I don’t understand why so many people think Obama’s job speech will come to naught. Here’s Cantor agreeing to pretty much everything Obama is expected to propose:

“We believe in infrastructure spending,” Cantor said. “We know that our roads and bridges and highway networks are in need of repair. We know that certain areas of the country need additional roads.”

Cantor said Obama and GOP leaders agreed on the need to give states more flexibility to spend federal transportation dollars, and that the government should look to freeing up funds that have already been authorized before approving new spending.

On unemployment insurance, the majority leader once again touted proposed reforms to the federal program modeled on a state-level program in Georgia.

“There are potential areas of agreement that we could have on unemployment benefits,” he said.

And Cantor suggested he could support an extension in a temporary payroll tax cut that Congress approved in December. Obama has been pushing aggressively to prolong the policy, even as many Republican leaders have denounced it as a gimmick

.

The cost of the proposal, which CNN now puts at more than $400 billion, will presumably be offset by the Catfood II Commission through a backdoor entitlement cut.

Is this how Twitter Town Halls are supposed to work? You tweet your questions to Harry Reid and a week later he tweets his answers back. Why bother?

Maybe that’s the point. ???

ACLU settles case of man arrested for recording friend’s arrest

And they got a $48,500 settlement, too.

Medicare Fraud Strike Force Charges 91 Individuals for Approximately $295 Million in False Billing

Half of them were from Miami–surprise.

US lawmakers want audit of Colombia intelligence aid

“Two U.S. lawmakers on Wednesday requested the White House to scrutinize U.S. assistance to Colombia’s intelligence agency DAS after media reports that American money and training was used by the DAS for the illegal spying on [Uribe] government opponents.
. . .
‘”We are concerned that former president Alvaro Uribe has made public
statements claiming the reporters who wrote these articles are
terrorist sympathizers (simpatizantes del terrorismo), going so far as
to characterize one reporter as a terrorist ally (ocultador del
terrorismo), language that increases the level of threat under which
journalists work in Colombia. We strongly urge you [the White House] to make clear to the
former president that such statements are unacceptable and ask that he
retract them.”‘

More here.

And one more from Colombia. Only a few sources for news on this today. Hopefully, tomorrow there will be more.

Colombian Priest Assassinated After Opposing Canadian Mining Company

Marmato Gold Mining implicated in murder of Marmato Priest Jose Reinel Restrepo

Medoro Resources of Canada is demanding that the entire town of Marmato be moved so they can do open-pit gold mining there.

How can this continue to go on,

without leading to a repeat of this?

Memo to President Obama: Independents think like Democrats on the economy, i.e. they want government spending to create jobs, only they don’t think your plans will work. Solution: Think bigger.

http://people-press.org/2011/09/07/few-see-job-proposals-having-much-effect/?src=prc-headline

Betcha that will get a mention in tomorrow’s speech.

That on the other hand will not get a mention in Obama’s speech.

and @ 11. Are you clairvoyant or what?

We had Agent Orange. Today it’s Depleted Uranium. Just imagine what “>the VA might be posting about DU in another 25 – 30 years. Heaven help us!

VA Posts Online List of Ships Associated with Presumptive Agent Orange Exposure

Sorry; the link went bad. Here it is: http://www.va.gov/opa/pressrel/pressrelease.cfm?id=2156

Interesting implication for 2012 elections:

“More than half of all people sent to federal prison for committing felony crimes so far this year were Hispanic, a major demographic shift swollen by immigration offenses, according to a new government report released Tuesday.”

More here.

Sorry; the link went bad. Here it is again.

And there are two more stories from Colombia. Wow.

Here’s another “SHAFTA”

“The people of Buenaventura, Colombia’s most important port city, will most likely suffer from the passage of the free trade agreement (FTA) between the United States and Colombia, according to a human rights NGO.”
More here.

Wonder why he didn’t express interest in what kind of “relationship” the people of Colombia will have with the new military leaders:

“The United States Ambassador to Colombia Michael McKinley expressed his confidence Wednesday that the U.S. will enjoy an excellent relationship with the newly appointed Colombian military leaders, Colombian media reported.”
More here.

Looks like there are some big plans afoot for Colombia, huh?

Biden returns from China, writes boilerplate Op-Ed: “China’s Rise Isn’t Our Demise.”

Thanks for your insight Joe.

Great job on the site, it looks wonderful. I am going to bookmark it and will make sure to visit often

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Is Columbia the last outpost/puppet government of the USA in South America?

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Any from the now governor’s former firm? (It is formerly his, isn’t it?)

He’s their former CEO, yes. Columbia/HCA, whose history also includes Bill Frist. No names were given in the article–I looked. We’ll have to wait and see.

Things change. Turning away from obvious intervention and actual invasions, the US seems to be taking a less obvious approach these days, particularly in SA where resistance to US involvement has grown. Nonetheless, there are concerns as expressed just a few years ago by Morales in Bolivia. The situation in Central America–with Cuba and Venezuela exerting immediate influence on their neighbors–seems always to be bubbling away under the surface.

thanks very much

De nada.