Dem Leader Celebrates– Obama Healthcare Plan Will Destroy Insurance Industry (Video)

by Gateway Pundit | 7:09 pm, May 1, 2009

Far Left Rep. Jan Schakowsky (D-IL) Admits Obama Healthcare Plan Will Destroy Insurance Industry

The Illinois Stalinist celebrated the coming Obama healthcare plan that will destroy private insurance industry:

Via Breitbart

From the video:
“I know many of you here today are single payer advocates and so am I… and those of us who are pushing for a public health insurance don’t disagree with this goal. This is not a principled fight. This is a fight about strategy for getting there and I believe we will,” Rep. Jan Schakowsky (D-IL) told a group of government-run health care supporters on April 18.

The liberal Congress passed legislation this week that will allow democrats to use a powerful procedural tool known as reconciliation to advance the Obama’s plan for socialized healthcare without fear of a Republican filibuster.

Iraqi Prime Minister Maliki: Captured Al Qaeda Leader Has Close Ties to Saddam Regime

by Gateway Pundit | 4:39 pm, May 1, 2009

Funny. This wasn’t the headline in The New York Times.
It was buried down in the article.

Al-Qaeda in Iraq leader Abu Omar al-Baghdadi has close ties to the Saddam regime.
Hmm. Maybe Iraq wasn’t the wrong war then?

Undated handout released April 28, 2009, shows Abu Omar al-Baghdadi. Iraq has confirmed the identity of a suspect captured last week as Abu Omar al-Baghdadi, believed to be head of the Islamic State of Iraq, an al Qaeda-linked group, the Defence Ministry said on Monday. (REUTERS)

The New York Times published an article this week on the capture of Al-Qaeda in Iraq leader Abu Omar al-Baghdadi. In the report Iraqi Prime Minister told reporters that Al-Baghdadi had close ties with the Saddam Hussein regime.
The New York Times reported:

Prime Minister Nuri Kamal al-Maliki said Tuesday that Iraqi forces had recently arrested a leader of the Sunni insurgency who had been in league with members of Saddam Hussein’s ousted Baath Party.

Iraqi officials say the insurgent, Abu Omar al-Baghdadi, is the leader of the Islamic State of Iraq, an umbrella group that includes Al Qaeda in Mesopotamia, the homegrown group that American intelligence officials say is led by foreigners.

The government has not provided proof of his capture since announcing the arrest on Thursday, beyond showing a photograph of a man with a trimmed beard wearing a black T-shirt. In 2007, Iraqi officials announced twice that Mr. Baghdadi had been captured and killed. A spokesman for the United States military, which has suggested that he might not exist, said Tuesday that the military could still not confirm his arrest.

Mr. Maliki, who spoke out Tuesday on the arrest for the first time, has increased his anti-Baathist language in recent weeks and has resisted American pressure to reconcile with more approachable members of the party. Many analysts say they believe that he is under pressure from his Shiite partners in the government, some of them allied with Iran.

“This terrorist had deep ties with the former regime and created with its followers a devil’s pact reflected in bloody scenes of carnage involving innocent children and women and the elderly,” Mr. Maliki said.

His statement coincided with the birthday of Mr. Hussein, who would have turned 72 and was executed in 2006…

In an interview with the British Broadcasting Corporation on Monday, Mr. Maliki said all of the recent attacks had resulted from coordination between Qaeda militants and elements of Mr. Hussein’s Baathists.

“They agreed that Al Qaeda would carry out the suicide attacks, while the Baathists would do the remote-control bombs,” he said.

This is not the first time that we have heard about Saddam Hussein’s links to Al-Qaeda.
The Iraqi newspaper Kurdistani Nwe published a letter in June 2008 on the front page from Saddam Hussein requesting a meeting with Al-Qaeda second in command Ayman Al-Zawahiri:

The letter was posted today on the MEMRI blog:

MEMRI reported on this letter from 2002:

The Kurdish daily Kurdistani Nwe has published a 2002 letter from the Iraqi presidency that it says proves that there was cooperation between the regime of Saddam Hussein and Al-Qaeda.

