Gov. Paterson blamed a racist media Friday for trying to push him out of next year's election – launching into an angry rant that left even some black Democrats shaking their heads.

"The whole idea is to get me not to run in the primary," Paterson complained on a morning radio show hosted by Daily News columnist Errol Louis.

He suggested that Massachusetts Gov. Deval Patrick, the country's only other African-American governor, also is under fire because of his race.

"We're not in the post-racial period," Paterson said.
+++++++++
Hello Rudy if Paterson runs and chases out Cuomo from the Democrat Primary/

So what can we do? First, we cannot have health care reform without tort reform. The two are intertwined. For example, one supposed justification for socialized medicine is the high cost of health care. As Dr. Scott Gottlieb recently noted, “If Mr. Obama is serious about lowering costs, he'll need to reform the economic structures in medicine—especially programs like Medicare.” [1] Two examples of these “economic structures” are high malpractice insurance premiums foisted on physicians (and ultimately passed on to consumers as “high health care costs”) and the billions wasted on defensive medicine.

A day after House Speaker Nancy Pelosi said that health reform won’t get through the House without a public option, House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer said Friday that the public option may have to go in order to get a bill passed.

“I’m for a public option but I’m also for passing a bill,” Hoyer told reporters on a conference call
. “We believe the public option is a necessary, useful and very important aspect of this, but we’ll have to see because there are many other important aspects of the bill as well.”

In San Francisco on Thursday, Pelosi said: "There's no way I can pass a bill in the House of Representatives without a public option.”

California's unemployment rate took an unexpected leap in July, reaching a new high of 11.9% and bucking a trend that saw the national rate drop over the same period.

The state lost a net 35,800 jobs last month, shedding more jobs than any other state, the U.S. Labor Department said today. It has lost 760,000 jobs over the last year.

California is tied with Oregon for the fourth-highest unemployment rate in the nation, behind Michigan, Rhode Island and Nevada. June's unemployment rate of 11.6% had set a post- World War II record.

Republican National Committee Chairman Michael Steele on Thursday dared Democrats to try a one-party push to overhaul the nation's health care system.

Steele told reporters that he thinks if Democratic senators think they have the votes, they should try a tactic that would allow them to get around a bill-killing filibuster without the 60 votes usually needed. Steele said he didn't think Democrats would do it because of potential voter backlash.

"Get it to the floor. Up or down, baby," Steele said at a news conference at the state GOP headquarters. "Put it on the table. And if you don't think you've got enough votes to get to 60, you've got the nuclear option. You've got 51."

The Justice Department recently questioned military defense attorneys at Guantanamo Bay about whether photographs of CIA personnel, including covert officers, were unlawfully provided to detainees charged with organizing the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks, according to sources familiar with the investigation.
Investigators are looking into allegations that laws protecting classified information were breached when three lawyers showed their clients the photographs, the sources said. The lawyers were apparently attempting to identify CIA officers and contractors involved in the agency's interrogation of al-Qaeda suspects in facilities outside the United States, where the agency employed harsh techniques.

If detainees at the U.S. military prison in Cuba are tried, either in federal court or by a military commission, defense lawyers are expected to attempt to call CIA personnel to testify.

FOR THE RECORD

TV listings: The Prime-Time TV grid in Thursday's Calendar section mistakenly listed MTV's "Jackass" show on the MSNBC cable schedule at 7 and 10 p.m. where instead MSNBC's "Countdown With Keith Olbermann" should have been listed.

It's not the Worst Mistake in the World.

But without this kind of correction, online too, a few thousand people might have tuned into MSNBC, the Obama administration's favorite cable channel, expecting to see a "Jackass" show, and instead they'd have found Olbermann.

Worse, what if nobody noticed the difference?

President Barack Obama's job approval rating has sunk to a record low of just 45%, the latest Zogby Interactive poll shows. Fifty-one percent of likely voters now say they disapprove of the President's job performance.

