A million blog page views! Some items from the weekend

A million blog page views!

I started this blog in October of 2008, frustrated by where the country was going. I’m beyond frustrated now, but resigned. A friend told me then there were seven million blogs, but only two million blog readers. Having just gone over a million page views since I established the blog, I’m getting my share of them. Thanks for reading.

And thanks to all who sent the below items over the weekend while I was offline, trying to help my bride get the condo to rights after the move. Made a large Goodwill run. ~Bob

Lunch & A Chat With Mytch. By Andy Weddington

http://acoloneloftruth.blogspot.com/2013/08/lunch-chat-with-mytch.html

Excerpt: And then sheepishly came five words I'd not expected - that turned our chat from dialogue to monologue - "I voted for Barack Obama."

How to jump start the economy

http://tartanmarine.blogspot.com/2013/08/how-to-jump-start-economy.html

New comment on The Coming Collapse of the American Republic

I wanted to e-mail you to let you know I read your book and I made a donation to the Semper Fi Fund. As for your book, I think your thoughts are very informative. I truly hope your worst-case scenario about the future of this nation does not come true, because if it does we are in for some very hard times. That said, I see little effort in Congress to do what is needed to turn America around. Regards --Sam F.

The School Administrator Payoff from Teacher Pensions: The “stewards” of the system benefit the most. By Cory Koedel, Shawn Ni, and Michael Podgursky

http://educationnext.org/the-school-administrator-payoff-from-teacher-pensions/

Excerpt: The costs of retiree benefits for educators, including “legacy” costs from unfunded benefits for previous retirees, consume a large and growing share of public spending on K–12 education. Between 2004 and 2012, data on fringe benefits from the Bureau of Labor Statistics show that pension costs for public educators rose from 11.9 to 16.7 percent of salaries. In contrast, pension costs for professionals in private firms were relatively flat, at about 10 percent of salaries, over the same period.

Does the Doctor Need a Boss? By Greg Scandlen

http://healthblog.ncpa.org/does-the-doctor-need-a-boss-2/?utm_source=newsletter&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=HA#more-31497

Excerpt: Einer Elhauge is a Harvard law professor and former adviser to the Obama campaign. He recently authored a paper that was published by the Social Science Research Network (SSRN) entitled,”ObamaCare and the Theory of the Firm.” Is it just me, or do you also get bone weary of academics who have never actually been in business or the professions trying to re-order the world to their liking? After all the chaos these people have created over the decades, wouldn’t you think a little humility would be in order? In this case, Mr. Elhauge thinks that fragmentation is the biggest problem in health care, and things would be much better if we had some well-managed firms directing the behavior of all the various elements, including doctors, hospitals, pharmacies, nurses, rehab centers, and so on.

Terror Threat Extends U.S. Embassy Closures Through Aug 10

http://www.businessweek.com/news/2013-08-04/terror-threat-that-closed-embassies-called-credible-by-lawmakers

Remember way back in the 2012 campaign when the president assured us that al Qaeda was “on its heels” and the War on Terror was over? Good times! ~Bob. I'm sure glad Obama's bowing and sucking up to his Muslim buddies is working out so well. Just imagine how bad it would be if he didn't have al-Qaeda on the run! - LLW

Mugabe Wins Again in Zimbabwe, Leaving Rival Greatly Weakened

http://www.nytimes.com/2013/08/04/world/africa/mugabe-declared-winner-of-disputed-election-in-zimbabwe.html?ref=africa&_r=0

Excerpt: President Robert Mugabe, who has led Zimbabwe since it threw off white rule in 1980, won another term on Saturday as the official results were announced for last week’s hotly disputed election, defeating his main challenger with 61 percent of the vote and roaring back to secure his grip on power after having to share it for the past five years. (After he took power, Zimbabwe, which used to export food, starved, as farms were transferred to blacks, but they couldn’t transfer the work ethic or knowledge of farming the white farmers had. Hyper-inflation destroyed the economy. [You can but a $100T Zimbabwe bill for under $5 on Ebay: http://www.ebay.com/itm/100-TRILLION-ZIMBABWE-DOLLAR-MONEY-CURRENCY-P-91-NEW-UNC-FREE-SHIPPING-USA-/290702453172?pt=Paper_Money&hash=item43af3769b4#ht_1588wt_932]

Black life expectance dropped from 63 under evil white rule to 36 under benign black rule, has increased a little since then. Aren’t you happy for blacks in Zimbabwe since liberals helped them throw off white rule? ~Bob.)

Lords of the Transition Team: Our leadership class’s real accomplishment is résumé padding. 

http://www.nationalreview.com/article/355061/lords-transition-team-mark-steyn

Excerpt: Let us put aside her Muslim Brotherhood family background — let us put it aside in the same corner as Anthony Weiner’s infidel penis, the Muslim Brotherhood being one of the few things on the planet rising even more spectacularly than Anthony. Instead, consider merely the official résumé. Huma Abedin’s present employment is as “head of Hillary Clinton’s transition team.” 

Benghazi Coverup About to Hit the Fan
http://politicaloutcast.com/2013/08/benghazi-coverup-about-to-hit-the-fan/

Excerpt: CNN, not exactly a bastion of Conservative thought, dropped a bombshell on Thursdayabout the ongoing Benghazi coverup. The usually Clinton News Network issued an exclusive saying that sources have informed them that “dozens of people working for the CIA were on the ground that night, and that the agency is going to great lengths to make sure whatever it was doing, remains a secret… The CIA is involved in what one source calls an unprecedented attempt to keep the spy agency's Benghazi secrets from ever leaking out.” That is only the tip of the iceberg. 

Jihadists launch suicide assault at Indian consulate in Jalalabad

http://www.longwarjournal.org/threat-matrix/archives/2013/08/jihadists_launch_suicide_assau_1.php?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+LongWarJournalSiteWide+%28The+Long+War+Journal+%28Site-Wide%29%29

Excerpt: Jihadists launched a suicide assault that targeted the Indian consulate in the city of Jalalabad today, killing nine people, including children, in the failed attack. 

Full-Time Employment Down Over 5 Million Since 2007

http://finance.townhall.com/columnists/mikeshedlock/2013/08/05/fulltime-employment-down-over-5-million-since-2007-n1656196?utm_source=thdaily&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=nl

Excerpt: In 2012, 36% of the nation’s young adults ages 18 to 31 the so-called Millennial generation—were living in their parents’ home, according to a new Pew Research Center analysis of U.S. Census Bureau data. This is the highest share in at least four decades and represents a slow but steady increase over the 32% of their same-aged counterparts who were living at home prior to the Great Recession in 2007 and the 34% doing so when it officially ended in 2009.

The Face of the Brotherhood Enemy. By Daniel Greenfield

http://frontpagemag.com/2013/dgreenfield/the-face-of-the-brotherhood-enemy/?utm_source=FrontPage+Magazine&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=df6818e86f-Mailchimp_FrontPageMag&utm_term=0_57e32c1dad-df6818e86f-156414477

Excerpt: Today a new specter haunts Europe. Unlike the specter of Communism, it isn’t much spoken of and when it is mentioned, it is reduced to vague descriptions that fail to describe, like “Violent Extremism” and “Islamic Radicalism”, implying that the problem is a handful of men in a basement somewhere. The new Islamic threat is no more reducible to the occasional terrorist cell than the Communist threat could be reduced to the handful of radicals who were willing to set off bombs. The green ghost of Islam haunting European and American cities is at least as deadly as the old red ghost of Communism.

49 Reasons Why America Can't Fold Its Marine Corps. http://www.businessinsider.com/49-reasons-america-marine-corps-2013-8?op=1#ixzz2b6mMhI00

Great pictures. ~Bob

Fort Hood shooting

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fort_Hood_shooting

Excerpt: According to eyewitnesses, Hasan had taken a seat at an empty table and bowed his head for several seconds when he suddenly stood up, shouted "Allahu Akbar!"[19][20]and opened fire.[21] Witnesses said Hasan initially "sprayed bullets at soldiers in a fanlike motion" before taking aim at individual soldiers.[22] Eyewitness Sgt. Michael Davis said: "The rate of fire was pretty much constant shooting. When I initially heard it, it sounded like an M16." (Play by play description. Incident: 2009. Trial—much delayed, starts Tues. 2013. Just workplace problems, folks. –Barb)

Fort Hood Victims to be Questioned by Attacker: Survivors of the Fort Hood massacre will be questioned by the man who shot them.

http://www.israelnationalnews.com/News/News.aspx/170563#.Uf6hZNI3v0c

Survivors of the Fort Hood massacre in Texas in the United States face questioning at the hands of the man who shot them. The shooter, Major Nidal Malik Hasan, will be representing himself in court. The trial is to begin on Tuesday this week. More than 250 people will be testifying against Hasan, including relatives of the people he killed.

