Obama Admin Printing Money to Pay Cover his Spending

Testifying before the House Budget Committee this week, Ben Bernanke said that when the time comes, the Fed will raise interest rates in order to stop inflation from building in the next recovery. He also asked for "fiscal balance" to sustain financial stability. On the surface -- in terms of keeping prices stable and restoring value to the softening U.S. dollar -- this is positive. Surely Bernanke wants to do right for America, and he's giving it his best shot.

But when you talk to traders and economists, the whisper story is that Bernanke and the Fed are no longer truly independent of the Obama White House and Treasury. As a result, Bernanke will not be able to slow down the printing presses and gradually lift the near-zero target rate in a timely and effective manner. Already the Fed has created more than $1 trillion in new cash, and the M2 money supply is growing at its fastest pace in 25 years.

This monetary explosion explains what's really driving the dollar down and Treasury rates up (alongside rising gold and oil prices). It's not huge budget deficits, but the growing fear that a less-than-independent Fed will keep pushing new money into the financial system in order to fund Obama's liberal spending policies. - Rasmussen Story

Obama's Polling Numbers Continue to Fall

The Rasmussen Reports daily Presidential Tracking Poll for Friday shows that 34% of the nation's voters now Strongly Approve of the way that Barack Obama is performing his role as President. Thirty-four percent (34%) Strongly Disapprove giving Obama a Presidential Approval Index rating of 0. That’s the highest level of strong disapproval and the lowest overall rating yet recorded (see trends). - Rasmussen Reports Story

Despite Obama's Billions Spent Jobless Rate hits 25 year High

(CBS/AP) With companies in no mood to hire, the unemployment rate jumped to 9.4 percent in May, the highest in more than 25 years. But the pace of layoffs eased, with employers cutting 345,000 jobs, the fewest since September.

The much smaller-than-expected reduction in payroll jobs, reported by the Labor Department on Friday, adds to evidence that the recession is loosening its hold on the country. It marked the fourth straight month that the pace of layoffs slowed.

"This tide is turning," said Richard Yamarone, economist at Argus Research. "We expect this trend of slower job loss to continue throughout the year."

Still, the increase in the nation's unemployment rate from 8.9 percent in April underscores the difficulties that America's 14.5 million unemployed are having in finding new jobs. Economists had expected the rate to hit 9.2 percent last month. - CBS News Story

Former Drug Dealers connected to Rep. Murtha

(CBS/AP) Rep. John Murtha steered millions of dollars in defense work to a campaign donor and the Pentagon went along with it, even though two convicted drug dealers had been deeply involved with the company.

Records filed in U.S. District Court in Pittsburgh starting in 2005 raise questions about whether the government ever checked into the background of William Kuchera of Windber, Pa., a constituent who has been doing government work for over 20 years.

The records point to the political peril of Murtha, a Pennsylvania Democrat, and other members of Congress directing federal funds to particular contractors, an oft-criticized process known as earmarking that has directed hundreds of billions of dollars in the federal budget to favored contractors and programs over the past two decades.

The companies owned by William Kuchera and his brother Ronald - Kuchera Defense Systems and Kuchera Industries Inc. - have received $53 million in federal contracts in this decade alone.

According to the court records, Kuchera was convicted of marijuana distribution in 1982 in Wisconsin. - CBS News Story

Obama - Plans for Gitmo Long Way Off

DRESDEN, Germany - President Obama admitted Friday he's a long way from knowing how to close the detention facility at Guantanamo Bay, despite declaring to the Muslim world on Thursday that the facility is a violation of American ideals caused by the 'trauma' of the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks.

"I don't anticipate that it's going to be resolved anytime in the next two or three months. I think it's going to be a longer process of evaluation," said Obama with his German counterpart Angela Merkel at his side in the historic city of Dresden.

The president's promise to close the Gitmo detention facility was one of the more welcome elements of his address to Muslims, and Merkel cheered it here, but Obama admitted that he didn't ask Germany to take more than the one Gitmo inmate they've accepted. - FOX News Story

Has anyone other than myself made the connection on this yet? He is ADMITTING THAT HE HAD NO PLAN!!!!

He just said close it, then when everyone said OK, What's the plan, He went UH OHHHHH!!!

Great Leadership, but hey, This is Transparent for sure.

VP Biden - Spend Money Faster!!

