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MONDAY,  MAY 24,  2010

JINDAL IN ACTION – AT 8:41 P.M. ET:  Contrast please the active performance of Republican Governor Bobby Jindal of Louisiana, in the face of the Gulf oil spill, with the passivity of former Democratic Governor Kathleen Blanco in the face of Katrina.  I guarantee you that the mainstream media will not do a contrasting report. 

As thick oil flows into the sensitive marshes of the Louisiana coast, Gov. Bobby Jindal called on the White House and BP today to either stop the oil spill or get out of his way.

Jindal is still waiting for the federal government to provide millions of feet in boom and to approve an emergency permit for a state plan to dredge and build new barrier islands to keep the oil from reaching the marshes and wetlands.

Jindal is so desperate for the islands, he's said he'll build them even if it sends him to jail.

And Eric Holder would send him to jail.

"We've been frustrated with the disjointed effort to date that has too often meant too little, too late for the oil hitting our coast," Jindal said.

Anyone at CNN noticing?

May 24, 2010    Permalink

OH DEAR, OH DEAR, OH DEAR – AT 8:10 P.M. ET:  Another shining example of the quality of journalistic research these days.  A commencement speech has been given.  Apparently, three minutes of research were done.  This is the result:

Where am I? The crowd at Saturday's Wheaton College commencement may have wondered that while listening to Ann Curry's speech to grads. The "Today" show anchor gave a shout-out to a few distinguished Wheaton alums, but there was one problem: They were alums of the other Wheaton College. Curry, a graduate of the University of Oregon, cited evangelist Billy Graham, horror director Wes Craven, and 9/11 hero Todd Beamer, who was a passenger on United Airlines flight 93. While it's true all three attended Wheaton, it was the Christian liberal arts college in Illinois, not the school in Norton where Curry was speaking.

"She gave a great speech," said Wheaton spokesman Michael Graca. "She went out of her way to meet with students before her speech and to get information about the college." The transcript and video of Curry's 16-minute talk is posted on the college's web site, but the reference to Graham, Craven, and Beamer has been edited. "We didn't want to broadcast misinformation," explained Graca, who told us Curry is aware of her mistake.

In case you're wondering, Wheaton College in Massachusetts does have its own distinguished alums, including "60 Minutes" correspondent Leslie Stahl, former New Jersey governor Christine Todd Whitman, and Oscar-nominated actress Catherine Keener. In an open letter to the Wheaton community today, Curry said: "I am mortified by my mistake, and can only hope the purity of my motive, to find a way to connect with the graduates and to encourage them to a life of service, will allow you to forgive me."

COMMENT:  If this happened in real journalism, no doubt they'd "stand by our story."   Curry's apology was gracious.  I only wish there were more apologies and corrections where they really count.

May 24, 2010     Permalink

ULTERIOR MOTIVE DEPARTMENT – AT 7:25 P.M. ET:  Illinois politics is never dull.  Even the deceased are fascinated, and they prove it by voting repeatedly.  Now there's a strange move contemplated by a famous name.  A political detective story from The Politico:

It’s been a rough stretch for Illinois Democratic Senate candidate Alexi Giannoulias — and it could be getting a little bit rougher.

His family’s business, Broadway Bank, was seized by regulators last month. He’s had trouble getting robust support from a White House that originally preferred another candidate. And political writer Stu Rothenberg devoted a column last week to asking “Is it time for Democrats to shove Giannoulias out?”

Now, Rep. Jesse Jackson Jr., who did not endorse anyone in the Democratic primary, is flirting with the idea of backing Republican nominee Mark Kirk in the general election.

“I like Alexi Giannoulias, but I have great respect for Mark Kirk and his service to the people of Illinois,” Jackson told POLITICO.

Hmm.  Jesse Jr. backing a Republican is like the pope having a bar mitzvah. 

If Jackson does go for Kirk — or even remains neutral, which seems more likely — Giannoulias will lose out on the veteran Democratic congressman’s political operation on Chicago’s South Side.

