Those angry about health-care generally concerned about the country’s direction

The health-care debate has generated intense levels of frustration among the bill’s opponents, and those who say they are outright angry almost universally believe that the country is going in the wrong direction — some say toward an America they no longer recognize. Of the 26 percent of people who described themselves as “angry” about the new law in a recent Washington Post poll, virtually all also said the country was on the wrong track. In follow-up interviews, many went beyond health care as they spoke of their deep misgivings about the country’s leadership and the changes taking place around them. “I grew up in the ’50s,” said Hugh Pearson, 63, a retired builder from Bakersfield, Calif. “That was a wonderful time. Nobody was getting rich, nobody was doing everything big. But it was ‘Ozzie and Harriet’ days, ‘Leave It to Beaver’-type stuff. Now we have all this MTV, expose-yourself stuff, and we have no morality left, not even by the legislators.” Pearson and others described a rising concern about illegal immigrants who they say fill hospital emergency rooms and drain public resources. In the follow-up interviews, they expressed a distrust with a government they believe is taking from the many and giving to the few. Nearly nine in 10 of those who are angry about the health-care bill say it represents a major and negative change for the country, with some interviewed after the poll saying they believe the country is moving toward socialism. [When you have elected politicians ignoring the will of the people and ramming unwanted life altering legislation down their throats the folks have a tendency to get a little pissed off...jarg]

KING: 100 percent repeal of Obamacare

President Obama, speaking at a rally in Iowa City on March 25, challenged opponents of Obamacare who have vowed repeal. To repeal advocates, the President said, “Go for it.” Before the first light of dawn on the morning after this Pelosi Congress sent Obamacare to the President’s desk, I started the process to repeal.My decision to take this fight to and through the next election and probably through the presidential election in 2012 was not a knee jerk response to a legislative defeat.It is a commitment to the Constitution, fiscal responsibility, real health care reform and American Liberty. President Obama, Speaker Pelosi and Majority Leader Reid – the troika that controls America today – have long had designs to shove America into the abyss of socialism. Their philosophy, political power and cynical effort to expand the dependency class all lined up to make Obamacare the law of the land. The highest price every generation of Americans will pay is not measured in dollars but in lost liberty. [Like Øbama says Representative King, go for it!...jarg]

New health care law isn’t what this doctor ordered

While President Obama and Democrats in Congress are running a victory lap to celebrate passage of health care reform, many doctors are less pleased, to put it mildly. More than 40 local and national medical societies representing over half a million doctors came out against the health reform legislation. I am one of those doctors who believe the new law is bad for doctors and, therefore, patients. Unfortunately, no one has listened to us. So get ready, America. Here’s how I see health care changing under this new law: Insurance premiums are bound to go up as patients with pre-existing conditions are covered. We’ve seen this time and again, most recently in 2006 after Massachusetts passed universal health insurance. If Congress institutes national caps on premiums, private insurers will need to cut services to maintain even slight profits. If at the same time, Medicare is gutted by half a trillion dollars — as the new law intends — a decrease in services and reimbursements will follow. Private insurers will follow Medicare’s lead. [Straight from a real live doctor, Obamacare is a disaster...jarg]

Constitutional convention

Health care reform was rammed through Congress. What should we do? In 1842, Mellen Chamberlain interviewed 91-year-old Levi Preston, who had fought the British at Concord Bridge on April 19, 1775. Chamberlain asked if he had fought because of the Stamp Act. Preston said no. The tea tax? He never drank it. How about the great treatises of the time? He never read them. He said he spent his time reading the Bible, Watt’s Psalms and Hymns and the Almanac. Why then had Preston fought at Concord? “Young man, what we meant in going for those Red Coats was this: We always had governed ourselves, and we always meant to. They didn’t mean we should.” [Probably close to a quarter of the population in America is made up of hard core leftists hell bent on destroying this country and another 20-25% are garden variety brain dead liberals. I'm not so sure opening up the Constitution in the hopes of getting something better would be a wise idea right now. Let's wait until after the real Civil War to do that...jarg]

ObamaCare’s Economic Dominoes

Now that health care reform in the shabby disguise of ObamaCare has been crammed through Congress, a peek at the president’s precariously stacked dominoes confirms that sooner than you may suppose, there won’t be any private companies selling health insurance in America. Consider: There are approximately 1,300 insurance companies in America today. Beginning January 1, 2011, these companies will be required to pay out 85% of all premiums collected as direct medical care, leaving 15% of corporate income to fund operations and yield any potential profit. The health care industry has a profit margin of about 3%. Most American businesses rely on securing annual profits of 8% to 10%. American oil companies operate on about 4% profit. Alcoholic beverage sales net annual profits of 26%. To maintain even slim profitability or cash reserves, insurers will be compelled to run austerely. Why? [Why? The destruction of private health insurance companies in America has been the plan of the "progressives" all along!...jarg]

A long way from Selma

A victory as transcendent as that of the civil-rights movement in the 1960s is a rare and marvelous thing. It’s understandable that liberals want to wrap health-care reform in garments ripped off from that glorious movement. When black congressmen were allegedly abused by a crowd of tea-party protesters outside of the US Capitol, Democrats harkened back to the outrages of the 1960s. When President Obama made his final push for the bill, he invoked historic civil-rights legislation. When Democrats celebrate the bill, they put it in the context of the civil-rights era’s expansion of freedoms. And when they denounce the bill’s opponents, they compare them to segregationists. Democrats view the fight for health-care reform through the prism of classic black-and-white civil-rights footage, with a background track of freedom songs. In an homage to those days, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi marched arm-in-arm with other congressional leaders into the Capitol the day of the vote. To paraphrase Marx, this is history repeating itself, first as triumph, then as tinny echo. [We get it, more left wing "social justice." Obamacare happens to be another form of reparations...jarg]

Obamacare was mainly aimed at redistributing wealth

It hasn’t attracted much notice, but recently some prominent advocates of Obamacare have spoken more frankly than ever before about why they supported a national health care makeover. It wasn’t just about making insurance more affordable. It wasn’t just about bending the cost curve. It wasn’t just about cutting the federal deficit. It was about redistributing wealth. Health reform is “an income shift,” Democratic Sen. Max Baucus said on March 25. “It is a shift, a leveling, to help lower income, middle income Americans.” In his halting, jumbled style, Baucus explained that in recent years “the maldistribution of income in America has gone up way too much, the wealthy are getting way, way too wealthy, and the middle income class is left behind.” The new health care legislation, Baucus promised, “will have the effect of addressing that maldistribution of income in America.” [Democrats are lying bastards and that is why the vast majority of Americans opposed this crap. The wealthy will always find ways to hang onto their money and the "poor" can always count on the government to take care of them. So who takes in the can once again? That's right the dwindling middle class...jarg]

Home, sweet home: Homeless numbers up in Montgomery area

It was 1982, and with 97 cents in his pocket, Mark Matlock chose to just walk away. His dad, who adopted him at age 11, and whom he considered his backbone, had just died. And Matlock’s life basically ended. So he chose a life on the streets instead. It was too hard for him to move forward otherwise, and it was easier than dealing with an uncooperative extended family. At age 30, he saw no other option. His home for the past several months has been alongside the Alabama River, just off Maxwell Boulevard and a few yards from Interstate 65. A greenish-blue pop-up tent has been his home. Clothes hang nearby. Not everyone is homeless by accident or wants to live in a shelter. “I became homeless by choice,” said Matlock, who earns $30 for every five hours he holds business signs on street corners. He carries with him an identification — a “Homeless ID” card he received in North Carolina. If lost: return card to police. [Interesting article about some of America's happily homeless. Note on the last page a homeless lady is given a ride...to a doctor appointment. Gee, I didn't know Obamacare kicked in that quickly...jarg]

Doctor tells Obama supporters: Go elsewhere for health care

A doctor who considers the national health-care overhaul to be bad medicine for the country posted a sign on his office door telling patients who voted for President Barack Obama to seek care “elsewhere.” “I’m not turning anybody away — that would be unethical,” Dr. Jack Cassell, 56, a Mount Dora urologist and a registered Republican opposed to the health plan, told the Orlando Sentinel on Thursday. “But if they read the sign and turn the other way, so be it.” The sign reads: “If you voted for Obama … seek urologic care elsewhere. Changes to your healthcare begin right now, not in four years.” [Why are so many folks getting their panties in a twist over this? After all it's not like he's an emergency room doctor and it appears to me he is just giving people a preview of what is surely coming down the pike with Obamacare...jarg]

Internet taxation is on the way

The Obama Era has become a protracted, nightmarish Whack-A-Mole game of tax increases and bureaucratic self-enlargement. In sector after sector of American life, another scheme to expand government and wrench more earnings from Americans’ pockets pops up. Its next targeted sector? The Internet. Take a look at the following introduction of a nationwide tax upon Internet goods and services, inserted within page 58 of the Federal Communications Commission’s (FCC) National Broadband Plan released this week: [Talk radio and the internet are two of the most powerful means to get the word out on what Obama and the Democrats are up to. Interestingly both mediums are under attack by these same leftists. Gee, I wonder why?...jarg]

Man deported three times, sentenced to 64 months in prison

A native and citizen of Mexico has been sentenced to 64 months in prison after illegally re-entering the United States. Genaro Oviedo-Rodriguez, 44, was found in the Lee County jail April 14 by Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents who were investigating him following his arrest for third-degree assault, third-degree domestic violence, third-degree criminal mischief and resisting arrest, according to a U.S. Attorney’s office release. Previous to the charges, Oviedo-Rodriguez had been deported to Mexico three times, most recently Oct. 22, 2002, according to the release. [But but but, this man was just looking for a better life for himself and his family in our country and didn't have the time to emigrate to the US according to OUR laws. Note he gets three years of "supervised probation" after he serves his sentence. Will this take place in Mexico?...jarg]

Mexicans Facing Drug War Violence Could Seek Political Asylum in U.S.

