I have a new piece up at Hudson New York this morning, called "The Money Myth."  It's here.

I have a new piece up at Power Line, on the death of major newspapers.  It's here.

TUESDAY,  MARCH 10,  2009

MORE CULTURAL DIFFERENCES WE MUST UNDERSTAND - AT 9:37 P.M. ET: 

SAN JUAN, Puerto Rico (AP) -- The self-professed mastermind and four other men charged in the Sept. 11 attacks declared they are ''terrorists to the bone'' in a statement that mocked the U.S. failure to prevent the killings and predicted America will fall like ''the towers on the blessed 9/11 day.''

COMMENT:  But who are we to question their dedication to their sacred causes?  They have grievances, serious grievances.  We feel for them.

March 10, 2009   Permalink

JUST THE GROWING PAINS OF MULTICULTURALISM - AT 9:25 P.M. ET:  From AP:

Britain's defense minister has condemned a group of Muslim anti-war demonstrators who disrupted a parade for soldiers returning home from Iraq.

Police say they arrested two people Tuesday after a small group of Muslims was involved in an unspecified disturbance in the town of Luton, just north of London.

They were protesting a parade of the 2nd Battalion Royal Anglian Regiment hat has just returned home from service in southern Iraq.
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Some of the protesters held placards reading "Anglian Soldiers Go To Hell" and "Butchers of Basra," the BBC reported on Tuesday.

COMMENT:  We must understand and respect cultural diversity, mustn't we?

No.

March 10, 2009   Permalink

BACK IN BUSINESS - AT 7:10 P.M. ET:

WASHINGTON (AP) -- The Taliban's new top operations officer in southern Afghanistan had been a prisoner at the Guantanamo Bay detention center, the latest example of a freed detainee who took a militant leadership role and a potential complication for the Obama administration's efforts to close the prison. U.S. authorities handed over the detainee to the Afghan government, which in turn released him, according to Pentagon and CIA officials.

COMMENT:  Great, isn't it?  What if we'd released Nazi or Japanese prisoners during World War II?  We still are not taking the war on terror seriously enough.  Too many see it as a law-enforcement problem, and see detainees as petty thieves whose rights must be protected above all else.  This released prisoner is planning operations that will kill Americans, but I doubt if the ACLU cares.

March 10, 2009   Permalink

BULLETIN - AT 5:33 P.M. ET:   From The Washington Times:

Director of National Intelligence Dennis C. Blair announced Tuesday that his choice to head a key intelligence body, Charles "Chas" W. Freeman Jr., has withdrawn from the post.

The terse two-sentence announcement that Mr. Freeman would not chair the National Intelligence Council (NIC) followed mounting questions from members of Congress and others about the former ambassador's financial ties to Saudi Arabia and China and views about the Middle East and human rights.

COMMENT:  As readers know, we've been following this story.  Freeman's appointment was a disgrace.  The man holds views that would be repugnant to the overwhelming majority of Americans.  He never met a dictatorship he didn't like.  The usual suspects will attribute Freeman's withdrawal to the "Israel lobby."  If they do, so be it.  People have a right to petition their government.  But fair-minded people will realize that a man who praised the Tiananmen Square massacre and who has no problem with the worst of the Arab tyrannies, should not be in a position of influence.

We hope this episode sends a message to the "realists" in the Obama administration that their views are being scrutinized. 

Freeman's withdrawal comes on top of increasing criticism of the Obama administration for its seeming coldness toward democracy and human rights.  The good guys are getting active, and angry.

March 10, 2009   Permalink

DOW WOW - AT 4:22 P.M. ET:  In a spectacular day filled with irrational exuberance, the Dow soared 379 points, to 6926.  This, according to financial reporters, was based almost entirely on news that Citicorp made a little bit of profit in the last two months.  Thus, once again we see the cool, calm, experienced "investors" make their moves.  Please remember that the Dow was at 14,000 before the economic collapse.  The "investors" back then certainly were shrewd and prescient.  Same today.  Don't take today's gain too seriously. 

