Media Silent After Intelligence Sources Claim Obama Admin. Misrepresented Facts About Libya Attack | Mediaite

Media Silent After Intelligence Sources Claim Obama Admin. Misrepresented Facts About Libya Attack | Mediaite: "With the exception of Kelly and Fox News, this story which directly contradicts the Obama administration’s first two weeks of their response to the origins of this attack, seems to have generated little interest in the media. The same cannot be said of Congressional Republicans who are demanding clarification from the Obama administration about the details of the attack that resulted in the death of Ambassador Chris Stevens and three of his colleagues."

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Team O to young people: Be sure to warn your grandparents about that Mitt Romney character « Hot Air

Team O to young people: Be sure to warn your grandparents about that Mitt Romney character « Hot Air: "Wow — pretty brazen of them to try to mobilize young people to save a program that said young people are currently paying into hand-over-fist, that will not be around for them, because it is fundamentally and undeniably insolvent. President Obama has made approximately zero major moves to address the glaring and obvious problem of Social Security. He has no real plan to reform it, and his minions don’t really care to talk about it — and he wants really young people to convince their (presumably stubborn, curmudgeonly, irascibly conservative) elders to re-elect him? Bold strategy, guys — and if it works, doesn’t really say much for the youths, does it? But, where exactly are they getting this tax-hike on Social Security thing?"

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Video: Rice skipped Netanyahu speech at the UN « Hot Air

Video: Rice skipped Netanyahu speech at the UN « Hot Air: "First, the US delegation decides to stick around for one of Mahmoud Ahmadinejad’s speeches at the UN, and then the highest-ranking US diplomat at Turtle Bay takes a powder when Israel’s Prime Minister gets up to speak.  Instead, UN Ambassador Susan Rice chose to attend a luncheon in which she wasn’t even the highest-ranking American diplomat.  If I didn’t know any better, I’d say there’s a message being sent by the Obama administration, and both Greta Van Susteren and John Bolton agree."

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Obama eCard for Women: 'Can I Borrow $18,000 to Help Pay for My Birth Control?' | The Weekly Standard

Obama eCard for Women: 'Can I Borrow $18,000 to Help Pay for My Birth Control?' | The Weekly Standard: ""Dear Mom," the card reads. "Mitt Romney says he would repeal the Affordable Care Act. So here's a quick question: Can I borrow $18,000 to help pay for my birth control? Thanks!"

It would seem the point of the eCard is to get daughters to encourage their mothers to vote for Obama. (Would any daughter really send this card to her mother?)"

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Too bad to check: Anti-US oil production film financed by … Middle Eastern oil producers? « Hot Air

Too bad to check: Anti-US oil production film financed by … Middle Eastern oil producers? « Hot Air: "While left-leaning Hollywood often targets supposed environmental evildoers, Promised Landwas also produced “in association with” Image Media Abu Dhabi, a subsidiary of Abu Dhabi Media, according to the preview’s list of credits. A studio spokesperson confirmed that AD Media is financing the film. The company is wholly owned by the government of the UAE."

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Netanyahu, Romney to Speak Friday | The Weekly Standard

Netanyahu, Romney to Speak Friday | The Weekly Standard: "President Obama refused to meet with Netanyahu on his trip to the United States, and the Israeli government presumably thought a meeting with the opposition candidate in the absence of one with the sitting president would be too provocative. But there was apparently an eagerness on the Israeli prime minister's part to talk with Romney in order to help win as broad American support as possible for the red lines he outlined in his United Nations speech with respect to the Iranian nuclear program."

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George Will: Blocking dietary advice is an attack on free speech - The Washington Post

George Will: Blocking dietary advice is an attack on free speech - The Washington Post: "IJ’s Jeff Rowes notes that Cooksey’s speech “involves no sensitive relationship (as in psychological counseling), no uniquely vulnerable listeners (as in potential legal clients forced to make snap decisions), and no plausible presumption that the listeners are unable to exercise independent judgment.” That presumption is, however, the animating principle of modern regulatory government. North Carolina is uninterested in the fact that Cooksey’s advice is unpaid, freely solicited and outside any context of a professional-client relationship. The state simply asserts that Cooksey’s audience is “a uniquely vulnerable population,” which is how paternalistic government views everybody all the time."

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Charles Krauthammer: Go large, Mitt - The Washington Post

Charles Krauthammer: Go large, Mitt - The Washington Post: "Obama seems not even to understand what happened. He responded with a groveling address to the U.N. General Assembly that contained no less than six denunciations of a crackpot video, while offering cringe-worthy platitudes about the need for governments to live up to the ideals of the United Nations."

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Liberal media bias: worse than ever? « The Greenroom

Liberal media bias: worse than ever? « The Greenroom: "I’ve not done an empirical study of news articles past and present, but it seems to me that one didn’t have to search as hard for news of Afghanistan and Iraq when George W. Bush was president. Why did these operations cease being as newsworthy once he was followed by Barack Obama? It’s hard not to suspect that once casualties couldn’t be laid at Dubya’s feet, media didn’t find such news … as newsworthy. (Neither, it seems, does the anti-war crowd, which has faded into the background despite the fact that President Obama has continued many policies they opposed.)"

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Time: WH sticking to “spontaneous” attack story, kind of « Hot Air

Time: WH sticking to “spontaneous” attack story, kind of « Hot Air: "With their narrative on the sacking of the Benghazi consulate rapidly disintegrating, the White House has apparently tried to graft it onto the emerging reality of a successful al-Qaeda attack on the anniversary of 9/11.  Time Magazine’s Massimo Calabresi got the latest spin from the Obama administration, updating an article that was ironically headlined “Did Obama Spin the Benghazi Attack?”"

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Did the DoJ play Let’s Make a Deal with St. Paul, MN? « Hot Air

Did the DoJ play Let’s Make a Deal with St. Paul, MN? « Hot Air: "In other words, Perez was happy to have St. Paul continue to commit fraud as long as they didn’t interfere with his power to impose DoJ will in housing decisions in which the federal government has no real authority.

Is this a scandal?  The letter from the four Republicans say that the DoJ acknowledged that the deal was without precedent.  It should be a scandal, but unfortunately, politicization at the DoJ interests the media a lot less when a Democrat is in the White House."

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Freedom of Expression, Without the Expression by Theodore Dalrymple - City Journal

Freedom of Expression, Without the Expression by Theodore Dalrymple - City Journal: "If a Republican physically attacked a Democrat, or a Democrat a Republican, after one said something with which the other strongly disagreed, would it be any defense for the attacker to say, “He knew perfectly well that I detested his views”? Freedom of expression requires not so much the exercise of self-control in what is said as its exercise in reaction to what is said. I can hardly look at a book these days without taking offense at something that it contains, but if I smash a window in annoyance, the blame is only mine—even if the author knows perfectly well that what he wrote will offend many such as I."

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Nat Hentoff: Colleges keep supressing free speech on campuses

Nat Hentoff: Colleges keep supressing free speech on campuses: ""Even more alarmingly, the study showed that students' sense of the safety of expressing unpopular views steadily declines from freshman year (starting at 40.3 percent) to senior year ... But the students were downright optimistic compared to the 9,000 'campus professionals' surveyed, including faculty, student affairs personnel, and academic administrators. Only 18.8 percent strongly agreed it was safe to have unpopular views on campus."

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Henninger: It's Always the Economy, Stupid - WSJ.com

Henninger: It's Always the Economy, Stupid - WSJ.com: "'Stupid," in the famous quotation from 1992's Clinton vs. Bush campaign—"It's the economy, stupid"—is whoever thinks a U.S. presidential election is about something else. All presidential elections are about the economy. Yes, there are other issues, but it's also true that a whale has pilot fish. Still, most politicians would rather talk about anything but the economy, which they see in one of two ways—as a personal piggy bank or a mystery. Neither is discussable in public. This is the sixth presidential election since "stupid" was first identified, and nothing has changed."

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Cowboys to open nation's first Victoria's Secret inside a sports venue | wfaa.com Dallas - Fort Worth

Cowboys to open nation's first Victoria's Secret inside a sports venue | wfaa.com Dallas - Fort Worth: "The Dallas Cowboys announced Friday there will be a ribbon-cutting ceremony at Cowboys Stadium on Monday to celebrate the opening of a Victoria's Secret PINK store in the stadium."

