White House keeps Fort Hood probe in the family

By: Julie Mason
11/20/09 6:09 PM

Call it what you like -- it deserves a complete investigation. (afp)

Any reporter worth their salt knows that when government decides to investigate itself, exonerations tend to follow. That's why it's so perplexing that the Obama administration is giving the arms-length treatment to any independent, congressional probe of the Fort Hood massacre, and instead putting faith in a Pentagon-led review.

Dana Milbank tackled the subject today in the Washington Post, puzzling over how often President Obama follows the more secretive example of former President Bush -- after running on promises of transparency and accountability:

The transparency tension has become particularly pronounced over the Fort Hood investigations. Obama, in his radio address last Saturday, cautioned that "all of us should resist the temptation to turn this tragic event into the political theater."

In that same radio address, Obama outlined his own plans to investigate the incident -- summoning the FBI, Joint Chiefs of Staff, Pentagon, intelligence and other officials to figure out whether the tragedy could have been averted. That's good -- but is it enough?

Democrats capitulated to White House pressure to hold off on their own investigations, canceling hearings and drawing the scorn of Republicans. Milbank notes the administration declined to send anyone to a rogue congressional hearing on the matter Thurs...

Rich people need FHA loans, too

By: Mark Hemingway
11/20/09 5:07 PM

So let me get this straight, the government created the housing market crash by insuring a lot of really expensive, little-to-no money down mortgages for people that couldn't afford them. Now that the real estate market is in the dumps, the government is trying to encourage recovery by insuring a lot of really expensive, little-to-no money down mortgages for people who don't need the help?:

In January, Mike Rowland was so broke that he had to raid his retirement savings to move here from Boston.

A week ago, he and a couple of buddies bought a two-unit apartment building for nearly a million dollars. They had only a little cash to bring to the table but, with the federal government insuring the transaction, a large down payment was not necessary.

“It was kind of crazy we could get this big a loan,” said Mr. Rowland, 27. “If a government official came out here, I would slap him a high-five.”

In its efforts to prop up a shattered housing market, the government is greatly extending its traditional support of real estate, including guaranteeing the mortgages of middle-class and even upper-class buyers against default.

ACORN got sub-grants from DOJ

By: David Freddoso
11/20/09 5:05 PM

Although the Department of Justice is not yet investigating the Association of Community Organizations for Reform Now (ACORN), its Inspector General has looked into whether ACORN got any DOJ money. According to a new report from Justice's Inspector General, the controversial liberal activist group got $200,000 in all, counting one direct grant to an ACORN affiliate and sub-grants from three DOJ grantees between 2002 and 2009.

A release from the Department of Justice related the findings of the Inspector General's report, including a $20,000 sub-award for "crime stopper activities in New York City," a $138,130 grant to an ACORN affiliate to form "ACORN Youth Unions" at NYC schools, and a sub-award to canvass neighborhoods in St. Louis for the "Weed and Seed" program.

Another $20,000 went as a sub-grant to an ACORN affiliate in Chicago "to address problems of crime, violence, and substance abuse, and to assist in revitalizing communities," but DOJ audited that grant because the grantee "had mismanaged the grant and did not properly oversee some of its 36 sub-grantees, including the ACORN affiliate...During our audit, neither [the grantee] nor [the ACORN affiliate] provided evidence of what specific activities the sub-award was expected to fund, or the purposes for which the funds were ultimately used."

You can read the full report ...

Post writer finds parallel between Twilight and Holocaust

By: J.P. Freire
11/20/09 4:21 PM

Clearly it's just a joke, but a bad joke. Washington Post writer Monica Hesse writes of the irresistible nature of the Twilight book series about vampires written primarily for teenagers.

"Twilight" came for the tweens, then for the moms of tweens, then for the co-workers who started wearing those ridiculous Team Jacob shirts, and the resisters said nothing, because they thought "Twilight" could not come for them.

