Treasury to Lift Cap on Funds to Fannie and Freddie - Big Payouts for Executives

Lawmakers are calling for an investigation of the Treasury Department's decision to lift the cap on government cash for Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, a move that essentially gives unlimited aid to the mortgage giants for the rest of President Barack Obama's term.

Rep. Dennis Kucinich (D-Ohio) said Wednesday that his subcommittee of the Oversight and Government Reform Committee will launch a probe. Separately, Reps. Scott Garrett (R-N.J.) and Spencer Bachus (R-Ala.) requested that the Financial Services Committee hold a hearing on the matter.

On Christmas Eve, the Treasury announced that the government would be able to exceed the $400 billion cap on emergency aid without the consent of Congress, adding another dose of controversy to an already unpopular bailout. While many Wall Street firms have repaid their bailout assistance, Fannie and Freddie, which have together received $111 billion, are unlikely do so. And their executives have received multimillion-dollar compensation packages even as the public rages against lavish executive payments at firms that have received taxpayer money.

Kucinich's investigation will look into the roles of Fannie Mae CEO Michael J. Williams and Freddie CEO Charles E. Haldeman in the decision. He said he "will seek to ensure that the additional assistance is used for homeowners and not Wall Street." - Politico Story

Obama's Change - Not So Much!

Think back to December 2008. Barack Obama had just won a sweeping electoral victory, and the press was speculating about the ways in which Obama had changed America: high-tech campaigns, the post-racial future, even bipartisanship.

But Barack Obama’s first year as president wasn’t always exactly what Americans expected.

The very first thing that surprised us about Obama was just how quickly he let go of the animosity of the Democratic presidential primary against Hillary Clinton — offering the job as Secretary of State just weeks after being elected president. Since then, the first year of Barack Obama’s presidency has been one of near-constant surprises, as the nation learned even more about its new commander in chief, who after all, had been a largely unknown figure just a few years before.

Here are the ten biggest surprises of 2009:

- Politico Story

Support for Waterboarding Terrorist at 58%

Fifty-eight percent (58%) of U.S. voters say waterboarding and other aggressive interrogation techniques should be used to gain information from the terrorist who attempted to bomb an airliner on Christmas Day.

A new Rasmussen Reports national telephone survey finds that just 30% oppose the use of such techniques, and another 12% are not sure.

Men and younger voters are more strongly supportive of the aggressive interrogation techniques than women and those who are older. Republicans and voters not affiliated with either major party favor their use more than Democrats. - Rasmussen Reports Poll

End of Year Polls not Kind to Democrats

The Rasmussen Reports daily Presidential Tracking Poll for Thursday shows that 24% 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 -18.....

Overall, 46% of voters say they at least somewhat approve of the President's performance. At the time of his Inauguration, the President’s approval rating was at 61%.

Fifty-three percent (53%) now disapprove......

In Nebraska, just 17% approve of the Medicaid deal cut by Senator Ben Nelson to secure his vote on health care reform. Nelson is now down by 30 points in an early look at his 2012 Reelection Bid. Republicans now lead by five points on the Generic Congressional Ballot. That’s a big change from the seven-point lead enjoyed by Democrats when President Obama was inaugurated....

-Rasmussen Reports Polls

Obama's Pretend Non War on Terrorism

White House communications director Dan Pfeiffer responds to Dick Cheney's criticism of President Obama, saying that the former vice president is "more focused on criticizing the administration than condemning the attackers."

"To put it simply: this president is not interested in bellicose rhetoric, he is focused on action," Pfeiffer wrote on the White House blog. "Seven years of bellicose rhetoric failed to reduce the threat from Al Qaeda and succeeded in dividing this country. And it seems strangely off-key now, at a time when our country is under attack, for the architect of those policies to be attacking the president."

Cheney had told POLITICO that Obama was "trying to pretend we are not at war." Pfeiffer called the claim "clearly untrue."

"President Obama doesn’t need to beat his chest to prove it, and — unlike the last administration — we are not at war with a tactic (“terrorism”)," he wrote, adding that the United States is "at war with something that is tangible: Al Qaeda and its violent extremist allies. And we will prosecute that war as long as the American people are endangered." - Politico Story

Everyone with half a brain knew it was coming. A Terrorist Attack on American Soil. Obama and his Department of Homeland Security ended the "war on terrorism" instead opting for the "man made disaster" theme.

Well, now they have changed their mind and call the latest Terrorist Act as an attack on America. Is it really an attack, or a near man made disaster?

DHS Secretary first said the system worked. Then the President said it was a system wide failure. Then they are blaming the CIA.

Wait, did we forget to say that Obama and his team earlier in the year with AG Holder decided that the CIA was responsible for treating the Terrorist too harshly. Can't imagine why the CIA wasn't out there doing whatever it takes to keep Terrorist off of American Soil.

Well, for those of you who don't want to listen to Cheney, the Joint Chiefs of Staff, the CIA, or any of the people who stand up and fight the Obama Administration about Gitmo, and transferring these Terrorist to Illinois, This is not the last of the Terrorist Attacks on the USA.

Thank you Obama for taking the WAR ON TERROR back to pre 9/11.

More Government Bailout Money for GMAC

(AP) The U.S. government was moving ahead Wednesday on a fresh multibillion dollar cash infusion to stabilize auto financing company GMAC Financial Services, according to a person with knowledge of the matter.

GMAC, based in Detroit, is instrumental to the operations of automakers General Motors Co. and Chrysler Group LLC. It has already received $12.5 billion in taxpayer money and is 35 percent owned by the federal government.

The person, who spoke on condition of anonymity because discussions weren't complete, says the new infusion would be in the range of another $3 billion. That would fall short of the roughly $6 billion the government had earlier thought GMAC would need to stabilize the company.

An announcement of the injection could come late Wednesday or on Thursday, the person says.

After the government conducted "stress tests" on financial institutions earlier this year, it demanded that that GMAC raise an $11.5 billion capital cushion to help it weather further economic decline. GMAC was unable to raise the funds privately.

The anticipated additional government aid for GMAC would come from the $700 billion taxpayer-financed bailout pot the government set up at the height of the financial crisis last year. The money was intended to shore up banks so that they would boost lending to people and businesses and support the sagging economy. However, money also has been used to help GM, Chrysler, insurance companies and others survive the worst financial crisis and recession since the 1930s.

GMAC has been in negotiations with Treasury officials for months over additional taxpayer aid. - CBS News Story

Obama and DHS Secretary Not on the Same Page

President Obama rendered a harsh verdict on the nation's intelligence community Tuesday. The bottom line said the President, is that U.S. intelligence and law enforcement had enough information to stop accused Northwest 253 bomber Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab from boarding the flight on Christmas, but failed to piece the information together.

"It now appears that weeks ago this information was passed to a component of our intelligence community but was not effectively distributed so as to get the suspect's name on a no-fly list," said the President.

The President said it was clear that the current intelligence system is out of date.

"When our government has information on a known extremist and that information is not shared and acted upon as it should have been," said the President, "a systemic failure has occurred, and I consider that totally unacceptable."

Two days ago, Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano claimed that the information provided by the suspect's father was insufficient to put the son on the no-fly list.

The President flatly rejected that explanation. "Even without this one report," said President Obama, "there were bits of information available within the intelligence community that could have and should have been pieced together." - ABC News Story

US Government was Warned of Possible Terrorist

The U.S. government had intelligence from Yemen before Christmas that leaders of a branch of Al Qaeda there were talking about "a Nigerian" being prepared for a terrorist attack, the New York Times reported Tuesday.

A senior official told the Times that President Obama was told in a private meeting Tuesday while vacationing in Hawaii that the government had a variety of information in its possession before the failed bombing on a Detroit-bound flight last week that would have been a clear warning sign had it been shared among intelligence agencies.

The newspaper said the information did not include the name of the Nigerian. - FOX News Story

Sen. Nelson of Nebraska - 60th Vote for Health Care in Deep Trouble at Home

A new poll suggests that Sen. Ben Nelson (D-Neb.) seriously endangered his political prospects by becoming the decisive 60th vote allowing health care legislation to pass through the Senate.

