Please note that you can leave a comment on any of our posts at our Facebook page.  Subscribers can also comment at length at our Angel's Corner Forum.

OUR DAILY SNIPPETS ARE HERE.

THURSDAY,  APRIL 29,  2010

THEY LEARN NOTHING – AT 10:17 P.M. ET:  As we reported earlier, Iran has just been named to a UN panel charged with advancing women's rights.  The appointment is a farce. 

But will Iran try to improve its record now that it's a member of the panel? Apparently not, as Fox reports:

The warning follows recent comments made by a hard-line Iranian cleric, who claimed women dressed in revealing clothing were disturbing young men and causing earthquakes.

Women with suntans are violating Islamic law and will be arrested in Iran, the capital city's police chief was reported by The Daily Telegraph as saying Wednesday.

"The public expects us to act firmly and swiftly if we see any social misbehavior by women, and men, who defy our Islamic values," Brigadier Hossien Sajedinia said.

"In some areas of north Tehran we can see many suntanned women and young girls who look like walking mannequins," he continued. "We are not going to tolerate this situation and will first warn those found in this manner and then arrest and imprison them."

The warning follows recent comments made by a hard-line Iranian cleric, who claimed women dressed in revealing clothing were disturbing young men and causing earthquakes.

A preacher has also told the residents of Iran's capital Tehran to leave the city.

COMMENT:  We await, probably in vain, any response by "feminist" groups in the West, who have a curious lack of interest in the condition of women in countries deemed hostile to the United States.  Gee, you dont think these groups have other priorities, do you?

April 29, 2010    Permalink

COUNTRY FIRST AT 7:55 P.M. ET:   A new survey reveals some fascinating tidbits about Americans, and where they place their loyalties:

NEW YORK (Reuters Life!) – Americans are more loyal to their favorite soft drink, television show or car brand than they are to their employer, according to a joint Reuters/Ipsos poll.

But they are most committed to their country, followed by their family and their doctor.

Scrap the doctor.  Under Obamacare, you'll never get to know him.

"The most surprising thing was that country, which is more abstract, was No. 1, ahead of your family or spouse," said Timothy Keininghan, the author of the poll and a co-author of the book, "Why Loyalty Matters."

And..

Companies did not fare well when it comes to allegiance. Most Americans said they are more committed to their favorite soft drink than the company they work for...

The unkindest cut of all.  Sprite over Sprint.

...When asked how companies could improve loyalty the top answers included offering cash awards to consumers, replacing automatic answering machines with real people, making good products and not raising prices.

COMMENT:  The lack of company loyalty continues a trend.  But part of that trend is the fact that people today feel more mobile than they did 50 years ago.  Working for the local company is not the end-all.

But companies who value experienced workers obviously have some work to do.

April 29, 2010    Permalink

A TRUE OBSCENITY – AT 6:33 P.M. ET:  This is beneath contempt.  Far beneath.  The great Anne Bayefsky, a true heroine of journalism, reports for Fox:

How could a country that stones women to death for adultery possibly be chosen to serve in a leadership role on the U.N.'s Commission on the Status of Women?

The United Nations Economic and Social Council yesterday elected Iran to serve a four-year term -- beginning in 2011 -- on the Commission on the Status of Women (CSW). The U.N. calls the Commission “the principal global policy-making body” on women’s rights and claims it is “dedicated exclusively to gender equality and advancement of women.” Yet Iran was elected by acclamation. It was one of only two candidates for two slots allocated to the Asian regional bloc – in other words, a fixed slate and a done deal.

Among other Iranian qualifications to serve in a leadership role in advancing the rights of women, is the country’s criminal code, which includes punishments like burying women from the waist down and stoning them to death for adultery.

The 2009 U.S. State Department report on Iran outlines other highlights of Iran’s women’s rights credentials. For instance, “spousal rape is not illegal” and when it comes to any other kind of rape “most rape victims did not report the crime to authorities because they feared…punishment for having been raped…Four male witnesses or three men and two women are required for conviction. A woman or man found making a false accusation of rape is subject to 80 lashes.”

