So, there are claims that some of the demonstrators yesterday shouted racial epithets at Democrats. There is always the chance of one or two idiots showing up in any crowd of thousands, but I’m calling BS on this unless and until I get video and audio demonstrating it happened – with the number of devices for recording present, if this happened there simply must be something. And then if it did happen, we’ll want to check carefully the background of the person or persons who did it. As this dovetails perfectly in to the liberal lies about the TEA Party movement (ie, that we’re motivated by anti-black bias), its just too convenient for them at this critical moment.

Pictures of yesterday’s demonstration.

After unifying us on health care (though not the way he wanted), President Obama seems to want to also unify us around illegal immigration.

Obama: the Great Divider.

UPDATE: Vote “No” and get out?

UPDATE II: Former CBO Director says that  once all the budget gimmicks are removed, ObamaCare would raise federal deficits by $562 billion

UPDATE III: Video round up of the demonstrations

UPDATE IV: Been at work today so was unable to update. My first reaction on Stupak: the man is very easily bought. The Executive Order isn’t even a fig leaf. The lesson here is that there really is no way to be pro-life and do anything worthwhile in the Democrat party – when push comes to shove, life will be set aside in favor of loyalty to the Machine.

And that is what we have here, Americans, a remorseless, political machine just grinding it out until they get it done. We are going to take on this machine and we’re going to crush it in November.

UPDATE V: Stupak’s Opponent: Dan Benishek. Unless I find out he’s a pornographer or on the lam from a bank heist, or some such, he’s getting a donation from me.

UPDATE VI: It only cost $726,409.00 for Stupak’s vote. For a pittance of pork, he’s tossed aside the pro-life movement. It profits a man nothing to gain the whole world, yet lose his soul…but for pork?

Just got considerably stronger:

TALIBAN commanders have revealed that hundreds of insurgents have been trained in Iran to kill Nato forces in Afghanistan.

The commanders said they had learnt to mount complex ambushes and lay improvised explosive devices (IEDs), which have been responsible for most of the deaths of British troops in Helmand province.

The accounts of two commanders, in interviews with The Sunday Times, are the first descriptions of training of the Taliban in Iran.

According to the commanders, Iranian officials paid them to attend three-month courses during the winter.

It is time for Obama to stop his asinine, counter-productive policy of engagement and resort to the firmest measures possible. The Iranian government is, once again, waging unjust, aggressive warfare against us and our allies. We are fully justified in taking whatever measures we deem necessary to compel Iranian compliance with our wishes.

Given that our primary wish, at the moment, would be a cessation of terrorist training and nuclear development, the best course of action would be blockade of gasoline imports/oil exports and selective bombing of Iranian military and nuclear targets if the blockade doesn’t force Iran to capitulate.

We must press the issue, even at the risk of a general war with Iran – they must not, under their current government, obtain nuclear weapons. And now we’ve got all the justification we need.

ObamaCare has racial preferences – because nothing a Democrat does can leave off picking over the bones of racism.

Make it a roll call vote – after all, if Democrats in favor are proud of the effort, they should have no problem being very public about it, right?

Pelosi was against “Deem and Pass” before she was for it.

Hammering Pelosi on her use of Catholicism to pass the bill: is she just ignorant, or cynical? It seems this lady either didn’t pay attention to the sisters who educated her, or she’s just being rather dishonest.

The abortion problem.

Attempting to conscript Catholicism for Obamacare – amazing how liberals hold us in utter contempt, but so eagerly attempt to bamboozle Catholics in to supporting their efforts…almost as if they know that what they do is immoral, and they want cover.

UPDATE: Constitutional challenges to ObamaCare.

UPDATE II: The bribe list.

UPDATE III: Obama at 56% disapproval.

UPDATE IV: A bit of good news – ACORN going broke.

You can stop Obamacare!

From Rasmussen:

The Rasmussen Reports daily Presidential Tracking Poll for Friday shows that 23% of the nation’s voters Strongly Approve of the way that Barack Obama is performing his role as President. Forty-four percent (44%) Strongly Disapprove giving Obama a Presidential Approval Index rating of -21. That matches the lowest Approval Index rating yet recorded for this President.

