Democrats reject Republican budget counter-offer

Republicans make their fiscal cliff' counteroffer
"So we have the potential for a deal that is somewhere between Bowles's plan last year and the president's plan. It is not, however, a matter of simply total savings. The Republicans have included far less revenue, as well as less revenue to be obtained through tax reform. The Democrats have yet to present a substantive offer that looks at systemic entitlement reform. The Republicans have shown that, contrary to the liberal-media meme, Boehner and not Grover Norquist controls the House. (And we expect this is not even the final GOP offer, leaving room for more revenue perhaps.)
"We are far from a deal. We're not close, but we are no longer "nowhere." Your turn, Mr. President."

"In a document obtained by Right Turn from House Republicans, the plans match up as follows:"
More on this at the link.

White House reponds to GOP’s counteroffer: Sorry, wrong number, not going there   "Despite Republicans’ significant concession that they would be amenable to revenue increases if they came via tax-code reform — an honest-to-goodness effort at compromise — President Obama has roundly refused to even consider a plan that doesn’t include tax-rate increases on the wealthy, the only apparent policy rationale being that it’s just that important to him to be a full-on class warrior. It looks like the White House is sticking to that line, even after Speaker Boehner officially released the GOP’s own proposal earlier this afternoon. So much for “negotiation,” via BuzzFeed:"...

Sanctions Fight Is an Example of Why Bibi Doesn’t Trust Barack

Seth Mandel in Commentary;  "It’s no secret that President Obama and Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu don’t trust each other. Personality conflicts are slightly less troubling–they can dislike each other and still respect and even trust each other. But trust is seemingly nowhere to be found in the distressed relationship between the two leaders. (We got another reminder of this at the Saban Forum, when Ehud Olmert restated on the record comments that Rahm Emanuel, once Obama’s chief of staff, had made at the forum off the record. The comments were tinged with anger and resentment at Netanyahu.)"....

"And the pessimist sees something else entirely: an American president who makes lots of campaign promises he doesn’t keep who doesn’t seem to possess any sense of urgency on a matter that, to Israelis, is tied to the very survival of the Jewish state."

The Five Best Reporters on FOX News

American Glob    "This is a new post in an ongoing series about FOX News.
"Previous Posts: The Five Best Guest Hosts on FOX  ; Five People FOX News Should Kick to the Curb"
(One of whom was Alan Colmes, pleasingly.)
"Now, the Five best reporters on FOX News. Critics of FOX News often single out opinion shows like the O’Reilly Factor and Hannity while ignoring the excellent hard news reporters on the network. Here are, in my opinion, the best news reporters on FOX."
Starting with number five is Jennifer Griffin and working up to number one: Bret Baier

I make a point to be home from work in time to watch Special Report with Bret Baier. It is simply the best show on TV for coverage of national politics and the all star panel is matched by none.

Will the GOP Let the MSM Back for the Primary Debates of 2016?

By Roger L Simon at PJ Media; "We all know the old saw, “Fool me once, shame on you. Fool me twice, shame on me.”
"But how about “Fool me two dozen times and you’re the Stupid Party!” (aka, the GOP)?
"The Republicans certainly did their best to prove the latter in election 2012.
"And how were they fooled? The last election was arguably over and done before the real battle started when the mainstream media overtly and covertly made mincemeat of the Republican candidates during the primary debates, effectively neutering them for the main event.
"Well, except for, momentarily, Newt Gingrich, who provided the one intellectually stimulating moment during that tedious and seemingly interminable series of events when he called the media out. That, unfortunately, could only be effective once."

exposethemedia.com

The I, Me, Mine presidency

President Obama Honors Rosa Parks Anniversary With Picture Of…Himself

"President Obama loves to insert himself in other people’s biographies. He also loves to honor people, most recently Neil Armstrong and Vice President Biden, with pictures of himself. All. About. Him. His laser-like focus never wavers from his own image.
"And the narcissism continues: To honor the 57th anniversary of the day Rosa Parks refused to give up her seat on the bus, President Obama paid homage with a picture of himself."

Stop Israeli Agression Now!

Thomas Sowell on the fallacy of liberal ideas

Bookworm Room  " “Who’s Thomas Sowell?” my daughter asked.
" “He’s a genius,” I replied.
" “Why?”
" “Because he has the rare gift of simplifying very complex ideas without dumbing them down.”
"See for yourself:"

Sandra Fluke: Too much for even the earth to bear

Conservative Daily News    "We are just days away from finding out who the 2012 TIME Person of the Year will be. You may be surprised to know that one of the 2012 “candidates” – if chosen as Person of the Year — is literally “too much for even the earth to bear.”

"The Person of The Year is considered the person who “most influenced the news this year for better or worse.”
"Sandra Fluke, the now-infamous disgruntled Georgetown student who is outraged that the Catholic University “does not provide enough access to birth control pills for female students”, is a candidate for the title this year. Ms. Fluke is described by TIME Magazine as “the target of conservative radio host Rush Limbaugh’s vicious rants.” The magazine goes on to say, “Conservatives painted Fluke as the epitome of liberal entitlement; to liberals, she was a victim of the right’s war on women.”
"Victim? A more accurate description is that she is “the political prop” for “The War On Women’s Brains”."

From Heritage; United Nations Declares Contraception Access a “Human Right”
"While access to contraceptives may be a serious policy concern for groups like UNFPA, to label it a human right is to devalue the very principle of rights. Declaring it to be so is to cheapen the very serious need to defend true human rights—rights to life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness. The principle of natural rights delineates those fundamental freedoms that government can neither create nor take away."