The letter, which appeared on the paper’s front page, was published by the intelligence apparatus of the Iraqi presidency and discussed an intention to meet with Ayman Al-Zawahiri in order to examine a plan drawn up by the Iraqi presidency to carry out a “revenge operation” in Saudi Arabia.

A letter published in the Kurdish news shows that Iraqi tyrant Saddam Hussein (right) reached out to Al-Qaeda’s number two man Ayman Al-Zawahiri (left). Saddam wanted a meeting to discuss a revenge operation he was planning in Saudi Arabia.

Remember this the next time you see a mainstream media report claiming there was no links between Saddam and Al-Qaeda.

Previously:
Picture Proof: The Saddam-Al Qaeda Connections
NYT: Saddam Was a Year Away from Building A-Bomb!
The Saddam-Al Qaeda Links: In Photos and Video
Bush Did Not Lie!… Saddam Officials Had “Good Relationship” With Zarqawi
Iraqis Publish More Proof Of Saddam Links To Al-Qaeda Leadership

Counterterrorism Expert McCarthy Declines Team Obama Invite

by Gateway Pundit | 4:26 pm, May 1, 2009

This was the right decision.
Counterterrorism expert Andrew C. McCarthy declined a recent invitation by Team Obama to participate in a roundtable meeting with Obama officials to discuss identify lawful policies on the detention and disposition of alien enemy combatants.
National Review Institute reported:

Dear Attorney General Holder:

This letter is respectfully submitted to inform you that I must decline the invitation to participate in the May 4 roundtable meeting the President’s Task Force on Detention Policy is convening with current and former prosecutors involved in international terrorism cases. An invitation was extended to me by trial lawyers from the Counterterrorism Section, who are members of the Task Force, which you are leading.

The invitation email (of April 14) indicates that the meeting is part of an ongoing effort to identify lawful policies on the detention and disposition of alien enemy combatants—or what the Department now calls “individuals captured or apprehended in connection with armed conflicts and counterterrorism operations.” I admire the lawyers of the Counterterrorism Division, and I do not question their good faith. Nevertheless, it is quite clear—most recently, from your provocative remarks on Wednesday in Germany—that the Obama administration has already settled on a policy of releasing trained jihadists (including releasing some of them into the United States). Whatever the good intentions of the organizers, the meeting will obviously be used by the administration to claim that its policy was arrived at in consultation with current and former government officials experienced in terrorism cases and national security issues. I deeply disagree with this policy, which I believe is a violation of federal law and a betrayal of the president’s first obligation to protect the American people. Under the circumstances, I think the better course is to register my dissent, rather than be used as a prop.

Moreover, in light of public statements by both you and the President, it is dismayingly clear that, under your leadership, the Justice Department takes the position that a lawyer who in good faith offers legal advice to government policy makers—like the government lawyers who offered good faith advice on interrogation policy—may be subject to investigation and prosecution for the content of that advice, in addition to empty but professionally damaging accusations of ethical misconduct. Given that stance, any prudent lawyer would have to hesitate before offering advice to the government…

…I’ve always believed defending our nation is a duty of citizenship, not ideology. Thus, my conservative political views aside, I’ve made myself available to liberal and conservative groups, to Democrats and Republicans, who’ve thought tapping my experience would be beneficial. It pains me to decline your invitation, but the attendant circumstances leave no other option.

Very truly yours,
Andrew C. McCarthy

cc:Sylvia T. Kaser and John DePue
National Security Division, Counterterrorism Section

Obama Relies On Far Left Crank For Churchill Quote… Gets Burned

by Gateway Pundit | 4:22 pm, May 1, 2009

I was struck by an article that I was reading the other day talking about the fact that the British during World War II, when London was being bombed to smithereens, had 200 or so detainees. And Churchill said, ‘We don’t torture,’ when the entire British–all of the British people–were being subjected to unimaginable risk and threat….the reason was that Churchill understood — you start taking shortcuts, over time, that corrodes what’s best in a people. It corrodes the character of a country.

