Possible Tornado Near Downtown Jacksonville, Florida

* TORNADO WARNING FOR...
 CENTRAL DUVAL COUNTY IN NORTHEAST FLORIDA

* UNTIL 615 PM EDT

* AT 531 PM EDT...TRAINED WEATHER SPOTTERS REPORTED A TORNADO NEAR
 ORTEGA...OR NEAR DOWNTOWN JACKSONVILLE...MOVING NORTH AT 5 MPH.

* OTHER LOCATIONS IN THE WARNING INCLUDE BUT ARE NOT LIMITED TO
 RIVERSIDE...SAN MARCO...DOWNTOWN JACKSONVILLE AND ARLINGTON.

Obama - Germany Rift - Look at the History and You will Understand

Despite the president's claim at a joint appearance this afternoon that "I like Chancellor Merkel a lot," President Barack Obama and Germany's Angela Merkel are widely believed to have a somewhat frosty relationship. The biggest perceived rift between the two? How best to respond to the global financial crisis.

Mr. Obama, of course, has pushed through a massive stimulus package and pressed for greater government spending worldwide to end the recession. Merkel, who helms the largest economy in Europe, has resisted such spending; her government has passed only a pair of small stimulus packages in response to the economic crisis.

One reason for the two leaders' different philosophies is ideological: Merkel is a center-right politician who has argued against bank bailouts in Europe. But German history is also a factor. Under the German parliamentary governmental system known as the Weimar Republic, Germans faced hyperinflation in the 1920s that destroyed savings and drove many people into poverty. Here's one (fictionalized) account of what it was like:

The price increases began to be dizzying. Menus in cafes could not be revised quickly enough. A student at Freiburg University ordered a cup of coffee at a cafe. The price on the menu was 5,000 Marks. He had two cups. When the bill came, it was for 14,000 Marks. "If you want to save money," he was told, "and you want two cups of coffee, you should order them both at the same time."

The Weimar Republic stayed in power in Germany for another decade, but the period of hyperinflation is considered a significant factor in the emergence of the National Socialist German Workers’ Party – the Nazis.

Germans are thus particularly attuned to the dangers of inflation – and particularly wary of fiscal policy that they fear could bring it about.

"We learned from the worldwide economic crisis of the 1920s that an economic crisis can result in an incredible threat for all of society," Interior Minister Wolfgang Schaeuble told Der Spiegel magazine, as the Washington Post reported last year. "The consequences of that depression was Adolf Hitler and, indirectly, World War II and Auschwitz." - CBS News

ABC News Polling Numbers for Obama Too High

ABC News, also known lately as the All Barack Channel, has the highest job approval numbers of all the polls. And, not by just a little bit.

ABC News has Obama's approval at 65%, while Rasmussen, Democracy Corps, and NBC News all have them at 55-56%. That is a full 9-10% higher.

I guess now we know why ABC got the Exclusive Hour Long Infomercial with the President.

Perez Hilton In the Hot Seat Again!!!!

Perez Hilton’s coverage of Michael Jackson’s death has brought the celebrity blogger more attention -- but not because he broke any news.

The gossip hound is being slammed from all corners for dismissing the initial word on Thursday that Jackson had been rushed to the hospital, calling it a publicity stunt.

“Supposedly, the singer went into cardiac arrest ...” Hilton wrote in his blog, before stating, “We are dubious!!”

Click here to see photos of Michael Jackson.

“Either he’s lying or making himself sick,” the blog continued. Then it urged those who had purchased tickets for Jackson’s series of concerts in London to “get your money back!”

The post included a picture of Jackson with the hand-scrawled headline: "Heart attack or cold feet?" - FOX News Story

This guy is a First Class Moron!!! I had never heard of him before the Pageant BS, and now I hear everyday about the Stupid stuff this Moron writes.

When is his 15 minutes going to be up?

Police Release Michael Jackson 911 Call

Police Release Michael Jackson 911 Call
Authorities release a 911 call made from Michael Jackson's home that reported
the singer wasn't breathing or responding.

MORE DETAILS: <http://www.wisn.com/tu/5HPf6Jyo6.html>

Congressman Conyers Wife Pleads guilty to Bribery

City Council member Monica Conyers, the wife of powerful Democratic congressman John Conyers, pleaded guilty Friday to accepting cash bribes in exchange for supporting a sludge contract with a Houston company.

Conyers, a fiery 44-year-old first-term council member, admitted in federal court to a single count of conspiracy to commit bribery, responding quietly to questions from Judge Avern Cohn.

She faces up to five years in prison and a $250,000 fine when she's sentenced.

Conyers left court without commenting.

Her lawyer, Steve Fishman, declined to comment on the specifics of Conyers' case outside of court, saying only that all plea deals were more or less the same.

Rep. John Conyers, the chairman of the House Judiciary Committee who has no role in the case, didn't answer when questioned about it as he walked to the House floor for a vote Friday morning. "I have no comment whatever," he said. - FOX News Story

Makes you wonder how this isn't bigger news? If it was John McCains Wife it would be huge front page leading story news.

Climate / Energy Bill will Shift Billions to Foreign Countries

Climate legislation that House Democratic leaders will bring to the floor Friday will raise the costs of nearly every staple in American life — electricity, food, gasoline and scores of goods and services, adding drag to an already sluggish economy. The last thing Americans need right now is higher energy taxes, which will disproportionally affect the poor and middle class and ripple through all sectors of the economy.

But there are always winners and losers and, under the proposed policy, no one would win quite so much as China.

