Part I of "The Angel's Corner," originally scheduled to be sent last night, will be sent late tonight.

Reminder to readers:  If you happen to be riding in a General Motors car today, please consider leaving a little something in the cup holder.  Thanks.

THURSDAY,  APRIL 2,  2009

THE QUEEN AND THE FIRST - AT 7:15 P.M. ET:  The most reported moment surrounding the G20 meeting in London involved the first lady, Michelle Obama, putting her arm around the waist of Queen Elizabeth II.  It wasn't history-making.  It wasn't politically important.  But, no matter what our view of Mr. Obama's policies, it was touching.  The British press, though, in the person of Clive Aslet of The Telegraph, remind us of certain realities.  This is just good writing.  It thought you'd be interested:

And when Mrs Obama – no Lizard of Oz, as Australian Prime Minister Paul Keating was dubbed when he dared to put his arm around the Queen in 1992 – committed a similar breach of protocol by placing her hand on the royal back, what was the response? Could one believe one's eyes? A tiny gloved hand crept around the First Lady's back, the arm attached to it too short to go more than half way. Is this what psychiatrists call the disinhibition of old age? No, the Queen perfectly judged the situation. She wanted the Obamas, two emotionally explicit people, to feel among friends. She bent the rules. She got it right. We knew she would.

But despite her genuine pleasure at meeting the 44th President of the United States and his wife, one thing was clear: she wasn't enjoying the encounter half as much as them. The Obamas may be the world's biggest celebrities, but the minute they walked into Buckingham Palace they were dealing with the biggest box office draw of them all.

COMMENT:  Well said. 

April 2, 2009   Permalink

THIS IS AWFUL - AT 6:51 P.M. ET:   Reader Joseph J. Gallick alerts us to this depressing story from the Denver Post:

Ward Churchill won his case against the University of Colorado today as a Denver jury unanimously decided he was fired in retaliation for his controversial essay on the Sept. 11, 2001 attacks.

The jury gave Churchill $1 for past losses, finding he was fired over protected free speech.

COMMENT:  This is awful, and will have a profoundly negative effect on universities.  It's no doubt true that attention focused on Churchill because of his outrageous comments about the 9-11 attacks.  (He referred to those killed as "little Eichmanns.")  But that is irrelevant.  If attention focuses on a citizen because he ran a red light, and the police then, using legitimate procedures, find he murdered someone, we don't dismiss the murder charge because it wasn't what attracted the authorities in the first place.

The University of Colorado conducted a proper investigation of this "scholar," and found serious academic violations.  This is not a free speech case.  Plagiarism, which the university discovered, is not free speech.  I'd love to know who was on this jury.

This is very bad.  Churchill, a pseudo-scholar, will now become a poster child for a warped, sick version of "academic freedom," a term already misused repeatedly on campuses.  He will become a star on the left-wing speaker circuit.  He will be the Obama of college professors. 

Meanwhile, real scholars, who seek the truth in their work, and maintain the highest standards, languish in the ideological shadows.

Make no mistake:  This is a setback for a university system already suffocating from political correctness and corrupt "scholarship."   

April 2, 2009   Permalink

DOW CLOSE - AT 6:32 P.M. ET:  The Dow closed up 216, to 7978, joining a worldwide stock-market rally.  Apparently, there are some analysts who feel the worst of the recession is over.  Others disagree. The Dow did go over 8000 for a time today, and I suspect it will repeat that performance.  But the real economy, in America's towns and cities, does not seem to be improving.  If it does, Obama will get the credit, even though the ultimate result of his policies may be catastrophic, especially for our children. 

April 2, 2009   Permalink

ASSUMING IT IS ACCURATE, FOX NEWS HAS DONE A FIRST-CLASS REPORTING JOB ON A HIGHLY CHARGED ISSUE - AT 1:18 P.M. ET:  Please read.  This is fascinating:

You've heard this shocking "fact" before -- ...90 percent of the weapons used to commit crimes in Mexico come from the United States...

...There's just one problem with the 90 percent "statistic" and it's a big one:

It's just not true.

In fact, it's not even close. By all accounts, it's probably around 17 percent.

What's true, an ATF spokeswoman told FOXNews.com, in a clarification of the statistic used by her own agency's assistant director, "is that over 90 percent of the traced firearms originate from the U.S."

But a large percentage of the guns recovered in Mexico do not get sent back to the U.S. for tracing, because it is obvious from their markings that they do not come from the U.S.

