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FEBRUARY 9,  2011

TERROR THREAT AT VERY HIGH LEVEL – AT 7:12 P.M. ET:  Secretary of Homeland Security Janet Napolitano warned Congress today of an elevated terror threat.  In her testimony she used the word "terror" more than 60 times, in contrast to her first appearance as secretary of her department two years ago, when she refused to use the term at all.  From ABC News: 

The threat of terrorism is at "its most heightened state" since the 9/11 attacks nearly a decade ago, U.S. Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano said today.

"The terrorist threat facing our country has evolved significantly in the last ten years -- and continues to evolve -- so that, in some ways, the threat facing us is at its most heightened state since those attacks," she said before the House Homeland Security Committee.

Her comments were a sobering reminder that the potential of another attack is real and growing, most notably from individuals radicalized inside the United States, despite elaborate security measures implemented by the government since 2001.

"One of the most striking elements of today's threat picture is that plots to attack America increasingly involve American residents and citizens," Napolitano said, referring to so-called homegrown terrorists fueled by the Internet and connections with operatives overseas.

More than two dozen Americans have been arrested on terrorism charges in the past two years, according to government statistics.

Fifty individuals involved in 32 high-profile terrorism plots involving al Qaeda-like ideology in the past decade were U.S. citizens at the time of their arrests, according to a study by the New York State Intelligence Center. Most were natural-born.

COMMENT:  Janet might have a chat with the president of the United States, who lives in a white house on Pennsylvania Avenue.  She might tell him that endorsing a role for the Muslim Brotherhood in the Egyptian government does not exactly discourage Islamic terrorists, many of whom are inspired by that same organization. 

Never mind.  He won't listen.

February 9, 2011       Permalink

OH, ANOTHER JERK, AND THIS ONE'S OURS – AT 6:30 P.M. ET:  From The New York Times:

Representative Chris Lee of New York, caught in the midst of a scandal involving a shirtless photo he reportedly sent to a woman on the Internet, has stepped down, according to a senior Congressional official.

Mr. Lee, a Republican, notified the Republican Speaker of the House of his decision in a letter he sent this afternoon after the scandal erupted.

Mr. Lee’s office released a statement late Wednesday in which the he asks for forgiveness. “I regret the harm that my actions have caused my family, my staff and my constituents,’’ he said. “I deeply and sincerely apologize to them all. I have made profound mistakes and I promise to work as hard as I can to seek their forgiveness.’’

Mr. Lee won his district, located in the western New York region, in 2008, when he ran in place of Thomas Reynolds, who announced his retirement.

COMMENT:  Look, it's New York.  He'll probably get a talk show and a book contract.  But for the rest of us, it's embarrassing.

Oh, you know, I just thought of something:  I wonder if this story will be covered on Parker/Spitzer at CNN tonight.  Eliot Spitzer, the co-host, was governor of New York, and, as you no doubt recall, had to resign in a prostitution scandal.  I'd love to see how he covers, or uncovers, this.

February 9, 2011      Permalink

POLITICAL JOLT – AT 6:16 P.M. ET:  Democratic Senator James Webb of Virginia has announced that he will not run for reelection in 2012, leaving the Senate after one term.  Webb's announcement further weakens the shrinking bloc of moderate Dems in the Senate.

The Webb withdrawal may open the way for a return to the Senate of Republican former Senator (and Governor) George Allen, whom Webb defeated in 2006 after Allen uttered what was hyped by some as a vague racial slur.  The incident was wildly exaggerated, but the Washington Post used it against Allen to severe effect.  Before his defeat, Allen was considered a possible GOP presidential candidate.

Allen, though, faces competition for the Republican nomination from a Tea Party candidate, Jamie Radtke.  Reader Bruce Goldman alerted us to that candidate's new website, just announced:

http://radtkeforsenate.com/

And whoever wins the GOP nod won't have a clear run.  Former Democratic Governor Tim Kaine, who retains considerable popularity in Virginia, may well run for Webb's seat.  However, Kaine is the Democratic national chairman, and is close to President Obama, which may drag him down in the state he once governed.

Stay tuned. 

February 9, 2011      Permalink

ALL THE MONEY IN THE WORLD DIDN'T HELP – AT 11:25 A.M. ET:   This is what happens when a state adopts liberal orthodoxy and believes that throwing money at a problem is all that's needed.  From The New York Times:

New York State education officials released a new set of graduation statistics on Monday that show less than half of students in the state are leaving high school prepared for college and well-paying careers.

