratic legislation does."

Http://politics.foxnews.mobi/quickPage.html?page=16484&content=24940338&pageNum=-1
Sent via BlackBerry from T-Mobile

Favre, Vikings beat Packers 38-26

2009-11-02T01:53:00.000-06:00

By Chris Jenkins (AP)

Brett Favre still knows how to win big games at Lambeau Field, even if this one came for the enemy and to a chorus of boos.

For the second time in less than a month, Brett Favre sliced up his former team and stuck it to the franchise that cast him aside as the Minnesota Vikings beat the Green Bay Packers 38-26 at Lambeau on Sunday.

If walking out to waves of loud jeers from his former fans threw Favre off his game, it didn't last long. Despite being jeered repeatedly by Packers fans who once cheered his every move, Favre completed 17 of 28 passes for 244 yards and four touchdowns. The Vikings (7-1) took a firm hold on the NFC North standings.

"But Packer fans cheer for the Packers first," Favre said. "I know that. But I hope that everyone in the stadium watching tonight said, 'I sure hate those jokers on the other side, but he does play the way he's always played.'"

Rookie receiver Percy Harvin caught five passes for 84 yards and a touchdown and had five returns for 175 yards, but didn't mind yielding the spotlight to Favre.

"He's played this game a long time, he sees a lot of stuff that a lot of quarterbacks can't see," Harvin said. "And he can make a lot of throws that a lot of quarterbacks can't make. With us being explosive, to add him was like a blessing in disguise."

The Vikings' defense roughed up Favre's successor, Aaron Rodgers, sacking him six times. But with the Packers (4-3) on the verge of getting routed, Rodgers rebounded with three second-half touchdowns.

Rodgers said losing the game to a division rival meant more than being beaten by Favre.

"I hate losing to whoever's the quarterback for them," Rodgers said.

But cornerback Charles Woodson acknowledged the game was significant beyond the division standings.

"I think a lot of people really wanted this one bad," Woodson said. "We let a lot of people down today."

The Packers recognize that their chances of winning the division are fading, but are looking forward to the possibility of facing their rivals again in the playoffs.

"Hopefully, we'll have another crack at these guys down the road," Packers coach Mike McCarthy said.

Already leading 17-3 at halftime, Favre temporarily reverted from game manager to gunslinger on the Vikings' first possession of the second half — and even that worked. Favre threw into triple coverage under pressure and Harvin came down with the ball while Woodson, Atari Bigby and Nick Collins tumbled to the ground like extras in a slapstick comedy as the Vikings took a 24-3 lead.

But Rodgers answered by driving the Packers to three unanswered scores in the third quarter — a field goal and a pair of touchdown passes to tight end Spencer Havner, a linebacker who switched positions in training camp.

Harvin then returned a kickoff 44 yards, Favre hit Harvin for a third-down conversion, and a face mask penalty on Green Bay's B.J. Raji gave the Vikings first-and-goal at the 9. Facing third down at the 2, Favre rolled right and threw to wide open tight end Jeff Dugan to put the Vikings up 31-20 early in the fourth quarter.

Rodgers wasn't finished, scrambling for 35 yards to set up a 10-yard touchdown pass to Greg Jennings. After a failed 2-point conversion attempt, the Packers trailed 31-26 with 10:26 remaining.

Driving with a chance to take the lead, the Packers stalled out and Mason Crosby missed a 51-yard field goal attempt.

Peterson took a screen pass 44 yards down the left sideline to the Green Bay 15. With the Vikings facing third-and-11, Favre threaded a ball through the Green Bay secondary for a touchdown to Bernard Berrian.

Favre left the field surrounded by cameras, pumping his fist to a mix of cheers and boos as he jogged down the tunnel. He hugged cornerback Al Harris, Driver and Jennings.

Despite the final score, it was an awkward homecoming for Favre, whose high-profile standoff with the front office split the loyalties of Packers fans last summer.

There weren't many signs of a split on Sunday.

Fans booed Favre loudly — first when he walked out of the tunnel for pregame warmups, then again when he ran out of the tunnel for the game, and on every snap during the Vikings' first few offensive possessions.

"Welcome back to Lambeau Field, Brent," one fan's sign read.

Vikings coach Brad Childress said Favre did a great job of staying "in body," not letting the charged atmosphere get the best of him.

"We talked a little bit about not doing too much," Childress said.

If Favre didn't realize the extent to which Packers fans have turned on him, he does now.

But even if he's now the enemy, Favre says that doesn't diminish his accomplishments as a Packer — in his mind, anyway.

"What I've done here speaks for itself," Favre said. "What I was part of was awesome. That will never change."

Http://www.google.com/hostednews/ap/article/ALeqM5go6Qgvo8htc6fmkEU5V5bDfF1A_QD9BN3N3O3
Sent via BlackBerry from T-Mobile

John Boehner Says GOP Has Answers on Healthcare Reform

2009-10-31T16:25:00.000-05:00

"With Democrats in control of Congress, much of the debate over the sweeping health care reform pushed by President Obama has focused on what proposals could win enough support within the party to pass, but the GOP isn't ceding the war of ideas.

House Minority Leader John Boehner rallied Republicans on Saturday and called on Americans to pay attention to the health care proposals being raised by the GOP, as the Democrats "recklessly pursue" what Boehner called a government takeover of the health care system.

Boehner outlined his party's alternative in the GOP's weekly radio and Internet address Saturday as Democratic proposals gain momentum in Congress and Republicans scramble for support to try to block them.

The Ohio Republican said there is a choice to be made: "We can come together to implement smart, fiscally responsible reforms to improve Americans' health care or we can recklessly pursue this government takeover that creates far more problems than it solves."

Boehner said a number of steps could be taken, such as letting people buy health insurance across state lines, allowing people and organizations to pool together to buy insurance for lower prices and reining in malpractice lawsuits.

Taking aim at House Speaker Nancy Pelosi's plan, Boehner said it would put Washington in charge of health care decisions, add to the bureaucracy, raise premiums and cut Medicare benefits.

"Enough is enough. Breaking the bank and taking away the freedoms Americans cherish is not the answer to the challenges we face," Boehner said."

For the rest of the story click below.

Http://politics.foxnews.mobi/quickPage.html?page=16484&content=24829204&pageNum=-1
Sent via BlackBerry from T-Mobile

Republican Scozzafava Suspends New York Congressional Campaign

2009-10-31T10:25:00.000-05:00

Republican state Assemblywoman Dierdre Scozzafava has suspended her campaign for upstate New York's 23rd Congressional seat, leaving Democratic nominee Bill Owens and Conservative Party nominee Doug Hoffman in the race that will conclude Tuesday, Fox News has confirmed.

The move comes on the heels of a new poll that showed Scozzafava had fallen behind her two competitors in a race too close.

The Siena College poll has Owens picking up 36 percent of the vote, while Hoffman has 35 percent. Scozzafava has 20 percent, with nine percent of voters undecided.

It's a turnaround from the first Siena poll on the race in September, which had Scozzafava leading, followed by Owens and Hoffman.

The special election is Tuesday.

Scozzafava blamed her poor standing in he polls and a lack of money for her decision in a letter to her supporters published by the Watertown Daily Times.

"In recent days, polls have indicated that my chances of winning this election are not as strong as we would like them to be," she wrote.

"The reality that I've come to accept is that in today's political arena, you must be able to back up your message with money -- and as I've been outspent on both sides, I've been unable to effectively address many of the charges that have been made about my record," she said.

Scozzafava didn't endorse either of the remaining candidates, opting instead to allow her supporters make their own choice.

"It is my hope that with my actions today, my party will emerge stronger and our district and our nation can take an important step towards restoring the enduring strength and economic prosperity that has defined us for generations," she said.

Ken Spain, a spokesman for the National Republican Congressional Committee, said Scozzafava is releasing supporters to vote for Hoffman.

Http://politics.foxnews.mobi/quickPage.html?page=16484&content=24829205&pageNum=-1
Sent via BlackBerry from T-Mobile

Obama Still Makes No Decision on Troop Levels

2009-10-31T01:55:00.000-05:00

" President Barack Obama grappled Friday with the costs and consequences of a long-term commitment to Afghanistan, but reached no decisions about troop levels, a top aide said, as military advisers briefed the president on an armed services already taxed by challenges around the globe.

The president reviewed his options with the Joint Chiefs of Staff and made clear he wants at least one more meeting with them and with his broader national security team before deciding on a revamped war strategy for the Afghanistan-Pakistan region, said a senior administration official.

The official spoke on condition of anonymity because of the sensitivity of Obama's private deliberations.

Obama's much anticipated review of how to right a deteriorating war effort is nearing its end but still weeks away from being wrapped up. Once made, he is expected to explain his decision to the American public and the international community in a prominent way, such as a major address. The details are not yet set."

For the rest of the story click below.

Http://politics.foxnews.mobi/quickPage.html?page=16484&content=24807525&pageNum=-1
Sent via BlackBerry from T-Mobile

New Jersey Governor Race in Dead Heat

2009-10-30T15:49:00.000-05:00

"The highly contentious race for New Jersey's next governor is a virtual tie, according to new poll released Friday.

A Fairleigh Dickinson University survey shows that 41 percent of likely New Jersey voters back Republican Chris Christie, a former federal prosecutor, while 39 percent favor Jon Corzine, the state's incumbent governor who is seeking a second term.

Fourteen percent of respondents support independent candidate Chris Daggett.

The telephone poll of 694 likely voters was taken Oct. 22-28 and has a sampling error margin of plus or minus 4 percentage points.

Christie leads Corzine 42 percent to 35 percent on the question of "which candidate better understands the concerns of the average person," but the candidates are even on the question of which is more trustworthy, the poll found. Corzine leads 48 percent to 33 percent on the question of which candidate "has the background and experience to be a good governor."

Christie's two point lead, while within the poll's margin of error, shows an increasingly tight race ahead of Tuesday's election."

For the rest of the story click below.

Http://politics.foxnews.mobi/quickPage.html?page=16484&content=24775006&pageNum=-1
Sent via BlackBerry from T-Mobile

FBI Raid Kills Radical Islam Leader

2009-10-29T10:55:00.000-05:00

"Three people were still on the loose Thursday after the FBI raid and deadly shooting of a radical Islam leader whose goal authorities say was to take down the U.S. government.

Luqman Ameen Abdullah, 53, was killed in a shootout with federal agents in the Detroit suburb of Dearborn as they tried to arrest him on a number of charges including conspiracy to sell stolen goods and the illegal possession and sale of firearms.

Abdullah repeatedly told followers that the U.S. government was their enemy and they should be willing to fight the FBI, even if it meant death, according to the criminal complaint against him.

"You cannot have a nonviolent revolution," Luqman Ameen Abdullah said, according to a 2008 conversation secretly recorded by a confidential FBI source.

Abdullah was killed Wednesday at a warehouse in Dearborn, where agents were attempting to arrest him. FBI spokeswoman Sandra Berchtold said Abdullah refused to surrender, fired a weapon and was killed by gunfire from agents.

He was one of 11 people named in a criminal complaint after a two-year investigation.

Seven of the 10 people charged with Abdullah were in custody, including a state prison inmate, the U.S. attorney's office said. Three still were missing.

Another man not named in the complaint also was arrested.

The FBI will hold a news conference Thursday morning.

The 43-page complaint described Abdullah as an extremist who believed the FBI bombed New York's World Trade Center in 1993 and the Oklahoma City federal building two years later.

