Week in Review 5/22/10

Cafferty Slams Obama and Dems For Their Response To Arizona Immigration Law Video

Senate primaries will test depth of anger at incumbents

WASHINGTON — Voters in four states will go to the polls Tuesday in primary elections that could offer the best window so far into the level of anti-incumbent, anti-establishment sentiment in the electorate.

Arkansas, Kentucky, Oregon and Pennsylvania hold primaries Tuesday, and political observers are paying close attention to all but Oregon, where incumbent Democratic Sen. Ron Wyden is expected to win handily.

Democrats and Republicans are sweating over Senate contests in Arkansas, Kentucky and Pennsylvania, which are considered prime tests of voter discontent with incumbents and the power of the tea party movement. Read more.

Pence: No European bailouts

Rep. Mike Pence (R-Ind.), the third-ranking House Republican and a possible 2012 presidential candidate, will use a speech Friday before the National Rifle Association to highlight his opposition to using American tax dollars to bail out European countries.

Seizing on conservative anger toward the federal government’s financial assistance for U.S. banks and auto companies and the recent headlines about Greece’s economic woes, Pence and a group of other House Republicans have introduced symbolic legislation that would halt American involvement in any International Monetary Fund aid to European Union nations.

“I just don’t believe American taxpayers should be forced to bear the risk of nations that have avoided making tough choices,” Pence said in an interview previewing his remarks to the gun-rights group’s convention in Charlotte. Read more.

See No Radical Islam, Hear No Radical Islam

On May 13, Rep. Lamar Smith (R-TX) confronted Attorney General Eric Holder about whether radical Islam was the motivating factor in the terrorist plots against the United States over the past year. Rather than acknowledge the religious-ideological threat posed to us, Holder continued the Obama Administration’s pattern of trying to avoid using terms like “radical Islam” and “Islamic terrorism.”

Rep. Smith repeatedly prodded at Holder, who tried to fend off the attack by saying, “There are a variety of reasons why people do things. Some of them are potentially religious.”

Unsatisfied with the lack of clarity, Rep. Smith continued to ask him, “Are you uncomfortable attributing any other actions to radical Islam?” Holder replied by saying, “No, I don’t want to say anything negative about a religion…” Read more.

Five who flipped on health care

They were the difference makers on health care reform: House Democrats who flipped from opposing the plan to supporting it, delivering a win on President Barack Obama’s signature domestic issue.

Now, they are also among the Democrats’ most vulnerable incumbents, and none is building a reelection message around their famous vote.

That runs counter to the advice of Democratic pollster John Anzalone and House Democratic leaders, who argue incumbents should highlight popular provisions. “I’d go to camera and say this is why I took this vote — I took it for the people of this district because it’s wrong to be dropped for pre-existing conditions. You shouldn’t be dropped because you’re sick,” Anzalone said. Read more.

Palin Calls Huntsman Out

Even though Jon Huntsman, Jr. stopped pretending not to run for president to become President Obama’s ambassador to China, associates of the former Utah Governor say that he will return to the U.S. as a proud Republican and will probably try to position himself for a 2016 run. The thinking is that the GOP will have shaken off the willies by then and be ready to modernize. In any event, Sarah Palin has today called out Amb. Huntsman in a Tweet, which marks the first time, I believe, that Palin has referenced a fellow Republican and potential presidential aspirant in a provocative way. She’s referring to reports that Assistant Sec. of State Michael Posner intended to admit to China that the United States’s human rights record wasn’t always exemplary, citing the Arizona immigration law is an example. This humility, apparently, is a way for the administration to ease into a discussion of China’s human rights’ record. Such is the outrage of the day for conservatives … and even neutrally, comparing China’s regular and brutal and unapologetic detention of political dissidents to the temporary detention of citizens caught without papers is … a tough case to make. Here’s Palin’s Tweet:

AZ’s pro-border security law invokes apology to China(w/its human rights violations)by U.S. State Dept;Surely Ambassador Huntsman disagrees?

Anti-terror funds belong in N.Y.

