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There was no surprise with the announced third-quarter GDP for the U.S. economy (+3.5%), however, there was some personal disappointment for me. The disappointment relates to the fact that few, if any, commentators were willing to speak up and exclaim that “the emperor is wearing no clothes.” The reason that this is such a big disappointment is that the “official” number for U.S. Q3 GDP cannot withstand the slightest analytical scrutiny. So, allow me to analytically dissect this obviously fraudulent number. Let's start with the big picture. At the end of 2008, official GDP was -6.4%. This was also likely...

The Queen's College is delighted to announce that, thanks to two generous gifts, it has been able to establish a graduate scholarship in Philosophy in memory of Neda Agha-Soltan, the 27-year-old Iranian philosophy student who was killed in Tehran on 20 June during the protests over the outcome of the 2009 Iranian presidential election. Commenting on the scholarship, the Provost, Professor Paul Madden, said, 'Oxford is increasingly losing out to its competitors in the race to recruit top graduate students. Donations such as those that have enabled us to create the Neda Agha-Soltan Scholarship are absolutely vital for us to...

From the Traveling Press Room of the Tea Party Express II...CONTACT: Levi Russell - levi@FrontLineStrat.com or 509.979.6615 TEA PARTY EXPRESS CONDEMNS HEALTHCARE VOTE BY CONGRESS"Shame On Them" Says Tea Party Leaders "We're Going to Vote Them Out of Office in 2010" (ON THE ROAD FROM LAFAYETTE, LA)  -- The leadership of the Tea Party Express (website: http://www.TeaPartyExpress.org) tonight denounced the vote by the House of Representatives (220-215) to pass a healthcare bill that includes a government-run component. "Shame on them!  Congress chose once again to defy the will of the people who have spoken out at tea parties and town halls against this...

WASHINGTON – Democrats just don't get the election message from voters and are pushing a liberal, big government agenda at their party's peril, Republican officials said Sunday as they predicted a political price after the majority's victory on health care. Voters are "tired of the borrowing, the spending, the bailouts, the takeovers," said Rep. Mike Pence of Indiana, the No. 3 House GOP leader, pointing to GOP victories in gubernatorial races in Virginia and New Jersey last week. The Democratic-controlled House narrowly approved a health care bill Saturday night, with 39 Democrats voting against it and a single Republican voting...

Tuesday 4pm It may have been the first, small clue that an apparently ordinary week at the world's largest army base was about to become something horrifically different, when neighbours saw Major Nidal Hasan escorting a visitor into his flat. Other residents at the Casa del Norte apartment complex were surprised to see the mild-mannered army officer accompanied by another man in Islamic dress. Alice Thompson, 53, who manages the two storey block of simple dwellings with her husband John, told The Sunday Telegraph: "It was very unusual because he had never had anyone round before. His visitor had long...

Thanks to a special emailer for pointing to this article: “He” Josy Joseph / DNASunday, November 8, 2009 2:38 IST SNIPPET: “New Delhi: The two terror suspects arrested in the US for plotting to strike targets in Denmark and India spent significant time in Mumbai before the 26/11 attacks, authoritative sources have told DNA. While one of them operated a visa agency in Mumbai for almost two years until the latter part of 2008, the other suspect spent 10 days in the city just days before the terror strike last November.” SNIPPET: “According to available information, David Coleman Headley, the...

The Senate Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs will seek to move forward on an investigation surrounding the mass shooting Thursday at Fort Hood Army base in Texas, Sen. Joseph I. Lieberman (I-Conn.), the committee's chairman, said today. The chairman said the scope of the probe would address the motives of the alleged shooter Army Maj. Nidal M. Hasan and whether signs of "Islamic extremism" were apparent, but missed or ignored. "It's premature to reach conclusions about what motivated Hasan," Lieberman said on "Fox News Sunday" this morning. "But it's clear that he was, one, under personal stress and,...

As the suicidal Democratic congressmen proceed to rubber-stamp the Obama healthcare reform despite the drubbing their party took in the ’09 elections, the president trotted out the endorsements of the AMA and the AARP to stimulate support. But these — and the other endorsements — his package has received are all bought and paid for. Here are the deals: · The American Medical Association (AMA) was facing a 21 percent cut in physicians’ reimbursements under the current law. Obama promised to kill the cut if they backed his bill. The cuts are the fruit of a law requiring annual 5-6...

