Video: US Representative John Dingell In Interview: Townall "Heavily Infiltrated" By Those Wanting To Make Trouble

Here's the interview over at local Fox2News:

This meeting has been heavily infiltrated rather heavily by folks who wish to make trouble - John Dingell (D-Detroit)

Infiltrated? Well, let's see. Merriam-Webster has this to say abou "infiltrate:"

• Main Entry: in·fil·trate
• Pronunciation: \in-ˈfil-ˌtrāt, ˈin-(ˌ)\
• Function: verb
• Inflected Form(s): in·fil·trat·ed; in·fil·trat·ing
• Date: 1758

transitive verb 1 : to cause (as a liquid) to permeate something by penetrating its pores or interstices
2 : to pass into or through (a substance) by filtering or permeating
3 : to pass (troops) singly or in small groups through gaps in the enemy line
4 : to enter or become established in gradually or unobtrusively usually for subversive purposes infiltrated by spies>

OK. So subversive:

• Main Entry: sub·ver·sion
• Pronunciation: \səb-ˈvər-zhən, -shən\
• Function: noun
• Etymology: Middle English, from Anglo-French, from Late Latin subversion-, subversio, from Latin subvertere
• Date: 14th century

1 : the act of subverting : the state of being subverted; especially : a systematic attempt to overthrow or undermine a government or political system by persons working secretly from within
2 obsolete : a cause of overthrow or destruction

So what Dingell is saying is that those that don't agree with his healthcare push don't belong at his townhalls. If they show up, they are infiltrators - subverting the purpose of the townhalls in the first place. Maybe I'm wrong, but I always thought that townhalls were places where you got to talk with your Congressman regardless of whether you agreed with them or not. Curiously, Dingell flatly denied to Frank Beckmann painting the protesters as the White House is doing - a mob of troublemakers. Here's that interview from WJR: (the denial begins at the 16:54 mark)

Compare that to what Dingell said above. Infiltrators had the audacity to go to his townhall meeting, which was really just a speech/lecture. The one reform that would truly bring health care costs downis tort and malpractice reform. Here's what Dingell had to say about that, for which he was booed mercilessly:

Congress has time to write a boondoggle bill over 1,000 pages long, but doesn't include tort reform that is responsible for the skyrocketing costs of health care. It would have been a much shorter bill to just do that. If Obama and his minions were serious about reducing the true cost of healthcare, they would quickly reform tort and malpractice law:

Video: AARP walks out on its own members when questions about health care legislation are brought up!

Here's the video:

That sort of behavior is nothing short of elitism. A disconnect between leadership and membership. Happens all the time with unions, special interest groups, etc. The bigger the organization, the more of a disconnect there is. There is no more stark of an example than what is happening in the political ranks these days. The political elites are ramming through legislation that is not wanted by the majority of those they represent. Yet, they are doing it anyway. And instead of listening to their constituents, they are instead attacking them.

The AARP, by the way, is no longer the organization it was once was. It is now just another appendage of the liberal movement. Like the NOW and its attacking Sarah Paling, and the NAACP attacking Clarence Thomas, AARP no longer complies with its stated purpose. Should this health care boondoggle pass, no group will be more negatively affected than seniors. Yet here is the AARP snubbing their own membership to help push this through anyway.

Video: Florida Rep. Castor Unleashes Union Thugs On Protesters, Closes Doors, No Questions!

Via drudge, another example of Obama and his minions turning union thugs on citizens against the foisting of universal lack of healthcare on them:

Tampa Bay Online has a pic of some of the aftermath:Just keep in mind that this is Obama's idea: White House to Democrats: 'Punch back twice as hard'.

Top White House aides gave Senate Democrats a recess battle plan on Thursday, arming the lawmakers with tips for avoiding disastrous town hall meetings while showing them polling on popular aspects of the reform effort.

“If you get hit, we will punch back twice as hard,” Messina said, according to an official who attended the meeting.

Two things. First, this is the President of the free world! The most powerful person on the planet saying this! Just like him saying before that if someone brings a knife to a fight, he'll bring a gun. Chicago thug politics at its best. Or worst. Second, how sad is it that Senators have to get talking points from Obama about how to handle their own constituents!

Video: Union Thugs Let Into Town Hall While Other Citizens Barred!

I kid you not! This happened at the townhall in St. Louis that was scheduled by Democrat Russ Carnahan. In the video, SEIU members were let in while the "little people" were kept out by force!:

Disgusting.

Video: Black Conservative Beat Up By SEIU Thugs At Health Care Townhall

Obama has let the thugs out on the taxpayers. Here's the vid via Gateway Pundit:

From GP: RAW VIDEO!!.....TEA PARTY PROTESTERS ATTACKED-- 1 Black Conservative Seriously Hurt in St. Louis!... 6 Arrested Including SEIU Members

Six people were arrested outside the Russ Carnahan town hall event on Thursday after thugs attacked tea party protesters. Missourah Blog wrote this about the incident:

What I can tell is that a guy walking 10-20 feet ahead of us said to the guys in purple shirts (SEIU members, as I understand) "you attacked him!" and "you're going to jail!"

The guy who said he was attacked (light brown short sleeve collared shirt) said he was just out there selling something (I think "Don't Tread on Me" flags).

One black conservative was seriously hurt outside the event. The Post-Dispatch reported:

St. Louis County police say six people were arrested. Two of those were arrested on suspicion of assault, one of resisting arrest and three on suspicion of committing peace disturbances. Carnahan was gone when the ruckus started.

Kenneth Gladney, a 38-year-old conservative activist from St. Louis, said he was attacked by some of those arrested as he handed out yellow flags with “Don't tread on me” printed on them. He spoke to the Post-Dispatch from the emergency room of the St. John's Mercy Medical Center, where he said he was waiting to be treated for injuries to his knee, back, elbow, shoulder and face that he suffered in the attack. Gladney, who is black, said one of his attackers, also a black man, used a racial slur against him before the attack started.

“It just seems there's no freedom of speech without being attacked,” he said.

Carnahan reserved a section at the event for union supporters. He blocked the 1,000 tea party protesters from entering the event and even had his supporters enter in a side door.

