If you receive this and you hate it and you don’t want to ever read it no matter what...that is fine; email me back and you will be deleted from my list (which is almost at the maximum anyway).

I attempt to post a new issue each Sunday by 2 or 3 pm central standard time (I sometimes fail at this attempt).

I try to include factual material only, along with my opinions (it should be clear which is which). I make an attempt to include as much of this week’s news as I possibly can. The first set of columns are intentionally designed for a quick read.

I do not accept any advertising nor do I charge for this publication. I write this principally to blow off steam in a nation where its people seemed have collectively lost their minds.

And if you are a believer in Jesus Christ, always remember: We do not struggle against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the cosmic powers over this present darkness, against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly places (Eph. 6:12).

The United Arab Emirates ambassador to the United States, Yousef al-Otaiba, publically stated Tuesday that the benefits of bombing Iran's nuclear program outweigh the short-term costs such an attack would impose.

In related news, Iran has just banned the mullet and male pony tail. A FoxNews commentator said that even a broken clock is right twice a day.

BP is to remove the ineffective cap on their gushing well in the gulf with something which will capture most of the oil escaping from the well. This will be a 2 or 3 day process.

BP will soon begin to drill for oil off the shores of Libya, the negotiations for which have been going on for years. The release of the Lockerbie bomber, who will probably live for another 15–20 years, appears to have been the key to these negotiations being fruitful for BP (and for the cash-poor British government).

The Obama White House, representing the federal government, has filed suit against Arizona over their immigration law. Although WH talking heads this past week have talked all about racial profiling, the basis of the suit is federal preeminence in controlling illegal immigrants.

President Obama gives a recess appointment to Dr. Donald Berwick, making him administrator of Medicare and Medicaid, and in charge of 4% or more of our GDP. Recess appointments were originally a part of government, because the Congress would recess for long periods of time. Later, these were used for appointments which were difficult to get passed or were filibustered. However, this may be the first recess appointment who would have been confirmed, but the Obama administration just did not want any of his background made known.

According to the Nielsen Co, CBS, NBC, ABC and Fox together had the smallest number of prime-time viewers last week in two decades of record-keeping.

San Francisco, a bastion of readily available medical marijuana, is looking into banning the sale of pets (because there are so many abandoned animals, including hamsters). Mayor Gavin Newsom, by executive order, has banned Coke, Pepsi and Fanta Orange from vending machines on city property, although their diet counterparts will be allowed.

The Transportation Security Administration (TSA) is blocking certain websites from the federal agency's computers, including halting access by staffers to any Internet pages that contain a "controversial opinion," according to an internal email obtained by CBS News. 5 categories of sites and applications are blocked. What’s not specifically blocked? Porn.

This was a very difficult story to track down on the internet: The ArcelorMittal steel plant, in East Chicago, Indiana is generating what some are calling "recycled green energy" that is saving the company a hundred million dollars a year on its energy costs. The trick is trapping waste heat from the giant ovens used to heat metal for smelting and using it to run turbines. Thomas Casten, the Chairman of Recycled Energy Development says, "What they've done at this plant produces about twice the amount of clean energy as all of the solar collectors in the US since the dawn of the industry." This is one plant. Just like those small nuclear reactors, where is the press on this story? Where are the environmentalists praising this company to the heavens?

This is a significant news item which I missed: during the protests in Iran, both Ayatollah Khamenei and President Ahmadinejad had planes ready to get them out of the country, if necessary (I heard this for the first time during an interview with Cyrus Nowrasteh). This ought to give us an idea of how fragile the Iranian government is at this time, and how an smart U.S. President could have potentially toppled that regime.

James O'Keefe and Hannah Giles are sued by an ACORN San Diego employee for $75,000.

The University of Illinois has fired an adjunct professor who taught courses on Catholicism after a student accused the instructor of engaging in hate speech by saying he agrees with the church's teaching that homosexual sex is immoral.

Governor Bobby Jindal says the oil must be stopped before it reaches the shore. Still, many federal employees are busy with paper towels “cleaning up” marshes and marsh grasses.

During Wednesday interview with Channel 2 News and confronted with the anxiety that some Israelis feel toward him, Obama said that "some of it may just be the fact that my middle name is Hussein, and that creates suspicion." He then added: "Ironically, I've got a Chief of Staff named Rahm Israel Emmanuel. My top political advisor is somebody who is a descendent of Holocaust survivors. My closeness to the Jewish American community was probably what propelled me to the U.S. Senate."

"This [Stimulus Bill] legislation was designed to cushion the downturn," said White House Press Secretary Robert Gibbs. You may recall this as being touted as a job’s bill. Uh uh, that is not the story now.

President Obama from January: “That is why I have moved quickly to work with my economic team and leaders of both parties on an American Recovery and Reinvestment Plan that will immediately jumpstart job creation and long-term growth.”

President Obama on the campaign trail: “This is a choice between the policies that got us into this mess in the first place and the policies that are getting us out of this mess, and the other side is banking on people not having a good memory. They're trying to bamboozle you.”

Michelle Obama: “We are going to have to change our traditions and our history and move to a better place.”

Obama supporter Jimmy Buffet on the oil spill in the gulf: "To me it was more about eight years of bad policy before (Obama) got there that let this happen. It was Dracula running the blood bank in terms of oil and leases. I think that has more to do with it than how the president reacted to it."

Alvin Greene, the Democratic Senate candidate for South Carolina, suggested this week, “Another thing we can do for jobs is make toys of me, especially for the holidays. Little dolls. Me. Like maybe little action dolls. Me in an army uniform, air force uniform, and me in my suit. They can make toys of me and my vehicle, especially for the holidays and Christmas for the kids. That's something that would create jobs. So you see I think out of the box like that. It's not something a typical person would bring up. That's something that could happen, that makes sense. It's not a joke.”

