Only some politicians are. Nebraska is not corrupt. Louisiana is not corrupt.  Contrary to Mr. O´s opinion, most if not all states still have Judeo-Christian majorities, though both Islam and atheism continue to make inroads.  It´s our duty as Judeo-Christian Americans to act as if we mean it, when we say Enough Is Enough.  We must take a page from Mark Levin´s Liberty and Tyranny and fight back more fiercely than ever before, to preserve our American culture and values by actively educating our children, siblings, parents, other relatives, co-workers, neighbors and virtually everyone we come into contact with.  Our globalist’statist enemies are working very hard at destroying the greatest and more enduring example of a thriving, happy and free civil society, to replace it with a soft tyranny called the American Union (of Canada, Mexico and the late great USA), modeled after the recently born soft tyranny called the European Union, run by appointed, non-elected elites, with the sole purpose of concentrating vast riches and power on the unelected globalist elites (read Jerome Corsi´s America for Sale, recently published sequel to The Obama Nation).

But these great patriots and many others don´t believe this dark ages future is inevitable.  We must stop it using our time, talent and treasure to elect as many Conservative Senators, Representatives and Governors as possible in 2010.  The recent gubernatorial victories in NJ and VA, as well as the 60% to 40% rejection of Obamacare by the people in poll after poll,  tell us this is the time to come forward and reclaim our great nation.

Take heart from this good post from a fellow health care reform warrior.

http://us1.campaign-archive.com/?u=c80eb2149ef4fa70ce2c72ef1&id=f10e38c037&e=78aea089a8

A Matter of Principle
National Review Online: Critical Condition
Grace-Marie Turner
December 24, 2009

While 60 senators now have voted to pass a gigantic government-directed overhaul of our health sector, the battles back home are just beginning.

The beating that Sen. Ben Nelson of Nebraska has taken in Washington, subjecting him and his state to nationwide ridicule for the special deals he cut in exchange for his vote, will become a firestorm once he heads home for the holidays.  His earlier pledge that “my vote is not for sale, period” will become legendary.

Nebraska’s Republican Gov. Dave Heineman already is fighting back.  He said on Wednesday that “The federal government can keep that money… The last few days have made Nebraskans so angry that now it’s a matter of principle.”

After four months of intense focus on health legislation, members are finally released to go home after being in virtual lockdown since Nancy Pelosi reportedly confided after the tumultuous town hall meetings in August, “We have to keep members away from their constituents so we can pass this bill.”

Check.

Democrats are being told once they start selling this bill, the poll numbers will turn around. Instead, they should prepare to face a blast of opposition from constituents who are mad and frustrated that Congress has not listened to them.  The latest NBC News/Wall Street Journal poll taken Dec. 11-14 finds that those who believe President Obama’s reform plan is a good idea has sunk to its lowest level.  Just 32 percent say it’s a good idea, versus 47 percent who say it’s a bad idea.

The American people are not going to be sold on rhetoric.  The Internet, cable news, and a proliferation of talk radio shows have changed policymaking forever.  The American people have many more sources for information than ever before about what’s in the legislation, including the opportunity to read the bill itself.  This better informed electorate simply isn’t buying any fuzzy rhetoric.

You know the long list of voter concerns – health insurance costs will rise, Medicare cuts will lead to rationing, two huge new entitlement programs that will exacerbate the soaring federal deficit, mandates will force individuals to purchase expensive government-dictated health insurance, unelected government boards will make decisions about medical care, and on and on.

Fears that the bill will be a budget buster were reinforced by Wednesday’s Congressional Budget Office post showing the Senate bill double-counts Medicare savings.  The letter said that savings to the Medicare program “would be received by the government only once … they cannot be set aside to pay for future Medicare spending and, at the same time, pay for current spending on other parts of the legislation or on other programs.”  And, by the way, the savings are fiction to begin with because Congress will not allow Medicare payments to be cut by 21% and more, as the bill requires.

