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APRIL 4,  2011

PALACE INTRIGUE, FROM THE GUY WHO USED TO LIVE IN ONE – AT 11:40 P.M. ET: 

WASHINGTON (AP) — Former President Bill Clinton says the Obama administration should consider arming rebels fighting to oust Moammar Gadhafi in Libya. Clinton tells ABC News in an interview that he "sure wouldn't shut the door" to assistance for the rebels, reflecting a position that some in Congress have urged President Barack Obama to pursue.

COMMENT:  What is intriguing is not the nature of the advice, but the fact that Bill Clinton is giving it.  By tradition, a former president doesn't give unsolicited public advice to an incumbent, unless the former president is Jimmy Carter, who'll give unsolicited advice to anyone, including the kid running the lemonade stand.

Now, we all know that Bill Clinton is married to Obama's secretary of state.  It is inconceivable that he'd be giving advice publicly without Hillary's approval.  He's had enough trouble at home.  But why would she approve?  Ah, that is the question.  Hillary has a large network of talkers in Washington who leak things to the press.  It's widely reported, via this network, that Hillary is frustrated with Obama's indecision and lack of leadership.  At the same time, she's announced she's stepping down from her post at the end of the president's first term.

Is Hillary Clinton planning anything?  Is she making her first move in distancing herself from this administration's failing foreign policy?  I have no idea, but I don't believe her when she says she has no interest in any further government work.  Watch her closely.  And watch her chief spokesman, Bill.

April 4, 2011      Permalink

MORE WORRY FROM EGYPT – AT 10:24 P.M. ET:  We reported this morning that radical Muslim elements in Egypt, taking advantage of the revolution, are asking that "modesty police" be established, just as in Saudi Arabia.  That would be the end of any serious concept of freedom.

Day by day, the Egyptian revolution is being compromised by Islamists, who are well organized in the country.  Now there's this, which is specifically worrisome for the United States:

CAIRO - Cairo is ready to re-establish diplomatic ties with Tehran after a break of more than 30 years, Egypt's foreign minister said on Monday, signaling a shift in Iran policy since the fall of President Hosni Mubarak.

"The Egyptian and Iranian people deserve to have mutual relations reflecting their history and civilization," said Foreign Minister Nabil Elaraby after meeting Iranian official Mugtabi Amani.

Pure garbage.  Egypt has, up to now, been stalwart in opposing the venomous Iranian influence in the Mideast.  Their civilizations actually clash on many levels.  This is not good.

Egypt is open to all countries and the aim is to achieve common interests," Elaraby said, adding that Cairo welcomed "opening a new page with Iran."

That's an aim that should make us very uneasy.  And...

Egypt and Iran have been at odds on a number of issues including the Middle East peace process and ties with Israel and the United States.

Maybe not anymore.

COMMENT:  We had such high hopes for Egypt, and the other countries where citizens are rising up against their governments, and we can still hope.  But the most important question for us has clearly become, "Who are the revolutionaries and what do they stand for?"  I'm afraid the answers are getting disappointing.  As we noted this morning, it's the Arab world.  Don't look for Tommy ("the declaration") Jefferson or Jimmy ("the Constitution") Madison. 

There's an old Chinese curse:  "May you live in interesting times."  The times are getting interesting indeed.

April 4, 2011      Permalink

A LIGHT UNTO THE NATIONS – AT 9:46 A.M. ET:  Americans are gradually learning that incandescent light bulbs will soon be illegal.  But not everyone is content to turn out the lights.  There is blowback:

State lawmakers are fed up with the federal government micromanaging their lives. The South Carolina Senate is scheduled to strike back Tuesday with a bill that asserts the 10th Amendment right of the state to tell Washington to take a hike when it comes to the sale of incandescent light bulbs manufactured within state borders.