President Barack Obama
100 Day Press Conference
LA Times Blogs

At the 100 day press conference, ABC Reporter Jake Tapper asked President Obama tonight if the previous administration used torture:

President Obama was so impressed with Winston Churchill (although he sent his bust back to Britain) that he quoted the great leader as saying, “We don’t torture.”
Wonderful!

As reported earlier, the president must have forgotten about these German prisoners at Bad Nenndorf, near Hanover:

For almost 60 years, the evidence of Britain’s clandestine torture programme in postwar Germany has lain hidden in the government’s files. Harrowing photographs of young men who had survived being systematically starved, as well as beaten, deprived of sleep and exposed to extreme cold, were considered too shocking to be seen.

Today, Power Line has more.
Not only did Barack Obama mess up his World War II history…
He made it up:

While it’s nice to hear the President invoke Sir Winston, the quotation is unattributed and almost certainly incorrect. While Churchill did express such sentiments with regard to prison inmates, he said no such thing about prisoners of war, enemy combatants or terrorists, who were in fact tortured by British interrogators during World War II.

The word “torture” appears 156 times in my digital transcript of Churchill’s 15 million published words (books, articles, speeches, papers) and 35 million words about him–but not once in the subject context. Similarly, key phrases like “character of a country” or “erodes the character” do not track…

Churchill spoke frequently about torture, mostly enemy murders of civilians. His daughter once told me, “He would have done anything to win the war, and I daresay he had to do some pretty rough things–but they didn’t unman him.” But if Churchill is on record about “enhanced interrogation,” his words have yet to surface.

Power Line adds:

Obama apparently relied on left-wing internet crank Andrew Sullivan for the fake Churchill quote, which is a bit worrisome in itself.

Sure enough. Obama got his Churchill talking points from Far Left crank Andrew Sullivan.
Why is this not surprising?

More… Jonah Goldberg offers Obama some advice on his sources.

The Obama Disaster -By The Numbers

by Gateway Pundit | 6:46 am, May 1, 2009

Hope and Change–
The US economy enjoyed 7 straight years of unimpeded economic growth during the Bush years. The Bush tax cuts lifted the country out of its recession until the mortgage bubble erupted and the economy took a sudden nosedive in last half of 2008– something Bush repeatedly warned Congress about.

Unlike Bush, President Obama decided to spend his way out of his recession.
Here’s how it’s worked out:

Economists expected a 5 percent annualized decline in the first quarter but instead saw the economy drop by 6.1%.

Despite the recession he inherited, 9-11, stock market scandals, Hurricane Katrina and two wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, the unemployment rate during the Bush years averaged out to 5.27%.

(Numbers from the US Misery Index)
The Obama unemployment rate is at 8.07%.

Spending- The federal government spent a record $11.1 trillion during Bush’s last year in office:

(USA Today graph)
Obama will spend $15.3 trillion in 2009.
This is an increase of $4.2 trillion or 37%.

And, then there are the deficit and debt numbers…
President Bush was able to bring the US deficit down 3 of his 8 years in office:

Barack Obama will quadruple the deficit this year.

More… Factory orders tumble.

Michelle “Americans Are Downright Mean” Obama Less Popular Than Laura Bush

by Gateway Pundit | 6:12 am, May 1, 2009

The liberal media remake of Michelle “Americans Are Downright Mean” Obama is doing wonders for her image.
She’s the most beloved figure in her husband’s administration.

But, even with the constant toadying by the media the fist-bumping radical is still less popular than Laura Bush.

Related… It looks like Michelle Obama shot her rebate wad on some shoes:

The kicks, made by high-end French fashion label Lanvin, cost $540.
Actually, the shoes cost more than the Obama taxcut of $400 per person.

