Wednesday, October 31, 2012
JEWISH SUPPORT OF OBAMA
Prominent Jews like New York City Mayor Ed Koch and Harvard law professor Allen Dershowitz have been very critical of Obama yet now they are supporting his reelection. Why?
There’s a place for voters for whom strong support of Israel is the key issue—and that’s the Republican Party. But Israel’s security has long depended on backing from both parties. Without it, the Jewish state will rapidly become a partisan issue, and Israel will invariably pay the price. At a moment when Israel needs strong U.S. support, Koch, Dershowitz, and Saban are looking to postpone that day of reckoning.
We will see if this pragmatism pays off if Obama is reelected. But the bottom line is that even Obama's Jewish supporters realize that the Democrat Party is going to dump them some day.
There’s a place for voters for whom strong support of Israel is the key issue—and that’s the Republican Party. But Israel’s security has long depended on backing from both parties. Without it, the Jewish state will rapidly become a partisan issue, and Israel will invariably pay the price. At a moment when Israel needs strong U.S. support, Koch, Dershowitz, and Saban are looking to postpone that day of reckoning.
We will see if this pragmatism pays off if Obama is reelected. But the bottom line is that even Obama's Jewish supporters realize that the Democrat Party is going to dump them some day.
MORE ON BENGHAZI
From RealClearPolitics. "The cover-up is worse than a third string burglary." The scandal is compared to Watergate when Nixon tried to hide that scandal--this is a pretty stiff charge.
This cover-up, like that in Watergate, goes right to the top. What's being covered up is much worse than a "third rate burglary." Why was security so lax? Why were the ambassador's pleas for more turned down? Why did the president lie? Americans have a right to know. Few in the media have tried to find out.
Appeals to their integrity are unlikely to get "mainstream" journalists to do their jobs, since they have so little of it. Self preservation may. The leaked emails expose journalists who touted the administration's story as gullible chumps, corrupt shills, or both.
Spooks and diplomats are angry at the attempt to make them scapegoats; furious that the president didn't lift a finger to help their comrades in the consulate during the seven-hour siege. More leaks may be on the way. If they fail to follow up, journalists could lose more credibility than the president. They haven't much credibility left to lose.
More on a coverup. Obama refused to give permission to help the Benghazi diplomats even when Hillary requested it--an interview with author Ed Klein.
Background on what Ambassador Stevens was doing. The Libya to Syria weapons pipeline was involved.
From WAPO. What was the NSC doing? The President had some kind of briefing on 9/10?
This cover-up, like that in Watergate, goes right to the top. What's being covered up is much worse than a "third rate burglary." Why was security so lax? Why were the ambassador's pleas for more turned down? Why did the president lie? Americans have a right to know. Few in the media have tried to find out.
Appeals to their integrity are unlikely to get "mainstream" journalists to do their jobs, since they have so little of it. Self preservation may. The leaked emails expose journalists who touted the administration's story as gullible chumps, corrupt shills, or both.
Spooks and diplomats are angry at the attempt to make them scapegoats; furious that the president didn't lift a finger to help their comrades in the consulate during the seven-hour siege. More leaks may be on the way. If they fail to follow up, journalists could lose more credibility than the president. They haven't much credibility left to lose.
More on a coverup. Obama refused to give permission to help the Benghazi diplomats even when Hillary requested it--an interview with author Ed Klein.
Background on what Ambassador Stevens was doing. The Libya to Syria weapons pipeline was involved.
From WAPO. What was the NSC doing? The President had some kind of briefing on 9/10?
Tuesday, October 30, 2012
CHRISTIAN PERSECUTION AROUND THE WORLD
From the London Telegraph. Don't see this issue covered much in the secular media.
Imagine the unspeakable fury that would erupt across the Islamic world if a
Christian-led government in Khartoum had been responsible for the deaths of
hundreds of thousands of Sudanese Muslims over the past 30 years. Or if
Christian gunmen were firebombing mosques in Iraq during Friday prayers. Or
if Muslim girls in Indonesia had been abducted and beheaded on their way to
school, because of their faith.