Hurricane Ida continues to strengthen as it approaches the Yucatan Peninsula and Gulf of Mexico. The government of Mexico has issued a Hurricane Warning from Playa del Carmen to Cabo Catoche. The late season hurricane is expected to enter the Gulf of Mexico later Sunday at a Category 2 storm. Links:Public AdvisoriesDiscussion Updated Every Six Hours FL and East GOM Buoy DataVisible Image SatelliteOther satellite imagesForecast ModelsStormPulse Category Wind Speed Barometric Pressure Storm Surge Damage Potential Tropical Depression < 39 mph < 34 kts     Minimal Tropical Storm 39 - 73 mph 34 - 63 kts     Minimal...

As of 11-6-09 The signed stimulus contracts for non-government business is at $32,511,586,374.70 (Billion). One third of this amount is for pharmaceuticals preparation manufacturers $11,285,033,973.18 (Billion) Base and All Options Value From the TAS Recovery chart on the site link.

Reacting to media reports that Nancy Pelosi “secretly” dispatched a top lieutenant to meet with Dede Scozzafava before the Assemblywoman’s shocking endorsement of Bill Owens, Conservative Party Chairman Mike Long called for a Federal Election Commission investigation of any “illicit inducements” that may have been offered in exchange for Scozzafava’s support. “It a matter of public record that the Scozzafava family company is in financial difficulty. All her public statements about her withdraw mentioned money problems. Nancy Pelosi is desperate to win this seat,” Long said, adding: “Can it be a mere coincidence that Dede demand a face-to-face meeting, then...

U.S. Rep. Paul E. Kanjorski, D-11, Nanticoke, wants to reform the regulatory structure of the U.S. financial services industry. So he has introduced four pieces of legislation that would reform credit-rating agencies, protect investors, address private funds - such as hedge funds and private equity, which were unregulated in the past - and create a federal insurance office. Mr. Kanjorski, chairman of the House Financial Services Subcommittee on Capital Markets, Insurance, and Government Sponsored Enterprises, is also the second-ranking member of the House Financial Services Committee. Credit-rating agency Mr. Kanjorski said he introduced the credit-rating agency legislation because of the...

BERLIN — Harald Jaeger was a loyal East German border guard — respected and trusted to command a crossing point to the west on Berlin's Bornholmer Strasse. So when his checkpoint was swarmed on the evening of Nov. 9, 1989, as East Germany announced the border was being opened after 28 years, Jaeger felt ashamed as he let the thousands pass through.

Canada’s top general issues order to start planning pullout of military units Canada’s top soldier has issued instructions for his officers to start making their plans to pullout of Afghanistan. Chief of the Defence Staff Gen. Walter Natynczyk’s direction to units for a “drawdown” of forces in Afghanistan lays the groundwork for what will be a lengthy process of transporting tonnes of equipment and supplies back home. Canada’s military mission in Kandahar is scheduled to end in the summer of 2011. “It’s a directive that people start the planning,” Natynczyk said in an interview with the Citizen Thursday night. “Based...

ABU DHABI, United Arab Emirates — The U.S. Homeland Security secretary says she is working to prevent a possible wave of anti-Muslim sentiment after the shootings at Fort Hood in Texas. Janet Napolitano says her agency is working with groups across the United States to try to deflect any backlash against American Muslims following Thursday’s rampage by Army Maj. Nidal Malik Hasan, a Muslim who reportedly expressed growing dismay over the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. The shootings left 13 people dead and 29 wounded. Napolitano was in the United Arab Emirates on Sunday for talks with security officials and...

Military investigators have concluded that there was only one gunman involved in the rampage at Fort Hood that left 13 people dead and dozens more injured, but they added that they were still trying to determine whether other people were involved in any plot, an Army spokesman said on Saturday. The spokesman, Chris Grey, also told reporters during a briefing that the shooting suspect, Maj. Nidal Malik Hasan, 39, an Army psychologist, had been taken off a ventilator on Saturday but remained in the intensive care unit at Brooke Army Medical Center in San Antonio. Major Hasan was shot four...