Abdullah beat children with sticks at his Detroit mosque, the complaint claimed, and was trained with his followers in the use of firearms, martial arts and swords.

Neither Abdullah nor his co-defendants were charged with terrorism. But he was "advocating and encouraging his followers to commit violent acts against the United States," FBI agent Gary Leone wrote in an affidavit filed with the complaint.

The FBI said Abdullah, also known as Christopher Thomas, was an imam, or prayer leader, of a radical group named Ummah whose primary mission is to establish an Islamic state within the U.S."

For the rest of the story click below.

Http://us.foxnews.mobi/quickPage.html?page=16486&content=24631991&pageNum=-1
Sent via BlackBerry from T-Mobile

San Francisco Approves Law To Protect Illegals

2009-10-28T08:50:00.000-05:00

"The city's Board of Supervisors gave final approval Tuesday to a measure that would keep law enforcement from turning over minors to immigration authorities unless they have been found guilty of a felony.

The move pits the panel against Mayor Gavin Newsom and law enforcement by reversing his policy of turning over youths to Immigration and Customs Enforcement after their arrest.

Newsom took the stance in 2008 after the city was accused of protecting young offenders such as Edwin Ramos from deportation.

Ramos, an undocumented immigrant from El Salvador, was charged with felonies as a minor, but the sanctuary policy allowed the suspected gang member to stay in the U.S.

Now 22, Ramos is awaiting trial in the shooting death of a man and his two sons in San Francisco as they headed home from a barbecue.

Since the mayor changed the policy, 149 undocumented juveniles charged with felonies have been referred to immigration officials, ICE said."

For the rest of the story click below.

Http://politics.foxnews.mobi/quickPage.html?page=16484&content=24543635&pageNum=-1
Sent via BlackBerry from T-Mobile

More Liberal Bias

2009-10-26T08:48:00.000-05:00

I took this pic yesterday in Minneapolis. Talk about liberal bias in the media.
I don't ever remember any conservative talk radio station being so in the tank for Bush.
Sent via BlackBerry from T-Mobile

Senate on Verge of Health Bill With 'Public' Plan

2009-10-26T02:34:00.000-05:00

"Top Senate Democrats are close to finalizing their health bill and could unveil a measure as soon as early this week that would include stiffer penalties on employers who fail to provide health coverage.

Senate leaders plan to submit the bill to the Congressional Budget Office for a cost estimate as soon as Monday, and make the legislation public as soon as Tuesday, according to a person familiar with the negotiations.

Details of the legislation could change, but its broad outlines are becoming clear. Employers with more than 50 workers wouldn't be required to provide health insurance, but they would face fines of up to $750 per employee if even part of their work force received a government subsidy to buy health insurance, this person said. A bill passed by the Senate Finance Committee had a lower fine of up to $400 per employee."

For the rest of the story click below.

Http://politics.foxnews.mobi/quickPage.html?page=16484&content=24383985&pageNum=-1
Sent via BlackBerry from T-Mobile

Healthcare Bill Exceeds $1Trillion

2009-10-24T10:34:00.000-05:00

"Health care legislation taking shape in the House carries a price tag of at least $1 trillion over a decade, significantly higher than the target President Barack Obama has set, congressional officials said Friday as they struggled to finish work on the measure for a vote early next month.

Democrats have touted an unreleased Congressional Budget Office estimate of $871 billion in recent days, a total that numerous officials acknowledge understates the bill's true cost by $150 billion or more. That figure excludes several items designed to improve benefits for Medicare and Medicaid recipients and providers, as well as public health programs and more, they added.

The officials who disclosed the details did so on condition of anonymity, saying they were not authorized to discuss them publicly.

Some moderate Democrats have expressed reluctance to support a bill as high as $1 trillion. Last month, Obama said in a nationally televised address before a joint session of Congress that he preferred a package with a price tag of around $900 billion."

For the rest of the story click below.

Http://politics.foxnews.mobi/quickPage.html?page=16484&content=24239176&pageNum=-1
Sent via BlackBerry from T-Mobile

The Obama Nation Revised

2009-10-23T15:48:00.000-05:00

Just a few things I missed last time.

In the Obama nation you will be told how much you can and will pay your employees.

You will take a pay cut if the Obama administration feels you are making to much money.

You will continue to pay more and more for schools without seeing results or even a significant bang for your buck.

You will not listen to Fox news or talk radio and instead are only allowed to watch Obama approved media outlets.

You will hand in all handguns, rifles and shotguns because as a crazy rightwinger you are to stupid and irresponsible to own them and are a danger to society.

You will accept amnesty for all illegal aliens and if you don't you will be labeled a racist.

You will allow the liberal indoctrination of your children at public schools and colleges across the country.

You will teach your children that its normal for a child to have two parents of the same sex.

You will give your children awards for no actual accomplishments but just for participation.

You will accept international law and disregard our constitution.

You will hang a picture of Obama in every room and refer to him as 'our glorious leader'.

You will snitch on your neighbors or on anyone else who demeans our disparages 'our glorious leader' and his abundant wisdom and clarity.
Sent via BlackBerry from T-Mobile

Republicans Defend Conservative Commentators, Decry White House

2009-10-23T12:37:00.000-05:00

"House Republican leaders rushed to the defense of conservative commentators Thursday after President Obama dismissed Fox News as "talk radio" -- part of the White House campaign to marginalize opposing viewpoints.

Rep. Mike Pence, chairman of the House Republican Conference, said conservative commentators speak more for Americans than the national media outlets that have targeted them for criticism.

"Goaded on by a White House increasingly intolerant of criticism, lately the national media has taken aim at conservative commentators in radio and television," the Indiana Republican said on the House floor. "Suggesting that they only speak for a small group of activists and even suggesting in one report today that Republicans in Washington are 'worried about their electoral effect.' Well, that's hogwash."

Pence said the hundreds of thousands who filled town hall meetings this summer to protest Obama's sweeping health care reform legislation and marched in Washington in September prove there is widespread worry "about liberal social policies and runaway federal spending, deficit and debt."

"So to my friends in the so-called 'mainstream media,' I say, 'conservative talk show shots may not speak for everybody, but they speak for more Americans than you do."

Several top White House advisers have appeared on other news channels to criticize Fox News' coverage of the administration, dismiss the network as the mouthpiece of the Republican Party and urge other news organizations not to treat Fox News as a legitimate news network. "

For the rest of the story click below.

Http://politics.foxnews.mobi/quickPage.html?page=16484&content=24123797&pageNum=-1
Sent via BlackBerry from T-Mobile

White House Tries To Exclude Fox News From Pay Czar Interview

2009-10-23T09:12:00.000-05:00

"The Obama administration on Thursday failed in its attempt to manipulate other news networks into isolating and excluding Fox News, as Republicans on Capitol Hill stepped up their criticism of the hardball tactics employed by the White House.

The Obama administration on Thursday tried to make "pay czar" Kenneth Feinberg available for interviews to every member of the White House pool except Fox News. The pool is the five-network rotation that for decades has shared the costs and duties of daily coverage of the presidency.

But the Washington bureau chiefs of the five TV networks consulted and decided that none of their reporters would interview Feinberg unless Fox News was included.

The administration relented, making Feinberg available for all five pool members and Bloomberg TV.

The pushback came after White House senior adviser David Axelrod told ABC News' "This Week" on Sunday that Fox News is not a real news organization and other news networks "ought not to treat them that way."

The decision to boycott the Feinberg interview unless Fox News was included was cheered by media analysts, who said the administration's gambit was taking its feud with Fox News too far. President Obama has already declined to go on "Fox News Sunday," even while appearing on the other Sunday shows."

For the rest of the story click below.

Http://politics.foxnews.mobi/quickPage.html?page=16484&content=24189079&pageNum=-1
Sent via BlackBerry from T-Mobile

'Public Option' May Be Added to Senate Bill

2009-10-23T00:12:00.000-05:00

"Senior Senate Democrats at work with White House officials on health care legislation are strongly considering a requirement for the federal government to sell insurance in direct competition with private industry, officials said Thursday, with individual states permitted to drop out of the system.

Liberals in Congress long have viewed such an approach, called a public option, as an essential ingredient of the effort to overhaul the nation's health care system, and President Barack Obama has said frequently he favors it. But he has also made clear it is not essential to the legislation he seeks, a gesture to Democratic moderates who have opposed it.

Democratic moderates are skeptical of allowing the government to sell insurance, concerned that it would mark an unwarranted federal intrusion into the private marketplace. And even if they agreed, it would raise questions of payment rates for doctors, hospitals and other providers.

Kent Conrad, D-N.D, for example, has said repeatedly he could not accept a plan with payments tied to Medicare, the federal health care program for the elderly, because rates in North Dakota are too low to give doctors an incentive to treat additional patients.

Moderate Republican Sen. Olympia Snowe, who also has met regularly with administration officials, called the emerging proposal "just another public option."

"I do not support it," she said.

Snowe went one step further and warned that any inclusion of this "opt out" measure would cause her to withhold her support from proceeding to the bill.

Her "no" vote alone would not be enough to stop the bill from moving forward. But in what could be an ominous sign for Reid, Sens. Ben Nelson, D-Neb., called the "opt out" public plan a "difficult option" and questioned how difficult it would be for states to opt out."

For the rest of the story click below.

Http://politics.foxnews.mobi/quickPage.html?page=16484&content=24159580&pageNum=-1
Sent via BlackBerry from T-Mobile

The War On Fox News

2009-10-22T21:11:00.000-05:00

Attack a major news outlet? Than double down on that policy? Bad idea right?

Well the Obama administration doesn't seem to think so, they think its a winning policy and has actively been attacking Fox News over the past few weeks.

Top Obama officials have been making the rounds trying to disparage the network while on other channels.

I personally watch Fox because I can't stand watching the other networks because they are so in the tank for Obama and the democrats its ridiculous and unbearable to watch.

Fox has the most politically diverse guests and commentators, with the other networks its so one sided that you want to put your head threw the tv.

I like to hear both sides and than make my own decision, I like most Americans actually have a brain which functions and which allows me to think without being told what to think by morons like Chris Matthews.

There is a reason that Fox News is number one every night and that its ratings are growing even more since the start of Obamas attacks.

Keep it up Obama even the liberal media says its a bad idea and only bound to hurt him politically, but yet he persists.

I plan on sitting back watching and laughing along the way.

Sent via BlackBerry from T-Mobile

New Unemployment Claims Rise To 531,000

2009-10-22T08:58:00.000-05:00

"The number of newly laid-off workers filing claims for jobless benefits rose more than expected last week, after falling in five of the past six weeks, as employers remain reluctant to hire even with the economy showing signs of recovery.

The Labor Department said Thursday that new jobless claims rose to a seasonally adjusted 531,000 last week, from an upwardly revised 520,000 the previous week. Wall Street economists had expected only a slight increase, according to Thomson Reuters.

Economists closely watch initial claims, which are considered a gauge of layoffs and an indication of companies' willingness to hire new workers.

The four-week average of claims, which smooths out fluctuations, fell slightly to 532,250, the lowest since mid-January and about 125,000 below the peak for the recession, reached this spring. But claims remain well above the 325,000 that economists say is consistent with a healthy economy.

The number of people continuing to claim benefits did drop for the fifth straight week to 5.9 million, from just over 6 million. The figures on continuing claims lag initial claims by a week.