Here is another video of the massive crowd of tea party taxpayers waiting in line before the town hall event. They were denied entry but the union members were allowed in through a side door.

Patterico adds this: "Angry Mob of Racist Extremists Beats Black Man at Town Hall Meeting"

Incidentally, there were a few callers this morning to the Frank Beckmann show on 760 AM WJR Detroit who indicated that in Dingell's townhall yesterday, union supporters were let in through a side door rather than through th efont and promptly took up all the front rows. Via Ace of Spades, there's also this:

Asked about his organizing philosophy, Andy Stern (SEIU) summed it up this way: “[W]e prefer to use the power of persuasion, but if that doesn’t work we use the persuasion of power.”

UPDATE: GP has a letter from an attorney representing the black conservative that was beaten:

August 7, 2009

Dear Mr. Hennessy:

I am Kenneth Gladney’s attorney. Kenneth was attacked on the evening of August 6, 2009 at Rep. Russ Carnahan’s town hall meeting in South St. Louis County. I was at the town hall meeting as well and witnessed the events leading up to the attack of Kenneth. Kenneth was approached by an SEIU representative as Kenneth was handing out “Don’t Tread on Me” flags to other conservatives. The SEIU representative demanded to know why a black man was handing out these flags. The SEIU member used a racial slur against Kenneth, then punched him in the face. Kenneth fell to the ground. Another SEIU member yelled racial epithets at Kenneth as he kicked him in the head and back. Kenneth was also brutally attacked by one other male SEIU member and an unidentified woman. The three men were clearly SEIU members, as they were wearing T-shirts with the SEIU logo.

Kenneth was beaten badly. One assailant fled on foot; three others were arrested. Kenneth was admitted to St. John’s Mercy Medical Center emergency room, where he was treated for his numerous injuries. Kenneth was merely expressing his freedom of speech by handing out the flags. In fact, he merely asked people as they exited the town hall meeting whether they would like a flag. He in no way provoked any argument or altercation, as evidenced by the fact that three assailants were arrested.

We hope that Kenneth fully recovers from his injuries; however, he is in great pain at this time. We will be pursuing legal action at our discretion. This was a truly senseless hate crime carried out by racist union thugs. Regretfully, Representative Carnahan’s statements blaming Kenneth for being a disruptive force are wholly untrue and slanderous. We would like to think that an elected official in Representative Carnahan’s position would gather accurate information before carelessly rushing to judgment.

Kenneth supports conservative ideals, although he subscribes to no particular political party. We are calling on the SEIU, Representative Carnahan, and President Obama to condemn the racist actions of these union thugs. In the days to come, we will be investigating whether these thugs are working at the behest of Representative Carnahan and how strong their alliances to various organizations–such as ACORN–may be.

We hope the St. Louis Tea Party and tea party organizations around the country will protest Representative Carnahan’s offices and also protest SEIU offices in every major city across the U.S. These Democratic strong-arm tactics must end now.

Regards,

Attorney David B. Brown

Good luck on getting Obama to rein in his thugs. Is this what hope and change looks like?

AP sugarcoats unemployment number - went down because many just stopped looking for work!

Must be nice to be the chief executive of the worlds lone superpower and still have the mainstream media at your back no matter your performance. In fact, the MSM lapdogs have been especially vigilant when things are looking bleak. Such is the case today as the unemployment rate in the U.S. is reported to be 9.4% through July after being 9.5% through June. Good news, right? Well, the media paints it as such, breaks out the pom-poms and tells everyone within earshot that the recession is essentially over. BUT - then you start digging, and what you dig up is fool's gold. Even the AP couldn't cover this up entirely. From the AP via The Detroit Free Press: National jobless rate falls to 9.4%.

Employers throttled back on layoffs in July, cutting just 247,000 jobs, the fewest in a year, and the unemployment rate dipped to 9.4%, its first decline in 15 months.

It was a better-than-expected showing that offered a strong signal that the recession is finally ending.

The new snapshot, released this morning by the Labor Department, also offered other encouraging news: workers’ hours nudged up after sinking to a record low in June, and paychecks grew after having fallen or flat lined in some cases.

To be sure, the report still indicates that the jobs market is on shaky ground. But the new figures were better than many analysts were expecting and offered welcomed improvements to a part of the economy that has been clobbered by the recession.

Analysts were forecasting job losses to slow to around 320,000 and the unemployment rate to tick up to 9.6%.

The dip in the unemployment rate — from June’s 9.5% — was the first since April 2008. One of the reasons the rate went down, however, was because hundreds of thousands of people left the labor force. Fewer people, though, did report being unemployed.

All told, there were 14.5 million out of work in July.

If laid-off workers who have given up looking for new jobs or have settled for part-time work are included the unemployment rate would have been 16.3% in July. That’s down from 16.5% in June, which was the the highest on records dating to 1994.

Nice to bury that in the middle of all the "good" news, no? Just for good measure, the AP trots out its standard canard that the recession began in December 2007, rather than the summer of 2008:

Since the recession began in December 2007, the economy has lost a net total of 6.7 million jobs.

That would be whitewashing. Since a recession starts when there are 2 consecutive quarters of negative GDP, let's see what the actual data says:Well, so much for that canard. The recession began in Q3 of 2008, not December 2007. It is simply a bald-faced lie by the AP and The Detroit Free Press. Even if it were true, though, which it is not, it would still mean that the majority of jobs were lost by Obama in a fraction of the time! Let's also not forget that it was Democrat policies that basically forced affirmative action policies into bank lending that caused the mortgage meltdown last fall. And let's not lose track of the big picture:

January US jobs lost: 598,000 jobs
February US jobs lost: 706,000 jobs
March US jobs lost: 742,000 jobs
April US jobs lost: 545,000 jobs
May US jobs lost: 345,000 jobs
June US jobs lost: 467,000 jobs
July US jobs lost: 247,000

Total US jobs lost under Obama: 3,650,000 jobs

Remember that teh stimulus package was supposed to stopt the unemployment rate at 8%! A crisis could become a calamity? Remember that? Here's how that looks:Note that the blue lines are the numbers that Obama's team came up with. So the actual unemployment rate is not only worse that what would happen with porkulus, but even worse than was predicted without it. The May unemployment rate of 9.4% is the same as July.

