Joan Walsh embarrasses herself again defending Obama.

For all the love that is good in this world. White liberals please stop rushing to protect us black people, we are not children, we do not need your self-righteous protect the victim pity party.

In my column about Barack Obama's health care speech yesterday, I described the president's "we will call you out" warning to lying Republicans as "a nearly Snoop Doggesque display," linking to a great new Snoop video whose chorus is "we will shut you down." DING! DING! DING! We have a racial nut! Salon Editor in Chief Joan Walsh is on the case: Every time I think I'm exaggerating the nature of the racial nuttiness that Obama faces, an ostensibly tolerant, smart guy like Welch does something boneheaded like this. What in God's name does Snoop Dogg have to do with Barack Obama (besides the obvious). Snoop's chorus is some variation on, "I run this town, act loud, get wild, we'll shut you down!" Oh, I get it: Obama runs Washington, and he threatened to call out people who lie about his proposals, and...that's the same thing?

But before she rushed to defend, she needed to know the lingo.

Twitter poll: Is "We will call you out" a black phrase? Kind of a black phrase? Urban? Street? Or Snoop Doggesque? (Someone called it that.)

My head hurts.

Obama's Friday Night Dump: Tariff on tires from China kinda stupid.

Stupid in the sense that it is a temporary solution, it will mark up tires in a recession which will make people not buy tires and underminds US companies that have factories overseas in China. THere doesn't seem to be a back up plan if China strikes back or anything that would tariff tires coming from other cheaper places of labor.

THis was done all for the unions.

In one of his first major decisions on trade policy, President Obama opted Friday to impose a tariff on tires from China, a move that fulfills his campaign promise to "crack down" on imports that unfairly undermine American workers but risks angering the nation's second-largest trading partner. The decision is intended to bolster the ailing U.S. tire industry, in which more than 5,000 jobs have been lost over the past five years as the volume of Chinese tires in the market has tripled. It comes at a sensitive time, however. Leaders from the world's largest economies are preparing to gather in Pittsburgh in less than two weeks to discuss more cooperation amid tensions over trade. The tire tariff will amount to 35 percent the first year, 30 percent the second and 25 percent the third. Although a federal trade panel had recommended higher levies -- of 55, 45 and 35 percent, respectively -- the decision is considered a victory for the United Steelworkers union, which filed the trade complaint. "The president sent the message that we expect others to live by the rules, just as we do," Leo W. Gerard, president of the union, said Friday night. China's government and its tire manufacturers, as well as tire importers and some U.S. tire makers with plants overseas, had strenuously objected to the measure. "The President decided to remedy the clear disruption to the U.S. tire industry based on the facts and the law in this case," the White House said in a statement released Friday night.

Obama's Friday Night Dump: Bows down to North Korea.

Who said acting the ass doesn't get results with this White House and President? Smart soft power at work here.

The US shifted its policy today, saying it is now willing to meet one on one with North Korea if that is helpful to bring Pyongyang back to the nuclear negotiations. US envoy Stephen Bosworth got the green light from the other members of the 6-party talks, negotiations to rid Pyongyang of its nuclear program, during meetings in the region in recent days. North Korea has extended an invitation for Bosworth to visit Pyongyang, but officials say it’s unclear where or when a meeting could take place. “It's designed to convince North Korea to come back to the six- party process and to take affirmative steps towards denuclearization,” State Department spokesman PJ Crowley said of the decision to meet. Speaking on background, a senior US official said: “Our assessment, after consulting with the other parties in the six-party process, is that if a bilateral discussion can be an effective mechanism to get North Korea to come back to the six-party process… so that we can remind them of what their obligations are and to push them to take affirmative steps… then that would be a potentially useful step.”

North Korean Officials must be cracking up at how easy it is to bend this Admin.

Obama's Friday Night Dump: Verification on illegal immigrants.

You know for something that the MSM and their Dem friends say wasn't true, they sure are trying to fix a non problem that was highlighted by Joe Wilson of South Carolina.

The question, as we all know, arises from the Wilson "You lie" outburst, and the core claim that notwithstanding specific bill language barring illegal immigrants from participating in the "exchange," as a practical matter, there is no way of verifying the citizenship of applicants -- which is the current state of play. Republicans say that then means illegal immigrants would end up being enrolled in plans -- bill language or no bill language. Today, for the first time as far as we know, the administration is backing a provision that would require proof of citizenship before someone could enroll in a plan selected on the exchange. The bullet points sent tonight by the White House: * Undocumented immigrants would not be able to buy private insurance on the exchange. Those who are lawfully present in this country would be able to participate. * Undocumented immigrants would be able to buy insurance in the non-exchange private market, just as they do today. That market will shrink as the exchange takes hold, but it will still exist and will be subject to reforms such as the bans on pre-existing conditions and caps. * Verification will be required when purchasing health insurance on the exchange. One option is the SAVE program (Systematic Alien Verification for Entitlements) which states currently use to make sure that undocumented immigrants don't participate in safety-net programs for which they are ineligible. * There would be no change in the law that requires emergency rooms to treat people who need emergency care, including undocumented immigrants. There is already a federal grant program that compensates states for emergency room costs associated with treatment of undocumented immigrants, a provision sponsored by a Republican lawmaker.

Black publishers: Yelling at Obama is now racist!

Just when I think you can't make anything else racist, black newspaper publishers come up with this braindead concept.

A group of black newspaper publishers on Friday charged Republican Rep. Joe Wilson with racism for yelling, "You lie," at President Obama during his nationally televised address to a joint session of Congress. "As African-American newspaper publishers we stand in solidarity with the NAACP and fully support the economic boycott of South Carolina," NNPA Chairman Danny J. Bakewell Sr. said. "Rep. Wilson's remarks were racist, disrespectful, and a disingenuous violation -- not only of President Obama -- but to the institution of the presidency and only solidified our position and the importance in not spending black dollars where black people are not respected."

Disrespectful? Sure, but last time I check Obama is the President of the United States of America, not God. I do mock at time with the black jesus meme but this idiots are making it an actual way of life.

This is a simple concept and those who wish to yell racist and racism every flipping time you think someone goes after Obama are only cheapening and weakening the meaning behind racist and racism in general. You have become walking stereotypes.

If you had an ounce of shame this statement would have never been put out.