CHEERS FOR THE WASHINGTON POST - AT 2:56 P.M. ET:  We give credit where it's due here, and the Washington Post today shows that, among liberal papers, it has the most thoughtful editorial page.  It slams the Obama administration's indifference to human rights, and nails Ms. Hillary directly.  We thank reader Tom Wharton and Gateway Pundit for alerting us to this great editorial:

SECRETARY OF STATE Hillary Rodham Clinton continues to devalue and undermine the U.S. diplomatic tradition of human rights advocacy. On her first foreign trip, to Asia, she was dismissive about raising human rights concerns with China's communist government, saying "those issues can't interfere" with economic, security or environmental matters. In last week's visit to the Middle East and Europe, she undercut the State Department's own reporting regarding two problematic American allies: Egypt and Turkey.

No more party invitations to Hillary's house for WaPo editors.  Secretary Clinton was asked if the State Department's negative report on Egyptian human-rights practices would have any impact on policy:

Ms. Clinton was then asked whether there would be any connection between the report and a prospective invitation to President Hosni Mubarak to visit Washington. "It is not in any way connected," she replied, adding: "I really consider President and Mrs. Mubarak to be friends of my family. So I hope to see him often here in Egypt and in the United States." Ms. Clinton's words will be treasured by al-Qaeda recruiters and anti-American propagandists throughout the Middle East. She appears oblivious to how offensive such statements are to the millions of Egyptians who loathe Mr. Mubarak's oppressive government and blame the United States for propping it up.

COMMENT:  What is sickening is the silence of most "progressives" about this obscenity.  What kind of country are we?  Apparently, we're going back to the days of "realism" in foreign policy.  But that "realism" wasn't very realistic, as we've found out time and again.  The Post should be praised for reminding "liberals" what liberalism is supposed to be about, but isn't.  Harry Truman, Jack Kennedy, Henry Jackson - they must be turning over in their graves.

Read the whole editorial.  Well worth it.  More "change" we can't believe in.

March 10, 2009   Permalink

YEAH, WE'D SAY SO - AT 2:20 P.M. ET:  From Fox News:

National Intelligence Director Dennis Blair told Congress Tuesday that China has adopted a more aggressive military posture, according to Reuters, after the Pentagon accused five Chinese ships of harassing an unarmed U.S. Navy craft in international waters.

The top intelligence official said the incident is the worst since a U.S. spy plane and crew were detained in 2001.

COMMENT:  Oh, swell.  Blair just chose, as head of his National Intelligence Council, Charles Freeman Jr., who is on record as approving the Tiananmen Square Massacre.   Now we have friction with China.  Would you want a man with Freeman's views as head of a sensitive intelligence unit?  We've been following the Freeman selection, and it's time for Freeman to go.  But he won't go.

March 10, 2009   Permalink

WALL STREET MATH - AT 1:32 P.M. ET:  The Dow is up a whopping 287 points, to 6834.  This rally is reportedly based on the news that Citigroup is showing a small profit this quarter.  After all the billions the American taxpayer poured into that bank, I would hope so.  "Investors" are apparently impressed.  Let's see if the "mood" of these financial geniuses lasts more than 24 hours. 

BIDEN'S MATH - AT 1:27 P.M. ET:  Vice President Joseph Biden, at a press conference in Brussels, analyzed the makeup of the Taliban in Afghanistan:

In response to a question about how many of the Taliban might be considered "moderate" and therefore open to reconciliation, Mr. Biden ticked off some percentages.

"Five percent of the Taliban is incorrigible, not susceptible to anything other than being defeated. Another 25 percent or so are not quite sure, in my view, [of] the intensity of their commitment to the insurgency," Mr. Biden said during a press conference.

"And roughly 70 percent are involved because of the money, because of them being . . . paid," he said.

COMMENT:  I wonder where he got those numbers.  Only five percent are incorrigible?  How would anyone know that?  Would you buy a used military strategy from this man?

March 10, 2009   Permalink

DOW SOARS - AT 9:43 A.M. ET:  The Dow is up 153 at the opening, to 6700. 

CHINESE HARASSMENT - AT 8:45 A.M. ET: 

WASHINGTON (AP) - Chinese ships surrounded and harassed a Navy mapping ship in international waters off China, at one point coming within 25 feet of the American boat and strewing debris in its path, the Defense Department said Monday. The Obama administration said it would continue naval operations in the South China Sea, most of which China considers its territory, and protested to China about what it called reckless behavior that endangered lives.