Only Benghazi Can Save Us from Hillary

http://pjmedia.com/rogerlsimon/2013/08/02/only-benghazi-can-save-us-from-hillary/

Excerpt: As Daniel Henninger pointed out the other day, there’s plenty of damage our increasingly authoritarian president can yet do in his remaining time in office. But because of the extra-constitutional power grab Henninger describes, it is all the more imperative that Hillary Clinton not step into Obama’s shoes for eight years, cementing policies and programs never voted on by the Congress or approved by the public. The nature of our republic would be altered forever.

Obama to America: ‘Bleep You’ - Let's be clear about the intentions behind recent administration actions.

http://pjmedia.com/blog/obama-to-america-bleep-you/

Excerpt: It has become increasingly clear since President Barack Obama’s reelection that he and his administration intend to govern as they wish, pushing as far and as fast as they can against constitutional and other legal limits which have constrained previous administrations. It has also become more than obvious that it is willing to hurt those who might get in their way, and to exploit others whose help they can co-opt to accomplish their agenda. In essence, Obama and his administration are telling America’s institutions, its states, its legal framework, and Americans in general: “Bleep you.”

Is the CIA Creating ‘Aliases’ for Benghazi Survivors?

http://pjmedia.com/tatler/2013/08/03/is-the-cia-creating-aliases-for-benghazi-survivors/

Excerpt: Fox News has learned that at least five CIA employees were forced to sign additional nondisclosure agreements this past spring in the wake of the Benghazi attack. CNN also reported that CIA operatives are being intimidated into keeping quiet. …..He (Gowdy) claimed the effort to keep information about the attack secret included “changing names, creating aliases.”

A Slo-Mo IRS Cover-Up: When Obama condemns “phony scandals,” we can assume investigators are getting warm. By John Fund

http://www.nationalreview.com/article/355013/slo-mo-irs-cover-john-fund

Back on May 13, President Obama reacted heatedly to news that the IRS had delayed and harassed conservative groups applying for nonprofit status. “I have got no patience with it, I will not tolerate it, and we will make sure that we find out exactly what happened on this,” he told reporters. … In a speech he made last week, he railed against an “endless parade” of “phony scandals” that are slowing down the nation’s business.

Blame It On George Soros

http://www.freedomrings1776.com/2013/07/blame-it-on-george-soros.html#more

Excerpt: We have all long been aware of George Soros' efforts to gain control of, and cause the ruin of our nation. The problem that I now encounter is that his control, or at least influence, is far more advanced than any of us knew, and he is not alone. Many other Progressives, communists, Islamist and such, acting totally independent of him are also doing their share to bring this nation to its knees. We have all heard and used the term 'low information voters'. Believe me, from what I am now learning, we are all low information voters, and that is what I am planning to change, even if it scares the hell out of you, as it well should.

Progressive U.S.A. And The Soros Agenda

http://www.freedomrings1776.com/

Excerpt: I recall a time when Glenn Beck was talking about the multitude of groups that George Soros either started or was involved in their funding. To Illustrate his point he had a huge scroll with those groups listed on it and he began unrolling it as he walked from one side of his studio to the other and when he reached the far wall there were still more groups on the list. Now I begin to grasp the enormity of what we face as I have begun exploring those groups, the people, the governments, and the foundations that fund them, as well the diabolical purposes they were created for, and I am tired and frightened.

Seven Obama regulations to watch

http://thehill.com/blogs/regwatch/pending-regs/315359-seven-obama-regulations-to-watch#ixzz2b1XU0UPL
Excerpt: In coming weeks and months, the Obama administration is set to issue scores of regulations, some of them long-delayed and others stemming from more recent laws. The Hill has assembled a list — by no means exhaustive — of notable regulations on tap that run the gamut from power plants to vending machines. Here's a look at seven major regulations to come:

McCain and Graham to push for democracy during Egypt trip

http://thehill.com/blogs/global-affairs/middle-east-north-africa/315417-mccain-and-graham-going-to-egypt-to-push-for-democracy#ixzz2b1VajqvP
Excerpt: Sens. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.) and John McCain (R-Ari.) will travel to Egypt to urge the country to hold new elections and reinstall a democracy after the military succeeded in overthrowing the elected Muslim Brotherhood government. Speaking Sunday on CNN’s "State of the Union," Graham said he and McCain would be making the trip “very soon” despite terror threats that provoked the State Department to close more than 20 diplomatic posts and issue a worldwide travel alert. “I know it’s dangerous, but we need to be there with our diplomats giving a unified message to Egypt,” Graham said. (Both must’ve gone to the same Kobe steak dinner and drank the same Kool-Aid. Look at the “messenger boys.” Can they retire, please? Egypt at least recognizes terrorists, calls them what they are and did something about it. Why isn’t a Democrat traveling? J --Barb)

Gen Abdulfattah al-Sisi, the Egyptian general who deposed Mohammed Morsi, the country's democratically-elected president has accused the US of "turning your backs" on Egypt.

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/africaandindianocean/egypt/10220823/Egypt-Gen-Abdulfattah-al-Sisi-says-US-turned-its-back.html

Excerpt: Gen Sisi is Egypt's most powerful man after his troops removed President Morsi from office last month but he has presided over waves of violence between the military and the ousted Islamist president's supporters. In an interview with the Washington Post he appeared to blame the instability on the White House, saying: "You left the Egyptians. You turned your back on the Egyptians and they won't forget that."

CIA 'running arms smuggling team in Benghazi when consulate was attacked'

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/africaandindianocean/libya/10218288/CIA-running-arms-smuggling-team-in-Benghazi-when-consulate-was-attacked.html

Excerpt: Up to 35 CIA operatives were working in the city during the attack last September on the US consulate that resulted in the death of Ambassador Chris Stevens and three other Americans, according to CNN. The circumstances of the attack are a subject of deep division in the US with some Congressional leaders pressing for a wide-ranging investigation into suspicions that the government has withheld details of its activities in the Libyan city. (Happy anniversary, Benghazi, you phony, you. –Barb)

Opium crop in Afghanistan heading for record levels

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/asia/afghanistan/9994303/Opium-crop-in-Afghanistan-heading-for-record-levels.html

Excerpt: The United Nations' early assessment of the 2013 crop found farmers were planning to plant more poppy than last year, marking the third annual rise in the drug's cultivation. UN officials predict the increase will push this year's crop close to 2007's record level and again see Afghanistan responsible for more than 90 per cent of the world's heroin….High opium prices, coupled with uncertainty over what will happen when foreign combat troops leave and a faltering legal economy were all persuading farmers to sow more of the cash crop, the survey found

Hooked on heroin

http://www.cbsnews.com/8301-3445_162-57596689/hooked-on-heroin/

Excerpt: During the past five years, seizures of heroin in the United States by the Drug Enforcement Administration have gone up more than 50 percent, from 1,334 lbs. in 2008, to 2,059 lbs. in 2012. Heroin use in America has skyrocketed -- up a staggering 75 percent between 2007 and 2011, according to the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration. For parents out there, here's the scary part: The most rapid growth, says Kathie Kane-Willis, is occurring among those under age 21.

Exclusive: Japan nuclear body says radioactive water at Fukushima an 'emergency'

http://www.reuters.com/article/2013/08/05/us-japan-fukushima-panel-idUSBRE97408V20130805

Excerpt: Highly radioactive water seeping into the ocean from Japan's crippled Fukushima nuclear plant is creating an "emergency" that the operator is struggling to contain, an official from the country's nuclear watchdog said on Monday. This contaminated groundwater has breached an underground barrier, is rising toward the surface and is exceeding legal limits of radioactive discharge, Shinji Kinjo, head of a Nuclear Regulatory Authority (NRA) task force, told Reuters. Countermeasures planned by Tokyo Electric Power Co are only a temporary solution, he said.

Professor says kids no longer need to learn spelling and grammar because of smartphones
http://dailycaller.com/2013/08/04/professor-says-kids-no-longer-need-to-learn-spelling-and-grammar-because-of-smartphones/#ixzz2b0nZXVIJ

Excerpt: Several skills that every kid once learned in schools are going the way of the dodo in a hurry. Diagramming sentences is practically an extinct art, for example. Cursive handwriting and memorized multiplication tables look to be swiftly headed that way. Apparently, the next thing that kids will no longer need to learn is spelling and grammar. (So we need fewer teachers and professors? ~Bob.)