The Rasmussen survey shows Nelson, who isn’t up for re-election until 2012, badly trailing Gov. Dave Heineman by 31 points in a hypothetical matchup, 61 to 30 percent. A 55 percent majority of Nebraska voters now hold an unfavorable view of the two-term senator, with 40 percent viewing him favorably.

The health care bill is currently very unpopular in Nebraska, according to the Rasmussen poll. Nearly two-thirds of voters (64 percent) oppose the legislation while just 17 percent approve.

Heineman has attacked Nelson’s support for health care reform, even as the senator cut a deal exempting Nebraska from new Medicaid payments and other home-state goodies.

“The reason he’s in hot water right now is that he’s not listening to Nebraskans — it’s very unusual for him,” Heineman told POLITICO last week. “I am shocked.”

Heineman added that he had no plans to run for the Senate, but wouldn't rule out a future bid. - Politico Story

Not So Transparent Obama's Secret Executive Order

President Barack Obama has apparently issued a long-awaited executive order on classification that fulfills one of his campaign promises by setting up a National Declassification Center to oversee the release of historical documents. But the announcement, ironically, is shrouded in secrecy and confusion.

"While the Government must be able to prevent the public disclosure of information that would compromise the national security, a democratic government accountable to the people must be as transparent as possible and must not withhold information for self-serving reasons or simply to avoid embarrassment," National Security Council official William Leary wrote in a blog post announcing the order.

Oddly, that blog post was dated and time stamped at 4:44 p.m. Monday but does not appear to have shown up on the White House website until a little before noon Tuesday. Adding to the mystery, the link to the executive order was dead at that time. Then, shortly after this reporter inquired about that dead link, the entire blog post disappeared.

The order reportedly sets deadlines for declassification of information exempted from automatic 25-year declassification requirements and eliminates a veto the intelligence community held over declassification orders from an interagency panel that hears appeals of such cases. - Politico Story

Governors Rip Health Care - Will Drive States Deeper in Financial Hole

The governors of the nation’s two largest Democratic states are leveling sharp criticism at the Senate health care bill, claiming that it would leave their already financially strapped states even deeper in the hole.

New York Democratic Gov. David Paterson and California GOP Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger are urging congressional leaders to rework the Medicaid financing in the Senate-passed bill, warning that under that version their states will be crushed by billions in new costs.

After the Senate passed the bill in a Christmas Eve vote, Paterson said the expansion would leave New York $1 billion in the lurch. The state faces a $6.8 billion budget shortfall heading into the 2010 fiscal year.

“[I] am deeply troubled that the Senate version of the bill worsens what was already an inequitable situation for New York and I will continue to be an advocate on behalf of New Yorkers to ensure we are treated fairly by this critical federal legislation,” Paterson said in a statement.

In a letter to House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, Schwarzenegger wrote that the legislation would create a “crushing new burden” for a state with a whopping $20.7 billion budget deficit.

“When asked for my support, I was assured that federal legislation would not increase costs to California or include new unfunded mandates,” Schwarzenegger wrote. “Unfortunately, under nearly every scenario we can predict, the federal health care reform legislation being debated would cost California’s General Fund an additional $3 billion to $4 billion annually.”

The resistance from the governors of two Democratic megastates underscores the anxieties facing states as they grapple with the prospect of a massive expansion of the Medicaid program. - Politico Story

Obama Still Hasn't Filled Key Top Agencies Charged with Protecting Airplanes from Terrorists

(AP) Two federal agencies charged with keeping potential terrorists off airplanes and out of the United States have been without their top leaders for nearly a year.

It took the Obama administration more than eight months to nominate anyone to lead the Transportation Security Administration and the Customs and Border Protection agency.

The attempted Christmas Day terrorist attack on a Detroit-bound airliner has prompted a review of U.S. security policies. The acting heads of those agencies - both created in response to the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks - will be at the forefront of these discussions.

Bogged down with health care reform, the Senate has yet to set a date to hold hearings for the Customs position. And Republican Sen. Jim DeMint has placed a hold on the president's choice to head the TSA over the senator's concern that the new leader would let TSA screeners join a labor union. This has some Democrats blaming politics for the vacancy.

Former U.S. attorney Alan Bersin is nominated to run CBP, and former FBI agent and police detective Erroll Southers is the president's pick for TSA.

On Christmas Day, alleged terrorist Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab, a Nigerian who spent time in Yemen, was able to sneak an explosive device aboard his flight from Amsterdam to Detroit, only to be thwarted by the device's apparent failure to work as designed, and aggressive action by other passengers. - CBS News Story

Obama Not Leading During Critical Moments

HONOLULU – There is a sense of déjà vu in the Obama administration’s response to the attempted terrorist attack on Christmas Day. A by-now familiar pattern has been established for dealing with unexpected problems.

First, White House aides downplay the notion that something may have gone wrong on their part. While staying out of the spotlight, the president conveys his efforts to address the situation and his feelings about it through administration officials. After a few days, the White House concedes on the issue, and perhaps Obama even steps out to address it.

That same scenario unfolded over the summer when Obama said Sgt. James Crowley, a white Cambridge, Mass., police officer, “acted stupidly” when he arrested Henry Louis Gates Jr., a black Harvard professor, in his own home. It happened in March when the public was outraged over AIG dishing out hefty bonuses. More recently the public witnessed the dynamic after a security breach at President Barack Obama’s first state dinner.

But the fact that the issue now is a terrorist incident - albeit an unsuccessful one - makes the stakes much higher, and the White House’s usual approach more questionable. That this test of his leadership comes while he’s on vacation in tropical Hawaii further complicates things.

After delivering his first public remarks Monday about a Nigerian man’s attempt to blow up a Northwest Airlines jetliner over Detroit, the president motorcaded over to the golf course at a nearby country club. Optics aside, it had taken Obama three days to issue a statement on the incident, and the administration was left struggling to get control of the message. - Politico Story

Obama's Non-War on Terrorism

Republicans have wasted no time in attacking Democrats on intelligence and screening failures leading up to the failed Christmas Day bombing of Flight 253 — a significant departure from the calibrated, less partisan responses that have followed other recent terrorist activity.

The strategy — coming as the Republican leadership seeks to exploit Democratic weaknesses heading into the 2010 midterms — is in many ways a natural for a party that views protecting the U.S. homeland as its ideological raison d’etre and electoral franchise.

President Obama’s GOP critics have been emboldened during the past 48 hours by the stumbling initial response of Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano, who spent Monday retracting her Sunday claim that “the system worked” in the aftermath of Umar Farouk Abdulmuttalab’s near takedown of a jet ferrying nearly 300 people from Amsterdam to Detroit.

“In the past six weeks, you’ve had the Fort Hood attack, the D.C. Five and now the attempted attack on the plane in Detroit … and they all underscored the clear philosophical difference between the administration and us,” said Rep. Pete Hoekstra (R-Mich.), the ranking Republican on the House Intelligence Committee.

“I think Secretary Napolitano and the rest of the Obama administration view their role as law enforcement, first responders dealing with the aftermath of an attack,” Hoekstra told POLITICO. “And we believe in a forward-looking approach to stopping these attacks before they happen.” - Politico Story

More Terrorist Coming?

American officials have cause to worry there may be more al Qaeda-trained young men in Yemen planning to bring down American jets.

Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab, charged with the attempted Christmas Day bombing of Northwest Airlines flight 253, told FBI agents there were more just like him in Yemen who would strike soon.

And in a tape released four days before the attempted destruction of the Detroit-bound Northwest plane, the leader of al Qaeda in Yemen boasted of what was planned for Americans, saying, "We are carrying a bomb to hit the enemies of God."

Yemen has become a principal al Qaeda training ground and the accused suicide bomber told the FBI he was trained for more than a month in Yemen, given 80 grams of a high explosive cleverly sewn into his underpants, undetected by standard security screening. - ABC News Story

White House Cover Up of Rahm Emanuel's Freddie Mac Dealings?

There are few stranger political bedfellows than conservative anti-tax crusader Grover Norquist and liberal blogger Jane Hamsher. But the two joined forces on Wednesday to call for the resignation of White House chief of staff Rahm Emanuel, in a letter they penned to Attorney General Eric Holder.

