David Corn

DC

The truth has a way of making itself known.

One question - who is the Nixon person? (jk)

Very interesting stuff to us older folks - I suspect, to the youger folks today, this would be like new information on the tea pot dome scandal to me.

Tea pot dome scandal? Capt, now you are really dating your self! ha!

lol

Or, for my generation, did they really get John Wilkes Booth at Garrett's Farm?

The tapes? That 18 minute gap has already been exposed and thoroughly explained in a movie not by Oliver Stone.

It was called Dick. Check out the video.
http://tinyurl.com/nlumen

Turns out that Dick was caught on tape kicking the crap out of Checkers.

No doubt most Americans would rather hear what was on Bill Clinton's White House Tapes, though they'd need to carry an NC17 rating to protect the children.

I remember coming home from school when I was 8 or 9 years old to watch the Nixon impeachment hearings on the TV. It was awesome stuff watching the most powerful man in America taken down like a common thug.

Palin? I missed out on all the Palin fun. Crap.

Ha! I watched the trailer - I HAVE to rent the movie! Thanks Clint.

Fred Barnes: Palin Has A "Whiny Edge" (VIDEO)

In the wake of Sarah Palin's resignation, even conservative magazine editors are getting tired of her relentless anti-media shtick. Charles Krauthammer said Monday on Fox News that her complaints have a "whining quality." Fred Barnes of the "Weekly Standard" agreed:

"There is a way to deal with the press. Look at the way Ronald Reagan did. He didn't attack the press. He teased them. He made fun of them. He jokes about them, embarrassed them. It was great. People loved it and it didn't have that edge, that whiny edge that you always want to avoid."

Watch:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yoqVs2pY64c

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2009/07/28/fred-barnes-palin-has-a-w_n_246204.html

*****

Palin did what is best for Alaska but how sad is it that resigning is the best thing for them and she knows it?

Sarah Palin Somehow Speaks the Truth

With a year and a half to go in her term as Governor of Alaska, Sarah Palin resigned her executive position yesterday, stating she could serve the people of Alaska more effectively out of office.

On the one hand, its hard to have more influence over the direction and policies of a state than as its chief executive. Executive orders, appointments, any variety of responsibilities and powers wielded by the governor of a state allows that one person to exert a good amount of their own personal beliefs into the state they govern, even if they are restricted in their influence by the legislature and other branches.

On the other hand, Sarah Palin is no longer governor. Thus, she is probably right in her implication that Alaskans will benefit as she steps into a new role, just not the way she probably thinks.

In his last year in office, Bush's Interior Department sought to list the polar bear as a threatened species. Then-Governor Palin challenged the proposal, saying it would threaten oil and gas development in the region, and said there was not enough evidence to support the listing.

Not long before Palin earned her PhD in ecology, the USGS did a study which found that the continued erosion of sea ice on which polar bears depend could lead to a severe reduction in their numbers by the year 2050.

Her ability to cite non-existent studies to serve a simplistic agenda is deservedly Bush-esque, and given what the "Great Decider" has accomplished with his ability to pull facts out of nowhere, it stands to reason that her withdrawal from the responsibilities of Alaska's interests is actually, well, in Alaska's best interests.

This is but one example of Sarah Palin's ability to ignore science in an effort to create her own, but coupled with her rhetoric during and after her run as the Republican Vice Presidential nominee last year, it is indicative of her willingness to say one thing and do another, or in the case involving the polar bears, cite one thing, and really have no evidence to back it up.

http://www.care2.com/causes/politics/blog/sarah-palin-somehow-speaks-the-truth/

Odd blog happening . . .

Suddenly this post is missing?

now it's back

ZOMG!

Shatner Reads Palin

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b7_UHHA5peY

ROFL!!!!!

Barry really does hate cops!
Posted by: freddie Author Profile Page | July 27, 2009 7:53 PM

A billion $$ to 1K agencies? That's an average of about a million dollars per agency to increase funding for Cops. Wow.

What happened to all them wingnuts? Did they quit taking their stupid pills or what?
Posted by: Alan July 28, 2009 12:33 AM

Obviously Fredward got ahold of the stupid pills and is doing them suppository-style. Lay off the stupid pills Fredward.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

The aid announced by Vice President Joe Biden and Attorney General Eric Holder is just a fraction of what police departments across the country had hoped to get. For every $1 to be delivered, another $7 in requests will go unanswered under the grant program, Community Oriented Policing Services, commonly called COPS.

Four major U.S. cities are finding this out the hard way: New York, Houston, Seattle and Pittsburgh are among those that will not get money because the Justice Department decided other parts of the country simply needed it more, officials said.

~~

Obviously, Clint and Alan can't read an entire article beyond the headline! Talk about stupid pills, Clint must have Michael Jackson's Doc hooking him up to an IV full of stupid juice!

Yet Barry can find billions to give to his cop hating Acorn buddies~~~

American charged with running 'jihadi training camp'

A white American dry-walling contractor and his two sons ran a military-style training camp in North Carolina while plotting "violent jihad", prosecutors said.

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/northamerica/usa/5926273/American-charged-with-running-jihadi-training-camp.html

*******

WTF?

Drudge Healine:

'I supported him. I voted for him. I will not again'...

COP SAYS OBAMA LOST HER VOTE

Yes, Barry hates Cops just like his buddies Gates, Rev Wright and cop killer Bill Ayers!!!

Hilarious

Here's the headline from today's Republican National Committee Press Release:

"WHAT 2 WATCH 4: OBAMA VS. SENIORS

Obama's Government-Run Health Care Experiment Will Be Devastating For Seniors"

And Medicare is run by...whom? Walmart?

http://swampland.blogs.time.com/2009/07/28/hilarious-2/

House Answers 'Birther' Doubters on Obama

Barack Obama's Hawaiian birth was affirmed indirectly Monday night with the help of seven of 10 House Republicans who have inflamed fringe "birther" doubts about the legitimacy of the president's citizenship.

The Republicans joined the House in voting in favor of a resolution commemorating Hawaii's 50th anniversary as a state. The resolution included a clause stipulating that "the 44th President of the United States, Barack Obama, was born in Hawaii on August 4, 1961."

The group of 10 Republicans had raised questions about Obama's nationality by sponsoring legislation that would require future presidential candidates to provide copies of their birth certificates when they file papers to run for the office.

The resolution, sponsored by Rep. Neil Abercrombie, D-Hawaii, was approved 378-0.

http://blogs.cqpolitics.com/notepad/2009/07/birthers-affirm-obama-citizens.html

Sorry, National Review: Birther Crazies Aren’t Just “A Few Misguided Souls”

http://firedoglake.com/

*****

Maybe the birthers are a pro-democratic group secretly making the right and the GOP look and sound ridiculous. Those sly SOB's!

GOP Earns Worst-Ever Rating in Fox Poll

I'm shocked -- shocked -- that this finding doesn't make it into the Fox News write up of its own polling, but the latest survey commissioned by the conservative news outlet finds that the Republican Party is at an all-time low in terms of popularity.

Per the poll (.pdf), the GOP's favorability rating has slid noticeably from the spring, from 41 percent in early April to just 36 percent today. At the same time, the party's unfavorable rating increased from 50 percent to 53 percent. Both of the current numbers represent new lows for the Republican Party in Fox News polling.

At the same time, the Fox News survey finds that Americans view the Democratic Party significantly better, with 50 percent viewing it favorably and just 41 percent viewing it unfavorably. Barack Obama's favorable ratings are even better -- still close to a 2-to-1 positive-to-negative ratio -- with 62 percent viewing him favorably and 33 percent viewing him unfavorably.

I find it sort of amusing, as if the Republican Party was not in thrall to it's most out on the lunatic fringe base, this MIGHT be a time to be making some moves into getting the mushy middle back.

But, when your defacto party leader is Sarah Palin, your most pressing issue is being driven by your leading constitutional scholar Orly Taitz, you still think your battle plan for the mid nineties is operational (the big bad liberal media is ruining our glorious American Conservative Christian Heritage) and your telegenic image is a bunch of cranky old Rich Southern White Guys insulting THE MOST QUALIFIED SCOTUS candidate in 75 years who has the misfortune of not being white....

It's no wonder Vognivitch and the last of the moderate GOP's is retiring.

Anyone see the picture of Bobby Jindal, Stimulus Denyer, with the BIG Government Check he was handing out?

The Daily show counts it's blessings on an hourly basis.

The Reagan era is over...All hail the Sarah Palin era of the GOP!

http://www.mydd.com/story/2009/7/28/73520/5260

*****

In the Fox poll - someone must be messing with these numbers.

Freddie

Cop acted stupidly = I hate cop? Good stretch - most people can tell the difference. You too -

I think you write some stupid things - I'm sure you think the same thing about me. But I do not hate you and I do not think you are stupid. Misguided maybe. There's a difference.

Again - you do not want to have a real discussion about race issues. You want to turn this into a hate thing.

Too bad.

