For Obama and the Media, Is the Honeymoon Finally Over?

BigJournalism "Certainly it’s the press secretary’s job to make his boss look good – but it’s a reporter’s job to play devil’s advocate. Why did only two reporters in the room press Gibbs on the transparency issue? George W. Bush was constantly criticized for being too secretive – and yet here we have a direct promise of transparency being broken, and only a couple of reporters dare to ask why. Perhaps they’re worried about being denied access if they ask questions that are too probing, as happened during the campaign."

The name of Obama funder and terrorist sympathizer Jodie Evans turns up twice in recently released White House visitor logs.

BigGovernment "The White House will have a harder time denying that it was Obama funder and terrorist sympathizer Jodie Evans who twice visited the White House in June. Last month, Jodie Evans wrote about her working with Obama’s Office of Public Engagement to coordinate communications undermining public support for Obama’s recently announced Af-Pak war strategy."

As Climategate Becomes Pressgate, Questions for the Media

BigJournalism "The Climategate scandal – where leaked emails and computer programs involve dozens of prominent scientists worldwide – has almost everything one would want in a good scandal: conspiracies, fraud, possible destruction of documents, and lots of heated exchanges. But the media has been reluctant to look into the problems and even when the controversy has been acknowledged it has been quickly dismissed as unimportant."

Government penalizes business for putting people to work

RealClearMarkets "To put it very simply, hiring is a cost born by investors and employers. And the problem with the latter in mind is that continued governmental efforts to drive non-market outcomes are reducing the amount of available capital for hires, all the while raising the cost of luring workers from the sidelines. Somewhat ironically, efforts to prop up the housing market with an eye on jobs are actually making job creation more difficult. To understand why, it has to be remembered that there are no jobs without capital. Simple as that."

Married Couples Pay More Than Unmarried Under Health Bill

WSJ "The disparity comes about in part because subsidies for purchasing health insurance under the plan from congressional Democrats are pegged to federal poverty guidelines. That has the effect of limiting subsidies for married couples with a combined income, compared to if the individuals are single." First the culture discourages marriage, now economics. Soon only those with strong moral convictions will marry.

THE REPORT

Neal Boortz "Actually ... I really think Obama has paid heed to his wakeup call. He's serious about this. Health care is one thing .. but negligently allowing a terrorist attack on our soil would do much more to doom his presidency than would the failure of ObamaCare. He's not yet at the point where he's willing to abandon a lot of the political correctness that goes hand-in-hand with our anti-terrorism efforts (at least not in the open) but hopefully that will come."

Bailed Out Citigroup Won’t Rule Out Giving More Money to ACORN

CNS News "However, both Bank of America and J.P. Morgan Chase stopped funding the ACORN Institute last fall, according to the National Legal and Policy Center (NLPC), a government watchdog group that has monitored what TARP recipients are giving to the ACORN Institute."

Abdulmutallab’s Lawyer is Public Defender Who Forged Documents in Detroit Terror Cell Trial

Debbie Schlussel "Now, meet Umar Abdulmutallab’s lawyer, Miriam Siefer, whose salary you are paying. If the name sounds familiar, that’s because you’ve read about Siefer on this site, before. During the Detroit terror cell case, she represented Karim Koubriti, an Islamic terrorist in a cell, which plotted to blow up the U.S. Air Force Base in Turkey, where U.S. AWACS and Israeli F-16s are based and from where they took off. They also plotted to blow up hotels and casinos in Las Vegas and planned to detonate in Disneyland."

The new two-party system

Dick Morris "Then Clinton’s moderation in 1995 and 1996 assuaged voter skepticism again and put the Democrats back in the game. By 2008, voters were actually willing to elect a liberal Democrat. Now that Obama’s administration is exploding due to its own extremism, the Democrats again face consignment to minority status. And the first to go will be those who try to make their political living on the conservative edge of a liberal party. For them, in 2010, the mandate is clear: Switch parties or lose the election."

Muslim charged after shouting on plane: "I'm Palestinian and I want to kill all the Jews"

Jihad Watch "Watch for a claim of "mental illness," distress, etc, and sob stories about his "Palestinian" origins (even there, aren't we repeatedly told that it's "only" Zionism that is at issue?). What will go largely unexamined in the mainstream press (or quickly swept under the rug) is the root of the violent fixation with Jews beyond the grievance du jour."

Pat Oliphant

YahooNews

The Butt Bomb

TheNewRepublic "Fortunately this scenario remains speculative; if it were easy and reliable, Abdulmutallab might have tried it. But if a terrorist does succeed in detonating a butt bomb, airport security might be in for a radical change. You think taking off your shoes is bad? Try bending over for a TSA worker wearing green surgical gloves." H/t to Lucianne.