If that phrasing sounds familiar, it purportedly comes from Pastor Martin Niemöller, lamenting the lack of action of German intellectuals to do anything to prevent the Holocaust:

First they came for the communists, and I did not speak out—because I was not a communist; Then they came for the socialists, and I did not speak out—because I was not a socialist; Then they came for the trade unionists, and I did not speak out—because I was not a trade unionist; Then they came for the Jews, and I did not speak out—because I was not a Jew; Then they came for me—and there was no one left to speak out for me.

Though the line has frequently been borrowed and rewritten to demonstrate the dangers of incremental totalitarianism, using it to explicate just how catchy a popular book series seems a bit disproportionate.

Won't somebody think of the trustafarians?

By: Mark Hemingway
11/20/09 4:11 PM

Want to feel better about yourself? Then read this Washington Post story, "Grappling with a wealth of guilt: Young heirs seek moral balance between inherited windfalls, social responsibilities":

The dinner in Adams Morgan was held at the home of a private school teacher who inherited $1.5 million. It was a rare chance for members of the Resource Generation, a nonprofit group whose 35-and-younger members devote themselves to philanthropic work for social justice, to talk about their guilt and their views on social inequalities without fear of eye-rolling from people who might view them as spoiled rich kids playing at helping the downtrodden.

No eye-rolling? I'm afraid that's going to be impossible:

"Those of us with wealth and progressive values resist the privilege and actually deny it because of this inequality that exists in society," said Stansbury, who has spent his time since college working for a nonprofit organization devoted to labor issues in Latin America.

"We're not going to accept that form of privilege," he said. "But when it comes to [my son's] health care, we're not going to mess around. You're going to take advantage of [the money]. It's a real blessing, but it's not fair."

Oh Fortuna, you capricious sprite! In the real world, using whatever resources are available to you to take care of your children is generally a laudable pu...

President Barack Obama: NFL wide receiver

By: Charlie Spiering
11/20/09 3:41 PM

Nothing inspires voluteerism and exercise more than a slow motion video of President Obama catching a perfect spiral from New Orleans QB Drew Brees. Watch the president's new PSA ad below.







Expect to see several parody mashups like this one in the days ahead.

How expensive will Blanche Lincoln's vote be?

By: Chris Stirewalt
11/20/09 2:48 PM

Arkansas Sen. Blanche Lincoln has the toughest line to walk on her party's health care plan in the Senate.

Up for election next year, Lincoln is facing a possible primary challenges from the left and right in her party -- a conservative state Senate president and a liberal lieutenant governor.

There is a strong field of Republicans that may produce a tough challenger if she shape to take her on if she makes it through. The latest polls show Lincoln in serious jeopardy -- President Obama's low approval in Arkansas of 41 percent looks robust compared to Lincoln's anemic 27 percent.

Lincoln may not be able to pull off a win no matter how she votes on health care, but there's reason to believe that a vote for the plan will seal her fate.

We still haven't heard how Lincoln will vote Saturday on the question of whether to allow Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid's health plan into the upper chamber for an eventual vote.

One of the other red-state holdouts, Sen. Mary Landrieu, is on board after the Reid bill was written to include a $100 million payout to her home state -- what Republicans are calling "the second Louisiana purchase" (it should be noted that the first one only cost $15 and came with the Mississippi River).

With no margin of error in the 60-vote Democratic caucus, every member has a veto vote on the measure to start debate Saturday and the subsequent measure to stop...

Grassley: 'Evidence points' to political motive in AmeriCorps firing

By: Byron York
11/20/09 2:17 PM

Sen. Charles Grassley, ranking Republican on the Senate Finance Committee, has released a statement on the new report published by his staff and that of Rep. Darrell Issa, ranking GOP member of the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform. "The allegations uncovered by the inspector general [Gerald Walpin] were very serious," Grassley says, "and they deserve to be fully investigated, not swept under the rug." Grassley continued:

It seems a lot of people might have been interested in protecting the AmeriCorps program and the Mayor of Sacramento from an IG who was discovering some unpleasant facts. I'm not sure whether the IG was fired for political reasons. The evidence points in that direction, but since the White House is asserting privilege over its decision-making process, we can't be sure. The report details everything we were able to learn, so people can judge for themselves.