Video: Hawaiian official corroborates Obama COLB … again

What does it say about the Birther issue when Fox News covers its debunking while CNN continues to stoke the controversy? Yesterday, Dr. Chiyome Fukino issued a second definitive statement that Barack Obama was born in Hawaii, as his Certificate of Live Birth states, after having seen the records in the Department of Health for herself. A second Honolulu newspaper produced a birth announcement for Obama in August 1961 as well:

http://hotair.com/archives/2009/07/28/videohawaiian-official-corroborates-obama-colb-again/

FOX host: Obama a 'racist'

FOX News host Glenn Beck dialed up his rhetoric against President Obama Tuesday, branding the president a "racist" in an appearance on the morning show "Fox and Friends."

Beck charged that the president's handling of the controversy over the arrest of Harvard scholar Henry Louis Gates Jr. displayed a "deep-seated hatred for white people or the white culture."

"I'm not saying he doesn't like white people, I'm saying he has a problem," Beck said. "This guy is, I believe, a racist."

http://www.politico.com/politico44/perm/0709/beck_attacks_ed5a4e5b-ac5b-4699-b431-d37c16986211.html

Republicans Join the Obama Birth Certificate Coverup

Somehow, the House got 158 Republicans — including nearly all members of the leadership — to vote for a resolution last night that declares President Obama was born in Hawaii. But it appears that the resolution wasn’t intentionally aimed at the fringe movement plaguing the Republican Party these days: the people who insist Obama isn’t actually a citizen of the United States.

Instead, aides to Democratic Rep. Neil Abercrombie of Hawaii — the sponsor of the resolution — say the impact on the “birther” movement was just an amusing sideshow to a resolution that was just supposed to be a simple celebration of the 50th anniversary of Hawaii’s statehood.

“When we realized that it might stir them up, we just kind of smiled,” said Abercrombie spokesman Dave Helfert.

http://blogs.cqpolitics.com/balance_of_power/2009/07/republicans-join-the-obama-bir.html

DeMint Defends Obama Against 'Birthers' -- But Little Else

Ever since he pronounced the health care debate an opportunity to "break" the president politically, Senator Jim DeMint has been the White House's favorite partisan foil.

On Monday, however, the South Carolina Republican found himself defending Barack Obama from the fringier elements of his own political party: the conspiracy theorists who insist the president was not born in the United States.

"I may have disagreements with [the president] on issues," DeMint told the Huffington Post. "But he is my president, he deserves our respect, and we need forget that nonsense ...

"He is not only a citizen," he added, "he is our president."

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2009/07/28/demint-defends-obama-agai_n_246138.html

*******

Onoz - I hope the birthers keep kicking this dead horse for the next three and a half years.

Fredward, you picked the wrong topic to blather on about.

"The aid announced by Vice President Joe Biden and Attorney General Eric Holder is just a fraction of what police departments across the country had hoped to get. For every $1 to be delivered, another $7 in requests will go unanswered under the grant program, Community Oriented Policing Services, commonly called COPS.
~~~~~~~
Yet Barry can find billions to give to his cop hating Acorn buddies~~~
Posted by: freddie July 28, 2009 1:33 PM

First off, The stimulus bill had funds available to states, cities, and individuals. Thousands of grants were written and applications were submitted by municipalities and every state in the Union. Since there weren't enough funds to greenlight all of the grants, some were denied. Some funds were appropriated using a formula (mostly in the case of state aid). If there were grants written that were denied, it's because more states and cities were asking for money than there was money available.

Yes. Conservatives in this country have so badly scrood the economy that stimulus funds were in short supply. Conservative idiots create the mess, Democrats have to come in and clean up. Happened during the depression, happened after Reagan, happpened after Bush.

As for COPS. That was a Clinton-era initiative that got Billions of dollars in funding in the 90's and died off during the Conservative maladministration that followed. And if you look at crime rates, they came down during th e90s and spiked back up in the Bush years. Yes, Conservatives scrood THAT up too!

It wasn't until Dems regained power in 2006 that COPS received a boost in funding again.

Explain to me why Conservatives hate crime prevention so much?

As for the stimulus funding, there's this:

According to a DOJ document circulated before the signing ceremony, the breakdown of available Law Enforcement monies included in the stimulus package signed is as follows:

$1 billion to fund local police officers through Community Oriented Policing Services (COPS) program—these grants will fund an estimated 5,500 local police officers through the COPS Hiring Recovery Program

$2 billion for Edward Byrne Memorial Justice Assistance Grants—this funding is “allocated by formula to State and local law enforcement agencies to help prevent, fight, and prosecute crime”

$225 million for Byrne competitive grants—these are “peer-reviewed giants to units of State, local, and tribal government, and to national, regional, and local non-profit organizations to prevent crime, improve the administration of justice, provide services to victims of crime, support critical nurturing and mentoring of at-risk children and youth, and for other similar activities”

$125 million Rural Law Enforcement—these monies are intended to “combat the persistent problems of drug-related crime in rural America. Funds will be available on a competitive basis for drug enforcement and other law enforcement activities in rural states and rural areas, including for the hiring of police officers and for community drug prevention and treatment programs”

$40 million for Southwest Border/Project Gunrunner—these competitive grants are “for programs that provide assistance and equipment to local law enforcement along the Southem border or in High-Intensity Drug Trafficking Areas to combat criminal narcotic activity, of which $10,000,000 shall be available, by transfer, to the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives for Project Gunrunner”

$100 million for Victims Compensation—in the form of “formula grants to be administered through the Justice Department's Office for Victims of Crime to support State compensation and assistance programs for victims and survivors of domestic violence, sexual assault, child abuse, drunk driving, homicide, and other Federal and state crimes”

$225 million for Tribal Law Enforcement Assistance—these grants are targeted to “assist American Indian and Alaska Native tribes, to be distributed under the guidelines set forth by the Correctional Facilities on Tribal Lands program. The Department is directed to coordinate with the Bureau of Indian Affairs, and to consider the following in the grant approval process: (1) the detention bed space needs of an applicant tribe; and (2) the violent crime statistics of the tribe”

$50 million for the Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force—this money is set aside to help State and local law enforcement agencies enhance investigative responses to offenders who use the Internet, online communication systems, or other computer technology to sexually exploit children
==+==

Yes, there's Billions of dollars available to those who apply.

As for your ACORN idiocy:
as Media Matters for America has repeatedly documented, the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 does not mention ACORN or otherwise single it out for funding; ACORN itself has said that it is ineligible for the funds and has no plans to apply for them.
http://tinyurl.com/lf47v7
==+==
We were just joking about the Stupid Pills. We all know that you get your supply of stupid from NRO, Hannity, Beck, Limbozo the Clown, Newsmax, and FreeRepublic. The stupid roams free on the Conservative radio, Conservative TV, and Conservative websites like the bison used to roam across the majestic American grasslands.

flan,

The issue with Dr. Gates - whether he or the Sergeant were at fault - is really irrelevant. What is important is President Obama's reaction to it.

It's called projection. President Obama - with no knowledge of the events whatsoever - was certain that the Cambridge police acted "stupidly".

Isn't President Obama guilty of the exact same thing of which he is accusing the police - stereotyping/profiling without knowledge of the events or the guilt or innocence of the parties?

He is de facto accusing the Cambridge police of racism without one scintilla of evidence to support his conclusions (i.e., if they're white, they must be guilty). Who is being the racist here?

Imagine, if you will, a white President saying something to the effect, "We all know the overwhelming incidence of crime committed by minorities, so Doctor Gates really acted 'stupidly'." He would be roasted, and rightfully so.

It appears that both the Sergeant and Dr. Gates overreacted, but there was a plausible reason for responses of both; there was absolutely no reason at all for President Obama to have reacted the way that he did. He is, indeed, a disciple of the good Reverend Wright.

Bill Kristol Admits Public Health Care Sometimes Better On 'Daily Show' (VIDEO)

Neoconservative commentator Bill Kristol returned to The Daily Show last night to have another one of his affable-yet-contentious tete-a-tetes with host Jon Stewart. On the one hand, it's pretty clear that the thought of sparring with Kristol sharpens Stewart's interviewing game. On the other hand, I've long suspected that Kristol willingly gives up a little ground to Stewart. Maybe he takes perverse pleasure in getting abused by the Daily Show's audience, or maybe beating up on the glass-jawed Fox News colleague Juan Williams on a weekly basis just gets ridiculously old. At any rate, last night's highlight was the way Stewart managed to steer Kristol into complimenting government-run health care.

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2009/07/28/bill-kristol-admits-publi_n_246145.html

Maxine Waters: Rahm To Blame For Obstructionist Blue Dogs

One of Congress's most liberal members, Rep. Maxine Waters, (D-Calif.), declared on Tuesday that the White House's problems getting Blue Dog Democrats to support its health care agenda were largely its own doing -- or more specifically, the doing of its chief of staff.

Waters said many of the self-proclaimed conservative Democrats, including those who have stalled legislation on the House Energy and Commerce, were initially recruited to run for office by Rahm Emanuel back when he was head of the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee.

"The chickens have come home to roost," declared the California Democrat. "On the one hand, [the Blue Dogs] don't want to spend money but, on the other hand, they want to spend money when they think it benefits them or their districts, and so they have a powerful block. They're holding it up and that is as clear as can be."

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2009/07/28/maxine-waters-rahm-to-bla_n_246325.html

*****

Rahm did recruit most if not all of them. The point Maxine misses is those seat could be filled with republicants. It was a political calculation and I can't say it makes their votes all Rahm's fault. As if the DCCC would make candidates promise to vote one way or another on any issue. (GOP is the lockstep party)

Such is the curse and blessing of the democratic party.

"I belong to no organized party. I am a Democrat."
Will Rogers (1879 - 1935)

That Dr. Gates jumped on Sgt. Crowely and immediately cried racist was a bad choice. He is an educated man and should be able to show some restraint. I mean if it were me, I'd be glad the cops checked it out, right? I also see how he was tired from his long flight, pissed off that he had to break into his house - maybe he had to break something that he'd later have to fix, another annoyance - and now there was some cop at his door? Maybe it triggered anger from another event where he was mistreated or falsely accused - driving while black? But I could still argue that maybe he should have been able to hold back just a bit.

On the other hand, Sgt Crowley let a tired old crotchety 5' 6" man who walks with a cane get the better of his temper. You'd think he'd have better training than that. He could have let Dr. Gates let off some steam. That he arrested him after he knew damn well the identity of Dr. Gates was also a bad choice.

That the President said that the officer acted stupidly - another bad choice. The President needs to choose his words wisely. He knew he'd be asked about it and should have something prepared.

That it should be brought to the level of the President hating cops or that Dr. Gates and Sgt. Crowley are racists is what is really stupid.

Please, it's as simple as that.

To take an obviously bad choice in words to declaring him a racist and a "disicple" of Rev. Wright - now that is really a bad choice.

Freddie

Cop acted stupidly = I hate cop? Good stretch - most people can tell the difference. You too -