Many recipients are moving onto extended benefit programs approved by Congress in response to the recession, which began in December 2007 and is the worst since the 1930s. Those extensions add up to 53 weeks of benefits on top of the 26 typically provided by the states."

For the rest of the story click below.

Http://politics.foxnews.mobi/quickPage.html?page=16484&content=24102003&pageNum=-1
Sent via BlackBerry from T-Mobile

Obama Compares Fox News to Talk Radio

2009-10-22T00:51:00.000-05:00

President Obama spoke publicly for the first time Wednesday about his administration's portrayal of Fox News as an illegitimate news organization -- only to say he's not "losing sleep" over the controversy.

Obama, in an interview with NBC, at first attempted to deflect a question about the White House's criticism of Fox News, saying "the American people are a lot more interested in what we're doing to create jobs or how we're handling the situation in Afghanistan."

The interviewer then pressed, noting that Obama's advisers have targeted the network openly.

"I think that what our advisers simply said is, is that we are going to take media as it comes," Obama said. "And if media is operating, basically, as a talk radio format, then that's one thing. And if it's operating as a news outlet than that's another. But it's not something I'm losing a lot of sleep over."

Several top White House advisers have gone on other channels to criticize Fox News' coverage of the administration, dismiss the network as the mouthpiece of the Republican Party and urge other news organizations not to treat Fox News as a legitimate news station.

And on Tuesday, Press Secretary Robert Gibbs said White House officials "render (that) opinion based on some their coverage and the fairness of that coverage."

But asked how Fox News was different from other news organizations, Gibbs mentioned the channel's 5 p.m. and 9 p.m. shows, in an explicit reference to "Beck" and "Hannity" -- even though those two shows represent opinion programming.

Informed that those hours are for opinion programming, Gibbs said: "That is our opinion."

Michael Clemente, senior vice president of news for Fox News, issued a statement Tuesday defending the company.

"Hundreds of journalists come to work each day at Fox News all deeply committed to their craft. It's disappointing that the White House would be so dismissive of their fine work and continue their vengeful war against a news organization," he said.

Http://politics.foxnews.mobi/quickPage.html?page=16484&content=24072812&pageNum=-1
Sent via BlackBerry from T-Mobile

The Obama Hypocrisy

2009-10-21T15:24:00.000-05:00

Like many Americas I'm still waiting for the "change" that President Obama promised during the campaign trail and have yet to see an example of it anywhere, positively that is.

Of course there is the change of the government in control of the banking and auto industry.

And contrary to what he said on the campaign trail, one of his first acts as President was to raise my taxes and everyone else who smokes.

I seem to remember something about a promise Obama made that if you made under 250,000 you would not see your taxes increase one cent, just more hypocrisy from a President who smokes.

Obama promised bipartisanship and that he would reach across the isle to work with Republicans and solve the issues that face Americans today, but has been nothing but partisan and has blamed all his shortcomings on his predecessor.

At every opportunity he has apologized for Americas past actions and for our greatness and cannot grasp the concept of American exceptionalism.

He said he was above race, but at every corner he has played the race card to the point that any and all opposition to Obama is decried as racist by left.

Now he has gone after Fox News for doing its job and actually reporting what Obama is trying to do to this country and about the radicals he has surrounded himself with.

You are who you hang out with. Maybe that's guilt by association, but say if I was to hang out with the kkk wouldn't I be considered racist?

The same works for lefty radicals who wish to undermine our country and turn us into a socialist state and therefore control as many people as possible.

Its time for the President to put up or shut up, his rhetoric will no longer be sufficient to placate the American people, we demand more!
Sent via BlackBerry from T-Mobile

Filmmakers Show Video of ACORN 'Sting' in Philadelphia

2009-10-21T13:54:00.000-05:00

The two independent filmmakers who posed as a pimp and a prostitute and received advice from ACORN employees in five cities on how to skirt tax and immigration laws claim the community organizer group lied when it said the pair were shown the door without receiving assistance from staffers in its Philadelphia office.

James O'Keefe, 25, and Hannah Giles, 20, played a heavily-edited video on Wednesday depicting their visit to ACORN's Philadelphia office on July 24. Giles, clad in a fur coat and leather skirt, posed as a prostitute, while O'Keefe played the role of her pimp. The pair claim they were not "kicked out" of the office without assistance from ACORN employee Katherine Conway-Russell, as has been reported.

"At no point were we kicked out and at no point were we asked to leave," O'Keefe told reporters at the National Press Club in Washington. "Why did the Philadelphia press report were we kicked out?"

The new eight-minute video depicts O'Keefe and Giles entering ACORN's Philadelphia office and meeting with Conway-Russell. O'Keefe and Giles are seen speaking with Conway-Russell, but audio portions of the video are missing or edited in some portions. O'Keefe is heard mentioning he doesn't "want to get in trouble with authorities," and he mentions individuals will be frequently coming in and out of the building they hoped to secure, an apparent reference to the purported prostitution business to operate there. Clips of news reports featuring Conway-Russell and ACORN's chief executive, Bertha Lewis, claiming the pair were kicked out of the office were then shown.

The video was later posted online.

Scott Levenson, a spokesman for ACORN, reiterated a Sept. 14 statement issued by Carol Hemingway, the president of ACORN's Philadelphia chapter, saying O'Keefe and Giles were asked to leave the office and that a police report was subsequently filed.

"This is another example of Fox Entertainment treating concocted video as if it's actually news," Levenson told Foxnews.com. "The police report we filed contemporaneously proves our clear understanding of this scam that was being portrayed."

Levenson declined further comment.

O'Keefe and Giles were joined by Andrew Breitbart, a conservative commentator who publishes Breitbart.com and BigGovernment.com, which first posted the videos last month.

"I can't think of one moment where ACORN has told the truth about what James and Hannah have done," Breitbart said. "ACORN has lied every step of the way ... We are here to dispel those lies."

Breitbart said more videos connected to the undercover probe may be released at an unspecified date. "There are more," he said.

Meanwhile, U.S. Rep. Steve King, R-Iowa, called for congressional probes into ACORN and praised the young filmmakers for their "insight" and courage.

'This is what happens in America when people stand up for what's right," he said.

The first five videos - made public on BigGovernment.com - depicted ACORN employees in Washington, Brooklyn, N.Y., Baltimore, San Diego and San Bernardino, Calif., offering advice to O'Keefe and Giles on how to skirt tax laws and avoid detection by authorities while operating a brothel. The footage led to the firing of four employees and the suspension of two others.

The undercover operation prompted the IRS and the Census Bureau to sever all ties to the organization, which bills itself as the nation's largest grassroots organization of low- and moderate-income families. A criminal probe was launched by the Kings County District Attorney's Office to investigate activities at ACORN's Brooklyn office, and the Treasury Department's inspector general agreed on Sept. 24 to conduct a review of ACORN, and IRS oversight of nonprofit organizations as a whole. Other probes into the group include investigations by the attorneys general of California and New York.

Lewis, ACORN's chief organizer, announced on Sept. 16 that the organization would stop taking "new intakes" immediately, essentially freezing its service programs. Scott Harshbarger, a Boston attorney and former attorney general of Massachusetts, was hired late last month to conduct an "independent and comprehensive" investigation into the liberal activist group.

ACORN has filed a lawsuit against O'Keefe, Giles and Breitbart.com. The lawsuit, filed in a Baltimore court, stems from an undercover video showing ACORN employees Shera Williams and Tonja Thompson providing advice on how to skirt tax laws to O'Keefe and Giles as they posed as a pimp and prostitute.

Http://topstories.foxnews.mobi/quickPage.html?page=17224&content=24020712&pageNum=-1
Sent via BlackBerry from T-Mobile

Oprah To Interview Sarah Palin

2009-10-21T08:15:00.000-05:00

Harpo Productions announced Tuesday that the former governor of Alaska and Republican vice presidential candidate will appear on "The Oprah Winfrey Show" on Monday, Nov. 16.

http://politics.foxnews.mobi/quickPage.html?page=16484&content=23959023
Sent via BlackBerry from T-Mobile

Glenn Beck: Manufacturing Czar says 'the free market is nonsense'

2009-10-20T15:03:00.000-05:00

GLENN: Okay, so what if I told you that Pat, you remember the day that Van Jones left the White House, okay? It was early Sunday morning we found out.

PAT: Yes, it was.

GLENN: And the same about an hour later we found out that the president was appointing somebody to be a new czar.

PAT: Yes, Ron Bloom.

GLENN: Ron Bloom, our manufacturing czar.

PAT: Yes.

GLENN: He is the guy who's going to turn around our manufacturing.

PAT: He was a big union guy.

GLENN: He's a big union guy.

PAT: We were very excited about that.

GLENN: Do you remember when I first heard about that and I started to Google Ron Bloom.

PAT: I do.

GLENN: And I said something's wrong here. Do you remember that?

PAT: I do.

GLENN: Yeah.

PAT: I thought surely not.

GLENN: Surely not.

PAT: Surely, not another one.

GLENN: And after about another hour I figured he had some nefarious ties to some socialist and redistributive wealth kind of organizations.

STU: But that's all theory and

GLENN: Can I tell you something? Yes, and that's why we never went on the air with it because we couldn't nail it down specifically. It was in his youth. And I said at the time, I'm telling you something's wrong. Well, may I?

PAT: Yes, you may.

GLENN: May I now play the audio of our manufacturing czar giving a speech. This is when he was the head of the unions, giving a speech on how the manufacturing sector is just falling apart.

PAT: But this is way I mean, this is such ancient, old history.

STU: 1847?

GLENN: Politics of the past really.

PAT: I mean, a little closer to, like

STU: 1880, 1888?

PAT: 2008. Way back.

GLENN: So way back in ought 8.

PAT: Ought 8.

GLENN: If we can get the media to say it's from ought 8.

PAT: It sounds really old.

GLENN: It does. So here is Ron Bloom's, the administration's manufacturing czar, the latest in a long, long line of those who don't understand America.

BLOOM: Generally speaking we get the joke. We know that the free market is nonsense, we know that the whole point is

GLENN: Oh, stop. Stop, stop.

STU: What a way to open a speech, everybody.

PAT: I get that joke. (Laughing).

GLENN: We get the joke.

PAT: What America doesn't get, that the free market.

GLENN: That the free market

PAT: Is nonsense.

GLENN: Is nonsense.

STU: Oh, that's hilarious.

GLENN: Play it again. He'll be at yuck yuck's all week.

BLOOM: Generally speaking we get the joke. We know that the free market is nonsense.

PAT: (Laughing).

GLENN: Wait, wait, wait. There's more.

PAT: Oh.

BLOOM: Generally speaking we get the joke. We know that the free market is nonsense. We know that the whole point is to game the system, to beat the market, or at least find someone who will pay you a lot of money because they're convinced that there is a free lunch. We know this is largely about power, that it's an adults only, no limit game. We kind of agree with Mao that political power comes largely from the barrel of a gun. And we get it that if you want a friend, you should get a dog.

GLENN: Hmmm. I don't have a problem with that. That's just the guy who's restructuring manufacturing in America.

PAT: Can you imagine the jobs he will be creating?

GLENN: Oh, my gosh, of course.

PAT: All Maoists know how to create jobs.

