Political Digest for December 6, 2010

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. Nor that I disagree with them, of course.

Sorry this is late

Comcast suddenly stopped letting me on any web pages or sending e-mail Sunday night. Typical. Back up this morning.

Random Thoughts

Left this to post while I was away Saturday, if you missed it.

http://tartanmarine.blogspot.com/2010/12/random-thoughts.html

Billboard

Returning to Madison from Milwaukee and the Third Marine Division WI Chapter Christmas Party Saturday, I spotted this billboard on I-94: “How’s that Hope and Change working out for you?” The growing opposition to the Obots doesn’t seem to be all party or candidate based, as these things were in the past.

Senate rejects million-dollar tax-cut compromise in Saturday session

http://thehill.com/homenews/senate/131993-senate-shoots-down-limited-tax-cut-extension-in-saturday-session

Excerpt: United Senate Republicans joined a small handful of Democrats on Saturday to defeat a pair of proposals to extend some of the 2001 and 2003 tax cuts signed into law by President George W. Bush. Voting nearly identically, the Senate twice failed to meet a 60-vote threshold necessary to move forward on both proposals. Meeting in a rare Saturday session after agreements fell through for a Friday vote, the results were widely expected. They were also somewhat premature, as the White House is still negotiating with congressional leaders on an alternative compromise proposal.

U.S., South Korea reach trade deal

http://thehill.com/blogs/on-the-money/international-taxes/131965-us-south-korea-reach-trade-deal

Free trade is good for the economy. It was Hoover signing the Smoot-Hawley tariff bill that collapsed world trade and turned a recession into the great depression. ~Bob. The Obama administration announced Friday it had agreed to a trade deal with South Korea, a development certain to set off a major new debate in Congress next year. The U.S. secured concessions from South Korea on auto tariffs that won praise for the revised deal by Ford Motor Co., previously the agreement’s most vocal opponent. It also won the support of Rep. Sandy Levin (D-Mich.) the lead House Democrat on trade issues, who in a statement said the deal would help reverse a lopsided trade with South Korea on automobiles. Yet the congressional debate will still set up a bruising battle within the Democratic Party between Obama and liberals who have criticized the agreement negotiated by President George W. Bush. Rep. Mike Michaud (D-Maine), who with other Democrats met with Obama at the White House to discuss the deal just two weeks ago, said he would do "whatever I can to defeat it." He also said his concerns about the agreement were not addressed. 

The sun is setting on the global-warming crowd

http://blog.nj.com/njv_paul_mulshine/2010/12/the_sun_is_setting_on_the_glob.html

Excerpt: I guess all the hotels in Moose Jaw are booked this time of year. That might explain why they're holding that international climate summit in Cancun instead. Or perhaps they just don't like the idea of single digit temperatures as well as headlines in the local news reading "Cold, stormy winter with lots of snow expected for Saskatchewan." The article goes on to explain that a "La Nina" event in the South Pacific is expected to cause a cold winter in Canada. Such events are part of the so-called "Pacific Decadal Oscillation." This is a phenomenon that causes huge temperature swings all over the globe but remains only dimly understood by climate scientists. They're too busy studying manmade global warming. That's where the money is, and there's a lot of it. A study by the Science and Public Policy Institute states that the U.S. government has spent $32 billion on climate research over the past 20 years.

Cancún climate talks in danger of collapse over Kyoto continuation

http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2010/dec/04/cancun-climate-talks-kyoto-latin-america

Excerpt: The UN climate talks in Cancún were in danger of collapse last night after many Latin American countries said that they would leave if a crucial negotiating document, due to be released tomorrow, did not continue to commit rich countries to emissions cuts under the Kyoto Protocol. The Bolivarian Alliance for the Americas (Alba) group of nine Latin American countries – who claim they are backed by African, Arab countries and other developing nations – said they were not prepared to see an end to the treaty that legally requires all of its signatories to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. (Also see: Cancún climate change summit: Japan refuses to extend Kyoto protocol in TOJ. This could be the best of all possible outcomes. Not mentioned, but key to understanding the issue is payments from the “wealthier countries” to the “developing countries.” Climate blackmail, in other words. It’s a large part of the reason the Senate never took up the Kyoto Accord; there would’ve been 95 votes against it. Ron P.)

