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| Pawlenty slams Obama from Iowa By: Jonathan Martin November 8, 2009 09:27 AM EST |
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| DES MOINES – Minnesota Gov. Tim Pawlenty used his Iowa debut as a potential presidential candidate Saturday to excoriate President Obama and congressional Democrats for not doing more to address the still-wheezing economy.
“They should be focused like a laser on jobs, not acting like a manure-spreader in a wind storm,” Pawlenty told Iowa Republicans gathered in an exhibition hall at the state fairgrounds, criticizing Democrats for their efforts on healthcare and energy. Noting that unemployment in October crested 10 percent, he mocked the Obama administration officials who earlier said that threshold would be breached only if Congress didn’t agree to the stimulus the White House called for, and received. “As a senior aide to President Clinton once said: It’s the economy, stupid,” Pawlenty quipped, channeling the 1992 James Carville line. He proposed making some of the Bush-era tax cuts permanent and cutting the payroll tax and rates on small business and research and development to help bolster the economy. Speaking for 30 minutes to a crowd of approximately 700 at a fundraising dinner for the Iowa GOP, the second-term governor touted the party’s victories in Tuesday’s gubernatorial races to argue that Republicans have begun to come back. In the state whose first-in-the-nation caucuses have long made it a crucial stop for presidential hopefuls, Pawlenty took several shots at the Obama administration. Test-driving a new stump speech, he offered a reworking of the president’s signature call-and-response chant: “Are you fired up and ready to fight back?” The polite Midwestern crowd, though, received Pawlenty with polite applause throughout his speech, saving their loudest ovation for toward the end of his remarks when he raised “the importance of thanking and acknowledging God.” DNC spokesman Hari Sevugan, responding to Pawlenty’s speech, said that “It’s not a question of focusing on the ‘economy stupid.’ It’s a question of not repeating the same stupid economic policies that got us into this mess to begin with.” While Pawlenty exhorted the crowd to help re-take the governor’s mansion here and in other Midwestern states next year, the governor, who is not seeking re-election next year, also used much of his time before a crowd of likely 2012 caucus-goers to introduce himself. He described his blue-collar roots as the son of a truck driver from South St. Paul and touted his ability to win in an historically-liberal state. Plainly hoping to offer himself up as regular guy, Pawlenty took the stage to Creedence Clearwater Revival’s “Fortunate Son,” (even though potential 2012 rival Mitt Romney is in fact a “governor’s son”), recalled his deer-hunting expedition into northern Minnesota earlier in the day (where he said he pioneered a new hunting technique, “shoot and release”), decried the bailouts and made sure the audience knew that he was essentially from the neighborhood. “Minnesota and Iowa have a lot in common,” he observed. “We’re a state that if you drive across the Minnesota border into northern Iowa, you can’t tell that you’re in a different state in a lot of ways.”
In another moment of heartland solidarity, he said: “Some people call us fly-over country.” Going further than perhaps some in the Midwestern crowd are used to, though, the governor also noted that he was joined at the dinner by his “red-hot, smoking wife,” Mary. Pawlenty’s visit came at a time when some Hawkeye State political insiders have begun fretting about the state’s relevance heading into the 2012 caucuses. With Sen. John McCain having won the GOP nomination despite a 4th-place finish here, the concern is that some presidential candidates may be tempted to de-emphasize or altogether skip the state. “I think it’s a mistake to skip the caucuses and the reason why I think it’s a mistake because here is really grassroots democracy,” said Sen. Charles Grassley (R-Iowa) in a brief interview Saturday night before the dinner. And if the appeal of up-close, retail campaigning isn’t enough to lure candidates back, Grassley noted the state’s track record of launching candidates to the White House. “In one generation, Iowa has elected two presidents, one Carter and the other Obama,” he said. Both, thought, are Democrats. Pawlenty avoided any mention of the cherished caucuses during his remarks, but after briefly addressing reporters following the dinner he stopped before getting into his car to say he hoped they continued to play a vital role in the nominating process. “I think that’s a great demonstration of grassroots democracy that allows people to come forward in an open, transparent, grassroots way,” he said. “And so I think it has served Iowa and it has served the nation well.” Earlier in the day, Pawlenty went even further to demonstrate his personal commitment to the caucuses, taking a series of steps that underlined his clear interest in running for president. Fresh from his hunting trip, and still clad in a blaze orange hat, he met with longtime Iowa GOP strategist Dave Roederer at a downtown hotel here. Roerder was the state campaign chairman for President Bush’s re-election in 2004 and McCain’s 2008 bid. Later, Pawlenty was the guest of honor at a small