Political Digest for March 28, 2011

I post articles because I think they are of interest. Doing so doesn’t mean that I necessarily agree (or disagree) with every—or any—opinion in the posted article. Help your friends and relatives stay informed by passing the digest on.

Resources

For those who want further information about the topics covered in this blog, I recommend the following sites. I will add to this as I find additional good sources.

http://tartanmarine.blogspot.com/2011/03/resources-for-opinion-leaders-who.html

The last story is your reward for reading today. ~Bob

Cowardly Prostration Vs. 'Gunboat' Diplomacy

http://www.letthemfight.blogspot.com/

Excerpt: We may have found the actual answer to the question, why we involved ourselves in Libya. Prognosticators and armed chair generals will give you a laundry list of reasons legitimizing yet one more incursion into a region entirely hostile to American interests but it is almost always a thin veil covering something far more devious - or cowardly. The classic, public answer to the question has to do with our 'goodwill toward all men', our concern for the safety and individual right to self-determination and the elimination of 'bad men', but this week, the administration may have inadvertently let the cat out of the bag. On Sunday, March 27th, NBC's Meet the Press (MTP) hosted Robert Gates and Hillary Clinton who were sent to spread the word about this administration's compassion for the oppressed peoples of the world and to justify, by extension, our involvement in the internal affairs of a sovereign nation; Libya. After all the dribble about the poor, disaffected, freedom-loving, innocent civilians there, Ms. Clinton sought to punctuate the righteousness of our actions by mentioning that even Al Jazeera had expressed 'gratitude' for our gracious involvement for the innocents in Libya.

Piccadilly Circus: Eros
http://www.nationalreview.com/corner/263167/earth-hour-london-mark-steyn
Excerpt: The money-no-object Metropolitan Police had helicopters whirring non-stop over Central London during today’s mass hallucination (they’re still overhead as I write), but, as usual, not a lot of competent policing on the ground. As is their wont, they did little to prevent property damage – or the general intimidation of visitors to the capital by so-called “anarchists” (an odd term for pro-government welfare-funded thugs).

Pakistani Actress defies Mullah                                                                  

http://www.nationalreview.com/corner/263156/re-veema-malik-jonah-goldberg

You go, girl! ~Bob.

Understanding Radiation

http://pajamasmedia.com/blog/understanding-radiation/?singlepage=true

Excerpt: Since we’re not faced with thinking about radioactivity in daily life, the units and methods of measuring radioactivity aren’t part of daily life either, not like weight and temperature are. As a result, many people get confused about them. The worst confusion, in fact, seems to be among people who are reporting about radioactivity and radiation in the media. We would like to be able to get something as clear as a weather report, telling us how hot it is. The problem is, we’re used to the idea of temperature, we have some intuitions about it. We know that 104°F is a hot day or a high fever. But what about radiation exposure? (This is a good article and fairly easy to understand, especially the last four paragraphs. A large part of the near-panic by the MSM may be simple ignorance. After reading this, readers may want to refer back to Going bananas over radiation about two-thirds of the way down the TOJ Digest on 18 Feb 2011. Ron P.)

Forced Into Medicare: A federal judge tells seniors to take it or lose Social Security.

http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052748704461304576216872954763388.html

Excerpt: This week marks the first anniversary of ObamaCare, and if you are wondering where that coercive law is headed, we'd point to a case in federal court. That's where Judge Rosemary Collyer has ruled that Americans have a legal obligation to accept subpar government health benefits. It remains a remarkable fact that America obliges most citizens over the age of 65 to take that rickety government health plan known as Medicare. Judging by today's growing number of health-savings options (HSAs, medical FSAs), some Americans would prefer to maintain private coverage upon retirement, rather than be compelled into second-rate Medicare. Yet the idea of patient choice offends many in government, and in 1993 the Clinton Administration promulgated so-called POMS rules that say seniors who withdraw from Medicare Part A (which covers hospital and outpatient services) must forfeit their Social Security benefits. Several senior citizens in 2008 challenged the government, suing to be allowed to opt out of Medicare without losing Social Security. The plaintiffs paid their Medicare taxes through their working lives and are not asking for that money back. They simply want to use their private savings to contract for health services they believe to be superior to a government program that imposes price controls and rations care. They also dutifully contributed to Social Security and—fair enough—prefer to keep those benefits.