"None of these numbers looks counter-intuitive to me. Gallup, NBC, and Pew all have Obama at record lows. Rasmussen also shows low approval. Things are volatile out there and news travels fast. There is a lot of anxiety over healthcare," said Zogby International President and CEO John Zogby. "The President let it get away from him and voters are scared right now. They are experiencing sacrifice overload and feel more threatened than empowered. The President is being forced to play defense and he is much better when he is in possession of the ball. But do not underestimate Obama. Last August he was toast."

Of course, everyone loves the NHS now. It is officially sacrosanct. Our doctors are deities, our health care the envy of the world. And anyone who says anything different is an unpatriotic schmuck who should go and join those losers in the United States. (Although American doctors terrified of litigation would have done all the tests possible on my daughter if I'd sufficient insurance, and would think twice about lying to patients.)

So forgive a harsh dose of reality. I used to share these delusional views, wrapped in a comforting blanket of national pride over Bevan's legacy. But that was before the birth of our daughter sent us hurtling into the hell of our health service. Since then, hours and days and months and years have been spent battling bureaucracy, fighting lethargy and observing inefficiency while all the time guarding against the latest outbreak of incompetence.
+++++++
The lying in this case is horrific as much pathetic

Hospitals in border cities, including Detroit, are forging lucrative arrangements with Canadian health agencies to provide care not widely available across the border.

Agreements between Detroit hospitals and the Ontario Ministry of Health and Long-Term Care for heart, imaging tests, bariatric and other services provide access to some services not immediately available in the province, said ministry spokesman David Jensen.

The agreements show how a country with a national care system — a proposal not part of the health care changes under discussion in Congress — copes with demand for care with U.S. partnerships, rather than building new facilities.

Charlie Cook, one of the best political handicappers in the business, sent out a special update to Cook Political Report subscribers Thursday that should send shivers down Democratic spines.

Reviewing recent polling and the 2010 election landscape, Cook can envision a scenario in which Democratic House losses could exceed 20 seats.

"These data confirm anecdotal evidence, and our own view, that the situation this summer has slipped completely out of control for President Obama and Congressional Democrats. Today, The Cook Political Report’s Congressional election model, based on individual races, is pointing toward a net Democratic loss of between six and 12 seats, but our sense, factoring in macro-political dynamics is that this is far too low," he wrote.

President Obama took to the conservative airwaves Thursday to charge that Republican leaders are engaged in a vast right-wing conspiracy to kill health care reform in order to repeat the 1994 mid-term takeover of Congress, which followed the defeat of President Clinton's reform plan.

"I think early on, a decision was made by the Republican leadership that said, 'Look, let's not give him a victory, maybe we can have a replay of 1993, '94, when Clinton came in, he failed on health care and then we won in the mid-term elections and we got the majority. And I think there are some folks who are taking a page out that playbook," the president said.

Children in the U.K. have had nearly one million teeth pulled out in a year as sugary diets and poor dental care took its toll. The number of tooth extractions carried out on children under 18-years-old has risen by 12 percent in five years, the country’s National Health Services Information Center said.

The figures support recent warnings that thousands of children are ending up in hospital because of their teeth, with many requiring a general anesthetic.

The latest data — the first to compare clinical activity before and after the British government’s recent overhaul of NHS dentistry — also showed that there were two million extractions carried out on adults in 2008 and 2009.

Bad diets, poor brushing and shortfalls in dental care have all been blamed for the sharp rise in tooth extractions. The figures raise questions about the government’s efforts to improve access to preventive dental care, including regular check-ups and fluoride treatments.

President Barack Obama's push for a national health care overhaul is providing a financial windfall in the election offseason to Democratic consulting firms that are closely connected to the president and two top advisers.

Coalitions of interest groups running at least $24 million in pro-overhaul ads hired GMMB, which worked for Obama's 2008 campaign and whose partners include a top Obama campaign strategist. They also hired AKPD Message and Media, which was founded by David Axelrod, a top adviser to Obama's campaign and now to the White House. AKPD did work for Obama's campaign, and Axelrod's son Michael and Obama's campaign manager David Plouffe work there.