I seem to recall seeing numbers like this before. Back in 2007.

Mudville Gazette has good coverage on this milestone. We’ve been busy trying to force back Obama’s attempts to impose socialism on us, but we must take time to remember.

Remember those who have fallen.

Remember those who have been injured.

Remember the heroism of the magnificent men and women of our armed forces.

Remember who said we lost the war.

Remember how it came out.

(Blogging Note: This is clearly the most important issue of the day – and will be until the vote is taken on Sunday. We’ll have an open thread up on this issue for Saturday and Sunday. So that the comments don’t get too bogged down and hard to follow.)

TEA Party will defend Democrats who vote “no”. A good thing – those Democrats who do show the courage to vote in favor of America on this issue deserve to be defended.

ObamaCare expands the power of the IRS. Naturally – when you’re acting like a little fascist you want ever more coercive power over the citizens.

Romney and Huckabee poll well against Obama for 2012. Which means people are getting in an “anybody but Obama mood”.

Bill would cost Caterpillar $100 million in first year.

The more people look in to it, the more tax increases they find.

Christian Medical Association condemns abortion provisions.

They are lying, you know?

CBO numbers bogus?

An aroused electorate: 100,000 calls per hour to Congress. Anyone want to take bets on the pro/con breakdown?

At least one Democrats understands who bad the Democrat tactics on ObamaCare have been:

Even one of House Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s floor whips, U.S. Rep. Stephen Lynch, says a proposed parliamentary move to pass health-care reform would be “disingenuous” and harm the credibility of Congress.

Governor Christie is demonstrating that his are made out of brass.

Fess Parker, RIP.

Hey, liberals, our military is morally superior to the enemy.

380 banks at risk of failure.

McCain up only 7 over his GOP primary rival.

The requirement of morality in economics:

The financial crisis that has affected the entire world can be a good opportunity to rethink the development model, making it more attentive to the needs of the whole human family and not aimed only at the logic of profit. The crisis itself, in fact, has shown that in a market beset by bankruptcies, those economic actors are able to adhere to a moral behaviour and attentive to the needs of their area, have survived”.

Imagine that – the “whole human family”…which includes the unborn and the elderly; which presupposes the family will have a house to call their own, and wealth no one can take from them…might be interesting to try.

As Obama and the Democrats (and a few “wet” Republicans) talk “comprehensive immigration reform”, the American people remain dead set on securing the border.

Death of Civilization watch: Cal-OSHA to vote on whether or not the prostitutes who work in pornographic film should wear condoms.

Pretty darn unpopular. According to this rating, CNN comes in below Comedy Central, the Food channel…and Cartoon Network. The really bad news for what Rush calls the “State-run media”? MSNBC, CNBC and Headline News don’t even make the to 30 for all-day programming.

You’d think they’d grab a clue. No one’s watching outside the ultra-liberal echo chamber.

A quote from Ronald Reagan’s “A Time for Choosing” speech:

This is the issue of this election: Whether we believe in our capacity for self-government or whether we abandon the American revolution and confess that a little intellectual elite in a far-distant capitol can plan our lives for us better than we can plan them ourselves.

It was the issue then as LBJ prepared the disastrous “Great Society”, it is the issue today as Obama pledges to transform America. We lost in 1964 and the situation we’re in today is the result of that error. We dare not lose, this time.

Keep that in mind as we go through this year.

Wow:

…speaking of Congress, the new Gallup Poll also finds that barely 16% of Americans approve of its job while 80% (as in eight out of every ten Americans) now disapprove of the work being done by both bodies and their Democratic leaders, Nancy Pelosi and Harry Reid. Both of whom are up for re-election in November.

Now even in Gallup, Obama is getting unpopular. After a while, as President Bush learned, you can’t climb out of the cellar.

The really important thing: if we Republicans win in November, we’d better just dazzle the American people with our ability. Our fellow Americans are in an unforgiving mood.

UPDATE: Sen. Boxer (D-CA) polls badly against all three possible GOP rivals. The GOP hasn’t elected a Senator in California since 1988.

UPDATE II: Could Congress’ ratings be down because they are pushing a health care plan opposed by 55%?