For general discussion and debate. Possible talking point: a history of debt.

The country first got into debt to help pay for the Revolutionary War. Growing ever since, the debt stands today at a staggering $11.4 trillion - equivalent to about $37,000 for each and every American. And it's expanding by over $1 trillion a year. The mountain of debt easily could become the next full-fledged economic crisis without firm action from Washington, economists of all stripes warn.

Thoughts?

Will Roger get 15, or will Andy shock the world?

UPDATE: Live video stream of Dallas Tea Party now embedded below the fold!

UPDATE II: Glenn Reynolds has pictures coming in from Parties all around the country.

As many of you know, there will be Tea Parties happening all over the country today. Those looking for a Tea Party in their area should go here.

Please share your experiences upon your return.

For general discussion and debate. Possible talking point: Sarah Palin steps down as Alaska's governor (part two below the fold).

President Obama before the taping of a weekly Radio Address in the Roosevelt Room of the White House.

For general discussion and debate. Possible talking point: Will N. Korea or won't N. Korea?

 U.S. missile defenses are prepared to try to knock down the last stage of a Taepodong-2 missile that North Korea is expected soon to launch if sensors detect the weapon threatens U.S. territory, the commander of the U.S. Northern Command told The Washington Times. "The nation has a very, very credible ballistic-missile defense capability. Our ground-based interceptors in Alaska and California, I'm very comfortable, give me a capability that if we really are threatened by a long-range ICBM that I've got high confidence that I could interdict that flight before it caused huge damage to any U.S. territory," said Air Force Gen. Victor E. "Gene" Renuart, Northcom commander.

Thoughts?

At yesterday’s White House briefing, CBS’s Chip Reid and Hearst Newspapers columnist Helen Thomas confronted Press Secretary Robert Gibbs over how "very tightly controlled" the media are by the Obama Administration. After the briefing, CNSNews.com reports that many members of the press corps went out of their way to thank Thomas for making her stand.

In a subsequent interview with CNSNews.com, Thomas again articulated her outrage at how the media are being controlled.

"Nixon didn’t try to do that. They couldn’t control (the media). They didn’t try. What the hell do they [the Obama Administration] think we are, puppets? They’re supposed to stay out of our business. They are our public servants. We pay them."

Thomas continued, "When you call the reporter the night before, you know damn well what they are going to ask to control you. I’m not saying there has never been managed news before, but this is carried to fare-thee-well--for the town halls, for the press conferences. It’s blatant. They don’t give a damn if you know it or not. They ought to be hanging their heads in shame."

Media Research Center President Brent Bozell commented:

For general discussion and debate. Possible talking point: Hondurans unhappy with Obama.

Rejecting the return of ousted President Manuel Zelaya, Honduras' interim leaders dug in for a fight on Thursday after governments across the region demanded the deposed leftist be restored to power...The Organization of American States on Wednesday issued a weekend deadline for the interim government to reinstate Zelaya, in a standoff that is testing U.S. President Barack Obama's administration after he promised an era of better relations with the region..."We have established a democratic government and we will not cede to pressure from anyone. We are a sovereign country," said Roberto Micheletti, who was named as caretaker president by Honduran lawmakers shortly after Zelaya's ouster.

Is Obama on the wrong side of this one?

For general discussion and debate. Possible talking point: the Gutless Gang of Eight!

They unanimously voted with their entire party against President Obama's stimulus bill in February, and did so again in April opposing the President's debt-laden 2010 budget. Yet these eight Republican House members broke ranks on Friday, awarding victory to the Democrats in narrowly passing the American Clean Energy and Security Act (ACES)...The best thing for Republicans in Obama-supporting districts would be to break the President's string of legislative victories and start saddling him with highly-publicized losses. With healthcare reform apparently losing moderate Democratic support thanks to the price tag, an ACES defeat Friday could have given Republicans some much-needed momentum heading into this next crucial legislative battle.

Thoughts?

Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist and Washington Times commentary section editor Mary Lou Forbes passed away last Saturday.

Media Research Center President Brent Bozell has issued the following statement:

Mary Lou Forbes made an imprint on the conservative movement that will last for generations. In her more than 50 years in the world of journalism, she served as an unshakable role model especially for conservative women and beginning at a time before females were recognized for their influence.

Mary Lou was also a brilliant mentor. She shared the wisdom gained in her stunning career by instilling the nuts and bolts of good journalism in the countless reporters who excelled under her tutelage. There was seldom a writer she ran across that she couldn't improve.

But even beyond her work, Mary Lou was loved and admired for her kindness and encouragement that touched each person who was blessed to know her. The Media Research Center will miss her and all the support she gave us so generously over the years. May she rest peacefully.

For general discussion and debate. Possible talking point: climate bill fight helps Republicans in 2010.