~~~

Cop racially profiled = cop is a racist = Barry hates cops!

Correction, Barry hates white cops!

Not having all the facts is not the same as no knowledge whatsoever, by the way.

Wow, Freddie - right on time!

I don't think the cop racially profile. The woman said maybe one of them was hispanic. I think he just let the litle guy with the cane and bad temper get the better of his own temper. Maybe he was tired too.

First off, The stimulus bill had funds available to states, cities, and individuals. Thousands of grants were written and applications were submitted by municipalities and every state in the Union. Since there weren't enough funds to greenlight all of the grants, some were denied.

Posted :Clint attempting, but failing, to correct his record!

~~~~~~~~~~~

Barry doesn't have enough stimulus funds to gice to cops cuz he needs those chinese made condoms for goodness sake!

Priorities man!

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Stimulus? U.S. to buy Chinese condoms, ending Alabama jobs

By Mike McGraw | Kansas City Star

Call it a condom conundrum.

At a time when the federal government is spending billions of stimulus dollars to stem the tide of U.S. layoffs, should that same government put even more Americans out of work by buying cheaper foreign products?

In this case, Chinese condoms.

That's the dilemma for the folks at the U.S. Agency for International Development, which has distributed an estimated 10 billion U.S.-made AIDS-preventing condoms in poor countries around the world.

But not anymore.

In a move expected to cost 300 American jobs, the government is switching to cheaper off-shore condoms, including some made in China.

The switch comes despite implied assurances over the years that the agency would continue to buy American whenever possible.

I don't think the cop racially profile.

~~~~

He didn't but it didn't stop Barry from accusing him of it.

That Dr. Gates jumped on Sgt. Crowely and immediately cried racist was a bad choice. He is an educated man and should be able to show some restraint.

~~~

Ya and leave his momma out of it also mr. educated man!

I also would have arrested his ass for bad mouthing my momma or even your momma for that matter!

What is this guy a second grader?

House GOP Welcomes Blue Dogs’ Resistance

House Republicans are calculating that the ongoing revolt by Blue Dog Democrats unhappy with their party’s health care proposals will soon force Democratic leaders to bargain with GOP opponents of the legislation.

Republican aides said Tuesday there is great interest among GOP lawmakers in trying to work with dissidents in the 52-member Blue Dog Coalition. “Blue Dogs will be the main event all week,” said one GOP aide, referring to efforts by Republicans to woo Blue Dogs

http://www.cqpolitics.com/wmspage.cfm?parm1=5&docID=news-000003179011

******

This will drive them back into the fold. The GOP is way too radioactive with all their looney stuff these days.

We were just joking about the Stupid Pills. We all know that you get your supply of stupid....

From you Clint on this blog!

hahaha!

Virginia Foxx Warns That Health Care Reform Will Involve Widespread Elder Murder

The contest to be the member of Congress saying the dumbest possible things about health care has just gotten ratcheted up about a thousand more notches, thanks to North Carolina Representative Virginia Foxx. Foxx, if you recall, was the congressional luminary who declared the story of Matthew Shepard's murder a "hoax," right in front of Shepard's mother. She's a delight for the senses, especially the stupid ones!

Anyway, today she came up with a brand new health care reform objection when she said that the Republican health care plan -- whatever that is! -- would "make sure we bring down the cost of health care for all Americans and that ensures affordable access for all Americans and is pro-life because it will not put seniors in a position of being put to death by their government."

[WATCH.]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hea-4VJZXRE

Astutely noting that the "Democratic legislation actually provides professional guidance for seniors' difficult decisions -- NOT to encourage euthanasia," Media Matters has provided a whole heaping ton of factchecking that concludes that no, seniors will not be put to death by the government. At the same time, maybe we should have the CBO score out the concomitant Social Security cost reductions that Foxx's fantasy would entail.

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2009/07/28/virginia-foxx-warns-that_n_246434.html

*****

They just sound crazier and crazier.

ACORN itself has said that it is ineligible for the funds and has no plans to apply for them.

Posted by Clint

Come on man, everyone knows that they're just saving a get out of jail card from Barry until the fraud charges start sticking!

"Talk sense to a fool and he calls you foolish."

Euripides (484 BC - 406 BC)

Worst. Gallup Approval. Eveh.

—Ace

54% - 37%, and Gallup runs on the high side of approval rates for Obama, as they poll adults.

Support among independents down to 51%. Hispanics still strongly support him, but his support there is falling like it is with everyone else; down 9 points since the end of June, from 81% to 72%.

Zogby found a few days ago his approval was down to 48%, with a majority of 51% disapproving. Asked specifically about his job performance, Obama fares a bit worse: 47% positive, 53% negative.

Rasmussen's new track shows it all knotted up 49% to 49%. Obama has gotten a small positive boost in his "strongly approve" rating the last few days -- probably thanks to his most liberal and race-conscious supports rallying around him, beset, as he is, but Republicans, who apparently control Congress now -- but his "strongly disapprove" also creeped up by almost as much. The odd "Presidential Approval Index" improved to -8 from -10.

And:

Obama is now seen as politically liberal by 76%. That's up six points from a month ago, 11 points since he was elected, and the highest total to date. Forty-eight percent (48%) now see him as Very Liberal, up 20 points since he was elected (Premium Members can see trends and crosstabs).
48% see him as Very Liberal. That's not good for a national candidate.

Rasmussen also finds that 54% blame Bush for the economic decline. This may seem like good news for Obama, but it's actually not -- this is one of the key statistics propping him up at even his current weak levels, and this number is doomed to erode month by month.

Flan quit calling me foolish!

Keyes, Birthers, Buckley and Birchers: Oh my!

One conservative's call to end the so-called 'Birthers' movement

Reasonable and responsible conservatives, thus, are stuck. We are being lumped in with irresponsible and unreasonable conspiracy theorists.

And I believe the time has come for reasonable and responsible conservatives to deal with the "Birther" Problem.

In January 1962, conservative leaders faced a similar problem: How to deal with the members of the John Birch Society, whose leader, Robert Welch, believed that the former president of the United States, Dwight D. Eisenhower, was a a conscious agent of the International Communist Conspiracy.

National Review Founder William F. Buckley, Jr., Arizona Sen. Barry Goldwater, conservative historian and philosopher Russell Kirk, and American Enterprise Institute President William Baroody took it upon themselves secretly to meet at The Breakers hotel in Palm Beach, where they decided Welch and the Birchers would have to be excommunicated from the Conservative Movement, lest their lunacy taint reasonable and responsible conservative political activity.

Were Buckley alive today, is there any doubt he would have the same response to the "Birthers"?

I think not.

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/32190004/ns/politics-cq_politics/

email from

Trevor Miller, Feingold Senate Committee
campaign@russfeingold.org

Subject - Mudslinging and Healthcare

In a recent post on his website, our first opponent, Dave Westlake, claimed that Russ Feingold ".is NOT a stand up guy." Now that's just one of the mudslinging quotes we've heard from him in recent months, and while it's disappointing for someone to kick off their campaign on such a negative tone, we expected it and are working hard to fight back these and other attacks that are sure to come in the weeks and months ahead.

But beyond the mudslinging, when you get down to the issues, the rhetoric from the other side continues down a troubling path - especially when it comes to fixing our broken health care system.

After nearly 1200 Listening Sessions around Wisconsin over the years, the skyrocketing cost of health care continues to be the top concern of Wisconsinites in every county. Russ has taken a leadership role in the current efforts to reform health care - including advocating a strong public option. And because he's standing up for our right to have health care, he'll continue to be a target for reelection.

Our opponent has said, "I do not think we should have a public option for people..." He's worried that a public option would be "unfair" to big insurance companies. He even went so far as to say that a public option is a "...threat..." that has "...fanned the flames of liberty in the United States..."

Russ has been standing up for Wisconsinites throughout his career and with your help, he'll continue to be an independent voice for Wisconsin in the years to come - on health care and all of the other issues we care deeply about.

If you haven't already done so, please take a minute to share your experiences with the current health care system with Russ and the campaign by participating in our Citizen Brief on Health Care. Thanks for your support.

Sincerely,

Trevor Miller
Feingold Senate Committee

http://campaign.russfeingold.org/site/R?i=o1VFp4FNmZFtQeLOEUVjFA..

White House web site as lonely as Obama's polls

by: Clyde

From our good friend Sparta at The Liberal Heretic comes this piece about interest in anything Obama puts on the White House website: Apparently not much.

Want a quick barometer? Traffic level are presently equal to those in the last few months of W's tenure. What is old is new again, eh?

The article does a nice recap of Obama's present position: His job-approval polls are both negative and trending negative; his health-care program is not wanted by a majority of Americans; and his Stimulus didn't stimulate. They forgot to add that people don't want his Cap & Trade program, either.

THings just aren't looking good for the lad on, um, every front. So let's see if we are interested in his web site.

The specifics:

According to the web-traffic tracking site Alexa.com, whitehouse.gov was almost the 500th most popular Web site in the world in February. Since then, it has fallen to the 3,732 ranked Web site in the world. Traffic to the site has fallen 51.6 percent in the last three months.

Time spent on a Web site is often used as a barometer for how interested visitors are in a site’s content. Time spent on whitehouse.gov declined 15 percent since May to an average of 2.6 minutes per visitor.

Visitors viewed an average of only two pages per day over the past three months, declining 18.5 percent during that time.

In fact, the number of different pages viewed by the average visitor has fallen nearly 50 percent since February, when the site logged nearly four repeat visits per day.

Whitehouse.gov’s reach--the percentage of Internet users who visit the site daily--declined to only 0.031 percent of all Internet users, a decline of 40.6 percent since May.

To summarize:

People are also spending less time on the site than they did before.

Visitors are looking at less and less on the site, despite the daily increase in content.

The White House is reaching fewer people through its Web site than it did in its early days.

