Obama prepares to defend health care law in 2011

Obama Names Ambassadors, No. 2 Official at Justice in Recess Appointments
President Obama, using his authority to bypass Congress, has named four ambassadors and the No. 2 person at the Justice Department as recess appointments, allowing them to serve through most of next year without Senate confirmation. The appointments Wednesday included career diplomat Robert S. Ford as the first ambassador to Syria since 2005, and James M. Cole as deputy attorney general. Cole, who took part in a 1997 ethics investigation of former House Speaker Newt Gingrich, had been stalled in...

Virginia Senate candidate Jamie Radtke reacts to federal health-care ruling
Jumping ahead of potential competitors, Virginia tea Party Leader Jamie Radtke this week announced her official entry into the 2012 contest for the Republican nomination for the U.S. Senate. Radtke will face a field of rivals that includes former Senator George Allen, Delegate Bob Marshall, and chairman of the Prince William County Board of Supervisors Corey Stewart.  The winner of the GOP primary will probably face Incumbent Democrat Jim Webb, although Webb has not announced his intention ...

President Recess Appoints Six, Including Deputy AG
During the recess for the Elections, Mitch McConnell and Harry Reid struck a deal where pro forma sessions prevented the President from making any Recess Appointments. It was assumed that would become the new normal, but such an accommodation was not made for the end of the session, enabling President Obama to make six Recess Appointments. They included four ambassadors (to Syria, Turkey, Azerbaijan and the Czech Republic, an appointment for Norm Eisen, the former “ethics czar” at ...

Mama Said Knock You Out
In “ObamaCare knockout,” Michael Walsh writes that “America awaits GOP’s punch:” So the time to deal a body blow to ObamaCare is now. Since all spending bills must originate in the House, it will be up to the Republican majority there to first defund it, then to Repeal it. Indeed, if they play their cards just right, ObamaCare can be the wedge issue that finally exposes liberal do-goodism for what it really is: coercion with a smiley face, cloaked in the false man...

Alabama Sex Toy Drive-Thru Business on the Rise
Like this Story? Share it: (AP) HUNTSVILLE, Alabama - Gabrielle Silva takes down a customer's order from the drive-thru window, stuffs a bag full of products and passes it outside to the couple waiting in a car. "Thanks, and I put some free Condoms in there, too!" Silva chirps. In this technology-savvy north Alabama city, visitors won't just find burgers and prescriptions at the drive-thru window. A "romance" store called Pleasures offers a rare convenience: a drive-through with adult novelti...

Adult drive-thru store in Alabama offers privacy
HUNTSVILLE, Ala. (AP) - Gabrielle Silva takes down a customer's order from the drive-thru window, stuffs a bag full of products and passes it outside to the couple waiting in a car. "Thanks, and I put some free Condoms in there, too!" Silva chirps. In this technology-savvy north Alabama city, visitors won't just find burgers and prescriptions at the drive-thru window. A "romance" store called Pleasures offers a rare convenience not only for these parts but nationally: a drive-through with adu...

Saving the Senate from itself (Rep. Jim McDermott)
This month's tax deal starkly illustrates the enormous power wielded by Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell. In fact, his role confirms our government is not operating as a Democracy ruled by the will of the majority, but as a strangled entity tightly in the grasp of the Senate Republican minority and its take-no-prisoners minority leader. For the last 23 months, this country has been stymied by Senator McConnell and his cohorts through their abuse of the Filibuster in the United States Sen...

King Harry Decrees: Democrats Lost the Election, So Now Theyre Planning to Stage a Coup in the Senate
It’s been said by many that Democrats and Republicans are both awful, that there’s not a dime’s worth of difference between them. Well, it’s not true. Both have pursued a Big Government agenda in recent decades but Democrats are much more willing to cheat, break the law, and change the law (even retroactively) if it helps them advance their agenda. Democrats are shameless masters at voter Fraud while Republicans, whenever overzealous operatives try their hand at it,

Poll: Most Americans Support Health Law Or Want To Make It More Progressive
One of the major rallying cries of the Republican Party and the wider Conservative Movement has been to Repeal the recently passed Health Care law. To justify this demand, these Conservatives claim that Americans want the law to be repealed and that they think it goes too far in expanding the government and would prefer a Free Market approach to Health Care (which has no history of working anywhere at anytime). Last week, FreedomWorks president Matt Kibbe made this claim in on op-ed published...