Previously on Gloomy Michelle Obama:
** Michelle Obama Decides After 44 Years She Finally Can Stomach the US
** Michelle Obama’s “Proud of My Country” Twofer (Video)
** Michelle Obama: “We’re a Country That’s Downright Mean”
** Oops!… She Did It Again- Michelle Obama Bashes Ignorant America! (Video)
** “You’re alone in your failure.” (Get me more white people!)
** “We’re Guided By Fear… We’re a Nation of Cynics, Sloths and Complacents”
** ” We’re Taught to Keep It All In, Suffer, Just Hold It Down”
** Surprise!… Michelle Obama’s Old Boss Says She Was Non-Stop Complainer
** Tacky Michelle Obama & Liberal Media Diss Laura Bush
** Michelle Obama Surprised to Find Americans Were Not So “Downright Mean” As She Thought

Press the Restart Button: 100 Days of SOS Hillary Clinton

by Gateway Pundit | 5:22 am, May 1, 2009

Today marks the first 100 Days for Secretary of State Hillary Clinton.
If only we could press the restart button.

After observing the image of the Virgin of Guadalupe inside the Basilica de Guadalupe in Mexico City Mrs. Clinton asked Msgr. Monroy, “Who painted it?” to which he responded “God!”
…Oh.

US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton (R in red) listens to priest Diego Monrroy in front of an image of the Virgin of Guadalupe inside the Basilica de Guadalupe in Mexico City March 26, 2009. Clinton said on Wednesday the United States and Mexico were making headway on efforts to resolve a dispute over Mexican trucks operating in the United States. (REUTERS/Henry Romero)

With the Pakistani Government near collapse, violence surging in Iraq, flu surging from Mexico across the border, Iran developing nukes, North Korea restarting their nuke program, Syria and Turkey holding joint military maneuvers, China penetrating the US defense systems, Russia threatening Eastern Europe, the Taliban surging in Afghanistan and lurching towards the Pakistani capital of Islamabad…
The State Department website released this glowing 100 Day report:

OVERALL DEPARTMENT POLICY ACCOMPLISHMENTS, REGULATORY INITIATIVES, AND INTERAGENCY EFFORTS

In the first 100 Days of the Obama Administration, Secretary Clinton and the State Department have made significant progress in advancing America’s national security goals and promoting America’s values around the world.

Secretary Clinton is already the most traveled Secretary of State in a new Administration. The Secretary’s trips have included her inaugural trip to Asia, the Middle East and Europe, Mexico and across the border to Texas, the Hague in the Netherlands, Europe with President Obama, Haiti and the Dominican Republic, the Summit of the Americas in Trinidad and Tobago with President Obama, and to Iraq and Kuwait.

The work undertaken on these trips, the many bilateral and trilateral meetings hosted by Secretary Clinton, and the tireless efforts of others throughout the State Department have contributed to early and significant progress on the following priorities: Afghanistan/Pakistan policy, the Middle East, Iraq, Asia, Russia, North Korea, the Western Hemisphere, the climate crisis, engaging in public diplomacy, and other core issues.

Funny, the State Department didn’t mention the “restart button” incident.
Hillary thought she was giving Russia a “restart” button.
Instead it was an “overcharge” button.”:

Nice work, Hillary.
Hopefully, the next 100 days will go better.

PS: From the above statement does the State Department think Texas is in a different country?

Napolitano & DHS Order Border Patrol Agents NOT To Wear Protective Face Masks (Video) …Update: DHS Denies Report

by Gateway Pundit | 9:57 pm, April 30, 2009

This is unbelievable!
JANET NAPOLITANO STRIKES AGAIN!
The Department of Homeland Security told border patrol agents they can not wear face masks to work for protection.

DHS Secretary Janet Napalitano is worried about the political aspects of how it may look to the general public!
Washington says the idea of seeing agents wear masks may spread more concern.

If the agents ignore the command they could be penalized:

Video via ABC 10 and Free Republic
From the video:
Janet Napolitano strikes again! Time to call for her resignation. Our Border patrol agents are NOT permitted to protect their health because DHS doesn’t like how it looks to the public and does not want commerce to be effected at the risk of American lives.

“We are now calling for Janet Napolitano’s immediate resignation!” William Gheen, President of ALIPAC.
Agents want to wear the N-95 respirator masks.