Ever since then-President George W. Bush signed into law the Energy Independence and Security Act of 2007, the clock has been ticking on Thomas Edison’s venerable incandescent. Unless Congress acts before Jan. 1, 2012, federal bureaucrats will begin their campaign to foist the mostly Chinese-made, compact fluorescent bulbs on a public that has shown no interest in buying them on the free market.

Palmetto State lawmakers aren’t interested in waiting for the feds to see the light. The “South Carolina Incandescent Light Bulb Freedom Act” declares any fixture that bears the stamp “Made in South Carolina” is a product of intrastate commerce and thus “is not subject to federal law or federal regulation.”

COMMENT:  Good for South Carolina.  Look, we all want more efficient energy, and better bulbs are part of the solution.   I use small fluorescents myself and think they should get widespread use.  But my beliefs should not be imposed on others.  The answer to obsolete bulb technology is not more federal intervention, but entreprepreneurs who can, through the free market, convince Americans that their new technology is better and more economical. 

How many bureaucrats does it take to screw in those new light bulbs?  It shouldn't take any.  They shouldn't be doing it. 

April 4, 2011      Permalink

A DISTURBING REPORT – AT 9:07 A.M. ET:  Our porous southern border is one of the continuing scandals in the United States.  It's usually associated with illegal immigration, but counterintelligence people worry that terrorist groups can slip across that border as well.  The problem is magnified by disturbing stories of Al Qaeda operations in South America.  From Reuters:

BRASILIA (Reuters) - Al Qaeda operatives are in Brazil planning attacks, raising money and recruiting followers, a leading news magazine reported Saturday, renewing concerns about the nation serving as a hide-out for Islamic militants.

Veja magazine, in its online edition, reported that at least 20 people affiliated with al Qaeda as well as the Lebanese Shi'ite Muslim group Hezbollah, the Palestinian group Hamas and two other organizations have been hiding out in the South American country.

The magazine said these operatives have been raising money and working to incite attacks abroad. The magazine cited Brazilian police and U.S. government reports, but did not give details on specific targets or operations.

The United States has said Islamic militants have been operating in the border region between Brazil, Paraguay and Argentina. Brazil has denied this, while saying it is aware that some members of Brazil's Lebanese community legally transferred funds to the Middle East.

There has been a warming of relations between Brazil and the United States since President Dilma Rousseff took office in January. She has sought closer U.S. ties after her predecessor, Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva, angered the United States with attempts to mediate over Iran's nuclear program.

Veja reported that a Lebanese man named Khaled Hussein Ali, who has lived in Brazil since 1998, is an important member of al Qaeda's propaganda operation and has coordinated extremists in 17 countries.

COMMENT:  Our great nightmare is that a terror group will be able to smuggle a weapon of mass destruction into the United States, possibly broken down into parts.  We have known about Al Qaeda activity in South America for years, and there is a greater chance that this activity will grow with the number of leftist governments that have come into existence south of our border.  Hugo Chavez is not likely to be helpful in this regard.

We need a real, firm, and probably expensive border policy, for the lives of thousands of Americans may depend on it.

April 4, 2011      Permalink

AS THEY SAY, TIMING IS EVERYTHING – AT 8:36 A.M. ET:  It never ceases to amaze me how some "executives" manage to undermine support for the free-enterprise system.  It's as if they're closet Marxists trying to bring it down.

Now comes the latest episode featuring an exquisite mix of bad taste and bad timing.  This will be extraordinarily popular at a moment when ordinary people are being asked to sacrifice:

(CNN) -- Declaring 2010 "the best year in safety performance in our company's history," Transocean Ltd., owner of the Gulf of Mexico oil rig that exploded, killing 11 workers, has awarded its top executives hefty bonuses and raises, according to a recent filing with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission.

That includes a $200,000 salary increase for Transocean president and chief executive officer Steven L. Newman, whose base salary will increase from $900,000 to $1.1 million, according to the SEC report.

Newman's bonus was $374,062, the report states.