More than a month after a new fiscal year began Oct. 1, the House and Senate are still pressing to pass a group of bills to improve veterans’ benefits and health programs, rolling them together in “omnibus” legislative packets. The omnibus bills can then be shaped by final compromises between the two chambers and passed relatively quickly, often by voice vote, so lawmakers can move on to other business. Standing athwart those plans this month, however, is Sen. Tom Coburn, R-Okla., a family physician whose top goal as a lawmaker has been to slow the rising tide of debt caused,...

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - U.S. President Barack Obama is wrapping up deliberations on war strategy in Afghanistan and is considering final Pentagon options that include sending about 30,000 more troops, officials said on Saturday. A deployment of that size would be less than the 40,000-troop increase recommended by Gen. Stanley McChrystal, the commander of U.S. and NATO forces in Afghanistan, but more than many of Obama's Democratic allies may support. Record combat deaths have eroded U.S. public support for the war, and a decision to expand troop levels could become a political liability for the president ahead of congressional elections next...

The U.S. House of Representatives narrowly passed a massive overhaul of the American health care system Saturday night by a vote of 220 to 215. One Republican, Rep. Joseph Cao of Louisiana, crossed the aisle, while 39 Democrats joined the Republicans in opposing the measure. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi called passage of the bill "an historic moment for our nation and for America's families," while Republicans warned that the bill will raise taxes, increase insurance premiums and make cuts to Medicare. An enormous round of applause broke out throughout the House chamber when the crucial 218th vote was cast to...

India deepens defense ties with Israel to tackle threat of terror By YAAKOV KATZ Amid Israeli efforts to bolster military ties and export military hardware, the Indian Chief of Staff Gen. Deepak Kapoor arrived in Israel on Saturday for talks with IDF Chief of General Staff Lt.-Gen. Gabi Ashkenazi. Kapoor will hold talks with Ashkenazi as well as other senior Israeli officials, including Defense Minister Ehud Barak. He will visit Yad Vashem in Jerusalem during his four-day visit, as well as the IDF's Southern Command. Israel and India enjoy close defense ties and Israel last year overtook Russia as the...

Tomorrow, the House of Representatives will vote on a 2,000 page bill to give the federal government the power to micromanage the health care of every single American. The bill will no doubt pass. It will raise your taxes, steal your freedom, invade your privacy, and ration your health care. Even the Republicans have introduced their version of Obamacare Lite. It, too, if passed, will compel employers to provide coverage, bribe the states to change their court rules, and tell insurance companies whom to insure. We do not have two political parties in this country, America. We have one party;...

Washington - -- President Obama and House Speaker Nancy Pelosi were poised to win a stupendous - but still incomplete - victory Saturday, predicting House passage of the biggest expansion of health care coverage since Medicare's creation in 1964, in the face of unanimous Republican opposition. As a matter of policy and politics, the 10-year, $1.05 trillion legislation is among the most complex and difficult Congress has ever considered. Enactment would prove the signal achievement of Pelosi's speakership. Success or failure will define Obama's presidency. In the hours before the vote, Obama traveled to Capitol Hill to urge fellow Democrats...

[Undecideds remaining] According to two senior GOP staffer: D Cardoza J Costa B Markey M Michaud S Murphy B Stupak (depending on amendment) B Ellsworth P Kanjorski S Driehaus J Donnelly Z Space B Chandler R Kind C Carney M Kaptur C Rodriguez A Smith T Perriello

2 killed, 4 wounded; some were to go to Afghanistan with assailantBy Don Walker At least six soldiers from Wisconsin were among the 43 people killed or injured by an Army psychiatrist at Fort Hood, and an Army major said Friday night that the shooter was scheduled to deploy with a Madison-based unit. The man identified as the shooter, Maj. Nidal Malik Hasan, was to be sent to Afghanistan. Madison's 467th Medical Detachment, also known as a combat-stress unit, was also in the process of being deployed with him, according to Maj. Claudia Jefferson, an Army spokeswoman. "Hasan was supposed...

