[barack obama's aunt Zeituni] Onyango reserved special words of kindness for former President George W. Bush for a directive he put in place days before the election requiring federal agents get high-level approval to arrest fugitive immigrants, which directly affected Onyango. - She said she wants to thank Bush in person for the order, which gave her a measure of peace but was lifted weeks later.

"I loved President Bush," Onyango said while moving toward a framed photo of Bush and his wife standing with Barack and Michelle Obama at the White House on inauguration day. "He is my No. 1 man in my life because he helped me when I really needed that help."

the half sister of Obama's late father, said she has exiled herself from the family after attending Obama's inauguration because she didn't want to become fodder for his foes. Obama and his family have not reached out to her either, she said.

- http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/34222489/ns/politics/

[ lightly x-posted ]

"Brute force, no matter how strongly applied, can never subdue the basic human desire for freedom and dignity. It is not enough, as communist systems have assumed, merely to provide people with food, shelter and clothing. Human nature needs to breathe the precious air of liberty." - the Dalai Lama

After months of what some critics called overexposure, President Obama has of late avoided questions from the White House press corps at large, closing the Oval Office to traditionally informal question-and-answer sessions with reporters and pulling back from the fast pace of news conferences he established when taking office. - The president, whose job-approval ratings have been on a steady slide, hasn't held a formal news conference in 19 weeks, since July 22. That one ended badly, when Mr. Obama waded into a racial controversy by saying a white police officer "acted stupidly" when he arrested a black Harvard professor.
- http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2009/dec/01/obama-learning-the-presidential-art-of-ducking-the/

rove: Voter Anger Is Building Over Deficits - The generic poll shows a 16-point swing to the GOP over last year. - What seems to concern the president is not the problem runaway spending poses for taxpayers and the economy. Rather, what bothers him is the political problem it poses for Democrats. - Last year, Mr. Obama made fiscal restraint a constant theme of his presidential campaign.
- http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052748703499404574557571615004170.html?mod=djemEditorialPage
c/o quicknews

a warning from a u.k. doc: The UKs relatively poor performance in cancer care is a resource issue. We do not have enough oncologists, and the oncologists we do have are unable to access the front line chemotherapy that their colleagues in Europe and the USA use routinely. We do not have enough radiotherapists. The radiotherapists we do have do not have enough kit. The treatment of lung cancer in this country is particularly dire for those (most) patients who cannot afford to go privately. The government tries to paper over the cracks by appointing lung-cancer nurse specialists but, well-meaning those these nurses may be, they are no substitute for front line chemotherapy and linear accelerators.
- http://nhsblogdoc.blogspot.com/2009/12/widow-twankey-and-whipping-boys.html

The cost of installing and owning solar panels will fall even faster than expected according to new research. - Tests show that 90% of existing solar panels last for 30 years, instead of the predicted 20 years. - According to the independent EU Energy Institute, this brings down the lifetime cost.
- http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/science/nature/8386460.stm

( links for 12-01-09 pt 1 )

rift in the left: MoveOn Mobilizes Against Obama on Afghanistan
- http://blogs.abcnews.com/thenote/2009/12/moveon-mobilizes-against-obama-on-afghanistan-.html
[ he who lives by the sword ... ]

saving money on premiums? not kind to independent contractors or small business: CBO released a report today on how they feel the Dems' plan would affect premiums. - People on the individual market, those most likely to have no insurance or be under-insured, would see a 10-13% rise in insurance premiums. Repubs have seized on this number as evidence that the Democrats' bill fails. - Dems counter that the bill is creating a new base line for insurance – people who didn’t have it before will now have it and, almost more importantly, they say, people who think they have insurance now, would ultimately have meaningful insurance.
- http://blogs.abcnews.com/thenote/2009/11/senate-health-care-roadmap-hurry-up-and-wait.html
links to: http://www.cbo.gov/ftpdocs/107xx/doc10781/11-30-Premiums.pdf
[ leave it to government to decide "meaningfulness" for us - the same guys who have destroyed the dollar and run up the Great Deficit ]

our popular people-culture = high school and nothing more - "Our lives have been destroyed. We were invited - not crashers - there isn't anyone that would have the audacity or the poor behavior to do that. The White House is THE house and no one would do that, and certainly not us." - Michaele Salahi - ABC News has learned that the couple also apparently crashed a Sept. 26 dinner for the Congressional Black Caucus and were asked to leave. - Pictures from that dinner show Tareq and Michaele socializing with prominent figures, including Rep. Charlie Rangel, D-N.Y. - Tareq Salahi's brother, Dr. Ismail Salahi, said he isn't surprised by the allegations and that the couple has a history of bold behavior to attract attention. - "All involved want to figure out what happened and what we can do to ensure something like this doesn't happen again," Gibbs said.
- http://abcnews.go.com/Politics/white-house-crashers-salahis-deny-wrongdoing/story?id=9215516

note the minimizations: Baltimore's mayor was convicted Tuesday on a single charge she took gift cards intended for the city's poor. Although Sheila Dixon was acquitted of felony theft charges, her misdemeanor conviction could force her from office. - Jurors deliberated more than six days after hearing accusations the Democrat improperly used or kept $630 worth of gift cards. She was accused of soliciting most of the cards from a wealthy developer and buying electronics at Best Buy, clothes at Old Navy and knickknacks at Target.
- http://abcnews.go.com/US/Politics/wireStory?id=9217393

( links for 12-02-09 pt 2 )

biaswatch: [ponzi scheme suspect] Rothstein's office is filled with photos of him with politicians from around the country, including former President George W. Bush, former Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin, Arizona Sen. John McCain and California Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger.
- http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/34221626/ns/business-us_business/

Rasmussen’s latest survey shows anger at the federal government moving to a 3-1 position, with 71% of likely voters “angry”. Almost a majority claim to be “very angry,” at 46%. But what does that mean — and how would Congress and the White House defuse the anger?