~~~~~~~~~

Yet, Barry wants to spend millions upgrading the site instead of giving it to cops!

Obama Administration Releases Budget Cuts

Not quite "A Day Late and A Dollar Short," the Obama administration released its promised 100 million in budget cuts Monday, a week past its original 90-day deadline.

President Obama asked for the cuts on April 20th, when he challenged his Cabinet to find ways to trim the budget.

While a week behind, the Cabinet did find more money to cut, or save, as it were: $243 million through 2010 and even more in years after that.

Even the president himself acknowledged that $100 million is a drop in the taxpayer bucket. But he said that every cent counts.

"One hundred million here one hundred million there pretty soon even in Washington it adds up to real money," he told reporters at the end of his first Cabinet meeting in April, where he asked each department head to search his or her budget for cuts.

http://www.cbsnews.com/blogs/2009/07/27/politics/politicalhotsheet/entry5192287.shtml

You're doing a great job all on your own Freddie - don't let me stop you.

Obama’s White House is Falling Down

Canada Free Press ^ | Daniel Greenfield

In the sixth month of his presidency, Obama has turned an economic downturn into an economic disaster, taking over and trashing entire companies, and driving the nation deep into deficit spending expected to pass 10 trillion dollars. Abroad, Obama seems to have no other mode except to continue on with his endless campaign, confusing speechmaking with diplomacy. It is natural enough that Obama, who built his entire campaign on high profile public speeches reported on by an adoring press, understands how to do nothing else but that.

~~~~~~~~~

Got to love those Canadians, eh?

I miss Russ - he was my senator before I moved. Loved him - I still send him contributions and write him sometimes. He sent me a nice reply to my letter when I moved, telling him that I was sorry that he wouldn't be my senator anymore.

Birther” Issue EXPLODES!

Posted on July 28, 2009
By JB Williams

Leftist O-Bots Become Vicious!

Just yesterday, I released Obama Media Machine Rushing to Derail Treason Charges and the column went viral within moments of its release. Take a few minutes to read my up-to-date report on the issue driving the Obama White House, congressional Marxists and their media minions insane!

Within hours, every network news agency was in damage control mode, spinning their twisted set of false facts and missing evidence into a demonstration of unbridled outrage aimed at American citizens who simply want to know who the mystery messiah is, residing in their White House.

Are “birthers” Getting too close for Comfort?

The White House rushed out its media talking points memo – CBS Hotsheet explains the Birther movement here, in O-bot terms. The state controlled alphabet propaganda networks jumped on the DNC talking points immediately, with a vengeance. The “birthers” (aka constitutionally conscious) are the target of vicious broad based attacks, usually only found on left-wing blogs like the toxic Democratic Underground or DailyKos!

Meanwhile, House members in congress quietly rushed through H.R. 593, under the guise of “Recognizing and celebrating the 50th Anniversary of the entry of Hawaii into the Union as the 50th State” – which included this phrase, “Whereas the 44th President of the United States, Barack Obama, was born in Hawaii on August 4, 1961;” See H.R. 593 here - http://thomas.loc.gov/cgi-bin/query/D?c111:2:./temp/~c111cVoXmS::

The not-so-subtle rush to end the debate over Obama’s lack of Constitutional standing to be President and Commander-in-Chief, begs the question, – if what you say is true, wouldn’t access to Obama’s secret files have answered the question, without the need for an act of congress? I thought congress had “10,000 more important things to do,” according to Robert Gibbs???

If Obama is a “Natural Born Citizen” – Why Can’t he Prove it?

If Obama is a “Natural Born Citizen” – Why Can’t he Prove it?

Why use an act of congress, backed by NO authentic evidence whatsoever, to establish that which would be easily proven (or disproved) by the release of ALL Obama birth, adoption, college and passport records? What’s in these records that Obama is afraid to release for public access?

H.R. 593 passed with 56 co-sponsors, 220 Democrat YEAs, 158 Republican YEAs and NO NEAs… What’s with the unanimous congressional rush to end the debate over Obama’s sealed records? What happened to the “transparent president” promise?

Real Conspiracy or Just a Theory?

As I pointed out in yesterday column, “the real truth actually does exist and it most likely exists in Obama’s official birth, adoption, college and passport records, [Not some silly symbolic House resolution] - all of which remain under lock and key, under Obama’s orders.”

Instead of simply opening those records and ending the debate, Obama has chosen to spend a million bucks keeping those records locked up and now, House members have decided to pass a non-binding resolution declaring Obama a “citizen” without first demanding to see the evidence necessary to prove their claim.

This is the stuff that real conspiracies are made of…. It’s not a “theory” that the Natural Born Citizen clause is a Constitutional requirement for the presidency, it’s a reality.

It’s not a theory that Obama’s records will either prove or disprove his eligibility for office, it’s a fact.

And it’s not a theory that when someone works this hard to hide something, there must be something worth hiding….

Robert Gibbs Lame Parsing of Words

Reacting once again to press corps softballs tossed up for Gibbs to hit out of the park, White House press secretary Gibbs parsed his words very carefully….

CBS News reports – “Gibbs lashed out Monday at the so-called “birthers” who believe President Obama is not a legal U.S. citizen despite overwhelming evidence to the contrary.”

Notice the absence of the term “natural born citizen.” Gibbs and CBS both know that we are NOT discussing “legal US citizenship” but rather the Founder’s “natural born citizen” requirement, unique to the Oval Office. They also know that these two terms have VERY different meanings and purposes. Still, Gibbs tries to deflect the debate to one over “US citizenship,” and CBS quickly follows his lead.

Further, what Gibbs and the lamestream press agree is “overwhelming evidence” – is THREE different COLBs (certificates of live birth) presented by Team Obama, and TWO different hospitals, named by Obama as his official place of birth.

No mention of the sworn affidavit signed by Obama’s family in Kenya, which states that they were present at Obama’s birth in Kenya, or the fact that not a single hospital in Hawaii will confirm that Obama or his mother ever entered the door of their facility.

No mention of the fact that Obama was adopted and became a legal citizen of Indonesia in his youth. No mention that no US passport record exists for Obama, until he was given a diplomatic passport as an Illinois Senator.

What is the “overwhelming evidence” that leads Gibbs, the press and now congress to conclude that Barack Hussein Obama meets the “natural born citizen” requirement to be Commander-in-Chief?

NO such evidence has been presented, as ALL Obama birth, adoption, college and passport records remain sealed as of this writing. What evidence are they talking about? The evidence that Obama is NOT a “natural born citizen” is beyond “overwhelming.”

No Room to Run

House Resolution 593 is NOT binding. It is only symbolic.

Still it demonstrates the lengths to which the federal government, both Democrats and Republicans, are willing to go to avoid whatever hard evidence on the matter might exists in Obama’s official birth, adoption, college and passport records.

Now, as the American people have been repeatedly denied access to the truth which exists only in Obama’s secret files, the people are left to their “theories” about what might be in those files and how damning it might be.

Clearly, the “birther” movement has hit full stride and investigators are getting too close for comfort. Hence the all-out media blitz of vicious attacks on “birthers” – baseless accusations of “racism” and non-binding congressional measures, all aimed at derailing the citizen effort to unmask the mystery messiah.

This is the ONLY “evidence” offered by the White House as of today…. According to Gibbs, it’s “overwhelming” in nature… You decide!

Oh, yeah Freddie - just keep it up. You're doing a good job all by yourself.

Just trying to talk some sense to ya Flanny!

Ah, your sincerity is dripping off the page Freddie.

The current health care bill contains a requirement for "end of Life" counciling every 5 years after a certain age (65?). This counclilng is to determine a dollar value of the remaining expected life span of an individual, based on current health conditions, and is provided to the Government Medical oversight body.

This process will allow the government to establish a dollar value of the remaining lifespan of an individual, and decide the appropriate scope of procedures, based on an individual's current health status and the cost of applicable procedure(s).

Anyone with a loved one who has battled, is currrently battling, or will have to battle a potentially life-threatening condition (i.e. Cancer, Emphysema, Alzheimers, etc.) needs to be concerned about the government establishing the dollar value of your loved one.

