VERDICT: Tiller Killer GUILTY

By GottaLaff

Via an e-mail alert:

WICHITA, Kan. (AP) Jurors reach verdict in murder case involving Kansas abortion provider's slaying.

Per MSNBC just now, a nearly instantaneous, 15-minute verdict:

First degree murder.

As if there was ever a doubt, reasonable or otherwise.

"Pro-Life". Right.

UPDATE via an e-mail from the L.A. Times:

In a trial that never became the referendum on abortion that some abortion foes wanted, a Wichita, Kan., jury today convicted Scott Roeder of murdering George Tiller, one the nation's few physicians who performed late-term abortions.

The jury of seven men and five women deliberated for only 37 minutes.

Whether Roeder shot Tiller at point blank range in the forehead in the foyer of Tiller's church in Wichita last May was never at issue; Roeder had admitted it to reporters, in court filings and finally to a jury on Thursday. He also said he had been stalking Tiller since at least 1999.

More soon at: http://www.latimes.com

UPDATE, via MSNBC: Prosecutors asking for life with no parole for 50 years. He'll be 101.

Mid Day Distraction

Winter Fundraiser

Time again for the quarterly bleg (sweetened with some Happy Obama pics). As you know I'm working on a Rent A Center computer due to mine getting filleted by Win32.NetSky (protect yourself!) and we're still working on the new site with money needed for both. If you have a spare dollar and care to donate, it would be sincerely appreciated by both of us. We value each of you immensely. You can donate at the widget above, at the paypal link to the right or if you want to you can email us at thepoliticalcarnival at gmail.com for an address to send a check. Thank you.


LexusOakland suggested, and we thought it was a great idea, that we set up a monthly subscription button for PayPal for those who would be willing to pay $5 a month to help support us. As LO said, many people are tapped out by the Haiti disaster, so if this is something that you feel you could do, please check out the button here or where it will be permanently in the right side bar. As I understand it from PayPal after the first month you can cancel quite easily, not that you'd ever want to stop hearing from us though. /wink

Note- The button to make sure you get RSS feeds of our posts is down the right side of the page just under the Facebook Fans widget.

Video- Doocy issues correction on Giuliani's false claim that Obama never said "war" during SOTU

Yeah, that was the only thing that was incorrect.

CNN Poll: Specifics in stimulus popular while overall plan is not

Messaging, messaging, messaging. G-damn the D's are stupid.

Washington(CNN) - Although the overall stimulus bill is unpopular, most of its basic provisions are favored by a large majority of Americans, according to a new national poll.

A CNN/Opinion Research Corporation survey released Friday morning indicates that 80 percent of the public favors government spending on roads and bridges, and 83 percent approves of aid to unemployed workers. Seven in 10 support the idea of spending some of that stimulus money on tax cuts, and 62 percent think it's a good idea to increase spending on mass transit projects.

Then why is the stimulus bill so unpopular?

"Because, as we have seen throughout the week, there is much skepticism that the bill is wasteful, full of politically-motivated projects, and has benefitted fat cats at the expense of ordinary Americans," says CNN Polling Director Keating Holland. "The positive aspects of the stimulus bill, such as infrastructure improvements and tax cuts, seem to have taken a back seat to those negatives."

Video- Colbert to run for President…with corporate sponsorship

Official: Terror case may happen outside Manhattan

I actually understand and think this is good idea, at least on the financial basis.

WASHINGTON – Facing growing opposition to its plans to hold the Sept. 11 terrorist trial in New York City, the Obama administration is considering moving the proceedings elsewhere.

Two administration officials, speaking on the condition of anonymity, said Friday the Justice department is drawing up plans for possible alternate locations to try professed 9/11 mastermind Khalid Sheikh Mohammed and four alleged accomplices in case Congress or local officials prevent the trial from being held in Manhattan.

The two officials spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to discuss the deliberation.

Attorney General Eric Holder announced last year that the trial would be held in Manhattan federal court, generating stiff opposition in Congress and in New York.

