Voter disenchantment in liberal Massachusetts with President Barack Obama's policies has turned a Senate election into a nail-biter that could imperil U.S. healthcare reform.

Democrats envisioned a smooth passing of the baton in the January 19 special election to fill the seat of the late Edward Kennedy, a political giant who died of brain cancer in August after holding the seat for 46 years.

A victory would maintain the Democrats' 60-seat Senate majority, allowing them to overcome Republican procedural hurdles that could block reform of the $2.5 trillion healthcare sector, Obama's top legislative priority. (Vote could threaten health reform... )

Instead, some polls say the race between State Attorney-General Martha Coakley, 56, and her Republican opponent, State Senator Scott Brown, is too close to call.

(It would be great news if  Scott Brown can pull off the win. It would stop forced Obamacare right in it's tracks and the policies he and his team are pushing. If you live in Mass. don't forget to vote this coming Tuesday  and support Brown. It would not only be a win for Brown and   the people of Mass, but also  the people of America.) 

A three-judge panel in Philadelphia is hearing arguments Friday in a case between a county prosecutor and the American Civil Liberties Union. The prosecutor is threatening to file child-pornography charges against three girls after racy cell-phone images of them circulated through their high school. The photos show one girl topless and the others in bras. (U.S. court mulls 'sexting': Child porn or speech? )

The ACLU says the case is the first in the nation to challenge whether prosecutors can file child-pornography charges in "sexting" cases. It argues that harmless photos shouldn't be criminalized.

(Sending pictures of your private parts is not a right. There was a time when children would be more fearful of what their parents would do if they did something like this than worry about it being a right. These kids need to be grounded or not able to sit down for awhile which their parents should do. They also need to be taught that not everything that can be sent in a text message should be. ) 

The founder of the Tea Party movement is defending the steep price of admission for grassroots activists attending the Tea Party National Convention next month. (A pretty penny to hear Palin  )

 

 

Former Alaska Governor Sarah Palin will be the keynote speaker at the Tea Party convention in Nashville on February 4-6. However, some of her supporters are already complaining about how much it will cost them to hear their favorite politician speak in person. A ticket for Palin's speech alone will cost $350, while a ticket for the entire event runs $550.
 
Dale Robertson, the president of TeaParty.org, says not all "constitutional conservatives" who make up the Tea Party movement will be allowed to attend the event.
 
"This is not open for everybody. I mean, it's not open for a Tea Party event in the sense that it's a rally," he explains. "This is a leadership thing -- so the pricing is probably factoring in the fact that leaderships of these organizations need to be there.

(What do you think? I am not sure.  Please post your thoughts.) 

The Mississippi senator who succeeded Trent Lott is more concerned about the policies of Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid than the discussion of the double standard Reid's been afforded by the media.

 

 

Senator Roger Wicker (R-Mississippi) used to be on Trent Lott's staff during the 1980s and later was his colleague in the House of Representatives before being appointed his replacement in 2007. 
 
"I'm more concerned that Senator Reid is the one who said our effort in Iraq was lost -- and that [that] statement went out to our troops in the field," laments Wicker. "I'm more concerned about the fact that Senator Reid presided over a budget last year that will add an additional trillion dollars of debt each year for the next ten years."

( I don't believe Sen. Reid hates black people but what he is doing to the people of America will hurt all people regardless of their race. Read more of the above story Reid's liberal policies outweigh his comments .)

President Barack Obama said Thursday that "one of the largest relief efforts in our recent history" is moving toward Haiti as he continued to mobilize the U.S. response to the island's devastating earthquake.

Obama said the U.S. government is initially directing $100 million toward the relief effort, a figure he said would certainly grow over the year. "This is one of those moments that calls out for American leadership," he said.

The first U.S. Army infantry troops _ a little more than 100 soldiers from the 82nd Airborne Division _ are heading to Haiti, due to leave Fort Bragg in North Carolina later Thursday. The troops will find locations to set up tents and other essentials in preparation for the arrival of another roughly 800 personnel from the division on Friday.