Congressman Brian Bilbray (R-CA) said he was going to take the issue up with the White House.

UPDATE: DHS on Thursday refuted reports that it had told agents at U.S. airports and border checkpoints that they could not wear masks to protect from exposure to swine flu.

Liberal Supreme Court Justice David Souter to Retire …Update: Failed Michigan Governor Mentioned As Replacement

by Gateway Pundit | 9:31 pm, April 30, 2009

Justice David Souter has told the White House that he will retire from the Supreme Court at the end of the court’s term in June, a source familiar with his plans told the Associated Press on Thursday night.

Conservapedia has more on this liberal justice:

Souter was nominated for the Supreme Court in 1990 by President George H. W. Bush to succeed retiring Associate Justice William J. Brennan, often known as one of the Court’s two most liberal members (the other being Associate Justice Thurgood Marshall, who would retire the following year). Thus, this vacancy represented a chance for the President Bush to shift the Court to the right, as his predecessor, Ronald Reagan, had tried to do. In nominating Souter, Bush had adopted what has come to be known as the “stealth strategy.” Souter had a very small “paper trail,” thus making him difficult to label as a conservative or a liberal. Some conservatives advising President Bush failed to realize that a stealth candidate may not withstand the intense pressure of the liberal media after confirmation, a mistake that may have been repeated in the ill-fated nomination of Harriet Miers about 15 years later.

Bush had received assurances that Souter would be a conservative from his Chief of Staff, John Sununu, who had appointed Souter to the New Hampshire Supreme Court years earlier. Thus, Bush hoped to disarm liberal Senators who might oppose an obviously conservative nominee, as they had done just three years earlier with Robert Bork. But almost immediately it was apparent to some conservatives that Souter was not pro-life, as he had served as a director on a hospital that performed abortions. Liberals seemed to know that they had won. Even though he was grilled to define his view on abortion, Souter didn’t take the bait and he was confirmed by a vote of 90-9 by the U.S. Senate, with several conservatives voting against him.

Souter went on to align himself firmly with the more liberal bloc on the Court, leading to conservative anger at President Bush for this calculated blunder.

More… Legal Insurrection explains how Specter’s defection will hauht dems on Souter’s replacement.

UPDATE: Failed Michigan Governor Jennifer Granholm is being mentioned as a possible replacement for the Far Left Souter. She was also mentioned as a possible replacement for Ginsburg.

GOP Ad Asks: “Do You Feel Safer?”

by Gateway Pundit | 7:44 pm, April 30, 2009

Do you feel safer today?
Do you believe Team Obama is doing all it can to protect you from the next “man-caused disaster?”

Republican Leader John Boehner and Intelligence Committee Ranking Republican Pete Hoekstra (R-MI) released a new ad today on the national security free fall in the last 100 days:

The Republican Leader Boehner reported:

The American people are growing increasingly concerned about the Administration’s strategy – or, more precisely, lack of strategy – when it comes to confronting and defeating the terrorist threat. In fact, according to a new Rasmussen poll, only 42 percent of Americans believe we are winning the war on terrorism. That’s a 20 point drop since February – a staggering decline in confidence as the Administration begins its second 100 days.

Why are Americans having such misgivings about the Administration’s approach to the threat of radical jihadists? House Republican Leader John Boehner (R-OH) and Intelligence Committee Ranking Republican Pete Hoekstra (R-MI) today released a new web video highlighting some of the reasons – reasons underscored in a NBC News/Wall Street Journal poll released earlier this week. The poll showed that a majority of Americans oppose the Administration’s political decision to selectively release memos detailing advanced interrogation techniques used on terrorists and oppose the President’s plan to close a terrorist detention facility with no plan for what to do with the terrorists housed there

The Patriot Room has more on this terrific ad.

Related… The Obama administration officials for the second time have overridden objections of federal agencies and are moving quickly to release Chinese Uighur terrorists into the United States.
These Gitmo terrorists will likely receive welfare after they are released.
Do you feel safer?

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