Giannoulias failed to attract the backing of any of Chicago’s three black congressmen in his primary race. Jackson was neutral, and Reps. Danny Davis and Bobby Rush endorsed one of Giannoulias’s rivals in a campaign he won with a plurality of just 39 percent.

And...

Giannoulias’s camp released its own polling last week showing a neck-and-neck race with Kirk. But several independent surveys taken since the beginning of April have given Kirk a single-digit edge ranging as high as 8 percentage points.

Jackson’s endorsement wouldn’t likely translate into a big shift of votes to Kirk in the black community, but it could soften opposition. And it would be a strong symbol of Kirk’s ability to work across party and racial lines.

It would also be a slap in the face to Barack Obama.  Kirk and the ethically challenged Giannoulias are competing for Obama's old seat. 

COMMENT:  This is a we'd-love-to-win-it contest for Republicans.  Kirk is a strong candidate.  While Illinois is a blue state, it periodically elects Republicans statewide. 

There's a strong shot here if Republicans play the state correctly.

May 24, 2010     Permalink

JACK WON'T BE BACK – AT 7:07 P.M. ET:  The end tonight for "24," one of the most successful shows in television history, fading out after eight seasons.  We won't be seeing Jack Bauer save America any longer.  Now we'll have to depend on Janet Napolitano.  Ugh.  From the Daily Caller:

Tonight marks the end of a television era: 24 airs its eighth season finale. The impact of the show on the country has been profound; in the way subjects on the show have been brought into the public spectrum and how Jack Bauer, the protagonist, has become an icon – the man that will do anything to stop evil. While many mourn the loss of Law and Order or Lost, 24 has had a greater impact on America in our post-9/11 era.

24 captured its audience with an extremely accessible plot line that has impacted – directly and indirectly – the United States over the past nine years. The most obvious is the use of torture. Bauer is often forced to use ghastly methods to locate the person, evidence, bomb, or whatever it is he’s looking for. The ‘ticking bomb scenario’ has entered political discussions as to what tactics are appropriate when presented with a dire situation. In addition, the show is responsible for revealing the intricacies behind the scenes of both government and law enforcement, that has helped (or hurt) how they are viewed by the general public. Finally, many credit the portrayal of Dennis Haysbert, who played the fictional President David Palmer, with helping with the election of President Obama. This was the first time that the concept of an African-American president was presented to such a large audience.

The show became a conservative favorite.  I've never met any liberals who watched it, but I'd guess there are some who did, and kept it a secret from their culturally respectable friends.

Never once on "24" did we hear the term, "man-caused disaster," nor was any crisis attributed to domestic insurgents who didn't like Obamacare.

There's talk of a feature film. 

Jack lives!

May 24, 2010     Permalink

SINKING STILL – AT 9:55 A.M. ET:   We've been reporting on President Obama's slippage in the Rasmussen poll.  After months of relative stability, the president's slide recently resumed.  Today brings one of his worst days yet:

The Rasmussen Reports daily Presidential Tracking Poll for Monday shows that 25% of the nation's voters Strongly Approve of the way that Barack Obama is performing his role as president. Forty-three percent (43%) Strongly Disapprove, giving Obama a Presidential Approval Index rating of -18. That’s the president’s lowest rating since the health care bill became law in March.

And...

Overall, 44% of voters say they at least somewhat approve of the president's performance. Fifty-four percent (55%) disapprove. The Rasmussen Reports Media Meter shows that media coverage of the President has been 51% positive over the past week.

COMMENT:  I suspect that the president's disgraceful groveling to President Calderon of Mexico last week, just as Calderon was roasting the U.S. on an official visit to this country, didn't help Obama's poll numbers.

These are awful ratings.  True, other polls have Obama somewhat stronger, but the overall trend is south.