UPDATE: Ace has an updated graphic in his post: Unemplyment, Part II: Rate Goes Down Only Because 300,000 People Exited the Workplace (That Is, Gave Up Looking for Work); "Discouraged Workers" Meme No Longer Operative.

Video: U.S. Rep. John Dingell Gets Booed At Town Hall - Said Tort Reform Not Included Because "Congress Can Only Handle So Much..."

Mercilessly booed after that dumb answer:

Congress has time to write a boondoggle bill over 1,000 pages long, but doesn't include tort reform that is responsible for the skyrocketing costs of health care. Too much to handle.

The AP, via The Detroit News, never mentions how everything played out yesterday: Dingell faces jeers at health forum.

Congressman John Dingell faced jeers and cheers during a forum about the future of the nation's health care system.

The Michigan Democrat sponsored the event Thursday evening in Romulus on President Barack Obama's health care plans.

The Detroit Free Press reports Mike Sola of Milan interrupted Dingell repeatedly as he pushed his son, Scott, in a wheelchair to the podium. He said proposed changes wouldn't help Scott and called Dingell a fraud.

Dingell responded that the man's concerns would be addressed. Dingell told WJBK-TV afterward that the forum had been infiltrated by opponents. Some chanted "kill the bill" and other protesters gathered outside.

Nice that Dingell has so much respect for his own constituents that don't agree with him. Just how does a citizen infiltrate a townhall for citizens anyway?

UPDATE: Steve over at motorcitytimes has some pics of scary mobs:

UPDATE #2: KG One over at RightMichigan has this: Rep John Dingell Town Hall farce in Romulus.

Local democrats got there first (from several people I spoke with in line, WAY before 5:30) and were led into the conference room through a side door and not through the front entrance that the rest of us waited to enter through. The local democrats took up nearly 6-7 rows out of the 9 rows that I could see through a side window.

The rest of them moseyed outside to try to engage the crowd in an argument about HR 3200.

They tried to antagonize those in line by telling us that we didn't know what we were talking about (even after several people pulled out hard copied of sections of the bill and offered to pull it up on the PDA's...but according to them, it wasn't the REAL bill).

My personal favorite was the campaign volunteer trying to act like a concerned resident handing out literature on health care without ANY listing as to who wrote it or where it came from

Now that is astroturfing!

UPDATE #3: From Legal Insurrection: We're All Political Terrorists Now. Hey - at least libs can dust off the word "terrorist"!

With Video: Washington Post Apologizes For Clinton Joke In Beer Spoof, But Not To Palin!

The following satirical online video series has been canned because of a Hillary Clinton joke that is all of a fraction of a second long. The offense (to Clinton anyway) happens at the 2:41 mark:

The Ap has the story on the WaPo: Washington Post apologizes for Clinton joke.

Two Washington Post journalists are apologizing and their satirical online video series has been canceled following criticism of a joke they told about Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton.

Post Executive Editor Marcus Brauchli killed the "Mouthpiece Theater" series Wednesday after pulling the latest episode from the paper's Web site Friday.

In the video, columnist Dana Milbank and White House correspondent and blogger Chris Cillizza appeared in smoking jackets to discuss the kinds of beer politicians might drink. Milbank said he couldn't reveal to whom President Barack Obama would serve a drink called "Mad B---- Beer." That line was followed by a brief picture of Clinton.

The group Women, Action and the Media complained to the Post in a letter signed by 32 women. They called the video "sexist" and "tasteless."

"I regret that we put up that image," Milbank said, "and while I highly doubt the secretary of state has seen 'Mouthpiece Theater,' I would be honored to have the opportunity to apologize to her over a beer."

No mention that the spoof assigned evil-themed beers to the GOP. "Demon fuel." "Devil's brew." "Fallen angel." "Hell beer." Etc. At the 3:11 mark, they assign to Palin "Arctic Devil." So the tiny little Clinton spoof cost the entire video seies its existence! But mocking the GOP in general, and Sarah Palin specifically, with evil-oriented selections that are morally offensive to them as many are Christians, doesn't even get an apology. Thanks for that dose of liberal media bias, WaPo!

Speaking of Palin, she's left office and the left still cannot let go of the venom. John Conyers is the latest example, now using his position as one of the longest serving Democrats in the U.S. House to attack a private citizen:

You know - if your sleeping pills have lost their effect, just tune in to this guy for a while. Problem solved!

Michigan Pro-Lifers - Gird Your Loins!

Life - Imagine the potential:

Where do you stand on the issue of life? Does it move you? Is it on the back burner for you? Is it just "one of many issues?" These are questions that should not, that can not, be avoided. There is no middle ground on this issue, sans the rhetoric of our pro-abort President. There is no middle ground here the same as there was no middle ground regarding slavery. Like it or not, we are in a war for life. Us versus them. Good versus evil. Life versus death. This war was not brought by us, but by the legions of pro-aborts in this state, this nation, and around the world.

Here in Michigan, we have a Governor that says she is personally opposed to abortion, but won't push that through in any way. Quite the opposite in fact. This is a misnamed "middle ground" that many choose. Unfortunately, for them and the unborn, there is no middle ground. No shades of gray. Seeking such a position is a de facto vote for abortion. It's as simple as that. You choose to be for life, or against it.

Because of all that is at stake in 2010, we must all make a commitment on this issue above all others. After all, for what issue would we sacrifice our children? How would one account for countenancing mass murder on a scale that makes the Holocaust seem small by comparison? Consider that 50 million babies have been put to death in the U.S. alone since the unconstitutional Roe v Wade decision. Or that, right now, 13 million children are aborted annually in China alone. It's an atrocity on an unimaginable scale. There are many that would label such thought "single-issue voting," as if that was an abomination of some sort. Imagine such a thought in the days of slavery. Absolutely the slavery issue held veto power to many voters, just as abortion holds veto power in who I cast a vote for today.