NASA official Charles Bolden announced on Al Jazeera Network: “When I became the NASA Administrator - before I became the NASA Administrator - [Obama] charged me with three things: One was he wanted me to help re-inspire children to want to get into science and math, he wanted me to expand our international relationships, and third, and perhaps foremost, he wanted me to find a way to reach out to the Muslim world and engage much more with dominantly Muslim nations to help them feel good about their historic contribution to science, math, and engineering.” Bodlen’s concluding remarks to Al Jazeera: “NASA is not only a space exploration agency, but also an earth improvement agency.”

Minister King Samir Shabazz, aka Maurice Heath, who was one of the nightstick-wielding African-Americans outside a Philadelphian polling place in 2008: “I hate white people - all of them! Every last iota of a cracker, I hate 'em. Through South Street with white, dirty, cracker whore [expletive] on our arms. And we call ourselves black men with African garb on.” And “You want freedom? You're gonna have to kill some crackers! You're gonna have to kill some of their babies!” This is the person who the Department of Justice has declined to prosecute, even though there is a default judgment against him. Christian Adams, a former DOJ attorney, quit his job after over the Obama administration's refusal to prosecute the Panthers.

Deputy Assistant Attorney General Julie Fernandes ordered, "Never bring another lawsuit against a black or other national minority, apparently no matter what they do."

Mayor Gavin Newsom, in co-authored article about the Stimulus bill: “Let's continue a federal stimulus program that's working exactly as it was intended - putting thousands of people back to work now.”

With respect to the spy exchange, Joe Biden told Jay Leno: "I thought they'd take Rush Limbaugh." (Biden can be funny).

Ken Feinberg, the dispenser of BP funds, when questioned about the potential imperfections of dispersing funds, said, “The perfect is the enemy of the good.” (I will admit when a liberal says something sensible).

Jerry Brown, about giving respect to his constituents: “First of all you treat them with respect. You lay out your agenda, and you get everybody understanding we're Californians first. We're not Democrat or Republican or a member of this group or that group. And don't just say unions are a powerful force. Hey, you know Wall Street destroyed $11 trillion worth of wealth. That's powerful. No union could do that. Then there's the tea baggers and the Chamber of Commerce. The key to democracy is leadership what can forge the common purpose. That's what I feel my entire life has prepared me to take what I learn, work with the diversion conflicting factions and get this common pathway to the future. Seizing the assets of California, which after all is still the eighth wealthiest political entity in the world.” Either Brown does not realize that this is a homosexual slur, or it is just a part of his vocabulary which slipped out.

Washington Post’s Ruth Marcus on the Palin mama grizzly vid: "I think it's the same, old, vapid, platitudinous Sarah Palin," said Marcus. "There is not a shred, not a shred of substance in this ad."

George Will responded with: “On the vapidness meter, that ranks nowhere near, ‘We are the ones we have been waiting for,’ which was Obama's way of flattering the self-esteem of his supporters.”

Rush Limbaugh, “The center of the universe is not the RNC, it is right here.” [in his studio]

From FoxNews’ Bulls and Bears: “Fannie and Freddie saying that these [green] loans are too risky is like Lindsay Lohan saying, ‘This cocktail is too strong.’ ”

Jake Tapper asked George Will if the President's claim Republicans "are peddling that same snake oil that they've been peddling now for years" will resonate with voters this November.

Will responded, "No, because he is an expert on snake oil. This is the man who said, if we pass the $767 billion stimulus bill, which it turns out costs $862 billion, a $95 million oops, we would have unemployment at 8 percent and no higher, and it went higher. This is the man who last week was out saying, 'I'm going to give $2 billion, about $2 billion, to two companies to create about 1,600 jobs.' That's $1.5 million per job. That is snake oil"

Our country was found on the basis of distrust of the government, by Penn Jillett:

This is way cool; it is an animation of the air traffic over the United States over a 24 hour period of time (it is not in real time; it is only 3 minutes):

Democrat film maker says Obama stole election from Clinton (she alleges massive voter fraud):

http://www.breitbart.tv/new-documentary-charges-obama-stole-nomination-from-hillary/

The film site (with excellent previews):

http://wewillnotbesilenced2008.com/

More examples of why we ought to continue to ignore the opinions of movie stars:

Although the following is not great video, it presents evidence of a spiritual battle occurring in Dearborn, Michigan. Believers in Jesus Christ are accosted by police for handing out the gospel of John to Arabs as the exit an Arab festival (not even a Muslim festival).

Video and story on the New Black Panthers, in front of the polling place and his hating white crackers statements.

“Let’s talk about this brother” New Black Panther president praised Osama Bin Laden:

Congressman Aaron Schock does not want to spend money telling everyone where stimulus money was spent; he makes a good case:

Missouri, like all states, is facing a severe budget crisis. But, they still managed to go out and spend $100,000 for some new “Welcome to Missouri” signs (the old ones were 20 years old). There is a commercial first:

Jodi Miller: “Last week, Move America Forward held its annual Troop-a-thon. Also held last week, Code Pink’s bake sale for Hama.”

And “Venezuela recently seized 11 oil rigs owned by American companies, or, as Hugo Chavez calls it, ‘keeping up with Obama.’”

1) Written by Kathy from a discussion site I go to: I know Michigan has a HUGE Muslim population. That is why they are getting away with what is in these videos. They are also running for office. This is a concerted effort all over the west - Europe and here. First, move to the area. Second, have children like hamsters. Third, overwhelm and outnumber the indigenous population. Fourth, infiltrate by running for local office. Fifth, as things get into place, begin instituting Sharia law - since Islamists would now have the majority necessary to impose their will. The UK is very hard hit - there is the English Defense League - I believe they have a web site - that just protested the building of a huge mosque near their homes.