Vice President Biden says the highest unemployment rate in more than 25 years underscores the tough times many Americans still face, but that the slowing rate of job losses reflects some "signs of hope" too.

Biden said he will join President Obama on Monday in seeking to ramp up the pace this summer of the massive economic stimulus effort that Congress approved earlier this year.

Biden spoke to reporters at the start of a briefing with economic advisers. His comments came as the nation's unemployment rate jumped to 9.4 percent but the pace of the layoffs slowed again.

Biden said: "To sum it up: Encouraging signs, but a long, long way to go." - FOX News

Obama Invites Terrorist to Table

In an apparent policy shift, President Obama on Thursday invited Hamas -- a designated terror organization -- to "play a role" in the future of the Palestinian people.

During his speech to the Muslim world in Cairo on Thursday, the U.S. president bluntly recognized the group, which has called for the destruction of Israel, in a two-sentence passage that was part of a broader discussion about the terms for peace between the Israelis and the Palestinians.

"Hamas does have support among some Palestinians, but they also have to recognize they have responsibilities. To play a role in fulfilling Palestinian aspirations, to unify the Palestinian people, Hamas must put an end to violence, recognize past agreements, recognize Israel's right to exist," Obama said.

The president then called on Israel to end settlement construction and for both sides to embrace a two-state solution. He reiterated that the U.S. bond with Israel is "unbreakable." - FOX News Story

What is going through the minds of the leadership in this Country. Basically when you agree to sit down and let a Terrorist Organization have a say in the shaping of policy, you give them credibility and they win. You say to all the others that if you kill enough people and outlast the will of the other Countries then you will have power.

What next? Al Qaeda at the White House?

Fed Chairman Warns - Cut the Deficity!!!

Testifying before the before the House Budget Committee, Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke urged Congress and the Obama administration Wednesday to start plotting a strategy to curb record-high U.S. budget deficits.

"Even as we take steps to address the recession and threats to financial stability, maintaining the confidence of the financial markets requires that we, as a nation, begin planning now for the restoration of fiscal balance," Bernanke said.

In May it was reported that the deficit for the current budget year will rise by $89 billion to above $1.8 trillion - about four times the record set just last year. The unprecedented red ink flows from the deep recession, the Wall Street bailout, the cost of President Barack Obama's economic stimulus bill, as well as a structural imbalance between what the government spends and what it takes in

The recession has taken a bite out of tax revenues paid by people and companies. At the same time, the government's spending has risen, paying billions to shore up banks, help the unemployed and others hurt by the downturn, the longest since World War II. For the current year, the government would borrow 46 cents for every dollar it takes to run the government under the administration's plan.

Bernanke said that such forceful government intervention to fight the worst financial crisis since the 1930s and lift the U.S. out of recession was "necessary and appropriate" even though it worsened the nation's budget deficit. - CBS News Story

Even if you do agree that all the Bailouts and the Stimulus Spending was necessary, how in the face of all of the red ink can you then in the same breath try and justify all of the additional spending Obama is planning?

I will have to tell you, SAVE YOUR BREATH!!!! There is absolutely, positively no way that you can justify it!!!

Lawmakers Fight Dealership Closings by GM and Chrysler

Car dealerships could soon become the kind of political cause military bases were just a few years ago.

U.S. lawmakers are battling to prevent hundreds of General Motors and Chrysler dealerships in their districts from closing -- a struggle similar to past fights among lawmakers to prevent military facilities in their states from shutting down.

As top auto executives announced plans to close nearly 2,000 dealerships before a Senate committee Wednesday, lawmakers voiced strong opposition to the move -- arguing the closures put over 100,000 jobs at risk and do little to offer savings to GM or Chrysler.

"I see no winners from government-imposed decisions to end new car dealer franchises," Rep. Roscoe Bartlett, R-Md., told FOXNews.com Wednesday. "It won't help Chrysler become more viable to cut their primary revenue source."

Bartlett, who rallied with members of the Maryland Automobile Dealers Association Tuesday to protest the closings, said they will eliminate "more than 100,000 jobs at profitable independent dealers" and will "raise costs for consumers."