By adding a new energy tax, the bill will increase China’s manufacturing advantage, but worse, provisions of the act will actually subsidize Chinese energy by allowing for the direct transfer of hundreds of billions of dollars to China and other developing nations.

When our electricity bill jumps, when the cost of hamburgers rises, when the price at the pump soars, U.S. tax dollars will be subsidizing these same costs abroad.

President Barack Obama’s climate negotiators are already signaling that they will cave to the demands of China and other developing nations. Recent comments from key negotiators indicate that the U.S. will not demand that China make emissions cuts similar to the ones being considered by the House of Representatives this week, despite the fact that China is the largest emitter of carbon dioxide on the planet.

The American Clean Energy and Security Act, introduced by Reps. Henry Waxman (D-Calif.) and Ed Markey (D-Mass.), puts a cap on greenhouse gas emissions, the primary byproduct of energy production from cheap, abundant fossil fuel sources like coal and natural gas. Utilities and other industries

that the bill covers will be able to buy offsets from other nations. - Politico Story by Rep. Jim Sensenbrenner

Looks like things aren't always as they seem. Earlier there was an article on how this plan wasn't going to cost us anything. As a matter fact the Government might make money on it. Well, now we hear the other side of it and it doesn't sound so rosy, or such a good idea.

House & Senate Democrats vote against Obama on F-22

In spite of a possible presidential veto, lawmakers in the House and Senate continued pushing for additional F-22 Raptor fighter jets on Thursday.

The House approved its version of a bill to authorize defense spending for fiscal year 2010 that also included money for an alternative engine for the Air Force’s Joint Strike Fighter.

The Senate Armed Services Committee approved a defense bill that provides $1.75 billion to buy seven F-22s. It also approved funding for an alternate engine for the F-35 Joint Strike Fighter made by General Electric and Rolls-Royce.

The Obama administration threatened a veto over both issues Wednesday, and action in both chambers indicates lawmakers would face difficulty overriding the executive branch.

Sen. Saxby Chambliss (R-Ga.), the Raptor’s biggest champion, was jubilant.

“Our debate and vote took place with full awareness of the administration’s veto threat, and the result of the vote speaks for itself,” said Chambliss. - Politico

Democrats Get in Yelling and Pushing Match in Chambers

Late last night, Maxine Waters (D-Calif.) e-mailed POLITICO and others an unrepentant 700-word explanation of the beef with Appropriations Committee David Obey that led her to shout and maybe shove the 71-year-old Wisconsin Dem.

She doesn't deny reports (including mine) that she berated and pushed Obey over his refusal to cough up $1 million to fund a Watts job training center named after Waters — of the type the chairman has dismissed as "monuments to me."

Instead, Waters portrays the incident as Maxine vs. the man.

An "angry" Obey, she says, stubbornly refused to fund a badly needed community resource in one of the country's most depressed neighborhoods — Watts has a nearly 50 percent unemployment rate.

Waters' behavior may not have looked not so good here, but the argument should add to Waters' reputation back home, even though she hasn't had a serious challenger in years. The story proves she's fighting — literally — for Watts.

She calls the center a "national model," although I couldn't find any such assessment in a quick review of five years' worth of NEXIS clips.

The big question here, of course: Does the Maxine Waters Employment Preparation Center actually do its job? - Politico Story

Energy Bill Won't Cost Government Anything - But Consumers?

Reducing greenhouse gases is the main aim of the sweeping energy bill currently up for debate in the House.

An 80% reduction is what most scientists say is needed to avoid the worst effects of global warming.

Putting the nation on track to meet this goal by 2050 will cost the average American household $175 a year by 2020, according to the Congressional Budget Office.

Under the bill, polluters would have to pay to emit carbon dioxide into the atmosphere, something they currently do for free. Plus, the amount they can emit would decline each year.

Known as cap-and-trade, industries would either pay for cleaner technology (cap), or buy pollution permits in a secondary market (trade). Industries most affected include electric utilities, gasoline refiners, chemical makers, and steel and cement companies.

The huge costs in this system - over $100 billion a year - would normally be passed on directly to the consumer. But much of the money generated from the sale of these pollution permits is being returned to households and business as a series of tax credits and other allocations. These credits are what push down the annual household cost to a relatively low $175.

Consumers will mainly see this cost in the form of higher electric bills and gas prices. The impact on the Federal budget is minimal, with one analysis suggesting that it could actually increase revenues a bit.

Opponents of the measure say the costs will be far higher, while supporters say the average household will actually see an increase in spending power because they'll be using less energy.

If the bill passes the House it must then go before the Senate, which probably won't happen until the fall. Most observers say it stands a good chance of passing the House, but will have a more difficult time in the Senate. - CNN

This all sounds like a great plan. But Seriously, how many of you really think that a Democratic Controlled Congress and White House is planning to return any money back to us?

When was the last time that you saw the Democrats cut taxes or return money to the American People? (not counting the Stimulus)

Sounds to me like a Snatch and Grab on the part of the White House.

State Legislatures Start Fighting for Independence of Health Care Reform

Congress has yet to come up with a clear prescription for the nation's health care system. But some state legislators are already urging voters not to take the medicine.

Under Arizona's Health Care Freedom Act, which was passed by the state legislature this week, a voting initiative will be placed on the 2010 ballot that, if passed, will allow the state to opt out of any federal health care plan. Five other states -- Indiana, Minnesota, New Mexico, North Dakota and Wyoming -- are considering similar initiatives for their 2010 ballots.

