Punk's Not Dead!

As the ANSWER protest was winding down on Saturday, a punk outfit cranked out an angry set. And amazingly, searching right now for videos of the event, I came across this clip of the band at bottom. If you look carefully, at about 7 seconds, you'll see me standing at left. I'm wearing a black cap and shirt (here), and my hair's getting pretty gray:

A Romney Backlash?

Click on Ben Smith to watch the video (via Memeorandum). This is ridiculous. The Democratic-left is totally freakin', and notice the line of attack: "This is Mitt Romney's bill as Governor of Massachusetts." Blah, blah ...

Andrew Romano's got the classic title, "Absurdly Premature 2012 Watch, Vol. 12: Romney's Ridiculous Response to Obamacare ." And Talking Points Memo's on the anti-Romney bandwagon as well, "Romney + HCR = Toast." Expect more attacks on Romney in the days ahead. He'll be hammered at least as hard as Sarah Palin's been in recent months, and in fact some double-barreled action is being directed at both of them right now (see Chris Good, "Romney Backs Repeal Campaign; Palin Warns of November").

So, let's face it: Mitt Romney's looking to establish himself as the prohibitive frontrunner for the 2012 GOP primaries. And why not? It's certainly not too early, despite the yelps. We'll likely get a couple official announcements from some second-tiered candidates before the year's out (most likely after the GOP picks up congressional seats in November). And Romney's no fool: He's right to start campaigning today, not just for himself, but for the American people. ObamaCare's an abomination. By all means repeal it, the sooner the better.

But note most importantly: This Romney backlash is classic smear politics (and Screaming Howard Dean's the last person anyone should trust on anything). Recall this piece just last week at National Review, "Obamacare Isn't RomneyCare":

In today’s Wall Street Journal, my good friend Grace-Marie Turner of the Galen Institute focuses on the similarities between Obamacare and former Massachusetts governor Mitt Romney’s health-care plan. But she ignores their more profound differences.

Both include an exchange, a subsidy for the poor, and an incentive for individuals to become insured, the so-called individual mandate.

The difference is that Romney’s plan did not raise taxes on individuals or businesses, didn’t cut Medicare, didn’t include “public options” or raise spending by a trillion dollars, and it didn’t impose insurance price controls. Romney’s plan made no attempt to take over health care. The Massachusetts legislation was a scant 70 pages long, compared to Obamacare’s gargantuan 2,000-page maze of regulation.

Perhaps most importantly, Romney’s plan is a state plan, not a one-size-fits-all federal usurpation of a power constitutionally reserved to the states. States should be free to adopt reforms that work for them. They can borrow the best ideas from one another. The federal government’s role is to be flexible about how their share of health-care dollars may be spent.

I just met Mitt Romney. I'm reading his book, and I endorse it heartily. But to be clear: I'm just as wary of Romney as the next guy. I hammered him repeatedly in the 2008 primaries and to this day I consider Romney a fairly unprincipled flip-flopper. I nevertheless have always thought of him as a basically good and decent man. And I'm frankly impressed with Romney's new "No Apology" tour (he's campaigning as the antithesis of President Obama, and I love his aggressiveness against healthcare).

And finally, something else is crucial: If conservatives join in on the Romney backlash that'll only feed the fortunes of even more unprincipled hacks like David Frum (and his lackeys) and Daniel Larison. It's early, yeah, but not too early to look out for the right's demon-sheep, and that ain't Mitt.

RELATED: From last June, "Romney: President Putting Country in Jeopardy."

Mitt Romney: 'A Campaign Begins Today'

I sure would have liked to have had a few minutes to sit down and chat with Mitt Romney the other night. My sense is that he's the most credible frontrunner for the GOP nomination, credible in that he's probably more electable than Sarah Palin in the general election. I like them both, although I'm ideologically much closer to Palin. That said, I'll be pulling for both Palin and Romney this year as we move into the 2011 "invisible primary" season. In any event, Romney's sure gotten a jump on the competition this morning, with his essay at National Review, "A Campaign Begins Today" (via Memorandum). As Romney rightly indicates, President Obama, with his ObamaCare legislation, has abused his authority and mandate in office:

What Barack Obama has ushered into the American political landscape is not good for our country; in the words of an ancient maxim, “what starts twisted, ends twisted.”

His health-care bill is unhealthy for America. It raises taxes, slashes the more private side of Medicare, installs price controls, and puts a new federal bureaucracy in charge of health care. It will create a new entitlement even as the ones we already have are bankrupt. For these reasons and more, the act should be repealed. That campaign begins today.

Stop the Wars! - ANSWER L.A. 'U.S. Out of Afghanistan and Iraq' - March 20, 2010

The image of these two attractive young women will stick with me for a long time. I approached them as they were preparing their headscarves for the march down Hollywood Boulevard. They led a contingent carrying coffins draped with Palestinian flags. What to think when one sees militant Palestinian jihadis in America? I did not speak with them, but they eagerly posed for the cameras with fists clenched and raised in solidarity. They reeked of hatred, anti-Americanism, and violent intifada against Israel. Something unexpected in Southern California, now mainstream among the college-communist activist networks:

According to the ANSWER website:

We will ... be making dozens of coffins with flags representing the multinational victims of U.S. wars of aggression, and many people and organizations are bringing coffins that they are making themselves. You can help make and carry coffins in the march by arriving at Hollywood and Vine between 11am and 12 noon.