May 24, 2010     Permalink

JUST A LITTLE ERROR – NOTHING TO SEE, NOTHING TO SEE – AT 8:51 A.M. ET:  Finally there comes the apology.  From The Politico:

Hartford Courant, “Blumenthal: ‘I have made mistakes and I am sorry’”: “After nearly a week of criticism following revelations that he misrepresented his military record and five days after a press conference in which he expressed regret for his misstatements, Democratic U.S. Senate nominee Richard Blumenthal apologized. ‘At times when I have sought to honor veterans, I have not been as clear or precise as I should have been about my service in the Marine Corps Reserves,’ Blumenthal said in a statement emailed to the Courant late Sunday by his spokeswoman, Maura Downes. ‘I have firmly and clearly expressed regret and taken responsibility for my words. I have made mistakes and I am sorry. I truly regret offending anyone. … I will always champion the cause of Connecticut's and our nation's veterans.’”

COMMENT:  Yeah, yeah, yeah.  I apologize so everything is okay. 

No, it's not okay.  Lying about your military record is serious business.  Lying about it over and over is disqualifying.  Or, at least it used to be, in an America with a moral compass.

Blumenthal should withdraw.  How do you enter the United States Senate with this cloud over you?

Connecticut is a very blue state, and Blumey was considered a shoo-in.  Now there's a shot for the GOP, if it plays its cards right.  But Republican parties in this northeast region are often close to nonexistent.  They normally consist of the highest-ranking Republican officeholder in the state, and some friends.  In New York the GOP doesn't even have a viable candidate for governor. 

Right now the leading Republican candidate for the Senate in Connecticut, Linda McMahon, is the co-founder of the World Wrestling Federation.  There's a heavyweight background for you – literally.  I know we're supposed to be fair and give her a chance, but...jeez.  Wrestling?

May 24, 2010    Permalink

THIS IS ALSO FOR THE KIDS.  FOR THE KIDS, I TELL YOU – AT 8:25 A.M. ET:  They're getting right deep in the heart of Texas.  Maybe, just maybe, this will prompt a desperately needed national discussion on higher education, probably the most oversold product in America.  From the Houston Chronicle: 

It has been the dirty little secret of higher education for decades: Tens of thousands of college students can't do the work.

Developmental education — reteaching basic skills in reading, writing and math — is a $200 million-a-year problem in Texas, funded by taxpayers, colleges and the students themselves.

Private groups also spend millions of dollars on the issue.

But relatively few students who need the classes go on to earn a degree, raising questions about whether money spent on developmental education is a wise investment.

“It's all about efficiency,” said Jim Pinkard, a program director at the Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board. “What are we sending all these kids to college for?”

Now there's an intelligent question, and one that should have been asked decades ago, as the "college education" became sacrosanct.

The statistics also affect the state's work force, sparking concerns about our economic future.

“It's a matter of finances, and it's a matter of work force development,” said Donetta Goodall, vice chancellor of academic affairs and student success at Lone Star College, which serves suburban Houston and where about two-thirds of students require at least one remedial course.

“Funds are limited everywhere,” she said. “If we have people who can go straight through college, who we don't have to spend additional money on remediating them, that helps the work force but it also helps the coffers at the state level.”

COMMENT:  See story just below.  It's the people turning out students who can't read and write who are demanding more in federal funds.

We send far too many kids to college.  The result has been that jobs that, not long ago barely required a high-school education, now "require" college degrees because employers want to show that they have "high standards." 

Too many of our colleges are just glorified high schools, teaching material that "students" should have mastered in the tenth grade.  Will anyone notice?

May 24, 2010     Permalink 

BUT IT'S FOR THE KIDS! – AT 8:08 A.M. ET:  Once again the education industry is demanding its share of national treasure.  How can we turn it down?  It's for the kids!  From Fox:

Education Secretary Arne Duncan is asking lawmakers to put aside “politics and ideology” as they consider a request for $23 billion in “emergency” funding for public schools – a measure Republicans reject as a massive federal bailout for the teachers’ unions.