"Our health care freedoms are very much at risk by health care reforms proposed in Washington, D.C.," said Arizona state Rep. Nancy Barto, the Republican legislator who sponsored the measure. "We needed to act as a state to protect our citizens and ensure that they will always be able to buy their own health care and not be forced into a plan they don't want."

But an opponent of the bill, state Rep. Phil Lopes, says the measure has less to do with individual freedom and more to do with the protecting the status quo. "The proponents of this are saying the system we have now works and we don't want any kind of reform," the Democratic legislator said. "This flies in the face of what the public tells us they want."

Not so, says Christine Herrera, director of the Health and Human Services Task Force for the American Legislative Exchange Council (ALEC). The group's 1,800 state legislator members have endorsed a resolution opposing a Medicare-modeled federal health plan and a national health insurance exchange, two concepts that are gaining ground in Washington. - FOX News Story

Reports Confirm That Michael Jackson Has Died

ABC News Story

CBS News Story

FOX News Story

Michael Jackson Dead at age 50

Michael Jackson Dies

Posted Jun 25th 2009 5:20PM by TMZ Staff

We've just learned Michael Jackson has died. He was 50.

Michael suffered a cardiac arrest earlier this afternoon at his Holmby Hills home and paramedics were unable to revive him. We're told when paramedics arrived Jackson had no pulse and they never got a pulse back.

A source tells us Jackson was dead when paramedics arrived.

Once at the hospital, the staff tried to resuscitate him but he was completely unresponsive.

We're told one of the staff members at Jackson's home called 911.

LaToya ran in the hospital sobbing after Jackson was pronounced dead.

Michael is survived by three children: Michael Joseph Jackson, Jr., Paris Michael Katherine Jackson and Prince "Blanket" Michael Jackson II. - TMZ

TMZ Reports Michael Jackson has Died

TMZ: Michael Jackson has
died

KTLA reports he was not breathing
when picked up

Updated: Thursday, 25 Jun 2009, 5:55 PM EDT
Published : Thursday, 25 Jun 2009, 5:28 PM EDT

LOS ANGELES (WOOD) - Michael Jackson was rushed to the University of California-Los Angeles Medical Center on Thursday for what TMZ is reporting as cardiac arrest. At 5:45 p.m., the Web site reported he has died.

Jackson was 50.

Paramedics administered CPR in the ambulance, the Web site says.

He was picked up at his home at around 4:10 p.m. Joe Jackson, Michael's father, told TMZ "he is not doing well."

When paramedics arrived at his home, Jackson was not breathing, KTLA reports. - TMZ Report

There has been no further confirmation.

Energy Bill gets Obama Push as a Jobs Bill

WASHINGTON (CNN) — President Barack Obama acknowledged Thursday that a climate change bill strongly backed by the White House will face an extremely close vote in the House of Representatives as early as the end of the week.

He made an urgent plea for congressional approval in what could be an early make-or-break test of his young administration.

“Now is the time for us to lead,” Obama said during an appearance in the White House Rose Garden. “We cannot be afraid of the future. We cannot be prisoners to the past.”

The president said the bill will spark a “clean energy transformation” of the U.S. economy and “make possible the creation of millions of new jobs.”

“Make no mistake,” he emphasized. “This is a jobs bill.”

The climate-change bill currently being debated by the House would reduce nationwide greenhouse gas emissions 17 percent by 2020 and 83 percent by 2050 through a so-called “cap-and-trade” program.

The bill’s future also remains unclear in the Senate, where leaders are holding off on advancing their own version of the legislation until it clears the House. - CNN

Of course it's a jobs bill. I am sure this will save the economy and put Millions of people back to work.

Yep, heard that song and dance many many many times over from this President. Last President it was the War on Terror, now we have the Jobs and Economy President.

Quit Bullshitting us and just tell us the honest truth. Transparency, isn't that what you sold us during the election.

Supreme Court - School Strip Search was Illegal

The Supreme Court says a school's strip search of an Arizona teenage girl accused of having prescription-strength ibuprofen was illegal.

The court ruled 8-1 on Thursday that school officials violated the law with their search of Savana Redding, who lives in Safford in rural eastern Arizona.

Redding was a 13-year-old honor student when she was called to the principal's office.

Officials at Safford Middle School ordered her to remove her clothes and shake out her underwear because they were looking for pills. The district bans prescription and over-the-counter drugs.

The school was acting on a tip from another student who was found carrying ibuprofen pills and tried to blame Savana as the source.

"Once they got me into my underwear I thought they would let me put my clothes back on," she told CBS News correspondent Hattie Kauffman. "But then they told me to pull out my bra and shake it, and my underwear as well."

In his opinion, Justice David Souter wrote that the Court has to now applied a standard of "reasonable suspicion" to determine the legality of a school administrator’s search of a student, and that they not be "excessively intrusive in light of the age and sex of the student and the nature of the infraction. . . . " - CBS News Story

Is Stimulus Working? Unemployment Climbs Higher than Expected

WASHINGTON -- The number of people filing new jobless claims jumped unexpectedly last week, and the total unemployment benefit rolls rose to more than 6.7 million.

The Labor Department data released Thursday show jobs remain scarce even as the economy shows some signs of recovering from the longest recession since World War II.

The department said initial claims for jobless benefits rose last week by 15,000 to a seasonally adjusted 627,000. Economists expected a drop to 600,000, according to Thomson Reuters.

Several states reported more claims than expected from teachers, cafeteria workers and other school employees, a department analyst said.

