Outrage: Cancer-stricken Ground Zero worker receives compensation check for $0

A ground zero worker was supposed to receive $10,005. Instead, he received a check for $0. Lawyers got almost all the money. I once had an employee who received a paycheck with a negatave number due to insurance and child support and a couple of missed days.

CANCER-STRICKEN Ground Zero worker Edgar Galvis has finally received a compensation cheque - for zero dollars.

The New York Post reported the 51-year-old Queens man, who suffered sinus problems and then throat cancer after months of removing toxic debris from the World Financial Center, was relieved to get a cheque in the mail for his court settlement with Merrill Lynch, whose offices he had cleaned.

But he was stunned when he saw the amount: $0.00.

His award had been $10,005, but his lawyers at the firm Worby, Groner, Edelman & Napoli Bern lopped off $2579 for unitemised legal expenses.

Then they took a 33.3 per cent fee of $2124. They also subtracted $352, a fee to the lawyer who referred him.

The remaining $4950 was withheld for unspecified "liens", the letter says.

Shameful: Obama Has Top General Tell Troops in Afghanistan They May Not Get Paid (video)

President Obama and democrats clearly know there is enough money to pay the troops, interest on the national debt and social security. Where we would fall short is paying all the bureaucrats working at EPA, State department and other government agencies. President Obama would also have to delay the rest of the failed stimulus spending and 'so called' green energy projects. Is a shutdown starting to sound better?

Via Jack Hoft:

President Obama will stand in former President Bush's shadow at 10th Anniversary of 9-11

Both President Obama and former President G.W. Bush will attend the 10th Anniversary of 9-11 in NYC.

The ceremony at the World Trade Center site marking the 10th anniversary of the terrorist attacks will be a solemn but stately event that will include former President George W. Bush and a chance for victims' families to view the names of loved ones etched into the memorial, Mayor Michael Bloomberg said.

President Barack Obama and Bloomberg will be joined by the leaders in charge during the 2001 attacks, including Bush, former Mayor Rudolph Giuliani and former New York Gov. George Pataki. Current New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo and New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie will also be there, he said.

Speaking on his weekly radio show Friday on WOR-AM, Bloomberg said the lawmakers will read short poems or quotes. No speeches will be given.

"This cannot be political," he said. "So that's why there's a poem or a quote or something that each of the readers will read. No speeches whatsoever. That's not an appropriate thing." Read more...

Maureen Dowd Calls Republicans Suicide Bombers

Bombers, Maureen Dowd, suicide, tea party

Of course, Maureen Dowd has rarely had an original idea. By calling Republicans suicide bombers, she is parroting Newsweek's Tina Brown and MSNBC's Chris Matthews.

(NYT)-

. . .The maniacal Tea Party freshmen are trying to burn  down the House they were elected to serve in. It turns out they wanted  to come inside to get a blueprint of the historic building to sabotage  it.

Like gargoyles on the Capitol, the adamantine nihilists are  determined to blow up the country’s prestige, their party and even their  own re-election chances if that’s what it takes. (Many are worried  about primary races with even more dogmatic challengers, which is a  truly scary thought.) If they can drag President Obama off his pedestal,  even better. They think he looks down on them and sneers at their  values.

Democratic lawmakers worry that the Tea Party freshmen  have already “neutered” the president, as one told me. They fret that  Obama is an inept negotiator. They worry that he should have been out in  the country selling a concrete plan, rather than once more kowtowing to  Republicans and, as with the stimulus plan, health care and Libya,  leading from behind.

When Obama came before the cameras Friday to  say that “any solution to avoid default must be bipartisan,” many  Democrats wish he had just gone all unilateral and taken Bill Clinton’s  advice to invoke the 14th Amendment. They yearned to see the president beat the political suicide bombers over the head with the Constitution.  Impeaching a constitutional lawyer for saving the economy would be an  even more difficult sell than impeaching a rogue for fibbing about a  dalliance. Keep on reading...

Harry Reid Delays Vote on His Debt Plan. Reportedly, a Deal With Republicans Has Been Struck

Reid delays vote on his debt plan.

Efforts to reach a last-minute deal to stave off a potentially disastrous federal default appeared to make progress late Saturday as Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid called off a scheduled 1 a.m. Sunday test vote and declared himself newly “optimistic.”

Reid (D-Nev.) scheduled a new vote for noon Sunday, saying he wanted to give the parties more time to negotiate. Talks were underway at the White House, he said, and progress was being made toward the Democratic demand for a long-term debt limit increase that would carry the government through the end of 2012.

A deal has been struck?

ABC News has learned that Republicans and the White House have struck a tenative deal to raise the debt ceiling before the Aug. 2 deadline. It’s not done yet, but here is the framework of the tentative deal they have worked out, according to a source familiar with the negotiations:

* Debt ceiling increase of up to $2.8 trillion
* Spending cuts of roughly $1 trillion
* Vote on the Balanced Budget Amendment
* Special committee to recommend cuts of $1.8 trillion (or whatever it takes to add up to the total of the debt ceiling increase)
* Committee must make recommendations before Thanksgiving recess
* If Congress does not approve those cuts by late December, automatic across-the-board cuts go into effect, including cuts to Defense and Medicare.

Behind Closed Doors Democrats Are Saying Obama Is Not A Leader

This is obvious to anyone who has been paying attention to the Obama Presidency.

(RCP) — Joe Scarborough: “I have got to clear this up. Mika heard two days ago on Capitol Hill Democrats all saying the same thing. And that is, this president has been invisible, he is not a leader. They said this all behind closed doors. Democratic leaders, Democratic rank-and-file. In fact, 40, 50 of the most powerful Democrats on the Hill. I will just stop right there. The complaints were all the same. The president has vanished. He has left us here alone again like he did with health care. Where is he? Now, they didn’t call him a loser, but they sure as hell didn’t call him a leader.”

Video: President Obama's Leadership Failure

 In this video from AmericansForProsperity.org Senator Obama accuses President Obama of "Leadership Failure".

