Safer

We're safer. I'm thanking President Bush.

According to a Fox 4 News report in Dallas, Texas, a would be terrorist bomber was arrested this afternoon by the F.B.I. The 19 year old man, Mosam Maher Husein Smadi who is a Jordanian citizen, was arrested by the F.B.I. and charged with attempting to use a weapon of mass destruction. He told agents he wanted to commit "violent jihad".

His target was the Fountain Place, a 60-story glass office tower located at 1445 Ross Avenue. This is one of the most well known and visible buildings in downtown Dallas. According to Fox News, the man is in the United States illegally. He was introduced to people he thought were fellow Al-Qaeda members in his attempt to obtain bomb material. The men he spoke with were actually working for the F.B.I.

Packer Fans on Craigslist

What a cesspool it is. But this is hilarious. I'm proud to know the author.

Snippit:

Other Packer fans on Craigslist aren’t as discriminating. Take this guy in East Madison, who’s “looking for a football watching buddy.” He’s a progressive lover - not “not hung up on age, race, or how tall you are.” He does, however, follow up by saying he doesn’t like “like people who want to smoke around me or who are heavy.”

As we all know, when dating, it’s important to keep an open mind about race, religion, and looks. Just as long as they’re not a fatty.

Too funny. Read the rest.

2008 Dove Awards Third Day - Call My Name

Good song.

Paul Ryan talks healthcare

Visit msnbc.com for Breaking News, World News, and News about the Economy

Spencer "I rule" Coggs

Spencer Coggs is thinking about Lt. Gov.

Why? Because, apparently, he thinks he's awesome.

Upon hearing current Lt. Gov. Barbara Lawton had plans to run for governor, Coggs discussed the possibility of running for lieutenant governor with several friends.

“I began to think about it, and again, it makes sense to me. I’ve been in office for 26 years,” he said.

“My advantage would be the fact that I have an excellent record with the progressive community ... and no one has a better labor record than I,” he said. “I just have a wealth of relationships across the state.”

And why not, Rep. Coggs? Why not. Everyone else and their mother is running for that seat.

Rep. Myrick, as a patient

We need to shout this from the mountains.

GOP congresswoman grateful for quick detection of her breast cancer says Democratic health overhaul plans could mean life-threatening delays in treatment.

Rep. Sue Myrick of North Carolina said in her party's weekly radio and Internet address that her diagnosis "took six doctors, three mammograms and one ultrasound before they finally they found my cancer. This process took only a few weeks."

"Under the government-run health care system they have in Canada and the United Kingdom, I wouldn't have had the opportunity to get those tests so quickly," she said. "One international study found that three times as many citizens in those countries wait longer than a month to see a specialist. When it comes to life-threatening diseases like cancer, delay could mean death."

Democrats are looking for competition to private insurance companies to help drive prices down: a government-run insurance option, a trigger to add that option later; or nonprofit insurance cooperatives, designed to compete with private industry and give consumers more choices.

"These so-called health care reform bills have different names: a public option, a co-op, a trigger," Myrick said. "Make no mistake, these are all gateways to government-run health care."

I believe she is 100% correct. At the fork in the road, this is too dangerous a path to even hesitate before.

Dad 29 hits hard

Citing "The Doyle Incompetency, Chapter 21,789"

JB Van Hollen is going to take a lot of heat for his part in the DNA scandal. But when you come right down to it, Van Hollen's part appears to be minor compared to the parts played by Doyle's Incompetency Members Raemisch, Frank, Ordinans, and Doyle himself, who was AG when the collection law was passed.

JB has to clean up the mess, folks. He's not responsible for it.

McDonnell holds solid lead

This is good news for my friends in Ole VA.

Republican Bob McDonnell holds a comfortable lead over Democrat Creigh Deeds in the Virginia gubernatorial contest, according to a new Daily Kos poll, results virtually unchanged since news of McDonnell’s socially-conservative thesis emerged.

McDonnell leads Deeds by seven points, 50 to 43 percent, in the survey. That’s nearly identical to the 51 to 43 percent lead that McDonnell held in the last Daily Kos/Research 2000 survey conducted in August.