Cancún climate change summit: Japan refuses to extend Kyoto protocol

http://www.guardian.co.uk/environment/2010/dec/01/cancun-climate-change-summit-japan-kyoto

Excerpt: The delicately balanced global climate talks in Cancún suffered a serious setback last night when Japan categorically stated its opposition to extending the Kyoto protocol – the binding international treaty that commits most of the world's richest countries to making emission cuts. The Kyoto protocol was adopted in Japan in 1997 by major emitting countries, who committed themselves to cut emissions by an average 5% on 1990 figures by 2012. However the US congress refused to ratify it and remains outside the protocol. The brief statement, made by Jun Arima, an official in the government's economics trade and industry department, in an open session, was the strongest yet made against the protocol by one of the largest emitters of greenhouse gases. He said: "Japan will not inscribe its target under the Kyoto protocol on any conditions or under any circumstances." (No fools, the Japanese fear being legally obligated to cripple their economy while other countries, especially India and China, would have no such obligation. It would be like guarantying their competitors the ability to offer better prices which would cripple their own economy. With luck, this may be the end of formal negotiations to ruin the productive parts of the world while boosting the “emerging”—often state-run—economies of new competitors and paying bribes to all the other panhandling countries like Zimbabwe.  Ron P.

More on the Wikileaks Climate Cables

http://wattsupwiththat.com/2010/12/04/more-on-the-wikileaks-cimate-cables/

Excerpt: Reading through the few Wikileaks cables related to climate, the tip of the iceberg becomes visible. The most interesting seems to involve the usual pressures related to top level nominations: in this case, the nomination for the IPCC Group II organization comes to light. The original cable is still not known, but it is said to state that Christopher Field had no opposition; the other proposed position for co-chair, Mostafa Jafari, an Iran scientist, was not acceptable, although a qualified scientist. The cable apparently states that Rajendra Pachauri, head of the IPCC, promised background collaboration, and non-identification of the US pressures. The Austrian delegate, which lead the selection process, also agreed on the veto on Jafari. In other cables, we can see the unreal demands being made by some countries in the World. (What? Who’d have guessed climate science negotiations would pop up in the WikiLeaks? Not me. This might eventually tell us all sorts of interesting things. Ron P.)

Christmas Can-Can

http://link.brightcove.com/services/player/bcpid1909243034?bctid=53156488001

Funny.

America's Best in Afghanistan...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aIkoCE91eHo&feature=player_embedded!

X-37B space plane returns to earth after seven months in orbit

http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/technology/2010/12/x-37-space-plane-vandenberg.html

Excerpt: The mysterious X-37B was launched April 22 from Cape Canaveral, Fla. That means it spent more than seven months orbiting the Earth. Doing what? The government won’t exactly say. The Air Force, which has been developing the pilotless space plane, has deflected questions about using the X-37B for military missions, saying that it is simply a way to test new technologies, such as satellite sensors and components. Experts have questioned whether the Pentagon would be willing to spend possibly hundreds of millions of dollars for an orbiting laboratory at a time when the government is tightening its budget belt.

U.S. works to protect networks from hackers

http://dailycaller.com/2010/12/05/u-s-works-to-protect-networks-from-hackers/#ixzz17GZaO4eh

Excerpt: Navy Rear Adm. Michael Brown, Homeland Security’s director for cybersecurity coordination, said that slightly more than half of the government’s 2,400 network connections are already protected by Einstein 2 – the automated system that monitors federal Internet and e-mail traffic for malicious activity. Those, however, cover fewer than 20 of the 110 federal agencies. Einstein 2 is installed and working at 13 of the 19 agencies that plan to police their own networks, with two others close to completion. The remaining 91 departments will go through one of four major communications companies for the monitoring. So far just four to six agencies have put the program in place, he said. In the end, all network traffic with flow through 72 sites called Trusted Internet Connections, including eight operated by the four communications companies and 64 operated by individual agencies. A more sophisticated system known as Einstein 3, which will detect and automatically block intrusions, has just completed testing and will take several years to fully implement, Brown said. (Notice the reference to “Stuxnet” at the end of the article. Ron P.)