To a Muslim, a mosque is not like a church or synagogue - just for worship. It is a symbol of conquest and it is where they do all the agitating and teaching propaganda. They want to name the mosque in NY at the Ground Zero area "Cordoba House" - in honor of their conquest of southern Spain in the late Dark and early Middle Ages.

There are a couple of videos on YouTube which deal with Muslim behavior, depending upon their percentage of the population. If you have not seen these videos, you need to watch them.

2) Did you hear about the depressions of 1920 and 1946? Probably you have, if you have been watching Glenn Beck. These depressions ended quickly with tax cuts and a reduction in federal spending. What depression did not end very quickly? The one over which FDR presided. What recession will not end quickly? The one over which President Obama presides. Hmm, I wonder if there is anything to be learned by this?

Glenn Beck’s shows (I highly recommend Friday’s July 9^th show). I watched this with an independent (Obama voter) who was seeing his show for the first time, and she was engrossed by this show.

3) Last week I quoted that lame statement that Michael Steele made about Afghanistan (a statement with many Republicans have publically repudiated). The official DNC statement is

"Here goes Michael Steele setting policy for the GOP again. The likes of John McCain and Lindsey Graham will be interested to hear that the Republican Party position is that we should walk away from the fight against Al Qaeda and the Taliban without finishing the job. They'd also be interested to hear that the Chairman of the Republican Party thinks we have no business in Afghanistan notwithstanding the fact that we are there because we were attacked by terrorists on 9-11.

"And, the American people will be interested to hear that the leader of the Republican Party thinks recent events related to the war are 'comical' and that he is betting against our troops and rooting for failure in Afghanistan. It's simply unconscionable that Michael Steele would undermine the morale of our troops when what they need is our support and encouragement. Michael Steele would do well to remember that we are not in Afghanistan by our own choosing, that we were attacked and that his words have consequences."

It was a dumb thing to say. This same statement could have been issued almost on a weekly basis from the RNC back in the years 2005–2008.

4) So the argument the DOJ is making against Arizona is, the United States government retains the right to enforce or not enforce federal laws?

5) Noel Shepard: Chatting with California gubernatorial candidate Jerry Brown on "Hardball," the MSNBC host Chris Matthews called the Republican candidate for governor in that state Meg Whitman a know-nothing.

"What is it in the American psyche or character that says, if you don`t know anything, you`re somehow an average person or average guy and you have horse sense?" asked Matthews.

"What is it about people that keep picking people like George W. Bush to be president? And you see these people like Sarah Palin out there with fans."

It seems in Matthews' view, governing Texas, Alaska, or running one of America's leading Internet companies requires zero intellectual capacity

http://newsbusters.org/blogs/noel-sheppard/2010/07/10/chris-matthews-calls-george-w-bush-and-sarah-palin-know-nothings

O’Reilly’s “The Factor” on cable station FoxNews has about 4–5 million viewers a night.

In the past 40 years, there have been 50,000 well holes dug in the gulf (I believe on the U.S. side alone?), with the present BP leak as being the first major leak in a U.S. well in the gulf. The gulf provides the U.S. with 10.6% of its crude.

Politifact claims (and I have worded this as they suggested) that 30% of the oil produced in the U.S. comes out of the gulf, and 80% of that comes from deep water drilling.

According to the Government Accountability Office (GAO), the federal government helped pay the home air conditioning bills for more than 11,000 dead people, 1,100 federal employees, and 725 convicts in fiscal year 2009 as a part of a $5 billion program known as the Low-Income Home Energy Assistance Program .

One in three Americans (32%) now say they are "extremely patriotic," up from 26% in 2005 and 19% in 1999.

These are fascinating numbers, because, since Obama was elected president, patriotism has gone up among Republicans and down among Democrats.

"Now, I am going to read you a list of words and phrases which people use to describe political figures. For each word or phrase, please tell me whether it describes Barack Obama very well, well, not too well, or not well at all."

WOLF BLITZER: (music) The US Justice Department suing to block Arizona's controversial new immigration law.

KATIE COURIC: (music) ...the federal government sues to block Arizona's controversial immigration law.

SHEPARD SMITH: (music) the Department of Justice today sued the state of Arizona over its controversial new immigration law.

SGT. SCHULTZ: The Department of Justice filed a suit over Arizona's controversial new immigration law.

CHUCK ROBERTS: (music) The Justice Department has filed a lawsuit against Arizona's controversial immigration bill. (sic--law)

CENK UYGUR: (sfx) ...filing a lawsuit against Arizona over the state's controversial immigration law.

RICHELLE CAREY: The Justice Department has filed a lawsuit today against Arizona's controversial immigration bill.

BRIAN WILLIAMS: The United States today sued the state of Arizona. It's about the controversial new immigration law.

The DOJ’s refusal to prosecute African-Americans who disrupt polling places and video of what one of the New Black Panthers said about hating white crackers. One DOJ lawyer resigns in protest. Ignored by ABC, NBC, CBS, the New York Times and the Washington Post. Another cable station kept referring to this as a 2-year-old story, even though the refusal to prosecution and the DOJ resignation just occurred.

That NASA official who said that one of his most important missions is to reach out the Muslim community and make them feel good about their contributions to the scientific world—ignored, I believe, by the same people.

Almost every media outlet refers to the Arizona immigration law as the controversial immigration law (including FoxNews), even though this has the support of 70% of Arizonians and 60% and more of those outside Arizona. However, Obama’s White House filing suit against AZ is never called controversial, even though more people are against that than for it. Obama himself, never called controversial, even though his entire presidency is filled with controversial acts, controversial appointments, and controversial laws. But, the Arizona law, where it is favored at nearly 2 to 1 throughout the United States, now that’s controversial.

Recycled energy which puts solar energy to shame? Almost completely ignored in the media.

