Posted by: Gabriel Malor at 05:02 AM | Comments (481)
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The program is codenamed "Einstein"

The Obama administration lifted the veil Tuesday on a highly-secretive set of policies to defend the U.S. from cyber attacks...

...Homeland program known as Einstein...

...The program is designed to look for indicators of cyber attacks by digging into all Internet communications, including the contents of emails, according to the declassified summary...

Posted by: Purple Avenger at 07:12 PM | Comments (214)
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Good evening and happy Hump Day all.

Abraham Lincoln:Vampire Hunter
Sure Abraham Lincoln may have saved the union and freed some of the slaves but now the true story of his battle with the vampires can be told. Ever wondered why he always looked so gaunt in all his photos, well fighting Confederates all day and the Undead all night will do that to you. Pride & Prejudice & Zombies author Seth Grahame-Smith tells all in his just released book, Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter. And despite its goofy title P&P&Z has gotten pretty good reviews especially from Jane Austin fans.

Posted by: Maetenloch at 06:02 PM | Comments (611)
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Hey, not saying you should change your vote, but your brother might think you should...

Tonight, Barack Obama will host ten House Democrats who voted against the health care bill in November at the White House; he's obviously trying to persuade them to switch their votes to yes. One of the ten is Jim Matheson of Utah. The White House just sent out a press release announcing that today President Obama nominated Matheson's brother Scott M. Matheson, Jr. to the United States Court of Appeals for the Tenth Circuit.

Posted by: Ace at 02:48 PM | Comments (331)
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Because the new Obama plan is... too conservative?

Shyeah, right.

An influential House progressive says he’s less likely to vote for the final healthcare reform bill now that the White House has incorporated Republican ideas — which could indicate a serious problem is brewing among liberals as Democratic leaders try to figure out a way to finish work on the legislation.

“As I weigh it, I think — for me — a ‘no’ vote is something that I continue to lean toward,” Rep. Raúl Grijalva, D-Ariz., the co-chairman of the Congressional Progressive Caucus, told Salon in a brief interview off the House floor Wednesday. “Especially the last additions — that was kind of a slap in the face for all of us who fought for the public option.”…

More: As I just updated the post on Eric Massa, Massa was actually a "No" vote on ObamaCare -- a committed liberal, he was determined that we should have single-payer or nothing else. Although one would guess he'll now vote for the measure -- he'll need to keep tight with Democrats if he wants lobbying jobs or bureaucratic appointments -- Grijalva guesses that Massa will keep his vote a "No." I guess... maybe to keep tight with liberal activist groups who want to keep the true-believer flame alive?

Allah hopes Grijalva and Acuri will encourage more Democrats to vote no:

The beauty of Arcuri and Grijalva speaking up, of course, is that itÂ’ll encourage other fencesitters to commit to voting no. The less likely it seems that this thing will pass, the less undecideds have to worry about their vote being the difference and the easier it becomes to abandon ship. HereÂ’s to an imminent dam burst.

Even the retiring Brian Baird -- almost counted as a gimme no-to-yes vote, because he's retiring and can afford to stick his thumb in the eye of his constituents -- isn't on board quite yet:

In a brief interview with Salon Tuesday night, Baird didn’t sound particularly enthusiastic about the prospect of switching his vote. “I get all these people advocating, calls and letters, saying vote one way or the other,” he said. “I don’t know how they know what’s going to be in it — because I sure don’t.”…

Click the link for McConnell's rebuttal to Obama's dishonest speech -- this isn't a conflict between Republicans and Democrats, he notes, but between Democrats and America.

Remember, Nancy Pelosi needs around 10-12 hardcore progressives to switch their votes -- and thusfar, she's not getting them.

Stupak Reiterates: He says again that 12 former yes votes are now "no" without the Stupak abortion language, via Phillip Klein.

More: Enoxo stresses Grivalja is a strong progressive vote and something of a leader in that caucus, so this is probably more than one vote we're looking at here.

Posted by: Ace at 01:06 PM | Comments (177)
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I don't know what "ready to" means, or how the National Enquirer would know such a thing with any level of certainty. I mean, sure, I suppose they can get a grand juror or two to illegally leak the jury's mood, I suppose. But that's just the report of a guy or two about what he thinks the other jurors are thinking.