Such horrors are barely thinkable, of course. But they have all occurred in
reverse, with Christians falling victim to Islamist aggression. Only two
days ago, a suicide bomber crashed a jeep laden with explosives into a
packed Catholic church in Kaduna, northern Nigeria, killing at least eight
people and injuring more than 100. The tragedy bore the imprint of numerous
similar attacks by Boko Haram (which roughly translates as “Western
education is sinful”), an exceptionally bloodthirsty militant group.
Abu Hamza, the 7/7 ringleader Mohammad Sidique Khan and other totemic figures were allowed to practise their religion openly in Britain, yet there is scarcely a single country from Morocco to Pakistan in which Christians are fully free to worship without restriction. Muslims who convert to Christianity or other faiths in most of these societies face harsh penalties. There is now a high risk that the Churches will all but vanish from their biblical heartlands in the Middle East.
Abu Hamza, the 7/7 ringleader Mohammad Sidique Khan and other totemic figures were allowed to practise their religion openly in Britain, yet there is scarcely a single country from Morocco to Pakistan in which Christians are fully free to worship without restriction. Muslims who convert to Christianity or other faiths in most of these societies face harsh penalties. There is now a high risk that the Churches will all but vanish from their biblical heartlands in the Middle East.
Monday, October 29, 2012
OLIVER STONE'S DISENCHANTED VIEW OF OBAMA
Oliver Stone, a liberal, tears into Obama in his new book. Stone attacks Obama on his lack of Wall Street reform; health care; Afghanistan; civil liberties; imperialism; and defense spending.
DRONE STRIKES
Slate has an interactive map showing the drone strikes in Pakistan from the Bush years into the Obama presidency. It shows how Obama stepped up the attacks significantly.
Sunday, October 28, 2012
THE OLD AMERICAN CHARACTER HAS DISAPPEARED
George Will's recent column "Mugging Our Descendants" is quite sobering. What are the consequences of piling up the public debt? His column is baased on the work of Nicholoas Eberstadt of the American Enterprise Institute. Some of the statistics he gives are:
1. Between 1960 and 2010, entitlements exploded from 28 percent to 66 percent of federal spending. By 2010, more than 34 percent of households were receiving means-tested benefits.
2. “he growth of entitlement spending over the past half-century has been distinctly greater under Republican administrations than Democratic ones.
3. Today, 27 percent of adult men do not consider themselves part of the workforce: “A large part of the jobs problem for American men today is not wanting one.” Which is why “labor force participation ratios for men in the prime of life are lower in America than in Europe.”
4. In 1960, an average of 455,000 workers were receiving disability payments; in 2011, 8.6 million. Nearly half of the 8.6 million were “disabled” because of “mood disorders” or ailments of the “musculoskeletal system and the connective tissue.” It is, says Eberstadt, essentially impossible to disprove a person’s claim to be suffering from sad feelings or back pain.
5. “In 1960,” Eberstadt says, “roughly 134 Americans were engaged in gainful employment for every officially disabled worker; by December 2010 there were just over 16.”
6. For every 100 industrial workers in December 2010, there were 73 “workers” receiving disability payments.
1. Between 1960 and 2010, entitlements exploded from 28 percent to 66 percent of federal spending. By 2010, more than 34 percent of households were receiving means-tested benefits.
2. “he growth of entitlement spending over the past half-century has been distinctly greater under Republican administrations than Democratic ones.
3. Today, 27 percent of adult men do not consider themselves part of the workforce: “A large part of the jobs problem for American men today is not wanting one.” Which is why “labor force participation ratios for men in the prime of life are lower in America than in Europe.”
4. In 1960, an average of 455,000 workers were receiving disability payments; in 2011, 8.6 million. Nearly half of the 8.6 million were “disabled” because of “mood disorders” or ailments of the “musculoskeletal system and the connective tissue.” It is, says Eberstadt, essentially impossible to disprove a person’s claim to be suffering from sad feelings or back pain.
5. “In 1960,” Eberstadt says, “roughly 134 Americans were engaged in gainful employment for every officially disabled worker; by December 2010 there were just over 16.”
