Political Digest December 4, 2009

I post articles because I think they are of interest. Doing so doesn’t mean that I necessarily agree with every—or any—opinion in the posted article.

Gates, Clinton, and Mullen defend Afghanistan plan to Congress http://thehill.com//homenews/senate/70165-gates-clinton-and-mullen-defend-afghan-plan
The local TV news was showing Chicago anti-war protesters attacking Obama on Afghanistan, including the old traitor and terrorist, William Ayers, from whose living room Obama launched his political career. Too funny. Excerpt: High-ranking administration officials Wednesday warned Congress there would be severe consequences if the Taliban and al Qaeda aren’t defeated in South Asia. Secretary of Defense Robert Gates, Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton, and Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Adm. Mike Mullen fired the opening salvos in what is expected to be an intense congressional debate over a war that has lost the support of the American public.

Pakistanis voice concerns about Obama's new Afghanistan plan
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/12/02/AR2009120201747.html?wpisrc=newsletter
Excerpt: President Obama's new strategy for combating Islamist insurgents in Afghanistan fell on skeptical ears Wednesday in next-door Pakistan, a much larger, nuclear-armed state that Obama said was "at the core" of the plan and had even more at stake than Afghanistan.

Reaction to POTUS Speech on Afghanistan http://waronterrornews.typepad.com/home/2009/12/reaction-to-potus-speech-on-afghanistan.html?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+WarOnTerrorNews+%28War+On+Terror+News%29&utm_content=Yahoo%21+Mail
Excerpt: First off: Stop blaming the CinC that was decisive enough to overthrow the Taliban in less time than it took you to decide to half-step. Secondly: Compromise belongs to politicians, not war. The General needs 40,000 Troops. 30,000 is a half-step compromise. Third: Be grateful for allies. This is OUR fight and they are helping. The General asked YOU for 40,000 Troops, plus whatever the Allies could muster. Fourth: Pakistan victories are not YOURS. They stepped up but you did not. Had you decided when the General asked, the Taliban could have been crushed as the Pakis pushed them out of their safe havens.

A deadline written in quicksand, not stone
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/12/02/AR2009120203421.html?wpisrc=newsletter
Excerpt: President Obama's 18-month deadline for starting the Afghanistan pullout didn't survive its first 18 hours. In his speech to West Point cadets and to the nation on Tuesday night, Obama said he planned, conditionally, "to begin the transfer of our forces out of Afghanistan in July of 2011" -- a gesture aimed to assuage the antiwar left. But in questioning top administration officials Wednesday morning, the Senate Armed Services Committee quickly learned that this withdrawal timeline was less a commitment than an aspiration. First, Defense Secretary Robert Gates offered this qualifier to Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.): "Our current plan is that we will begin the transition . . . in July of 2011. We will evaluate in December 2010 whether we believe we will be able to meet that objective." Sen. Joe Lieberman (I-Conn.) found more softness in the pullout promise when he asked Gates if the deadline "may not include immediately a withdrawal of our forces." "That is correct," the secretary said, adding that "we're not just going to throw these guys into the swimming pool and walk away." The 18-month deadline was fast expiring, and Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.) delivered the coup de grace. "Is it possible," he asked, "to reach the conclusion it is not wise to withdraw anyone in July 2011?" "The president, as commander in chief, always has the option to adjust his decisions," Gates answered.

A Worthless Speech From A Worthless President
http://www.galganov.com/editorials.asp?id=1183
A view from Canada. Excerpt: Let me tell you something about the country of my birth (Canada), which many Americans might not know. Canada has been fighting in Afghanistan literally from DAY ONE. We are a small country in population with only 33 million people, about 10% of the American population. But, on a per-capita basis, we have a significant number of troops in-theatre at slightly less than 3000. But this number of Canadian troops is actually irrelevant to what our soldiers are doing, since we could have ten times that number of troops and be useless if we never ventured off base like the rest of NATO. Unlike the French, Germans and others who REFUSE to have their soldiers engaged in combat, Canadians have been at the forefront of just about every serious battle in every dangerous part of Afghanistan. When we hear about Kandahar, Helman, and other horrific places where the Taliban and Al Qaeda are king, that’s where you’ll find Canadian troops.