The number of people continuing to receive unemployment insurance rose by 29,000 to 6.74 million, slightly above analysts' estimates of 6.7 million - FOX News Story

Getting Paid not to Get Pregrnant

That's the incentive behind College Bound Sisters, a program at the University of North Carolina at Greensboro that aims to keep 12- to 18-year-old girls in school and baby-free.

Girls in the program attend 90-minute meetings every week at which they receive lessons in abstinence and the use of contraceptives — and they receive $7 every week they do not get pregnant. The money is deposited into a fund that's collectible when they enroll in college.

But not everyone thinks paying kids to stay childless is the right way to lower the teen pregnancy rate. They say the program sends mixed messages, specifically to parents, that incentivizing good behavior is the way to go.

"It makes me a bit uneasy," said Bill Albert, chief program officer at the National Campaign to Prevent Teen and Unplanned Pregnancy. "I do have mixed feelings. It's hard to pay people to do something that we think they should be doing regardless. It would be like if you didn't want young people to experiment with marijuana, you'd pay them not to do it."

Despite what he called his "gut-level queasiness" about paying girls not to get pregnant, Albert acknowledged that creative ways are needed to address the "very challenging social issue" of teen pregnancy. - FOX News Story

I agree with Bill Albert, you shouldn't be rewarding kids for doing what they should be doing all along. BUT!!!! In this day and age, we need to do what we can to reverse the trend. We have become a Country of rewarding everything. We have graduation parties for Students getting out of 8th and into High School, shouldn't we expect that? We reward people for behaving in prison. We reward people for not getting a job. We reward people for having many many kids by paying for most of their support, heck now we want to reward people with Health Coverage even if they don't earn it. We reward Immigrants for Illegally coming to America.

We have become a Nation of Rewards.

Farrah Fawcett has Died of Cancer

Farrah Fawcett Dies Of Cancer
"Charlie's Angels" star Farrah Fawcett dies after a long battle with cancer.

MORE DETAILS: <http://www.wisn.com/tu/5HNCI0ugQ.html>

Democrats not all on Same Page

Restless House Democrats protested Wednesday night against their party leadership’s handling of a $680 billion defense bill, including the decision to protect the F-22 jet fighter program over the objections of President Barack Obama.

Twenty-seven Democrats voted against the leadership’s resolution to govern floor debate. With Republicans also upset with their amendments being excluded, the procedural measure only passed 222-202.

For the majority party, supporting such rules is an almost routine test of loyalty. The fact that 27 Democrats would vote in opposition—including three chairmen—is striking, and there was little doubt from interviews off the House floor that other liberals were sympathetic with the protest.

Party conservatives had their own issues with the rule. But a key factor for many Democrats was the decision to bar an amendment to strike $369 million added by the House Armed Services Committee to continue F-22 production, which Defense Secy. Robert Gates and Obama want to end. - Politico Story

Tornado Reported near Bridgewater, SD

10:26 pm Unconfirmed Report of a Tornado by Storm Chaser near Bridgewater, SD.

Strong Possibly Tornadic Storm Headed to Parker, SD

Spotters and NWS are monitoring Strong Rotation near Dolton, SD. The Strongest Rotation has just passed the Bridgewater, SD area and was closing in on Dolton, SD then expected to track toward Parker, SD.

Obama Refuses to Respond to some Questions

President Obama struggled to explain today whether his health care reform proposals would force normal Americans to make sacrifices that wealthier, more powerful people -- like the president himself -- wouldn't face.

The probing questions came from two skeptical neurologists during ABC News' special on health care reform, "Questions for the President: Prescription for America," anchored from the White House by Diane Sawyer and Charles Gibson.

Dr. Orrin Devinsky, a neurologist and researcher at the New York University Langone Medical Center, said that elites often propose health care solutions that limit options for the general public, secure in the knowledge that if they or their loves ones get sick they will be able to afford the best care available, even if it's not provided by insurance.

Devinsky asked the president pointedly if he would be willing to promise that he wouldn't seek such extraordinary help for his wife or daughters if they became sick and the public plan he's proposing limited the tests or treatment they can get.

The president refused to make such a pledge, though he allowed that if "it's my family member, if it's my wife, if it's my children, if it's my grandmother I always want them to get the very best care." - ABC News Story

It is just amazing that he gets a Prime Time one sided hour of America's Time and still can't seem to answer the questions. He won't give us the straight answers.

Iran Violence Intesifies - US Troops to pull out

At least 69 people have been killed by a bomb blast in the eastern Sadr City area of Baghdad, Iraqi officials say.

Police said the device went off in a market place in the predominantly Shia area of the Iraqi capital.

More than 130 people were also reported to have been injured in the blast, one of the worst in Iraq this year.

It comes less than a week before US soldiers pull out of all Iraqi cities, a move the US said would not be affected by a recent surge in violence. - BBC Story

Obama attempts to Sell Government Health Care as Competition?

WASHINGTON (CNN) -- The struggle over health care reform reached a fever pitch Wednesday as sharp partisan lines were drawn over the politically explosive question of a possible government-funded public plan competing with private insurers' plans.

President Obama says he wants Congress to send him health care legislation by fall.

President Obama, putting a chunk of his political capital on the line, will take his case for change to the airwaves while congressional negotiators tackle proposals relating to coverage and cost control.

Overhauling the health care system is Obama's domestic priority, but initial proposals to reach Congress last week received a rocky reception. House and Senate Democrats are responding by intensifying their efforts.

They scheduled four hearings Wednesday focusing, among other things, on the question of how to pay a price that may exceed $1 trillion over 10 years.