GOC Southern Command: "Hamas has lost control of Gaza Strip"

http://dover.idf.il/IDF/English/News/today/2011/03/2601.htm

Excerpt: Commander of the Southern Command, Maj. Gen. Tal Russo, stated that, "Hamas has lost control of other organizations within the Gaza Strip. There is anarchy among them and within Hamas itself. There's no authority over any facet and it's difficult for Hamas to regain control." Maj. Gen. Russo made the statement in a visit to the Eshkol Regional Council where a Qassam rocket fell on Saturday night (Mar. 26), causing serious damage to the house it landed on. According to Galatz (Army Radio) Maj. Gen. Russo added that, "Hamas' power is waning since Operation Cast Lead and its memory of the operation fading. I hope it regains its composure soon."

The negligent promotion of nuclear panic

http://wattsupwiththat.com/2011/03/26/the-negligent-promotion-of-nuclear-panic/#more-36640

Excerpt: It pains me to see large parts of the media still hyperventilating over the very modest amounts of radioactive material coming from the Fukushima Daiichi plant on the east coast of Japan. Nothing has been made more plain that most journalists and editors have no ability to evaluate risk, especially when it comes to radioactive measurements in very unfamiliar units (millisieverts anyone?). Everything they appear to know about radioactivity appears to come from poorly understood science reports and 1950s era B-movies. (This excellent article also contains a link to a great column by Lewis Page in The (UK) Register. Ron P.)

The Week That Was: 2011-03-26 (March 26, 2011)

http://www.sepp.org/twtwfiles/2011/TWTW%202011-3-26.pdf

Excerpt: The reporting of the earthquake and tsunami in Japan continues with the sensationalism of the Fukushima Dai-ichi nuclear power plant dominating over the human suffering caused by the natural disaster. In the mid-week, three workers at Reactor # 3 stepped into a pool of water that was more radioactive than expected. Reports from AP, and others, speculated that the radioactivity of this water may indicate a breach in the steel reactor vessel. Adding to the fears, Reactor # 3 is fueled by a combination of plutonium and uranium. However, other reports stated that readings from the reactor instruments indicate no change in reactor pressure, which indicates no breach in the reactor vessel. As of this writing, the cause of higher than expected radioactivity in the water is unresolved. Evidence increases that the automatic mechanisms shutting down the nuclear reaction at all reactors performed as designed and back-up power went on when the reactors were disconnected from the grid. (According to reports, thirteen other nuclear power plants were affected by the earthquake and functioned as designed.)

Reporter Confined In Closet During Binden Fundraiser

http://www.drudgereport.com/flash7.html

Typical Biden--the screwed up and let him out. Probably planning Obama's impeachment for bombing without Congress's okay. ~Bob. Excerpt: Staffers with Vice President Joe Biden confined an ORLANDO SENTINEL reporter in a closet this week to keep him from mingling with high-powered guests gathered for a Dem fundraiser. Reporter Scott Powers was the designated "pool reporter" for the vice president's Wednesday visit to the massive Winter Park, Fla., home of developer and philanthropist Alan Ginsburg. The veep hadn't arrived yet but most of the 150 guests (minimum $500 donation) had. They were busy noshing on caprese crostini with oven-dried mozzarella and basil, rosemary flatbread with grapes honey and gorgonzola cheese and bacon deviled eggs, before a lunch of grilled chicken Caesar and garden vegetable wraps. Not so for Powers. A "low-level staffer" put Powers in a storage closet and then stood guard outside the door, Powers told the DRUDGE REPORT. "When I'd stick my head out, they'd say, 'Not yet. We'll let you know when you can come out.'"