The chiefs of General Motors and Chrysler told Congress Wednesday they have too many dealers to support their slimmed down operations and sacrifices must be shared as they fight to overcome bankruptcy and survive -- though they acknowledged that slashing dealerships is causing pain in communities around the country. - FOX News Story

Obama has Tailspinned Israeli Relations

With President Obama set to deliver a high-profile speech to the Muslim world in Cairo, Egypt, tensions are flaring in neighboring Israel over the U.S. president's latest demands on the Jewish state.

Top Israeli officials continue to rebuff Obama's call for the country to freeze all settlement construction in the West Bank. Obama's demand, which he reiterated strongly in an interview with National Public Radio ahead of his trip, is seen as a far tougher stance than that taken by his predecessor in the White House.

Whereas prior administrations generally opposed settlement construction, they allowed for "natural growth" of existing settlements.

But speaking to NPR, Obama said he has told the Israelis "both privately and publicly" that their obligation includes a freeze on settlements, "including natural growth."

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and other Israeli officials have rejected that demand. And Israeli media have fixed on the spat as the U.S. president tours Saudi Arabia, Egypt, and later France and Germany, while skipping Israel.

The Israeli newspapers on Wednesday were packed with stories on what they called a "settlement row," a "public spat" and the United States' "hard-line" stance.

"Israeli-American relations are entering their most serious tailspin in a decade," newspaper Ha'aretz said in its analysis of what it called Obama's "tough love" on Wednesday. - FOX News Story

Osama to Obama - You are just like Bush

Shortly after President Obama landed in Saudi Arabia, Osama bin Laden's homeland, a new audio tape purported to be from the al Qaeda leader was aired today on Al Jazeera television network.

"President Obama's presence in the kingdom obviously touches a raw nerve," said former counterterrorism official Dick Clarke, now an ABC News consultant. "Bin Laden founded al Qeada in the first place because of the American presence there."

In his latest audio message, bin Laden warns Americans to prepare for war as the policies of Obama are no different from those of former President George W. Bush in the eyes of al Qaeda.

Bin Laden makes reference to this spring's violence in the Swat Valley of Pakistan, indicating that he recorded his message relatively recently.

"In Swat Valley about one million Muslims were displaced including women, children and old men and now they are homeless," said bin Laden. "This means that Obama has planted new seeds for hatred and revenge against the Americans and the number of seeds is as many as the number of the people who were displaced from Swat valley. Obama has followed the steps of (Bush) who established wars with other nations. American people should prepare themselves for coming wars."

"This shows he obviously is following world events and is able to arrange the release of tapes when he wants on a schedule he wants," said Clarke. "The U.S. has no idea where bin Laden is but this tape shows he is still alive given the references to recent events." - ABC News Story

Government Accidentally Posts Confidential Nuclear Information

A 266-page document that gives detailed information about civilian nuclear sites and programs -- marked "highly confidential" -- was accidentally made public by the federal government, the New York Times reported Tuesday.

The document's publication was revealed Monday by online newsletter about federal secrecy issues. The Times described the document as including maps that identify where nuclear weapons fuel is stockpiled, though it contained no information about military nuclear operations.

It was removed from the Government Printing Office Web site on Tuesday after inquiries from the Times.

Some nuclear experts told the Times that the release was not a security threat, as many of the details revealed were already available to the public. Former Director of Central Intelligence and Deputy Secretary of Defense John Deutch even dismissed concerns by saying, "These screw-ups happen."

But David Albright, president of the Institute for Science and International Security, a group that tracks nuclear proliferation, told the Times that releasing information on nuclear fuels "can provide thieves or terrorists inside information that can help them seize the material."

President Obama sent the document to Congress for review on May 5. The printing office then published it online. - FOX News

Still no UN Action against North Korea

UNITED NATIONS — North Korea's allies China and Russia raised questions Tuesday about some possible new sanctions against North Korea for its recent nuclear test, delaying Security Council action sought by key Western powers, U.N. diplomats said.

But, getting a resolution out quickly is less important than getting one that has teeth, they said.

"We need meaningful sanctions," France's U.N. Ambassador Jean-Maurice Ripert stressed.

Turkey's U.N. Ambassador Baki Ilkin, the current Security Council president, said the draft resolution currently being discussed is "a highly complex text."

"It takes time, and we must get it right, so one or two days later or earlier is not that important," he told reporters. "What is important is that we do have this resolution that has an impact."