Mark Steyn; America not paying its fair share

O.C. Register  "You cannot simultaneously enjoy American-sized taxes and European-sized government. One or the other has got to go."

"Yes! At the very last minute of her white-knuckle thrill ride to her rendezvous with destiny, she was rescued by Congress' decision to set up... a Super Committee! Those who can, do. Those who can't, form a committee. Those who really can't, form a Super Committee – and then put John Kerry on it for good measure. The bipartisan Super Committee of Super Friends was supposed to find $1.2 trillion of deficit reduction by last Thanksgiving, or plucky little America would wind up trussed like a turkey and carved up by "automatic sequestration." "

....
"A few months ago, I dined with a (pardon my English) French intellectual who, apropos Mitt Romney's stump-speech warnings that we were on a one-way ticket to Continental-sized dependency, chortled to me, "Americans love Big Government as much as Europeans. The only difference is that Americans refuse to admit it." "

From Heritage: What IS the Fiscal Cliff?

Heritage   ..."There is no agreement right now on how to avoid it, however. When Treasury Secretary Tim Geithner presented the White House’s plan to House Speaker John Boehner (R-OH) last week, Boehner said, “You can’t be serious.” Thus far, President Obama’s answer to the fiscal cliff is a proposed $1.6 trillion in tax hikes plus new stimulus spending—and expanded power for himself to raise the debt ceiling without congressional approval. He suggests only magnifying the policies that brought us to the fiscal cliff in the first place.

"Heritage’s Romina Boccia, James Sherk, and Katie Tubb have explained “What’s in the Fiscal Cliff?” and recommended solutions to several of the immediate problems. They note that American individuals, families, businesses, and the military will all be harmed if the nation goes “off the cliff,” so to speak, or if a bad deal is done in Washington. Here are some of the major components of the fiscal cliff." Read more....

Rick Moran; Key to fiscal cliff negotiations: Holiday deadline
...."But for the 535 members of the U.S. House of Representatives and Senate, who need deadlines to force them to accomplish anything big, it is the threat of having to work through Christmas that is fueling the oncoming mad dash to a deal - or at least a deal to eventually get a deal."

Let Obama Be Obama

Victor Davis Hanson   ...."Republicans countered with arguments that higher taxes on the employer class hurt the economy in general. They assumed most voters knew that amnesties are euphemisms for undermining federal law and in the past have had the effect of promoting more illegal immigration. They tried to point out that there is no such thing as free universal healthcare, since Obamacare will only shift responsibility from healthcare practitioners and patients to inefficient government bureaucracies and hide the true costs with higher taxes.
"And they utterly failed to convince the American people of any of that.
"Why doesn't the Republican-controlled House of Representatives give both voters and President Obama what they wished for?"....

Obama says Stop Snitchin'

By Terresa Monroe-Hamilton  at GulagBound  "Those who know history, know that tyrants constantly ‘cleanse’ or ‘purge’ their ranks of those they perceive as disloyal to the powers that be. They rule with an iron fist and with total control, because not to is to expose their political jugular to their enemies. It truly is dog eat fascist dog. This is very true in the Obama sphere of influence and within the ranks of his court. So, in the true tradition of dumping earth shaking news before a holiday or on a Friday, the day before Thanksgiving, Obama published a memo laying out guidelines for executive agencies to establish “effective insider threat programs.” Though vague, the wording is noteworthy and very interesting:

For Immediate Release
November 21, 201?

Presidential Memorandum — National Insider Threat Policy and Minimum Standards for Executive Branch Insider Threat Programs
MEMORANDUM FOR THE HEADS OF EXECUTIVE DEPARTMENTS AND AGENCIES
SUBJECT: National Insider Threat Policy and Minimum Standards for Executive Branch Insider Threat Programs

This Presidential Memorandum transmits the National Insider Threat Policy and Minimum Standards for Executive Branch Insider Threat Programs (Minimum Standards) to provide direction and guidance to promote the development of effective insider threat programs within departments and agencies to deter, detect, and mitigate actions by employees who may represent a threat to national security. These threats encompass potential espionage, violent acts against the Government or the Nation, and unauthorized disclosure of classified information, including the vast amounts of classified data available on interconnected United States Government computer networks and systems.
The Minimum Standards provide departments and agencies with the minimum elements necessary to establish effective insider threat programs. These elements include the capability to gather, integrate, and centrally analyze and respond to key threat-related information; monitor employee use of classified networks; provide the workforce with insider threat awareness training; and protect the civil liberties and privacy of all personnel.
The resulting insider threat capabilities will strengthen the protection of classified information across the executive branch and reinforce our defenses against both adversaries and insiders who misuse their access and endanger our national security.

BARACK OBAMA

More here.
BeforeItsNews asks,"why now"?
Much of the speculation regarding this memo is a result of the brevity and ambiguous wording. For example, "what exactly defines an “insider threat” and why are “violent acts against the Government or the Nation” mentioned? Recent events raise even more questions. After a closer look at some of the theories regarding why Obama felt the need to write this now, readers can draw their own conclusions."
However the tone of this entire article is sympathetic to Bradley Manning, for whom I hold nothing but disgust because of the damage he has caused to allies and others who have supported America. We are much less secure in our struggle against terrorism because of him than before.