Sen. Jon Kyl: Demos see debt ceiling crisis as "opportunity to impose huge tax increases on American families and small businesses."

Democrats are following the lead of President Obama. He wants to impose a huge tax hike, but Republicans have found their spines and are refusing to cooperate.

(The Hill)- Republicans have tried to work with Democrats to solve the debt crisis, but "behind the scenes" Democrats insisted on huge tax increases, Sen. Jon Kyl (R-Ariz) said Saturday.

"Unfortunately, after weeks of negotiations, it became clear that Democrats in Washington did not view this crisis as an opportunity to rein in spending," Kyl said in the GOP's weekly address. "Instead, they saw it as an opportunity to impose huge tax increases on American families and small businesses."

Harry Reid Wants to Give Obama Blank Check For the Rest of His Presidency

Harry Reid's plan extends the debt ceiling until March 2013. Historically, debt ceiling increases are only for 5 months.

(Reuters) — Senate Democratic Leader Harry Reid said on Friday his budget legislation would increase the nation’s borrowing authority until March, 2013 and reiterated that he would not accept a short-term debt limit increase as Republicans are insisting.

Earlier in the day, Reid called on Republican Leader Mitch McConnell to sit down with him to work out a compromise for cutting federal spending and raising the debt limit by the August 2 deadline.

McConnell has thus far thrown his support behind a House of Representatives Republican bill that has been refined and could be voted upon later in the day. Reid has vowed to defeat that bill, which would extend the debt limit for only a few months.

Harry Reid and Senate Democrats Put Boehner Debt Bill on Ice

Some Republican senators voted against the Boehner Bill because they thought it didn't go far enough.

(FOX News)- With the U.S. moving perilously closer to defaulting on its loans, the House on Friday evening passed an increase in the federal debt limit tied to progress on a balanced budget, but the Senate responded less than two hours later by putting the House bill on ice.

The House bill was Speaker John Boehner's third version of a deficit-reduction plan, and it passed in a 218-210 vote, with all House Democrats opposed, as well as 22 Republicans. The provision laying the groundwork for a constitutional amendment mandating a balanced budget was pivotal in securing the support of hard-line Republicans, but it also helped assure the bill, as is, would be rejected by the Democratic-led Senate...

The vote in the Senate to reject the House legislation was 59-41, with all Democrats, two independents and six Republicans joining in opposition.

Video: GOP Rep. Paul Ryan Destroys Harry Reid’s Fiscal Fantasy Budget (Video)

Harry Reid may claim Boehner's plan is dead when it arrives at the Senate, but his fantasy plan is toast in the House.



Rep. Paul Ryan:

“We assume we’re going to be fighting this war for 10 more years, with over 100,000 troops in Afghanistan and oh, gosh, wait, we’re going to withdraw our troops in 2014. $1 trillion in savings. I’ve got a better idea. Let’s pass a bill to cover the moon with yogurt that will cost $5 trillion today. and then let’s pass a bill the next day to cancel that bill. We could save $5 trillion. Wait, I’ve got a better idea. Our debt is $14 trillion. Let’s come up with a new plan to spend $14 trillion, then rescind it the next day and let’s save $14 trillion. This stuff is fiscal fantasy. You can’t make this stuff up, Mr. Speaker.”

Gallop finds new low of 40% for Obama approval

Crash and burn, baby!

(Politico) — A new poll shows that President Barack Obama’s approval rating has plummeted to a new low as talks to raise the debt ceiling stalled and the president stayed out of the public eye after a Monday night speech through early Friday.

The president’s average approval rating on Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday was 40 percent in Gallup’s daily tracking poll released on Friday. His approval rating averaged 46 percent in June, and was at about the same level for most of July.

Obvious: Steny Hoyer admits Obamacare ram through is affecting debt ceiling vote

After having Obamacare rammed through by Democrats in the middle of the night, Republicans aren't feeling as bipartisan as they used to be.

Steny Hoyer,

“I don’t think healthcare was handled the way it should’ve been

(Briefing Room) House Minority Whip Steny Hoyer (D-Md.) said lingering bitterness over how Democrats passed the healthcare reform law has made Republicans resistant to compromise on the debt ceiling.

Hoyer, speaking on CNBC, said he thought part of the reason Republicans have refused to compromise with Democrats on the debt-ceiling package was because of how House Democrats pushed through the Obama administration's healthcare law.

"I think that's accurate," Hoyer said Friday. "I don't think healthcare was handled the way it should've been, but let me tell you why: There was an openness to compromise, but the Republicans said, 'Look, we don't like your plan, we're not going to go there at all,' " Hoyer said.

Boehner Debt Plan Passes House 218-210

No Democrat voted for the Boehner plan.

The Hill reported:

House Republicans on Friday narrowly approved legislation authorizing a limited increase in the $14.3 trillion debt limit in exchange for more than $900 billion in spending cuts.

The 218-210 vote occurred nearly a full day after it was originally scheduled as Speaker John Boehner (R-Ohio) agreed to revise the legislation to win enough conservative support to carry the House.

The Republican Budget Control Act faces a near-certain demise in the Senate, where Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) has declared it dead on arrival. The White House has said President Obama would veto the measure if it ever reached his desk.

WH Spokesman Carney Hints At 14th Amendment Solution: If We Have No Other Alternative We Will "Take Action" (video)

Hmm...




The reason we are at this point is mainly due to the fact President Obama wants a long-term deal that will last through the next election cycle. This is a purely political move on his part. Obama doesn't want voters thinking about the budget deficit or the explosion in spending that has taken place under his presidency. Are long-term deals even normal? Since President Obama invoked Ronald Reagan's record during his prime-time debt ceiling speech, we will use him as a bench mark. President Obama correctly stated that Reagan raised the debt limit 18 times during his presidency. A little math reveals Reagan got a debt ceiling vote every 5.3 months on average. President Obama is demanding a debt ceiling increase that gives him a blank check for almost two tears.