Bill Maher: Get rid of the Department of Homeland Security
http://dailycaller.com/2013/08/03/bill-maher-get-rid-of-the-department-of-homeland-security/#ixzz2b0mAnq7d

Excerpt: “Do you think we could get rid of the Department of Homeland Security?” Maher said. “This is one of those monstrosities that came out of 9/11. ;;;; The top 15 jobs there are vacant because no one wants to work there. (Article quotes Maher as mentioning approaching anniversary of 9/11. No one mentioning the anniversary of that “phony” scandal Benghazi where brave men died, agents that survived forced into silence and POTUS turned his back and partied with the bros. Just one more bump in the road to…..Barb)

Judicial Watch president: Holder’s DOJ is ‘Locus of Evil’
http://dailycaller.com/2013/08/04/judicial-watch-president-holders-doj-is-locus-of-evil-video/#ixzz2b0kmCejl

Excerpt: In a scathing interview, Tom Fitton — president of the non-partisan group Judicial Watch — assessed the Obama administration’s behavior and described the Department of Justice under Eric Holder’s tenure as a “Locus of Evil.” “It doesn’t get much worse than that Attorney General,” Fitton said. “We knew Eric Holder was involved in the pardon scandal under the Clinton years, where he pushed for these pardons that were bought and paid for practically by Clinton patrons…

Where Are All The Kids? By Karl Schlichter

http://townhall.com/columnists/kurtschlichter/2013/08/05/where-are-all-the-kids-n1654829/page/full

Excerpt: Since 9/11, I’ve had a chance to serve with many young people. Call them Millennials or whatever, but they have faced every challenge and earned the right to be mentioned in the same breath as the heroes of World War II, Korea and Vietnam. Maybe I see the cream of the crop – military standards are so high that only about a quarter of young people can qualify physically, morally and academically to enlist. And maybe these young warriors self-select as those who aren’t satisfied to stay safe in a tight, comfortable, smothering cocoon.

Over it: One person attends Obamacare event in Virginia. By Katie Pavlich

http://townhall.com/tipsheet/katiepavlich/2013/08/05/change-one-person-attends-obamacare-event-in-virginia-n1656388

Excerpt: Poll after poll shows the legislation is deeply unpopular, that more Americans than ever want it repealed and that a majority are confused about how the overhaul will actually benefit them. Not to mention, just last week acting IRS Commissioner Danny Werfel, whose agency is in charge of enforcing Obamacare, said he didn't want to switch his personal healthcare plan over to one under Obamacare.

Supreme Court may need to decide how private a cellphone is. By Robert Barnes

http://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/supreme-court-may-need-to-decide-how-private-a-cellphone-is/2013/08/04/e341dc60-fae1-11e2-a369-d1954abcb7e3_story.html

Excerpt: Chief Justice John G. Roberts Jr. didn’t hesitate last fall when a questioner asked him about the biggest constitutional challenge the Supreme Court faced. Roberts told the audience at Rice University in Houston that the court must identify “the fundamental principle underlying what constitutional protection is and apply it to new issues and new technology.” He said, “I think that is going to be the real challenge for the next 50 years.”

Facebook's Mark Zuckerburg Now Building A Political Network 

http://thehill.com/blogs/hillicon-valley/technology/315377-facebooks-zuckerberg-emerging-from-shadows-on-national-political-stage

Excerpt: While comprehensive immigration reform is the first national policy issue that Zuckerberg has personally engaged in, he has previously been active in New Jersey politics. Zuckerberg and his wife, Priscilla, hosted a campaign fundraiser for New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie (R) at his home in Palo Alto, Calif. in February, which drew a few dozen protestors to his neighborhood in the traditionally Democratic-leaning city, according to The San Jose Mercury News. However, Zuckerberg, who has not declared support for any particular political party, also has plans to host a fundraiser for Newark, N.J. Mayor Cory Booker’s (D) Senate run, Bloomberg reported.

Stunner: Weiner’s Sexting Pal Already Doing Porn

http://www.jammiewf.com/2013/stunner-weiners-sexting-pal-already-doing-porn/

I said “Sydney Leathers” sounded like a porn name. ~Bob.

The Other Benghazi Scandal: Journalists Worry Covering The Attack Threatens White House Access

http://www.mediaite.com/tv/the-other-benghazi-scandal-journalists-worry-covering-the-attack-threatens-white-house-access/

It’s The Chicago Way. ~Bob

Benghazi Bombshell: Valerie Jarrett, Commander in Chief

http://conservativereport.org/benghazi-valerie-jarrett-cic/

Excerpt: Confidential sources close to Conservative Report have confirmed that Valerie Jarrett was the key decision-maker for the administration, the night of the Benghazi terrorist attack on 9/11/2012.

Zillow value rises $250 million after Obama agrees to Q&A

http://thehill.com/blogs/blog-briefing-room/news/315559-companys-value-rises-250-million-after-obama-agrees-to-qaa#ixzz2b7RLGXrI

Excerpt: Zillow, an online real estate marketplace, saw its value rise by $250 million after it announced President Obama would answer questions about the housing market in an online discussion moderated by the company’s CEO.

Tweet from RNC ‏@GOP

Comcast/NBC execs generous donors to Hillary and Dems—any shock they want to run glowing miniseries before 2016?

Obama economy: Part-time jobs swamp full-time jobs

http://www.washingtontimes.com/blog/inside-politics/2013/aug/5/obama-economy-part-time-jobs-swamp-full-time-jobs/

Excerpt: Since January 2009 the country has added a net total of 270,000 full-time jobs, but it has added 1.9 million part-time jobs, according to the House Ways and Means Committee.

HHS is shielding Obamacare outreach from sequester cuts

http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/wonkblog/wp/2013/08/05/hhs-is-shielding-obamacare-outreach-from-sequester-cuts/

Excerpt: The health insurance marketplaces launch eight weeks from Tuesday, and Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius would like you to know that her agency is “on target and ready to flip the switch on October 1.”

Bouncer caught on cell phone video brutally beating man outside beach bar is arrested after footage sparks outrage online. Police initially arrested the victims of the beating after the fight.
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2384767/Bouncer-finally-arrested-video-viciously-beating-bar-patron-goes-viral.html

Political Digest November 14, 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.

Quiz
http://pewresearch.org/politicalquiz/quiz/index.php
If you don’t get 10 of 12, you shouldn’t be allowed to vote! (Yes, I got 12. Easy questions for anyone paying attention.)

Obama Administration Intends to Purge Republicans From the Civil Service
http://www.redstate.com/erick/2009/11/12/obama-administration-intends-to-purge-republicans-from-the-civil-service/
Excerpts: It is a typical Washington process that many political appointees are able to take jobs within the civil service once their political appointment expires — usually at the conclusion of one administration. What often happens as well is Congressional staffers, before an election or shortly thereafter, will move over to the Executive Branch placed into the civil service, in effect, by appointment. So, for example, when George Bush became President in 2001, a number of Clinton political appointees became civil service employees. As a result, they became subject to civil service hiring and firing rules, which meant they could no longer be replaced simply for having been a Democratic appointee. Barack Obama is changing that. He intends to purge all Republicans from the federal bureaucracy retroactive to five years ago. Under his new rules, made retroactive for five years, the Office of Personnel Management will examine civil service employees who got their start as political appointees in the Bush administration and terminate those employees. The order is retroactive to 2004, that moment when a number of Republican congressional staffers and others sought to embed into the second Bush administration right after the election.

Fight fire with arson, then collect firefighter's pension http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/columnists/chi-kass-11-nov11,0,1832804.column
Politically-connected firefighter convicted of arson gets to keep firefighter pension. The Chicago way, which corrupts everyone it touches. Everyone.

Pawlenty hasn't learned from Romney's mistakes
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/11/11/AR2009111126571.html?wpisrc=newsletter
Excerpt: Minnesota Gov. Tim Pawlenty is widely regarded as one of the Republican Party's rising national leaders. The runner-up to Sarah Palin to be John McCain's vice presidential running mate, he is a conservative whose blue-collar roots, amiable personality and two terms as governor of a traditionally Democratic state would seem to make him a natural in attracting the kind of swing voters who are always fought over in presidential elections. But the Pawlenty who has stepped onto the national stage in recent months has said and done things that have other Republicans wondering about his instincts and his sure-footedness as a prospective 2012 presidential candidate. Pawlenty could learn from the earlier mistakes of one of his potential rivals for the GOP nomination, former Massachusetts governor Mitt Romney.