The new statistics, part of a push to realign state standards with college performance, show that only 23 percent of students in New York City graduated ready for college or careers in 2009, not counting special-education students. That is well under half the current graduation rate of 64 percent, a number often promoted by Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg as evidence that his education policies are working.

But New York City is still doing better than the state’s other large urban districts. In Buffalo, Rochester, Syracuse and Yonkers, less than 17 percent of students met the proposed standards, including just 5 percent in Rochester.

The Board of Regents, which sets the state’s education policies, met on Monday to begin discussing what to do with this data, and will most likely issue a decision in March. One option is to make schools and districts place an asterisk next to the current graduation rate, or have them report both the current graduation rate and the college ready rate, said Merryl H. Tisch, the chancellor of the Board of Regents.

COMMENT:  The New York City school system used to be the envy of cities throughout the nation.  It educated generations of immigrant children.  Well-prepared teachers, many of them Irish (I had Miss Malone and Miss Mayer, among others) taught students of every background.  When you addressed a teacher, you stood up at your desk.  If you damaged a book, you paid for it.  You went to assembly once a week and sang patriotic songs.  We didn't need metal detectors.

New York spends a fortune on education, and gets too little for it.  Of course, part of the problem is political correctness.  Few politicians are brave enough to point out that good schools are built by good families, which in turn are built by good cultures and high standards.  Today we're told we must "respect" other cultures, even those that do immense harm to their own children.  ("Who are we to judge?"  Heard that one?) 

New York's experience is a warning, but one that probably won't be heeded until there is generational change, and the sixties crowd, now in charge of too much, passes from the scene or goes into retirement in a carbon-free forest.

February 9, 2011       Permalink

SNIPPET OF THE DAY – AT 9:56 A.M. ET:

From the New York Post:  Christina Aguilera has been invited to sing a do-over.  The Brooklyn Cyclones are offering the Staten Island native a chance to perform “The Star-Spangled Banner” before one of the minor league baseball team’s home games this summer.  Aguilera botched one of the lines of the national anthem before Sunday’s Super Bowl in Arlington, Texas.  The Mets’ Class A farm team extended the invitation Tuesday.

Given her rendition, the minor leagues are just about right.  Not only did she botch a line, she botched the entire melody.  It's our national anthem, not a pop tune.

February 9, 2011      Permalink

OH DEAR, OH DEAR, WHY MUST WE BOTHER WITH ALL THESE NUMBERS? – AT 9:16 A.M. ET:  A new Gallup poll has bad news for the president's handling of the federal budget deficit.  The results come just before Mr. Obama's new budget is released:

PRINCETON, NJ -- President Barack Obama's approval rating for handling the federal budget deficit has gone from bad to worse in recent months, even as his ratings on all other major national issues have generally held steady. Currently, 27% of Americans approve of Obama on the deficit, down from 32% in November, while 68% disapprove.

Overall, Obama is doing much better on international issues than domestic ones. Among eight issues on which Obama was rated in the new poll, Americans give the president the highest approval ratings on foreign affairs and the situations in Egypt and Afghanistan. The deficit, the economy, and taxes rank among his lowest ratings, alongside health-care policy.

COMMENT:  Ah, please note the mention of health-care policy.  Unless there's a full-blown foreign crisis, domestic issues will dominate the upcoming presidential election.  Republicans have a golden opportunity...if they can get their act together, come up with a new and popular health-care reform plan, and enact some serious spending cuts. 

We should begin to see Republican tactics at work in the coming weeks, as funding legislation makes its way through Congress.  All funding bills must originate, Constitutionally, in the House, where the GOP now has a commanding majority.  But there have been signs of fissures in the Republican Party, which will be a test for Speaker Boehner and Majority Leader Cantor.  It will also be a test of the maturity of the Tea Party members, who, if they go off in their own direction, can wreck the gains of the November election. 

February 9, 2011      Permalink

RAHM ROMPS – AT 9:04 A.M. ET:  Rahm Emanuel seems headed for a huge victory in the Chicago mayoralty race, without having to go through the inconvenience of a runoff.  The Politico reports:

Rahm Emanuel is headed toward victory in the race for Chicago mayor, a new poll of the city’s likely voters suggests.

With less than two weeks to go until Election Day, 54 percent of voters surveyed by Chicago’s ABC affiliate WLS-TV said they plan to vote for the former White House chief of staff — almost four times the percentage of respondents who said they would support his closest competitor. If he is able to capture more than 50 percent of the vote in the Feb. 22 general election, Emanuel would avoid a runoff and replace Richard M. Daley as mayor.