And here's the flyer and map for the event, from ANSWER L.A., "On the 7th Anniversary of the Iraq War: U.S. OUT OF AFGHANISTAN & IRAQ NOW! STOP THE WARS!":

What follows is a chronological account of the afternoon. After parking at a lot just north of Hollywood and Vine, here's the scene at exactly Noon on Saturday. Unlike tea parties, which are grassroots and frequently spontaneous, International ANSWER is the hardline left's protest industry behemoth. Everything is scripted and outrage is manufactured. Don't have a homemade sign? No problem. Hundreds of cheap cookie-cutter protest signs are available for any Jerry Rubin wannabe who comes along. And that yellow box with the "stop the war machine" insignia? That's a donation repository. International ANSWER, a self-proclaimed revolutionary communist vanguard outfit, makes lots of money off this stuff (just temporary capitalist profiteering, no doubt):

Waiting for the march, Rubin-wannabes hang out with the caskets:

With the exception of "O-bomba" here, the protest, by a 3-to-1 margin, resurrected the dreaded Bush-Cheney hatred of previous years (more on that below):

At left below is Michael Prysner. He's talking to Long Beach ANSWER stooge Douglas Kauffman. Prysner is often described as an "anti-war Iraq war veteran," although I've heard conflicting reports on the degree of his direct combat experience. Prysner's reviled by the veterans groups I've spoken with. His discharge information is below (and available on request). He was a communications specialist in Iraq. Active in the "Winter Soldier" antiwar events during the George W. Bush years, he heads ANSWER's para-military resistance unit, "March Forward." The big showcase of Saturday's protest was Prysner's contingent of "Iraq Veterans Against the War." (See also, Ben Johnson, "Communists Against the Military.")

And what would an L.A. antiwar demonstration be like without Vietnam vet Ron Kovic, author of "Born on the Fourth of July"? An American patriot during Vietnam, Kovic's wounds turned him into a man who hates his county, and one who aids the forces of global terrorism. Kovic allied with communist George Galloway to launch Viva Palestina USA, a "humanitarian" group committed to the destruction of Israel. (See, "Hamas Leaders Warmly, Repeatedly Greet Viva Palestina Convoy.")

And here they are, 9/11 truthers. I'm still trying to absorb what these people are about, but the "troofers" always end up being one of the biggest outfits at the ANSWER demonstrations (and FWIW, check the website, We Are Change):

And below, seemed like a real sweet lady. But no word on how many children died under Saddam's reign of terror:

I think this is her husband. He was real excited and proud to be protesting. He can't wait for Bush/Cheney war crimes tribunals, it turns out:

More Bush/Cheney hatred, Latino-style. Passing along the hate to the niños as well (a common occurrence at the demonstration, sadly):

Democratic activists and SEIU thugs came out. These folks want Marcy Winograd in the June primary over Jane Harman of South Bay. Winograd's a radical leftist and President of Progressive Democrats of Los Angeles, the local front for the Progressive Democrats of America. She's an FDL communist and Ron Kovic ally:

Lots and lots of police on hand, up and down Hollywood Boulevard:

Another one of the much fewer anti-Obama signs:

Organizers are readying for the march, with the veterans giving their speeches from the stage. That's ANSWER's Peta Lindsay with yellow shirt and keffiyeh. She's a hardline party cadre for PSL, ANSWER's political arm:

More union thugs, even if she's a pretty one:

As I moved down in front of the stage to take a couple of pictures, some of the flag-bearers blocked my view and hit me on the head with their flagpoles. They know who I am (after having infiltrated their meetings repeatedly), and they obviously can't stand my exposés. The First Amendment for me, but not for thee, I guess:

Starting to march, going west on Hollywood Boulevard, Kovic and Prysner:

I had been hanging out down the street waiting for the march to start, having a slice of pizza and a Coke. Running back to the pizza shop, the woman who served me (in white) steps outside to take a look:

I finished my Coke and ran out to get a snapshot before the marchers passed. Protesters numbered well over a thousand people:

These protesters are from We Are Not Your Soldiers. The hooded guy at center was a native Spanish speaker. He and cohorts in the staging area, near Vine, spoke entirely in Spanish. International solidarity, I guess:

The LaRouchies marched. These folks are not conservatives, so it's time for idiot left-wing bloggers to put that meme to bed. Communists and Democrats attack President Obama as Hitler (just as I reported last year at the Adam Schiff town hall):

Code Pink marched, although Jodie Evans -- President Obama's liaison to the Taliban -- stayed away this time:

Check out this guy's sign. On the front, "BOOSH" (mocking the Jews, I'd say):

And on back, the obligatory Bush/Nazi slur. The "SS" stands for "Schutzstaffel," which was Adolph Hitler's elite paramilitary guard and the Nazi regime's most genocidal detachments:

The march winds down at Hollywood and Orange. We see our Palestinian activists next to their coffins:

A round of concluding speeches. This is Blase Bonpane, a communist "peace" activist with the Office of the Americas:

Bonpane spoke of turning active-duty troops against the war, which would facilitate an American defeat in Afghanistan and Iraq, just like the military insubordination, mutiny, and resistance in Vietnam contributed to the America's withdrawal there (or that's the line heard repeatedly by the ANSWER cadres):

89.3 KPCC has additional pictures, "Hundreds Gather at Hollywood and Vine to Protest War":

I have more pictures too, but this report, long already, is the major record.