US: Most energy resources in the world and most incoherent energy policy

http://hotair.com/archives/2011/03/26/us-most-energy-resources-in-the-world-and-most-incoherent-energy-policy/

You elect fuzzy-headed lefties, you pay for fuzzy headed policies. ~Bob. Excerpt: As Peter Glover says, writing in the Energy Tribune, this ought to be the lead story in every American paper and on every American news show. But it’s overshadowed by Japan, Libya and other developments in the world. America’s combined energy resources are, according to a new report from the Congressional Research Service (CSR), the largest on earth. They eclipse Saudi Arabia (3rd), China (4th) and Canada (6th) combined – and that’s without including America’s shale oil deposits and, in the future, the potentially astronomic impact of methane hydrates.

Target Sues California Gay Rights Group for Lobbying Outside Stores

http://dailycaller.com/2011/03/25/target-sues-california-gay-rights-group-for-lobbying-outside-stores/

Excerpt: “In response to feedback from many guests, Target long ago established a solicitation policy at our stores nationwide,” the company said in a statement. “We do not permit solicitation or petitioning at our stores regardless of the cause or issue being represented.”

10 Questions with 'The Threat Matrix: The FBI at War in the Age of Global Terror' author Garrett M. Graff

http://dailycaller.com/2011/03/27/10-questions-with-threat-matrix-author-garrett-m-graff/

Excerpt: The book actually grew out of time that I spent writing a profile of FBI Director Robert Mueller for Washingtonian magazine in 2008 — I came away from that piece fascinated at how the FBI of today no longer comported with my pop culture view of the FBI. The Bureau, with little notice or public attention, had gone global — becoming a major tool of U.S. foreign diplomacy, deploying hundreds of agents to places like Iraq, Pakistan, Afghanistan, and Yemen, and tackling cybercrime, terrorism, and international organized crime at a scale that we’ve never seen before.

Iowa May Turn GOP's Focus to Social Issues

http://www.nytimes.com/2011/03/27/us/politics/27iowa.html?_r=1&partner=rss&emc=rss&pagewanted=all

I would guess BO hopes so. ~Bob. Excerpt: No events have focused solely on the economy, job creation or even the health care law that is widely reviled among Republicans. Instead, the most prominent platforms for candidates to introduce themselves have been a number of forums — three last week alone — before socially conservative audiences in Iowa. Several Republican prospects appeared here Saturday at the Conservative Principles Conference sponsored by Representative Steve King of Iowa, one of the party’s firebrands in Congress, who argues that “culture, not the economy, is the most important thing” in choosing a nominee. He said he planned to endorse a candidate “who can be an effective constitutional president.” All prospective contenders are trying to glean lessons from the 2008 Iowa caucuses, when former Gov. Mike Huckabee of Arkansas scored an unexpected victory, in part by winning over evangelical Christians.

VIDEO: 200 Arrested as Anarchists Fight Police After 500,000-Strong Anti-Cuts March...And

Cover Trafalgar Square

in Graffiti

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-1370468/TUC-anti-cuts-march-200-arrested-protesters-cover-Trafalgar-Square-graffiti.html

More on the latest entitlement riots. I expect much worse in the next few years. ~Bob. Excerpt: A major clean-up operation was under way today to repair the damage to some of Britain's top landmarks after extremists brought violent chaos to central London. Workers scrubbed

Trafalgar Square

, where the famous lions had been graffitied and daubed with paint as anarchists ran wild during an anti-cuts protest. Slogans including 'Tory scum' and 'fight back' were scrawled on the statues, and red paint had been hurled at the 2012 Olympic countdown clock.

