ConservativeChristianRepublican-Report - 20100127

Motivational-Inspirational-Historical-Educational-Political-Enjoyable

Promoting "God's Holy Values and American Freedoms"!



"Daily Motivations"

"We judge ourselves by what we feel capable of doing, while others judge us by what we have already done." -- Henry Wadsworth Longfellow

"Dreams are renewable. No matter what our age or condition, there are still untapped possibilities within us and new beauty waiting to be born." -- Dr. Dale Turner

"I am only one; but still I am one. I cannot do everything, but still I can do something; I will not refuse to do something I can do." -- Helen Keller



"Daily Devotions" (KJV and/or NLT)

He was lost, but now he is found." (Luke 15:24)

John Newton's mother was a devoted Christian, but she died when he was a child. As a young man, he decided to follow in the footsteps of his father, an English sea captain. He joined the British Royal Navy but was discharged for unruly behavior. He moved to the western coast of Africa and worked for a slave trader. He eventually became captain of a slave ship, treating the slaves despicably. What a loathsome man he had become!

On one voyage, a fierce storm severely battered his ship. Fearing for his life, he surrendered himself to God. Over the next few years as he became convinced that slavery was abhorrent, he gave up slave trading and crusaded against slavery. His life changed so much that he even studied to become a minister. Soon, he became known as the "old converted sea captain" all because he had personally encountered the living God. Eventually, he wrote one of the most famous hymns in the English language, Amazing Grace. In it, he describes his own transformation:

"Amazing grace, how sweet the sound,
That saved a wretch like me.
I once was lost, but now am found,
Was blind, but now I see."

Who else but almighty God could change a calloused slave trader into a compassionate minister and anti-slavery crusader? Have you experienced this change? If He could change John Newton, he can certainly change you.

For more than fifty years, I have walked and talked with our loving heavenly Father. The more I get to know Him, the more peace, joy, love, and excitement I experience. It has been my greatest adventure. He has proven to be my best friend, someone I can trust in every situation.

Your View of God Really Matters …

If you have experienced the marvelous revelation of God's amazing grace, think of one significant way it has affected your life. Then ask God to show you one person who needs to hear your story.



"The Patriot Post"

"The public cannot be too curious concerning the characters of public men." -- Samuel Adams



The Demo-gogues

Race bait: "[Harry Reid] was wowed by Obama's oratorical gifts and believed that the country was ready to embrace a black presidential candidate, especially one such as Obama -- a 'light-skinned' African American 'with no Negro dialect, unless he wanted to have one,' as he said privately." --excerpt from the book "Game Change," by journalists John Heilemann and Mark Halperin

But back then: "If you tell ethnic jokes in the back room, it's that much easier to say ethnic things publicly. I've always practiced how I play." --Harry Reid in 2002 after Trent Lott's resignation from leadership after similar racially insensitive remarks

Circling the wagons: "I don't know why people are making such a fuss about this. What is the big fuss about the word 'Negro'? I support the United Negro College Fund. I support the National Council of Negro Women. We still use those two terms because they have been a part of our history for a long time. So I don't know what all this fuss is about." --Rep. James Clyburn, former Chair of the Congressional Black Caucus and current House Majority Whip

"Senator Reid's record provides a stark contrast to actions of Republicans to block legislation that would benefit poor and minority communities -- most recently reflected in Republican opposition to the Health Bill now under consideration." --Rep. Barbara Lee (D-CA), Chair of the Congressional Black Caucus

More deep thoughts: "A few years ago, this guy would have been getting us coffee." --Bill Clinton in 2008, as reported in "Game Change"



The BIG Lie:

"The Senate thinks [their health care bill] is fairer. We think ours is. We'll see which mirror cracks. But we will proceed in a way that is fair to the American people." --House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-CA), who has anything but fairness to the American people on her mind

You don't say: "This is far from a perfect piece of legislation." -- Sen. Chris Dodd (D-CT) on the health care bill

Hope 'n' Change: "The jobs numbers are reminder that the road to recovery is never straight." --Barack Obama (The road has been straight ... down. The U.S. lost another 85,000 jobs in December.)