Yeah, we've watched the way the Obama administration puts aside politics and ideology. 

The Obama administration is supporting the bill, formally titled the Keep Our Educators Working Act and sponsored by Rep. George Miller (D-CA) and Sen. Tom Harkin (D-IA).

Mr. and Mr. Liberal.

In a letter to House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) and Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-NV) dated May 13, Duncan warned that if the bill is not enacted, “millions” of school children will be adversely affected and the ensuing damage will “undermine the groundbreaking reform efforts underway in states and districts all across the country.”

It's a crisis.  It's the end of the world.  Don't you see?  The kids!  The kids!

Many Republicans oppose the measure, citing previous federal outlays for education, the size of the federal deficit, and the fact that the bill forces no spending cuts elsewhere in order to pay for itself.

Yup.  That's right.  Education is a bloated, inefficient industry, that constantly produces disappointing results.  You want some additional funding, look at the number of "administrators" who are employed, and then check out their political connections.

“This is a bipartisan issue -- politics and ideology, around education, we have to put to the side,” Duncan said during an appearance on “Fox and Friends” on May 21.

I'm surprised he hasn't said that we need this because we're at war.  Of course, then he might have to say who we're at war with, and you know how the Obamans feel about that.

Demand savings and cuts from the educational establishment.  Then we'll see about federal grants.

May 24, 2010    Permalink

BRIBERY NEWS – AT 7:55 A.M. ET:  Who said the Brits don't like the American way of doing things?  From the New York Post:

Flame-haired royal flake Sarah Ferguson, bragging that she and Prince Andrew are the "happiest divorced couple in the world," got stung on videotape shamelessly shilling access to her ex for more than $750,000.

Andrew, the 50-year-old Duke of York, is Britain's special representative for international trade and investment.

"Five hundred thousand pounds when you can, to me . . . open doors," Fergie says in videotape of a meeting at a ritzy London apartment, according to the British tabloid News of the World.

"Then you open up all the channels, whatever you need, whatever you want . . . We can do so much."

"If you want to meet him in your business, look after me and he'll look after you," the paper quoted her as telling an undercover reporter about Andrew.

COMMENT:  I actually find Fergie's honesty, while involved in a sublime act of corruption, rather refreshing.  In America I think they call this a...campaign contribution. 

I wonder what will happen now to the Duchess of Pork, er, York.  I do think Britain will survive. 

This reminds us of an old saying in Louisiana politics during the reign of the Long dynasty.  It went approximately like this:  "For a ten-thousand-dollar contribution, you get a meeting with the governor.  For a five-thousand-dollar contribution you get a meeting with a congressman.  For a twenty-five-hundred-dollar contribution you get a dinner with a state senator.  And for zero contribution you get good government."

And so the ways of the upper crust, or toasted crust, are revealed.

May 24, 2010    Permalink 

SUNDAY,  MAY 23,  2010

KOREAN CONFRONTATION – NEXT STEPS – AT 5:14 P.M. ET:  This story is not getting the attention it deserves.  It could lead to a major flareup in Asia. 

BEIJING -- South Korea said on Sunday that it would ask the U.N. Security Council to punish North Korea for its deadly attack on a South Korean warship, a move that could ratchet up pressure on the isolated Stalinist regime and mark a defining moment for Asia.

The request will come in an address to the nation Monday by South Korean President Lee Myung-bak during which Lee will detail a package of measures South Korea will take in response to the March 26 torpedoing of the 1,200-ton Cheonan and the killing of 46 sailors, according to a statement by presidential spokesman Lee Dong-kwan.

A senior U.S. official, traveling with Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton in China, said the United States would back "all the steps the South Koreans are going to announce tomorrow." In an indication of the seriousness with which the Obama administration views the unfolding drama, he added: "We have not faced something like this in decades."

That's an important statement, underlying a level of toughness toward North Korea that we've not seen from the Obama administration.  Question:  Is this Hillary Clinton speaking, or the president?  Will Obama back Clinton if she stands strong toward the North Koreans, or will we have the classic Obama backdown?

