"Obama has credibility issues with Wright as well as his other problem associates Ayers and indicted Chicago political fixer Tony Rezko. In each and every case, Obama has first downplayed his connections to these political hot potatoes. Wright was a 'crazy uncle.' Ayers, a 'neighbor.' Rezko, just 'one of thousands of contributors' to his campaign. Only when these associations have reached a critical political mass has Obama tried to put out the fire."
DKK
Rick Moran
Wednesday, April 30, 2008
Ganja or Weird Coffee? Na, Effective Policy
THE US war in Iraq has strengthened its strategic position, especially in terms of key alliances, and the only way this could be reversed would be if it lost the will to continue the struggle and abandoned Iraq in defeat and disarray.
Surely the author of this sentence is on the ganja, you might say. Something a little weird in the coffee? It goes against every aspect of conventional wisdom.
But the author of this thesis, stated only marginally less boldly, is one of the US's most brilliant strategic analysts. Mike Green holds the Japan chair at Washington's Centre for Strategic and International Studies and was for several years the Asia director at the National Security Council. He is also one of America's foremost experts on Japan and northeast Asia generally.
(...)
The US's three most important Asian alliances - with Australia, Japan and South Korea - have in his view been strengthened by the Iraq campaign. Each of these nations sent substantial numbers of troops to help the US in Iraq. They did this because they believed in what the US was doing in Iraq, and also because they wanted to use the Iraq campaign as an opportunity to strengthen their alliances with the US.
More generally, in a world supposedly awash in anti-US sentiment, pro-American leaders keep winning elections. Germany's Angela Merkel is certainly more pro-American than Gerhard Schroeder, whom she replaced. The same is true of France's Nicolas Sarkozy.
More importantly in terms of Green's analysis, the same is also true of South Korea's new President. Lee Myung-bak, elected in a landslide in December, is vastly more pro-American than his predecessor, Roh Moo-hyun.
Even in majority Islamic societies, their populations allegedly radicalised and polarised by Bush's campaign in Iraq and the global war on terror more generally, election results don't show any evidence of these trends. In the most recent local elections in Indonesia, and in national elections in Pakistan, the Islamist parties with anti-American rhetoric fared very poorly. Similarly Kevin Rudd was elected as a very pro-American Labor leader, unlike Mark Latham, with his traces of anti-Americanism, who was heavily defeated.
Suprised? I'm not, but then again I don't listen to the spin and the MSM and the cries of the fever swamped left wing blogs that we unilaterally destroyed America's standing in the world.
DKK
The Australian -- Esteem for US rises in Asia
Honk honk, Get out of the way!
Only Democrats could conclude that putting Americans to work finding more oil won’t help our energy needs or the economy. Apparently they believe the only way to fix the “same failed ideas” is to give up oil and write new laws.
For various reasons OPEC nations can drill oil for dramatically lower prices then we can. It is not economically feasible for us to explore for oil when oil prices drop below a certain level. As a result when OPEC realized we were serious about exploration and alternatives in the 80's they flooded the market with cheap oil thus undercutting these enterprises. Even if we can't become energy independent (which we can't) we can at least have a greater control on our own economy and policies.
That is if the Government would get out of the way.
DKK
Powerline -- The Politics Of Oil
el Nino, la Nina, Cousins, Aunts and Uncles
la-nina-and-pacific-decadal-oscillation-cool-the-pacific (PDF)
Thus, we seem to be headed toward several decades of global cooling, rather than the catastrophic global warming predicted by IPCC.The announcement by NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory that the Pacific Decadal Oscillation (PDO) had shifted to its cool phase (Fig. 1) is right on schedule as predicted by past climate and PDO changes.
Global temperatures peaked in 1998 and have not been exceeded since then. Pacific Ocean temperatures began a cooling phase in 1999 that was briefly interrupted by El Nino and dramatic cooling in 2007-2008 appears to be a continuation of a global cooling trend set up by the PDO cool phase (Fig. 1) as predicted [shown in the figure below].
If we are lucky, this PDO will be a short event. 2-4 years. If we are unlucky, and it is the “full Monty” phase switch at 20-30 years as Easterling suggests, we may be in for extended cooler times. This may result in some significant extended worldwide effects, notably on agriculture.
We Really have no idea and what we do know isn't enough to make society altering policy.
DKK
Watts Up With That -- More on the PDO shift
Gas Taxes by State
A follow up to the post on gas taxes, ever wonder how much gas tax do you pay?
Here is a summary for every state in the Union.
DKK
Illinois
19 cents for on gas and 21.5 on diesel.
Plus 6.25% sales tax and .3 % tax for underground storage tank fund, and other local sales and gasoline taxes. Diesel fuel taxes are 27.5 cpg for commercial highway users.
Here is a summary for every state in the Union.