Grassley is still trying to get the Corporation for National and Community Service, the agency that oversees AmeriCorps, to release documents concerning communications with the White House over the Walpin firing. To date, the White House has not given any indication that it is willing to give up those documents.

Sen. Ben Nelson will vote to start health care debate

By: Susan Ferrechio
11/20/09 1:15 PM

A key moderate Democrat said he will vote to start debate on an $848 billion health care reform bill.

Sen. Ben Nelson, D-Neb., is among a group of lawmakers in the party who have been on the fence about bringing the bill to the floor.

Nelson had been hinting for days he would vote in favor of starting debate, saying it would give him an opportunity to amend the bill and improve it.

Nelson is opposed to the public option in the bill and will likely want tighter restrictions on abortion funding. Democrats control 60 votes and they need every single one to block a filibuster.

Ron Paul resurgent!

By: Julie Mason
11/20/09 12:13 PM

Fi-Fie-Fed-Foe! (ap)

Ron Paul is back! And all up in the Fed's face! The congressman from Texas yesterday persuaded the House Financial Services Committee to enforce audits on the Federal Reserve -- which really, really does not want audits. And certainly not on their interest rate decisions -- harumph! Notes the LAT:

"If we get the audit and get the books open, make them answer the questions, I am convinced that the American people will be so outraged that then we will have reform of the monetary system," Paul has said.

Hmm. Well, maybe they would and maybe they wouldn't. The American people can be pretty choosy with their stronger emotions. In any case, -- Ron Paul! He was in Iowa recently, raising speculation about another run for president. Beltway Confidential looks forward to hearing from more impassioned college students about the virtues of the gold standard.

Still, the garrulous gyno told IowaPolitics.com that running for president is just not on his radar.

"It’s not on my mind, it’s too early, and I will be filing for my congressional seat,” Paul said. “I don’t have any plans made.”

Right. But then he talked about health care reform, Afghanistan, the failures of the Republican Party, and reducing the size of the goverment. Mm-hmm.

Senator Burris admonished by Senate ethics committee

By: Susan Ferrechio
11/20/09 12:09 PM

The Senate Ethics Committee Friday in a three-page letter admonished Sen. Roland Burris, a Democrat, over his "shifting explanations" and "inappropriate" behavior prior to being hand picked then-Gov, Rod Blagojevich to fill the vacant Illinois senate seat.

The committee, headed by Sen. Barbara Boxer, D-Calif., said it did not find that Burris broke any laws or official rules of the Senate.

Burris is not running to permanently fill the seat, which was vacated by Barack Obama.

burris_112009

Republicans could make electoral history in New York

By: Michael Barone
11/20/09 11:28 AM

The New York Daily News is reporting that Rudy Giuliani is “very likely” going to run against appointed incumbent Senator Kirsten Gillibrand for the remaining two years of Hillary Clinton’s Senate term in 2010. A new poll from Marist shows Giuliani leading Gillibrand 54%-38%--he’s even carrying New York City by a statistically insignificant 48%-45%--and in the five polls taken in September, October and November he’s leading by an average of 51%-39%. In addition, pollster Scott Rasmussen reports that Gillibrand leads former Governor George Pataki by only a 45%-42% margin. In the four polls taken since August on this pairing, Pataki leads Gillbrand by an average and microscopic 43%-42% margin.