Other features of Iran’s legal system, according to the State Department, include: “a man may escape punishment for killing a wife caught in the act of adultery if he is certain she was a consenting partner….[I]n 2008, 50 honor killings were reported during a seven-month period…” In general, “the testimony of two women is equal to that of one man.” Moreover, “a woman has the right to divorce only if her husband signs a contract granting that right, cannot provide for his family, or is a drug addict, insane, or impotent. A husband was not required to cite a reason for divorcing his wife.”

COMMENT:  When will we finally realize that the U.N., except for some medical and food assistance functions, has outlived its usefulness as a peacemaking or human-rights-advancing body?  It's a disgrace.

There is an alternative idea that's been floated – a league of democratic nations that will fill the role originally intended for the U.N., which is now being run by the corrupt of the Earth.  It's worth exploring, but the left is, understandably, cool, as very few "third world" countries would qualify.  And, after all, we must defer to their greater wisdom and suffering. 

No, no.  We're tired of that line.

April 29, 2010     Permalink

CRIST OFF GOP LIST, WIDELY HISSED – AT 6:15 P.M. ET:  Charlie Crist made it official.  He's going Lieberman.  He just announced that he's dropping out of the Republican U.S. Senate primary in Florida to run as an independent.  Other Republicans frowned and said naughty things.  From CNN:

Tampa, Florida (CNN) -- Florida Gov. Charlie Crist's decision to abandon the Republican Party and run for Senate as an independent, made official at a St. Petersburg campaign event Thursday, marks a stunning turnaround for a politician who just over a year ago was heralded as one of the GOP's brightest young talents.

But Thursday's rally also represents a general election kick-off for what is now one of the most entertaining and unpredictable races of the midterm election year, a battle between three viable statewide candidates.

"This is unprecedented in Florida, and I would say unprecedented in the country," said Justin Sayfie, the editor of the SayfieReview.com, an online clearinghouse for Florida political news.
Crist will be hunting for votes in the nation's fourth largest state along with Democrat Kendrick Meek and Republican Marco Rubio, whose small government message has rallied conservatives to his side over the last year and turned him into a celebrity of sorts among Republicans.

COMMENT:  Republican comment is predictably negative.  Current polls show that, while Crist is competitive, he would lose to Rubio in a three-way race.  The Dem is nowhere.

Crist will have to run a negative campaign to cut into Rubio's lead and raise doubts about him.  If, by chance, he should win, I don't think it would be long before he drifts to the Democratic Party, unless he tries to make amends and announces that he will vote with the GOP to organize the Senate.  That may be critical if the body is evenly split.  But I don't expect Crist to win.

April 29, 2010    Permalink

OH PLEASE SAVE US FROM THIS – AT 10:26 A.M. ET:  The administration is in high grovel again in its "outreach" to the Muslim world.   This story may require medication, so be careful.  From The Politico:

President Barack Obama's aggressive outreach to the Muslim American community is reducing its sense of isolation, Obama's envoy to the Muslim world told a conference in Washington Wednesday evening.

"We’ve really started to knock down that sense of otherization," said Rashad Hussain, a White House lawyer who also serves as liaison to the Organization of the Islamic Conference. Hussain defined the rather esoteric term, "otherization," as describing a sense that many Muslims had during the Bush years that their value or danger to society was viewed solely through the prism of terrorism.

"Muslims...sometimes feel like they don't have as much of a stake or a role in the future of the country," Hussain told the Center for the Study of Islam and Democracy conference. "That's something that all of the engagement that the United States has done on these issues both internationally and domestically has helped to counter."

Are you believing that?  No president did more to reach out to the American Muslim community than did George W. Bush.  He even visited a mosque right after 9/11. 

And I've never seen a country fight a war and show so little prejudice toward co-religionists of the same people being fought. 

And, by the way, where's the "outreach" from the other direction?  The nerve of this White House guy to say that American Muslims "feel like they don't have as much of a stake or a role in the future of the country."  Why not?  What's been done to them?  They've been extended every courtesy, and some college faculties grovel before them. 