At one point during the incident Sunday the unarmed USNS Impeccable turned fire hoses on an approaching Chinese ship in self defense, the Pentagon said. At another point a Chinese ship played chicken with the Americans, stopping dead in front of the Impeccable as it tried to sail away, forcing the civilian mariners to slam on the brakes.

COMMENT:  This follows a familiar Chinese pattern.  You might recall that, in the early weeks of the Bush 43 administration, China forced down an American patrol plane.  The Chinese are testing Obama, and letting him know who's boss in that area.  We'll be watching the administration reaction closely.

No need for missile defense.  No need.

Please note that Hillary Clinton was in the region just a few weeks ago, and now both North Korea and China are ratcheting up tensions.  Her trip did a lot of good.  Another victory for "smart" diplomacy.

March 10, 2009   Permalink

KOREA TENSIONS - AT 8:33 A.M. ET:  From Financial Times:

North Korea on Monday cut its military hotline to Seoul and put its million-man army at battle stations, ratcheting up tensions as South Korean and US troops began war games that Pyongyang warned could spark open conflict.

UN forces last week tried to counter North Korean claims that the exercises were a smokescreen for an invasion by promising to keep the hotline open, giving Pyongyang advance warning of anything that could cause a misunderstanding.

North Korea’s official KCNA news agency quoted an army spokesman as saying: “It is nonsensical to maintain the normal channels of communication when the South Korean puppets are in a frenzy about these military exercises, levelling their guns at fellow countrymen in league with foreign forces.”

COMMENT:  Repeat after me:  "This is a misunderstanding.  There is no need for missile defense.  No need at all.  When Ms. Hillary returns to the region, all will be made okay.  This is just some tension left over from BUSH (!!).

March 10, 2009   Permalink

ANOTHER ALLY WEIGHS IN - AT 7:57 A.M. ET:  It's perfectly evident from news reports that some of America's best allies are becoming disillusioned with the under-construction foreign policy of this administration.  The disillusionment in Britain has been widely reported.  Poland has made clear its dismay over Obama's apparent offer to suspend our missile-defense program in Eastern Europe if Moscow would just smile a little wider and give us some help with Iran.

Now the Czech Republic, another stalwart pro-American nation, is joining the group of allies who've been made to feel like unwanted cousins by the "smart" diplomacy of Obama and Clinton. From the Washington Times:

Czech President Vaclav Klaus said Monday that he is seeking a sign from President Obama as to whether the U.S. will uphold its agreement to deploy missile defenses in the Czech Republic and Poland.

Mr. Klaus, an advocate for the deployment, told The Washington Times that he is eager to learn whether Mr. Obama will be as committed to the U.S. defense system as was President George W. Bush.

Mr. Obama is due to visit Prague after a summit of major industrial nations in London early next month.

"We're looking forward to having him in Prague," Mr. Klaus said. "I hope that will be a good opportunity to understand better his views."

In New York for an environmental conference, Mr. Klaus said the Obama administration's position on missile defense is "unknown."

COMMENT:  That is a damning statement.  Countries like Poland and the Czech Republic took the risk of antagonizing Russia by signing on to missile defense.  Now they're confronted with a president who may pull the rug out from under them.

Since the administration has just appointed a head of the National Intelligence Council, Charles Freeman, who is a fan of both the Chinese and Saudi governments, we seem to see a pattern emerging.  Democracies?  Who needs them?   

This is smart diplomacy?

March 10, 2009   Permalink

MORE CHANGE WE CAN BELIEVE IN - AT 7:23 A.M. ET:  For all the yapping about bringing a new style to Washington, troops in the Obama army seem quite willing to revert to the old style when needed.  They're developing a Nixonian enemies list, and they have a new target:

Forget Rush Limbaugh.

For all the focus on the king of conservative talk, Democrats may have found a more important villain in House Minority Whip Eric Cantor, a telegenic young Republican trying to bring life to his party on Capitol Hill.

As the Virginia Republican fights President Barack Obama and the Democratic majority on everything from spending to stem cells, the Democrats are racing to introduce him to voters before he can introduce himself.