fundraiser for the Iowa GOP held at the home of Doug Reichardt, a prominent local insurance executive and Republican donor. And the governor had sought to sit down with Grassley in the afternoon but the senator had a scheduling conflict. Though Pawlenty certainly didn’t light the room ablaze with his presence, he seemed to strike solid and familiar chords with the Republicans in the room. “I think he is the profile of the kind of candidate who could be very powerful in 2012,” said Bill Schikel, a former state representative from Mason City who is on the GOP’s state central committee. “It’s a combination of his presentation. It’s what he says and how he says it.” Though some in the audience said privately that Pawlenty’s remarks lacked a spark, most Iowans were either pleasantly inscrutable or laudatory. Frank Severnio, a Republican from just outside of Des Moines who approached Pawlenty after the dinner to offer his support, was the most blunt: “He’s a fresh face. We’ve been there with Romney and Huckabee.” |
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| © 2009 Capitol News Company, LLC | |
Joseph Finlay
“This was an assessment, not an accusation,” Napolitano continued. “It was limited to extremists those who seek to commit violence within the United States. And all this was meant to do was to give law enforcement what we call ’situational awareness.’”“The last thing I want to do is offend or castigate all veterans. To the contrary, let’s meet and clear the air,” she said.A footnote in the report, “Rightwing Extremism: Current Economic and Political Climate Fueling Resurgence in Radicalization and Recruitment,” said that while there is no specific information that domestic right-wing terrorists are planning acts of violence, such acts could come from unnamed “rightwing extremists” concerned about illegal immigration, abortion, increasing federal power and restrictions on firearms — and singled out returning war veterans as susceptible to recruitment.
Page Printed from: http://www.americanthinker.com/blog/2009/11/napolitanos_terrorist_radar_sc.html at November 08, 2009 – 03:43:46 PM EST

The final 220-215 roll call vote on passage of the House Dems’ government health care takeover bill is here.
And here is the 240-194 roll call vote on the Stupak amendment to extend the ban on federal abortion subsidies to Obamacare/Pelosicare.
Thanks to Doug Powers for filling in while I spoke at the Foundation for Life event in Sugar Land, Texas tonight. What an incredible juxtaposition it was — meeting and talking with the true agents of Hope and Change, the true guardians of innocent life, and the true advocates for women and children outside the Beltway as the Democrat majority inside the Beltway rammed the massive, job-killing, high-taxing, bureaucracy-multiplying, generational debt-piling health care monstrosity down America’s throat.
One Republican voted for Pelosicare: GOP Rep. Anh (Joseph) Cao of Louisiana.
Yes, he’s the one who took over corruptocrat Democrat William Jefferson’s seat. I had reservations about him on election night because of his soft-on-immigration views. But I gave him the benefit of the doubt. If he could stand strong on limited government and fiscal conservatism, it would be worth it.
Well, since he was elected, Cao has backed the S-CHIP expansion, the $108 billion IMF bailout, and the omni-waste spending bill. And he voted to rebuke GOP Rep. Joe Wilson for calling out President Obama on his health care lies.
That is a steep price to pay for Rep. William Jefferson’s removal.
Can’t the GOP do better?
For what it is worth, here is the cheap price the Democrats paid for Cao’s vote:
Louisiana Congressman Anh “Joseph” Cao on Sunday morning released a statement after he voted as the only Republican in favor of the Democratic health care reform bill.
The health care reform bill, dubbed the “Affordable Health Care for America Act” (H.R. 3962), passed the U.S. House of Representatives in a 220 – 215 vote.
“Tonight, I voted to keep taxpayer dollars from funding abortion and to deliver access to affordable health care to the people of Louisiana,” Cao said in a statement released by his office. “I read the versions of the House [health reform] bill. I listened to the countless stories of Orleans and Jefferson Parish citizens whose health care costs are exploding – if they are able to obtain health care at all. Louisianans needs real options for primary care, for mental health care, and for expanded health care for seniors and children.”
Cao wrote he obtained commitment from President Obama that he would work together to address the health care issues of Louisiana, including the FMAP crisis and community disaster loan forgiveness, as well as issues related to Charity and Methodist Hospitals. “I call on all my constituents to support me as I work with him on these issues.”
He obtained a “commitment from President Obama.”
You know what that’s worth: Nothing.
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This email from President Obama hustling up money for Organizing for America arrived in the email box at 1:45am Eastern. He sure can work fast when he wants to:
This evening, at 11:15 p.m., the House of Representatives voted to pass their health insurance reform bill. Despite countless attempts over nearly a century, no chamber of Congress has ever before passed comprehensive health reform. This is history.