The duo contends that Emanuel’s service on the board of the government-sponsored mortgage company Freddie Mac from 2000 to 2001 may have given him some knowledge of alleged financial irregularities at the time.

Norquist and Hamsher say in a letter to Holder that “stonewalling by Mr. Emanuel and the White House” leave them “no redress” other than to call for his resignation. Norquist is the head of the conservative group Americans for Tax Reform, and Hamsher is the publisher of the liberal blog Firedoglake.

In a press release, Norquist said, "Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac should be transparent. There is only one reason that Rahm Emanuel and others have fought to keep how they handled billions of dollars of other people's money hidden from public scrutiny; they are hiding corruption. What would they have us believe they are hiding? Their unexpected business acumen?"

Said Hamsher in the same release, “This administration is pushing for an $800 billion bailout while the organization has no Inspector General or basic oversight, a bullish tactic Emanuel seems to favor while his activities with Freddie Mac are questioned by investigative reporters.”

In the letter to Holder, the two activists noted:

“A 2003 report by Freddie Mac's regulator indicated that Freddie Mac executives had informed the board of their intention to misstate the earnings to insure their own bonuses during the time Mr. Emanuel was a director. But the White House refused to comply with a Freedom of Information Act request from the Chicago Tribune for those board minutes on the grounds that Freddie Mac was a 'commercial' entity, even though it was wholly owned by the government at the time the request was made.” - Politico Story

Democrats Worry about their Jobs in 2010 push for stop on Cap and Trade Bill

Bruised by the health care debate and worried about what 2010 will bring, moderate Senate Democrats are urging the White House to give up now on any effort to pass a cap-and-trade bill next year.

“I am communicating that in every way I know how,” says Sen. Mary Landrieu (D-La.), one of at least half a dozen Democrats who've told the White House or their own leaders that it's time to jettison the centerpiece of their party's plan to curb global warming.

The creation of an economy-wide market for greenhouse gas emissions is as the heart of the climate bill that cleared the House earlier this year. But with the health care fight still raging and the economy still hurting, moderate Democrats have little appetite for another sweeping initiative — especially another one likely to pass with little or no Republican support.

“We need to deal with the phenomena of global warming, but I think it’s very difficult in the kind of economic circumstances we have right now,” said Indiana Democratic Sen. Evan Bayh, who called passage of any economy-wide cap and trade “unlikely.”

At a meeting about health care last month, moderates pushed to table climate legislation in favor of a jobs bill that would be an easier sell during the 2010 elections, according to Senate Democratic aides. - Politico Story

Obama Administration - Homeland Security System Worked?

WASHINGTON -- Despite the ease with which an alleged terrorist boarded a Detroit-bound flight with explosives, the Obama administration says the incident shows the U.S. aviation security system worked yet has ordered investigations into how travelers are placed on watch lists and explosives are detected on passengers.

"The investigation will look backwards and figure out if any signs were missed, if any procedures can be changed," White House press secretary Robert Gibbs said on ABC's "This Week".

Billions of dollars have been spent on aviation security since the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks, when commercial airliners were hijacked and used as weapons.

Much of that money has gone toward training and equipment that some security experts say could have detected the explosive device the 23-year-old Nigerian man is believed to have hidden on his body on a flight from Amsterdam to Detroit.

"One thing I'd like to point out is that the system worked," Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano said Sunday morning on CNN. - FOX News Story

What? It worked? How is that? A person on the Terrorist Watch list boarded a plane with explosives and for the shear fact the explosives failed, made the system work? No wonder he thinks that he is accomplishing things and grades himself a B+.

Health Care Bill Passes - Although Neither Side Likes the Bill

Rep. John Dingell, the longest serving House member in history, woke up early Thursday morning to catch the historic health care vote.

Afterward, the 83-year-old, 28-term congressman stood on crutches in the Senate halls and told reporters that lawmakers will have to accept a lot of what they don’t like in order for the bill to become law.

“It’s pretty clear to me, and I think pretty clear to all of you, that nobody is going to be happy with this,” Dingell said. “There are going to be a lot of surprises, some of them unpleasant, and we’re going to have to start on doing two things: one is setting up the administration and the other is perfecting the legislation as it proceeds.” - Politico Story

US Going Bankrupt - Passing Trillion $ Bills and Authorizing Bigger Debts

A $290 billion increase in the federal debt ceiling narrowly cleared Congress Thursday, giving Treasury just enough leeway to pay the government’s bills into February and setting the stage for a showdown over fiscal policy early next year.

Senate Republicans insisted that 60 votes be required for passage and then held back their own members in order to force as many Democrats as possible to walk the plank on what has never been a popular or easily-explained decision back home.

The same issue returns with a vengeance Jan. 20th when senators will be asked to vote on a still larger, long term debt increase within days of President Barack Obama’s new budget and State of the Union address.

Treasury’s daily statements this week indicate it is still about $65 billion under its current $12.1 trillion ceiling and conservatives argued that special measures could be invoked still to avert default over New Year’s. But with Congress leaving for the holidays, Senate Banking Committee Chairman Christopher Dodd (D—Conn.) said that failure to act would have been “catastrophic” for the U.S. internationally. And Senate Finance Committee Chairman Max Baucus (D—Mont.) said that payments to Social Security recipients were also at risk.

“The bottom line is we have no choice,” Baucus told his colleagues. “We have to approve it.” - Politico Story

Senate Plays with Numbers, Health Care will Increase Deficit by Billions

Republicans, emboldened by a new letter from the Congressional Budget Office, accused Democrats on Wednesday of "Bernie Madoff accounting" for double counting the savings from Medicare as a means to pay for the Senate health care bill.

As the Senate prepares for a crucial vote before final passage of a massive overhaul bill that Democrats argue will reduce the deficit by $132 billion over 10 years, Sen. Jeff Sesssions, R-Ala, said the nearly $500 billion in cuts to Medicare actually will add $300 billion to the deficit

"The real score on this legislation is that it would cause the deficit to increase, and not be a surplus as the president has promised," Sessions told Fox News. "And a lot members of our Congress have said I won't vote for this bill unless it's deficit neutral. It's not deficit neutral. It will add to the debt. That's clear today."

Sen. Judd Gregg, R-N.H., added, "This is Bernie Madoff accounting and it's an outrage."

The senators also spoke at a news conference just hours before the Senate was to take up a procedural vote before a final passage vote Thursday.

"I think it's a potential game changer," Sessions said.

"The seniors have been had and our kids our gonna get the bill," Gregg said. "We're talking here about double-counting, spending the same money twice in order to create a massive new entitlement that has nothing to do with seniors."

A spokesman for Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid claimed the CBO letter dealt explicitly with Medicare, not the overall short and long term budgetary impact of the legislation. But the spokesman did not address the accusation of double counting. - FOX News Story

Housing Market again Crashes, Recovery not here yet

Hopes for a strong recovery in the housing market were dealt a blow on Wednesday when the government said new home sales unexpectedly tumbled in November, taking their steepest decline since the darkest days of the recession amid uncertainty over the extension of a federal tax credit.

The Commerce Department said sales of new homes slumped 11.3% to an annualized pace of 355,000 units last month, surprising analysts who had predicted a rise of 6.2%. Further, the government lowered its estimate for October by 30,000 units to 400,000.

Supplies of new homes jumped from 7.2 months’ worth to 7.9 months.

It seems prospective home buyers were spooked by ambiguity over the extension of the federal tax credit for first-time home buyers, which happened after many contracts would have been signed.

November’s performance was a “hangover from the tax-credit-induced binge in the July thru October period," Peter Boockvar, market strategist at Miller Tabak, wrote in a note.

The surprise drop in new home sales was led by the South, which suffered a 21.1% decline. Sales in the West fell 9.2% and dropped 3.3% in the Northeast. On the other hand, new home sales in the Midwest soared 21.4%.

Meanwhile, prices continued to fall on an annual basis, with the median sales price of a new home in November sinking 1.9% to $217,400. However, prices were up 3.8% from October. - FOX Business Story

Democrats again backing ACORN

The beleaguered community organizing group ACORN properly spent all federal dollars it received in the past five years, according to a study by the nonpartisan Congressional Research Service (CRS).