At last month’s White House summit on entitlement reform, Obama painted Cantor as a poster child for obstructionism. “I’m going to keep on talking to Eric Cantor,” the president said. “Someday, sooner or later, he’s going to say, ‘Boy, Obama had a good idea.’”

COMMENT:  Cantor is one of the most effective Republicans on the Hill, which is why they're going after him.  I have confidence that he can hold his own.

March 10, 2009   Permalink

RUNNING IS EASY, GOVERNING IS HARD - AT 7:00 A.M. ET:  The Washington Post reports that the Democrats are being stung by dissent from within their own ranks as they try to pass their huge programs in the Age of Obama:

Democratic leaders in Congress did not expect much Republican support as they pressed President Obama's ambitious legislative agenda. But the pushback they are receiving from some of their own has come as an unwelcome surprise.

As the Senate inches closer to approving a $410 billion spending bill, the internal revolt has served as a warning to party leaders pursuing Obama's far-reaching plans for health-care, energy and education reform.

COMMENT:  The moderate Dems are making their presence felt.  This is especially critical in the Senate, where a coalition of Republicans and moderate Democrats can effectively block anything they wish.  Team Obama's transformation of America into Sweden West is apparently hitting some roadblocks.  We are not all socialists now.

March 10, 2009   Permalink 

MONDAY,  MARCH 9,  2009

PAKISTAN STONEWALLING - AT 10:46 P.M. ET:  From the Los Angeles Times:

Reporting from Washington -- U.S. efforts to identify and thwart the growing threat posed by Pakistani extremists who enjoy easy access to the United States -- and already have a significant presence here -- are being undermined by the government of Pakistan, according to current and former U.S. and Western counter-terrorism officials.

After the terrorist attack in Mumbai, India, in November, which killed more than 170 people, the FBI and other U.S. agencies went on high alert, searching without success for evidence of plotters in the United States. But they were essentially shut down in efforts to work the Pakistan side of the investigation, not only to find additional plotters but to learn more about the Al Qaeda-affiliated Pakistani militant group suspected of orchestrating the attacks, Lashkar-e-Taiba, and its global network of cells, the officials said.

COMMENT:  An important story.  British intelligence believes that Pakistani activists are the greatest terror threat to Britain.  It's logical to assume that these extremists also have America in their sights.  If we can't get the Pakistanis to cooperate, the chances of a successful terror attack here are enhanced.  Let's see what Obama can do about this.

March 9   Permalink

UNBELIEVABLE, BUT BELIEVABLE - AT 10:30 P.M. ET:  Read this one carefully, from Fox News:

The Department of Defense and the National Nuclear Security Administration had to wait more than a year to refurbish aging nuclear warheads — partly because they had forgotten how to make a crucial component, a government report states.

Regarding a classified material codenamed "Fogbank," a Government Accountability Office report released this month states that "NNSA had lost knowledge of how to manufacture the material because it had kept few records of the process when the material was made in the 1980s and almost all staff with expertise on production had retired or left the agency."

So the effort to refurbish and upgrade W76 warheads, which top the U.S. Navy's (and the British Royal Navy's) submarine-launched Trident missiles, had to be put on hold while experts scoured old records and finally figured out how to manufacture the stuff once again.

COMMENT:  There's a good lesson here.  We assume that expertise is handed down from generation to generation, but sometimes it isn't.  There have been authoritative reports that the United States Government is running on fumes in some technical, defense-related areas because people are retiring and no one is taking their place.  This problem should have the highest priority.

March 9, 2009  Permalink

THE FREEMAN BEAT - AT 7:49 P.M. ET:  The selection of Charles Freeman Jr. to be head of the National Intelligence Council continues to roil the waters.  We've been following the story.  Freeman is an apologist for both China and Saudi Arabia.  He has strange tastes in friends.  From the Washington Times:

Republicans on the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence are vowing increased scrutiny of national intelligence estimates if Charles “Chas” W. Freeman Jr. oversees their production.

In a letter sent Monday to Dennis C. Blair, the director of national intelligence, seven Republican senators - led by the panel's vice chairman, Christopher S. Bond, Missouri Republican - said the appointment of Mr. Freeman as chairman of the National Intelligence Council (NIC), “sends the wrong message.”