Disgrace Upon the Hudson
http://posuerpresident.blogspot.com/2009/12/disgrace-upon-hudson.html
It is appropriate that Mr. Obama chose West Point as the site for his speech on Afghanistan. After all, West Point was the subject of the first great betrayal of the American military - Benedict Arnold's attempt to sell the fort to the British.

Terrorist With Knife No Match for Mercedes Benz http://gatewaypundit.firstthings.com/2009/12/terrorist-with-knife-no-match-for-mercedes-benz-video/
Excerpt: A PALESTINIAN who was shot after stabbing two Israelis in the West Bank last week was run over time and again by the enraged husband of one of the stabbing victims, footage aired today showed. The footage, aired on Israel’s commercial Channel 2, shows a grey Mercedes-Benz driving through a crowd and running over the body of the wounded Palestinian who had been shot by an Israeli soldier minutes earlier. The car is then seen driving back and running over the body, only to move forward and reverse over the man again, before being stopped by a policeman. (Strong response called for here. I’m thinking a stern warning for failing to signal for a turn….)

More Texas Democrats Switch to the GOP
http://texasgop.org/news.asp?artid=98
Excerpt: We're pleased to announce that several more Democratic officeholders have decided to switch parties and become Republicans. Five elected Democrats in Upshur County - County Judge Dean Fowler, Sheriff Anthony Betterton, District Clerk Carolyn Bullock Parrot, Constable Jason Weeks, and Justice of the Peace Lyle Potter - all announced today that they are now Republicans and will seek re-election as such.

Tacoma Cop Killer was a member of the Nation of Islam, who praised his act!! http://thelastcrusade.org/2009/12/01/black-muslims-conduct-celebration-in-honor-of-washington-state-cop-killer/
Not verified, hard to believe, but nothing surprises me anymore. Excerpt: “Who is your favorite officer down?” Seattle Black Foot Soldier Alfred “Issaquah” Shafford asked a rally to celebrate (what’s being called) “the blow against the white terrorist racism of the Washington State Police Regime” at the Steele Street Forza Coffee House. The hero of the gathering was Maurice Clemens, who had shot and killed four police officers at another Forza Coffee House – - this one on a side street in Tacoma, Washington, near the McChord Air Base. Some Black Muslims in response to Issaquah’s query, cried out, “Greg Richards.” Others opted for either Mark Renninger, Tina Griswold, or Ronald Owens. All four Lakewood County police officers had been shot and killed by Maurice Clemmons, an ex-con and alleged member of the Nation of Islam with a long rap sheet of violent crimes.

Baltimore mayor convicted on fraud charge http://www.boston.com/news/nation/articles/2009/12/02/baltimore_mayor_convicted_on_fraud_charge/
Excerpt: Baltimore’s mayor was convicted yesterday on a single charge she took gift cards intended for the city’s poor. Although Sheila Dixon was acquitted of felony theft charges, her misdemeanor conviction could force her from office. Jurors deliberated more than six days after hearing accusations that the Democrat improperly used or kept $630 worth of gift cards. She was accused of soliciting most of the cards from a developer and buying electronics at Best Buy, clothes at Old Navy, and knickknacks at Target. The jury convicted her on one count of fraudulent misappropriation by a fiduciary and acquitted her on two counts of felony theft and one count of misconduct in office. Jurors failed to reach a verdict on another count of fraudulent misappropriation by a fiduciary.