A Giuliani or Pataki defeat of Gillibrand would make electoral history. Since direct election of senators came in, no incumbent Democratic senator from New York has been defeated for reelection. Royal Copeland, first elected in 1922, died in office in 1938. Robert Wagner, first elected in 1926, resigned in 1949 because of ill health. James Mead, chosen in a special election to replace Copeland, was reelected in 1940 and ran for governor, unsuccessfully, in 1946. Herbert Lehman, elected in a 1949 special election to replace Wagner, was reelected in 1950 and did not run for reelection in 1956. Robert Kennedy, elected in 1964, was murdered by a Palestinian terroris...

Global warming alarmism is officially a religion

By: Michael Barone
11/20/09 10:06 AM

I have often compared global warming alarmism to a religious faith, as in this blogpost noting that some GW alarmists were calling for executions of “global warming deniers.” But now I find, in this article by Irwin Stelzer in the Examiner’s sister publication The Weekly Standard, that a British court has ruled that global warming alarmism—not the judge’s term—qualifies for protection under the 2003 Religion and Beliefs Regulation. Here’s Stelzer’s account:

“. . . the British courts this month accorded believers in climate change all of the rights the law extends to practitioners of any religion. Ruling in a case in which a man alleges that he was dismissed as “head of sustainability” for a real estate firm because of his ecological beliefs; the court held, ‘A belief in man-made climate change and the alleged moral imperatives is capable, if genuinely held, of being a philosophical belief for the purpose of the 2003 Religious and Beliefs Regulation.’

Let us pray.

Liberals and cable news

By: Timothy P. Carney
11/20/09 9:35 AM

The Drudge Report typically posts evening cable news ratings. Here are today's:

FOXNEWS HANNITY/PALIN 4,200,000 FOXNEWS O'REILLY 3,868,000 FOXNEWS BECK 2,512,000 FOXNEWS GRETA 2,383,000 FOXNEWS BAIER 2,235,000 FOXNEWS SHEP 1,980,000 MSNBC OLBERMANN 1,041,000 CNNHN GRACE 1,036,000 MSNBC MADDOW 957,000 CNN KING 835,000 MSNBC HARDBALL 625,000 CNN COOPER 611,000

That's a pretty striking pattern, even adjusting for the Palin effect. Not only are the FOX guys on top, but the more conservative FOX guys (Hannity, O'Reilly, Beck) are higher than than the moderate FOX guys. The disparities are huge. So why can't liberals have that sort of success on cable television. This is obviously a huge question, but here's one reason that seems likely to me: The liberals already have their ABC, CBS, NBC, NPR, and CNN, plus their New York Times and probably the local paper wherever they live.

While none of those outlets are as liberal as MSNBC, there are still many more options for liberal TV-watchers to watch ideologically compatible television. FOX does so well because conservatives needed a special home on TV. Building a special home in the media for liberals is like founding the National Association for the Advance of White People.

Morning Must Reads -- Dems willing to win ugly on health

By: Chris Stirewalt
11/20/09 9:03 AM

New York Times -- Reid, as Legislative Tactician, Takes Ownership of Health Care Overhaul

They say dogs look like their owners, so it makes sense that the Senate health bill is a reflection of Harry Reid.

Writer Carl Hulse looks at the Senate majority leader’s now personal effort to produce legislation that will allow him to avoid the Scylla of liberal outrage and Charybdis of electoral defeat in Nevada next year.

The bill reflects Reid’s oleaginous approach to lawmaking, which is the only reason to believe that something might pass the Senate.

I’m still putting my money on Sen. Blanche Lincoln becoming the next secretary of Agriculture, but the effort to pick off uneasy red-state Democrats has begun with a payoff the Louisiana’s Mary Landrieu.

“For instance, the measure that emerged from Mr. Reid’s office contained a special $100 million in Medicaid money for “certain states recovering from a major disaster,” a designation that analysts said clearly applied to Louisiana and perhaps only Louisiana.”