There’s not much of an argument, surely, over the very uneasy reality that New York City is the most vulnerable place in America to terrorism. Any doubts about that ought to have been erased in the aftermath of a foiled car bombing in Times Square two weeks ago.


The devastation and carnage that Faisal Shahzad’s failed plot might have brought have to be considered in the context of all the death and trauma that did occur in the attacks on the World Trade Center in 1993 and again on Sept. 11, 2001.

Why can’t there be a similar sense of unanimity and clarity of purpose, then, in the nation’s determination to protect New York City from subsequent acts of terrorism? What ought to be a united front within the federal government instead reveals strains and divisions over whether the city is getting its appropriate share of homeland security money. Read more.

Obama endorsements don’t seem to help Democrats

WASHINGTON (AP) — The role of endorser in chief isn’t working so well for President Barack Obama.

Sen. Arlen Specter became the fourth Democrat in seven months to lose a high-profile race despite the president’s active involvement, raising doubts about Obama’s ability to help fellow Democrats in this November’s elections.

The first three candidates fell to Republicans. But Specter’s loss Tuesday to Rep. Joe Sestak in Pennsylvania’s Democratic senatorial primary cast doubts on Obama’s influence and popularity even within his own party – and in a battleground state, no less. Read more.

Joe Sestak defeats Arlen Specter, Rand Paul wins, Democrats claim victory in PA special election

Pennsylvania Rep. Joe Sestak defeated Sen. Arlen Specter in the Democratic Senate primary, a large-scale political upset that ends the career of one of the enduring figures in Pennsylvania politics.

“This election is about you,” said Sestak in his victory speech. “This is what democracy looks like: a win for the people, over the establishment, over the status quo, even over Washington, D.C.”

Specter, who is 80 years old and has served since 1980 in the Senate, called it a “great privilege” to have served in the Senate and added that he would “be working very, very hard for the people of the commonwealth in the coming months.” Read more.

The Arizona Immigration SB 1070 Bill

Click here to read the 16 page bill.

Senators press for National Guard troops on border

WASHINGTON (AP)– Homeland Security and Pentagon officials are at loggerheads over a plan to send National Guard troops to the U.S.-Mexico border, even as President Barack Obama is pledging to bolster security there.

The Guard stalemate has festered for nearly a year, and frustrated lawmakers are demanding action to stem the spread of violence and drug trafficking that has spilled across the border into their states. The inaction raises questions about whether the White House is convinced the federally funded deployment is necessary, or whether border states will be forced to bear the costs of dispatching the Guard troops on their own.

Speaking at the White House on Wednesday with Mexican President Felipe Calderon, Obama said the U.S. is committed to standing with Mexico against the drug cartels. Read more.

Missouri Auto Parts Dealer Khalid Ouazzani Pleads Guilty of Funding Al Qaeda

An auto parts dealer in Kansas city who had sworn allegiance to Al Qaeda pleaded guilty on Wednesday of participating in conspiracy to provide financial support to the terror outfit.

The 32 year old dealer, Khalid Ouazzani, became a naturalized U.S. citizen in 2006, admitted sending $23,500 to al-Qaeda between August 2007 and mid-2008.

He had spoken with others about ways to help al Qaeda including plans to support them in their fight in Afghanistan, Iraq or Somalia, US Attorney Beth Phillps did not think that Khalid poses a threat to the Kansas city area. Read more.

Legislation Will Hurt Small Business SB829

The House Commerce, Small Business and Entrepreneurship Committee will consider legislation on Wednesday that will augment the power and widen the profit margins of large corporations at the expense of small businesses and citizens. The bill, Regulation of Appraisal Management Companies (SB829), will, as currently written, place onerous regulations and assess fees on these companies that will disproportionately affect small business and bolster the market share and power of large corporations.

