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JULY 16,  2011

SHORT TAKES ON THE DRIFTING WRECKAGE:

OBAMA AT HALF GALLUP – President Obama is down to 42% approval in the lastest Gallup Poll.  The number may actually be lower, as Gallup polled "adults."  Polls taken of registered voters, and especially likely voters, tend to be more Republican.  It should be noted that other surveys, including Rasmussen, place the president's approval higher, from the mid- to high forties.

GETTING REAL – Washington, D.C., whose schools have among the highest per-pupil expenditures in the nation, and some of the worst results, is laying off 413 teachers and staff members for failing to meet expectations.  We don't like to see anyone lose their job, but it's about time the District started taking action to remove a national embarrassment.  Of course, there are some people on Capitol Hill who also should be laid off for failing to meet expectations.

NEW LIGHT FOR SYRIA – Syria's opposition has formed a National Salvation Council to unify the challenge to Bashar al-Assad's iron rule.  This comes a day after at least 32 Syrians were killed in clashes with government forces, including 23 in Damascus, the country's capital.  The Syrian revolt, now several months old, is growing by the week.  Thus far the U.S. has limited itself to angry statements, but Assad shows no sign of budging.  In fact, Obama can't get anyone to budge, including the Republicans.

July 16, 2011       Permalink

THE HYPOCRISY, THE POSTURING – AT 10:41 A.M. ET:  Who will sacrifice if the U.S. can't pay its bills?  Why, we have one volunteer – Senator John Kerry of Massachusetts, the man married to the Heinz ketchup lady.  We're sure Kerry can come up with 57 varieties of sacrifice, but here's one, reported by the Boston Herald:

The bitter high-stakes debate over raising the nation’s debt ceiling escalated into Capitol Hill class warfare yesterday as Bay State lawmakers battled over who would place their salaries on the line if there’s no deal next month.

U.S. Sen. John F. Kerry said he’d go without a paycheck if congressional leaders and President Obama fail to reach a deal to raise the debt ceiling by Aug. 2.

But U.S. Rep. Stephen Lynch (D-South Boston) steadfastly said he needs his pay, arguing he doesn’t have a “trust fund” to fall back on.

“Would I work for free? No, I wouldn’t work for free. There are a lot of members of Congress who are millionaires and are very, very wealthy. Maybe they can,” said Lynch, who was raised in the housing projects of South Boston and was an ironworker for 18 years. “I don’t have a trust fund that I can lean on. I know a lot of members do.”

Kerry, who has been named the wealthiest member of Congress 13 times by Capitol Hill newspaper Roll Call, said he’s willing to give up his own pay. Reports placed the Democrat’s estimated wealth at $188 million last year.

COMMENT:  Three cheers for Stephen Lynch.  It's good to see some working stiffs in Congress.  Maybe they can show the Kerry crowd how the other half lives. 

July 16, 2011       Permalink

AND MORE FANATICS – AT 10:18 A.M. ET:  This has been suspected for some time.  From Fox:

MINNEAPOLIS -- A group of Minneapolis-area Somalis, including some who traveled to their homeland to allegedly take up arms against the Ethiopian army, held secret meetings in 2007 to plan the trips, created fake itineraries to fool family members and challenged one another about their commitment, prosecutors contend in a court filing.

The document was filed this week in advance of a trial for one man accused of being part of the conspiracy.

It sheds new light on how the recruiting operation worked in Minneapolis and how some of the men arrived at safehouses in Somalia, where they received AK-47s and weapons training.

Since the fall of 2007, at least 21 men have left Minnesota for Somalia, where authorities believe they joined the terror group al-Shabab. Eighteen people have been charged in Minnesota in connection with the case, including Omer Abdi Mohamed, who goes on trial next week on terror-related charges.

COMMENT:  What strikes us is the skill used in recruiting young men from the United States, making them deceive their own families, and sending them overseas, probably to their deaths.  It is almost ten years since 9/11, and we're starting to forget the power of terrorist ideology.  I'm afraid we'll be awakened.

July 16, 2011       Permalink

FANATICS – AT 10:01 A.M. ET:  One of the most common questions asked by pollsters is the right track/wrong track question.  You've seen it:  "Do you think the country is on the right track or wrong track?"  Some polling experts suggest that the answer to this question can predict trends in presidential elections.

Scott Rasmussen asks the question regularly.  But even more intriguing than the overall result is the breakdown of which groups are in each camp.  Consider:

For the second week in a row, 25% of Likely U.S. Voters now say the country is heading in the right direction, according to a new Rasmussen Reports national telephone survey taken the week ending Sunday, July 10...