Political Correctness Kills: Study Shows How Terrorists Infiltrate U.S. Government

http://pajamasmedia.com/blog/political-correctness-kills-study-shows-how-terrorists-infiltrate-u-s-government/

Excerpt: Consider Abdulrahman Alamoudi, the Muslim leader who most frequently visited the Clinton White House. Poole rightly describes Alamoudi as: The most prominent Islamic activist leader in America at the time, he had infiltrated the highest levels of political power. … [He was asked] by the Defense Department to establish the military’s Muslim chaplain corps, and appointed by the State Department to serve as a civilian ambassador, taking six taxpayer-funded trips to the Middle East. … Just days after the 9/11 attacks, he appeared with President Bush and other Muslim leaders at a press conference at the Islamic Center of Washington, D.C. despite his public comments a year earlier at a rally just steps from the White House identifying himself as a supporter of the Hamas and Hezbollah terrorist organizations. In July 2005 the Treasury Department revealed that Alamoudi had been one of al-Qaeda’s top fundraisers …. Go back and reread the last two paragraphs. Shouldn’t this experience have created great skepticism about proclaiming Muslim leaders to be moderate without critically examining their record? Instead, the opposite has happened.

Geert Wilders' Speech In Tel Aviv

http://gatesofvienna.blogspot.com/2010/12/geert-wilders-speech-in-tel-aviv.html

Excerpt: Many say Israel must solve the problems of Palestine. But is Israel guilty of the plight of the Palestinian refugees? My answer is “No.” The Arab leaders are to be blamed — and Islam is to be blamed. Let me first tell you why, and then I will tell you where Palestine can be found. At the end of World War II, there were 50 million refugees. Today, all the refugee problems dating from before the 1950s have been solved. All, except one — the problem of the Palestinians. Why did this problem not get solved? The reason is simple: Because the Arab countries did not allow it to get solved. And because Islam does not allow it to get solved. In May 1948, the number of Jews in the Arab countries was estimated to be close to 1 million. Today, fewer than 8,000 Jews are left in the entire Arab world. In 1948, the Arab countries forced the Jews out and confiscated their properties. More Jews fled the Arab countries than Arabs fled Israel. Where are the Jewish refugee camps? There are none. So, why are there refugee camps for Palestinians in areas surrounding Israel? Because the Palestinians were not welcomed in the neighboring Arab countries. There was no Arab solidarity; the refugees were forced into camps and slums, where many of their descendants still linger today.

Weekly Climate and Energy News Roundup

http://wattsupwiththat.com/2010/12/05/weekly-climate-and-energy-news-roundup-7/#more-28892

Excerpt: As MIT Professor Richard Lindzen tried to patiently explain to the US House Subcommittee on Energy and Environment two weeks ago, assuming there are no feedbacks, the generally accepted calculation is that a doubling of atmospheric carbon dioxide will produce a warming of about 1 deg C. Since the relationship between temperature and CO2 is logarithmic, each subsequent molecule has less an influence than the preceding one, a second doubling of CO2 will produce a warming of an additional 1 deg C. Thus, to limit warming to no more than 2 deg C requires limiting the increase in CO2 to less than 4 times the preindustrial level. Assuming the preindustrial level was about 270 parts per million ( ppm), then to hold the temperature rise below 2 deg C requires limiting CO2 to below 1080 ppm. It is now about 390 ppm, so we have a long way to go. Applying the calculations further, to reach an increase of 3 deg C, which many IPCC models project, requires an additional doubling of CO2 to about 2160 ppm, which is probably impossible by humans. Thus, many of the models used by the IPCC are inconsistent with the classic theory which assumes no feedbacks. (This is a weekly feature at WUWT from the Science & Environmental Policy Project. They try to report on all the news that fits into their area of interest. Some weeks, it’s as boring as watching leaves fall off trees in early summer, other weeks, there’s lots to read. This is a good week. Enjoy. Ron P.)