The report, requested by House Judiciary Committee Chairman John Conyers, D-Mich., also found that no voters who were allegedly registered to vote improperly cast any ballots.

The report comes as the federal government and the California law enforcement officials are probing the Association of Community Organizations for Reform Now -- a group that President Obama worked with in the early 1990s.

The CRS said officials have probed ACORN 46 times.

Rep. Steve King, R-Iowa, has asked Conyers to hold hearings to scrutinize ACORN's activities but Conyers has declined.

ACORN came under fire in September when a series of undercover videos showed a couple posing as a pimp and prostitute receiving advice from ACORN employees on how to evade tax laws. offices.

The CRS report indicated that the filming may have violated laws in Maryland and California, where some of the taping was done. The CRS study says both states "appear to ban private recording of face to face conversations absent the consent of all the participants."

Congress has voted to strip ACORN of federal funding. But a federal judge ruled this month that the move was unconstitutional -- a decision that the Justice Department is appealing.

The CRS indicated that courts "may have sufficient basis" to rule that unconstitutional. The Constitution bans "bills of attainder," laws that specifically target one group or person. - FOX News Story

Obama Running Fast and Far Away from Public Option

Now that the Senate has firmly rejected the public option, President Obama is trying his darnedest to distance himself from the controversial, and failed, proposal. But that may be harder than he thought.

In an American Urban Radio interview yesterday, he said, "this is not the most important aspect of this bill." And today he told The Washington Post, "I didn't campaign on the public option."

But that's not true. In a campaign position paper on health care, Obama mentions the public plan eight times. The Obama-Biden campaign wrote:

Through the Exchange, any American will have the opportunity to enroll in the new public plan or an approved private plan, and income-based sliding scale tax credits will be provided for people and families who need it. Insurers would have to issue every applicant a policy and charge fair and stable premiums that will not depend upon health status. The Exchange will require that all the plans offered are at least as generous as the new public plan and meet the same standards for quality and efficiency. Insurers would be required to justify an above-average premium increase to the Exchange. (h/t: Think Progress)

Candidate Obama also signed on to the principles set down by the progressive group Health Care for America Now, the biggest proponent of a government-run plan. Those principles included support for a public option:

Everyone gets a choice of health insurance plans, including the right to keep your current insurance, choose another private plan or to join a public health insurance plan.

And while it's true that reform will include many of the reforms he ran on, it's not accurate for the president to claim he didn't run on passing a public option - Politico Story

Democrat Moving to Republican blames House Leadership

Democratic Rep. Parker Griffith announced Tuesday that he's switching parties – saying he can no longer align himself “with a party that continues to pursue legislation that is bad for our country, hurts our economy and drives us further and further into debt.”

“Unfortunately there are those in the Democratic Leadership that continue to push an agenda focused on massive new spending, tax increases, bailouts and a health care bill that is bad for our healthcare system,” Griffith said in a statement. “I have always considered myself to be an independent voice and I have tried to be that voice in Congress – but after watching this agenda firsthand I now believe that the differences in the two parties could not be more clear and that for me to be true to my core beliefs and values I must align myself with the Republican party and speak out clearly on these issues.

Griffith’s party switch comes on the eve of a pivotal congressional health care vote and will send a jolt through a Democratic House Caucus that has already been unnerved by the recent retirements of a handful of members who, like Griffith, hail from districts that offer prime pickup opportunities for the GOP in 2010.

The switch represents a coup for the House Republican leadership, which had been courting Griffith since he publicly criticized the Democratic leadership in the wake of raucous town halls during the summer. - Politico Story

Democrat Jumps Ship for Republican Party, More to Come?

The outlook for the 2010 elections just grew dimmer for Democrats, with the abrupt announcement Tuesday that Rep. Parker Griffith, an Alabama freshman, was jumping to the Republican Party.

While Griffith’s departure from the now 257-member Democratic Caucus will have almost no impact on the balance of power in the House, his party switch highlighted the growing unease among the Democratic Party’s most vulnerable members about the party’s ambitious national agenda and its role in contributing to the deteriorating political environment in which they must run for reelection.

Publicly, congressional Democrats mostly remained silent, a reflection of the unexpected timing —Griffith blindsided House leadership with the news and had even attended Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s pre-recess holiday party — and a desire to downplay the significance of his exit.

In the only statement issued by a top Democrat, Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee Chairman Chris Van Hollen simply asked for the party’s money back after devoting considerable resources to his 2008 election and reelection campaign.

"We were committed to helping Mr. Griffith deliver for his constituents and successfully helped Mr. Griffith fend off the personal attacks against him from the far right,” said Van Hollen in a statement. “Mr. Griffith, failing to honor our commitment to him, has a duty and responsibility to return to Democratic Members and the DCCC the financial resources that were invested in him. His constituents will hold him accountable for failing to keep his commitments.”

A Griffith spokesman confirmed to POLITICO on Tuesday that DCCC money would be returned.

During last year’s election, the DCCC poured more than $1 million into Alabama’s 5th Congressional District in an effort to fend off attacks on Griffith from the National Republican Congressional Committee and other conservative groups. Pelosi herself recently donated $2,000 to Griffith’s campaign coffers. - Politico Story

Democrats Push for Health Care Fast then Attempt to Rebuild Image for Elections

The White House privately anticipates health care talks to slip into February — past President Barack Obama’s first State of the Union address — and then plans to make a “very hard pivot” to a new jobs bill, according to senior administration officials.

Obama has been told that disputes over abortion and the tight schedule are highly likely to delay a final deal, a blow to the president, who had hoped to trumpet a health care victory in his big speech to the nation. But he has also been told that House Democratic leaders seem inclined, at least for now, to largely accept the compromise worked out in the Senate, virtually ensuring he will eventually get a deal.

Internally, White House aides are plunging into a 2010 plan calling for an early focus on creating jobs, especially in the energy sector, along with starting a conversation about deficit reduction measures, the administration officials said.

Both will be major themes for his first State of the Union speech, which will most likely take place on Jan. 26 or Feb. 2. White House aides are in the early stages of planning for the national address, but Obama will not only trumpet what he has described as his “B-plus” performance in 2009 but also set the stage for the 2010 congressional campaigns.

Obama and Democrats seem in agreement that they want to minimize the number of tough votes moderates in their party must take in the aftermath of the health care debate. They also seem in agreement that a jobs bill is a must — and that they need to show a serious commitment to reducing the deficit, a very difficult task after racking up record spending in Obama’s first year. - Politico Story

If the American People allow the Democrats to spend and spend and then fall for their debt reducing talk in an election year, we deserve the hell that we are getting ready to go through. These are the most corrupt politicians in the world. It is amazing that we will attack leaders from other countries for the corrupt government, but the USA is just as if not more corrupt. Our Senators and House bribe each other to win votes and call that business as usual. WOW. This is such great change that we got!!!!

Nebraska Senator Takes Big Payout for Vote

Sen. Ben Nelson in a single day won more friends than he can count -- and certainly more enemies.

With the Nebraska senator's decision to back Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid's health care bill, the partisan sea in his state has parted, with Democrats on one side applauding him for saving the bill and Republicans assailing him on the other.

Nebraska Democrats held a press conference Monday to sing Nelson's praises. State Sen. Danielle Conrad, one of the handful of state and local officials there, said Nelson did his job by protecting his state.

The news conference came after Nelson broke in favor of the bill on Saturday, giving Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid the 60 votes he needs to overcome a GOP filibuster. Nelson joined 59 other senators in the first successful test vote shortly after 1 a.m. ET Monday.

But with the Senate bill now heading toward a final vote after months of negotiations, Nebraska Republicans see Nelson's decision as unforgivable.

"Senator Nelson frankly did a horrendous job negotiating and sold Nebraskans down the river," Nebraska Republican Party Chairman Mark Fahleson said. The state GOP has launched a new Web page, GiveBentheBoot.com, to collect online donations in order to "retire" Nelson.

Fahleson said Nelson's decision makes the second-term senator highly vulnerable once he's up for re-election in 2012. The chairman said Nelson to this point has stayed in office in conservative Nebraska by running as a moderate, but his health care vote "obliterates" that persona. - FOX News Story

Bribery and Pork to get Health Bill Passed

The multimillion-dollar deals cut with Sen. Ben Nelson (D-Neb.) and others to win the 60 votes needed for the historic health care reform bill gave President Barack Obama the margin he needed to fulfill a central campaign promise — but may also have upped the ante for future presidential horse trading.

