Amateurs and other Democratic Problems

The Speech Obama Hasn't Given

It all seems rather mad, doesn't it? The decision to become involved militarily in the Libyan civil war couldn't take place within a less hospitable context. The U.S. is reeling from spending and deficits, we're already in two wars, our military has been stretched to the limit, we're restive at home, AND NO ONE, REALLY, SEES PRESIDENT OBAMA AS THE KIND OF LEADER YOU'D FOLLOW OVER THE TOP. "THIS WAY, MEN!" "NO, I THINK I'LL STAY IN MY TRENCH." People didn't hire him to start battles but to end them. They didn't expect him to open new fronts. Did he not know this?

He has no happy experience as a rallier of public opinion and a leader of great endeavors; the central initiative of his presidency, the one that gave shape to his leadership, health care, is still unpopular and the cause of continued agitation. When he devoted his entire first year to it, he seemed off point and out of touch. This was followed by the BP oil spill, which made him look snakebit. NOW HE SEEMS INCOMPETENT AND OUT OF HIS DEPTH IN FOREIGN AND MILITARY AFFAIRS. He is more observed than followed, or perhaps I should say you follow him with your eyes and not your heart. So it's funny he'd feel free to launch and lead a war, which is what this confused and uncertain military action may become.

WHAT WAS HE THINKING? WHAT IS HE THINKING?

Which gets me to Mr. Obama's speech, the one he hasn't given. I cannot for the life of me see how an American president can launch a serious military action without a full and formal national address in which HE EXPLAINS TO THE AMERICAN PEOPLE WHY HE IS DOING WHAT HE IS DOING, WHY IT IS RIGHT, AND WHY IT IS VERY MUCH IN THE NATIONAL INTEREST.....

http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052748704604704576221142167651286.html

Peggy Noonan always a good read hits the nail on the head here. The more we know about Obama, the more nervous we all get.



GE: Obama’s favorite and a zero tax payer

The company reported worldwide profits of $14.2 billion, and said $5.1 billion of the total came from its operations in the United States.

ITS AMERICAN TAX BILL? NONE. IN FACT, G.E. CLAIMED A TAX BENEFIT OF $3.2 BILLION…..

http://www.nytimes.com/2011/03/25/business/economy/25tax.html?_r=3&partner=rss&emc=rss

In case you wondered what crony capitalism was all about.



Obama's Achilles' Heel?

There are THREE SIGNIFICANT ISSUES OR FACTORS THAT WILL KEEP PRESIDENT OBAMA FROM FORGING A COALITION OF ALMOST-EVERYBODY, à la Reagan in 1984 or Johnson in 1964, in the 2012 election. THE FIRST IS THE CONTINUING WEAKNESS OF THE ECONOMY. Obviously, jobs remain a problem – and this weakness is also manifested in the rising cost of gasoline and food. The second is the president's health care bill. And the third is the budget deficit.

For a while, I had thought that the economy would be the president’s biggest problem, followed by health care and the deficit. But while the economy will still to be a drag on Obama (Wells Fargo predicts 8.2 percent unemployment by the end of 2012 while the consensus of Wall Street Journal economists puts it at 7.7 percent on Election Day – both estimates are higher than anything we've seen in a postwar election), I AM INCREASINGLY OF THE OPINION THAT THE BUDGET DEFICIT MIGHT BE THE NUMBER ONE PROBLEM FOR THIS PRESIDENT IN HIS REELECTION BID.

This runs contrary to many statistical models of presidential elections, which will tell you that the structural forces that shape outcomes are the number of terms of his party in office, casualties in foreign wars, and the performance of the economy. However, I generally have a low opinion of these models, and I think they are quite poorly suited for dealing with the politics of deficits. Here are two reasons why:….

http://www.weeklystandard.com/blogs/morning-jay-obamas-achilles-heel_555476.html
For you political junkies who are glued to what will happen in the 2012 election, this is a good read.



Critics: Iowa terror drill portrays immigration foes as killers

Foes of illegal immigration are up in arms over plans for a weekend disaster exercise in western Iowa with A FICTITIOUS SCENARIO IN WHICH YOUNG WHITE SUPREMACISTS SHOOT DOZENS OF PEOPLE AMID RISING TENSIONS INVOLVING RACIAL MINORITIES AND ILLEGAL IMMIGRANTS.