After the Leaks, the Shakeup

http://www.thedailybeast.com/blogs-and-stories/2010-12-04/wikileaks-cable-disaster-spurs-obama-plan-to-shake-up-key-personnel/?om_rid=Mqh-D0&om_mid=_BM$5tCB8WI3EJH

Excerpt: The Obama administration is planning a major reshuffling of diplomats, military officers, and intelligence operatives at U.S. embassies around the world out of concern that WikiLeaks has made it impossible—if not dangerous—for many of the Americans to remain in their current posts. Administration officials tell The Daily Beast that while planning is only in its preliminary stages, the State Department, the Pentagon, and the CIA assume that they will have to shake up staffing at a number of American embassies and consulates within the coming months. (Not having the best people in the best places means less-valuable intel. It will be more difficult to anticipate moves by other governments both friendly and unfriendly. Even ignoring the probable violence to diplomats, it will result in battle deaths that needn’t have happened, in conflicts that might’ve been avoided. Even a dedicated pacifist would avoid messing with diplomacy; only an anarchist—or an outright enemy—would see any valuable outcome from these leaks. Ron P.)

Mexican Drug Wars: 14-year-old assassin admits to four gruesome murders

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/centralamericaandthecaribbean/mexico/8181216/Mexico-drug-wars-El-Ponchis-14-year-old-assassin-admits-to-four-gruesome-murders.html

Every American Drug Abuser has blood on his/her hands, as they create the market for murder. ~Bob. Excerpt: The police photos seem to show a small boy being protected by the military – another victim, perhaps, of the savage drugs wars ripping Mexico apart. But the slight, dark-haired teenager chewing his fingernail is not an innocent soul caught up in the crossfire. "I participated in four executions," the 14-year-old assassin calmly told police after his arrest at a Mexican airport, admitting to beheading his victims. "When we don't find the rivals, we kill innocent people, maybe a construction worker or a taxi driver.

Multiculturalism Hits The Wall

http://www.americanthinker.com/2010/12/multiculturalism_hits_the_wall.html

Excerpt: As year ten of the long war looms, the "multicultural" paradigm for defense against terrorism has slammed into a brick wall. Recent developments reveal a policy in terminal disarray. The public revolt against the TSA, the ridiculous and humiliating Ghailani verdict, the still-simmering Financial District victory mosque controversy, and even the unmasking of the false Mullah Akhtar Muhammad Mansour in Afghanistan have highlighted the absurdity of attempting to meld the "multicultural" worldview with any serious effort against jihadi terrorism. And yet, government officials directly responsible for the defense of the country, from Obama, Holder, and Napolitano on down, insist on maintaining the "multicultural" paradigm despite undeniable evidence of its failure. Multiculturalism has effectively controlled American security policy as regards terrorism from the very beginning. Islam, we were assured by no less a figure than George W. Bush, was "a religion of peace." Critical resources were invested in curtailing any "backlash" against American Muslims by the evil-minded white Christian majority. Organizations of dubious provenance, such as the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR), the Islamic Society of North America (ISNA), and the North American Islamic Trust (NAIT), were appointed official representatives of American Muslims.

Dems' tunnel vision

http://www.nypost.com/p/news/opinion/editorials/dems_tunnel_vision_nkQhuSjy8cKwmu8qfrF0tL

Excerpt: Chris Christie says he’ll fight what looks like political payback by the Obama administration aimed squarely at New Jersey’s popular Republican governor. The US Department of Transportation is demanding that Trenton repay $271 million in federal funds already spent on the proposed Hudson River commuter tunnel — a project Christie scrapped because of spiraling cost overruns. Adding insult to injury, DOT insisted that Jersey pay the bill within 30 days — or face hefty interest charges and late fees and have NJ Transit reported to bond-rating agencies. Not so fast, says Christie. “It’s not surprising that the same federal transit agency that had no clear way to pay for cost overruns of a project already hurt by poor planning and inequitable cost-sharing is relying on bureaucratic power plays to wring even more money out of New Jerseyans,” he said. Christie notes that other states that have similarly pulled the plug on federally funded transportation projects have not been forced to repay money that’s already been spent. The strict 30-day deadline reeks of petty vindictiveness aimed at a governor who’s increasingly being spoken of as a 2012 GOP presidential candidate.

