Our Treasury Secretary expects no drop in unemployment, but the Treasury’s program of seizing homes and turning them over to the homeless continues unabated.

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The Congressional Budget Office has long been a pivotal, though indirect, player in Congressional politics, but it’s hard to think of a time when a bill has hinged so precariously on its findings. This morning, reports are trickling out of Democratic offices, including Whip Steny Hoyer’s, that the CBO score (which will be officially released this afternoon) contains some pretty good news for health reform proponents.

Marc Ambinder says apparently:

Apparently, the CBO says that the bill would reduce Medicare expenditures by about 1.4% per year, extending the solvency of the program by nine years. Thirty-two million Americans will be covered — about 95% of all those eligible. The cost over decade one: $940 billion. The release today will help Speaker Nancy Pelosi fulfill her promise of providing 72 hours to review the bill before the vote, which is on tap for Sunday.

Rep. Paul Ryan says no (PDF):

The Congressional Budget Office has confirmed that there is currently no official cost estimate. Yet House Democrats are touting to the press – and spinning for partisan gain – numbers that have not been released and are impossible to confirm. Rep. James Clyburn stated he was “giddy” about these unsubstantiated numbers. This is the latest outrageous exploitation by the Majority – in this case abusing the confidentiality of the nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office – to pass their massive health care overhaul at any cost.

If ObamaCare passes, it is hard to take seriously the claim that Obama will ever be able to stand-up to our creditor nations (India, China, Japan, etc.)? He already is disrespected (if liked) throughout the world. If ObamaCare passes, and the largest increase in the welfare state in two generations becomes law, he will be a laughing stock, as well.

Update: The CBO itselfs weighs in (PDF):

Although CBO completed a preliminary review of legislative language prior to its release, the agency has not thoroughly examined the reconciliation proposal to verify its consistency with the previous draft. This estimate is therefore preliminary, pending a review of the language of the reconciliation proposal, as well as further review and refinement of the budgetary projections.

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Third, our decision rests on the narrow ground that the procedures authorized by the Line Item Veto Act are not authorized by the Constitution. The Balanced Budget Act of 1997 is a 500-page document that became “Public Law 105-33″ after three procedural steps were taken: (1) a bill containing its exact text was approved by a majority of the Members of the House of Representatives; (2) the Senate approved precisely the same text; and (3) that text was signed into law by the President. The Constitution explicitly requires that each of those three steps be taken before a bill may “become a law.” Art. I, S. 7. If one paragraph of that text had been omitted at any one of those three stages, Public Law 105-33 would not have been validly enacted. If the Line Item Veto Act were valid, it would authorize the President to create a different lawone whose text was not voted on by either House of Con gress or presented to the President for signature. Something that might be known as “Public Law 105-33 as modified by the President” may or may not be desirable, but it is surely not a document that may “become a law” pursuant to the procedures designed by the Framers of Article I, S. 7, of the Constitution.

The Slaughter rule — an attempt to allow Democrats to deny they did not vote for the wildly unpopular Senate Health Care Plan — would have members vote on a different text (that is, one deeming that text passed), rather than the text itself. Therefore, according to Clinton v. New York (a 6-3 decision, where the majority opinion was written by John Paul Stevens), the Slaughter rule is unconstitutional. Thus, if the Slaughter Rule is used to pass ObamaCare, ObamaCare was never passed by Congress, and cannot be enforced.

Frankly, as a strict constructionist, I’m not really happy with this. But I would be delighted if John Paul Stevens’ judicial activism was the iceberg that sank ObamaCare!

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… over rage against a bill that may be struck down anyway.

The best possible result for America would be if ObamaCare is enacted, the Democrats lose the House and Senate over it, and the Supreme Court rules ObamaCare unconstitutional shortly after the election.

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We are always in compliance with Section 13 from part 40 of the NRC Nuclear Regulatory Commission rules and regulations and Postal Service regulations specified in 49 CFR 173.421 for activity limits of low level radioactive materials. Item will be shipped in accordance with Postal Service activity limits specified in Publication 52.