To qualify for registration, companies must register with the state, pay a filing fee of $5,000 and pay a subsequent annual free of $2,500. Large companies will much more easily be able to pay these registration fees while smaller appraisal management firms, the small businesses that create jobs, opportunity and wealth for many North Carolinians, will be burdened excessively, perhaps to the point of being unprofitable. Furthermore, companies that are able to pay the fee will simply pass along the added expense to consumers, making it more expensive for North Carolinians to do business. Read more.

Week in Review 04/03/10

Senate hopefuls attempt to set themselves apart

RALEIGH — The Democratic Senate primary took on a slightly sharper tone Wednesday night as the Senate hopefuls sought to draw clearer distinctions among themselves at a candidates forum.

Ken Lewis, the Chapel Hill lawyer who is portraying himself as the heir to the Obama coalition of two years ago, suggested he was the Democrat whose election in the primary May 4 would mark a significant change in the Senate.

“We can’t change a broken Senate by sending a career politician to Washington,” Lewis told about 175 people at a dinner sponsored by the Wake County Democratic Women. Read more.

Incumbents Beware: Term Limits Resurrected by Disaffected Voters

WASHINGTON — Politicians are staying in Congress longer and longer, but in an election year with a noticeably anti-incumbent mood, some Washington outsiders are challenging the idea of making a career out of public service.

“We need folks coming in from the outside who have paid taxes and created jobs and lived under the regulations that these career politicians have created,” said Jim Rutledge, a Republican attorney running to unseat Maryland Democratic Sen. Barbara Mikulski, who has 33 years in Congress between the House and Senate.

Rutledge is typical of the outsiders running this year, who know statistics are not in their favor.

Between 1789 and 2002, 13.9 percent of House members and 21.9 percent of senators served 12 years or more, according to the Congressional Research Service. Read more.

Obama plays recess with Senate Republicans

As he made final preparations for his trip to Afghanistan over the weekend, President Obama also took a long-expected poke at the Republicans with a slate of 15 recess appointments.

In announcing appointments, Obama said Republican senators are trying to score “political points” in holding up his nominations, and, “I simply cannot allow partisan politics to stand in the way of the basic functioning of government.”

Senate Republicans said Obama’s actions will only make things more tense, after Democrats used a legislative budget process known as “reconciliation” to pass the health care bill. Read more.

Labor May Gain, Business Sends ‘Red Alert’ on Becker

March 29 (Bloomberg) — Efforts by labor unions to expand employee organizing may gain after President Barack Obama, rejecting objections from Republicans and business groups, appointed Craig Becker to the National Labor Relations Board.

Obama announced plans on March 27 to name Becker, a lawyer and Democrat who represented the AFL-CIO and the Service Employees International Union, using executive powers to bypass confirmation by the Senate, which had blocked a vote this month.

Becker, opposed by groups led by the National Association of Manufacturers, will be named along with lawyer Mark Pearce, a Democrat, providing a quorum to clear a case backlog including disputes with casino owner MGM Mirage and auto-parts maker Dana Holding Corp. The U.S. Chamber of Commerce put business on “red alert” for “radical changes” while unions cheered the action. Read more.

With Every Intervention, Concerns Build Over Size of Federal Government

Health care. The auto industry. Real estate. Wall Street.

As the Obama administration increases regulation and pumps up taxpayer aid in these sectors and beyond, critics say the president is expanding the federal government to unprecedented levels.

Sure, protesters have been on the National Mall for months holding signs about bloated budgets. But it’s not just the Tea Party crowd that’s concerned. With every step, like the signing of the health care bill last Tuesday, the view that Obama is making historic shifts in the role of Washington becomes more widespread. Read more.

Obama blames the Tea Party

WakeUpAmerica.com responds to this immature allegation saying, “it is not only the Tea Party Movement that opposes his bullying tactics of pushing through his own agenda, but Americans at large. He just cannot come to grips with the fact that his agenda is very unpopular with an overwhelming majority of the American people.”

In the recent Rasmussen poll results released today shows Obama’s approval rating at a dismal 47%; and 54% of the American people most likely want the Healthcare Bill Repealed, compared to 42% say it is OK the way it is. Just two examples of America’s displeasure with Obama and his agenda.