Health insurance mandates Constitutionality and the "necessary and proper" clause
It appears that the main question, or at least one of the main questions, about the Health Care mandate in ObamaCare that requires Americans buy Health Insurance may revolve around the "necessary and proper" clause and not just the badly abused Commerce clause. From the New York Times: The necessary-and-proper clause sits at the end of Article I, Section 8, after 17 paragraphs that enumerate the powers delegated to Congress, ranging from the establishment of Post Offices to the declar...

Dr. Dionne's couch
Too often, the White House has been caught whining about its progressive critics. The president's aides act as if whatever Obama happens to decide is the only sensible and realistic thing to do. For the left to ask Obama to be bolder in testing the limits of the possible means it is doing its job of pushing the president to do more, and to do it faster. Conservatives have mastered this approach. Why can't liberals do the same? But too often Progressives have spent more time complaining about wh...

Top Pelosi ally predicts 'one of the most rancorous periods' in history
One of outgoing Speaker Nancy Pelos's closest allies said Thursday that the next session of Congress will likely be one of the "most rancorous" periods in U.S. history. Rep. Henry Waxman (Calif.), the top Democrat on the Energy and Commerce Committee, said that with Republicans taking control of the House and returning with a larger minority in the Senate, partisan bickering will heat up in the Capitol. In an interview with California's KPCC Public Radio, Waxman called the past two years of ...

Your World Host Cant Stand To Admit GOP Hypocrisy On Health Care Reform And The Deficit
Your World’s guest host, Brian Sullivan, was so wedded to defending the Republicans, that he twisted himself into a Pretzel - before finally agreeing that his Democratic guest had his facts correct - trying to rebut Rep. Rob Andrews’ charge that it’s hypocritical for Republicans to Repeal Health Care reform while claiming to be Deficit hawks. Andrews said about the Republicans, "I thought I heard the number one thing these guys ran on was reducing the Deficit an...

No More Mister Nice Blog
A REVIEW OF THE CONGRESSIONAL REVIEW ACT It's mildly hysterical to see Republicans who spent the entire post-9/11 Bush era telling us that the President (and Vice-President) needed unprecedented plenary powers in a time of war are now screeching as loudly as possible that when the Chief Executive is a Democrat, they must be overruled by the "will of the people" and the GOP-led House. The Republicans' weapon of choice? The little known and rarely used Congressional Review Act of 1996 which allow...

Adult drive-thru store in Alabama offers privacy
HUNTSVILLE, Ala. — Gabrielle Silva takes down a customer’s order from the drive-thru window, stuffs a bag full of products and passes it outside to the couple waiting in a car. "Thanks, and I put some free Condoms in there, too!" Silva chirps. In this technology-savvy north Alabama city, visitors won’t just find burgers and prescriptions at the drive-thru window. A "romance" store called Pleasures offers a rare convenience: a drive-through with adult novelties for sale. Busines...

The top 10 political stories of 2010 (Part 2 of 2)
After an eventful 2009 which featured the inauguration of the first African-American President, 2010 seemed doomed to be a disappointment.  In fact, 2010 may have been even more newsworthy than 2009.  In addition to what was quite possibly the worst Environmental Disaster in American history, 2010 witnessed a monumental political shift and the passage of landmark Legislation in a number of areas.   Below one can find the top 10 stories of 2010, #5 through #1.  Stories #1...

DOJ begs for more time from NJ pro se plaintiffs
The current deadline for briefs in support or opposition to the summary-judgment motion is January 3, and Judge Freda L. Wolfson of the US District Court for New Jersey has scheduled a hearing for January 17. Davis wants both dates set back two weeks. According to an e-mail by Purpura, forwarded to this Examiner by Laster, Davis said that "he would grant us any extension if we so needed one." Purpura refused, and Laster appears ready to stand by that refusal. They state that they do not feel the...