Black Caucus tells Obama you've done too little for African Americans http://thehill.com/homenews/administration/70353-black-caucus-tells-obama-youve-done-too-little-for-african-americans-
Excerpt: Congressional Black Caucus (CBC) members on Wednesday criticized the Obama administration for not doing enough to help African-Americans through the bleak economy. Soon after withholding their votes on a wide-ranging financial services bill, 10 CBC members said they are pressuring the White House to do more. The House Financial Services Committee voted 31-27 in favor of the bill, but the lawmakers’ boycott came on a major financial measure the administration wants to see Congress pass this month. “We have not been forceful enough in our efforts to protect the most vulnerable of our population,” said Rep. Maxine Waters (D-Calif.), who represents one of the nation’s poorest districts. “We can no longer afford for our public policy to be defined by the worldview of Wall Street.” (The House Ethics Committee is investigating Rep. Maxine Waters, who has come under scrutiny because of her husband's ties to a bank that received federal bailout funds.)

Liberals warn Obama that base may skip midterm elections http://thehill.com//homenews/administration/70355-liberals-warn-obama
Excerpt: Prominent liberal activists are warning Democratic leaders that they face a problem with the party’s base heading into an election year. The latest issue to roil relations between President Barack Obama and the liberal wing of the party is his decision to send 30,000 more troops to Afghanistan, which liberals fear could become a debacle like Vietnam. The left is also concerned the administration and party leaders have drifted too far to the center or are caving in to non-liberal interest groups in key policy battles, including healthcare reform, climate change and energy reform and financial regulatory reform. In some cases, liberals fear the White House is backing away entirely from core issues, such as the closing of the Guantánamo Bay detention camp and ending the “Don’t ask, don’t tell” policy that prevents gays and lesbians form serving openly in the military. “I think there’s a growing concern that Washington is losing battles to entrenched lobbying interests and the administration is not effectively in charge and a sense that things aren’t going well,” said Robert Borosage, co-director of the Campaign for America’s Future, a liberal advocacy group. “I think the Democratic base is getting a little nervous out there about where we’re headed,” said Sen. Tom Harkin (Iowa), a leading liberal within the Senate Democratic Conference who shares concerns over Obama’s commitment of troops to the Afghan war. (Harkin used to brag about his heroic record in Vietnam until Barry Goldwater exposed him as a phony. See the great book, “Stolen Valor.”

A note on the above. It’s true that Obama’s popularity is below any modern president at this point in his term, except Jerry Ford after pardoning Nixon. But since 1932, we’ve been in an era when everyone, Liberal, Conservative, Democrat, Republicans, expects the government to do new and better things for their agendas, most costing money. Inevitably, a major portion of the coalition you need to win is going to be unhappy with their efforts to try to please everyone. “I cannot give the formula for success, but I can give you the formula of failure -- which is try to please everybody.” –Herbert B.
Swope

Secret Service agents could be fired for White House breach
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/12/03/AR2009120301928.html?hpid=topnews
Let the scapegoating begin over the Undocumented Guests.” How about the Obama social security who decided the old employee who double checked at the door under Bush wasn’t needed? These folks did us a favor in exposing this weakness. But it could have been a disaster. You can make a very effective knife out of modern, non-metal materials. (Think about that when you fly and they take your nail clippers.)

See here: Carbon Fiber Knives http://www.assistedknife.com/index.cfm/fa/subcategories.main/parentcat/25000/subcatid/59409
Had this guy had one and an evil intent, we could have had President Biden and massive deaths, destruction and riots in our cities over the assassination of the first black president. The stuff of nightmares. And if a Muslim kills him, the media will blame the “Climate of Hate” created by the right wing, as they did after a Communist with close ties to Cuba killed JFK.

Suppressing science: Is Climategate world's biggest hoax? http://www.calgaryherald.com/technology/Suppressing+science/2297620/story.html
From Canada. Excerpt: On the eve of next week's Copenhagen climate summit, the evidence couldn't be more embarrassing for proponents of global warming. Leaked e-mails from the University of East Anglia's Hadley Climate Research Unit (CRU), one of the world's leading climate change research centres, indicate that prominent scientists cooked the books to make the case for man-made global warming. Perhaps the scientists were just joking in some of the e-mails, as they now claim, and that they used "poorly chosen words." If the East Anglia scientists were serious about everything in those e-mails, it's a bombshell. Misconduct at an institute as respected and influential as Hadley -- including the manipulation and deletion of data and deliberate attempts to suppress peer-reviewed papers skeptical of global warming, as the e-mails indicate-- would undermine the very basis of an issue that is driving much of the world agenda. Global warming, endorsed by the national science academies of every major industrialized nation, would not only be flawed science, it would be the biggest hoax ever perpetrated on the world. It's an incredible assertion that is difficult to swallow, especially with the Alberta government spending billions on carbon sequestration.