The battle cry for 2010 may be the the best chance we have at saving many unborn lives. Democrats nationally and here in Michigan would like nothing else than to foist unconstitutional laws upon the population, sentencing even more unborn to death. By legislative fiat if possible. By judicial fiat if necessary. Yet, more people are speaking up. And as technology becomes more available, many are seeing the truth of life before birth. In fact, I am heartened that more U.S. citizens now self-identify as pro-life than pro-choice: The line is drawn in the sand. Whom do you stand with? We didn't start the fight, but we will fight it nonetheless. This is a fight that is not fought with shield and spear. It will be fought in the culture. In the hearts and minds of all people. We must therefore be armed with knowledge and a desire to disseminate it. To this end, I will be writing a series of pro-life posts on moral, Biblical, scientific and other evidence that abortion on demand is evil and wrong, how abortion has divided us as a people, how abortion has shaped the modern Democrat party, why science says it's easier to be a pro-abort and why being pro-life is literally right. All this with a particular focus on this issue here in Michigan. 2010 is right around the corner. Gird your loins!

Cross-posted at RightMichigan

Culture Of Corruption: William "Cold Cash" Jefferson (D) Guilty Of Corruption

And this guy was picked to serve on the Homeland Security Committee by Nancy Pelosi:

FoxNews reports:

From The New Orleans Times-Pacayune via memorandum: William Jefferson verdict: Guilty on 11 of 16 counts.

Former Democratic Congressman William Jefferson was found guilty of 11 of 16 corruption charges today by a federal jury. The jury of eight women and four men returned a guilty verdict following five days of deliberation.

In the 16-count indictment, Jefferson was charged with soliciting bribes and other crimes for a series of schemes in which he helped American businesses broker deals in West African in exchange for payments or financial considerations to companies controlled by members of his family, including his brother Mose, his wife, Andrea, their five daughters and a son-in-law.

Jefferson, 62, who represented the New Orleans-based 2nd Congressional District for nine terms, will now face sentencing by Judge T.S. Ellis III, who earlier meted out stiff sentences for lesser figures in the case. According to the U.S. attorney's office, Jefferson faced 235 years in prison if convicted on all counts, and will still face substantial prison time.

The verdict comes four years after the Aug. 3, 2005 raids of Jefferson's homes in New Orleans and Washington, D.C., in which the FBI found $90,000 in cash hidden in the freezer of his D.C. home, money the government said Jefferson was going to deliver as a bribe to Atiku Abubakar, then vice president of Nigeria, to gain his help with a telecommunications deal in Nigeria being pursued by Lori Mody, a Northern Virginia businesswoman.

The money was the lion's share of $100,000 in FBI cash that the congressman was videotaped receiving packed in a briefcase days earlier in a suburban Virginia parking lot from Mody, who, beginning in March of 2005, had become a cooperating witness for the FBI, secretly taping her conversations with Jefferson.

"He never let an opportunity to demand a bribe payment pass him by," said assistant U.S. Attorney Rebeca Bellows in her closing argument.

Gateway Pundit found this relevant video: (via Doug Ross @Journal)

I have never taken a bribe from anyone. -William Jefferson

You would think that the Detroit News or the Free Press would have a small side item on this today. The DetNews had a small one on the very bottom of their site. As For The Free Press: Not. A. Word. Doesn't fit the narrative.

Moonbat Christmas present: wearable carbon meter!

Yeah - I know. The title isn't accurate. Moonbats don't believe in Christmas. Check this pic out though:An eco-sin meter! Repent! Buy carbon credits from Al Gore and be saved! Bow down to the Earth mother Gaia! From treehugger via motorcitytimes: Wearable Carbon Credit Meter Tracks Your Monthly Transportation Allowance

If you live in a city with a good metro system, you’re probably used to having a swipe card system of some sort – load up money on the card, swipe it as you enter the station and as you exit, and your card is deducted the amount that ride cost. It’s a great way to track your transportation allowance. But what if your swipe card were based on carbon emissions instead? That’s the idea proposed by designer Nick Hunter for this wearable carbon emissions tracker.

Rather than a key or a card, the carbon meter would fit on your hand and glows a particular color – green, yellow, orange or red – depending on how well you’re using your public transportation allowance. Are you saving more carbon by hopping onto a train for a short ride, or would the hybrid bus have actually had the smaller footprint? The meter would let you know. But there’s more…it’d give the government insight on how well the public transportation systems are being used.

Van Helsing adds over at moonbattery:

This technology would also assist our rulers in keeping tabs on what everyone is up to, so that they won't have to rely so much on volunteers turning people in at Obama's Snitch Line. Who says Obamunism squelches innovation?

Video: Never get in a slap fight with a robot

Robots like this will slap you silly!:

HT: HotAir headlines.

White House: 'War on terrorism' is over

Uh - did we win?

No. But that didn't stop Obama from waving something of a white flag anyway. As someone once said, just words...

From The Washington Times via drudge:

It's official. The U.S. is no longer engaged in a "war on terrorism." Neither is it fighting "jihadists" or in a "global war."

President Obama's top homeland security and counterterrorism official took all three terms off the table of acceptable words inside the White House during a speech Thursday at the Center for Strategic and International Studies, a Washington think tank.

"The President does not describe this as a 'war on terrorism,'" said John Brennan, head of the White House homeland security office, who outlined a "new way of seeing" the fight against terrorism.

The president's adviser talked about increasing aid to foreign governments for building up their militaries and social and democratic institutions, but provided few details about how the White House will do that.

He was specific about ways in which Mr. Obama believes words influence the way America prosecutes the fight against terrorism.

Give money to foreign governmnets to build up their military but tear ours down at the same time? Huh???

AP Confirms Health Bill Radically Opens Federal Funds to Abortion

This comes after the AP rejected that very assertion! From LifeSiteNews:

The Associated Press confirmed pro-lifers' alarm over the Obama health care bill this week, reporting that the legislation would allow the public plan to cover abortions - although abortion groups are continuing to claim that the abortion mandate is a "myth."