The most important number in politics today
http://voices.washingtonpost.com/thefix/most-important-number/the-most-important-number-in-p-65.html?wprss=thefix
Excerpt: 64 That's the percentage of Ohioans who call themselves either "somewhat" (37 percent) or "very" (27 percent) dissatisfied with the way things are going in the Buckeye State in a new Quinnipiac poll. By contrast, roughly one in three (35 percent) say they are satisfied with the state of the state and just three percent of that group calling themselves "very" satisfied. That dissatisfaction is trickling down ballot with Gov. Ted Strickland (D) now in a dead heat with former Rep. John Kasich (R) despite the fact that the GOP nominee is far less well known in the state. (Strickland led by 10 points as recently as mid-September.)

Momentum is a challenge for Senate
http://thehill.com/homenews/house/67475-momentum-is-challenge-for-senate
Excerpt: Democrats on Capitol Hill have devised a plan to maintain momentum for healthcare reform, hoping to avoid the setbacks they suffered over the summer. The House’s passage of healthcare legislation was a huge victory for President Barack Obama and congressional Democrats. But the Senate’s snail-like pace presents the party with the challenge of proving to the public that they are making progress. Going into the Veterans Day recess, Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) and Majority Whip Dick Durbin (D-Ill.) signaled that they intend to pass the Senate bill in the final weeks of 2009, with a final vote on the conference bill by about mid-January. This schedule is intended to show the bill is moving forward, avoiding a repeat of the August recess, when the healthcare reform movement stalled amid boisterous town hall forums.

Swine flu: Available doses vary wildly by county
http://www.chicagotribune.com/health/chi-swine-flu-count-13-nov13,0,3222873.story
Excerpt: It's a puzzle that Will County's health officials are struggling to unravel: Although they have received enough H1N1 flu vaccine to protect just 2.1 percent of their county's 680,000 residents, Kendall County has enough to protect 17 percent of its 103,000 residents. "We don't understand why a county that's so much smaller than ours is getting more vaccines," said Will County Health Department spokesman Vic Reato. "We thought that maybe the state had lost our order."… Chicago receives its allotment directly from the CDC, but the rest of Illinois goes through the state health department, which does not rely on any hard-and-fast formula when deciding which counties, hospitals and other health care providers receive vaccine doses, officials said. (Gee, maybe because that’s how government runs healthcare? Duh.)

Why Fort Hood Really Happened
In war, uncertainty gets you killed. It just did. http://online.wsj.com/article_email/SB10001424052748704576204574529844037896738-lMyQjAxMDA5MDEwMjExNDIyWj.html
Excerpt: The only good news out of the Fort Hood massacre is that U.S. electronic surveillance technology was able to pick up Major Hasan's phone calls to an al Qaeda-loving imam in Yemen. The bad news is the people and agencies listening to Hasan didn't know what to do about it. Other than nothing. Next week, Sen. Joe Lieberman (I., Conn.) will convene the Homeland Security Committee to find out if someone in the Army or FBI dropped the ball on Hasan. At Ford Hood itself, grief has been turning to anger as news of possible dropped balls has emerged. Earlier in the week at Fort Hood, President Obama spoke about the consequences of doing nothing. He named and described each of the 13 dead. That properly gave individual reality to what soon will become "the victims of Fort Hood." This is how it always goes. For about a week after these awful incidents—such as the USS Cole bombing in Yemen (year 2000, 17 dead)—the rest of us feel, just a little, what the surviving families feel. This week, 13 American families are shattered, forever. It's a big deal, the biggest deal there is. On Tuesday night at 9:06 p.m. in Virginia, the state executed the Beltway sniper, John Allen Muhammad, who gunned down 10 in 2002. The day before the execution, the father of a dead daughter described why he would witness it: "I want to see what he made me see. He forced us to look at our little girl laying in a coffin. I want to see justice done. I want to see him take a last breath. I want to be able to describe it to the rest of the family."… This will never come up in the Lieberman hearings next week, but I think that nonstop policy battle is why Hasan's overseers dropped the ball.

Medicalizing mass murder
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/11/12/AR2009111209824.html?wpisrc=newsletter
Excerpt: What a surprise -- that someone who shouts "Allahu Akbar" (the "God is great" jihadist battle cry) as he is shooting up a room of American soldiers might have Islamist motives. It certainly was a surprise to the mainstream media, which spent the weekend after the Fort Hood massacre playing down Nidal Hasan's religious beliefs. I cringe that he's a Muslim. . . . I think he's probably just a nut case," said Newsweek's Evan Thomas. Some were more adamant. Time's Joe Klein decried "odious attempts by Jewish extremists . . . to argue that the massacre perpetrated by Nidal Hasan was somehow a direct consequence of his Islamic beliefs." While none could match Klein's peculiar cherchez-le-juif motif, the popular story line was of an Army psychiatrist driven over the edge by terrible stories he had heard from soldiers returning from Iraq and Afghanistan.

Prosecutors tie Iran, U.S. assets
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/11/12/AR2009111209731.html?wpisrc=newsletter
Nothing to do with Islam, of course. Lots of Presbyterians financing nuclear bombs and terrorism. Excerpt: Federal prosecutors on Thursday moved to seize several U.S. assets allegedly controlled by entities linked to the government of Iran, including a mosque and Islamic school in Potomac, land in Prince William County and a Manhattan skyscraper. Prosecutors described an intricate web of ties allegedly connecting the properties to an Iranian bank that has been identified as a key financier of Tehran's nuclear and ballistic missile programs and possibly acts of terrorism. At the center of that web, they said, is a New-York based organization known as the Alavi Foundation, which U.S. authorities have for decades suspected of being a possible Iranian front.

'They Will Kill Us All'
http://www.nytimes.com/2009/11/13/opinion/13iht-edhayes.html?_r=1
Excerpt: The lodge where I stay in Kabul was badly damaged on Oct. 8 when a suicide car bomb exploded 80 meters down the road near the Indian Embassy. Seventeen Afghans working in photocopy shops near the embassy were killed and another 60 wounded. The Indian diplomats were unharmed. No apologies were offered by the perpetrators for the killings. Nobody was hurt at my lodge, but 75 windows were blown out. The next day I was talking with the owner, who, for the third time in three years, had to fork out $3,000 to fix his windows. I asked him what would happen if NATO pulls out of Afghanistan? He replied without hesitation, looking me straight in the eyes and obviously referring to the Taliban and their allies: “They will kill us all.”

Joys of Muslim Women http://www.meetup.com/WeSurroundThemGathering/messages/boards/thread/7405744
The beauty of multiculturalism. Excerpt: In the Muslim faith a Muslim man can marry a child as young as 1 year old and have sexual intimacy with this child. Consummating the marriage by age 9. The dowry is given to the family in exchange for the woman (who becomes his slave) and for the purchase of the private parts of the woman, to use her as a toy. Even though a woman is abused she can not obtain a divorce. To prove rape, the woman must have (4) male witnesses. Often after a woman has been raped, she is returned to her family and the family must return the dowry. The family has the right to execute her (an honor killing) to restore the honor of the family. Husbands can beat their wives ‘at will’ and he does not have to say why he has beaten her.

Does Islam Breed Violence? By Amil Imani—Worth Reading http://www.americanthinker.com/2009/11/does_islam_breed_violence.html
Excerpt: There is a division of the house. On one side are the politically correct in government, the leftist mainstream media, and a raft of Islamist apologists. One and all are tripping over each other in reassuring us the mass murderers such as Maj. Nidal Malik Hasan and suicide-bombers who detonate their explosive vests in crowded marketplaces and even mosques are individual anomalies and Islam is not responsible for what they do. On the other side are those fed up with the innumerable daily horrific acts throughout the world that are clearly committed under the banner of Islam. In all fairness, there needs to be a distinction. Numerous criminal acts are also committed on a daily basis by non-Muslims. The critical difference is that non-Muslim criminals do not hoist a religious banner to justify their misdeeds, while the Muslims proudly claim that they commit their heinous acts in obedience to the dictates of their religious faith.

The Misnomer of Radical Islam America’s Security Blunder http://www.rightsidenews.com/200906065041/editorial/the-misnomer-of-radical-islam-americas-security-blunder.html
There are tens of millions of peaceful, moderate Muslims, just as there were tens of millions of peaceful, moderate Germans, Italians and Japanese in 1939. And they are just as irrelevant. I get the feeling the left feels that 13 dead is an acceptable price for having avoided subjecting Maj. Hasan to “Islamophobia.” Too bad they weren’t the ones who paid it.