Wall Street Journal -- Democrats Woo Voters With New Benefits

Polls show that Americans believe that the Democrats’ health care package will increase costs and do nothing to improve the quality of their care. Even so, 40 percent of voters are still willing to pay the price for the sake of universal coverage.

To try to cut against...

New Hampshire reporter to announce candidacy for phantom congressional seat UPDATED!

By: Mark Tapscott
11/20/09 7:49 AM

Grant Bosse will announce today that he is seeking a seat in Congress by becoming a candidate for New Hampshire's 00 congressional district.

Bosse, an investigative journlist associated with the Watchdog.org group, is thus the first candidate in the nation to announce for one of the estimated 440 phantom congressional districts in which officials with President Obama's economic stimulus program credited their program with creating thousands of jobs at a cost of more than $6.4 billion.

Why is he doing it? "Because even a fake district needs real leadership," Bosse said. For more details, go here. Bosse is expected to be only the first of a wave of candidates announcing in the next few days for phantom congressional districts.

The Examiner has been unable to confirm reports that the New Hampshire development may be the start of a national movement to convert existing congressional seats into phantom districts to match the likelihood of fulfillment by most Washington politicians of their many promises on issues like health care reform, job creation, and "reaching across the aisle in a spirit of compromise for the nation's good."

UPDATE: We have video!

Bosse announces. Watch it here.

Louisiana Tea Party Protesters to picket Landrieu for $100 million health care sell-out

By: Mark Tapscott
11/20/09 7:31 AM

Sen. Mary Landrieu, D-LA, has been the subject of intense speculation this week that she has sold her vote for Obamacare in return for $100 million worth of federal goodies for the Bayou State. Jonathan Karl at ABC reported the details of the $100 million payoff yesterday.

Lousiana Tea Party Protesters are planning protests today at Landrieu's four state offices, following a conference call last night in which 20 organizers confirmed plans.

Michelle Obama more popular than ever (or anyone, come to that)

By: Julie Mason
11/19/09 6:04 PM

The perils of popularity! (ap)

While President Obama's approval ratings are hovering at 50 percent, first lady Michelle Obama is enjoying a 62 percent favorability, according to Rasmussen Reports. Her numbers are up four points from last month and represent her highest favorables in several months.

Lesson: Playing it safe pays off. The first lady, once a controversial figure during the campaign, has successfully rebranded her image to be softer, more nurturing, approachable -- non-controversial. What is she best known for? Her clothes and figure, the White House kitchen garden, and her visits with schoolchildren.

It's a trick that former first lady Laura Bush pulled off just as well, and it's clear that Mrs. Obama has taken a page from her predecessor, whom Obama has said she admires. Mrs. Bush is formidable, sometimes icy, with an iron spine -- and yet she was generally misunderstood to be merely a gentle librarian (not unlike her mother-in-law, former first lady Barbara Bush, a tough matriarch popularly perceived as an avuncular grandma).

A popular first lady is a huge asset to any president, and the Obama administration is likely to deploy Michelle Obama in much the same way the Bush administration used Laura Bush during election years -- dispatching her to fundraisers and rallies in support of Democratic candidates.

It would be a newish role for the first lady, who h...

About Henry Paulson's new book...

By: Mark Hemingway
11/19/09 4:27 PM

It seems that former Treasury secretary Henry Paulson has a new book coming out. It's supposed to be an inside account of the collapse of the global banking system. Though the book might run into some legal trouble, as I believe O.J. Simpson was the first to use the title "If I Did It."

Rep. Brown-Waite's complaint against Recovery.gov

By: David Freddoso
11/19/09 4:18 PM

Republican Rep. Ginny Brown-Waite of Florida agrees with our editorial last month on the heavily redacted contract for redesigning Recovery.gov. The irony we noted more than a month ago was that the creation of a transparency website could be so opaque, with several sections and pages completely blacked out. What does the government have to hide about the making of the super-expensive website that has proven to be, as one computer-savvy blogger put it, "a kludgy beast of a site?"