New Fort Hood Plotter Was Idolized By Left As Conscientious Objector

The left called Pfc. Naser Abdoa "Muslim Peacemaker" because of his 2010 'Conscientious Objector' status. Apparently, Naser Abdoa objected to killing terrorists in Afghanistan, but doesn't object to killing as long at the targets are American infidels.

(Commentary) — The 21-year-old soldier arrested today for allegedly plotting to attack Fort Hood appears to be the same “conscientious objector” who was viewed as a peacemaker by anti-war activists last year, after he refused to serve in Afghanistan or Iraq because he claimed it violated his Muslim faith.

When Pfc. Naser Abdo applied for CO status last year, the utterly discredited Iraq Veterans Against the War organization posted a message in support of him on its website, and asked readers to donate to his legal defense fund. And Kimber Heinz, a writer for the far-left website Truthout, unluckily chose to profile Abdo in a 2010 article entitled, “One Year After Fort Hood: The Missing Story of Muslim Peacemaking.”

“We must lift up the stories and ongoing work of Muslim peacemakers like Naser Abdo,” Heinz wrote.
CNN and Al Jazeera also both featured  glowing segments on Abdo’s quest to obtain CO status.

Video: Candidate Obama Vs. President Obama

Can you say hypocrite?

The Future of Obamacare: Britain Now Rationing Surgery

There is no question Obamcare will cost billions of dollars. Our government is always under pressure to find something to cut. In Britain, they are cutting many forms of surgery.

Hip replacements, cataract surgery and tonsil removal are among operations now being rationed in a bid to save the NHS money.

Two-thirds of health trusts in England are rationing treatments for "non-urgent" conditions as part of the drive to reduce costs in the NHS by £20bn over the next four years. One in three primary-care trusts (PCTs) has expanded the list of procedures it will restrict funding to in the past 12 months.

Examples of the rationing now being used include:

* Hip and knee replacements only being allowed where patients are in severe pain. Overweight patients will be made to lose weight before being considered for an operation.

* Cataract operations being withheld from patients until their sight problems "substantially" affect their ability to work.

* Patients with varicose veins only being operated on if they are suffering "chronic continuous pain", ulceration or bleeding.

* Tonsillectomy (removing tonsils) only to be carried out in children if they have had seven bouts of tonsillitis in the previous year.

* Grommets to improve hearing in children only being inserted in "exceptional circumstances" and after monitoring for six months.

* Funding has also been cut in some areas for IVF treatment on the NHS.

House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi: Without debt ceiling increase seniors can “kiss their Medicare good-bye.”

Nancy Pelosi tries to scare the pants off granny.

(Politico) — House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi dialed up the rhetoric before Speaker John Boehner’s plan to raise the debt limit heads to the House floor for a vote, declaring it a “job-killer” and saying seniors could “kiss their Medicare good-bye.”

“If you believe in that the education of our children, the retirement of our seniors, the creation of jobs in a fiscally sound way, you couldn’t possibly vote for the bill that the Republicans are bringing to the floor today,” Pelosi said Thursday.

The speaker’s legislation, which slashes $917 billion over 10 years and increases the nation’s $14.3 trillion debt limit in two increments, is scheduled for a House vote on Thursday night.

Poll: Only 31 percent of Independents Approve of President Obama

President Obama's approval among Independents is plummeting.

A new poll shows President Barack Obama’s disapproval rate among political independents has broken above 50 percent, even while he is using the debt ceiling debate to seek approval from those critical swing voters.

Support for Obama among independents has fallen from 42 percent in May to 31 percent, and disapproval has risen to 54 percent, according to a late July poll of 1,500 registered voters by the Pew Research Center for the People & the Press.

The drop in support among independents is critical because both parties have a roughly similar number of die-hard supporters. The 2012 election prize will go to the candidate who draws more independent voters, and Obama’s decline in that crucial demographic has dragged his ratings down among registered voters, according to the Pew poll.

Assuming there is a roughly equal number of Republicans and Democrats nowadays, Obama can not win reelection without a majority of Independents.

New Findings Disprove Global Warming Models

A new peer reviewed study has found CO2 traps less heat that previously thought. Al Gore is hardest hit.

NASA satellite data from the years 2000 through 2011 show the Earth’s atmosphere is allowing far more heat to be released into space than alarmist computer models have predicted, reports a new study in the peer-reviewed science journal Remote Sensing. The study indicates far less future global warming will occur than United Nations computer models have predicted, and supports prior studies indicating increases in atmospheric carbon dioxide trap far less heat than alarmists have claimed.

…

In addition to finding that far less heat is being trapped than alarmist computer models have predicted, the NASA satellite data show the atmosphere begins shedding heat into space long before United Nations computer models predicted.

The new findings are extremely important and should dramatically alter the global warming debate.

Scientists on all sides of the global warming debate are in general agreement about how much heat is being directly trapped by human emissions of carbon dioxide (the answer is “not much”). However, the single most important issue in the global warming debate is whether carbon dioxide emissions will indirectly trap far more heat by causing large increases in atmospheric humidity and cirrus clouds. Alarmist computer models assume human carbon dioxide emissions indirectly cause substantial increases in atmospheric humidity and cirrus clouds (each of which are very effective at trapping heat), but real-world data have long shown that carbon dioxide emissions are not causing as much atmospheric humidity and cirrus clouds as the alarmist computer models have predicted.

The new NASA Terra satellite data are consistent with long-term NOAA and NASA data indicating atmospheric humidity and cirrus clouds are not increasing in the manner predicted by alarmist computer models. The Terra satellite data also support data collected by NASA’s ERBS satellite showing far more longwave radiation (and thus, heat) escaped into space between 1985 and 1999 than alarmist computer models had predicted. Together, the NASA ERBS and Terra satellite data show that for 25 years and counting, carbon dioxide emissions have directly and indirectly trapped far less heat than alarmist computer models have predicted.

Vitriol: Steny Hoyer says House Republicans "want to shoot every bullet they have at the President"

 This must be part of that 'new tone' in Washington thing.

There is that "unexpectedly" word again

Every time there is negative news about the economy, the mainstream media reports it as "unexpected". It must be nice for President Obama to have so many economic optimists in his corner.