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Taxpayers spent $1.4 billion on Obama family last year | Campaign 2012 - KFI AM 640 More Stimulating Talk Radio

Taxpayers spent $1.4 billion on Obama family last year | Campaign 2012 - KFI AM 640 More Stimulating Talk Radio: "Taxpayers spent $1.4 billion dollars on everything from staffing, housing, flying and entertaining President Obama and his family last year."

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The American Spectator : Perpetuating Falsehoods

The American Spectator : Perpetuating Falsehoods: "The brave supply-siders that engineered this historic American turnaround have never been sufficiently beatified for their historic courage in taking on and then whipping the hell out of the economic establishment of the time. Maybe President Romney will hand out some appropriate awards. The liberal, Keynesians at the time never got the good whipping their costly foolishness so richly deserved either. Hence, Paul Krugman today, and so much yet to do."

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Romney Pulls Ahead at DickMorris.com

Romney Pulls Ahead at DickMorris.com: "Finally, with Obama below 50% of the vote in most swing states, he is hitting up against a glass ceiling in the high 40s. He can’t get past it except in heavily Democratic states like New York or California. The first time Obama breaks 50 will not be on Election Day. Either he consistently polls above 50% of the vote or he won’t ever get there in the actual vote."

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Editors Weblog - Charlie Hebdo asks which is better: to be 'responsible' or 'irresponsible'?

Editors Weblog - Charlie Hebdo asks which is better: to be 'responsible' or 'irresponsible'?: "In addition to the standard issue, this week’s "responsible" edition of Charlie Hebdo contains no pictures and very little text – the clear message being that to be "responsible" is extremely limiting and does not actually mean doing real journalism. Aside from an editorial from Stéphane Charbonnier, or Charb, the weekly’s publisher, the paper only contains headlines and blank spaces. The ironic headlines include “Tunisia – all is well,” “Morocco – all is well,” “Egypt – all is well” and “Libya – all is well,” following by “Mali – all is going very well.” Others include “Prudence is the mother of safety” and “Do you know how to plant cabbages?”"

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Targeted Killing, Pro and Con: What to Make of U.S. Drone Strikes in Pakistan - Joshua Foust - The Atlantic

Targeted Killing, Pro and Con: What to Make of U.S. Drone Strikes in Pakistan - Joshua Foust - The Atlantic: "For starters, the sample size of the study is 130 people. In a country of 175 million, that is just not representative. 130 respondents isn't representative even of the 800,000 or so people in the Federally Administered Tribal Areas (FATA), the region of Pakistan where most drone strikes occur. Moreover, according to the report's methodology section, there is no indication of how many respondents were actual victims of drone strikes, since among those 130 they also interviewed "current and former Pakistani government officials, representatives from five major Pakistani political parties, subject matter experts, lawyers, medical professionals, development and humanitarian workers, members of civil society, academics, and journalists.""

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Karl Rove: Obama's Biggest Opponent Is the Truth - WSJ.com

Karl Rove: Obama's Biggest Opponent Is the Truth - WSJ.com: "What exactly about the past four years do Americans like? And why would they want four more years like them? Mr. Obama knows how most Americans would answer these questions, which is why he is being so fast and loose with the truth. Mr. Romney's job is to shine a light on this for voters."

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Obama and some of his supporters dabbled in outsourcing « The Greenroom

Obama and some of his supporters dabbled in outsourcing « The Greenroom: "Americans for Prosperity released a series of ads this past summer detailing how green energy jobs were created overseas thanks to Obama’s stimulus program.  In fact, $2.3 billion dollars was wasted on such jobs.  With Obama spurring growth in China, Finland, and Mexico, it’s incredible for him to have the audacity to accuse Mr. Romney of being a “pioneer” in outsourcing when he himself seems to be the Outsourcer-in-Chief."

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Discussing Obama, Israel Issue with Wasserman Schultz, MSNBC’s Roberts Fails to Bring Up Her False Charge Against GOP « The Greenroom

Discussing Obama, Israel Issue with Wasserman Schultz, MSNBC’s Roberts Fails to Bring Up Her False Charge Against GOP « The Greenroom: "Apparently, however, ideology is thicker than journalistic fraternity, as neither Roberts nor anyone else in the broadcast media has taken Wasserman Schultz to task for failing to own up to her error.

The chair of a major political party in the United States has “deliberately” misquoted a foreign official for political gain and MSNBC, for the time being, seems to be turning a blind eye.  It’s hard to imagine the liberal network let the Republican Party’s Reince Priebus ever get away with that."

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Intercepts showed AQ terrorists celebrating success hours after Benghazi attack « Hot Air

Intercepts showed AQ terrorists celebrating success hours after Benghazi attack « Hot Air: "According to Eli Lake at The Daily Beast, US intel intercepted a number of communications within the local branch of al-Qaeda congratulating each other for the successful mission in Benghazi."

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Netanyahu at the UN: “Red lines don’t lead to war; red lines prevent war” « Hot Air

Netanyahu at the UN: “Red lines don’t lead to war; red lines prevent war” « Hot Air: "Speaking in front of the United Nations in New York on Thursday afternoon, Israeli Prime Minister eschewed a lot of the normal platitudinous dithering that goes on in that august body and instead struck a more “peace through strength”-tone in laying out the Iranian nuclear situation. He got quite specific in defining the dangers that Iran’s activities present to the world at large, even using an idiot-proof chart and everything."

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Why young voters should and probably will vote against Obama « The Greenroom

Why young voters should and probably will vote against Obama « The Greenroom: "In 2008, an untested Obama asked voters under 30 to get behind his efforts to fundamentally transform America. They answered affirmatively at the polls by supporting him by a margin of 66% to 32% over his GOP challenger, John McCain What Obama has done for them since is equally measurable. In the three and one half years that he has been in office, the number of 16-to 24-year-olds who were gainfully employed has shrunk from 56% down to 48.9%. In the last 12-month period, unemployment among Millenials as a whole has never been lower than 16% and in the recent months has been headed back up toward 17%."

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FBI to look for Jimmy Hoffa's body at Detroit-area home - U.S. News

FBI to look for Jimmy Hoffa's body at Detroit-area home - U.S. News: "The FBI and local police in Michigan plan to take soil samples from the backyard of a house in the Detroit suburb of Roseville on Friday, acting on a dying man's tip that the body of former Teamsters President Jimmy Hoffa might be buried there."

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Obama’s foreign policy failures « The Greenroom

Obama’s foreign policy failures « The Greenroom: "We don’t appreciate being threatened with attack by Iran if Israel should carry out an attack against Iran. We don’t control Israel. The Iranians should understand that if they attack U.S. forces under such circumstances, the U.S. response will not just be defensive. We will destroy all of the Iranian oil and gas facilities along the Persian Gulf in addition to keeping the Straits of Hormuz open."

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Romney on GDP: “I want to get us back to being America” « Hot Air

Romney on GDP: “I want to get us back to being America” « Hot Air: "“I know what it takes to get us working. He’s put us on a road to Europe,” Romney said. “Europe doesn’t work in Europe, all right? I want to get us back to being America.”"

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Fiasco: 15 days later, FBI still can’t gain access to Benghazi consulate « Hot Air

Fiasco: 15 days later, FBI still can’t gain access to Benghazi consulate « Hot Air: "I know you’ve already read a bunch of Libya posts today but you’re going to have to read a few more because this is indeed now a “major scandal,” from the lack of security at the consulate before the attack to the White House lies afterward about a “spontaneous” reaction to the Mohammed movie to the baffling failure of the FBI to get access to the consulate afterward. Two possibilities, neither one good for the administration. Either the FBI’s been frozen out by bureaucratic infighting or they can’t get access due to the Libyan government’s inability — or unwillingness — to secure the building for a few days of investigation. Whatever the answer, as veteran Robert Caruso said today on Twitter, it’s hard to have a law-enforcement approach to terrorism without law enforcement."

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‘Won’t Back Down’ stars undaunted in face of union protests of school-choice movie « Hot Air

‘Won’t Back Down’ stars undaunted in face of union protests of school-choice movie « Hot Air: "This week actresses Maggie Gyllenhaal and Viola Davis learned that making a movie about going up against teachers’ unions to save a failing public school means going up against teachers’ unions in real life, too. Protesters gathered at the New York and L.A. premieres of “Won’t Back Down,” a film about a pair of determined moms— one a bartender and one a teacher— who take on apathetic teachers, bullying bureaucrats, and yes, entrenched teachers unions to turn around their children’s failing public school. “Won’t Back Down” opens everywhere Friday."