But you and millions of your fellow Organizing for America supporters didn’t just witness history tonight — you helped make it. Each “yes” vote was a brave stand, backed up by countless hours of knocking on doors, outreach in town halls and town squares, millions of signatures, and hundreds of thousands of calls. You stood up. You spoke up. And you were heard.
So this is a night to celebrate — but not to rest. Those who voted for reform deserve our thanks, and the next phase of this fight has already begun.
The final Senate bill hasn’t even been released yet, but the insurance companies are already pressing hard for a filibuster to bury it. OFA has built a massive neighborhood-by-neighborhood operation to bring people’s voices to Congress, and tonight we saw the results. But the coming days will put our efforts to the ultimate test. Winning will require each of us to give everything we can, starting right now.
Please donate $5 or whatever you can afford so we can finish this fight.
Tonight’s vote brought every American closer to the secure, affordable care we need. But it was also a watershed moment in how change is made.
Even after last year’s election, many insider lobbyists and partisan operatives really thought that the old formula of scare tactics, D.C. back-scratching and special-interest money would still be enough to block any idea they didn’t like. Now, they’re desperate. Because, tonight, you made it crystal clear: the old rules are changing — and the people will not be ignored.
In the final phases of last year’s election, I often reminded folks, “Don’t think for a minute that power concedes without a fight,” and it’s especially true today. But that’s okay — we’re not afraid of a fight. And as you continue to prove, when all of us work together, we have what it takes to win.
Please donate to OFA’s campaign to win this fight and ensure that real health reform reaches my desk by the end of this year:
https://donate.barackobama.com/History
Let’s keep making history,
President Barack Obama
November 8th, 2009
Associated Press 
In a victory for President Barack Obama, the Democratic-controlled House narrowly passed landmark health care legislation Saturday night to expand coverage to tens of millions who lack it and place tough new restrictions on the insurance industry. Republican opposition was nearly unanimous.
The 220-215 vote cleared the way for the Senate to begin debate on the issue that has come to overshadow all others in Congress.
A triumphant Speaker Nancy Pelosi likened the legislation to the passage of Social Security in 1935 and Medicare 30 years later.
United in opposition, minority Republicans cataloged their objections across hours of debate on the 1,990-page, $1.2 trillion legislation.
“We are going to have a complete government takeover of our health care system faster than you can say, ‘this is making me sick,’” jabbed Rep. Candice Miller, R-Mich., adding that Democrats were intent on passing “a jobs-killing, tax-hiking, deficit-exploding” bill.
OBAMACARE ENDORSEMENTS: WHAT THE BRIBE WAS
By DICK MORRIS & EILEEN MCGANN
Published on TheHill.com on November 6, 2009
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 percent reductions in doctor reimbursements for treating Medicare patients. Bravely, each year Congress has rolled the cuts over, suspending them but not repealing them. So each year, the accumulated cuts threaten doctors. By now, they have risen to 21 percent. With this blackmail leverage, Obama compelled the AMA to support his bill…or else!
* The AARP got a financial windfall in return for its support of the healthcare bill. Over the past decade, the AARP has morphed from an advocacy group to an insurance company (through its subsidiary company). It is one of the main suppliers of Medi-gap insurance, a high-cost, privately purchased coverage that picks up where Medicare leaves off. But President Bush-43 passed the Medicare Advantage program, which offered a subsidized, lower-cost alternative to Medi-gap. Under Medicare Advantage, the elderly get all the extra coverage they need plus coordinated, well-managed care, usually by the same physician. So more than 10 million seniors went with Medicare Advantage, cutting into AARP Medi-gap revenues.
Presto! Obama solved their problem. He eliminates subsidies for Medicare Advantage. The elderly will have to pay more for coverage under Medigap, but the AARP — which supposedly represents them — will make more money. (If this galls you, join the American Seniors Association, the alternative group; contact sbarton@americanseniors.org. This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it .)
* The drug industry backed ObamaCare and, in return, got a 10-year limit of $80 billion on cuts in prescription drug costs. (A drop in the bucket of their almost $3 trillion projected cost over the next decade.) They also got administration assurances that it will continue to bar lower-cost Canadian drugs from coming into the U.S. All it had to do was put its formidable advertising budget at the disposal of the administration.
* Insurance companies got access to 40 million potential new customers. But when the Senate Finance Committee lowered the fine that would be imposed on those who don’t buy insurance from $3,500 to $1,500, the insurance companies jumped ship and now oppose the bill, albeit for the worst of motives.