Denmark keeps world tax title
http://www.cphpost.dk/news/national/88-national/47620-denmark-keeps-world-tax-title.html
Obama’s goal: Make the USA Number One!

White House, Business Leaders Split on How to Create Jobs

http://online.wsj.com/article/SB125954924769768987.html?utm_source=Newsletter&utm_medium=Email&utm_campaign=Morning%2BBell&mod=WSJ_hpp_MIDDLTopStories
Pending leftist legislation hurting economy in other ways. Excerpt: A number of chief executives say the government should clear up uncertainty over health care, energy prices and financial regulations. "Companies large and small are saying, 'I am not going to do anything until these things -- health care, climate legislation -- go away or are resolved,' " said Dan DiMicco, chief executive of steelmaker Nucor Corp.

WSJ Poll on HCR
http://online.wsj.com/community/groups/congress/topics/should-senate-pass-849-billion Vote early and often.

EDITORIAL: Save the SEALs
http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2009/dec/01/save-the-seals/
Excerpt: In the latest absurdity in the war on terrorism, Petty Officers Matthew McCabe, Jonathan Keefe and Julio Huertas face charges related to the apprehension of Ahmed Hashim Abed, alleged mastermind of the murder and mutilation of four American security contractors in Fallujah, Iraq, in 2004. The "war crime" at issue is a punch in the gut. Mr. Abed, code named "Objective Amber," claims he was roughed up when the SEALs nabbed him on Sept. 3, specifically that Petty Officer McCabe punched him in the stomach. Petty Officers Keefe and Huertas are charged with offenses related to the investigation. The facts are as yet unclear - another report was that Petty Officer McCabe gave Mr. Abed a bloody lip - but nothing we have heard yet implies an injury that could not easily have been sustained in the legitimate process of apprehending a known terrorist in wartime conditions. ( I would reprimand them if they shot him…before interrogation.)

A Veteran’s Letter to Vietnam’s President
http://richcarroll.powweb.com/id5.html
Upstaging Obama’s next apology.

A hero laid to rest, little noted
http://jeffmiller.house.gov/Blog/?postid=157401
Excerpt: Many Americans woke up this morning and turned on the television or searched the internet to find out the latest on Tiger Woods and his wrecked black Cadillac Escalade. However, on this rainy morning in Northern Virginia, another black Cadillac meandered through rolling hills on hallowed ground. This vehicle carried Medal of Honor recipient, Sergeant Leonard B. Keller, to his final resting place at Arlington National Cemetery.

WWII vet fights homeowners group over Va. Flagpole
http://www.comcast.net/articles/news-national/20091203/US.Flag.Flap/
If this were a Mexican Flag, or a Muslim Flag, the ACLU would already be in court defending him—if the HOA had had the guts to make a peep. Excerpt: RICHMOND, Va. — One of the nation's oldest Medal of Honor winners was back in the fight Thursday, this time against a neighborhood association that wants him to take down a front-yard flagpole. Supporters, including a U.S. senator, have been falling in behind 90-year-old retired Army Col. Van T. Barfoot, a World War II veteran awarded the lofty Congressional honor for actions including standing up to three German tanks with a bazooka and stopping their advance. Barfoot put up the 21-foot flagpole in September in front of his suburban Richmond home. He raises the American flag daily at sunrise and retires it at sunset.