But Brown-Waite's gripe, which led her to file a formal complaint against Recovery.gov, is with the quality of the data, her spokesman told me.

"Her complaint is that they spent $18 million in taxpayer dollars for a website that doesn't work," said Cassie Smedile. "That leads to her real concern, which is where are the jobs?"

To be fair, Recovery.gov deserves only a small amount of blame for the fact that the data is garbage. It's mostly the fault of the people who entered the data, and also of the various agencies' bureaucrats who issued instructions for entering it. But it is Recovery.gov's fault that the input forms used by stimulus recipients are so idiot-prone. (Obvious example: they allow the stimulus recipients to enter Congressional Districts that don't exist.)

And aside from any issues of data quality, it is also their fault if they paid $18 million for a kludgy beast...

Lou Dobbs on The Kudlow Report tonight

By: Mark Tapscott
11/19/09 4:14 PM

Former CNN anchor and program host Lou Dobbs will be grilled tonight by Larry Kudlow on CNBC at 7:00 pm EST to discuss the economy, interest rates, immigration, TARP, health care reform, his recent departure from the original cable news channel and who knows what else. More details here.

Does Petraeus have political ambitions?

By: Mark Hemingway
11/19/09 4:12 PM

Without question, the American Enterprise Institute is one of the most influential think tanks in D.C. The joke is that AEI's building in downtown Washington houses more conservative intellectuals than most European nations. Every year AEI hosts a black-tie annual dinner -- referred to colloquially as "the conservative prom" -- where they bestow an award on a leading conservative statesman or intellectual who delivers the evening's keynote address. Guess who's headlining the dinner in 2010:

General David H. Petraeus to Receive 2010 Irving Kristol Award

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: November 19, 2009

AEI President Arthur Brooks announced today that General David H. Petraeus will be presented with the 2010 Irving Kristol Award. General Petraeus, who commands the United States Central Command, will deliver the Kristol lecture on Thursday, May 6, 2010.

The yearly award is presented at the Institute's annual dinner to an individual, selected by the AEI Council of Academic Advisers, who has made exceptional intellectual or practical contributions to improved government policy, social welfare, or political understanding.

This could mean nothing, but it could also be a signal Petraeus does have political ambitions. If he does, I'm going to go ahead and guess he won't be running as a Democrat.

'Confused populists' and the Business-vs-Government myth

By: Timothy P. Carney
11/19/09 4:12 PM

Blogger and Crunchy-Con author Rod Dreher is reading Sarah Palin's going rogue, and he makes a good point:

She's a conflicted populist, and doesn't understand that. It's simply bizarre how she can write with passion about how badly Exxon screwed over the people of Alaska in the Exxon Valdez incident, and how the cozy relationship between Alaska's government and the oil industry worked against the interests of ordinary hardworking people ... and yet repeat shopworn GOP nostrums like this one:

In national politics, some feel that big Business is always opposed to the Little Guy. Some people seem to think a profit motive is inherently greedy and evil, and that what's good for business is bad for people. (That's what Karl Marx thought too.)

Somebody is not connecting the dots.

In linking to Dreher, columnist New York Times columnist Ross Douthat expands the diagnosis:

This isn’t a Palin-specific problem. From Glenn Beck to the Tea Parties, much of the energy in the post-Bush G.O.P. is with people who have grasped, albeit sometimes in inchoate ways, that big government and big business are increasingly on one team, and the champions of free markets and limited government are on the other. But they don’t know what to do about it, and what they do seem to know — cutting taxes, and letting the rest take care of itself — is often non-responsive, not only to the proble...

