Obama, America and the Arab Spring

Cairo statement disavowed after 16 Hours

Here’s the timeline of what happened

Was the Cairo and Libya violence totally unexpected?

It doesn’t matter.  President Obama has bigger fish to fry: he’s running for reelection.

The attack on the U.S. consulate was the second this year. In June, suspected Islamic militants detonated an improvised explosive device at the same compound.  It is no wonder why the MSM doesn’t want to talk about what actually happened.  It looks like the Commander-in-chief was asleep at the wheel.

What’s wrong with the Cairo Embassy’s statement?

Sen. Jon Kyl (R-Ariz), the second-ranking Republican in the Senate, said Wednesday that a U.S. embassy statement criticizing an anti-Islam film trailer for fostering violence was akin to blaming a woman for her rape.

Obama agrees with Romney on the Cairo Statement

Of course you won’t hear it in those words, but here is what is now being said by the Administration.

“The statement was not cleared with anyone in Washington. It was sent as ‘This is what we are putting out,’” the official said. “We replied and said this was not a good statement and that it needed major revisions. The next email we received from Embassy Cairo was ‘We just put this out.’”…

It appears the MSM wants to talk about process rather than substance because on substance there is no disagreement and it is very bad for the Obama Administration.  On process the left can say that Romney should have waited before issuing his statement.  Which are you hearing more about? 

MSM looks at Romney’s statement

The old complaint about Romney was that he didn’t talk about foreign policy. The newly minted complaint about Romney was that he did talk about foreign policy. He gets it coming and going, and everywhere in between.

This certainly will make the debate of foreign policy much more entertaining. 

Libya aftermath:  Obama delays schedule by 45 minutes

And this was his campaign schedule.  We can see he was really concerned about this. 

Secretary Clinton:  How could this have happened?

Secretary of State Hillary Clinton asked: “How could this happen in a country we helped liberate, in a city we helped save from destruction?”

That single line is the most damning indictment of Hillary Clinton’s State Department that could ever be penned. It demonstrates her complete lack of knowledge about the region, her failure to anticipate security threats, and worst of all, her willful ignorance about the Islamists that she and President Obama trusted to take over Libya and Egypt.

“How could this happen?”

Here’s how it could have happened.  In 2008, the American people elected a complete amateur to be President of the United States.  The rest is history.

Rasmussen:  Romney back in the lead

The Rasmussen Reports daily Presidential Tracking Poll for Thursday shows Mitt Romney attracting support from 47% of voters nationwide, while President Obama earns 46% of the vote. Three percent (3%) prefer some other candidate, and five percent (5%) are undecided.

Romney is now supported by 18% of white Democrats. 

Romney has solidified the GOP vote and holds a 77-point lead among Republicans. That’s slightly larger than Obama’s 72-point advantage among Democrats. 

When “leaners” are included, it’s Romney 49% and Obama 47%. Leaners are those who initially indicate no preference for either candidate but express a preference for one of them in a follow-up question. 

Sebelius found guilty of violating the Hatch Act

Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius violated the Hatch Act in February when she called for re-electing President Obama during an official department appearance, the Office of Special Counsel said Wednesday.

The finding could possibly cost Sebelius her job. 

But she claims now that any infraction was minor and a mistake.  Obama can also declare no punishment for her violation.  Any bets on what will happen to her? 

The most transparent administration in history has another refusal to testify

Rep. Darrell Issa, chairman of the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee, issued a statement Wednesday afternoon regarding the testimony of Morgan Wright. Wright is the Obama administration’s Director of Strategic Initiatives in the Department of Energy. According to Issa’s statement, Wright has refused to appear for a subpoena in the investigation into Solyndra, the failed “green” tech company that lost more than half a billion taxpayer dollars in the form of a government-backed loan approved by the Obama administration.

Hey no biggie, it was only $500 million that the taxpayers are out.  In the era of trillion dollar deficits, this is chump change.

US median income lowest since 1995

Now what was Obama’s plan to remedy this?