DKK
Ally Watch -- Azerbaijan
Azerbaijan blocks Russian nuke shipment to Iran
NICOSIA — Iran has reported that a shipment of Russian nuclear equipment was being held in neighboring Azerbaijan.Azerbaijan, an ally of the United States, has acknowledged the delay. The Azeri government said it has sought to determine whether the nuclear shipment violated United Nations Security Council sanctions on Iran.
But I thought President Bush had ruined our relations with our allies?
DKK
Devil or Savior?
If I understand the point of some statements of Reverend Wright, and many on the left, the US government has done many reprehensible things in the past making it evil.
If that were the case then why do they want more government involvement in their life? If it were me I would want the government to stay as far away from me as possible.
Yet you have examples like Katrina where it seems, based on the media and comments by black leaders, that the government was expected to do more to save people then they were expected to do themselves. This evil government, that should really be shuttered, reorganization, and reopened under another name, was honestly expected to be the savior. (Forget for a moment the Democrats own culpability in mocking DHS warnings to save at least three days worth of food and water because the same memo also mentioned duct tape).
As a matter of fact, Wright's own example of the Tuskegee experiment started with the government offering free health care! Wouldn't you think black America would run, and rightfully so, at the thought of hearing those words again?
"The nine most terrifying words in the English language are: 'I'm from the government and I'm here to help.'" -- Ronald Reagan
DKK
If that were the case then why do they want more government involvement in their life? If it were me I would want the government to stay as far away from me as possible.
Yet you have examples like Katrina where it seems, based on the media and comments by black leaders, that the government was expected to do more to save people then they were expected to do themselves. This evil government, that should really be shuttered, reorganization, and reopened under another name, was honestly expected to be the savior. (Forget for a moment the Democrats own culpability in mocking DHS warnings to save at least three days worth of food and water because the same memo also mentioned duct tape).
As a matter of fact, Wright's own example of the Tuskegee experiment started with the government offering free health care! Wouldn't you think black America would run, and rightfully so, at the thought of hearing those words again?
"The nine most terrifying words in the English language are: 'I'm from the government and I'm here to help.'" -- Ronald Reagan
DKK
An Awakening
Barack Obama’s repudiation of Jeremiah Wright didn’t go over well with many of the Kos Kids.
To say the least. Daily Kos: “Uncle Tom” Obama.
I have been a huge supporter of Barack. He is the guy I’ve been behind for quite awhile now. Check my older diaries if you wonder about that. And while I’ve been steeling myself for a Barack loss in November, because I think the Repug machine is too good for him to beat, I had resigned myself to still working hard for him and for the Progressive cause!
But today something changed for me...
Today, the scales fell from my eyes and I saw Barack Obama for what he truly is: a weak man and a standard politician. I really never thought I would say this...
But I am disgusted with him!
All he needs to do is add the word Chicago to his description and he would be just about right on.
DKK
LGF -- 'Uncle Tom' Obama
Healthcare Preview
Don Surber -- Obamacare Preview.Speedy health care: 42% of Canadians in Ontario can now get an MRI in only 3 ½ months.
And for 72%, a CT scan can be taken within 2 months.
Knee replacements used to take 63 weeks.
Now, thanks to fast action by Ontario’s government, the wait is down to 44 weeks (10 months).
Well, for 73% of the people.
DKK
Sizing Up Obama
The idea that he's going to go and have a face to face interview with Kim Jong Il when he's been in this guy's (Wright) church for 20 years and can't size him up, I mean, I think that is naive..
Mort Kondracke on Special Report regarding Obama being -- Shocked that there is gambling going on in the casino -- upset about Reverend Wright's statements.
DKK
Tuesday, April 29, 2008
Nickel and Dimed to Death
"Now the two Washington candidates in the race have been attacking me lately because I don't support their idea of a gas tax holiday," Obama said.
He argued that suspending the gas tax collections would undercut highway construction, costing North Carolina up to 7,000 jobs, while saving consumers little.
"We're arguing over a gimmick that would save you half a tank of gas over the course of the entire summer so that everyone in Washington can pat themselves on the back and say they did something," Obama said.
Hold on, hold on, I actually agree with Obama that cutting the gas tax is a bad idea. But not because of the bloated highway spending budget. Rather I think it is a bad idea because it undercuts the market. (Diesel and Fuel tax by state - click for larger view)
Markets work, "Businessweek reports that Americans appear to be burning less gasoline as a result of driving less." If you cut the tax you will encourage greater use thus forcing higher prices for a longer period of time.
If you really want to give the economy a boost then drop corporate taxes, how about cutting ALL state and federal taxes on diesel fuel only -- giving a break in the cost of all goods. The federal tax on diesel fuel is about 30% higher then it is on gasoline (24.4 cents vs 18.4 cents)
DKK
Stop the Pain -- New Orleans Needs Business
WANT TO HELP NEW ORLEANS? Support free trade!
Is there any city for which congressional Democrats claim more concern than New Orleans? So why are they denying the Katrina-ravaged city a major opportunity for recovery by shutting out Colombian free trade? . . . The mayor of the hurricane-hit city made an impassioned plea to Congress to pass the Colombia free trade agreement for New Orleans' sake. He knows how badly his city needs every break it can get, three years after the biggest disaster to ever hit a U.S. metropolitan area. . . .