Of course, their reporting is almost always right.

The ultimate fall from grace, a Federal grand jury is about to indict John Edwards, The ENQUIRER has learned exclusively.

In another shocker, close sources say Edwards' estranged wife Elizabeth could help send the former presidential candidate to jail!

Edwards, the disgraced two-time Presidential loser, is being investigated by the feds, including the FBI and IRS, for possible campaign violations related to paying his mistress Rielle Hunter.

The grand jury has been meeting since April 2009, and insiders say an indictment is imminent.

"John is terrified that he's going to be indicted," a friend told The ENQUIRER

Via the Centrist Net.

Posted by: Ace at 12:45 PM | Comments (137)
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Granny Rictus McBotoxImplants' charm offensive fails.

The Observer-Dispatch reports that Rep. Michael Arcuri, D-NY, who voted yes for the House legislation last November, is inclined to vote no this time.

Though the House legislation was in many ways larger and more comprehensive, Arcuri says he doesn’t like the idea of a “mega bill,” and would prefer it be broken into pieces and passed step by step, he told the newspaper. He isn’t comfortable with the likelihood that the fixes to the Senate bill will be passed in the Senate using reconciliation rules, requiring only 51 votes as opposed to 60. And he doesn’t like those fixes – a tax on high-cost health insurance policies, for instance.

“There would have to be some dramatic changes in it for me to change my position,” Arcuri said.

That's not the hardest "no" I can imagine, but it's a no, at least for now.

Thanks to enoxo.

Culture of Corruption: A Democrat, Eric Massa, will not seek reelection, following charges he sexually harassed a male staffer.

Rep. Eric Massa (D-N.Y.) will not seek reelection — after only one term in office.

According to several House aides on both sides of the aisle, the House ethics committee has been informed of allegations that Massa, who is married with two children, sexually harassed a male staffer.

Massa told POLITICO Wednesday afternoon that no one has brought allegations of misconduct to him.

Asked about the sexual harassment allegations, Massa said: "When someone makes a decision to leave Congress, everybody says everything. I have health issues. I'll talk about it [later].”

The good news: His seat is traditionally reddish, and will likely go Republican in the fall.

The bad news: He's not resigning, merely not seeking office again, so he will continue to vote for whatever Granny Rictus McBotoxImplants wants until January.

Flashback: He recently said anyone opposing Obama care was guilty of "treason."

UPDATE: [DiT] You remember when Nancy's awesomeness was going to bring about the age of enlightenment and wonder? Trip through this, it's funny as all hell. One of the bestest times we enjoyed ever.

Many thanks to Wiserbud for the tip.

Oh Dear: Massa Voted Against ObamaCare: So why did he say opposing it was treasonous? No idea, but here's his vote.

The fact that he's retiring makes me think he's a very very likely no-to-yes vote.

He says he's retiring for health reasons -- he does have Hodgkin's lymphoma -- but... I think that sexual harassment charge had to be a factor too. Which means, I presume, that he'll need to keep tight with liberal Democrats if he wants a cushy job as a lobbyist or bureaucratic appointee.

Thanks to enoxo.

Posted by: Ace at 11:53 AM | Comments (146)
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Well.

Fox News 25 Boston reveals a recording of a kid giving flight instructions from the tower at JFK. Audio at the link.

I mean, a really cute kid, from the sound of the voice. You can hear a few laughs in the background, and the pilots interacting with him in a nice way and all.

I'm not condoning it. Flight traffic control falls into that category of "kind of a big deal". I think the adults were watching, and all that. Not a good idea for "take my kid to work day", still I'm not inclined to throw a shit fit either.

He pretty much had me at "adios amigo!"

In a related story (can't recall who tipped me on this, I'm sorry), Captain Chesley "Sully" Sullenberger is moving on to retirement.

All the best sir.

Posted by: Dave in Texas at 11:43 AM | Comments (114)
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steve_in_hb sent me this long address by Chris Christie to municipal government officials with the email subject "Go Jersey Go." I half-watched it until I realized... it was pretty damn red-meat fiscal conservatism and pretty damn good. And without notes or a teleprompter!