Poverty in America

Some 80 percent of poor adults and 96 percent of poor children were never hungry at any time during the year because they could not afford food. The average consumption of protein, vitamins, and minerals is virtually the same for poor and middle-class children and is well above recommended norms in most cases. Some 80 percent of poor households have air conditioning; nearly two-thirds have cable or satellite TV; half have a personal computer; 43 percent have Internet access; and one-third have a wide-screen plasma or LCD TV. 

Whatever happened to Occupy WallStreet?

Just thought I would ask about it?  Do you think Elizabeth Warren is happy or sad that it has disappeared?

Pro-Gay Marriage Democratic Candidates in Rhode Island Lose

Tonight’s Democratic primaries were not kind to gay marriage supporters, who claimed just one of six key state senate races. Pro-same sex nuptials candidate Adam Satchell scored a decisive victory over Senator Michael Pinga. But five other gay marriage backers – David Gorman, Gene Dyszlewski, Laura Pisaturo, Lewis Pryeor, and Robert DaSilva — lost. . . .

This despite Colorado’s Tim Gill heavy donations for the losers.  Pro-traditional marriage solons control the RI’s State Senate.

A bad day for Obama

Romney vs Obama on 9/11

Compare Romney’s first tweet, to Obama’s first tweet on 9/11.

Is it a sign?

Is this a sign that Obama will lose in November?

Romney:  Cairo apology a disgrace

Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney is condemning the Obama administration's apologetic response to September 11 attacks on United States diplomatic missions in Egypt and Libya.  The Libyan attack, in Benghazi, reportedly left an American official dead.

An overseas embassy is considered American soil.  So an angry mob of Islamist radicals broke into American soil, tore down the American flag and wave a banner of Al Qaeda on the anniversary of the 9/11 attack and the “experienced” foreign policy president apologized to them.  We need to get Mitt Romney in the White House post haste. 

Obama lead among Jewish in a major decline

Obama has a 46-44 percent lead over Romney in the TIPP poll. That means Obama is suffering from a decline in support throughout the electorate from his 2008 victory when he won 53 percent of the vote. But the president's loss of approximately 25 percent of Jewish voters this year is not matched by a similar decline in any other demographic group. 

the TIPP poll shows him threatening to rival Ronald Reagan's modern record set in 1980 when he won 39 percent of Jewish votes, the most ever by Republican since World War One.

Obama to Israel:  Drop Dead

It appears Obama won’t have time to meet with Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu as he will be campaigning.  I thought Obama had a lot of experience in foreign affairs.  This is the equivalent of a girl turning you down for a date because she has to wash her hair.

Obama’s convention bounce is now gone

It only lasted 5 days to completely disappear. 

Forward or Forewarned?

Obama’s campaign slogan of forward is being scorned by Romney with the changed to forewarned.  Forward works from progressives because like hope and change it is totally fluid.  Forward means nothing unless you tell people where you are going, which Obama is not doing.  

“Cannon to the right of them, Cannon to the left of them, Cannon in front of them  Volleyed and thunder'd; Storm'd at with shot and shell, Boldly they rode and well,  Into the jaws of Death, Into the mouth of Hell, Rode the six hundred.”  A stirring poem giving us an example of what “Forward” can mean.

The Future with Obama as President for a second term

In 1999 and 2000, when Spain adopted the euro as its currency, interest rates fell to historic lows as the European Central Bank (similar to the U.S. Federal Reserve) made money easily available.  So Spain's banks, its property developers, and the everyday home-buyers (with prodding from the government) embarked on a frenzy of commercial and residential building and buying.  From 1996 to 2007, Spanish property values tripled.

 

Spain has a massive social safety net which accounts for a vast a majority of its government spending -- spending that absorbs nearly 46% of the country's annual economic output or GDP.  Further, the nation's unfunded long-term social commitments account for more than 15 times its yearly GDP.  Despite this, the Spanish government embarked on one of the most ambitious green energy programs in Europe, pouring untold billions of euros into solar and wind energy.

In the meantime, because of rigid labor laws, union influence, and government regulations which prevent wage reductions and mandate ever-increasing benefits, the Spanish unit labor cost has risen by 40% (as compared to Germany), making Spanish industry uncompetitive.  Many have, by necessity, moved their operations overseas.  Nonetheless, large-scale immigration, much of it illegal, continued unabated through 2008, further exacerbating the cost of government.