GLENN: Sure. And they don't I mean, anybody who knows that the free market is nonsense, they're going to be able to, they are going to be able to build a great car, I'll tell you that right now. Sure. Especially the kind of car that you buy after somebody puts a barrel of a gun to your head. Those are the kinds of cars that sell, usually. Don't you think?

PAT: Oh, yeah.

GLENN: Yeah.

PAT: Uh huh.

STU: What is his I'm just, I'm sorry. And I know I shouldn't be shaken by this at this point, but this is the

GLENN: Yes, you should. Yes, you should. You should be you know what you should be shaken by? Not only that yet there's another one, but you should be shaken by the fact that no one in the media is are you telling me that Glenn Beck, a guy who's been a deejay his whole life, a guy who doesn't have a degree from any university, doesn't have one, is a normal guy, just a dad, I can be standing some place and hear that Van Jones is out and at the same time Van Jones goes out, Barack Obama gives a speech and appoints Ron Bloom, and Glenn Beck can then look at that and go, wait a minute, I something's not right with that? Really? What is it? My education? Is it my vision? Is that what it is?

PAT: No, it's that you're in bed with the Republican Party. You're just a wing of the

GLENN: Oh, a research arm.

PAT: A rightwing research arm.

GLENN: That's what it is. So I can do that, but there's no one else in journalism that can do that? There's no one else? Nobody even finds that interesting, that we have a guy who has now been appointed as the manufacturing czar and he doesn't believe in the free market system? Oh, and he pretty much agrees with Mao that power comes from the end in the barrel of a gun. Do you? Do you believe that, that power comes from the barrel of a gun? Do you believe that? I mean, sure, I guess. I guess. Yes, you would claim that, well, I guess so. If you are going to point a gun to my head, you do have a lot of power. But beyond in the, okay, totally evil sort of way, no, I don't agree with that. Do you agree with that, Pat?

PAT: No. In America we've proven over and over and over again that's not the case. Every election we've had that has been so contentious, you know, look at 2000, for instance. There weren't tanks in the street. 2004, 2008, they were all contentious. And there was no there were no barrels of guns.

STU: Because specifically, too, I'm no Maoist, but I am a thinker.

GLENN: Sure.

STU: And isn't the quote political power comes at the barrel of a gun? I don't know that for a fact, but isn't it he's talking specifically about all political power, isn't he?

GLENN: I think that's what Mao said.

PAT: Yeah, I think it might be.

STU: That's what I'm saying.

PAT: I'll have to bone up on my Mao quotes because I'm not up on them.

GLENN: Oh, I have Mao's little red book in my office. Would you like me to get it? Sure.

STU: Because you can certainly make the arguments that global powers are the ones with the biggest weapons. They are certainly for the most part true. I'm proud of it. Thankfully we have them. But you're right. It's

GLENN: You are talking about the free market system here. He's talking about the role that unions play in fixing the system. That's what the speech was about.

STU: What is I mean

PAT: It's bizarre.

STU: I'm really trying to come up with a separate because there's always, they are always going to come back with something, right? Maybe he's going to say he heard that line from Lee Atwater. Something is coming back here. What is it? Because like he

GLENN: They don't care anymore. Look, let me tell you

PAT: Well, they care enough to make the excuses for Anita Dunn.

GLENN: But it was a lame excuse.

Http://www.glennbeck.com/content/articles/article/198/32133/
Sent via BlackBerry from T-Mobile

Medicare 'Fix' Adds $247B to Debt

2009-10-20T13:31:00.000-05:00

"Democratic senators and a coalition of interest groups, including the American Medical Association, are pushing for a so-called "doctor fix" -- a $247 billion measure to block a planned 20 percent cut in Medicare reimbursement fees to doctors mandated by a 1997 federal law.

The "fix" would be paid by more federal borrowing for the seniors health care program already steep in debt. It has the support of the White House, but critics say that's only because it appears to reduce the price tag of President Obama's health care reform plan by $247 billion.

Yet taxpayers will still be on the hook for the money.

On Tuesday, Democratic Sen. Debbie Stabenow of Michigan, along with the AMA, the AARP and the Military Officers Association of America (MOAA), warned that reduced payments scheduled for next year would lead to fewer doctors accepting Medicare patients or dropping their current ones.

Stabenow described the existing formula as a "kabuki dance" analogous to not paying mortgage payments hoping they will go away, but finding a bigger bill the following month.

The proposal would replace a formula from the 1997 Balanced Budget Act designed to hold down Medicare costs by setting yearly and cumulative spending targets. If actual spending exceeds the target for a given year, reimbursement rates for doctors are lowered the next year. Expenditures have exceeded projections for the past seven years and Congress has passed legislation to override the fix all seven years

The measure originally was expected to be part of Obama's sweeping health care reform legislation. But separating it will allow Democrats to prevent the measure from pushing health reform legislation over the $900 billion ceiling set by Obama. The president asserts that the 10-year plan will be paid in large part through savings in Medicare.

"Frankly, it just shows they're playing games with the numbers and its awful," Sen. Orrin Hatch, R-Utah, told Fox News, who added that the AMA is not representing doctors the way it should."

For the rest of the story click below.

Http://politics.foxnews.mobi/quickPage.html?page=16484&content=23949951&pageNum=-1
Sent via BlackBerry from T-Mobile

The White House War on Glenn Beck

2009-10-20T01:14:00.000-05:00

Written by Thomas R. Eddlem

Glenn Beck is clearly on a roll. First he exposes the radical past of Van Jones, who was until September the Special Advisor for Green Jobs for the White House Council on Environmental Quality. It was heavily due to Beck's coverage of Van Jones on his Fox News Television show (and his radio show) that Jones resigned from his position. Now Beck has unearthed footage of Obama's White House Communications Director Anita Dunn at a high school graduation last spring praising Mao Tse-Tung as one of her two "favorite political philosophers."

Dunn said in a high-school commencement address:

The third lesson and tip actually come from two of my favorite political philosophers, Mao Tse-Tung and Mother Teresa. Not often coupled with each other, but the two people that I turn to most to basically deliver a simple point, which is you are going to make choices, you are going to challenge. You are going to say why not. You're going to figure out how to do things that have never been done before. But here's the deal, these are your choices, they are no one else's. In 1947, when Mao Tse-Tung was being challenged from within his own party on his plan to basically take China over, Chaing Kai-Shek and the Nationalist Chinese held the cities. They had the army. They had the air force. They had everythign on their side. And people said, "How can you win? How can you do this? How can you do this against all of the odds against you?" And Mao Tse-Tung said, "You fight your war, and I'll fight mine." And think about that for a second. You don't have to accept the definition of how to do things, and you don't have to follow other people's choices and paths. Okay? It is about your choices and paths. You fight your own war. You lay out your own paths. You figure out what is right for you.... Everybody has their own path.

Dunn said she intended the statement as irony. "The use of the phrase 'favorite political philosophers' was intended as irony, but clearly the effort fell flat — at least with a certain Fox commentator whose sense of irony may be missing," she told CNN on October 16.

It may be irony to juxtapose Mother Teresa with Mao Tse-Tung, as the latter was literally the Guinness Book of World Records record holder for mass murder when Guinness was keeping such records. But calling Mao a "favorite political philosopher" is neither irony nor humorous. If a Republican were to say at a high-school commencement address that Adolf Hitler and Mohandas Gandi were his favorite political philosophers, the quote would rightfully be all over the news. But finding Mao as a hero just may be a bit worse, since Mao killed about six times as many helpless civilians as Hitler did.

Beck's high profile and relentless efforts to break news stories like the Dunn story have drawn the fire of Obama administration officials, who have called the Fox News Channel an "opponent" and "not really a news station" in recent weeks. The specific White House objection, according to White House Senior Advisor David Axelrod on NBC's Meet the Press for October 18 is that "the only argument Anita was making is that they're not really a news station, if you watch — even — it's not just their commentators, but a lot of their news programming, it's really not news. It's pushing a point of view. And the bigger thing is that other news organizations, like yours, ought not to treat them that way, and we're not going to treat them that way. We're going to appear on their shows. We're going to participate, but understanding that they represent a point of view."

The White House is essentially arguing that if a news outlet has a point of view that means they are not reporting news. This is an antiquated mid-20th-century idea of how news "should" be reported: that news should be unbiased. That old paradigm of an "unbiased" news was always a myth, even when reporters sincerely practiced it. There's always a point of view reporters take to a story, even if it's a point of view that's popular or unanimous with an audience.

That myth was also usually employed as a ruse designed to camouflage a leftist bias for Democratic-leaning television networks. For decades, private foundations like the Media Research Center have noted that professional reporters identified with the Democratic Party four or five times more often than with the Republican Party. But if being "unbiased" in reporting the news is the standard of determining whether or not a channel is a "news" network, then all of the other national television news networks — and particularly MSNBC, with its strongly leftist commentators like Rachel Maddow, Keith Olbermann, Ed Schultz, and Chris Matthews — are not news networks either. All of the other national television news networks have a leftist bias, some more than others, but all represent a non-constitutionalist worldview. It's only Fox, with its Republican-friendly worldview, against whom the administration has registered an objection. The NBC/MSNBC network that Axelrod was talking on was one of those "other news organizations, like yours," Axelrod noted.

Beck's revelations about Dunn came more than a week after Dunn had declared an administration war on Fox News, a fact that Time magazine took note of as early as October 8. "It's opinion journalism masquerading as news," Dunn told Time. "They are boosting their audience. But that doesn't mean we are going to sit back." More recently, Dunn said, "The reality of it is that Fox News often operates as either the research arm or the communications arm of the Republican Party." Don't hold your breath waiting for the administration to demand that MSNBC stop acting like the research and communications arm of the Democratic Party.

For his part, Beck makes no claim to being an unbiased journalist and openly avows his show is about opinions. "I am not a journalist," he said on his show last week, "in fact I wear that as a badge of honor." But this self-professed "rodeo clown" is unquestionably breaking big news stories in between the jokes, shouts, and tears on his show. And he is unquestionably having a positive impact on government under the Obama administration.

Http://www.thenewamerican.com/index.php/component/content/article/1-latest/2116-the-white-house-war-on-glenn-beck
Sent via BlackBerry from T-Mobile

Anita Dunn Says Obama 'Controlled' Media During Campaign

2009-10-19T15:48:00.000-05:00

The Obama campaign's press strategy leading up to his election last November focused on "making" the media cover what the campaign wanted and on exercising absolute "control" over coverage, White House Communications Director Anita Dunn told an overseas crowd early this year.

In a video of the event, Dunn is seen describing in detail the media strategy used by then-Sen. Barack Obama's highly disciplined presidential campaign. The video is footage from a Jan. 12 forum hosted by the Global Foundation for Democracy and Development in the Dominican Republic.

Very rarely did we communicate through the press anything that we didn't absolutely control," Dunn said, admitting that the strategy "did not always make us popular in the press."

The video drew attention after Dunn kicked off a war of words with Fox News last Sunday, calling the network "opinion journalism masquerading as news." The White House stopped providing guests to "Fox News Sunday" in August after host Chris Wallace fact-checked controversial assertions made by Tammy Duckworth, assistant secretary of the Department of Veterans Affairs.

Dunn complained about the fact-checking last Sunday. In the January forum, she provided details about the lengths to which the Obama campaign went to control the media message.

She explained that the campaign favored live interviews so that Obama's words could not be edited -- "so that what the voters heard we determined, as opposed to some editor in a TV station."

She said Campaign Manager David Plouffe put out Web videos so the campaign could avoid talking to reporters and focus the media message.