The spreading violence of the drug wars along the Mexican border may have one unintended consequence. It could upend efforts to curb illegal immigrants by giving Mexican border-crossers a tool they never had before: a valid claim for political asylum. For decades, immigrants coming from Mexico were denied asylum because Mexico was a stable and relatively peaceful democracy. But that is changing now. Last week, at least 30 Mexicans from the town of El Porvenir walked to the border crossing post at Fort Hancock, Texas, and asked for political asylum. Ordinarily, their claim would be denied as groundless, and they would be turned back. Instead, they were taken to El Paso, where they expect to have their cases heard. [Sure, come on in! We have plenty of jobs for everyone and we'll soon have "free" government supplied healthcare for anyone in the country all paid for by the soon to be former middle class of America. Be sure to vote Democrat now all you new "citizens" ya hear?...jarg]

GOP Lawmaker Calls for Hearing Into Border Security After Rancher’s Murder

A Republican lawmaker is calling for a hearing into border security following the murder of a prominent Arizona rancher by an assailant authorities believe was an illegal immigrant. Rep. Kay Granger of Texas, the top Republican on the House Foreign Operations subcommittee, told Fox News on Thursday that she would like to have a hearing as soon as Congress returns from its Easter recess to help border states whose pleas for federal assistance have so far gone unmet. “I don’t think that we are getting everything we need,” she said, adding that the hearing would provide a platform to discuss what is needed. Granger said the border fence that was under construction in the Southwest was not helpful. [Conservatives see the illegal breach into our country by foreign nationals as a crime against the sovereignty of our country. Democrats look at illegal aliens as the latest voting block that they desperately need to secure in order to hold onto power...jarg]

Boxer Facing Toughest Re-Election Battle of Her Career

Ever since she was elected to the U.S. Senate 18 years ago, Barbara Boxer has faced little competition in winning another term. But this year, it won’t be that easy. Polls indicate that the California Democrat may be about to meet her match – who will be determined in a June primary. According to one poll, Boxer is neck and neck with all three of the Republicans who hope to run against her in the general election: former Rep. Tom Campbell, former Hewlett-Packard CEO Carly Fiorina and state Assemblyman Chuck DeVore. In the latest Rasmussen Reports from last month, Boxer led Campbell 43 to 41 percent and was beating Fiorina and DeVore 46 to 40 percent. “She’s in for tough sledding and she’s got lots of prominent Republicans ready to go after her,” political analyst Juan Williams told Fox News. “So what I sense there is that she knows the economy in California and especially the budget, government budget, state budgets have been a huge issue and there’s a lot of discontent, particularly with her.” [The quiet little question creeping into the minds of many is, just what stunt will Obama and his cronies pull off before November to make the midterm elections disappear saving the Democrats from a certain political bloodbath?...jarg]

More Voters Than Ever See Obama As Partisan Democrat

Less than a week after President Obama signed the health care reform bill into law, more voters than ever say he is governing like a partisan Democrat. The latest Rasmussen Reports national telephone survey shows that 56% of likely voters believe the president is governing like a partisan Democrat, up three points over the past month and the highest level measured since he took office in January 2009. The week after his inauguration, just 39% of voters felt that way. Only 28% now say the president is governing on a bipartisan basis, tying the lowest level measured reached last month. Another 16% are not sure. Not surprisingly, Republicans are twice as likely as Democrats to say the president is governing on a partisan basis. Half (50%) of voters not affiliated with either party say the president is governing like a partisan Democrat, but 31% disagree. However, the president isn’t the only one in Washington, D.C. that voters say is governing in a partisan manner. Following their passage of the health care plan without a single Republican vote, Democrats are viewed as behaving like partisan Democrats by 63% of voters, down three points from last month. Twenty-two percent (22%) say Democrats are acting in a bipartisan manner, up seven points from February. [Ummm, Obama was considered the most liberal member of the US Senate before he became president. What, did anyone really expect the guy to change his stripes?...jarg]

Quote of the day.

Well, I think that when you listen to Rush Limbaugh or Glenn Beck, it’s pretty apparent, and it’s troublesome, but keep in mind that there have been periods in American history where this kind of vitriol comes out. It happens often when you’ve got an economy that is making people more anxious, and people are feeling like there is a lot of change that needs to take place. But that’s not the vast majority of Americans. I think the vast majority of Americans know that we’re trying hard, that I want what’s best for the country.

-Barack Hussein Obama

[Since the vast majority of Americans are against everything he and the Democrats in Congress are doing he obviously was getting us warmed up for April Fool's Day with this blithering nonsense...jarg]

Three liberal groups will drop off a petition at the Republican National Committee’s headquarters Thursday, urging conservative leaders to “take responsibility” for threats and incidents of vandalism against Democrats.

The event is being organized by the Brave New Foundation, MoveOn.org, CREDO and Color of Change.

The groups say about 330,000 people have signed their petition, which urges Republicans to “apologize for your hate-spewing proxies in the Tea Party Patriots. It is not acceptable for you to build your party’s political fortunes by encouraging and defending bigotry and hatred among your supporters.”

read the rest of this article here>>>

Bigotry and hatred huh? Yawn…

We’ve seen these Saul Alinsky rules for radicals tricks many times from these George Soros funded groups. The old blame your opponents for the very actions your group is guilty of then express phony outrage and indignation while utilize the liberal lapdog media to get your message out to the largely ignorant masses.

Alinsky’s Rule #3. “Whenever possible, go outside the expertise of the enemy. Look for ways to increase insecurity, anxiety and uncertainty. (This happens all the time. Watch how many organizations under attack are blind-sided by seemingly irrelevant arguments that they are then forced to address.)

Rule #4. “Make the enemy live up to its own book of rules. You can kill them with this, for they can no more obey their own rules than the Christian church can live up to Christianity.”

Rule #8. “Keep the pressure on, with different tactics and actions, and utilize all events of the period for your purpose.”

Rule #9. “The threat is usually more terrifying than the thing itself.”

Rule #10. “The major premise for tactics is the development of operations that will maintain a constant pressure upon the opposition. It is this unceasing pressure that results in the reactions from the opposition that are essential for the success of the campaign.”

Rule #11. “If you push a negative hard and deep enough, it will break through into its counterside… every positive has its negative.”

And Rule #13. Pick the target, freeze it, personalize it, and polarize it. In conflict tactics there are certain rules that [should be regarded] as universalities. One is that the opposition must be singled out as the target and ‘frozen.’ “…any target can always say, ‘Why do you center on me when there are others to blame as well?’ When your ‘freeze the target,’ you disregard these [rational but distracting] arguments…. Then, as you zero in and freeze your target and carry out your attack, all the ‘others’ come out of the woodwork very soon. They become visible by their support of the target…’

Funny how “concerned” Democrats claim to be over Tea Party protesters and their potential for “violence” yet the only person arrested for threats against a politician since the passage (actually the ramming down our throats by the Democrats exclusively) of Obamacare happens to be a loony leftist who targeted a Republican!

I’ve heard several Democrat politicians claim they were the target of threats after they pushed through Obamacare but I have yet to hear of any arrests based on these claims. I wonder why that is? Could it be possible these Democrat politicians were lying about or exaggerating the extent of these so called threats for political benefit? On the other hand if their claims are true it would be quite believable that some on the far left are responsible for the threatening calls and letters after all a large faction of the left wing fringe wanted a full blown government takeover of this country’s healthcare system and they didn’t quite get it. Perhaps these are the people Democrat politicians are so afraid of confronting during their spring recess?

Rep. Tim Ryan (D-Ohio) canceled a town hall on the new healthcare law Tuesday because of concerns about the security of the event.

The congressman’s office cited safety issues at the facility where the meeting was to take place and threats to his office, according to a report by News21.

“We just thought it best to cancel it for safety concerns. This was not meant to be a place where we’re going to talk partisan politics,” Pat Lowry, a member of Ryan’s staff, told News21. “Don’t get me wrong, Congressman Ryan will debate anyone, anytime.”

The cancelation comes a week after many lawmakers received threats because of their votes on the healthcare measure.

Democrats and Republicans spent the end of last week sparring over which party bore the blame for the attacks.

Some Democrats, such as DNC Chairman Tim Kaine, accused Republicans of stoking the anger of Tea Party protesters, who Democrats say threatened members of their party. Some Republicans, such as House Minority Whip Eric Cantor (Va.), blamed Democrats for using the attacks as a political weapon against them.

A number of demonstrators who both supported and opposed the healthcare overhaul showed up at the event, which was to be held at the Youngstown Community Health Center….

read the rest of this article here>>>

Stoking the “anger” of Tea Party protesters huh Mr. Kaine?

Speaking of mean and nasty protesters, let’s take a stroll down memory lane shall we?

The “progressives” want you to think they are the kind compassionate and tolerant people in this country but I think most of us know better!

Of course we all know how much Democrat politicians encourage and respect the right of Americans to speak their minds on the issues. Well as long as the speech coincides with their left wing agenda that is!

So the Democrats are all nervous about alleged mean and violent protesters huh?