In addition, President Obama has broken numerous campaign promises including transparency and bipartisanship. His actions clearly underscore the old cliche – ” it is his way or the highway.” Read more.

Sarkozy Reveals Rift in U.S.-European Relations

Did it really happen, right there in the East Room? Could such a question be asked just one year after a nearly rapturous Europe welcome to President Obama and his promised era of engagement and mutual cooperation? Could Obama’s word actually be a topic of debate among Europe’s top leaders?

It appears so.

French President Nicolas Sarkozy was asked to elaborate on his Tuesday comments in New York that the world needs an America “that listens.”

Instead of explaining whether America listens, Sarkozy talked about what happens when Obama speaks — denying a problem no one asked about — and in so doing revealed a surprising rift in U.S.-European relations. Read more.

Rancher’s Murder Exposes Deadly Gaps in Border Policing, Tancredo Says

Former Colorado Rep. Tom Tancredo, reacting to the murder of a well-known Arizona rancher by an assailant authorities believe was an illegal immigrant, said violence on the border has spiraled out of control and the federal government seems powerless to stop it.

Tancredo, who has called on the Obama administration to deploy the National Guard in response, told FoxNews.com Tuesday that the killing shows how bad the situation has become for Americans living north of the Mexican border.

“The violence on the border is … getting worse all the time,” he said. “This is just a horrible manifestation of it.” Read more.

Patient, Doctor, and Government – Who Decides?

How will the newly enacted health care legislation’s emphasis on comparative effectiveness research (CER) affect patient choice, and the future of America’s health?

Last week, Congress enacted a nearly $1 trillion health care program – claiming it would reduce the cost of care and even lower the deficit by more than $100 billion over the next decade. But how exactly will such a costly government program cut costs? Here’s one major way: by cutting your medical treatment options. And no, that’s not just conservative rhetoric. It’s a simple case of actions (and money) speak louder than words.

The aim of comparative effectiveness research (CER) is to measure the outcomes of different treatments and medications and decide which is most effective. The information is then passed along to doctors, patients and consumers. According to a CBO report, before 2007 CER consumed less than $15 million of the total government budget for research funding.In the past two years, however, the government has poured a tremendous amount of money into CER, allotting $1.1 billion in funding CER through the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA). Read more.

Assessing Voter Partisanship: An Updated Model for North Carolina

In early 2008, the Civitas Institute premiered the North Carolina Partisan Index using data from the 2004 General Election. This year, we have updated the NCPI to reflect voters’ choices in the 2008 General Election.

Modeled after the Cook Partisan Voting Index developed for congressional districts, the North Carolina Partisan Index compares the political leanings of voters in each state house and senate district with the partisan voting tendencies of the state as a whole. The end result is a letter (D or R) followed by a number, indicating the extent to which each district leans one way or the other.

The new NCPI was developed using adjusted 2008 data on the elections for Governor and other council of state offices – Lieutenant Governor, Attorney General, Commissioners of Agriculture, Labor, and Insurance, Secretary of State, State Auditor, State Treasurer, and Superintendent of Public Instruction. Read more.

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.” Read more.

Feds Approving Bogus Products as ‘Energy-Efficient,’ Investigation Finds

The federal government has been slapping “energy-efficient” ratings on products that don’t even exist — including a bogus space heater with a duster stuck to it and an alarm clock supposedly powered by gasoline.

These fake products were submitted to the Environmental Protection Agency and the Department of Energy for approval as part of an undercover investigation by the Government Accountability Office.

The office wanted to see how easily the feds could be duped, since the Energy Star program used to identify products as energy savers serves as a guide to businesses looking for such modern marvels and the basis for millions of dollars in incentivizing tax credits — including $300 million from the stimulus. Read more.

week in Review 03/27/10

Risky business for N.C. Democrats

Few issues since the Vietnam War have generated as much heat as the health care debate, which prompted street corner rallies in Raleigh, packed town halls from Wilson to Durham and prodded both sides to mobilize.