"Whether it was a David Plouffe video or an Obama speech, a huge part of our press strategy was focused on making the media cover what Obama was actually saying as opposed to why the campaign was saying it," she said. "One of the reasons we did so many of the David Plouffe videos was not just for our supporters, but also because it was a way for us to get our message out without having to actually talk to reporters. ... We just put that out there and made them write what Plouffe had said as opposed to Plouffe doing an interview with a reporter. So it was very much we controlled it as opposed to the press controlled it."

Http://politics.foxnews.mobi/quickPage.html?page=16484&content=23874025&pageNum=-1
Sent via BlackBerry from T-Mobile

Sarah Palin Critique of Senate Finance Committee Health Care Bill

2009-10-19T12:40:00.000-05:00

"Now that the Senate Finance Committee has approved its health care bill, it's a good time to step back and take a look at the long term consequences should its provisions be enacted into law.

The bill prohibits insurance companies from refusing coverage to people with pre-existing conditions and from charging sick people higher premiums. [1] It attempts to offset the costs this will impose on insurance companies by requiring everyone to purchase coverage, which in theory would expand the pool of paying policy holders.

However, the maximum fine for those who refuse to purchase health insurance is $750. [2] Even factoring in government subsidies, the cost of purchasing a plan is much more than $750. The result: many people, especially the young and healthy, will simply not buy coverage, choosing to pay the fine instead. They'll wait until they're sick to buy health insurance, confident in the knowledge that insurance companies can't deny them coverage. Such a scenario is a perfect storm for increasing the cost of health care and creating an unsustainable mandate program.

Those driving this plan no doubt have good intentions, but good intentions aren't enough. There were good intentions behind the drive to increase home ownership for lower-income Americans, but forcing financial institutions to give loans to people who couldn't afford them had terrible unintended consequences. We all felt those consequences during the financial collapse last year. Unintended consequences always result from top-down big government plans like the current health care proposals, and we can't afford to ignore that fact again.

Supposedly the Senate Finance bill will be paid for by cutting Medicare by nearly half a trillion dollars and by taxing the so-called "Cadillac" health care plans enjoyed by many union members. The plan will also impose heavy taxes on insurers, pharmaceutical companies, medical device companies, and clinical labs. [3] The result of all of these taxes is clear. As Douglas Holtz-Eakin noted in the Wall Street Journal, these new taxes "will be passed on to consumers by either directly raising insurance premiums, or by fueling higher health-care costs that inevitably lead to higher premiums." [4] Unfortunately, it will lead to lower wages too, as employees will have to sacrifice a greater percentage of their paychecks to cover these higher premiums. [5] In other words, if the Democrats succeed in overhauling health care, we'll all bear the costs. The Senate Finance bill is effectively a middle class tax increase, and as Holtz-Eakin points out, according to the Joint Committee on Taxation those making less than $200,000 will be hit hardest. [6]

With our country's debt and deficits growing at an alarming rate, many of us can't help but wonder how we can afford a new trillion dollar entitlement program. The president has promised that he won't sign a health care bill if it "adds even one dime to our deficit over the next decade." [7] But his administration also promised that his nearly trillion dollar stimulus plan would keep the unemployment rate below 8%. [8] Last month, our unemployment rate was 9.8%, the highest it's been in 26 years. [9] At first the current administration promised that the stimulus would save or create 3 to 4 million jobs. [10] Then they declared that it created 1 million jobs, but the stimulus reports released this week showed that a mere 30,083 jobs have been created, while nearly 3.4 million jobs have been lost since the stimulus was passed. [11] Should we believe the administration's claims about health care when their promises have proven so unreliable about the stimulus?

In January 2008, presidential candidate Obama promised not to negotiate behind closed doors with health care lobbyists. In fact, he committed to "broadcasting those negotiations on C-SPAN so that the American people can see what the choices are. Because part of what we have to do is enlist the American people in this process. And overcoming the special interests and the lobbyists..." [12] However, last February, after serving only a few weeks in office, President Obama met privately at the White House with health care industry executives and lobbyists. [13] Yesterday, POLITICO reported that aides to President Obama and Democrat Senator Max Baucus met with corporate lobbyists in April to help "set in motion a multimillion-dollar advertising campaign, primarily financed by industry groups, that has played a key role in bolstering public support for health care reform." [14] Needless to say, their negotiations were not broadcast on C-SPAN for the American people to see.

Presidential candidate Obama also promised that he would not "sign any nonemergency bill without giving the American public an opportunity to review and comment on the White House Web site for five days." [15] PolitiFact reports that this promise has already been broken three times by the current administration. [16] We can only hope that it won't be broken again with health care reform.

All of this certainly gives the appearance of politics-as-usual in Washington with no change in sight.

Americans want health care reform because we want affordable health care. We don't need subsidies or a public option. We don't need a nationalized health care industry. We need to reduce health care costs. But the Senate Finance plan will dramatically increase those costs, all the while ignoring common sense cost-saving measures like tort reform. Though a Congressional Budget Office report confirmed that reforming medical malpractice and liability laws could save as much as $54 billion over the next ten years, tort reform is nowhere to be found in the Senate Finance bill. [17]

Here's a novel idea. Instead of working contrary to the free market, let's embrace the free market. Instead of going to war with certain private sector companies, let's embrace real private-sector competition and allow consumers to purchase plans across state lines. Instead of taxing the so-called "Cadillac" plans that people get through their employers, let's give individuals who purchase their own health care the same tax benefits we currently give employer-provided health care recipients. Instead of crippling Medicare, let's reform it by providing recipients with vouchers so that they can purchase their own coverage.

Now is the time to make your voices heard before it's too late. If we don't fight for the market-oriented, patient-centered, and result-driven reform plan that we deserve, we'll be left with the disastrous unintended consequences of the plans currently being cooked up in Washington."

- Sarah Palin

Http://politics.foxnews.mobi/quickPage.html?page=16484&content=23850572&pageNum=-1
Sent via BlackBerry from T-Mobile

White House Escalates War on Fox News

2009-10-19T01:42:00.000-05:00

The White House escalated its offensive against Fox News on Sunday by urging other news organizations to stop "following Fox" and instead join the administration's attempt to marginalize the channel.

White House chief of staff Rahm Emanuel told CNN that President Obama does not want "the CNNs and the others in the world [to] basically be led in following Fox."

Obama senior adviser David Axelrod went further by calling on media outlets to join the administration in declaring that Fox is "not a news organization."

"Other news organizations like yours ought not to treat them that way," Axelrod counseled ABC's George Stephanopoulos. "We're not going to treat them that way."

By urging other news outlets to side with the administration, Obama aides officials dramatically upped the ante in the war of words that began earlier this month, when White House communications director Anita Dunn branded Fox "opinion journalism masquerading as news."

On Sunday, Fox's Chris Wallace retorted: "We wanted to ask Dunn about her criticism, but, as they've done every week since August, the White House refused to make any administration officials available to 'FOX News Sunday' to talk about this or anything else."

The White House stopped providing guests to 'Fox News Sunday' after Wallace fact-checked controversial assertions made by Tammy Duckworth, assistant secretary of the Department of Veterans Affairs, in August. Dunn said fact-checking an administration official was "something I've never seen a Sunday show do."

"She criticized 'FOX News Sunday' last week for fact-checking -- fact-checking -- an administration official," Wallace said Sunday. "They didn't say that our fact-checking was wrong. They just said that we had dared to fact-check."

"Let's fact-check Anita Dunn, because last Sunday she said that Fox ignores Republican scandals, and she specifically mentioned the scandal involving Nevada senator John Ensign," Wallace added. "A number of Fox News shows have run stories about Senator Ensign. Anita Dunn's facts were just plain wrong."

Fox News senior vice president Michael Clemente said: "Surprisingly, the White House continues to declare war on a news organization instead of focusing on the critical issues that Americans are concerned about like jobs, health care and two wars. The door remains open and we welcome a discussion about the facts behind the issues."

Observers on both sides of the political aisle questioned the White House's decision to continue waging war on a news organization, saying the move carried significant political risks.

Democratic strategist Donna Brazile said on CNN: "I don't always agree with the White House. And on this one here I would disagree."

David Gergen, who has worked for Democratic and Republican presidents, said: "I totally agree with Donna Brazile." Gergen added that White House officials have "gotten themselves into a fight they don't necessarily want to be in. I don't think it's in their best interest."

"The faster they can get this behind them, the more they can treat Fox like one other organization, the easier they can get back to governing, and then put some people out on Fox," Gergen said on CNN. "I mean, for goodness sakes -- you know, you engage in the debate. What Americans want is a robust competition of ideas, and they ought to be willing to go out there and mix it up with some strong conservatives on Fox, just as there are strong conservatives on CNN like Bill Bennett."

Bennett expressed outrage that Dunn told an audience of high school students this year that Mao Tse-tung, the founder of communist China, was one of "my favorite political philosophers."

"Having the spokesman do this, attack Fox, who says that Mao Zedong is one of the most influential figures in her life, was not...a small thing; it's a big thing," Bennett said on CNN. "When she stands up, in a speech to high school kids, says she's deeply influenced by Mao Zedong, that -- I mean, that is crazy."

Fox News contributor Karl Rove, who was the top political strategist to former President George W. Bush, said: "This is an administration that's getting very arrogant and slippery in its dealings with people. And if you dare to oppose them, they're going to come hard at you and they're going to cut your legs off."

"This is a White House engaging in its own version of the media enemies list. And it's unhelpful for the country and undignified for the president of the United States to so do," Rove added. "That is over- the-top language. We heard that before from Richard Nixon."

Media columnist David Carr of the New York Times warned that the White House war on Fox "may present a genuine problem for Mr. Obama, who took great pains during the campaign to depict himself as being above the fray of over-heated partisan squabbling."

"While there is undoubtedly a visceral thrill in finally setting out after your antagonists, the history of administrations that have successfully taken on the media and won is shorter than this sentence," Carr wrote over the weekend. "So far, the only winner in this latest dispute seems to be Fox News. Ratings are up 20 percent this year."

He added: "The administration, by deploying official resources against a troublesome media organization, seems to have brought a knife to a gunfight."

Http://politics.foxnews.mobi/quickPage.html?page=16484&content=23810378&pageNum=-1
Sent via BlackBerry from T-Mobile

The Obama Nation

2009-10-18T15:22:00.000-05:00

You will pay higher taxes and not complain about it since it is patriotic to do so.

You will have and accept a lower standard of living.

You will have Obamacare.

You will have rationing of healthcare.

You will not be allowed to drive the vehicle you so choose.

You will bow down to the wisdom of the EPA and the Sierra club.

You will have to use a government mandated light bulb which contains mercury.

You will have a weaker and demoralized military and a weakened national defense.

You will continue fund Acorn, which will grow in influence and in power.

You will not disagree with the president unless you are prepared to be smeared as a racist and bigot.

You will become green and drive a hybrid.

You will accept higher gas prices because of the Democrats refusal to drill for more oil.

You will hate Rush Limbaugh, Bill O'Reilly, Sarah Palin, Mark Levin, Sean Hannity, Ann Coulter, Michelle Malkin, George Bush, Michele Bachmann and of course Glenn Beck.

You will join a union and pay increasing dues that will go to select Democrat candidates.

You will fund the growth of government to new unheard of levels.

You will abandon free market capitalism and embrace socialism.