Too much information: "I'm not worried about them touching my private parts." -- Sen. Carl Levin (D-MI) on airport screening procedures



The Demo-gogues

Race bait: "[Harry Reid] was wowed by Obama's oratorical gifts and believed that the country was ready to embrace a black presidential candidate, especially one such as Obama -- a 'light-skinned' African American 'with no Negro dialect, unless he wanted to have one,' as he said privately." -- excerpt from the book "Game Change," by journalists John Heilemann and Mark Halperin

But back then: "If you tell ethnic jokes in the back room, it's that much easier to say ethnic things publicly. I've always practiced how I play." -- Harry Reid in 2002 after Trent Lott's resignation from leadership after similar racially insensitive remarks

Circling the wagons: "I don't know why people are making such a fuss about this. What is the big fuss about the word 'Negro'? I support the United Negro College Fund. I support the National Council of Negro Women. We still use those two terms because they have been a part of our history for a long time. So I don't know what all this fuss is about." -- Rep. James Clyburn, former Chair of the Congressional Black Caucus and current House Majority Whip

"Senator Reid's record provides a stark contrast to actions of Republicans to block legislation that would benefit poor and minority communities -- most recently reflected in Republican opposition to the Health Bill now under consideration." --Rep. Barbara Lee (D-CA), Chair of the Congressional Black Caucus

More deep thoughts: "A few years ago, this guy would have been getting us coffee." -- Bill Clinton in 2008, as reported in "Game Change"

The BIG Lie: "The Senate thinks [their health care bill] is fairer. We think ours is. We'll see which mirror cracks. But we will proceed in a way that is fair to the American people." -- House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-CA), who has anything but fairness to the American people on her mind

You don't say: "This is far from a perfect piece of legislation." -- Sen. Chris Dodd (D-CT) on the health care bill

Hope 'n' Change: "The jobs numbers are reminder that the road to recovery is never straight." -- Barack Obama (The road has been straight ... down. The U.S. lost another 85,000 jobs in December.)

Too much information: "I'm not worried about them touching my private parts." -- Sen. Carl Levin (D-MI) on airport screening procedures



Upright

"White liberals have built a political culture that is little different from the plantations of another generation. African-Americans are given just enough to help them survive, but not opportunity which will allow them to escape and become independent of government programs." -- columnist Cal Thomas

"We know two thousand pages of 'gov-speak' is one of the largest compendiums of bribes, favors and pork ever devised. We know that in all two thousand pages, there's not a single word about tort reform because the Democratic party is owned by the trial lawyers. We know the overwhelming majority of Congress won't even bother to read the bill before voting on it. And above all, we know the very same people who are foisting this boondoggle on the rest of us will never be subjected to its mandates, because they have their own Rolls Royce health care coverage. ... 2010 can't come soon enough." -- columnist Arnold Ahlert

"The special deals and payoffs are incidental to the [health care] bill in one sense; if they were all removed it would still be a bad bill. But in another sense, they reveal something essential about a government takeover of health care: it is all about looting, about how one group of people can tax and regulate others in an attempt to get something for nothing. All statist programs are rife with this kind of scheming, and they have to be, because whenever wealth is seized by force, there is a battle among the looters over how to divide the spoils." -- columnist Robert Tracinski

"The White House is ... being completely dismissive ... concerning legitimate questions about the constitutionality of Obamacare. Consider this: No fewer than 13 state attorneys general signed a letter to House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, expressing their 'grave concern' over the constitutionality of one provision of the bill. This provision would cause the federal government to grant special favors to Nebraska (subsidizing its Medicaid costs) pursuant to the Democrats' bribe to secure Sen. Ben Nelson's support. ... How did the White House respond when asked about this letter? Well, White House press secretary Robert Gibbs, after admitting he hadn't even read the letter, said, 'I do not believe that anybody has legitimate constitutional concerns about the legislation.' That settles it then. Chief Justice Gibbs has spoken." --c olumnist David Limbaugh

"The most startling news since Barack Obama's colossal victory over Hillary Clinton in Iowa was the Democratic poll in Massachusetts the other day showing the little-known Republican Scott Brown beating the state's attorney general, Martha Coakley, in the special contest for the late Ted Kennedy's Senate seat by a point. A subsequent poll by the Boston Globe had the Democrat winning by 15. Somebody is very wrong here, obviously, and we won't know until next Tuesday's election which poll got the Massachusetts electorate right. But if the Democratic poll is closer to the truth, and if Coakley can't come up with something to pull Brown's numbers down over the next week, she is going to lose and a Republican is going to win an ineffable symbolic victory against Barack Obama and especially against health care." -- columnist John Podhoretz



Insight

"We owe these blessings, under Heaven, to the Constitution and Government ... bequeathed to us by our fathers, and which it is our sacred duty to transmit ... to our children." --President Millard Fillmore (1800-1874)

"Failure is the opportunity to begin again more intelligently." --American industrialist Henry Ford (1863-1947)

"If at first you don't succeed, then quit! There's no use being a stupid fool about it!" --American comedian and writer W. C. Fields (1880-1946)



Short Cuts

"President Obama ordered airport passenger scanners upgraded Thursday. It's all tied in with health care reform. If you don't have a personal physician you just fly somewhere and the TSA screener will tell you if your gall bladder looks all right." -- comedian Argus Hamilton