COMMENT:  It's sad that only Republicans are raising objections.  Democrats, who are oh so sensitive about our "treatment" of Gitmo detainees, seem, with a few exceptions, to be unconcerned about Freeman's praise of the Tiananmen Square massacre or his vile comments about Israel.  Freeman is a former ambassador to Saudi Arabia, and his ties to that country's government should be put under a microscope.  The "kingdom" has a long history of taking good care of its friends.

March 9, 2009   Permalink

TALIBAN TALKS? - AT 7:18 P.M. ET:  Strangely enough, this is a joint dispatch from both Britain's Guardian and Telegraph:

BARACK Obama's call for "moderate" Taliban members to be brought in from the cold has met with scepticism from leading Afghan opposition figures, who warned that co-opting fighters would fail as long as Hamid Karzai's Government appeared weak and corrupt.

Ashraf Ghani, a former Afghan finance minister who plans to run for president in August, said: "I don't know of a single peace process that has been successfully negotiated from a position of weakness or stalemate."

COMMENT:  There's some wisdom there.  Obama's call for talks - his standard line - will run parallel to military action.  It's his war now.

March 9, 2009   Permalink

COMMON SENSE DEFENSE - AT 5:51 P.M. ET:  Sen. Jon Kyl of Arizona and House GOP Whip Eric Cantor of Virginia have an excellent piece on the need for missile defense in The Politico.  They point out:

In the past two weeks, the chairman of the Senate Armed Services Committee announced that he would “love” to cut missile defense funding. Newspaper headlines report that the Obama administration is planning to make significant cuts in the missile defense budget. These cuts could include funds that would be used to deploy our missile defense assets to Europe — which NATO has twice stated is necessary to deal with the threat from Iran.

That such a rollback of the system is being discussed is dangerous. That it is being discussed at the same time North Korea and Iran are carrying out aggressive, threatening activities is irresponsible and unacceptable.

Spot on.  The Republican opposition must watch carefully what is done to our national defense.  The left wing of the Democratic Party is contemptuous of it.  They want that money for their pet projects.  The two GOP leaders conclude:

Ballistic missile defense is the most moral and effective deterrent to the threat of ballistic missile attack. The American people deserve to be protected, and national security is too important to be politicized. Obama and congressional Democrats should work with Republicans to protect the American people and our allies against ballistic missile attack.

Rate the odds of that.  We're in for a fight on defense, but it's a fight our side can win - if we involve the American people and explain our correct, well-thought-out position.

March 9, 2009   Permalink

DOW CLOSE - AT 4:11 P.M. ET:  The Dow closed down 80 points, to 6547.

SERIOUSLY - AT 1:39 P.M. ET:

SILVER SPRING, Md. (AP) -- Montgomery County police say 16 people were arrested after a fight broke out during a concert held to promote nonviolence and to remember a Silver Spring teen killed last year.

The free Stop the Violence youth concert was held Saturday night on Ellsworth Street in downtown Silver Spring in memory of 14-year-old Montgomery Blair High School student Tai Lam, who was shot to death in November.

COMMENT:  You read that correctly.

March 9, 2009   Permalink

DOW NOW - AT 1:23 P.M. ET:  The Dow is down 60, to 6567, getting close to that psychological 6500 mark. 

OBAMAMANIA TAPERING OFF - AT 1:15 P.M. ET:  Rasmussen reports that approval of President Obama is at 56%, and has been there for three days running.  Disapproval is at 43%, also for three days running.  These are not spectacular figures.  A month ago the president stood at 60% approve, 38% disapprove.  The gap has gone from 22% to 13%. 

Messiahs generally do better.

March 9, 2009   Permalink 

POLAND DISSED - AT 8:25 A.M. ET:  As if to confirm the story just below, the president of Poland speaks out on missile defense, an an apparent plea to the United States.  AP reports:

Poland's president said Sunday he believes the U.S. will honor its agreement to build a missile defense base in his country, adding that scrapping the project to improve ties with Russia would be an unfriendly gesture toward Poland.

"A deal was signed and I think that regardless of which administration is in power in the United States agreements are going to be implemented," President Lech Kaczynski said on TVN24 television.

