As Cato asks: "Should the TSA be able to condition air travel on you permitting someone to look at or touch your genitals?"At least for now, the answer is "Yes".
As Cato asks: "Should the TSA be able to condition air travel on you permitting someone to look at or touch your genitals?"House Republican leaders have unveiled a new rule to require that each bill filed in the House “cite its specific constitutional authority.”
...GOP leaders have prepared a memo for all members of the new Congress and senior staff informing them that no bill may be introduced unless the sponsor has submitted for the Congressional Record a statement “citing as specifically as practicable the power or powers granted to Congress” to enact the measure. The memo included five examples of forms that sponsors could include with their legislation.And the memo warned that any bill that is filed without the requisite “constitutional authority statement” will not be accepted by the House clerk and will be returned to the sponsor. Such a statement, House Republicans added in a Friday statement, “also demonstrates to the American people that we in Congress understand that we have an obligation under our founding document to stay within the role established therein for the legislative branch."
It was the night after Christmas; the sun rose the next day,
Santa had vanished with his reindeer and sleigh.There had been no Christmas, just tears and chagrin,
The cries of the children made a terrible din.
What could have caused this terrible plight?
After all, Christmas is an absolute right!
From the distance we heard a voice with a sigh,
We listened to the words... and then we knew why.
"On Nancy, On Harry, we must pass this bill,
Health Care and Stimulus must pass on the "hill".
"On Fannie, On Freddie, On Dodd and on Frank!,
Homes for everyone, there’s lots in the bank!"
"Bail out the unions and the teachers too,
They got us elected -- we must pay them their due."
"Global warming or climate change, it really matters not,
Redistributing wealth... we'll take what you got!"
"Shut down the drilling; close all the mines,
Put owners in jail with plenty of fines."
"On Card Check; On ACORN; On S.E.I.U.!
On Cloward and Piven; and Cass Sunstein too!”
"Close Gitmo because you know terrorism's dead,"
Proclaimed the AG, Eric the Red.
There’s no border problem, as everyone can see,
Just hurry up and pass a little am-nes-ty.
Will you be fondled or seen practically nude?
The TSA just laughs, taking our water and food.
"On Waxman; On Schumer; On Waters; and Rangel;
Be sure to blame Bush, Palin and Angle!"
Pillage and plunder, there’s plenty you see,
We’ll just print more cash, says Ben Ber-nan-kee.
China is laughing and Russia says Nyet.
They both have us dancing like a marionette.
North Korea and Iran are girding for war,
Thank goodness the U.N has more meetings in store.
Let's stop passing bills for those out of work,
Let's give them income for life, we know they won't shirk.Keep increasing taxes to care for the needy,
The rich have their wealth because they are greedy.
Departments of Energy, Commerce and more,
Would we really miss them if they went out the door?
All of the Congress abstained from their duty,
When they got to D.C., it’s "pass out the booty!"
The judges make laws right from the bench;
While the bailout continues for Mr. Goodwrench
Cars must be green and burn only air.
With plenty of subsidies, isn’t that fair?
Yes to wind farms and solar, No to oil and coal,
Cap and Taxes are our ultimate goal.
"On Obama; On Clinton; On Gibbs; and on Biden;
Shovel-ready projects and streets we must widen."
Shut down talk radio, Fox, Sean and Rush,
Make the FCC the approved purveyor of mush!
The networks, the Times; the epithets they hurled,
They seem to be reporting on an alternate world.
So, why no Christmas? Why this cal-am-it-y?
No money was left for Santa you see.
When building Santa’s workshops, he went to borrow some dough;
"Our bonuses come first; the answer is NO!"
So, personal freedoms lost out to "personal rights"...
And I heard Santa say, "will someone turn out the lights?”
Tea Party Stops the Omnibus--But There's Still Work to Do: RWNQOTD: "History is not going to be kind to liberals. With their mindless programs, they've managed to do to Black Americans what slavery, Reconstruction, and rank racism found impossible: destroy their family and work ethic." -- Walter Williams
The National Organization for Women filed complaints against local Hooters restaurants Thursday, but not for exploiting its scantily clad waitresses by subjecting them to leering and groping customers.
The subject this time was Hooters' catering to children.
The restaurants in San Francisco, San Bruno, Sacramento and Orange County are classified as "adult entertainment" establishments but also serve minors, NOW's California chapter said in papers filed with police and prosecutors.
What's more, the organization said, Hooters provides child menus, high chairs and booster seats, and sells T-shirts in children's sizes that identify the wearer as a "Future Hooters Girl."
Senate Democrats abruptly pulled down an omnibus spending bill after senior Republicans – caught with their hands in the cookie jar — deserted the measure in an effort to square themselves with tea party activists and conservatives in the party.
Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid made the announcement and signaled he would substitute a short-term spending resolution for the much more detailed year-long $1.1 trillion plus measure which many in the GOP had been quietly rooting for just weeks ago...
With Washington facing a funding cutoff Saturday night, the result is a genuine fiscal crisis — at once serious and rich in political farce.
Democrats have only themselves to blame for failing to pass any of the 12 annual appropriations bills that fund the day-to-day operations of the government...
Remember the recess appointment of Donald Berwick, the controversial head of Medicare and Medicaid? Just days after his appointment, the Susan G. Komen for the Cure Foundation and the Ovarian Cancer National Alliance warned that, for the first time in history, FDA-approved anti-cancer therapies might not be covered by Medicare.On Dec. 17 the Food and Drug Administration is expected to take the radical step of revoking approval for an advanced drug in the treatment of one of the country's most deadly diseases... [and] the effects on breast cancer patients will be devastating. Some 17,500 American women are prescribed Avastin every year. Many will face shorter, more painful lives because of the FDA's decisions.
...Despite all evidence to the contrary, the advisory committee claims its recommendation had nothing to do with Avastin's cost... However, many American women are getting something priceless in return for those dollars: life and vitality. In one clinical trial, nearly 50% of patients receiving Avastin witnessed their tumors shrink. Another study found that patients receiving the drug in conjunction with chemotherapy lived "progression-free" twice as long as patients without it.
Shouldn't these decisions be left to the families and their doctors? Apparently not, thanks to the one-size-fits-all Obamacare program.Republicans will paralyze the Senate floor for 50 hours by forcing clerks to read every single paragraph of the 1,924-page, $1.1 trillion omnibus spending bill.
Senate clerks are expected to read the massive bill in rotating shifts around the clock — taking breaks to drink water and pop throat lozenges — to keep legislative business on track, according to a Democratic leadership aide... The bill is so long that it took the Government Printing Office two days to print it...
Sen. Jim DeMint (R-S.C.), the Senate Republican Steering Committee chairman, vowed not to back down... “If they bring this up, they’re going to read it. It’ll take them a day or two to read it,” DeMint said on Fox News. “Again, we’re trying to run out the clock. They should not be able to pass this kind of legislation in a lame-duck Congress.”
Below, two stories from major metropolitan dailies report on the same event. One of them must be wrong and slanted to make Obama's bonehead fantasies about the Afghan war look good. See if you can tell which one.
New York Times, 12/16/2010Afghan Report Sees July Troop Pullouts Despite Perils
A review of President Obama’s Afghanistan war strategy concludes that American forces can begin withdrawing on schedule in July, despite uneven signs of progress.
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Wall Street Journal, 12/16/2010U.S. Puts Off Afghan Moves
A much-anticipated White House review of progress in the Afghan war will put off key decisions about the pace of pulling troops out of the country and whether changes in strategy there will be needed, U.S. officials say.
###
Heckuva job, Nappie--Heads to border after agent murdered: CubachiThink about it -- when it comes to car insurance, we wouldn't say that you can wait until you get into a car wreck and then you can go to the insurance company, say hey, I want to buy some insurance for my car. If you can't do that for car insurance, why can you do that for health insurance.
How can you wait until you get sick and then go and say I want to buy some insurance? That isn't fair and I think most people understand it isn't fair. All we've said is everybody has to get some basic insurance so that we're not paying for you when you get sick. And that helps keep everybody's cost down and it makes sure that that insurance company can't discriminate against you if you've got pre-existing conditions. It's the right thing to do, and I'm confident that the courts will uphold it.
1. Drivers carry required insurance to cover damage done to others, not themselves.
2. States impose the insurance requirement, not the federal government, because states license drivers and vehicles.
3. Driving is a voluntary activity conducted on public property (roads); there is no requirement for licensing or insurance for those who drive only on their private property. People who don’t drive on public roads aren’t required to buy a license or the insurance.
4. Those who do have auto insurance only file claims when significant damage occurs.
5. Auto insurance doesn’t pay for routine maintenance, like oil changes, lube jobs, and tire rotation. That’s why auto insurance is relatively affordable.
6. Auto insurance is priced to risk. If a driver lives in a high-crime area, then the premiums will rise to cover the risks associated with theft. If they drive badly (get moving violations and accidents), premiums will go up, or in some cases, the insurer will drop the driver.
7. Policies are priced for risk according to age as well; the youngest and oldest drivers pay more due to their propensity for causing losses. Those who drive well and present a lower risk get rewarded with lower premiums. Right now, the federal government is preventing insurers in some instances from risk-pricing health insurance to impose government-approved fairness. That means we all pay more, removing the incentive to lower risk.