(I am all for helping those in need. However as I posted yesterday or the day before it is best to give money through  the Red Cross and through churches. If Obama gives  US aide through a way that it will get to the government of Haiti that would concern me because based on what I have read there have been times when money have been given to the leaders of that nation and not reached the people in need. Read more about what is taking place in Haiti, Obama says US stands with Haiti, pledges $100M aid.)

President Barack Obama said Thursday that "one of the largest relief efforts in our recent history" is moving toward Haiti as he continued to mobilize the U.S. response to the island's devastating earthquake.

Obama said the U.S. government is initially directing $100 million toward the relief effort, a figure he said would certainly grow over the year. "This is one of those moments that calls out for American leadership," he said.

The first U.S. Army infantry troops _ a little more than 100 soldiers from the 82nd Airborne Division _ are heading to Haiti, due to leave Fort Bragg in North Carolina later Thursday. The troops will find locations to set up tents and other essentials in preparation for the arrival of another roughly 800 personnel from the division on Friday.

(I am all for helping those in need. However as I posted yesterday or the day before it is best to give money through  the Red Cross and through churches. If Obama gives  US aide through a way that it will get to the government of Haiti that would concern me because based on what I have read there have been times when money have been given to the leaders of that nation and not reached the people in need. Read more about what is taking place in Haiti, Obama says US stands with Haiti, pledges $100M aid.)

Travel is a hassle for an 8-year-old Cub Scout from New Jersey.

That's because Mikey Hicks shares the same name of a person who has drawn the suspicion of the Homeland Security Department.

His mother tells The New York Times she sensed trouble when her son was a baby and she couldn't get a seat for him at a Florida airport. She says airline officials explained his name "was on the list."  (Boy, 8, on terrorism watch list...  )

He was patted down as a 2-years-old at Newark Liberty International Airport. 

A British teacher has been fired for offering to pray for a student suffering from leukemia.

 

Olive Jones, a former teacher who gave at-home math lessons to children too weak or ill to attend school, was told after she offered to pray for the child that the family were nonbelievers. The student's mother complained to the Oak Hill Short Stay School and Tuition Service in Nailsea, North Somerset. Jones' proposition was regarded as "bullying," and she ultimately lost her job. 
 
Finn Laursen, head of Christian Educators Association International (CEAI), understands that this is a British case, but he fears the example this incident might set for the U.S.
 
"I'm finding the same mentality in some of our public schools here in the states where there's a feeling, almost a fear, of allowing anyone to express their faith or behave in any way that would show that they are followers of Jesus Christ," he regards.

(  I understand  this family doesn't believe in faith or the power of prayer but could they just have told  the teacher they didn't believe in that why does the teacher have to lose her job over this. Also how is prayer going to hurt even if you don't believe in it. When a person of another faith offers to pray for me I tell them thanks. This teacher didn't even do this at a school but in a private home. This is an outrage! Read more on this issue Brit teacher - prayer 'bully'.)

The Christian Law Association (CLA) has filed suit in federal court against a middle school in the Taconic Hills Central School District of New York, near the capital of Albany.

 

 

The lawsuit was filed on behalf of an eighth-grader who wanted to quote the following Old Testament verses in a June 2009 graduation speech as a blessing for her classmates:  (Blessing denied brings legal reply  )

The Lord bless you and keep you; The Lord make his face shine upon you and be gracious to you; The Lord turn his face toward you and give you peace!
(Numbers 6: 24-26; NIV)

The principal, however, refused to allow the duly-elected co-class president to do that -- and the superintendent referred her family to the school attorney the same afternoon of the graduation ceremony. In the end, the girl deleted the lines from the speech.

(Good for this 8th grader who is fighting. It is sad that our government schools will allow anything unless it is something which shows speaks good of faith in God. I would write this is a shock but nothing that happens in the government schools in the name of freedom shocks me anymore. If I had  school age children I would do as much as possible to keep them out of the government schools. My heart does go out to the teachers of faith and the good teachers who have to work in  these schools. Pray for them along with the kids in  these schools. )