Israeli eye surgeons visiting Maldives to “illegally harvest organs”, claims Islamic Foundation

http://minivannews.com/politics/israeli-eye-surgeons-visiting-maldives-to-illegally-harvest-organs-claims-islamic-foundation-13872

It is people like this who defame Islam. ~Bob. Excerpt: The Islamic Foundation of the Maldives has reiterated calls to the Maldives government to “shun all medical aid from the Zionist regime” with a team of seven Israeli eye surgeons due to arrive in the country next month, claiming that Isreali doctors and surgeons “have become notorious for illegally harvesting organs from non-Jews around the world.” An article on the Foundation’s website titled “Beware of Israeli eye surgeons” claims Israeli medical teams have harvested organs from dead Haitians after the devastating earthquake that struck country as well as from Palestinians killed in fighting in the longstanding Arab-Isreali conflict.

The Strategic Importance of Tactical Reform

http://www.armedforcesjournal.com/2010/10/4757970

Excerpt: Slightly more than 40 years ago my unit was butchered by elements from the North Vietnamese 29th Regiment at a mountaintop firebase overlooking the A Shau Valley. Nineteen of my 55 soldiers were killed or wounded severely enough to warrant evacuation. The loss was mainly my fault. I wasn’t new at the job. This was my fourth command so I thought I knew what I was doing. A much smarter and better trained and equipped enemy taught me that I did not. The event made me promise that I would never go to war again No. 2 in a two-sided contest. It also burned into the depths of my soul several questions that have lingered and festered ever since. I asked why the most technologically advanced country on the planet was unable to make better weapons and equipment than the enemy. I asked why my soldiers were so poorly prepared physically, intellectually and emotionally for this fight. I asked why my experience as a combat leader could be gained only by spilling their blood.

Stuxnet knocks Natanz out for a week, hits Iran's military
http://www.debka.com/article/9168/

Excerpt: Despite Iranian claims in October that their nuclear systems were cleansed of the Stuxnet virus, debkafile's intelligence and Iranian sources confirm that the invasive malworm is still making trouble. It shut down uranium enrichment at Natanz for a week from Nov. 16 to 22 over breakdowns caused by mysterious power fluctuations in the operation of the centrifuge machines enriching uranium at Natanz. The shutdown was reported by the director of the International Atomic Energy Agency Yukiya Amano to the IAEA board in Vienna on Tuesday, Nov. 23. Rapid changes in the spinning speed of the thousands of centrifuges enriching uranium to weapons-grade can cause them to blow apart suddenly without the monitors detecting any malfunction. The Iranian operators first tried replacing the P1 and P2 centrifuges used at Natanz with the more advanced IR1 type, but got the same effect. They finally decided to shut the plant down until computer security experts purged it of the malworm.

Allen West: from controversy to Congress

http://weblogs.sun-sentinel.com/news/politics/broward/blog/2010/12/allen_west_from_controversy_to_1.html

Excerpt: To fans, Congressman-elect Allen West is a hero – a principled statesman stepping up as a voice for citizens worried about excesses of the federal government. Some soldiers who served under him in the Army are effusive with admiration and his most ardent supporters see him as presidential material. To foes, West is a wild extremist – a darling of the tea party who tosses verbal grenades without any concern about the potential damage. His harshest critics have taken to the Internet to label him a war criminal. Starting in January, friends and foes will find out if they’re right – and how West’s unwavering patriotism and devotion to principles he holds sacred work in Washington. The man who’s both loved and reviled for his fiery rhetoric – one passion-filled speech calling on people to fight against a “tyrannical government” has been viewed more than 2.3 million times on YouTube – isn’t storming the Capitol to plant a “Don’t Tread On Me” tea party flag on the lawn. But he is gearing up for battle.