(Bloomberg) — Orders for U.S. durable goods unexpectedly dropped in June, raising the risk that a slowdown in business investment will weigh on the world’s largest economy in the second half of the year.

Bookings for goods meant to last at least three years fell 2.1 percent after a 1.9 percent gain the prior month that was smaller than last reported, the Commerce Department said today in Washington. Demand for business equipment, including machinery and computers, also dropped.

Fail: Media helicopter beat police to Norway shooting scene by as much as 25 minutes

Next time, they should give the police a ride. The entire liberal government of Norway should be forced to resign for incompetence. The police had to ask permission to get their guns. Then, their sole helicopter pilot was on vacation. They tried to take a boat, but it broke down. Now that the shooter has surrendered, he only faces 21 years in a luxury prison.

(The Globe and Mail)-

A media helicopter was already hovering over the island when police arrived. Marius Arnesen, a cameraman for broadcaster NRK who shot video of the massacre at Utoya island, told The Associated Press that his helicopter arrived sometime between 6 p.m. and 6:10 p.m. Police say got to the island at 6:25 p.m.

Police were already grappling with the wide damage inflicted by a bomb in the downtown government quarter that Mr. Breivik claims to have set off. When word of the shooting came, police drove rather than take a helicopter because the crew of the sole chopper available to them was on vacation. Then the first boat they tried to take to the lake island broke down.

Lockerbie bomber rises from dead and shows up at Pro Moammar Gadhafi rally

Just kidding. In spite of the fact we were told he had only three months to live, he is still alive and kicking two years later. This was a shameful episode in the history of Great Britain.

Foreign Secretary William Hague has said a TV appearance by the Lockerbie bomber will intensify the "anger and outrage" at his release from jail.

Abdelbaset al-Megrahi was at a rally broadcast by Libyan state television.

Mr Hague said it was "a further reminder that a great mistake was made" when he was freed by the Scottish government nearly two years ago.

Scots Justice Secretary Kenny MacAskill said all the rules on compassionate release had been followed.

Mr Hague said the medical advice on which the decision had been made now appeared to be "pretty much worthless".

Scottish Labour leader Iain Gray added that events had shown "how wrong" the move had been.

Don't you love the fake outrage over the Lockerbie bomber release?

Confirmed: White House Knew About Operation Operation Fast and Furious in September 2010

The further down the rabbit hole you go, the worse this gets.

Washington — At least one person in the White House knew about the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives gun-running operation three months before weapons from the botched sting were found at the murder scene of a U.S. Border Patrol agent.

That’s what a high-ranking ATF official told Congress on Tuesday.

William Newell, the former ATF special agent in charge of the Phoenix field office, told the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee that he communicated with Kevin O’Reilly, a staffer on President Obama’s National Security Council, about Operation Fast and Furious in September 2010.

By that time, at least one thousand guns straw-purchased in the U.S. had been transferred to Mexican criminals under the noses of ATF officials who intended, but failed, to track them to see where they’d end up.

Under Operation Fast and Furious, which began in September 2009, the ATF allowed some 2,000 guns to “walk” to Mexican drug cartels. The operation was halted in December 2010 after two of the guns were found in Arizona, at the place where U.S. Border Patrol Agent Brian Terry was murdered.

One in Eight Small Business Employees Will Lose Health Insurance Because of Obamacare

But...but...President Obama promised you could keep your health insurance plan if you like your plan.

Daily Caller reports:

Among the most striking of NFIB’s findings was the number of employer health insurance plans that have been or will be eliminated since PPACA’s passage — 12 percent, or one in eight. Eliminating employer health care plans “is the first major consequence of PPACA that small-business owners likely feel,” the report said.

However, those plans are being replaced by new products. The number of small employers offering or not offering employee health insurance is likely to change little over the next 12 months, according to the report.

Still, the NFIB said the amount of change in plans was out of the ordinary.

“We are not aware of any data suggesting we’ve had turnover anywhere near this level in the past,” said William J. Dennis, a senior research fellow at the National Federation for Independent Business.

The NFIB study also found 20 percent of small employers expect to significantly change their benefit packages the next time they renew their health insurance plans. Almost all of them expected to see diminished benefits, increased employee costs, or both.

Moonbat Alert: George Lopez Says He’ll Move To Canada If Sarah Palin Is Elected…

George Lopez says he’ll move to Mexico Canada if Sarah Palin is elected President.

George Soros doesn't want you to know his secrets

Instead of complying with the new reporting requirements under the Dodd Frank reform act, George Soros seems to be packing up his hedge fund and going home.

George Soros, the billionaire hedge-fund manager and philanthropist best known for breaking the Bank of England in 1992, will return capital to investors in order to avoid reporting requirements under the Dodd Frank reform act.

Soros will return money to investors by the end of the year, Bloomberg reported Tuesday, citing two people briefed on the matter. Soros Fund Management will focus on managing assets for his family, according to a letter to the firm’s investors. Soros will turn 81 on August 12.

… The reason? Under new requirements from the Dodd Frank act, hedge funds are required to register with the Securities and Exchange Commission by March 2012 if the fund continues to manage more than $150 million in assets for outside investors. The new requirements would call for funds to report information about the assets they manage, potential conflicts of interest, and information on investors and employees. The act allows an exemption for what the Commission considers “family office” advisers.

Jihadi Workplace Accident Claims al-Qaeda Member

Goodbye and good riddance to this vermin. Sadly, his two children were killed and 20 of his neighbors were wounded.

AN al-Qaeda militant has been killed together with his two children when a car bomb he was making at his home exploded near the northern Iraq city of Kirkuk, police said.

"An al-Qaeda terrorist, Mohammed Nussayef Jasim al-Hamdani, was killed while trying to fit a bomb inside a vehicle at his home," a police official in Kirkuk said today.

"His two children, aged 10 and 11, also were killed, part of his house was destroyed, and 20 of his neighbours were wounded," he added, saying the incident occurred before midnight yesterday west of Kirkuk city.