The United States, Britain and France have been pressing for a speedy council response to Pyongyang's underground nuclear test on May 25, and ambassadors from the three countries have been meeting with their counterparts from China, Russia and the two countries most closely affected by the test, Japan and South Korea, to draft a new resolution. - FOX News Story

Obama Calls Bill Clinton "bald-faced" Liar

President Obama accused Bill Clinton of peddling "bald-faced lies" during the presidential campaign, according to a new book on the 2008 race.

Newsweek reporter Richard Wolffe writes in "Renegade: The Making of a President" that Obama's campaign struggled to figure out how to respond to former President Clinton, who during the early primaries was a fierce defender of his wife Hillary Clinton's bid for the Democratic nomination.

"We had to figure out how to deal with a former president who was just lying, engaging in bald-faced lies," Obama told Wolffe. He also boasted about his campaign's ultimate ability to take on the former president.

Asked about the claim that Bill Clinton got into Obama's head, Obama replied: "Yes, but I got into his."

Tensions between Obama and the former president began to rise in late January 2008, with the Nevada caucuses and then the racially charged South Carolina primary. Clinton appeared to take a hard shot at Obama when he compared his South Carolina victory to the Rev. Jesse Jackson's -- a failed presidential candidate with limited appeal outside black constituencies. - FOX News Story

FBI Investigating "Charity" with Connection to Rep. Murtha

BS News has learned the FBI is investigating a little-known not-for-profit organization called Commonwealth Research Institute. It's located, like a lot of Rep. John Murtha's, D-Penn., pet projects, in his hometown, Johnstown, Penn.

Commonwealth gets the same benefits as the Salvation Army or any other charity: It doesn't have to pay taxes. But its line of work may be surprising. It's a defense contractor.

"It certainly raises a question," says Dean Zerbe, a former top Senate investigator. He questions Commonwealth's tax exempt status, saying it seems to do business just like any for-profit defense contractor.

"There’s a lot of tests to being a charity, and just saying, ‘Well I’m doing research paid for by the government," said Zerbe, " - if that were the case, I would have 10,000 companies that would tomorrow be a charity."

If Commonwealth were not a charity, it could owe roughly one-third of its profits in taxes. That could add up to millions, on more than $45 million dollars in government contracts. But it pays nothing.

Documents show when Commonwealth was formed, company officials touted their connections to "the local Congressman" Murtha. - CBS News Story

Obama Open to Taxing Health Benefits

President Barack Obama is leaving the door open to taxing health care benefits, something he campaigned hard against while running for president, according to senators who met with him Tuesday.

Senate Finance Committee Chairman Max Baucus, D-Mont., raised the issue with Obama during a private meeting with the president and other Democratic senators and later reported the president's position: "It's on the table. It's an option." - ABC News Story

Imagine that. More taxes. You didn't think that Obama could really spend and spend and spend without raising taxes, adding new taxes, and putting together more fees and ideas to make money?

Polls Show 75% Favor Requiring Photo ID To Vote

The Department of Justice on Tuesday said the state of Georgia's system cannot check driver’s license information and Social Security numbers to prove that prospective voters are U.S. citizens.

Georgia’s voters have an entirely different perspective. Rasmussen Reports polling conducted during Election 2008 found that 77% said prospective voters should first be required to show a legal photo ID first.

Georgia’s voters also held that view two years earlier despite a state judge’s ruling that a new law requiring a photo ID at the polls was a violation of the state constitution.

Nationally, three-out-of-four U.S. voters (76%) said a person should be required to show photo identification at the polls before being allowed to vote. - Politico Story

What I don't understand is that if such a strong majority favor this why it isn't law? What are lawmakers so afraid of? Don't feed me the line of crap that it is against the constitution either. They do so many things that don't follow the constitution to try and sell me that load.

Air France Jet Confirmed Crashed

Brazil Confirms Air France Jet Crashed
Brazilian Defense Minister Nelson Jobim says a 3-mile path of wreckage found in
the Atlantic Ocean confirms that an Air France jet crashed in the sea.

MORE DETAILS: <http://www.wisn.com/tu/5HeSeMn1T.html>

Continental Pilot Reports Missle Near Plane over Texas

A Continental Express pilot reported seeing a "missile or rocket" flying near his aircraft over Texas Friday night, the Houston Chronicle reported.