Well we can always count on leftists to fill THAT bill as former Republican Congressman Tom Tancredo discovered when he was invited to speak to speak at the University of North Carolina Chapel Hill about illegal aliens being allowed to pay in state tuition rates while attending college. It doesn’t take long for the indoctrinated radicals to start creating a scene which quickly shuts down the conference. These are the tactics taught by the infamous community organizers and encouraged by the equally left wing academia in our universities. If you disagree with the message start yelling, cussing, throwing things and do whatever it takes to chase the speaker out of the room.

There you have it, yet another example of the ever so tolerant left always looking for diversity in thought and stimulating discussion. The funny thing is how the lamestream media, regardless of how much proof to the contrary, continues to perpetuate the absolute lie that it’s the “right wingers” who are full of hate and a threat to the safety and well being of those they politically oppose. See Rule #11 above…

During the recent interview with Fox News’ Bret Baier Barack Obama claimed the healthcare reform scandal referred to as the “Louisiana Purchase” would help states like Hawaii which “had an earthquake.”

Really he did.

After that interesting “observation” one must wonder just how many truly devastating natural disasters have hit other states in the union since Hawaii last had a serious and damaging earthquake?? Certainly Obama could not have been talking about this one and I can’t imagine he was referring to the one back in 1868, the largest quake to ever hit the islands.

“That also — I’m giving you an example of one that I consider important. It also affects Hawaii, which went through an earthquake. So that’s not just a Louisiana provision. That is a provision that affects every state that is going through a natural catastrophe….”

“I had learned not to care. I blew a few smoke rings, remembering those years. Pot had helped, and booze; maybe a little blow when you could afford it. Not smack, though…. Junkie. Pothead. That’s where I’d been headed: the final, fatal role of the young would-be black man, except the highs hadn’t been about that, me trying to prove what a down brother I was. Not by then, anyway. I got high for just the opposite effect, something that could push questions of who I was out of my mind, something that could flatten out the landscape of my heart, blur the edges of my memory. I had discovered that it didn’t make any difference whether you smoked reefer in the white classmate’s sparkling new van, or in the dorm room of some brother you’d met down at the gym, or on the beach with a couple of Hawaiian kids who had dropped out of school and now spent most of their time looking for an excuse to brawl. … You might just be bored, or alone. Everybody was welcome into the club of disaffection. Dreams From My Father: A Story of Race and Inheritance

Perhaps it’s time to lay off the stuff there Barry now that you finally have a real job…

Get ready for the left wingers to run out into the street screaming their little lungs out after they get a glimpse of their dear leader getting his feet held to the fire for the first time in a media interview since he took office.

Fox News’ Bret Baier does a masterful job finally asking the kind of tough questions of Mr. Obama the fawning drooling lametream media never seems to get around to asking but the American people want answered. Obama did his best to run out the clock and dance around the pointed queries but Baier, remaining respectful but determined, didn’t put up with those shenanigans.

Hat tip to you Mr. Baier, this kind of chat with Mr. Obama has been long overdue.

Next up, that blithering idiot Nancy Pelosi. What say you Bret?

If you have any doubt that the Democratic leadership of the House views passing the current health care reform bill as the beginning, not the end, of the process of creating a national government health care system, just note what Speaker Nancy Pelosi told a group of bloggers on Monday. “My biggest fight has been between those who wanted to do something incremental and those who wanted to do something comprehensive,” Pelosi said, according to an account by Washington Post reform advocate Ezra Klein. “We won that fight, and once we kick through this door, there’ll be more legislation to follow.” (emphasis mine…jarg)

But since the current bill is unpopular, and Pelosi at the moment does not have enough Democratic, much less Republican, votes to pass it, the door she will be kicking through is the back door. Pelosi told the bloggers she favors using the “self-executing rule” strategy in which the House would pass the Senate health care bill without going on the record as specifically voting for it. “I like it,” Pelosi said of the scheme, “because people don’t have to vote on the Senate bill.” The strategy of passing the Senate bill while avoiding a direct vote, writes Klein, “is all about plausible deniability for House members who don’t want to vote for the Senate bill.”

In a particularly Alice-in-Wonderland moment, Pelosi argued that the debate over health care reform can begin after the bill is passed…..

read the rest here>>>

Are the Dems really that clueless about health care?

The last time I heard Newt Gingrich predict that Republicans would take over Congress was 16 years ago when he was pushing his “Contract with America.” I said he was crazy then, but he turned out to be right. Now, he’s predicting that Republicans this year will take over Congress again—the House and the Senate — and not just gain some seats, as the common wisdom holds. (SNIP) Here’s one nugget that Gingrich pointed out: Pages 25 and 26 of the House version of the health care bill require that when expenses exceed revenues for the “temporary” National High-Risk Pool Program, the secretary of health and human services by herself will “make such adjustments as are necessary to eliminate such deficit, including reducing benefits, increasing premiums or establishing waiting lists.” That’s worth repeating: The secretary of health and human services will single-handedly set premium rates, reduce benefits or create waiting lists for services for the most endangered patients. “Anybody who says to you this is not a step to bureaucratic control of America hasn’t read the bill or is telling you a lie,” Gingrich said. “The fact is these bills, these 4,500 pages, were among the worst legislation to leave the U.S. House or the U.S. Senate.” (I’d say that the various bailouts would give it a run for its money.) [Read that last part about the secretary of health and "human services" over and over again to get an idea of why so many people are rejecting this behind closed doors Democrat healthcare legislation...jarg]

Obama Renews Health Push

President Barack Obama is upping the ante on health care. In a last-ditch effort to salvage his overhaul of the sector, the president unveiled a $950 billion plan that lays the groundwork for his party to try pushing its legislation through Congress without Republican support. Instead of paring his ambitions, as some in the White House had recommended, the president proposed a new plan based on what the Senate passed in December, adding more spending, more subsidies and a revised mix of taxes. Mr. Obama’s plan, released ahead of a televised health summit with congressional leaders Thursday, didn’t include any additional nods to Republican ideas. [Mr. Obama's healthcare plan, with ZERO GOP input, is so vague the Congressional Budget Office couldn't put a price tag on it. How convenient. The folks at the Wall Street Journal tagged the mess at nearly a trillion dollars over 10 years...jarg]

Tax group says Obama healthcare proposal breaks pledge

President Barack Obama’s health reform proposal released on Monday breaks his pledge to not raise taxes on filers earning less than $250,000, according to Americans for Tax Reform. The overall proposal is expected to cost $950 billion over 10 years. Taxpayers earning less than $250,000 will pay $136 billion of that total, said Ryan Ellis, ATR’s Tax Policy Director. Obama’s health care proposal broadens the Medicare tax to unearned income that will affect dividend payments, capital gains, annuities, royalties and rents. The White House did not respond to inquiries about whether the tax will be applied to retirement accounts. [I wonder how all those starry eyed young adults who so fervently backed their messiah for president are gonna feel when they realize they will be forced to buy medical insurance and have their taxes raised through the roof to pay for those who refuse to provide for themselves? Elections have serious consequences...jarg]

What’s the Plan?

If you’d like to see just how phony the administration’s latest ploy on health care is, go to the White House website and read this. Under the headline “Will the Republicans Post Their Health Plan… and When?” the White House bemoans the lack of a Republican plan while, not surprisingly, touting its own.

The President believes strongly that Thursday’s bipartisan meeting on health insurance reform will be most productive if both sides come to the table with a unified plan to start discussion – and if the public has the opportunity to inspect those proposals up close before the meeting happens.

That’s why yesterday the White House posted online the President’s proposal for bridging the differences between the Senate- and House-passed health insurance reform bills.

Fair enough. Except that a summary and the full text of the Republican proposed legislation has been posted for months right here. [H.R. 3400 has been available for all to read and review on the internet since, I believe, last OCTOBER but Obama, Democrats and the media are completely unaware of it? I find that just a wee bit hard to believe...jarg]

Obamacare Faces Tough Road in the House

President Obama on Monday removed any doubt that he would scale back his health care ambitions in the current political environment, releasing a plan that increases taxes, spending, and regulation even more than the Senate health care bill that has been overwhelmingly rejected by the public. The brazen move, coming just days before a scheduled health care summit, was accompanied by a renewed willingness to use the reconciliation procedure to ram a health care bill through the Senate with just 51 votes. Taken together, some commentators see a growing momentum for finishing the health care legislation that was put on life support after Sen. Scott Brown’s surprise victory in Massachusetts. But regardless of what happens at this week’s superfluous summit, it’s difficult to see how Democrats cobble together enough votes to pass a final health care bill in the House. [Obama's plan is nothing but smoke and mirrors. He knows his proposal won't make it through Congress and that is by design. His plan is intended to make the Senate bill look quite moderate by comparison. These progressives know this is their only shot at ramming this crap down the throats of Americans for decades, maybe forever, so they won't give up until the deed is done. From this article, " If Obama fails on a comprehensive health care overhaul where Bill Clinton and other presidents failed before him, the chance won't come around again anytime soon."This is the last time out," said House Ways and Means Committee Chairman Charles Rangel, D-N.Y. "So this is it. This is it."...jarg]

Daily Presidential Tracking Poll

The Rasmussen Reports daily Presidential Tracking Poll for Monday shows that 23% of the nation’s voters Strongly Approve of the way that Barack Obama is performing his role as President. Forty-two percent (42%) Strongly Disapprove giving Obama a Presidential Approval Index rating of -19. (SNIP) Overall, 45% of voters say they at least somewhat approve of the President’s performance. Fifty-four percent (54%) disapprove. [Every time Obama talks about healthcare reform his numbers immediately begin to tank. Las Vegas mayor Oscar Goodman was right, this guy is a very slow learner...jarg]