Obama spent the afternoon pushing the case for reform with a bipartisan group of governors before holding a nationally televised White House town hall-style meeting on the issue Wednesday night.

Meanwhile, congressional Republicans are jumping into the fight, unveiling an alternative proposal that pointedly prevents any government-funded public option from competing with private insurers. The GOP is adamant that such a step, which Democrats largely favor, will destroy the private insurance industry and lead to a government takeover of health care, which they oppose.

Obama argued Tuesday that having a public health insurance alternative is "an important tool to discipline insurance companies" and will help control spiraling health care costs. Watch Obama push for a public option »

The president said there should only be a "legitimate concern" about the ability of private insurers to compete with a public plan "if the public plan is simply eating [from] the taxpayer trough."

If that's the case, it would be tough for private insurers to compete, Obama said. If, on the other hand, the "public plan must collect premiums and provide [good] services" like private insurers, then private insurers should have no problem competing with a public option, he said.

Obama said he was hopeful that an efficiently run public plan ultimately would help push private insurers to make similar cost-cutting moves.

For both parties, the political stakes could not be higher.

Obama is aiming to succeed where every Democratic president since Harry Truman has failed by passing universal coverage. He has further raised the stakes by reiterating a promise in recent days to get a bill on his desk by fall. - CNN Story

I am not an expert at this by any stretch of the imagination, but!!! What kind of an idiot does Obama think that we all are?

How can you create a Public Health Care system that doesn't have to turn a profit, can actually lose money and still be funded, doesn't have to pay for loans or Interest, and has a bottomless pit of Money to draw from. Then say that Private Sector Health Insurers shouldn't be afraid to compete.

Well, I don't know, sounds like a good plan to me. It seems to have worked great with Social Security!

'All Barack Channel' - ABC - All Barack All the Time

Conservatives are outraged about the special access given to ABC News to broadcast a series of programs from the White House on Wednesday. ABC is scheduled to broadcast "Good Morning America" from the White House lawn, "World News" its nightly news show from the Blue Room and a special prime time "Questions for the President: Prescription for America" on President Obama's health care reform proposal from the East Room.

Many fear objective and balanced coverage of the president controversial health care plan will be the casualty of "ABC day" at the White House. The transformation of a major news network from watchdog to Obama lapdog would threaten the very nature of an independent press that is vital in maintaining liberty and a civil society.

Co-opting corporations, especially media giants such as ABC News, to promote his policies appears to be part of Obama's political strategy. General Electric CEO Jeff Immelt, for example, is a member of the president's Economic Recovery Board (PERB) and the company's media units NBC News, CNBC and MSNBC frequently advance Obama's energy policy through its programming and news coverage which would also benefit GE's investment in green technologies.

While financial opportunism may be the driver of GE's favorable media coverage of Obama's energy policy, ABC's interest in health care may represent a deep seeded liberal bias that goes to its parent company, The Walt Disney Company.

Disturbingly, Disney CEO Bob Iger has shown a willingness to put his personal political views over company profits. Under his direction, Iger refuses to sell the DVD or its distribution rights of the ABC miniseries "The Path to 9/11," a program that was based on the federal government's "9/11 Commission Report." The miniseries was criticized by liberal politicians and advocacy groups when it aired in September 2006 because they felt it made President Clinton look responsible for the terrorist attacks in 2001.

Despite losing about $ 40 million on the project because the left-wing generated controversy intimidated commercial sponsorship, Iger keeps the production under lock and key thus denying shareholders an opportunity to recoup their investment in the miniseries.

Disney can't claim the controversial nature of "The Path to 9/11" as a reason to not profit from the film. Disney profited from Michael Moore's "Fahrenheit 9/11" -- a highly politicized view of the 9/11 terrorist attacks. According to Slate, Disney "booked a $46 million net profit" while "it paid Moore a stunning $21 million" for his documentary. - FOX News Story

ABC Drawing Fire for Obama only Infomercial, I mean Townhall

Republicans and critics of Democrat-led health care reform are stepping up their counter-offensive in response to ABC News' scheduled prime-time special Wednesday on President Obama's health care proposals.

The special -- called "Questions for the President: Prescription for America" -- will be a town hall-style event in which Obama will answer questions on health care posed by audience members selected by ABC News. The network has refused to accept advocacy ads during the hour-long show, drawing criticism from those who say the special will be woefully one-sided.

"It doesn't make sense to me. It seems like with health care we've got to have a debate," said Rick Scott, who heads advocacy group Conservatives for Patients' Rights. "We're going to change possibly everybody's health care in this country, so we have to have a debate. But what you want is you want all sides. So I don't understand how (ABC News) can defend what they're doing."

Scott said his group was rebuffed when it asked ABC News to run its ad criticizing the president's health care pitch.

ABC has said the network has a "longstanding" policy not to accept advocacy ads, and that it even refused to air Obama's extended infomercial the week before the November presidential election for that reason.

Scott, though, said he found instances in which ABC News had run advocacy ads and in a letter this week notified the network of the apparent discrepancy. - FOX News Story

Inspector General Fired for Investigating AmeriCorps Misuse of Funds?

Former Inspector General Gerald Walpin's determination to investigate further the alleged misuse of AmeriCorps funds may have led President Obama to fire him, a Republican member of the board overseeing the volunteer agency alleged to a Washington newspaper.

If true, the assertion contradicts an explanation provided by White House, which said Walpin, 77, was "confused" and "disoriented" at a recent meeting of the board, exhibited a "lack of candor" and "engaged in other troubling and inappropriate conduct."