Man arrested for 'anti-Christian' mall disturbance http://www.danvilleweekly.com/news/show_story.php?id=2339
Thought the Leftstream Media was worried that Ft. Hood would produce a backlash against Muslims? Excerpt: Police arrested 22-year-old Abdul Walid Hamid of Hayward on the evening of Wednesday, Nov. 4, after he reportedly tore a crucifix from a person's neck and scared others at Stoneridge Shopping Center. Hamid, an employee at a mall kiosk near Starbucks, has been charged with battery, terrorist threats and grand theft. According to reports, Hamid was yelling "Allah is power" and "Islam is great" while holding a pen in a fist over his head. Witnesses said he shouted anti-Christian comments, said police.

Grabbed another phony vet
http://www.thesmokinggun.com/archive/years/2009/1111091medals1.html
Excerpt: NOVEMBER 11--Just in time for Veteran's Day, a California bank employee is facing federal charges for allegedly masquerading as a decorated Marine and wearing a host of bogus medals, including the Purple Heart, Bronze Star, and Navy Cross. Steven Burton, 39, is scheduled to surrender tomorrow in U.S. District Court in Riverside, California (Burton, who has never served in the armed forces, was named last week in a misdemeanor criminal information charging him with the unauthorized wearing of military medals).

A Beard too far
http://article.nationalreview.com/?q=ZmJhMDE5NDk2NjUyMjNmNjA3NTBlZjhjMjhmOWJlMzY
I’m shipping over and taking my kilt! Excerpt: Some ironies are more than cruel. On the day that Maj. Nidal Malik Hasan approached Fort Hood armed with two handguns, he may have passed a newsstand selling copies of the November 9 edition of Army Times. On the front page was a photograph of a Sikh soldier wearing a beard, mustache, and turban with his uniform, accompanied by the headline, “Regs Make Way for Religion — Sikh, Muslim Allowed to Incorporate Customs into Army Dress.” Maj. Gen. Gina S. Farrisee, acting deputy chief of staff for Army personnel at the Pentagon, had granted a “religious accommodation” exception for Capt. Kamaljeet Singh Kalsi, a Sikh physician. Without providing a reason for the special treatment, General Farrisee’s October 22 letter stated that Captain Kalsi would be allowed to wear uncut hair, a turban, and a beard with his uniform. The religious accommodation was granted for Kalsi alone, and the letter explicitly states that the Army may revoke it at any time. (Another Sikh, who has been studying dentistry under the same Health Professions Scholarship Program that Kalsi was enrolled in, expects a similar personal waiver.) Army Times further reported that a Muslim officer serving as an orthopedic-surgery intern at the Walter Reed Army Medical Center had received permission to “wear a beard, as required by his sect of the Muslim faith.”

Two quotes
Obama after hearing that abortionist George Tiller was shot--- "I am shocked and outraged." Obama after receiving the news that 12 unarmed soldiers were gunned down at Ft. Hood Army Post, "I would caution against jumping to conclusions" about the motives of the gunman.

Love thy enemies:
Pray for Obama. Psalm 109:8

Visiting the Wounded at Fort Hood

Political Digest for Veterans Day, 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.

Today is Veterans Day, marking the end of WWI on the 11th hour of the 11th day of the 11th month. I was in a London Airport some years ago, on what they call “Armistice Day” and everything stopped for two minutes while we remembered the 20 million dead, because the politicians blundered in 1914.

Mike Royko on Veterans Day
http://www.blackfive.net/main/2003/11/mike_royko_on_v.html
A great 1993 column by the late Mike Royko. Excerpt: So I propose that the members of Congress revise Veterans Day to provide the following: - All veterans — and only veterans — should have the day off from work. It doesn’t matter if they were combat heroes or stateside clerk-typists. Anybody who went through basic training and was awakened before dawn by a red-neck drill sergeant who bellowed: "Drop your whatsis and grab your socks and fall out on the road," is entitled. - Those veterans who wish to march in parades, make speeches or listen to speeches can do so. But for those who don’t, all local gambling laws should be suspended for the day to permit vets to gather in taverns, pull a couple of tables together and spend the day playing poker, blackjack, craps, drinking and telling lewd lies about lewd experiences with lewd women. All bar prices should be rolled back to enlisted men’s club prices, Officers can pay the going rate, the stiffs. - All anti-smoking laws will be suspended for Veterans Day. The same holds for all misdemeanor laws pertaining to disorderly conduct, non-felonious brawling, leering, gawking and any other gross and disgusting public behavior that does not harm another individual. - It will be a treasonable offense for any spouse or live-in girlfriend (or boyfriend, if it applies) to utter the dreaded words: "What time will you be home tonight?" - Anyone caught posing as a veteran will be required to eat a triple portion of chipped beef on toast, with Spam on the side, and spend the day watching a chaplain present a color-slide presentation on the horrors of VD. - Regardless of how high his office, no politician who had the opportunity to serve in the military, but didn’t, will be allowed to make a patriotic speech, appear on TV, or poke his nose out of his office for the entire day. Any politician who defies this ban will be required to spend 12 hours wearing headphones and listening to tapes of President Clinton explaining his deferments.

Film shot in Vietnam by a Marine buddy http://www.virtualarchive.vietnam.ttu.edu/starweb/virtual/virtual/servlet.starweb?path=virtual/virtual/materials_new.web&id=newwebmaterialsnew&pass=&search1=ONUMN%3D1585VI2205&format=format
I didn't know it was possible to see the film I contributed to the Texas Tech archives from the "leftover" cans of motion picture stuff that somehow came home with me, but the link below will take you to one of the reels of film from then. It is uncut, unedited, uncorrected, and of course with no sound, so sections of it are not clear, etc, but there are plenty of images from I Corps in '68 that will be very familiar to those who served in Nam. Including part of a firefight, and a variety of everyday activities from that time. It's 21 minutes of history.... that we were all part of. Happy Birthday, Marines! ~Del (Gentlemen now abed….shall think themselves accursed they were not here, and hold their manhood cheap, when any speaks who fought with us…)

Obama says he wants to visit Hiroshima in future http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20091110/ap_on_re_as/as_japan_obama_hiroshima
Another apology for America coming up. What he should say is that “We are sorry that the atrocities by the Japanese Government of that time, from the sneak attack on Pearl Harbor to the Rape of Nanking to the Bataan Death March to the torture and murder of thousands of prisoners, to the thousands of Asian Women who were forced to serve as sex slaves for the soldiers of Japan, resulted in this terrible destruction, which was necessary to end the war and prevent millions of further deaths. Fat chance. Instead he’ll smear the WWII vets. Not that many of them left to vote in 2012.

A Clueless Commander-in-Chief
http://politicalmavens.com/index.php/2009/11/05/a-clueless-commander-in-chief/
Excerpt: If published reports are accurate, Barack Obama’s presidency is effectively over. Strong words? Ask yourself this: what other president of the United States would have spent almost three minutes speaking at the Dept. of Interior before getting around to mentioning the fact that twelve soldiers had been killed, and thirty one wounded in a massacre at Fort Hood in Texas? This kind of insensitivity is both infuriating and disturbing. Infuriating because reinforces the notion that we have a president whose narcissistic self-involvement borders on pathological. What in the world could have been more important than mentioning an American tragedy prior to the business at hand? Disturbing because it demonstrates a cluelessness one would think was impossible for the Commander-in-Chief of the United States military.

Matthews on Ft. Hood Suspect Warning Signal: 'That's Not a Crime to Call al Qaeda, Is It?'
http://newsbusters.org/blogs/jeff-poor/2009/11/09/matthews-ft-hood-suspect-warning-signal-thats-not-crime-call-al-qaida-it
Excerpt: "See - we have a problem," Matthews said. "How do we know when someone like Hasan is going to make his move and do we know he's an Islamist until he's made his move? He makes a phone call or whatever, according to Reuters right now. Apparently he tried to contact al Qaeda. Is that the point at which you say, ‘This guy is dangerous?' That's not a crime to call up al Qaeda, is it? Is it? I mean, where do you stop the guy?" (No worse than, say, calling the Abwehr in 1944, right? Besides, Homeland Insecurity was too busy keeping track of Tea Parties to worry about Hasan.)

Hasan e-mails to cleric didn't result in inquiry
Suspect in Fort Hood shootings will be tried in military court
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/11/09/AR2009110902061.html?wpisrc=newsletter
Too bad he’s alive. They won’t have the balls to execute him, as deserved.

Muslim at Islamic Community of Greater Killeen, Texas: "I honestly have no pity" for victims of the Fort Hood jihad
http://www.jihadwatch.org/2009/11/muslim-at-islamic-community-of-greater-killeen-texas-i-honestly-have-no-pity-for-victims-of-the-fort.html
Yet another Muslim didn’t get the Islam-is-a-religion-of-peace memo.