Nigeria gets Sony PS3 ad pulled for scam reference.

The truth hurts?

ABUJA— The Federal Government yesterday asked the Sony Corporation to withdraw with immediate effect and tender an unreserved apology for posting an advertisement on the internet portraying Nigeria as a home of fraud where its citizens hardly do genuine business. The advert in question is currently circulating on youtube.com, facebook.com and other international websites. It was posted on the internet by Sony Corporation for more than one reasons, including marketing her products. The Minister of Information and Communication, Prof Dora Akunyili said contrary to the insinuations being made, “Nigeria remains a major investment destination and a country where most businesses thrive in trust, good faith, competence and integrity. According to the statement, “Nigeria also demands an unconditional apology from Sony Corporation for this deliberate negative campaign against the country’s image and reputation. “The apology must be given the same measure of publicity by Sony Corporation in all channels where the unfortunate adverts were aired. “In the light of the above, the Federal Government of Nigeria requests Sony Corporation to immediately withdraw that advertisement from circulation.”

(WSJ) Recession Takes Toll on Americans.

Nothing surprising just a recap on how hard the recession is on people but from a politically point of view this is the Dems dream scenario. Millions of people on welfare depending on the government.

GM offer of a 60 day money back guarantee

Could they have done this on their own dime or is this an example of the $50 Billion bailout by American taxpayers funding a program that makes it have an unfair advantage over other car companies.

Obama plan could raise premiums, analysts say

OTOH unlike my post below, we could end up with unintended consequences scenario.

If President Barack Obama gets what he wants in his health care plan — covering all Americans and barring insurers from denying coverage — individuals could wind up paying higher premiums, some analysts say. The Obama plan would impose new costs on insurance companies, which probably then would raise the prices that customers pay for coverage. Employers also probably would pass on some of their higher costs to employees. An individual in a typical plan might have to pay up to $780 more for the same coverage in the first year of Obama's plan, said Erik Gordon, a health care analyst and assistant professor at the University of Michigan's Ross School of Business. Gordon said employees now typically pay 20 percent to 40 percent of the premium for a typical health care package costing about $13,000 a year for a family of four. Employers pay the rest. Obama's plan would raise insurers' costs 10 percent to 15 percent if changes don't provide other savings, Gordon estimated. He thinks employers would have workers pay perhaps 40 percent of the higher premium, or $520 to $780 more.

Obama's Speech Allays Some Fears or leaves people uncertain.

There is a very interesting commonality in these two views though.

NYTIMES:

During the summer’s heated discussions over health care, when Democrats seemed quick to portray the health insurance companies as the system’s main villains, the industry seemed to be in policy makers’ cross hairs. But as the specifics of Washington’s proposed overhaul have emerged in recent days — from Senator Max Baucus and in President Obama’s speech on Wednesday night — some industry analysts say insurers may not have much to fear. “The outlook is moving away from the worst case,” said Les Funtleyder, who follows the industry for the investment firm Miller Tabak & Company in New York. Even Mr. Obama, who had recently stepped up his criticism of the industry, seemed to soften his stance on Wednesday. He recounted a few insurance horror stories — as might be politically necessary when arguing the need for a system makeover. But as he outlined his plans for health care, which focused mainly on a revamping of the nation’s insurance system, he was careful to point out that the executives who run those companies were not “bad people.” Mr. Obama also made clear that the industry’s biggest worry — the specter of a government-run health plan competing with commercial insurance plans — was not a necessary ingredient to the legislation he seeks. Additionally, he emphasized that he did not want a drastic move away from the current system, under which private companies provide coverage to the bulk of working Americans who are insured. “I have no interest in putting insurance companies out of business,” he said. Some industry executives on Thursday acknowledged the president’s shift in tone. “The rhetoric seemed to be much more positive,” said Ronald A. Williams, the chief executive of Aetna, one of the nation’s largest health insurers.

AP:

Shares of health insurers wavered in premarket activity Thursday after President Barack Obama made clear he is sticking to his goal of health care reform in a televised speech to a joint session of Congress Wednesday night. The final impact on the health care industry is still far from certain as legislators continue the debate. Analysts caution that the stocks will remain volatile until the debate ends. "He could've given the same speech in Iowa or New Hampshire two years ago," said Robert Laszewski, president of Health Policy and Strategy Associates, adding there were no new proposals. In electronic trading ahead of Thursday's market open, shares of Wellpoint Inc. added 16 cents to $53. UnitedhHealth Group Inc. lost 40 cents to $28, and Aetna Inc. added 25 cents to $29.50. For health insurers and their shareholders, the uncertainty over reform has made for a roller coaster throughout the year, driving shares lower, then higher depending on which way the political wind blows in Washington. Stocks dove deeper than the broader market in early March, after Obama described reform as "a necessity we have to achieve." They have since mostly climbed as opposition grew in Congress to a proposed public health insurance plan that would compete with private insurers. Insurers that have large segments devoted to individual insurance or group coverage for small companies could be hurt by a public option. That would include WellPoint Inc. and UnitedHealth Group Inc. Health insurer stocks jumped last month after Obama said the public option represented "just a sliver" of the overall proposal for health care reform. They moved up again earlier this month on a report that Obama will not insist on a public plan. Obama remained open to discussion, but is not insisting on a public plan, saying in his speech that it is only a means to the end of providing more competition, and isn't crucial on its own. "It is only one part of my plan, and should not be used as a handy excuse for the usual Washington ideological battles," he said.

Here are the two scenarios, Obama and the Dems playing some sort of game while putting a lot of traps and misdirection in any bill just to make it seem harmless enough to say they did something.

The other is the Krauthammer scenario where Obama gets a bill that says healthcare on it, signs it as a great victory but in reality does little to change the facts on the ground. I am going for the first scenario.

Surprise, Russia says no to Iran Sanctions.

Anytime now the smart power of Obama will kick in and the Russians will see the error of their ways in opposing the chosen one.