- http://hotair.com/archives/2009/12/01/rasmussen-71-angry-at-federal-government/

The chief of a prestigious British research center caught in a storm of controversy over claims that he and others suppressed data about climate change has stepped down pending an investigation, the University of East Anglia said Tuesday. - The university said in a statement that Phil Jones, whose e-mails were among the thousands of pieces of correspondence leaked to the Internet late last month, would relinquish his position as director of Climatic Research Unit until the completion of an independent review.

- http://www.ajc.com/news/nation-world/uk-climate-scientist-to-221080.html

[ nothing to see here, MSM outlets ... keep up the chatter about obama's style ]

brilliant: level_head's world-weather/tech prediction for 2109: The temperature will have fluctuated, going up and down from where it is now perhaps a degree globally. The Earth's temperature-control feedback mechanism - cloudiness increasing with temperature - will have kept us in a pretty narrow band. CO2 has had a small positive influence, but it is overwhelmed by the changes in reflected sunlight. - CO2 will have risen from the current 385 parts per million to perhaps twice that. As a result, plant growth has continued to accelerate, and about one-fourth of the world's population is fed from the extra growth spurred by the rise in CO2 from pre-industrial days. (We continue to improve ...
read the rest at: http://community.livejournal.com/global_warming/13720.html

the welfare state, wherein we fare well: Thousands of abuse reports to a DCF hot line go unheeded every month because of a new screening process intended to keep the strained system functioning. - A Broward sheriff's deputy calls the Florida child-abuse hot line to report that a 4-year-old had been molested by a babysitter as the sitter's boyfriend videotaped the assault. A hot-line counselor declines to forward the report to an investigator.
read more at: http://www.miamiherald.com/569/story/1356292.html
linked from: http://stossel.blogs.foxbusiness.com/2009/11/30/will-politicians-never-learn/
c/o http://cutelildrow.livejournal.com/1913697.html

thus does the busybody state become ubiquitous - Richmond Times-Dispatch’s outstanding columnist and blogger Bart Hinkle wrote today on Virginia’s quest to regulate yoga instructors - and on the valiant effort of the Institute for Justice to stop such officious interference.
- http://cafehayek.com/2009/12/yoga-bearish.html
ij's story: http://www.ij.org/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=3008&Itemid=165

russ roberts cries out, rightly: They are stealing our money. They are then wasting our money while paying themselves a nice salary. This is a Ponzi scheme. It will destroy our country. It has to stop. But there’s no sign of it stopping. Something will give. Just hard to know where and when. - links to: Andrew Sorkin makes a good point in today's column. The problem of moral hazard is often written off as a problem for "the future," less important than dealing with a present crisis. Not so. The bailouts may have encouraged more lending to other places that were perceived as good bailout prospects. quoting sorkin: That had to be what Citigroup, with its firsthand expertise with bailouts, must have been thinking when it lent $8 billion to Dubai last year. Oh, and here’s an interesting fact: Citigroup made the loan to Dubai on Dec. 14, 2008. Take a look at the calendar - that’s after it received tens of billions in TARP funds. Citigroup’s chairman, Win Bischoff, said at the time, “This is in line with our commitment to the U.A.E. market in general, and reflects our positive outlook on Dubai in particular.” Good call.
- http://cafehayek.com/2009/12/looting.html
links to: http://www.marginalrevolution.com/marginalrevolution/2009/12/would-you-like-to-buy-an-indoor-ski-resort-in-dubai-maybe-you-already-have-andrew-sorkin-makes-a-good-point-in-todays-co.html

( links for 12-03-09 pt 3 )

repost: Although it may sound counterintuitive, loneliness can spread from one person to another, according to research being released Tuesday that underscores the power of one person's emotions to affect friends, family and neighbors.
- http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/11/30/AR2009113003846.html
[ not so counter to me: loneliness, like individualism, is a social mode in the primate matrix ]

Penn State has announced it will hold an inquiry into controversial climate change emails involving a university professor. - The professor in question, Michael Mann, said he has “nothing to hide” and welcomes the scrutiny. ... Penn State spokeswoman Lisa Powers said an inquiry is a “precursor to any investigation.” A faculty committee will examine about 300 emails concerning Mann “to determine if there’s any merit to the allegations, and if they warrant further review,” she said.

see more at: http://neveryetmelted.com/2009/12/01/phil-jones-resigns-michael-mann-under-investigation/

the deeper question is why the scientists behaved this way to begin with, especially since the science behind man-made global warming is said to be firmly settled. To answer the question, it helps to turn the alarmists’ follow-the-money methods right back at them.
see more at: http://neveryetmelted.com/2009/12/01/money-money-money-money/

the infamous conferene call: “We’ve been doing a lot of brainstorming about how we can add our skillset to this effort, and here are some of our thoughts ...Making prints that subtly encourage the progressive agenda. Health care, Employee free choice, immigration, energy conservation, etc.”
- http://bighollywood.breitbart.com/pcourrielche/2009/12/01/new-documents-reveal-white-house-nea-had-big-plans-in-motion-before-being-exposed/
[ imagine if a bush admin. call had the w.h. authority arranging for artists to tout conservative agendae? remember when bush admin. right got into hot water for paying journalists to write favorable stories - if memory serves, about no child left behind ... where's the outrage now, at this more massive attempt? ]

cool new group: http://generationamerica.org/ - Strength in numbers will change our nation’s course. Join us and become part of an over-50 community united in its defense of individual liberty and freedom. Together, we can get results.
c/o http://community.livejournal.com/conservatism/3258943.html

( links for 12-02-09 pt 4 )