The United States has done much for Muslims over the years – in Lebanon and throughout the Middle East, and even in Europe.  I don't recall a single thank-you.  But we're still required to do all the outreaching.

Oh, and get this:

Shortly after his appointment as the OIC envoy earlier this year, Hussain grabbed some headlines for a flap over comments he made in 2004 describing the Bush administration's actions against some terror suspects as "politically-motivated persecutions." He initially said he had no recollection of making the remarks but after POLITICO obtained a recording of the presentation he conceded he'd made the comments and called them "ill-conceived or not well-formulated."

Yeah, just a little mistake.  Let's move on.  Who needs integrity?

Seems to me we might devote a bit more "outreach" to those fighting for freedom in Iran and elsewhere.   But that just isn't very chic these days.

April 29, 2010     Permalink

SHOCKED, SHOCKED, TO LEARN THAT POLITICS IS BEING PLAYED HERE – AT 8:47 A.M. ET:  There are reports that Hillary Clinton is still interested in politics.  And here we thought she'd gone to a convent.  From The Politico:

Nearly two years after Secretary of State Hillary Clinton ended her losing presidential campaign and endorsed rival Barack Obama, Clinton’s allies maintain a triad of groups that have continued to make her presence felt in the political world — and could serve as a platform for the next phase of her public life.

Next phase?  You mean she's not retiring to become a community organizer, or head of the Barack Obama Appreciation Committee?  I'm surprised. 

Her presidential campaign committee, still in the process of winding down, maintains and makes money off a lasting asset from her presidential bid — an e-mail list of 2.5 million core supporters. Her Senate campaign committee accrues modest interest on a $1.9 million nest egg.

And a thriving foundation called No Limits, founded after Clinton resigned from the Senate to join Obama’s Cabinet, works to burnish her legacy, maintains contact with Clinton supporters and pursues a policy agenda that closely mirrors Clinton’s own — health care and women’s issues.

Now wait, just wait.  Health care?  Didn't they take care of that?  And since she's SecState, shouldn't they be adding a foreign-policy issue to that list?  Does anyone notice?

The three entities operate almost completely apart from Clinton, who is barred by protocol from active involvement in outside groups (particularly those involved in partisan politics). But their operations are intertwined, sharing the same Washington offices and drawing from the same pool of supporters and staff.

Protocol?  Oh, I'll bet that really matters to Hillary. 

Does the term "2016" interest you?  Even "2012" if the wind blows right.

April 29, 2010     Permalink

THE TREACHERY CONTINUES – AT 8:29 A.M. ET:  Where are the protests in the press over our collapsing, dishonest Iran policy.  Reader Joseph J. Gallick alerts us to another betrayal, described by ace reporter Eli Lake of The Washington Times:

The Obama administration is pressing Congress to provide an exemption from Iran sanctions to companies based in "cooperating countries," a move that likely would exempt Chinese and Russian concerns from penalties meant to discourage investment in Iran.

The democracy forces in Iran must be cheering...not.

The Comprehensive Iran Sanctions, Accountability, and Divestment Act is in a House-Senate conference committee and is expected to reach President Obama's desk by Memorial Day.

"It's incredible the administration is asking for exemptions, under the table and winking and nodding, before the legislation is signed into law," Rep. Ileana Ros-Lehtinen, Florida Republican and a conference committee member, said in an interview. A White House official confirmed Wednesday that the administration was pushing the conference committee to adopt the exemption of "cooperating countries" in the legislation.

I just love the term "cooperating countries."  It shows the never-never land in which this administration lives.  So they'll ask for major concessions in the proposed new law in order to get Russia and China "on board."  And what will the Russians and Chinese give us in return?

Cooperation.

We've seen this "cooperation" before. 

Another act of appeasement, to be described by the mainstream media as creative diplomacy.  Aren't we just proud of our new leader.