You will have a stagnant economy and high inflation.

You will rely on the government to provide for you.

You will abandon the philosophy of "Personal Responsibility".

You will become Europe.

You will become subject to international law at the expense of our own.

You will only take military action if it is approved by the United Nations.

You will roll over and do whatever the Democrats and Obama want.
Sent via BlackBerry from T-Mobile

Tea Party Take Aim at Mainstream Media

2009-10-18T13:09:00.000-05:00

The "tea party" movement is back.

Groups of conservative protesters opposed to massive government spending are taking to the streets again, this time targeting the media.

The "Can You Hear Us Now" rallies are planned for Saturday in front of NBC studios in Burbank, CNN in Atlanta and affiliate stations of NBC, ABC and CBS across the nation.

"American citizens outraged by President Obama and the actions of Congress have set their sights on a new target -- the so-called mainstream media -- with tea-party protests now set to boil in front of more than 30 press offices across the U.S.," the lead organizing group, FaxDC, wrote in a press release.

Organizers are encouraging protesters to also rally outside of The New York Times, the Los Angeles Times and other prominent newspapers.

The rallies are just the latest in a series of public displays of voter outrage, dating back at least to April, when simultaneous "tea parties" were held around the country, largely in protest of President Obama's $787 billion stimulus bill.

Anti-spending sentiment was heard in the uproar at town hall meetings held by lawmakers in August and in a march on Washington last month when the key issue was health care reform. Since then, the demonstrations have grown to include a broad range of grievances, while drawing accusations that they are grounded partly in racism and raising fears that they could incite violence -- criticisms that protest leaders deny.

It is not clear who is leading Saturday's protests. A so-called "webmaster" who didn't identify himself, launched his Web site on Sept. 15. He urged protesters to spread word of the demonstrations through tea party groups, Facebook, Twitter, blogs and message boards.

"Some people messaged me and asked why not a more symbolic day," he said in a press release. "I say, why shouldn't we be the ones to make it a symbolic day, a day in history the press will never forget?"

The anonymous leader said he's not an activist, just one guy.

"I have no sponsors, no bankroll, no agenda -- except to help put a nail in the mainstream-media coffin," he said.

Http://politics.foxnews.mobi/quickPage.html?page=16484&content=23718302&pageNum=-1

Sent via BlackBerry from T-Mobile

Glenn Beck Embarrasses The Media, Again!

2009-10-17T20:46:00.000-05:00

Well he's done it again.

Since the mainstream media has decided to not do their job, investigative journalism, Glenn Beck has had to do it for them and quite the job he is doing.

This time it was Anita Dunn and her adoration of former Communist dictator Mao Tse-Tung, a man responsible for the murder and death of atleast 70 million men, women and children.

This wasn't the first time Glenn has had to do the job for mainstream media, they are constantly not covering the stories that they should be and are trying to screen the news for the Obama administration.

Cass Sunstein, Acorn, Van Jones and Anita Dunn are just a few of the stories that Glenn has broke over the past few months and that the media has decided to ignore with the hopes that the American people don't find out.

Its somewhat ridiculous that Glenn Beck can find out these stories and can do the investigative work but somehow ABC, NBC, CNN and MSNBC can't seem to do the work and are constantly being embarrassed by someone who they repeatedly try to discredit.

The amount of radicals in the Obama administration should be alarming to everyone, not just conservatives and we cannot allow them to set the agenda for the rest of the country.

Glenn Becks ever increasing ratings are a very good indication that his messege is not failing on deaf ears and that Obama and his minions will not be able to pass their agenda without stiff opposition.

The mainstream medias refusal to cover the other side and its total abandonment of objective bipartisan journalism will continue to embolden Beck and ensure that his ratings continue to increase.

Sent via BlackBerry from T-Mobile

Pakistan Launches Ground Offensive Against Al Qaeda

2009-10-17T09:53:00.000-05:00

"More than 30,000 Pakistani soldiers launched a ground offensive against Al Qaeda and the Taliban's main stronghold along the Afghan border Saturday, officials said, in the country's toughest test yet against a strengthening insurgency.

The United States pushed the government to carry out the assault in South Waziristan, and it comes after two weeks of militant attacks that have killed more than 175 people across the nuclear-armed country. That has ramped up pressure on the army to act.

Pakistan has fought three unsuccessful campaigns since 2001 in the region, which is the nerve-center for Pakistani insurgents fighting the U.S.-backed government. It is also a major base for foreign militants planning attacks on American and NATO forces in Afghanistan and on targets in the West.

After months of aerial bombing, troops Saturday moved into the region from several directions, heading to the insurgent bases of Ladha and Makeen among other targets, intelligence and military officials said on condition of anonymity because of the sensitivity of the topic or because they were not allowed to brief the media.

They said the operation was expected to last around two months.

Pakistani army spokesman Maj. Gen. Athar Abbas confirmed early evening Saturday that a full-fledged ground operation was underway, and said that it aimed to "uproot" the Pakistani Taliban. He said it was too early to discuss what sort of resistance the army was meeting.

The United Nations has said it is preparing to help civilians that are fleeing the region. Up to 150,000 civilians have already left in recent months after the army made clear it was planning an assault, but there are perhaps as many as 350,000 remaining.

At least 11 suspected insurgents were killed in the jet bombings, while a bomb hit a security convoy, killing one soldier and wounding three others, two local intelligence officials said.

It is nearly impossible to independently verify information from the region, which is largely controlled by local tribes and has little infrastructure or government presence. Foreigners require permission to enter tribal areas and few Pakistani journalists from other parts risk traveling there.

Makeen resident Ajmal Khan said people there were terrified but could not leave their homes due to a curfew.

"We heard sounds of planes and helicopters early Saturday. Then we heard blasts," Khan said via telephone. "We are also hearing gunshots and it seems the army is exchanging fire with Taliban."

The army has deployed more than 30,000 troops to the region, said one of the intelligence officials. The military already has said it has sealed off many supply and escape routes and has been trying to secure the support of local tribesmen in the fight."

For the rest of the story click below.

Http://world.foxnews.mobi/quickPage.html?page=17040&content=23710682&pageNum=-1
Sent via BlackBerry from T-Mobile

Federal Deficit Reaches All-Time High of $1.42 Trillion

2009-10-17T01:14:00.000-05:00

"The federal budget deficit has surged to an all-time high of $1.42 trillion as the recession caused tax revenues to plunge while the government was spending massive amounts to stabilize the financial system and jump-start the economy.

The imbalance for the budget year ended Sept. 30, more than tripled last year's record. The Obama administration projects deficits will total $9.1 trillion over the next decade unless corrective action is taken.

As a portion of the economy, the budget deficit stood at 10 percent, the highest since World War II, according to government data released Friday.

President Barack Obama has pledged to reduce the deficit once the Great Recession ends and the unemployment rate starts falling. But economists worry the government lacks the will to make the hard political choices to cut spending and raise taxes to get control of the imbalances.

For 2009, the government collected $2.10 trillion in revenues, a 16.6 percent drop from 2008. The plunge reflected declining income tax collections as millions of Americans lost their jobs or saw their wages cut. Corporate taxes also plummeted as the recession squeezed companies' profit margins.

Government spending last year jumped to $3.52 trillion, up 18.2 percent over 2008. The $700 billion financial bailout fund and increased spending and tax relief from the $787 billion economic stimulus program that Obama pushed through Congress in February drove the increase.

For September, a month when the government usually records surpluses, the deficit totaled $46.6 billion. That's a sharp contrast to the $45.7 billion surplus in September 2008, the last time the government's books were in the black.

In issuing the final budget figures, top administration officials said the president was determined to get control of the deficits in coming years."

For the rest of the story click below.

Http://politics.foxnews.mobi/quickPage.html?page=16484&content=23665100&pageNum=-1
Sent via BlackBerry from T-Mobile

The Staggering Costs of Obamacare

2009-10-16T15:25:00.000-05:00

Will a young, healthy, childless individual or couple buy health insurance costing 7.5 percent of their income, as required by Obama's health legislation? Not until they get sick.

Then they can always buy the insurance, and the Obama bill requires the insurance companies to give it to them. And if the premiums come to more than 7.5 percent of their income because they are now sick, no problem. Obama will subsidize it.

Instead, young, healthy, childless people will likely opt to pay the $1,000 fine (aka slap on the wrist) mandated in the bill. After all, even if they make as little as $50,000 a year, the fine is a lot cheaper than 7.5 percent of their income (or $3,500 a year)!

Who will subsidize the difference? We will.

The insurance industry estimates that the bill will drive up premiums for the average family by $1,700 a year. By the time the bill takes effect in 2013, it estimates that the average annual family health insurance premiums (now $12,300) will rise to $17,200 if the Obama bill is passed, but only to $15,500 if it is defeated.

And who do you think the voters will blame for the hike in their premiums? The Democrats who passed the bill.

Supporters of the bill are quick to counter that greater efficiency, etc., will hold down premiums. But they have little to answer the argument that, without higher fines, the young and healthy will not consent to pay an arm and a leg for insurance they don't need.

Any lingering motivation to pay the premiums will disappear once the Obama bill requires insurance companies to cover them when they do, finally, limp in the door, desperately in need of insurance.

Why pay now when you can always pay later? And, with a government subsidy, you gain nothing by paying for all those years when you don't need insurance.

So Obama's program turns out not to be one to spread insurance and thus spread the risk of costly illness, but one to make people pay 7.5 percent of their incomes once they get sick, with the government picking up their remaining premium and the health insurance customers paying for the medical expenses. Some deal!

So tote up the cost of this bill on the middle class:

$1,700 more in insurance premiums for the average family

Medical devices like wheelchairs and hearing aids get taxed

Those who are sick must pay an average of about $600 more a year in income taxes because the bill raises the threshold for deducting medical expenses from 7.5 percent of income to 10 percent

A $404 billion cut in Medicare

Ending the subsidized Medicare Advantage insurance for costs over and above Medicare. Without Medicare Advantage, the elderly can only augment Medicare by buying Medigap coverage, for which no subsidy is available and whose premiums are higher (offered, conveniently enough, by Obama's buddies at the AARP)

No importation of Canadian medicines and no competitive bidding to hold down prescription drug costs (Obama's deal to get pharma's support and advertising dollars)

A shortage of medical personnel and equipment as 30 million new patients are added without any expansion of the population of doctors and nurses. This shortage will make rationing inevitable, even if it shortens life expectancies among the elderly.

And all of this assumes that the House bill, which imposes a 4.5 percent payroll tax (which will discourage new employment), does not pass.

To add to the woes, the cost estimates of this program prove realistic. Despite the Congressional Budget Office's concurrence, one can't help noticing that Massachusetts's program was estimated to cost $200 million in 2005 and now costs $700 million!

By: Dick Morris & Eileen McGann

Http://www.newsmax.com/morris/obamacare_obama_/2009/10/15/272597.html
Sent via BlackBerry from T-Mobile

Glenn Beck: White House war on Fox

2009-10-16T00:11:00.000-05:00

GLENN: From high above Times Square, this is the third most listened to show in all of America. Hello, you sick twisted freak. Welcome to the program. I'm going to show you hopefully by the end of the show today and you'll understand that statement here in a few minutes. I'm going to show you how in the bag this media is for this administration and how it is collusion. I swear to God I can't think of any other, any other way to describe. Pat, I don't believe anything any more until I see it and hear it myself. But now I've had three confirmations. Stu is going into the other room again to get another confirmation on this story. So I never believe it until I absolutely are you that way now?