This process is currently in use in the U.K., and individuals have been refused treatment/medicines based on cost vs. remaining life expectancy.

Sad.

This has already been debunked denmac, try again.

National Hospice and Palliative Care Position on the issue...

http://www.nhpco.org/i4a/pages/index.cfm?pageid=5374

Truth-o-meter says...

http://www.politifact.com/truth-o-meter/statements/2009/jul/23/betsy-mccaughey/mccaughey-claims-end-life-counseling-will-be-requi/

Ohio Senator: GOP "Taken Over by Southerners"

Ohio Senator George Voinovich says that the GOP is "being taken over by southerners," the Columbus Dispatch reports.

In an interview with with the paper, Voinovich said shrinking demographics and southern senators are alienating his conservative constituents. He cites Republican Senators Jim DeMint and Tom Coburn as the GOP's biggest problem.

"We got too many Jim DeMints (R-S.C.) and Tom Coburns (R-Ok.). It's the southerners. They get on TV and go 'errrr, errrrr.' People hear them and say, 'These people, they're southerners. The party's being taken over by southerners. What they hell they got to do with Ohio?'," Voinovich said.

Salon notes that Voinovich is not the sole Republican speaking out against the regional isolation. Minnesota Governor Tim Pawlenty acknowledged last year that the Republicans were facing increasingly difficult competition in large parts of the country, including Voinovich's Ohio.

http://www.cbsnews.com/blogs/2009/07/28/politics/politicalhotsheet/entry5194037.shtml?tag=contentMain;contentBody

flan,

As is the case many times, what you don't know (but proclaim loudly to know) CAN HURT YOU!!!

"Page 425 of the Health Care Bill, HR 3200, details a rationing of care for people near death. The exact section that is causing such controversy is on Page 430 and reads:

'An advance care planning consultation with respect to an individual may be conducted more frequently than provided under paragraph (4)

if there is a significant change in the health condition of the individual, including diagnosis of a chronic, progressive, life-limiting disease, a life-threatening or terminal diagnosis or life-threatening injury, or upon admission to a skilled nursing facility, a long-term care facility (as defined by the Secretary), or a hospice program.

A consultation under this subsection may include the formulation of an order regarding life sustaining treatment or a similar order.'

I especially like the part - "a long-term care facility (as defined by the Secretary)". Yeah, I really want a government Secretary to define MY long term care details!!!

Wake up.

Joe "the Mad F-Bomba" Scarborough on the nutburger birthers:
http://tinyurl.com/5z2ndm

Joe Scarborough: On the July 22 edition of MSNBC's Morning Joe, . . . Scarborough described those who ascribe to this belief as "cartoon characters" who "would rather, instead of trying to actually figure out what's happening to their country -- the terrible things that are happening economically to their country -- they embrace conspiracy theories." Scarborough marveled that it was "not enough for these people" that Obama's "has been shown" as well as a birth announcement for Obama in the "Honolulu Advertiser, on the day Barack Obama was born 47 years ago." Scarborough also compared birth certificate conspiracy theorists to people who believe "the United States government blew up its own buildings and killed its own people on September 11th" and believe that we "never landed on the moon."
==+==
Fredward, do you believe that we (Americans) landed on the moon? Just asking.

great use of exclamation points - it might just make the difference.

You didn't read the bill very carefully. All it means is that it now pays for the consultation and that Medicare only pays for one every 5 years unless the person has had an event that requires new counseling - then it will pay for it.

I am awake.

flan,

"Page 425 creates "advanced care planning consultation" and thereby sets regulations for treating those near death. In other words, it rations the care of those near death. Then, there's page 268 where the government regulates the purchase and rental of electric wheel chairs. Page 272 is where care for cancer patients is rationed."

I never considered "awake" as a relative term, but if you say so. I sincerely hope, especially (but not exclusively) if this bill is passed, that neither you nor a loved one needs a wheelchair or cancer care - both of which will be decided on by your government.

And look, no exclamation points! (Doh).

Here's your wake up call denmac....

"Jon Keyserling, general counsel and vice president of public policy for the National Hospice and Palliative Care Organization, which supports the provision, said the bill doesn't encourage seniors to end their lives, it just allows some important counseling for decisions that take time and consideration.

"These are very serious conversations," he said. "It needs to be an informative conversation from the medical side and it needs to be thought about carefully by the patient and their families."

In no way would these sessions be designed to encourage patients to end their lives, said Jim Dau, national spokeman for AARP, a group that represents people over 50 that has lobbied in support of the advanced planning provision.

McCaughey's comments are "not just wrong, they are cruel," said Dau. "We want to make sure people are making the right decision. If some one wants to take every life-saving measure, that's their call. Others will decide it's not worth going through this trauma just for themselves and their families, and that's their decision, too."

Both Keyserling and Dau were particularly troubled that McCaughey insisted — three times, to be exact — that the sessions would be mandatory, which they are not.

For his part, Keyserling said he and outside counsel read the language carefully to make sure that was not the case.

"Neither of us can come to the conclusion that it's mandatory." he said. "This new consultation is just like all in Medicare: it's voluntary."

"The only thing mandatory is that Medicare will have to pay for the counseling," said Dau.

http://www.politifact.com/truth-o-meter/statements/2009/jul/23/betsy-mccaughey/mccaughey-claims-end-life-counseling-will-be-requi/

flan,

Nice spin, but according to the bill, the government has the final say on which procedures/medications can be covered/administered, and what constitutes "end of life".

Even though the counseling is for the elderly, both cancer and the need for a wheelchair can occcur at any time in life. Do you deny that this bill reserves goverment intervention in these?

denmac, flan is right (AGAIN!) I would've been impressed if you'd done a more thorough job of reading through the bill to get a better handle on the context of your quotation. It seems you've been had, hoodwinked....
==+==
"The Republican claims are of course false. Page 425 can be found in Section 1233 of the full text of HR 3200 here. The Republicans chose to misconstrue the section and focus in on only that section but a broader reading is key to understanding statutes. You will notice that Section 1233 is actually under the larger category of "Miscellaneous Improvements" to Medicare Beneficiaries. There is a simple explanation for this. Section 1233 actually provides more benefits for seniors rather than denying any benefits."

"You can read the full section for yourself but nowhere in the language of the bill does it say seniors are forced to undergo end of life consultations. In reality, what the section does is expand benefits to include advanced care planning so that if seniors want to see a doctor or nurse to, for example, be consulted on how to make a living will they can do so but are not forced to do so. The bill expands Medicare benefits to include such consultations. So in reality HR 3200 lets seniors, by their own choice, go to practitioner to find out about living wills, power of attorney, or health care proxies and have such visits covered by Medicare. Does that sound controversial to you? To me it sounds entirely practical that someone the age of 75 would want to see a doctor or nurse so they could let their wishes be known about end-of-life care. However, in order to scare people from reform the Republicans are twisting and torturing the language of this section to mean something it does not."
source: http://tinyurl.com/kumm9u
==+==

I'm especially amused by your concern (voiced on this thread and another) that some bureaucrat will be making decisions (possibly life-changing) for you. Do you have health insurance of some sort? You do realize that they certify providers, payment schedules and other health related decisions, don't you? And you do realize that a health insurance company's interest and yours aren't always mutual, right? What makes you think that their decisions are any better than those made by Medicaid administrators? Why do you think they exclude people with pre-existing conditions? Wake UP!! Lollers.

You are the best example on this blog of the Stockholm Syndrome. Suuuuuure those health insurance companies care about you. They got you right where they want you. Sucker.

Fredward, do you believe that we (Americans) landed on the moon? Just asking.

~~~~~~

Dude, by the looks of those tin foil hats you wore at the Kos convention, you never came off the moon!

Bernanke Fights House Bill To Audit The Fed

Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke is strongly opposing a proposal in Congress, which enjoys the support of over half of the U.S. House of Representatives, to audit the Fed.