April 29, 2010    Permalink

CRIST ANNOUNCES TODAY – AT 8:12 A.M. ET:  Republican Governor Charlie Crist of Florida will announce his political plans today, important because it affects the politics of one of our largest states.  The news has leaked.  From the Washington Post:

Florida Gov. Charlie Crist (R) will announce his future political plans today, a decision widely reported -- by the Fix among many others -- to be a stepping-away from the Republican party to run for the Senate this fall as an independent.

Crist, perhaps seeking to preserve his ability to change his mind in the final hours before making an official announcement today at 5 pm in St. Petersburg, denied Wednesday that the die was cast on an independent bid. But, sources familiar with the process insisted he had begun to inform people that he would pursue a third party candidacy.

Well, if he does that and wins a three-way race for the Senate, he becomes a political genius.  If he does that and loses, he has no future in politics, having committed the ultimate sin – leaving your party and then losing.  I still think this is a mistake for Crist, and for the nation.  It may give the weak Dem candidate for the Senate, Kendrick Meeks, a chance to slip into office by splitting the conservative vote. 

Those same sources cautioned, however, that Crist is notoriously fickle -- even on major decisions like this one -- and that until he says the words "I am running as an independent" things could still change.

Some phone calls to Charlie are in order, from political people with gravel voices.  "You know, Charlie, you want knees tomorrow..."

The Republican nominee will be the phenomenal Marco Rubio.  He's a shoo-in in a two-man race.  It's less sure with Crist running. 

We'll let you know.

April 29, 2010    Permalink

EUROPEAN CRISIS – AT 7:57 A.M. ET:  We continue to follow closely the European financial crisis.  Bloomberg reports it's now starting to affect American companies:

United Technologies Corp. finance chief Greg Hayes sets aside some wiggle room in his profit forecast every year for swings in the euro. By March, half his safety net had already evaporated.

And...

Terex Corp., DuPont Co., McDonald’s Corp. and Johnson & Johnson also said in the past two weeks that the euro’s slide is affecting profit or may hold back growth. The 8.2 percent decline in the currency so far this year makes U.S. exports more expensive and lowers overseas sales when euros are translated to dollars, threatening a potential rebound in revenue and a lift to the economy.

The European debt crisis, like a political vacuum cleaner, is also starting to suck up politicians.  From The New York Times:

BERLIN — Chancellor Angela Merkel’s strategy for dealing with Greece’s untenable debt problem was to stall and hope the crisis did not demand action until after a critical state election in early May. On Wednesday, the clock finally ran out.

Mrs. Merkel’s hand was forced by mistrustful credit markets and the ratings agency that downgraded Spain, Portugal and Greece in a matter of just two days. As the crisis worsened, political calculations had to take a back seat to the more basic task of ensuring the stability of the euro currency that replaced Germany’s beloved mark.

The crisis could easily become full blown right in the middle of our own fall election campaign.

Wait.  Let me read that sentence again.  An American financial crisis?  Right in the middle of a political campaign?  Do I remember something like that before?  Am I dreaming? 

Look, I'm not suggesting a conspiracy.  No, I'd never suggest that.  Why, I believe the people running our government are pure of heart, virgins all, including the boys.  But a major crisis pitting the U.S. against Europe for economic survival, right in the middle of a campaign, something that could affect...benefits to Americans...

Hmm.  I didn't say it.  Don't accuse me of saying it. 

April 29, 2010    Permalink

WEDNESDAY,  APRIL 28,  2010

BRITISH GOVERNMENT IN WORST CRISIS IN ITS HISTORY – AT 9:12 P.M. ET:  We regret to inform you that there may not always be an England, not after today's disastrous actions of the prime minister.  This is worse than the blitz, infinitely more depressing than Dunkirk, and far more humiliating than the loss of India.  The Times of London has the sordid, unspeakable story:

Gordon Brown prostrated himself as a “penitent sinner” yesterday after a brush with a voter triggered a calamitous chain of events that threatened to derail Labour on the eve of tonight’s pivotal TV debate.