7 Ways The Obama Administration Is Helping To Advance The Islamists’ Agenda

http://www.newsrealblog.com/2011/03/26/1-48/

Excerpt: Islamic law (sharia) contradicts the notion that all human beings are entitled to be treated with equal dignity and have inalienable rights. Islamic law separates believers from nonbelievers, sanctioning inferior status, if not outright death, for the latter. In this worldview, religious tolerance is a one-way street. Women in Islam are degraded to submissiveness under misogynist laws. Children are taught to hate. Critical thought that questions official Islamic doctrines is regarded as the crime of defamation of Islam, punishable by death. The Obama administration has joined the chorus of apologists and “makeover artists” who insist that only extremist fundamentalists practice Islam this way, and that they are no different from fundamentalists of every religion. Genuine Islam is gentle and peaceful, they say. Although there are many Muslims who truly believe their religion can embrace reason and modern-day humanistic values, they are not the ones who are the most outspoken and influential in defining Islamic ideology today.

Who is John Galt?

http://washingtonexaminer.com/blogs/beltway-confidential/2011/03/who-john-galt

Excerpt: Who is this John Galt character and why have they made a movie about him? Actually, since this one is just the first of three parts, there will be a Galt threesome? Check out the trailer below:

Spend trillions now, and world temperatures might fall in 1,000 years

http://washingtonexaminer.com/blogs/beltway-confidential/2011/03/spend-trillions-now-and-world-temperatures-might-fall-1000-years

Excerpt: Even if every country in the world adopts economy-killing carbon caps, they’ll have to wait about 1,000 years for global temperatures to fall, says Australia’s newly appointed climate commissioner. Tim Flannery, a zoologist and author of an acclaimed 2005 book on climage change, “The Weather Makers,” compares skeptics of global warming to “flat Earth believers.” But he made a point that most global warming alarmists gloss over when he threw down this lightning bolt in an interview with Macquarie Radio’s Andrew Bolt: “If we cut emissions today, global temperatures are not likely to drop for about a thousand years.”

Muslims Attack Christian in Egypt, Cut Off His Ear

http://www.aina.org/news/20110325223845.htm

Didn't get the memo. ~Bob. Excerpt: A group of Muslims attacked Ayman Anwar Mitri, a 45 year old Christian Coptic man in the Upper Egyptian town of Qena, cutting off his ear. The Muslims claimed they were applying Sharia law because Mr. Mitri allegedly had an illicit affair with a Muslim woman. The Muslims called the police and told them "We have applied the law of Allah, now come and apply your law," according to Mr. Mitri in an interview for the Egyptian Human Rights Organization.

Obama and the Ghost of '68

http://townhall.com/columnists/stevechapman/2011/03/27/obama_and_the_ghost_of_68

Excerpt: In 2008, Democratic voters had their pick of many candidates for president -- from Hillary Clinton to John Edwards to Joe Biden. Why did they choose Barack Obama? After all, he had less experience in office than many of his rivals. He was not as well-known. He had the potential electoral liability of being black. No one knew if he was tough enough to stand up to Republican assaults in a nasty campaign.

So what accounts for his success? More than any other reason, he won because he had opposed the invasion of Iraq -- which Clinton and others had endorsed. Obama was the peace candidate of 2008. As the long and costly war dragged on, that was a priceless asset. Where are those voters now? The majority is probably still in Obama's camp. Most Democrats in Congress have defended the president's attack on Libya. Most have given him the benefit of the doubt in his slow withdrawal from Iraq. Most have gone along with his dramatic escalation in Afghanistan. But the mood of Democrats may be changing.

U.K. immigration officer fired after putting wife's name on terror watch list

http://www.allheadlinenews.com/briefs/articles/90032935

Excerpt: An immigration officer upset with his wife placed her on a terrorist watch list - so she couldn't get home from Pakistan. The officer used his access to security databases and added her name to list of people banned from flights into the UK while she was visiting family overseas. Her name on the list was “not conducive to the public good.” The woman who had no idea what her husband did went to the airport to board her return flight back but was told she couldn’t get on the plane. Adding to her frustration was officials didn’t offer an explanation. When she called her husband to ask his help with the matter he promised to look into it - but left her stuck in Pakistan for three years