The Al Gore sex poodle story, which has been around for some time now, is now appearing, albeit briefly, in the alphabet media.

FoxNews has covered or at least alluded to a lot of important stories not covered by most of the alphabet media:

The background of former Green Jobs Czar Van Jones. Most people did not even know who he was, and then, suddenly, he hands in his resignation, and this gets a brief mention in various media sources. What you are not told is, for a week prior to this, Beck played video and audio of this man, so that you knew who he was in his own words. This was around the time the White House was telling other news services that FoxNews was not a real news service and to not treat them as such.

The TEA party movement began long before it was reported in the mainstream media. There were congregations of 1000–15,000 TEA party members before any media service said anything about them. I called family in California and asked them what they thought of the TEA partiers who were about 3000 strong in the capital of California, but no local media source seemed to want to report on this story.

The Black Panther who believes we ought to be killing cracker babies, whose voter intimidation charge was suddenly dropped by Obama’s DOJ, with one lawyer quitting over it, all this past week—is not a story media sources feel is important, and the few who have covered it, keep saying it is a 2-year old story (3 or 4 times in the same 2 or 3 minutes of coverage), even though dropping the case and the DOJ attorney quitting all just happened.

Levi Johnston, father of Bristol Palin’s child, renigs on the lies which he told publically, and who covers it? FoxNews. Not sure about the other media sources who thought that his original lies were newsworthy.

NASA executive comes out and says we need to build the self-esteem of the Muslim world, and tell them how important their invention of algebra was (some 1000 years ago), and that this is his mission as per President Obama, and who reports on it? FoxNews, of course.

Why was Obama’s recess appointment of Berwick unique among recess appointments—discussed on FoxNews. Who else covered this?

An outstanding question was asked of Robert Gibbs the other day. I will paraphrase it from memory. “You are filing suit against Arizona, because they have passed legislation which you claim conflicts with federal law, even though it mirrors federal law. Will you also sue sanctuary cities because their city policies are in direct conflict with federal law?” I actually did think up this question on my own, but someone also asked it.

Democrats demagogue that Republicans will not support an extension of unemployment benefits; Republicans are simply requiring the money to come from somewhere else in the budget (e.g., from unspent stimulus money). With media cover, Democrats know that this will be a good issue to campaign on.

I found this to be quite enlightening. When Bush and McCain were working on immigration reform, then Senator Obama was going along with it, but part way through the negotiations, began offering up pro-union amendments, e.g., a sunsetting of the guest-worker program (bear in mind, Democrats have no interest in illegals working here, if they cannot eventually become Democratic voters). Here is the slick chess move: Republican Jim DeMint voted for this amendment because he figured it would help to foul immigration reform.

What Obama is doing now in the gulf will affect oil prices negatively in 2012 (you could put this under prophecies as well). Look for a significant jump in oil prices in 2012, unless this administration tries to implement price controls (which will not float if the Congress is Republican).

North Dakota to become the 3^rd largest oil producing state in the United States (if there is not significant blockage from the present administration or by environmentalists). This will cause a boom in North Dakota employment, although nothing as big as happened when the Alaskan pipeline was laid. From FoxNews.

Charles Krauthammer predicts that, because General Petraeus is saving Obama’s bacon in Afghanistan (the country of the real war), Obama will back off on a strict withdrawal date.

I thought that, if Obama was running the war, then there would be little outrage and no more legislation with a timetable for withdrawal submitted. Well, I am partially wrong. Some Democrats are quietly submitting legislation for firm withdrawal dates for Iraq, which is being quickly tabled or voted down. It is enough to provide them cover, but little is said about this, because the alphabet media supports President Obama more than these few Democrats.

During the last week, President Barack Obama doubled down on a losing political bet, further cementing the Democratic Party's reputation as the champion of bigger deficits, higher spending and more government. He did so just as the public is crying out for lower deficits, less spending and less government.

In his Saturday radio address, Mr. Obama attacked Republican opposition to additional stimulus spending, saying they "just don't get it." Maybe they do get it. The first, $862 billion stimulus bill of 17 months ago has after all failed to work the president's promised magic.

Last Thursday House Speaker Nancy Pelosi joined the president in his bad bet by offering up the economic gem that extension of unemployment benefits "creates jobs faster than almost any other initiative you can name." Really? Faster than, say, cutting personal income tax cuts or slashing the corporate tax rate?

Rank-and-file congressional Democrats do not seem eager to follow Mr. Obama and Mrs. Pelosi down this road. For example, the House barely passed its $127 billion "Stimulus II" spending bill in late May by a vote of 215 to 204, with 34 Democrats joining all but one Republican in voting no. At least 20 of those Democrats come from districts at risk this fall. Democrats who represent swing districts are increasingly wary of supporting higher spending, taxes and deficits, or ceding greater power to the federal government. These issues are driving independents and other swing voters into the GOP column.

To maximize their gains, Republicans must go beyond promising to slash Democratic spending and reverse the Obama agenda (as important as these are). They also need to offer a competing agenda for increasing jobs and prosperity, and outline the concrete steps they will take to get back on the track for economic growth.

Republicans have a receptive audience: Americans overwhelmingly believe prosperity comes from entrepreneurs and free enterprise, not government. Republicans must emphasize that they stand for small and medium-size business-and stand foursquare against crony capitalists who seek advantage by partnering with big government.

A GOP growth agenda would keep intact the 2001 and 2003 tax cuts. Tax reform and simplification-including the flat tax and cutting the corporate tax rate-can also be winning issues if advocated by Republican candidates with authenticity and passion.

Laying out a positive agenda also requires GOP candidates to connect the dots between public policies and real-world consequences. So Republicans must make a compelling case that allowing the tax cuts to expire will result in history's largest tax increase-killing jobs, punishing hard work and enterprise, damaging growth, wounding small business, and postponing the moment government finally restrains spending.