Word that the administration is considering a backup plan for its most high-profile terrorism trial comes after President Barack Obama and Holder have spent weeks on the defensive about their handling of terrorism threats.

(snip)

The officials did not say where else the trial might be held, but others have suggested an unpopulated island near Manhattan, or nearby military installations.

New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg, who originally supported the plan, reversed his position this week and called Holder to lobby for moving the trial outside lower Manhattan. The city has claimed it will cost them hundreds of millions of dollars to provide security for a court case that is expected to last at least a year.

Cartoon of the Day

Click to enlarge, via.

Friday Links

For some reason I feel like laying in bed all day and eating bon bons...

Pictured: Three cheetahs spare tiny antelope's life... and play with him instead

We've found the G-spot, say the French (of course)

Experts find source of ancient Roman aqueduct

CNN: Senate OKs sanctions on Iran The Senate passed a bill on Thursday that would allow President Obama to expand sanctions against Iran to pressure the Islamic republic to drop its nuclear weapons ambitions.

Sparkling performance: British fizzy wine beats world's top champagne-makers to be named best bubbly on the planet

Man fights ticket for blowing nose

What to get the man who has everything? An underwater plane of course

Los Angeles Times: U.S. formalizes pledge on cutting greenhouse gases In a letter to the U.N., the Obama administration submits its reduction target as part of the Copenhagen Accord aimed at combating global warming. But it hinges on Congress passing an emissions bill.

Video- The First Lady Takes On Childhood Obesity

Happy Birthday Paddy!!

Some of the craziness in the video doesn't apply, but it cracked me up.

Have the best birthday EVER, Padlock! You've been a wonderful friend and partner, and deserve a happy, warm, yummy year! Mwah!!!

The saddest story Jeremy Scahill has ever written

By GottaLaff

Just go. I won't even provide excerpts. It wouldn't do the story justice.

Blackwater's Youngest Victim

I'm speechless. And in tears.

Heckuva Job Brownie gets a radio talk show

By GottaLaff

Not only did he get a show, he got a prime time show. Maybe he'll do a terrible job, fail to show up, then get a public pat on the back:

Michael Brown, the former head of FEMA much excoriated for the agency's response to Hurricane Katrina, reportedly has a deal to become a talk radio host in Denver.

He's going all fair and balanced on us:

Brown told the blog he'll resist jumping on the media bandwagon when someone in the news is painted as a villain, offering an "objective point of view." [...]

He's also teaching a class on the Patriot Act this spring at the University of Denver.[...]

The AM programming director for Clear Channel, which owns KOA, said Brown is "really very knowledgeable about what is going on and has solid opinions. Out of a list of really great candidates, he came to the top."

Good lord, imagine who was at the bottom.

48,000,000

By GottaLaff

No, that's not the most recent number of TPC readers. Nor is it the number of keynote speakers who have dropped out of the Tea Bagger Convention. Nope:

According to Nielsen Wire, President Obama's first State of the Union address was watched by more than 48 million viewers -- down 7% from President Bush's first official address in 2002 but up 5% from President Clinton's first official address in 1994.

SOTU memories: "They are in dire need of the services of a good proctologist and psychiatrists"

By GottaLaff

I got this via a friend, who passed it on to me in an e-mail. I don't need to add a thing.

What do I remember most about last night’s State Of The Union Address? Let’s see: Mitch McConnell’s uninterrupted Horses’ Ass/Smirking Chimp arrogant sneer of contempt, John Boehner’s liquid-supper red-faced constant snide chattering to anyone around him who would listen, Senator Grassley falling asleep…only one step from his usual demeanor and John McCain giggling like a demented old man. Now there are a bunch of folks who really have our welfare at heart…arrogant corrupt son-a-bitches.

They need to be supporting healthcare because they are in dire need of the services of a good proctologist and psychiatrists; damn I forgot; they have full coverage by the best plan in America. They should avail themselves of those essential services.

