CALIFORNIA YANKEE

Shuttle Atlantis returns to Earth

Space Shuttle Atlantis returned to Earth Friday, morning landing at the Kennedy Space Center in Florida.

Image courtesy of NASA TV

The 11-day mission delivered key spare parts to prolong the life of the international space station. The parts are expected to add years to the station's life after the space shuttle fleet is retired next year.

The Atlantis astronauts performed three spacewalks and installed two platforms on the station's backbone. The platforms will hold the spare parts that Atlantis delivered.

The following CBS video covers the highlights of the just completed mission:

NASA's next shuttle mission, Delivery of Node 3, named Tranquility, and the Cupola, a robotic control station, is scheduled for Feb. 4, 2010.

Happy Thanksgiving Day 2009

The traditional Thanksgiving story is that some time in the fall of 1621, the settlers at Plymouth, Mass., held a feast to thank God they'd survived their harrowing first year in the New World.

They invited neighboring Indians, who had taught them agricultural skills critical to their survival. Together they celebrated their good fortune with a three-day feast.

There is a problem with the traditional story - no one invited the Indians.

A more historically accurate view may be that the settlers threw the party for themselves. Members of the local Wampanoag tribe arrived only after hearing the English firing their arms in celebration.

A firsthand account of the original Thanksgiving is provided in "Mourt's Relations," a series of letters written in 1620 and 1621, primarily by settler Edward Winslow.

He writes of a harvest celebration, "at which time amongst other recreations, we exercised our arms, many of the Indians coming amongst us and they went out and killed five deer, which they brought to the plantation and bestowed on our governor."

Actually, the harvest of 1621 wasn't great at all. The barley, wheat, and peas the Pilgrims brought with them from England had failed. Fortunately, the corn did well enough that they were able to double their weekly food rations.

The Pilgrims were happy to be alive: The previous winter had wiped out 47 people--almost half their community.

What people are thankful for changes from year to year.

The Founding Fathers were happy to have established a government. Lincoln's Thanksgiving proclamation expressed thanks that the Civil War had not destroyed the country.

On January 6, 1941, President Franklin D. Roosevelt addressed Congress. His "Four Freedoms" offered a vision in which the American ideals of individual liberties were extended throughout the world:

Four Freedoms We look forward to a world founded upon four essential human freedoms. The first is freedom of speech and expression--everywhere in the world. The second is freedom of every person to worship God in his own way-- everywhere in the world. The third is freedom from want . . . everywhere in the world. The fourth is freedom from fear . . . anywhere in the world.

The speech inspired Norman Rockwell to create a series of paintings on the "Four Freedoms," including "Freedom From Want."

As you enjoy the Holiday, be sure to contemplate your blessings.

Image courtesy of the National Achieves.

Obama approval index falls to -15

Rasmussen reports Obama's Presidential Approval Index fell to -15. Another record low.

Rasmussen's Obama Approval Index has now been in negative double digits for nine straight days. Last week the index stood at the previous record low, -14, for three consecutive days.

According to Rasmussen, support for the Democrats' Obamacare has fallen to a new low of 38%. Sixty percent of voters believe passage of the bill will lead to higher health care costs.

Rasmussen Reports presidential job approval ratings are based upon a sample of likely voters, rather than samples of all adults. Obama’s numbers are always several points higher in a poll of adults rather than likely voters because some of Obama's most enthusiastic supporters, such as young adults, are less likely to turn out to vote.

It's not just Rasmussen, Gallup, Quinnipiac, and Hawkeye all find Obama's approval to be 48%.

In the following CBS video, John Dickerson discusses Obama's falling approval rating:

As we have said before, the more voters find out about President Obama, the less they care for him and his radically liberal policies.

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.

Democrats' taxpayer-funded Obamacare mega-bureaucracy blueprint

“This is the blueprint for a taxpayer-funded mega-bureaucracy.” -- House Republican Leader John Boehner

The House Republican staff of the Joint Economic Committee (JEC) has created the following blueprint for The Democrats' taxpayer-funded Obamacare mega-bureaucracy:

You can access a larger version of the chart here.

The new chart is a revision of the one the JEC House Republican staff created earlier this year created a chart mapping the bureaucratic complexity of Speaker Pelosi’s original health care proposal (H.R. 3200). The revised chart details new additions to the health care bureaucracy contained in Plosi's latest Obamacare bill  (H.R. 3962).

Speaker Pelosi is determined to force a vote today on the Democrats' $3 trillion, 2,032-page Obamacare bill. The vote is now expected at about 6:00 p.m. Democrats control 258 seats and need 218 votes for passage. No Republicans are expected to support the Democrats' taxpayer-funded Obamacare bill that will create 111 new federal Obamacare bureaucracies.

Unemployment breaks 10% - true unemployment at 17.5%

The Labor Department reports the unemployment rate rose to 10.2 percent in October, from 9.8 percent in September.

According to Market Watch, an alternative gauge of unemployment, which includes discouraged workers and those forced to work part-time, rose to 17.5%, the highest on record dating to 1995.

The jobless recovery is an indication that President Obama's boondoggle stimulus bill was not properly targeted.