MOSCOW -- Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov made it clear Thursday that Moscow wouldn't back any new rounds of tough sanctions against Iran in the United Nations Security Council, and he dismissed a U.S. timetable for securing progress from Iran on ending its nuclear-fuel program. Mr. Lavrov's comments in Moscow led U.S. officials to acknowledge that new U.N. sanctions against Iran were now unlikely in the near term -- endangering a major element of President Barack Obama's high-profile strategy for diplomacy in the Middle East. "We're pretty disappointed with the Russian position so far," a senior U.S. official said. The development also appeared a blow to hopes that the Obama administration's "reset" of relations with Russia would lead to Moscow supporting a top U.S. foreign-policy priority. Just a day after U.S. officials warned that Iran may already have enough enriched uranium to make a bomb if processed further, Mr. Lavrov said negotiations should begin without any imposed timetable. He also said that even if Iran tried to make weapons-grade fuel it would be detected and there would be time to respond. "I do not think those sanctions will be approved by the United Nations Security Council," Mr. Lavrov said.

Obama thinks he can charm the Russians and doesn't realize the Russians are looking at him as a wimp.

Sen.Baucus bill does exempt unions from benefit taxes.

A followup on Baucus bill that taxes "Cadillac" health benefits some people can afford to help pay welfare to those who can't afford it. Unions complained that this taxing is a non-starter because it would hit their union benefits. No problem, just exempt them.

Obamacare is not only a trojan horse for government running the health industry but a way to force unions into places where they can create havoc.

The House bill has a $10 billion provision to bail out insolvent union health-care plans. It also creates a lucrative professional-development grant program for health-care workers that effectively blackballs nonunion medical facilities from participation. The training funds in this program must be administered jointly with a labor organization—a scenario not unlike the U.S. Department of Labor's grants for construction apprenticeship programs, which have turned into a cash cow for construction industry union officials on the order of hundreds of millions of dollars each year. There's more. Senate Finance Committee Chairman Max Baucus has suggested that the federal government could pay for health-care reform by taxing American workers' existing health-care benefits—but he would exempt union-negotiated health-care plans. Under Mr. Baucus's scheme, the government could impose costs of up to $20,000 per employee on nonunion businesses already struggling to afford health care plans. Mr. Baucus's proposal would give union officials another tool to pressure employers into turning over their employees to Big Labor. Rather than provide the lavish benefits required by Obamacare, employers could allow a union to come in and negotiate less costly benefits than would otherwise be required. Such plans could be continuously exempted. Americans are unlikely to support granting unions more power than they already have in the health-care field. History shows union bosses could abuse their power to shut down medical facilities with sick-outs and strikes; force doctors, nurses and in-home care providers to abandon their patients; dictate terms and conditions of employment; and impose a failed, Detroit-style management model on the entire health-care field. ObamaCare is a Trojan Horse for more forced unionization.

Treasuries Rally good, everything else bad?

Instapundit linked to this but it doesn't sound that great for why it was a successful sale.

Treasuries surged after a $12 billion sale of 30-year bonds drew the strongest demand since November 2007, the last of three auctions this week that each attracted more investors than forecast. Thirty-year bonds rallied the most in almost six months as the debt drew a yield of 4.238 percent, the lowest level since March and below the 4.289 percent forecast in a Bloomberg News survey. Yesterday’s $20 billion 10-year sale also drew a lower- than-forecast yield. Demand at the $38 billion three-year offering on Sept. 8 was the strongest since November. “From a government standpoint, it’s phenomenal because they are borrowing at an inexpensive rate,” said William Larkin, a fixed-income portfolio manager in Salem, Massachusetts at Cabot Money Management, which manages $500 million. “There’s some healthy rising skepticism about the sustainability of the recovery. The weak employment data is creating an allure to longer-dated securities.” ‘Terrific Auction’ “This was a terrific auction for the Treasury,” wrote Dan Greenhaus, chief economic strategist at Miller Tabak & Co. in New York, in a note to clients. “It’s a combination of a variety of factors. These include a lack of faith in economic recovery and the fact that the Treasury market is one of the few markets large enough and liquid enough to support the volume of liquidity dumped into the global economy.” ....Other parts of the credit markets are benefiting from lower Treasury rates. Yields on Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac mortgage securities declined to the lowest in more than three months, signaling that interest rates on new-home loans will retreat further and bolster the U.S. housing market. The Fed may keep interest rates low for “many years” to help U.S. consumers and companies as they pare back debt, according to economists at Goldman Sachs Group Inc., one of the 18 primary dealers required to bid at Treasury auctions.

If the recovery crashes, I doubt low interest will boost the housing market that much.

Joe Wilson helped to close illegal loophole in Senate health bill.

This is not an argument Obama wants to have last for more than a few days as more attention being paid to the various health bills won't be welcomed. But unless there is a verification method put in place, any language about illegals not getting taxpayer money is useless.

GE shuts down work in America, sends to China.

Unintended consequences?

Next time you hear politicians promising the restrictive environmental laws they're passing will put Americans back to work in green jobs, ask the workers who make light bulbs how it's working out for them. General Electric is shuttering light bulb factories in Virginia, Kentucky and Ohio, putting 400 workers off the job. Why? Because the factories make the old-style incandescent bulbs, which are being outlawed by congressional decree. The old bulbs will be replaced by the environmentally correct compact fluorescents bulbs. But they won't be made in GE's American factories. The costly green bulbs are being made in China, where cheaper labor and less restrictive environmental regulations make them less expensive to produce.

Spain Raises Taxes after their economy crashed.

As Spain tries to recover from their housing bubble crash, Zappo comes up with the smart idea of raising taxes while claiming to also cut spending. Never let it be said that Zappo doesn't have a keen economic mind.