What do you suppose would be the outcome of a complete psychiatric examine of every member of congress? How many sociopaths would we find? How many alcoholics would be exposed? How many perverts would we find? And if we investigated all of them; how many common criminals would we find?

Just now on Countdown, Jonathan Alter: Their party is in decline... They're "sour".... They have nothing, they offer nothing...

How did he know I was writing this post?

Video- President Obama on the 65th Anniversary of the Liberation of Auschwitz and Birkenau

The anniversary was yesterday but got overshadowed by the SOTU.

Palin's crediblity gap

By GottaLaff

(click on image to enlarge)

LipSchmutz McQuitsStuff's ghost writer titled his/her latest Facebook entry "The Credibility Gap". How perfectly apt. That should be the title of everything he/she writes in Lippy's name:

While I don’t wish to speak too harshly about President Obama’s state of the union address, we live in challenging times that call for candor. I call them as I see them, and I hope my frank assessment will be taken as an honest effort to move this conversation forward.

While I don't wish to speak too harshly about this entry, but STFU about SOTU.

Last night, the president spoke of the “credibility gap” between the public’s expectations of their leaders and what those leaders actually deliver. “Credibility gap” is a good way to describe the chasm between rhetoric and reality in the president’s address. The contradictions seemed endless.

"Credibility gap" is a good way to describe the chasm between BaldFace McLieLips and reality. Your contradictions seem endless.

He called for Democrats and Republicans to “work through our differences,” but last year he dismissed any notion of bipartisanship when he smugly told Republicans, “I won.”

Earth to Barbie: He did. You didn't.

In case you haven't noticed, the Rushpublics need to hear those two words hourly.

He talked like a Washington “outsider,” but he runs Washington!

You say you're a maverick, talked like a Washington "outsider", yet you ran for V.P... who co-runs Washington.

He’s had everything any president could ask for – an overwhelming majority in Congress and a fawning press corps that feels tingles every time he speaks.

That was limited to Chris Matthews, Babs. Have you watched the news lately? Oh wait. You don't do that, despite the fact that you're on it all the time.

So let me clue you in: It skews right. You got more than your fair share of fawning, and as I recall, a few tingles of your own.

There was nothing preventing him from pursuing “common sense” solutions all along. He didn’t pursue them because they weren’t his priorities, and he spent his speech blaming Republicans for the problems caused by his own policies.

Two words: "You lie".

Oh, one more: Obstruction.

He dared us to “let him know” if we have a better health care plan, but he refused to allow Republicans in on the negotiations or consider any ideas for real free market and patient-centered reforms. We’ve been “letting him know” our ideas for months from the town halls to the tea parties, but he isn’t interested in listening. Instead he keeps making the nonsensical claim that his massive trillion-dollar health care bill won’t increase the deficit.

Shouting down speakers at town halls is not "letting him know". Neither, by the way, are Nazi/racist signs, and unworkable ideas. Nobody has come up with anything that approaches a serious alternative, and Obama's been listening longer than he should. Time for action... the democratic kind, not the unruly, gun-toting mob kind.

Americans are suffering from job losses and lower wages, yet the president practically demanded applause when he mentioned tax cuts, as if allowing people to keep more of their own hard-earned money is an act of noblesse oblige. He claims that he cut taxes, but I must have missed that. I see his policies as paving the way for massive tax increases and inflation, which is the “hidden tax” that most hurts the poor and the elderly living on fixed incomes.

Seriously, it's like she's unconscious. It's barely worth rebutting. Butting, maybe, but rebutting? It's like talking to a drum of oil.

He condemned lobbyists, but his White House is filled with former lobbyists, and this has been a banner year for K Street with his stimulus bill, aka the Lobbyist’s Full Employment Act. He talked about a “deficit of trust” and the need to “do our work in the open,” but he chased away the C-SPAN cameras and cut deals with insurance industry lobbyists behind closed doors.

He spoke of doing what’s best for the next generation and not leaving our children with a “mountain of debt,” but under his watch this year, government spending is up by 22%, and his budget will triple our national debt.