Citigroup still hasn't ruled out severing ties with ACORN

By: Mark Hemingway
11/19/09 3:44 PM

Citigroup, which has given ACORN millions of dollars over the years via its charitable foundation, still isn't sure the organization is up to no good. This is despite multiple videos of employees enabling underage sex-slavery, the cover-up by top organizational officers of a multi-million dollar embezzlement, and the Louisiana Attorney General raiding their offices on charges of tax fraud. But Citigroup doesn't want to rush to judgment here:

Citigroup CEO Vikram Pandit isn’t ruling out reinvesting in scandal-plagued ACORN, the left-wing community group whose employees were caught on a hidden camera earlier this year allegedly giving advice on how to set up a prostitution ring without getting nabbed by the IRS.

Pandit, who yesterday was at a Wellesley College forum on the global economy, said in an interview afterward that Citi is awaiting an ACORN-sponsored audit of the Baltimore incident before making a decision on whether to resume its financial ties with the controversial liberal group.

“We, as a company, would like to see that report,” said Pandit.

Asked if he could see Citi severing its financial ties with ACORN, Pandit said it “completely depends” on the outcome of the report.

Color me dubious the "ACORN-sponsored audit" will finally hold them accountable.

Stimulate the economy: cut taxes!

By: Michael Barone
11/19/09 1:35 PM

Pollster Scott Rasmussen asked voters a straightforward question: what is the best way to stimulate the creation of more jobs, tax cuts or more government stimulus spending? The results are pretty unambiguous: 62% favor tax cuts while only 21% favor more stimulus spending.

This would seem to be a pretty hearty endorsement of, for example, Stanford economist Michael Boskin’s proposal for cutting the payroll tax (something I advocated in my Sunday Examiner column) over Princeton economist Alan Blinder’s proposal for a public sector jobs program. Blinder also semi-endorses a tax credit for employers who create new jobs, but admits that the possibilities of gaming the system would be daunting.

Barack Obama’s December “jobs summit” will probably be dominated by those favoring more government spending, and certainly union leaders will favor public sector jobs, since those employees can be required to join unions and send dues money their way. But Democratic members of Congress might want to take a look at Rasmussen’s numbers before voting for increased spending.

Health care: No illegal immigrants need apply (wink, wink)

By: Barbara Hollingsworth
11/19/09 12:57 PM

Rep. Joe Wilson, R-SC, was forced to apologize to President Obama for shouting “You lie!” when the president stated in an address to Congress that illegal immigrants would not be included in the Democrats’ health care reform bill.

That’s sorta true. According to the recently released 2,074-page Patient Protection and Affordable Care bill (http://democrats.senate.gov/reform/patient-protection-affordable-care-act.pdf) “access is limited to lawful residents.” (page 160)

But when Gene Nelson of Numbers USA, a group that opposes illegal immigration, waded through the minutiae of the bill, he discovered that it all depends on what your meaning of “limited” is. “It is very clear that the language of the Senate bill includes abundant loopholes, granting tremendous authority to the HHS Secretary,” Nelson says. “There is no secure citizenship verification mechanism.”

In fact, “the Secretary may modify the methods used under the program established by this section for the Exchange and verification of information if the Secretary determines such modifications would reduce the administrative costs and burdens on the applicant…” (page 277)

So access is limited to residents who make “an attestation of citizenship,” but the government won’t make sure those claims are true if it’s too...

Brady to Geithner: Step down

By: Julie Mason
11/19/09 12:17 PM

"It's time to take responsibility," Brady said. (Getty)

Rep. Kevin Brady of Texas, one of the more thoughtful conservatives in Congress, lit into Treasury Secretary Tim Geithner this morning like an anaconda, telling the beleaguered Cabinet member that he should just go ahead and quit already because his failures were reflecting badly on the president.

The smackdown happened at a hearing of the Joint Economic Committee, convened to consider financial regulatory reform (zzzz), protecting the taxpayers and the economy.

REP. BRADY: Mr. Secretary, the public has lost all confidence in your ability to do the job -- SEC. GEITHNER: Congressman, if you -- REP. BRADY: -- and it's reflecting on your president. SEC. GEITHNER: Congressman, if you look at -- REP. BRADY: Conservatives agree, liberal Democrats agree that it reallly is time for a fresh start. And I would urge you to consider that.

