Quote of the Day I

Daniel Greenfield, writing in the Canada Free Press:

Part of the fun of living under the Obama Administration is having your news headlines keep turning into April Fool’s Day.

Perhaps it is fun if you are in Canada. Here, not so much.

Quote of the Day

Weston Kosova, writing here in The Gaggle at the Newsweek website, concerning President Obama winning the Nobel Peace Prize.

No matter what you think of Obama, the man has done nothing, at all, to deserve it.

There isn't much wiggle room in that statement.

"The gaggle" is what the White House press corps calls the daily briefing at which no videography is permitted. Newsweek magazine is published by the same folks who publish The Washington Post - not exactly a conservative newspaper.

Phony Prize

President Barack Hussein Obama has exactly one accomplishment in foreign policy. This one accomplishment has been sufficient to earn him the Nobel Peace Prize. Seen from the icy shores of Norway, it is an amazing accomplishment.

The President's only foreign policy accomplishment: he is not George W. Bush. His foreign policy, unlike that of Bush, is not muscular.

As we noted a few days ago, the world prefers that an American president be a wuss. To date, our new President has completely fulfilled the world's wishes in this regard.

Here is more evidence that the Obama administration will be a replay of the Carter administration. The last American President to win this dubious "honor" was Jimmy Carter.

Carter is still honored by the international community, whereas at home he is widely viewed as the worst president of the last 70 years. Carter was even worse than Nixon, who at least had some accomplishments to balance against his demonstrated shortcomings.

Thoughts on Afghanistan

Much to read and ponder about our long involvement in Afghanistan. I'm not sure any foreign power has successfully pacified Afghanistan; neither the Brits nor the Soviets managed it in the last 200 years.

One thing we must not do is be half-hearted about our involvement; that was the pre-surge Bush mistake in Iraq. As General Colin Powell was heard to observe, you either go in with overwhelming force and win, or don't go in at all. I cannot imagine our current President making that kind of major commitment. Anything in between wastes money and lives in a meat grinder stalemate.

As long as the Taliban and al Qaeda have a safe haven in the tribal areas of Pakistan, there is no way to defeat them. If by some chance Pakistan gets control of those areas, expect the bad guys to move somewhere else, maybe Iran or Somalia or Tajikistan or even Venezuela.

I can imagine the US chasing these trouble-makers all over the globe, more-or-less indefinitely. This is not a pleasant thought.

Quote of the Day

Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia, quoted in The Wall Street Journal, commenting on the high quality of counsel presenting cases before the court:

Lawyers, after all, don’t produce anything. They enable other people to produce and to go on with their lives efficiently and in an atmosphere of freedom. That’s important, but it doesn’t put food on the table and there have to be other people who are doing that. And I worry that we are devoting too many of our very best minds to this enterprise.

Justice Scalia, I believe you are correct.

Barone: Bush Helps Obama

Political guru Michael Barone, writing for the Washington Examiner, has a very interesting take on the current political dynamic. His basic point is that voters aren't so much enthused about Obama's program as they were turned off by Bush's failures. It is an interesting argument, he summarizes the failure of what he calls Narrative A, a supposed enthusiasm for big government solutions:

The unions' anti-secret-ballot bill is going nowhere, and neither, it seems, is carbon emissions legislation. The stimulus package is widely regarded as a failure and the Democrats' various health care bills are not winning majorities in polls. If anything, Americans are more leery of big government than they were a few years ago.

So, how did Obama get to where he is today, elected but with little public support? Barone calls this Narrative B:

In this narrative, Democrats' big congressional majorities owe more to perceived Republican incompetence and to the $400 million that labor unions poured into Democratic campaigns than to any change in fundamental attitudes toward the balance between markets and government.

IMHO the former Republican Congress was incompetent; it spent money like a teenager with a new credit card. I am less willing to view Bush's slow response to Hurricane Katrina as a failure. If a city sits below sea level near the ocean, I believe it is that city's responsibility to protect its people and property against flooding. For it to rely on the Federal government as "first responder" is the equivalent of a healthy adult living on welfare instead of working.

The entire article is worth your time.

Verrrrry Interestinggg, But Not Funny

That's what Laugh-In's Arte Johnson would say, in a mock German accent and uniform, when faced with some odd occurrence. I have that same reaction to the appearance in The New York Times and The Washington Post of opinion columns critical of the President.

Lucianne.com provides the links to a Bob Herbert column in the Times and a Richard Cohen column in the Post, both of which ask in various ways the question "Is the President up to the job?" Neither seems very sure the answer is "yes."