"Not every weapon seized in Mexico has a serial number on it that would make it traceable, and the U.S. effort to trace weapons really only extends to weapons that have been in the U.S. market," Matt Allen, special agent of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), told FOX News.

COMMENT:  This is a classic case of a statistic that gets picked up, is flashed around the world, and goes unchallenged, until an enterprising reporter starts asking tough questions.  A great example of good journalism, still being practiced.

April 2, 2009   Permalink

OBAMA'S POLL NUMBERS - AT 1:02 P.M. ET:  Rasmussen reports that, after a brief spurt upward, President Obama's poll numbers have returned to the less spectacular level they were at early last week.  Some 56% approve of the job the president is doing, while 44% disapprove, a spread of 12 points.  That is the smallest spread since March 21st.  Other polls have approval higher, but Zogby, whose surveys we view with some skepticism, believes it is actually lower.  Trends will give us the truth over time.

April 2, 2009   Permalink

SOVEREIGNTY?  WHAT'S THAT? - AT 12:47 P.M. ET: 

April 2 (Bloomberg) -- World leaders agreed on a regulatory blueprint for reining in the excesses that fed the worst financial crisis in six decades and pledged more than $1 trillion in emergency aid to cushion the economic fallout.

The Group of 20 policy makers, meeting in London, called for stricter limits on hedge funds, executive pay, credit-rating companies and risk-taking by banks. They also boosted the resources of the International Monetary Fund and offered cash to revive trade to help governments weather the economic and social turmoil. They sidestepped the question of whether to deliver more fiscal stimulus in their own economies.

The G-20 statement amounts to an effort to rewrite the rules of capitalism to address an integrated world economy that has outgrown the ability of individual governments to keep it in check. The group, which represents 85 percent of the world economy, devised a model for how finance should be regulated everywhere in a bid to prevent a repeat of the market turbulence which has roiled the world for almost two years.

COMMENT:  Anyone who reads Urgent Agenda knows that we are no friend to incompetent, overpaid "executives" or childlike, fast-buck "investors."  We prefer real free enterprise and real, responsible, visionary capitalism. 

That having been said, and recognizing the problems that the G20 are trying to address, I don't want American economic policy set by a gang of leaders beholden to socialist powers in their own countries.  This president, I fear, will have no problem surrendering a chunk of American sovereignty for "change" that will create a fast feel-good effect, and ultimate disaster. 

I happen to believe in American exceptionalism.  I think we are unique, and part of our uniqueness is a ferocious sense of independence and respect for the individual.  Those are weak causes around the world, and I'm not confident that Mr. Obama will defend them.

April 2, 2009   Permalink

DOW SOARS - AT 10:30 A.M. ET:  The Dow is up 188 points, to 7949, and may well break through 8000, extending a spectacular rally.

April 2, 2009 

THERE IS INDEED NO BUSINESS LIKE SHOW  BUSINESS - AT 8:30 A.M. ET:  Former Bush 43 Bush speechwriter David Frum examines the phenomenon of President Obama's high popularity in the fact of grave doubts about his actual policies:

President Obama got a heaping serving of good news in Monday’s Washington Post poll. He remains strongly personally popular, and the public’s heavy mood of pessimism has lifted somewhat: 42 percent now say the country is on “the right track,” nearly triple the number who thought so before the election—and the best number in five years.

It seems unlikely that this jump represents a reasoned response to the president’s actual policies, which have had little time to affect voters directly...

...No, it’s not the policies the public is applauding. It is the energy, the perception of activity, a feeling (understandable enough) that something is finally being done! Once again, the American people are confirming the astute observation of Franklin Roosevelt that voters will forgive the errors of activist government more than “the constant omissions of a government frozen  in the ice of its own indifference.”

And so they will. At least until the full costs of the errors of activist government come home.

COMMENT:  Very well said, and the rest of the piece is definitely worth reading.  One hope we have, in my view, is the 24-hour news cycle and the power of the internet.  Administrations up to, say, 1998, did not have to deal with the sheer volume of material immediately available to citizens, and the speed with which criticisms can be mounted.  Will that help in slowing the Obama power grab?  I don't know, but at least there are some weapons available, if they're used correctly and accompanied by a carefully drawn Republican program.

April 2, 2009   Permalink

CONSUMER COMPLAINTS TO FOLLOW - AT 8:05 A.M. ET:  From AP: 

PARIS — The global economic crisis is leading international oil and gas companies to under-invest in new capacity, which threatens to spark renewed sharp increases in oil prices once the crisis ends, executives from two of Europe’s leading oil companies warned today.