He spoke of a spending freeze, but doesn’t he realize that each new program he’s proposing comes with a new price tag? A spending freeze is a nice idea, but it doesn’t address the root cause of the problem. We need a comprehensive examination of the role of government spending. The president’s deficit commission is little more than a bipartisan tax hike committee, lending political cover to raise taxes without seriously addressing the problem of spending.

2001-2008. 'Nuff said.

He condemned bailouts, but he voted for them and then expanded and extended them. He praised the House’s financial reform bill, but where was Freddie Mac and Fannie Mae in that bill? He still hasn’t told us when we’ll be getting out of the auto and the mortgage industries. He praised small businesses, but he’s spent the past year as a friend to big corporations and their lobbyists, who always find a way to make government regulations work in their favor at the expense of their mom & pop competitors.

Title for a new play: "Whose Supreme Court Is It Anyway?" Friend to big corporations, indeed. Kiss my assets, Loopy McWTF.

He praised the effectiveness of his stimulus bill, but then he called for another one – this time cleverly renamed a “jobs bill.” The first stimulus was sold to us as a jobs bill that would keep unemployment under 8%. We now have double digit unemployment with no end in sight. Why should we trust this new “jobs bill”?

I repeat: 2001-2008. Plus, as I said in one of my previous FB retorts to you, the stimulus package takes time to work, and there are signs it already has.

He talked about “making tough decisions about opening new offshore areas for oil and gas development,” but apparently it’s still too tough for his Interior Secretary to move ahead with Virginia’s offshore oil and gas leases. If they’re dragging their feet on leases, how long will it take them to build “safe, clean nuclear power plants”? Meanwhile, he continued to emphasize “green jobs,” which require massive government subsidies for inefficient technologies that can’t survive on their own in the real world of the free market.

"Too tough", or smart enough not to Drill, Baby, Drill , Vapid McBoxOHair? Oh, and nuke plants aren't all that safe, nor can you store the waste products safely or efficiently.

And didja notice that he said we're still stuck using your cherished ancient, finite sources of energy while we build a thriving green power industry? Didja hear that part? I did.

He spoke of supporting young girls in Afghanistan who want to go to school and young women in Iran who courageously protest in the streets, but where were his words of encouragement to the young girls of Afghanistan in his West Point speech? And where was his support for the young women of Iran when they were being gunned down in the streets of Tehran?

Where was your support of women when you charged them for their own rape kits? Where were your words of encouragement when you wouldn't support their freedom of choice? Which is legal just by the way.

Despite speaking for over an hour, the president only spent 10% of his speech on foreign policy, and he left us with many unanswered questions. Does he still think trying the 9/11 terrorists in New York is a good idea? Does he still think closing Gitmo is a good idea? Does he still believe in Mirandizing terrorists after the Christmas bomber fiasco? Does he believe we’re in a war against terrorists, or does he think this is just a global crime spree? Does he understand that the first priority of our government is to keep our country safe?

Do you understand anything? At all?

In his address last night, the president once again revealed that there’s a fundamental disconnect between what the American people expect from their government, and what he wants to deliver. He’s still proposing failed top-down big government solutions to our problems. Instead of smaller, smarter government, he’s taken a government that was already too big and supersized it.

2001-2008. Again. Doing it your way worked out well, didn't it?

Real private sector jobs are created when taxes are low, investment is high, and people are free to go about their business without the heavy hand of government. The president thinks innovation comes from government subsidies. Common sense conservatives know innovation comes from unleashing the creative energy of American entrepreneurs.

Can you show me where Big Government has imposed on you since Obama was elected? Can you show me how BushCo's Big Government set us all free with its torture, invasion of privacy, warrantless wiretaps, "free speech zones", ad nauseam?