Holding minority status in both the Senate and House of Representatives after a disastrous showing in the 2006 and 2008 elections, Republican leaders think that Democrats might be writing a prescription for a Republican comeback in 2010 by passing a bill instead of curing an energy and environmental problem. "If the Republicans can frame it as, 'Oh, the Democrats are once again just trying to raise your taxes, this time with a hidden tax on energy', then that will probably have substantial appeal to the electorate, particularly if we are still in the throes of a recession," said Robert Stavins, head of the Harvard Environmental Economics Program.

Is this correct, or wishful thinking?

Via Hot Air's Ed Morrissey:

Barack Obama’s energy czar appeared on Fox & Friends this morning to discuss the cap-and-tax bill passed by the House last week on a razor-thin margin. Carol Browner got stumped by Fox’s Steve Doocy while questioning her ability to speak to the subject, which prompted her to declare Doocy “unfair” for blindsiding her. You be the judge — should Doocy have wondered whether Browner had bothered to read the bill she was promoting on national TV, or is that “unfair”?

For general discussion and debate. Possible talking point: Obama shows some strength?

The Air Force has successfully launched an unarmed Minuteman 3 intercontinental ballistic missile from the California coast to an area in the Pacific Ocean some 4,200 miles away. Lt. Raymond Geoffroy says the ICBM was launched from Vandenberg Air Force Base at 3:01 a.m. Monday and carried three unarmed re-entry vehicles to their targets near the Kwajalein Atoll in the Marshall Islands...The Air Force says the launch was an operational test to check the weapon system's reliability and accuracy, and the data will be used by United States Strategic Command planners and Department of Energy laboratories.

It's only about another 1,000 miles to North Korea. Was this a show of strength by Obama?

For general discussion and debate. Possible talking point: climate bill is a pile of s**t!

Minority Leader John Boehner (R-Ohio) had a few choice words about House Speaker Nancy Pelosi's (D-Calif.) landmark climate-change bill after its passage Friday. When asked why he read portions of the cap-and-trade bill on the floor Friday night, Boehner told The Hill, "Hey, people deserve to know what's in this pile of s--t."

Is Boehner right? Watch his entire amazing speech from the House floor Friday and decide for yourself.

For general discussion and debate. Possible talking point: meet the eight Republicans that voted for what will likely be the largest tax increase in American history --

Mary Bono Mack (Calif.), Mike Castle (Del.), Mark Steven Kirk (Ill.), Leonard Lance (NJ), Frank LoBiondo (NJ), John McHugh (NY), Dave Reichert (Washington), Chris Smith (NJ).

With a final vote of 219 to 212, Republicans could have killed this disgusting cap and trade bill. After all, 44 Democrats voted NO! If the GOP held together, this nightmare would have been over.

Thoughts?

            

"Wearing his gym clothes and talking a little smack, press secretary Robert Gibbs was sent into the dunk tank at the White House luau ...by members of the press corps," reports Politico.com.

"In agreement initiated by FOX News's Wendell Goler, each member of the press corps will return the favor by kicking in $5 to a pool of money going to charity." [see videos below page break]

For general discussion and debate. Possible talking point: cap and trade would be the biggest tax hike in American history!

The whole point of cap and trade is to hike the price of electricity and gas so that Americans will use less. These higher prices will show up not just in electricity bills or at the gas station but in every manufactured good, from food to cars. Consumers will cut back on spending, which in turn will cut back on production, which results in fewer jobs created or higher unemployment. Some companies will instead move their operations overseas, with the same result...Americans should know that those Members who vote for this climate bill are voting for what is likely to be the biggest tax in American history. Even Democrats can't repeal that reality.

Thoughts?

BTW: NewsBusters is now on Facebook, Twitter, and Amazon Kindle.

Topics in today's show: Obama's health care plan, Obama's own doctor comes out against his health care plan, Scientists create petition against cap and trade, and Joy Behar gets her own CNN Headline News talk show.

Love the show? Then help spread the word by embedding it on your blog or telling your friends on Myspace and Facebook.

Think you're funny? Send your (short) jokes to newsbusted at dialognewmedia.com. If we use them, we'll pay you USD $50 for each one.

Starring: Jodi Miller
Director: Bruce Roundtower
Executive Producer: Matthew Sheffield

"ABC News has more than earned the title of the All Barack Channel, they have recklessly fought to achieve it," Media Research Center President Brent Bozell stated in a press release today.

The network had promised to deliver a health care presentation that would "not be ‘slanted' in any way - much less a ‘day-long infomercial' or ‘in-kind free advertising'," but not a single expert was offered to counter President Obama's plan to nationalize the nation's health care industry.

Instead, ABC News "balanced" itself this morning by having Wisconsin Rep. Paul Ryan (R-Wis.) on today's "Good Morning America" to discuss his health care ideas - for a 3 minute 5 second segment.  Ryan got less than 2 minutes (1 minute, 47 seconds) to respond to questions. Obama received 25 times that much time last night.