The only industry that refused to knuckle under was the medical device makers. They stood for principle and wouldn’t go along with Obama’s blackmail. So the Senate Finance Committee retaliated by imposing a tax on medical devices such as automated wheelchairs, pacemakers, arterial stents, prosthetic limbs, artificial knees and hips and other necessary accoutrements of healthcare.
So these endorsements are not freely given, but bought and paid for by an administration that is intent on passing its program at any cost.
Clarice Feldman
Fox Reports GWB and Laura spent a few hours at Fort Hood, no photo ops. Now that’s a CIC.Are you kidding me? Camp frickin’ David? What, does he have a tee time close by? For heaven’s sakes, he’s the CIC. And he’s taking the weekend off? This guy simply doesn’t care. Unbelievable via Fox.11:25AM THE PRESIDENT addresses the House Democratic Caucus – Cannon House Office Building2:30PM THE PRESIDENT makes a statement to the press on Health Care – Rose Garden2:45PM THE PRESIDENT and THE FIRST LADY depart The White House en route Camp David – South Lawn
Update: Obama now plans to visit Ft. Hood Tuesday for the memorila service. We’re glad he could squeeze it in sometime this week, just to show how much he cares.
Page Printed from: http://www.americanthinker.com/blog/2009/11/obama_snubs_ft_hood_to_relax_a.html at November 07, 2009 – 06:31:30 PM EST
“Hey Ft Hood, I’m happy for ya I’ma let you finish, but first I’ll shout out to my best buddies of ALL TIME!”
His disrespect, disinterest, and utter apathy towards the tragedy at Ft. Hood borders on treason. Hell, Joe Biden’s (handed to news organizations as text, not live) remarks on the situation sound more serene.
We still don’t know what was behind the killings at Ft. Hood this afternoon, in which 11 soldiers and the killer died, but President Obama’s rushed press conference was surprising in its flippancy nonetheless. Before he got to the issue on everyone’s mind — namely the deaths of Americans in uniform — the president gave a “shout-out” to government bureaucrats gathered for a previously scheduled conference at the Interior Department, complete with appreciative chuckles. He treated the event like a pep rally rather than a tragic occasion with a wider audience than those gathered in the room. I wonder how many media outlets will compare Obama’s performance to President Bush’s “Pet Goat” moment on 9/11. I won’t hold my breath.
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HOMELAND INSECURITY
Shooter advised Obama transition
Fort Hood triggerman aided team on Homeland Security task force
By Jerome R. Corsi
© 2009 WorldNetDaily
![]() Maj. Nidal Malik Hasan |
NEW YORK – Maj. Nidal Malik Hasan, the alleged shooter in yesterday’s massacre at Fort Hood, played a homeland security advisory role in President Barack Obama’s transition into the White House, according to a key university policy institute document.
The Homeland Security Policy Institute at George Washington University published a document May 19, entitled “Thinking Anew – Security Priorities for the Next Administration: Proceedings Report of the HSPI Presidential Transition Task Force, April 2008 – January 2009,” in which Hasan of the Uniformed Services University School of Medicine is listed on page 29 of the document as a Task Force Event Participant.
Hasan received his medical degree from the military’s Uniformed Services University School in Bethesda, Md., in 2001.
Noting that the Obama administration transition was proceeding, the GWU Homeland Security Policy Institute report described on the first page the role of the Presidential Transition Task Force as including “representatives from past Administrations, State government, Fortune 500 companies, academia, research institutions and non-governmental organizations with global reach.”
While the GWU task force participants included several members of government, including representatives of the Department of Justice and the U.S Department of Homeland Security, there is no indication in the document that the group played any formal role in the official Obama transition, other than to serve in a university-based advisory capacity.
Daniel Kaniewski, deputy director of the Homeland Security Policy Institute at George Washington University affirmed to WND in a telephone interview this morning that the Nidal Hasan listed as attending the meetings of the HSPI Presidential Transition Task Force was the same person as the alleged shooter in the Fort Hood massacre.
Video of Hasan at the event, carried originally by C-SPAN and reported by MSNBC, can be seen below:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lwHe-o9lPco&feature=player_embedded
Kaniewski said Hasan attended the meetings in his capacity as a member of the faculty of the Uniformed Services University School of Medicine, not as a member of the HSPI Presidential Task Force.
Kaniewski believed Hasan applied on the institute’s website to attend the meeting and was accepted because of his professional credentials.
Kaniewski could not tell WND whether or not Hasan made comments from the audience that influenced the task force recommendations or not.