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Oh, goody: Get excited for this major motion picture about fracking « Hot Air

Oh, goody: Get excited for this major motion picture about fracking « Hot Air: "Ah, yes, all the usual idiotic environmentalist themes are there, meant to play upon our emotions without actually committing to facts or critical thinking: Greed, corporations, people over profits, killing the land, ruining communities, dirty money, and etcetera. I’m merely going to respond to this film clip with a couple more film clips, and a question: While overwhelming evidence suggests that hydraulic fracturing is in fact reviving small-town America, why is it that no celebrity has stepped up to make a major movie about the environmentalists’ conservation movement impoverishing rural Americans and forcing private individuals off of their land? Because that’s where the real story is."

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New Romney ad hits Obama on coal, China « Hot Air

New Romney ad hits Obama on coal, China « Hot Air: "In the 2008 election, conservatives cried foul when a months-old interview with the San Francisco Chronicle came to light just hours before the general election in November, in which Barack Obama claimed his energy policy would “necessarily bankrupt” any new coal-fueled power production.  Coal-powered electricity prices would “skyrocket,” Obama promised in January 2008 in quotes that the Chronicle never reported, and oddly never transcribed from its editorial meeting with the then-primary candidate.  John McCain’s campaign had no time to argue on that point, but given the eventual gap in the voting, it might not have made much difference anyway."

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McCain: “It was obvious … this was a planned attack” « Hot Air

McCain: “It was obvious … this was a planned attack” « Hot Air: "John McCain had a contentious appearance on CBS News’ This Morning today, which is not to say he had a tough appearance.  After scoffing at the initial Obama administration’s story that the sacking of the Benghazi consulate came from a spontaneous demonstration gone bad, McCain suggested that the White House put out that fantasy story line to bolster their contention that al-Qaeda presents no threat after the demise of Osama bin Laden.  Norah O’Donnell tried to challenge McCain on his conclusion that heavy weapons and coordinated fire couldn’t be a spontaneous demonstration, which McCain handles in rather short order.  O’Donnell and Charlie Rose quickly change the subject after McCain directs his scorn towards O’Donnell."

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Celebrating Blasphemy in Manhattan - By Mario Loyola - The Corner - National Review Online

Celebrating Blasphemy in Manhattan - By Mario Loyola - The Corner - National Review Online: "Every last person who complains will have to explain why they said nothing during the 20-plus years that the revolting Piss Christ has been touring art galleries around the world. They will be forced either to treat Islam and Christianity the same (i.e., stop trashing the latter) or finally admit the cowardly truth, which is that their degree of respect for any given religion is proportional to its proponents’ propensity for violence."

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‘Piss Christ’ returns to New York along with ‘Piss Moses’ « The Greenroom

‘Piss Christ’ returns to New York along with ‘Piss Moses’ « The Greenroom: "The week has been noteworthy not only for its anti-religious acts but for the conspicuous inaction on the part of those whose faiths were defiled. Jews chose not react to Ahmadinejad’s incendiary remarks by storming the Permanent Mission of the Islamic Republic of Iran to the United Nations in New York or by burning the Islamic flag in the streets of Manhattan. Christians did not fire bomb the D.C. headquarters of the National Endowment for the Arts, the government agency that funded the creation of Piss Christ, or demand that its artist, Andres Serrano, be “cut up into little pieces” (the fate suggested by one Muslim protester for the maker of the anti-Islamic film)."

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Breaking: Fox News confirms Obama admin designated Benghazi sacking a terror attack within first 24 hours « Hot Air

Breaking: Fox News confirms Obama admin designated Benghazi sacking a terror attack within first 24 hours « Hot Air: "Fox News follows up on Eli Lake’s excellent reporting on the intel after the assassination of Ambassador Chris Stevens, confirming from their own sources that the US knew within the first twenty-four hours that the sacking of the Benghazi consulate was no “spontaneous demonstration” that spun out of control.  In fact, they already suspected al-Qaeda of masterminding the planned terrorist attack on the compound days before even admitting that it had been a terror attack at all — and had designated the incident as terrorism in order to pursue one suspect."

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Obama ad: “Time for a new economic patriotism” « Hot Air

Obama ad: “Time for a new economic patriotism” « Hot Air: "Enough with the big, fat “the same policies that got us here in the first place” lie. It’s hogwash."

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New Obama ad: ‘It’s time for a new economic patriotism’ | WashingtonExaminer.com

New Obama ad: ‘It’s time for a new economic patriotism’ | WashingtonExaminer.com: "“It’s time for a new economic patriotism,” President Obama says in a new two-minute ad that features his plan to raise taxes on the wealthy."

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Hillary Clinton: You know, AQ might have had something to do with that consulate sacking after all « Hot Air

Hillary Clinton: You know, AQ might have had something to do with that consulate sacking after all « Hot Air: "Another day, another step in the Obama administration’s narrative collapse.  Last night, Secretary of State Hillary Clinton became the highest-ranking administration official to admit that the fairy tale of a “spontaneous” protest that “spun out of control” in Benghazi was untrue.  Instead, Clinton went so far as to suggest that al-Qaeda had succeeded in striking an American diplomatic mission for the first time since the twin embassy bombings in 1998, while her husband was President."

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NYC anti-Islam subway ads lead to pink spray paint showdown | FP Passport

NYC anti-Islam subway ads lead to pink spray paint showdown | FP Passport: "Prominent Egyptian-American journalist and activist Mona Eltahawy, author of FP's May/June cover story, was arrested on Tuesday in New York City and jailed overnight following a scuffle over American Freedom Defense Initiative leader Pamela Geller's anti-Islam subway ads. In a video shot by the New York Post, Eltahawy is seen defacing one of the ads with a can of pink spray paint, until Pamela Hall, a supporter of Geller's initiative, throws herself into the line of fire."

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Harry Reid attacks Mitt Romney’s Mormonism - POLITICO.com

Harry Reid attacks Mitt Romney’s Mormonism - POLITICO.com: "“Shame on them,” Rep. Jason Chaffetz (R-Utah) told the Tribune. “Harry Reid seems to be making this way too personal and consequently throwing the religion under the bus for his own personal gain. That’s not where anyone should be going with this. He’s taking this two steps too far.”"

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Red states' income growing faster than blue states' – USATODAY.com

Red states' income growing faster than blue states' – USATODAY.com: "The income of those living in red states has climbed 4.6% since the recession began in December 2007, a USA TODAY analysis of total increases found. The average income of those living in blue states and swing states saw a much slower increase. The personal income of blue states has increased 0.5%, while in the swing states, income increased 1.4%."

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NFL, officials reach agreement, back on job tonight « Hot Air

NFL, officials reach agreement, back on job tonight « Hot Air: "Well, that didn’t take long. Just three days after getting embarrassed on its biggest weekly stage, the NFL found a quick route to an agreement with the officials it had locked out since the beginning of the season. The men in stripes will return tonight for the Browns-Ravens game in Baltimore, which will be televised on the league’s own cable channel."

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Newsweek: Obama In Top 10 of Presidents Since Teddy Roosevelt « The Greenroom

Newsweek: Obama In Top 10 of Presidents Since Teddy Roosevelt « The Greenroom: "Asked about why the list is predominantly Democratic in nature, Evans insisted that the Republicans in the 20th century were by and large uninspiring if not corrupt. In the process, he trashed free-market conservative Calvin Coolidge — who presided over an economic boom, low unemployment, and the reduction of the national debt — as unimaginative.

If by lacking imagination, Evans means a mind that dreamed up new bureaucracies and larger federal government, he’s correct. But the results speak for themselves, even if they don’t excite historians."

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PBS NewsHour Omits Obama’s Support for Blasphemy Law « The Greenroom

PBS NewsHour Omits Obama’s Support for Blasphemy Law « The Greenroom: "This is not an entirely new development.  The Heritage Foundation recalls that ‘As recently as December 19, 2011, the U.S. voted for and was instrumental in passing ‘U.N. Resolution 16/18’ against ‘religious intolerance,’ ‘condemning the stereotyping, negative profiling and stigmatization of people based on their religion.’ While this may sound innocuous, it was the latest incarnation of a highly controversial ‘anti-blasphemy’ resolution that has been pushed by the Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) at the United Nations since 1999.”"