...Sixty-eight percent (68%) of voters say the country is heading down the wrong track, showing no change from last week. Since January 2009, pessimism in the nation’s current direction has ranged from 57% to 72%.
Most Republicans (89%) and voters not affiliated with either political party (70%) believe the country is heading down the wrong track. Democrats are evenly divided.

Whaa?  Democrats are evenly divided, in the face of overwheming evidence that we're going over a cliff?  I can understand a dramatic contrast between Republican and Democratic opinion, but how does one account for the contrast between independent and Democratic views?  Well, look at this:

Fifty-eight percent (58%) of black voters think the country is heading in the right direction, a view shared by just 20% of whites and 27% of voters of other ethnicities.

Obviously, that is fanatical loyalty to Obama.  It helps explain why Obama's poll ratings never dip below a given point.  There is a base that would follow him to Hades.

A majority (59%) of the Political Class believes the country is heading in the right direction. Seventy-nine percent (79%) of Mainstream voters disagree.

Can you believe that one?  The political class is heavily to the left, and, once again, it demonstrates its loyalty to Chairman Barack.  Why, how can the chairman go wrong?

Time for the voters to show the political class who's boss.

July 16, 2011     Permalink

JULY 15,  2011

SHORT TAKES ON THE DRIFTING WRECKAGE – AT 10:52 P.M. ET:

ON SECOND THOUGHT – After days of near-hysteria over revelations that employees of Rupert Murdoch's News Corporation hacked into the phones of potential news sources, some newspapers are starting to pull back.  Britain's left-wing Guardian apologized for running allegations that turned out not to be true.  And the Washington Post has raised serious questions about one charge, that Murdoch's people hacked into the phones of 9-11 victims' families.  It turns out that no evidence has been presented to back that up, but several high-ranking Democrats, and one Republican, have used the story to demand federal investigations.  There's no doubt that some ugly practices took place, and Murdoch's competitors are jumping on the scandal with glee.  But beware the wild charge, and writers seeking book contracts.

INEVITABLE – We have said here for some time that the race card will be played in the 2012 campaign, although it doesn't take a genius to figure that out.  It's a powerful, intimidating weapon, which even intimidated John McCain in the 2008 cycle.  We got a preview today when Congresswoman Sheila Jackson Lee of Texas charged on the floor of the House that the treatment of President Obama during the debt debate is based on his race.  Now, it is true that no one takes Lee seriously in Washington.  She's an imperious, publicity-seeking fool, but the charge she raised can have an effect on some voters.  And that charge will be made again and again, probably by some of Obama's pet journalists.  It is going to get ugly. 

RAHM THE REPUBLICAN? – Rahm Emanuel, President Obama's former chief of staff and now the mayor of Chicago, has apparently read the tea leaves.  He's getting tough with municipal unions, and threatening to lay off 625 workers this week unless the unions come up with an acceptable plan to avoid the action.  Emanuel, who clearly has higher ambitions, is sounding like a Republican.  In a way, this dovetails with New York's new governor, Democrat Andrew Cuomo, who's had a spectacular first six months by ruling like a Republican.  Two shrewd politicians, and maybe a signal that the moderate Democrat of old may be making a comeback.

July 15, 2011       Permalink

OH DEAR, OH DEAR – AT 9:19 A.M. ET:  A new economic report on New York State is grim.  It's important, because this state report has tended to predict national economic conditions a bit down the road.  From CNBC:

A gauge of manufacturing in New York State showed the sector unexpectedly contracted for the second month in a row as new orders worsened, while core inflation rose at its highest pace in three years.

The pace of manufacturing decline did moderate somewhat in July from the month before, with the New York Fed's "Empire State" general business conditions index rising to minus 3.76 from minus 7.79 in June. However, it was still weaker than expected, since economists polled by Reuters had expected a reading of 4.50.

The survey of manufacturing plants in the state is one of the earliest monthly guideposts to U.S. factory conditions.

COMMENT:  We're told that, technically, we're in a recovery.  Make sure to tell that to your unemployed neighbor, who can't send his kids to college.  I'm sure he'll have a nice day.

We are in trouble.  What is the Obama administration offering?  I haven't noticed anything.

July 15, 2011       Permalink

SYRIA ON FRIDAY – AT 9:04 A.M. ET:  We've been regularly following the situation in Syria, one of the most important and influential of Arab countries, Iran's strongest ally in the Arab world, and a country that effectively controls Lebanon. 

The revolution in Syria continues.  Demonstrations erupt on Fridays, after prayers.  Troops fire into crowds.  The death toll will soon approach 2,000.  And Syria gets only elegant wrist slaps.  As for "human rights" activists on the Western left, forget about it:

(Reuters) - Syrian security forces shot dead at least 12 protesters on Friday as hundreds of thousands of people took to the streets across the country in the biggest protests so far against President Bashar al-Assad.