Assassinate Assange: Web provocateur undermines war on terror, threatens American lives

http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2010/dec/2/assassinate-assange/

Excerpt: Julian Assange poses a clear and present danger to American national security. The WikiLeaks founder is more than a reckless provocateur. He is aiding and abetting terrorists in their war against America. The administration must take care of the problem - effectively and permanently. The recent WikiLeaks document dump is the latest example of Mr. Assange's dangerous behavior. His release of more than 250,000 U.S. diplomatic cables, many of them containing classified information, is a major blow to our foreign policy. The essence of diplomacy - especially that of a great power - is the ability to conduct negotiations and hold talks in secret. Foreign leaders will not be willing to engage in sensitive discussions with American emissaries if their words are going to be splashed across the front pages of the world's newspapers. Officials in autocratic and Islamist states often risk their lives to cooperate with Washington, usually by providing vital information or advice. They now face a further disincentive to help us: The U.S. government can no longer guarantee the privacy and secrecy of their discussions. American diplomacy has been crippled. So has our ability to conduct the war on terrorism. For example, the cables cache reveals that the United States is working closely with Yemen's dictator, Ali Abdullah Saleh, in launching drone strikes against local al Qaeda bases. Al Qaeda has spread to Yemen. Its insurgency is growing. Yemen risks becoming what Afghanistan was before Sept. 11, 2001: a vast sanctuary for jihadists. Mr. Saleh insists that Yemeni public opinion - insular, xenophobic and increasingly Islamic - will not support the U.S. military presence on domestic soil. Hence, he says the pretense must be maintained that Yemen is firing the missiles, not America. This pretense has been shattered - and with it, perhaps, a key ally in the struggle against al Qaeda. Mr. Assange is helping chase the American infidel out of Yemen's desolate deserts. (OK, here is where I come off as a Far Right maniac, something I have worked so hard to avoid for so long. In short, I agree with this writer in very large part. At the very, very, very least we should turn loose the best hackers we can find anywhere (including our prisons) to crash and keep crashing WikiLeaks, and for that matter, any particular subsection of the Internet that hosts the site in any way. Secondly, we should issue a warrant for his arrest for aiding and abetting terrorist activities, and demand other countries honor it. (Which of course, many will not.) Thirdly, if we can't get the SOB into a US jail or any other jail, put a price on his head through whatever other agencies (Russian Mafia or any of that ilk or maybe the Mossad in trade for more advanced weapons technology) can take on the job, and have him disappear. He's absolutely indifferent to the injuries, torturing, and murders of others that will certainly occur to some extent because of his activities, so he should reap from what he's sowed. And maybe it'll give other idiot bastards something to think about before they go off gleefully to make trouble for the USA. --Del)

Europe is in trouble. Why isn't [Britain] trying to put it right?

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/comment/columnists/charlesmoore/8180404/Europe-is-in-trouble.-Why-isnt-this-country-trying-to-put-it-right.html

Because “putting it right” requires “blood, sweat, toil and tears” and no one is ready for the sacrifices needed. ~Bob. Excerpt: No one seeks a financial catastrophe. Britain does not want to attract euro-odium for laughing at the emperor’s nakedness. Besides, we are governed by a coalition whose junior, Liberal Democrat partner still has not noticed that its beloved euro is trapping its weaker members in unemployment and debt. But the fact remains that it is in the interests of the whole continent, and therefore of ourselves, to work its way out of the disaster that Britain – thanks to our people, not our elites – avoided. So it is very disappointing that Mr Osborne, rebuking his own eurosceptics, recently declared that, “ 'I told you so’ is not much of an economic policy.” All right, all right, no gloating; but if you analysed a problem correctly and predicted how things would go wrong, you may well have some ideas about how to put them right. In the past two years, we have paid a good deal of attention to those few economists who called the credit crunch correctly. In 1939-40, we finally listened to the few who had stood out against appeasement.