Hamdani had been in detention on suspicion of terrorism, but was recently released due to "insufficient evidence against him," the official said.

White House Threatens to Veto Boehner's Bill

Are they trying to drum up Republican votes for the bill or do they really want a default? The new Tea Party sponsored Republicans in the House will not fold.


Via WhiteHouse.Gov (PDF)

Rasmussen: Congress' Approval rating Down to 6%

President Obama's approval rating should be that low too.

(Rasmussen) — Voter approval of the job Congress is doing has fallen to a new low – for the second month in a row.

Just six percent (6%) of Likely U.S. Voters now rate Congress’ performance as good or excellent, according to a new Rasmussen Reports national telephone survey. Last month, Congressional approval ratings fell to what was then a record low with eight percent (8%) who rated its performance good or excellent.

Sixty-one percent (61%) now think the national legislators are doing a poor job, a jump of nine points from a month ago.

Most voters don’t care much for the way either party is performing in the federal debt ceiling debate. The majority of voters are worried the final deal will raise taxes too much and won’t cut spending enough.

Barack Obama vs Barack Obama on the Debt Ceiling

Sen. Barack Obama in 2006, when G.W. Bush wanted to raise the debt ceiling, said,

“The fact that we are here today to debate raising America's debt limit is a sign of leadership failure. It is a sign that the U.S. Government can't pay its own bills. It is a sign that we now depend on ongoing financial assistance from foreign countries to finance our Government's reckless fiscal policies. …

Increasing America's debt weakens us domestically and internationally. Leadership means that ‘the buck stops here. Instead, Washington is shifting the burden of bad choices today onto the backs of our children and grandchildren. America has a debt problem and a failure of leadership. Americans deserve better.”

 President Barack Obama last night said,

Now, what makes today's stalemate so dangerous is that it has been tied to something known as the debt ceiling – a term that most people outside of Washington have probably never heard of before.

Understand – raising the debt ceiling does not allow Congress to spend more money.  It simply gives our country the ability to pay the bills that Congress has already racked up.  In the past, raising the debt ceiling was routine.  Since the 1950s, Congress has always passed it, and every President has signed it.  President Reagan did it 18 times.  George W. Bush did it 7 times.  And we have to do it by next Tuesday, August 2nd, or else we won't be able to pay all of our bills.

Unfortunately, for the past several weeks, Republican House members have essentially said that the only way they'll vote to prevent America's first-ever default is if the rest of us agree to their deep, spending cuts-only approach. 

If that happens, and we default, we would not have enough money to pay all of our bills – bills that include monthly Social Security checks, veterans' benefits, and the government contracts we've signed with thousands of businesses.

For the first time in history, our country's Triple A credit rating would be downgraded, leaving investors around the world to wonder whether the United States is still a good bet.  Interest rates would skyrocket on credit cards, mortgages, and car loans, which amounts to a huge tax hike on the American people.  We would risk sparking a deep economic crisis – one caused almost entirely by Washington.

Read the two positions and try to imagine they came from the same mouth. 

Former CBO Director Douglas Holtz-Eakin: Harry Reid Fake savings Could Get U.S. Credit Downgraded

President Obama is supporting Harry Reid's plan. The problem is the credit markets want to see real spending cuts.

(Fox News) - “The way the CBO constructs the baseline is it extrapolates current law, and the current law is that we are funding the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan,” former CBO Director Douglas Holtz-Eakin told FoxNews.com. “The trouble is that CBO’s baseline is not what anyone really thinks will happen.”

Holtz-Eakin said that while Reid’s proposal is transparent about including war savings, the problem with employing it here is that ratings agencies want to see “real savings” out of the current talks.

“I don’t think it’ll be compelling to markets or ratings agencies,” he said. “Since this spending was going to go away anyway, it would not constitute an improvement. And they want improvements.”

Video: Black Tea Partiers Get Called "Sell-Out Negroes" at NAACP Convention

 Who is a racist now?

76 Dead in Norway, Shooter Faces Only 21 Year Maximum Prison Sentence

Norway is a very liberal country. The Labor Party, which leads a coalition government, is on the left, even for liberal Norway. Under Norway's criminal justice system, killing over 70 people will lead to a maximum of 21 years in prison.

The person suspected of carrying out terrorist attacks in Norway will be charged for terrorist activity, while the maximum prison sentence in Norway is 21 years, Norway police said Saturday.

Over ninety people have been killed in the two attacks since Friday.

Police have confirmed that arrested 32-year-old Norwegian, Anders Behring Breivik, was involved both in the explosion in Oslo, and in a shooting at a youth summer camp on Utoya Island.

CNN Host Fareed Zakaria: Tea Party is “Ideologically Extreme” (video)

 The Tea Party is ideologically extreme? Has he taken a close look at Nancy Pelosi and the other extreme liberal Democrats in Congress?

FAREED ZAKARIA: Watching the extraordinary polarization in Washington today, many people have pointed the finger at the Tea Party. It’s ideologically extreme, refuses to compromise, and cares more about purity than problem solving.

Obama Tells La Raza: “The idea of doing things on my own is very tempting, "

President Obama was speaking pandering to the La Raza Conference when he made this comment,

“The idea of doing things on my own is very tempting, I promise you, not just on immigration reform. But that’s not how our system works. That’s not how our democracy functions,”

President Obama hasn't had a problem doing things on his own when it comes to having EPA regulate CO2 after the Senate failed to pass Cap-and-Trade. He is also trying to backdoor amnesty by using changes in ICE policies.

(CNN) — America’s immigration system is broken, but only a bipartisan political movement can fix it, President Barack Obama said Monday.

“The idea of doing things on my own is very tempting, I promise you, not just on immigration reform. But that’s not how our system works. That’s not how our democracy functions,” Obama told the National Council of La Raza.

Speaking at the organization’s annual conference in Washington, Obama said passing immigration reform measures will require support from both sides of the aisle in Congress.

“Let’s be honest, I need a dance partner here, and the floor is empty,” he said.