From a prior post of mine, I pointed this out:

If the heath-care package currently being pushed by Obama is passed, the result will be 240,000 to 420,000 more abortions in the first year alone.

HotAir has the lowdown on the Ap's dishonesty:

A few days ago, the Associated Press issued a “fact check” on the health-care reform package that included a refutation of the idea that the public plan would pay for abortions. After abortion opponents ripped Charles Babington for poor reporting, the AP turned the story over to Ricardo Alfonso Zaldivar, who fact-checked the fact check. Now the AP acknowledges that the public plan would indeed use taxpayer money to pay for abortions:

Health care legislation before Congress would allow a new government-sponsored insurance plan to cover abortions, a decision that would affect millions of women and recast federal policy on the divisive issue. …

A compromise approved by a House committee last week attempted to balance questions of federal funding, personal choice and the conscience rights of clinicians. It would allow the public plan to cover abortion but without using federal funds, only dollars from beneficiary premiums. Likewise, private plans in the new insurance exchange could opt to cover abortion, but no federal subsidies would be used to pay for the procedure. …

But the health overhaul would create a stream of federal funding not covered by the restrictions.

The new federal funds would take the form of subsidies for low- and middle-income people buying coverage through the health insurance exchange. Subsidies would be available for people to buy the public plan or private coverage. Making things more complicated, the federal subsidies would be mixed in with contributions from individuals and employers. Eventually, most Americans could end up getting their coverage through the exchange.

In other words, the entire exercise is an end run around the Hyde Amendment. The issue first arose when conservatives noted that abortion did not get mentioned in any of the versions of ObamaCare floating around on Capitol Hill. A lack of restriction on abortion funding would essentially repeal the Hyde Amendment, which bars federal funds from being used to pay for abortions. The plan would not have to specifically include abortions, just as plans don’t specifically include any procedures, but would cover any legal medical service and fund it either directly or through subsidies.

Nice, eh? I'm sure "conservative" Democrats like Michigan's own Bart Stupak loved the "compromise." So much for claiming to be pro-life. Adrienne has this:

There are many people in this country that claim to be pro-choice but anti-abortion, a statement that makes no sense I might add, who are not going to like paying for abortions, particularly when it is used as a form of birth control.

Now we know why the White House Budget Director didn't rule out abortions - he knew better:

Nancy Pelosi compares protesters to Nazis: protesters are "carrying swastikas and symbols like that to a town meeting on healthcare"

The dimmest bulb in the House speaks! Glad to see our elected leaders have so much respect for the taxpayers and for free speech:

Nice. Accuse protesters that demand that their representatives actually read a bill of being Nazis. HotAir also has this quote from Dem Rep. Mike Ross:

“At one point, U.S. Rep. Mike Ross sat with his head in his hands while the crowd shouted. He and fellow Democratic Rep. Vic Snyder told audience members at a forum at Arkansas Children’s Hospital that they wouldn’t support a completely government-run, single-payer health insurance plan.

‘But that’s what Obama wants!’ an audience member shouted, leading to more heckling…

‘I’ve said this several times but let me see if I can make it a little more clear,’ Ross said. ‘I don’t represent Speaker (Nancy) Pelosi or President Obama or (House Finance Committee Chairman) Barney Frank. I represent the people of Arkansas and I’m not voting for any bill that forces any one plan on anyone, period.’”

We'll believe it when you vote no on it!

UPDATE: Gateway Pundit digs this up from the memory hole:

Funny how it never bothered the angry liberals when the Left was carrying signs like these at rallies during the Bush years:

UPDATE #2: Another good catch from GP: Stunner... ABC Reports No Insurance Industry Plants Found at Town Hall

ABC’s Steven Portnoy reports:

There were no lobbyist-funded buses in the parking lot of Mardela Middle and High School on Tuesday evening, and the hundreds of Eastern Maryland residents who packed the school’s auditorium loudly refuted the notion that their anger over the Democrats’ health care reform plans is “manufactured.”

“I went to school in this school,” a man named Bob told me. “I don't see anyone in this room that isn't from Mardela Springs right now.”

“We’ve been quiet too long,” said a woman named Joan.

They came to yell at their congressman, freshman Democratic Rep. Frank Kratovil, and they were surprised to hear that the “Congress in Your Corner” event to which they had been invited -- by a robocall from Kratovil himself -- was not to be a public airing of grievances, but instead an opportunity for private, one-on-one sessions with the freshman Democrat.

As the crowd grew, and began venting frustration over the fact they would only be meeting with the congressman behind closed doors, Kratovil’s aides suggested he switch to a town hall format.

Heh.

UPDATE #3: From Legal Insurrection:

The campaign to create a sense of outrage against the protesters is not working, despite the best efforts of Barack Obama's campaign organization to get people to meetings, politicians such as Nancy Pelosi calling protesters Nazis, groups such as ThinkProgress concocting false conspiracies, and the left-wing blogs singing the same tunes.

The campaign directed at health care protesters is nothing more than AstroOutrage, incapable of growing on its own.

Indeed.

UPDATE #4: A few good posts from American Power:

• Remember the Hooligans! Pathetic Democratic Fearmonging Gets More Pathetic; ObamaCare Fiasco Chews Up Administration's Political Capital
• Cornyn to Obama: Stop Compiling Political Enemies List
• The Definitive Case for How Freaking Scared the Left Is...

UPDATE #5: A linkaround on Pelosi and Nazis over at memorandum

UPDATE #6: From Wizbang: Pelosi's Swastika Claim Is A Crock

More DPS Corruption: Audit Uncovers Dead People Getting Health Care, Motorcycles and Missing Weapons!

The culture of corruption broke out of the petri dish in Detroit 2 generations ago and continues to grow. It’s the only ‘culture’ left in the D! Corruption in Detroit is top to bottom. No part of the whole is spared of this cancer. Yet another reason that the Detroit Public Schools System - graduating only 1 in 4 students - needs to just outright be scrapped. It took an audit and this many months to find missing items that were kept in storage. Plus dead people receiving health care benefits. Missing weapons. Employees receiving overtime pay and not working overtime. You just know there will be more. Incompetence and corruption from top to bottom and everything in between. Even the public safety police officers were on the take. From The Detroit News: DPS audits uncover missing items, payroll fraud.