Everything seems to be “unexpected” to this administration: unexpected job losses; unexpected housing numbers; unexpected political losses in Massachusetts, Virginia, and New Jersey. True leaders lead best when confronted with the unexpected. But instead of leading us, the president lectured us. He lectured Wall Street; he lectured Main Street; he lectured Congress; he even lectured our Supreme Court Justices.

The United Corporation of America will put a stop to that.

Oh, and you forgot about NY 23. Don't forget about that, Babs. That was pretty unexpected.

So was 9/11. Oh wait. No it wasn't, and yet our "true leader" sat there for 7 minutes reading My Pet Goat when he was confronted with it.

And don't get me started on Wall Street.

While we're at it, aren't you lecturing us, and President Obama, right now?

He criticized politicians who “wage a perpetual campaign,” but he gave a campaign speech instead of a state of the union address. The campaign is over, and President Obama now has something that candidate Obama never had: an actual track record in office. We now can see the failed policies behind the flowery words. If Americans feel as cynical as the president suggests, perhaps it’s because the audacity of his recycled rhetoric no longer inspires hope.

See: Rock star, Townhall, Florida. They sounded pretty hopeful to me.

Real leadership requires results. Real hope lies in the ingenuity, generosity, and boundless courage of the American people whose voices are still not being heard in Washington.

Maybe you should have titled this piece "Delusional".

H/t: DAKGirl

Finally: Don't Ask Don't Tell hearing Tuesday

By GottaLaff

That sound you hear is the right side of the aisle screaming "Obstruct!"

A senior defense official says to expect Defense Secretary Robert Gates and Admiral Mike Mullen provide more details about the end of "Don't Ask, Don't Tell" during the Senate Budget hearings next Tuesday and Wednesday. [...]

The Joint Chiefs still have not worked out details on how military policy or infrastructure may change if DADT is repealed. One senior defense official said they will examine the need for actual changes in infrastructure -- separate berthing, showers, etc. -- NOT because they believe there needs to be separate facilities, but only to be prepared for critics who have said this could be an issue for the military. [...]

This new, more humane implementation will likely be the interim policy until the U.S. military figures out what needs to be changed for a smooth transition.

For much more, including which questions we should expect to be asked, go here.

I'd like to see an executive order on this, but that's not going to happen. I keep reminding myself what it would be like if McCain/Palin made it to the White House. After coming down off the ceiling at the very thought of those two taking charge of anything, and popping a few pretend sedatives, I realize I have to accept the baby steps we're taking, take a deep breath, and hope for the best.

I feel very strongly about DADT. It's hard to be patient, but patient I must be.

President Cool: Where Clinton Turned Right, Obama Plowed Ahead

By GottaLaff

President Cool is using that unruffled demeanor to his advantage again... hopefully. Or as Barbie McCan'tDressMyself would say, President O'Cool:

[President Clinton's] move to the middle — arguably more rhetoric than reality — stopped Newt Gingrich’s Republican Revolution in its tracks. So why did President Barack Obama go a different route on Wednesday night, giving little ground and declaring that the problem was not his agenda but a deficit of trust in government and of pragmatism? If there was a defining line in Mr. Obama’s speech, it might have been “Let’s try common sense,” to which he ad-libbed, “a novel concept.” [...]

In the 2008 campaign, the Obama style was to ignore the passions of the moment. It has become the lore of the Obama White House that its candidate won by not letting hyperventilation on cable television, or predictions of impending political doom, drive his tactics, much less his strategy. In that telling of events, Mr. Obama’s coolness, even his seeming detachment, became a political virtue. [...]

In short, his message was that his agenda remains unchanged; only the timing is uncertain. That is the difference between the Clinton approach in 1996 and the Obama approach in 2010. Mr. Clinton clearly felt that he needed to get ahead of the political passions of the moment. Mr. Obama, rightly or wrongly, still is acting like he can control them.

Please read the whole thing here. Those were just nibbles.

Obama has always been a centrist, despite rumors to the contrary. He's proved that over and over again, and I'm not quite sure where the liberal label came from. I've posted about that many a time.