With the bill hanging in the balance, Nelson won a provision exempting his state from paying the usual share of costs for new Medicaid patients. The deal critics have dubbed the Cornhusker Kickback is expected to cost the federal government $100 million over 10 years.

Before a close vote last month, Sen. Mary Landrieu (D-La.) won an even larger break for her state — an estimated $300 million in extra federal spending, in a move opponents derided as the Louisiana Purchase.

Some critics branded the special deals as functionally equivalent to the kind of earmarks Obama crusaded against as a senator — and a quantum leap from eleventh-hour deals Obama’s predecessors have cut.

After Nelson and Landrieu, what will key congressional swing votes want from future White Houses?

“It’s a much bigger deal, a much larger piece of legislation than half-a-million dollars for a peanut museum in North Carolina,” said Thomas Schatz of Citizens Against Government Waste. “We’re now talking about programs worth hundreds of millions or billions of dollars. ... Sooner or later, other members are going to be saying: Why didn’t I think of this?” - Politico Story

Democratic Senator Gets Big Pay Off to Vote for Health Bill

WASHINGTON - With a self-imposed Christmas deadline at stake, Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid said Saturday he has apparently secured the 60 votes needed to pass a sweeping overhaul of the U.S. health care system.

"It seems that way," Reid said when asked at a news conference if he had all the required votes.

Reid's declaration came after he engineered a last-minute compromise in the health care debate that won the support of the lone Democratic holdout. The Congressional Budget Office said Reid's revisions would reduce the federal deficit by $132 billion over 10 years.

Marathon negotiations among the White House, Senate Democratic leaders and Sen. Ben Nelson, a conservative Democrat from Nebraska, produced fresh concessions that will mean additional abortion restrictions in the legislation and funding to cover poor people for Nelson's state and more.

"I know this is hard for some of my colleagues to accept and I appreciate their right to disagree. But I would not have voted for this bill without these provisions," Nelson said at a news conference in the Capitol.

Democratic leaders offered Nelson a deal similar to the $300 million in Medicaid assistance Sen. Mary Landrieu of Louisiana got for her support, numerous sources told Fox News.

When asked about this, Sen. Kent Conrad, a key Democratic leader involved in the negotiations with Nelson, said, "Oh, it'll be much more." - FOX News Story

I know that this happens all the time in Washington, but it just doesn't seem right. Senators and Congressman holding out or receiving big payouts for their state if they agree to vote one way or another. Shouldn't the bills have to stand and be voted on based on their own merit? Not because there is a bribe in their for you. Why is it illegal for me to pay off a government official to approve something or vote a certain way? It is the same thing that happens in Washington everyday?

Sen. Franken Shuts Down Sen. Lieberman

Senate Health Bill - No One Supports it Except the "Just Pass a Bill Crowd"

Democrats in the Senate still face a filibuster threat from within their own party as they try to push health care legislation to a vote, though the key holdout says he's merely interested in "getting it right."

Nebraska Sen. Ben Nelson said Thursday he was unsatisfied by a proposed compromise on the issue of federal abortion funding in the Senate's health care reform bill -- but even if that is resolved, he still might support a filibuster if other issues he has raised aren't addressed.

A spokesman for Nelson told Fox News on Thursday that the Nebraska Democrat also is concerned with controlling costs in the sweeping reform legislation -- indicating that his support is far from secure.

Nelson is the last known holdout among the 60 senators in the Democratic caucus, which includes independent Sens. Joe Lieberman of Connecticut and Bernie Sanders of Vermont. Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid needs 60 votes to overcome a filibuster.

"Unlike some who have decided they won't negotiate .... he has been very critical and wanted to move the bill as far as he could," Nelson's spokesman, Jake Thompson, told Fox News.

Nelson lashed out at the new language on abortion in the Senate bill on Thursday, saying it doesn't satisfy his concerns.

In an interview with the Fox News Radio affiliate KLIN in Nebraska, the senior senator said an attempt at compromise doesn't get to the fundamental issue of barring federal funding for abortions.

"I can't tell you that they couldn't come up with something that would be satisfactory on abortion between now and then and solve all the other issues that I've raised to them, but I don't see how," he said in the interview. "So I'm less interested in a deadline than I am in getting it right."

Catholic and anti-abortion groups have also weighed in against the new language, which attempts to separate public from private funding of abortion. - FOX News Story

This bill is so bad that they are having to resort to arm twisting and threatening to try and get it pass. It is quite apparent that this isn't a bill about true Health Care Reform, but a political bill to try and help the Democrats during an election year.

Democrats Showing Power and Losing Friends

Democratic Sen. Al Franken took the unusual step Thursday of shutting down Sen. Joe Lieberman on the Senate floor.

Lieberman, a Connecticut independent, currently is the target of liberal wrath over his opposition to a government-run insurance plan in the health care bill.

Franken was presiding over the Senate Thursday afternoon as Lieberman spoke about amendments he planned to offer to the bill. Lieberman asked for an additional moment to finish -- a routine request -- but Franken refused to grant the time.

"In my capacity as the senator from Minnesota, I object," Franken said.

"Really?" said Lieberman. "OK."

Lieberman then said he'd submit the rest of his statement in writing.

Republican Sen. John McCain of Arizona came to his friend Lieberman's defense, saying he'd never seen such a thing occur.

"I must say that I don't know what's happening here in this body but I think it's wrong," McCain said on the floor.

Franken's spokeswoman, Jess McIntosh, said that the Minnesota senator wouldn't allow Lieberman to continue because time limits were being enforced by Senate leaders rushing to finish a defense spending bill and get to the health bill. - FOX News

Democratic Senator Al Franken, I would just say that you successfully put Sen. Lieberman solidly back in the Republican camp by being a total Jackass. Thank you for your support.

Wisconsin Democats Play Dirty in Governors Race

The Wisconsin Democratic Party is taking an highly unconventional approach in attacking GOP gubernatorial hopeful Scott Walker by posting graphic images of an unclean courthouse bathroom.

The repulsive state of the bathrooms in the Milwaukee County Courthouse — whose janitorial services Walker privatized recently as part of his role as county executive — first became a campaign issue last Friday when a local television station ran a story demonstrating in detail the bathrooms’ conditions.

As part of Walker’s decision to outsource some government services, 25 members of the courthouse’s janitorial staff were laid off. In protest, only four of the 20 scheduled to work show up on December 11 — their last day of work and the day news cameras recorded video of the restrooms.

Still images taken from the report of clogged toilets, overflowing trash cans and used paper towels are posted on the state Democratic Party’s website and linked to high up on the Wisconsin Democrats homepage (Warning: Graphic images). - Politico Story

Obama Team Holding up Stimulus Spending until 2010 Election Year

Sharpening their attacks on one of President Obama’s early legislative successes, Republican lawmakers have begun charging that the stimulus spending bill is being used not to create jobs and lift the struggling economy, as Obama claimed, but to advance the political fortunes of the Democratic Party.

Republican members of congressional committees that oversee the stimulus are touting a lengthy list of line items from the nearly $800 billion spending bill that have received little to no funding in the measure’s first ten months of existence. And with roughly half of the expenditures slated to occur during fiscal year 2010, which runs from October 1 of this year through next September 30, the Republicans allege the spending is structured and timed to help Democrats in the rough political climate of the 2010 midterm elections.

“We were told in January we had to pass this massive $787 billion stimulus program in a hurry, so that the money could get out of town for shovel-ready job-creating projects,” said Rep. Jack Kingston, R-Ga., a member of the House Appropriations Committee. "And yet with only 12 percent (of the stimulus funds having been spent), we've got to ask ourselves: Is the administration – run by the politicals, David Axelrod and Rahm Emanuel – sitting on the money on purpose, so they can trickle it out in 2010, the election year?”