We needed the MSM to figure this out a year ago, when there was still a chance to influence the election. I was not confident McCain would do a good job as president; I was confident Obama would do a mediocre one.

If a semi-retired Management professor living in rural America can figure this out by reading the candidates' vitae, our nation's premier talking heads should have been able to figure it out with their access to the actual people.

I begin to suspect our opinion leaders did figure it out, but hoped they were wrong. Once again, the MainStream Media dropped the ball.

Domestication, Anyone?

Interested in how species become domesticated? How the wolf became the dog, the bison became the cow? See this article in New Scientist, about experimental attempts at accelerated domestication, mostly done in what is now Russia. The article reports rapid domestication of silver foxes, wild rats, and mink, among others. Fascinating stuff.

Ireland Says "Yes"

In case you haven't been paying attention, Ireland has voted again on the draft treaty that will give the European Union central government more power. As this Wall Street Journal article reports, this time Ireland voted "yes."

That gives the Treaty of Lisbon new hope of being approved by all EU members, and taking effect. The reason given for this change in attitude: Ireland is having a worse recession than most EU countries, and looks to the EU for help.

Broder: the Real Obama Will Stand Up

David Broder is the long-time dean of the Washington political commentariat. Today he weighs in on health care and the President's options. Writing for The Washington Post, Broder observes that the health care issue will require President Obama to finally go on record as to whether he is a moderate or a liberal. This is an issue which, according to Broder, Obama has been trying with some success to fudge.

Broder believes the Republicans' choice to oppose the reform forces Obama into the hands of the liberals in his party. Broder's views are always worth considering.

On the other hand, I think it possible some of the Senate's Blue Dog Democrats may not vote for it. They can and do read the opinion polls, which show that we Americans oppose the plan. And of course in this context we have to remember the salience of the First Law of Politics: Get Reelected.

California: A View from the UK

One of the continuing stories COTTonLINE is following is the political and economic debacle in California. Take a look at this long, thoughtful article about California's problems, written by Paul Harris for The Guardian of London.

It is short on answers, but then, aren't we all? It at least does a good job of painting a current picture of some of the worst problems there. It however touts the work of Van Jones, which is a real reason to doubt the judgment of the author.

Some Fun

The London Telegraph puts forward a fascinating piece of conspiracy theory. They print a photo of Iranian leader Mahmoud Ahmadinejad holding up his identity papers which reflect, they claim, that his family was Iranian Jewish, named Sabourjian, but converted to Islam after his birth.

The article's authors argue that having Jewish ancestry could explain his vitriolic attacks on Israel,:

Experts last night suggested Mr Ahmadinejad's track record for hate-filled attacks on Jews could be an overcompensation to hide his past.
Ali Nourizadeh, of the Centre for Arab and Iranian Studies, said: "This aspect of Mr Ahmadinejad's background explains a lot about him. (snip) By making anti-Israeli statements he is trying to shed any suspicions about his Jewish connections. He feels vulnerable in a radical Shia society."

Having seen what Photoshop artists can do to change photos, I accept no photograph as proof of anything. It may be true, it may be nonsense, either way it is fun.

Hat tip to Scott Johnson of Power Line for the link.

Quote of the Day II

John R. Miller, writing opinion for The New York Times, about the world's view of the U.S.:

The world simply distrusts the big guy on the block, and the only way to address this is to stop behaving like a superpower. A much better option, of course, would be to pay less attention to foreign opinion surveys and more to our own ideals and interests.

Nicely said. The whole article is worth your time.

Dad Was Right

I spent my early childhood in Hollywood, CA, where my father had lived since the end of World War I. I had the usual kid's awe of movie stars but my father pooh-poohed such notions. "They are a bunch of degenerates" he would say, without ever being explicit.

I always figured the behavior of the movie colony offended his Midwest moral and political sensibilities and let it go at that. Later I learned some of the details of the Fatty Arbuckle scandal, the uses of the casting room couch, and the Red scare and was sure I was right. Dad was a prude and show folk were fast and loose, slept around, and some were Marxists too.

Recently I began to think dear old Dad was right, that I had been too forgiving. What has convinced me is Hollywood's reaction to the arrest in Switzerland of Director Roman Polanski to serve the sentence for a 30 year old conviction of molesting a 13 year old girl.

Eugene Robinson, writing for RealClearPolitics, documents the Hollywood luminaries who have risen to Polanski's defense. Polanski is an unrepentant child molester - what's to defend? It appears the only heinous sin in Hollywood's value system is naming the names of fellow Communists to a Congressional committee.