The poll indicates a solid gender gap, but that’s been in place since the beginning of the contest. Deeds narrowly leads McDonnell among women 47 to 44 percent. But McDonnell’s standing among women hasn’t changed in the last month – in August, women also preferred Deeds 46 to 45 percent.

And McDonnell’s favorability among women has remained stable. He currently holds a respectable 52 percent favorability rating among women – the exact same number as in August. (His unfavorable rating ticked up just one point, from 43 to 44 percent.)

Obama Goes Toe-To-Toe With Stephanopoulos On "Tax Increases"

I think he was explaining the definition to YOU, President Obama, as you seem to have your own idea of what "tax" means.

RPW defends JB

It's about time. I've often felt as though the RPW is too quiet on praising or even speaking positively about JB. They'd rather ignore him because he hasn't always been able to tow the party line. And they'd rather not address the Conservatives in South east Wisconsin complaining about how he's not conservative enough.

And "WHY isn't he our mascot?," the GOP-wingers cry in Milwaukee?

Um, maybe because he's working under the LAW! JB deserves a lot more credit and respect than the GOP has given him. They better shut up and put out more statments like this.

Chairman Priebus Applauds Attorney General J.B. Van Hollen's Leadershipby RPW Communications"It was Van Hollen's leadership that reduced the backlog at the State Crime Lab, and we can count on him to continue to making Wisconsin a safer place to live."


MADISON – Republican Party of Wisconsin Chairman Reince Priebus issued the following statement in recognition of Attorney General J.B. Van Hollen’s leadership at the Department of Justice:

“It’s simply appalling that the Department of Corrections has dropped the ball, neglecting to collect data samples from nearly 12,000 criminals. I’m heartened to know we have a leader like Attorney General J.B. Van Hollen to bring about the real reforms necessary to correct this problem.

Van Hollen has been leading the way on law enforcement reforms and restoring integrity to the Department of Justice. He has made crime fighting a focus once again at the DOJ. It was Van Hollen's leadership that reduced the backlog at the State Crime Lab, and we can count on him to continue to making Wisconsin a safer place to live."

The last word on "racism"

It's Being an American...

It is becoming increasingly clear that some in the Democratic Party need a serious history lesson. Slavery was racist, Jim Crow laws were racist, segregation was racist – opposing a radical political agenda is not. Americans of all races and political mindsets applauded the election of America’s first African American president; it was a proud moment for every American. But our pride in electing an African-American president does not override our right to disagree with President Obama’s policies. It is obvious certain politicians are attempting to exploit racial anger to make up for their own policy failings.


Americans have an obligation to stand up for what they believe in and that is exactly what they are doing. As a whole, Americans are exercising their First Amendment rights and are rejecting President Obama’s massive government-run experiments. They want common sense reforms and economic security. These principles are not found in the Democrats’ health care plans. The Democrats’ health care plan is the antithesis of these ideals.


President Obama’s campaign promised to move America beyond the bitter divides of yesterday. But for leaders of the Democrat Party to characterize Americans' disapproval of the president’s policies as being based on race is an outrage and troubling sign about the lengths Democrats will go to disparage all who disagree with them. Playing the race card shows that Democrats are willing to deal from the bottom of the deck. Our political system has no place for this. President Obama should join me in calling for an end to these attacks by members of his party and a renewal of honest debate.


Michael Steele is chairman of the Republican National Committee.

Good deers....i mean, deeds

There's nothing like a Deere.

Because implement dealer Bob Pfeifer could have just shrugged it off when he heard that a youngster at Sanford Children's Hospital wanted a backpack with the John Deere logo on it.

Instead, Pfeifer pursued Danny Hansen's dream with as much fervor as if it had been a request from his own grandchildren.

On Wednesday, Danny, who at first refused to look at the stranger who had entered his hospital classroom, elatedly knocked his brown cowboy boots together when he saw the backpack.

"John Deere!" he said, a big grin splitting his face. "John Deere!"

Good stuff.

Feingold anti-Czar?

How refreshing.

Democratic Sen. Russ Feingold of Wisconsin joined the anti-czar chorus Wednesday, asking Obama to detail the roles and responsibilities of all of the czars in his administration and to explain why he believes the use of czars is consistent with the Senate’s constitutional power to offer advice and consent on top-level executive branch officials.