COMMENT:  Advice to the president of Poland:  Please note President Obama's rude treatment of Prime Minister Gordon Brown of the U.K. last week.  If I were you, I wouldn't be sure that this administration will honor its agreement with Poland.  The word "ally" doesn't appear to have much strength in the Obama White House. 

March 9, 2009   Permalink

OBAMA DOUBTED ABROAD - AT 8:07 A.M. ET:  The Australian reports something we're beginning to see clearly, that many foreign countries are becoming considerably less enthusiastic about Barack Obama, and these countries are allies of the United States.  Washington is opening ties with Iran.  It's also smiling broadly at Russia, and dangling a number of possible concessions.  As The Australian says:

The regional diplomatic effort, which will involve Mr Obama traveling to Turkey early next month -- Ankara has offered some qualified support for Iran's nuclear program -- makes good on his campaign promises.

But it worries Arab and Israeli leaders, who already question whether Mr Obama is making too many concessions to Iran, while eastern Europeans feel the same about the dramatic reversal in tone of the relations between Washington and Moscow.

COMMENT:  We hope that the Obama administration is simply testing the waters, as some analysts argue.  But we can't help noting that the changes reflect the leftist political instincts of the president and secretary of state, as well as Obama advisers like Samantha Power.

Time is not on our side, especially with Iran, whose nuclear program forges ahead.  Americans will start demanding some tangible results from the Obama foreign-policy team, sooner rather than later.

March 9, 2009   Permalink

EDUCATIONAL NOTE - AT 7:12 A.M. ET:  From the Washington Times:

Capitol Hill's top Democrats are making a full-throated effort to rebrand earmarks as good government, not a dirty word synonymous with pork-barrel hijinks.

With President Obama's vow to clamp down on earmarks putting pressure on lawmakers to change their ways, congressional leaders have set out to educate voters about why they think Congress should direct dollars to districts or states for specific pet projects.

COMMENT:  In other words, no change we can believe in.  Business as usual.  Now let's see if President Obama has the clout, or the stomach, to take on his own party.  Of course, he'll have to get some sleep first.

March 9, 2009   Permalink

RESTRAIN THIS JOURNALIST, IMMEDIATELY - AT 7:02 A.M. ET:  The AP is off to a borderline-hysterical start this week, going way over the top in discussing Mr. Obama's health-care plans:

WASHINGTON (AP) -- Embarking on arguably his most complex political fight yet, President Barack Obama is using skills honed during his presidential campaign and lessons learned from past failures to try to overhaul the health care system.

It's a feat none before him has achieved. As such, it would pay monumental dividends for a popular new president looking for history-making accomplishments ahead of his likely 2012 re-election campaign.

''Nothing is harder in politics than doing something now that costs money in order to gain benefits 20 years from now,'' Obama acknowledged last week.

That's exactly what he's trying as he seeks to ensure health care for everyone in a country with the world's costliest system and an estimated 48 million uninsured people.

COMMENT:  Oh, the hero.  Oh, the godlike figure.  Oh, the messianic creature sent to us by a higher power to right our sins.  Can we be luckier?

Hey, guys, calm down.  The first journalistic question is this:  Does the health-care system actually need overhauling? 

Why is this question not being asked?  Maybe what's needed are some fixes rather than an overhaul.  And maybe it's not the health-care system we should focus on, but the health-insurance system.  And maybe, just maybe, we should fight to minimize government involvement, rather than maximize it. 

March 9, 2009   Permalink

BARACK AND WINNIE - AT 6:50 A.M. ET:  Superb historian Arthur Herman notes that British Prime Minister Gordon Brown gave President Obama a set of Sir Martin Gilbert's multi-volume biography of Winston Churchill.  But, Herman believes, Obama will never read it because he has contempt for Churchill and the British tradition:

...it's a shame that Obama will never read Sir Martin's work. If he did, he'd discover how one man can inspire a people with the notion that liberty is worth defending, not just in prosperity but in a nation's darkest days.

He might also learn why, not so long ago, Americans and Britons felt compelled to join forces to oppose a generation of would-be political messiahs who imagined they could make a better world by stifling that legacy of liberty.

COMMENT:  I like the part about the would-be political messiahs.  Hmm.

March 9, 2009   Permalink