Spain's prime minister announced tax increases and spending cuts to begin to reverse a ballooning budget deficit, as countries around Europe are grappling with such deficits in the aftermath of the financial crisis. Ireland several months ago moved to raise taxes and cut spending, and the U.K. is weighing similar moves. In Spain, José Luis Rodríguez Zapatero said in a speech to Parliament that the tax burden would rise by as much as 1.5% of gross domestic product -- around €15 billion ($21.75 billion) -- under a series of fiscal changes. At the same time, he vowed an "exhaustive purge" of all nonessential spending by the central government. In the face of soaring unemployment -- which at 18.5% is now twice the rate in the rest of the European Union -- Spain's debt-laden households have slashed spending, hobbling Spain's only other major growth engine. Economists believe Spain is facing years of economic stagnation, as it struggles to find new sources of growth and regain its international competitiveness. On Wednesday, Mr. Zapatero, altering his usual upbeat tone, acknowledged that Spain would face a lengthy period of high unemployment and economic difficulty even after it pulls out of recession. "The 2010 budget will be the most austere in recent years," he said, promising to cut government spending by 4.5%, or €8.6 billion. Mr. Zapatero ruled out raising income taxes, but he didn't specify what taxes will be raised. Madrid is preparing to introduce a bill aimed at shifting Spain's growth model from construction to what it calls a "sustainable economy." While details remain vague, Mr. Zapatero has hinted it will include fresh government incentives for the renewable-energy sector. However, the prime minister has repeatedly dismissed calls from business leaders to make Spain's rigid labor market more flexible. Without such changes, which are opposed by Spain's labor unions, many economists say the unemployment rate will remain high for years to come. Over the past decade, Spain's labor costs have risen at nearly twice the rate of the other nations that use the euro as their currency, making Spain increasingly uncompetitive internationally. Because it has no currency of its own to devalue, economists say it can regain its competitiveness only through years of painful wage and price disinflation.

Another example of unions and socialist leaders too stupid to understand that high labor costs have an effect on your economy. What he is doing is trying to spend his way out of a recession and refusing to take the necessary steps to do it correctly. Unions running the show, Spain slowly go back to being the back of the EU pack

Barack Obama is still loved in Europe

That is so cute.

Over 44,000 enrolled in D.C. public schools. Bad news is...

Over 44,000 had to enroll in D.C. public schools.

Thomas Friedman loves Chinese dictatorship.

Since in his eyes the Chinese are moving faster along with enviro projects he champions, communist autocracy not so bad.

Watching both the health care and climate/energy debates in Congress, it is hard not to draw the following conclusion: There is only one thing worse than one-party autocracy, and that is one-party democracy, which is what we have in America today. One-party autocracy certainly has its drawbacks. But when it is led by a reasonably enlightened group of people, as China is today, it can also have great advantages. That one party can just impose the politically difficult but critically important policies needed to move a society forward in the 21st century. It is not an accident that China is committed to overtaking us in electric cars, solar power, energy efficiency, batteries, nuclear power and wind power. China’s leaders understand that in a world of exploding populations and rising emerging-market middle classes, demand for clean power and energy efficiency is going to soar. Beijing wants to make sure that it owns that industry and is ordering the policies to do that, including boosting gasoline prices, from the top down. Our one-party democracy is worse. The fact is, on both the energy/climate legislation and health care legislation, only the Democrats are really playing. With a few notable exceptions, the Republican Party is standing, arms folded and saying “no.” Many of them just want President Obama to fail. Such a waste. Mr. Obama is not a socialist; he’s a centrist. But if he’s forced to depend entirely on his own party to pass legislation, he will be whipsawed by its different factions.

The GOP is trying to stop a stupid cap/trade, a ruinous health care reform drive by Obama that will send America deeper into the red like never before saddling future generations with debt they cannot pay. So sorry for getting in the way of your Utopia Green Dream but you can take you love for Chinese communists and their ways where the sun don't shine.

The worse part is the mindless leftist commentators in the article praising the Chinese which proves another point I have for the left is their love for the "strong man" as long as their plans they agree with it.

$3.4 Billion for new DHS headquarters. 3.4 BILLION DOLLARS!

But they can't find the flipping money to secure the borders.

Washington notables broke ground on the future home of the Department of Homeland Security on Wednesday, symbolically starting construction on the biggest federal building project in the Washington area since the Pentagon 68 years ago. The project will bring together more than 15,000 employees now scattered in 35 offices in the region, placing them on a 176-acre campus strewn with historic buildings in a long-neglected corner of Washington, five miles from the Capitol building. Department leaders hope the $3.4 billion consolidation will help the department fulfill its core mission -- protecting the homeland -- in ways big and small. "It will help us hold meetings," Secretary Janet Napolitano said. "It will help us build that culture of 'One DHS.'"

Obama: Pass health care reform or more Americans will die

Via Realclearpolitics:

AFP: President Barack Obama Wednesday demanded Congress act now on health reform, warning more Americans would die if Washington again does nothing to expand care and cut the costs of insurance. PRESIDENT OBAMA: Everyone in this room knows what will happen if we do nothing. Our deficit will grow. More families will go bankrupt. More businesses will close. More Americans will lose their coverage when they are sick and need it most. And more will die as a result. We know these things to be true.

If he can't reason with people why his plans are so great and you the dumb average American won't follow him, then he is going to scare and fearmonger like a mother till you say yes.

Obama won't secure another mile of the US/Mexican border in 2010.

Plus he is actually moving border agents away from the border. Smart power.

The U.S. Department of Homeland Security is planning to move several hundred Border Patrol agents away from the U.S.-Mexico border and will not secure a single additional mile of the U.S. border in fiscal 2010, according to the department’s annual performance report. The document—“Department of Homeland Security Annual Performance Report: Fiscal Years 2008-2010”—was originally published by the Bush administration on Jan. 15 and was updated by the Obama administration on May 7. ....“The program plans to move several hundred Agents from the Southwest Border to the Northern Border to meet the FY 2010 staffing requirements, with only a small increase in new agents for the Southwest Border in the same year,” says the footnote. “In addition, limited funding is being dedicated toward purchasing legacy technologies on the Southwest Border until the upgraded technology associated with SBInet is fully deployed. Given these factors, the program expects the miles of effective control to remain constant in FY 2010.” “Effective control” is defined in the department’s strategic plan for 2008-2013 as follows: “Border miles under control as defined in the National Strategic Plan is when the appropriate mix of personnel, equipment, technology and tactical infrastructure has been deployed to reasonably ensure that when an attempted illegal entry is detected, the Border Patrol has the ability to identify, classify and respond to bring the attempted illegal entry to a satisfactory law enforcement resolution.”

Obama did lie about illegal immigrants not getting health care

South Carolina Republican Rep. Joe Wilson was right to be pissed at Obama as it has been pointed out before numerous times.

(CNN) -- Immigrants living illegally in the United States could be mandated to have health insurance under the proposed health care reform bill but would be ineligible to receive subsidies to afford such coverage, a report from the Congressional Research Service says. The report, prepared by the nonpartisan policy research arm of Congress, provides a close reading of the treatment of noncitizens in the House bill on health care reform, HR 3200. While the report found that federal subsidies to obtain health coverage would be restricted to U.S. citizens and legal residents, it also noted that the bill does not specify a citizenship verification system, something that critics say creates a loophole for undocumented immigrants to receive subsidies anyway.

