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Obama Could Have Done it, But the Supreme Court Had to Step it and Say No

Supreme Court rules to keep detainee abuse photos secret


WASHINGTON — The Supreme Court did all it could Monday to lock up forever some incendiary photos that show U.S. soldiers abusing foreign prisoners in Iraq and Afghanistan .

Yielding to Congress and the White House , justices took the expected but formal step of reversing a lower court's order that the pictures be released. Using its budget powers, Congress already had moved to keep the photos secret.

In a brief, unsigned decision issued Monday without elaboration, the court cited a provision in a Homeland Security funding bill that President Barack Obama signed Oct. 28 . The provision permitted the Pentagon to block the public release of the pictures in question, as well as others deemed to "endanger" U.S. soldiers or civilians.

http://news.yahoo.com/s/mcclatchy/20091130/pl_mcclatchy/3367538


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Senate Health Care Bill Would Increase Individual Insurance Premiums

CBO: Senate bill would increase individual insurance premiums

By Jeffrey Young - 11/30/09 12:19 PM ET
Individual insurance premiums would increase by an average of 10 percent or more, according to an analysis of the Senate healthcare bill.

The long-awaited report by the Congressional Budget Office (CBO) and the Joint Committee on Taxation (JCT) also concluded that subsidies provided by the legislation would make coverage cheaper for those who qualify.

http://thehill.com/homenews/senate/69763-cbo-report-predicts-increases-in-insurance-premiums
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Is ObamaCare's Cost Close to $6 Trillion?

ObamaCare’s Cost Could Top $6 Trillion

Congressional Democrats are using several budget gimmicks to disguise the cost of their health care overhaul, claiming the House and Senate bills would cost only (!) about $1 trillion over 10 years.  Now that critics have begun to correct for those budget gimmicks, supporters of ObamaCare are firing back.

One gimmick makes the new entitlement spending appear smaller by not opening the spigot until late in the official 10-year budget window (2010–2019).  Correcting for that gimmick in the Senate version, Sen. Judd Gregg (R-NH) estimates, “When all this new spending occurs” — i.e., from 2014 through 2023 — “this bill will cost $2.5 trillion over that ten-year period.”

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Clemmons Might be Dead

AP

URGENT: Police surrounding a house in Seattle say an ex-con suspected of killing four officers at a coffee shop is holed up inside, wounded and possibly dead.
Tags: Huckabee  
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"Who Peer-Reviews the Peer-Reviewers?"

CRU’s Tree-Ring Circus
Who peer-reviews the peer-reviewers?

By Mark Steyn

My favorite moment in the Climategate/Climaquiddick scandal currently roiling the “climate change” racket was Stuart Varney’s interview on Fox News with the actor Ed Begley Jr. — star of the 1980s medical drama St. Elsewhere but latterly better known, as is the fashion with members of the thespian community, as an “activist.” He’s currently in a competition with Bill Nye (“the Science Guy”) to see who can have the lowest “carbon footprint.” Pistols at dawn would seem the quickest way of resolving that one, but presumably you couldn’t get a reality series out of it. Anyway, Ed was relaxed about the mountain of documents recently leaked from Britain’s Climate Research Unit in which the world’s leading climate-change warm-mongers e-mail each other back and forth on how to “hide the decline” and other interesting matters.

Nothing to worry about, folks. “We’ll go down the path and see what happens in peer-reviewed studies,” said Ed airily. “Those are the key words here, Stuart. ‘Peer-reviewed studies.’”

Hang on. Could you say that again more slowly so I can write it down? Not to worry. Ed said it every 12 seconds, as if it were the magic charm that could make all the bad publicity go away. He wore an open-necked shirt, and, although I don’t have a 76” inch HDTV, I wouldn’t have been surprised to find a talismanic peer-reviewed amulet nestling in his chest hair for additional protection. “If these scientists have done something wrong, it will be found out and their peers will determine it,” insisted Ed. “Don’t get your information from me, folks, or any newscaster. Get it from people with Ph.D. after their names. ‘Peer-reviewed studies is the key words. And if it comes out in peer-reviewed studies . . . ”

http://article.nationalreview.com/?q=YjAxYzA3NmI0N2Y1MDVhYzdmM2JkZGIyMjE5ZWU2OTI=
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'Prosecuting American War Crimes'

Prosecuting American 'War Crimes'

The International Criminal Court claims jurisdiction over U.S. soldiers in Afghanistan.

The Hague

Secretary of State Hillary Clinton expressed "great regret" in August that the U.S. is not a signatory to the International Criminal Court (ICC). This has fueled speculation that the Obama administration may reverse another Bush policy and sign up for what could lead to the trial of Americans for war crimes in The Hague.