Brady! Invoking the unattainable muse of bipartisan agreement. Brady called President Obama's economic policies a failure, noted the unemployment rate is worse than even Canada, mentioned "embarrassing investigations" of the stimulus spending, the massive deficit, budget challenges, secret TARP spending and big Wall Street bonuses.

"For the sake of our jobs, will you step down from your post?" Brady asked.

Geithner, as you might expect, took rather a dim...

AP poll of adults shows more support for malpractice reform, less for ObamaCare

By: David Freddoso
11/19/09 12:15 PM

As Senate Democrats prepare to raise taxes, slash Medicare benefits, and burden states with billions in new Medicaid costs in order to soften the bottom line of their new health care bill, the American public continues to clamor for something they did not include in their bill: Medical malpractice reform. A new poll from the Associated Press shows that 54 percent support limits on medical lawsuits, with support cutting across party political lines.

The Congressional budget office estimated possible savings of $54 billion over ten years from this single, simple reform, which costs the government nothing to implement.

Medical malpractice reform is far more popular than the Democrats' underlying health care reform bill, which only received 41 percent support in the poll (PDF of the results is here). Also note that this is a poll of 1,500 adults -- not of likely or registered voters.

Big Labor's post-2009 election strategy: Unions more aggressive on the regulatory front

By: Mark Hemingway
11/19/09 12:09 PM

In a previous post, Mark Mix, president of the National Right to Work Legal Defense Foundation and National Right to Work Committee, noted that Democrats' waning political fortunes might limit what Big Labor can do with it's legislative strategy. The Examiner also spoke with James Sherk, Bradley Fellow in Labor Policy at the Heritage Foundation, who observes that, with a lack of legislative support from Democrats, unions might shift their focus to altering the regulatory landscape in a way that's beneficial for them but dubious for the rest of America. Like Mix, Sherk doesn't see the unions curtailing their political aggressiveness. "Most likely I would expect to see them double down," he said. "They'll shift more effort to the regulatory issues, where with the Obama administration they can do things pretty freely." On the regulatory front, Sherk notes that there are a number of key issues where labor is pushing for dramatic changes and their efforts have received comparatively little scrutiny.

--Unions are pushing to change a 75-year-old rule at the National Mediation Board that would make it easier to unionize airlines and railways. "That's a dramatic change in a longstanding precedent, and they're ramming that through without much attention," Sherk observed.

--There's been some speculation that unions might try and use the National Labor Rela...

Who's handling protocol for the White House?

By: Mark Hemingway
11/19/09 11:40 AM

Yesterday's Wall Street Journal had frontpager, "Obama's China Summit Ends On Awkward Diplomatic Note." Accompanying the story was a photo of the President touring the Fobidden City with a few dozen Chinese diplomats and politicians. All of the Chinese leaders in the photo are wearing dark suits and ties -- the President is wearing an open collared shirt and a leather jacket.

The President's out-of-place attire isn't the "awkward note" referred to in the headline, but it sure seems that way. Coming on the heels of the President's deep bow to the Japanese emperor -- while trying to shake his hand at the same time -- one has to wonder, who exactly is handling protocol for the White House? Did they find them on Craigslist?

Let's recap the number of cringe inducing gestures the White House has made:

--In March, the President gave the visiting English prime minsiter, Gordon Brown, a set of 25 DVDs. We hear that much like jazz music, this uniquely American art form is growing in popularity on the Continent. Even if the legally-blind Brown enjoyed watching films, it turns out that the DVDs presented to Brown use the Region 1 NTSC -- techspeak for "won't work in U.K. DVD players." Even more embarassing is how thoughtful Gordon Brown's gifts were:

Mr Brown’s gifts included an ornamental desk pen holder made from the oak timbers of Victorian anti-slave...