Remember that illegals can't be denied health care by federal law, add on a no citizenship verification system, a Dem president and congress who have urged amnesty for illegals, you get a system to be exploited by illegal immigrants paid for by taxpayers who would already be paying for those considered too poor to pay for themselves.

Update Via Hot Air.

The culprit was South Carolina rep Joe Wilson, who felt moved to act when The One told what was, in fact, a lie. Although certainly not his biggest of the night: Where this jackass gets off lecturing Americans on civility after his cretinous cronies spent a month demagoging the hell out of every protester in sight is beyond me. You’re Mr. Clean, aren’t you, champ? And bottom-feeders like Harry Reid are your hatchet men. Nice work if you can get it. I’m told that his magic number of “47 million” uninsured Americans magically dropped to 30 million uninsured in this speech, presumably to omit the illegal immigrants who were inflating the tally.

So keep that in mind that there are 17 million illegal immigrants that Obama wants to give amnesty.

Sabato: Obama made the GOP his devil figure.

Of course he did, he needs to make someone else the evil guy and with congress critters safe in Washington away from the public and townhall, this was his moment to try and redefine the argument.

It's Machiavellian and may well work.Dislike of the other tribe keeps Obama's tribe working together, despite death of robust public option.4 minutes ago from web If Obama can stoke congressional Democrats' hatred of Republicans, Democrats will be less likely to split and hand the GOP a victory. 6 minutes ago from web And that's his goal--to focus Democrats in the House and Senate on their common enemy, Republicans.7 minutes ago from web In a way we haven't seen since the '08 campaign, Obama made the GOP his devil figure. What does that do? It unites Democrats.8 minutes ago from web Obama has recognized that only D members of Congress will produce the health reform he wants (plus maybe Olympia Snowe).9 minutes ago from web That was a tough, partisan speech. All pretense of bipartisanship is gone on both sides.13 minutes ago from web

This was the real Obama, all that nonsense of bipartisanship was alway based on agreeing with him. Now the thin skinned Obama is back after the break because he sees one of his important goals of reimagining America into something less American slipping away.

Time to turn up the heat on Obama, his czars and everyone else who thinks they can steamroll the American public.

Wait.. Only 30 Million without health insurance?

What happened to the 47 million that was touted just a couple of weeks ago?

Broadly speaking, Mr. Obama’s goal is to extend coverage to the nation’s 47 million uninsured while also slowing the growth of health care spending. The president wanted the House and Senate to pass legislation before the August recess, but the House broke on Friday without doing so and the Senate will not complete a bill before recessing after this week.

Today from Obama's speech.

There are now more than thirty million American citizens who cannot get coverage.

Hugh Hefner gets $1,896 in social security.

I don't know why but that struck me as funny, but if there is one old person that deserves social security it is Hugh Hefner for the joy he brought to millions of guys over the decades.

Obama preventive care = less cost = another lie.

I would call this an AP bitchslapping tonight.

OBAMA: Requiring insurance companies to cover preventive care like mammograms and colonoscopies "makes sense, it saves money, and it saves lives." The facts: Studies have shown that much preventive care — particularly tests like the ones Obama mentions — actually costs money instead of saving it. That's because detecting acute diseases like breast cancer in their early stages involves testing many people who would never end up developing the disease. The costs of a large number of tests, even if they're relatively cheap, will outweigh the costs of caring for the minority of people who would have ended up getting sick without the testing. The Congressional Budget Office wrote in August: "The evidence suggests that for most preventive services, expanded utilization leads to higher, not lower, medical spending overall." That doesn't mean preventive care doesn't make sense or save lives. It just doesn't save money.

and also putting pointing out that the Dems are going to require you to get health care or the federal government will fine you. All in all, this vindicates a lot of critics who have been pointing out the flaws since the beginning.

Obama admits keeping your health plan is a lie.

Excerpts from his speech which is just going over the same tired talking points for the most part except he is being a lot more honest. Even the AP is shocked and awed.

The change was subtle, but significant. In his speech to Congress on Wednesday night, President Barack Obama gave a more accurate — and less reassuring — account of the impact of his proposed health care overall than he has done in the past. It went by in a blink. He told Americans, in excerpts released by the White House, that nothing he is proposing will force businesses or consumers to change their existing insurance coverage. That much is true. It's also true that nothing in his plan guarantees that policies people have now will continue to be available in the same form. In earlier accounts, he spoke with unmerited certainty in saying people who are happy with their current insurance can simply keep it. Other parts of his speech repeated some of the oversimplified claims that have marked his salesmanship. A look at some of his assertions Wednesday night: OBAMA: "Nothing in this plan will require you or your employer to change the coverage or the doctor you have. Let me repeat this: Nothing in our plan requires you to change what you have." THE FACTS: That's correct, as far as it goes. But neither can the plan guarantee that people can keep their current coverage. Employers sponsor coverage for most families, and they'd be free to change their health plans in ways that workers may not like, or drop insurance altogether. The Congressional Budget Office analyzed the health care bill written by House Democrats and said that by 2016 some 3 million people who now have employer-based care would lose it because their employers would decide to stop offering it. In the past Obama made repeated statements such as, "If you like your health care plan, you'll be able to keep your health care plan, period." Now he's stopping short of that unconditional guarantee by saying nothing in the plan "requires" any change. He's dropped the "period."

John Holdren hates US exceptionalism

Yet another advisor to Obama shows off his radical side on a different subject hating on America's role in the world.

HOLDREN: There has been a strain of what many people call “US exceptionalism” in the United States, the notion that the United States is so big, so important, so powerful, so technologically advanced that it can and should do what it wants. I think this strain is misguided. Q: Will Americans need to reduce their living standards? Is that politically viable, or will technology [unintelligible] do it? H: I think ultimately that the rate of growth of material consumption is going to have to come down, and there’s going to have to be a degree of redistribution of how much we consume, in terms of energy and material resources, in order to leave room for people who are poor to become more prosperous.