COMMENT:  As we've noted before, this is an important race because the mayor of Chicago has substantial state and national political clout.  Emanuel was almost thrown off the ballot because of a residency question, and has overcome an ugly racial challenge from "leaders" of Chicago's black community.  If he wins, the next stop on the line will be governor.

February 9, 2011      Permalink

OH REALLY? – AT 8:27 A.M. ET:  The Muslim Brotherhood has just issued a statement in Egypt:

Cairo, Egypt (CNN) -- The Muslim Brotherhood said Wednesday it will promote democracy in Egypt but does not intend to field a candidate for president.

"The Muslim Brotherhood are not seeking power," Mohammed Morsi, a member of the group's media office, said at a news conference. "We want to participate, not to dominate. We will not have a presidential candidate, we want to participate and help, we are not seeking power."

The Islamist umbrella group also sought to dispel fears that it would push for an Islamic state in a post-Hosni Mubarak era.

"We reject the religious state," said Mohammed Katatny, former head of the Muslim Brotherhood's parliamentary bloc. "We are not responsible of the speeches and statements of external forces. The regime have been using the Muslim Brotherhood scarecrow to tell the world that the regime is the only one who can safeguard the country, but this is wrong and it is their way to try to ignore the people's demands."

COMMENT:  If you believe this, I have a used car to sell you.  It's a very fine car.  Wonderful transmission.  Smooth ride, once we get it off the wood blocks.  You can't go wrong.  Best offer accepted.

This looks like the kind of statement issued to deflect attention, and nothing more.  One of the senior members of the Egyptian Muslim Brotherhood said just last week that Egyptians should prepare for war with Israel. 

For a group like the Muslim Brotherhood to say that it's not seeking power has about as much credibility as Barack Hussein Obama Jr. saying that he idolizes Ronald Reagan.  But, of course, the usual suspects in the Western press – Christiane Amanpour and all the little Pours – will seize on this statement to prove that the Brotherhood is just another political party, not to be feared.

And don't take that man with the little mustache and the armband seriously.

That same Ronald Reagan said it best:  "Trust, but verify."  I can't even get to the "trust" with this one.

February 9, 2011     Permalink

FEBRUARY 8,  2011

ENTERTAINMENT NEWS – AT 8:59 P.M. ET:  Al Gore sure has standards.  First, he hitches his wagon to the falling star of global warming.  Then Tipper leaves him.  Now Keith Olbermann, known for his wildly irresponsible rants at MSNBC, which eased him out, is embraced by the former vice president:

Former MSNBC "Countdown" host Keith Olbermann confirmed at a news conference Tuesday he will host a new nightly prime time news and commentary show on Current TV.

The network, which counts former vice president and Internet creator Al Gore as one of its founders, did not say when the show would begin, except "later in 2011."

Olbermann is believed to have a noncompete clause in his exit agreement with MSNBC that keeps him off television for several months. Which should give fans just enough time to find his new network.

"Nothing is more vital to a free America than a free media, and nothing is more vital to my concept of a free media than news produced independently of corporate interference," Olbermann said.

Olbermann will be executive producer of his program. He'll also become the network's chief news officer.
In a conference call, Gore said, "I can assure you everyone at Current is extremely excited and honored that Keith Olbermann has selected Current TV as the new home of his independent voice."

COMMENT:  My, how the mighty have fallen.  This move will increase Current TV's viewership from six to eight.

February 8, 2011       Permalink

A DISTURBING REPUBLICAN FAILURE – AT 8:18 P.M. ET:  This does not bode well for Republicans in the House.  From Fox News:

House Republicans on Tuesday night failed to extend for nine months three key surveillance tools that are part of the nation's post-Sept. 11 anti-terror law in a misstep for the new GOP leadership.

The Republicans brought the bill to the floor Tuesday under a procedure requiring a two-thirds majority for passage. But with 26 Republicans joining Democrats in opposing the extension of the USA Patriot Act provisions, the vote was 277-148, seven short of what was needed for passage.

The bill would have extended until Dec. 8 provisions dealing with roving wiretaps, FBI access to business records and surveillance of non-U.S. "lone wolf" terrorist suspects. The provisions expire on Feb. 28 without House and Senate actions.

Democrats immediately seized on the snafu. House Minority Whip Steny Hoyer, D-Md., predicted this could be a sign of things to come when Republicans are divided.

"I think they are clearly going to have difficulty," he told Fox News. Hoyer noted that in his opinion, Republicans had two responses -- one from Rep. Paul Ryan, R-Wis., and one from Rep. Michele Bachmann, R-Minn.