As for being Not Clinton, let's hope he doesn't veer right, because then I'd lose what's left of my own cool.

U.S. Senate Confirms Ben Bernanke for a 2nd Term as Fed Governor

By GottaLaff

Via a million e-mail alerts, but here's the one from the N.Y. Times:

The Senate confirmed Ben S. Bernanke to a second term at the
helm of the Federal Reserve. The confirmation was a victory
for President Obama, who had called Mr. Bernanke a critical
leader in the nation's recovery from recession, but the
rancor surrounding the vote also signaled the extent to which
the Fed, once little known to the public, has become the
object of populist anger over high unemployment and bank
bailouts.

Read More:
http://www.nytimes.com?emc=na

VIDEO- Judd Gregg's MSNBC Hissy Fit When Asked About Program Cuts

By GottaLaff

Not only is he a crankpot, he's an inaccurate one:




Judd, Judd. Specifics are a problem for you, are they?

On MSNBC this afternoon, deficit peacock Sen. Judd Gregg (R-NH) got into a heated exchange with anchors Contessa Brewer and Melissa Francis, challenging their “integrity” and calling them “irresponsible” and “duplicitous” after they tried to get him to offer specific ways he would cut spending to lower the deficit. [...]

His outrage over the insinuation that he could cut education funding is peculiar, considering that he voted for an amendment in 1996 that “would balance the budget faster by killing the Departments of Housing and Urban Development, Education, Commerce, and Energy.”

When in doubt, blame.

H/t: VNDNBRG

VIDEO- Sarah Palin: "The mandation of healthcare"

By GottaLaff

Care for some mandation with your Word Salad?



H/t: Larisa Alexandrovna

VIDEO- Breitbart in tussle with David Shuster: O'Keefe was slandered.

By GottaLaff

David faced off in a huge way with Andrew Breitbart. If only they hadn't overtalked each other, this very heated exchange would have been a little easier to understand:

Visit msnbc.com for breaking news, world news, and news about the economy

TeaFail: Bachmann Pulls Out of Tea Party Convention

By GottaLaff

Oh noes! First SchmutzLip McCan'tSpeak can't fill a room, and now this!

Rep. Michele Bachmann (R-MN) "has become the latest high-profile conservative to bag the rapidly unraveling Tea Party Convention in Nashville next week," the Minneapolis Star Tribune reports.

"Bachmann's office cited the same concerns that other Tea Party activists have voiced about the first-of-its-kind national gathering: namely, the for-profit model of organizer Judson Phillips, a self-described 'small town lawyer' with a history of financial problems."

Checkmate, Tea Bag Queens.

Perhaps if they renamed it the TeaFail Convention.

UPDATE: Add Tennessee Rep. Marsha Blackburn to the list.

Liveblog: President Obama speaks about job creation in Tampa, Florida

By GottaLaff

Liveblogging what I can. Wow, huge rock star screams and applause:

These are difficult, challenging times.

Irresponsibility left Americans struggling.

Joe and I took office in the middle of this raging storm. We took office because of [this]. We won't rest until we rebuild... till middle class has its legs underneath it again.

Nobody wants to help the banking sector, especially because they created this mess... but we had to.

Now markets have stabilized, the economy is growing again, the worst of the storm has passed, but the devastation remains.

Job creation has to be our #1 priority in 2010.

Refers to SOTU speech.... tax credits, 30 billion to small businesses, etc.

It's important to repave our roads, rebuild bridges, but we want to look deep into the 21st century: High speed rail... funded by Recovery Act.

I'm gonna come down here and ride it. [huge applause]

Tax breaks for companies that hire in U.S.

As we were sworn in, we lost hundreds of thousands of jobs, so before we could even put Recovery Act in place, we had lost jobs.

So we had to lay a new foundation, address middle class struggles. We didn't take office to take easy road... but to solve problems that had been nagging at us for decades. Solve them for next generation, get the tough stuff done.