An audit of Detroit Public Schools' police department found gross abuses of overtime and attendance rules, as well as hundreds of unused big-ticket items -- including BlackBerry smart phones, motorcycles and weapons.

Among the items found in storage: 160 BlackBerry phones, 97 Nextel phones, 13 printers, 132 first aid kits, eight defibrillators, 50 handheld radios, 1,872 master locks and 11 motorcycles.

In addition, some police officers were getting as much as a month paid time off each year because they were getting paid for time not worked. The abuses led to a shortage of manpower and overtime expenses were exorbitant, according to the DPS Auditor General Odell W. Bailey.

The results of the internal audit were released at a press conference Wednesday morning, followed by a pledge from the new public safety chief that the department has taken corrective action and has learned from past mistakes.

DPS also released the results of the first phase of its investigation into unauthorized health care dependents. The district offered employees a two-week grace period to report any unauthorized dependents on their plans, such as deceased relatives and children who are too old to qualify.

As a result, 411 ineligible dependents were uncovered, which will save the district $821,000 from now to the end of the calendar year. The full-year savings for 2010 is estimated at $2.1 million, said Emergency Financial Manager Robert Bobb.

The second phase of the health care audit is under way. It will require all employees to provide documentation, such as birth and tax records, to verify eligibility of their dependents for coverage. Employees will be expected to reimburse the district for any premiums or claims made on any unauthorized dependents discovered during this phase of the audit, Bobb said.

"It's sad," Bobb said. "The pettiness is just unreal here. ... How can we have an executive who authorizes an employee to work 4 hours a day and be paid 8 hours per day. How does that happen? How do we have employees who bill 2 hours of overtime into their work schedule every day?"

After seven years of overspending and a $259 million legacy deficit, Bobb said "we are on a scavenger hunt for dollars." Each dollar discovered "helps to provide additional services where it should be in, and that's in the classroom."

It is sad. What is even sadder is to see only 1 in 4 kids graduating high school in DPS. It is a sentence to poverty that those kids have to endure for no other reason than where they live. That alone makes this uncovered corruption pale by comparison. What justification still exists for letting this system limp on in perpetuity? I can think of none. Privatize each school. Make it responsible to the parents living right in that neighborhood. Give the kids a chance with a voucher allowing them to go anywhere they want to seek the best education possible. Isn't this supposed to be all about the children?

UPDATE: The Detroit Free Press follows up today: DPS audits: Dead get health care, weapons missing.

One audit also showed that 411 people -- including some who are dead -- were receiving health insurance even though they weren't eligible.

Also of concern was the audit's finding that weapons and police vehicles were not accounted for. The office had no master inventory list for weapons, which is potentially dangerous, said Roderick Grimes, the newly appointed police chief of the Office of Public Safety. The audit found 107 weapons, including two that were stolen and one that is at the Detroit crime lab.

Previously:
DPS Vacates 2,600 Jobs, Unions up In Arms (Again)
Far from it: DPS no longer a "first class" district
Inept DPS Board Of Education Still At War Against Reform
DPS Board That Oversaw Only 1 In 4 Students Graduate To Sue For Academic Control Of District
DPS Privatizing Some Failing Schools. Why Not Just Privatize All Of Them Already?
Detroit Public Scools Considering Bankruptcy. Would Be The First Of Its Kind
DPS - $430 million in deficit - try to trim workforce. Get pushback from teacher union
DPS Layoffs Increase To 2,500. Still Not Enough; Bankruptcy Soon?
DPS to cut 1,900 jobs, still in deficit. To Robert Bobb: "MR. MANAGER - TEAR DOWN THIS DISTRICT!"
Detroit Public Schools, $430 million in deficit, finds it has 257 "ghosts" on the payroll
How does a DPS budget deficit that started at $140 million get "whittled down" to $243 million?
Non-surprise: DPS deficit grows to $430 million
Audit: 97.4% of DPS schools can't keep track of funds
DPS In A Nutshell: Fixing That Which Is Beyond Repair, Ignoring Newer Cheaper Better Alternative
Detroit Free Press Pens Hit Piece On Charter Schools
Bob^2 wants to fix DPS, gets attacked, MSM yawns
Bob^2 Coming Down On DPS Corruption
Bob^2: Stay in DPS! Parents: No Way!
Bob^2: DPS The Greatest Challenge Of All
Freep's Mike Thompson Doesn't Get It
The DPS Special Treatment Act
Detroit News: DPS FAIL!!!
The freep Laments DPS School Closings
DPS in the News
DPS Officials Thumbing Their Noses at Bob^2?
The DPS Debacle Continues
Less Than 12 Hours Later, The DPS Fighting Begins
Oh SNAP! DPS now $306 million in the hole!
DPS to Granholm: "Uh - Now What Do We Do?"
Bob^2 to teach DPS about Corruption
DPS: "Hey buddy, can you spare $162 Million?"
Bob^2 Trying to Drain DPS Swamp
DPS may owe $36 million more
More on DPS - None of It Good
Shock! - Ex-DPS official files federal whistleblower lawsuit
Bob^2, DPS to Get Undeserved Windfall
Throwing money into the DPS hole
Bob^2 starts tally of DPS troubles
Bob^2 says: DPS deficit larger than thought
Bob Bobb (Bob^2) on a mission to save DPS
Non-Shocker of the Morning - Former DPS Head Calloway: Detroit School Board Corrupt!
DetNews: Bring 'Marine Corps' of teachers to Detroit schools
DPS to good teachers - GET OUT OF OUR SWAMP!!!
Duh! - DPS fails kids, fed school chief says

Abortion Drug RU 486 Has Killed 29 Women Already, Italy Approves Use

Back in May, I wrote a post about one of the best-selling supplements Hydroxycut getting pulled right off the shelves because one person died. Just one. Phen phen is banned because of 49 deaths that were the result not of use, but gross abuse of the diet drug. So why hasn't RU 486 been pulled after so many deaths? Not only not pulled, but being approved for even wider use. From LifeNews: Abortion Drug Has Killed 29 Women, European Maker Tells Italy's Government.