“To the extent that this undercuts that role and people are put in the place of Cabinet people and really are the key authorities and you can’t question them, that’s something worth talking about,” Feingold said. “I think it’s a fair point.”

Feingold says he doesn’t know if there are any constitutional violations, but he suggested that he may hold an oversight hearing on the matter.

Keep it up, Russ.

Baucus healthcare nightmare

This is scarier than the Mr. Boogedy movie that gave me nightmares as a kid.

Baucus put the cost of his bill at $856 billion. It would require nearly all Americans to carry insurance and employers to help cover the costs of providing government subsidies, while prohibiting insurance companies from dropping or denying coverage for people with pre-existing conditions.

The Congressional Budget Office estimated the bill would cost $774 billion over 10 years and cover 94 percent of Americans. It would leave 25 million people uninsured in 2019 — a third of whom are illegal immigrants — compared with 17 million in the House bill.

The analysis came in $82 billion lower than Baucus had thought it would, suggesting there could be room for senators to make adjustments. However, any expenses added to the bill must be offset with new revenue, making the task politically difficult.

Well, at least he found a way to slash $82 billion...

And if we're going to use absurd metaphors, I'll hand the mic to Representative Weiner:

“Bipartisanship on Capitol Hill is the equivalent of a child looking for the unicorn,” Rep. Anthony Weiner (D-N.Y.) said, referring to the months of negotiations between Baucus and three Republican senators on the committee — none of whom has embraced his bill.

Anyone know exactly what "The" unicorn is?

This is just wrong

"We still love Favre, and his purple jersey." You're on your own, Don.

I think it's funny that all the Viking fans that HATED Favre for years are so excited he's on their team now.

Old. News.

Say "WHAT????"

(AP)The Obama administration has privately concluded that a cap and trade law would cost American taxpayers up to $200 billion a year, the equivalent of hiking personal income taxes by about 15 percent.

A previously unreleased analysis prepared by the U.S. Department of Treasury says the total in new taxes would be between $100 billion to $200 billion a year. At the upper end of the administration's estimate, the cost per American household would be an extra $1,761 a year.

A second memorandum, which was prepared for Obama's transition team after the November election, says this about climate change policies: "Economic costs will likely be on the order of 1 percent of GDP, making them equal in scale to all existing environmental regulation."

Wow.

These disclosures will probably not aid the political prospects of the Democrats' cap and trade bill. The House of Representatives approved it by a remarkably narrow margin in June -- the bill would have failed if only six House members had switched their votes to "no" -- and it faces significant opposition in the Senate.

Um, ya think?

Saturation

Now the guy's the SOLE guest on Letterman?

President Barack Obama will appear on comedian David Letterman's late-night talk show next week, the CBS network said on Tuesday.

Obama will be the sole guest on the Monday, September 21, broadcast of the "Late Show with David Letterman", CBS said.

Obama became the first sitting president to appear on any U.S. late-night talk show when he was a guest in March on NBC's "The Tonight Show," hosted by Jay Leno.

The president's Monday appearance on Letterman's program marks the first time Obama has been on the program since being elected president last November. He has made five previous appearances on "The David Letterman Show", including one in September during his campaign for the White House.

Will he sing and dance too?

Point Break

Always my favorite Swayze movie.

RIP

Obama overkill

Doesn't it feel like this is over kill? Can't he do this with Congress behind office doors on Capitol Hill?

The problem is going to come in hearing a broken-record President.

It’s going to be awfully hard to avoid President Obama on television this Sunday.

The president is going to appear on five Sunday talk shows – five – to press his case for health care, White House officials disclosed. That is a presidential record.

Mr. Obama is going to appear on This Week with George Stephanopoulos on ABC. And Meet the Press on NBC. And Face the Nation on CBS. In between, he is going to sit down for interviews on CNN and Univision. (Fox News didn’t make the cut).

Newsmakers in the past have managed to pull of the unlikely feat of hitting the big three Sunday interview shows on CBS, NBC and ABC. But this is a presidential first.

If there’s one thing this White House doesn’t seem worried about, it is that Americans will get tired of seeing President Obama. His talk-show marathon will come after the speech on Wall Street today and a rally in Maryland later this week.