I make no apology for trying to fix stuff that's hard. [been getting huge applause throughout speech]

The easiest way to keep poll numbers high is to say/do nothing that offends anybody. Just wave, smile... [laughter] The minute you actually start doing something, someone will disagree with you.

But that's what I promised! I said I wouldn't just tell you what you wanna hear, but what you NEED to hear. None of this is new. There's nothing that we didn't talk about during campaign!

We will now start fighting for your future, no matter how long it takes to get it done. [again, huge applause]

I have to mention, I love you in the media, but last week, I went to Ohio, saying what I said now. They got all worked up: Is he changing his message, getting more populist, a strategy to boost this that, the other, something new? I have to do a little rewind here about how we ran our grassroots campaign. I got some news of my own here, I've been fighting for people my entire life!

[HUGE applause... again]

I remember coming to Tampa 2 weeks before election, I said, quote, "Change never comes without a fight." That was true then, it's true now.

Fight for education, affordable college... So we proposed that grads should only pay 10% of income to pay back student loans... [applause, screams]... and...

We'll forgive debt after 20 years, but after 10 if you choose public service job... teacher, cop... we don't wanna discourage you from that because of the cost of college. Michelle and I have been there. Took 15 to pay mine off, 10 for Michelle.

Nobody should go broke if they wanna go to college. [HUGE APPLAUSE, SCREAMS]

Clean energy economy, solar, wind, cutting edge car batteries: Lead clean air revolution, then lead global economy. China, Germany want those jobs, going after them hard. We're not gonna stop fighting to give Americans fair shake.

First bill I signed was equal pay for equal work for women... Lily Ledbetter Act. [applause]

Men, you should've been standing up clapping for that because most families need 2 paychecks, not one, to get by.

I signed Credit Card Bill of Rights to protect you... fighting for tough consumer protection agency.
[applause] We need a strong financial sector... Many working in banks doing great service, but we need Wall St. rules so they don't take our economy over the side. That's common sense, nothing radical about that. BANKS should want it, creates stability.

And YES, we won't stop fighting for health care reform. [HUGE APPLAUSE, STANDING O] Fight big insurance. [listing the usual hcr policies] It's the right thing to do, and btw, if you're serious about REDUCING OUR DEFICIT/DEBT, you must reform health care system. How can you say you don't want gov't control and then fight hcr to reduce deficits? Those aren't my numbers.

We must rein in deficits. PayGo... Pay as you go. Simple. Sorta how you live. Start a new program? Then end an old one that pays for it. Cut taxes? You gotta fill the revenue. So it's honest accounting that's needed.

Health care: One more word... The longer it takes, the process, complicated.. the uglier it looked. Doesn't help when Big Insur spends $ against it... So you ask, what's in it for me? I take my share of blame for not explaining clearly. But it won't go away. I won't walk away from you, and Congress shouldn't either. I HOPE WE CAN GET SOME REPUBS TO JOIN DEMS WHO UNDERSTAND URGENCY OF THE PROBLEM. [huge applause]

On every issue, my door remains open to good ideas from both parties. I want the Rs working with us to solve problems. Not to score points. I DON'T want gridlock on issue after issue. Don't want attitude "if Obama loses we win". That can't be a platform. [applause] Even if we disagree, we should be rootin' for each other, solving problems... so that you lose I win may work short time, but not worthy of you, doesn't work for these times.

Overcome politics, do what is hard. We've come thru tough year, a new year is here... opportunities are here for the taking.

Everyone roll up your sleeves. Yes we can, we don't back down, we don't quit. I've never been more hopeful for our future. I am confident.

Q and A:

Q: Middle East... got people shouting... Israel question... (phone rang, missed some)

A: The M.E. is an issue that's plagued region for centuries. Israel is one of our strongest allies [applause]. A democracy... shares links w/ us in all sorts of ways. I will never waver from insuring their security, helping them do same. We're seeking a two state solution in which Israel and Pal's can live side by side in peace and security, but both sides will have to compromise.

First step: Pal's must renounce violence and accept Israel... Israel has to ... [phone, sorry]..