The world may never know how many thousands of women have been injured, or even killed, by the dangerous RU 486 abortion drug. The best worldwide guess is that 13 women have been killed as a result of the mifepristone abortion pill, but the maker of the drug in Europe is saying 29 women have died.

If the information given to the Italian Pharmaceuticals Agency (AIFA) by European abortion drug maker Exelgyn is correct, then twice as many women have died from the abortion drug globally than the pro-life community has thought.

Currently, eight women have died from using the RU 486 abortion drug in the United States, two in England, and one each in Canada, Sweden and France.

AIFA is the agency that announced this week that the abortion drug, marketed in Italy as Mifegyne, will now be available for purchase across Italy, after years of the European nation only allowing surgical abortions.

Typically, a death from the mifepristone abortion pill doesn't become public information "unless someone knows that a woman has had a chemical abortion and recognizes that her complications are related to that event" or "unless someone reports that to the distributor or manufacturer."

"We can only wonder how high the number would be if we had all the information," O'Bannon said.

Indeed. It forces one to wonder why a proven deadly drug such as RU 486 is allowed to be sold in the U.S. at all, with at least 8 confirmed deaths, and likely many more. What's the purpose of the FDA again?

UPDATE: It figures that the AP wouldn't bother to mention the deaths. From the AP via The Detroit News: Italy OKs pill for abortion.

Italy has approved the use of the abortion drug RU-486, capping years of debate and defying opposition from the Vatican, which warned of immediate excommunication for doctors prescribing the pill and for women who use it.

The pill is already available in a number of other European countries. Its approval by Italy's drug regulation authorities was praised by women's groups and pro-choice organizations, which say the pill will provide women with an additional, noninvasive procedure.

No mention of the many deaths! No mention at all!!!

MI Dem Party Chair Mark Brewer: We Have To Destroy The Economy To Save The Economy

I wrote a recent post about Democrat Party solutions to Michigan's unemployment problem. Currently, Michigan is #1 in the nation in unemployment. Not where anyone wants MI to be. It is a direct result of liberal policies that have made this state an unfriendly place to do business, by burdensome regulatory and tax policies. The Democrat Party solution? Here they are:

• Hiking the minimum wage to $10 an hour for all workers.
• Imposing a blanket moratorium on home foreclosures for 12 months.
• Cutting utility rates 20% across the board.
• Requiring all employers to provide health care to their employees.
• Hiking, by $100 a week, and extending, for six months, unemployment benefits.
  

Not only was the Democrat Party not embarrassed by the above suggestions, but have hunkered down in defending them! MI Dem Party Chair wrote this in The Oakland Press: GUEST OPINION: Democratic party proposals are meant to help people. (my comments in red)

We’re facing record unemployment, a poor economy and an uncertain future. (true!) We need to be proactive in addressing these problems, and the Michigan Democratic Party believes its proposed ballot initiatives will not only help to get people back on their feet, but also stimulate our economy.

Our plan includes five proposals that put people first — ahead of the greedy, corporate CEOs who are responsible for our economic meltdown. (huh? Weren't banks pushed by liberals through Fannie and Freddie to give loans to people that couldn't afford them? Why yes. Yes they were!)

First, we’re proposing that all employers in Michigan be required to provide affordable, quality health care for their employees and dependents or pay a penalty. We have more than 1.2 million people in this state who do not have health insurance. Many of those people are employed but their employers do not provide health insurance. (this will run even more businesses out of business)

These uninsured and their children are either going without health care or are flooding our emergency rooms for health care, forcing those who are insured to pay significantly higher premiums. (what's the point of Medicade then?) This proposal would not only save businesses money in the long-run, with better, healthier workers but would save all residents money and lower premiums. (uh - how? How does covering more people reduce the total bill? It's like inviting more people to go to the restaurant because it will cut the cost down)

Second, we believe the minimum wage should be increased from $7.40/hour to $10/hour. A worker who is earning the current minimum wage while supporting a family of four is living below the poverty level. This is unacceptable. (So upping the minimum wage thereby forcing people such as this on the unemployment roll will help how exactly?) Someone who is working 40-plus hours per week should not be earning below poverty level wages. Study after study has proven that raising the minimum wage would not deter job creation in our state. These higher wages would allow businesses to save money (sans laws of economics) long-term by having a less transient and more stable work force. Higher wages also would provide an economic stimulus. (ignoring the increased unemployment rate that would ensue)

Third, we must increase unemployment benefits for those out of work through no fault of their own and close loopholes that prevent more than a quarter of a million people from receiving any benefits at all. (how will this encourage people on the rolls to go find a job?) Michigan’s unemployment benefits have not increased in years and are not keeping up with the rate of inflation. We believe increasing these benefits by $100 a week would provide more stability to our struggling families. We should extend the amount of time the unemployed can receive those benefits by six months. This gives these citizens more time to find jobs, or get training, and stay in our great state. (and enjoy their "funemployment" more)

Next, cutting utility rates by 20 percent would be a significant savings to both consumers and businesses. Electric rates alone have skyrocketed more than 30 percent in the last six years. (because of government regulation) This is an unnecessary burden for our citizens and businesses and is hurting our economy. (and cap-and-trade will not be?)

Finally, a one-year moratorium on home foreclosures would address the emergency faced by tens of thousands of people who face foreclosure. Foreclosure depresses everyone’s property values and creates eyesores and havens for criminal activity. This freeze would allow banks and homeowners to work out problems. (they can't do that now?)

These proposals are just some of the ways we can help people in this state. We are all in this together and must unite to resolve this economic crisis.

So in a nutshell, we must destroy the economy to save the economy. Has a higher minimum wage ever saved one job? One business? If Brewer wants more people to have employer-provided health care, why not make it far cheaper by pushing malpractice and tort reform? Meanwhile, there is an exodus from Michigan because of in-state conditions. Not just anyone, mind you, but particularly the most productive young citizens are leaving as I have detailed in prior posts such as those below. There was also this recently from the American Issues Project: Michigan's Population Exodus. The post makes the same point. We are bleeding productivity while retaining nonproductivity. NOT the place we want to be.