I'm getting tired.

It’s also a reminder of just how much Mr. Obama is out there. As of his seven-month in office mark in August, he had done 114 interviews, compared to 37 by former President George W. Bush and 41 by former president Bill Clinton at a similar point in their administrations, according to Martha Joynt Kumar, a political science professor at Towson University in Maryland.

The frighteneing point is how much he loves to hear himself talk.

I'm a Republican too

I'm a Republican from SCGOP on Vimeo.

Kudos to my friends in D.C.

Wish I could have marched.

WASHINGTON -- A sea of protesters filled the west lawn of the Capitol and spilled onto the National Mall yesterday in the largest rally against President Barack Obama since he took office, a culmination of a summer-long season of protests that began with opposition to a health care overhaul and grew into a broader dissatisfaction with government....

The demonstrators numbered well into the tens of thousands, though the police declined to provide an estimate of the size of the crowd. Many of the participants came on their own and were not part of an organization or group. But the magnitude of the rally took the authorities by surprise, with throngs of people streaming from the White House to Capitol Hill for more than three hours.

I like it.

As Mr. Obama traveled to Minnesota yesterday to rally support for his health care plan, he flew over the assembling crowd in Marine One. The helicopter could be seen flying overhead as the demonstrators marched down Pennsylvania Avenue.

"This is not some kind of radical right-wing group," Sen. Jim DeMint, R-S.C., said in an interview as dozens of people streamed by him. "I just hope the Congress, the Senate and the president recognize that people are afraid of what's going on."

I hope Obama saw the throngs of people - because DeMint is right.

There truly is nothing to stop Obama and the liberals in Congress who want this dangerous healthcare plan. They have the votes.

It is literally the voice of the people that continues to stall them.

Bin Laden is back

Another tape. Clearly not a conspiracy, for all those who keep believing Bush caused 9/11.

The impacted generation

"I'd never fully realized this: 9/11 was for America's kids exactly what Nov. 22, 1963, was for their parents and uncles and aunts. They were at school. Suddenly there were rumors in the hall and teachers speaking in hushed tones. You passed an open classroom and saw a teacher sobbing. Then the principal came on the public-address system and said something very bad had happened. Shocked parents began to pick kids up. Everyone went home and watched TV all day, and the next."

Read the rest.

Less we never forget...

"Eight years ago, our nation and our freedom came under attack. On this solemn anniversary, Laura and I hold the victims and their families in our thoughts and prayers. We honor those who volunteer to keep us safe and extend the reach of freedom - including members of the armed forces, law enforcement officers, and intelligence and homeland security professionals. Their courage, service and sacrifice is a fitting tribute to all those who gave their lives on Sept. 11, 2001. On this day, let us renew our determination to prevent evil from returning to our shores."

Health care reform

"Did the President's speech change your mind on healthcare?" asks one FoxNews poll. 92% said NO.

That's because you cannot solve this problem with rhetoric, Mr. President. You cannot stand with a fraction of the United States' nurses, crack a few jokes about "So You Think You Can Dance" and your wonderful history with nurses and think this will solve the healthcare crisis the next morning.

This is bigger than a speech to the joint congress.

Nancy Pelosi's favorite line is "The Republicans aren't offering any alternative plans." I'm sorry, but Jim DeMint, Paul Ryan, Tom Price, Tom Coburn, David Nunes, Richard Burr, are just a few offering up ideas. It's the DEMOCRATS who aren't willing to listen and compromise.

I agree that this should be the last generation to take up the healthcare debate. Wouldn't it be wonderful to reform a system and allow those who work hard and pay for their healthcare to keep it? Wouldn't it be great to see "pre-existing conditions" like migraines and arthritis (to name a few), covered? Wouldn't it also be great not to have to worry that Uncle Sam is taking my money to cover someone else's abortion?

Let's talk about preventive medicine. Let's talk about taking care of ourselves, exercising, eating right, sleeping and drinking water, not smoking, moderate alcohol drinking, etc. Believe it or not, those simple changes can mean reversing the diabetes diagnosis, healthier hearts, fewer cancer cases, etc.
I bet quite a few lives would drastically change. And, I'm supportive of considering
reducing abuse and fraud in the Medicare program, giving supplemental health insurance to those low-income families that need it - but that are also working, and other changes that would truly reform healthcare without infringing on the American citizens that dutifully pay their taxes and work hard for their coverage.

