Lightning Links point to stories and other items that are noteworthy but don’t require further comment or background beyond a sentence or two (or three).

Lightly-commented Lightning:

• The Daily Caller, March 9 — “5 Wisconsin residents face voter fraud charges, two of them worked for ACORN.” It’s time to send the folks from Ohio’s 1851 Center for Constitutional Law up to the Badger State.
• Fox News (HT JammieWearingFool) — “More Americans Can Call Themselves Millionaires, Study Finds.” JWF’s translation: “Obama’s America: The Rich are Getting Richer.” Related item from the Bureau of Labor Statistics — Real average hourly earnings decreased from $10.38 to 10.32 between January 2009 and January 2010.
• Substance-free pablum, via CBS News on March 9 — “How America Could Get Rich by Going Green.” America could legitimately get rich —  or at least be less broke — if it would only unlock its trillions of dollars worth of oil and natural gas reserves.
• Via the Associated Press — “(Supreme Court Chief Justice) Roberts: Scene at State of Union ‘very troubling.’” This is where President Obama criticized the court’s campaign-finance decision in his SOTU speech. Hey John, get used to it; that’s what punks who don’t get their way do.
• From the Cincinnati Enquirer’s Politics Extra blog — “Portman making the money rounds” …. in Florida, Florida, Florida, Florida, Florida, DC, DC, DC, Virginia, Oklahoma, and Texas. Minimum price of admission in all but one instance: $1,000. Remind me — What state does Portman say he’ll represent if he becomes a U.S. Senator? I still think that this idea, which I proposed back in 2006 (”The Case For No Out-of-Jurisdiction Campaign Contributions”) merits serious attention, and would pass constitutional muster.
• From Gallup — “Americans’ Global Warming Concerns Continue to Drop.” Zombie deliciously noticed the poll’s hockey stick-like appearance. This is occurring despite the U.S. media’s virtual blackout of the burgeoning ClimateGate scandals (via BigJournalism.com, “As ‘Global Warming’ Hoax Dies, MSM is AWOL: Is Anybody Home?”).
• At Pajamas Media, from J. Robert Smith — “What Do Detroit, the Postal Service, and Health Care Reform Have in Common?” Answers: Fewer and more expensive services, corruption, and inefficiency, all of which would appear on a scale previously unseen with statist health care.
• At the LA Times’s LA Now Blog — “Divided appeals court rules Pledge of Allegiance doesn’t violate Constitution.” Correction: That would be an appeals court panel of three, consisting of two people who can think plus Stephen Reinhardt.
• President Obama’s disapproval level per Rasmussen has been above 50% since February 5, and has stayed there ever since. It’s currently at 54%. It has been above 50% for all but five days thus far in 2010.

Comment-free Lightning:

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From the Associated Press:

Even so, the legislation remained incomplete. House Democrats caucused Monday evening, and a number of rank-and-file lawmakers straggled out discouraged that they still didn’t have final legislative language or a cost estimate from the Congressional Budget Office.

Leaders hope to get both those things Tuesday. Until then there’s only so much they can do to pin down wavering lawmakers who will soon be asked to make one of the riskiest votes of their careers.

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From Vancouver:

Mar 16, 2010 / 03:30 am

On March 12, leaders of the Traditional Anglican Communion (TAC) in Canada sent a letter to the Holy Father formally requesting to become unified with the Catholic Church. This initiative, says a leading bishop, is what he believes to be part of a “worldwide movement.”

Bishop Peter Wilkinson of the TAC Diocese of British Columbia, who authored the March 12 letter, discussed Pope Benedict XVI’s publication of the Apostolic Constitution “Anglicanorum coetibus” with CNA in a phone interview on Monday. The document was released last year and addressed measures planned by the Vatican to allow Anglican communities to enter into communion with the Catholic Church.

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That’s my title.

The following video relates to last summer’s Senate bill 3200, but you can be assured that it reflects at least 90% of current legislation, and may be missing other new or expanded provisions that are just as troubling if not moreso.

Here goes (HT to a supportive e-mailer):

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The Associated Press’s timing couldn’t have been better for those who still want to pretend that Social Security is really not in serious trouble. Stephen Ohlemacher’s item (”Social Security to start cashing Uncle Sam’s IOUs”) originally appeared on Sunday, in the midst of most of the major college basketball conference tournament championships, then followed by the evening’s announcement of the selections for the NCAA Division I Men’s basketball tournament. (The AP has issued minor revisions several times since its original appearance, up to and including today.)

The wire service’s timing, while convenient for the Washington establishment, as it minimizes the possibility of distractions from its statist health care obsession, couldn’t have been worse for those of us who wish the American people would get a grip on the gravity of the situation — which is why I saved this post for today.

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In his archdiocesan column carried at First Things (HT Catholic News Agency), the Denver archbishop reaches the only available conclusion, while clarifying who gets to speak for Catholics (bolds are mine throughout):

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The Labor Department’s March 5 report was worse than it appeared; the latest health care wrinkle would damage things further.

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Note: This column originally appeared at Pajamas Media and was teased here at BizzyBlog on Saturday.

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From Memphis:

Mar 13, 2010 / 01:52 pm

On March 27, local participants will be riding for homeless families in Memphis, Tennessee for the Dorothy Day Family Fun Ride. The Dorothy Day House of Hospitality, a transitional housing ministry that allows homeless families to stay together as a family while they rebuild their lives, is hosting this first annual fundraising event.

“The Dorothy Day Family Fun Ride is a chance for families to have fun together, riding their bikes with other families and/or individual participants at Overton Park, while raising money for this important ministry” said Michael Synk, ride director.

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The Associated Press’s 10:33 p.m. rendition of its coverage of the ongoing James Sikes “Runaway Prius” saga begins with the following headline and opening pair of paragraphs:

The problem is that the AP report’s complete content, in combination with properly understood English and the relevant definitions at the always-handy dictionary.com, make it clear that Sikes’s lawyer hasn’t “rebutted” anything.

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The Associated Press seems to have two unwritten rules on how and when to write stories about leftist controversies and setbacks:

Rule Number 1. Do little or nothing with the story until you can figure out a way to make center-right critics or victors look like the bad guys.

Rule Number 2. If you’re thinking about covering the story any other way, refer to Rule Number 1.

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