The Lockerbie bomber has left Scotland on board a plane bound for Libya after being freed from prison on compassionate grounds.Abdelbaset Ali al-Megrahi, 57, was jailed in 2001 for the atrocity which claimed 270 lives in 1988.The decision to release Megrahi, who has terminal prostate cancer, was made by the Scottish Government.US president Barack Obama said the decision was “a mistake” and some US victims’ families reacted angrily.Some 189 Americans were among those who died in the explosion.Megrahi

“…We’ve got a budget deficit that’s important, we’ve got a trade deficit that’s critical, but what I worry most is our empathy deficit. Interview in O Magazine with Barack Obama. Perhaps this is not only a US national concern but a global crisis: people are dividing into camps and fighting one another with no mention [...]

Moderate Republican Doug Gross has released another 2010 gubernatorial campaign poll through his group, the Iowa First Foundation. Gross, who served as a top aide to former Republican Gov. Terry Branstad and was his party’s 2002 gubernatorial nominee, has been releasing the results of his latest round of surveys, conducted July 23-26, this week. Today, he released favorability numbers (pdf) for Gov. Chet Culver, former governors Tom Vilsack and Branstad, and a slew of Republicans who could be on the gubernatorial primary ballot next year.

The  has left Scotland on board a plane bound for Libya after being freed from prison on compassionate grounds. Abdelbaset Ali al-Megrahi, 57, was jailed in 2001 for the atrocity which claimed 270 lives in 1988. The decision to release Megrahi, who has terminal prostate cancer, was made by the Scottish Government. US president Barack Obama said the decision was “a mistake” and some US victims’ families reacted angrily. Some 189 Americans were among those who died in the explosion.

I’ve said it before—our charismatic president could sell fleas to a dog. And the dog would walk away believing he got the best deal ever. President George W. Bush brought us pricey “compassionate conservatism.” Now his successor wants to expand socialized medicine by quoting, according to Politico , a Rosh Hashanah prayer—“We are God’s partners in matters of life and death.” Obama used the line during a faith-oriented teleconference . First we heard healthcare reform must happen so the uninsured could get treatment.

AP – President Barack Obama guaranteed Thursday that his health care overhaul will win approval and said any bill he signs will have to reduce rapidly rising costs, protect consumers from insurance abuses and provide affordable choices to the uninsured — while not adding to the federal deficit.