Rumsfeld to Obama: What Requests For Troops in Afghanistan Are You Talking About? [UPDATED]
http://www.redstate.com/dan_mclaughlin/2009/12/02/rumsfeld-to-obama-what-requests-for-troops-in-afghanistan-are-you-talking-about/
If you tell the lie long enough, and the media doesn’t call you, people believe it. Obama , who didn’t give his general what he asked for, attacks Bush for not doing so. But he did! Excerpt: Secretary Rumsfeld’s statement, issued in a press release this morning: “In his speech to the nation last night, President Obama claimed that ‘Commanders in Afghanistan repeatedly asked for support to deal with the reemergence of the Taliban, but these reinforcements did not arrive.’ Such a bald misstatement, at least as it pertains to the period I served as Secretary of Defense, deserves a response.” “I am not aware of a single request of that nature between 2001 and 2006. If any such requests occurred, ‘repeated’ or not, the White House should promptly make them public. The President’s assertion does a disservice to the truth and, in particular, to the thousands of men and women in uniform who have fought, served and sacrificed in Afghanistan.” “In the interest of better understanding the President’s announcement last night, I suggest that the Congress review the President’s assertion in the forthcoming debate and determine exactly what requests were made, who made them, and where and why in the chain of command they were denied.”

Searching in Vain for the Obama Magic http://www.spiegel.de/international/world/0,1518,664753,00.html
The view from Germany! Thought the Europeans loved him? Excerpt: Never before has a speech by President Barack Obama felt as false as his Tuesday address announcing America's new strategy for Afghanistan. It seemed like a campaign speech combined with Bush rhetoric -- and left both dreamers and realists feeling distraught. One can hardly blame the West Point leadership. The academy commanders did their best to ensure that Commander-in-Chief Barack Obama's speech would be well-received. Just minutes before the president took the stage inside Eisenhower Hall, the gathered cadets were asked to respond "enthusiastically" to the speech. But it didn't help: The soldiers' reception was cool. One didn't have to be a cadet on Tuesday to feel a bit of nausea upon hearing Obama's speech. It was the least truthful address that he has ever held. He spoke of responsibility, but almost every sentence smelled of party tactics. He demanded sacrifice, but he was unable to say what it was for exactly.

The Left's love affair with Islam
http://www.jihadwatch.org/2009/12/the-lefts-love-affair-with-islam.html
Excerpt: The union between the American Left and fundamentalist Islam seems like a marriage made in hell. The Left hates religion, particularly Christianity, and has succeeded in ripping nearly all vestiges of it from American public life. Through the legal machinations of its lapdog, the American Civil Liberties Union, the Left has banned Christmas from public schools, nativity scenes from City Hall, and the Ten Commandments from courthouses. In liberal newspeak, "Happy holidays" has replaced "Merry Christmas." Holiday trees have replaced Christmas trees, and Christmas break has become "fall break." Yet a few years ago, seventh-grade students in California were required to participate in a religious studies program during which they were told to wear Muslim clothing, memorize passages from the Quran, and choose an Islamic name for themselves. Interestingly enough, the ACLU did not file a lawsuit.

Obamacare: How the Unions are "Getting Well" http://townhall.com/columnists/HowardRich/2009/12/03/obamacare_how_the_unions_are_getting_well
Excerpt: It’s already being called the “Second Louisiana Purchase,” but the sad truth is that a controversial payoff to U.S. Sen. Mary Landrieu’s home state of Louisiana is among the smallest of the thinly-disguised bribes and kickbacks that are being offered in Washington D.C. to secure passage of President Barack Obama’s socialized medicine proposal.

Democrats Censor Climate Skeptics in Congress http://townhall.com/columnists/JillianBandes/2009/12/03/democrats_censor_climate_skeptics_in_congress
Supporting those in the UK who suppressed opposing viewpoints. Excerpt: The Democratically-controlled Committee on Energy Independence and Global Warming held a hearing yesterday to examine the science behind global warming. Two climate experts from the Obama administration testified, but when Republicans asked to have a global-warming skeptic at the hearing, Chairman Ed Markey (D-Mass.) refused to allow it.

Boxer: Hackers should face criminal probe over 'Climategate'
http://thehill.com/blogs/blog-briefing-room/news/70249-boxer-hacked-climategate-emails-may-face-criminal-probe
Expose the left’s lies-go to jail. They loved the release of secret US documents on the War on Terror.