TEHRAN (Reuters) - Iranian police detained more than 100 people for "disturbing public order" during a rally this week to mark the anniversary of the seizure of the U.S. embassy, the official IRNA news agency reported on Saturday. Security forces clashed with supporters of Iran's opposition leader Mirhossein Mousavi in Tehran on Wednesday when an annual state-organised rally marking the 30th anniversary of the storming of the U.S. embassy turned violent.

Washington (CNN) -- Foes of the House Democrats' health care bill rallied outside the Capitol Saturday afternoon, hours before what many of them anticipate will be a setback for their position -- approval of House Speaker Nancy Pelosi's bill. "It may pass out of the House tonight. We do realize that," Jenny Beth Martin, event organizer for the Tea Party Patriots, said. "But there is the Senate still. And we are going to leave no stone unturned and fight the government taking over our health care." House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-California, emerges from her offices Saturday on her way to...

The CEO of the Christian Medical Association says government-run healthcare will mean the end of right of conscience for physicians. The House promises a vote on healthcare reform by Saturday, although a version of the bill would still need to be approved by the Senate. Dr. David Stevens warns if that happens, many will feel inclined to leave the medical profession. "It's going to damage right of conscience for faith-based healthcare professionals. We actually surveyed 2,800 faith-based doctors, nurses and other healthcare professionals, and 95 percent of them said they will leave healthcare if it came down to violating their...

After two days of investigation into the mass shooting at Fort Hood, investigators have tentatively concluded that the attack was not part of a terrorist plot. Rather, they have come to believe that Maj. Nidal Malik Hasan, the Army psychiatrist accused in the shootings, acted out under a welter of emotional, ideological and religious pressures, according to interviews with federal officials who have been briefed on the inquiry. Investigators have not ruled out the possibility that Major Hasan believed he was carrying out an extremist’s suicide mission. But the investigators, working with behavioral experts, suggested that he may have long...

FLASHBACK Pelosi says After the Rules Committee finalizes it is an "Absolute Outrage" not give members three days to READ THE BILL

Washington, DC (LifeNews.com) -- A handful of pro-life Republicans in Congress have a difference of opinion on legislative strategy and it has produced a friction that has blossomed during the debate on the pro-abortion health care bill. The difference concerns whether the Stupak Amendment could result in helping the health care bill. The pro-life movement has been fighting for months to get language included in the health care reform bill to make sure it does not fund abortions through the public option and the affordability credits. After refusing pro-life Rep. Bart Stupak a vote on his amendment to stop abortion...

At this moment, Democratic sources say their internal head counts have them breaking through the 218 mark this afternoon. Whether that will mean that more Democrats will come on board, or that Pelosi is going to cut other members lose, is still unclear. But Dems are confident they have won. By John Bresnahan

To pass a healthcare reform bill, addressing abortion is necessary in order to get the support of conservative Democrats. Lobbyists for Catholic bishops were part of the negotiation.

Sources: Pelosi, Dems lock up 218 By PATRICK O'CONNOR & JOHN BRESNAHAN & JONATHAN ALLEN | 11/7/09 7:16 PM EST POLITICO 44 Hours before an expected vote on a sweeping health care bill, House Democrats believe they've secured the 218 votes they need to approve the bill, several party insiders said. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi took to the House floor about 6:30 p.m. to say, “Today we will pass the Affordable Health Care for America Act.. . .We will make history. We will also make progress for America's working families." In response to a question about whether the bill would...

WASHINGTON — When it comes to combating global warming, Sen. Lindsey Graham is right where he loves to be — ahead of the curve, in the mix on a major issue, at the table for high-level, bipartisan talks behind closed doors. Graham, a South Carolina Republican, is working with Democratic Sen. John Kerry of Massachusetts and independent Sen. Joe Lieberman of Connecticut to craft a climate change bill. They face the dual challenge of overcoming widespread GOP opposition and withstanding relentless attacks by Big Oil and allied energy interests. "Our goal is to create a vision that not only will...