But the question with Sunday’s historic House vote for President Barack Obama’s health care plan is how it will play in the November elections.

In a moderately conservative state like North Carolina with its traditional skepticism of the federal government, the issue poses risks for the Democrats. Public opinion polls suggest that the majority does not support the president’s plan, although voters say they like some parts of it. Read more.

Stupak bends, but gets his way

WASHINGTON — Late into Saturday night and again Sunday morning, U.S. Rep. Bart Stupak of Michigan negotiated with President Barack Obama’s top lawyer, hammering out an executive order that made clear that no federal money would be spent on abortion.

It helped save the Democrats’ signature effort on health care overhaul — a victory that had eluded the party for decades.

Without Stupak and as many as nine other Democrats opposed to abortion, the chances of House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., finding the 216 votes needed for passage looked bleak. With them, it was all but done.

The breakthrough came at midafternoon Sunday. “Thirty-one million more Americans will have health insurance,” Stupak said at a news conference. Read more.

Thousands Rally for Legalizing Illegals, Stronger Borders

(AP) Frustrated with the lack of action to overhaul the country’s immigration system, tens of thousands of demonstrators rallied on the National Mall and marched through the streets of the capital Sunday, waving American flags and holding homemade signs in English and Spanish.

Supporters traveled from around the country in hopes the rally would re-energize Congress to take up the volatile issue. Some lawmakers oppose any attempt to help an estimated 12 million illegal immigrants become U.S. citizens while others insist on stronger border controls first.

President Barack Obama, who promised to make overhauling the immigration system a top priority in his first year, sought to reassure those at the rally with a video message presented on giant screens at the National Mall. The president said he was committed to working with Congress this year on a comprehensive bill to fix a “broken immigration system.” Read more.

Jim C. Manatt, Jr.: Cap and trade regulation contrary to vital economic interests

What an ironic news day March 5. The headline was the $5.6 billion state budget with a $230 million tax increase. The same day, the New Energy Economy environmentalists sought natural gas emission cap revisions in Santa Fe. These events are connected.

New Mexico is a poor state by many standards but we are a richly endowed energy resource state. The oil and gas industry is New Mexico’s largest private sector revenue source, contributing $2 billion annually in taxes, depending on commodity prices, adding another $1 billion in “indirects” during a good year. Ninety-five percent of our $12 billion Permanent Funds come from oil and gas, funding about 70 percent of our kids’ education. For every $1 change in the price of natural gas, it means $100 million to our state revenues. Net effect today: $850 million less for New Mexico. Read more.

Obama is out of Control

Start the impeachment process now. Obama is not upholding the Constitution that he kinda swear to do. He has not even read it since 6th grade History Class. For the next year he will be mired in lawsuits from the states regarding his illegal passage of the healthcare secret bill. There is no where in the constitution to force a US Citizen to HAVE to purchase a product nor service.

He will continue to ignore the Worse Economic Depression facing US Citizens, Blow up our relationships with any foreign government – including our closest allies, Appease our enemies – the people that really HATE us, put our national security in grave danger, give amnesty to illegals, and impose a tax-laden cap and trade bill. Read more.

Health care mandates stoke resistance

State Senate GOP leader Phil Berger of Eden said Tuesday that he will introduce a bill when the legislature reconvenes in May to allow citizens to opt out of mandates of the new federal health care law.

“We cannot stand idly by while the federal government tramples on individuals’ rights to make their own health care decisions,” Berger said.

“Forcing individual citizens to buy a good or a service, as the federal legislation requires, is an unprecedented and unconstitutional overreach by the federal government, and it must be opposed,” Berger added. Read more.

ACORN to Shut Down in Wake of Scandal

CHICAGO (AP)– The once mighty community activist group ACORN announced Monday it is folding amid falling revenues — six months after video footage emerged showing some of its workers giving tax tips to conservative activists posing as a pimp and prostitute.

“It’s really declining revenue in the face of a series of attacks from partisan operatives and right-wing activists that have taken away our ability to raise the resources we need,” ACORN spokesman Kevin Whelan said.