But sad part is he sees the results of America's birth as the definition of American exceptionalism which is wrong. Ed Morrissey explains

First, Holdren doesn’t know what “American exceptionalism” means. He can’t even get the term right. American exceptionalism has nothing to do with our size or our technological prowess, except in tertiary terms. Exceptionalism springs from the unique nature of our nation’s birth, the historical leadership in personal freedom that America has shown (with very notable failures, such as slavery and post-Civil War Jim Crow), and especially the role America inherited in the 20th century as the guarantor of Western security and international shipping. This is no philosophical quibble, either. Part of the reason America consumes more relative to other nations on a per-capita basis is because we produce more for the consumption of others, and out of necessity for our role as global cop. That is a large part of the reason that our defense spending outstrips those of other Western nations, as they do not contribute nearly as much to that role. Seeing as how Holdren can’t figure out what he opposes, it comes as no surprise that he doesn’t see the connection between that role and consumption of resources, either. One can oppose America’s role on the world stage from either the Right or the Left, and challenge the notion of American exceptionalism itself — but it helps to start off by knowing what it is. Holdren should get bounced for his ignorance as well as opposed for his radical, redistributionist views. This interview strongly suggests that Obama’s science czar got picked not for his dedication to science but for his redistributionist views under the cloak of climate change.

This is Obama's worldview which he is feels is natural. Spread the wealth because the world is unfair that some get ahead while others can't so in his mind and his science czar's mind this must be corrected.

Don't think that Obama has these people by accident or did not not their views before they were picked. Obama is a true liberal who sees America as it is now as a mistake that needs to be corrected under his divine guidance. Van Jones and Holdren are nothing more than kindred spirits.

Time for Annie Leibovitz to lose her photos and homes.

I am sick of this story and the fawning fanboys that feel sorry say on the NYTIMES blog here.

She spent more than she earned.
She put up her works and homes to keep spending more than she earned.
Now its time to pay the bills because she is a foolish idiot spender.

I can't feel sorry for someone that stupid.

Taxpayer face huge loss on auto bailout.

This was never about the taxpayer, it was always about Obama paying back the unions.

Taxpayers face losses on a significant portion of the $81 billion in government aid provided to the auto industry, an oversight panel said in a report to be released Wednesday. The Congressional Oversight Panel did not provide an estimate of the projected loss in its latest monthly report on the $700 billion Troubled Asset Relief Program. But it said most of the $23 billion initially provided to General Motors Corp. and Chrysler LLC late last year is unlikely to be repaid. "I think they drove a very hard bargain," said Elizabeth Warren, the panel's chairwoman and a law professor at Harvard University, referring to the Obama administration's Treasury Department. "But it may not be enough."

Fareed Zakaria helped to censor Yale's Muhammad cartoon book.

Fareed is not a true believer in freedom of speech or expression.

Yale University has removed cartoons of the Prophet Muhammad from an upcoming book about how they caused outrage across the Muslim world, drawing criticism from prominent alumni and a national group of university professors. Yale cited fears of violence. Many Muslim nations want to restrict speech to prevent insults to Islam they claim have proliferated since the terrorist attacks in the United States on Sept. 11, 2001. Fareed Zakaria, editor of Newsweek International, a world affairs columnist and CNN host who serves on Yale's governing board, said he told Yale that he believed publishing the images would have provoked violence. "As a journalist and public commentator, I believe deeply in the First Amendment and academic freedom," Zakaria said. "But in this instance Yale Press was confronted with a clear threat of violence and loss of life."

This instance is the religion of Islam and Fareed went along to stop publication of a complete work that examined the outrage which as a journalist should be an insult to him. Yale has proven that academic freedom is okay as long as there is no threat of violence.

UK: Doctors let baby die. Why? born too early.

You would think doctors would at least try to keep people alive but guidelines are guidelines in the UK. Just hope your kid is not born before the right date.

Doctors left a premature baby to die because he was born two days too early, his devastated mother claimed yesterday. Sarah Capewell begged them to save her tiny son, who was born just 21 weeks and five days into her pregnancy - almost four months early. They ignored her pleas and allegedly told her they were following national guidelines that babies born before 22 weeks should not be given medical treatment. ....Guidance limiting care of the most premature babies provoked outrage when it was published three years ago. Experts on medical ethics advised doctors not to resuscitate babies born before 23 weeks in the womb, stating that it was not in the child's 'best interests'. The guidelines said: 'If gestational age is certain and less than 23+0 (i.e at 22 weeks) it would be considered in the best interests of the baby, and standard practice, for resuscitation not to be carried out.' Medical intervention would be given for a child born between 22 and 23 weeks only if the parents requested it and only after discussion about likely outcomes. The rules were endorsed by the British Association of Perinatal Medicine and are followed by NHS hospitals.

Multinationals Fight Cristina Kirchner's 'Big Tax'

Ze beautiful idiot Cristina comes up with yet another great tax scheme to bleed any sort of productive member of the country dry.

Multinational electronics manufacturers have launched a lobbying push to halt a bill in Argentina's Senate that would double the value-added tax on cellphones, televisions and cameras. The increase, which was approved by the lower house of Congress in August, was proposed by leftist President Cristina Kirchner to boost flagging government revenue and stimulate local manufacturing and job growth. The so-called impuestazo, or big tax, would double to 21% the value-added tax on most electronics goods not produced in the Tierra del Fuego special economic zone. Mrs. Kirchner says the tax would mean "fewer dollars that leave the country to pay for imports and more jobs for all Argentines."

How big is domestic production?

High taxes and transport costs already make electronics products more expensive in Argentina than they are in most of the rest of Latin America. Facebook groups have formed to protest the tax increase, and Argentine hackers recently posted a manifesto on several government Web sites assailing the proposal as "retrograde and infantile." Argentina began offering tax incentives to electronics companies establishing operations in Tierra del Fuego in the 1970s to spur development in the isolated southern archipelago. Today, operations there remain modest. Argentine-based manufacturers as a whole account for only about $300 million of Argentina's approximately $4 billion market in telecommunications and computer goods, according to a study by academics from Columbia University and Argentina's San Andres University. "When the Argentine government raises taxes on technology to benefit a few silly assembly factories, it shows that it doesn't understand the modern world or Argentina's role in it," says Julian Gallo, an Argentine technology consultant. Last year, Argentines bought 10 million cellphones, spending about $1 billion, said Enrique Carrier, a Buenos Aires technology analyst. Only about 2% were made in Argentina, while roughly 65% were imported from Brazil and 20% from Mexico, according to the Chamber of Information Technology.