Quote of the Day I

An otherwise unidentified Georgian in a letter to Jay Nordlinger (scroll down) of National Review Online, with his answer to the question "what would Jesus drive?"

Like any carpenter, a full-sized American pickup truck, long bed, trailer hitch, locking toolbox (he hung out with thieves), crew cab, with the gunrack modified for fishing rods.

Don't forget the pile of receipts and permits on the truck's dashboard. He might have a snuff can in his hip pocket and wear a "gimme" cap too.

A Bad Bet

The world likes a weak American president, but treats him poorly. The International Olympics Committee just gave President Obama a rude slap. See this Associated Press article from Yahoo News, which lays out the grim news for Obama:

Chicago was knocked out in the first round, despite in-person lobbying by President Barack Obama — one of the most shocking defeats ever handed down by the International Olympic Committee.

They give the details of the voting rounds; the loss wasn't even close. BO would have been much smarter to have stayed home:

The final result was decisive: Rio beat Madrid by 66 votes to 32. Chicago got just 18 votes in the first round, with Tokyo squeezing into the second round with 22. Madrid was leading after the first round with 28 votes, while Rio had 26.

In the second round, Tokyo was eliminated with just 20 votes. Madrid got 29, qualifying it for the final round face-off with Rio, which by then already had a strong lead, with 46 votes.

Had Obama succeeded in getting the Olympics for Chicago it would have been a major victory. Losing decisively is a major loss for him, any way you look at it.

You got to know when to hold 'em, know when to fold 'em,
Know when to walk away and know when to run.*

Obama is not a skilled gambler. The Gambler-in-Chief couldn't see this was one of those "fold 'em" hands.

*Lyrics of The Gambler written by Donald Alan Schlitz, Jr., made famous by Kenny Rogers.

Quote of the Day II

George Will, writing for RealClearPolitics, about climate change skepticism:

What makes skeptics skeptical is the accumulating evidence that theories predicting catastrophe from man-made climate change are impervious to evidence. The theories are unfalsifiable, at least in the "short run." And the "short run" is defined as however many decades must pass until the evidence begins to fit the hypotheses.

In other words, you cannot argue with a true believer. Will can really turn a phrase; I love "impervious to evidence" and "unfalsifiable."

Balz: Independents Lean Right

Dan Balz, who analyzes politics for The Washington Post, is probably this generation's David Broder - the guru of national politics. Go see his article which crunches the numbers of several polls and concludes that while Republicans haven't gained a lot of ground, and Democrats haven't lost a lot, what has happened is a shift in the attitudes of independents. Balz says:

In the first three months of this year, Gallup found that 17 percent of all adults were independents who leaned toward the Democrats, and 11 percent independents who leaned toward the Republicans. Gallup's third quarter data showed that 15 percent of adults were Republican-leaning independents, and 13 percent Democratic-leaning independents.

Balz concludes:

If Obama's policies are causing independents, who were critical to Democratic successes in 2006 and 2008, to look more favorably toward the Republican Party, that should be cause for concern at Democratic Party headquarters.

The entire article is worth your time.

Food for Thought

Here is an interesting article on the Miller-McCune website about the extent to which Americans are geographically segregating themselves by race, religion, political party, lifestyle, etc. It is mostly a review of two books concerning this trend: The Big Sort by journalist Bill Bishop and Whitopia: An Improbable Journey to the Heart of White America by Rich Benjamin.

Benjamin, an African-American, says of this racial sorting trend:

There are forces that push people out [of cities and inner suburbs], like diversity and crumbling infrastructure and high home prices. And there are pull factors, like more home for your dollar [in the whitopias], beautiful natural amenities and safety, and the perceived comfort that comes with homogeneity.

Bishop sees pluses and minuses:

The good part is you get this incredible variety from place to place; places zoom off into their own cultural trajectories. But what happens is people lose touch with those who disagree with them. What happens is a nation incapable of compromise; you have this kind of national stalemate.

A "national stalemate" is not a bad description of our current condition. Increasingly, congressional districts are "safe" for one party or the other, and therefore elect more extreme members of the "safe" party. Result: no legislative compromise, leading to a national stalemate as the "blue" states and the "red" states cannot agree. If Benjamin is right about geographic segregation, should we rename those the brown states and the white states?

Quote of the Day I

Ted Nugent, writing for Human Events:

Jimmy Carter is either a racist or an idiot or both. Probably both, tinged with a little senility.

Only a little senility? Carter's ascription of racism to others is probably a psychological projection of his own racist feelings.