He further confirmed Hasan had attended several meetings held by the Homeland Security Policy Institute at George Washington University and that the institute is currently searching conference records to see if it is possible to determine what additional institute conferences he attended.
Muslim Major Shouts ‘Allahu Akbar’ as he Massacres 13 soldiers Injures 30
*****UPDATE -11/7/09 – The media and muslim apologists continue to dance around the truth of the Ft. Hood massacre. Many rushing to blame the military or Hasan’s co-workers for his state of mind and subsequent murderous rampage. Lame excuses such as Hasan was supposedly “harassed” by other military personnel don’t hold water. Hasan was an officer – and anyone who had been in the military KNOWS that particularly officers do NOT get harassed. To do so would be the end of the offenders military career.
“Soldiers who witnessed the shooting rampage at Fort Hood, Texas that left 13 people dead reported that the gunman shouted “Allahu Akbar!” before opening fire, the base commander said Friday.” SOURCE
Recall Allahu Akbar was also screamed by the 9/11 Al Qaeda terrorists as they plunged their airplanes into the twin towers of the World Trade Center killing 2993 innocent people.
This ”devout muslim” was also under investigation by the FBI for statements made supporting muslims killing US soldiers:
“The army psychiatrist who shot dead 13 people in murderous rampage at America’s biggest military base was facing an FBI investigation for expressing sympathy with suicide bombers….Hasan posted a series of comments on a website which drew parallels between terrorists and a US soldier who sacrificed himself to save his comrades. Investigators were tipped off six months ago by the devout Muslim’s worried colleagues.”SOURCE
Also extremely disturbing is a video, from the morning of the massacre, showing Hasan wearing a muslim white robe and cap:
“In the video, the individual believed to be Maj. Nidal Malik Hasan appears wearing clothes that would be abnormal for someone of Palestinian descent – Hasan’s family is from Jordan. CBS News correspondent Sheila MacVicarreports that the man is wearing a shalwar kameez – long robes far more common in Pakistan and Afghanistan.
He is also wearing white, which in Islam is associated with death or mourning. The prayer cap on his head is also more closely associated with Southeast Asia than with the Arab world.” SOURCE

Major Nidal Malik at a local Texas 7 Eleven Store the morning of the massacre
Does the above look like an Army major to you??
This “devout muslim” – earned a six figure income after receiving his “free” psychologist’s degree courtesy the USA taxpayers via the US Army:
Hasan, graduated from Virginia Tech in 1997 and earned a doctorate in psychiatry from the Uniformed Services University of the Health Sciences in Bethesda. He spent at least six years at Walter Reed before moving to Fort Hood. SOURCE
Has repaid those same taxpayers by killing and injuring their sons, daughters, mothers, fathers, sisters, brothers.
More on Hasan:
He was happy about the Muslim solider who shot and killed a soldier and wounded another at a Little Rock Military recruiting station. Hasan said Muslims should rise up against the aggressors. Maybe we should have more of these…..strapping bombs on and going into Times Square”.
The officials had access to Maj. Nidal Malik Hasan’s military record. They said he received a poor performance evaluation while at Walter Reed. SOURCE
One has to wonder what psychological damage he has done while counseling soldiers returning from active duty in Iraq and Afghanistan.
The glaring question is why wasn’t Hasan booted out of the Army – and instead was promoted and assigned to Fort Hood? Was it due to the insidious Political Correctness and fear of the Army being labeled “Islamophobic”? The ongoing investigation will shed light on this – but sadly far too late for those who had their lives snuffed out by a supposedly “Lone Wolf” terrorist.
This cold blooded military Jihadist needs to face severe punishment for his heinous mass murders - let’s hope it is death…………and he’s shouted his last ”Allahu Akbar”.
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************UPDATE -11/7/09 - Muslim apologists and the lefty mainstream media continue to try to spin Islam out of and dance around the truth of the Ft. Hood massacre. Many are rushing to blame the military or Hasan’s co-workers for his state of mind and subsequent murderous rampage. Lame excuses such as Hasan was supposedly “harassed” by other military personnel don’t hold water. Hasan was an officer – and anyone who had been in the military KNOWS that particularly officers do NOT get harassed. To do so would be the end of the offenders military career.
*******************ADDENDUM***********************
Hassan also served on President Barack Obama’s White House transition team:
NEW YORK – Maj. Nidal Malik Hasan, the alleged shooter in yesterday’s massacre at Fort Hood, played a homeland security advisory role in President Barack Obama’s transition into the White House according to a key university policy institute document…… Hasan is listed on page 29 of the document as a Task Force Event Participant SOURCE