Meanwhile, a bipartisan group of officials -- including four former U.S. attorneys, three former federal judges, one former attorney general and a former counsel to President Clinton -- sent a letter to the Senate Wednesday defending the integrity and competence of Walpin.

Walpin's dismissal came after he announced to the AmeriCorps board that he wasn't done with the investigation into the alleged misuse of federal grants by Sacramento Mayor Kevin Johnson, a former NBA star and an Obama supporter who heads a nonprofit education group, according to The Washington Examiner.

A probe by Walpin's office found that Johnson and his academy, St. HOPE, which received $850,000 in AmeriCorps money, had misused the funds and AmeriCorps volunteers for personal purposes, by having them help in political campaigns and even wash his car. - FOX News Story

Things that make you go hmmmm.

Wonder how this is going to play out. Maybe Obama overstepped his bounds?

North Korea Threatens to Wipe the USA of the Map

SEOUL, South Korea — North Korea threatened Wednesday to wipe the United States off the map as Washington and its allies watched for signs the regime will launch a series of missiles in the coming days.

Off China's coast, a U.S. destroyer was tailing a North Korean ship suspected of transporting illicit weapons to Burma in what could be the first test of U.N. sanctions passed to punish the nation for an underground nuclear test last month.

The Kang Nam left the North Korean port of Nampo a week ago with the USS John S. McCain close behind. The ship, accused of transporting banned goods in the past, is believed bound for Burma, according to South Korean and U.S. officials.

The new U.N. Security Council resolution requires member states to seek permission to inspect suspicious cargo. North Korea has said it would consider interception a declaration of war and on Wednesday accused the U.S. of seeking to provoke another Korean War. - FOX News Story

Extreme Heat Hitting Midwest

Wow! There has certainly been a tale of two air masses across the eastern two-thirds of the country this week, and it will continue today.

The Northeast continues to have below-normal temperatures. However, for those New Englanders waiting for the sun to come out and to warm the air up, maybe you should be careful what you wish for.

The southern Plains will continue to bake. I'm sure that some natives of Dallas or Little Rock would gladly switch places with the New Englanders right now. RealFeel temperatures will soar above 100 degrees in those locations and as far north as Iowa and as far east as southern Georgia and Florida. The core of the heat, with RealFeel temperatures over 110 degrees, will be felt in Louisiana, Arkansas and adjacent areas of Texas, Oklahoma and Kansas. This is downright dangerous conditions for anyone working or even being outside. Please take care and stay well hydrated.

Story by AccuWeather.com Meteorologist Mark Paquette.

Best Job in the World - $70,000 a year doing Nothing

NEW YORK — Hundreds of New York City public school teachers accused of offenses ranging from insubordination to sexual misconduct are being paid their full salaries to sit around all day playing Scrabble, surfing the Internet or just staring at the wall, if that's what they want to do.

Because their union contract makes it extremely difficult to fire them, the teachers have been banished by the school system to its "rubber rooms" — off-campus office space where they wait months, even years, for their disciplinary hearings.

The 700 or so teachers can practice yoga, work on their novels, paint portraits of their colleagues — pretty much anything but school work. They have summer vacation just like their classroom colleagues and enjoy weekends and holidays through the school year.

"You just basically sit there for eight hours," said Orlando Ramos, who spent seven months in a rubber room, officially known as a temporary reassignment center, in 2004-05. "I saw several near-fights. `This is my seat.' `I've been sitting here for six months.' That sort of thing."

Ramos was an assistant principal in East Harlem when he was accused of lying at a hearing on whether to suspend a student. Ramos denied the allegation but quit before his case was resolved and took a job in California.

Because the teachers collect their full salaries of $70,000 or more, the city Department of Education estimates the practice costs the taxpayers $65 million a year. The department blames union rules.

"It is extremely difficult to fire a tenured teacher because of the protections afforded to them in their contract," spokeswoman Ann Forte said. - FOX News Story

Perez Hilton - I deserve an apology

After Perez Hilton's slur-laden reaction to an alleged assault by the manager of the Black Eyed Peas, even former allies of the celebrity blogger have turned against him.

Officials at the Gay & Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation (GLAAD) have called on Hilton to apologize for the "vulgar anti-gay slurs" he made in a video following a confrontation with manager Liborio Molina.

But Hilton — who became a de facto spokesman for gay rights following his marriage equality question to former Miss California USA Carrie Prejean — is insisting he's the one due an apology, not GLAAD.

"I am saddened GLAAD chose to victimize me further by criticizing me for how I non-violently dealt with a very scary situation that, unfortunately, turned violent," Hilton said in a statement to FOXNews.com. "While I doubt I will get an apology from GLAAD, nor do I expect one, I would just hope people know how difficult it is to intellectualize a situation and think rationally when a thug disguised as a musician is screaming at your face and intimidating you." - FOX News Story

This guy is a Class A loser. He believes that he is the Chosen One when it comes to Gay Rights. Well, he might be the Chosen One when it comes to setting back the Gay Rights movement.

He has become a poster child for the opposition with his over the top extremism.

It is good to see that groups like GLAAD are starting to distance themselves from him and put him out on his own island to self destruct.

Obama's Choreographed Press Conference

In what appeared to be a coordinated exchange, President Obama called on the Huffington Post's Nico Pitney near the start of his press conference and requested a question directly about Iran.

“Nico, I know you and all across the Internet, we've been seeing a lot of reports coming out of Iran,” Obama said, addressing Pitney. “I know there may actually be questions from people in Iran who are communicating through the Internet. Do you have a question?”