The Prime Minister spent an unscheduled 45 minutes inside the terraced house of Gillian Duffy apologising to the Labour-supporting widow for insulting her behind her back.

His muttered description of her as a “bigoted woman," picked up by a microphone as he drove off from their combative but apparently friendly encounter, plunged Labour’s high command into its most serious crisis of the campaign.

Instead of pressing the party’s record on the economy before tonight’s final trial by television, the election machine was reduced to desperate firefighting as Lord Mandelson led a series of Cabinet ministers on to the airwaves. The Business Secretary said that Mr Brown had been wrong to criticise Mrs Duffy, whose mistake, on her way to buy a loaf of bread, had been to buttonhole the Prime Minister over the deficit, immigration and student debts.

A mortified Mr Brown issued six apologies over the next six hours, including one by e-mail to Labour supporters for letting them down. Despite saying sorry to Mrs Duffy over the telephone, he ignored aides and insisted on driving back to Rochdale from Manchester, abandoning his preparation for tonight’s third and final leaders’ debate, to atone in person for his blunder.

COMMENT:  How did England sink so low?  What does this mean for the Royal Navy?  The RAF?  James Bond?

I must consult with my religious texts.

April 28     Permalink

THE "FIRST VICTIM" - YEAH, RIGHT – AT 8:15 P.M. ET:  There's a not-very-old saying in international politics:  "Germany was a Nazi country and Austria is a Nazi country. 

All right, it may be a bit of an exaggeration, but Austria has always portrayed itself as the "first victim" of Hitler when, in fact, the Austrians welcomed him with open arms.  Hitler was himself an Austrian.

Now Austria is acting very badly again, this time in regard to Iran.  "The first victim" of Nazism doesn't seem to think there's anything wrong in trading with, and even increasing its trade with, a nation whose leaders deny the Holocaust.  Austria has become Iran's best friend in Europe. 

My friend Simone Dinah Hartmann (a wonderful name) directs a superb group called STOP THE BOMB, which puts pressure on European governments and companies to end their relationships with the Iranian regime.  She is based in Vienna and reports, in a piece for The Wall Street Journal, just how much of a problem Austrian policy has become:

While the Western world is trying to rally international support for tougher sanctions against Tehran to stop its nuclear-weapons program, Austria seems to seek even closer ties with the mullahs. Instead of isolating the Islamic Republic, Vienna just welcomed Manouchehr Mottaki, Iran's foreign minister, who in 2006 gave the opening speech at Tehran's Holocaust denial conference...

...While most European countries have reduced their business ties with the mullahs, Austrian exports to Iran, including sophisticated machinery and electronic goods, rose by almost 6% in 2009, reaching approximately €350 million. That figure is even more astounding given that during last year's world financial crisis, Austrian exports to the rest of the world fell 20%.

I guess this isn't the Austria of "The Sound of Music."  We've been misled.

As "Azadi," the call for freedom, was heard throughout the streets of Tehran this summer, the Austrian Chambers of Commerce organized an Iran seminar to intensify business ties with the mullah dictatorship. During the visit of a high-ranking Iranian business delegation to Austria in March of last year, the president of the Chambers of Commerce, Christoph Leitl, who like Foreign Minister Spindelegger is a member of the conservative party, clearly stated his vision for future trade between the two countries: "Bilateral business relations between Austria and Iran are excellent, but still expandable." No wonder his Iranian counterpart Ali Naghi Khamoushi said a few years back that "Austria is for us the gateway to the European Union."

Not much about this in the American press, I'm afraid.  Austria gets away with it once more. 

Kurt Waldheim, the Austrian president whose term in office was darkened by revelations about his Nazi past, became the first Western head of state to pay the regime in Tehran a courtesy visit in 1991. Waldheim even placed a wreath at Ayatollah Khomeini's sarcophagus. His trip to Tehran paved the way for further visits by high-ranking politicians from other Western European countries-especially from Germany.