Among the other measures, analysts said, were cuts in South Korean trade with the North, the re-listing of North Korea on the State Department's list of states that sponsor terrorism and tighter international sanctions on Pyongyang.

Already the attack on the Cheonan is shaking the region. It has provided the political cover for Japan's new government -- only the second opposition party to take power in nearly 50 years -- to end a feud with the United States and accept a base relocation plan for U.S. Marines in Okinawa that the government had battled for eight months. On Sunday, Japanese prime minister Yukio Hatoyama announced his country would abide by the 14-year-old agreement with the United States to move the Futenma Marine Corps air base in Okinawa to a less populated part of the island.

And...

The attack and its aftermath is also threatening China's place in the region and could force it to make an unwanted choice between South Korea and North Korea -- two countries that it has handled deftly since Beijing normalized relations with Seoul in 1992.

COMMENT:  As the great James Durante used to say, "Everybody wants to get into the act."  Follow this story closely.  It will tell us a great deal about the direction of Obama's foreign policy in Asia, where, after all, he grew up.

May 23, 2010     Permalink

BUILT-IN BIAS – I heard something on ABC radio before that reminded me of the very real problem of media bias.

The newsreader was reporting that the individuals who murdered two police officers in Arkansas this week were rightist anti-government types who'd hinted at violence before.  A spokesman for the Southern Poverty Law Center was interviewed about the incident, and claimed that anti-government groups with violent tendencies have been growing in the last few years.

I had no real problem with the report.  It seemed pretty straightforward, and described, reasonably, the beliefs of the people involved.  What angered me, though, was the contrast between this report and the ones we get after real terrorist attacks, like Fort Hood, where the media does handstands to avoid attributing the outrage to militant Islam.  We're usually told nothing of the perpetrator's beliefs until Fox News, the Wall Street Journal, or some other brave journalistic souls bring it out. 

It's the double standard, based in left-wing ideology.  The rightist anti-government types are the enemy.  The jihadists are merely misunderstood, or have "grievances."

Journalism it ain't, which is why so many Americans have lost faith in the mainstream media.

May 23, 2010     Permalink

OH HOW CULTURALLY CHIC – AT 11:04 A.M. ET:  Do you laugh?  Do you cry?  Get this:

Masked gunmen from an islamic militant group torched a UN-run summer camp for children and teens in Gaza on Sunday, Army Radio reported, the top UN aid official in Gaza said.

John Ging says the assailants tied up the guard early Sunday, burned tents and vandalized bathrooms. UN officials say the attackers left behind three bullets and a note threatening to kill Ging and others unless the UN cancels its activities for some 250,000 Gaza children.

Two days before the incident, the previously unknown "The Free of the Homeland" militia issued a statement criticizing the camp's organizer, the United Nations Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA), for "teaching schoolgirls fitness, dancing and immorality."

UNRWA responded to the destruction, saying Gazan youths suffer from heightened stress, and need opportunities like this summer camp, calling the perpetrators of the act, “people who hate life and children.”

Gaza's Hamas rulers have set up rival camps. Some Hamas leaders have also railed against U.N. camps.

COMMENT:  When Islamists attack a UN facility, you know just how extreme the Islamists are.  The UN is practically a front for the Muslim world.

Any comment from the Obama crowd?  Probably not.  They'd have to choke on the words "Islamic extremism."  Maybe Eric Holder can find that the Islamists really were just ordinary folk settling a personal grudge.  After all, Holder recently testified that there are many reasons why someone would commit a terrorist act.

And these are the extremists with which America and Israel are supposed to make peace.

May 23, 2010     Permalink

TREND CONTINUES – AT 10:49 A.M. ET:  President Obama's recent slippage in the Rasmussen poll is continuing.  For several months the president had been holding steady in that poll, but the old trend recently surfaced again:

The Rasmussen Reports daily Presidential Tracking Poll for Sunday shows that 26% of the nation's voters Strongly Approve of the way that Barack Obama is performing his role as president. Forty-three percent (43%) Strongly Disapprove, giving Obama a Presidential Approval Index rating of -17.

And...

Overall, 45% of voters say they at least somewhat approve of the president's performance. Fifty-four percent (54%) disapprove.

COMMENT:  It's hard to know if there's any one factor that's driving the president's numbers down once more, but recent unemployment reports, his sluggish response to the Gulf spill, and his constantly losing foreign policy certainly aren't helping his cause.

Recent reports indicate that even some Democrats are distancing themselves from Mr. Obama's program as they run for office.  Not a good sign for the party for November.  But let's not get complacent.

May 23, 2010     Permalink

IT COULD MAKE YOU SCREAM – AT 10:37 A.M. ET:  Well, finally, Vietnam vets are getting some respect in Wisconsin.  Please read:

MADISON - When Jim Kurtz returned to Madison in 1967, he saw how strong the anti-war feelings were and decided not to talk about his years as an Army officer in Vietnam.

He went to work for state government not knowing that many of his co-workers were keeping the same secret. Kurtz discovered how much they had in common when he read their obituaries.

"You go to war and it's the single dominant experience you've had, but you don't talk about it," Kurtz said. "People I worked with closely for 20 years, and we never talked about it because in Madison, being a veteran was just not the thing to be."

Imagine that.  Not the thing to be.  Of course, it's Madison, which thrives on its chic left-wing culture.  Notice the contributions to the nation.

After serving in Vietnam in the 1960s and early 1970s, Kurtz and other veterans returned home to a country torn apart by mounting death tolls, reports of atrocities and revelations of government lies. In Madison, the anti-war movement was among the biggest and loudest in the country, and many veterans who re-entered civilian life here kept their heads down.

I'd have some hesitation about sweeping statements regaring "government lies."  I'm sure there were lies, but they were nothing compared to the lies and misinformation spread by the other side, and by some arrogant, irresponsible journalists, including Walter Cronkite, whose famous video editorial from Vietnam has turned out to be almost completely wrong.   

So it's a measure of how attitudes have changed that thousands of Vietnam veterans are expected to attend LZ Lambeau in Green Bay next weekend, an event designed to publicly express overdue thanks for their service, said lead organizer Don Jones of Madison.

"I can't count the number of veterans who've said this is the first time that anybody had ever mentioned the word 'thank you' to them," Jones said.

Wonderful.  Finally.  As far as attitudes changing, I'm not sure that's true of the old sixties crowd, which still resides in the woodwork of Madison.  But we have a 9-11 generation that at least understands the sacrifices of our forces.

May 23, 2010    Permalink

CELEBRATE FOR THE MOMENT – AT 10:04 A.M. ET:  A Republican has won a special congressional election in Hawaii, giving Mr. Obama's home state its first GOP representative in 20 years.  The winner will fill out the term of Neil Abercrombie, who resigned to run for governor.  There will be a rerun in November, for a full term.

There's a big asterisk here.  The district is heavily Democratic, and the Dems couldn't agree on a candidate, so two ran, splitting the Democratic vote.  That won't be true in November.

Republican Charles Djou won a special congressional election in Hawaii Saturday night, giving the GOP a boost as it attempts to retake the U.S. House in the November elections.

The Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee, in an emailed statement, conceded the defeat shortly after the preliminary results of the race were released Saturday night. The Democrats hope to win back the seat in the regular November election.

With most votes counted, the 39-year-old Honolulu city councilman led the field with 39.5% of the vote. Behind him were two Democrats: Hawaii state Senate President Colleen Hanabusa, with 30.8%, and former Congressman Ed Case, with 27.6%.

So, we can celebrate now, but please note that the combined Dem vote is more than 58%.  Djou has a pretty high mountain to climb in November.

May 23, 2010    Permalink