Republicans on the Appropriations Committee have disseminated figures, covering Fiscal Year 2009, to demonstrate the slowness with which stimulus funding is being doled out . An analysis by the committee’s minority staff noted, for example, that of the nearly $6 billion authorized in the stimulus package for energy efficiency measures, only $3 million – less than one percent of the authorization – had been spent. For “smart grid” projects, which employ digital technology to regulate the use of energy-consuming appliances in private homes, none of the $4.5 billion authorized had been spent. And for weatherization initiatives, $174 million of the total $5 billion authorized, or some three percent, had been spent.

“The Pentagon spends money rapidly, FEMA [the Federal Emergency Management Agency] spends money rapidly,” said Kingston. “We have had models where the bureaucracy can actually get the money out of town. And yet on this one – which, again, was passed in this great fervor of urgency – the money is still here in Washington, D.C.

“The bureaucracy is sitting on the money. And I don’t even think they're that incompetent, that it's been slowed because of the bureaucracy. I think it’s going to be drummed out during the election year.” - Fox News Story

Former Democratic Party Chairman Calls for Death of Democratic Health Care Bill

President Obama rejected a call by the former Democratic Party chairman to kill the current Senate health care bill, a White House spokesman said.

Former Democratic National Committee Chairman Howard Dean, a physician who also was Vermont governor and a former presidential candidate, said on national television Wednesday he believed legislation in the Senate would now benefit the insurance industry more than it helps Americans struggling to gain health coverage or pay for it.

Dean said the bill was an "insurance company's dream."

But White House spokesman Robert Gibbs said if that's the case, "I don't think the insurance companies have gotten the memo" and continue fighting so hard against the measure.

The sharp exchange came as Senate Democratic leaders push for a vote on the health care bill just before Christmas. The president, who is scheduled to take a vacation at that time, has not indicated if he would stay in Washington for that vote.

Dean told ABC's "Good Morning America" that Washington conventional wisdom has become "passing any bill is a victory. Decisions are being made about the long-term future of this country for short-term political reasons. And that's never a good sign."

Dean went on to imply that 27 percent of the money put into the new health care program by individuals won't go to their own health care, and that only a small number of people will get any insurance at all before the year 2014 if the bill works in its current form.

But Gibbs said those claims "quite simply weren't true."

"Nobody will be required to purchase something they can't afford. There are hardship exemptions and subsidies based on income levels that help people afford insurance," Gibbs said. "He went on later in the interview to discuss the notion that legislation no longer contains anything that addresses pre-existing conditions. That's simply flat-out wrong." - FOX News Story

House Vs. Senate - Democrats Vs. Democrats

House Democrats’ long-simmering frustration with the slow pace of the Senate has begun to boil over, with a broad swath of Democratic representatives accusing their Senate colleagues of failing both their party and their country.

The cross-chamber assessment is brutal:

• “There is a growing sense that we’re lifting more than our share,” says California Rep. Xavier Becerra, a member of the Democrats’ leadership team in the House. “Members are hoping the Senate will kick into gear because the public expects a lot more to get done.”

• “Sometimes I get the feeling that some of those guys [in the Senate] just like to see their names in the paper and see their faces on TV,” says Massachusetts Rep. Jim McGovern.

• “I talk a lot about the psychology of consensus,” says House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer (D-Md.). “Too often, it appears, that the psychology in the Senate is the psychology of one.”

• “When it comes to a jobs bill, the Senate seems more interested in dithering,” says first-year Rep. Tom Perriello, a Virginia Democrat whohas taken heat back home for tough votes on climate change and health care — two issues that remain bottled up in slow-moving Senate deliberations.

• “If you just take a look at the number of bills we’ve sent to the Senate and what they’ve done, I don’t know what they’re doing with their time honestly,” says Rep. Zoe Lofgren (D-Cal.).

• “I think the majority leader sometimes has to have the leadership to resolve these things,” says Pennsylvania Rep. Joe Sestak, a Democrat challenging Sen. Arlen Specter, in a direct attack on Sen. Harry Reid (D-Nev.). “I understand it’s politically challenging, but we have the votes — and we should be doing much better than we are. I think this place needs a change, quite frankly.” - Politico Story

Couldn't agree with him more. Hopefully 2010 will bring change. Lots and lots of change. The kind of change that stops the madness of excessive spending and Big Government takeover in America.

Terrorist Heading to Illinois

President Barack Obama seems to have won over enough Congressional Democrats to push forward with his plan to move Guantanamo prisoners to a facility in rural Illinois, but the official announcement Tuesday triggered a firestorm of criticism that could undercut his stated goal of depriving Al Qaeda of a key propaganda point.

“In taking this action, we are removing from terrorist organizations around the world the recruiting tool that Guantanamo has come to symbolize,” National Security Adviser James Jones told reporters.

“Today’s announcement that the federal government will acquire the Thomson Correctional Center in Thomson, Illinois, to house federal inmates and a limited number of detainees from Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, is an important step forward as we work to achieve our national security objectives,” another top administration official said in a conference call with reporters.

But some critics said they feared that the Illinois facility, like the one in Cuba, could end up being a place where detainees are held indefinitely without trial.

Asked whether the proposed prison might be billed as an “Illinois Gitmo” to rally extremists against the United States, White House Press Secretary Robert Gibbs said, “not in any way, shape, or form nearly to the degree that currently exists.”

....

But Kirk Lippold, commander of the U.S.S. Cole when it was attacked by terrorists in 2000, said Obama was unwisely inviting all the dangers of Guantanamo onto U.S. shores.

“The Administration is now adding economic manipulation to its bag of tricks to convince the American people that somehow they will be better off if terrorists are held and tried in our towns and communities, instead of a state-of-the-art detention facility built for that purpose,” Lippold said. “Gitmo North is not the answer.”

Said Cheney: “Americans did not elect President Obama to usher terrorists onto the homeland and call it a jobs program.” - Politico Story

Democrat Howard Dean - Kill Senate Health Care Reform

For all the renewed optimism around health care’s prospects emanating from the White House, a reality check this afternoon courtesy of Howard Dean.

Dean, the former Democratic National Committee chairman and medical doctor, said in an interview set to air this afternoon on Vermont Public Radio that the removal of the Medicare buy-in means the Senate health care bill is no longer worth supporting, according to Greg Sargent of The Plum Line blog.

“This is essentially the collapse of health care reform in the United States Senate,” Dean said, per Sargent. “Honestly the best thing to do right now is kill the Senate bill, go back to the House, start the reconciliation process, where you only need 51 votes and it would be a much simpler bill.” - ABC News Story

More Polls Showing Obama Approval Free Fall

A double punch of persistent economic discontent and growing skepticism on health care reform has knocked Barack Obama's key approval ratings to new lows, clouding his administration's prospects at least until the jobless rate eases.

Fifty percent of Americans in this ABC News/Washington Post poll approve of the president's work overall, down 6 points in the last month; nearly as many, 46 percent, now disapprove. On the economy, 52 percent disapprove, a majority for the first time. On the deficit, his worst score, 56 percent disapprove. - ABC News Story

Democratic Health Reform Bill Continues to Change

More than anything else in Barack Obama’s presidency so far, health reform has exposed a get-a-deal-at-any-cost side of Obama that infuriates his party’s progressives.

And as Democrats tried to salvage health reform Tuesday, some liberals could barely hide their sense of betrayal that the White House and congressional Democrats have been willing to cut deals and water down what they consider the ideal vision of reform.

“The Senate version is not worth passing,” former Democratic National Committee Chairman Howard Dean told POLITICO, referring to plans to strip the latest compromise from the bill, a Medicare buy-in. “I think in this particular iteration, this is the end of the road for reform.”

Dean said there are some good elements in the bill, but lawmakers should pull the plug and revisit the issue in Obama’s second term, unless Democrats are willing to shortcut a GOP filibuster. “No one will think this is health care reform. This is not even insurance reform,” he said.

The White House pushed back hard at liberals’ complaints Tuesday, with Obama talking up what’s in the plan but not saying a word about what’s been left out:

A single-payer plan, a public option, a state “opt-out” of the public option, a trigger and a Medicare buy-in — all ideas pushed by Democrats and blessed by Obama at various times but now gone from the bill. - Politico Story

Democrat Immigration Reform - Pay $500 and You are now Legal

Lawmakers pushing for immigration reform say job losses and a sluggish economy should not deter legislation legalizing illegal immigrants.