The pilot told the Federal Aviation Administration an object was spotted within 150 feet below his airplane around 8:15 p.m. Friday night over Liberty County, Texas, the newspaper reported.
“The pilot, from what we understand, was former military," Cpl. Hugh Bishop of the Liberty County Sheriff’s Department told the Chronicle. "He was able to get the coordinates down real quick,” said Cpl. Hugh Bishop with the Liberty County Sheriff’s Department."

But, Bishop said deputies searched for where a missile might have been launched from and found nothing.

The plane was reportedly flying around 13,000 feet.

Liberty County Sheriff's officials and the FAA were expected to meet today, according to the Chronicle.

The FAA referred all questions to the sheriff's office, who did not immediately return a call placed by FOXNews.com. - FOX News

Poll Shows Americans Against Closing Gitmo

Americans are strongly opposed to shutting the doors of the prison camp at Guantanamo Bay and moving terrorism suspects to detention centers in the U.S., according to a recent poll.
A USA TODAY/Gallup Poll released Tuesday found that those surveyed oppose the closing of Guantanamo by more than 2-1.

By more than 3-1, respondents oppose moving the detainees to prisons within the U.S., according to the poll.

Sixty-five percent of Americans polled said they do not support closing Guantanamo and sending its detainees to U.S. prisons while just 32 percent said they did support the idea.

President Obama signed an executive order in January to close within a year the prison at Guantanamo -- widely perceived by many as a symbol of U.S. abuse and torture around the world.

But critics charge that Obama has jeopardized U.S. national security by deciding to close Guantanamo by January 2010.

And former Vice President Dick Cheney has publicly defended harsh interrogation techniques practiced at Guantanamo, claiming they helped obtain useful information.

The poll surveyed 1,015 adults by phone from Friday through Sunday, and has a margin of error of 3 percentage points. - FOX News

North Korea Implicated in Conterfeit $100 Bills

A top North Korean general and close advisor to the country's leader, Kim Jong-Il, has been named by U.S. and foreign intelligence agencies as a key figure in the production of high-quality counterfeit $100 bills, called supernotes, according to documents and interviews cited by The Washington Times.

North Korean Gen. O Kuk-ryol, who was recently promoted to the country's powerful National Defense Commission, is said to be in charge of creating the false $100 bills, which are produced to look nearly indistinguishable from authentic U.S. banknotes. Several members of the general's family are also believed to be involved, The Washington Times reported.

A government report obtained by The Washington Times from a diplomatic source names Gen. O as one of the regime’s most powerful military figures, and the key person in charge of facilitating the succession of Kim Jong-Il by his third son, Kim Jong-un. The North Korean leader suffered a stroke in August, and his appearance in recent months suggests he is in ill-health.

The information about the general in the report was confirmed by a senior U.S. Intelligence official as well as by additional officials with knowledge of North Korean activities, The Washington Times reported. - FOX News Story

China Buys Hummer Line from GM

NEW YORK — General Motors Corp. has a tentative agreement to sell its Hummer brand to Sichuan Tengzhong Heavy Industrial Machinery Co. of China, a person briefed on the deal told the Associated Press.

GM announced Tuesday that it has a memorandum of understanding to sell the brand of rugged SUVs, but the company didn't disclose the buyer.

A formal announcement of the buyer's identity was to be made Tuesday afternoon.
Sichuan Tengzhong deals in road construction, plastics, resins and other industrial products, but the person briefed on the deal says Hummer would be its first step into the automotive business. The person spoke on condition of anonymity because the details have not been made public.
General Motors has not yet confirmed the identity of the buyer or the price being paid for it's SUV-only division, but said the sale will likely save more than 3,000 U.S. jobs in manufacturing, engineering and at various Hummer dealerships.

"We're not today in a position to be able to identify a buyer. it was part of the agreement," GM Chief Executive Fritz Henderson told CBS's "The Early Show." "We believe the buyer is quite capable of closing." - FOX News Story

Obama - Cheney is Wrong

President Barack Obama told NPR on Monday that former Vice President Cheney was "wrong" in his tough critique of the new administration's policy on detainees at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba.

NPR says that Obama said, "on whether former Vice President Dick Cheney’s comments complicate the Obama administration’s efforts to create a new path forward on Guantanamo":

"Well, he also happens to be wrong. Right? And last time, immediately after his speech, I think there was a fact-check on his speech that didn’t get a very good grade. Does it make it more complicated? No, because I think these are complicated issues. And there is a legitimate debate to be had about national security. And I don’t doubt the sincerity of the former vice president or the previous administration in wanting to protect the American people.”