"In an effort to calm people after the latest security problems, the White House said it is working even harder to find Osama bin Laden. The frustrating part is that we almost had him. Earlier this year, he snuck into the White House state dinner." -- comedian Jay Leno

"Thus, one of the most unsavory troikas in the history of American politics -- Nancy Pelosi, Harry Reid and Barack Obama -- are cobbling together a take-it-or-leave-it takeover of one-sixth of the American economy. Moe, Larry and Curly couldn't have done a better job of mocking transparent government." -- columnist Arnold Ahlert

"How do you explain why anyone in a theoretically free society would willingly surrender his brain to Soviet-like thought control? The best answer I can come up with is that there's a herd instinct among human beings that's akin to the one that governs the behavior of cattle, sheep and lemmings. To think like a liberal, a conservative merely needs to get down on all fours and then bang his head on a wall until he's managed to knock 50 points off his IQ." -- columnist Burt Prelutsky



"The Web"

Tim Tebow to Star in Pro-Life Super Bowl Ad

Russ Jones

ChristianPress.com

http://www.crosswalk.com/news/religiontoday/11625327/page0/

Former star quarterback Tim Tebow used to rack up points for the University of Florida, but now he is scoring big with a pro-family message.

According to Christian ministry Focus on the Family, the Heisman Trophy winner and his mother will be featured in a Pro-Life television commercial scheduled to run during the Super Bowl on CBS-TV on Sunday, Feb. 7.

"Tim and Pam share our respect for life and our passion for helping families thrive," Jim Daly, president and CEO of Focus on the Family, based in Colorado Springs, Colo., said in a statement. "They live what we see every day - that the desire for family closeness is written on the hearts of every generation."

Daly says the generous gifts of donors, not funds from the ministry's general budget, have paid for the pricey TV spot.

Tebow fans may not know that Tim's mother was urged to abort Tebow during a troubled pregnancy and chose not to.

In 1985 Pam Tebow and her husband were Christian missionaries in the Philippines. Wanting to expand their family, they prayed for "Timmy" by name before she became pregnant. Pam fell into a coma just prior to the pregnancy after contracting amoebic dysentery, a bacteria transmitted through contaminated drinking water, and took a series of strong medications to treat her illness. Doctors later found those medications caused the fetus to be "irreversibly" damaged. They strongly urged Pam to abort her fifth child.

Declining the advice of her doctors, Pam gave birth August 14, 1987 to a healthy son without the devastating disabilities her physicians predicted. Pam cites her Christian faith as the reason for going through her pregnancy.

While Focus on the Family won't confirm the content of the ad, they do say the Florida Gators star quarterback and his mother will share "a personal story" centered on the pro-life theme of "Celebrate Family, Celebrate Life."

"The Tebows said they agreed to appear in the commercial because the issue of life is one they feel very strongly about," according to a Focus on the Family statement.

Focus on the Family is paying an estimated $2.8 million for the prime time spot. They join an elite lineup of advertisers where CBS estimates over 90 million viewers will watch. Advertising Age reports CBS is nearly sold-out for its broadcast of Super Bowl XLIV. CBS is getting between $2.5 million and $3 million for a 30-second ad.

According to a report in Advertising Age in 2005, half of those who watch the Super Bowl in the US tune in specifically for the TV commercials.

The survey also said nearly six in 10 Super Bowl viewers claim they talked about the commercials at work the day after the game, while fewer said they discussed the actual game.

"We are excited about the opportunity to have a commercial in the Super Bowl," said Gary Schneeberger, Vice President of Ministry Communications for Focus on the Family. "This is a great chance to get out a pro-family message in front of a large audience."

While Focus on the Family will be rubbing shoulders with corporate media giants in the spot rotation, Schneeberger says its success is measured differently.

"One important point is that we are not trying to sell America a car, or a soft drink or a website. We aren't trying to sell anything," said Schneeberger. "Our goal is different. Success for us is in how many people we can introduce the kind of help we have to offer."

But whether it's on a football field or attracting viewers to watch a TV spot during a Super Bowl, it seems Tebow was destine to be an evangelist yet while he was in his mother's womb. And only people of faith truly understand that God ordained destiny.

It is no secret that Tebow has been outspoken about his Christian faith. In fact, he's so passionate that during his football career he used eye-black markings as a way to share the Gospel with on-lookers.

John 16:33 and Hebrews 12:1-2 were just a few of the Scriptures he sported during a game.

In his final game as a college quarterback, Tebow's eye-black message beneath his eyes during the Sugar Bowl was "EPH 2:8-10," which reads, "For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith -- and this not from yourselves, it is the gift of God -- not by works, so that no one can boast. For we are God's workmanship, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do."