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WaPo’s Cillizza Tells Us Why Republicans Are Losing « The Greenroom

WaPo’s Cillizza Tells Us Why Republicans Are Losing « The Greenroom: "First of all, who are the “Republicans” feeding him this drivel?  Yes, Obama had a bounce after the convention, but it wasn’t anything special. According to Rasmussen, “the… daily Presidential Tracking Poll for [Sept. 26] shows both President Obama and Mitt Romney attracting support from 46% of voters nationwide. Three percent (3%) prefer some other candidate, and five percent (5%) are undecided. See daily tracking history. When ‘leaners’ are included, it’s Romney 48% and Obama 46%. Leaners are those who are initially uncommitted to the two leading candidates but lean towards one of them when asked a follow-up question.”  Additionally, Ed Morrissey reported earlier this week on how this race is still in a dead heat."

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Internal poll: Mia Love 51, Jim Matheson 36 « Hot Air

Internal poll: Mia Love 51, Jim Matheson 36 « Hot Air: "If it’s accurate, it’s a 28-point swing since July, which unofficially makes Love the single biggest beneficiary of the GOP convention. Normally I wouldn’t pay attention to an internal poll, but (a) her national profile’s soared since that speech, (b) as Dave Weigel notes, this is a heavily Republican district (hey, it’s Utah), and (c) after today’s unpleasantness, we need a happy poll. I’m skeptical that her final margin will be this wide against a six-term incumbent, but victory seems highly likely."

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Guy who’s been tearing Romney apart for months: America’s not as divided as our politics suggests « Hot Air

Guy who’s been tearing Romney apart for months: America’s not as divided as our politics suggests « Hot Air: "Textbook Obama. He and his Democratic cronies have banked his reelection on caricaturing Romney as a soulless plutocrat and tax cheat who enjoys exporting the jobs of steelworkers with cancer-stricken wives. As recently as two days ago, his pal Harry Reid casually suggested that Romney had “sullied” the Mormon faith. And yet O continues to push the Lightbringer crap at his rallies about how we need to come together. It’s basically shtick now, and so audacious in its hypocrisy that even Politico reporters are laughing at him publicly."

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Video: Ahmadinejad addresses pressing global problem of U.S. campaign spending « Hot Air

Video: Ahmadinejad addresses pressing global problem of U.S. campaign spending « Hot Air: "In which a guy who won a second term through a rigged poll and subsequent bloody crackdown on Iranian voters complains about the unfairness of the American electoral system."

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Womp, womp: Dems pushing back on calls to expedite natural-gas exporting, of course « Hot Air

Womp, womp: Dems pushing back on calls to expedite natural-gas exporting, of course « Hot Air: "Ahh yes, because we really should be using even more federal resources and taxpayer dollars to conduct even further environmental analysis of decades-old hydraulic fracturing techniques that the Environmental Protection Agency itself has repeatedly tried and failed to indict on the grounds of permanent environmental damage and public health. Man, nothing like a well-monied green lobby and a shocking(ly misleading) “documentary” to fan the flames of misinformation — nevermind the tremendous potential for safe development, technological innovation, global trade, and wealth-and-job creation just sitting beneath our feet, waiting to be tapped."

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Morning Jay: Are the Polls Tilted Toward Obama? | The Weekly Standard

Morning Jay: Are the Polls Tilted Toward Obama? | The Weekly Standard: "Final thought: As I mentioned earlier, a big “tell” here is that Obama cannot build any kind of a lead among independent voters. That suggests to me that his advantage is built entirely on Democratic enthusiasm, which right now is above its historical trends and clearly on a post-DNC bump. Nobody in the postwar era has won the presidency by carrying less than 49 percent of independents, and Obama is quite a ways below that mark, even if some polls show him at or above 50 percent nationwide and in the key swing states."

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Video: New Romney ad hits Obama on economy, the poor, and middle class erosion « Hot Air

Video: New Romney ad hits Obama on economy, the poor, and middle class erosion « Hot Air: "More Americans now live in poverty than when the Obama recovery began, Romney says, and 15 million more people have become dependent on food stamps.  “We shouldn’t measure compassion by how many people are on welfare,” Romney says.  “We should measure compassion by how many people get off welfare and get a good-paying job.”"

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Despicable: U. of Chicago professor claims America ‘overvalues’ free speech | Twitchy

Despicable: U. of Chicago professor claims America ‘overvalues’ free speech | Twitchy: "Indeed. Sadly, this editorial was no parody. And Posner is regrettably in a position to influence the thinking of young people, the very people on whom we depend to protect the future of our country and defend the values that make it so exceptional. Men like Posner are dangerous and, while he has the right spew his anti-American garbage, by the same token, we can continue to fight back against those who seek to poison the well of our freedom. And, until our last breath, we will."

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Is ‘Dirty Jobs’ host Mike Rowe really endorsing Mitt Romney? Maybe not. | Twitchy

Is ‘Dirty Jobs’ host Mike Rowe really endorsing Mitt Romney? Maybe not. | Twitchy: "Official endorsement or not, conservatives are thrilled to have Rowe join the national conversation about jobs. We’ll find out this afternoon whether Rowe is ready to take the plunge."

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Stop Blaming Bibi - By Aaron David Miller | Foreign Policy

Stop Blaming Bibi - By Aaron David Miller | Foreign Policy: "Forget the demonizing or the idealizing. What the Arab Spring wrought above all was uncertainty, and a new populism that brought with it anti-Israel and anti-American tropes. Instead of making Israel more willing to deal -- or so fearful that it had no choice but to settle -- changes in the Arab world produced neither sufficient incentives nor disincentives to compel a shift in the status quo. Instead of bold moves, the watch word was risk-aversion, not risk readiness."

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French Socialist President Hollande: “I should endorse Mitt Romney” « Hot Air

French Socialist President Hollande: “I should endorse Mitt Romney” « Hot Air: "See what he did there? Just in case you didn’t catch it, that was actually a sneaky way of saying that he prefers Barack Obama. So, no big surprise there, because if you want to get down to real brass tacks, the truth is that the United States has plenty of socialistic-lite policies in place: protectionism, subsidies, you could even argue that a graduated income tax is little better than redistributionist central planning by another name. And while the trend of introducing these types of policies into our federal government started long ago, President Obama has most definitely done so at an accelerated pace — and how!"

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Obama Skips U.N. Meetings With World Leaders, But Makes Time For Catty Chat-Show - Investors.com

Obama Skips U.N. Meetings With World Leaders, But Makes Time For Catty Chat-Show - Investors.com: "The president's priority in New York was to go on the televised hen party known as "The View" and any meeting with the leader of mortally threatened Israel, or of China-menaced Japan, or of troubled states such as Egypt, Pakistan, Mexico or Libya would have to wait.

It highlights how little Obama cares about the world he professes to have a special relationship with and how low U.S. influence has fallen as a result."

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Bombshell: US knew Stevens assassination was work of terrorists within 24 hours of attack « Hot Air

Bombshell: US knew Stevens assassination was work of terrorists within 24 hours of attack « Hot Air: "Five days after the attack on the Benghazi consulate that left four Americans dead, including Ambassador J. Christopher Stevens, the Obama administration sent UN Ambassador Susan Rice onto five Sunday talk shows to insist that the sacking of the consulate was the result of a protest over a YouTube video that “spun out of control.”  The government of Libya was already scoffing at that story, and by the end of the next week the White House began reluctantly admitting that terrorists had attacked the diplomatic mission.  Today, however, Eli Lake reports for the Daily Beast that the Obama administration knew within 24 hours that the attack had not been a spontaneous event, but a well-planned terrorist attack."

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Obama on “The View”: The world should ignore that Mohammed movie that my administration’s been talking about for two weeks « Hot Air

Obama on “The View”: The world should ignore that Mohammed movie that my administration’s been talking about for two weeks « Hot Air: "Via the Standard, a fine idea that I would take more seriously if he had mentioned it before the movie was condemned by the Cairo embassy, blamed for the Benghazi attack by Susan Rice, apologized for by the State Department via TV ads in Pakistan, and then discussed at length by The One himself in his UN speech today. Scrambling to denounce the film the way the administration did made it that much more lucrative a pretext for Islamists to exploit; the U.S. government can’t ban the film, but attack an embassy or two and by golly they’ll fall all over themselves to reassure you that it’s a wicked, awful, evil piece of expression."