The interview was taped Monday afternoon in the White House library, with NPR hosts Michele Norris and Steve Inskeep. - Politico

The sad part about this is that if Cheney is right, then we are in for another attack.

Instead of engaging in what Cheney said, explain to us all why you feel that we are safer. Explain the programs that you are putting in place to protect us. You can't just keep taking away programs without putting in new ones. Explain them.

Obama's Israel Policy Drawing Pressure from Bipartisan Congress

As President Barack Obama prepares to depart for his first trip to the Arab world, the administration’s escalating pressure on Israel to freeze all growth of its settlements on Palestinian land has begun to stir concern among Israel’s numerous allies in both parties on Capitol Hill.

“My concern is that we are applying pressure to the wrong party in this dispute,” said Rep. Shelley Berkley (D-Nev.). “I think it would serve America’s interest better if we were pressuring the Iranians to eliminate the potential of a nuclear threat from Iran, and less time pressuring our allies and the only democracy in the Middle East to stop the natural growth of their settlements.”

“When Congress gets back into session the administration is going to hear from many more members than just me,” she said. - Politico Story

Honest Obama - Playing Tricks with the Budget

Having agreed on a budget for the coming year, Congress and the White House are doing what follows next in Washington: trying to get around it.

President Barack Obama’s spending plan would effectively use funds from his stimulus program to pad next year’s accounts in the Department of Homeland Security. The House wants to go in the opposite direction: front-end-loading 2010 foreign aid money into 2009 to buy more room for domestic spending next year.

And for all the talk about honest budgeting, the administration badly understated the military’s true personnel costs when the president submitted his war funding request in April. - Politico Story

Here we go. Mr. "Blame it on Bush" Obama is playing the shell game with the American Public. He bashed Bush for the way that he handled the budget, now Obama is doing the same thing. Not only did he get the biggest budget in history, now he is asking for more money because he didn't have it in his budget.

Deal Reached in Obama's $100 Billion War Funding

WASHINGTON -- Top House and Senate Democrats reached a tentative agreement on an almost $100 billion war funding bill Monday, including a generous new line of credit for the International Monetary Fund.

At the core of the measure is President Obama's war funding request, which included $76 billion for Pentagon operations. But the IMF funding is a top priority of Obama, who pledged the $100 billion line of credit at April's G-20 summit in London to help developing countries deal with the troubled global economy.

The actual U.S. costs for the IMF contribution are far less -- $5 billion is the Congressional Budget Office estimate -- since the U.S. government is given interest-bearing assets in return.

Other details of the agreement between House Appropriations Committee Chairman David Obey, D-Wis., and his Senate counterpart, Daniel Inouye, D-Hawaii, remain sketchy. The agreement was discussed briefly during a conference call of House Democratic leaders, a senior House Democratic aide said. The aide requested anonymity because the details were not yet released.

Some $80 million sought by Obama to close the U.S. naval prison at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, remains out of the legislation. The Senate voted 90-6 last month to kill the money and the House never included it. - FOX News Story

Why Not!!!! Billions and Billions more. Let's keep spending and spending and spending. Pretty soon we get give ourselves like a QUADZILLION Dollar Bailout. I know that we need funding for the Wars, but its the other BS that he keeps throwing into these things.

CNN Viewership Dropping Quickly

On day one, CNN

ruled cable news.

But while viewers may flock to the network for election day or the Inauguration, day 130 is a different story.

CNN, which just took home a Peabody Award for its 2008 election coverage, and dominated cable-news ratings on days when politics took center stage, is having trouble getting those viewers back on other nights.

Since Obama took office, CNN’s prime-time audience has dropped sharply, raising doubts about whether the network’s middle-of-the-road strategy can be effective against more opinionated programming on Fox News and MSNBC.

CNN President Jon Klein is quick to brush aside concerns about specific ratings metrics, and chatter online about the network’s prime-time decline.