They need to explain that raising taxes on dividends and on capital gains would lower economic growth for years to come. Retirements would be less secure, capital more expensive for every enterprise from manufacturing to commercial real estate, and investment in American jobs and companies less attractive.

A jobs, growth and prosperity agenda is a natural complement to austerity policies. It offers hope as well as sacrifice. And growing the economy makes reducing deficits more manageable.

The GOP must also be a critic of obstacles placed by foreign governments on the sale of American goods and services. We are 5% of the world's population-we cannot remain prosperous by simply doing our own laundry. The countries with which the U.S. has trade deals represent 4% of the world's population, but 38% of our exports. Even Mr. Obama pays lip service to increasing U.S. exports.

The GOP should also pledge to oppose power grabs by unions, especially those dominated by government workers. Voters increasingly understand labor bosses make American enterprise less competitive. Democratic Sen. Tom Harkin's threat to pass "card check" in a lame-duck session must be taken seriously.

Some will argue this set of issues isn't entirely new. But efficacy matters more than novelty. And in today's environment, tested and timeless ideas look attractive compared to the radical transformation Mr. Obama is imposing on America.

Rarely has a political party faced a more receptive public. Mr. Obama's brand of liberalism has given Republicans the opportunity to make a confident and bold case for conservatism. They need only to make it.

G-20 leaders don't agree with the president that more spending will revive the economy. Nor do most Americans.

At last week's G-20 meeting, President Barack Obama achieved a two-fer. He suffered a significant international defeat, and he increased the chances his party will suffer a major domestic one this fall.

Mr. Obama's international defeat was self-inflicted. He went to Toronto to press other major nations to do as he has done: Expand government spending, or suffer, in the president's words, "renewed economic hardship and recession."

Canada, Germany, Great Britain and most other countries declined Mr. Obama's invitation. The German economic minister "urgently" prodded America to cut spending at a press conference on June 21, prior to the G-20 meeting. The president of the European central bank took direct aim at Mr. Obama's argument, telling the Italian newspaper La Repubblica on June 16 that "the idea that austerity measures could trigger stagnation is incorrect."

The European Union president, Czech Prime Minister Mirek Topolanek, tore into Mr. Obama's stimulus and other spending policies in a stunning address to the European Parliament in March 2009, calling them "the road to hell" and saying "the United States did not take the right path."

If it sounds strange to have European leaders lecturing the U.S. about fiscal restraint, it should. But that is where America finds itself after Mr. Obama's 17-month fiscal orgy.

The other flaw in his G-20 appearance is domestic. The president's statements that more deficit spending was "necessary to keep economic growth strong" and his cautioning against "the consequential mistakes of the past" when stimulus spending "was too quickly withdrawn" puts his administration and party squarely in favor of policies unpopular with most Americans.

Since 2000, the Gallup organization has asked voters what they believe will be the most important problem for the U.S. in 25 years. This year Americans are saying the challenge will be the deficit. And last month, almost eight in 10 voters surveyed by the Associated Press called the federal budget deficit an "extremely" or "very important" issue.

There was more bad news Tuesday for Democrats from recent focus groups conducted in battleground congressional districts in Iowa, Ohio, New Jersey, Arkansas and Florida.

A report on these focus groups issued this week by Resurgent Republic (a group I helped found) showed that both political independents and tea party participants passionately denounced federal spending and deficits, using words like "reckless," "out of control," "unnecessary" and "unhelpful." The evidence suggests that both groups remain deeply skeptical of Mr. Obama's stimulus package and are unpersuaded by the administration's arguments in its favor.

The authors of the Resurgent Republic study concluded that both independents and tea party voters believe "nearly unanimously" that reckless government spending, not lack of tax revenues, is responsible for the deficits. This goes to the very heart of the modern Democratic agenda with its guiding philosophy of bigger government and higher taxes.

All of this negative news is wearing on the president. At the G-20's concluding news conference, Mr. Obama-brittle and petulant-attacked GOP critics "who are hollering about deficits," saying he would be "calling their bluff" next year by "presenting some very difficult choices." Then "we'll see how much of . . . the political arguments they're making right now are real, and how much of it was just politics."

The president's problem is largely a mess of his own making. Deficit spending did not begin when Mr. Obama took office. But he and his Democratic allies have supported, proposed, passed or signed and then spent every dime that's gone out the door since Jan. 20, 2009.

Voters know it is Mr. Obama and Democratic leaders who approved a $410 billion supplemental (complete with 8,500 earmarks) in the middle of the last fiscal year, and then passed a record-spending budget for this one. Mr. Obama and Democrats approved an $862 billion stimulus and a $1 trillion health-care overhaul, and they now are trying to add $266 billion in "temporary" stimulus spending to permanently raise the budget baseline.

It is the president and Congressional allies who refuse to return the $447 billion unspent stimulus dollars and want to use repayments of TARP loans for more spending rather than reducing the deficit. It is the president who gave Fannie and Freddie carte blanche to draw hundreds of billions from the Treasury. It is the Democrats' profligacy that raised the share of the GDP taken by the federal government to 24% this fiscal year.

This is indeed the road to fiscal hell, and it's been paved by the president and his party. Voters will have their chance this November to render their verdict on the Obama years. No wonder Republicans feel confident these days.

In just six months, the largest tax hikes in the history of America will take effect. They will hit families and small businesses in three great waves on January 1, 2011:

(N.B. This version of the document contains even more tax hikes than the original version did)

In 2001 and 2003, the GOP Congress enacted several tax cuts for investors, small business owners, and families. These will all expire on January 1, 2011:

Personal income tax rates will rise. The top income tax rate will rise from 35 to 39.6 percent (this is also the rate at which two-thirds of small business profits are taxed). The lowest rate will rise from 10 to 15 percent. All the rates in between will also rise. Itemized deductions and personal exemptions will again phase out, which has the same mathematical effect as higher marginal tax rates. The full list of marginal rate hikes is below:

Higher taxes on marriage and family. The "marriage penalty" (narrower tax brackets for married couples) will return from the first dollar of income. The child tax credit will be cut in half from $1000 to $500 per child. The standard deduction will no longer be doubled for married couples relative to the single level. The dependent care and adoption tax credits will be cut.