COMMENT:  It's a depressing record.  It's inexcusable.  But Austrians see a weak, indecisive Obama, and they know they can get away with it.  Groups like STOP THE BOMB publicize Europe's deceptions regarding Iran, and they need all the support we can give them.

April 28    Permalink

AND NOW THE PAIN IN SPAIN – At 7:36 P.M. ET: I urge you to follow this story.  There is a debt crisis in European nations.  Greece needs to be bailed out.  If the crisis spreads, and it looks as if it may, it could destabilize the international financial system.  Now we learn that Spain is on the brink.

We are told that President Obama is following this closely.  Maybe he'll blame it on Israeli settlements.

From The New York Times: 

BERLIN — European leaders scrambled Wednesday to quell the market instability growing out of Greece’s debt crisis, with German officials seeking legislative approval for a major contribution to an international aid package that looks as if it could reach 120 billion euros ($160 billion) over the next three years.

One day after cutting Greece’s status to junk and downgrading Portugal, a major ratings agency also cut Spain’s debt rating by a notch and the euro reached a one-year low, underscoring how difficult it will be for Europe to contain problems that started in Greece.

“Every day which is lost is a day where the situation is getting worse and worse, not only in Greece but in the whole European Union,” said Dominique Strauss-Kahn, managing director of the International Monetary Fund. “It’s the confidence in the zone which is at stake and that’s why we need to act swiftly and strongly.”

COMMENT:  I don't want to gloat.  Well, actually I do.  But aren't these the same countries that are constantly lecturing us and ridiculing us?  Same old story.  Europe struts around feeling very superior, while its foundations are crumbling.

A number of European countries are in trouble.  Can this affect our recovery?  I'm not economist, but the impression I get from a number of news sources is, definitely yes.  Europe is one of our largest export markets, and if its economy slides, purchases of American goods will slide as well.

This will be a day-by-day thing.

April 28     Permalink

OH LAWD, OBAMA GETS A MAJOR ENDORSEMENT – AT 10:15 A.M ET:  I don't know what we can do to counter this.  This will surely put Obama over the top.   Who is this new, exciting endorser?  From the Washington Post:

His Excellency Brother Leader Moammar Gaddafi, Guide of the First of September Great Revolution of the Socialist People's Libyan Arab Jamahiriya...

..."I really endorse and support the policies that he has adopted so far," Brother Leader said Monday afternoon in a video teleconference arranged by the World Affairs Councils of America. Gaddafi referred affectionately to the president as "our son Barack Obama," helpfully translating Obama's name from the Arabic: "Barakah -- blessing."

"We would like to greet the American people who voted for their son, Mr. Barack Obama," Gaddafi, resplendent in a burnt orange cape, informed the audience watching from the National Press Club. Speaking through an interpreter, the colonel continued: "He is from Africa, from an African descent."

From Africa? Birther alert!

Gaddafi was not done stirring up conspiracy theorists. "The Muslim world welcomed very much the arrival of Obama to the presidency, because the ordinary citizen knows that President Obama is a youth of an African descent," the Guide of the Revolution added. "He comes from, originally from a Muslim family, maybe even of an Arab origin. . . . And at least psychologically, it was very useful."

COMMENT:  You know, somehow I understand Gaddafi's endorsement.  It actually makes quite a bit of sense, a compliment we usually don't extend to Brother Leader. 

I don't think you'll see the White House bragging about this, but we can legitimately ask (can't we?) why a screwball like Gaddafi would be so enthusiastic about a president of the United States. 

The answer is pretty obvious.

April 28     Permalink

WELL, THIS IS REFRESHING – AT LEAST A LITTLE BIT – AT 9:53 A.M. ET:  We report here often on the support that the MSM has given President Obama.  But The Politico begs to differ, claiming that a hostility has grown toward the president among members of the White House press corps.  Very interesting:

One of the enduring storylines of Barack Obama’s presidency, dating back to the earliest days of his candidacy, is that the press loves him.

“Most of you covered me. All of you voted for me,” Obama joked last year at the White House Correspondents’ Association dinner.