"New Orleans is becoming an even greater international city in the wake of Hurricane Katrina," Nagin wrote to House Speaker Nancy Pelosi last November, "and we are making every effort to capitalize on trade liberalization that will flow from these FTAs (free trade agreements). Our port system is ideally situated to take advantage of the Latin American FTAs."
Congress is unmoved because free trade produces less graft than massive aid projects. But it's funny that this hasn't gotten much attention from the press.
DKK
Ding, ding ding, Obama Wins as King of Spending
The Democratic presidential candidates have some big plans -- with big price tags attached. By our calculations, using figures supplied by the campaigns, Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton (N.Y.) has proposed new spending and tax breaks that would amount to almost $265 billion a year when fully implemented, while the initiatives proposed by Sen. Barack Obama (Ill.) total nearly $333 billion.
DKK
Never Cooperate, Never Surrender!
The most hilarious point came when Obama tried to claim credit for bipartisanship on the John Roberts confirmation vote — not because he supported Roberts. He voted against Roberts. However, Obama wanted credit for defending the few Democrats who did support Roberts on Daily Kos, and taking the venom of Kos’ readership for his defense.
American Thinker Blog -- Obama's Weird Idea of 'Bi-partisanship'
DKK
PR Gains In Muslim Nations
Would progress in public opinion against al-Qaeda in Muslim nations constitute important news? One might think so, considering the lengthy and difficult war we fight against the radical Islamist terrorists of the AQ network, especially in recruitment. The Washington Post took four days to report this progress, however, and stuck it on page A13, where Walter Pincus briefs us on some real progress
Hot Air -- US making PR gains in Muslim world — but apparently not in US media
DKK
Americans Really Are Smart
It always seems like a no-brainer to the Democrats: we'll promise to take some money from the "rich" and give it to those most likely to vote for us; how could it go wrong? But those pesky voters--what's the matter with Kansas?--don't think it's quite so simple.
Rasmussen reports that by 65% to 16%, likely voters oppose the Democrats' scheme to increase capital gains taxes. That's partly because lots of people pay capital gains, and partly because many voters have figured out that the Dems may come first for the "rich," but they'll be coming for them, too, before long: 60% say that a candidate who promises to hike taxes on capital gains will raise other taxes, as well. And a considerable number of voters have a better grasp of economics than Democratic politicians; 52% say that increasing capital gains would hurt the economy.
So the Democrats may soon be asking, not just what's wrong with Kansas, but what's wrong with America? Not that that would be much of a departure
Powerline -- Soak The Rich
DKK
Scary Close
WASHINGTON - CIA Director Michael Hayden said Monday that the alleged Syrian nuclear reactor destroyed by an Israeli airstrike in September would have produced enough plutonium for one or two bombs within a year of becoming operational.
U.S. intelligence and administration officials publicly disclosed last week their assessment that Syria was building a covert nuclear reactor with North Korean assistance. They said it was modeled on the shuttered North Korean reactor at Yongbyon, which produced a small amount of plutonium. The Syrian site, they said, was within weeks or months of being operational.
“In the course of a year after they got full up they would have produced enough plutonium for one or two weapons,” Hayden told reporters after a speech at Georgetown University.
LGF -- Syria Was Way Too Close To Nukes
DKK
Supremes Uphold Voter ID Law
The Supreme Court ruled yesterday that states may require voters to present photo identification before casting ballots, opening the way for wider adoption of a measure that Republicans say combats fraud and Democrats say discourages voting among the elderly and the poor.
(...)
(T)he usually liberal Justice John Paul Stevens wrote the main opinion and said the state law is a reasonable reaction to the threat of voter fraud."The application of the statute to the vast majority of Indiana voters is amply justified by the valid interest in protecting the integrity and reliability of the electoral process," he wrote. His opinion was joined by Chief Justice John G. Roberts Jr., who is normally on the right, and Justice Anthony M. Kennedy, who is often considered a swing vote.
This is one of those things you assume happens anyway, it seems like common sense.
DKK
Washington Post
Update: Wizbang Blog says it is a win for, "people who believe in the rule of law. Federalism/states' rights advocates. Republicans," and a, "colossal defeat for Democrats.
DKK
UN Means Unaccountable!
I'D BE SHOCKED, but by now this really isn't shocking:The UN has covered up claims that its troops in Democratic Republic of Congo gave arms to militias and smuggled gold and ivory, the BBC has learned. . . . These are not the only allegations to have been brought against peacekeepers in DR Congo.
In December 2006, former UN Secretary General Kofi Annan said Moroccan troops had been involved in widespread sexual abuse.
"There have been crimes such as rape, paedophilia and human trafficking," he said, shortly before leaving office.
But since there's no anti-American angle, it won't be much of a story.
DKK
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