Cristina is a walking breathing economic luddite. If you want more domestic manufacturing then make it easier to build and grow companies within your borders. All this tax will do is hurt jobs and companies in the country, depress sales, technological innovation and make a bad business climate worse overall.

Good Job.

Obama to Endorse Public Plan in Speech

Emphasise on endorse because it doesn't like he is going to push for it.

President Barack Obama, in a high-stakes speech Wednesday to Congress and the nation, will press for a government-run insurance option in a proposed overhaul of the U.S. health-care system that has divided lawmakers and voters for months. White House officials say the president will detail what he wants in the health-care overhaul, as well as say he is open to better ideas on a government plan if lawmakers have them. Democratic plans call for requiring most Americans to carry health insurance. Failure to comply could cost families as much as $3,800 a year, according to a new Senate proposal. The president is likely to say that a government-run insurance plan, known as the "public option," will not provide a level of subsidies that give it an unfair advantage over private insurers, according to aides familiar with the speech preparations.

So the plan here is Obama makes this stirring call to arms in front of congress, the MSM and the Dems come out full of new energy and push something thru congress that has health care reform as its cover letter. I don't see any sort of public option being passed unless Obama and Dems say to hell with the public and go for broke.

Obama demands debt ceiling raised to be over $12 Trillion

Obama seems determined to crush the dollar.

Now Obama is asking Congress to raise the debt ceiling, something lawmakers are almost certain to do despite misgivings about the federal debt. The ceiling already has been hiked three times in the past two years, and the House took action earlier this year to raise the ceiling to $13 trillion. Congress has little choice. Failing to raise the cap could lead the nation to default in mid-October, when the debt is expected to exceed its limit, Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner has said. In August, Geithner asked Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) to increase the debt limit as soon as possible.

Olbermann backs down from Glenn Beck hunting.

I wonder who got to him and told him to sit down/shut up?

Couple of days ago he was ready and able.

Senator Baucus: Get health insurance or pay hefty fine.

Anyone care to tell Sen. Max Baucus of Montana where he can collect his fines?

So if you don't do as the government says, you pay a fine. You do sign up, you still pay taxes to give welfare credits to other families.

The latest proposal: a bipartisan compromise that Sen. Max Baucus, D-Mont., a moderate who heads the influential Finance Committee, was trying to broker. Baucus, meeting with a small group of fellow senators, promoted a plan that would guarantee coverage for nearly all Americans at a cost to taxpayers of under $900 billion over 10 years. Some experts consider that a relative bargain because the country now spends about $2.5 trillion a year on health care. But it would require hefty fees on insurers, drug companies and others in the health care industry to help pay for it. Just as auto coverage is now mandatory in most states, Baucus would a require that all Americans get health insurance once the system is overhauled. Penalties for failing to get insurance would start at $750 a year for individuals and $1,500 for families. Households making more than three times the federal poverty level - about $66,000 for a family of four - would face the maximum fines. For families, it would be $3,800, and for individuals, $950. Baucus would offer tax credits to help pay premiums for households making up to three times the poverty level, and for small employers paying about average middle-class wages. People working for companies that offer coverage could avoid the fines by signing up. The fines pose a dilemma for Obama. As a candidate, the president campaigned hard against making health insurance a requirement, and fining people for not getting it. "Punishing families who can't afford health care to begin with just doesn't make sense," he said during his party's primaries. At the time, he proposed mandatory insurance only for children.

The now tired Obama getting flack because he is black part 22929

Local liberal columnist Michael Mayo projects the typical liberal feelings on why Obama speech is getting heartache.

Here's the thing. Even if you don't agree with Obama's policies or actions, we should at least trust him to deliver a pep talk that thousands of other Career Day speakers -- myself included -- give every year, no opt-out forms or parental permission slips necessary. Every other president -- from George Washington to George W. Bush -- would have deserved the same courtesy. This backlash makes me wonder if something else is at play here. Something darker, if you will.

Obama appoints another Czar for manufacturing and automotive policy.

Ron Bloom is a former union official so you know the manufacturing industry is in good hands with this guy.

As the GOP trains its fire on the plethora of czars in the Obama Administration, the president announced the appointment of another one Monday who will advise him on manufacturing and automotive policy. Ron Bloom , a former steelworkers union official, will serve as the administration's senior counselor for manufacturing policy, and he will continue to his work on the automotive task force, where he replaced Steve Rattner after his resignation as the nation’s "car czar" in July.

Olbermann asks Daily Kos to investigate Glenn Beck.

Really? This is what passes for journalism at MSNBC. Beck points out radicals in the White House while Olbermann points out Beck as some sort of I got your back Obama gimmick.

It appears Keith Olbermann is arming himself for an all out cable war with Glenn Beck. And he's asking his Daily Kos readers for help. Find everything you can about Glenn Beck, Stu Burguiere, and Roger Ailes. Tuesday we will expand this to the television audience and have a dedicated email address to accept leads, tips, contacts, on Beck, his radio producer Burguiere, and the chief of his tv enablers, Ailes.

Then I guess that Jossip bit about Olbermann stalking Rebecca Lobo may come into play yet again.

Obama school speech: Social Justice and all about Obama

Captain Ed puts up the scoresheet.

Update II: I’ve run the speech through a word frequency counter and found the following results: 56 iterations of “I” 19 iterations of “school” 10 iterations of “education” 8 iterations of “responsibility” 7 iterations of “country” 5 iterations each of “parents”, “teachers” 3 iterations of “nation” In other words, Barack Obama referenced himself more than school, education, responsibility, country/nation, parents, and teachers combined. And to think that people accused Obama of self-promotion!

The Social Justice comes at this part.

You’ll need the insights and critical thinking skills you gain in history and social studies to fight poverty and homelessness, crime and discrimination, and make our nation more fair and more free.

I would have liked to see the original speech.

Sen. Max Baucus rations health care by taxing the hell out of you.

Now by "Cadillac" health care plans does he mean the ones by unions who were opposed to having health care benefits taxed or that was excluded somehow?