Iran Doctor Who Blew Whistle on Torture Was Poisoned to Death http://commonamericanjournal.com/?p=6961
Maybe Boxer could try this for the Climategate Whistleblower? Excerpt: CAIRO, Egypt — A doctor who exposed the torture of jailed protesters in Iran died of poisoning from an overdose of a blood pressure drug in a salad, prosecutors say. The findings fueled opposition fears that he was killed because of what he knew.

Top Climate Scientist Steps Aside
http://news.aol.com/article/university-of-east-anglias-phil-jones/793315
Excerpt: LONDON (Dec. 2) -- The chief of a prestigious British research center caught in a storm of controversy over claims that he and others suppressed data about climate change has stepped down pending an investigation, the University of East Anglia said Tuesday. The university said in a statement that Phil Jones, whose e-mails were among the thousands of pieces of correspondence leaked to the Internet late last month, would relinquish his position as director of Climatic Research Unit until the completion of an independent review.

The fix is in, liberal media selling out for pot of government gold http://www.washingtonexaminer.com/opinion/blogs/beltway-confidential/Fix-is-in-liberal-media-selling-out-for-pot-of-gold-78340467.html
Excerpt: Watching liberal journalists desperate for a government bailout as they prostrate themselves before Congress can be so confusing: Should we be embarrassed as these media representatives of the "best and brightest" beg for official handouts while proclaiming their devotion to independent journalism? Or should we laugh at the irony of what is left of a once-proud liberal media establishment choosing to become wards of the very state they so vigorously promoted for the past several decades? Speaking as somebody who has made his living reporting and analyzing the news for more than two decades, I tend towards the embarrassment option…. "The California Democrat, who chairs the powerful House Energy and Commerce Committee, didn't say it quite so bluntly, but his point was clear. 'Government's going to have to be involved, in one way or the other,' to save journalism from an ongoing 'market failure' that will only worsen without intervention, Waxman said," Glover reports. Happily chirping in with the chorus to Waxman's vocal lead was a media heavy. Glover tells us that Jon McTaggart, the senior vice president and chief operating officer of American Media Group, informed workshop attendees that "as a civil society, we don't trust the open market or the free market" to provide such valuable services. (If they can tell the banks what to pay after a bailout, they can tell the media what to print!)

Honesty from Baucus on Health care -- and a bomb from Tom Coburn http://www.washingtonexaminer.com/opinion/blogs/beltway-confidential/Honesty-from-Baucus-on-Health-care----and-a-bomb-from-Tom-Coburn-78353597.html
Excerpt: A bit of honesty today from Senate Finance Chairman Max Baucus, D, Mont., regarding the tricks used to make the health care bill appear deficit-neutral: “Health care reform, whether you use a ten-year number or when you start in 2010 or start in 2014, wherever you start at, so it is still either $1 trillion or it's $2.5 Trillion, depending on where you start…”This is an important point. The health care bill costs $2.5 trillion over ten years if you count from the year when it started. Meanwhile, Sen. Tom Coburn, R, Okla., has filed an amendment to strip from the bill the $300 million "pork-bribe" that got Sen. Mary Landrieu, D-La., to cast the needed 60th vote to proceed to debate on the bill.

Don’t Cry For Me, America
http://hotair.com/greenroom/archives/2009/11/21/dont-cry-for-me-america/
Economic disaster in Argentina has lessons for us…but it may be too late. Excerpt: In 1902 Argentina was one of the world’s richest countries. Little more than a hundred years later, it is poverty-stricken, struggling to meet its debt obligations amidst a drought.

Many Doctors’ Groups Oppose Senate Bill
http://prescriptions.blogs.nytimes.com/2009/12/03/many-doctors-groups-oppose-senate-bill/
Excerpt: Even though the American Medical Association offered some qualified support to the Senate health care bill this week, many other medical groups were unqualified in their opposition. A coalition representing 240,000 physician specialists, like the American College of Surgeons and the American Society of Cataract and Refractive Surgery, said that it “must oppose the bill as currently written.”