6. For every 100 industrial workers in December 2010, there were 73 “workers” receiving disability payments.
Saturday, October 27, 2012
CONTRACEPTION CONTROVERSY
From National Review. “The Obama administration has mandated that religious employers must pay for abortion-inducing drugs,” is the simple and direct message that Conscience Cause is trying to get across in Senate races across the country, via voter guides released this week. In the below interview with National Review Online, Christen Varley, executive director of the effort explains what they’re up to.
OBAMA SUPPORTERS INTERVIEWED
The drone issue is a serious one. Here is Andrew McCarthy at National Review analyzing the issue of "Drones and Liberals."
CIA NEWS RELEASE ON BENGHAZI SANDBAGGING WHITE HOUSE?
"Petraeus Throws Obama Uncer the Bus." No one at any level in the CIA told anybody not to help those in need; claims to the contrary are simply inaccurate. Who else is Obama going to blame for this?
Is there a paper trail on any Obama order to help them? A former defense official says there should be so all Obama or someone needs to do is produce it.
Is there a paper trail on any Obama order to help them? A former defense official says there should be so all Obama or someone needs to do is produce it.
Headline: "US Security Forces Would Not Have Been Painting Targets on Ground Unless There Was Air Support Overhead – But White House Called It Off." Don't know if this is right-wing sensationalism or not. If this is true, it is very serious. Someone in the White House may have prevented US fonces from returning
ADMINISTRATIVE BLOAT IN EDUCATION
My problem with politicians on the education issue is that they are always saying we need more money for teachers. However, money never seems to improve public education. A big reason is that it is not spent on teachers, but on administration.
Between 1950 and 2009, the number of K-12 public school students increased by 96 percent. During that same period, the number of full-time equivalent (FTE) school employees grew by 386 percent. Of those personnel, the number of teachers increased by 252 percent, while the ranks of administrators and other staff grew by 702 percent—more than 7 times the increase in students. From the Thomas Fordham Institute study.
Between 1950 and 2009, the number of K-12 public school students increased by 96 percent. During that same period, the number of full-time equivalent (FTE) school employees grew by 386 percent. Of those personnel, the number of teachers increased by 252 percent, while the ranks of administrators and other staff grew by 702 percent—more than 7 times the increase in students. From the Thomas Fordham Institute study.
Friday, October 26, 2012
PAGLIA ATTACKS OBAMA
Camilla Paglia, a noted feminist and liberal, explains why she won't be voting for Obama a second time. She calls Obamacare a "Stalinist intrusion" and Obama "one of the most racially divisive and polarizing figures ever. I think
it's going to take years to undo the damage to relationships between the
races." And she goes on to attack the role of the IRS and the "culture of surveillance."
SCIENCE PLAYING GOD
What are the implications of geoengineering? And should scientists be held responsible for their failures?
How serious is the threat of global warming? One way to figure out is to take your cues from some leading climate scientists: They have moved on. That doesn't mean they've abandoned the issue, but they are looking beyond what all agree is the most obvious solution -- decreasing the amount of carbon we spew into the atmosphere in the first place.
These scientists are beginning to look for a Plan B. There are two distinct approaches under consideration -- sucking carbon out of the atmosphere, or creating an artificial sun shield for the planet. The former, which involves reversing some of the very processes that are leading to the climate problem, is expensive. The latter just sounds scary. David Keith, a leading thinker on geoengineering, calls it "chemotherapy" for the planet. "You are repulsed?" he says. "Good. No one should like it. It's a terrible option."
How serious is the threat of global warming? One way to figure out is to take your cues from some leading climate scientists: They have moved on. That doesn't mean they've abandoned the issue, but they are looking beyond what all agree is the most obvious solution -- decreasing the amount of carbon we spew into the atmosphere in the first place.
These scientists are beginning to look for a Plan B. There are two distinct approaches under consideration -- sucking carbon out of the atmosphere, or creating an artificial sun shield for the planet. The former, which involves reversing some of the very processes that are leading to the climate problem, is expensive. The latter just sounds scary. David Keith, a leading thinker on geoengineering, calls it "chemotherapy" for the planet. "You are repulsed?" he says. "Good. No one should like it. It's a terrible option."