Stocks retreat as confidence slumps

Stocks tumbled Tuesday after a key measure of consumer confidence plunged sharply, reflecting investors’ growing pessimism about the strength of the economic recovery. The Dow Jones industrial average (INDU) lost nearly 100 points, or 1%, with around three hours left in the session. The S&P 500 index (SPX) lost 14 points or 1.3%. The Nasdaq composite (COMP) fell 35 points, or 1.6%. Stocks swayed on both sides of uneven in the early going, but turned lower after the release of the Consumer Confidence index. The Conference Board said its index fell to 46 in February from 56.5 in January. Economists surveyed by Briefing.com thought it would fall to 55. [How can this be? I thought all the talking heads including Obama claimed that the recession is over and our economy has turned the corner towards prosperity due to his Wall Street bailouts and over the top government spending?...jarg]

Consumer Confidence Falls Sharply in February

A monthly poll showed consumers’ confidence took a surprisingly sharp fall in February amid rising job worries. The decline ends three straight months of improvement and raises concerns about the economic recovery. The Conference Board said Tuesday its Consumer Confidence Index fell almost 11 points to 46 in February, down from a revised 56.5 in January. Analysts were expecting only a slight decrease to 55. One gauge, measuring consumers’ assessment of current conditions, dropped to 19.4 from 25.2, the lowest level since 1983. The other barometer, which measures their outlook over the next six months and had been rising since October 2009, fell to 63.8 from 77.3. [In case you were wondering why your stuff on ebay isn't selling...jarg]

Employers Took 1, 761 Mass Layoffs in January

Employers made 1, 761 mass layoffs in January, according to data released Tuesday by the Bureau of Labor Statistics. January marks the first month-to-month increase in the number of mass layoffs since August 2009, indicating a grim employment forecast for Americans on the job hunt. Monthly mass layoff numbers are from establishments which have at least 50 initial claims for unemployment insurance filed against them during a 5-week period. [In case you were wondering why nobody has the money to buy the stuff you are selling on ebay, or your spare car or your boat or your house or your...jarg]

Coal-State Democrats Oppose Global-Warming Rules

Eight Democratic senators from industrial states are challenging the Environmental Protection Agency’s authority to regulate pollution blamed for global warming. In a letter written by Sen. Jay Rockefeller of West Virginia, the lawmakers said the agency lacks the power to restrict greenhouse gases from stationary sources such as power plants, factories and mines. The lawmakers said Congress — not the EPA — should address an issue with big implications for thousands of U.S. jobs and businesses. Opposition to EPA regulations by Democrats could pose a serious blow to the Obama administration’s effort to restrict heat-trapping greenhouse gases. While the administration is still pushing for Congress to pass a comprehensive climate bill this year, officials have not ruled out controlling greenhouse gases through regulation. [Looks like we may have several Democrats hoping to hang onto their seats in Congress here...jarg]

Inhofe calls for investigation of researcher Michael Mann

Republican Sen. Jim Inhofe of Oklahoma will ask the Justice Department to investigate Pennsylvania State University climatologist and White House adviser Michael E. Mann for his involvement in Climategate, Inhofe told The Daily Caller Monday night. “They’ve been mocking me for years. Redemption is going to feel good,” Inhofe said in a phone interview. (SNIP) Citing the False Claims Act, which “prohibits certain types of activity generally involving claims for payment of money or receipt of property involving the federal government,” Inhofe, who is the ranking member of the Environmental and Public Works Committee, wants Mann investigated for his use of $500,000 in stimulus funds allotted for climate research. Inhofe suspects that any government funds Mann may have used in conjunction with the IPCC and the Climatic Research Unit would be a violation of the False Claims Act. [Good for Inhofe but if he thinks this administration is gonna lift a finger to look into the man made global warming scam he's in for some serious disappointment since Obama and his cohorts are neck deep in this BS. BTW Inhofe would also like to call global warming huckster Al Gore on the carpet...jarg]

Obama’s Clean Energy Ploy a Sucker’s Game for GOP

Barack Obama has baited a trap for the GOP. The President announced that as a part of his clean energy initiative, he favored building two nuclear reactors at an existing nuclear power facility in Georgia, and would commit $8 billion in loan guarantees to do so. If Senate Republicans, in particular, take the bait, they’ll have been duped into backing the Mr. Obama’s latest scheme to grow the national government into a leviathan — the leviathan that the left and Mr. Obama hanker for. Senate Republican Leader Mitch McConnell is a pretty wily customer. Though the Senator praised Mr. Obama’s call for the construction of the new nuclear reactors — the first in thirty years, if built — he knows that the President is dangling them to draw the GOP into supporting Mr. Obama’s broader agenda to impose carbon taxes and to sink a lot more taxpayer money into renewable — green — energy development and jobs. It isn’t Senator McConnell conservatives should fret over. It’s the Senator’s squishier Republican colleagues who are Mr. Obama’s chief target, particularly South Carolina’s Lindsey Graham. [Later in this article, "Senator Graham needs this message spliced into his DNA: Barack Obama, Nancy Pelosi and Harry Reid care less about issues than they do about using issues as portals to ram through bigger government." Graham isn't the only one that needs to figure this out in a hurry, the entire GOP needs to ram this into their "brain"...jarg]

Borderline Dereliction Of Duty

The 2006 Secure Fence Act mandated the “possible” construction of a long wall to protect our frontier. Four years later, no wall, just a new seven-year delay. This is an embarrassment. It was almost a prelude to the Tea Parties now sweeping the nation. Millions of Americans, reacting to brazen demonstrations on U.S. soil by illegal immigrants, mobilized themselves to rouse Congress to do something about millions of illegal immigrants pouring into the U.S. Citizen activists shut down the Capitol Hill switchboard with their calls, formed border watches and marched in the streets. As a result, a shaken Congress scrapped its widely detested McCain-Kennedy comprehensive immigration bill with its amnestylike features in 2005. Instead, it passed Rep. Duncan Hunter’s Secure Fence Act of 2006. [Not all of the illegal aliens streaming across our border are looking for "jobs Americans won't do" as evidenced by the following article...jarg]

Va. man accused of helping smuggle Somalis into U.S.

Authorities are searching for 270 Somalis believed to have entered the U.S. illegally with the help of a Virginia man who admitted contacts with an Islamic terrorist group. An Immigration and Customs Enforcement agent said his agency had yet to locate any of the suspected illegal immigrants. According to an affidavit filed in Alexandria’s federal court, Anthony Joseph Tracy told authorities that he came in contact with the Somali terrorist organization Al-Shabaab, which announced an alliance with al Qaeda earlier this year. ICE Agent Thomas Eyre testified during a hearing that authorities are “concerned” about the 35-year-old’s dealings with the group. In an e-mail, Tracy reportedly wrote, “i helped alot of somalis and most are good but there are some who are bad and i leave them to ALLAH,” the affidavit said. [This guy "allegedly" waltzed these illegals right across our wide open southern border with Mexico. Imagine that...jarg]

Eric Holder stonewalls Congress on terror lawyers

A number of lawyers who work on terrorist issues at the Justice Department represented terrorist detainees before joining the Obama administration. At a hearing three months ago, Sen. Charles Grassley raised the possibility of a conflict with Attorney General Eric Holder. Grassley, a senior Republican on the Senate Judiciary Committee, posed three simple questions: Who are they, who did they represent, and what are their duties at the Justice Department today? At the time, Grassley knew from press reports that two high-ranking department officials now working on detainee issues had previously worked for detainees: Principal Deputy Solicitor General Neal Katyal once represented Osama bin Laden’s driver, and Jennifer Daskal, an official in the National Security Division, worked on behalf of detainees at the liberal organization Human Rights Watch. [We used to think Janet Reno was the worse AG this country could possibly have. Holder has got to GO!...jarg]

Ft. Hood suspect was Army dilemma

Army superiors were warned about the radicalization of Major Nidal Malik Hasan years before he allegedly massacred 13 soldiers at Fort Hood, Texas, but did not act in part because they valued the rare diversity of having a Muslim psychiatrist, military investigators wrote in previously undisclosed reports. An obvious “problem child’’ spouting extremist views, Hasan made numerous statements that were not protected by the First Amendment and were grounds for discharge by violating his military oath, investigators found. Examples of Hasan’s radical behavior have previously been disclosed in press accounts based on interviews with unnamed Army officials, including his defense of suicide bombings and assertions that Islamic law took priority over his allegiance to the United States. [Why the media and Obama administration silence concerning what is going on with this murdering muslim?...jarg]

ACORN ‘dissolved as a national structure’

The embattled liberal group ACORN is in the process of dissolving its national structure, with state and local-chapters splitting off from the underfunded, controversial national group, an official close to the group confirmed. “ACORN has dissolved as a national structure of state organizations,” said a senior official close to the group, who declined to be identified by name because of the fierce conservative attacks on the group that began when a conservative filmmaker caught some staffers of its tax advisory arms on tape appearing to offer advice on incorporating a prostitution business. The videos proved a rallying point for conservatives who had long accused the group of fomenting voting fraud. Though the videos did not produce criminal charges, they appear to have been fatal to the national organization. [Don't be fooled, these crooks are merely going underground until the heat let's up...jarg]

Top GOPer releases video of Obama praising ACORN

The ranking member of the House Government Reform and Oversight Committee released video today showing then-candidate Obama praising the work of ACORN. Rep. Darrell Issa (R-Calif.) unveiled the video during an appearance at the Conservative Political Action Committee (CPAC) today. Issa’s staff uncovered the footage during their ongoing probe into ACORN, who conservatives long made a boogeyman. [ACORN has long been involved in voter registration fraud which always benefits Democrats while collecting millions of taxpayer dollars. Some "boogeyman"...jarg]

Reid: ‘Men, when they’re out of work, tend to become abusive’

Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) suggested Monday that domestic violence by men has increased due to U.S. joblessness. Reid, speaking in the midst of a Senate debate over whether to pass a $15 billion package meant to spur job creation, appeared to argue that joblessness would lead to more domestic violence. “I met with some people while I was home dealing with domestic abuse. It has gotten out of hand,” Reid said on the Senate floor. “Why? Men don’t have jobs.” [Reid the psychologist. I can't help but wonder if Dingy Harry will start slappin' the crap out of his wife when he is fired in November?...ed]

Right on the heels of the murderous rampage on November 5, 2009 at Fort Hood Texas by the muslim Major Nidal Malik Hasan, Fox NEWS reported today that five muslims were apparently detained in December at Fort Jackson South Carolina on suspicion of attempting to poison the bases’ food supply. It is unknown at this time if these men are still in custody …but hey folks let’s not jump to any conclusions ya know.

