Congressional Democrats have not given up on the idea of passing government run health care - despite the overwhelming opposition of the American public.

Senate and House liberals are co-signing a letter urging Democrat Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid to use the budget reconciliation process to push the so-called "public option" through the Senate.  Now that Republicans have the 41 votes necessary to sustain a filibuster, the Democrats want to get around the filibuster all together by using the budget process to pass legislation that would alter 1/6th of the American economy.  Which the majority of the American public do NOT want.

Via CNN:

The fight over health care reform burst back into public view Tuesday as four Democratic senators asked Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid to hold a vote on a government-run public insurance option.

Monday, Indiana Democrat Senator Evan Bayh dropped a bombshell on the political world and announced he would not run for re-election this fall - just one day before the deadline to file in that state.

Given that Bayh was a two term incumbent and had about thriteen million dollars in his campaign account, he was the strongest bet the Democrats had to hold the seat this fall.  In fact, in spite of his advantages, the seat was rated as only "slightly" leaning in the Democrats direction, (due in part to the fact that Indiana is generally more of a Republican state).  That's changed now.  Within hours of Bayh's announcement, pundits have switched the contest to "slightly Republican" odds.

Also, from a pro-life standpoint, it increases the odds of another pick-up in the Senate, given that Bayh was pro-abortion, (and both of the leading GOP contenders are solidly pro-life).

Here's a roundup from the pundit class...

Susan Ferrechio: With Bayh's retirement, there are now eight Senate seats currently held by Democrats that Republicans may grab this fall. Seats in Nevada, Colorado, North Dakota, Illinois, Arkansas, Pennsylvania and Delaware were already looking vulnerable. Bayh's decision follows the retirements of Sens. Chris Dodd, D-Conn., and Byron Dorgan, D-N.D.

The recent Prayer Breakfast in D.C. for the first time became a political event as Obama told why gays should be able to serve openly in the military. The setting, a prayer breakfast to honor God, was the wrong place to proclaim such ideas. Even a touch of class would have dictated propriety at that event. The One also said that he prays for our nation, which is about as sincere as an undertaker trying to look sad at a $10,000 funeral.  

Celebrity Chickens Flew The Coop?  Henny and Penny, the world famous hens are nowhere to be found!  An alert has quietly gone out. We do know that the hens were visibly upset by the ruling against them at the recent Brentwood City Council. They were particulaly distressed by a news article that referred to them as "illegal hens."   The newly formed, Chicken Wire News Service has reported that the hens have been sprinted away to an undisclosed location and their names have been changed.

We are told by a trusted source that they are trying to live anonymously so as not to bring attention to themselves until this all blows over. We wonder if they dyed and restyled their feathers?  MilesTones is attempting to contact the hen's former keeper, Kimberly Kennedy for a statement. Watch this website for updates.  

Their goose is cooked. Henny and Penny learned last night that The Brentwood City Council voted against them staying in their home. The famed hens did not attend the meeting. The final vote by Erick Stonebarger, who was absent during the Janurary 26th hearing which ended in a tie, sealed the fate of the chickens, not only them, but the fate of all chickens. Ms. X the neighbor who first complained actually was there and emphased that "chickens poop 1000 times a day (?) and if one had three chickens, that adds up to 3000 pounds of chicken poop each and every day which is not acceptable in good neighborhoods," saith she. 3000 pounds is a lot of ...ah never mind!  A last ditch effort to prevent eviction of the hens is below....

Chicken Defense Before Brentwood City Council, Feb. 9, 2010 by Rev. Austin Miles.

The minutes are ticking by before this evening's meeting of The Brentwood City Council where the deciding vote will be cast to determine the verdict for Henny and Penny, the famous hens from Brentwood, who are setting on their perches anxiously. 

The dispute that will be finalized at 7 PM in the Council Chambers will be the final decision as to Henny and Penny being able to stay in their backyard home or be evicted on the complaint of a neighbor who declares that the gentle hens poop 1000 times a day and she could carry it in on the soles of her shoes which would cause a multitude of diseases for society at large.