Some reviews:

The quality of this Uranium is on par with the stuff I was bying from the Libyans over at the mall parking lot, but at half the price! I just hope the seller does not run out, because I have many projects on my list including a night vision sasquatch radar, an electromagnetic chupakabra cage, a high velocity, aerial, weighted Mothman net and super heated, instant grill cheese sandwhich maker.

…

However, when I ran out of that fire-ant killer powder stuff, I figured I would try some for that too.

Big mistake!

…

Finally, someone had the gumption to package this stuff! As a busy single mom, I no longer have the time to prospect for uranium, let alone dig my own open pit mine. Also, handling that stuff makes my gums bleed and I cough up small pieces of lung. Nasty.

…

What happened next is something I barely believe myself. Because this product is uranium and not the plutonium that Doc had designed the car for, I was transported back to 1955 where everyone thought my name was Calvin Klein and my mom tried to sleep with me. Gross! I found Doc, since he’s lived in the same house his whole life, and convinced him I was from the future. If it wasn’t for the power of 1.21 jigawatts, I would have been trapped in the past forever since Amazon’s best shipping method is overnight and does not transcend the time-space barrier and I was unable to get more uranium.

…

Well… I had an awesome idea that if I combined my newly purchased uranium ore and a container of Marshmallow Fluff, the outcome would result in a smaller version of the Stay-Puff Marshmallow Man. However… what soon followed my unfortunate science/cooking experiment was the creation of something that resembled a 10 foot tall adaptation of the Michelin Man meets Chuck Norris! Immediately upon its creation I received unprovoked roundhouse kick to my face… fortunately, his marshmallow-pillowy-like foot softened the impending blow. We battled through the kitchen, then it saw the open door. As soon as this sticky-sweet creature made it outside… it escaped. So I guess this “review” is more of a public-service announcement… I probably should’ve said that first.

…

It’s been almost 100 days since I “disposed” of the Uranium Ore I purchased from Amazon.com. Seeing as how they sent me 10 orders instead of 1 I thought it would be alright to dispose of the two or three cans in the backyard. 91 days later and I’m barricaded in my house, beseiged by mutated grasshoppers, bees, wasps, and ants the size of ponies. My food stores are dwindling; I only have a few gallons of Tuscan Whole Milk, 1 Gallon, 128 fl oz left, though a spritz of Uranium Ore has kept it fresh all this time. I’m down to my last box of Fresh Whole Rabbit as well. Even though I had to kill them (again), some of the Uranium Ore I used on the Tuscan Whole Milk, 1 Gallon, 128 fl oz has also helped them stay fresh during these past few months.

I’m not sure how much longer I can last here, the noises coming through the walls is constant, day and night. The scratching and scraping, the buzzing and chirping these mutated monsters make around the clock is, I fear, driving me inexorably further to the brink of insanity. I know that soon, I’ll take my chances outside the door of my home and fight for survival in a world gone mad; but with my newly grown wings and the lobster-claw appendages that have sprouted from my back, I might just have a chance after all…

Buy your own Uranium Ore today!

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Russia — for those readers too young to remember when it was a country that mattered — is a Central Asian petrostate best known for invading small neighbors and rampant alcoholism.

Fortunately my web host provided me tools to block the attacker, and responder quicker the next time the Russians try to shut me down (this was not the first time, and won’t be the last).

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Rep. Massa describes a confrontation with Emanuel in a shower: “I am showering, naked as a jaybird, and here comes Rahm Emanuel, not even with a towel wrapped around his tush, poking his finger in my chest, yelling at me.”

Will Attorney General Holder investigate Rahm Emanuel for this sexual assault, or will Rahm get a free pass like the CEOs of AIG, Frannie Mae, and Freddie Mac?

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No matter what Congress says.

Tim Geithner is above the law.

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