But even then, only four months into his presidency, the joke fell flat. Now, a year later, with another correspondents’ dinner Saturday night likely to generate the familiar criticism of the press’s cozy relationship with power, the reality is even more at odds with the public perception.

President Obama and the media actually have a surprisingly hostile relationship – as contentious on a day-to-day basis as any between press and president in the last decade, reporters who cover the White House say.

Reporters say the White House is thin-skinned, controlling, eager to go over their heads and stingy with even basic information. All White Houses try to control the message. But this White House has pledged to be more open than its predecessors – and reporters feel it doesn’t live up to that pledge in several key areas.

COMMENT:  It's a long story, but well reported and worth reading.  The problem of bias, though, may not lie with the reporters as much as with their editors.  In the case of The New York Times, portrayed in the story as very close to the administration, it lies with the publisher, Pinch Sulzberger.

So, bottom line, how much will the hostility between the press corps and the White House mean when the chips are down and an election must be won?  I would suggest that there will be a kiss-and-make-up period, and that the media, eager to do its part for the political left, will buy in.  There won't be the same enthusiasm the next time as there was for Obama the last time, but it may not matter at all if we see a similar shaping of news stories and editorials.  For the real bottom line is that the press would rather have a cold, hostile liberal in power than a warm, courteous Republican. 

But the hostility that has grown up is surprising, and a testament to the incompetence and arrogance of this White House.

April 28     Permalink

IT'S FOR THE KIDS – REMEMBER! - AT 8:58 A.M. ET:  Well, this didn't take long.  Some New Jersey students have decided to skip class so they can protest budget cuts and the massive rejection of school budgets in the garden state. 

Their anger is directed at heroic Governor Chris Christie, the newly elected Republican, who has actually decided to do something about New Jersey's financial crisis.  Christie, and some very angry voters, understand what "the kids" don't – that education budgets are often inflated, misdirected, and aren't necessarily related to the success of the schools. 

The New York Times gives, naturally, a loving welcome to "the kids," while providing absolutely no understanding of school budgets:

It was a silent call to arms: an easy-to-overlook message urging New Jersey students to take a stand against the budget cuts that threaten class sizes and choices as well as after-school activities. But some 18,000 students accepted the invitation posted last month on Facebook, the social media site better known for publicizing parties and sporting events. And on Tuesday many of them — and many others — walked out of class in one of the largest grass-roots demonstrations to hit New Jersey in years.

Oh, it's the sixties again.  Aren't you elated?  Get out those flowered jeans.  Snap on that Gene McCarthy button.  Everything old is new again.  We wonder how many of these students actually examined the budget of their own school district.  We wonder how many counted the "administrative staff" at district headquarters.  We wonder how many looked at pensions.

The protest disrupted classroom routines and standardized testing in some of the state’s biggest and best-known school districts, offering a real-life civics lesson that unfolded on lawns, sidewalks, parking lots and football fields.

Real-life civics lesson?  It's a great lesson to skip class and tests?  The New York Times has really sunk.

At Montclair High School, it meant nearly half of the 1,900 students gathered outside the school in the morning, with some chanting, “No more budget cuts.”

In the largest showing, thousands of high school students in Newark marched past honking cars stuck in midday traffic to fill the steps of City Hall under the watchful gaze of dozens of police officers.

The Newark school district, which spends well above the national average per pupil, had to be taken over by the state because of massive incompetence.  We don't recall any protests against that.

“It feels like he is taking money from us, and we’re already poor,” said Johanna Pagan, 16, a sophomore at West Side High School in Newark, who feared her school would lose teachers and extracurricular programs because of the governor’s cuts. “The schools here have bad reputations, and we need aid and we need programs to develop.”

That's the garbage they're taught by local "leaders," many of whom have racial agendas.  The schools have poor reputations because of a poor cultural atmosphere, not because of budget problems. 

Bret D. Schundler, the education commissioner, also urged schools to enforce attendance policies and not let students walk out of class. State education officials said they had a call from one district that had moved students taking standardized tests to another part of the building because of potential noise.