A coalition of Democrats say fixing the immigration system can help American workers as well.

Black, Hispanic, Asian, progressive and other Democrats unveiled the kind of immigration reform they want at a Capitol Hill news conference Tuesday.

They are proposing that illegal immigrants register with the government, pay a $500 fine for each adult, learn English, pass background checks and meet other requirements. They then are eligible for a six-year visa and when that is done a green card. - FOX News Story

Obama Bringing Terrorist to USA

President Barack Obama has ordered the federal government to acquire an underused state prison in rural Illinois to be the new home for a limited number of terror suspects now held at the U.S. detention facility at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba.

The federal government will acquire Thomson Correctional Center in Thomson, Ill., transforming the prison in a sleepy town near the Mississippi River into a prison that exceeds "supermax standards," according to a letter to Illinois Gov. Pat Quinn signed by Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, Defense Secretary Robert Gates, Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano, Attorney General Eric Holder and Director of National Intelligence Dennis C. Blair.

Those departments "will work closely with state and local law enforcement authorities to identify and mitigate any risks" at the prison, the letter said.

The decision is an important step toward closing Guantanamo Bay. Thomson, about 150 miles from Chicago, is expected to house both federal inmates and no more than 100 detainees from Guantanamo Bay.

Illinois Sen. Richard Durbin and Quinn were receiving briefings Tuesday on the plan at the White House.

Administration officials, speaking on condition of anonymity, said they could not yet lay out a timeframe for when a transfer of detainees from the Navy-run detention facility to Thomson. They said the administration would have to work with Congress to amend laws and secure funding before any prisoners are brought to U.S. soil.

The officials said military tribunals for potential detainees would be held at Thomson. They also said that the facility could house detainees whom the president determines must be held indefinitely but can't be tried. - CBS News Story

Health Care Bill Struggling as Obama Pushes

In a provocative argument designed to rescue his foundering health-care plan, President Barack Obama will warn Senate Democrats in a White House meeting Tuesday that this is the "last chance" to pass comprehensive reform.

Obama will contend that if it fails now, no other president will attempt it, aides said.

White House Communications Director Dan Pfeiffer told POLITICO: "If President Obama doesn't pass health reform, it’s hard to imagine another president ever taking on this Herculean task. For those whose life's work is reforming health care, this may be the last train leaving the station."

Previewing the message, Vice President Joe Biden said on MSNBC's "Morning Joe": "If health care does not pass in this Congress ... it's going to be kicked back for a generation."

The new argument comes as the Senate races to pass the measure by Christmas, in the face of a costly setback this week. Senate Democrats say they are prepared to drop a plan to expand Medicare coverage after Sen. Joe Lieberman (I-Conn.) said he could not support it.

That could keep the bill alive but would infuriate the party's liberals, who feel the moderate Lieberman has thwarted them once again.

Biden said on MSNBC: ""Say it ain't so. ... Joe is a great guy. ... I think Joe's judgment is wrong on this."

Senate strategists say the current impasse will have to resolved in the next couple days in order to allow passage by year's end.

Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) declined to say whether the Medicare expansion would be dropped and was waiting for congressional scorekeepers to put a price tag on the plan before making a final decision. - Politico Story

Obama's Democrats Continue Deficit Spending Binge

A $446.8 billion omnibus spending bill, covering the heart of the domestic budget, cleared Congress Sunday, capping a year that has seen double-digit growth for many agencies on top of the giant economic recovery package approved just 10 months ago.

The 57-35 Senate roll call came as negotiators neared agreement on a $626 billion defense bill, the final piece of the 2010 budget and a powerful locomotive to pull a pre-Christmas legislative train of year-end items.

Chief among these could be a much-needed adjustment to the Treasury’s borrowing authority to manage the growing national debt which will soon top $12.1 trillion.

Democrats project that $1.8 trillion in new authority will be needed to carry the government through the coming year and past the 2010 elections. No more than half of this increase can be directly attributed to President Barack Obama’s spending appetites, but it’s his burden to carry now and a major challenge in leading his party. - Politico Story

Obama Continues Free Falling in Approval Polls

The Rasmussen Reports daily Presidential Tracking Poll for Sunday shows that 23% of the nation's voters Strongly Approve of the way that Barack Obama is performing his role as President. Forty-two percent (42%) Strongly Disapprove giving Obama a Presidential Approval Index rating of -19.

Today is the second straight day that Obama’s Approval Index rating has fallen to a new low. Prior to the past two days, the Approval Index had never fallen below -15 during Obama’s time in office (see trends).

The 23% who Strongly Approve matches the lowest level of enthusiasm yet recorded. Just 41% of Democrats Strongly Approve while 69% of Republicans Strongly Disapprove. Among voters not affiliated with either major party, 21% Strongly Approve and 49% Strongly Disapprove. - Rasmussen Reports Poll

Obama Approval Continues to Slip

The Rasmussen Reports daily Presidential Tracking Poll for Saturday shows that 25% of the nation's voters Strongly Approve of the way that Barack Obama is performing his role as President. Forty-one percent (41%) Strongly Disapprove giving Obama a Presidential Approval Index rating of -16. That’s the lowest Approval Index rating yet recorded for this President (see trends).

The 25% who Strongly Approve matches the lowest level of enthusiasm yet recorded. That’s partly the result of declining enthusiasm among Democrats. While Democrats continue to offer their approval, just 43% Strongly Approve.

Among all voters, 36% now believe that the president is doing a good or an excellent job handling the economy while 45% rate his performance in this area as poor. Seventy-one percent (71%) of Democrats say he’s doing a good or excellent job on the economy while 74% of Republicans say poor. Among those not affiliated with either major party, 52% give the President poor marks when it comes to the economy. - Rasmussen Reports Poll

Senate Health Care Compromise Up in the Air

WASHINGTON – Senate Democrats are considering changing a proposed expansion of Medicare to address complaints from doctors and hospitals and defray costs for consumers, officials said Thursday, two days after party leaders hailed it as part of a breakthrough for health care.

Under the plan, uninsured individuals ages 55 to 64 could purchase coverage under Medicare. The expansion is part of a compromise for dropping a full-blown national government-run insurance plan from the legislation that Democrats and the White House hope to push through the Senate by Christmas.

The American Hospital Association and American Medical Association have both criticized the proposed Medicare expansion since it was announced Tuesday night, saying the program pays health care providers less than private insurance companies, and warning against increasing the number of patients.

"We are trying to find a solution," Sen. Max Baucus, D-Mont., chairman of the Senate Finance Committee, told reporters in the Capitol, saying that the groups had raised legitimate concerns.

Separately, officials said there were discussions about the possibility of defraying the expense of Medicare coverage for uninsured individuals under 65. Under some estimates, the cost could be as high as $7,600 annually — more than $600 a month — until subsidies become available in 2014. - Fox News Story

Do Israeli's Know Obama Better Than Some Americans?

A new poll of Israelis suggests that President Barack Obama is better-liked in the Jewish state than widely believed.

But the poll, released by advocates for more expansive American and Israeli efforts for peace with the Palestinians, also shows deep distrust for the American president among Israelis, a majority of whom view him as “weak on terrorism.”

The study by the New America Foundation found that 41% of Israelis have favorable views of Obama, while 37% view him unfavorably. That standing "is notably stronger than opinion toward the Israeli Defense and Foreign Ministers, and his unfavorable rating is only four points higher than the unfavorable rating for George W. Bush," the study's authors found. - Politico Story

Obama Below 50% Approval Across The Board

Polling is a snapshot, but it is also all in how the question is asked. Either way, Obama is finding his approval slipping to below 50% across the board.

CBS/NY Times 50% Approve 39% Disapprove
IPSOS/McClatch 49% Approve 49% Disapprove
Rasmussen 48% Approve 52% Disapprove
Gallup 50% Approve 45% Disapprove
Bloomberg 54% Approve 41% Disapprove
Marist 46% Approve 44% Disapprove
Quinnipiac 46% Approve 44% Disapprove

Bloomberg must have talked to many more Democrats as their polling numbers don't match into the trend.