Pitney, as if ignoring what Obama had just said, said: “I wanted to use this opportunity to ask you a question directly from an Iranian.”

He then noted that the site had solicited questions from people in the country “who were still courageous enough to be communicating online.”

“Under which conditions would you accept the election of Ahmadinejad, and if you do accept it without any significant changes in the conditions there, isn't that a betrayal of the — of what the demonstrators there are working towards?”

Reporters typically don’t coordinate their questions for the president before press conferences, so it seemed odd that Obama might have an idea what the question would be. Also, it was a departure from White House protocol by calling on The Huffington Post second, in between the AP and Reuters.

CBS Radio's Mark Knoller, a veteran White House correspondent, said over Twitter it was "very unusual that Obama called on Huffington Post second, appearing to know the issue the reporter would ask about."

According to POLITICO's Carol Lee, The Huffington Post reporter was brought out of lower press by deputy press secretary Josh Earnest and placed just inside the barricade for reporters a few minutes before the start of the press conference. - Politico Story

Democrats Want 8% increase in Discretionary Spending

With growing public concern about the deficit and billions still backed up in President Barack Obama’s economic recovery program, just how do Democrats sell another 8 percent increase in discretionary spending this summer?

Not easily.

As the appropriations debate heats up in the House and Senate this week, one option is to spice the pot with real cuts, if only to show voters that not everything is on automatic pilot and at least some programs are being weeded out.

With each 2010 bill it reports now, the House Appropriations Committee includes a three-part list of terminations, program reductions and new White House initiatives that have been denied. The strategy takes a page from Obama himself — even lifting a few phrases from the administration’s rhetoric. But the results can catch even top Democrats by surprise.

North Carolina Rep. David Price, one of the dozen committee “cardinals,” rose mournfully at a recent committee meeting to protest a $41 million reduction in a favorite education program he helped to create at the National Science Foundation. - Politico Story

How to have an Extended Massive Orgasm - Do Tell

Extended Massive Orgasm – the term itself packs a powerful passion punch. This experience of one orgasmic wave after the next has become the grand dame of climaxes. Those who pursue the extended massive orgasm (EMO) report enjoying more of life’s joys in general. After experiencing one of these massive orgasms, lovers have been known to become nicer and more generous in their relationship.

PHOTOS: 14 Foods to Boost Your Sex Drive.

These results aren’t surprising given that EMO makes for more amazing orgasms. It helps lovers realize heightened intimacy, increased sexual confidence, and better communication skills. So what exactly are the tricks of this tantalizing trade?

An extended massive orgasm can last minutes or hours, offering up blissful sensations at increasing intensities. Here are the key ingredients to making this earth-shattering event happe. - Fox News Story

I know that this isn't exactly the stuff that we talk about on here, but hey who couldn't use a little added information in this area?

Iranian Government - Protestors will be "dealt with in a way that will teach them a lesson."

(CBS) Despite a vicious crackdown by Iran's authorities, CBS News correspondent Mark Phillips reports that there are more ominous signs Tuesday morning that the unrest is continuing.

Iran's official news agency says those arrested in the demonstrations, which have now gone on for a week and a half, will be "dealt with in a way that will teach them a lesson."

According to Iran's state TV, more than 450 people have been arrested and 10 have died in the post-election violence.

The demonstrations may be getting smaller, but those determined enough to continue to take to the streets are paying the price. New amateur video reaching the West via cell-phone and the Internet shows people who have apparently been shot.

IranWatch: Track the latest on the Iran election upheaval.

Security forces - including the hard-line Revolutionary Guards - have warned that any unauthorized demonstrations will encounter what they called a "revolutionary" response, which clearly involves the use force.

Tehran's streets have been flooded with security personnel in an apparent attempt to intimidate potential demonstrators.

And the political hard line continues as well. A spokesman for Iran's Guardian Council - the body appointed by Iran's supreme leader to oversee elections - has declared that there were no irregularities large enough to warrant calling a new vote. - CBS News Story

Iranian Clerics Say Election will Stand - Could this Happen in America?

Iran's state TV reports the country's top electoral authority has ruled out annulling the results of the disputed June 12 election in which President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad was named the winner.

A spokesman for the Guardian Council, Abbas Ali Kadkhodaei, was quoted by Iran's state-run English language Press TV as saying Tuesday that the organization had found "no major fraud or breach in the election."

"Therefore, there is no possibility of an annulment taking place," he said.

Ahmadinejad's main challenger, Mir Hossein Mousavi, has charged the election was a fraud and insists he is the true winner. His followers have been staging near-daily rallies. In recent days, the government has intensified a crackdown on the protests.

Mousavi has called for an independent probe, alleging the Guardian Council is not neutral and has already indicated support for Ahmadinejad. - CBS News Story

As divided as this Country has become over the past 10 years, could what is happening in Iran happen in America?

I say not only can it happen here, it is perhaps inevitable. We have seen many elections come down to very small differences separating winners from losers. Combine that with the division and partisanship of our Government today, you can see the recipe for disaster.

Obama promised to put aside partisan politics and work together. Had this been the case then that would most definitely have started to reverse the trend. But as with most leaders, they are only willing to be bipartisan when it benefits them. True bipartisanship is when you say we have to do something about widgets, what are your ideas? Then they work together to solve the problem with widgets. Not, we have a problem with widgets and here is what I am doing to fix it, get on board or get the hell out of the way.