The return of the Death Tax. This year, there is no death tax. For those dying on or after January 1 2011, there is a 55 percent top death tax rate on estates over $1 million. A person leaving behind two homes and a retirement account could easily pass along a death tax bill to their loved ones.

Higher tax rates on savers and investors. The capital gains tax will rise from 15 percent this year to 20 percent in 2011. The dividends tax will rise from 15 percent this year to 39.6 percent in 2011. These rates will rise another 3.8 percent in 2013.

There are over twenty new or higher taxes in Obamacare. Several will first go into effect on January 1, 2011. They include:

The Tanning Tax. This went into effect on July 1st of this year. It imposes a new, 10% excise tax on getting a tan at a tanning salon. There is no exemption for tanners making less than $250,000 per year.

The "Medicine Cabinet Tax" Thanks to Obamacare, Americans will no longer be able to use health savings account (HSA), flexible spending account (FSA), or health reimbursement (HRA) pre-tax dollars to purchase non-prescription, over-the-counter medicines (except insulin).

The HSA Withdrawal Tax Hike. This provision of Obamacare increases the additional tax on non-medical early withdrawals from an HSA from 10 to 20 percent, disadvantaging them relative to IRAs and other tax-advantaged accounts, which remain at 10 percent.

Brand Name Drug Tax. Starting next year, there will be a multi-billion dollar tax assessment imposed on name-brand drug manufacturers. This tax, like all excise taxes, will raise the price of medicine, hurting everyone.

Economic Substance Doctrine. The IRS is now empowered to disallow perfectly-legal tax deductions and maneuvers merely because it judges that the deduction or action lacks "economic substance." This is obviously an arbitrary empowerment of IRS agents.

Employer Reporting of Health Insurance Costs on a W-2. This will start for W-2s in the 2011 tax year. While not a tax increase in itself, it makes it very easy for Congress to tax employer-provided healthcare benefits later.

When Americans prepare to file their tax returns in January of 2011, they'll be in for a nasty surprise-the AMT won't be held harmless, and many tax relief provisions will have expired. These major items include:

The AMT will ensnare over 28 million families, up from 4 million last year. According to the left-leaning Tax Policy Center, Congress' failure to index the AMT will lead to an explosion of AMT taxpaying families-rising from 4 million last year to 28.5 million. These families will have to calculate their tax burdens twice, and pay taxes at the higher level. The AMT was created in 1969 to ensnare a handful of taxpayers.

Small business expensing will be slashed and 50% expensing will disappear. Small businesses can normally expense (rather than slowly-deduct, or "depreciate") equipment purchases up to $250,000. This will be cut all the way down to $25,000. Larger businesses can expense half of their purchases of equipment. In January of 2011, all of it will have to be "depreciated."

Taxes will be raised on all types of businesses. There are literally scores of tax hikes on business that will take place. The biggest is the loss of the "research and experimentation tax credit," but there are many, many others. Combining high marginal tax rates with the loss of this tax relief will cost jobs.

Tax Benefits for Education and Teaching Reduced. The deduction for tuition and fees will not be available. Tax credits for education will be limited. Teachers will no longer be able to deduct classroom expenses. Coverdell Education Savings Accounts will be cut. Employer-provided educational assistance is curtailed. The student loan interest deduction will be disallowed for hundreds of thousands of families.

Charitable Contributions from IRAs no longer allowed. Under current law, a retired person with an IRA can contribute up to $100,000 per year directly to a charity from their IRA. This contribution also counts toward an annual "required minimum distribution." This ability will no longer be there.

Remember NASA? It once represented to the world the apogee of American scientific and technological achievement. Here is President Obama's vision of NASA's mission, as explained by administrator Charles Bolden:

"One was he wanted me to help re-inspire children to want to get into science and math; he wanted me to expand our international relationships; and third and perhaps foremost, he wanted me to find a way to reach out to the Muslim world and engage much more with dominantly Muslim nations to help them feel good about their historic contribution to science and math and engineering."

Apart from the psychobabble -- farcically turning a space-faring enterprise into a self-esteem enhancer -- what's the sentiment behind this charge? Sure America has put a man on the moon, led the information revolution, won more Nobel Prizes than any other nation by far -- but, on the other hand, a thousand years ago al-Khwarizmi gave us algebra.

Bolden seems quite intent on driving home this message of achievement equivalence -- lauding, for example, Russia's contribution to the space station. Russia? In the 1990s, the Russian space program fell apart, leaving the United States to pick up the slack and the tab for the missing Russian contributions to get the space station built.

For good measure, Bolden added that the United States cannot get to Mars without international assistance. Beside the fact that this is not true, contrast this with the elan and self-confidence of President John Kennedy's 1961 pledge that America would land on the moon within the decade.

There was no finer expression of belief in American exceptionalism than Kennedy's. Obama has a different take. As he said last year in France, "I believe in American exceptionalism, just as I suspect that the Brits believe in British exceptionalism and the Greeks believe in Greek exceptionalism." Which of course means: If we're all exceptional, no one is.

Take human rights. After Obama's April meeting with the president of Kazakhstan, Mike McFaul of the National Security Council reported that Obama actually explained to the leader of that thuggish kleptocracy that we, too, are working on perfecting our own democracy.