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Obamateurism of the Day « Hot Air

Obamateurism of the Day « Hot Air: "Even worse is the implication of Obama’s equating of “slander” to acts of real violence.  He seems to be offering a deal that he can’t deliver, which is that the US will ban such “slander” if people stop torching churches and committing violence against women.  That’s a dangerous expectation to set for people in parts of the world who don’t understand that Obama can’t possibly deliver on it."

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Libyan president: Of course the violence had nothing to do with a YouTube video « Hot Air

Libyan president: Of course the violence had nothing to do with a YouTube video « Hot Air: "Why should we listen to what Mohamed Magarief has to say about the terrorist attack on the American consulate in Benghazi, which claimed the lives of four Americans, including the first US Ambassador murdered in the line of duty since 1979? For one thing, the Libyan president’s story hasn’t changed — unlike that of the White House. While UN Ambassador Susan Rice insisted ten days ago that the sacking of the consulate happened because a protest over a YouTube video “spun out of control,” Magarief has insisted all along that not only was there no protest before the attack, the attack itself was very controlled and disciplined.  He tells NBC News that the attack had “nothing to do with” the 14-minute video, and had everything to do with the anniversary of 9/11."

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Ahmadinejad criticizes Navy SEALS for killing Osama bin Laden | WashingtonExaminer.com

Ahmadinejad criticizes Navy SEALS for killing Osama bin Laden | WashingtonExaminer.com: "During an interview with Piers Morgan last night, Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad explained that Osama bin Laden deserved a fair trial, instead of being shot to death by Navy SEALS."

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NFL: We stand by the terrible, terrible call at the end of that Packers/Seahawks game « Hot Air

NFL: We stand by the terrible, terrible call at the end of that Packers/Seahawks game « Hot Air: "So terrible was it that bookies are feeling moral qualms about collecting from Green Bay bettors. So terrible was it that even Scott Walker is pro-union this morning. So terrible was it that Jay Carney is denouncing it in strident terms usually reserved for horrors like YouTube videos that criticize Mohammed."

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Obama’s green-jobs argument still bearing little-to-no resemblance to reality « Hot Air

Obama’s green-jobs argument still bearing little-to-no resemblance to reality « Hot Air: "Notice how the wind industry is so wildly desperate to keep the wind production tax credit around? That would be because they know that their businesses cannot survive without it — a.k.a., wind energy is not capable of standing up to the test of free-market competition. A.k.a., imaginary. Imaginary jobs do not spur growth, and quixotically bankrupting ourselves with public “investments” in the quest to fulfill our own green prophecies is certainly not going to help us compete in the global economic arena."

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Congresspeople to DOE: It’s time to let the natural-gas party get started « Hot Air

Congresspeople to DOE: It’s time to let the natural-gas party get started « Hot Air: "When you stop and think about it, the Obama administration’s relative lethargy on unleashing the natural-gas industry is pretty damned inexcusable. President Obama tells us that he wants jobs; he wants economic growth; he wants cleaner technology; blah blah blah. Well, here we are, sittin’ pretty on top of ever-expanding natural-gas reserves while our economy’s heartbeat shows only fluttering signs of life. Not okay."

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CNN: Obama looked a little foolish by appearing on The View, huh? « Hot Air

CNN: Obama looked a little foolish by appearing on The View, huh? « Hot Air: "Well, I won’t argue the silliness of the low-information-voter outreach, but there is one key difference — or actually two.  The first is that Mrs. Romney isn’t running for anything, and the role of the spouses has traditionally been to do these soft-focus appearances.  The other is that Mitt Romney isn’t the President of the United States.  He doesn’t have a responsibility to take his duties seriously except to run for office, which has been his day job for the last several months.  Barack Obama is supposed to be doing the job he got four years ago, which entails meeting with heads of state — especially when they come to the US."

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Ahmadinejad Wants To ‘Eliminate’ Israel, Piers Morgan Finds Him ‘Charming’ | Mediaite

Ahmadinejad Wants To ‘Eliminate’ Israel, Piers Morgan Finds Him ‘Charming’ | Mediaite: "Again, I have not seen Morgan’s interview and I hesitate to prejudge it. Perhaps Morgan presses Ahmadinejad on the implications that his treats have for global security and that his remarks by themselves represent an irresponsible provocation – his constituency be damned. Maybe Morgan does not let Ahmadinejad’s clarification stand and follows up by asking why he has multiple times referred to Israel as a “tumor” on the body of the Middle East that must be excised. Maybe Morgan asks why Ahmadinejad has so often denied that the Holocaust even occurred. Maybe Morgan asks why Ahmadinejad presides over the globe’s number one exporter of terror that has regularly waged terror campaigns pinside Israel and is linked to an attempted attack on U.S. soil less than one year ago."

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Review & Outlook: Obama's Cyber Attack - WSJ.com

Review & Outlook: Obama's Cyber Attack - WSJ.com: "Private companies have innovated and invested heavily to protect themselves without regulatory prodding. What they need from the government is an information-sharing program and liability protection. These measures are simple and useful, and therefore not surprisingly missing from the Obama Administration's command-and-control approach to cybersecurity."

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Carney: Attacks on Obama’s “bumps” comments are “desperate and offensive” « Hot Air

Carney: Attacks on Obama’s “bumps” comments are “desperate and offensive” « Hot Air: "Of course people are going to grasp at phrases to find a political advantage — we’re in the middle of a neck-and-neck presidential election cycle, and besides, I’m sure Team Obama wouldn’t know anything about grasping at their opponents’ words to try and garner political advantage, would they? But words are also powerful things, and if I were on the president’s PR team, I would really recommend that he look for a different description for violence in the Middle East; not only does it make these things sound more trivial, but I can’t help thinking that what he really means is that these “bumps” are roughening the road toward his reelection more than any other ostensible goal."

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Sacking of Benghazi consulate “a catastrophic intelligence loss” « Hot Air

Sacking of Benghazi consulate “a catastrophic intelligence loss” « Hot Air: "Now that we know that this station was critical to American intelligence efforts in an area rife with the kind of terrorist networks we have been fighting for the last eleven years, one has to ask why it was left so poorly secured.  That question was relevant even without the CIA connection, as the terrorist networks had already made Benghazi an unsafe place for the US to conduct normal diplomatic tasks.  If this was as critical an intelligence post as the NYT report suggests, the weak security arrangements can only be seen as staggeringly incompetent — and worthy of a major Congressional investigation."

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New Obama ad: Still more on Mitt Romney’s supposed tax sketchiness « Hot Air

New Obama ad: Still more on Mitt Romney’s supposed tax sketchiness « Hot Air: "But, until such time as the tax code is changed, that still doesn’t mean that Mitt did anything wrong. Ergo, it stands to reason that Team Obama is attacking Mitt Romney for the audacity of, drumroll please… being rich.

But, this isn’t about class warfare. Or something."

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Obama: Sacked consulate and dead ambassador “bumps in the road” « Hot Air

Obama: Sacked consulate and dead ambassador “bumps in the road” « Hot Air: "In the longer answer, Obama says that he didn’t have much choice in the matter — but that’s not true at all.  Obama actively pushed Hosni Mubarak to give up power a mere eight days after protests started in Tahrir Square, even though the government hadn’t done anything to suppress them.  Obama made the decision to bomb Libya and depose Moammar Qaddafi militarily, which had the unfortunate and totally predictable consequence of allowing al-Qaeda and other radical Islamist terror networks (Ansar al-Sharia, especially) carte blanche to operate in the eastern part of the country.  In both countries, Obama allowed critical power vacuums to arise that could only be filled by radical groups like the Muslim Brotherhood and these terror networks."

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Washington Versus America - NYTimes.com

Washington Versus America - NYTimes.com: "But it doesn’t seem like a sign of national health that America’s political capital is suddenly richer than our capitals of manufacturing and technology and finance, or that our leaders are more insulated than ever from the trends buffeting the people they’re supposed to serve."