Tebow's eye-black represents how something seemingly insignificant can have a huge impact. Google reports the keywords "Tebow's eye-black" has generated 94 million searches.

The Tebow campaign announcement comes as many participate in Sanctity of Human Life Week Jan. 17 - 24. The event observes the anniversary of the Roe v. Wade Supreme Court decision, which effectively legalized abortion in the United States.

"It is good any time we can see a positive Pro-Life message and get down to the reality," said Olivia Gans, spokesperson for the National Right to Life Committee. "It is critical to get out the truth behind the rhetoric."

Gans says Tebow's authenticity is refreshing and that the average American is impressed with his kind of character.

"In this case we are talking about a remarkable young man and obviously a very brave mother," Gans said. "It is important that we put this type of face on abortion."

Insiders from publications like Sporting News believe the commercial is a gutsy call for Tebow - especially for a quarterback who has yet to take his first snap as a professional football player. Most pro-lifers, however, are doing the "wave" in regards to the move and believe it will be a huge boost to the pro-family message.

Whether you support Tebow or not, it is clear advocates are tossing a Hail Mary on Super Bowl Sunday going for a big pro-life win.



Democrats propose $1.9T increase in debt limit

By ANDREW TAYLOR, Associated Press Writer Andrew Taylor, Associated Press Writer

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20100120/ap_on_bi_ge/us_congress_debt_limit_11

WASHINGTON – Senate Democrats on Wednesday proposed allowing the federal government to borrow an additional $1.9 trillion to pay its bills, a record increase that would permit the national debt to reach $14.3 trillion.
The unpopular legislation is needed to allow the federal government to issue bonds to fund programs and prevent a first-time default on obligations. It promises to be a challenging debate for Democrats, who, as the party in power, hold the responsibility for passing the legislation.

It's hardly the debate Democrats want or need in the wake of Sen.-elect Scott Brown's victory in Massachusetts. Arguing over the debt limit provides a forum for Republicans to blame Democrats for rising deficits and spiraling debt, even though responsibility for the government's financial straits can be shared by both political parties.

The measure came to the floor under rules requiring 60 votes to pass. That's an unprecedented step that could mean that every Democrat, no matter how politically endangered, may have to vote for it next week before Brown takes office and Democrats lose their 60-vote majority.

Democratic leaders are also worried that Sen. Evan Bayh, D-Ind., who opposed the debt limit increase approved last month, will vote against the measure.

The record increase in the so-called debt limit is required because the budget deficit has spiraled out of control in the wake of a recession that cut tax revenues, the Wall Street bailout, and increased spending by the Democratic-controlled Congress. Last year's deficit hit a phenomenal $1.4 trillion, and the current year's deficit promises to be as high or higher.

Congress has never failed to increase the borrowing limit.

"We have gone to the restaurant. We have eaten the meal. Now the only question is whether we will pay the check," said Finance Committee Chairman Max Baucus, D-Mont. "We simply must do so."

A White House policy statement said the increase "is critically important to make sure that financing of federal government operations can continue without interruption and that the creditworthiness of the United States is not called into question."

Less than a decade ago, $1.9 trillion would have been enough to finance the operations and programs of the federal government for an entire year. Now, it's only enough to make sure Democrats can avoid another vote before Election Day.

Republican Sen. John Thune of South Dakota immediately offered an amendment to end the bank and Wall Street bailout, officially known as the Troubled Asset Relief Program, or TARP. Thune would prohibit further expenditure of TARP funds and would require that all funds paid back be used to retire debt.

The latest increase comes on top of a stopgap $290 billion measure that cleared the Senate on Christmas Eve. Given the country's finances, that measure would last only about six weeks, lawmakers said, requiring the far larger measure that's pending.



After Massachusetts, beware political chameleons

Peter Heck - Guest Columnist

http://www.onenewsnow.com/Perspectives/Default.aspx?id=868666

In Federalist Paper #63, the Father of the Constitution James Madison wrote: "The cool and deliberate sense of the community ought...and actually will, in all free governments, ultimately prevail over the views of its rulers."

Last week, the voters in Massachusetts did James Madison proud.

For a full year, the people of this country have been subject to the largest attempted federal power grab since the New Deal. They have seen their votes for hope and change misread as votes for more bureaucracy and government control. They have seen their fortunes depleted, their businesses burdened, their dollars devalued, and their grandchildren spent into insurmountable debt. While the people have recognized that their country is broke, they have been forced to watch their rulers quadruple the deficit, vote multiple times to increase the already crushing national debt, and promise massive new spending projects like healthcare for every American, cap-and-trade legislation, and a second "stimulus" all to be financed with money we don't have.

In response, the people – of every political affiliation, including no affiliation at all – began to organize. They began to shout at town hall meetings, protest at Tea Parties, and bombard their lawmakers with pink slips, petitions, and phone calls. But the ruling class, in their typical arrogant fashion, ignored and disparaged those voices. In their eyes, the town halls were "staged," the Tea Parties were "astroturfed," and the petitions were nothing more than tricks from the "right-wing Republican cabal." There was no groundswell. There was no true opposition. There was no tidal wave of discontent.

How fitting that it was Massachusetts – site of the original Tea Party rebellion against out-of-control government – that shattered this haughty and condescending attitude. Had it been anywhere else, our leaders might have been so brash as to try to find some plausible excuse or explanation as to why it happened. But not Massachusetts. As Victor Davis Hanson put it: "Dream up a gargantuan backlash against Barack Obama's left-wing gospel, and you still could not invent the notion of a relatively unknown, conservative Scott Brown knocking off an Obama-endorsed, liberal, female attorney in liberal Massachusetts – in a race to fill the seat once held by Ted Kennedy."

The message was unmistakable: the people want their country back.

But there is a danger that we must be vigilant and guard against. Politicians crave power and will do virtually anything they can to hang on to it. Up until last week, many of them believed that they were in more danger of losing their power by angering their party leadership than angering the people. Scott Brown's victory obliterated that belief. And consequently, Washington is beginning to crawl with chameleons doing their best to jump on the bandwagon and swim with the rising tide of liberty-minded Americans.

Take Indiana Senator Evan Bayh for example. While most wrongly assume that Bayh is a moderate, the New York Times reported that he was most responsible for rallying the Senate Democrats to push through their version of ObamaCare. Roll Call, the newspaper on Capitol Hill, reported that Bayh, "gave a rousing speech, arguing that Democrats could not afford to let the reform effort collapse in the face of Republican attacks." It also credited Bayh with having, "crystallize[d] the situation for Democrats." In other words, it was Evan Bayh who demanded that senators ignore the wishes of the people and cram through this unpopular and unconstitutional legislation.

But amazingly, just one day after Massachusetts, Evan Bayh decided to take his second face out for a spin. He told ABC News that Democrats had pushed their agenda too far to the left. "It's why moderates and independents even in a state as Democratic as Massachusetts just aren't buying our message," he said. Right, Senator...and it's a message that you helped author and wholeheartedly endorsed. You cast your lot, and now you can deal with the consequences, sir.

Bayh later added: "They just don't believe the answers we are currently proposing are solving their problems." If there was any confusion about where Evan Bayh really stands, that clears it up perfectly. What Bayh and his ilk don't seem to get is that we don't want them to solve our problems. We merely want them to get out of the way and let us solve our problems for ourselves. Oh, and if they could stop manufacturing more problems for us, that would be nice too.

The Massachusetts election has sent shockwaves throughout Washington, and it's going to result in a lot of political posturing by incumbents who can't and shouldn't be trusted. Unless we want to go through all this again, we'd be well advised to clean house...and Senate...ensuring that every last lawmaker who has arrogantly sought to strip us of our freedom despite our wishes find new work.

And when we do, somewhere James Madison will be smiling.



US Treasury removes all but one Hamas member from terror list

By creeping

http://creepingsharia.wordpress.com/2010/01/25/us-treasury-removes-all-but-one-hamas-member-from-terror-list/

Remember in April 2009, Barack Obama requested a new law that would allow U.S. funds directly to a Hamas-Fatah “government.” The latest via US Terror Blacklist Whitewashes Hamas, Enables Funding (INN.com):

The United States Treasury has taken all but one member of Hamas off the international list of terrorists, thus enabling funds from the European Union to enter Hamas-controlled Gaza.

It is an open secret that large sums of money from the EU flow into Gaza in the guise of humanitarian aid and salaries for officials, but are actually funneled into the coffers of Hamas, which controls Gaza with an iron grip. This method of transferring funds into terrorists’ hands could have been blocked by an international lawsuit, but according to journalist Avi Tarango, the United States Treasury has made this impossible by removing all but one Hamas man – Deputy Chairman of the Political Bureau, Musa Abu Marzouk – from the list of international terrorists.

The updated terrorist list, published last week, takes up 443 pages. However, according to Tarango, who went over the list, none of the tens of thousands of people who form Hamas is mentioned – other than Abu Marzuk, who resides in Damascus. The terrorist list is meant for distribution in the world banking system, where the transfer of funds to anyone on the list is prohibited.

“Musa Abu-Marzouk’s presence on the list means that whoever tries to transfer money to him personally will be rejected by the world banking system and be accused of funding terrorism, but the transfer of funds to any other Hamas man will not arouse suspicion,” he explained.

By not investigating groups like Viva Palestina and Al Maghrib who openly raise money for Hamas-controlled Gaza, the U.S. has left loopholes large enough to drive aid caravans through.



Congress Went to Denmark, You Got the Bill

Exclusive: CBS News' Sharyl Attkisson Follows the Money from Copenhagen to the U.S. Taxpayer

By Sharyl Attkisson

http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2010/01/25/cbsnews_investigates/main6140406.shtml

Play CBS Video Video Million Dollar Congressional Trip

Sharyl Attkisson has more on her report of how more than 100 members of Congress and their spouses went to the Copenhagen climate conference -- on the U.S. taxpayers tab. How much did it all cost?

Video Climate Summit Junket?

U.S. Congress members wracked up a sizeable bill at the Copenhagen Climate Summit. Sharyl Attkisson reports that U.S. tax dollars may have been put to better use.

(CBS/AP)

Stories

Copenhagen Summit Turned Junket?

(CBS) Thanks to recently filed Congressional expense reports there's new light shed on the Copenhagen Climate Summit in Denmark and how much it cost taxpayers.

CBS News Investigative correspondent Sharyl Attkisson reports official filings and our own investigation show at least 106 people from the House and Senate attended - spouses, a doctor, a protocol expert and even a photographer.

Million Dollar Congressional Trip
Read the Congressional Expense Report

For 15 Democratic and 6 Republican Congressmen, food and rooms for two nights cost $4,406 tax dollars each. That's $2,200 a day - more than most Americans spend on their monthly mortgage payment.

CBS News asked members of Congress and staff about whether they're mindful that it's public tax dollars they're spending. Many said they had never even seen the bills or the expense reports.

Copenhagen Congressional Junket

Rep. Henry Waxman, D-Calif., is a key climate change player. He went to Copenhagen last year. Last week, we asked him about the $2,200-a-day bill for room and food.

"I can't believe that," Rep. Waxman said. "I can't believe it, but I don't know."

But his name is in black and white in the expense reports. The group expense report was filed by House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif. She wouldn't talk about it when our producer tried to ask.

Pelosi's office did offer an explanation for the high room charges. Those who stayed just two nights were charged a six-night minimum at the five-star Marriott. One staffer said, they strongly objected to no avail. You may ask how they'll negotiate a climate treaty, if they can't get a better deal on hotel rooms.

Total hotel, meeting rooms and "a couple" of $1,000-a-night hospitality suites topped $400,000.

Flights weren't cheap, either. Fifty-nine House and Senate staff flew commercial during the Copenhagen rush. They paid government rates -- $5-10,000 each -- totaling $408,064. Add three military jets -- $168,351 just for flight time -- and the bill tops $1.1 million dollars -- not including all the Obama administration officials who attended: well over 60.

In fairness, many attendees told us they did a lot of hard work, and the laid groundwork for a future global treaty.

"It was cold… I was there because I thought it was important for me to be there," Rep. Waxman said. "I didn't look at it as a pleasure trip."

But considering the size of the deficit, and the fact that that no global deal would be reached -- critics question the super-sized U.S. delegation -- more than 165 -- leaving the impression there's dollars to burn. In this case, more than a million.

CBS)

Attendees
Speaker Nancy Pelosi
Pelosi's husband
Majority Leader Steny Hoyer
Rep. George Miller
Rep. Henry Waxman
Rep. Ed Markey
Markey’s wife
Rep. Charles Rangel
Rep. Bart Gordon
Rep. James Sensenbrenner
Sensenbrenner's wife
Rep. Sander Levin
Rep. Joe Barton
Barton daughter
Rep. Fred Upton
Rep. Earl Blumenauer
Rep. Diana DeGette
Rep. Jay Inslee
Inslee's wife
Rep. Shelley Moore Capito
Rep. Moore Capito husband
Rep. John Sullivan
Rep. Tim Ryan
Rep. GK Butterfield
Rep. Emanuel Cleaver
Rep. Gabrielle Giffords
Gifford's husband
Rep. Marsha Blackburn
President Obama
Sen. James Inhofe
Sen. John Kerry
Stacee Bako
Don Kellaher
Wilson Livingood
Brian Monahan
John Lawrence
Karen Wayland
Drew Hammill
Kate Knudson
Bridget Fallon
Bina Surgeon
Mary Frences Repko
Nona Darrell
Tony Jackson
Josh Mathis
Phil Barnett
David Cavicke
Lisa Miller
Peter Spencer
Andrea Spring
Lorie Schmitt
Greg Dotson
Alex Barron
Christopher King
Shimere Williams
Tara Rothschild
Margaret Caravelli
Gerry Waldron
Ana Unruh-Cohen
Jeff Duncan
Eben Burnham-Snyder
Joel Beauvais
Michael Goo
Tom Schreibel
Harlan Watson
Bart Forsyth
Ed Rice
Steve Rusnak
Carey Lane
Matt Dempsey
Dempsey wife
George Sugyama
Tom Hassenbohler
31 additional unnamed Senate staff

State Dept:
Special Envoy Todd Stern
Secretary Hillary Clinton
Pershing Deputy U.S. Special Envoy for Climate Change
Maria Otero, Under Secretary for Democracy and Global Affairs
Ambassador Alejandro Wolff, Deputy Permanent Rep. United States Mission to the U.N.
Daniel Reifsnyder, Deputy Assistant Secretary for Environment
Lilburn Trigg Talley, Director of the office of Global Change
Sue Biniaz, Deputy Legal Adviser
William Breed, Director of Climate Change Programs USAID.

Energy Dept:
Steven Chu, Energy Secretary
Jean Chu, Spouse of the Energy Secretary
Rod O'Connor, Chief of Staff
Amy Bodette, Special Assistant to the Secretary
David Sandalow, Assistant Secretary for Policy and International Affairs
Rick Duke, Dep. Assistant Sec. for Policy and International Affairs
Holmes Hummel, Senior Advisor to the Assistant Secretary for Policy and

International Affairs
Elmer Holt, Economist in the Office of Policy and International Affairs
Matt Kallman, Special Assistant to the Assistant Secretary for Policy
and International Affairs
Dan Leistikow, Director of Public Affairs
Devin Hampton, Lead Advance Representative

Interior Dept:
Secretary of the Interior Ken Salazar
Deputy Secretary David Hayes
Assistant Secretary for Fish and Wildlife and Parks Tom Strickland
Science Advisor Kit Batten
Senior Advisor of Global Change at USGS Tom Armstrong
USGS Director Marcia McNutt
Deputy Communications Director Matt Lee-Ashley
Jack Lynch (Security)
Dave Graham (Security)
Mike Downs (Security)
Director of Advance Tim Hartz

EPA:
Security Officer # 1 Security, Office of Enforcement and Compliance Assurance
Marcus McClendon Director of Advance, Office of the Administrator
Security Officer # 2 Security, Office of Enforcement and Compliance Assurance
Jennifer Jenkins Physical Scientist, Climate Change Division, Office of Air and Radiation COP 15 Negotiator
Shalini Vajjhala Deputy Assistant Administrator, Office of International Affairs COP-15 Negotiator
Maurice LeFranc Senior Advisor, International Climate Change, Office of Air and Radiation COP-15 Negotiator
Kimberly Todd Klunich Technical Expert, Climate Change Division, Office of Air and Radiation COP-15 Negotiator
Leif Hockstad Environmental Engineer, Climate Change Division, Office of Air and Radiation COP-15 Negotiator
Seth Oster Associate Administrator, Office of Public Affairs
David McIntosh Associate Administrator, Office of Rep.ressional and Intergovernmental Relations
Michelle DePass Assistant Administrator, Office of International Affairs
Security Officer # 3 Security, Office of Enforcement and Compliance Assurance
Lisa Jackson Administrator, EPA
Gina McCarthy Assistant Administrator, Office of Air and Radiation

White House Executive Office staff:
From the Office of Energy and Climate Change:
Heather Zichal
Tony Russell
Jake Levine
Joe Aldy

From the Office of Science and Technology Policy:
John Holdren
Steve Fetter
Shere Abbott

From the Council on Environmental Quality:
Nancy Sutley
Amy Salzman
Jess Maher

National Security Council:
Mike Froman
Ed Fendley

Communications:
Ben LaBolt



Poll: Gov. Charlie Crist losing to Marco Rubio

Gov. Charlie Crist has a large cash advantage over Marco Rubio and ample time to catch up before the Aug. 24 primary.

CHRIS O'MEARA / AP

http://www.miamiherald.com/news/politics/florida/story/1446278.html

BY MARC CAPUTO

Herald/Times Tallahassee Bureau

For the first time, a new poll shows that Gov. Charlie Crist is losing to former Florida House Speaker Marco Rubio in Florida's nationally watched Republican U.S. Senate race.

Rubio leads by just three percentage points -- 47-44 -- which is well within the error margin of the Quinnipiac University poll.

Crist has a large cash advantage over Rubio and ample time to catch up before the Aug. 24 primary. Yet the trend of Rubio's rise and Crist's fall is stark and troubling for the governor, who once looked like he would waltz into the Senate.

In October, Crist led 50-35 percent. In August, Crist's lead was even bigger (55-26) and in June the race looked like Crist would blow out Rubio by 54-23 percent.

``Who would have thunk it? A former state lawmaker virtually unknown outside of his South Florida home whose challenge to an exceedingly popular sitting governor for a U.S. Senate nomination had many insiders scratching their heads. He enters the race 31 points behind and seven months later sneaks into the lead,'' said Peter Brown, assistant director of the Connecticut-based Quinnipiac University Polling Institute.

``And, the horse race numbers are not a fluke. Rubio also tops Crist on a number of other measurements from registered Republicans, who are the only folks who can vote in the primary,'' Brown said. ``Rubio's grass-roots campaigning among Republican activists around the state clearly has paid off.''

But it's not all Rubio's doing.

Crist has struggled as the economy nose-dived and unemployment surged. His jobs programs haven't worked. He raised taxes last year. He has to return money when his biggest contributor, Scott Rothstein, was accused in a Ponzi scheme.

Crist's biggest mistake might have been his decision to stump with Barack Obama for the stimulus package loathed by the Republican base that will decide this contest.

At the time Crist appeared onstage with Obama in February, it seemed like good politics, with the president enjoying sky-high approval ratings. A full 64 percent of Floridians approved of the job he was doing with only 23 percent disapproving, according to a February Quinnipiac poll.

No more.

Now, 49 percent of Floridians disapprove of the way Obama's handling his job, while 45 percent approve.

The big story, though, is Crist. With approval ratings that were once in the 70s, Crist looked like a shoo-in in the U.S. Senate race, which is viewed by some as a national bellwether of tea-party activists and anti-incumbent sentiment.

Washington insiders with the National Republican Senatorial Committee endorsed Crist early, even though Rubio was in the race. Crist's supporters started whispering that Rubio would drop out of the race to run for attorney general. And Crist's handpicked Republican Party of Florida chairman, Jim Greer, tried to make Crist the state party's candidate.

A number of conservatives revolted. And Rubio started to take on the qualities of the outsider in the race -- despite his history as a top Republican, former House speaker, lawyer and even registered lobbyist.

Soon, in more than a dozen nonbinding ``straw polls'' of rank-and-file Republican county committee members, Rubio began soundly defeating Crist -- even in the governor's home county of Pinellas.

The Quinnipiac survey, as well as other public and private polls, show that the votes in favor of Rubio over Crist weren't flukes.

By a 45-40 percent split, Republican voters say Rubio is more of a reflection of their values than Crist, according to the Quinnipiac poll. And by a bigger margin -- 48 to 34 percent -- Republican voters say Rubio is more consistently conservative than Crist.

In a head-to-head matchup against the leading Democrat, Kendrick Meek, Rubio has a slight edge. But Crist would beat Meek by an even bigger margin because the governor is viewed more favorably by Democrats and independents than Rubio.

Crist said those polls weren't a reflection of Republican sentiment, but he also started to take on a more negative tone in describing Rubio. Crist suggested he was winning the race.

``The only poll that matters is on Election Day,'' Crist has repeatedly said.

More and more, though, Rubio looks increasingly likely to win on Election Day as well.

From Jan. 20-24, Quinnipiac University surveyed 1,618 Florida voters for the overall poll, which has an error margin of 2.4 percentage points. The survey includes 673 Republicans, so results concerning the race between Crist and Rubio have an error margin of 3.8 percentage points.



"The e-mail Bag"

ATLANTA AIRPORT

http://www.google.com/search?q=You+gotta+love+this+one+even+if+you%27ve+never+lived+in+the+South.+Some+of+you+will+enjoy+this+more+than+others....&rlz=1I7ACEW_enUS353US353&ie=UTF-8&oe=UTF-8&sourceid=ie7

You gotta love this one even if you've never lived in the South. Some of you will enjoy this more than others.. Southerners can be so polite!

Atlanta ATC: "Tower to Saudi Air 511 -- You are cleared to land eastbound on runway 9R

Saudi Air: "Thank you Atlanta ATC. Acknowledge cleared to land on infidel's runway 9R - Allah be Praised."

Atlanta ATC: "Tower to Iran Air 711 --You are cleared to land westbound on runway 9R."

Iran Air: "Thank you Atlanta ATC. We are cleared to land on infidel's runway 9R. - Allah is Great."

Pause...

Saudi Air: " ATLANTA ATC - ATLANTA ATC"Atlanta ATC: "Go ahead Saudi Air 511."

Saudi Air: "YOU HAVE CLEARED BOTH OUR AIRCRAFTS FOR THE SAME RUNWAY GOING IN OPPOSITE DIRECTIONS. WE ARE ON A COLLISION COURSE.. INSTRUCTIONS, PLEASE."

Atlanta ATC: "Well bless your hearts. And praise Jesus. Y'all be careful now and tell Allah "hey" for us -- "