Nancy Pelosi Tries To Drain a Tiger From The Swamp

Demo Rep. David Wu has been accused of “aggressive and unwanted sexual behavior” with the teenage daughter of a supporter. What a guy...

PORTLAND, Ore. (AP) — House Democratic Leader Nancy Pelosi Sunday called for an ethics panel investigation of Rep. David Wu following a published allegation that a young woman reported he’d engaged in “aggressive and unwanted sexual behavior.”

The Oregon Democrat has been facing calls to resign, but he remained silent Sunday.
In a statement Sunday night, Pelolsi asked the “Ethics Committee to initiate an investigation into the allegations against Congressman Wu.”

Pelosi had a telephone conversation with Wu Saturday but neither politician disclosed any details.

The Democratic leader says she will send a letter to leaders of the Republican-led House Monday formally asking for the probe.

Wu’s spokesman Erik Dorey did not return repeated phone calls for a response to Pelosi’s statement.

NY Times Opinion Piece: GOP "Domestic Zealots" are Biggest Threat to America

Liberals should remember House Republicans have passed a budget and a deficit ceiling bill. Democrats haven't done squat.

(NY Times) — If China or Iran threatened our national credit rating and tried to drive up our interest rates, or if they sought to damage our education system, we would erupt in outrage.

Well, wake up to the national security threat. Only it’s not coming from abroad, but from our own domestic extremists.

We tend to think of national security narrowly as the risk of a military or terrorist attack. But national security is about protecting our people and our national strength — and the blunt truth is that the biggest threat to America’s national security this summer doesn’t come from China, Iran or any other foreign power. It comes from budget machinations, and budget maniacs, at home. . . .

So let’s remember not only the national security risks posed by Iran and Al Qaeda. Let’s also focus on the risks, however unintentional, from domestic zealots.

Harry Reid Prepares to Fold?

This story reported by CNN is too good to believe.

A Senate Democratic aide tells CNN that “despite multiple offers from our side, the speaker has so far been unwilling to agree to any form of a two-step solution that President Obama would sign.”

And while talks continue, the aide said, Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nevada, is “working on a proposal of at least $2.5 trillion in debt reduction” and may inform his caucus about that plan Sunday night.

Democrats believe the proposal meets GOP requirements that the debt ceiling be increased with dollar for dollar spending cuts. The aide would not describe what spending cuts would be included in the package, but it’s about $1 trillion higher than the spending cuts identified in the talks led by Vice President Joe Biden.

The proposal would not include any increase in revenues and would raise the debt ceiling until 2013.

Video: House Speaker John Boehner Blasts Obama for Not Presenting Any Plan on Debt Limit

Speaker John Boehner on FOX News Sunday:

“The House has Done Its Work. We’ve Passed a Budget. We’ve Passed a Plan”

Where is President Obama's plan?

Sudden Lead Poisoning Kills Iranian Nuclear Scientist

Darioush Rezaie, 35, a university lecturer, was shot dead by gunmen in eastern Tehran Saturday. (Reuters)

Being an Iranian nuclear scientist is becoming a high hazard occupation.

(BBC News)- An Iranian scientist believed to have links to the country's nuclear programme has been shot dead outside his home in Tehran, Iranian media say.

Isna news agency named him as Daryoush Rezaei, 35, adding that his wife was wounded and rushed to hospital.

In 2010, nuclear scientist Massoud Ali Mohammadi was killed by a remote-controlled bomb in Tehran.

Iran blamed that attack on Israeli secret service Mossad. Israel has long warned about Iran's nuclear programme.

Some reports said the latest attack involved assailants on a motorcycle, who shot him in the neck in front of his house.

New Orleans Couple Sued For "Our son defends our freedom" Sign

Timothy and Jodi Burr's son is a Marine deployed in Afghanistan. They have been sued for putting up a yard sign stating,

"Our son defends our freedom"

The Burr's claim school and team yard signs are being allowed. This makes me wonder if the decision to rebuild New Orleans the best one.

AP via NOLA:

The Times reports that the Gardens of Southgate filed the suit this month against Timothy and Jodi Burr, who have lived in the subdivision since 2006. The Burrs placed a large multicolored banner with a picture of their 20-year-old son, Marine Corps Lance Cpl. Corey Burr, and the phrase "Our son defends our freedom" in January after Corey Burr was deployed to Afghanistan.

Rasmussen: Obama Presidential Approval Index at -21

This is the lowest since last November.

(Rasmussen Reports) — The Rasmussen Reports daily Presidential Tracking Poll for Sunday shows that 23% of the nation’s voters Strongly Approve of the way that Barack Obama is performing his role as president. Forty-four percent (44%) Strongly Disapprove, giving Obama a Presidential Approval Index rating of -21. . . .

That’s the highest level of Strong Disapproval since last November.

John Boehner: 'If the W.H. won't get serious, we will'

 It is starting to look like GOP House Speaker John Boehner has a 'pair'.

'If the W.H. won't get serious, we will'

Via Politico: 

Boehner recounted to participants on the call what he told Obama.

“As I read the Constitution, the Congress writes the laws and you get to decide what you want to sign,” Boehner said, recounting what he told the president, according to two sources.

John Boehner is preparing a two-step plan that includes a short term increase to the debt ceiling.

(CNN)- Under the two-step plan, the nation's debt ceiling would be raised through 2011 in exchange for spending cuts totaling around $1 trillion, the Democratic sources said. The ceiling would be raised again, through 2012, after a special commission is set up to find ways to reduce the long-term debt through entitlement and spending cuts and tax reform, they added.

Barack Obama Harry Reid will have to 'cave' on their refusal to accept a short term deal if this plan is to get through the Senate and be signed by President Obama. The two-step plan is most likely a thinly veiled fig leaf that will allow Obama and Reid to claim the second part meets the long term deal demand.

President Obama: “Not Obvious To Everyone” That I’ve Had A Successful Presidency (video)

Thanks, Captain Obvious.

White Voters Flock To GOP

Even young and poor whites are strongly moving to the GOP. Instead of bringing Americans together, President Obama will go down in history as the most polarizing President of modern times.