U.S.-born Islamic cleric: Nidal Hasan "Did the Right Thing"
http://www.jihadwatch.org/2009/11/us-born-islamic-cleric-nidal-hasan-did-the-right-thing.html
Didn’t get the memo.

Message from the Ft. Hood hero
http://www.kdhnews.com/news/story.aspx?s=36993

Great Timing: AG Holder to Speak to Radical Muslim Group http://jammiewearingfool.blogspot.com/2009/11/great-timing-ag-holder-to-speak-to.html
Whose side are they on?

British spies help prevent al Qaeda-inspired attack on New York subway
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/northamerica/usa/6529436/British-spies-help-prevent-al-Qaeda-inspired-attack-on-New-York-subway.html
Don’t blame Islam though. Could have been angry Baptists. Happens all the time.

Is Healthcare a Right?
They tripped up John McCain during the campaign, when he wouldn’t say it was a Right, and BO said it was. But a “right” is something we all get the same amount of. You are entitled to as much Free Speech as Chris Matthews. I get as Much Freedom of Religion as Barack Obama and his God-Damn-America pastor. Tea Party protesters get as much right of freedom of assembly as ACORN (in theory at least). Fox News gets as much Freedom of the Press as MNBC, even if the White House attacks them. And so on. So if Health Care is a Right, we all deserve the same amount of it. You and I and every poor person is entitled to the same care as Bill Gates, Obama and the members of Congress. Of course, that will bankrupt the country in a year or two, but it’s coming in the next ten years anyway. Let’s insist on our “Rights” and get it over with. Then we can start over with the Jamestown Rule. You don’t work, you don’t eat.

Hospital victims wait on
http://www.gympietimes.com.au/story/2009/11/10/gympie-victims-hospital-victims-wait-on/
The joys of government healthcare down under. Excerpt: MARILYN Mahon and Betty Perrett are the faces of a health crisis which has reached critical intensity in our Sunshine Coast health region. The two Gympie women have been waiting for more than a year for knee replacement operations and have just been dealt another frustrating blow. Without any consultation, they and about 100 others have been scratched from the Noosa Hospital joint replacement waiting list and forced onto Nambour General Hospital’s orthopaedic waiting list. Noosa Hospital ceased providing public joint replacement surgery in December, 2008 because of limited funding from the state government, but had hoped to resume operations in 2010.The transfer from hospital to hospital has angered Ms Mahon, 61, and Ms Perrett, 66, who said they felt like they were being treated like “pieces of paper” rather than patients.

Employer taxes may spook Senate on health care http://www.washingtonexaminer.com/politics/Employer-taxes-may-spook-Senate-on-health-care-8508780-69606417.html
Excerpt: As the Senate prepares to vote on its version of health care legislation, one of the most contentious issues will be a provision requiring employers to provide insurance coverage. With the jobless rate at 10.2 percent and expected to climb, penalties for employers who don't offer insurance benefits will make it difficult for moderate Senate Democrats to support the plan. While most big companies provide workers with health insurance, many smaller employers do not, and they would end up having to come up with the money to either buy coverage or pay a penalty. "There is no question it will result in job loss and it will encourage employers not to hire employees," said John Goodman, president of the conservative National Center for Policy Analysis.

Canadians don't have better access to routine preventative health care
http://ow.ly/zcqM
Excerpt: Canadians don't fare any better for routine preventive care. According to the Canadian group Physicians for a National Health Program (PNHP), 65 percent of Canadian women aged 40 to 64 have had a mammogram within the last five years, that's the same percentage as uninsured American women, but far below the 87 percent of insured American women who have had the procedure. Just 16 percent of Canadian men have been screened for prostate cancer, compared to 31 percent of uninsured American men and 52 percent of insured American men.

Impact of the House Healthcare bill
http://www.grassfire.net/r.asp?U=22855&CID=122&RID=22057142

Senior Democrat is 'confident' that Stupak amendment will be stripped
http://thehill.com//blogs/blog-briefing-room/news/66969-senior-dem-confident-stupak-amendment-will-be-stripped
Does that lose more “Blue Dogs?” Only need a switch of three to kill in the House.

FHA's reserve fund hits 7-year low
Agency's cash running low; automatic bailout possible if loss continues
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/11/09/AR2009110903180.html?wpisrc=newsletter
And the bleeding continues, while Washington wants to expand the authority to force banks to loan to people who can’t pay. Excerpt: The Federal Housing Administration, which has played a crucial role supporting American home buyers after the collapse of the mortgage market, has burned through a huge cash reserve in less than a decade and could soon wind up with what amounts to an automatic taxpayer bailout if the agency's fortunes don't improve, according to a review of FHA finances.

Seven Reasons Why Congress Should Repeal, Not Fix, the Death Tax http://www.heritage.org/Research/Taxes/wm2688.cfm Excerpt:
Death taxes undermine job creation. Not only do federal death taxes have a corrosive effect on the virtue of savings and prudent investment, but they also directly undermine job creation and wage growth. These latter effects make death tax repeal everyone's concern. Heritage Foundation economists estimate that the federal estate tax alone is responsible for the loss of between 170,000 and 250,000 potential jobs each year. These numbers do not appear in employment statistics because the investments that would have created these jobs are never made.

Random Thoughts by Thomas Sowell http://townhall.com/columnists/ThomasSowell/2009/11/10/random_thoughts
Excerpt: It was fascinating to see Barack Obama warning us not to leap to conclusions about the killings at Fort Hood, Texas-- after the way he leaped to conclusions over the arrest of Henry Louis Gates, when he knew less about the facts than we already know about the massacre at Fort Hood.

Poll on BO and the Economy
http://post.polls.yahoo.com/quiz/quizresults.php
Vote early and often.

Hollywood doesn’t know Joe
http://www.pjtv.com/v/2689
Too funny

Political Digest November 10, 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.

November 10th is the 234th Birthday of the United States Marine Corps. Happy Birthday, Marines! (See birthday post below.)

The most important number in politics today
http://voices.washingtonpost.com/thefix/most-important-number/the-most-important-number-in-p-60.html?wprss=thefix
Excerpt: 40. That's the percentage of the Virginia electorate that identified themselves as conservatives, the highest number among that ideological group in the Commonwealth since 1994. And, not only did conservatives comprise an extremely large segment of the Virginia electorate, they also cast their ballots for Republicans at a historically high rate; 91 percent of self-identifying conservatives voted GOP while just nine percent cast their vote for Democrats. (Compare that to 2008 when conservatives were one in every three voters and roughly one if five -- 18 percent -- voted Democrat and you see the considerable change in that segment of the electorate in just one year's time.

The most important number in politics today (Different day!)
http://voices.washingtonpost.com/thefix/most-important-number/the-most-important-number-in-p-61.html?wprss=thefix
Excerpt: 50 That's the percentage of adults who believe former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee (R) is qualified to be president as opposed to 36 percent who believe he is not in a new national poll from Gallup. Huckabee's numbers on the "qualified" question were matched only by fellow former Gov. Mitt Romney (Mass.) with 49 percent qualified/39 percent not qualified rating. Other potential 2012 candidates like former House Speaker Newt Gingrich (44/46) and former Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin (31/62) fared worse on the question.

The most important number in politics this weekend
http://voices.washingtonpost.com/thefix/most-important-number/the-most-important-number-in-p-62.html?wprss=thefix
Excerpt: 8. That's the number of House Democrats voting against tonight's health care bill who represent districts carried by President Barack Obama during the 2008 election. Of the eight, Obama's highest percentage came in Rep. Artur Davis' 7th district where he won 74 percent of the vote. Davis' vote is rightly understood through a political lens as, despite the overwhelming support for Obama in his district, he is running for governor of a conservative-leaning state next November and wants to safeguard against attacks from Republicans. Six of the remaining seven members -- Reps. John Adler (N.J.), Brian Baird (Wash.), John Barrow (Ga.), Larry Kissell (N.C.), Scott Murphy (N.Y.) and Glenn Nye (Va.) -- represent districts where the President took 55 percent or less in 2008, making their decision to vote "no" strategically defensible

The myth of '08, demolished
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/11/05/AR2009110504334.html?wpisrc=newsletter
Excerpt: Sure, Election Day 2009 will scare moderate Democrats and make passage of Obamacare more difficult. Sure, it makes it easier for resurgent Republicans to raise money and recruit candidates for 2010. But the most important effect of Tuesday's elections is historical. It demolishes the great realignment myth of 2008. In the aftermath of last year's Obama sweep, we heard endlessly about its fundamental, revolutionary, transformational nature. How it was ushering in an FDR-like realignment for the 21st century in which new demographics -- most prominently, rising minorities and the young -- would bury the GOP far into the future. One book proclaimed "The Death of Conservatism," while the more modest merely predicted the terminal decline of the Republican Party into a regional party of the Deep South or a rump party of marginalized angry white men.