During an appearance on PBS's NewsHour, which will be aired this week on local PBS stations, Bernanke said the proposed legislation would interfere with the central bank's independence. "I don't think the American people want Congress running monetary policy," he said. "And I think that's very very critical for people to understand." (See transcript below.)

This is an odd claim. If you read the bill (H.R.1207), it simply amends existing law to say "under regulations of the Comptroller General, the Comptroller General shall audit" the Federal Reserve Board and its member banks.

http://www.cbsnews.com/blogs/2009/07/28/business/econwatch/entry5193539.shtml

******

Now why would he take any issue with an audit?

It is OUR money and OUR system and OUR government.

U.S. Pays $2.5 Trillion for Care Costing $912 Billion

July 28 (Bloomberg) -- The last time a president tried to overhaul U.S. health care, Americans were spending $912 billion on the system and 40 million were uninsured. Today they’re spending $2.5 trillion and almost 50 million lack coverage.

http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601103&sid=aFRY..TvUM2M#

******

Best deal any insurance company has ever had in the history of history.

Rep. Bill Posey will not give up 'birther bill'

A unanimous vote by the U.S. House last night has brought new attention to Rep. Bill Posey's attempt to require presidential candidates to submit their birth certificates to prove they are really U.S. citizens. But Posey is not backing down.

As part of a lingering and, many feel, stupefying controversy over whether President Barack Obama was born in the United States, the House passed a resolution 378-0 celebrating the 50th anniversary of Hawaiian statehood and also recognizing it as Obama's birthplace. Posey, R-Rockledge, joined the majority as did co-sponsors of his bill.

Florida Democratic spokesman Erik Jotkoff asks, "The question he needs to answer today is: Will Bill Posey withdraw his crazy bill questioning President Obama's citizenship? Because the people of Florida's 15th District need a Congressman focused on creating jobs and fighting for NASA, hopefully last night's vote shows that Posey has finally taken off his tinfoil hat and will finally get to work on the issues that matter."

http://blogs.tampabay.com/buzz/2009/07/rep-bill-posey-will-not-give-up-birther-bill.html

Please birthers - stay true to your cause. Never relent and NEVER surrender.

The very survival of our great nation is set squarely on your shoulders and yours alone.

lolol

Michelle “Boo-freakin-hoo” Malkin on the birthers:

The most prominent crusader against Obama's American citizenship claim, lawyer Philip Berg (who, not coincidentally, is also a prominent 9/11 Truther), disputes that Obama was born in Hawaii and claims that Obama's paternal grandmother told him she saw Obama born in Kenya.

Berg and his supporters further assert that the "Certification of Live Birth" produced by Obama was altered or forged. They claim that the contemporaneous birth announcement in a Hawaii newspaper of Obama's birth is insufficient evidence that he was born there. (Did a fortune-teller place it in the paper knowing he would run for president?)

Malkin concluded: "I believe Trig was born to Sarah Palin. I believe Barack Obama was born in Hawaii on U.S. soil. I believe fire can melt steel and that bin Laden's jihadi crew -- not Bush and Cheney -- perpetrated mass murder on 9/11. What kind of kooky conspiracist does that make me?"
==+==
Fredward, do you still believe that "anyone" could've put President Obama's birth announcement in the newspaper? Do you think Michelle Malkin is a kooky conspiracist?

Nearly 50 million Americans -- one-in-six of our fellow citizens -- lack health insurance. Even those families lucky enough to have health insurance have seen their premiums triple in the past decade. America's health care system is in a crisis, and it's time to do something about it.

This month, Congress is working on new reform legislation that will make quality health care available and affordable for all Americans. We support a public health insurance option that would foster greater competition in the marketplace, create more choices for consumers, and lead to lower costs and better quality for all. But we know the forces of the status quo will battle us every step of the way.

Please sign this online petition, showing your support of Congress' work to reform America's health care system now.