The exercise is planned for Saturday at Treynor High School in Pottawattamie County and will involve more than 300 people, confirmed Doug Reed, the lead exercise planner for the county's emergency management agency. Some 30 to 40 "victims" will be transported to area hospitals. HE SAID A TERRORISM SCENARIO IS REQUIRED BY FEDERAL OFFICIALS FOR THE EXERCISE TO BE ELIGIBLE FOR FUNDING.


The exercise scenario describes shootings occurring after rising tensions in the community because of an influx of minorities, Reed said. The newcomers, some who are American citizens and some who are illegal immigrants, were to have moved into a rural area from urban areas in search of more-affordable living. The newcomers are not welcomed by racial extremists, and controversy sweeps the community, he said.....

http://www.desmoinesregister.com/article/20110324/NEWS/110324009/Critics-Iowa-terror-drill-portrays-immigration-foes-as-killers?odyssey=tab

Once again liberals don’t seem to want to acknowledge the 800 pound gorilla in the room.



ACLU: The Real History

Indeed, few leftist organizations in existence today can compete with the ACLU in terms of DEMONSTRATED HOSTILITY TOWARD WHAT THE DECLARATION OF INDEPENDENCE DESCRIBES AS "CERTAIN UNALIENABLE RIGHTS" with which Americans are "endowed by their Creator."

Consider the doublespeak inherent throughout THE "PROGRESSIVE" GOLIATH'S FLOWERY SELF-REPRESENTATION:

The ACLU is our nation's guardian of liberty, working daily in courts, legislatures and communities to defend and preserve the individual rights and liberties that the Constitution and laws of the United States guarantee everyone in this country.

NOW CONTRAST THAT DEPICTION WITH ACLU FOUNDER ROGER BALDWIN'S CANDID VISION:

I AM FOR SOCIALISM, DISARMAMENT, AND, ULTIMATELY, FOR ABOLISHING THE STATE ITSELF... I seek the social ownership of property, the abolition of the propertied class, and the sole control of those who produce wealth. COMMUNISM IS THE GOAL…..

http://townhall.com/columnists/mattbarber/2011/03/25/aclu_communism_is_the_goal/page/full/

If you thought the ACLU was a bunch of Communists, you may have been correct.

Optimism vs Pessimism

If you look at optimists and pessimists what you find is that optimists tend to live longer, rise higher in their companies, and get better grades in school with one exception. They have found that optimists tend to get lower grades and pessimist get higher grades in legal studies. That's right, if you want a great lawyer, get one who is really pessimistic.

http://www.futurevisions.org/Law_pessm_opt.htm

But if you are like most people who would rather not be depressed, studies have shown that belief in God helps to overcome anxiety and relieves stress.

University of Toronto psychologists reported last year that "believing in God can help block anxiety and minimize stress," their research showcasing "distinct brain differences" between believers and nonbelievers.

So nothing is worse than a lawyer who is also an atheist. Explains a lot about the ACLU.

Lessons from all over

Lesson from PA12

The Democrats are crowing about their holding on to John Murtha's old seat. I think the lesson from this election is that if you have a 2-1 registration advantage and you campaign as a Democrat who is against the Obama Agenda (against healthcare, cap and trade, etc), you have a chance.

Other lessons from PA.

Arlen Spector lost the Democrat primary even though he had President Obama's backing and the backing of the rest of the Democrat establishment. I'm not sure if this is bad news for incumbents, or simply bad news for turncoats. In either case it isn't good news for President Obama.

The Christmas Bomber and Intelligence failures

The Senate Intelligence Committee report identifies fourteen “points of failure.” Failure No. 2 is the decision not to put Abdulmutallab on the “no fly” list, which the intel committee attributes to “the language of the watchlisting standard, the manner in which it was being interpreted at the time, or both.”

So what happened? Why was Abdulmutallab not on the no fly list? We can thank the ACLU who in 2008 led a campaign to make it more difficult for the government to put names on the list. I guess those who would trade security for liberty also end up with neither.