Bill Would Restrict Veterans’ Health Care Options Buyer and McKeon Offer Amendments to Protect Veterans and TRICARE Beneficiaries Washington, D.C. — Today, House Committee on Veterans’ Affairs Ranking Member Steve Buyer and House Armed Services Committee Ranking Member Howard P. “Buck” McKeon offered three amendments to the Pelosi healthcare bill that would protect America’s Veterans and military TRICARE beneficiaries. The healthcare legislation, which is expected to be voted on in the full House in the coming days limits veteran’s and service member’s health care choices and places veterans and military health care unnecessarily at risk by not clearly excluding military...

FORT HOOD (November 7, 2009)--A Muslim leader in Killeen says Maj. Nidal Malik Hasan, the Army psychiatrist suspected of going on a shooting rampage Thursday at Fort Hood, asked him for advice on what he should tell soldiers who had concerns about going to fight Muslims in Iraq and Afghanistan. Osman Danquah, who is a co-founder of the Islamic Community of Greater Killeen, said he had a bad feeling about Hasan after the two talked twice in late summer. He told The Associated Press Saturday that Hasan regularly attended services at the mosque in his uniform. Danquah said Hasan never...

The American Society of Medical Doctors (ASMD) today released a nationwide, nonpartisan poll* of physicians showing that: 70 percent of specialty doctors oppose current Congressional and White House proposals for health-care reform; 66 percent believe that a government-run health insurance plan would restrict doctors' ability to give the best advice and offer the best care possible to their patients; and More than 60 percent would not accept new patients with government insurance (including 27% who would not accept any patients on the new government plan). Chairman of the ASMD, Alfred O. Bonati, M.D., said that, "As a physician, the results...

Oh, how the tables have turned.Nervous Democrats are on defense and emboldened Republicans sense opportunity heading into 2010 and the midterm elections. It was just three years ago that the GOP lost the House and Senate as well as governors' races in a cross-country Democratic wave.Now, with most states under their control and comfortable majorities in Congress, Democrats must protect far more seats than Republicans: 19 governors' mansions, 17 Senate seats and as many as 60 House districts in moderate-to-conservative regions and swing-voting areas.At this point, Democrats must do it in a more troubling political environment than in 2006 and...

Survivors of the Fort Hood massacre described today how Major Nidal Malik Hasan allegedly gunned down unarmed soldiers, and then shot them again as they lay wounded on the floor. Investigators believe more than 100 shots were fired from Hasan's gun in a matter of minutes. He was described as calm and methodical in his attack, pausing only to reload. Soldier Keara Bono survived the onslaught although she was wounded slightly in the back and grazed in the head. Bono told "Good Morning America" today that she initially thought the scene of Hasan standing up, praising Allah and starting to...

Florida Gov. Charlie Crist says he is not flip-flopping when it comes to support of the federal stimulus package championed by Democrats, saying his comments earlier this week to CNN’s Wolf Blitzer were more about the actual stimulus legislation passed by Congress, and not the effort itself. “I think the question posed to me was, ‘Did you endorse this specific bill?’” Crist told reporters Friday after speaking to the National Governors Association Center for Best Practices policy institute in Tampa. “And I said, ‘No, I didn’t,’ but the concept I thought, and still believe, was important, necessary and it helped...

House Democrats who have announced they are voting against the Obama-Pelosi-Health Care bill.The list is compiled from various news sources. Please add confirmed 'no' votes with a source link to the thread.The 'Rats have 258 members. They can lose 40 votes and still reach the 218 votes needed to pass the bill on a simple majority.It is expected that all 177 Republicans will vote against the bill. No Republican has announced they would vote for the bill.TN, John Tanner and Bart GordonSD, Stephanie Herseth SandlinNY, Mike McMahon and Eric MassaWA, Brian BairdNJ, John AdlerNC, Larry Kissell and Mike McIntyreMS, Travis...

US Bishops: Abortion Isn't Health Care Send Urgent Message to Congress WASHINGTON, D.C., NOV. 6, 2009 (Zenit.org).- Keep abortion funding out of health care reform. That is the key message the U.S. episcopal conference communicated today in an urgent letter sent to the nation's House of Representatives. In the letter, sent as House members debated procedures related to abortion and the health care reform bill, the bishops "strongly urge" the lawmakers to "vote for essential changes and a fair process in the House of Representatives to ensure that needed health care reform legislation truly protects the life, dignity, health and...