For general discussion and debate. Possible talking point: Cap and trade in jeopardy -- Gore to the rescue!

Former Vice President Al Gore will meet with House Democrats Thursday to appeal to reluctant lawmakers to approve the controversial climate change bill on Friday, FOX News has learned. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., is rolling the dice with her plan to lug the bill to the House floor without the full confidence that the legislation will pass.

Does Gore have the juice to sway enough Democrats to get this travesty passed, or do enough people on the left understand what a charlatan he is and will vote based on the merits instead of the myth?

On Capitol Hill today, the Media Research Center along with Americans for Tax Reform and the Health Care Freedom Coalition sponsored an event showcasing Sen. Jim DeMint, Rep. Tom Price and key health care experts who discussed the alternatives to and the pitfalls of President Obama's health care proposal. 

Sen. DeMint explained what he would have said if he had been invited by ABC to participate in this evening's health care special:

While  network news anchors such as CBS's Harry Smith are still gooey in love with President Obama, the White House correspondents for the networks are a little tougher on the chief executive, MRC's Tim Graham told Fox News's Bill O'Reilly on his June 23 program. [audio available here]

TIM GRAHAM: I think there's always been a difference between the guys in the White House press room who are trying to nail down the inconsistencies in what Obama is saying, trying to nail down his campaign promises, and the Harry Smiths and the Brian Williamses and the Diane Saywers.

There's really a disconnect, really, between the White House reporters who, for the most part are a little tougher on a daily basis and then the anchors who have been just yeah, beyond the, just [having] that dreamy look.

BILL O'REILLY: I agree with that. The anchors are obviously pro-Obama almost across the board.

For general discussion and debate. Possible talking point: Liz Cheney discusses Obama's position on Iran.

To view our live chat and contribute your comments, check below the page break.

Topics in today's show: Protests in Iran, Obama's response to the protests in Iran, Hillary Clinton breaks her elbow, and PETA is upset that Obama killed a fly.

Love the show? Then help spread the word by embedding it on your blog or telling your friends on Myspace and Facebook.

Think you're funny? Send your (short) jokes to newsbusted at dialognewmedia.com. If we use them, we'll pay you USD $50 for each one.

Starring: Jodi Miller
Director: Bruce Roundtower
Executive Producer: Matthew Sheffield

For general discussion and debate. Possible talking point: Iranian police charge the bereaved a bullet fee!

Upon learning of his son's death, the elder Mr. Alipour was told the family had to pay an equivalent of $3,000 as a "bullet fee"—a fee for the bullet used by security forces—before taking the body back, relatives said. Mr. Alipour told officials that his entire possessions wouldn't amount to $3,000, arguing they should waive the fee because he is a veteran of the Iran-Iraq war. According to relatives, morgue officials finally agreed, but demanded that the family do no funeral or burial in Tehran. Kaveh Alipour's body was quietly transported to the city of Rasht, where there is family.

That's some expensive bullet!

For general discussion and debate. Possible talking point: state budgets in crisis!

With state revenues in a free fall and the economy choked by the worst recession in 60 years, governors and legislatures are approving program cuts, layoffs and, to a smaller degree, tax increases that were previously unthinkable. All but four states must have new budgets in place less than two weeks from now — by July 1, the start of their fiscal year. But most are already predicting shortfalls as tax collections shrink, unemployment rises and the stock market remains in turmoil. “These are some of the worst numbers we have ever seen,” said Scott D. Pattison, executive director of the National Association of State Budget Officers.

Is the government tax and overspend Ponzi scheme unraveling? What's the solution if any? Maybe more importantly, in keeping with the media meme of the decade, how do we blame all these states' problems on George W. Bush?

Rasmussen:

The Rasmussen Reports daily Presidential Tracking Poll for Sunday shows that 32% of the nation's voters now Strongly Approve of the way that Barack Obama is performing his role as President. Thirty-four percent (34%) Strongly Disapprove giving Obama a Presidential Approval Index rating of -2.

That’s the President’s lowest rating to date and the first time the Presidential Approval Index has fallen below zero for Obama (see trends).

Happy Father's Day!

For general discussion and debate. Possible talking point: Destroyer sent on NK intercept mission!

The U.S. military is preparing for a possible intercept of a North Korean flagged ship suspected of proliferating weapons material in violation of a U.N. Security Council resolution passed last Friday, FOX News has learned. The USS John McCain, a Navy destroyer, is positioning itself in case it gets orders to intercept the ship Kang Nam as soon as it leaves the vicinity off the coast of China, according to a senior U.S. defense official. The order to inderdict has not been given yet, but the ship is moving into the area.

Will Obama give the order? Where is this all heading?