Several of its largest affiliates, including ACORN New York and ACORN California, broke away this year and changed their names in a bid to ditch the tarnished image of their parent organization and restore revenue that ran dry in the wake of the video scandal. Read more.

Burr joins health law protest

WASHINGTON — With a few words Wednesday – “I would have to object” – Sen. Richard Burr joined an angry Republican pushback to the nation’s sweeping health overhaul.

Burr used a parliamentary maneuver to derail an Armed Services Committee hearing for which commanders had traveled from South Korea and Hawaii to discuss the Pentagon’s needs for the next year.

It was one of several hearings on issues ranging from homeless veterans to police trainers in Afghanistan that were upturned by Republican tactics to slow the workings of the Senate. Read more.

McConnell: Repeal ‘top of our list’

Refusing to concede permanent defeat on health reform, Senate Republican leader Mitch McConnell wants to “repeal the whole bill” and replace it with insurance reforms and other measures that could get bipartisan agreement.

“They got health care,” McConnell told POLITICO with a mischievous glint in his eye. “We’ll see whether that’s a gift worth receiving.”

McConnell said that if Republicans were to win back the Senate majority in November, “at the top of our list would be to repeal and replace this health care bill.” Read more.

Obama Dares Republicans to Pursue Repeal of Health Care Law

IOWA CITY, Iowa (AP) — President Obama mocked Republicans’ campaign to try to repeal his new health care law, saying Thursday they should “Go for it” and see how well they fare with voters.

“Be my guest,” Obama said in prepared remarks for the first of many appearances around the country to sell the overhaul to voters before the fall congressional elections. “I welcome that fight. Because I don’t believe the American people are going to put the insurance industry back in the driver’s seat.”

With emotions raw around the nation over the party-line vote to approve the nearly $1 trillion, 10-year law, Obama took the opposition to task for “fear-mongering and overheated rhetoric.” Read more.

Osama bin Laden warns on Khalid Sheikh Mohammed death penalty

Osama bin Laden is warning that Al Qaeda will kill any Americans it takes prisoner if the U.S. executes accused Sept. 11 co-conspirator Khalid Sheikh Mohammed.

“The day America will take such decision [to execute Mohammed and any others] it would have taken a decision to execute whoever we capture,” bin Laden said in an audiotaped message aired Thursday on Al Jazeera. He said Mohammed’s execution would amount to a “death sentence” for Americans in the group’s custody. Read more.

Obama’s Mideast gamble

President Barack Obama’s relations with the Israeli government have hit a new low, but the tensions on display this week between him and Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu may be reviving another presidential project: His quest to improve America’s image in the Arab and Muslim world.

Obama raised high expectations among Arab leaders and publics with his promise of dramatic change from George W. Bush, and with high-profile gestures in the first days of his administration, but the administration’s awkward retreat last year from an initial demand of a total Israeli freeze on settlements dissipated much of that good will. Read more.

Crusader has troubles of his own

A Greenville state Senate candidate who has made an issue of the state’s overpayment of mental health claims is himself on the hook for $4.2 million in Medicaid overcharges for services provided by his family’s company.

Frankie Bordeaux and his wife, Hattie Faye Hardy Bordeaux, signed a settlement with the state in February that included a two-year repayment plan for money improperly collected by Cambridge Behavioral Health Services in Greenville. The first monthly payment, $241,296, was due this month.

An investigation of Cambridge by the state Medicaid office found hundreds of cases of incomplete patient records, “several instances of potential fraud,” duplicate or “canned” notes, and unqualified staff delivering care, according to the settlement. Read more.

Week in Review 03/20/10

3/13/10 – Sen. Scott Brown (R-MA) Delivers Weekly GOP Address on Health Care

“Jihad Jane”: American citizen, white, a woman and a terrorist

In the ongoing war on terror, one new and extremely troubling battle involves the rise of those who are citizens of the United States, that for one reason or another choose to conspire with terrorists. They then plan and attempt to implement attacks in this country or overseas.