This is darned good stuff. Here's a guy who seems pretty determined to make the "hard choices," by which he means rolling back ridiculously high rates of pay for public employees, and shutting down the Santa Claus mentality of the "political class."

The video is here. Because it's too long for most to watch, let me suggest that you watch from 14:35 to 20:40, which is a general rallying cry for fiscal sanity with national applicability. His best stuff comes near the end of that, when he states he is determined to govern as a one-termer, because that's what it's going to take to get the state's finances in order. Tough, unpopular decisions.

If you have more time, go back and bit and watch from 7:15 to 13:00, which is slightly more Jersey-centric, but which is pretty awesome, because basically he takes on the public-employee unions and tells them the Automatic Budget-Breaking Raise Store is closed and won't be reopening anytime soon.

He says several times the public wants the truth, and that they expect their public officials to start getting serious-minded about spending -- and the early polls bear that out:

Fifty-two percent approve of his job performance less than two months in, while 21 percent disapprove. Support is somewhat divided along party lines, with Republicans backing him 74-7, and Democrats split 38-33. Independents approve by a margin of 43-17 percent. Christie's fav/unfav is now 47 / 25, an improvement from a 41 / 44 split in a poll just before last November's election.

If you don't have the time to watch, below are the transcripted parts of the best parts of his speech. (In chronological order, this time, so the best excerpt -- the first one I suggested watching -- actually comes second, and the second-best comes first.) The address is here, but note that blog misses some important paragraphs, like his vow to govern as a one-termer.

As that blog says: "That was the best speech on spending by any government official I have ever heard."

This guy... this is my kind of guy.

I gotta tell you, right now I'm wondering if we can have an overweight vice presidential candidate.

Quip: Dave @ Garfield Ridge writes:

Last week Paul Ryan, this week Christie-- I haven't been this turned on by a fat guy since Chris Farley danced at Chippendales.

A great friend of mine is a lifelong journeyman city manager in NJ, a blue-and-blue Democrat. *Even he* acknowledges that Christie resonates up there, that the center simply can not hold.

more...

Posted by: Ace at 10:54 AM | Comments (133)
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From the Corner:

EXCERPTS FROM THE PRESIDENT'S REMARKS ON HEALTH INSURANCEREFORM TODAY

Please find below excerpts from President Obama's remarks this afternoon as prepared for delivery:

"I don't believe we should give government bureaucrats or insurance company bureaucrats more control over health care in America. I believe it's time to give the American people more control over their own health insurance. I don't believe we can afford to leave life-and-death decisions about health care to the discretion of insurance company executives alone. I believe that doctors and nurses like the ones in this room should be free to decide what's best for their patients.

The proposal I've put forward gives Americans more control over their health care by holding insurance companies more accountable. It builds on the current system where most Americans get their health insurance from their employer. If you like your plan, you can keep your plan. If you like your doctor, you can keep your doctor. Because I can tell you that as the father of two young girls, I wouldn't want any plan that interferes with the relationship between a family and their doctor."

***

"So this is our proposal. This is where we've ended up. It's an approach that has been debated and changed and I believe improved over the last year. It incorporates the best ideas from Democrats and Republicans - including some of the ideas that Republicans offered during the health care summit, like funding state grants on medical malpractice reform and curbing waste, fraud, and abuse in the health care system.

Republicans didn't suggest funding state grants to explore possible, hypothetical malpractice reform.

"My proposal also gets rid of many of the provisions that had no place in health care reform - provisions that were more about winning individual votes in Congress than improving health care for all Americans."

Still lacking? Provisions that win individual votes in the American electorate.

"***

"At stake right now is not just our ability to solve this problem, but our ability to solve any problem. The American people want to know if it's still possible for Washington to look out for their interests and their future. They are waiting for us to act. They are waiting for us to lead. And as long as I hold this office, I intend to provide that leadership. I don't know how this plays politically, but I know it's right. And so I ask Congress to finish its work, and I look forward to signing this reform into law."

That's the "We have to prove we can govern" nonsense.

"Governing" has generally consisted of securing the consent of the governed previously in America. But that's too onerous for the Sheep of God, so governance is now defined without that part.

Posted by: Ace at 09:18 AM | Comments (313)
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