And opposition from outside groups that have been relatively quiet until now is growing:

According to Politico:  “Some of the biggest employers in the U.S. are warning that a provision in the Senate’s proposed health-care overhaul could lead to cuts in retiree benefits and a sharp reduction in reported earnings next year.

“Companies including Boeing Co., Deere & Co., MetLife Inc. and Xerox Corp. plan to lobby Democratic leaders to drop the provision, which would change the tax status of payments for retiree health benefits… The AFL-CIO has joined the corporate giants in an unusual alliance to warn the provision would encourage companies to drop drug benefits for millions of retirees.”

They will join the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, which has been out front from the beginning with its concerns, as well as doctors groups representing more than 240,000 physicians, and now the National Federation of Independent Business.  The NFIB came out strongly last week against the Senate bill, saying it “is short on savings and long on costs, is the wrong reform, at the wrong time and will increase healthcare costs and the cost of doing business.”

And the new “Start Over” new coalition of leading business organizations, including the National Association of Manufacturers, the National Retail Federation, and many others said the Senate bill “will lead to higher costs and increased burdens on small businesses. The bill will cause greater damage to our economy and health care system …[and] will impose new burdens on small businesses.”

Endorsements from the AARP and the American Medical Association that the White House regularly touts will pale by comparison.

So the vote has been taken. An exhausted Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid nearly voted against his own bill.  He said “No” on final passage before quickly recognizing his error and switching to yes, as the Senate chamber erupted in laughter.

“I spent a very restless night last night trying to figure out how I could show some bipartisanship and I think I was able to accomplish that for a few minutes,” Reid joked to reporters.

Former Chairman of the House Energy and Commerce Committee Rep. John Dingell has the last word.  He came to the Senate to watch the final vote and said afterward:  “It’s pretty clear to me, and I think pretty clear to all of you, that nobody is going to be happy with this,” he said, adding that much more work remains to be done.

Amen.  And to all, a good night. This is not over.

The Honorable Senator Ben Nelson

To get to a universal single payer system in a hurry…

Americans to Congress:  KILL THE BILL WHILE YOU STILL CAN!

Read Susan Anne Hiller’s very insightful 12/8 post at Big Government:

http://biggovernment.com/2009/12/08/a-white-house-power-grab-that-congress-and-america-doesnt-see/

Some exerpts (shout out to my friend Dave G. for summarizing)

Mr. O. doesn’t really care what he gets back from Congress – he will build upon it with the other pieces already in place – Congress soon to be made obsolete by King O. – besides, we need everything  done yesterday or the economy will collapse, right? Need those “green jobs” from health care reform; can’t wait for Congress or Democracy to work, noooo…….

So what if it ends up costing $2.5 Trillion (as recently admitted to by Mr. Baucus) instead of under $1 T as originally demanded by King O.?  Unlike Nebuchadnezzar, this 21st century king can change his decrees at will…

http://www.facebook.com/topic.php?uid=2231653698&topic=111745&post=2100224

Post #1

Not just traditional, but God-ordained.  As most following the news know by now, Trenton’s bill to legalize gay marriage cleared the state Senate Judiciary Committee on Monday on a close 7-6 vote, paving the way for a full Senate vote Thursday.   IMHO, this is all about defending the sacredness of the marriage institution, not about denying rights to gays, of which I have more than a few friends and co-workers same as probably most reading this post.

Below is my most recent letter to NJ legislature representatives – feel free to plagiarize and contact yours asap:  http://www.njleg.state.nj.us/SelectMun.asp

Honorable Senator / Representative, NJ State Legislature:

We implore you to OPPOSE Gay Marriage legislation.  Marriage is a Divinely ordained institution between one man and one woman, for life, and we as human creatures are not at liberty to redefine it as expressly forbidden by our Creator.  We do not oppose granting a few, rare, biologically differentiated, life-long committed same-sex partners some of the legal rights and privileges that are exclusive to the marriage covenant (e.g., for medical emergencies and wills), but never in the context of redefining the sacred marriage institution to fit that legal need.  For more on our position, shared with millions of Catholics and other religiously observant people, please read the attached link.  Procreation and healthy rearing of children between two distinct but equal and complementary partners (physically, mentally and spiritually) is intrinsic to God’s purpose in Marriage, conditions that cannot be fulfilled by a same-sex couple.

http://www.usccb.org/laity/marriage/samesexfaqs.shtml

We firmly believe that ignoring the will and purpose of God in marriage will accelerate social decay and bring disaster to our beloved nation.  Please do the right thing for all New Jerseyans and reject gay marriage in favor of a legal solution that does not desecrate the marriage covenant.