Newman also has a $5.4 million long-term compensation package the company awarded him upon his appointment as CEO in March 2010, according to the SEC filing.

The latest cash awards are based in part on the company's "performance under safety," the Transocean filing states.

"Notwithstanding the tragic loss of life in the Gulf of Mexico, we achieved an exemplary statistical safety record as measured by our total recordable incident rate and total potential severity rate," the SEC statement reads. "As measured by these standards, we recorded the best year in safety performance in our Company's history."

Oh, guys, come on.  There's a time and place.  Maybe the statisticians say you did well, but when you've got the Gulf oil spill on your backs, and 11 dead workers of your own, you might want to lie low and shut up. 

Reminds me of the BP big shot who complained that the oil spill was interfering with his lifestyle. 

In the early fifties, Secretary of Defense-designate Charles E. Wilson, the head of GM, got into trouble for saying that "what's good for General Motors is good for the country."  It was only a partial quote that distorted what he meant, but the country was in an uproar and Wilson almost didn't get his Cabinet post. 

I don't think we have the same sensibility today.  I wish we did.  You may be sure that the people who gave us this enormous recession will go right back to their old practices unless they are publicly shamed and shunned.  They haven't been.  As a society, we should be discussing this.

April 4, 2011      Permalink

THE NEW EGYPT? – AT 8:22 A.M. ET:  We've been following this trend closely.  There was a great deal of rejoicing when Egyptian protesters forced out Hosni Mubarak, an American ally.  There would be a new Egypt, democratic and modern.

But we've seen disturbing trends in recent years that the new Egypt might be worse than the old one.  Fundamentalist groups, which are intensely hostile to the West, are making their move, and there's not much rejoicing:

Officials of the Muslim Brotherhood, Egypt's leading Islamic group, have called for the establishment of a Saudi-style modesty police to combat "immoral" behavior in public areas in what observers say in another sign of a growing Islamic self-confidence in the post-Mubarak era.

In the political sphere, the Brotherhood led a successful drive to get voters to approve a package of constitutional amendments. On the street level, at least 20 attacks were perpetrated against the tombs of Muslim mystics (suffis), who are the subject of popular veneration but disparaged by Islamic fundamentalists, or salafis. After some initial hesitation, Islamic leaders have publicly praised the revolution.

"This is incredibly worrying to many Egyptians," Maye Kassem, a political scientist at the American University in Cairo (AUC), told The Media Line. "The salafis were always undercover in Egypt and now they are emerging as a political force. They are getting too vocal."

Newly freed from the political strictures of the Mubarak era, Egypt has turned into a battleground between those who envision a liberal, secular state and those who advocate various shades if Islam. The conflict mirrors those taking place elsewhere in the region. In Bahrain, unrest has evolved into a conflict between Sunni- and Shiite Muslims and the US has pulled back from supporting Libyan rebels over concerns they are dominated by Islamists.

COMMENT:  It's the Arab world.  We are separated from it not only by ideology, but by centuries.  This is a once-great civilization that that started to fade long before the pilgrims decided to use their frequent-sailor miles on a trip to Massachusetts.

What is called "the Arab spring" can turn into a bitter winter if the nuts take over, and I'm afraid there's not much we can do about it.

April 4, 2011       Permalink

HE'S OFFICIALLY IN – AT 8:11 A.M. ET:  President Obama entered the 2012 race officially this morning with a web video.  Fox, the president's favorite network, not, reports:

In case there was any confusion, President Obama is officially running for re-election in 2012, his campaign announced Monday morning in a web video.

His campaign website, BarackObama.com, was updated with a "2012" logo and a video featuring grassroots activists.

The short message actually did not feature the president at all, trying to emphasize getting people involved on the ground.

The site also had this message, "This campaign is just kicking off. We're opening up offices, unpacking boxes, and starting a conversation with supporters like you to help shape our path to victory. 2012 begins now, and this is where you say you're in."

Obama is also expected to formally put in his paperwork with the Federal Election Commission (FEC) later Monday.

I feel so privileged just to be alive for this announcement, don't you?  When in your life have you been given such a thrill?  A rumor swept Washington that, as the announcement was made, a star appeared over the White House and three wise campaign contributors appeared in Buicks to pay homage.

In two years Obama has not established much of a record.  He got Obamacare through, but it remains unpopular with large numbers of Americans.  His foreign policy has yet to be determined.  I'd imagine his campaign will be largely negative, employing the usual scare tactics to panic voters into not voting Republican.  Obama cannot count on the level of enthusiasm from young voters that he had in 2008, but he can count on media that will, once again, fall in line.  Journalists hate to be proved wrong – and they rarely admit it anyway – and they have a major career investment in this president. 

Don't underestimate the Obama machine.  It is ruthless and cunning, one of the best we've ever seen in presidential politics.  With the help of the media, it put a minor Chicago politician in the White House.  It can keep him there unless our side puts up a spirited candidate willing to wage an all-out fight.  I'm not seeing that candidate yet.

April 4,  2011     Permalink

APRIL 3,  2011

I LOVE IT – AT 10:12 P.M. ET:  Don't you love to be needed?  What a wonderful feeling.  And nations love to be needed, including ours.  And it's oh so nice to be needed by those countries whose elites have sniped at us for sport all these years.  So, we're needed again:

NATO has asked the United States to continue participating in airstrikes over Libya through late Monday, ABC News has learned.

This is after we announced that we were ending strikes on Saturday.

This was done to make up for the bad weather earlier in the week that had hampered targeting of Gadhafi forces and allowed them to push the rebels back to Ajdabiyah.

The United States was supposed to have significantly begun dropping its participation in airstrikes over Libya.

"Due to poor weather conditions over the last few days in Libya, the United States has approved a request by NATO to extend the use of some U.S. strike aircraft," NATO spokeswoman Oana Lungescu told ABC News. "These aircraft will continue to conduct and support Alliance air-to-ground missions throughout this weekend."

A U.S. Defense Department official said the aircraft Lungescu was referring to are the A-10 Thunderbolt jets, Marine AV-8 Harrier jets and AC-130 gunships, which are the best suited for striking ground force targets.

The fact is that we're indispensable.  Unlike some European countries, the United States invested appropriately in national defense, especially in the Reagan years.  Therefore, we have forces and equipment in being that can do the job.  Let's see if we get any thanks.  Don't hold your breath.

Still, the Libyan "mission" seems to be "mission undefinable."  What is our actual objective?  And now, with a stalemate brewing, what will we do?

Stay tuned.  This Saturday morning serial will continue.

April 3, 2011      Permalink 

THE DUKE CASE, AGAIN – AT 7:40 P.M. ET:  For those outraged by political correctness and party-line thinking in universities, the Duke lacrosse case is the gift that keeps on giving.    Consider:

DURHAM (WTVD) -- Authorities say former Duke Lacrosse accuser Crystal Mangum was arrested overnight Sunday for stabbing her boyfriend in the chest.

Durham police say Crystal Mangum, 32, was arrested Sunday morning several hours after stabbing and seriously injuring her boyfriend. Investigators say police were called to a stabbing at a home in the 3000 block of Century Oaks Drive around 3 am, Sunday.

When police arrived authorities say they found a 46-year-old male who had been stabbed in the torso.
The man suffered serious injuries and was taken to Duke University Hospital for treatment.

Police say they later arrested Mangum at a nearby apartment, in connection with the stabbing.

Mangum is charged with assault with a deadly weapon with intent to kill inflicting serious injury. She is being held at the Durham County Jail on no bond.

Investigators say Mangum is the victim's girlfriend, and believe the stabbing occurred during an argument.
The Durham Police Department told ABC11 on Sunday, that it has no further comment on the case.

Mangum made national headlines in 2006 when she accused several Duke Lacrosse players of rape. The players were later exonerated and all charges against them dropped.

Last year, Mangum was arrested and charged with attempted murder, arson, and child abuse after a domestic dispute with her boyfriend.

In December, the jury found Mangum guilty of child abuse, but they couldn't agree on a first degree felony arson charge, which could have landed Mangum in jail for seven years.

COMMENT:  You'll recall that the Durham district attorney was disbarred as a result of his behavior in the lacrosse case, pursuing an obviously false series of charges, apparently to curry favor with the African-American community.  He is legal toast.

Not legal toast is Duke University.  Eighty of its "prestigious" faculty signed a statement calling, in effect, for a legal lynching of the three charged lacrosse players.  They have never apologized, and several of the 80 have gone on to even higher professorships at other colleges. 

Duke had suspended the three players when they were charged, but did invite them back when they were exonerated.  I don't believe any of them took Duke up on the offer.  The invitation did result in the head of Duke's women's studies department resigning from all her faculty committees in protest.  Apparently, treating an innocent boy like an innocent boy was beyond her understanding.

The accuser, who has now progressed to more vigorous forms of low lifery, was never a credible individual.  Yet, because of issues of race and gender, she was automatically believed. 

Incidents like the Duke lacrosse case set back legitimate civil-rights and gender equality causes by creating suspicion of any and all charges.  Some have figured this out.  Many colleges have not.

April 3, 2011      Permalink

GOP MOVES DECISIVELY ON BUDGET – AT 11:58 A.M. ET:  Don't underestimate the political risks here.  Budget cuts can be demagogued easily as "attacks on the poor" or "stealing from children" or "protecting the rich."  But at least the Republicans are willing to come to bat.  From Fox:

The Republican chairman of the House Budget Committee said his party's budget proposal for 2012 would cut deficits by more than $4 trillion over the next decade, vowing to tackle costly entitlements like Medicare and Medicaid.

The proposal, set to be unveiled Tuesday, would serve as the Republicans' official response to President Obama's proposed $3.7 trillion budget for 2012. The White House claims its plan would cut deficits by $1.1 trillion over a decade.

But Ryan, R-Wis., in an interview with "Fox News Sunday," accused Obama of "punting" and said Republicans' plan would exceed the fiscal goals set by the president's fiscal commission -- which issued a report calling for $4 trillion in cuts. That report never made it out of committee.

"We can't keep kicking this can down the road," Ryan said. "The president has punted. We're not going to follow suit."

The GOP proposal coincides with the ongoing debate over the remainder of the fiscal 2011 budget. Both parties are trying to hammer out a half-year budget before the deadline for a partial government shutdown Friday. From there, they move immediately to the 2012 budget debate.

COMMENT:  The Democrats know one important thing politically – that once you give an entitlement it's almost impossible to take it back or reduce it...at least without throwing yourself out of office.  Republicans are acting responsibily, Democrats will not follow.  The Democratic Party is basically one big ATM for its supporters.  The Republicans must devote as much energy and thought to explaining their proposals as they do to formulating them. 

April 3, 2011       Permalink

RUBIO RISING – AT 11:19 A.M. ET:  Okay, I like the guy, so I'm prejudiced.  At the same time, I argue that there's a reason Senator Marco Rubio of Florida is rising as quickly as he is.  Although he's formally ruled out a run for the presidency in 2012, such declarations can easily be shredded if the opportunity presents.

One thing I like about Rubio is his common sense, leading to a clear view of strategy.  Consider this, from The Politico:

Sen. Marco Rubio (R-Fla.) has sent a letter to Senate leaders calling for an explicit approval of American force against Libyan strongman Muammar Qadhafi in an attempt to force his regime from power.

Rubio told "Fox News Sunday" host Chris Wallace that Qadhafi must be forced from power to avoid either a stalemate that could weaken the state and expose it to terrorist elements, or allow Qadhafi to beat the rebels fighting against him.

Good common sense.

On whether or not the United States should use ground troops, Rubio said: “I don’t think you go into a military engagement saying what you will not do. The United States has plenty of capabilities both overt and covert to help us in this goal of getting rid of Muammar Qadhafi.”

More common sense.  I've been appalled at how Field Marshal Obama has telegraphed every move we've made in Libya, providing foes with an outline of what we will and won't do.  What kind of military strategy is that?

He also said that “as long as Qadhafi is in power, you can’t protect civilians or prevent genocide."

Obvious.

Pressed on whether he’d support ground troops, Rubio said that the Libyan rebels didn’t want them, and that it wasn’t “the ideal scenario.”

COMMENT:  I get reader e-mails claiming that Rubio is too young and inexperienced to run for president.  These are legitimate concerns.  But, I must tell you that, every time Rubio speaks, he does so with a maturity and sense of judgment that outdistances older and more seasoned officeholders.

I believe that the GOP needs an exciting, vote-drawing candidate to win against the Obama machine in 2012.   It is not going to be easy.  Rubio should at least be considered, especially if he builds a solid record in the Senate during this year.

April 3, 2011      Permalink

ANOTHER REMINDER ABOUT THE BRITISH HEALTH SYSTEM – AT 10:43 A.M. ET:   As we move closer to implementation of Obamacare, brought to us by people who believe in nationalized health care, here is a reminder of what we might well face:

A former director of Britain's National Health Service, which runs the country's socialized medicine system, has died while waiting 9 months for an operation. The UK Daily Mail reports:

A former NHS director died after waiting for nine months for an operation - at her own hospital.

Margaret Hutchon, a former mayor, had been waiting since last June for a follow-up stomach operation at Broomfield Hospital in Chelmsford, Essex.

But her appointments to go under the knife were cancelled four times and she barely regained consciousness after finally having surgery.

Her devastated husband, Jim, is now demanding answers from Mid Essex Hospital Services NHS Trust - the organisation where his wife had served as a non-executive member of the board of directors.

COMMENT:   One of the curses of socialized medicine is long wait times.  And, since the centralized system has no competition, there's usually nowhere else to go...unless one is very rich and can fly abroad.  As usual, programs designed to help "the common people" wind up hurting them.

April 3, 2011      Permalink

WHAT A THOUGHT FOR A SUNDAY MORNING – AT 10:25 A.M. ET:  There's an old saying that if you talk about a bad dream, it won't come true.  So let's talk about this, as much as we can:

A flattering New York Times profile has increased speculation that Samantha Power, the Dublin-born aide to President Obama, could be his next Secretary of State or National Security Adviser.

She has been the main architect, along with Hillary Clinton, of the Libya policy and has an increasing influence in the White House inner circle.

No Irish-born person in recent history has had such influence on a president. Power, now 40, moved to the US from Ireland at age 10.

With Hillary Clinton due to step down after Obama’s first term, she would be a live candidate to succeed her if Obama wins re-election.

And the kiss of death:

She is clearly the foremost voice for human rights within the White House,” Kenneth Roth, executive director of Human Rights Watch, told the New York Times “and she has Obama’s ear.”

COMMENT:  I must take my pills.  Samantha Power was ordered to stay out of the 2008 Obama campaign after she called Hillary Clinton a monster.  We're told that they've kissed and made up.  But that comment should indicate the level of her diplomatic skills.

As far as her influence on Libyan policy is concerned, that policy is totally confused and contradictory. 

Power is an amateur who won a Pulitzer Prize for a book on genocide.  That's pretty much it. 

Obama won't select a new secretary of state until after the election, assuming he's reelected.  That frees him of political pressure.  First, let's hope he's not reelected.  Second, if he is, let's hope he's developed at least some common sense.

April 3, 2011     Permalink