“Definitely this crisis will leave strong traces in the long term and we will probably not see the same world anymore,” Total SA Chief Executive Christophe de Margerie said at an oil industry conference.

COMMENT:  Remember, you did not read that.  Do not read any comments by oil companies.  They are evil and have led us to damnation.  We don't need their miserable carbon product at low prices.  We have Gore to guide us.  So what if gas at the pump goes to five dollars a gallon.  So what if the TV goes out.  Serves us right.  American Idol is a capitalist conspiracy.

These anti-Earth oil criminals make me so mad.  And then I neglect my thatched roof.

April 2, 2009   Permalink 

WHAT DID WE TELL YOU?  - AT 7:44 A.M. ET:  Please compare this to our comments at 7:10 regarding the anticipated North Korean rocket launch, and our confused response.  This is from The Politico:

Obama and South Korean President Lee Myung-bak have agreed to a "united" response to any North Korean missile test.

"They agreed on the need for a stern, united response from the international community if North Korea launches a long-range rocket, and to work together in the course of that," the statement from South Korea reads.

The White House issued a similar statement, but did not use the word "stern" to describe a potential response.

"They discussed the issue of North Korea and promised to continue close cooperation in the effort to peacefully and verifiably eliminate North Korea’s nuclear programs, weapons and materiel through Six-Party Talks. In that regard, they urged North Korea to abide by the resolutions of the U.N. Security Council and agreed on the need for a unified response by the international community in the event that North Korea launches a long-range missile," the White House statement reads.

COMMENT:  Nice, huh?  Our South Korean allies say "stern, united response," and we undercut them by leaving out "stern."  Great message to send to the North Koreans, who are probably laughing in their soup.  The U.S. cuts loose another friend.

Words have consequences.  In January of 1950, Secretary of State Dean Acheson gave a speech indicating where the American defense line was around the world.  He left out South Korea.  Six month later, the North Koreans attacked across the 38th parallel and almost captured South Korea.  Acheson's speech was pointed to as one of the elements that made the North feel it could get away with the invasion.

History doesn't repeat itself.  The psychology of history repeats itself.  Be alarmed. 

April 2, 2009   Permalink

THIS JUST IN - AT 7:24 A.M. ET: 

AMMAN, Jordan (AP) -- A meeting of Arab doctors in Jordan looking into lingering suspicions that longtime Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat was poisoned has been postponed.

Jordanian heart surgeon Abdullah al-Bashir said Thursday that due to the short notice, most of the doctors could not attend.

COMMENT:  This is a worldwide problem, isn't it?  You can never get a conspiracy theorist when you need one.  But this will all be changed by Barack Obama's national conspiracy-theorist plan, under which conspiracy theorists will be on call 24/7.  You may not be able to choose your own theorist, but at least you know there'll be someone there to confirm your fears.  That's change we can believe in.

April 2, 2009   Permalink

NORTH KOREA FUELS ROCKET - AT 7:10 A.M. ET: 

WASHINGTON (CNN) -- North Korea has begun fueling its long-range rocket, according to a senior U.S. military official.

The fueling signals that the country could be in the final stages of what North Korea has said will be the launch of a satellite into space as early as this weekend, the senior U.S. military official said Wednesday.

Other U.S. military officials said the top portion of the rocket was put on very recently, but satellite imagery shows a shroud over the stage preventing a direct view of what it looks like.

COMMENT:  This may be Obama's first major international test.  The issue is not whether it's a satellite launch.  It may well be.  The issue is the power and accuracy of the rocket carrying the satellite.  If it's an ICBM capable of hitting Hawaii, we have a serious blackmail problem.

Hillary Clinton has reponded to the North Korean provocation with harsh words, nothing else.  The secretary of defense, Robert Gates, hasn't even gone as far as harsh words.  The president seems preoccupied.  The American people are distracted by the economy. 

This is a dangerous time, somewhat comparable to the German and Japanese military buildups in the 1930s, when it appeared that no one except Winston Churchill was interested. 

April 2, 2009   Permalink

WEDNESDAY,  APRIL 1,  2009

NOTE FROM A READER - AT 8:53 P.M. ET:  Reader Tom Saunders sent the following provocative e-mail about the coming launch of a North Korean missile.  I thought you'd be interested:

Secretary Clinton said the Japanese would be justified in defending themselves, but not a word about our  part.
 
Japan has been essentially cut  loose to fend for themselves against a nuclear North Korea.  I'm am sure  the nuance was not lost on either the Koreans nor the Japanese.
 