Sincerely,

Mr. and Mrs. danielbdp

That should seem obvious, of course, and there is ZERO REASON, likewise, that people who seek to “correct” (which is all the flippant way the Left sees) it shouldn’t be REQUIRED to Pay for it themselves. That is NOT what the discussion is about – it is all about, as pointed out by many, just a question of what is going to be the deal making required to pass this garbage in the usual name of Liberal Incremental-ism — how anyone in America, especially our elected GOP members don’t grasp this and fully oppose this just on this basis alone is beyond me!!! Anything they can toss out now, in order to do whatever it takes to get the votes to pass it, will be “FIXED” (in their minds) later. ALL the Democrats know that and is why they will ultimately come around — unless some Republican is DUMB enough (cough… Snowe) to provide a Democrat cover to vote No by giving them that BS “BiPartisan” cover vote they want so the MSM can play it up. This is the ultimate in LUMP SUM Incremental-ism they’ve ever been able to push forth in one chunk because of their numbers and knowing the McLame … er… lame… opposition they have that will do as little as possible (just for show) to oppose it. We must keep the pressure on all GOP Senators that the only acceptable position is KILL THE BILL and start over with real solutions….

Cross-State line portability (which States will resist giving up Mandates/Controls), Tort reform min. 50Billion, PreExisting condition exclusion (guaranteed issue) elimination (not allowed in MI, enact that Nationally), post/transitional employment coverage (modifying COBRA and HSA/MSA accounts to NOT ZERO OUT each year so multi-year savings can/will PAY FOR OWN COVERAGE while between jobs), (avoiding the HR3200/HR3926/HR3590 consequences/fact) More Govt. regulations and paperwork will DRIVE UP not reduce costs and bring us more Lawyers and Office Administrators to deal with it NOT Doctors, etc….

anything less is unacceptable and we as Conservatives will come together to oppose them in their Primaries if they don’t get it.

Abortion will NOT be left out of/for funding, by any of the hook/crook methods Liberals can/will use post-Law passage anyway…. again, they (and most of their supporters know it) because. Even IF Abortion were to be OUTLAWED COMPLETELY by this Bill it would NOT be worthy of passage/support….

Mooncalves led to the Slaughter…. The STUPID (er… Stupak) House — and now this one in the Senate — Amendment is just a strategy boondoggle Republicans stepped in out of LAZINESS and unwillingness to VOTE NO and have to go back and actually engage, explain, educate, constituents as to WHY it was all a SHAME/SHELL-GAME Vote and a NO vote the Right vote (and NOT, by any means would it have been a Pro-Abortion vote). LAZINESS. A NV (Not-Voting) would have been the appropriate stance (no-one could claim they were Pro-Abortion funding that a NO vote would have allowed).