A Question about Democrats

After seeing the Democrats pass a 2000 page healthcare bill without reading it (Nancy Pelosi's famous "We need to pass it so we can see what's in it") and now seeing both Eric Holder and Janet Napolitano criticize the new Arizona Immigration law but then admitting they hadn't read it, you begin to wonder is the reason the Dems don't do much reading because the don't want to spoil their liberal preconceived notions, or that they aren't intellectually curious enough to read something they might not agree with.

I at least appears that the Democrat party agrees with Don Quixote when he said "Facts are the enemy of truth."


Richard Lindzen says it is time to abandon climate skepticism

Richard Siegmund Lindzen is an American atmospheric physicist and Alfred P. Sloan Professor of Meteorology at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Lindzen is known for his work in the dynamics of the middle atmosphere, atmospheric tides and ozone photochemistry. He has published more than 200 scientific papers and books. He recently suggested that it is time to abandon climate skepticism or at least the term skeptic.

“One suggestion I’d make is we stop accepting the term ‘skeptic,’” Lindzen said. “As far as I can tell, skepticism involves doubts about a plausible proposition. I think current global warming alarm does not represent a plausible proposition.”

Lindzen told the audience the alarmists have simply failed to prove their case.

“For 20 years –more than 20 years unfortunately, 22 by now, since ’88 – of repetition, escalation of claims does not make it more plausible. “Quite the contrary,” he continued. “I would suggest the failure to prove the case of 20 years makes the case even less plausible, as does the evidence of ClimateGate and other instances.”

In fact, the claims of the AGW crowd that seem to link everything even contradictory things to being consistent with Anthropogenic Global Warming doesn't make the theory more robust but less robust. A robust theory explains why something happens and what can't happen. AGW after 22 years explain almost nothing and reject even less.

Meanwhile, back in the Jungle

The plan by Democratic Senator John Kerry and independent Senator Joseph Lieberman to reduce U.S. carbon dioxide emissions that contribute to global warming is not the subject of any committee hearings; it's not being debated on the Senate floor; it's not even been formally introduced. (Reuters)

Blumenthal claims he misspoke

Connecticut Attorney General and Senate Democratic hopeful Richard Blumenthal held a press conference yesterday claiming he only inadvertently said -- repeatedly -- that he served alongside America's bravest and most selfless in the Vietnam War. He explained that he misspoke and then said that he wouldn't let a few mistakes on his part allow others to disparage his record of service.

http://www.nypost.com/p/news/local/time_for_war_story_windbag_to_surrender_nIlF6rQQDdjwci5eNkccEM#ixzz0oNW95hvs

Now one of two things are true about Blumenthal. Either he is a liar or he is delusional. In either case, the people of Connecticut have a choice to make on whether this is the kind of man they want to send to the Senate of the United States of America.

Update. The latest Rasmussen Reports telephone survey of Likely Voters in Connecticut finds Blumenthal with just a three-point advantage over Linda McMahon, 48% to 45%. Two weeks ago, he led the Ms. McMahon by 13 percentage points.

http://www.rasmussenreports.com/public_content/politics/elections2/electio

I think what makes Blumenthal's statements really unacceptable is he represents himself as someone who served in Vietnam when the story the NYT broke showed he did everything in his power to avoid that service and succeeded.

Future of the Euro and the EU

The Euro continues to decline in value and this morning as I write this stands at 1.224. Here is an article that see the Euro as a symbol of the entire EU experiment.

"The European experiment has failed and is only artificially being kept alive on a life-support system of taxpayer-funded bailouts. The euro is now a zombie currency: only the political will of the European nomenklatura keeps it nominally in existence. That is the exact reverse of the proper relationship between a currency and the state: the currency should be the expression of a healthy economy testifying to the legitimacy of the government it represents. Instead, a synthetic European super-state is showing its non-viability and moribundity through the implosion of its currency."

http://blogs.telegraph.co.uk/news/geraldwarner/100040178/the-eu-is-as-doomed-as-its-currency-lets-get-out-from-under-this-collapsing-monstrosity/