Thank you,

Senator Dick Durbin
Senator Patrick Leahy
Senator Chuck Schumer

http://citizensforapublicoption.com/

Hey Clint, I'm glad your a Scarborough fan but be honest about what he really thinks!

~~~~~~

Joe Scarborough: Cheney Right, Obama Makes Country 'Less Safe'

Joe Scarborough sides with Dick Cheney in the torture debates.

MSNBC’s Joe Scarborough, a former Republican representative, made it quite clear he agrees with Dick Cheney’s assessment of President Obama: The new administration’s policies, like taking a stand against torture, endanger the nation. Said Scarborough this morning: "I knew by the second day that America was less safe … If you believe, like I believe and 50% of Americans believe, that this program actually made America safer." Mika Brzezinski points out that many people believe harsh interrogation methods make the country less safe.

"Ignorance gives one a large range of probabilities."

George Eliot (1819 - 1880)

Fredward, do you still believe that "anyone" could've put President Obama's birth announcement in the newspaper?

What I believe is that Barry is hiding his original BC and you fools can't prove that he's not a natural born citizen without using phony documents doctored by the Daily Kos.

If only you would just ask Barry to show me his real BC. instead of fueling the fire!

EXCLUSIVE: Infamous Astroturf Lobbying Firm Behind New Anti-Health Reform Group

The new anti-health reform front group known as the Coalition to Protect Patients’ Rights, is being managed by the lobbying firm known as the DCI Group. After being contacted by ThinkProgress this afternoon about its sponsorship of CPPR’s press conference last week, DCI Group staffers acknowledged that they coordinate PR for the front group. Not be confused with Conservatives for Patients’ Rigths, another front group opposing health reform, CPPR has been organizing lobbying efforts against health reform and publishing op-eds across the country with misinformation about the public option.

Tom Synhorst, a former staffer to Sen. Chuck Grassley (R-IA) and Bob Dole, joined fellow right-wing operatives Doug Goodyear and Tim Hyde to form DCI Group in 1996. The firm quickly flourished working for the tobacco industry, coordinating a sophisticated astroturf campaign to build public opposition to tobacco regulations. Ironically, before helping to manage this “patients’ rights” campaign, DCI founded “Smokers’ Rights” groups across the country for the tobacco lobby. Indeed, DCI has specialized in manufacturing “grassroots” support — using telemarketers, PR events, and letter writing campaigns — to achieve policy results for narrow corporate interests:

– The DCI Group was retained by the pharmaceutical industry to whip up public opposition against House legislation that would permit the reimportation of FDA-approved drugs from Canada and elsewhere. [Washington Monthly, December/2003]

– The DCI Group worked with Republicans to form various “grassroots” front-groups to amplify President Bush’s call to privatize Social Security. [Center for Media and Democracy, 3/18/05]

– Chris LaCivita, a former DCI Group staffer, took a lead role in organizing the Swift Boat Veterans campaign to smear John Kerry and his war record. [CommonDreams, 8/31/04]

– The DCI Group was behind spoof videos mocking Al Gore and global warming. The firm has been retained by ExxonMobil to lobby. [Wall Street Journal, 8/3/06; Exxon Secrets, accessed 7/28/09

http://thinkprogress.org/2009/07/28/cppr-dci-astroturf/

******

All the cons and GOPhers can do is astroturf. They have so little support for their insanity.

David "NooseHead" Horowitz: In a December 8, 2008, column headlined "Obama Derangement Syndrome," Horowitz, editor of the conservative website FrontPage Magazine, blasted "continuing efforts of a fringe group of conservatives to deny Obama his victory and to lay the basis for the claim that he is not a legitimate president" as being "embarrassing and destructive." He added: "The fact that these efforts are being led by Alan Keyes, a demagogue who lost a Senate election to the then-unknown Obama by 42 points, should be a warning in itself."
Noosehead: http://tinyurl.com/m4kvlj

Michael "Mormon Conspiracy" Medved: Medved, a conservative talk-show host, has reportedly referred to the leadership of the so-called "birther" movement as "crazy, nutburger, demagogue, money-hungry, exploitative, irresponsible, filthy conservative imposters" who are "the worst enemy of the conservative movement." According to a March 1 Politico article, Medved "mourned": "It makes us look weird. It makes us look crazy. It makes us look demented. It makes us look sick, troubled, and not suitable for civilized company."
Mormon Conspiracy: http://tinyurl.com/klplxu
==+==
Fredward, did you see what those vicious Conservative psychos called you? Crazy! Nutburger!! Demagogue!! Money-hungry!! Exploitive!! Irresponsible! Filthy Conservative Imposter!! Filthy? WTF? Don't you bathe Fredward?

Hey Clint,

After Barry gets done fucking up the economy beyond repair, fucking up the health care, fucking up Gitmo, fucking up, well just fucking up, you too will be asking for Barry's BC so we can throw the bum out!

WaPo reporter: Birthers get media attention because ‘there is no videotape of Obama being born.’

Today in an online chat, Washington Post reporter Ben Pershing was asked why “birthers” and other conspiracy theorists such as those claiming that former top Clinton White House aide Vince Foster was murdered “get play on the real media” while others such as the “9/11 Truthers” don’t. But instead of denouncing the birther nonsense, Pershing appeared to justify the mainstream media’s attention on this (non)issue:

Ben Pershing: Perhaps because there is an actual videotape of the planes hitting the World Trade Center that billions of people around the world have seen, while there is no videotape of Obama being born in Hawaii or Vince Foster committing suicide.

Also, for what this is worth, there is no bill in Congress declaring 9/11 to have been a giant conspiracy. But there is a bill in the House calling for presidential candidates to provide proof of citizenship. And there was a congressional investigation of Foster’s death.

While it is unclear how video of Obama’s birth would prove he was born in Hawaii (do doctors and nurses who deliver babies in Hawaii wear leis?), actual proof (birth certificate and birth announcement in local newspapers) exists. That should be enough.

http://thinkprogress.org/2009/07/28/wapo-birther-obama-video/

"Ignorance gives one a large range of probabilities."

George Eliot (1819 - 1880)

Sounds like Barry's first six months of failures!

Top Latino Group Hits Michael Steele, GOP For Skipping Their Conference

This one won’t help the GOP’s minority outreach efforts.

The National Council of La Raza, a top Latino civil rights group, is taking a shot at RNC chair Michael Steele and several prominent GOP figures for skipping its ongoing annual conference, saying it raises questions about the GOP’s interest in wooing Latinos.

NCLR spokesperson Marie Watteau confirms to me that Steele, along with three Republican governors, were all invited to its conference, which is concluding today with a big speech by DNC chair Tim Kaine. But Steele and the three governors — Mississippi’s Haley Barbour, Minnesota’s Tim Pawlenty, and Puerto Rico’s Luis Fortuno — all declined the invitations through the RNC, Watteau says.

Watteau adds that GOPers like Arnold Schwarzenegger, John McCain and both George Bushes have attended past conferences.

“You should certainly speak to the Republican Party about why they’re not here,” Watteau told me. “The Latino community is open to hearing from both sides, which is why both parties were invited. The Republican Party not being here may demonstrate a lack of commitment to our community.”

Making the optics of this worse, Republicans on the Senate Judiciary Committee were expected to vote overwhelmingly today against confirming Sonia Sotomayor as the first Hispanic Supreme Court justice. This, plus Kaine’s speech at the NCLR, have led Politico to opine that today is a “big day” for Dems.

http://theplumline.whorunsgov.com/democratic-national-committee/top-latino-group-hits-michael-steele-gop-for-skipping-their-conference/

******

I guess the GOP is writing off the hispanic vote.

For the next rich white guy con running for top dwag - it will be His-panic!

lol

I believe Barry's granny more than I do Barry.

He's already a proven liar on most everything he campaigned on!

"Nothing in all the world is more dangerous than sincere ignorance and conscientious stupidity."

Martin Luther King Jr. (1929 - 1968), Strength to Love, 1963

Fredward, how did you know I was a Scarborough fan? The Mad F-bomba is ALWAYS good for a laugh. He may not be a major clown in the CCS; but he gives me the giggles anyway.

Petraeus, on the other hand, is no joke. Those military types are tough mo-fos. If Cheney didn't have "other priorities" during the Vietnam war, he might have a little military experience and wouldn't be making such an idiot of himself.

Petraeus tells Cheney he'd like to see things from his point of view; but he can't get his head that far up his ass:

Today on CNN’s State of the Union program, Centcom Commander Gen. David Petraeus disagreed with former vice president Dick Cheney’s statement that President Obama’s national security policy has made the US safe and more vulnerable to a terrorist attack. Petraeus also came out against the Bush torture policy.
Video: http://tinyurl.com/daygqs

The very survival of our great nation is set squarely on your shoulders and yours alone.

The very survival of our great nation is set squarely on the shoulders of the men and women in uniform who refuse to kill for a fraudulent President!

Hey, wasn't Petraeus the one who ran the successful surge that Barry said would fail and voted against it?

Someones got to cover for Barry when he looks and acts like such a pussy!

"Nothing in all the world is more dangerous than sincere ignorance and conscientious stupidity."

Definition: Obama worshiper / minion

Almost - keep trying though.

Fredward, how did you know I was a Scarborough fan? The Mad F-bomba is ALWAYS good for a laugh.

I was thinking the very same thing about you Clint.

You and Joe must be twins?

"What I believe is that Barry is hiding his original BC....
If only you would just ask Barry to show me his real BC. instead of fueling the fire!"
Posted by: freddie Author July 28, 2009 7:42 PM

I don't know if you noticed; but somebody here (I believe Capt) already posted the article that stated that Hawaii's Dept. of Health (the folks who are in charge of the whole Birth Certification Process) have gone "electronic." There is no such thing as "original" birth certificate for them. All they have is electronic files that they print out.

You can ask for the "original" till you turn blue in the ass; but you ain't gettin' it. How exactly are you planning to see an "original" hard copy birth certificate when all that exists is an electronic one?

"Anyone can put a birth announcement in the paper, so what!"
Posted by: freddie July 21, 2009 8:39 PM

Do you stand by your word? Man up, dawg.

John "Wingnut of the Week" Avlon: On the July 17 edition of CNN's Lou Dobbs Tonight, the Daily Beast columnist Avlon said of the "birther" movement: "What we have here is Obama derangement syndrome. This is pathological hatred of the president posing as patriotism." In his July 22 Daily Beast column, Avlon wrote of Castle's confrontation with a "birther":

It's a sign that Republican centrists are operating at a disadvantage against the party's wingnut fringe. There is a reluctance to take on the extreme in a full-fledged confrontation, a fight for the future direction of the Republican Party, for fear of provoking grassroots retaliation in a GOP primary. And in this there a tacit admission that the fringe is starting to overlap with the party's base, pumped up by talk radio and the Internet, bleeding over into cable news and now town halls.

Avlon added that the exchange "is a glimpse at the ugliest underbelly of American politics: an angry and intolerant Nativism that appeals to people's paranoid fears of 'the other.' Its craziness is starting to seep in at the margins and affect our civil discourse." Avlon is a Manhattan Institute senior fellow, was director of speechwriting and deputy policy director for Rudy Giuliani's 2008 presidential campaign, and is the author of the book, Independent Nation: How Centrists Can Change American Politics.
==+==
First they call you filthy, now they say you have an ugly underbelly. Are you just gonna sit there, Fredward and take this from those KooKs? Those Conservatives are calling ya' out. Man up.

I don't know if you noticed; but somebody here (I believe Capt) already posted the article that stated that Hawaii's Dept. of Health (the folks who are in charge of the whole Birth Certification Process) have gone "electronic." There is no such thing as "original" birth certificate for them. All they have is electronic files that they print out.

Posted by Clint

~~~~~~~

WRONG AGAIN AS USUAL!

CNN wrong once again – birth record not destroyed
Hawaii contradicts network boss' claim that Obama certificate no longer exists

Posted: July 27, 2009
8:36 pm Eastern

CNN's Jon Klein

Directly contradicting CNN chief Jon Klein – who ordered host Lou Dobbs to quit discussing President Obama's birth certificate – the Hawaii Department of Health affirmed that no paper birth certificates were destroyed when the department moved to electronic record-keeping.

"I am not aware of any birth certificate records that have been destroyed by the department," Janice Okubo, public information officer for the Hawaii DOH, told WND. "When the department went electronic in 2001, vital records, whether in paper form or any other form, [were] maintained. We don't destroy records."

Okubo affirmed that beginning in 2001, all vital records, including birth records, moved to electronic formats.

"Any records that we had in paper or any other form before 2001 are still in file within the department," she insisted. "We have not destroyed any vital statistics records that we have."

The births are reported to the paper from the Department of Health. Once a BC is registered the info is sent to the DOH. The DOH in turn releases the info to the newspapers ( that can be seen on one of the newspapers at the top. It says Statistics from Department of Health )

In 1961, a relative could have registered the birth while he ws still out of the country. That can be seen on line 18a of the 1963 BC that is available online . The 1961 followed the same format. Once registered, the info goes to DOH, which in turn sends it to the newspapers. Thus the announcement.

Why would anyone do that? The newspaper announcement is good enough for anyone not wearing the tinfoil hat.

Why are you saying Good Grief. That was the process back then ( and possibly the same now ). Births are reported to the papers from the Department of Health, not the hospitals. The hospitals send their info to the Department of Health.

I am not saying there was no birth to report. Just no Local birth ( the announcement doesn’t say where he was born ). Once a birth is registered ( and it could be done by a relative ) that info is sent to the DOH. The DOH in turn releases the info to the papers. The name of the parents, the child and their address - all info from the registration.

~~~~

Hope this isn't too complicated for ya Clinto!

First they call you filthy, now they say you have an ugly underbelly. Are you just gonna sit there, Fredward and take this from those KooKs?

Ah shucks, If I can take it from you kooky critters then then a few conservatives that are affraid of Barry aren't gunna bother little ol me!

Little Green Footballs (LGF): A well-known conservative blog, LGF regularly mocks the Obama birth certificate conspiracy theorists, describing those who ascribe to these beliefs as "nirthers." According to "The LGF Dictionary," "nirthers" are "those who believe in the conspiracy theory that Barack Obama is not a legitimate citizen of the United States. Comes from a misspelling of 'Birth Certificate' that appeared on a Nirther website. The conspiracy itself is sometimes referred to as the 'nirth certifikit' theory." In posting a video clip of Castle's confrontation with a "nirther," LGF commented: "It's beyond appalling how popular this insanity is with the GOP base. What the hell is wrong with these people?"
==+==
What the hell is wrong with you, Fredward? don't you realize that you're never gonna see President Obama's nirth certifikit?

"Once a birth is registered ( and it could be done by a relative ) that info is sent to the DOH. The DOH in turn releases the info to the papers. The name of the parents, the child and their address - all info from the registration.
~~~~
Hope this isn't too complicated for ya Clinto!
Posted by: freddie July 28, 2009 8:30 PM

That's not what the DOH says the process entails.
"Birthers wave off those birth announcements, saying that Obama family members 48 years ago could have phoned in false information to both newspapers."