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Gallup: Americans’ distrust of the media hits a new high « Hot Air

Gallup: Americans’ distrust of the media hits a new high « Hot Air: "48 percent of Republicans are following presidential politics closely, but only 39 percent of Democrats are. So, in conjunction with yesterday’s study suggesting that only 15 percent of Democrats believe that recent economic news is mostly poor, and if Democrats are really leading Republicans in the enthusiasm contest… Help me out here, folks: Are the more committed members of the Democratic faithful just in straight-up denial? Kind of like, oh, maybe a media establishment that skews unabashedly liberal and is hell-bent on constantly jabbing the public with less-than-subtle suggestions that Romney-voters should be discouraged and that President Obama has this in the bag? Is reality no longer of any consequence?"

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U.S. Drops to 18th in Economic Freedom « The Greenroom

U.S. Drops to 18th in Economic Freedom « The Greenroom: "Oh yes, a classic example of government trying to do too much, too fast leading to the inevitable confusion that big government policies exude.  Just look at education policy in this country.  Now, we’ve got a titanic battle with the blob on our hands.  Then, there is health care where all fifty state legislatures have passed, cumulatively,  almost 1900 mandates on benefits coverage – which has only increased costs in the succeeding years.  Yes, it’s a state issue – but given that Obamacare acts like one of these mandates on steroids – suffice to say it will yield the same results seen in all 50 states.  Lastly, “every hour spent treating a patient in America creates at least 30 minutes of paperwork, and often a whole hour. Next year the number of federally mandated categories of illness and injury for which hospitals may claim reimbursement will rise from 18,000 to 140,000. There are nine codes relating to injuries caused by parrots, and three relating to burns from flaming water-skis.”  The leviathan is waiting.

"

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Welfare waiver in stimulus bill more than doubled able-bodied food-stamp recipients by 2010 « Hot Air

Welfare waiver in stimulus bill more than doubled able-bodied food-stamp recipients by 2010 « Hot Air: "Some might wonder whether the doubling was part of the overall growth in the SNAP program that resulted from the Great Recession.  That would be a good question, but CRS data (Table 1) shows pretty clearly that the ABAWD increase far outstripped it.   From FY2007 to FY2010, SNAP participants increased by 53.4%, a staggering amount.  But in that same period, ABAWD participants increased by 126.9%, even though by definition they are the most able to find work in the program.  Calculated from FY2008, the increases are 43% and 103%; from FY2009, 21% and 40%.  Each time, the ABAWD increase outstripped the overall increase, although able-bodied adults should have been more successful at finding work to stay off of SNAP."

'via Blog this'

Class Warfare President Releases Ad Attacking Class Warfare

Class Warfare President Releases Ad Attacking Class Warfare: "Obama's entire re-election effort is premised on the gamble that he can "separate by demographics, separate by classes," exploiting envy and prejudice rather than running on his record or his policy proposals for the future."

'via Blog this'

Big Labor vs. the Poor - WSJ.com

Big Labor vs. the Poor - WSJ.com: ""Walmart's withdrawal," said Stephanie Yazgi of Walmart Free NYC, "shows that when New Yorkers join arms, even the world's richest retailer is no match for them." It also shows that the actual needs of the underprivileged take a back seat to the left's political agenda. People in the ghetto just can't catch a break from liberals. Teachers unions work to keep poor kids in failing schools, and labor unions work keep poor parents unemployed."

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Will this become a foreign-policy election? « Hot Air

Will this become a foreign-policy election? « Hot Air: "As an old axiom warns, be careful what you wish for — you just might get it.  With the explosion of violent protests in the Muslim world and the first US Ambassador killed in the line of duty since 1979, foreign policy has finally intruded in a big way in this election — and it doesn’t make Obama look good at all.  When the Washington Post’s liberal columnist Richard Cohen rips a Democratic President for a feckless foreign policy, it’s a stark indicator of just how badly Obama has failed on this front:"

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Mitt Romney, Friend in Need | RedState

Mitt Romney, Friend in Need | RedState: "I’ve had my share of political complaints about Romney, but on this score, the critics should be ashamed of themselves: Romney is a genuine role model of what private citizens can do to assist those in need."

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Video: DoJ Civil Rights Division chief can’t commit to protecting free speech « Hot Air

Video: DoJ Civil Rights Division chief can’t commit to protecting free speech « Hot Air: "There are tough questions that might take multiple parsings to fully answer.  This isn’t one of them.  The DoJ under the Constitution has no leeway on this issue, and the correct answer is, “Of course the DoJ won’t allow speech critical of religion to be criminalized.”  When the man running the Civil Rights Division of the DoJ can’t bring himself to give that answer the first time it’s asked, we should all be very, very concerned."

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College suspends professor for allegedly attempting to force students to vote for Obama

College suspends professor for allegedly attempting to force students to vote for Obama: "A college professor has been placed on leave after she allegedly forced her class to sign a pledge to vote for President Obama in the upcoming elections."

'via Blog this'

College suspends professor for allegedly attempting to force students to vote for Obama

College suspends professor for allegedly attempting to force students to vote for Obama: "A college professor has been placed on leave after she allegedly forced her class to sign a pledge to vote for President Obama in the upcoming elections."

'via Blog this'

Stephens: Muslims, Mormons and Liberals - WSJ.com

Stephens: Muslims, Mormons and Liberals - WSJ.com: "So let's get this straight: In the consensus view of modern American liberalism, it is hilarious to mock Mormons and Mormonism but outrageous to mock Muslims and Islam. Why? Maybe it's because nobody has ever been harmed, much less killed, making fun of Mormons."

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Obama: ‘I pretend I’m going to work’ and ‘switch on Homeland’ « The Greenroom

Obama: ‘I pretend I’m going to work’ and ‘switch on Homeland’ « The Greenroom: "I would like to propose a runner-up for what is disturbing about this anecdote: It is that he still invests so much energy in trying to convince others (and himself) that he is a lovable scamp and not some rancorous, petty, and arrogant little man who takes great pleasure in sniping at those who disagree with him."

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The grotesque hypocrisy of Obama’s “Saint Sonia” strategy « The Greenroom

The grotesque hypocrisy of Obama’s “Saint Sonia” strategy « The Greenroom: "To be clear, the predicate laid here is that opposition, for any reason whatsoever, to any Hispanic (candidate, appointee or nominee) is tantamount to racism.  The only exception, of course, is made for opposition to Hispanic Republican candidates or appointees, in which case it’s perfectly fine."

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Archbishop Chaput: I can’t vote for pro-abortion Obama « Hot Air

Archbishop Chaput: I can’t vote for pro-abortion Obama « Hot Air: "Jesus tells us very clearly that if we don’t help the poor, we’re going to go to hell. Period. There’s just no doubt about it. That has to be a foundational concern of Catholics and of all Christians. But Jesus didn’t say the government has to take care of them, or that we have to pay taxes to take care of them. Those are prudential judgments. Anybody who would condemn someone because of their position on taxes is making a leap that I can’t make as a Catholic. … You can’t say that somebody’s not Christian because they want to limit taxation. Again, I’m speaking only for myself, but I think that’s a legitimate position. It may not be the correct one, but it’s certainly a legitimate Catholic position; and to say that it’s somehow intrinsically evil like abortion doesn’t make any sense at all."

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Kate Middleton topless photo | The Daily Caller

Kate Middleton topless photo | The Daily Caller: "It does seem unfair that a husband and wife can’t go to the South of France without their privacy being invaded. But it also seems unfair that they don’t really have jobs and can go to the South of France anytime, so c’est la vie."

'via Blog this'

US-Afghan military operations suspended after attacks - World News

US-Afghan military operations suspended after attacks - World News: "Most joint U.S.-Afghan military operations have been suspended following what authorities believe was an insider attack Sunday that left four American soldiers dead, officials told NBC News."

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Romney vs. Renminbi - The Editors - National Review Online

Romney vs. Renminbi - The Editors - National Review Online: "The integration of global markets means that U.S. workers and businesses will face increased competition from overseas rivals, and this is especially difficult for relatively low-skilled workers and for those enterprises that seek advantages from employing them. That is a fact of economic life that will persist independently of any policy pursued or not pursued by the junta in Beijing. U.S. firms have lost out to more competitive enterprises based in low-wage countries such as China and India, but also to businesses in high-wage countries such as Germany and Canada. The portion of our economic troubles that can be blamed on Chinese wiles rather than brute economic realities is small if not trivial."