Further…. just proves, IMO, my whole CINOs/PLINOs, and Pavlovian-Blue-Dogs contention. The Stupak Amendment just provided cover for them to vote for the POS which should never have happened, because…
1- (supposedly) Removing Abortion funding from it does NOT make the rest of the Bill ‘GOOD’ – as if the Abortion funding was/is the only ‘BAD’ thing in it!
2- Duplicity Votes – Setting up Duplicity Votes – the have it both way Game Politicians play to be able to say anything during Campaigns
3- Abortion funding WILL STILL OCCUR – Liberals/Democrats ALWAYS consider themselves ABOVE THE LAW and ignore them when convenient to their causes…
3A- The ‘Abortion funding exclusion’ will NOT survive the Conference/Consolidation ‘compromise’ process when it comes time to join in Conference/Committee the House and Senate Bills
3B- Liberal bureaucrats will still pay for ABORTIONS paying for them billed as something like a generic ‘Pregnancy Services’ term – or the like BS (as discussed in one of the Townhalls primers: here, here, here, here, here, and HC issues summary here, don’t recall off-hand which one)
3C- If they ALLOW it to survive into the Final Bill, to again provide cover for CINOs/PLINOs, and Pavlovian-Blue-Dogs Democrats (and maybe a few Republicans) to vote for it under Pro-Life grounds (and again, see #1), it will be stripped on a Saturday Late night, or reversed by language stuffed into the middle of some other Bill, otherwise removed undercover of the night, at a later date. Haven’t people learned anything?!?!? LIBERAL INCREMENTAL-ISM at its most obvious yet again!!!!
4- HHS Sect. under these Bills has SOLE DISCRETION and job of putting forth the “minimal standards” qualification and can/will put Abortion funding back in by fiat. — I hear some say that would provide a conflict! Democrats DO NOT CARE and will invoke only those portions of Law that suits their moving their agenda forward and ignoring all else!
5- Liberal Judge Activists — no more needs saying on that one!

danielbdp note:

This Redstater spent so much effort researching and writing the above in response to the Sen. Kohl 12/8 article (with which I fully agree), that I figured I’d post so that it doesn’t get buried among Comments area.  Thanks JLD, hope those Rep Senators are reading and listening…

h/t to NRO http://campaignspot.nationalreview.com/post/?q=NDg0NDBiOWExMzBmZTY0YjI5YjA0YjgwZDc3M2VhMTk=# and TCUnation http://www.tcunation.com/forum/topics/40-percent-of-democrats-saying

The folks at Daily Kos found something “shocking” in their regular polling:

The first indicator of potential peril is the right track-wrong track metric. With each passing day, the mood of the nation is going to be reflected on the current political leadership in Washington DC, rather than the transgressions and incompetencies of the past leadership. And the mood of the nation appears to be darkening, rather than growing more optimistic. After a meteoric rise in the opening few months of the new Obama adminstration, the RT/WT metric now sits at its worst level in months (-17: 40/57).

But a bigger indicator of peril comes from a new survey question added the DK tracking poll for the first time this week. The poll now includes a rather simple indicator of baseline voter enthusiasm for the year 2010. The question offered to respondents is a simple question about their intentions for 2010:

QUESTION: In the 2010 Congressional elections will you definitely vote, probably vote, not likely vote, or definitely will not vote?

The results were, to put it mildly, shocking:

Voter Intensity: Definitely + Probably Voting/Not Likely + Not Voting

Republican Voters: 81/14
Independent Voters: 65/23
DEMOCRATIC VOTERS: 56/40

Two in five Democratic voters either consider themselves unlikely to vote at this point in time, or have already made the firm decision to remove themselves from the 2010 electorate pool. Indeed, Democrats were three times more likely to say that they will “definitely not vote” in 2010 than are Republicans.

Not all of us will find these numbers quite so shocking. But I would add the caveat that we’re still eleven months or so away from Election Day 2010, and a lot can happen between then and now . . .

And, I would also add, Republicans have a history of screwing up great opportunities through over-confidence and “me-too” spending behavior, as they did in 2006 and 2008 – let’s hope they have eaten their humble pie, done their homework, and prioritize their responsibility to pull us out of the Socialism their irresponsible behavior originally sunk us into!

Given some of the incredible news busts we’re witnessing and their timing, I believe God is using the right people to uncover the truth just at the right times, to warn and defend us from absolute tyranny just yet (though we know it’s comming…)

Will anyone in main stream media break ranks and do the right thing, widely exposing these gigantic frauds before Copenhagen?  Based on some recent instances, I’m still hopeful our MSM’s conscience is not completely dead, as it seems to be in Europe.