Republicans seek a path to revival
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/11/07/AR2009110703468.html?wpisrc=newsletter
Excerpt: One year after hitting bottom in the aftermath of President Obama's election, Republicans have taken their first concrete steps toward recovery. But they remain an embattled and divided force, facing an electorate still skeptical about their capacity to govern and embroiled in a struggle between party regulars and populist conservative forces over how to return to power.

Cancer Screening And Age In The United States And Europe
http://content.healthaffairs.org/cgi/content/abstract/28/6/1838
We have the best health care system in the world. If you take out homicide and car wrecks—about which these bills do nothing—we live longer than any other country. And we are going to destroy that system. Excerpt: We compare cancer screening rates between the United States and Europe. Many European countries have organized screening programs, whereas the U.S. approach is relatively decentralized. Many European countries, unlike the United States, also impose upper age limits on screening. Overall, European screening rates were 22–88 percent of the corresponding U.S. rates. U.S. residents are more likely to be screened at younger ages, when the expected benefit from early detection is the greatest, but also at older ages, when the expected benefit is declining.

Health care dispute: Costs of defensive medicine http://www.google.com/hostednews/ap/article/ALeqM5ggCAmxnD3dec4mVfXd7BfcCEYF9AD9BOSCCG1
Don’t expect this reform, which would lower costs, with the League of Leftwing Lawyers in charge of the White House and Congress. Excerpt: Doctors say the hidden costs of the tests along with malpractice insurance and lawsuit awards are major drivers behind the soaring cost of care. Trial attorneys say bad medicine, not lawsuits, is to blame. The debate has split along party lines, with Democrats typically siding with lawyers groups and Republicans agreeing with doctors.

The Health Care Disaster in Canada
http://www.jewishworldreview.com/1109/morris110409.php3
Excerpt: After more than a decade of public health care with mandatory coverage, so many Canadian doctors have left the practice and so many young people have entered other fields that Canada ranks 26th of 28 developed nations in its ratio of physicians to population. Once, Canada ranked among the leaders in the number of physicians — but that was before government health care drove doctors out of the practice in droves. The fundamental fact is that we cannot cover 36 million new patients without more doctors and nurses, much less with the declining census of medical professionals the Canadian experience points to. A recent survey of doctors by the Pew Institute found that 45 percent of all practicing doctors would consider retiring or closing their practices if the Barack Obama health care bill passes. This scarcity of medical personnel heightens the likelihood of draconian rationing, lengthy waiting lists and lower quality medical care for all of us, particularly for the elderly.

The Coming Shortage of Doctors http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052748703574604574499423536935290.html
Excerpt: If the doctor shortage is not addressed and health-care reform is signed into law, millions of Americans will likely find themselves able to obtain insurance for the first time—but may be unable to find a doctor without a long delay. Why? Because expanding the number of insured patients but not the number of doctors will only increase the demand for services that already must meet the demands of an aging population. We must make sure there are enough health professionals to meet those new demands. Even in the absence of health-care reform, according to the American Association of Medical Colleges, the U.S. will face a shortage of at least 125,000 physicians by 2025. We have about 700,000 active physicians today. One factor driving this shortage is that the baby-boomer generation is getting older and will require more care. (At a national conference this past weekend, of a medical specialty whose patients tend to be seniors, 11% said they would retire if health care reform passes in any of the present forms. 22% said they already limit Medicare patients and 7% that they don't take Medicare patients. This is a specialty where there is already a growing shortage of doctors, and where you live in great pain if you can’t get one.)

Expanding Medicaid Means Reducing Education
http://blog.heritage.org/2009/11/06/expanding-medicaid-means-reducing-education/
Excerpt: By expanding Medicaid in the health care bill, Congress will set off political tornadoes across the country that will leave governors and state legislators to clean up afterward. The math is simple. State revenues are still in a slump and will continue for a least a few more years. The two largest state and local expenditures are education and Medicaid. If you have to balance a budget, which nearly every state does, and you cannot touch the entitlement to Medicaid, where will you turn to fill the budget gap? There will be little choice than to go after education.

A vote to make or break a career
Lone House Republican backed health bill after abortion was limited http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/11/08/AR2009110815740.html?wpisrc=newsletter
Probably his only chance to survive in that district.

Cash hoard reflects fears of Obama plans http://apps.detnews.com/apps/blogs/nolanfinleyblog/index.php?blogid=1319
When you punish the people who create jobs, you get fewer jobs. Duh, as my granddaughter Britnye would say. Excerpt: One of the reasons job creation is lagging despite signs of an economic recovery is that the nation's big businesses are hoarding their cash rather than investing it to expand. The Wall Street Journal reports that the nation's largest companies are sitting on nearly $1 trillion in cash, or roughly 10 percent of their assets, the largest stash of idle money in 40 years. This is a symptom of the uncertain tax and regulatory environment created by the Obama administration and a Congress that is increasingly hostile to business. Companies aren't going to invest money in job-creating ventures until they can gauge the impact of policies ranging from health care reform to climate change.

Tuesday’s results on top and down ballot: The closer you look, the worse it was for Democrats http://www.redstate.com/brad_smith/2009/11/07/tuesdays-results-on-top-and-down-ballot-the-closer-you-look-the-worse-it-was-for-democrats/
Excerpt: Down ballot, in races for lower offices, including state legislatures and mayors, it gets worse. Republicans rolled to easy double digit victories in the Virginia Attorney General and Lt. Governor races. In the Lt. Governor’s race, Bill Bolling, who won by just 1 percent in 2005, won by 12 points. Republicans gained 6 seats (pending one recount) in the State Assembly, giving them a 61-37-2 majority. Republicans gained a seat in the New Jersey House. Republicans took control of the Pennsylvania Supreme Court and won six of seven statewide races in the Keystone State. Republicans gained in the heavily populated New York City suburbs , taking control of both Westchester County and Nassau County for the first time in a decade. They even gained a couple seats on the New York City Council (in addition to the re-election of their sort-of Republican Mayor Bloomberg). In Michigan, in a special election for a state senate seat that had gone Democratic by 61-39 when it was last up in 2006, the Republican flipped the landslide around and won 61-36. Republicans also flipped a New Hampshire state house seat in a special election.

Grim proving ground for Obama's housing policy http://www.boston.com/news/nation/articles/2008/06/27/grim_proving_ground_for_obamas_housing_policy/
CHICAGO - The squat brick buildings of Grove Parc Plaza, in a dense neighborhood that Barack Obama represented for eight years as a state senator, hold 504 apartments subsidized by the federal government for people who can't afford to live anywhere else. But it's not safe to live here. About 99 of the units are vacant, many rendered uninhabitable by unfixed problems, such as collapsed roofs and fire damage. Mice scamper through the halls. Battered mailboxes hang open. Sewage backs up into kitchen sinks. In 2006, federal inspectors graded the condition of the complex an 11 on a 100-point scale - a score so bad the buildings now face demolition. Grove Parc has become a symbol for some in Chicago of the broader failures of giving public subsidies to private companies to build and manage affordable housing - an approach strongly backed by Obama as the best replacement for public housing.

Pfizer abandons site of infamous Kelo eminent domain taking http://www.washingtonexaminer.com/opinion/blogs/beltway-confidential/Pfizer-abandons-site-of-infamous-Kelo-eminent-domain-taking-69580497.html
And liberals wonder why people fear and hate big government. Excerpt: The private homes that New London, Conn., took away from Suzette Kelo and her neighbors have been torn down. Their former site is a wasteland of fields of weeds, a monument to the power of eminent domain. But now Pfizer, the drug company whose neighboring research facility had been the original cause of the homes' seizure, has just announced that it is closing up shop in New London. To lure those jobs to New London a decade ago, the local government promised to demolish the older residential neighborhood adjacent to the land Pfizer was buying for next-to-nothing. Suzette Kelo fought the taking to the Supreme Court, and lost. Five justices found this redevelopment met the constitutional hurdle of "public use.”

HOW TO AVOID POVERTY AND ENTER THE AMERICAN MIDDLE CLASS http://www.ncpa.org/sub/dpd/index.php?Article_ID=18651&utm_source=newsletter&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=DPD
Excerpt: If you want to avoid poverty and join the middle class in the United States, you need to do three things: Complete high school (at a minimum), work full time and marry before you have children. If you do all three, your chances of being poor fall from 12 percent to 2 percent, and your chances of joining the middle class or above rise from 56 to 74 percent. Brookings defines middle class as having an income of at least $50,000 a year for a family of three.