And lastly, a personal anecdote. (What political diatribe is complete without one?)
What do you say to the doctor that tells a 74 year old woman after finding suspicious spots on her mammogram to wait 6 months and come back- "it's probably only a cyst," despite the woman's family history of breast cancer???? Upon a second opinion, that precancerous tissue is coming out.

And why? Because it's expensive and she's elderly and in "6 months it might be a benign cyst or it might be cancer but we'll deal with it then" ?

I say that doctor is ill-fit to practice medicine.
I say that doctor should be stripped of his ability to consult patients.
I say THAT is a situation screaming out for healthcare reform.

The debate has to center on more than cost this time around.

Vick is Sick

Whoever allowed Michael Vick to come in and speak to high school students about peer pressure has lost their mind.

The Philadelphia Eagles quarterback, who served prison time for running a dogfighting ring, addressed a rapt audience of 200 freshmen on their first day at Nueva Esperanza Academy, a North Philadelphia charter school.

"I didn't choose to go the right way, which led to 18 months in prison, which was the toughest time of my life," he said. " ... I was influenced by so many people when I should have been a leader, not a follower."

He said he tried to do the right things at school and at home, "but I had another side to me, and it was a dark side."

It's total crap. Vick was a leader in that ring, no matter who else he wants to blame.

This is a guy who made thousands of dollars torturing animals, "rolling" these poor pitbulls, and hanging, drowning and slamming their bodies to the ground.

There is absolutely NO excuse for that. No one to point at but himself. To blame your socioeconomic status for dogfighting, AFTER you've been a college star, a success in the NFL - AFTER you've come of age enough to learn right v. wrong - is shameful!

As a high school student, you wouldn't have caught me dead in that auditorium.

Baron Hill (IN-09): This Is My Town Hall Meeting. I Set the Rules.

Not Ok. This is the PEOPLE'S town hall meeting.

and come November, 2010, I'm sure they might tell you how to run your Congressional Office. Strike that, they'll tell you how NOT to when you get voted OUT.

Ohio State's Take the Field Tribute for Navy - 9.5.09

I know the guy who made this!!

Elmbrook says NO to Obama's speech

Good for them.

When President Barack Obama makes a speech Tuesday to America's schoolchildren that will be carried live on television and the Internet, students in at least one Wisconsin school district won't be allowed to see it - at least, not if they're where they're supposed to be.

Elmbrook School District Superintendent Matt Gibson told parents Thursday that schools in his district would not show the president's speech live on Tuesday, although he encouraged families to watch it at home and provided a link where it would be archived.

The district's decision comes after a barrage of criticism from conservatives who, in some instances, contend Obama is trying to indoctrinate the nation's youth with the 15- to 20-minute speech.

In its announcement of the speech, the U.S. Department of Education said Obama "will speak directly to the nation's children and youth about persisting and succeeding in school. The president will challenge students to work hard, set educational goals and take responsibility for their learning."

Regardless of the message, children are at school to learn from their teachers. This should not be interrupted everytime the President wants to make his face known to K-12-ers.

Milwaukee Public Schools is leaving it up to individual schools and teachers to decide whether to tune in for the speech.

"As always, these things are voluntary as far as what an instructor believes fits with the curriculum," district spokeswoman Roseann St. Aubin said.

She added, "This is a sitting president, and this is a district, too, that needs all help, all manner of assistance in encouraging kids to stay in school. . . .  To have a strong male figure, and I might add an African-American figure, many people in our district see that as an important thing for this majority-minority district."

Translation: "Our kids need to see a successful black man"?

In today's culture, they are seeing enough of it, folks. I think most "curriculums" wouldn't exactly call for the viewing.

WJW Fox 8 Cleveland does a ridiculous story on a bear in a lady's backyard

Ridiculous.

No more patriotic songs in Congress!

Anti-American, Anti-patriotic music...

I guess if you call your congressman, the hold music will no longer be patriotic.

Perhaps Toby Keith would like to weigh in on this one.