Here’s directly from the source 11/25 article in NewsBusters:

http://newsbusters.org/blogs/noel-sheppard/2009/11/25/climategate-smoking-gun-american-thinker-does-medias-job

ClimateGate Smoking Gun Found, American Thinker Does Media’s Job

By Noel Sheppard (Bio | Archive)
November 25, 2009 – 11:57 ET

As NewsBusters has been reporting since the ClimateGate scandal first broke last Friday, America’s media have either been shamefully ignoring the sensitive information hacked from a British university’s computer system or dishonestly telling the public there’s nothing to it.

If these revelations furthered the global warming myth by implicating skeptical scientists in a conspiracy to adjust temperature data while shutting out opinions contrary to their own, press outlets would likely have their science divisions poring over every e-mail and document available to find the proverbial smoking gun.

Because in this instance any such research could uncover information contrary to the agenda of most news outlets, scientific editors and reporters have abdicated their investigative responsibilities in an obvious attempt to protect policies they support and advocate.

With that in mind, the American Thinker’s Marc Sheppard, clearly doing the media’s job, examined the computer program source code available in what was hacked from this British Climate Research Unit (CRU), and discovered that this scandal is everything the global warming-obsessed media fear:

One can only imagine the angst suffered daily by the co-conspirators, who knew full well that the “Documents” sub-folder of the CRU FOI2009 file contained more than enough probative program source code to unmask CRU’s phantom methodology. 

In fact, there are hundreds of IDL and FORTRAN source files buried in dozens of subordinate sub-folders.  And many do properly analyze and chart maximum latewood density (MXD), the growth parameter commonly utilized by CRU scientists as a temperature proxy, from raw or legitimately normalized data.  Ah, but many do so much more. 

Skimming through the often spaghetti-like code, the number of programs which subject the data to a mixed-bag of transformative and filtering routines is simply staggering.  Granted, many of these “alterations” run from benign smoothing algorithms (e.g. omitting rogue outliers) to moderate infilling mechanisms (e.g. estimating missing station data from that of those closely surrounding).  But many others fall into the precarious range between highly questionable (removing MXD data which demonstrate poor correlations with local temperature) to downright fraudulent (replacing MXD data entirely with measured data to reverse a disorderly trend-line).

In fact, workarounds for the post-1960 “divergence problem”, as described by both RealClimate and Climate Audit, can be found throughout the source code.  So much so that perhaps the most ubiquitous programmer’s comment (REM) I ran across warns that the particular module “Uses ‘corrected’ MXD – but shouldn’t usually plot past 1960 because these will be artificially adjusted to look closer to the real temperatures.”

What followed was a highly-technical analysis of the source code that likely would be way over most readers’ heads. However, the conclusion was staggering:

Clamoring alarmists can and will spin this until they’re dizzy. The ever-clueless mainstream media can and will ignore this until it’s forced upon them as front-page news, and then most will join the alarmists on the denial merry-go-round.

But here’s what’s undeniable: If a divergence exists between measured temperatures and those derived from dendrochronological data after (circa) 1960 then discarding only the post-1960 figures is disingenuous to say the least. The very existence of a divergence betrays a potential serious flaw in the process by which temperatures are reconstructed from tree-ring density. If it’s bogus beyond a set threshold, then any honest men of science would instinctively question its integrity prior to that boundary. And only the lowliest would apply a hack in order to produce a desired result.

And to do so without declaring as such in a footnote on every chart in every report in every study in every book in every classroom on every website that such a corrupt process is relied upon is not just a crime against science, it’s a crime against mankind.

Indeed, miners of the CRU folder have unearthed dozens of email threads and supporting documents revealing much to loathe about this cadre of hucksters and their vile intentions. This veritable goldmine has given us tales ranging from evidence destruction to spitting on the Freedom of Information Act on both sides of the Atlantic. But the now irrefutable evidence that alarmists have indeed been cooking the data for at least a decade may just be the most important strike in human history.

Indeed, but this raises another question: where are America’s science editors and reporters concerning this matter?

If a software designer, consultant, and business owner in his spare time can uncover this, why can’t America’s leading science periodicals or key “journalists” in this debate?

Is investigative journalism truly dead in this country, or is it only employed to uncover truths that either buttress the media’s view of the world or undermine those that don’t?