The Japanese have a widely held opinion about America's strongest personality trait: We do not  and will not stick to anything.  I was stationed in Japan from mid-1976 through 1979, and worked with Japanese military personnel virtually every day.  The lesson of Vietnam was not lost  on them, and they frequently looked askance at America's commitment to her "friends."  They will read this through that  prism.

COMMENT: Mr. Saunders is reflecting on a truth we refuse to face - that America has periodically turned its back on friends, as it did with Vietnam.  And there is another truth implied here:  Losing has consequences, and they last for years.  I'm not sure the Obama administration understands.

April 1, 2009   Permalink
 

MORE DIPLOMATIC VICTORY - AT 7:59 P.M. ET:  From AP:

TEHRAN, Iran – Iran dismissed American government reports that senior U.S. and Iran envoys had a cordial — and promising — face-to-face exchange at an international conference, saying Wednesday that no "talks" took place. The competing accounts of Tuesday's encounter in the Netherlands appeared to reflect the different approaches to overtures to end the United States' and Iran's nearly 30-year diplomat standoff.

Washington has seemed eager to build on President Barack Obama's surprise video message last month to seek engagement with Iran's ruling clerics. Iran has — in public, at least — been far cooler to making immediate contacts, but has not fully rejected some openings in the future.

COMMENT:  Oh, isn't this rich.  They can't even agree on whether talking took place.  Did mouths move?  Were sounds made?  Was there a smile?  A wink?  If they can't agree on this, imagine what happens when they try to decide who sits where at the table, and what kind of flowers to use in the centerpiece.  What do you think?  A two-year negotiation?  Three years? 

We're playing softball.  Our enemies are playing hardball.  The hardball does more damage.

April 1, 2009   Permalink

ANOTHER FAMOUS OBAMA VICTORY - AT 7:24 P.M. ET:  For an administration that hasn't scored a single foreign-policy success, despite all the hype, the Obamans can't seem to stop marketing ridiculous ideas:

KABUL (Reuters) – Taliban insurgents reject a U.S. offer of "honorable reconciliation," a top spokesman said on Wednesday, calling it a "lunatic idea" and saying the only way to end the war was to withdraw foreign troops.

With the Afghan conflict now in its eighth year, NATO-led forces and the Taliban are locked in a bloody stalemate with violence set to rise further this year as more U.S. troops arrive and seek to contain the insurgency ahead of August elections.

COMMENT:  Earth to Hillary Clinton:  These people don't like us, and won't make peace with us until they win.  Got that?

April 1, 2009   Permalink

OBSERVATION - AT 7:14 P.M. ET:  I've returned from a meeting of the Hudson York briefing council (which is why you haven't heard from me).  Tucker Carlson spoke, and made a fascinating observation.  He noted that people never turn down anything that's free, and never give it up.  His fear is that all the "benefits" in President Obama's stimulus plan will become permanent, no matter how much damage they may eventually do, simply because people won't give up something that they think isn't costing them anything. 

Carlson is right.  The history of Europe in the last 60 years shows that benefits and government "gifts," once given, are never given back.  The term "creeping socialism" applies here.  We can indeed become Sweden.

April 1, 2009   Permalink

DOW CLOSE - AT 7:12 P.M. ET:  The Dow closed up 153 points, to 7762, despite grim unemployment news. 

UNEMPLOYMENT FIGURES - AT 8:24 A.M. ET:

April 1 (Bloomberg) -- Companies in the U.S. cut an estimated 742,000 workers in March, pointing to no relief in sight for the labor market amid the longest recession in seven decades, a private report based on payroll data showed today.

The drop in the ADP Employer Services gauge was larger than economists forecast and the most since records began in 2001. February’s reading was revised to show cut of 706,000 workers, up from a previous estimate of 697,000.

Companies are slashing staff as tight credit conditions and shrinking household wealth cause sales to shrink. The Labor Department may report in two days that employers cut payrolls in March for a 15th consecutive month, putting jobs losses in the current downturn at more than 5 million, according to a Bloomberg survey.

COMMENT:  It's the human toll that's far more important than the money lost. 

April 1, 2009   Permalink

DIDN'T THEY USED TO MAKE CARS? - AT 8:23 A.M. ET:  From The New York Times:

The government may seek to ease General Motors into what it calls a “controlled” bankruptcy, somewhere between a prepackaged bankruptcy and court chaos, by persuading at least some creditors to agree to a plan that would cleave the company into two pieces, according to people briefed on the matter.

Instead of signing on every creditor as is typically required in prepackaged deals, administration officials are using as leverage the promise of taxpayer financing. Many regard the government as the only lender willing to step up with money — in bankruptcy or out.