Assad, facing the greatest challenge to 40 years of Baath Party rule, has sought to crush demonstrations. But although rights groups say some 1,400 civilians have been killed since March, the protests have continued unabated and swelled in size.

"These are the biggest demonstrations so far. It is a clear challenge to the authorities, especially when we see all these numbers coming out from Damascus for the first time," said Rami Abdelrahman, head of the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights.

Police fired live ammunition and teargas in the capital Damascus, killing five people, and in southern Syria near the Jordanian border, where four people were killed, witnesses sand activists said. Three protesters were shot dead in the northern city of Idlibm, they said.

"We are in Midan and they are firing tear gas on us, people are chanting," a witness said by telephone from the center of Damascus.

COMMENT:  The Arab spring indeed.  Hillary Clinton (remember her?) has said that Assad has lost legitimacy.  My, my, I'm bowled over by the toughness of that statement.  Pretty soon she'll be saying that he's gained weight. 

No one cares what Hillary says because she works for Obama, and the world has learned to ignore him.  Ask Mr. Gadaffi, who remains in power despite Obama's demand that he leave.  Ask Iran.  Ask North Korea.

Some people laugh at those who say that we're experiencing 1939 all over.  No more laughing.  History doesn't repeat itself, but the psychology of history repeats itself.  A lot of the delusions of the 1930s are erupting again.

July 15, 2011      Permalink

HEY, THIS IS GOOD ADVICE FROM A GENUINE RABBLE-ROUSER – AT 8:41 A.M. ET:  Larry Elder is a terrific African-American conservative columnist, which means he always has to watch out who's behind him.  Here he offers ten reasons why even liberals should root for the GOP.  We were alerted to this by reader and gutsy democracy activist Susan Kohen, from Connecticut:   

1) Incredibly weak recovery

2) ObamaCare

3) Bogus Financial Crisis Inquiry Commission

4) Texas justice vs. "Viva Mexico"

5) Libya

6) Left-wing judicial appointments

7) Boeing vs. the National Labor Relations Board

8) The Obama-Loving Media Protective League

9) Democrats' race cards

10) Anti-voucher for urban schools

Good list.  I think we could add some of our own favorites, like executive incompetence and endless apologies for America.  Elder spells out the details for each delightful entry.  Read the whole piece.

July 15, 2011      Permalink

STUFF YOU CAN'T MAKE UP – AT 8:20 A.M. ET:  As we contemplate the economic crisis before us, and we hear the whining of those whose comfortable fiefdoms are being disturbed, we turn our eyes toward, what else, the University of California, where budgets are being cut.  Well, some budgets.  What choices are being made in a time of austerity?  As they say, you can't make this stuff up.  From the great Heather Macdonald at City Journal: 

California’s budget crisis has reduced the University of California to near-penury, claim its spokesmen. “Our campuses and the UC Office of the President already have cut to the bone,” the university system’s vice president for budget and capital resources warned earlier this month, in advance of this week’s meeting of the university’s regents. Well, not exactly to the bone. Even as UC campuses jettison entire degree programs and lose faculty to competing universities, one fiefdom has remained virtually sacrosanct: the diversity machine.

Not only have diversity sinecures been protected from budget cuts, their numbers are actually growing. The University of California at San Diego, for example, is creating a new full-time “vice chancellor for equity, diversity, and inclusion.” This position would augment UC San Diego’s already massive diversity apparatus, which includes the Chancellor’s Diversity Office, the associate vice chancellor for faculty equity, the assistant vice chancellor for diversity, the faculty equity advisors, the graduate diversity coordinators, the staff diversity liaison, the undergraduate student diversity liaison, the graduate student diversity liaison, the chief diversity officer, the director of development for diversity initiatives, the Office of Academic Diversity and Equal Opportunity, the Committee on Gender Identity and Sexual Orientation Issues, the Committee on the Status of Women, the Campus Council on Climate, Culture and Inclusion, the Diversity Council, and the directors of the Cross-Cultural Center, the Lesbian Gay Bisexual Transgender Resource Center, and the Women’s Center.

COMMENT:  Dearies, do you remember when students were just called students?  Maybe we just didn't understand.  But a lot of people are going to be doing a lot of understanding when they have to pay much more to attend UCal, while stuff like the above is being fully funded.

It doesn't take a committee or a special office to be fair to students.  It takes common sense, good will, and a set of standards that applies equally to all. 

Does this make me a racist?

July 15, 2011    Permalink