Consider that in the past two years, we have witnessed the press:

• Ignore important facts about a presidential candidate in order to get him elected
• Ignore or gloss over important facts about a President’s appointees to get them approved by Congress
• Ignore important facts about a President’s “czars”
• Ignore important facts about a major “community organizing” group 

In the case of the latter two issues, conservative bloggers, talk show hosts, and Fox News were alone in coverage until the mainstream media eventually came aboard kicking and screaming.

Now, revelations about some of the country’s leading climate scientists and activists — who have ties to the United Nations’ Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change as well as the ear of the White House and leading members of Congress — are going largely ignored or soft-soaped.

Such is transpiring weeks before a major international climate meeting in Copenhagen and as legislation that could have almost unimaginable negative consequences on the economy is being seriously considered by Congress.

Where does it all end, and when are Americans going to demand their news media stop acting as a propaganda arm for the far-leftwing of this nation?

Exit question: Will Sheppard’s discovery force the global warming-obsessed press to finally start covering this growing scandal?

Readers are advised that Marc and Noel Sheppard are brothers. Image courtesy Bob Keyser.

—Noel Sheppard is the Associate Editor of NewsBusters. Follow him at Facebook and Twitter.

One more try… feel free to pass along and please send your own letters to Congress and the President if so inclined.  In the absence of town hall meetings, we must continue to speak up to our elected government officials, politely but firmly, in all possible ways.  There are only 100 Senators; we are millions!  Effort will be well worth it if even one Senator puts self-preservation ahead of party ideology, and delays this steamroller. 

Some self critique: the letters I sent are way too long and fail to make the connection with Americans’ undisputed #1 priority: a healthy economic recovery and real job creation by Big Government getting off small business’ backs!  i.e., small business tax cuts, not expensive mandates, is what’s needed.  Government-run health care will cripple small business for decades!  Read somewhere that small business owners tend to be Conservative, so I’m inclined to think that HCR is being used, along with Climate Change legislation, to undermine them in favor of more easily corruptible Big Business.  

With all the distraction from the KSM trial, the impending Climate Change summit in Copenhagen and the much-awaited Presidential policy announcement on Afghanistan, the “other hand” of Harry Reid they hope we’re not watching, will no doubt be very busy buying votes in the Senate with our tax dollars.  They need to be constantly reminded who they are supposed to be working for…

Just thought I’d share some Holiday cheer.  Interesting link from The Huffington Post.

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2009/11/25/obama-administration-resi_n_370544.html?slidenumber=MUw9pk6%2BHqw%3D#slide_image

After this and last SNL O in China skit, I do believe mainstream Democrats’ anger toward Mr. O (as in Over-reach, Over confident, Over-rated, all-over-the-place, O-bow-ma, etc.) is intensifying.  Mr. O’s recent politically calculated “trial baloon” pre-announcement on Afghan strategy is simply a reaction to personal popularity polls falling below 50%.  This man’s word is no longer trusted by his appointees, and his most radical ones are either getting frustrated by the ditherer in chief, feeling over-exposed or simply trying to avoid getting burned, run over by the probervial bus, etc.

http://www.myfreedompost.com/2009/11/obama-saturday-night-live-skit-mocks.html

Mr. President, one friendly word of advise: Do give us Hope and Change: Move to the Center for Real.  Call off the government-run health care dogs in Congress and your approval rating will INSTANTLY rise over 50% again!  Call for Victory (not merely to “finish the job”, whatever that means) in Afghanistan and it will approach 60% again!  Keep your current course and watch it drop below 40% before your first year in office is over…

No matter what happens on the ongoing health care reform battle, must not forget we need to win the war.  Today I’m again putting my money where my mouth is, in supporting the Senate Conservatives Fund.  I’m convinced that, in order to reform a bad political system, must first get rid of some bad apples and gain some critical “good apples” mass in Congress.

Led by Jim DeMint, the Senate Conservatives Fund PAC is serious about electing Conservative-minded, value-abiding Senators to Congress.  Been following them for months and IMHO so far have made all the right calls with candidates and issues, unlike the RNC…