CALIFORNIA YANKEE

Fred Thompson: The Afghanistan war has been lost

Fred Thompson nailed the impact of Obama's Ahfghan indecision during his radio show today:

It really doesn't matter how President Obama divides the Afghan baby, how he splits the difference between McChrystal and Biden. Because the war in Afghanistan has been lost.

[. . .]

I say this because of one sad and simple fact. The president does not have the will and determination to do what's necessary to win it. His heart's not in it, and never has been. The Taliban knows it. Al Qaeda knows it. Our allies know it. And the American people know it. Our enemies are now emboldened and our friends are discouraged. We cannot prevail if the American people are not willing to make the sacrifices necessary for an extended effort. The case has not been made to them to justify this effort. The case can only be made by the president. This president is unable or unwilling to make that case,

Listen to the whole thing:

I remain an unrepentant of the war. But if Obama does not give the commander he selected the resources he needs to win the war then I may have to reconsider.

Americans don't want higher premiums and higher taxes

Democrats' Obamacare will raise premiums and taxes, cut Medicare, and drive up the deficit. Is This the kind of health care reform the American people want?

In the following video, Senate Republicans remind us that Americans do not want higher premiums and higher taxes disguised as reform:

National debt now over $12 trillion - continues to soar under Congressional Democrats

When the Pelosi/Reid left-wing Democrats took control of Congress on January 4, 2007, the national debt was $8,670,596,242,973.04 -- that's $8.67 trillion.

Today, the national debt is 12,039,319,107,488.80 -- more than $12 trillion.

That is a 38% increase in the national debt in the less than three year period that Speaker Pelosi and House Democrats have controlled the federal government's purse strings.

Maybe President Obama finally sees the light. After spending and borrowing more than anyone can imagine, Obama warns that too much debt could fuel a double-dip recession. Unfortunately, Obama's epiphany is probably just a temporary result of spending time in China -- the biggest critic of Obama's massive spending.

Atlantis returns to space

Space shuttle Atlantis is safely in orbit with six astronauts and a full load of spare parts for the International Space Station.

Atlantis lifted off from Launch Pad 39A at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida at 2:28 p.m. EST.

Visit msnbc.com for Breaking News, World News, and News about the Economy

Atlantis will reach the space station Wednesday, an will return to Earth the day after Thanksgiving.

More Obama say one thing do another - Obamacare transparency edition

Patients First goes after President Obama's broken promises of transparency in the health care reform process:

Presidential candidate Obama promised time and again not to negotiate health care reform behind closed doors, to bring all parties together and to broadcast health care reform negotiations on C-SPAN.

It is truly unfortunate that President Obama did not keep those promises, but instead, chose to meet privately with health care executives, cut a deal with drug firms in secret, and outsourced the drafting of the Obamacare legislation to the extremely partisan, Democrat-controlled Congress.