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Latest Romney “embarrassment”: Israeli-Palestinian conflict unresolvable under current conditions « Hot Air

Latest Romney “embarrassment”: Israeli-Palestinian conflict unresolvable under current conditions « Hot Air: "What exactly is supposed to be “embarrassing” about this?  It’s a more honest assessment of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict than we’ve seen in decades from presidential-level politics, from either party.  Barack Obama promised that his leadership would lead to a breakthrough in the impasse, but he set the process back several decades by fumbling the question of construction in Jerusalem, which Mahmoud Abbas hadn’t raised as a deal-stopper until Obama handed him the issue.  That’s embarrassing.  I’d rather hear an American President talk straight about the impasse and the actual problem rather than provide us another Lucy-and-the-football promise for something over which we have little actual control."

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Oh, to be young and unemployed – USATODAY.com

Oh, to be young and unemployed – USATODAY.com: "There's a single cure for both the squeezed and the stretched: All we need is more economic growth. Get the GDP growing at 4% or more, which has been normal after most previous recessions, and these problems will fade away.

Problem is, the policies of the past several years haven't done anything to move growth in that direction. At dubious best, they have perhaps cushioned the crash, though with the unemployment rate above 8% since February of 2009, it hasn't been much of a cushion. But to see real improvement, we're going to have to do something different over the next four years from what we've done over the past four years. Will we see that kind of change? We'll find out in November."

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Regulatory Tsunami To Hit Business If Obama Wins Second Term - Investors.com

Regulatory Tsunami To Hit Business If Obama Wins Second Term - Investors.com: "Using official government sources, the National Federation of Independent Business calculates there are more than 4,000 federal rules in the pipeline, and that just the 13 biggest ones would, if imposed in an Obama second term, cost businesses a total of more than $515 billion over four years.

That tally doesn't include more than 100 still-to-be-written regulations needed to enforce the Dodd-Frank financial reform law, or the mountain of regulations required by ObamaCare. The health law has already resulted in thousands of pages of rules, including 18 pages simply to define what a "full-time employee" is."

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Salman Rushdie: Actually, no, I don’t sympathize with the Mohammed filmmaker who’s now being threatened « Hot Air

Salman Rushdie: Actually, no, I don’t sympathize with the Mohammed filmmaker who’s now being threatened « Hot Air: "The key bit comes at the end. As you watch, bear in mind that Rushdie’s old tormentors in Iran announced just today that they’ll “search for, track, and pursue” the filmmaker. The only consolation here is my hunch that his old friend Hitchens would have recoiled at this sentiment, that a provocateur being hunted like a rat by the mob for his speech is somehow less objectionable than a capital-A Artist being hunted for his. But I don’t know anymore. Would Hitch have recoiled? This seemingly straightforward case of a man being placed in fear for his life for something he said seems to be a lot more nuanced for self-styled champions of free speech than I would have thought."

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American consulate in Pakistan under siege, one rioter killed « Hot Air

American consulate in Pakistan under siege, one rioter killed « Hot Air: "The message from Karachi, Iran, and the burning embassies in Arab nations is that radical Islamists reject freedom of speech and religious expression entirely.  They want to impose dhimmitude on the rest of the world, just like they did in 1988 when Rushdie’s novel was published, just like they did on 9/11, and just like they always have.  Pretty speeches in Cairo won’t change that, and sending out messages condemning the “denigration” of religious belief as an “abuse” of free speech won’t change it, either.  In fact, it just encourages more of this response in the long run."

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Who rewrote the Chicago Teachers Union’s Hollywood ending? « Hot Air

Who rewrote the Chicago Teachers Union’s Hollywood ending? « Hot Air: "I honestly don’t think anyone “wins” this strike. Gains made by the “you can’t stomp on unions!” crowd are offset by gains made by the “you can’t negotiate with those unions!” crowd. This battle may be drawing to a close, but it looks like both sides will finish with more ammunition than they had at the start."

'via Blog this'

Markey: GOP’s climate-bill revision is downright “Orwellian” « Hot Air

Markey: GOP’s climate-bill revision is downright “Orwellian” « Hot Air: "Riddle me this, Rep. Markey — why is it that the single thing that so far presents the greatest opportunity for human beings to roll back their carbon footprint is actually natural gas, hem hem, and not some other government initiative or “investment”? Because the federal government isn’t going to be what saves us from potential environmental catastrophe — we’re perfectly capable of saving ourselves, with the innovations and efficiencies born of free-market competition. Central-planners who happen to carry the convenient excuse of ‘combating climate change’ in their back pockets are no nobler than any other sort of central-planners."

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Atheists vs. the 9/11 Cross - Nathaniel Botwinick - National Review Online

Atheists vs. the 9/11 Cross - Nathaniel Botwinick - National Review Online: "If the American Atheists’ lawsuit prevailed, it would by implication require the removal of every religious object from every museum in America. This would be a drastic rewriting of history. Religion — as much as the American Atheists despise it — is a part of our national heritage."

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Fear Not the Bounce - The Editors - National Review Online

Fear Not the Bounce - The Editors - National Review Online: "President Obama is running for reelection with an unemployment rate that has not carried an incumbent to victory since the Great Depression. His major policy initiatives — the stimulus bill, the health-care legislation — are so unpopular that he barely mentioned them in his own convention address. The public sees him as well to its left. The opposition has achieved rough financial parity. In key swing states, the president remains below 50 percent — sometimes well below. He has no plan to make his second term a happier one for the country than the first. And Rasmussen shows a bigger national than swing-state bounce for the president; if this is any indication, his bounce is disproportionately happening outside swing states: He has probably made blue states bluer."

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The Case of the Missing Job Generator

The Case of the Missing Job Generator: "Entrepreneurs, not government bureaucrats, have been the authors of past economic recoveries. Lawmakers typically have reduced tax and regulatory burdens to facilitate the entrepreneurial process. The sharp recovery from the awful recession of the early 1980s is a key example of these doctors at work."

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The awful, awful August jobs report | AEIdeas

The awful, awful August jobs report | AEIdeas:

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Do the math, Mr. Obama, you've run out of excuses on jobs | Fox News

Do the math, Mr. Obama, you've run out of excuses on jobs | Fox News: "And we have fewer jobs despite there being many more Americans than four years ago. There are now over 8.4 million more working age Americans. Normally about 60 percent of the working age population have jobs. Thus, it would have been necessary to add about 130,000 jobs each month just to keep the share of the working age population employed from falling."

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Amazon Unveils New Kindle Tablets - WSJ.com

Amazon Unveils New Kindle Tablets - WSJ.com: ""We want to make money when people use our devices, not when they buy our devices," Mr. Bezos said at Thursday's event."

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Charles Krauthammer: The empathy gap - The Washington Post

Charles Krauthammer: The empathy gap - The Washington Post: "The problem with swallowing the “he cares, therefore he does” line is that it so plainly contradicts what we’ve seen over the past four years. Barack Obama is a deeply committed social democrat who laid out an unashamedly left-liberal agenda at the very beginning of his presidency and then proceeded to try to enact it."

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What the Democratic Convention Talks About When They Talk About Jobs | The Weekly Standard

What the Democratic Convention Talks About When They Talk About Jobs | The Weekly Standard: "Stop me if you’ve heard this one: So, will.i.am, Arianna Huffington, Tom Brokaw, and one of the President’s economic advisers walk into the ballroom at the Ritz-Carlton for a panel discussion on job creation..."

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New Youtube Video Asks: 'What if President Obama had called a real marijuana user?' - Hit & Run : Reason.com

New Youtube Video Asks: 'What if President Obama had called a real marijuana user?' - Hit & Run : Reason.com: "Echoing what Mike Riggs wrote on September 4, this newly-crafted video continues to savage the lazy, mocking, September 3 video where Barack Obama "calls" his favorite lying, lapdog actor and former Associate Director of Public Engagement for his campaign, Kal Penn. The gist of the official video is, if you missed it, is that a wink at stoner culture will get their vote, actual fact of the president's marijuana policy be damned. "

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Warren’s Web of . . . Confusion - Patrick Brennan - National Review Online

Warren’s Web of . . . Confusion - Patrick Brennan - National Review Online: "Of course, not all of them have been net beneficiaries. But Warren’s belief that Wall Street’s success comes solely at the expense of the middle class makes no more sense than it would make to claim that every time a few traders colluded to manipulate a worldwide interest rate, all the big banks and financiers won, and any middle-class American with a mortgage or a savings account lost. Oh, wait — she did that, too."