Klein, who last year trumpeted CNN’s quarterly win over Fox News in prime-time viewers in the 25-54 demographic preferred by advertisers, now maintains that the nightly block is just a fraction of the daily schedule, and that his network remains committed first and foremost to high-quality journalism. - Politico Story

North Korea Readies Another Missle for Launch

SEOUL, South Korea — North Korea has moved its most advanced long-range missile to a new launch site and has banned ships from the waters off its west coast through the end of July, news reports said Monday, moves that threaten to exacerbate tensions on the peninsula.

The missile, which has arrived at the Dongchang-ni launch site on the northwest coast, is believed to be a version of the Taepodong-2 rocket that the North fired on April 5 saying it was a satellite launch, the South Korean Dong-a Ilbo newspaper reported.

The North could fire the missile as early as June 16 when South Korean President Lee Myung-bak and President Barack Obama hold a summit in Washington, the paper said, citing unidentified officials in Washington and Seoul.

Another mass-market South Korean paper, JoongAng Ilbo, carried a similar report. - FOX News Story

GM to File Bankruptcy and Taxpayers will flip the bill

(CBS/AP) General Motors, the humbled auto giant that has been part of American life for more than 100 years, will file for bankruptcy protection on Monday in a deal that will give taxpayers a 60 percent ownership stake and expand the government's reach into big business.

Underscoring the government's extraordinary role, President Barack Obama planned to announce his support for GM's restructuring strategy at a midday appearance at the White House, much as he did in April when Chrysler sought court protection.

GM president and CEO Fritz Henderson planned to hold a press conference in New York immediately following Obama's announcement.

Administration officials said late Sunday the federal government would pump $30 billion dollars into GM as it makes its way through bankruptcy court. That's besides the $20 billion in taxpayers' money that the Treasury already lent to the automaker.

The money would come from what remains of the $700 billion rescue fund for the financial sector.

General Motors will file for bankruptcy protection in federal court in Manhattan sometime shortly after 8 a.m. EDT. For the foreseeable future, General Motors will not be a publicly-held company. As of 9:30 a.m., GM stock will essentially be worthless, reports CBS News business producer Guy Campanile. - CBS News Story

See Also ABC News Story

What is it with Obama spending Billions upon Billions of taxpayer dollars to keep bankrupt companies alive? He should quit his spending and look at the books of the American People and see that we are on the verge of Bankruptcy ourselves. We are no longer spending taxpayer money, we are spending future taxpayers money. We are so far out of money, the loans this President is taking out will be left to our grandkids.

Healt Care Fight Begins with TV Ads

President Obama, vowing to succeed in health care reform where President Clinton failed, claimed progress in early May after a meeting with industry officials, who seemed open to his call to reduce spending by $2 trillion over 10 years.

But a major new national attack-ad campaign has the potential to put a dent in Obama's plans, with millions of dollars coming from one of the backers of the "Swift Boat" attacks that wounded John Kerry in the 2004 presidential election.

Conservatives for Patients' Rights, founded by multimillionaire investor and former hospital chief executive Rick Scott, began this week airing a 30-minute infomercial on some cable networks warning Americans of a health care takeover.

The new battle comes as the Senate races to produce legislation that could pass this year guaranteeing universal access to health care. The proposal outlined by Democrats would create a public insurance option and require individuals and employers to buy coverage.

Scott, who helped finance the "Swift Boat" ads, has hired the same group responsible for those ads, CRC Public Relations, to coordinate the campaign. The Washington Post reports he is using $5 million of his own money and up to $15 million more from supporters to push his campaign.

"As Congress looks for solutions inside the Washington Beltway, we plan to go straight to the family rooms of America to let people see the very real consequences of letting the government take over their health care decisions," Scott said in a statement.

"This documentary will educate people on what 'government-run health care' really means: stalling, waiting lists and rationing and withholding care because of red tape, politics, and bureaucratic foot-dragging." - FOX News Story

I don't know what Obama's plan for Health Care Reform is, I will readily admit that. I will also readily admit that there are very few things that the Federal Government does and gets right. So when it comes to Health Care my first reaction is not only NO! but HELL NO!

We have all heard of the horror stories from other Countries who have nationalized health care. The long lines, month long waits for treatment, No Treatment because you are deemed to old. I don't see any way, shape or form that they can get it right. Instead of going after Health Care, I don't get why Obama is fixing Social Security.

But hey this is Obama, we can half ass everything and then claim victory on all the things that we did. The next President can come in and clean up the colossal mess that is being created in Washington.