Manchin safe?
From the Hill: “The National Republican Senatorial Committee has its eye on five key races it hopes will pave the way for the GOP to take the majority in the upper chamber in 2012.” The five are Florida, Montana, Nebraska, North Dakota and Virginia. That is interesting considering West Virginia Senator No Show Joe Manchin is up for re-election. Never discount the possibility that Republicans simply overlooked the race — or they think Robert C. Byrd still holds the seat. ...

Obama sneaks AIG, Big Pharma, McDonnell Douglass lawyer at lobbying firm into DOJ
James M. Cole, whom Obama installed as deputy Attorney General through a Recess Appointment yesterday, is not and has never been a registered Lobbyist. He's just a lawyer who works at a lobbying firm which describes his job as "counseling corporations on compliance, securities, regulatory, and criminal law issues, as well as representation of corporations and individuals before grand juries, in congressional hearings, in court proceedings, and before federal agencies." Got that? Obama's new appo...

A New Year's resolution for Congress: work together to create jobs (Rep. Carolyn Maloney)
As we head into the next year and the 112th Congress, understanding the data behind our Economic Recovery will be crucial if The Economy is to grow and strengthen. A closer look at how states fared in 2010 as well as how they fared during the last four Recessions can be a useful guide to both Republicans and Democrats who are serious about shaping strong, smart, and strategic job-creation policies in 2011. Simply put, the Great Recession of 2007-09 was the worst post-World War II recession, an...

The Senate's Opening Day
Brian Beutler over at TPM has some reporting on the emerging rules reform package that will be offered in the Senate by Tom Udall and Jeff Merkley on Jan. 5. I find the substance underwhelming, and I'm not someone who wants to eliminate the Filibuster....I don't think that the changes they are proposing, at least from what I've seen so far, will have much if any practical effect. But in this post, I want to focus on what perhaps is the biggest difficulty: They're pushing the Democrats into a po...

Christine O'Donnell, Class A Conspiracy Theorist
OK, so maybe she’s not a witch. But Christine O’Donnell is revealing herself as a class A Conspiracy theorist, aggravating the condition with the remarkably self-centered view that she is the Victim of a White House scheme to destroy her. O’Donnell, the ridiculed and failed GOP Senate Candidate from Delaware, is reportedly under investigation for misuse of campaign funds. This is hardly a huge surprise; there were allegations during her run for the Senate that she had used ca...

Judge Clears Way for Lisa Murkowski's Alaska Senate Win
JUNEAU, Alaska — A Federal Judge on Tuesday dismissed a Lawsuit by Republican Joe Miller and lifted a stay on certification of Alaska's U.S. Senate election, clearing the way for Sen. Lisa Murkowski to officially be declared the winner. The rulings by U.S. District Judge Ralph Beistline mean Alaska state officials will certify the November Election Results Thursday. That will allow Murkowski to be sworn in when the new term of Congress convenes next week, and make her the first U.S. Sena...

Jobless claims hit lowest mark in more than two years
Weekly Unemployment claims dropped to 388,000 last week, hitting their lowest rate in more than two years. Coupled with other signs of Economic Growth, the report from the Labor Department comes as welcome news for both the White House and congressional Republicans, who agreed to a massive $858 billion tax package this month meant in part to spark The Economy and lower the jobless rate. This is the first time that weekly claims have fallen below 400,000 since July 1988, and the figures beat ec...

Congress May Cut Funds for U.S. Mission in Iraq
At the Atlantic, Elise Jordan writes about the prospect that Congress may cut funding for the U.S. diplomatic mission in Iraq: U.S. Ambassador to Iraq Jim Jeffrey took office this August in the midst of two political crises. In the U.S., Republicans were poised to sweep the impending Elections and ultimately retake the House of Representatives over, among other things, public fury at the weak economy and Government Spending. Meanwhile, Iraq’s elections, held in March, were still unresolv...