New Business, Not Small Business, Is What Creates Jobs http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052748704013004574517303668357682.html
Excerpt: Unfortunately, in troubled economic times the language of recovery is too often tilted toward large, established companies or to "small businesses," a broad term that traditionally applies to businesses with fewer than 500 employees. The conventional wisdom is that such businesses account for half of the labor force and are therefore the engine of future job creation. That's not quite the case. The more precise factor is not the size of businesses, but rather their age. According to the Census Bureau, nearly all net job creation in the U.S. since 1980 occurred in firms less than five years old. A Kauffman Foundation report released yesterday shows that as recently as 2007, two-thirds of the jobs created were in such firms. Put more starkly, without new businesses, job creation in the American economy would have been negative for many years.

The Crude Truth About Oil Reserves http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052748704107204574470700973579402.html
Excerpt: It offends conventional wisdom. It will also seem nasty to the doom-sayers, who for decades have predicted an oil scarcity that never came. But the 21st century is very likely to overflow with oil. There are at least three main reasons for this.

'I could hear the bullets going past me'
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/11/06/AR2009110604350.html?wpisrc=newsletter
She deserves a gong and an apology from the “Women shouldn’t be in combat” folks. I’d take her next to me over 90% of the liberal weenies in our colleges today. Excerpt: The first frantic 911 calls had come just four minutes earlier. Kimberly Munley, a civilian police officer for the Army, rounded the corner of a squat, one-story building at 1:27 p.m. Thursday and came face to face with Army Maj. Nidal M. Hasan. Hasan, an Army psychiatrist, had already killed or wounded dozens of soldiers, having fired more than 100 rounds, according to Army officials. He was still shooting at unarmed troops who were dragging away their bleeding colleagues when he locked his eyes on Munley, raised his pistols, and charged her. The petite officer dropped to the ground for protection and fired back. Bullets struck Munley, 35, in both thighs and one wrist. At least one of Munley's rounds hit Hasan in the chest, knocking him to the ground, witnesses said, although the details of what happened are still unclear. "She moved to the threat and eliminated it," said Chuck Medley, director of emergency services at Fort Hood, Tex. As she fired off her rounds, a few other officers also closed in on Hasan, who lay bloody and unconscious. The police officer's heroics ended a horrific rampage for Fort Hood soldiers.

How To Help Fort Hood Victims, Families http://cbs11tv.com/wireapnewstx/Fort.Hood.lists.2.1298071.html
Donation addresses. Maybe send some of the foreign aid we send to Muslim countries to the Ft. Hood families?

Authorities scrutinize links between Fort Hood suspect, imam said to back al-Qaeda http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/11/08/AR2009110818405.html?wpisrc=newsletter
Excerpt: Federal investigators are examining possible links between Fort Hood shooting suspect Maj. Nidal M. Hasan and an American-born imam who U.S. authorities say has become a supporter and leading promoter of al-Qaeda since leaving a Northern Virginia mosque, officials said. (Better stop. Might find a link to Islam.)

Restraint urged in Fort Hood speculation http://voices.washingtonpost.com/44/2009/11/08/restraint_urged_in_fort_hood_s.html?wprss=44
We have to stop these wild, unfounded rumors that a Muslim screaming “Allah Akbar” and murdering Americans might have had anything to do with his being a Muslim. Presbyterians probably do this all the time.

Iran accuses 3 detained Americans of espionage
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/11/09/AR2009110901110.html?hpid=topnews
Bargaining chips to trade to Obama.

Muslims in 21st Century America: Violent Clashing Cultures http://www.newswithviews.com/Wooldridge/frosty516.htm
Excerpt: “Not all Muslims are terrorists, but all terrorists are Muslims,” said radio talk show host Peter Boyles last week on www.khow.com in Denver, Colorado. Boyles’ remarks followed a horrific mass killing by Muslim U.S. Army Major Nadal Malik Hasan at Fort Hood, Texas. Hasan blasted away at 42 military personnel and civilians as they stood defenseless in line awaiting deployment processing for the Middle East. He screamed, “Allah Akbar, Allah Akbar!” while unloading his firearms into the bodies of U.S. troops. A female off-duty police officer waded into the chaos with her gun blazing until she brought him down with four shots. He lays in a Fort Hood hospital bed in critical condition.

Obama on Ft. Hood -- Not Even 'Shocked'
http://www.foxnews.com/opinion/2009/11/06/dan-gainor-obama-ft-hood-murders-speech-shocked/?loomia_ow=t0:s0:a16:g2:r1:c0.180715:b28751559:z10
Why should he be shocked? I was angry, but not shocked. We have learned to expect daily outrages from Muslims around the world. I wasn’t shocked at the honor killing in Arizona, or the stoning in Somalia, or….Yes, I know there are millions of moderate Muslims who want peace, just as millions of moderate Germans did in 1939, and were irrelevant. And I know Muslims have served honorably in our military. But there is no way to discern which moderate Muslim is the next Maj. Hasan, or the next father who will kill his daughter for Allah. Or behead a school principal.

Islamic rebels behead Philippine teacher http://www.google.com/hostednews/afp/article/ALeqM5i_6vW7HkjRJKHBaMo6acruwIOeTg
Nothing to do with Islam, I’m sure. Probably a student who got a bad grade. Excerpt: ZAMBOANGA, Philippines — The severed head of a school principal who was abducted by Islamic militants in the troubled southern Philippines was dumped in a petrol station on Monday, authorities said. The head of Gabriel Canizares was found inside a bag at a petrol station on Jolo island at dawn, 22 days after the 36-year-old man was kidnapped, local police chief inspector Usman Pingay said. His body remains missing, police said.

Alleged Fort Hood Gunman a Hero, Says Islamic Cleric With Suspected 9/11 Links http://www.cnsnews.com/news/article/56844
Excerpt: The Muslim U.S. Army major accused of shooting dead 13 people at Fort Hood last Thursday was a “hero” who faced a choice of betraying his nation or betraying Islam, according to a radical U.S.-born cleric whose possible links with Maj. Nidal Hasan are now under investigation. The cleric, Anwar al-Awlaki, led a Northern Virginia mosque in 2001 which Hasan attended – along with three of the 9/11 hijackers.

 'Hardcore' Islamist gets top anti-terror post at Home Office
http://www.thejc.com/news/uk-news/21616/hardcore-islamist-gets-top-anti-terror-post-home-office
Good luck with this one. Excerpt: A “hardcore” Islamist has been given a key Home Office job to tackle terrorism and divert fellow Muslims from the path of violence. The appointment of Asim Hafeez as head of intervention at the Office of Security and Counter-Terrorism has caused serious concern among more moderate Muslim advisers across Whitehall. It is seen as a sign of a shift in the government’s policy on radical Islam away from engagement with more moderate groups.

Report: Hezbollah rearming for imminent conflict with Israel http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/1126645.html
Excerpt: Militant group Hezbollah is rapidly rearming and reinforcing positions in southern Lebanon in preparation for a new conflict with Israel, British newspaper the Observer reported on Sunday. "Sure, we are rearming, we have even said that we have far more rockets and missiles than we did in 2006," a Hezbollah commander told the Observer speaking on condition of anonymity. The 2006 war between Hezbollah and Israel began after Hezbollah militants launched a cross-border attack and kidnapped two Israel Defense Forces soldiers.

Fort Hood jihadist's coworkers saw warning signs, but said nothing for fear of seeming bigoted http://www.jihadwatch.org/2009/11/fort-hood-jihadists-coworkers-saw-warning-signs-but-said-nothing-for-fear-of-seeming-bigoted.html
Soldiers die so the army can be PC.

China Executes 9 Uighurs Over Ethnic Riots
http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,573065,00.html
Give them Maj. Hasan. Excerpt: The worst ethnic unrest in decades began July 5 when minority Uighurs attacked Han, who make up China's dominant ethnicity, only to face retaliatory attacks two days later. Many Uighurs, who are a Turkic Muslim ethnic group linguistically and culturally distinct from the Han, resent Beijing's heavy-handed rule in Xinjiang, their traditional homeland. Four months later, Xinjiang remains smothered in heavy security, with Internet access cut and international direct dialing calls blocked. The official China News Service reported that the nine were executed after a final review of the verdicts by the Supreme People's Court as required by law, but gave no specific date or other details. Earlier reports had identified those condemned as eight Uighurs and one Han.

Fighting in Afghanistan
http://www.westwrite.com/.

New take on the “Hitler” Video
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Jg_TpflmSXs&feature=player_embedded
Always new funny versions.