Until we can start working as bipartisan officials, we are headed to similar circumstances as Iran. We already have the voting fraud, more votes than voters, we have the division between ideology, and we are quickly reaching a boiling point.

Flood Victims get No Response from Government

West Allis - It was bad enough when last week's torrential rains filled Mike Duvall's basement, swamped his garage and ruined his possessions - but it was the response by his community leaders that really got him boiling.

Duvall and his neighbors in the 5600 block of W. Mitchell St. couldn't get West Allis officials to come out and clean up the sewage that's stuck to the streets and sidewalks or get inspections of their basements or get the Department of Public Works to return phone calls.

But those who could move their cars from wrecked garages to higher ground before the next round of rain on Friday evening did get feedback from the city - in the form of $20 parking tickets.

"It was a complete lack of response. Their response Friday and the rest of the weekend was: 'This was an act of God, good luck,' " Duvall said Monday morning, sitting on a couch he had pulled out onto his porch.

On Monday, the city picked up ruined possessions residents set out but had not yet cleaned the street.

Duvall, who called the city Friday to ask for permission for him and his neighbors to park on the street, was so incensed he gathered petitions asking for a meeting with Mayor Dan Devine and other officials. The mayor and other officials met with them Monday morning and promised to take care of the 15 parking tickets.

Duvall said he hasn't been able to get the city to inspect his home, which We Energies requires before it will hook up his gas again. - JS Online Story

By golly where is George Bush? He hasn't helped us out? Isn't it only George Bush who has failed to respond to a Natural Disaster?

No, the truth is, it is nearly impossible for the Government to be prepared for everything that can happen. Now, not to dimish the poor job that West Allis City Officials did, it is hard to be prepared and act as quickly as everyone would like in situations like this.

Obama See's Biggest Dip in Polling Numbers

Eroding confidence in President Barack Obama’s handling of the economy and ability to control spending has caused his approval ratings to wilt to their lowest levels since he took office, according to a spate of recent polls, a sign of political weakness that comes just as he most needs leverage on Capitol Hill.

The good news for Obama is that his approval ratings — 57 percent in a Gallup tracking poll over the weekend — remain comfortably high by historical standards for presidents.

But the trend lines among a variety of polls over the past several days are unmistakable: Independents and even some Republicans who once viewed him sympathetically are becoming skeptical, and many people of all stripes are anxious about economic and fiscal trends.

Obama’s approval rating has dipped below 60 percent on other occasions, according to Gallup, but though those slumps lasted only a day, this one appears to be more persistent.

So is the intensity of partisan reaction to Obama, who ran on the promise of softening ideological divisions and unifying Americans. On Sunday, a Rasmussen Reports tracking poll found that 32 percent of Americans strongly approved of the president, while 32 percent strongly disapproved. - Politico Story

Obama Administration Can't Explain Savings

The Obama White House cannot explain more than half of today's announced $80 billion in prescription drug savings.

A senior official said the White House estimates $30 billion in savings will be achieved through drug companies reducing by at least 50 percent the cost of brand-name prescription drugs for Medicare beneficiaries who fall into the so-called coverage "donut hole."

The other $50 billion in savings will come from unspecified and unknown changes to drug costs linked to Medicare and Medicaid.

The $80 billion in savings is a 10-year estimate. - FOX News Story

Obama Feeling the Heat - Calls for Press Conference

President Obama will meet the press Tuesday at a critical juncture in his young presidency, as he struggles to push a key pillar of his domestic agenda and faces criticism for the way he is handling the tumult in Iran.

The president has scheduled a press conference for 12:30 p.m. ET at the White House -- it is the fourth of his presidency, but the first outside prime-time and the first from the Rose Garden.

Watch FOX News Channel and FOXNews.com for live coverage of the president's press conference Tuesday at 12:30 p.m. ET.

The short advance notice suggests the administration is feeling pressured to address more fully the myriad developments in Washington and abroad.

On the home front, Obama's push for comprehensive health care reform has run into stiff resistance from Republicans who want the option of a government-run plan stripped from any proposal. They point to last week's Congressional Budget Office cost estimates tagging one proposal at $1 trillion over 10 years and another at $1.5 trillion for the same time period as evidence the plan needs to be reined in.

The president also has carefully measured his response to the turmoil in Iran stemming from the disputed presidential election on June 12, leading to criticism that he's too timid in condemning the Iranian regime and expressing support for the protesters. - FOX News Story

Iranian Revolution Continues

New amateur videos purportedly showing clashes between police and protesters in the wake of Iran's hotly disputed presidential election surfaced Tuesday along with reports that a large-scale general strike was in the works.

Video posted on YouTube appears to show riot police flooding the streets of Tehran in an attempt to disrupt large-scale protests. In one video, groups of police can be seen retreating from protesters throwing objects as a yellow gas is released. Another video shows crowds advancing through streets, stopping traffic.

Click here to see the videos.

Just before the clashes Monday, an Iranian woman who lives in Tehran said there was a heavy police and security presence in another square in central Tehran. She asked not to be identified because she was worried about government reprisals.

"There is a massive, massive, massive police presence," she told The Associated Press in Cairo by telephone. "Their presence was really intimidating."

In another amateur video that was apparently shot at night, shouts of "God is Great" and "Death to the Dictator," are reportedly heard in the darkness. - FOX News Story

Obama Continues Slide in Polls

The Rasmussen Reports daily Presidential Tracking Poll for Sunday shows that 32% 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 -2. That’s the President’s lowest rating to date and the first time the Presidential Approval Index has fallen below zero for Obama (see trends). - Rasmussen Reports