(FOX News) — The Republican Party has made big gains among white voters since President Obama was elected in 2008, but not among any other racial or ethnic group, according to a new Pew Research poll.

More than half of all white voters (52 percent) now identify themselves as Republicans, compared with 39 percent who are Democrats. That 13-percentage-point lead is significantly higher than three years ago, when 46 percent of white voters were Republicans, compared to 44 percent of Democrats.

At the same time, the Democratic Party’s dominance among black and Hispanic voters continues. Eighty-six percent of black voters and 64 percent of Hispanics are aligned with Democrats, compared to 8 percent of blacks and 22 percent of Hispanics for Republicans. In 2008, 88 percent of blacks and 66 percent of Hispanics voted Democratic, and 6 percent of blacks and 28 percent of Hispanics for Republicans.

The GOP gains among white voters was most pronounced among the young and the poor, the poll found. Republicans now hold an 11-point lead over Democrats among whites under age 30 (52 percent to 41 percent). Three years ago, Democrats held a seven-point lead at 49 percent to 42 percent. Among low-income voters — families with incomes less than $30,000 — Republicans have a four-point lead, erasing the 15-point advantage Democrats had in 2008.

Outrage: Taliban Hang 8 Year Old Boy

President Obama wants to negotiate with these animals.

KABUL (BNO NEWS) — Suspected members of the Taliban on Friday hung the 8-year-old son of a local police commander in southern Afghanistan after ordering his father to surrender, according to a news report on Saturday.

The Deutsche Presse-Agentur (DPA) news agency reported that the young boy was kidnapped by militants in the Greshk district of Helmand province on Tuesday. They had ordered his father to surrender to the Taliban or else the boy would be executed. 

“The militants had warned his father, who is a local police commander, to surrender with his police vehicle and weapons, otherwise they would kill his son,” provincial governor spokesman Daud Ahmadi told DPA. The boy was hung on Friday.

Consumer Confidence in Economy is in a Meltdown

Rasmussen has found yet another 2 year low for consumer confidence. It dropped there points in one day.

The Rasmussen Consumer Index, which measures the economic confidence of consumers on a daily basis, fell three more points on Saturday to 64.8. That’s the lowest level of confidence recorded since July 10, 2009 and is down 29 points from this year’s high-water mark of 93.3. Consumer confidence is down four points from a week ago, down ten points from a month ago and down thirteen points from three months ago.

Only 9% rate the economy as good or excellent while 61% say it’s in poor shape. Sixteen percent (16%) say it’s getting better while 63% believe it is getting worse.

Lecherous Democrat Update: David Wu (D-Ore) Accused of Sexual Assault

Carrying on the Bill Clinton tradition...

(FOX News) — According to several sources, Rep. David Wu has been accused of sexual assault, The Oregonian reports.

This spring, a distraught woman called Wu’s office and left a voicemail accusing him of an unwanted sexual encounter.

When asked about the allegation, Wu admitted to senior aides of engaging in sexual activity with the woman, but insisted it was consensual.

Those who heard the voicemail left by the accuser said she was breathing heavily and sounded very upset. The woman is the daughter of a close friend and campaign donor of Wu.

The allegation raises new questions regarding Wu’s conduct during his re-election campaign last year. According to staff members, he acted so erratically that the campaign avoided public appearances and relied heavily on advertising.

Wu gained negative attention in February when a photograph that showed him wearing a tiger costume was released.

Great Humorous Anti-Spending Ad: Spenditol (video)

 This funny ad video is brought to you by Concerned Women for America Legislative Action Committee (CWALAC).

New GOP Ad Compared Obama to Reagan (video)

The comparison isn't favorable for President Obama.

Outrageous: MSNBC News Anchor Says A Republican President Would “Extinguish” Gays…

 MSNBC is a wholly owned organ of the Democratic Party.

House Republican leader Boehner ends debt talks with White House

Boehner told President Obama to take his tax hikes and shove them them. Republicans will have no part of it.

House Republican leaders have called off negotiations with the White House over a broad deficit reduction deal tied to an increase in the federal debt limit and will begin exclusive talks with Senate leaders to avert a government default on Aug. 2, Speaker John Boehner (R-Ohio) announced Friday.

Boehner told House Republicans in a letter that President Obama is “adamant” about raising taxes and would not agree to “fundamental changes” to entitlement programs.

“For these reasons, I have decided to end discussions with the White House and begin conversations with the leaders of the Senate in an effort to find a path forward,” Boehner wrote in the “Dear Colleague” letter.

Confirmed: Trust in Government at Record Low

Nobody on any side of the aisle trusts Obama anymore.

(Fox News) — As leaders in Washington try to reach agreement on a budget deal, a record majority of American voters say they distrust the federal government.

Only 33 percent of voters say yes, they generally trust the government, a record low according to a Fox News poll released Wednesday. The previous low was last year’s 35 percent (June 2010). The level of trust has dropped a total of 21 percentage points from a post-9/11 high of 54 percent trust in June 2002.
A majority of voters — 62 percent — do not trust the government. That’s up from 60 percent last year, and up significantly from 36 percent in 2002.

This sentiment of distrust is widely felt, as the poll found younger voters, older voters, as well as high and low income voters alike — all about equally likely to express distrust in Uncle Sam.

Flashback to 2008: 

Obama Tells Voters They Can Change History

Obamacare is killing the recovery

This is from the  The Heritage Foundation. You should read it all.

Obamacare Discourages Hiring
In March 2010, Congress passed President Obama’s health care reform legislation. The bill had appeared in serious jeopardy, and after the upset special election victory of Senator Scott Brown (R–MA), many analysts expected the bill to fail. Instead, it became law.
The law discourages employers from hiring in several ways:

• Businesses with fewer than 50 workers have a strong incentive to maintain this size, which allows them to avoid the mandate to provide government-approved health coverage or face a penalty;
• Businesses with more than 50 workers will see their costs for health coverage rise—they must purchase more expensive government-approved insurance or pay a penalty; and
• Employers face considerable uncertainty about what constitutes qualifying health coverage and what it will cost. They also do not know what the health care market or their health care costs will look like in four years. This makes planning for the future difficult.