Obama is in trouble as he is rolling out more and more. In the past week he has increased Troops in Afghanistan, Received his Nobel Prize, Health Care is Closer to Passing and he is pushing for more spending to create jobs. Yet his numbers are falling and falling fast.

The most notable poll asked whether you would rather have former President George W. Bush as President or President Obama? Obama won but only by 3% points, 47% preferring Obama while 44% Bush. Not good news if you are a Democrat.

The Misuse of Knowledge for Political Gain

"Knowledge is becoming more specialized and more dispersed, while government power is becoming more concentrated," writes economist Arnold Kling in his new book, "Unchecked and Unbalanced." "This discrepancy creates the potential for government to become increasingly erratic and, as a result, less satisfying to individuals."

"Less satisfying to individuals" is a mild way to put it. In a recent Annenberg focus group, pollster Peter Hart asked Philadelphia suburbanites to write the name that came to mind when they thought of Congress. A retired auto executive and 2008 Obama voter wrote, "Satan." When asked why, he said, "Because I wasn't sure of the correct spelling of 'Beelzebub.'"

Kling's point is that such disenchantment is inevitable when government officeholders make sweeping decisions about matters on which they lack, and only a few specialists have, detailed knowledge. Which is what Congress and the Obama administration have been busy doing these past 11 months. - Rasmussen Reports Story

Obama White House Serves Up ACORN Cookies

Any fan of Cookie Monster on Sesame Street knows that "C" is for cookie.

But at the Obama White House, "A" may be for acorn -- as in acorn cookies served at Monday's annual Christmas party.

The chocolate cookies shaped like an acorn were quite a hit with Rep. Steve King, R-Iowa.

"I didn't expect to see such stark symbolism," King said in an e-mail.

President Obama worked with the community organizing group ACORN in the mid-90s. But now ACORN faces a host of allegations related to voter fraud in the 2008 election and has been weakened by an undercover expose that shows employees offering tax advice to a couple posing as a pimp and prostitute.

The irony of the White House dishing out acorn-shaped chocolate cookies seemed a little, well, "nutty" to King. The Iowa Republican is one of the loudest voices calling for Congress to investigate ACORN.

King pocketed several of the acorn cookies at the White House soiree and even stowed a few at home in his freezer. King even delivered a real acorn to House Judiciary Committee John Conyers, D-Mich., in an effort to launch a dialogue about the organization's legal woes.

"Bill Clinton redefined a two and a three-letter word," King said, a reference to Clinton's denial of the Lewinsky scandal . "But from the man who wrote 'The Audacity of Hope,' we were served the very redefinition of the word 'audacity.'" - Politico Story

44% of Americans Would Prefer to Have Bush back in Office over Obama

If White House officials were peeved at Gallup Poll for its reporting on President Barack Obama’s recent slide to 47 percent approval — and they were — imagine the reaction at 1600 Pennsylvania Ave. to the survey released Wednesday by Public Policy Polling, which also reported the president’s approval rating at 47 percent, but added this analysis:

“Perhaps the greatest measure of Obama’s declining support is that just 50 percent of voters now say they prefer having him as president to George W. Bush, with 44 percent saying they’d rather have his predecessor. Given the horrendous approval ratings Bush showed during his final term, that’s somewhat of a surprise and an indication that voters are increasingly placing the blame on Obama for the country’s difficulties instead of giving him space because of the tough situation he inherited. The closeness in the Obama/Bush numbers also has implications for the 2010 elections. Using the Bush card may not be particularly effective for Democrats anymore, which is good news generally for Republicans and especially ones like [former Ohio Republican Rep.] Rob Portman who are running for office and have close ties to the former president.”

On Tuesday, White House press secretary Robert Gibbs mocked Gallup’s daily tracking poll, saying, “I don’t put a lot of stake in — never have — in the EKG that is the daily Gallup trend.” - Politico Story

Obama Tells GOP To Prove He Shouldn't Be Spending

President Barack Obama challenged congressional Republicans to back up their criticism of his economic recovery plans with academic expertise, House Minority Whip Eric Cantor (R-Va.) told reporters Wednesday.

Speaking at the White House following the president's morning discussion on job creation with bipartisan congressional leaders, Cantor said Obama defended his agenda against criticism that it was too expensive.

"He challenged us to bring in economists to make the case that we ought not be spending right now," said Cantor, who characterized the talks as "cordial" and "more in-depth than usual."

But, the Virginia Republican added: "We can't keep spending money we don't have."

Cantor brought to the White House a copy of the House Republicans' "No-Cost Jobs Plan," which includes proposals such as a domestic discretionary spending freeze and halting new regulations on business.

Rep. Mike Pence (R-Ind.), the third-ranking House Republican, went after the administration more sharply in his post-meeting remarks.

"It's clear this administration doesn't get it," he said. "It's time for new ideas." - Politico Story

I agree with Obama, Lets all go out and just spend and spend and spend. We don't have to have the money, lets just up our debt to totally unmanageable levels and then.....keep going. Hell I am sure that there is no common sense reason not to do it.

What are they thinking?

Democrats to Increase Debt Ceiling som $1.8 Trillion by End of Year

In a bold but risky year-end strategy, Democrats are preparing to raise the federal debt ceiling by as much as $1.8 trillion before New Year’s rather than have to face the issue again prior to the 2010 elections.

“We’ve incurred this debt. We have to pay our bills,” House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer told POLITICO Wednesday. And the Maryland Democrat confirmed that the anticipated increase could be as high as $1.8 trillion — nearly twice what had been assumed in last spring’s budget resolution for the 2010 fiscal year.

The leadership is betting that it’s better for the party to take its lumps now rather than risk further votes over the coming year. But the enormity of the number could create its own dynamic, much as another debt ceiling fight in 1985 gave rise to the Gramm-Rudman deficit reduction act mandating across-the-board spending cuts nearly 25 years ago. - Politico Story

Terrorist in Iraq up Violence - US Pullout too Soon?

Al-Qaida's umbrella group in Iraq claimed responsibility Thursday for coordinated Baghdad bombings this week that killed 127 people and wounded more than 500, warning of more strikes to come against the Iraqi government.

The group, known as the Islamic State of Iraq, said in a statement posted on the Internet that the attacks in the Iraqi capital targeted the "bastions of evil and dens of apostates."

It also warned the group is "determined to uproot the pillars of this government" in Iraq and said "the list of targets has no end." The authenticity of the statement could not be independently verified, but it was posted on a Web site commonly used for militant messaging.

The blasts Tuesday were the third major strike against government sites in the Iraqi capital since August, raising serious questions about the abilities of Iraqi security forces ahead of next's year national elections and the withdrawal of U.S. combat troops. - ABC News Story

Al Qaeda has claimed responsibility. Yet Obama claims the real war on Terrorist is not in Iraq. Well guess what? The Terrorist must think so.

Your Stimulus Dollars Hard at Work Saving Jobs - Really?

....

The digital television advertising campaign ranked as No. 3 on the list of 100 projects that GOP senators on Tuesday highlighted as “pure waste” in the billions of stimulus funds spent this year.

At the top of the GOP list is a $5 million grant from the Department of Energy to create a geothermal energy system for the Oak Ridge City Center shopping mall in Oak Ridge, Tenn. The main problem with the project, say Republicans, is the fact the mall has been losing tenants for years and is mostly empty.

GOP senators also blasted a $1.57 million grant to Penn State University to search for fossils in Argentina and a $100,000 award to a liberal-leaning theater in Minnesota for socially conscious puppet shows.

Two million dollars in stimulus money went to build a replica railroad as a tourist attraction in Carson City, Nev.

A dinner cruise company based in Chicago received nearly $1 million in funds to combat terrorism.

Half a million dollars went to Arizona State University to study the genetic makeup of ants to determine distinctive roles in ant colonies; $450,000 went to the University of Arizona to study the division of labor in ant colonies.

The State University of New York at Buffalo won $390,000 to study young adults who drink malt liquor and smoke marijuana. The National Institutes of Health got $219,000 in funds to study whether female college students are more likely to “hook up” after drinking alcohol.

The University of Hawaii collected $210,000 to study the learning patterns of honeybees, and $700,000 went to help crab fishermen in Oregon recover lost crab pots. - The Hill