“They’re going to have tremendous power,” said Lynn M. LoPucki, a law professor at the University of California, Los Angeles. “They can call off the money and the whole thing fails.”

COMMENT:  This is just chilling.  Say what you want about the management of GM, or any other corporation, but the idea that Washington knows more about manufacturing cars is laughable.  At some point this is going to hit Americans very hard.

April 1, 2009   Permalink

GRIM FORECAST - AT 8:05 A.M. ET:   From The Washington Times:

The U.S. economy will contract this year much more sharply than the Obama administration has forecast, and next year's U.S. unemployment rate will reach double digits, far higher than the White House has predicted, according to a report issued Tuesday by a group representing the world's most advanced economies.

The U.S. recession "has deepened sharply, with output contracting at an alarming pace and the labor market weakening rapidly. Since December 2007, nearly 4.5 million jobs have been lost," the Paris-based Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development said in its report. "The financial system remains fragile and some parts of the banking sector are under considerable stress."

COMMENT: Let's hope this doesn't come to pass, but, if it does, I fear there'll be an even greater economic power grab in Washington.  Many Americans can easily be deceived by some short-term economic news, and especially by a rising stock market.  But we had a rising stock market during the heart of the great Depression, and it had no effect on the real economy. 

I'm especially concerned about the psychological impact of a GM bankruptcy, which now seems to be in the cards.  When that name goes under, watch for one news story after another, with documentaries.

April 1, 2009   Permalink

MORE THREATS FROM NORTH KOREA - AT 7:45 A.M. ET:  From the Washington Post:

TOKYO, April 1 -- Having alarmed much of the world with its planned launch of a long-range missile, North Korea is showing no signs this week of wanting anyone to calm down.

The government of Kim Jong Il warned Wednesday in a radio broadcast that its forces "will relentlessly shoot down" U.S. reconnaissance aircraft that monitor preparation for its missile launch, which could occur as early as this weekend.

That warning against "brigandish U.S. imperialists" came on top of North Korea's announcement on Tuesday that it would put on trial for "hostile acts" two American journalists who were detained in mid-March after they apparently crossed from China into North Korea.

COMMENT:  Hillary Clinton tried to talk tough to the North Koreans yesterday, but her threats essentially amounted to taking the Koreans to the U.N.  What punishment!  What firmness!

Let's see how much the North Koreans get away with before the Obama administration puts some teeth into its threats.  The whole world, including Iran, will be watching.

April 1, 2009   Permalink

ANOTHER MINNESOTA STANDOFF - AT 7:08 A.M. ET:  From The New York Times: 

A mere 65 votes separated the two candidates late Tuesday in a Congressional contest in upstate New York that received national attention and was widely seen as a referendum on the Obama administration’s economic recovery efforts.

With all precincts reporting, the Democrat, Scott Murphy, a 39-year-old venture capitalist, led 77,344 to 77,279 over his Republican rival, Assemblyman James N. Tedisco, 58, for the seat vacated by Senator Kirsten E. Gillibrand, a Democrat. The turnout was surprisingly strong for a special election.

But 10,055 absentee ballots were issued — and 5,907 received so far, state election officials said — meaning the election cannot be decided until the paper ballots are counted.

COMMENT:  We said before that the importance of this election was greatly exaggerated.  Now it's essentially a tie.  When the final result is announced it will be an astirisk to history.

April 1, 2009   Permalink

BULLETIN - AT 6:59 A.M. ET: 

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The U.S. Justice Department has decided to drop all charges against former Alaskan Senator Ted Stevens amid charges of prosecutorial misconduct, NPR reported on Wednesday, citing Justice officials.

Stevens was convicted last fall of seven counts of lying on a Senate disclosure form to conceal $250,000 in gifts from an oil industry executive and other friends. Allegations of prosecutorial misconduct have delayed his sentencing.

U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder has decided not to continue to defend the conviction in the face of persistent problems stemming from prosecutors' actions, NPR reported on its web site.

COMMENT:  As another Republican once said, after finally being exonerated after years of smears, where do you go to get back your reputation?

Charges of prosecutorial misconduct do not mean, of course, that Stevens was automatically innocent, but in our democracy the government must prove its case without resorting to improper actions.

Now, the question:  After all the screaming about George Bush and his "threats" to "our precious civil liberties," will we hear any concern expressed about the treatment of Ted Stevens?  Stevens's career is ruined, and we don't even know if he was guilty.  I only hear silence.

April 1, 2009   Permalink