links for 2009-06-03

If sharks stop swimming, they sink and drown. President Obama seems to view his health-care program the same way. "If we don't get it done this year," he said in a recent pep talk to supporters, "we're not going to get it done." Well, why? If laying "a new foundation" for 18% of the economy really is as important as the President claims it is, then surely it could withstand more than fleeting inspection.

Instead, Democrats are trying to rush the largest entitlement expansion since LBJ into law with a truncated debate and as little public scrutiny as possible. At this point all they've released are the vaguest "policy options," not concrete specifics. Yet the Senate plans to begin marking up legislation next week, maybe hold a hearing or two, then have something to the floor by the end of the month, votes by the August recess and a bill to the Oval Office by Thanksgiving. On the seventh day, they will rest. Mr. Obama had 24 Senate Democrats over for a White House chat yesterday to driv

Wasn't it just a couple of days ago that the crew over at the Daily Kos was fretting about how conservatives as a whole are equally as complicit in the murder of George Tiller as the shooter himself? And of the details being reported to better understand the background of the actual killer, Scott Roeder, doesn't one major detail involve the posts that he left on anti-abortion Web sites?

With that in mind, how concerned should we be with a blog post that fantasizes about the death of conservative columnist Michelle Malkin?

Nadya Suleman says multi-mom and reality TV star Kate Gosselin should stop judging the "Octomom" and deal with her own faltering marriage.

"It's done. I've moved past my 'mistake,'" Suleman — framing the word "mistake" with finger quotemarks — said in a video posted Tuesday on the Web site www.radaronline.com.

"She has her own obvious issues, internal issues, and she needs to stop partially making judgments towards me. She doesn't even know me," Suleman said of Gosselin.

"That's human nature. Tends to happen to people who are less educated," Suleman added. "I surround myself internally and externally with positive energy. She does the opposite."

"Kate's certainly not going to react to that," Laurie Goldberg, a spokeswoman for TLC, the cable TV network that runs Gosselin's show "Jon & Kate Plus 8," said Tuesday. "The octomom can say whatever she wants."

The other day we heard a comment from a White House aide that never would have been uttered during the primaries or general election campaign.

During a conference call in preparation for President Obama's trip to Cairo, Egypt, where he will address the Muslim world, deputy National Security Adviser for Strategic Communications Denis McDonough said "the President himself experienced Islam on three continents before he was able to — or before he's been able to visit, really, the heart of the Islamic world — you know, growing up in Indonesia, having a Muslim father — obviously Muslim Americans (are) a key part of Illinois and Chicago."

Several years ago, when Senate Democrats were using filibusters to block confirmation votes on several of President George W. Bush’s appeals court nominees, some conservatives decried the tactic as unconstitutional.

But now, a coalition of conservative group leaders and opinion leaders has signed a letter calling on Senate Republicans to filibuster President Obama’s Supreme Court choice, Judge Sonia Sotomayor. A draft the letter was obtained by The New York Times.

“We request that you will lead 40 or more senators to participate in a great debate that highlights all the issues that come to the fore with a Supreme Court nomination,” says the letter, addressed to Senator Mitch McConnell, the minority leader from Kentucky.

The conservatives say their intent is not to kill the nomination, as Democrats used the tactic, but rather to provide for lengthier debate on its merits.

Democrats Want Specter to Face Primary
A new Susquehanna Polling and Research survey in Pennsylvania finds Sen. Arlen Specter (D-PA) leads Pat Toomey (R) by a 46% to 37% margin with 13% undecided.

However, by a 63% to 28% margin, Pennsylvania Democrats think Specter should face a primary challenge in 2010 in order to secure the nomination. This suggests most Democrats want Specter to earn his rightful place as the Democratic nominee despite comments by top Democratic Party officials and leaders.

A Muslim man accused of killing a soldier in a "political and religious" attack on a military recruiting center in Arkansas has pleaded not guilty to a capital murder charge.

Abdulhakim (ahb-DOOL hah-KEEM) Muhammad was ordered held without bail at a hearing Tuesday in Little Rock.

He is charged in Monday's death of 23-year-old William Long outside an Army-Navy Career Center in Little Rock.

A prosecutor said Muhammad admitted shooting Long and another soldier "because of what they had done to Muslims in the past."

Long and soldier Quinton Ezeagwula had recently completed basic training and had never seen combat.

Police Chief Stuart Thomas said Muhammad was a convert to Islam and not part of a broader scheme to attack the American military.

His wife is now Obama’s secretary of state, but Obama had some tough words for the actions of former President Bill Clinton during the campaign.

“We had to figure out how to deal with a former president who was just lying, engaging in bald-faced lies,” Obama explained to Wolffe.

When the then-candidate was asked if Clinton got in his head, he replied: “Yes, but I got into his.”

Later, when considering who to name as his running mate, Obama told aides that if Hillary Clinton would help politically she ought to be considered.

“But I’m concerned about Bill Clinton being a loose cannon,” Obama said, according to Wolffe.

Tonight's episode of Jon & Kate Plus 8 (filmed in March before Us Weekly broke the news of their marital troubles) showed Kate Gosselin spending her 34th birthday with just her kids.

Where was her husband Jon?

"I went out to Utah for, like, five days," he says. "I just wanted to get back out there and ride with my friends. It just happened to fall on Kate's birthday."

Check out photos of Jon and his mistress.

Not shown on camera: Deanna Hummel, the 23-year-old teacher with whom Jon had a three-month affair. A source confirmed to Us Weekly they were together at a Spring Gruv party at The Canyon in Utah on Kate's March 28 birthday.