8. Lastly, consider Obama's claim that "when it comes to car insurance, we wouldn't say that you can wait until you get into a car wreck and then you can go to the insurance company, say hey, I want to buy some insurance for my car." -- But that's precisely what he's saying with the Democrats' "pre-existing condition" nonsense. You can walk in to any health insurer, with any condition, and expect coverage.[Former Detroit Mayor Kwame] Kilpatrick, who is currently in jail on other charges, was part of a 38-count, 89-page indictment that included his father Bernard Kilpatrick, city contractor Bobby Ferguson, former top Kilpatrick aide Derrick Miller and former water department chief Victor Mercado. The indictment says they extorted money from municipal contractors, state and non-profit donors and engaged in bribery and extortion involving other public contracts and investments......the Free-Press reported that prosecutors say Ferguson kicked back at least $424,000 in cash and other items of value to the mayor and that Kilpatrick used more than $590,000 in cash derived from the conspiracy to pay his credit card bills, purchase cashier’s checks and clothing and repay loans. Bernard Kilpatrick deposited more than $600,000 in cash into his personal bank accounts, and he was charged with filing false tax returns in 2004, 2005 and 2007.
[Ferguson and his companies had received at least $170 million in city contracts — $109 million from the Detroit Water and Sewerage Department alone — since Kwame Kilpatrick took office in 2002.

Neither Necessary Nor Proper: LegalInsQOTD: "Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-NV) has just released an omnibus spending bill that will lock-in 2010 spending levels through the next fiscal year (ending September 30). The 1,924 page bill (pdf) contains unknown thousands of earmarks and will prevent the next Congress from making spending cuts until fiscal year 2012... ... For the first time in the history of the modern budget process, this Congress failed to even vote on a budget for next year. This Congress has forfeited their right to spend. The next Congress should be as free as possible to set spending priorities. The 111th must pass something to keep the government running, but it should do so with as short-term a continuing resolution as possible." -- The Foundry
IDF Launches First NBC Defense Battalion
Tevet 6, 5771, 13 December 10 By Gil Ronen
The IDF has officially launched its first battalion specifically trained for dealing with the aftermath of nuclear/biological/chemical (NBC) attacks, named Yanshuf ('Owl'). An NBC unit by the same name has existed for a long time, according to the IDF website, but it has not been recognized as a full-fledged battalion until now....The new battalion was officially launched last week with Yanshuf's first battalion-level exercise. Yanshuf's companies drilled scenarios in which chemical warheads hit open spaces and and urban environments. They also rehearsed cooperation with a team from the Engineering Unit for Special Operations (Yahalom)...
...IDF Ground Forces Commander, Major General Sami Turjeman congratulated the new battalion's soldiers and hinted at the reason for the unit's upgraded status: concern over a possible confrontation with Syria.
..."We are here in the southern Golan Heights," he told the soldiers. "Not far away from us, the Syrians are preparing various capabilities that we need to prepare for. Our job is not to prepare for the conventional events but for the extreme scenarios, and Yanshuf Battalion is the spearhead of the [NBC] defense element..."* * * * * * * * *
"... in the unlikely event Obama, Mitchell and Clinton don't bring us peace," he added.
And Merry Festivus to you and yours.After almost 100 years, the State Compensation Insurance Fund is pulling 755 of its 830 jobs out of town... the high cost of Bay Area living is only part of the problem, Vargen said. The agency also seems to have trouble attracting qualified workers here.
"We have to do a lot more testing to get qualified candidates," Vargen said.
For example, only half of the San Francisco applicants passed the most recent test to become workers' compensation claim adjusters - compared with the 90 percent pass rate in Eureka...
A shocking act of terror in downtown Stockholm on Saturday could have been much worse: At a press conference on Monday, Swedish authorities explained that one of the bombs detonated prematurely, narrowly avoiding what would have been a more harmful attack in an area packed with holiday shoppers. As it happened, only the suspect was killed......There appear to have been three bombs that went off, and police say they’re “98 percent sure” that 29-year-old Taimour al-Abdaly, an Iraqi-born resident of Sweden, was the culprit behind the attack. But he may not have worked alone. “From experience, we know that there are usually more people involved in such actions.” Al-Abdaly is a Sunni Muslim and was studying in Britain.
Senate Democrats have filed a $1.1 trillion omnibus spending bill that would fund the government through fiscal year 2011, according to Senate GOP sources.
The 1,924-page bill includes funding to implement the sweeping healthcare reform bill Congress passed earlier this year as well as additional funds for Internal Revenue Service agents...
Operation Buck Up: Stop the DREAM Act amnesty bailout: Malkin