(Remember when Obama quickly “jumped to conclusions” and said Cambridge police “acted stupidly” when they arrested his buddy Professor Henry “The Mouf” Gates last July even though he had absolutely no idea as to what actually took place during the altercation?)

The U.S. Army is investigating allegations that soldiers were attempting to poison the food supply at Fort Jackson in South Carolina.

The ongoing probe began two months ago, Chris Grey, a spokesman for the Army’s Criminal Investigation Division, told Fox News.

The Army is taking the allegations “extremely seriously,” Grey said, but so far, “there is no credible information to support the allegations.”….read the rest here>>>

More on this situation….

Pilot Crashes Into Texas Building in Apparent Anti-IRS Suicide

A pilot furious with the Internal Revenue Service crashed his small plane into an Austin, Texas, office building where nearly 200 federal tax employees work on Thursday, ignited a raging fire that sent massive plumes of thick, black smoke rising from the seven-story structure. Austin Police Chief Art Acevedo said the incident was a single act by a sole individual, who appeared to be the targeting federal building. He refused to classify it as terrorism. “I call it a cowardly, criminal act and there was no excuse for it,” Acevedo said at a news conference. The FBI identified the pliot as Joseph Stack, a 53-year-old software engineer. Stack was confirmed dead, but his body has not yet been revocered. [Seems this guy was pretty upset with the IRS. Read his "suicide note" here...jarg]

Las Vegas Mayor Goodman rejects Obama invitation

Mayor Oscar Goodman has refused an invitation to meet with President Obama when he arrives in town on Thursday. Mayor Goodman called President Obama a slow learner after he told Americans not to blow money on a weekend in Las Vegas if they were saving to put their kids through college. “I’ve got other things to do quite frankly for my constituents here in Las Vegas who rely on me to do the right thing as a mayor,” explained Mayor Goodman. [Judging by the poll in this article I would say the good mayor has wide support for blowing Barry off...jarg]

Only 21% Say U.S. Government Has Consent of the Governed

The founding document of the United States, the Declaration of Independence, states that governments derive “their just powers from the consent of the governed.” Today, however, just 21% of voters nationwide believe that the federal government enjoys the consent of the governed. A new Rasmussen Reports national telephone survey finds that 61% disagree and say the government does not have the necessary consent. Eighteen percent (18%) of voters are not sure. However, 63% of the Political Class think the government has the consent of the governed, but only six percent (6%) of those with Mainstream views agree. Seventy-one percent (71%) of all voters now view the federal government as a special interest group, and 70% believe that the government and big business typically work together in ways that hurt consumers and investors. [The Declaration of Independence also says, "That whenever any Form of Government becomes destructive of these ends, it is the Right of the People to alter or to abolish it, and to institute new Government," and "But when a long train of abuses and usurpations, pursuing invariably the same Object evinces a design to reduce them under absolute Despotism, it is their right, it is their duty, to throw off such Government, and to provide new Guards for their future security....jarg]

Sen. DeMint at CPAC: ‘America Is Teetering Towards Tyranny’

Sen. Jim DeMint (R-S.C.) told a standing-room-only crowd at the Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC) on Thursday that Democrats in Congress and the White House are the inspiration for a revolution that he and fellow conservatives hope is sweeping the nation ahead of the 2010 mid-term elections. “Three years of a Democrat majority and just one year of President Obama have awakened Americans and led millions to become more passionate advocates for freedom,” DeMint said. “This has created a wave of new Republicans who are embracing the energy and passion of the American people.” He also said that the direction the Democrats are trying to steer the country is being rejected by Americans. [DeMint just telling it like it is...jarg]

White House begins groundwork to avoid blame for tax increases

President Obama on Thursday indicated that tax increases on people who make less than $250,000 a year will be on the table when a deficit commission makes its recommendations later this year on how to resolve the nation’s fiscal imbalances. “Everything’s on the table. That’s how this thing is going to work,” Obama said Thursday, moments after signing an executive order creating the 18-member commission. But the White House has already begun to lay the groundwork for their argument that such a recommendation by the panel should not be blamed on the president, who vowed during his campaign not to raise taxes on Americans earning less than $250,000. “The president will not sit on the commission and the options they present will not necessarily reflect administration policy,” a White House official told The Daily Caller. [He can try and hide behind this "commission", that he had to sign an executive order to create because Congress rejected the idea, all he wants but the voters aren't stupid. If anyone thinks this "commission" was designed to come up with ways to fleece us then pay down the deficit I have a nice bridge to Kenya I'd like to sell ya...jarg]

No Dysfunction

Joe Biden complains that Washington is “broken” and “dysfunctional.” In fact, Republicans blocking Democrats from further wrecking the economy is the American system at its best. Appearing on the CBS Early Show, the vice president lamented that “Washington, right now, is broken,” adding that “I don’t ever recall a time in my career where to get anything done, you needed a supermajority, 60 out of 100 senators. … I’ve never seen it this dysfunctional.” The man one heartbeat away from the presidency obviously has a conveniently short memory. [What is this idiot talking about? For a YEAR the Democrats have OWNED an unstoppable majority in Congress and they still couldn't anything done yet this bozo is trying to make it sound like the Republicans have jacked everything up. Do liberals EVER take responsibility for their never ending string of failures?...jarg]

Dems’ filibuster days a distant memory

In the wake of Republican Scott Brown’s election to the Senate in January, Democrats and liberal-leaning pundits began to grumble, yet again, about the need to eliminate the filibuster in order to accomplish anything on Obama’s agenda. Claiming Republican obstructionism is at all-time highs and the watered-down healthcare reform bill is of historic importance, many people are calling for an end to the historic tradition of unlimited debate in the upper chamber. Those people are as idiotic as the memory-less goldfish in Little Plastic Castle, for whom the titular castle is “a surprise every time”. It wasn’t that long ago that the obstructionist shoe was on the other foot: Republicans were, rather recently, in control of both chambers of the legislature and the executive branch, and had a strong urge and a supposed public mandate to change the country in their ideological image. What stopped them from eliminating the estate tax, passing a gay marriage amendment and confirming some judicial nominees liberals deemed more likely to make decisions based on ideology than law and legal precedent (among other liberal causes)? The filibuster – and the threat thereof. [When the Democrats are in the minority they LOVE the filibuster process. Every time these children don't get their way they want to change the rules. Bunch of damn babies I swear...jarg]

GOP ‘tsunami’ predicted for exurban, South, Mountain States

Former Rep. Thomas M. Davis III, the architect of previous Republican campaign successes, says outer-suburban voters eager to place a check on President Obama and Democrats are swinging back to the GOP and will power a Republican resurgence in New England, while aiding GOP “tsunamis” in Virginia, Colorado and Iowa. Mr. Davis, the current president of the Republican Main Street Partnership, a group of the party’s more moderate lawmakers, told reporters Wednesday that the GOP has had its best-ever year of recruiting candidates for congressional elections, which has helped put so many seats into play. He said Democrats are having a tough time reaching a balance of keeping regular voters happy while also appeasing the liberal voters who surged to the polls in the 2008 election. “Those are the problems Democrats have coming in. The surge voters right now, they’re asleep. And the outer suburbs, the South, the mountain states, I think you can look for Republican tsunamis,” Mr. Davis said. “You’re going to have big years.” [I wouldn't go counting any chickens before they hatch but the GOP does have a good chance or wresting control of the House away from Nancy Pelosi and the cameras focusing on her haggard mug when she has the gavel and the airplane and the million dollar perks yanked out of her hand will be priceless indeed...jarg]

Bennet doesn’t get the message

Most Americans want Congress to start over on health care reform, but it seems Colorado Sen. Michael Bennet would rather jam it down our throats. Ignoring the message that voters sent in Massachusetts, and shedding any notion that he intends to be a moderate Democrat, Bennet is leading a pack of liberal senators who want to push through health-care reform using a process known as reconciliation. How is it possible that Sen. Bennet, yet to receive one vote from a Coloradan, has such a tin ear for what most Coloradans and Americans want? Under reconciliation, which does away with normal Senate procedures, health care reform needs only a simple majority vote. We editorialized last spring against using reconciliation on this issue and urged congressional leaders to come up with a bipartisan solution. Something of this magnitude, which would make generational changes to our health care system, shouldn’t be forced on Americans by one-party rule. And here’s the kicker: Bennet doesn’t even have the votes necessary to ram it through on reconciliation. [Hence the 61% of the American people who say politicians don't govern according to the wishes and desires of the voters...jarg]