STU: Yeah. Well

PAT: Especially when it's so outrageous

GLENN: So outrageous.

PAT: Just unbelievable stuff.

GLENN: If we have found and God bless you. You watchdogs, this audience is absolutely amazing. And I'm telling you there are people that are coming out of the woodwork in very high positions, in very high positions who realize I may be on the wrong side, that are starting to come out of the woodwork now and they are just putting their toe in the water. If, Pat, what is being driven to me right now, if it is true, would you say that my theory on the Washington Post story today is accurate? Let me reset. Washington Post did a story today on Anita Dunn, who is Anita Dunn? Anita Dunn was the woman who reinstalled the hotline on set for. Anita Dunn is the woman who came out this weekend on CNN and said that Fox is just an arm of the Republican Party, you know, that we're a bunch of hacks. Robert Gibbs then came up the next day and said they say stories that are wrong on us all the time, blah, blah blah, blah blah. We have never we've reached out to them over and over again. We have never gotten them to tell us where we're wrong. I want to be wrong. I really want to be wrong. Anita Dunn is the woman now in the White House whose job is to monitor and battle Fox and me, okay? There's a big story in the Washington Post today about Anita Dunn.

PAT: She's wonderful.

GLENN: She's fantastic.

PAT: She's terrific. She's bright, she's brilliant.

GLENN: She's brighter than brilliant.

PAT: Oh, yeah. She's brilliant, she's brightness.

GLENN: She's the brightness of the sun, she's that brilliant.

PAT: That brilliant, yeah.

GLENN: You have to wear when you think of her intellect.

PAT: Yeah.

GLENN: You need to wear sunglasses, she's that brilliant.

PAT: And just thinking of it. Not even looking at it.

GLENN: Right. Don't look directly at what you're thinking.

PAT: It will burn your retina.

GLENN: Yeah. It will leave scars.

PAT: It will hurt.

GLENN: It's that she's that smart and talented and gifted.

PAT: Gosh, wow.

GLENN: She also, she's just like the regular ordinary person. She looks like a normal person, she's unassuming, and that's just who she is.

PAT: She could be anywhere and do anything.

GLENN: Do anything.

PAT: But she's serving her country right now.

GLENN: She is I wouldn't be surprised. Now, the Washington Post didn't come out and say this directly, but I wouldn't be surprised if she flies in an invisible plane. I'm just saying she may be Wonder Woman.

PAT: I think it's possible.

GLENN: It is possible. After reading the Washington

PAT: Based on the story today in the post, it's possible.

GLENN: They also and this is where my antenna go up. Uh oh, somebody senses a problem. They also said she's so bright, she's so brilliant, she's so gifted, she's so in tune with everything, she's the perfect person for this job, but... she may be exiting the White House by the end of the year.

PAT: That's only because of her bright brillianceness.

GLENN: Yeah.

PAT: You know, because

GLENN: And they want to get out there right away that it's not because of any impending scandal.

PAT: No.

GLENN: It's not because, oh, crap, we put her out there and now Beck is on her every night.

PAT: There's another one.

GLENN: It's not because of that. It's not. It's because she's going to make the choice because she's so bright, she's so brilliant to leave the White House of her own accord very, very soon.

PAT: She might have to just go cure cancer.

GLENN: She might. She might do it. Okay. So you got that?

PAT: Okay.

GLENN: She's going to leave on her own accord very soon because she's so bright. That in a nutshell is the Anita Dunn story in the Washington Post today. Let me just say this: If the things that we believe if what we have now confirmed but haven't seen with our own eyes, haven't heard, if these things are indeed true and they are being driven from across multiple states, right, if they are supposed to arrive within the hour and if they are indeed true

PAT: People in Texas don't understand that comment because you can't drive across multiple states in states like Texas. The states here are jammed in close together. So people from big states

STU: People have seen the map, Pat.

PAT: No, they don't understand. They are like, multiple states and it's going to be there within the hour? What kind of crappy states do you live in?

GLENN: Small ones.

PAT: All right.

GLENN: Let's just say if they're true, I don't want to make any predictions what would happen because I already know what's going to happen. She from her own accord is going to leave by the end of the year.

PAT: Just from her bright brilliance.

GLENN: From her bright brilliance she's going to be leaving. The Washington Post reported it today. But it will be a wild coincidence that when she leaves on her own accord that America's mind is blown yet again.

PAT: She didn't call Republicans poo poo heads or something, did she?

STU: Oh, no, no. That would end her career.

GLENN: I know. It's nothing crazy like that.

PAT: Okay, okay.

GLENN: No.

PAT: Whew.

GLENN: And she hasn't been doing anything like signing up with 9/11 Truthers. It's nothing like that. Don't worry.

PAT: I was scared just a minute.

GLENN: Don't worry. Hope to have that audio for you at the end of the program. If not, I think we'll be leading with it tonight. But what will be good is Anita Dunn is the only one with the phone number that rings right on my set. So if we get anything wrong, she can call us. Now, she's had that ability all week. She hasn't used that phone at all. No one from the White House has said these are such egregious lies; we've got to call them right now. They haven't done that. Not a peep.

PAT: I'm sure they just don't want to be that forward, you know, to pick up the phone and call you just out of the blue like that. They probably don't want to be so forward.

GLENN: I've invited them.

PAT: I know, but still. She's playing it sort of demurely right now and maybe she's saving it all up until Friday and she will call with all the inaccuracies.

STU: Long distance rates are important. Great that's true.

STU: Maybe she just wants to call at once.

GLENN: Can she call, reverse the charges?

GLENN: Reverse the charges.

STU: I'll take a collect call?

GLENN: We'll take a collect call from her, yeah.

STU: Wow.

GLENN: Well, she is probably you are right. They are being so they have that Latin, you know, concert there at the White House the other day where they were all laughing and having a good time and spending your money. And I'm sure she's being responsible because that's the one thing the White House is doing is making sure that we don't collapse the economy because of frivolous charges. So we'll go ahead and pay for that phone call if she wishes.

Glenn Beck is seen here on the Insider Webcam, an exclusive feature available only to Glenn Beck Insiders. Learn more...

Http://www.glennbeck.com/content/articles/article/198/31946/
Sent via BlackBerry from T-Mobile

Rush Limbaugh May Have Grounds for Libel Suit

2009-10-15T15:41:00.000-05:00

"Rush Limbaugh, who saw his bid to co-own a National Football League team sacked partly because of quotes he purportedly made regarding slavery, could have grounds for a libel suit, legal experts told Foxnews.com.

The conservative radio host was dropped on Wednesday from a group seeking to buy the St. Louis Rams. Dave Checketts, chairman of the St. Louis Blues hockey team, who is leading the effort to buy the NFL team, said Limbaugh was dropped from the group after his involvement in the process became a "complication and a distraction."

Limbaugh's role in the potential sale became the target of liberals on Monday when reports surfaced on news organizations including CNN, MSNBC and the St. Louis Post-Dispatch that the radio personality once said that slavery "had its merits."

"Slavery built the South," Limbaugh was reported to have said. "I'm not saying we should bring it back. I'm just saying it had its merit. For one thing, the streets were safer after dark."

That purported statement, according to Post-Dispatch columnist Bryan Burwell, came from a 2006 book, "101 People Who Are Really Screwing America," by John Huberman, which does not provide specific details regarding the quote.

Limbaugh has repeatedly denied making the statement. On his radio show on Wednesday, he said, "They continue to spread the false, fabricated quotes and lies, and people continue to comment on them. So I'm faced with the dilemma, what do I do with this?"

One of the things he can do is pick up the ball and run straight to court. Lis Wiehl, a former federal prosecutor and Fox News legal analyst, said Limbaugh has grounds for a libel suit if he can prove he never uttered those words.

"If he didn't say that, his people should come out and say that," Wiehl said. "If it's true he didn't say that, then this is horrible what those organizations are trying to do to slime him."

As a public figure, Wiehl said, Limbaugh would have to prove actual malice and damages -- meaning he'd have to show that the media organizations knowingly and maliciously published that information without regard for the truth, and that he suffered because of it.

"It's a higher standard," she said. "If they actually made up a quote that cost him a deal that he would've otherwise gotten, then yeah, he's got a case."

If the matter revolved around a non-public figure, the potential lawsuit would be a "slam dunk," Wiehl said.

"[Limbaugh] would literally have to prove that whoever put that out did so knowingly in an attempt to hurt him," she continued. "If I were his lawyer, I would argue actual malice. If it's fabricated, what other reason would they make it up?"

Lee Armstrong, a New York-based attorney for the law firm Jones Day, said Limbaugh would have a "very high burden" to meet as a public figure to sue for libel or defamation. But if the quote was indeed fabricated, Armstrong said the radio personality has a potential case.

"These cases typically settle, and they settle not necessarily for money, but maybe the news organization will print a retraction or give Rush the ability to counterbalance what is being said," Armstrong said.

If a lawsuit were to proceed, Armstrong said a potentially fascinating situation would unfold as Limbaugh's attorneys would be granted access to documents on exactly how the story or news segment became published.

"Rush would be able to try and discover whether there's this liberal machinery he's always talking about," Armstrong said. "The whole world would be watching. That's what's interesting.""

For the rest of the story click below.

Http://us.foxnews.mobi/quickPage.html?page=16486&content=23578869&pageNum=-1
Sent via BlackBerry from T-Mobile

Job Losses Taint Recovery, Create Woes for Dems

2009-10-15T13:22:00.000-05:00

"A distressed economy is widely blamed for President George H.W. Bush's re-election defeat in 1992, and a decade earlier, for the loss of 26 House seats in midterm elections by Ronald Reagan's Republicans. Yet in both instances recession had already ended or was winding down.

It's a point not lost on President Barack Obama's White House or Democrats headed into next year's midterm elections. The stock market may be up, U.S. service industries may be recovering, banks may be lending again and housing prices holding. But one major piece of the recovery puzzle is still missing: a brighter employment picture.

And that's bad news for the party in power, whether the recession is officially over or not.

Job losses are expected to continue at least into the middle of next year, likely driving the unemployment rate above 10 percent from 9.8 percent last month. It could take three or four more years for it to fall to normal levels.

The longest and deepest downturn since the Great Depression has claimed 7.2 million jobs since it began in December 2007. Analysts figure 750,000 more jobs could disappear over the next six months.

If you add in people who have stopped looking for work, or who are working part time when they want a full-time job, the unemployment rate is a whopping 17 percent, according to the Labor Department."

For the rest of the story click below.

Http://politics.foxnews.mobi/quickPage.html?page=16484&content=23275982&pageNum=-1
Sent via BlackBerry from T-Mobile

Message From Michele Bachmann For True Patriots

2009-10-15T10:05:00.000-05:00

Yesterday, people from all across the nation joined me in sending a message to Washington that they've just plain had enough!

They've had enough of Washington spending and taxing and borrowing away our children's future.

They've had enough of Washington whittling away at our freedoms.

They've had enough of this Gangster Government that is trampling on the Constitution.
They've had enough of the Anti-Life culture.

If you joined me in this effort yesterday, from the bottom of my heart, I thank you. But, if you didn't have a chance to be a part of this effort, there is still time today. Please take a moment and go to www.michelebachmann.com and make your voice heard!