SENATOR MCGOVERN'S DEATH
What caught my eye in this column was the following: When he learned as a Connecticut innkeeper how government regulators
conspire to thwart a businessman’s thrift and industry, he ruefully
conceded in an op-ed for the Wall Street Journal that if he had known
first-hand about the difficulties the government imposes, “that
knowledge would have made me a better U.S. senator and a more
understanding presidential contender.”
BOEING CREATES NEW MISSILE
An EMP Missile. This missile will change warfare. Scientists at U.S. military giant Boeing have successfully developed a missile that takes out the electrical workings of multiple targets, without causing any collateral damage.
Thursday, October 25, 2012
GREECE DISINTEGRATES
Fascists may be taking over in Greece--blog post by Alan Johnson.
Quotes Paul Mason at the BBC: Last month, the Greek prime minister, Antonis Samaras, warned Europe that his country was on the edge of a Weimar Germany-style social collapse. What I have seen on the streets of Athens convinces me this is not rhetoric. There is a violent far-right party, its MPs committing and inciting violence with impunity; a police force that cannot or will not prevent Golden Dawn from projecting uniformed force on the streets. And a middle class that feels increasingly powerless to turn the situation round.
In addition: The neo-fascist party Golden Dawn won 6 to 7 percent of the vote in the Greek elections of May and June 2012 and is polling at twice that today, as anger rises against the economic austerity measures of the coalition government of Conservatives, Socialists and the Democratic Left.
Increasing lawlessness may be on the horizon.
Quotes Paul Mason at the BBC: Last month, the Greek prime minister, Antonis Samaras, warned Europe that his country was on the edge of a Weimar Germany-style social collapse. What I have seen on the streets of Athens convinces me this is not rhetoric. There is a violent far-right party, its MPs committing and inciting violence with impunity; a police force that cannot or will not prevent Golden Dawn from projecting uniformed force on the streets. And a middle class that feels increasingly powerless to turn the situation round.
In addition: The neo-fascist party Golden Dawn won 6 to 7 percent of the vote in the Greek elections of May and June 2012 and is polling at twice that today, as anger rises against the economic austerity measures of the coalition government of Conservatives, Socialists and the Democratic Left.
Increasing lawlessness may be on the horizon.
VICE PRESIDENT JOE BIDEN
A disgruntled aide has written a "tell-all" book. "Egomaniacal autocrat" -- wow! Obama and Biden "financially illiterate."
FETHULLAH GULEN
Controversial Muslim preacher, feared Turkish intriguer—and “inspirer” of the largest charter school network in America. Is Islamic proselytizing subtely taking place? And they are flying politicians to Turkey. And reporters are raising other questions about what exactly is going on with this group.
OBAMA & PUTIN ADS
Losing your virginity is like voting for Obama. Maybe there is a reason Putin has endorsed Obama! Obama has copied a Putin campaign ad!
A Romney take-off on this Obama ad has come out. But evidently it was first used in an Australian political campaign.
A Romney take-off on this Obama ad has come out. But evidently it was first used in an Australian political campaign.
CAMPAIGN CONTRASTS
Pictures don't appear on front pages by chance. I don't know if this heralds a change in media coverage of how the candidates are presented, but it is not flattering to Obama.
CNN RETRACTS STORY ON WOMEN
Interesting. The story was about how hormones influence women voters. Maybe it made them sound too much like Todd Akin??? Or it didn't fit the Democrat spin on why women in polls seem to have favored Obama????
THE MEDIA AND BENGHAZI
A critique of media coverage in the The Telegraph. Delingpole calls the media an "amen corner" for the Obama administration to describe how they evaluated and reported the events that took place.
DID OBAMA LISTEN TO THE BAD ADVICE OF ECONOMISTS?
From RealClearMarkets. Does fault lie with the economists who gave Obama advice or with Obama for listening to them? And Paul Krugman faulted Obama for not spending even more to bring the economy back.