Homegrown Terrorists Initially Raise Fewer Red Flags

Holding United States citizenship, a passport allowing for much less scrutiny at borders and in many cases not fitting into the profile that intelligence agencies would consider for an Islamic terrorist, these people pose a real and present risk to the homeland security of our country. It is not until they either slip up or get caught in the surveillance net of other suspects that they are stopped. Until that time they will have the ability to move, recruit and plan under the radar. Read more.

Barclay clears way for Hoffman

Republican Assemblyman Will Barclay isn’t running for the House this year, he said Sunday. Barclay’s decision leaves former Conservative Party candidate Doug Hoffman as the heavyweight among the Republicans hoping to challenge Democratic Rep. Bill Owens. Barclay said his duties in Albany would prevent him from spending time campaigning, and while he considered resigning from the state Assembly, he said that ” fate has it that this is not a good time for someone who thinks his sort of common sense and sound judgment are badly needed right where he is to just walk away.”

The radical left’s latest attack on Glenn Beck

The radical leftists are after Glenn Beck. That’s not unusual, but this time they are using hearsay and have the help of apostate clergy in their attacks.

On his television show, Mr. Beck rightly pointed out that the term “social justice” is code for socialism. He also pointed out that the socialists, and statists have infiltrated some churches as well as other areas of society and rightly suggested that if people were in a church with an apostate clergy that is preaching “social Justice”, they should leave that church.

The reaction from the left wing nut jobs and from the apostate clergy was immediate and fierce. One of the apostate “ministers”, a radical leftist, Jim Wallis, has been especially vocal in his attacks, appearing on TV and radio with every leftist, kook, and talking head, and his written rants are on the almost all of the radical left’s blogs attacking Mr. Beck. Read more.

NC US Senate candidates back health care reform

DURHAM — The Democratic Senate candidates voiced strong support for President Barack Obama’s health care proposal Monday night, separating themselves from the man they hope to replace, Republican Sen. Richard Burr.

The Senate hopefuls said the current health insurance caused too many people with illness to lose their insurance or to go broke paying their medical bills, was too expensive for many small businesses and provided too little competition for private insurers who raise rates at will.

“We have to act now to pass a comprehensive health care reform with a public option,” said Ken Lewis, a Chapel Hill lawyer. “We are closer than we have been in 60 years to getting health care reform …Now is the time to put the pedal to the medal.” Read more.

MoveOn.Org Pledge: DO not Support Dems voting Against Obamacare

Dear MoveOn member,

Health care reform is in serious danger in the House of Representatives: with a handful of conservative Democrats wavering, we don’t yet have the votes to pass the final bill.

So we’re asking every MoveOn member: will you pledge to support progressive primary challengers to House Democrats who side with Republicans to kill health care reform?

With the big vote happening as early as this Friday, conservative Democrats need to know the stakes if they choose to side with Big Insurance over the voters on health care reform. Our pledge will send that message loud and clear. We’ll publicize the amount pledged, and make sure the media and every wavering representative know about it. Read more.

New Glossary Guides People Through Harmful Planning Jargon

RALEIGH — Government planners distort terms such as “affordable housing” and “stakeholders” to attack basic individual freedoms. That’s a key message a John Locke Foundation expert sends with the new planning jargon glossary he’s compiled.

The glossary applies specifically to a new document prepared in connection with Raleigh’s 2030 Comprehensive Plan. Raleigh residents can hear public presentations tonight or Tuesday on that document, “Raleigh’s New Development Code: Diagnostic & Approach Report.”

“This glossary is necessary to help Raleigh’s citizens decipher what planners really mean when they talk about open space, sustainability, best practices, and other terms common in planning reports,” said report author Dr.Michael Sanera, JLF Research Director and Local Government Analyst. “The John Locke Foundation provides this glossary as a public service. Without it, the Diagnostic & Approach Report would be virtually indecipherable. It’s written in ‘PlanningSpeak.’” Read more.