The powers-that-be in D.C. ignored you at the town hall meetings and they pretended not to notice you at the tea parties. They dismissed your efforts as Astroturf , as artificial – even as un-American!

But, I know that you are truly Patriots and I have been proud to stand right up with you here in the halls of Congress.

My outspoken and unapologetic love for the principles that made this nation great:

• Personal Freedoms
• Economic Liberty
• Fiscal Responsibility
• Lower Taxes
• Smaller Government that is Accountable to You, the People
• A Culture that Celebrates Life, not denigrates it.

My strong support for these values has made me a primary target for Nancy Pelosi. Sean Hannity and Bill O'Reilly have both noted that I am second only to Sarah Palin when it comes to sending the Left into an absolute hysterical frenzy of hate and condescension.

That's why this effort to join together in a major online fundraising blitz was so absolutely critical for sending a message to the Left that they cannot ignore.

Please, if you haven't joined our effort, do so now at www.michelebachmann.com and make a contribution today!

Isn't it worth even just $25 to show the Liberal Left that we're ready to take back our nation and put the Constitution back in its hallowed place?!

And, even if you did make a contribution to our effort yesterday, I'd greatly appreciate it if you would ask your friends to be a part of this special project, too.

The more people who sign up, the louder the message that they'll hear down at the White House and on Capitol Hill.

Thank you for your patriotism and for your support. Together, we will return the power to the People.

Sincerely,

Michele Bachmann

Congresswoman, MN-06
Sent via BlackBerry from T-Mobile

Nancy Pelosi Key to GOP 2010 Playbook

2009-10-15T02:58:00.000-05:00

"Republicans are stepping up attacks on House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, deciding that a major part of their 2010 electoral strategy will be linking Democratic candidates to her.

The approach emerged last week when the National Republican Congressional Committee, the campaign arm of House Republicans, issued a statement saying it hopes Gen. Stanley McChrystal, commander of U.S. forces in Afghanistan, puts Pelosi "in her place" on Afghan policy. The statement accused Pelosi, a California Democrat, of putting party politics ahead of national security in her cautious statements on expanding the U.S. military presence in Afghanistan.

Pelosi Thursday called the statement sexist. "It's really sad. They really don't understand how inappropriate that is," she told reporters. "I'm in my place. I'm speaker of the House, the first woman speaker of the House. And I'm in my place because the House of Representatives voted me there. That language is something I haven't even heard in decades."

In response, Joanna Burgos, an NRCC spokeswoman, said in a statement that Pelosi "self-righteously believes she is better suited to craft our country's military policy" than is Gen. McChrystal."

For the rest of the story click below.

Http://politics.foxnews.mobi/quickPage.html?page=16484&content=23271566&pageNum=-1
Sent via BlackBerry from T-Mobile

Obama's Arrogance Will Be Dems Downfall

2009-10-12T08:35:00.000-05:00

I have never seen this before.

I imagine most of you have not seen this level of arrogance either, a president utterly out of touch with reality and totally believing the myth that is Barack Obama.

The state run media, besides Fox News, is totally in the tank for Obama and does all they can to mold the news in his favor, hell NBC even sells Obama merchandise.

How he could accept the Nobel Peace Prize is beyond me, what exactly did he do in the less than 2 weeks in office to warrant such an honor?

Don't forget that he was nominated for the award nine or ten days after being sworn into office, so I ask again, what exactly did he do to warrant such an award?

We are constantly being told by the left that if you disagree with Obama on healthcare or anything else its because he is black and that you are just a racist.

You may call me whatever you like but wrong is wrong no matter your race.

Does that mean that anyone who disagrees with me is racist and hates all Irish people, hardly but than again according to the left only conservatives can be racist.

It is the left that puts labels on everyone and tries to put them into a specific group and than pits those groups against one another for their own political gain.

The American people are seeing what the Democrats in power are doing and they are not pleased.

The next election will be a fun thing to watch as the gop will make great gains and we will watch the unraveling of the Democrat party with uncontrollable glee.

Sent via BlackBerry from T-Mobile

Obama wins Nobel Peace Prize

2009-10-09T14:40:00.000-05:00

What exactly has he done to deserve this? NOTHING!!!

This whole body has embarrassed itself even further by giving an award to a man who has done nothing but apologize for America every chance he gets.

Obama is an embarrassment of a man and a president.

Personally I would rather spit on him than shake his hand.

Its quite sad when you wish for the days of Bill Clinton, he was no where near as bad as the current president.
Sent via BlackBerry from T-Mobile

FBI Director: Al Qaeda-Linked Somali Group Could Attack U.S.

2009-10-06T07:58:00.000-05:00

"They could strike the United States. That grim assessment is the first time the FBI director or any other senior law enforcement or intelligence official has stated on the record that the Al Qaeda-linked group al-Shabaab is no longer content to strike within the East African nation of Somalia.

During a hearing on Capitol Hill on Wednesday, FBI Director Robert Mueller was asked if members of al-Shabaab, which translates as "mujahideen youth," would send American recruits back to the U.S. to launch attacks.

"I would think that we have seen some information that the leaders would like to undertake operations outside of Somalia," Mueller told the Senate Homeland Security Committee.

Mueller said he is "absolutely" concerned that Americans who traveled to Somalia to train as terrorists would have U.S. legal status and would therefore be able to return to the United States and carry out attacks.

A U.S. counterterrorism official told FOX News that al-Shabaab has exploded since 2006, and it is becoming a full-fledged Al Qaeda affiliate, similar to Al Qaeda in Iraq. Initially the group's militias fought against the Somali government and Ethopian forces who are against an Islamic state in East Africa, the official said, but now the group's focus is turning toward the establishment of a "caliphate" or broad Islamic state not limited to Africa.

In fact, in an exclusive briefing on Thursday, a U.S. counterterrorism official told FOX News that al-Shabaab's leadership is bona fide Al Qaeda. In many cases, the operatives who guide the group in East Africa have pledged allegiance to Usama Bin Laden in person, and in some cases the Al Qaeda leader has entrusted them with missions outside of the Afghanistan-Pakistan border, according to the official.

Training camps are now well-established in Somalia, and as many as 1,100 foreign fighters have joined the al-Shabaab movement, the president of Somalia's transitional government told a crowd gathered at the Center for Strategic and International Studies in Washington on Wednesday."

For the rest of the story click below.

Http://politics.foxnews.mobi/quickPage.html?page=16484&content=22425423&pageNum=-1
Sent via BlackBerry from T-Mobile

Obama Eyes Economic Triage for Unemployed

2009-10-05T15:18:00.000-05:00

"After another grim jobless report, President Obama is turning his attention to extending a lifeline to the unemployed and making the case that his health care plan would create jobs by making small business startups more affordable.

The Obama administration has begun talks with congressional Democratic leaders on moves to extend health insurance subsidies, the $8,000 first-time home buyer tax credit and jobless benefits, congressional and administration officials told FOX News late Friday.

Meanwhile, in his weekly radio and Internet video address Saturday, the president linked one of his biggest challenges -- joblessness -- with passage of far-reaching changes to the nation's health care system.

The economic moves were recently pulled together by White House economic advisers as an act of economic triage aimed at millions of chronically unemployed Americans. The White House is loathe to call this emerging package a second economic stimulus.

Even so, President Obama tipped his hand that something was coming in Friday remarks on the economy in the Rose Garden.

"I'm working closely with my economic advisors to explore any and all additional options and measures that we might take to promote job creation," Obama said after the Labor Department reported that 263,000 Americans lost jobs in September and the unemployment rate rose to 9.8 percent.

Embedded in those numbers was this sobering statistic. The number of Americans unemployed for 27 weeks increased by 450,000 and now totals 5.4 million.

In the weekly Republican address, Rep. Candice Miller of Michigan blamed the continued job losses on Democratic policies and said Obama's health proposals won't help.

Miller said the Obama-backed $787 billion economic stimulus package fell far short of its goals.

And she criticized a House-passed energy bill that would set limits and costs on greenhouse gas emissions. The plan, which the Senate has not taken up, "would increase electricity bills, raise gasoline prices and ship more American jobs overseas," Miller said."

For the rest of the story click below.

Http://politics.foxnews.mobi/quickPage.html?page=16484&content=22441616&pageNum=-1
Sent via BlackBerry from T-Mobile

Obama Energy Czar: No Climate Change Law This Year

2009-10-05T12:09:00.000-05:00

"President Obama's top energy adviser said Friday there is no way Congress will be able to pass a bill on climate change this year.

"That's not going to happen," said the adviser, Carol Browner.

Browner made the statement at a conference organized by The Atlantic magazine, just days after Senate Democrats introduced a major bill on climate change. In a video posted on the magazine's Web site, Browner was asked about the prospects of enacting climate legislation by the time negotiations on a global climate treaty begin in December in Copenhagen.

"Obviously, we'd like to be through the process, but that's not going to happen," Browner said. "I think we would all agree the likelihood you would have a bill signed by the president on comprehensive energy by the time we go early in December is not likely."

Senate Democrats unveiled a bill Wednesday that aims to cut greenhouse gasses by 20 percent by 2020. The House passed a bill in June that calls for a 17 percent emission cut by 2020.

The Senate bill includes an economy-wide cap-and-trade system that would require power plants, industrial facilities and refineries to cut carbon dioxide and other climate-changing pollution. While there would be an overall emission cap, polluters would be able to purchase emission allowances to limit reductions. The bill, however, does not lay out how emission allowances would be distributed, a contentious issue left for resolving later."

For the rest of the story click below.

Http://politics.foxnews.mobi/quickPage.html?page=16484&content=22487859&pageNum=-1
Sent via BlackBerry from T-Mobile

Obama's Olympic Failure Highlights Limits of His Appeal

2009-10-05T08:09:00.000-05:00

"This wasn't supposed to happen to him.

It may have only been the Olympics but President Obama's high-profile failure to win the games for Chicago has raised serious questions about his perceived international star power.

The president's last-minute appeal for his home city to host the 2016 Summer Games fell flat when Chicago was knocked out in the first round. The top prize eventually went to Rio de Janeiro.

Now critics are asking: If Obama can't sway Olympic officials, how can he wring concessions from Iran on its nuclear program, secure crucial support from allies to overhaul two wars or rebuild the U.S. image in the Middle East?

But others downplay Obama's failure in Copenhagen.

"Competing to host the Olympics has nothing in common with negotiating arms control treaties or negotiating Iranian compliance to its treaty obligations," foreign policy analyst Joseph Cirincione told FOXNews.com in a phone interview from Switzerland.

Cirincione said Olympic officials pay little attention to the persuasive skills of the negotiator, noting that former South African President Nelson Mandela failed to get them to award the games to his country.

But Obama's failure in Copenhagen is feeding a growing perception that he is tall on rhetoric and short on results and more of a celebrity than a leader.

Since taking office in January, Obama has made a number of gestures to the international community. He ordered the closing of the military detention facility at Guantanamo Bay, banned the torture of terrorist suspects and moved to address climate change and reduce nuclear weapons. He even delivered a high-profile speech to the Muslim world.

Still, the president doesn't have much to show for his efforts. Despite his global overtures, Obama has been rebuffed by international leaders for stimulus money, for additional troops in Afghanistan and now the Olympics."

For the rest of the story click below.

Http://politics.foxnews.mobi/quickPage.html?page=16484&content=22488254&pageNum=-1
Sent via BlackBerry from T-Mobile