Although the proposal from Sen. Max Baucus excludes a "public option," it would allow for the creation of nonprofit health care cooperatives, an idea that some moderate Democrats and Republicans have expressed possible interest in supporting. ..Baucus' bill would cost less than $900 billion over 10 years, according to the source. The price tag is at least $100 billion less than any other health care reform bill currently under consideration by Congress, the source said. As with other reform proposals, the bill would bar insurance companies from dropping a policyholder in the event of illness, as long as that person has paid his or her premium in full. It adds new protections for people with pre-existing conditions and establishes tax credits to help low- and middle-income families purchase insurance coverage, the source noted. It creates health insurance exchanges to make it easier for small groups and individuals to buy insurance. The bill would be paid for, in part, by a new tax on health insurance companies that provide high-end "Cadillac" insurance plans, the source added. Supporters of such a tax, initially proposed by Massachusetts Sen. John Kerry and other Democrats several weeks ago, say will it help curb the cost of health care by discouraging employers from offering such plans. They also argue that consumers, in turn, will be discouraged from overusing the health care system. Critics claim that the new tax will cause insurance companies to raise rates on all of their customers, even those without more expensive plans

It will also make companies drop those types of plans and forcing people to the health care cooperatives. So in other words the Dems will force people to be put on health care plans they didn't want in the first place, so they can't keep their plan and rations health care which is something Obama said would never happen.

Good job Dems.

Roland Martin lashes out at Glenn Beck and conservative nutbags.

I think the Van Jones resignation pushed him over the edge.

Term of Czar being objected by liberals on twitter.

Jake Tapper on his twitter seems to be in a mini feud over the term Czar.

@drgrist ...fearing use of word plays in to Right's hands -about 1 hour ago from mobile web @drgrist actually, only ppl objecting to use of word tonight on twitter are liberals -about 1 hour ago from mobile web @JamilSmith not at all...was observing what they were saying, not stating a new policyabout 2 hours ago from web @JamilSmith am just referring to ppl on twitter asking reporters not to use the term...about 2 hours ago from web @TeresaKopec youre the one who asked me about it, just responding. is it a hill to die on? i'm not fighting. i'm reporting.about 2 hours ago from web @alexrolfe it's liberals who are taking issue with media folk using the word "czar" - they fear it feeds into conservative boogiemenabout 2 hours ago from web @teresakopec ...as also happened with the word "liberal"! (i.e. progressive)about 2 hours ago from web @teresakopec it wasnt even a q until recently is my point - but seems tonight like liberals are giving in to conservatives on the word...about 2 hours ago from web i get the accountability issue, @Allahpundit. i'm just saying "czar" wasnt considered a pejorative until like 3 weeks agoabout 2 hours ago from web @jeffwartman dont be a moron. im referring to modern usage in American domestic politics. crikey.about 2 hours ago from web ...And i hear some liberals tonight throwing up semantic white flag. (and yes, i get that POTUS has many czars.)about 2 hours ago from web "Czar" once conveyed a WH senior adviser with one particular focus. Conservatives attempting to redefine word as pejorative...about 2 hours ago from web @stuart_oneill @TeresaKopec So you think conservatives have in the last 20 days so re-defined the word "czar" you raise semantic white flagabout 2 hours ago from web

More from Eugene Volokh

Czars: Others have pointed out that having offices called "czars" is an odd naming choice for a democracy. But czars weren't just authoritarians. They were ultimately authoritarians who left their country far poorer than their more democratic counterparts, lost a world war, and of course paved the way for an even worse system of government. The label "czar" thus doesn't historically connect to a model of strongman effectiveness -- it connects to a model of strongman failure.

Keith Ellison says public option is path to single payer.

That is what I like about today's liberals, they are too egoistical to figure out how for public/political appearances to keep their mouth shut.

Van Jones was approved by Michelle Obama and VP Biden.

Interesting little tidbit by Politico.

It confirmed that the real opposition party to Obama right now is the conservative grassroots that draws its energy from Fox News, talk radio and the Drudge Report, and often leaves Republican elected officials scrambling to catch up. And it was a fresh reminder that the White House’s vetting process didn’t fall down only on high-profile nominees like Tom Daschle. It barely touched the lower reaches of the administration – a White House official conceded Sunday that Jones’ past statements weren’t as thoroughly scrubbed due to his relatively low rank. Jones’ selection also was propelled by powerful patrons, who included the first lady and the vice president.

The best part is yet to come because now Van Jones is free from the White House you know he is going to make a spectacle of himself to show up conservative critics. That will lead even more people to point to Obama as having poor judgement.

Obama and Hillary knew about Lockerbie bomber release.

No.10 is ticked off that Obama and company acted surprise about the release which never made sense they wouldn't know what was going on along the way.

Downing Street has hit back at Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton for attacking the decision to release the Lockerbie bomber. President Obama and the US Secretary of State fuelled a fierce American backlash against Britain, claiming Abdelbaset Al Megrahi should have been forced to serve out his jail sentence in Scotland – but a senior Whitehall aide said their reaction was ‘disingenuous’. British officials claim Mr Obama and Mrs Clinton were kept informed at all stages of discussions concerning Megrahi’s return. The officials say the Americans spoke out because they were taken aback by the row over Megrahi’s release, not because they did not know it was about to happen. ‘The US was kept fully in touch about everything that was going on with regard to Britain’s discussions with Libya in recent years and about Megrahi,’ said the Whitehall aide. ‘We would never do anything about Lockerbie without discussing it with the US. It is disingenuous of them to act as though Megrahi’s return was out of the blue.

Disingenuous? Yes
A shocking piece of behavior? No. Remember the AIG bonuses which we found out Obama and company knew months before they were paid out then acted shocked when they did get paid to boost public anger.

Different situation, same behavior.

Obama did not want Van Jones to resign.

Here is a confusing set of statements by Axelrod.

President Barack Obama did not personally seek the removal of Van Jones as the administration’s green jobs czar, White House senior adviser David Axelrod said Sunday on NBC’s “Meet the Press.” “Absolutely not. This was Van Jones’ own decision,” Axelrod said. “He said in his statement that he didn’t want his comments to become a distraction from the issue that is so important to the future of our economy and communities around the country, and I commend him for making that decision.” Asked if the president was offended by Jones’s statements, Axelrod said he hasn’t spoken with Obama. Asked if he was offended, Axelrod said: “I haven’t read all of his comments either.”

Gateway Pundit who owned the story has the roundup.