Some moderate Democrats still are “really anguished” over voting for the energy bill, Rep. Jason Altmire told Fox News, and they “would be reluctant now to vote for health care and take a second vote that might be unpopular in their district.”With Republicans raising the volume of their protests and House Democratic leaders uncertain if they have enough rank-and-file support, some moderate Democrats sense that passing a health care reform bill will be as difficult as the House’s energy bill, which was approved by a slim margin June. That has caused quite a bit of hand-wringing among the Democrats. Some...

Below is a template to send to the Blue Dogs demanding the socialist, unconstitutional health care bill be killed along with their email addresses. You can change the template as you see fit. Some addresses may come back undeliverable. Don't let that deter you. Put in the subject: Vote NO on Pelosi Healthcare bill or we vote NO in 2010 Put in the message: We are organized, engaged, and enthused. We were able to organize sending 20,000 to 45,000 people to Washington DC in less than 6 days even during a recession when people do not have money. In 2...

Price Trends / WAR OF THE WORLDS (Round # 2): If you use 120 years of data for your time horizon, and assume prices will return to the average, then our residential property bubble will fall 49% from the bubble peak to the long-run average (see above (a) aka “(x) - (z) / 202” aka “Projected Fall Peak to Trend”). This total projected fall is less than the 60% predicted in my recent post based upon 20 years of data and a trend line drawn with the eye (click here to see that post). Property Values Set to Fall 43%...

President Barack Obama will leave the country for a four-nation tour of Asia starting Wednesday despite a host of domestic concerns, including the massacre at Fort Hood, a sharply rising jobless rate, his health care legislation stalled in the Senate and his Afghanistan troop decision still pending. He planned his Nov. 11-19 trip around the annual Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation meeting in Singapore, but added stops in Japan, China and South Korea. The itinerary reflects the growing importance of East Asia — especially China — to everything from financing U.S. debt and powering the global economic recovery to climate change, disease...

TEHRAN, Iran – Senior Iranian lawmakers rejected on Saturday any possibility of Tehran shipping uranium abroad for further enrichment, intensifying pressures on the government to reject the U.N.-backed plan altogether. Prominent conservative lawmaker Alaeddin Boroujerdi said Iran won't ship its low enriched uranium abroad in a single batch or in several shipments, a compromise suggested by some government officials, under any circumstances.

Some AMA members are outraged that the group's trustees made the endorsement without the formal approval of the organization's House of Delegates. The American Medical Association's much-touted endorsement of the House health care reform bill has triggered a revolt among some members who want the endorsement withdrawn. Some members are outraged that the group's trustees made the endorsement without the formal approval of the organization's House of Delegates. On Monday, delegates will vote on a resolution offered by some members that, if approved, will withdraw the AMA’s endorsement of the bill. President Obama cited the endorsement of the influential AMA,...

Democratic Rep. Barney Frank took a dig Friday at the Republican lawmaker who organized a protest by conservatives against health care legislation. Frank, a Massachusetts liberal, told an audience: "Some of the people (at the rally) that wanted to engage me in conversation appeared to have been the losers in the 'Are you smarter than Michele Bachmann contest?"' Rep. Bachmann, R-Minn., had organized Thursday's rally attended by thousands of conservatives critical of the Democrats' health care plan. Frank, who recently compared arguing with an angry voter to conversing with a dining room table, said this week's protest was like being...

Washington D.C., Nov 6, 2009 / 06:48 pm (CNA).- A memo from the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops says that the Ellsworth Amendment to the U.S. House’s proposed health care reform bill is not a “meaningful compromise” but instead is a “money-laundering system” that does not address pro-life concerns about federal funding of abortion.The memo, written by U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB) Secretariat of Pro-Life Activities associate director Richard Doerflinger, discusses H.R. 3962 and the Ellsworth Amendment. The amendment claims to prevent federal funds from being used for abortions, CNSNews.com reports. It requires that federal money be segregated...