The Sun Sets on Liberty

"The Sun Sets on America," via The People's Cube:

But see The Blog Prof, "Liberty Dies With Thunderous Applause!" Also, from Mark Steyn, "Happy Dependence Day!", via Memeorandum.

But have no doubt: The sun will rise again. And come November we'll hear for whom the bell tolls.

Plus, at NYT, "House Approves Health Overhaul, Sending Landmark Bill to Obama," and "A Major Victory, but at What Cost?":

The House’s passage of health care legislation late Sunday night assures that whatever the ultimate cost, President Obama will go down in history as one of the handful of presidents who found a way to reshape the nation’s social welfare system.

After the bitterest of debates, Mr. Obama proved that he was willing to fight for something that moved him to his core. Skeptics had begun to wonder. But he showed that when he was finally committed to throwing all his political capital onto the table, he could win, if by the narrowest of margins.

Whether it was a historic achievement or political suicide for his party — perhaps both — he succeeded where President Bill Clinton failed in trying to remake American health care. President George W. Bush also failed to enact a landmark change in a domestic program, his second-term effort to create private accounts in the Social Security system.

At the core of Mr. Obama’s strategy stands a bet that the Republicans, in trying to portray the bill as veering toward socialism, overplayed their hand. Fueled by the antigovernment anger of the Tea Party movement, Republicans have staked much on the idea that they can protect the country by acting as what the Democrats gleefully call the “Party of No.”

Now, armed with a specific piece of legislation that offers concrete benefits to millions of people — and that promises to guarantee insurance for many who found it unaffordable or unattainable — the White House and Democrats believe they may have gained the upper hand.

“This only worked well for the Republican Party if it failed to pass,” David Axelrod, one of the president’s closest political advisers, said at the White House as he watched the vote count for the final bill reach 219 in favor. “They wanted to run against a caricature of it rather than the real bill. Now let them tell a child with a pre-existing condition, ‘We don’t think you should be covered.’ ”

But there is no doubt that in the course of this debate, Mr. Obama has lost something — and lost it for good. Gone is the promise on which he rode to victory less than a year and a half ago — the promise of a “postpartisan” Washington in which rationality and calm discourse replaced partisan bickering.

Never in modern memory has a major piece of legislation passed without a single Republican vote. Even President Lyndon B. Johnson got just shy of half of Republicans in the House to vote for Medicare in 1965, a piece of legislation that was denounced with many of the same words used to oppose this one. That may be the true measure of how much has changed in Washington in the ensuing 45 years, and how Mr. Obama’s own strategy is changing with the discovery that the approach to governing he had in mind simply will not work.

Historic Win? Folks Will Remember in November

Sarah Palin spoke with Greta Van Susteren on Friday. Palin hammers the Democrat's healthcare takeover:

Plus, from Dan Balz, "Historic Win or Not, Democrats Could Pay a Price" (via Memeorandum):

As the final round of the battle over health-care reform begins Sunday, President Obama and the Democrats are in reach of a historic legislative achievement that has eluded presidents dating back a century. The question is at what cost.

By almost any measure, enactment of comprehensive health-care legislation would rank as one of the most significant pieces of social welfare legislation in the country's history, a goal set as far back as the presidency of Theodore Roosevelt and pursued since by many other presidents. But unlike Social Security or Medicare, Obama's health-care bill would pass over the Republican Party's unanimous opposition.

Even Republicans agree on the magnitude of what Obama could pull off, while disagreeing on the substance of the legislation. Sen. Lamar Alexander (R-Tenn.) said: "Obviously, he will have achieved as president something nobody else has done. So in that sense, it's historic." But he added, "It doesn't end the health-care debate -- it just changes it. And if it does pass, it would be a historic mistake."

The lengthy and rancorous debate has inflicted considerable damage on the president and his party. It helped spark the grass-roots "tea party" movement and generated angry town hall meetings last summer that led to some opponents painting Obama as a socialist and a communist for advocating a greater government role in the health-care industry. The issue now is whether final passage of the legislation -- Senate leaders say they will take up the reconciliation bill this week -- will cause more harm or begin a turnaround in the Democrats' fortunes heading toward the November midterm elections.

Some not-too-smart leftists think ObamaCare will help Democratic political fortunes. That'd be funny, if it wasn't so sad.

Health-Care Showdown on the Hill - Awaiting Stupak Press Conference! - UPDATED!! Pro-Life Dems Cave, Obama to Issue Exec. Order on Abortion!

You can see CNN's Dana Bash here at the video. This clip is practically real time, as I'm watching Bash right now in my living room as she corrals key Democratic legislators walking by. Representative Henry Waxman wouldn't commit, but he just told Bash that he was confident Dems would have the votes on the floor:

Check CNN's links if you're not following along at home. Wolf Blitzer is anchoring developments. Check some folks on Twitter as well, where you're getting as close to real time as you're going to get. The press conference is starting now, 1:05pm!