Obama Denver visit may heat up Democratic primary

n a move that could heat up the Colorado Democratic Senate primary, President Barack Obama will appear at two fundraisers in Denver Thursday to benefit Sen. Michael Bennet as he faces a challenge from former House Speaker Andrew Romanoff. The president’s move to support the incumbent has frustrated Romanoff and other Democrats, who say Obama should stay out of the primary to avoid weakening the party on a seat likely to be targeted by Republicans. “Unfortunately, the current plan of events during the President’s visit has sent a clear message: ‘Support the appointed incumbent Senator or do not be part of the President’s visit to Colorado,’” Romanoff wrote in the letter to Colorado Democratic Chair Patricia Waak. He requested Obama raise funds for the party, not only Bennet’s campaign. [Since when has a sitting president stumped for a candidate rather than the PARTY in a PRIMARY? Think this might be a little payback for Bennet's support for ramming through ObamaCare using reconciliation? You betcha!...jarg]

Class Warfare’s Next Target: 401(k) Savings

You did the responsible thing. You saved in your IRA or 401(k) to support your retirement, when you could have spent that money on another vacation, or an upscale car, or fancier clothes and jewelry. But now Washington is developing plans for your retirement savings. BusinessWeek reports that the Treasury and Labor departments are asking for public comment on “the conversion of 401(k) savings and Individual Retirement Accounts into annuities or other steady payment streams.” In plain English, the idea is for the government to take your retirement savings in return for a promise to pay you some monthly benefit in your retirement years. [Be afraid you folks who have invested in retirement accounts. Be very afraid, as this huge pool of money will prove to be too much to resist for the liberals and they WILL do whatever they can to get their hands on the funds sitting in these accounts...jarg]

When even the good news is bad news

Is the stock market setting investors up for another 2007-style ambush, or worse? Since you’ve been inundated lately with giddy talk from the folks on Wall Street and their dupes in the media, please excuse me if I take the other side of this issue (like I did in September 2007) and warn you that all isn’t right. (SNIP) Plus, regular early-morning rallies in stock index futures contracts smack of someone trying to manipulate the markets. Even Tuesday’s nice rally was suspicious since there was no real fundamental reason for it, and this is one of those options-expiration weeks when stock prices tend to experience substantial unexplained jumps. But economic weakness isn’t the only thing that could hurt the stock market. Economic strength could be even worse since it could ignite a huge increase in interest rates. This question was going around Wall Street yesterday: Did Goldman Sachs help any country besides Greece hide the true depth of its indebtedness? If Goldman pulled this trick once — and made a lot of money doing it — why not other times? [Smacks of someone trying to manipulate the markets huh? Now tell me again where TWO THIRDS of the original "stimulus bill" (that hasn't accomplished a damn thing) has gone? WHERE is that money? If it's still "there" WHY are the Democrats trying to push through another "stimulus" cleverly renamed a "jobs bill?"...jarg]

Planning to Fail

The economy seems to have settled in somewhat from the disaster of 2008. Every indication shows that the economy is poised for a rebound — provided the right trigger is in place. In the past, the trigger that has always got the economy back on track has been tax cuts, by Ronald Reagan, George Bush, and John Kennedy — presidents from both sides of the aisle. And just when the economy is primed for that trigger, President Obama is going in the exact opposite direction. It is as if he is sabotaging the efforts of the American people. It would be one thing if Obama were just plain incompetent, like Jimmy Carter, but the evidence says otherwise. In the same week he lectures the American people and (presumably) the American Congress, he signs into effect a $1.9-trillion increase in the national debt. (SNIP) If Obama is not incompetent, then surely somebody is trying to ruin the economy while Obama is unaware, as former Virginia Governor Wilder laments. However, somebody needs to explain plausible deniability to Obama. It means having underlings doing things while you were unaware. Sometimes it is true, sometimes a lie. But no, Obama does the lying by himself. And then there is his signature on all the bills. [If everyone ELSE had paid attention to his background and what he was saying during the campaign they'd have known who he was and what he wanted to do long before he was elected. Now that he is firmly ensconced in our White House he says one thing while doing another, stalling until his marxist regime can completely dismantle the American way of life as we have known it...jarg]

Jobless claims rise unexpectedly

he number of newly laid-off workers filing applications for unemployment benefits unexpectedly surged last week after having fallen sharply in the previous week. The gain dampened hopes about how quickly the labor market may improve this year. The Labor Department said Thursday that first-time claims for unemployment benefits rose by 31,000 to a seasonally adjusted 473,000. The increase followed a drop of 41,000 in the previous week which had raised hopes that the labor market could be improving. There have been 8.4 million jobs lost since the recession began in December 2007. Thursday’s news deflated analysts’ hopes that new claims would continue to decline. Economists surveyed by Thomson Reuters had expected new claims to fall modestly. [You bet this was unexpected. Who knew we even had that many jobs left to lose in this country?...jarg]

King Had a Dream, but Blacks Now Face a Nightmare

When was the last time you heard anyone express outrage over the fact that up to half of the black kids in major cities are high school dropouts? Black America is in a state of crisis, and not only are we being ignored by those for whom we vote, but we are also being ignored by the press and the “civil rights movement”. For the last seventy years, liberals have asked blacks to elect and empower them so that they could defend us from racist conservatives who were trying to keep us down. They said that without them, we would be relegated to an inferior education, lower-paying jobs, and the sorrow of institutional racism. (And it has happened, but with a different cause.) But after all this time in power, how has liberalism benefited us? [Blacks have gone from fiercely religious and strong family people to what we have today, millions of single mothers subsisting on welfare and millions of black males in jail or unemployed thanks to liberalism and a culture of dependency. I think many of us, if we could go back in time, would be happy to have picked the damn cotton ourselves...jarg]

Homeland Security Reports Losing Guns. Some Weapons End up in Hands of Gang Members, Criminals and Drug Users

The nation’s Homeland Security officers lost nearly 200 guns in bowling alleys, public restrooms, unlocked cars and other unsecure areas, with some ending up in the hands of felons. The problem, outlined in a new federal report, has prompted disciplinary actions and extra training. Most of the misplaced weapons — including handguns, shotguns and military rifles — were never found. “Most losses occurred because officers did not properly secure firearms,” says the Homeland Security inspector general report. At least 15 of the guns ended up in the hands of gang members, criminals, drug users and teenagers, inspector general Richard Skinner found. His report documented 289 missing firearms from fiscal year 2006 through 2008, although not all were lost because of negligence. Some were lost in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina and others were stolen from safes. [Can these people think of anything else to blame on Hurricane Katrina? But really, how about all of those anti gun clowns who think the only people who should be "allowed" to have guns are those who work for the government...jarg]

Lower Merion School District sued for cyber spying on students

Lower Merion School District officials brag that they give every one of their 1,800 high-schoolers laptop computers to “ensure that all students have 24/7 access to school-based resources.” Instead, they ensured they got a 24/7 sneak peek into students’ private lives by secretly monitoring webcams embedded in the laptops to spy on teens and their families at home, according to a federal, class-action lawsuit filed this week in Philadelphia. The suit alleges the remotely controlled covert cameras violate everything from the Fourth Amendment to wiretapping, electronic communications and computer fraud laws. [To hell with suing. I'd be tracking down every last one of these school district employees and get medieval on their asses...jarg]

Obama’s federal government can weatherize your home for only $57,362 each

Who could forget the $5 billion in Obama administration stimulus money that was going to rapidly create nearly 90,000 green jobs across the country in these tough economic times and make so many thousands of homes all snuggy and warm and energy-efficient these very snowy days? Well, a new report due out this morning will show the $5-billion program is so riddled with drafts that so far it’s weatherized only about 9,000 homes. Based on the initial Obama-Biden program promise that it would create 87,000 new jobs its first year, that would be about 10 jobs for each home weatherized so far. Makes for pretty crowded doorways. ABC News reports that the General Accountability Office will declare today that the Energy Department has fallen woefully behind — about 98.5% behind — the 593,000 homes it initially predicted would be weatherized in the Recovery Act’s very first, very chilly year. [Tell ya what Obama, just send me the check for 57 grand and I'll do all the work and pay myself union wages while I'm at it...jarg]

Top U.N. Climate Official Yvo de Boer Resigning

Top U.N. climate change official Yvo de Boer told The Associated Press Thursday that he was resigning after nearly four years, a period when governments struggled without success to agree on a new global warming deal. His departure takes effect July 1, five months before 193 nations are due to reconvene in Mexico for another attempt to reach a binding worldwide accord on controlling greenhouse gases. De Boer is known to be deeply disappointed with outcome of the last summit in Copenhagen, which drew 120 world leaders but failed to reach more than a vague promise by several countries to limit carbon emissions — and even that deal fell short of consensus. But he denied to the AP that his decision to quit was a result of frustration with Copenhagen. [Another rat trying to escape the sinking global warming scam...jarg]

Defections Shake Up Climate Coalition

Three big companies quit an influential lobbying group that had focused on shaping climate-change legislation, in the latest sign that support for an ambitious bill is melting away. Oil giants BP PLC and ConocoPhillips and heavy-equipment maker Caterpillar Inc. said Tuesday they won’t renew their membership in the three-year-old U.S. Climate Action Partnership, a broad business-environmental coalition that had been instrumental in building support in Washington for capping emissions of greenhouse gases. The move comes as debate over climate change intensifies and concerns mount about the cost of capping greenhouse-gas emissions. [We need more companies to dump this stupid politically correct climate change nonsense and get back to employing people and turning profits...jarg]

528-Pound Woman Gives Birth to First Child

A 25-year-old woman weighing 528 pounds gave birth to her first baby on Thursday at a hospital equipped to treat obese people. “The baby is the fruit of the love between me and my future husband who is slimmer, weighing just 154 pounds,” said Victoria Lacatus. “I wanted this child with all my heart, whatever the sacrifice,” the Adevarul newspaper quoted her as saying. The healthy baby girl, born by Caesarean section, weighed 6.4 pounds, said Bogdan Popescu, a spokesman at Bucharest University Emergency Hospital. [Lady has a thyroid problem according to the article...ed]

“….beat his white ass!!”