Extremists struck at the Iraqi Government with a wave of bombings and mortar attacks, killing at least 95 people and injuring more than 560 and raising new doubts about the withdrawal of US soldiers from the country.

The bombings were directed against the main centres of power, including the ministries of finance, foreign affairs, health, education and housing, as well as the parliament and cabinet buildings.

A lorry packed with explosives that went off within 30ft of the Foreign Ministry is reported to have killed up to 59 people and injured 250. The ministry’s compound wall was flattened and the ten-storey building all but destroyed. Cars and buildings in the vicinity were devastated and houses five miles away were shaken

The number of U.S. workers filing new claims for jobless benefits unexpectedly climbed higher last week, suggesting that labor market conditions remain difficult despite some recent signs of stabilization.

Meanwhile, total claims lasting more than one week also ticked up after plunging the previous week.

Initial claims for jobless …

Carly Fiorina, the former chief executive of Hewlett- Packard, took her first formal step Tuesday toward a campaign for Barbara Boxer's seat in the U.S. Senate.

Fiorina, who would face Assemblyman Chuck DeVore of Irvine in the Republican primary in June, announced that she had filed papers with the Internal Revenue Service to start exploring a candidacy.

"The people of California have serious concerns about job creation, economic growth and the role of government in solving problems that touch each of our lives," Fiorina said in a written statement.

Her personal wealth would make Fiorina a heavy favorite for the Republican nomination. But she would have a tough fight to unseat Boxer, a Democrat seeking a fourth term. And Fiorina is opposed to abortion, which puts her at odds with most California voters.

Assemblyman Chuck DeVore, R-Irvine — who's running against Democratic U.S. Senator Barbara Boxer — has taken off the gloves on his GOP challenger, Carly Fiorina, telling us today that he's not even sure she would "vote in her own primary with her name on the ballot.''

DeVore was on the phone today reacting to The Chronicle's story Wednesday revealing that Fiorina's spotty state voting record may be a pattern – since public records show that there's no record of her voting in two states she lived for years prior to California.

He's unveiled a new website today officially welcoming Fiorina to the U.S. Senate race, and among the many zingers is a note to "remind Carly to get an absentee ballot," complete with a link to the California Secretary of State's Vote By Mail website.
+++++++
DeVore will not make many GOP voters over with these tctics

Boeing, industry teammates and the U.S. Missile Defense Agency have completed construction of a second interceptor test silo for the Ground-based Midcourse Defense system at Vandenberg Air Force Base in California, the company announced Tuesday.

Because a silo needs to be refurbished after its hot-burning interceptor is fired, having two underground test silos will allow one to support testing while the other is being refurbished, Boeing said. It said the new silo can be configured for testing or tactical operations. Vandenberg's first test silo has been used in tests since 2006.
The Huntsville, Ala.-based Ground-based Midcourse Defense program has deployed more than 20 operational interceptors at Vandenberg and Fort Greely, Alaska, to defend against long-range ballistic missile threats.

Hundreds of auto dealers in the New York area have withdrawn from the government's Cash for Clunkers program, citing delays in getting reimbursed by the government, a dealership group said Wednesday.

The Greater New York Automobile Dealers Association, which represents dealerships in the New York metro area, said about half its 425 members have left the program because they cannot afford to offer more rebates. They're also worried about getting repaid.

The U.S. must address the massive amounts of “monetary medicine” that have been pumped into the financial system and now pose threats to the world’s largest economy and its currency, billionaire Warren Buffett said.

The “gusher of federal money” has rescued the financial system and the U.S. economy is now on a slow path to recovery, Buffett wrote in a New York Times commentary yesterday. While he applauds measures adopted by the Federal Reserve and officials from the Bush and Obama administrations, Buffett says the U.S. is fiscally in “uncharted territory.”