UPDATE! Check The Hill, "Stupak, Dems Reach Abortion Deal; 'Eight or Nine' Will Now Vote Yes."

Added at 1:40pm, a copy of the executive order, "Text of Executive Order on Abortion Restrictions."

Added at 1:50pm, some background video on recent healthcare developments:

Added at 2:35pm: I'm trying to figure out the politics on this. I'll have more later, although Carolyn Lochhead's take is interesting, "Pelosi Overpowers Stupak, Path is Cleared." (Basically, Stupak caved under pressure and the executive agreement won't protect squat.)

Also, from Gateway Pundit, "Stunner… Pro-Life Democrat Stupak Was Lying All Along- Will Support Pro-Abortion Obamacare …Update: Stupak Sells Soul!" (via Memeorandum).

Added at 4:10pm: From Rational Nation USA, "Stupak and the Collapse of Rational Opposition."

Mitt Romney in the O.C.!

I met Mitt Romney last night.

He was in town for a book signing at Barnes and Noble at South Coast Plaza. The book's entitled, No Apology: The Case for American Greatness. It's an excellent read. And he's a very friendly guy, seen here signing a book for the supporter just before me:

At the front of the line out front, a couple of hours earlier:

Folks waiting. This woman gave me permission for a snapshot, but refused to smile for the camera, hiding behind her sign:

The event was poorly organized. The line outside was useless. Supporters were already upstairs when the people from outside were ushered into the store. This is as close as I got while Romney made his introduction and thanked the crowd. Hundreds of people turned out for the entire event:

A surprisingly good picture, using the zoom here, with my wife's automatic digital Canon PowerShot A1000:

I didn't have to wait long to have my book signed -- it all happened pretty fast by this time, actually:

Mitt Romney's very pleasant. I introduced myself and we shook hands. He gladly posed for a photograph:

I read three chapters of No Apology while hanging out beforehand. In Chapter 1, Romney excoriates President Barack Obama's leadership and policies. Especially good is Romney's discussion of Obama's "American Apology Tour." He writes:

President Obama is well on his way toward engineering a dramatic shift in ... American foreign policy, based on his underlying attitudes.

The first of these envisions America as a nation whose purpose is to arbitrate disputes rather than to advocate ideals, a country consciously seeking equidistance between allies and adversaries. We have never seen anything quite like that, really. And in positioning the United States in the way he has, President Obama has positioned himself as a figure transcending America instead of defending America.

The sentiment manifests itself in several different ways, including President Obama's American Apology Tour. Never before in American history has its president gone before so many foreign audiences to apologize for so many American misdeeds, both real and imagined. It is his ways of signaling to foreign countries and leaders that their dislike for America is something he understands and that is, at least in part, understandable. There are anti-American fires burning all across the globe; President Obama's words are like kindling to them.

Romney also discusses President Obama's rejection of American exceptionalism and his embrace of the thesis of America's relative international decline. Romney wants nothing to do with such talk:

I reject the view that America must decline. I believe in American exceptional ism. I am convinced that we can act together to strengthen the nation, to preserve global leadership, and to protect freedom where it exists and promote it where it does not ...

That passage previews the direction of the book. Romney's got a plan to restore the American economy, the health care system, the schools, etc. The book's a brisk read, and in that sense it's way less autobiographical that Sarah Palin's, Going Rogue.

The book signing was definitely a campaign event. Romney volunteers had supporters fill out contact cards, with sign-up information for Romney's PAC, "Free and Strong America." Volunteers were also distributing Romney yard signs directing supporters to the book tour website, "No Apology" (note that the tour hits Des Moines, Iowa, on March 29th):

You think that blue button-down is Romney's favorite shirt?

Thanks for reading and tune back in late tonight and tomorrow for my coverage of all the weekend's protest activity.

Kill the Bill! - Nationwide Protests Against ObamaCare

From Michelle, "Day of Defiance: Nationwide Protests as Slaughter House Rushes Through Demcare":

Nancy Pelosi’s Slaughter House convenes at 9am. The chaplain opened with a prayer that had this line: “Shield us with your Holy Spirit, Lord…and drive away all that is evil.”

Amen to that.

On the West Lawn of the Capitol, Tea Party protesters and health care takeover opponents meet at high noon to raise their voices against the rotten policy and rotten process that has led us to this foul moment.

Americans will also gather at demonstrations nationwide to show their disgust and disapproval of the corruption, coercion, and Constitution-butchering.

I’ll post as many reader notices, photos, etc. from across the country as I can. Kicking off the rundown ....

Check the link.

Also, at LAT, "First step begins in the healthcare fray: Committee setting up ground rules."

Obama's Good Vibrations to Iranian Murderers and Thugs

From the White House, "President Obama's Nowruz Message." (Via Memeorandum.) From the transcript:

The United States does not meddle in Iran’s internal affairs. Our commitment – our responsibility – is to stand up for those rights that should be universal to all human beings. That includes the right to speak freely, to assemble without fear; the right to the equal administration of justice, and to express your views without facing retribution against you or your families.