Q: High speed rail: When?

A: Biden should answer this. Generally: 1. Investing in infrastructure is twofer. Creates jobs immediately and lays foundation for vibrant econ. in future. But it's expensive. We're still repairing old stuff. Hoping to figure out ways to take some of politics out of it, meaning... a lot of decisions based on who has most powerful Congress member. Better to base more on what are the engineering plans to make project go fwd... Transparency... engineers, planners involved in process so we can get regional planning. 2. If we're investing in it, we must look fwd. not back. High speed rail is fast, smooth... why don't we have those? Partly because we're a big country, and we love our cars. We don't like gas prices, but love our cars. Even IF we have to increase prod. on oil and natural gas, because can't get clean energy up and running fast enough, but we must get started NOW decreasing our use. So, high speed rail allows us an option... take the train. Good for economy of region, plus lifestyle w/ less traffic. People get to work faster, less aggravated.

Biden: Think of highway system in '50s. Built where there was heavies traffic to get most use. So Transportation Dept. picked Orlando because you were most ready, most advanced. Same as CA, planned, ready to go. Both Repub governors, so not chosen for politics. Highest density, plus requests coming from states. We're also funding planning efforts. Plus a portion for taking RRs to go higher speed, which takes cars off highway. Taking existing corridors that will make a difference on congestion. We'll then build it out.

Obama: Biden has overseen Recov. Act. You have not seen scandal in this HUGE endeavor. You can go on WH website and look at every project that has been awarded a Recov. Act grant.

Q: My brothers are in and out of jail, drugs, and can't get jobs. So they go back to what they're used to... Is there anything to get them into the system to get hired, get self esteem up, so they don't go back to sell drugs? We need to teach them a trade.

A: Same patterns in rural and city areas. So, a couple of thing have to happen: 1. Make sure our very young children get a healthy start in life, get support to stay on a straight path of success in school. [applause] Single best anti-poverty program is (early) education. We get in trouble for trying to shake up lower performing schools. We can give them $, but that won't matter if we don't reform how they're learning... best teaching methods, parent involvement... It would have been easier to work w/ your brother had he had all this... [paraphrased] Folks w/ no jail record are looking for jobs, so it's harder for him. But... 2. If we can't break cycle, then we're just churning folks thru system. So, some Cong. people have promoted Second Chance Act that link ex offenders w/ opps. and skills, get some work experience, and then certify that they're ready for workplace, then encourage private sector companies to hire. Not well funded enough. But ends up wise for taxpayers, because prisoners cost us $.

Q: I'm frustrated because I can create 500 jobs but banks won't give me loan. I know you care, you're trying, and appreciate the 30 billion dollar pledge, but lending to us is not the answer. Why can't govt., SBA, make loans available directly to us?

A: We have increased loans... But it's not enough. You still want a loan. But it's not like we haven't thought of that. Even SBA loans are run by not them, but they work w/ local banks to process loan, SBA underwrites loan. So SBA doesn't have the infrastructure to go everywhere to process loans directly, the staff to do it. If SBA took over all of that, it would be a HUGE bureaucracy, it would take too long, and you'd wonder why big agency can't run everything? So we took the $30 billion and made it available, encourage small banks to give those loans to you. I am absolutely sympathetic to you, I hear it everywhere. So we'll use SBA as one tool, the $32 billion will help, but most loans will come to private sector. We have to get private sector to think differently. The bottom fell out. Also, we're encouraging... getting regulators, indep. ones, to take a closer look at the policies, too. We can't do that directly.

I'm done in. This is all you get.

NOPE: A gay rights question gets this answer:

A basic principle in our Constitution says if you follow the rules, you should be treated the same, regardless of who you are. That applies to gay/lesbian couples. So at federal level, we're trying to make sure partnerships are recognized for purposes of benefits...

We actually have an opp. to pass law that's in Congress right now... for federal workers. Some companies have done same. We need to take a leadership role to make sure people are treated the same.