The ABC News Business Unit does some recession math and compares other luxury vacation resorts to Martha’s Vineyard, where the Obama family will travel next week for an end-of-summer stay.

FYI, you’re footing some of the bill:

…Caroline Taylor, another Martha’s Vineyard realtor, estimated that the property would go for $35,000 to $50,000 a week. The Obamas will pay for at least a portion of the rental, but taxpayer funds will be used to pay for Secret Service and staff housing on the property.

Former Hewlett-Packard Co. CEO Carly Fiorina has taken a step closer to challenging Sen. Barbara Boxer (D-Calif.), according to media reports in California on Tuesday.

Fiorina has created a campaign committee, Carly for California, which will enable her to begin raising money for a possible Senate bid. A spokeswoman for Fiorina told the Associated Press that she has no timetable for formally announcing her candidacy.

State and national Republicans are high on the prospects of a Fiorina Senate bid, though a poll conducted recently for a liberal Web site found Boxer with a substantial lead over Fiorina and the top Republican in the Senate race so far, state Assemblyman Chuck DeVore.

Senate Minority Whip Jon Kyl (R-Ariz.) on Tuesday defended critics of Democratic health care reform plans who claim the proposals would provide subsidized health care to illegal immigrants. Kyl said Democrats have long sought to block curbs on public services for people illegally in the country.

“It’s a logical question for people to ask,” Kyl said during a conference call with reporters, maintaining that during last year’s State Children’s Health Insurance Program debate and other legislative fights, Democrats blocked efforts by Republicans to include curbs on health care for illegal immigrants.

The problem is that Axelrod's former firm is currently receiving huge fees "from Healthy Economy Now, a coalition that includes the Washington-based Pharmaceutical Research & Manufacturers of America, known as PhRMA," as well as AARP, the SEIU and other big players in the health care debate.

If Axelrod has been negotiating any part of any deal involving any of these players which are funneling money to the firm that owes him money, or if he is advising the president on the deals with any of these groups, that's a conflict of interest. Laundering the money through a "coalition" doesn't remove the conflict much less the appearance of impropriety. The coalition is in effect partially funding David Axelrod's severance package though its members might have done so unknowingly. These forthcoming payments to Axelrod are much more significant than the sort of "retained ties" that Democrats blasted Dick Cheney for vis-a-vis Halliburton..
++++++
Axelrod has a very big problem here.

In other words, the claim here was about half true. It was completely false regarding Best Buy, and CVS didn’t request ads for Beck before requesting to avoid him. Only Wal-Mart actually pulled ads from the show, and even at that may still be redirecting its ad money to other shows.
Addendum: I have to say I’m puzzled by Wal-Mart’s acquiescence in this boycott. It’s not Beck fans who picket their stores, demanding unionization and demonizing them for their employee compensation policies. They’re appeasing the same people who want to drive them out of business.

When it comes to staff sickness, the review found that those who worked more than eight hours a day had higher rates, as well as those who felt pressure to return to work.

Women were more likely to report in sick, alongside those who had worked for the NHS for a long time.

The review found that while NHS workers were more likely to pick up illness and infections through their work, this could not explain all of the higher rates of absence.

It said: "Nearly half of all NHS staff absence is accounted for by musculoskeletal disorders, and more than a quarter by stress, depression and anxiety."

It went on: "Most staff believe that their state of health affects patient care."

More than half of the 11,000-plus members of staff who contributed to the study said they felt more stressed than usual at the time of completing the survey.

“Social Security could face default within two years,” U.S. Rep. Spencer Bachus predicted here Tuesday. “The situation is much worse than people realize, especially because of the problems brought on by the recession, near depression.
“That’s not been on the board — people don’t seem to know that,” Bachus, the ranking member of the House Committee on Financial Services, said in a wide-ranging interview with the Tuscaloosa News Editorial Board. “What this recession has done to Social Security is pretty alarming.