No, Barack Hussein Obama wouldn't want to disrupt the fun and games in Iran. From Pamela:

Abortion Extremists Call for Stupak's Head!

Listen to John Dingell's tough talk at the video. Plus, at The Hill, "Dingell says he'll work to defeat Stupak's abortion efforts."

And more from The Hill, "Pro-Choice Caucus Livid at talk of Deal with Stupak on Abortion":

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) on Friday evening met with a visibly angry Pro-Choice Caucus amid rumors from Democratic aides that the Speaker was working on a last-minute deal with Rep. Bart Stupak (D-Mich.) to give his abortion language a separate vote.

Leadership aides, including those in the Speaker’s office, would not comment, but a senior Democratic aide directly involved in the abortion debate said Pelosi appeared to have agreed to give Stupak a vote on an “enrollment resolution” offered by Rep. Marcy Kaptur (D-Ohio), a key Stupak ally.

Kaptur’s resolution contains the same abortion language that Stupak successfully attached at the 11th hour to the House healthcare bill in November. Were the resolution to pass the House, it would instruct the Senate clerk to change the healthcare bill to reflect Stupak’s more restrictive language to prohibit federal dollars from going toward abortion coverage.

Stupak late Friday said that he was still in talks with the Speaker on the possibility of such an enrollment resolution – which he and others have been floating as a possible solution this week.

“There's a proposal out there, and we want to see it in writing and massage it,” Stupak said. “We have nothing yet.”

RELATED: At NYT, "BlogTalk: Progressives, Public Option and Abortion." And check Memeorandum. And from "Hammering" Jane Hamsher, "NY NOW President Marcia Pappas to Women in Congress: Make History and Walk Out."

BONUS: Barbara O'Brien's crazy talk, "Expect Insanity."

ObamaCare Threatens U.S. Future

From Representativs Michele Bachmann and Steve King,"Obamacare Threatens U.S. Future" (via Memeorandum):

If this bill passes, health care will cost far more than it does now, or ever did in the past. It will be more expensive for individuals and more expensive for businesses — and it will provide less service.

For centuries, the American dream has been to work hard, enjoy a high quality of life and pass on a better tomorrow to your children. Right now we are at a crossroads, and the future of the American dream is in doubt.

We can take this country on a path where entrepreneurship and investment flourish; where market-driven health care will provide more coverage to more Americans at a lower cost, and where new jobs that pay well are created by the private sector.

Or we can follow the path of more government that gives Washington more control over our lives. Obamacare is just the first step down this road.
As you read this, the fate of Obamacare hangs in the balance. We must do all we can to kill this bill in the next two days.

Keep those calls to Congress coming, and do all you can to stop this monstrosity. The future of America depends on what we can do in the next 48 hours to kill this bill.

Plus, at The Foundry, "The Aftermath of Obamacare: What America Will Look Like If The White House Gets Its Way."

More information at The Freedom Project. Also, American Grassroots Coalition," "No Reconciliation," and ResistNet.

'America's Comeback'

Via Kathryn Jean Lopez, from the Republican Governors Association, "America's Comeback":

The RGA website is here.

Plus, from Sir Smitty, "Palate Cleanser Video: Republican Governors Association" (c/o Memeorandum).

Also Blogging: Another Black Conservative, Left Coast Rebel, Political Byline, and Red State.

Code Red Rally March 20th Washington, D.C. - Kill the ObamaCare Monstrosity!

From Bosch Fawstin, "DEMON PASS":

Also, at American Grassroots Coalition, "Press Release ~ CODE RED Rally March 20th Washington, D.C.":

WASHINGTON, DC (March 18, 2010) – The past two weeks has seen the “Take The Town Halls To Washington” initiative get nearly 1,000 people to DC to meet with approximately 30 Congressman. The event culminated in the rally at Taft Park near the Capitol which was sponsored by Tea Party Express. Over 1,500 people assembled to rally against the healthcare bill and then meet with their representatives. While the Capitol Police diverted the stage and sound for the park rally, grass roots activists innovated and used a park bench and bull horn to get their message to the attendees!

With the critical nature of a looming Congressional decision, a broad coalition of Tea Party organizations and leadership is launching the final push before a possible vote by the House. These events are being coordinated across the US and are aimed at communicating the frustration of the people while demanding the termination of this health bill legislation. While the DNC and the administration continue to obfuscate and confuse, this coalition is focused on getting activists involved prior to Pelosi’s maneuvering.

RTWT at the link, c/o Nice Deb.

More Desperation: Leftists Exploit Parkinson's Patients for ObamaCare!

Digby props up the Parkinson's plant from last weekend's duel protests at Congresswoman Mary Jo Kilroy's office. See, "More Sickening Behavior" (via Memeorandum).

For added effect, Digby posts the new video from "Bob," our Parkinson's plant covered earlier. The man's full name is Robert A. Letcher, and he's got a write-up at Columbus Dispatch, "Parkinson's Patient Gains National Attention from Health-Care Rally Confrontation." There's some inconvenient truth here for the leftists, since Letcher's healthcare is funded:

Letcher, a Steubenville native, said he has helped design nuclear-power plants, worked as a community organizer and taught at the college level. He has been politically active most of his adult life, usually on the "progressive-leftist" side.