Plan to Take Back NC State Assembly

New conservative 527 group plans to target swing NC state legislative districts throughout 2010 with strategic advertising to inform citizens about state Democrats’ shift to the political left. With liberals on the canvass, we can’t afford NOT to keep the pressure on in NC’s swing state legislative districts – even through the primary season and summer — straight through to November. That is the most sensible way for common-sense conservative values to take back control of our state government. That is our mission.

NC’s swing legislative districts are mostly in affordable media markets where efficient and targeted TV advertising, beginning now while liberals are on the run, can prevent their big government machine from dusting off their candidates, reinventing them and loading them up with millions in cash. Please Donate Now.

U.S. Criticism of Israel Ignites Firestorm

WASHINGTON (AP) — The Obama administration’s fierce denunciation of Israel last week has ignited a firestorm in Congress and among powerful pro-Israel interest groups who say the criticism of America’s top Mideast ally was misplaced.

Since the controversy erupted, a bipartisan parade of influential lawmakers and interest groups has taken aim at the administration’s decision to publicly condemn Israel for its announcement of new Jewish housing in east Jerusalem while Vice President Joe Biden was visiting on Tuesday and then openly vent bitter frustration on Friday.

With diplomats from both countries referring to the situation as a crisis, the outpouring of anger in the United States, particularly from Capitol Hill, comes at a difficult time for the administration, which is now trying to win support from wary lawmakers — many of whom are up for re-election this year — for health care reform and other domestic issues. Read more.

To fight terrorism, follow the money

On Christmas Day, a man allegedly armed with explosives slipped through our defenses and boarded a plane for the United States. But Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab, the man charged with planning this attack, was not the only threat. A sophisticated network — Al Qaeda — allegedly turned him from a lone man with violent desires into a grave threat to U.S. security.

While America remains vigilant in defending against such dangers, we must do more than just stop bombers. We must extinguish the source of their threat: the terrorist networks that recruit, train and arm them in the first place.

To do so, we must deny these networks the dirty money that is their lifeblood. Regardless of where our terrorist enemies are — Afghanistan, Pakistan, Yemen, Somalia or the next place — we must follow their money and execute a battle plan to target and attack it. Read more.

Biden Slips, Honors Memory of Irish PM’s Mother — While She’s Alive

WakeUp America.com asks Obama: “What’s so FUNNY.”

Vice President Biden added to his lengthy list of gaffes Wednesday when he took a moment to honor the memory of the Irish prime minister’s mother — a woman who’s very much alive.

“God rest her soul,” Biden said as he introduced Brian Cowen and President Obama at a St. Patrick’s Day celebration at the White House Wednesday.

The vice president was quick to correct the mistake, noting that it’s Cowen’s father who is no longer living. Read more.

Quartet blasts Israel over East Jerusalem settlements

The Middle East quartet has strongly denounced Israeli moves to build 1,600 new homes in East Jerusalem and urged the Israeli government and Palestinians to resume peace negotiations.

In a hard-hitting statement after a meeting in Moscow, the UN, the EU, Russia and the US condemned Israel’s “unilateral” construction plans and said the status of Jerusalem could only be resolved through negotiations between both parties.

The UN secretary general, Ban Ki-moon, said: “The quartet condemns the decision by the government of Israel to advance planning for new housing units in East Jerusalem.” Read more.

Iran to Bam: Shove your olive branch

TEHRAN, Iran (AP) — Iran’s supreme leader sharply denounced the United States yesterday, accusing it of plotting to overthrow Iran’s clerical leadership, in a chilly response to an overture by President Obama for better ties. Ayatollah Ali Khamenei did not outright reject the offer, saying Iran would monitor US intentions. But the supreme leader said that so far, Washington’s offers of engagement have been a deception.

The exchange was a sign of how Obama’s hopes for dialogue have broken down over Tehran’s rejection of Western demands regarding Iran’s nuclear program and its crackdown on the opposition after disputed presidential elections last June. In his message, released Friday, Obama told Iranians that Americans want better cultural exchanges — but also criticized the Iranian leadership for “turning its back” on US overtures.