Well maybe not.

Seems a 67 year old caucasian senior citizen and a young black man where sitting across from one another while riding on a bus Tuesday afternoon in sunny Oakland CA when they struck up a conversation. It didn’t take long for the chat to head south as a series of verbal insults began to fly back and forth between them.

The caucasian gentleman got up and removed himself from the situation by relocating to the front of the bus as he should have but the rough and tumble “chatter” between the two of them continued.

The young black man, egged on by what sounds like a young black female videotaping this encounter, made the mistake of leaving his seat at the rear of the bus and strolled towards the front where the caucasian man was sitting.

Unfortunately for one party the verbal fisticuffs would quickly transform into a physical face rearrangement.

Barky, roll that cuss word filled tape complete with racial epitaphs hurled towards an old white guy…

Whoa! I’m betting that this very well may be the last poke the young black man takes at anyone with a head full of gray hair!

Eventually the police showed up and took the young man to the hospital to get his face fixed and the wild eyed senior citizen to “that other kind of hospital” where Keith Olbermann, Bill Maher, Michael Moore, Janeane Garofalo, Rosie O’Donnell and the rest of the left wing lunatics outta be locked up.

Well well we finally get to hear from someone who actually knew the young Barry Obama when he attended Occidental College back in 1980, Dr. John C. Drew….

“…he definitely saw America as the enemy…”

Dollar Up as Europe Reels

A dramatic turn in sentiment in favor of the dollar and against the euro continued Monday, with lingering fears of a possible European debt crisis pushing the greenback to its highest point in nine months. Among investors, the question a few months ago wasn’t whether the U.S. dollar would decline in value, but rather how far and how fast. The currency’s surge is throwing a monkey wrench into the plans of corporations and investors who were betting on a weak dollar. The euro extended recent declines Monday, slipping to $1.36 from $1.3618. That came on the heels of last week’s fifth-straight weekly gain by the U.S. currency. The dollar is up more than 5% against the euro this year. [Hurry up and take that long awaited European vacation before the dollar and euro flip again...jarg]

Unionized Rhode Island Teachers Refuse To Work 25 Minutes More Per Day, So Town Fires All Of Them

A school superintendent in Rhode Island is trying to fix an abysmally bad school system. Her plan calls for teachers at a local high school to work 25 minutes longer per day, each lunch with students once in a while, and help with tutoring. The teachers’ union has refused to accept these apparently onerous demands. The teachers at the high school make $70,000-$78,000, as compared to a median income in the town of $22,000. This exemplifies a nationwide trend in which public sector workers make far more than their private-sector counterparts (with better benefits). The school superintendent has responded to the union’s stubbornness by firing every teacher and administrator at the school. [Well it's about time someone stood up to these damn teachers' unions! I hope this spreads across the country so we can get back to educating students instead of spreading left wing propaganda and touchy feely emotional nonsense in the classrooms day in and day out...jarg]

Democrats Reeling Under Losses of Veteran Lawmakers, Declining Poll Numbers

Facing one of the angriest electorates in decades and a growing number of retirements from veterans in supposedly safe seats, Democrats are bracing for huge losses this year and the possible loss of both the House and the Senate to the GOP. In Indiana, the retirement of Democratic Sen. Evan Bayh gives the Republicans a stronger chance of seizing a seat that was on their radar only recently. With the popular Bayh off the ballot, CQ Politics changed the rating of the Indiana Senate race to “Leans Republican” Tuesday, superseding the previous rating of “Leans Democratic.” (SNIP) Charlie Cook, publisher of the independent Cook Political Report, said, “Capitol Hill is not a happy place these days.” Democrats’ majority in the Senate after November “will likely be razor thin,” Cook said. In addition, “there is an increasing likelihood that Democrats will lose the House.” [Excellent news indeed...jarg]

Five ways to lose the Senate majority

Sen. Evan Bayh’s stunning decision Monday to pass on a reelection campaign in Indiana is the latest blow to a Senate Democratic majority that is suddenly within striking distance for the GOP. While the retirements of Sen. Byron Dorgan (D-N.D.) and Sen. Chris Dodd (D-Conn.) had a clear political logic to them—both involved vulnerable incumbents badly trailing their prospective opponents, according to publicly released polling—Bayh’s calculus was less obvious since he had a comfortable double-digit cushion and a nearly $13 million head start. Either way, the two-term senator’s departure now places 10 Democratic-held Senate seats at risk—if all are swept under by a November GOP wave, Republicans are back in control of the Senate. [No, here's five way the Democrats WILL lose control of the Senate come November: Nominate then fervently push an unqualified empty suit for president on this country. Select lying back-room deal makers as Senate majority leader/Speaker of the House. Pass 2000+ page bills that the American people have said repeatedly they do not want under cover of darkness with ZERO Republican support. Demonize and try and silence dissent from the Republicans in Congress and taxpayers. Conspire with a willing lamestream media to hide compelling evidence that none of the legislation is based on any reasonable facts or principles...jarg]

Sens. seek Obama boost on campaign trail

President Obama kicks off what might be called his “Save the Senate” tour this week, heading west to campaign for two embattled Democrats trailing badly against Republican challengers – including Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid of Nevada. With high-profile Democrats already bailing out of re-election campaigns – Sen. Evan Bayh’s decision on Monday to drop out of the race in Indiana brings the number of retirees to five – Mr. Obama is putting his popularity and fundraising prowess on the line as he tries to help his party hold the majority in the Senate. Local Republicans are salivating at the prospect of Mr. Obama dropping into town to campaign for their opponents. [Obama campaigning for Democrats in blue New Jersey, REALLY really blue Massachusetts and kinda sorta blue Virginia sure worked out well didn't it?...jarg]

Senator Mikulski of Maryland to Retire

I’ve just heard from an impeccable source that Barbara Mikulski, the Democratic Senator who is up for reelection this November, will choose to retire. Mrs. Mikulski is expected to make her formal announcement in the next few days. Mrs. Mikulski seriously fractured her right ankle last fall just prior to Edward M. Kennedy’s death. Due to the severity of the fracture, she had to have open reduction surgery, that included the insertion of pins, as well as the use of special surgical boots, during recovery. She had tried to arrive in time for Mr. Kennedy’s funeral but was turned away. Her recovery has been exceptionally slow and she is evidently still in a great deal of pain. Reportedly, she has told her physician that she does not desire to seek reelection. Additionally, friends and family have been saying in the near future she will announce her retirement. Because of the very slow recovery, she has been forced to use a wheelchair, a walker or a cane in order to get around. [Not sure if this is legit or not but the story has been making the rounds with a bit of fervor since Senator Evan Bayh announced he was retiring at the end of his term. One less far left politician in the Senate sure would be nice though...jarg]

Let’s Get Real: Barbara Mikulski Does Not Fear a Loss This Year.

Many, many readers are excited about the rumor, eminating from The Vail Spot blog, that Sen. Barbara Mikulski will retire. Mike Memoli of RealClearPolitics and Chris Cillizza of the Post are both reporting from unnamed sources that the rumor is not true. A note: Mikulski is 73 years old. She has been in the House or Senate since 1977. Usually when a member serves into their 70s, it is a sign they plan to serve until they die or their health no longer permits it. (The account in the Vail Spot mentions a slow recovery from an ankle fracture.) But it’s entirely conceivable that Mikulski might want to do something else with her life after 33 years in Congress. [Maybe the rumor is true maybe not. We'll have to sit back and see what happens in the next few months...jarg]

Sen. Lautenberg undergoes procedure for ulcer

A bleeding ulcer was behind the hospitalization of longtime New Jersey Sen. Frank Lautenberg this week, an aide said Tuesday. The 86-year-old Democrat underwent a successful endoscopy procedure, spokesman Caley Gray said. Lautenberg is expected “to make a full recovery and will be back to work soon,” Gray said. [Another Democrat dinosaur goes down for the count. Why in the hell don't these people give it up when they are this far past their prime and spend their days knitting and fishing instead of screwing our country up?...jarg]

Democratic Indiana candidate says White House secretly backing Baron Hill

Hoosier politics took an unexpected turn Monday night when Democratic Senate candidate Tamyra d’Ippolito accused the White House of conspiring with party officials to secretly draft Rep. Baron Hill to run against her. As the only other Democrat in the field, d’Ippolito became the presumptive front-runner for the Democratic nomination when Sen. Evan Bayh announced Monday that he would not seek re-election. Indiana Senate candidates must collect 4,500 signatures to appear on the ballot, including 500 from each of the state’s nine congressional districts. As of 9:30 p.m. Monday d’Ippolito told The Daily Caller she was 1,000 signatures short and had volunteers across the state planning to work through the night to accomplish the goal before the noon deadline on Tuesday. [Secretive backroom shenanigans from this administration? C'mon lady, obviously you haven't heard, this is THE most transparent bunch in history!...jarg]