He went on disability five years ago. Letcher is insured through the tax-funded Medicaid program but wants others to have health insurance, too.

It's too bad that Professor Letcher's ill-informed on health policy. His home state of Ohio has one of the most extensive system of health clinics in the country (now helping fund his coverage) and the state has a universal health initiative that will provide insurance for all citizens by 2011. Folks aren't being denied coverage in Ohio. In fact, folks like Bob will be better off under their existing state and federal programs, for once ObamaCare kicks in he'll be a prime candidate for the death panels. No matter. Leftists don't care about patients. They care about totalitarian power.

Bob's a "progressive," of course, like Digby and her socialist allies, which means he can't think for himself. He's got to line up behind the crypto-Marxists now taking over the country. Indeed, even Representative Kilroy's exploiting old Bob to help ram down this unpopular monstrosity. And it's no wonder: She'll need all the sob stories she can get, considering this kind of opposition in her district:

BONUS: From Right Ohio, "OH-15: Happy St. Patrick’s Day! Also, Mary Jo Kilroy Defended an IRA Domestic Terrorist."

November is Coming

Via Instapundit:

Also, a The Corner, "It's Now or Never":

If you want to make your voice heard on the health-care bill before the House votes on Sunday, you’d better do so quickly. To make things easier for you, here, organized in alphabetical order by state, are the 40 key Democratic members of Congress whom Jeff Anderson and Andy Wickersham identified in a Critical Condition post last week, together with their direct Capitol Hill office phone numbers. (I haven’t kept track of all the developments since then, but it would be useful to congratulate or berate your member, as you see fit, if he or she has firmly adopted a position.) ...

Go to the post for the list of names and numbers.

See also, Charlie Martin, "Members of Congress Pressured from All Sides in Final Hours Before Health Care Vote."

BONUS: Via Daley Gator, at ResistNet, "Saturday DC Protest Rally....ObamaCare."

RELATED: At Big Government, "The Heat is On: Congressman's Office Says Constituent Calls Are ‘Harassment’" (via Memeorandum).

Obama's War on Israel

From Caroline Glick, "Obama's War on Israel":

Why has President Barak Obama decided to foment a crisis in US relations with Israel?

Some commentators have claimed that it is Israel’s fault. As they tell it, the news that Israel has not banned Jewish construction in Jerusalem – after repeatedly refusing to ban such construction – drove Obama into a fit of uncontrolled rage from which he has yet to recover.

While popular, this claim makes no sense. Obama didn’t come to be called “No drama Obama” for nothing. It is not credible to argue that Jerusalem’s local planning board’s decision to approve the construction of 1,600 housing units in Ramat Shlomo drove cool Obama into a fit of wild rage at Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu.

Obama himself claims that he has launched a political war against Israel in the interest of promoting peace. But this claim, too, does not stand up to scrutiny.

On Friday, Obama ordered Secretary of State Hillary Clinton to present Netanyahu with a four-part ultimatum.

First, Israel must cancel the approval of the housing units in Ramat Shlomo.

Second, Israel must prohibit all construction for Jews in Jerusalem neighborhoods built since 1967.

Third, Israel must make a gesture to the Palestinians to show them we want peace. The US suggests releasing hundreds of Palestinian terrorists from Israeli prisons.

Fourth, Israel must agree to negotiate all substantive issues, including the partition of Jerusalem (including the Jewish neighborhoods constructed since 1967 that are now home to more than a half million Israelis) and the immigration of millions of hostile foreign Arabs to Israel under the rubric of the so-called “right of return,” in the course of indirect, Obama administration-mediated negotiations with the Palestinians. To date, Israel has maintained that substantive discussions can only be conducted in direct negotiations between Israeli and Palestinian officials.

If Israel does not accept all four US demands, then the Obama administration will boycott Netanyahu and his senior ministers. In the first instance, this means that if Netanyahu comes to Washington next week for the AIPAC conference, no senior administration official will meet with him.

Obama’s ultimatum makes clear that mediating peace between Israel and the Palestinians is not a goal he is interested in achieving.

Obama’s new demands follow the months of American pressure that eventually coerced Netanyahu into announcing both his support for a Palestinian state and a 10-month ban on Jewish construction in Judea and Samaria. No previous Israeli government had ever been asked to make the latter concession.

Netanyahu was led to believe that in return for these concessions Obama would begin behaving like the credible mediator his predecessors were. But instead of acting like his predecessors, Obama has behaved like the Palestinians. Rather than reward Netanyahu for taking a risk for peace, Obama has, in the model of Yasser Arafat and Mahmoud Abbas, pocketed Netanyahu’s concessions and escalated his demands. This is not the behavior of a mediator. This is the behavior of an adversary.

With the US president treating Israel like an enemy, the Palestinians have no reason to agree to sit down and negotiate. Indeed, they have no choice but to declare war.

More at the link.

RELATED: At NYT, "Gaza Rocket Attack Into Israel Kills a Thai Worker."

GRAPHIC VIDEO (at 2:00 minutes): Islamization Watch.