The ICC's chief prosecutor, though, has no intention of waiting for Washington to submit to the court's authority. Luis Moreno Ocampo says he already has jurisdiction—at least with respect to Afghanistan.

Because Kabul in 2003 ratified the Rome Statute—the ICC's founding treaty—all soldiers on Afghan territory, even those from nontreaty countries, fall under the ICC's oversight, Mr. Ocampo told me. And the chief prosecutor says he is already conducting a "preliminary examination" into whether NATO troops, including American soldiers, fighting the Taliban may have to be put in the dock.

http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052748704013004574519253095440312.html#printMode

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Huckabee's Willie Horton Moment?

Person of interest let out of Pierce County jail one week ago

By Seattle Times staff

Maurice Clemmons, the 37-year-old man wanted for questioning in the killing of four Lakewood police officers Sunday morning, has a long criminal record punctuated by violence, erratic behavior and concerns about his mental health.

His criminal history includes at least five felony convictions in Arkansas and at least eight felony charges in Washington. That record also stands out for the number of times Clemmons has been released from custody despite questions about the danger he posed.

Mike Huckabee, while governor of Arkansas, granted clemency to Clemmons nine years ago, commuting his lengthy prison sentence over the protests of prosecutors.

http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/localnews/2010386501_clemmons30m.html

Michelle Malkin details that Huckabee has had many Willie Horton moments:

http://michellemalkin.com/2009/11/29/violent-felon-granted-clemency-by-huckabee-now-sought-in-lakewood-wa-police-ambush/
Tags: Huckabee  
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Shocker: Talking Has Not Worked and Will Never Work with Iran

  • Iran to Build 10 Nuke Plants

    URGENT: Tehran reportedly approves plan for 10 uranium facilities in defiance of demands that it cut enrichment

Tags: nuclear   Iran  
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Political or the Truth?

Bin Laden Was 'Within Grasp'

Senate report says Al Qaeda leader was in Tora Bora when military leaders decided not to pursue him with force
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Couple Who Snuck in to the White House Met Obama

White House says uninvited dinner couple met Obama
WASHINGTON (AP) - A White House official says the Virginia couple who attended a state dinner without an invitation met President Barack Obama in the receiving line.

Michaele and Tareq Salahi were admitted into Tuesday's dinner for India's visiting prime minister although they were not on the official guest list of more than 300 people. It had been unclear how close they may have gotten to Obama.

http://www.breitbart.com/article.php?id=D9C85BE02&show_article=1


Tags: obama  
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Holder Says it is OK for ACORN to be Funded by the Federal Government

Justice Department Says Acorn Can Be Paid for Pre-Ban Contracts

Published: November 27, 2009

WASHINGTON — The Justice Department has concluded that the Obama administration can lawfully pay the community group Acorn for services provided under contracts signed before Congress banned the government from providing money to the group.

http://www.nytimes.com/2009/11/28/us/politics/28acorn.html?_r=1&adxnnl=1&adxnnlx=1259355860-u1P2DRmPrdFQwFuMP5+Gww
Tags: Holder   ACORN  
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Judge Wipes Out Couples Debt to Punish "Bad Bank"

Judge wipes out $500,000 debt to punish 'repulsive' bank


Greg and Diane Horoski’s story may seem familiar. They bought their home before the boom and, when house prices soared, increased their mortgage to finance a small business.

Interest rates rose, health bills poured in, and then the housing market crashed so that they ended up owing thousands of dollars more than their bungalow was worth.

Yesterday they went to court in New York expecting to be thrown out — but instead they emerged with their debt of $500,000 (£300,000) written off and a mortgage-free home.

http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/world/us_and_americas/article6932535.ece


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'Kill the Bills. Do Health Reform Right'

Kill the Bills. Do Health Reform Right
by Charles Krauthammer

WASHINGTON -- The United States has the best health care in the world -- but because of its inefficiencies, also the most expensive. The fundamental problem with the 2,074-page Senate health-care bill (as with its 2,014-page House counterpart) is that it wildly compounds the complexity by adding hundreds of new provisions, regulations, mandates, committees and other arbitrary bureaucratic inventions.

Worse, they are packed into a monstrous package without any regard to each other. The only thing linking these changes -- such as the 118 new boards, commissions and programs -- is political expediency. Each must be able to garner just enough votes to pass. There is not even a pretense of a unifying vision or conceptual harmony.

The result is an overregulated, overbureaucratized system of surpassing arbitrariness and inefficiency. Throw a dart at the Senate tome:

http://townhall.com/columnists/CharlesKrauthammer/2009/11/27/kill_the_bills_do_health_reform_right

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