"Such vital statistics, however, were not sent to the newspapers by the general public but by the Health Department, which received the information directly from hospitals, Okubo said."
==+==
source: http://tinyurl.com/kkr3wv
Info goes from Hospital to DOH to Newspaper. So, nice try; but not just anybody could have created that birth announcement in the newspaper.

the story also says that "paper data" of the president's birth still exists. But Okubo won't say where the original is. Does DOH have it? She won't say.

lol @ "crazy eileen" That's the idiot in the Castle town hall meeting. She's long been banned from the local right-wing radio show for wack calls.

http://tinyurl.com/n8kgms
The star of the show -- known as "Crazy Eileen" to callers of a Sussex County talk radio station -- has gone into seclusion, declining interviews and avoiding publicity, even as previous statements by her have emerged referring to Obama as "the antichrist" and speaking of aliens and angels.
---
---
In a videotaped introduction, Morris said the woman featured on the YouTube video from the meeting was a regular caller to his program.
"I want you guys to know exactly who you were cheering," Morris said in the clip.
She repeatedly has called Obama "the antichrist" on the airwaves, and "her phone calls have turned to faxes and threats," according to Morris.
"I have actually talked to an angel who came down in human form," she said during the Jan. 1 show. "We will have alien contact in October of this year, in the southwestern USA."

Allahpundit: Allahpundit, a conservative blogger on the website Hot Air, has recently compared the Obama "birth certificate truthers" to the "9/11 Truthers," writing in a July 20 post about Castle: "Expect these people to play the same role at GOP primary events in 2012 that 9/11 Truthers played at Democratic rallies last year, occasionally cornering the wary candidate with a video camera to ask if he/she 'supports a new investigation' and receiving the same vague, wary assurances that of course he/she will be happy to 'look into it.' "
==+==
wide eyed stare, backs away slowly, turns and runs in the opposite direction. What is Allahpundit trying to hide? He must be one of those "Obamacons" I heard about on them internets. Socialist Conservative Freak.

==+==
Have you heard of this moron, Ed Morrissey? Some of the nutburgers refer to him as Captain Ed, I believe:
Morrissey, another Hot Air blogger, also has debunked the birth certificate rumors. In a December 4, 2008, Hot Air post, Morrissey wrote:

The state of Hawaii has repeatedly insisted that their records show Obama was born in Hawaii, as the Certificate of Live Birth states. The COLB would get any Hawaii native an American passport with no questions asked, even without the official endorsement of the Republican governor and her Department of Health. There is even a contemporaneous birth announcement in a local paper confirming it.

I'm sure the comments section will fill with various conspiracy theories over Indonesian school records, Kenyan births, and so on. None of it -- absolutely none -- has any real, solid evidence showing that Obama was born anywhere else than Hawaii apart from sheer speculation and hearsay, and even less evidence that Obama's stepfather renounced Obama's birthright citizenship, which he didn't have the power to do anyway. It's a conspiracy theory spun by conspiracy theorists (Philip Berg is a 9/11 truther) who use their normal thresholds of evidence for this meme.
==+==
Those ObamaCons are a feisty bunch, eh, Fredward? He say no-go on the nirth certifkit, too. What is Captain Ed hiding? He must be getting some of those Billions from ACORN to hide Obama's true birth history. Huh. Larry. Us.

Andrew Walden: Walden, a conservative media figure, wrote in an April 1 column for Horowitz's FrontPageMag.com that "[a] fairly impressive internet industry has sprung up claiming that Obama was born in either Kenya or Indonesia. This is nonsense which distracts from the broadly unexplored story of Obama's upbringing."
==+==
Another Conservative freak carrying water for Obama.

John Hawkins: Hawkins, a conservative blogger and writer, wrote in a June 30 Townhall.com column: "Barack Obama was born in Hawaii. Granted, not everyone on the Right agrees with this assessment, but nevertheless, it's so." Hawkins concluded that the "evidence is as definitive as it gets. Obama has a legitimate birth certificate on file, he released a copy of it to the public, and there is a news clipping that confirms he was born in Hawaii in 1961."
==+==
Fredward, I feel your pain. These Conservative freakbots all think you're a nutburger. But you go, dawg. They've hardly ever been right about anything else before.

A little slice of humor from the Late Niters:

David Letterman's Top Ten Questions on the Surgeon General Application

10. Are you a surgeon?
9. Can you grow a crazy beard like C. Everett Koop?
8. Are you a general?
7. Any idea what a Surgeon General is supposed to do?
6. Do you have a normal looking pair of jeans the President could borrow?
5. Have you ever obtained pills for Rush Limbaugh?
4. McDreamy or McSteamy?
3. Due to the recession, do you mind working for free?
2. Can we blame the health care crisis on you?
1. Will you look the other way when the President lights up a butt?

"Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki says that when President Bush was in office, they used to have a meeting once a week via video conference. Maliki said the teleconferences always ended the same way, with Bush throwing his joystick down and yelling, 'This game is boring!'"
--Conan O'Brien

"Yesterday, Obama extended Dick Cheney - you remember Dick Cheney, Vice President Dick 'Ka-Boom' Cheney, you remember him? He extended his Secret Service protection for another six months. Hey, I'll tell you who needs protection, Cheney's hunting buddies."
--David Letterman

"Cheney needs protection. Yeah, protection from bacon."
--David Letterman

"But interesting reaction to the solar eclipse. Rush Limbaugh says that the solar eclipse proves the unreliability of solar power."
--David Letterman

"A new book reveals that George Bush's twin daughters Jenna and Barbara were a nightmare for Secret Service to keep tabs on. The girls responded, 'That's not true. We had tabs at every bar we went to.'"
--Jimmy Fallon

"Happy birthday to former Senator Larry Craig from Idaho. Sixty-four years old. And if you are wondering where the celebration is, well, it's in the stall with the yellow balloons."
--David Letterman

"Looks like Paula Abdul may not be going back to 'American Idol.' And that means President Obama has to nominate another new judge."
--David Letterman

"The tag Republicans kept throwing to hang around Sonia Sotomayor's neck was 'reverse racist.' They said, you know, it's reverse racists like her that give regular racists like them a bad name."
--Bill Maher

"The Republicans had been running a surprisingly effective campaign against the proposal for national healthcare, but the President found a very clever way to get them on board. Behind the scenes, he offered a key provision that would provide free breast implants for their girlfriends."
--Jimmy Kimmel

"We're learning more and more about Obama's healthcare plan, and if it passes, the healthcare plan, if that passes, President Obama will have the governor of South Carolina neutered. Did you realize that?"
--David Letterman

"But the governor of South Carolina, Governor Sanford has lately been seen not wearing his wedding ring. And I was thinking, geez, I hope he didn't lose it while he was hiking on the Appalachian Trail. Then he'll never find it."
--David Letterman

"Gov. Sanford is still trying to recover from his sex scandal. This is the latest. This weekend, South Carolina Governor Mark Sanford wrote an editorial apologizing for his behavior. I'm not sure he's sincere, though, because it starts out, 'Dear Penthouse.'"
--Conan O'Brien

"I know where I'm going to go on my next break. I'm going to the C Street House in Washington, D.C. You know what this is? It's kind of a frat house for Christian congressman, where they live and pray together and counsel each other on how to adhere to the nine commandments."
--Bill Maher

"Several weeks ago, South Carolina Governor Mark Sanford disappeared without explanation for five days. Now of course, as it turns out, he didn't really disappear. It turns out he was hiking on the Appalachian Trail. Which is a trail that starts in Maine and ends in an Argentine woman's vagina."
--Jon Stewart

"Since then, the governor has apologized many times, most recently in an open letter to the people of South Carolina in which he promised to 'trust god in his larger work of changing me.' I thought Reform Judaism was lax! This Christianity thing sounds amazing! See, you're not banging a hot Argentinean woman. You're 'undergoing a religious metamorphosis.' And, you get to do that and eat bacon. I'm in!"
--Jon Stewart

"I got the latest on South Carolina Governor Mark Sanford. Governor Sanford is spending this week on vacation with his wife in order to improve their marriage. Apparently, it's not going well, because Sanford keeps introducing his wife as 'my wing man.'"
--Conan O'Brien

"John McCain's in the news. CNN reports that Senator John McCain has more than a million followers on Twitter. And apparently, every single one of McCain's tweets says, 'The nurse is stealing from me.'"
--Conan O'Brien

"President Obama, he's the kind of guy with a lot of foresight, a lot of vision. He says that he would like to put another man on the moon. He's thinking about maybe Joe Biden."
--David Letterman