The Deem-o-Crats

From Michelle, "The Deem-o-crats’ Towering Deception":

If you cannot trust government’s numbers, you cannot trust government’s words. This is the lesson of the House Democrats’ desperate promotion of a phony-baloney, Congressional Budget Office analysis of their latest health care takeover package.

Democrat leaders leaked a solid-seeming price tag figure — $940 billion over 10 years – before the CBO released any official comment or report. Liberal blogs and mainstream news wires started parroting Democrat claims that their plan “would cut the deficit by $130 billion over the next decade, and $1.2 trillion in the second decade of the plan’s implementation” – again, before the CBO had released an iota of information. And hours before the House Rules Committee posted the long-awaited reconciliation bill.

House Majority Whip James Clyburn pronounced himself “giddy” over the supposed CBO scoring. Math-lover House Speaker Nancy Pelosi proclaimed: “I love numbers. They’re so precise.”

But “precise” does not mean “accurate.” And the most “precise” numbers can be utterly worthless. Which is basically what the CBO Director Douglas Elmendorf pointed out in his summary of the unofficial, preliminary analysis of Demcare ....

Mathematical corruption is ideological corruption. The health care battle – and the battle over truth in government accounting – is not just about health care. It’s about the lies and damned lies that will be used to ram through cap-and-trade, illegal alien amnesty, and endless more bailouts. As Pelosi vowed last week, “Kick open that door, and there will be other legislation to follow. We’ll take the country in a new direction.” Yep: Straight to a red-ink-stained hell in a handbasket.

Cartoon Credit: William Warren, at Get Liberty (c/o Don Surber).

Health-Care Debacle in the House

At WSJ, "March Madness: Scenes From a Devolution as Democrats Writhe Toward 216 Votes":

Has there ever been a political spectacle like the final throes of ObamaCare? We can't recall one outside of a banana republic, or, more accurately, Woody Allen's 1971 classic "Bananas." Capitol Hill resembles nothing so much as that movie's farcical coup d'etat in San Marcos as Democrats try to assemble the partisan minimum of 216 House votes—if only for an hour or so at some point on Sunday—and no bribe is too costly, no deal too cynical, no last-minute rewrite too blatant ....

***
Even the political panic over the 2008 Troubled Asset Relief Program, amid an incipient financial collapse and a Presidential election, looks like regular order compared to this ObamaCare mayhem. That the White House and Mrs. Pelosi are still running into such resistance after a year of pleading reveals what an historic blunder ObamaCare really is.

This is what happens when a willful President and his party try to govern America from the ideological left, imposing a reckless expansion of the entitlement state that most Americans, and even dozens of Democrats in Congress, clearly despise.

See also, Janice Shaw Crouse, "ObamaCare is Tyranny, Not Legislation."

Image Credit: Americans for Prosperity, "Democracy Denied: The Obama Chart," c/o The Other McCain, "The Bigger Picture" and Washington Rebel, "Commissariat of the Elite."

House Dems Announce $940 Billion Health-Care Bill

At the Washington Post, "House Leaders Announce $940 Billion Health-Care Compromise Bill":

Pushing toward a Sunday vote that could transform the nation's health-insurance system, House leaders announced a $940 billion compromise Thursday that would extend coverage to the vast majority of Americans, cut billions of dollars from Medicare, and impose new taxes on the wealthy and the well-insured.

The proposal, a rewrite of a slightly narrower health-care bill the Senate passed on Christmas Eve, would also significantly expand the federal student loan program, offering President Obama the prospect of victory on two of his most important domestic initiatives after a year of legislative stalemate. The stakes are so high and the outcome so uncertain that Obama canceled a trip to Indonesia and Australia to continue lobbying undecided lawmakers with phone calls and invitations to White House meetings.

"Our international alliances are critical to America's security and economic progress," White House press secretary Robert Gibbs said. "But passage of health-insurance reform is of paramount importance, and the president is determined to see this battle through."

House Democratic leaders hope to approve the Senate bill along with a separate 153-page package of revisions to that bill that House members are demanding. The compromise would extend coverage to an additional 32 million Americans over the next decade by expanding Medicaid eligibility and creating state-run insurance exchanges and federal subsidies for lower-income families who lack access to employer-provided coverage.

Tonight's "Talking Points Memo" predicts passage of the legislation this Sunday, and mentiond at the clip are the latest healthcare findings from Fox News/Opinion Dynamics, "Fox News Poll: 55% Oppose Health Care Reform" (via Memeorandum):

As Americans wait for Congress to act on health care, a Fox News poll released Thursday finds 55 percent oppose the reforms being considered, while 35 percent favor them.

In addition, just over half of voters think House Democrats are “changing the rules” to get their bill passed.

About a third of voters (31 percent) think House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and the Democrats are “playing by the rules” to get health care through, while 53 percent think they are “changing the rules.” Looking at the results by political party, 53 percent of Democrats think their party is playing by the rules, about one in four think they are changing the rules (27 percent) and the rest are unsure (19 percent). Varying majorities of Republicans (78 percent) and independents (57 percent) think House Democrats are changing the rules to pass the bill.