That pretty much nails what this was really about.   Who needs them tests?

The protests were initiated by a college student, Michelle Ryan Lauto, described by The Times as an aspiring actress.

Ms. Lauto, enrolled at Pace University, said she has always had an activist streak. In seventh grade, she tried — but failed — to organize a protest over a new dress code, and after President George W. Bush was re-elected in 2004, she wrote “Going to Canada, Be Back in 4 Years” on a T-shirt and wore it to class.

Go play Lady Macbeth and leave us alone.

April 28     Permalink

BARONE ON DEAR LEADER'S PRIORITIES – AT 8:06 A.M. ET:  Michael Barone, astute as always, turns his attention to the pivot shot being employed by Barack Obama.  From the Washington Examiner:

In his first 14 months in office, Barack Obama worked to change public policy, with partial success...

...But he paid curiously little attention to the substance of the legislation. One-third of the stimulus money went to state and local governments -- i.e., to public employee unions -- which helped ensure that the bill would not hold down unemployment to the promised 8 percent. And the health care bill, we now learn from Health and Human Services Department actuaries, is going to increase spending rather than hold it down.

Now Obama seems to be pivoting toward legislative priorities chosen not for policy but for political reasons.

The pivot is apparent from how he has depicted the financial regulation bill before the Senate...

...Democrats need Republican votes to pass a bill, but have refused to make compromises so they can provoke roll call votes that they can use during campaign season to argue that Republicans are soft on Wall Street. Politics over policy.

And...

The Democratic National Committee has released a video in which Barack Obama calls for "reconnecting" with the coalition that elected him in 2008. He appeals to "young people, African-Americans, Latinos and women who powered our victory" to "stand together once again." Others evidently need not apply.

That video was demeaning and insulting to the groups mentioned – as if the only value they have is to help keep Obama in power. 

The policy achievements of the first 14 months of the Obama administration clearly have not energized these voters...

...So if policy doesn't work, try politics. Gallup reports that "very enthusiastic" voters favor Republicans 57 percent to 37 percent in congressional elections.  Will attacks on Wall Street, deep-sixing the cap-and-trade bill and getting beaten on immigration change that? The Obama Democrats hope so. But I wouldn't bet heavily on it.

COMMENT:  I'm not as sure as Barone is, although I'll gladly yield to his expertise.  But Republicans have yet to come up with a positive, optimistic, winning strategy.  Dem scare tactics have worked before and they can work again.  Don't want to lose your health care or your Social Security, do you?

And those Republican hawks.  You know, they could bring back the draft.  Have a son?

Don't put it past the Dems.  We're talking Chicago politics here.

April 28     Permalink

THE EMPIRE ALSO VOTES – AT 7:37 A.M. ET:  As Sinatra might have put it, leave us we should not forget that Britain will have a general election on May 6th, a week from tomorrow. 

We hope for a conservative victory, although a conservative victory in the mother country is like a victory of moderate Democrats in America.  But a little bit right is better than the firm left of the opposition.

The polls show the conservatives ahead, but not by enough to have a parliamentary majority.  From The Telegraph:

A new poll today suggested that the Conservatives have significantly extended their lead over Labour and the Liberal Democrats.

The Populus/Times poll last night put the Conservatives on 36 per cent, up four points in a week. Labour was on 27, down one. The Lib Dems were on 28, down three.

On the Populus figures, the Tory lead over the scond-placed party has risen from one point to eight in a week.

However, figures put Mr Cameron still 29 seats short of a Commons majority.

With a uniform national distribution of votes, the figures would give the Tories 297 seats, Labour 232 and the LibDems 89.

Other polls show the Tories maintaining their lead over the other parties.

A Comres/ITV poll put the Conservatives on 33 per cent, up one, the Liberal Democrats on 29 per cent, down two, and Labour on 29 percent, up one.

COMMENT:  If the Tories don't win a clear majority, there will be a hung Parliament, requiring a coalition government, meaning a bit of a mess.  Maggie, where are you when we need you?

April 28    Permalink