Political Digest October 2, 2009

I post articles because I think they are of interest. Doing so doesn’t mean that I necessarily agree with every—or any—opinion in the posted article.

Update: Fixed the link on Lawsuit abuse, thanks to a loyal reader. ~Bob

Obama shifts on cargo plane campaign pledge
http://thehill.com/homenews/administration/61055-obama-shifts-on-cargo-plane
Excerpt: President Barack Obama has backed away from a campaign pledge to invest in more military cargo planes. On the campaign trail and shortly after he was sworn in as president, Obama pressed for investments in programs such as the C-17 cargo aircraft, calling it the “backbone of our ability to extend global power.” He shifted his stance on the C-17 shortly after Defense Secretary Robert Gates announced in April that the Pentagon wants to stop buying the planes made by Chicago-based Boeing Co. All the references to the cargo plane were promptly removed from the White House’s new website.

Yon: The Greatest Afghan War
http://www.michaelyon-online.com/yon-the-greatest-afghan-war.htm
Excerpt: We must curb civilian losses at expense to ourselves. I believe the reasoning is sound and will share those increased dangers. Erosion of popular support seems reversible. There still is considerable good will from the Afghan population, but bomb by bomb we can blow it. We have breathing room if we work with wise alacrity. I sense a favorable shift in our operations occurring under Gen. McChrystal. Enemies are strengthening. Attacks are dramatically increasing in frequency and efficacy. We are being out-governed by tribes and historical social structures. These structures are - and will be for the foreseeable future - the most powerful influence upon and within the political terrain. "Democracy" does not grow on land where most people don't vote. The most remarkable item I saw during the Aug. 20 elections was the machine-gun ambush we walked into.

“I’m tired” on the Daily Kos
http://www.rbguy.dailykos.com/story/2009/9/29/787843/-Robert-A.-Hall-rwing-letter-circulating-InternetsComments are very funny, especially the assumptions they make about me to respond. Apparently, I’m a rick corporate guy who dropped out of college, etc

N. Michael Helvacian: Lawsuit abuse reform is working for Florida
http://www.washingtonexaminer.com/opinion/columns/OpEd-Contributor/Is-Tort-Reform-the-Answer_-8315531-62718957.html
Excerpt: Lawsuit abuse reform is not addressed in any of the Democrat-sponsored health care reform bills now before Congress. Former Democratic National Committee chairman Howard Dean says it is "too tough" to take on this issue at the same time as health care, due to the powerful lawyer lobby. There is evidence, however, that lawsuit abuse reform could save billions of dollars off the nation's health care bills, and may be more effective in controlling costs than many of the cost control provisions in the reform bills. In recent years, a number of states have reformed their medical malpractice systems. Depending on the state, the reforms have been more or less successful in reining in the rising cost of medical malpractice insurance, and in reducing the loss of physicians in some special

Democrats favor trade sanctions on Americans
http://www.cato-at-liberty.org/2009/09/30/democrats-favor-trade-sanctions-on-americans/
Excerpt: Scott Lincicome sharpens his pencil today and calculates that Congressional failure to ratify the U.S.-Colombia Free Trade Agreement–a deal that was signed almost three full years ago–has so far cost American exporters $2 billion. That tally increases $1.9 million each and every day.

James Manzi: Dear Senator: Why you should vote against cap-and-trade
http://www.washingtonexaminer.com/opinion/columns/Manhattan-Moment/Dear-Senator_-Why-you-should-vote-against-cap-and-trade-8315351-62718987.html
Excerpt: Because so many allowances have been given away to special interests to try to get the votes needed to pass the House bill, the Congressional Budget Office now estimates that it will bring in a net of a little over $2 billion per year over the next decade. This is about one one-thousandth of this year's budget deficit. A further effect of all of these deals (which are entirely predictable in a democracy) is that Waxman-Markey is very unlikely to achieve even the limited benefits that are claimed for it. The details of the bill mean that there is now not a hard cap on emissions for at least the first decade of its existence. What do you think the odds are that this will change at some undetermined point in the far future when all of the normal interest-group pressures of a democracy are supposed to magically disappear?

On War, Obama Could Turn to GOP
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/09/30/AR2009093005114.html?wpisrc=newsletter&wpisrc=newsletter
Excerpt: With much of his party largely opposed to expanding military operations in Afghanistan, President Obama could be forced into the awkward political position of turning to congressional Republicans for support if he follows the recommendations of the commanding U.S. general there. Congressional Democrats have begun promoting a compromise package of additional resources for Afghanistan that would emphasize training for Afghan security forces but deny Gen. Stanley A. McChrystal the additional combat troops he has indicated he needs to regain the initiative against the Taliban insurgency. The emerging Democratic consensus is likely to constrain the president as he considers how best to proceed with an increasingly unpopular war.

Justices to Decide if State Gun Laws Violate Rights
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/09/30/AR2009093001723.html?wpisrc=newsletter&wpisrc=newsletter
Excerpt: The court will hear a challenge of handgun laws in Chicago and the neighboring village of Oak Park, Ill. It was filed by Alexandria lawyer Alan Gura, who successfully argued the Heller case. He said the Chicago ban is "identical" to the one found unconstitutional in the District.

Republicans independent gains
http://voices.washingtonpost.com/thefix/morning-fix/morning-fix-republicans-indepe.html?wprss=thefix
Excerpt: President Obama's strength among independent voters has waned since the 2008 election with more and more unaffiliated voters now identifying with Republicans, according to new data from Gallup. For the first time in more than four years of Gallup polls, more self-described independents now lean toward the Republican Party (15 percent) than toward the Democratic party (13 percent). Those numbers are a far cry from late 2006 -- when almost twice as many independents leaned toward Democrats -- or even late 2008 when Democratic-leaning independents outnumbered Republican-leaning independents 16 percent to 12 percent. Largely as a result of the movement of independents toward Republican, the wide party identification gap Democrats have enjoyed for the last two elections has shrunk to just six points -- 48 percent Democratic, 42 Republican -- the smallest that space has been since early 2005.

Navajos (AND Hopi's) assail environmentalists
http://www.azcentral.com/news/articles/2009/09/30/20090930navajo-enviro.html
Excerpt: On Monday, the Hopis' Tribal Council adopted a resolution telling the Sierra Club and several other conservation organizations to stay off the reservation. Tina May, tribal spokeswoman, said the green groups are unwelcome because they have damaged the tribe's economy by pushing for closure of Navajo Generating Station, a coal-fired power plant near Page. The resolution, described as symbolic, says environmentalists have "spread misinformation" about water and energy resources on the reservation while attempting to "instill unfounded fears into the hearts and minds of Hopi public." (bad liberals, picking on the poorest minority.)

Sarkozy: Obama Naïve and Egotistical
http://commonamericanjournal.com/?p=3311
Ya Think? I thought Europe was supposed to love BO?

Post the bills for people to read!
http://www.letfreedomringusa.com/we_the_people_can_read