COMMENT:  Disturbing, to say the least.  Even the Obama White House, not exactly a right-wing bastion, is in favor of extending the provisions of the Patriot Act.  True, some lawmakers have raised Constitutional concerns, but rejection of an extension is not a way to deal with those concerns.  The national security of Americans is involved here, and American lives, to be specific. 

There is still time for Congress to act responsibly before the provisions expire on February 28th.  Do so.

February 8, 2011      Permalink 

SNIPPET OF THE DAY – AT 2:41 P.M. ET:

WASHINGTON (AP) — President Barack Obama finally has kicked the habit, Michelle Obama said Tuesday.  "Yes, he has," the first lady told reporters at the White House when asked whether her husband had finally done what millions of Americans can't seem to do and quit smoking. "It's been almost a year."She said she didn't know exactly when he quit "because he never smoked a lot" and she never saw him light up.

She never saw him light up?  Really?  Would you buy a used car from this woman? 

February 8, 2011       Permalink

ANOTHER EGYPTIAN HEADACHE – AT 9:50 A.M. ET:  Just when we thought it was safe to have a revolution in Egypt, some nasty journalist brings us back to reality.  The reality in this case is that we may have a technological Iran problem along the ancient Nile.  From NBC News:

With Egypt in revolt and the country’s future uncertain, concern is growing over whether a new government in the Arab world’s most militarily and industrially advanced country could accelerate an arms race in one of the world’s most volatile regions.

At the heart of the concern is intelligence indicating that Egypt has quietly carried out research and development on weapons of mass destruction, including nuclear, chemical, biological and missile technology.

The research and development has continued virtually without pause over the past three decades, according to interviews with U.S. officials and a review of intelligence and other government documents by NBC News.
Specifically, the intelligence indicates that Egypt has carried out experiments in plutonium reprocessing and uranium enrichment, helped jump-start Saddam Hussein’s missile and chemical weapons programs in Iraq, and worked with Kim Jong Il on North Korea’s missile program.

“If we found another country doing what they’ve done, we would have been all over them,” said a former U.S. intelligence official, speaking on condition of anonymity.

COMMENT:  This has to be a matter of the highest concern.  This research can not only be used to build Egyptian weapons of mass destruction, but, as the story indicates, can be passed to other countries and groups, especially if the Muslim Brotherhood infiltrates inside the Egyptian government. 

More gray hair.

February 8, 2011      Permalink

THE BOTTOM LINE IN FOREIGN POLICY – AT 8:59 A.M. ET:   The Washington Times has a fine editorial outlining the damage that Barack Obama has done to this nation's credibility in the conduct of his looney-tunes foreign policy: 

Osama bin Laden warned Arab regimes that the United States always abandons its friends when the going gets tough. President Obama is proving bin Laden was right.

Get this, and savor it:

MSNBC’s Chris Matthews admits he feels “ashamed as an American” for the way Egypt’s President Hosni Mubarak is being treated. “We’re not handling it the way Americans should handle matters like this,” he said Friday. “I don’t feel right about it. And Barack Obama, as much I support him in many ways, there is a transactional quality to the guy that is chilling.” Mr. Matthews explained that in relationship politics, “You treat your friends a certain way. You’re loyal to them. And when they’re wrong, you try to be with them, you try to stick with them.”

Chris Matthews said that?  CHRIS MATTHEWS?  The guy who got a tingle up his leg in 2008 when he heard Obama speak?

Lyndon Johnson once said, during Vietnam, that if he'd lost Walter Cronkite, he'd lost America.  Is Obama now saying that if he's lost Chris Matthews, he's lost the entire lunatic fringe?

On Saturday, former Vice President Dick Cheney reminded us that Mr. Mubarak is a reliable U.S. ally. His government received billions in U.S. aid over the last 30 years and consistently lived up to expectations...

...Mr. Mubarak‘s government has been stalwart in the war on terrorism. In the 1990s, Egypt was one of the front-line states combating the rising wave of Islamic radicalism...

...One of the most dependable, pro-American members of the Mubarak regime is recently appointed Vice President Omar Suleiman, who since 1993 has been director of the Egyptian General Intelligence Service. Mr. Suleiman has a long-standing relationship with the United States dating back to his training at the U.S. Special Warfare School at Fort Bragg and has worked closely with the CIA on critical issues such as the increasing radicalization of Hamas in Gaza and blunting Iranian influence operations in the region. He holds a dim view of Islamist parties – particularly the Muslim Brotherhood – and wants to keep his country on the path of Westernization and modernization.