The level of public support for the health care overhaul has remained fairly steady since last July -- 35 percent favor it now and 36 percent favored it last summer. The number opposed -- 55 percent -- is up from 51 percent in January, and from 47 percent last July. Opposition hit a high of 57 percent in December.

Among partisans, the president’s party faithful are alone in supporting the proposed reforms. Sixty-six percent of Democrats favor them, while 53 percent of independents and 88 percent of Republicans oppose them.

Catholics Split on ObamaCare

At Fox News, "Holy War Erupts Among Catholics Over Abortion Language in Health Care Bill":

The abortion language in President Obama's health care reform bill has ignited something of a holy war among Catholics, who are sharply divided on whether the legislation would allow the government to subsidize the termination of pregnancies.

While groups representing Catholic hospitals and liberal nuns have come out in support of the bill in recent days, other groups representing Catholic bishops and other nuns have denounced it, saying the bill contains restrictions on abortion funding that don't go far enough.

The White House has touted the support of a group of liberal Catholic nuns in an effort to win over conservative House Democrats who believe the final health care bill they will vote on contains restrictions on abortion funding that they and Catholic bishops say don't go far enough.

Rep. Bart Stupak, D-Mich., who has led the charge to include in the final bill the tougher anti-abortion language passed last November by the House, derided the White House for touting the nuns' support.

"When I'm drafting right-to-life language, I don't call up nuns," he said. Instead, he said he confers with other groups, including "leading bishops, Focus on the Family, and The National Right to Life Committee."

See also LAT, "Nuns in U.S. Back Healthcare Bill despite Catholic Bishops' Opposition":

Their numbers and influence may be declining, but American nuns demonstrated Wednesday what generations of schoolchildren already knew: They are a force to be reckoned with.

By sending a letter to Congress in support of the Senate healthcare bill, a wide coalition of nuns took sides against not only the Republican minority but against their own church hierarchy, as represented by the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops, which opposes the bill. The nuns' letter contributed to the momentum in favor of the legislation, despite opposition that is partially rooted in a disagreement over abortion funding.

"We agree that there shouldn't be any federal funding of abortion," said Sister Simone Campbell, the executive director of Network, a national Catholic social justice advocacy organization that spearheaded the effort. "From our reading of the bill, there isn't any federal funding of abortion."

Moreover, she said, the reverence for life that underpins Catholic opposition to abortion also argues for passage of healthcare reform.

"For us, first of all, tens of thousands of people are dying each year because they don't have access to healthcare, so that is a life issue," said Campbell, who is affiliated with an Encino-based order, the Sisters of Social Service.

She said Network, which has long supported healthcare reform, drafted the letter within hours of hearing that the Catholic Health Assn., which represents about 600 hospitals, had come out in favor of the bill last week. The letter was signed by the leaders of more than 50 Catholic women's orders and organizations, including the Leadership Conference of Women Religious, which says it represents more than 90% of the 59,000 American Catholic nuns.

More news at Memeorandum.

Regime Change Cuba!

Via Fausta, from Val Prieto, "PUT YOUR FREEDOM TO WORK"

I’m not going to sugarcoat or editorialize or plead or try to tug at your heartstrings today. Enough has been said and written about the the Black Spring Crackdown of 2003 and there is plenty of evidence out there to serve as absolute proof of what I am about to shove down your throat:

THERE ARE HUMAN RIGHTS VIOLATIONS IN CUBA.
THERE ARE NO CIVIL LIBERTIES IN CUBA.
THERE ARE POLITICAL PRISONERS IN CUBA.
THERE ARE PRISONERS OF CONSCIENCE IN CUBA.
THESE PRISONERS, AND THOSE WHO SUPPORT THEIR CAUSE, ARE SUBJECTED TO UNIMAGINABLE BRUTALITY AND INHUMANITY AND REPRESSION.

And you know what? You are an accomplice to the above. Yeah, that’s right. I said you are complicit in the violations of human rights and the torture of human beings.

Because you are.

More here.

Also, Marc Masferrer, "March 18, 2010 — 7 Years After the Cuban 'Black Spring'."

See also, "The Plight of Cuba's Hunger Strikers":

Today marks the seventh anniversary of a vicious crackdown on opponents of the Castro regime in Cuba. In the spring of 2003, the news agenda was dominated by the preparations for the US-led invasion of Iraq. In Havana, 90 so-called "agents of the American enemy" were arrested. Among those incarcerated were teachers, doctors, union organisers, journalists, human rights activists and dissidents. Seventy-five of those arrested were tried in circumstances which fell short of international standards. They were given jail sentences ranging from six to 28 years. As bombs fell on Baghdad, few voices were raised in protest at events in Cuba.

The anniversary this year is likely to receive more attention. One of those arrested in 2003, Orlando Zapata Tamayo, died last month following an 80-day hunger strike. Another dissident, Guillermo "Coco" Farinas, who began a hunger strike on February 24, is perilously close to death. A third political prisoner, Ariel Sigler Amaya, who has been in prison for 20 years, is in extremely poor health in a Havana hospital and, according to his family, is receiving inadequate treatment ...

More here.

RELATED: Henry Gonzales, at Pajamas Media, "Cuba’s Unknown Dissidents."