Does all this sound familiar?

Obama:  Did he avoid a Depression or is he causing it?

And interesting article on what really happened back in 1929 to 1933.  Rather than a lack of government action turning a recession into a depression, it was government action that did it and that action is strangely similar to the policies of Barack Obama.

Obama’s Justice Department and the South Carolina Voter ID Law

Apparently the Obama administration is lying about who disapproved the South Carolina’s Voter ID law.  It wasn’t the career Justice Department employees who objected. 

The Day the Sky Fell for Obama

But that was before 9/11/12, the day the roof fell in. The Chicago teacher strike raised doubts about the President’s domestic leadership, the publication of Bob Woodward’s new book raised questions about his economic management and political skills, and 11 years to the day after the 9/11 attack, radical America-hating Islamists stormed the U.S. embassies in Cairo and Benghazi, assassinated the U.S. ambassador to Libya and three others even as U.S. and Israeli relations sank to another low point.

Add to this that the bounce in the polls is rapidly subsiding and this week is becoming the exact opposite of last week for the President.

Obama’s foreign policy

According to Reuters:  U.S. ambassador to Libya and three other embassy staff were killed in a rocket attack on their car, a Libyan official said, as they were rushed from a consular building stormed by militants denouncing a U.S.-made film insulting the Prophet Mohammad….

The Libyan official said the ambassador, Christopher Stevens, was being driven from the consulate building to a safer location when gunmen opened fire.

This is going to require a big response by the Obama administration.  Perhaps Hillary should apologize in person.

Update:  Two marines died defending the embassy as well.

Chicago Teachers multitask:  They strike and party at the same time

On the second day of the strike the teachers appear to be ready to “party.”  Not much concern for the children here.

Is Chicago the start of a Democratic Civil War?

What’s brewing is a battle between Democratic Party management (chiefly mayors, backed by a significant portion of the public) and Democratic Party labor, also backed by a significant portion of the public. If there’s a win-win scenario out there, the party and its publics would do well to find it.

Static vs Dynamic evaluation of Romney’s tax reform

The main conclusion is that under plausible assumptions, a proposal along the lines suggested by Governor Romney can both be revenue neutral and keep the net tax burden on high-income individuals about the same. That is, an increase in the tax burden on lower and middle income individuals is not required in order to make the overall plan revenue neutral.

What to make of the polls

The polls in the last week have fluctuated wildly.  What should you make of it?  Are democrats oversampled?  What’s the difference between likely voters and registered voters?  Are likely voters all likely to vote?  

John Fund gives you a good lesson in polling.

Ward Churchill loses again

"The proceedings against Churchill took more than two years and included five separate opportunities for Churchill to present witnesses, cross-examine adverse witnesses, and argue his positions," the Supreme Court (Colorado) opinion said. "It possessed the characteristics of an adversary proceeding and was functionally comparable to a judicial proceeding." For this reason, the justices ruled, the university was acting sufficiently closely to the judicial function of government that it was immune from being sued.

This is a big loss for not only Churchill, but for tenure as well.  It appears that tenure will not protect a professor who commits professional misconduct.

  

Fact Checkers?

There is a good article about WaPa’s fact checkers checking out President Obama on his claims about his abortion voting record.  Here’s what they said about his claim that his opponents were lying saying that he didn’t support giving medical aid to any infant born alive.

The evidence suggests we could have awarded Four Pinocchios to the former Illinois senator for his comments to the Christian Broadcasting Network, but that interview is several years old now, and it’s not the focus of this particular column.

So what did they do?  They awarded the claim no Pinocchios.  It appears they thought this happened so long ago (2008) that the statute of truthfulness limitations ran out.

John Stossel tells the truth about Saint Bill Clinton

John Stossel gives a dose of truth to the myths surrounding Bill Clinton and never mentions Monica Lewinsky.  I think Clinton is getting a lot of credit for be a sane Democrat especially when we compare him to Jimmy Carter and Barack Obama or even Harry Reid and Nancy Pelosi.

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