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Randy Johnson Lives High on DNC, Union Dime, After Bain ‘Devastated His Family’ « The Greenroom

Randy Johnson Lives High on DNC, Union Dime, After Bain ‘Devastated His Family’ « The Greenroom: "Randy Johnson is a de facto Democratic operative who claims to have been “destroyed” by Bain Capital, but who now travels on the DNC dime and makes a six-figure salary with the United Steelworkers union. The network “fact checkers” should note that, but I’m not holding my breath that they will."

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Markey: Romney’s an “empty chair” on climate change « Hot Air

Markey: Romney’s an “empty chair” on climate change « Hot Air: "Has anybody stopped to notice that all of the Obama administration’s piddling clean-energy projects have either failed on the business end or done jack squat to actually combat global warming on a large scale and in the long run? The best new technology that actually has helped us reduce our carbon emissions was born entirely of free enterprise and is one of the biggest things environmentalists and regulators have been fighting tooth-and-nail to thwart: Natural gas. Bam. Greenies really need to wake the heck up and realize the wealthier societies are healthier societies. Not only do wealthier people have the luxury to devote some of their time and resources to environmental awareness (or, in other words, a society’s environmental concerns tend to wane in the face of economic downturns), but a robust and prosperous society is what’s going to produce the efficiencies and innovations that will bring about real environmental progress."

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Review & Outlook: Desperately Seeking Middle-Class Taxes - WSJ.com

Review & Outlook: Desperately Seeking Middle-Class Taxes - WSJ.com: "But even discounting the usual accounting gimmicks that the White House uses to show this "stability," check out the fine print. There, the document concedes that beyond 2022 "the fiscal position gradually deteriorates" and the deficit "continues to rise for the next 75 years, and the publicly held debt is also projected to rise persistently relative to GDP." In other words, Mr. Obama's budget does not change the spending and debt trajectory."

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The Not Ready for Prime Time Player - WSJ.com

The Not Ready for Prime Time Player - WSJ.com:

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Democrats mention Climate change once in over 80 speeches | The Daily Caller

Democrats mention Climate change once in over 80 speeches | The Daily Caller: "Though the 2012 Democratic Party platform declares that the “national security threat from climate change is real, urgent, and severe,” it is apparently not urgent and severe enough to merit mention by speakers at the Democratic National Convention during the past two days."

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Politico: This Hope and Change guy is really into mudslinging, huh? « Hot Air

Politico: This Hope and Change guy is really into mudslinging, huh? « Hot Air: "For anyone paying attention to the avalanche of character-assassination attacks from Team Obama and its surrogates, today’s Politico analysis hardly comes as a shock.  Deputy campaign manager Stephanie Cutter accused Mitt Romney of being a felon, former White House aide Bill Burton’s group Priorities USA linked Romney with the death of a woman whose spouse had been laid off years before from a Bain Capital-owned company — when Romney no longer ran the firm.  The campaign itself has launched numerous attacks on Romney’s wealth, his foreign investments, and success at Bain — the latter two of which got attacked from the stage of the Democratic National Convention last night. John Harris and Alexander Burns simply report the obvious, which is that character attacks dominate Barack Obama’s strategy in 2012."

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Pelosi on Harry Reid: 'He stops listening long before you stop talking' - YouTube

Pelosi on Harry Reid: 'He stops listening long before you stop talking' - YouTube:

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Mark Halperin gives a media bias demonstration « The Greenroom

Mark Halperin gives a media bias demonstration « The Greenroom: "If anything proves liberal media bias, however, it was Mr. Halperin’s ridiculous statement. Of course the platform kerfuffle is still news; its story has yet to be completely told. Even Mr. Halperin himself admitted that he’s “still not entirely clear” on how the deletions in the Democratic platform were made initially. Maybe a real journalist would be curious enough to pursue this story, but Mr. Halperin obviously doesn’t think it is a story at all anymore, now that the language on God and Jerusalem were reinserted."

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Utah mom toilet trains her tots at a table in a restaurant « The Greenroom

Utah mom toilet trains her tots at a table in a restaurant « The Greenroom: "A spokeswoman for the restaurant with the remarkably apt name of Erica Brown told the station that the managed received several complaints over the incident. “I think state and local health codes were probably an issue, as well as just social norms,” she said."

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The Tragic Extinction of the Pro-Life Democrats | The Weekly Standard

The Tragic Extinction of the Pro-Life Democrats | The Weekly Standard: "It turns out, they were right about it being a new epoch. Except that instead of making a place in the sun for pro-life Democrats, the Obama presidency was more like a meteor-strike, triggering an ice age and driving the species to extinction."

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Obama did not change Washington. For each side, it’s clear who’s to blame. - The Washington Post

Obama did not change Washington. For each side, it’s clear who’s to blame. - The Washington Post: "There are also questions about how hard Obama tried. His advisers cannot point to a clear strategy for trying to create a climate of cooperation — other than their belief that the support he won in the election and the economic crisis would create those conditions."

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Key Solyndra figures get red carpet treatment at Democratic convention? « Hot Air

Key Solyndra figures get red carpet treatment at Democratic convention? « Hot Air: "Want to know what Barack Obama’s second-term agenda will be?  Looking at the VIP admissions to the Democratic convention, the assumption will be more Solyndras and more wasted taxpayer dollars.  ABC News caught former Department of Energy official Steve Spinner getting a “red-carpet” tour yesterday of the facilities in Charlotte.  Who’s Steve Spinner, you may ask?  He’s the man who pushed the DoE to ignore the advice of auditors and approve Solyndra’s $500 million-plus taxpayer-guaranteed loan."

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Breaking: Obama speech moved indoors due to … weather; Update: Obama tried downplaying attendance expectations « Hot Air

Breaking: Obama speech moved indoors due to … weather; Update: Obama tried downplaying attendance expectations « Hot Air: "It looks more like the attendance forecast was partly gloomy, with a large chance of Eastwooding at Bank of America Stadium."

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If You Think Obama’s First Term Was Bad, Imagine a Second - Bloomberg

If You Think Obama’s First Term Was Bad, Imagine a Second - Bloomberg: "In another recent interview, Obama likened the Republican opposition to him to a “blister” that will be “popped” by the election (an image for which I will not soon forgive him)."

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US Slips Down the Ranks of Global Competitiveness - CNBC - Asia Business News - CNBC

US Slips Down the Ranks of Global Competitiveness - CNBC - Asia Business News - CNBC: "The world's largest economy, which was placed 5th last year, fell two positions to the 7th spot - marking its fourth year of decline."

Change we can believe in!  Hilarious.

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Democrats Run A Convention On Two Tracks

Democrats Run A Convention On Two Tracks: ""The goal of our convention is to bring the choice in this election into sharp focus,”she said last last week. “It won't be about rallying the base or leveling petty attacks.” But the easiest way to sum up the first day of the Democratic convention might be a combination of both those things."

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Bowing to the Altar of Big Government « The Greenroom

Bowing to the Altar of Big Government « The Greenroom: "On the first night of the Democratic Convention, I sat down with twitter on my right and an ice cream sundae on my left (in honor of Michelle Obama’s prime time speech of course). My eyes scanned CSPAN for a glimpse of the Greek columns which adorned the stage during the 2008 DNC. Unfortunately, that opportunity never came as the layout of the 2012 stage was relatively uncontroversial. However, it did not take the Democrats long to show their true colors. As the convention opened, this video was played in which the narrator stated: “Government is the only thing we all belong to.” Immediately, the collectivism meter in my brain went crazy. However, once I got my bearings and stopped binge tweeting my frustration, the statement became more clear."

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‘Are you better off’ question will define the campaign going forward « The Greenroom

‘Are you better off’ question will define the campaign going forward « The Greenroom: "Campaign strategist David Axelrod ran from the question on Sunday. Democratic Gov. Martin O’Malley did the same, then flip-flopped the next day, which if nothing else makes him look unsure about his answer. Joe Biden danced around the question, telling a crowd, “let me just sum it up this way, folks. Osama bin Laden is dead, and General Motors is alive.” A careful observer might respond to the first boast by saying “only because of strategic efforts that date back at least to the Clinton years (aka, Obama didn’t build that)” and to the second by saying, “barely.”"

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Cutter: An incomplete is a totally awesome grade after four years « Hot Air

Cutter: An incomplete is a totally awesome grade after four years « Hot Air: "Cutter says, “He’s not done yet.”  That’s what keeps many of us awake at night."

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