The home of the neighbor is behind a tall fence and the hens are in a coop in their own backyard which, of couse would be quite a feat to project the poop bombs from their coop, through the wires, across the lawn and up and over the fence to the backyard of the neighbor.  That is bull_ _ _ _ er...chicken._ _ ahh never mind!

The story of the plight of the hens has been picked up world wide and spotlighted on television news. Cathy Taibbi gave her take on the uproar (and over the fence) in her columns in The Examiner and Allvoices web news sites, which are also quoted around the world. Here are the links to her stories:

After a little more than a year in Office, Barack Obama's public approval rating has hit its all time lowest point.

According to the latest Marist poll, only 44% of registered voters "approve" of the job Obama's doing, with 47% disapproving.  The poll also found Obama doing far worse with the all-important "independent" voters, wit only 29% approving and 57% disapproving.

The numbers from Rasmussen take it a step further.  They show 47% approval and 53% disapproval generally, but when you look at how strongly people feel about him one way or another, it gets pretty overwhelming.  It shows 27% "strongly approving", but 40% "strongly disapproving" - meaning Obama's upsidedown by 13 points when it comes to people who feel strongly and are more likely to be tuned in to what's going on.  (And more likely to vote...)

The same poll also shows 75% of voters describing themselves as "angry" about current federal government policies.

Here's more proof that MilesTones doesn't have to make anything up. Fasten your seat belts....according to Irish Central, the boss of a British recruitment firm said she was told she could not place an advertisement for "reliable workers" at the local Jobcentre because it discriminates against unreliable people.(!) How's that again?...

Specifically, the text of the ad ended by stating that "appplicants for the post must be very reliable and hard-working"  Wrong thing to say. When Nicole Mamo called the Jobcentre the following day, she was told that her ad would not be displayed in the store or on the website. A Jobcentre worker claimed that the word "reliable" meant they could be sued for discriminating against unreliable workers. Yep, by golly, we musn't discriminate against deadbeat, no-shows or those who don't finish a task.  Then there is this.....

Since Toyota stated there is a brake problem on their vehicles, it apparently is worse than thought. A man driving his Toyota to a dealer to have it examined couldn't stop his car when he arrived and crashed through the window of the dealer.

This Tuesday, February 9th, two famous hens will face the final vote before The Brentwood City Council which will determine their future. The hearing will take place in the Council Chambers beginning at 7. Henny and Penny, the defendants, found themselves caught in a web of bureaucracy over a housing issue which brought them before the council January 26th. A passionate defense was given for the hens. The council dead-locked with two votes for the hens and two against. One councilman who was absent will cast the deciding vote at the February 9th meeting.  Henny and Penny will again be present. Area TV news broadcast portions of the trial and defense. An avalanche of requests poured in...well...actually one...to release the text of the entire defense of the hens to the public at large.  You will see the unabridged, unedited text as given below....

Text of Chicken Defense Presented by MilesTones Before The Brentwood City Council on January 26, 2010
Honorable Mayor Bob Taylor, distinguished members of the Brentwood City Council, Citizens of The Great City of Brentwood. On behalf of Henny and Penny, who are watching these proceedings with interest, we thank you for putting the issue of the chickens on the rooster...ROSTER!  They are chickens of upstanding character who get up early and go to work, producing pure organic eggs.

So, what kind of impact will Obama's budget "freeze" actually have on the budget?  Since, as they say, a picture is worth a thousand words, the following video says quite a bit...

Pass it on.

Since the State of the Union speech, (or really since the Scott Brown win in Massachusetts), Barack Obama has been working to polish his "fiscal accountability" credentials.

He told Congress that he wanted to institute a freeze on all "discretionary" domestic spending, which is another way of saying "everything except Social Security, Medicaid, Medicare, defense, interest payments, stimulus spending, bailouts and anything we want to call an 'emergency'".  This means that the "freeze" is projected to apply to about $450 billion (or 13%) of a $3.5 trillion dollar budget.

This is essentially like putting a smiley face on a death certificate.  Or rather a "fiscal death certificate", considering his new budget projects the biggest deficit in American history and a national debt of about $20 trillion in the next decade.

So while we're continuing to "not" freeze spending on entitlement programs, what exactly are we cutting? According to USA Today: