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I appeared on Silvio Canto's talk show from Dallas yesterday.  It's here.

MARCH 22,  2011

UNBELIEVABLE, JUST UNBELIEVABLE – AT 10:19 P.M. ET:  The weakness and confusion of this president have now become the stuff of jokes and international ridicule.  Just a few weeks ago he was saying that the leader of Libya had to go.  Now, even though we have committed our forces to battle against that very leader, he sings a different, weaker tune.  From The Politico:

President Obama indicated on Tuesday that Muammar Qadhafi may still have an opportunity to “change his approach” and put in place “significant reforms” in the Libyan government.

Asked by NBC’s Savannah Guthrie what the U.S. commitment is in Libya if Qadhafi remains in power but continues to pose a threat to his people, Obama appeared to leave the door open for political reforms.

“You are absolutely right that as long as Qadhafi remains in power, and unless he changes his approach and there are significant reforms in the Libyan government that allow the Libyan people to express themselves, there are still going be potential threats against Libyan people—unless he is going to step down,” Obama said.

His quick shift back to what he had earlier stated—that Qadhafi must step down—is more in line with the conclusion that he and his administration officials had come to weeks ago. But a return to the call for “political reforms” is reminiscent of the White House position on Egypt during its upheaval.

COMMENT:  Translated into English, no one actually understands what Obama is saying.  He makes George W. Bush look like a model of clarity. 

We wonder whether Obama is getting international pressure to go easy on Qadhafi.  Qadhafi has allies, among them, disgracefully enough, Nelson Mandela.  (Although knowing Mandela's real beliefs, that may not be so shocking.  And remember that Qadhafi, a participant in oil deals and the deal for the despicable release of the Lockerbie bomber, knows much.  There may be people around the world who may fear what he might reveal if he were forced from power.

Qadhafi made his first TV appearance in a week today, and vowed defiance.  There are some reports circulating that he's trying to negotiate an exit from Libya, but they have not been confirmed.  Today he didn't sound like a man contemplating defeat. 

March 22, 2011       Permalink

LET'S NOT FORGET – AT 10:08 P.M. ET:  Our eyes are on Libya and Japan, but we have some pretty serious headaches right here at home.  From CNBC:

The United States is on a fiscal path towards insolvency and policymakers are at a "tipping point," a Federal Reserve official said on Tuesday.

"If we continue down on the path on which the fiscal authorities put us, we will become insolvent, the question is when," Dallas Federal Reserve Bank President Richard Fisher said in a question and answer session after delivering a speech at the University of Frankfurt. "The short-term negotiations are very important, I look at this as a tipping point."

But he added he was confident in the Americans' ability to take the right decisions and said the country would avoid insolvency.

"I think we are at the beginning of the process and it's going to be very painful," he added.

COMMENT:  The federal budget is being debated in Congress right now, and President Obama is showing his usual lack of leadership. 

We are told that we're in a recovery, but it's hard to see where that recovery is.  Unemployment is still high.  The housing market is swimming with the fishes.  Fuel prices, which Americans see every day, are soaring, while chic environmentalists tell us that's a good thing. 

One of these days, a foreign crisis will erupt and America just won't have the money to deal with it.  The world is becoming less, not more, stable, and we are becoming weaker and less resolute under our current leadership.  The next election will be one of the most critical in this nation's recent history.

March 22, 2011       Permalink

SNIPPET OF THE DAY – AT 10:33 A.M. ET:

(Reuters) - A New York man has been arrested for allegedly selling illegal prescription drugs from his ice cream truck, making more than $1 million in a year, prosecutors said.

Is nothing sacred in this country any longer?  This gives an entirely new meaning to the term "Good Humor man."

March 22, 2011       Permalink

OH DEAR, YOU MUST PUT BATTERIES IN THE CALCULATOR – AT 9:44 A.M. ET:  Let us return for a few moments to the world of gritty, delightful politics.  A major Republican target in next year's senatorial races is incumbent Senator Claire McCaskill of Missouri.   Not exactly a giant of the Senate, McCaskill is already facing sharp challenges.

Unfortunately the senator has also developed a habit of not paying taxes.  We know how hard her day must be, but, really, she must take care of these matters before next year's election...unless it's already too late.  From Fox:

Any way you slice it, $287, 273 is a lot of money, especially in this economy. For one-term Senator Claire McCaskill, D-Mo., up for re-election in 2012, that's the amount of personal property taxes she failed to pay since 2007 on a plane she and her husband, a millionaire businessman, partially owned.

"I have discovered that the...personal property taxes on the plane have not been paid," McCaskill told a small number of reporters on a conference call Monday. "There should have been a reporting to the county of the existence of this airplane...There are people I could blame for this, but I know better. As (a former) auditor, I know I should have checked for myself. I take full responsibility for the mistake."   Audio of the call was sent to Fox by a McCaskill aide and can be found here.

The senator said she had done her own "thorough review" of all 89 flights she had taken following a political controversy that erupted recently over the same plane that was first reported by Politico.

The senator had used the plane for political purposes, paying for the travel with taxpayer money from her Senate office, a "mistake" the senator said, for which she reimbursed the government nearly $89,000. "All of the money has been repaid for the public funds," McCaskill said Monday.

The senator said she had paid sales taxes on the plane, both local and state, evidence, she said, that she had made no attempt to duck her financial responsibility. "I want to reiterate, there was no attempt to evade the plane...This is just a mistake that I take full responsibility for."

But Republicans did not buy the explanation from McCaskill, a top GOP target in 2012. "In the past two weeks, we have learned that Claire McCaskill billed taxpayers for political travel and failed to pay nearly $300,000 in personal property taxes on her plane. Over the last four years, cash-strapped school districts and the children in these schools have been deprived of these much-need funds," Missouri Republican Party chairman David Cole blasted in a statement from his office.

COMMENT:  McCaskill is probably toast, but the level of her toastiness will depend on the quality of the candidate the GOP runs against her.  Given some of the GOP's bizarre personnel picks in 2010, I'd be reluctant to put this contest in our column just yet.

March 22, 2011      Permalink

JAPAN SAGA – AT 9:06 A.M. ET:  With new military action in the Mideast, we've been distracted from the serious drama going on in Japan, as workers, many risking their lives and health, try to tame a damaged nuclear plant.  Day by day progress is being made, but the outcome still is uncertain.  From Fox:

The operator of Japan's leaking nuclear plant says power lines have been hooked up to all six reactor units, though more work is needed before electricity can run through them.

The plant's operator, Tokyo Electric Power Company, announced the hookup Tuesday but cautioned that workers must check pumps, motors and other equipment before the electricity is turned on.

Reconnecting the Fukushima Dai-ichi nuclear complex to the electrical grid is a significant step in getting control of the overheated reactors and storage pools for spent fuels. But it is likely to be days if not longer before the cooling systems can be powered up, since damaged equipment needs to be replaced and any volatile gas must be vented to avoid an explosion.

Nuclear plant workers resumed work Tuesday morning to restore power and cooling functions at the crippled reactors after smoke was detected at the Unit 2 and 3 reactors, Kyodo News Agency reports.
The operator of the plant told the Kyodo News Agency that firefighters and the Tokyo Electric Power Co. sprayed water onto the spent nuclear fuel rods at the Unit 3 and 4 reactors.

COMMENT:  We are getting a lot of conflicting stories about radiation damage thus far.  We may not know for some time the extent of that damage, or how long some areas around the plant have to remain evacuated.  But, up to now, this has not proved the unmitigated disaster that some disciples of Dr. Gloom had gleefully predicted. 

In assessing radiation damage, scientists will look at the intensity of the radiation, its type, the degree to which a particular type of radiation lasts, dispersal patterns, and medical knowledge.  Fortunately, warning systems are in place.  There is constant monitoring.  This isn't Chernobyl, where Soviet authorities never even warned citizens not to drink milk produced in areas around the stricken plant.

We await further, authoritative information.

March 22, 2011       Permalink

PRESIDENT UNDER FIRE – AT 8:46 A.M. ET:  Americans usually rally 'round the flag when our armed services go into action, and, indeed, one poll now shows that a majority of Americans now favor the Libya operation, a change from last week.

But enthusiasm is limited, and Obama is being widely criticized across the political spectrum, in large part because of the way he went to war in Libya and his AWOL style of leadership.  Even liberals are exasperated.  Richard Cohen of The Washington Post writes:

The change that Obama promised has settled on us all like an irritating drizzle. His ideas were untested by either age or experience. It is one thing to decry American unilateralism and quite another to await international action when time is of the essence. It is not necessary for America always to lead, but it is sometimes necessary for it to do so — and always necessary for the president to know when that moment has arrived. Obama seems not to know. He often solves problems by ignoring them.

To tell you the truth, I don’t know whether it was appropriate for Obama to go through with his trip to South America, but it sure was symbolic. Here was his country entering yet another military operation, and there was the president in Brazil. The contrast was jarring — as if he was quite literally distancing himself from the consequences of his own policy. The man supposed to be the center of it all was on the periphery.

COMMAND:  Wolf Blitzer of CNN pointed out last night that Obama didn't even make the traditional address to the nation from the Oval Office when ordering American men and women into combat. 

I think it's unlikely, given their self-brainwashing over the decades, but maybe the Dems will grow some appreciation for the decisiveness of George W. Bush, at least in his first term.  Bush was not internationally popular, in part because of the way the international leftist press portrayed him, but he was taken seriously, and feared.  Obama was supposed to lead America out of the wilderness it was never in.  He seems to have lost his Boy Scout compass, and led us into the woods.  Now our president is neither popular nor feared.  His leadership is being ridiculed.  With a lot of guns, and nuclear missiles pointed at us, this is not the guy we need.

March 22, 2011       Permalink

U.S. F-15E CRASHES IN LIBYA – AT 8:14 A.M. ET:  Details are sketchy, but an American F-15E has crashed in Libya after both crew members ejected.

Obviously, Americans on the ground in Libya would set up a potential hostage situation, but this story, after hours of waiting, now has a happy ending:

Tripoli, Libya (CNN) -- A U.S. Air Force fighter jet crashed in Libya after experiencing an equipment malfunction, but both crew members ejected safely and are now out of Libya and in U.S. hands, the U.S. military and a senior U.S. defense official said Tuesday.

A pilot and weapons officer aboard an F-15E Strike Eagle had flown from Aviano Air Base in Italy to Libya when the fighter experienced problems, the U.S. military command for Africa said in a statement. Both pilots ejected, the statement said.

The pilot and weapons officer suffered minor injuries but landed safely in Libya, the military said.
A U.S. military plane picked up the pilot, a senior defense official said. Libyan rebels recovered the second crew member and "took good care of him" until coalition forces "could come get him," the official said.

COMMENT:  An instructive story.  How many times have you heard that "they all hate us"?  How many times have you heard that we don't dare intervene in the Mideast because the "Arab street" will explode? 

Well, the Arab street has exploded...against its own leaders.  That wasn't in the playbook written by left-wing academics and journalists who parroted the line that we were uniquely hated.

Here we have a rebel force that didn't take an American hostage, but took good care of him and got him back safely to our people.  The rebels appreciate American and allied intervention.  They may not have loved colonialism, but they love our power, when it's on their side.  That mutual interest has value to us, if we recognize it.

March 22,  2011     Permalink

MARCH 21,  2011

I CANNOT STAND THE EXCITEMENT – AT 9:58 P.M. ET:  Are we not lucky people?  Are we not blessed by the titans of entertainment?  First, we reported – can you stand to wait – announcement of a series of spy novels by Valerie Plame, that well-known author and complainer. 

And now, as if the entertainment world wasn't generous enough, we get word of its latest gift to us.  Please write letters of thanks:

EXCLUSIVE: HBO has optioned the book Angler: The Cheney Vice Presidency by Pulitzer-Prize winning journalist Barton Gellman for a miniseries to be executive produced by Paula Weinstein.

The mini, which will be based on the bestselling book and the FRONTLINE documentary, The Dark Side, tells the story of Richard Bruce Cheney from his early days as Donald Rumsfeld’s protégé in the Nixon administration, to the nation's youngest chief of staff under President Ford, to serving as secretary of defense under George H.W. Bush, through two controversial terms as vice president under President George W. Bush. According to the producers, the project will center on Cheney's "single-minded pursuit of enhanced power for the presidency (that) was unprecedented in the nation's history."

Oh really?  Tell that to Lincoln's opponents.  Or FDR's.  Or Truman's, for that matter. 

Weinstein has executive produced 2 Emmy-winning HBO minis about major political events/figures: the 2008 "Recount," about the 2000 Florida recount, and the 1995 "Truman." She is also exec producing HBO's upcoming "Too Big To Fail," about the 2008 financial meltdown.

COMMENT:  The sad fact is that they're serious about this, and they'll probably win awards.

March 21, 2011       Permalink

A LIBERAL INTERVENTION – AT 8:57 P.M. ET:  President Obama is catching it from all sides today over his intervention in Libya.  Some criticisms, I think, are justified.  He waited too long, and there is a vagueness about the mission.  Some criticism, coming from the fringe left and from some Republicans, is somewhat over the top.  Republicans, in particular, must take care that they're not perceived as knee-jerk carpers, who complain about Obama just because he's Obama.  And we should remember that American warriors are in harm's way.

Ross Douthat of The New York Times, whom we have not cited before, has the quote of the day in explaining the pros and cons of Obama's liberal-style intervention:

Obama White House has shown exquisite deference to the very international institutions and foreign governments that the Bush administration either steamrolled or ignored.

This way of war has obvious advantages. It spreads the burden of military action, sustains rather than weakens our alliances, and takes the edge off the world’s instinctive anti-Americanism. Best of all, it encourages the European powers to shoulder their share of responsibility for maintaining global order, instead of just carping at the United States from the sidelines.

But there are major problems with this approach to war as well. Because liberal wars depend on constant consensus-building within the (so-called) international community, they tend to be fought by committee, at a glacial pace, and with a caution that shades into tactical incompetence. And because their connection to the national interest is often tangential at best, they’re often fought with one hand behind our back and an eye on the exits, rather than with the full commitment that victory can require.

COMMENT:  Well put.  We're concerned here that President Obama is not demanding Ghadaffi's immediate exit, simply suggesting it.  It's understood that if this intervention ends with the Libyan leader still in power, we will have lost.

March 21, 2011       Permalink

NUT CASE OF THE DAY – AT 11:00 A.M. ET:  Michelle Malkin examines the curious case of Congresswoman Lynn Woolsey of California, an "anti-war" Democrat and darling of Code Pink.  There are few in Congress to the left of her. 

A grown woman in public office who acts like Lindsay Lohan has no business comparing one of America's finest generals to Charlie Sheen. But anti-war Democratic Rep. Lynn Woolsey of California has never shown any restraint when it comes to trashing America's military leaders before the world.

That's because being a Code Pink liberal -- like being a Hollywood brat -- means never having to apologize for your reckless words and deeds.

Woolsey took to the House floor on Wednesday to report on her "Congressional Progressive Caucus Peace and Security Task Force" hearing with critics of the Afghanistan war. She parroted Rolling Stone journalist Michael Hastings (he'd be labeled an "activist," of course, if he supported the surge), who said:

"Gen. Petraeus is giving us the Charlie Sheen counterinsurgency strategy, which is to give exclusive interviews to every major network, and to keep saying 'We're winning' and hope the public actually agrees with you."

Woolsey then went on to attack Gen. Petraeus' "bland and tone-deaf talking points." She can't make up her mind. Is he a wild-eyed, Charlie Sheen-esque media beast, or is he a boring bureaucrat lulling America into oblivion?

COMMENT:  For people like Lynn Woolsey, leftist beliefs are a religion, not a set of political principles.  She will never change, any more than others in her camp will change.  No matter what happens, they will be back immediately with the same line.  Facts are of no signficance. 

More than a generation ago, an "anti-war" movement that seemed oddly sympathetic to our enemies, cost us victory in Vietnam, and then went deaf-and-dumb over the Cambodian genocide.  Their ranks are still around, and have been active since the attacks of September 11, 2001.  It is our job to shove them to the margins, where they belong. 

March 21, 2011       Permalink

A CHANCE TO PRAISE – AT 10:21 A.M. ET:  As readers know, we're not too kind here to the mainstream media.  I am not a candidate for the presidency of the Christiane Amanpour Admiration Society.  I do not anticipate the publisher of The New York Times taking me to lunch.

And so when a mainstream paper or network does something admirable, it is a pleasure to point it out, as we do this morning.

Last week there was a bad incident at the Detroit News.  Scott Burgess, their auto critic – an important journalistic position in Detroit – properly resigned after a negative review of his was altered at the request of an advertiser.  Such caving in under advertiser pressure is absolutely a red line in ethical journalism.

The newspaper, on Saturday, printed a front-page apology, signed by the publisher, and containing this language: 

“Our decision to make these changes following an advertiser’s complaint was a humbling mistake. As publisher and editor, I want to apologize to our readers and of course Scott.”

That was exactly the right thing to do, and putting the apology on the front page, instead of burying it in an "editor's note" somewhere, showed class and courage.  It is rare, in today's pomposity-driven journalism, to see such character. 
The apology also said:

The credibility of our journalism is our calling card to your doorstep and your digital screen. We simply cannot act at any behest but yours and we must avoid any appearance to the contrary.

That is also correct.  Compare please to some of the attitudes we see at other outlets.

The paper has offered Burgess his job back.  He hasn't announced whether he'll accept the offer. 

The full text of the apology is here. 

March 21, 2011       Permalink  

JAPAN UPDATE – AT 8:57 A.M. ET:  Japan is still working to contain the damage at the stricken nuclear plant, and so far a major catastrophe has been avoided.  It is tough work, but we can hope for a good outcome:

Tokyo (CNN) -- Smoke spewed Monday from two adjacent reactors in the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant, a nuclear safety official said, setbacks that came despite fervent efforts to prevent the further release of radioactive materials at the stricken facility.

After 6 p.m., white smoke was seen emanating from the facility's No. 2 reactor, according to Hidehiko Nishiyama, an official with Japan's Nuclear and Industrial Safety Agency. About two hours earlier, workers were evacuated from the area around the No. 3 reactor after gray smoke began to rise from the wreckage of its steel-and-concrete housing, which was blown apart by a hydrogen explosion last week.

The No. 3 reactor has been the top priority for authorities trying to contain damage to the plant and stave off a possible meltdown. Its fuel includes a small percentage of plutonium mixed with the uranium in its fuel rods, which experts say could cause more harm than regular uranium fuels in the event of a meltdown.

Nishiyama said there was no evident explosion, spike in radiation or injuries at the No. 3 reactor. The smoke was coming from the building's southeastern side, where the reactor's spent nuclear fuel pool is located, but the origin of the smoke at either reactor was unknown.

COMMENT:  This is a day by day story.  Don't give up.  There are reports of elevated radiation in Japan, but not at a dangerous level.  Radiation floating to the U.S. is minimal thus far.  Be careful of scare stories.

March 21, 2011      Permalink

AND NOW SYRIA? – AT 8:42 A.M. ET:  What is remarkable about what is being called the "Arab spring" is the number of countries that have seen protests.  It's one right after the other, of varying degrees of intensity. 

Yes, we concede that some of the protesters may have ideas that need "further study," but the fact that there are protests at all is striking.  And now Syria, one of the most critical of Arab states, and an ally of Iran, is feeling the impact.  From The New York Times:

DAMASCUS, Syria — Protesters set fire to the ruling Baath Party’s headquarters and other government buildings in the southern city of Dara’a on Sunday, as protesters rallied and clashed with the police for a third straight day, witnesses said.

Police officers fired live ammunition into the crowds, killing at least one and wounding scores of others, witnesses said. But the Syrian president, Bashar al-Assad, also made some conciliatory gestures in an apparent attempt to stop the cycle of public anger that has fueled uprisings in other Arab countries in the past three months.

Syria, a police state known for its brutal suppression of any public protests, seemed immune to the wave of uprisings sweeping the Arab world until the past week, when demonstrations took place in several cities. The southern town of Dara’a, where citizens were outraged by the arrest of more than a dozen schoolchildren, has seen the largest protests by far. Thousands took to the streets on Sunday, as they have for several days now.

COMMENT:  My sense is that the odds are against a huge revolution in Syria because it is such a complete police state.  But you never know.  They said that about Libya.  If Syria can be broken off from the Iranian axis, it would be a coup for the West.  Stand by.

By the way, John Kerry is considered America's intermediary with Syria, and is reportedly active right now in trying to get the Syrian government to be more cooperative with us.  Not exactly the best timing, Johnny.  You should be working to have that government replaced.

March 21, 2011       Permalink

GREAT BRIT LAYING IT ON THE LINE – AT 8:08 A.M. ET:  One can't help but be impressed by the current British leadership.  Just as Tony Blair was always there for us, Prime Minister David Cameron and Defense Secretary Liam Fox are leading us.

Now Fox, a physician turned political figure, is laying it on the line about Libya.  From the Jerusalem Post:

British Defense Secretary Liam Fox said that Gaddafi could become a target of the Western coalition's air strikes, as long as civilians' safety would be guaranteed, the Guardian reported on Sunday.

Fox reportedly explained that the scale of the attacks are "essential in terms of the Gaddafi regime's ability to prosecute attacks on their own people."

And from Fox:

British submarines fired two missiles at Libyan leader Muammar al-Qaddafi’s compound in downtown Tripoli Sunday, a senior coalition official confirmed to Fox News, as part of a weekend of punishing attacks aimed at protecting the Libyan people.

The British Ministry of Defense confirmed that Qaddafi was not the target, but that the compound was hit because of its military significance. A Pentagon official had previously said Sunday that the coalition “will not be going after Qaddafi.”

COMMENT:  I wouldn't give much weight to the disclaimers.  Traditionally, Western countries have not spoken in terms of assassination, so the attack on Gaddafi's compound is framed in military terms.  But if you want to get Gaddafi, his compound is a pretty good place to start, unless he's vacationing in fabulous Venezuela, by the sea.

If Gaddafi remains in power at the end of our intervention, it will be seen as an American and Western loss.  I'm sure even the White House realizes that.

March 21, 2011     Permalink