Young and Conservative in Manhattan

http://www.americanthinker.com/2010/12/young_and_conservative_in_manh.html

As a young conservative living and working (and getting taxed to death) in Manhattan, I have plenty of days where I feel like this city is out-and-out irredeemable. Between the Ground Zero mosque threatening to arise not ten minutes from where I live and the recent coronation of Prince Andrew, it's hard to put off a political depression. But I've been thinking -- and maybe this will offer some comfort, especially to my kindred spirits tearing their hair out in Berkeley, in Houston, in St. Paul. Me, I've never stopped in the middle of a political debate and said, "You know what? You're right. I'm going to change my entire political outlook now." Have you? So what happened to me to derail fifteen years of liberal inculcation? No one out-debated me into conservatism. No fire-eyed Glenn Beck converted me from the Barad-dûr of Fox News. My enlightenment happened slowly, after a lot of introspection and life experience. I realized that I was pro-choice out of cowardice, that I believed in AGW out of laziness. No one told me these things -- I discovered them on my own. Hell, I shocked myself. With that in mind, I'm starting to put away my scorecard, to pay attention more to the means than to the end. Maybe someday, the combination of my friends' experiences will give them pause, and something I said will be the breeze that nudges them rightward. That's what I'm thinking about now -- not so much about the winning, but the fighting -- and it gives me heart.

The Nuclear Power Solution

http://pajamasmedia.com/blog/the-nuclear-power-solution/?singlepage=true

Excerpt: Across the country, we are facing electricity shortages, fossil fuel price increases, and an escalating need for national energy security and independence. The demand for clean and safe nuclear power has never been greater, yet the public has been intentionally misled into believing that clean energy sources like wind and solar can simultaneously grow the economy, fight the myth of anthropogenic global warming, and cease our dependence on foreign oil. Our president has perpetuated this absurd, farcical delusion. Excluding conventional hydroelectric, renewable energy sources contributed 3.1 percent of total U.S. net electric generation in 2008. Even if Obama’s goal of doubling that output were realized, this would take us to a whopping 6% of total production. That’s a long way from ending our dependency on foreign oil and domestic coal. (In the past month or so, gasoline prices around here have gone up 25 to 30 cents. Some of this is no doubt due to seasonal mixture changes as winter mix costs more to make than summer mix. Some more is due to the falling value of the dollar now that Russian and China no longer regard it as a stable medium of value storage. Some is the beginning of simple inflation. The rest is simple supply and demand. Regardless of cause, the price is going up again. Nuclear energy generation is virtually the only method that provides clean, dependable electric power without sending still more of our dollars off to countries that really don't like us much. Unless we begin to use this source, and soon, we'll fall farther and farther into the thrall of OPEC. Ron P.)

A Month After Elections, 200,000 votes found

http://cityroom.blogs.nytimes.com/2010/12/02/a-month-after-elections-200000-votes-found/

No surprise in a Demo-corrupt city. ~Bob. Excerpt: The city’s Board of Elections routinely reminds New Yorkers that the election night vote count is unofficial and preliminary. Still, the difference in the results from Nov. 2 and in the returns formally certified by the board on Wednesday seems striking: The board found 195,055 votes, or 17 percent more votes, than were originally reported. That differential — which nearly equals the total vote for governor in the Bronx and Staten Island combined — does not include an additional 28,442 affidavit ballots that New Yorkers cast at the polls on Election Day because of missing registrations or other reasons and another 30,665 absentee and military ballots and scattered write-in votes. “Unbelievable,” said Dan Cantor, executive director of the Working Families Party, in response to the significant number of votes cast last month that were not discovered until this week. The preliminary machine tally alone swelled from 1,145,826 on election night to 1,366,881 in the official version. The largest cache of newly found machine ballots was in Queens — about 80,000, or 31 percent more than were reported on election night.

Obama & Co., Growing Up Fast

 http://www.nationalreview.com/articles/254342/obama-co-growing-fast-victor-davis-hanson

Excerpt: Old laws predicated on human nature cannot so easily be discarded — even by utopians who think they have the power to cool the planet and stop the rising seas. Borrowed money really has to be paid back. Governments cannot operate without confidentiality. Nations perish if they cannot protect themselves from existential threats. Watching a therapeutic Barack Obama grow up and learn these tragic lessons is as enlightening as it is sometimes scary. When they are out of power, modern leftists advocate massive government spending and large deficits. They applaud when Republicans and conservatives sometimes prove as profligate as any big-government liberal. But when invested with the responsibility of governance, they come to understand that Keynesian “stimulus” must eventually cede to the same unhappy logic as the private household’s indebtedness.