GOP hopes to capitalize on Latino disappointment with Obama

As one of the first Latinos in the nation to endorse Barack Obama, Democratic state Sen. Gilbert Cedillo of Los Angeles campaigned hard for the president, but he’s disappointed now. The reason: Obama has yet to do anything on a comprehensive overhaul of immigration laws, as he promised to do when he ran for president. “I think he’s in danger of breaking the spirit of solidarity and hope,” Cedillo said. “More than a broken promise, it’s the danger of breaking people’s sense of hope in the Latino community.” While the president carried the Latino vote by large margins 15 months ago, many Republicans are out to capitalize on Latino dissatisfaction with Obama and Washington’s Democratic leaders. They think that could help them immensely in the 2010 elections. [The way the GOP can capitalize on the Latino community's dissatisfaction with Obama is to do nothing. They aren't going to be defecting to the party in big numbers anyway because freebies, handouts and blanket amnesty for people who have broken the laws of our land are not part of the platform. I'm sick and tired of all these different groups demanding their issues be addressed before what is best for OUR country and it's high time the U.S. "reform" immigration policy by following MEXICO'S own laws!...jarg]

Audit finds US census preparations wasted millions

The Census Bureau wasted millions of dollars in preparation for its 2010 population count, including thousands of temporary employees who picked up $300 checks without performing work and others who overbilled for travel costs. Federal investigators caution the excessive charges could multiply once the $15 billion headcount begins in earnest next month unless the agency imposes tighter spending controls, according to excerpts of a forthcoming audit obtained by The Associated Press. On a positive note, investigators backed the Census Bureau’s decision to spend $133 million on its advertising campaign, saying it was appropriate to boost public awareness. The spending included a $2.5 million Super Bowl spot that some Republicans had criticized as wasteful. The findings by Todd Zinser, the Commerce Department’s inspector general, highlight the difficult balancing act for the Census Bureau as it takes on the Herculean task of manually counting the nation’s 300 million residents amid a backdrop of record levels of government debt. [Just think of all those ACORN workers who got those $300 checks spending them within the local economy and perhaps this news will be a little bit less maddening...jarg]

Lake Erie Frozen over; First Time in 14 Years

Following a cold snap in the Northeast, Lake Erie’s surface is virtually frozen over for the first time in about 14 years. The ice ranges in thickness between paper thin along the northern shore and several inches along the southern shore, where many people are ice skating. GoErie.com reports that the lake hasn’t completely frozen since the winter of 1995-1996. [Global warming hucksters say this ice that hasn't been seen in 15 years is due to man made climate change. Honest, these maroons are still out there and they're sticking to their story...jarg]

Now IPCC hurricane data is questioned

More trouble looms for the IPCC. The body may need to revise statements made in its Fourth Assessment Report on hurricanes and global warming. A statistical analysis of the raw data shows that the claims that global hurricane activity has increased cannot be supported. Les Hatton once fixed weather models at the Met Office. Having studied Maths at Cambridge, he completed his PhD as metereologist: his PhD was the study of tornadoes and waterspouts. He’s a fellow of the Royal Meterological Society, currently teaches at the University of Kingston, and is well known in the software engineering community – his studies include critical systems analysis. (SNIP) The IPCC continues: “It is more likely than not (> 50%) that there has been some human contribution to the increases in hurricane intensity.” But, as Hatton points out, that conclusion comes from computer climate models, not from the observational data, which show no increase. “The IPCC goes on to make statements that would never pass peer review,” Hatton told us. [The man made global warming farce is falling apart in big hairy chunks on a daily basis...jarg]

ConocoPhillips bails out of climate coalition

ConocoPhillips announced Tuesday that it is abandoning the U.S. Climate Action Partnership, a major coalition of corporations and environmental groups that’s pushing Congress to approve cap-and-trade legislation. ConocoPhillips, the country’s third-largest oil company, said that the major House and Senate climate change bills would harm oil companies. “House climate legislation and Senate proposals to date have disadvantaged the transportation sector and its consumers, left domestic refineries unfairly penalized versus international competition, and ignored the critical role that natural gas can play in reducing GHG emissions,” CEO Jim Mulva said in a statement announcing that ConocoPhillips would not renew its membership. “We believe greater attention and resources need to be dedicated to reversing these missed opportunities, and our actions today are part of that effort. Addressing these issues will save thousands of American jobs, as well as create new ones,” he added. [The first of what I hope will be several companies jumping off this stupid debunked climate change fraud that is costing American consumers a fortune...jarg]

BP will leave USCAP too

BP America is also leaving the U.S. Climate Action Partnership. A spokesman said the oil company, like ConocoPhillips, will not renew its membership in the coalition of corporations and environmental groups pushing Congress to approve cap-and-trade legislation. Spokesman Tom Mueller said BP informed USCAP today of its decision. [We have two energy companies now, who's next?...jarg]

Not expanding drilling may cost U.S. $2.4 trillion

The U.S. economy will lose $2.4 trillion over the next two decades if the federal government does not allow oil and natural gas drilling in restricted onshore lands and in offshore areas previously closed to energy companies, according to a new study released on Monday. The report, prepared for the National Association of Regulatory Utility Commissioners, also said U.S. imports of crude oil, petroleum products and natural gas would increase by $1.6 trillion over the period without access to the energy resources. In particular, the United States is expected to pay the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) $607 billion for an extra 4.1 billion barrels of crude, the report said. [Dump the climate change BS. Put the stupid foreign made windmills and solar panels on the back burner and drill here, drill now so this country can get back to work and back to prosperity...jarg]

Eric Holder, Pathetic … And His Pathos Is Right There On The Front Page Of The Times.

Poor Eric Holder. The fact is that he is none too smart … and none too versed in constitutional issues. Although Ronald Reagan did appoint him Judge of the Superior Court of the District of Columbia! Ah, those were the days when Republican presidents appointed Democrats to judicial office and Democratic presidents appointed Republicans to same. Actually, aside from his graduation from Stuyvesant High School in New York City, “second rate” is what comes to mind when you hear Holder’s name. (SNIP) John B. Bellinger III, the former legal adviser to the State Department during Bush’s second term, has written an op-ed for the New York Times that almost praises Obama’s forced nimbleness in resorting to policies of the previous administration when his own policies have gone down in, well, tatters: Guantanamo, prolonged detentions, military tribunals, international law and international jurisdictions. [Holder has turned the Justice Department into a political tool of the White House but everything he has done has backfired. He is toast. When he has the lefty media coming after him with a vengeance bet the farm his days are numbered...jarg]

USAID Steers No-Bid Haiti Contract to ‘Politically Connected’ Firm of Bill Clinton Friend

The U.S. Agency for International Development has awarded another lucrative no-bid contract, Fox News has learned — this time to a “politically connected” lobbyist and high-profile friend of former President Bill Clinton. This marks the second no-bid contract the agency has been found to have awarded since the start of the year, despite a long history of vows by President Obama to crack down on the practice. The first, awarded on Jan. 4 and worth nearly $25 million, was steered to a firm owned by a donor to the Obama presidential campaign, for legal work in Afghanistan. The cancellation of that contract was announced by the State Department shortly after Fox News reported its existence on Jan. 25. [Gee, is this another Obama flip flop (lie)?...jarg]

Amy Bishop’s husband said he had gone to shooting range with her recently

The husband of a UAH professor accused of fatally shooting three colleagues said today that he’d gone with her to a shooting range recently but that he didn’t know where she got the gun she used for practice that day. James Anderson said his wife, Amy Bishop, didn’t do anything unusual in the days before Friday’s shooting. [This guy is either complicit, fibbing, stupid or trying to protect his wife because she has a well documented violent history...jarg]

Ipswich neighbors recall confrontations with Amy Bishop

On Birch Lane, a family neighborhood where there are almost as many curbside basketball hoops as mailboxes, Amy Bishop, her husband, and their four children did not seem to fit in, former neighbors said today. Bishop, who now stands accused of gunning down three professors at the University of Alabama Huntsville, and her husband, James Anderson, were not always considered friendly neighbors and sometimes had arguments with other families. At least once, Bishop hinted that an ongoing confrontation with neighbors could become violent. The accounts of longtime neighborhood residents, combined with a stack of police reports provided to the Globe by the Ipswich Police Department, paint a picture of conflict between the Bishop/Anderson family and others in town. Bishop, who was referred to as Amy Anderson at the time, called 911 regularly during her short time living in this North Shore community. [Sounds like your typical left wing Obama obsessed murder suspect's kind of behavior...jarg]

Daniel Rubin: Another case of TSA overkill

Just when I thought I was out of the Transportation Security Administration business for a few columns, they pull me back in. Did you hear about the Camden cop whose disabled son wasn’t allowed to pass through airport security unless he took off his leg braces? Unfortunately, it’s no joke. This happened to Bob Thomas, a 53-year-old officer in Camden’s emergency crime suppression team, who was flying to Orlando in March with his wife, Leona, and their son, Ryan. Ryan was taking his first flight, to Walt Disney World, for his fourth birthday. The boy is developmentally delayed, one of the effects of being born 16 weeks prematurely. His ankles are malformed and his legs have low muscle tone. In March he was just starting to walk. Mid-morning on March 19, his parents wheeled his stroller to the TSA security point, a couple of hours before their Southwest Airlines flight was to depart. The boy’s father broke down the stroller and put it on the conveyor belt as Leona Thomas walked Ryan through the metal detector. The alarm went off. The screener told them to take off the boy’s braces. [Insane, absolutely insane what happened with this four year old boy and his family. Word on the street is the TSA finally apologized but where the hell has common sense gone?...jarg]