Nor is this the only example of an implied moral equivalence that diminishes and devalues America. Assistant Secretary of State Michael Posner reported that in discussions with China about human rights, the U.S. side brought up Arizona's immigration law -- "early and often." As if there is the remotest connection between that and the persecution of dissidents, jailing of opponents and suppression of religion routinely practiced by the Chinese dictatorship.

Nothing new here. In his major addresses, Obama's modesty about his own country has been repeatedly on display as, in one venue after another, he has gratuitously confessed America's alleged failing -- from disrespecting foreigners to having lost its way morally after 9/11.

It's fine to recognize the achievements of others and be non-chauvinistic about one's country. But Obama's modesty is curiously selective. When it comes to himself, modesty is in short supply.

It began with the almost comical self-inflation of his presidential campaign, from the still inexplicable mass rally in Berlin in front of a Prussian victory column to the Greek columns framing him at the Democratic convention. And it carried into his presidency, from his posture of philosopher-king adjudicating between America's sins and the world's to his speeches marked by a spectacularly promiscuous use of the word "I."

Notice, too, how Obama habitually refers to Cabinet members and other high government officials as "my" -- "my secretary of homeland security," "my national security team," "my ambassador." The more normal -- and respectful -- usage is to say "the," as in "the secretary of state." These are, after all, public officials sworn to serve the nation and the Constitution -- not just the man who appointed them.

It's a stylistic detail, but quite revealing of Obama's exalted view of himself. Not surprising, perhaps, in a man whose major achievement before acceding to the presidency was writing two biographies -- both about himself.

Obama is not the first president with a large streak of narcissism. But the others had equally expansive feelings about their country. Obama's modesty about America would be more understandable if he treated himself with the same reserve. What is odd is to have a president so convinced of his own magnificence -- yet not of his own country's.

The National Taxpayer Advocate, tasked with representing your interests within the Internal Revenue Service, says the IRS must restructure - and grow - to handle its new redistributive and enforcement responsibilities under the Affordable Care Act:

Though the IRS's main mission is to collect taxes, it has been given a key role administering health insurance premium subsidies, tax credits for small businesses, assessments on employers and the mandate that beginning in 2014 everyone obtain insurance.

"I have no doubt the IRS is capable of administering social programs, including health care," Olson said. "But Congress must provide sufficient funding and the IRS itself must recognize that the skills and training required to administer social benefit programs are very different from the skills and training that employees of an enforcement agency typically possess."

Moreover, to "reduce the under-reporting of business income," the ACA will require all businesses and tax-exempt orgs to issue 1099s to all vendors with whom they do more than $600 of business (both services and goods) in a given tax year, an onerous requirement that "may impose significant burdens on businesses, charities, and government agencies," and that "may turn out to be disproportionate as compared with any resulting improvement in tax compliance."

"For example, if a self-employed individual makes numerous small purchases from an office supply store during a calendar year that total at least $600, the individual must issue a Form 1099 to the vendor and the IRS showing the exact amount of total purchases," the IRS release said.

The advocate estimates this will affect 40 million businesses, including 26 million sole-proprietorships.

And why is this tax reporting stuff even in a health-care bill? To help fund it, that's why. To help Pelosi and Reid and Obama get the faux deficit score they needed, the measure is expected to raise $13.7 billion over ten years - though that's before administrative and discretionary costs, which will add another $115 billion or so to the bill's official price tag.

It looks like the Obama spin machine is at it again, this time launching a concerted effort to rebut reports this week that President Barack Obama is anti-business. But given Obama's record of stoking government intervention in the private sector and creating an environment of uncertainty poisonous to business growth, hiring and expansion, it's no wonder the President is branded with an anti-business scarlet letter.

The storyline began in The Washington Post, where columnist Fareed Zakaria endeavored to find out why America's 500 largest nonfinancial companies are sitting on $1.8 trillion in cash, rather than spending it on expansion (which would mean new jobs). Business leaders told Zakaria that it comes down to economic uncertainty surrounding new laws, regulations and taxes; the expansion of federal agencies' authority; and the unknown implications of Obamacare, financial reform and cap-and-trade. And the kicker? Zakaria notes that most of them had voted for Obama yet all of them now believe he is "at his core, anti-business."

Others joined the chorus, too. Verizon CEO Ivan Seidenberg said, "By reaching into virtually every sector of economic life, government is injecting uncertainty into the marketplace and making it harder to raise capital and create new businesses." And then there's Jeffrey Immelt, chairman and CEO of General Electric, who reportedly said of Obama, "business did not like the U.S. president and the president did not like business." The only surprise here should be how long it's taken business leaders to speak out about Washington's runaway train intervention in the marketplace, all in the name of creating new jobs.

Under President Obama, that intervention began with an $862 billion stimulus, and it was joined by a failed Cash for Clunkers program, a government takeover of the domestic auto industry, a bailout of Fannie and Freddie that may hit $1 trillion, a visceral attack on private sector compensation, a government takeover of health care and, now, financial regulation reform which is said to be riddled with unintended consequences. What next? Cap-and-trade hangs heavily on the horizon, as does the prospect of a value added tax, which Heritage's J.D. Foster says will "recast the nation into a full state of dependency on Washington."

And what has all of this produced? The economy has lost 2.3 million jobs since President Obama signed his stimulus bill, leaving him 7.4 million jobs short of what he promised the American economy would support by 2010. Is it any wonder corporate America is shaking in its boots?

There are things Congress and the President could do to encourage businesses to grow, expand and create jobs. Heritage's James Sherk writes:

Increased federal spending will not spur the private-sector investment and risk-taking necessary to create jobs and reduce unemployment. Congress should instead reduce government spending to free up funds for private investment while committing to not passing any measures - such as card-check, cap and trade, or the health care mandates - that would make creating new jobs more expensive.