Previously:
MI Dem Solutions To 15+% Unemployment: Hike Min Wage, Hike Unemployment Benefits, Stop Home Foreclosures, Require All Employers To Provide Health Ins.
Ohio Contracts Michigandus Exodusius
The Symptom of a Problem in Urban Cities
The Michigan Exodus, Part 5
The Michigan Exodus, Part 4
The Michigan Exodus, Part 3
The Michigan Exodus, Part Deux
Granholm Pushing Tax Amendment While Michigan Exodus Continues
The Michigan Exodus

Queen Obama Has An Entourage Of 22 Paid Staff Members!

That amounts to a combined salary of $1.5 million each year! She must be very proud of her country now. From WND:

The first lady of the United States is not elected, has no constitutional duties and receives no salary, but that doesn't mean the position is without its privileges – including a staff of 22 White House employees who make a combined nearly $1.5 million per year.

Various journalists have scoured the White House's annual report to Congress on the West Wing payroll and listed those names that serve as members First Lady Michelle Obama's staff. Combined, their salaries total $1,495,700.

News of so many taxpayer-funded salaries attending the first lady – which doesn't include the White House servant staff or the Secret Service detail assigned to the first family – has prompted some commentators to question if so many staffers are necessary.

"[Michele Obama] doesn't perform any official duties. But this hasn't deterred her from hiring an unprecedented number of staffers to cater to her every whim and to satisfy her every request in the midst of the Great Recession," writes author Paul Williams in a July 7 editorial. "Mary Lincoln was taken to task for purchasing china for the White House during the Civil War. And Mamie Eisenhower had to shell out the salary for her personal secretary. How things have changed!"

Indeed they have. And not for the better I'm afraid. To be fair, Laura Bush had a staff of 17, which I don't take too kindly too either. Inflation I guess. This isn't the first time that money and Michelle have been tied to controversy. As WND reported:

As first lady, Michelle Obama has been criticized for various purported "extravagences," including a in April and a shopping trip in Paris with her daughters, for which French President Nicolas Sarkozy bent the nation's laws by $540 pair of designer sneakers she wore to visit a D.C. food bankasking the boutiques to open for the Obamas on Sunday.

The Paris shopping trip, and a similar jaunt through the streets of London, were part of a highly controversial European vacation that the first lady took with her daughters in June, sparking a firestorm of questions about the reported 20 taxpayer-funded Secret Service vehicles parading through Europe with the first lady and the costs of transporting the security detail overseas.

Must be hard to be the queen. Moonbattery has the breakdown: Canada Free Press gives an idea of how much of our money Michelle Obama has to spend just to staff herself:

1.$172,2000 - Sher, Susan (CHIEF OF STAFF)
2.$140,000 - Frye, Jocelyn C. (DEPUTY ASSISTANT TO THE PRESIDENT AND DIRECTOR OF POLICY AND PROJECTS FOR THE FIRST LADY)
3.$113,000 - Rogers, Desiree G. (SPECIAL ASSISTANT TO THE PRESIDENT AND WHITE HOUSE SOCIAL SECRETARY)
4.$102,000 - Johnston, Camille Y. (SPECIAL ASSISTANT TO THE PRESIDENT AND DIRECTOR OF COMMUNICATIONS FOR THE FIRST LADY)
5.Winter, Melissa E. (SPECIAL ASSISTANT TO THE PRESIDENT AND DEPUTY CHIEF OF STAFF TO THE FIRST LADY)
6.$90,000 - Medina, David S. (DEPUTY CHIEF OF STAFF TO THE FIRST LADY)
7.$84,000 - Lelyveld, Catherine M. (DIRECTOR AND PRESS SECRETARY TO THE FIRST LADY)
8.$75,000 - Starkey, Frances M. (DIRECTOR OF SCHEDULING AND ADVANCE FOR THE FIRST LADY)
9.$70,000 - Sanders, Trooper (DEPUTY DIRECTOR OF POLICY AND PROJECTS FOR THE FIRST LADY)
10.$65,000 - Burnough, Erinn J. (DEPUTY DIRECTOR AND DEPUTY SOCIAL SECRETARY)
11.Reinstein, Joseph B. (DEPUTY DIRECTOR AND DEPUTY SOCIAL SECRETARY)
12.$62,000 - Goodman, Jennifer R. (DEPUTY DIRECTOR OF SCHEDULING AND EVENTS COORDINATOR FOR THE FIRST LADY)
13.$60,000 - Fitts, Alan O. (DEPUTY DIRECTOR OF ADVANCE AND TRIP DIRECTOR FOR THE FIRST LADY)
14.Lewis, Dana M. (SPECIAL ASSISTANT AND PERSONAL AIDE TO THE FIRST LADY)
15.$52,500 - Mustaphi, Semonti M. (ASSOCIATE DIRECTOR AND DEPUTY PRESS SECRETARY TO THE FIRST LADY)
16.$50,000 - Jarvis, Kristen E. (SPECIAL ASSISTANT FOR SCHEDULING AND TRAVELING AIDE TO THE FIRST LADY)
17.$45,000 - Lechtenberg, Tyler A. (ASSOCIATE DIRECTOR OF CORRESPONDENCE FOR THE FIRST LADY)
18.Tubman, Samantha (DEPUTY ASSOCIATE DIRECTOR,SOCIAL OFFICE)
19.$40,000 - Boswell, Joseph J. (EXECUTIVE ASSISTANT TO THE CHIEF OF STAFF TO THE FIRST LADY)
20.$36,000 - Armbruster, Sally M. (STAFF ASSISTANT TO THE SOCIAL SECRETARY)
21.Bookey, Natalie (STAFF ASSISTANT)
22.Jackson, Deilia A. (DEPUTY ASSOCIATE DIRECTOR OF CORRESPONDENCE FOR THE FIRST LADY)

And just keep in mind that Obama said all of us would have to sacrifice. Cut back. Everyone is going to have to have some skin in the game: