"Senator John McCain could never convince me to vote for him. Only Hillary Clinton or Barack Obama can cause me to vote for McCain." - Thomas Sowell Random Thoughts

Focus on FOCA A year ago this week, Senator Barack Obama (D-Ill.) told a Planned Parenthood audience that the first thing he would do as President is sign into law the mislabeled Freedom of Choice Act (FOCA). As a new Insight paper from Vice President of Government Affairs Tom McClusky shows, if FOCA were to become law it would overturn hundreds of state laws that have put limits on abortion. Planned Parenthood, NARAL and other pro-abortion groups agree with Tom's assessment.

The ACLU proclaims, "This [FOCA] bill prohibits such restrictions as parental notification and consent, as well as the requirement that all abortions be performed in a hospital, spousal consent, waiting periods ..." Recent polls show that most Americans agree there should be more restrictions on abortion and that tax dollars should not go to the life-ending procedure. However, the passage of FOCA would guarantee that more taxpayer dollars pay for abortions. Its sponsors, including Senators Obama, Hillary Clinton (D-N.Y.) and Barbara Boxer (D-Calif.), argue that they want to make abortion rarer. However, when FOCA-like legislation was passed in Maryland that state saw its abortion rate skyrocket, just as the national abortion rate was dropping. Passage of FOCA would be a big payoff to the abortion industry at the deadly cost of citizens' rights. Additional Resources Tom McClusky: Focusing On FOCA: 'Freedom Of Choice Act' Would Harm Women And Remove Protections

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A Few More Reasons To Oppose Obama by Burt Prelutsky - Because there is so much about Barack Obama that I find personally offensive -- things ranging from his friends and religious mentors to his obvious arrogance and his wife -- I have rarely brought up his politics. Partly that’s because his support of leftist policies aren’t all that much different from Hillary Clinton’s or any other liberal in the U.S. Senate, and partly because I tend to think that when electing a president, who must not only serve as head of the executive branch of the federal government but as a living symbol of the country, character and values trumps his position on a handful of current issues. .

..He insists that he was prescient in opposing the invasion of Iraq, but has never said how he would have dealt with Saddam Hussein’s brutal regime. Embargos, perhaps? We all saw how well those worked. But I suppose the oil-for-food scandal and Hussein’s bribing France, Germany, Russia and certain mucky mucks at the U.N. with sweetheart oil deals somehow slipped his mind, just as Jeremiah Wright’s racist screeds did.

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Barack on Iraq: January 2007—“And until we acknowledge that reality, uh, we can send 15,000 more troops; 20,000 more troops; 30,000 more troops. Uh, I don’t know any, uh, expert on the region or any military officer that I’ve spoken to, uh, privately that believes that that is gonna make a substantial difference on the situation on the ground.”

July 2007—“Here’s what we know. The surge has not worked. And they said today, ‘Well, even in September, we’re going to need more time.’ So we’re going to kick this can all the way down to the next president, under the president’s plan... My assessment is that the surge has not worked and we will not see a different report eight weeks from now.”

September 2007—“After putting an additional 30,000 troops in... we have gone from a horrendous situation of violence in Iraq to the same intolerable levels of violence that we had back in June of 2006. So, essentially, after all this we’re back where we were 15 months ago... It is a course that will not succeed.”

January 2008—“I had no doubt, and I said when I opposed the surge, that given how wonderfully our troops perform, if we place 30,000 more troops in there, then we would see an improvement in the security situation and we would see a reduction in the violence.”

Now: “What I said was even at the time of the debate of the surge, was if you put 30,000 troops in, of course it’s going to have an impact. There’s no doubt about that.”

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Undecided by Cal Thomas - In the case of the Iraq War, Sen. Barack Obama has said that even though the military surge ordered by President Bush and backed by Sen. John McCain has worked, he still opposes it. Would he have preferred all-out defeat or an endless quagmire, which was where things appeared to be heading before the surge?

Obama plans to unilaterally disarm our nation. 52 second video.

Top Dem Meets Regularly with Code Pink (CNSNews.com) – Code Pink, an anti-war group known for its frequent and sometimes raucous protests on Capitol Hill, meets regularly with Sen. Evan Bayh (D-Ind.), who serves on the Armed Services Committee and the Select Committee on Intelligence, according to his staff.

Glenn Beck rips Obama's speech - Since 99% of the mainstream media won't do it, Glenn had to be one of the few who will point out the negatives of the Obama speech. Yes, there were negatives---unless you want to live in a socialist utopia one world government land, then probably it was pretty positive for you. Otherwise, it was a speech full of mostly empty 'Berlin rocks!' type stuff, and socialist talking points. Here is Glenn ripping through some of the speech.

The Numbers Are In, Again – The Rich Pay More Than Their “Fair Share” - Latest IRS Data Shows that Wealthier Americans’ Portion of Taxes Actually Exceeds Their Portion of Income - In their never-ending campaign to increase taxes, those on the left endlessly allege that wealthier Americans don’t pay their “fair share” in taxes. There’s only one problem: the exact opposite is true.

A Cash Transaction by Bill O'Reilly - If Sen. Obama becomes President Obama, my taxes will go up, way up. But I know neither Argentina nor anyone else will cry for me, because I am the rich guy Al Gore warned you about, the one who got all those tax cuts from the evil Bush administration. Yes, I am part of the 1 percent of Americans that paid an astounding 40 percent of all federal income tax in 2006. According to recently released IRS figures, about 50 percent of my fellow Americans paid no federal income tax at all that year. My fellow 1-percenters and I covered for them. But for some it is still not enough. Obama believes in "income redistribution," a concept practiced by Robin Hood of Sherwood Forest. Like Robin, Obama wants to take from the rich and give to the not so rich. He wants to raise taxes big time on those making $250,000 or more.

PELOSI ENERGY PLAN - House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and her leftist allies who control Congress do not want any domestic drilling for oil. They also refuse to approve nuclear power plants and coal shale mining. The have forbidden American companies to obtain oil from the vast reserves of the Arctic. No drilling in the Alberta sands either. This week Pelosi and her radical left buddies finally came up with a plan: Pump out the strategic oil reserves that are kept by the government for national emergencies and use it to bring down the price of gas four or five cents a gallon for a few days to "help consumers." This woman just hates America and any chance she has to put the nation in danger, she will do it.

Nation's Largest Taxpayer Group Creates Online Portal Demonstrating Real Effects of New Energy Taxes - As Congress prepares to return to Washington and debate proposals to punish energy providers for rising prices, the 362,000-member National Taxpayers Union (NTU) has launched a Web site dedicated to educating taxpayers on the true targets of these taxes and regulations: America's truck drivers, businesses, consumers, and families. This and other economic facts about the nation's energy policy can be found at www.NoNewEnergyTaxes.com. Despite claims to the contrary, www.NoNewEnergyTaxes.com shows how hiking taxes on oil, gas, or coal companies will only decrease domestic production and increase our dependence on foreign sources, which in turn will drive up utility bills, gas prices, and food costs -- at a time when taxpayers can least afford it.

The American Energy Act: Supply Side Solutions - Congressman John Boehner of Ohio is set to introduce The American Energy Act, which will most importantly increase America’s energy supplies. The bill calls for leasing regulations for offshore natural gas by 2010, removing restrictions for outer continental shelf drilling, and opening up sections of ANWR for drilling. As The Heritage Foundation’s Senior Policy Analyst Ben Lieberman has been arguing this even when gas prices were around $1 a gallon. More energy supplies, not more taxes and regulations, are what this country needs. It’s economics 101: expanding supply is the surest way to lower energy prices, and the quicker Congress moves to open up restricted areas, the quicker more resources will be available.