Instead, though, it looks like the Obama administration is trying to convince businesses that the President is on their side. Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner said this week:

Now, this president understands deeply that governments don't create jobs, businesses create jobs. And our job as government is to try to make sure we're creating the conditions that allow businesses to prosper so they can hire people back, get this economy going again.

In reality, this President has done the exact opposite. He has attempted to use government spending to create jobs, failed miserably, and has only succeeded in creating an environment where businesses - the real job creators - are afraid to put America back to work.

Obama punted on the economy and reversed the fortunes of the Democrats in 365 days.

He's misjudged the character of the country in his whole approach. There's the saying, "It's the economy, stupid." He didn't get it. He was determined somehow or other to adopt a whole new agenda. He didn't address the main issue.

This health-care plan is going to be a fiscal disaster for the country. Most of the country wanted to deal with costs, not expansion of coverage. This is going to raise costs dramatically.

In the campaign, he said he would change politics as usual. He did change them. It's now worse than it was. I've now seen the kind of buying off of politicians that I've never seen before. It's politically corrupt and it's starting at the top. It's revolting.

Five states got deals on health care-one of them was Harry Reid's. It is disgusting, just disgusting. I've never seen anything like it. The unions just got them to drop the tax on Cadillac plans in the health-care bill. It was pure union politics. They just went along with it. It's a bizarre form of political corruption. It's bribery. I suppose they could say, that's the system. He was supposed to change it or try to change it.

Even that is not the worst part. He could have said, "I know. I promised these things, but let me try to do them one at a time." You want to deal with health care? Fine. Issue No. 1 with health care was the cost. You know I think it was 37 percent or 33 who were worried about coverage. Fine, I wrote an editorial to this effect. Focus on cost-containment first. But he's trying to boil the ocean, trying to do too much. This is not leadership.

• More Daily Beast opinion on Obama's first year Obama's ability to connect with voters is what launched him. But what has surprised me is how he has failed to connect with the voters since he's been in office. He's had so much overexposure. You have to be selective. He was doing five Sunday shows. How many press conferences? And now people stop listening to him. The fact is he had 49.5 million listeners to first speech on the economy. On Medicare, he had 24 million. He's lost his audience. He has not rallied public opinion. He has plunged in the polls more than any other political figure since we've been using polls. He's done everything wrong. Well, not everything, but the major things.

One business leader said to me, "In the Clinton administration, the policy people were at the center, and the political people were on the sideline. In the Obama administration, the political people are at the center, and the policy people are on the sidelines."

I'm very disappointed. We endorsed him. I voted for him. I supported him publicly and privately.

I hope there are changes. I think he's already laid in huge problems for the country. The fiscal program was a disaster. You have to get the money as quickly as possible into the economy. They didn't do that. By end of the first year, only one-third of the money was spent. Why is that?

He should have jammed a stimulus plan into Congress and said, "This is it. No changes. Don't give me that bullshit. We have a national emergency." Instead they turned it over to Harry Reid and Nancy Pelosi who can run circles around him.

He's improved America's image in the world. He absolutely did. But you have to translate that into something. Let me tell you what a major leader said to me recently. "We are convinced," he said, "that he is not strong enough to confront his enemy. We are concerned," he said "that he is not strong to support his friends."

The political leadership of the world is very, very dismayed. He better turn it around. The Democrats are going to get killed in this election. Jesus, looks what's happening in Massachusetts.

It's really interesting because he had brilliant, brilliant political instincts during the campaign. I don't know what has happened to them. His appointments present somebody who has a lot to learn about how government works. He better get some very talented businesspeople who know how to implement things. It's unbelievable. Everybody says so. You can't believe how dismayed people are. That's why he's plunging in the polls.

I can't predict things two years from now, but if he continues on the downward spiral he is on, he won't be reelected. In the meantime, the Democrats have recreated the Republican Party. And when I say Democrats, I mean the Obama administration. In the generic vote, the Democrats were ahead something like 52 to 30. They are now behind the Republicans 48 to 44 in the last poll. Nobody has ever seen anything that dramatic.

You will be the first American president that lied to the Jewish people, and the American people as well, when you said that you would defend Israel, the only Democratic state in the Middle East, against all their enemies. You have done just the opposite. You have propagandized Israel, until they look like they are everyone's enemy - and it has resonated throughout the world. You are putting Israel in harm's way, and you have promoted anti-Semitism throughout the world.

You have brought this to a people who have given the world the Ten Commandments and most laws we live by today. The Jewish people have given the world our greatest scientists and philosophers, and the cures for many diseases, and now you play a very dangerous game so you can look like a true martyr to what you see and say are the underdogs. But the underdogs you defend are murderers and criminals who want Israel eradicated.

You have brought to Arizona a civil war, once again defending the criminals and illegals, creating a meltdown for good, loyal, law-abiding citizens. Your destruction of this country may never be remedied, and we may never recover. I pray to God you stop, and I hope the people in this great country realize your agenda is not for the betterment of mankind, but for the betterment of your politics.

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Recycled Green Energy (one plant has produced about twice the energy of all solar collectors in the US since solar panels began). Even though I knew about this story, it took me about 10 minutes and 3 google searches to find the story:

Here is a nice fit, that I am embarrassed that I did not see coming: Sarah Palin for RNC chair (to replace Michael Steele):

Chris Christie looks to privatize department of motor vehicles and many other services:

Nikki Haley is poised to become the first female and first non-white governor of the state; and Tim Scott is the first African American Republican nominee for Congress from South Carolina since Reconstruction.

Maybe it is just me, but I felt that Sarah Palin turned in a lousy interview with Bill O’Reilly:

Politifact (which leans decidedly left) on the oil from the gulf (you have to read this carefully to understand what they are saying):

Illinois teacher fired for hate speech (hate speech is all about opposition to a liberal agenda):

RUSH: We have a little montage here of all of the State-Controlled Media on the so-called controversial Arizona immigration law.