Recovery Stalls Post–Obamacare
Within two months of Obamacare’s passing, the recovery stalled. Figure 1 shows net private-sector job creation from January 2009 onward. The red line shows the trend in job creation before and after April 2010. Private-sector job creation improved by an average of 67,600 jobs per month before April 2010.[7]That month, private-sector employers added 229,000 net jobs. Keep on reading...

Video: Department of Homeland Security characterizes white middle class Americans as the most likely terrorists

The “patriotic” Americans who report on their fellow citizen are almost all minorities. The suspected terrorist are mostly white middle class in appearance. DHS and FEMA need to "get real". There have been 126 terror-related arrests in the United States in the last two years. All of the terror suspects were reportedly Muslim.

New Poll: 66 Percent Support Republican’s Cut, Cap And Balance Plan

It should be obvious that the vast majority of Americans want our government to make cuts and balance the budget. Somehow, President Obama and democrats just don't get it.

(Washington Examiner) — CNN just released a poll of 1,000 Americans showing overwhelming support for the House Republican approach to the debt limit crisis. Specifically, 66 percent of Americans favor a deal where both houses of Congresses pass a balance budget amendment, and substantial cuts and caps on future spending, in exchange for a debt limit hike.

As a stand alone measure 74 percent of Americans favor a constitutional amendment to require a balanced federal budget. And 60 percent of Americans believe a balanced budget amendment is necessary to get federal deficits under control.

The poll is not all bad news for President Obama. Sixty-six percent of Americans do support a plan to cut four trillion dollars in government spending and raise taxes as part of a debt limit hike.

Flashback Video: 20 Democrats Support a Balanced Budget Amendment

I doubt a single democratic Senator will vote for Cut, Cap and Balance with Obama in office.

Obama admits 2012 election will be "assessment of my stewardship"

If President Obama is correct, he is toast.

 AP reported:

President Barack Obama said Wednesday that he’ll be re-elected for a second term if voters feel like he’s been on their side, working as hard as he can and getting things done.

“If they don’t,” the president said, “then I’ll lose.”

The blunt political assessment from Obama cast next year’s presidential contest as a referendum on his leadership rather than a choice between him and whoever his GOP opponent will be.

“That’s not to say that the other candidate is irrelevant,” Obama said, “but it does mean that I’m probably going to win or lose depending on their assessment of my stewardship.”

New Poll: 49 percent of voters think Obama has made economy worse

More voters think President Obama owns this economy.

(FOX News)- Voters are more than twice as likely to say the economy is getting worse than to say it is getting better. The new poll found 58 percent of voters think the economy is getting worse. That’s up from 52 percent who felt that way last year and 42 percent in 2009.

On the flip side, 26 percent think things are getting better economically — down from 35 percent who thought things were improving last summer, and 40 percent in 2009.

Likewise, by a 15 percentage-point margin, more voters say the Obama administration has made the economy worse (49 percent) rather than better (34 percent).

While over half of Democrats think the Obama administration is helping, about one in six says it is making things worse (17 percent). Independents are 20 points more likely to think the White House is doing damage to the economy.

Great News: U.N. to don 'Green" helmets and fight climate change

Are they serious?

The Guardian reported:

A special meeting of the United Nations security council is due to consider whether to expand its mission to keep the peace in an era of climate change.

Small island states, which could disappear beneath rising seas, are pushing the security council to intervene to combat the threat to their existence.

There has been talk, meanwhile, of a new environmental peacekeeping force – green helmets – which could step into conflicts caused by shrinking resources.

The UN secretary general, Ban Ki-Moon, is expected to address the meeting on Wednesday.

But Germany, which called the meeting, has warned it is premature to expect the council to take the plunge into green peacemaking or even adopt climate change as one of its key areas of concern.

“It is too early to seriously think about council action on climate change. This is clearly not on the agenda,” Germany’s ambassador to the UN, Peter Wittig, wrote in the Huffington Post.

“A good first step would be to acknowledge the realities of climate change and its inherent implications to international peace and security,” he wrote.

Bringing the security council up to speed on climate change could be a challenge, however.

Golden: MSNBC Host Brewer Asks GOP Rep. If He Has a “Degree In Economics”; He Responds “Yes Ma’am I do”

Oops!

Guess Who News Corp. Gave the Most Donations

It was President Obama,.

(The Hill)- Political donations by News Corp., its employees and their families were evenly split between Democrats and Republicans, with President Obama the all-time leading recipient, according to a report from the Sunlight Foundation.

The transparency watchdog noted Tuesday that Democrats received 51 percent of contributions while Republicans received 49 percent, despite the firm's highly publicized links to the GOP, such as a $1 million donation to the Republican Governors Association in August.

News Corp. is the parent company of The Wall Street Journal, the New York Post and Fox News, among others. The firm is currently under scrutiny in both the U.S. and U.K. over allegations its subsidiary News of the W

CBC Unhappy With Rep. Allen West

Let's hope they get over it soon.

(Fox News) — The head of the Congressional Black Caucus told Fox News on Wednesday that members are “furious” about the incendiary email Rep. Allen West sent to the Democratic party chairwoman, saying he’s going to speak with the Florida Republican about the matter.

“It’s unfortunate,” Rep. Emanuel Cleaver, D-Mo., said. He could not say whether the CBC would seek to discipline its only Republican member, but claimed lawmakers were upset the incident has brought “undue attention” to the caucus.

West fired off an email Tuesday to Florida Rep. Debbie Wasserman Schultz, the chairwoman of the Democratic National Committee, calling her “vile, despicable and cowardly” for calling into question his stance on Medicare on the House floor.

The CBC was planning to discuss the email at its weekly meeting Wednesday, but votes got in the way and the caucus now plans to discuss the issue at a later date.

In the meantime, Cleaver said, “I’m going to talk to him.”

Rep. Elijah Cummings, D-Md., another member of the CBC, said he was “shocked” to see the language West had employed.