The problem is, some elements in Obama's base, and probably Obama himself, believe that the United States is the bad guy in the Muslim world.  The Muslim Brotherhood?  Why, they simply have an alternative cultural perspective.  You actually hear talk like that.

What if the hardline Muslim Brotherhood actually takes power? The State Department simply shrugs that the brotherhood is “a fact of life in Egypt.” Unfortunately, no matter what government succeeds Mr. Mubarak’s administration, Egypt and the rest of America’s beleaguered allies will know one thing: They can’t trust Barack Obama.

COMMENT:  No they can't.  No doubt Obama will ask for further concessions from the Israelis to get the "peace process" back on track.  If you were the prime minister of Israel, what would you do?  Would you put your faith in a man who has a large bus parked outside the White House, under which he throws former friends?

February 8, 2011      Permalink

AUTOMOTIVE NEWS – AT 8:32 A.M. ET:  Have you ever wondered what happened to those stories about unintended acceleration by Toyota vehicles?  We were led to believe by the painstream media that if we entered a Toyota Camry we were surely going to our end. 

Well, apparently the "defect" has been studied, and guess what?  From The Los Angeles Times:

An investigation into sudden acceleration in Toyota and Lexus vehicles by the nation's space agency is expected to report Tuesday that no significant electronic defects have been found, though the issue requires continued monitoring, according to automotive electronics and safety experts.

The NASA report was commissioned by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration after thousands of owners complained that their Toyota Motor Corp. vehicles accelerated unexpectedly, causing dozens of deaths.

I wonder how many of the "thousands" had dreams of cash settlements in exchange for shutting up?

The study was launched in March in the wake of three congressional investigations. It is scheduled to be made public at a press conference in Washington.

Although NASA and NHTSA have closely guarded the contents of the study, automotive safety experts say a dramatic finding is unlikely — saying that if NASA engineers had found a defect, the government probably would have asked Toyota to issue a public notice and recall.

"If they had found something already, we would have heard about it," said Jim Mucciola, an automotive electronics consultant in Detroit and a member of an electronics compatibility committee on the Society of Automotive Engineers. "So far, it has been very quiet."

COMMENT:  At one time the Audi automobile was essentially destroyed in America – it has since made a comeback – by reports of "unintended acceleration," which were eventually disproved. 

These "tragedies" take on a life of their own, and are fodder for people who hate car makers or who believe they can make some quick money.  True, there have been validated reports of unintended acceleration when car mats get jammed under the accelerator pedal, but actually jamming on the brake will usually override that.  If not, throwing the car into neutral or just turning off the ignition should do the trick.  When I hear claims by experienced drivers that they traveled miles on a highway with a car out of control, I really do wonder. 

One of our readers, who has a fine background in the automotive field, tells us that he knows of only one confirmed case of true unintended acceleration, and that it occurred in a vehicle in the White House motor pool whose computer was affected by powerful communications equipment installed in the car.  The problem was quickly fixed. 

February 8, 2011      Permalink

ANOTHER NAIL IN THE DEMOCRATIC COFFIN – AT 8:19 A.M. ET:  The Democratic Leadership Council, home to centrist Democrats since the Clinton era, is going out of business, as The Politico reports:

The centrist Democratic Leadership Council, which fought and largely won a battle for the soul of the Democratic party in the 1990s, is on the verge of bankruptcy and is closing its doors, its founder, Al From, confirmed Monday.

The group’s decision to “suspend operations” marks the conclusion of a long slide from its peak of relevance in the Clinton era, and perhaps the beginning a battle over its legacy, as the organization’s founders and allies argue that it has been a victim of its own success – and its liberal critics are already dancing on its grave.

“A taproot of contemporary centrist ferment is no longer in business,” said Will Marshall, who co-founded the DLC and its allied think tank, the Progressive Policy Institute. PPI, which Marshall still runs, spun off from the DLC in 2009 and is one of a small handful of self-styled moderate groups seeking the DLC’s mantle as the true home for moderate Democrats.

The DLC more closely represented the Democratic Party as it was during the time of its greatness, a time of decades ago when "national defense" Democrats led the party.  The demise of DLC, for whatever reason, symbolizes once more that the Democratic Party is moving further and further leftward, and toward the sneering elitism of the Nancy Pelosi crowd.

There are those who say that the DLC is no longer needed, since President Obama is moving toward the center.  I'll believe that when I actually see it.

What we hope is that the increasingly leftist Democratic Party will soon be consigned to permanent minority status, incapable of inflicting much harm.  On to 2012.

February 8, 2011     Permalink