If President Obama loses the election in November, economists may well end up taking a share of the blame - for good reason. Their models misled him into applying ambitious stimulus therapies to jump start the economy and boost employment that haven't worked, vastly undermining his re-election prospects.
Back in January 2009, a now infamous study coauthored by Christina Romer, the future chair of the President Obama's Council of Economic Advisors, and Jared Bernstein, the future chief economist for the Vice President, predicted that an $800 billion economic stimulus targeted toward boosting consumer demand would stave off a severe recession and hold unemployment below 8 percent by the end of 2009.
What was so compelling about their study was the illusion of precision. The Obama administration used their statistical analysis to aggressively promote specific policy proposals, including the package of tax cuts and discretionary federal spending embodied in the so-called stimulus package, the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009.
But little of what they predicted has panned out.
Read the whole article.
If President Obama loses the election in November, economists may well end up taking a share of the blame - for good reason. Their models misled him into applying ambitious stimulus therapies to jump start the economy and boost employment that haven't worked, vastly undermining his re-election prospects.
Back in January 2009, a now infamous study coauthored by Christina Romer, the future chair of the President Obama's Council of Economic Advisors, and Jared Bernstein, the future chief economist for the Vice President, predicted that an $800 billion economic stimulus targeted toward boosting consumer demand would stave off a severe recession and hold unemployment below 8 percent by the end of 2009.
What was so compelling about their study was the illusion of precision. The Obama administration used their statistical analysis to aggressively promote specific policy proposals, including the package of tax cuts and discretionary federal spending embodied in the so-called stimulus package, the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009.
But little of what they predicted has panned out.
Read the whole article.
Wednesday, October 24, 2012
HIGHER EDUCATION MOVES FURTHER TO THE LEFT
Academics have always leaned to the left, but now the tilt is even more that way according to a UCLA survey.
Among full-time faculty members at four-year colleges and universities,
the percentage identifying as "far left" or liberal has increased
notably in the last three years, while the percentage identifying in
three other political categories has declined.
MALI: THE NEW SYRIA?
France is sending in drones to battle radical Islamists.
So NATO's intervention in Libya may have led to this terrible situation for Mali. And in addition, the Obama administration has waived sanctions on the international agreement intended to stop the use of child soldiers. But for the third year in a row, Obama has waived almost all U.S. sanctions that would punish certain countries that use child soldiers, upsetting many in the human rights community
Mali was first destabilized thanks to NATO’s intervention in Libya,
which sent weapons and fighters streaming into the northern deserts,
where they found little opposition from the government. Other Islamist
fighters from the Middle East soon came flocking in to this sandy patch
of ungoverned territory. Their ranks are reportedly bolstered by
thousands of local child soldiers.
So NATO's intervention in Libya may have led to this terrible situation for Mali. And in addition, the Obama administration has waived sanctions on the international agreement intended to stop the use of child soldiers. But for the third year in a row, Obama has waived almost all U.S. sanctions that would punish certain countries that use child soldiers, upsetting many in the human rights community
BENGAZHI ATTACK
From Reuters. It looks like the information was available within two hours that the attack was a terrorist attack. . .so why was the White House and State Department blaming a film maker for making a video uncomplimentary to Islam for almost two weeks?
The brief emails also show how U.S. diplomats described the attack, even as it was still under way, to Washington.
And it would also appear that this information was not passed on to Congress in the briefings that followed.
More. "5 Lessons of Benghazi"
Were, and are, American arms being used to support radical Islamists? The evidence suggests that the Obama administration has not simply been engaging, legitimating, enriching and emboldening Islamists who have taken over or are ascendant in much of the Middle East. Starting in March 2011, when American diplomat J. Christopher Stevens was designated the liaison to the “opposition” in Libya, the Obama administration has been arming them, including jihadists like Abdelhakim Belhadj, leader of the al Qaeda franchise known as the Libyan Islamic Fighting Group.
The emails, obtained by Reuters from
government sources not connected with U.S. spy agencies or the State
Department and who requested anonymity, specifically mention that the
Libyan group called Ansar al-Sharia had asserted responsibility for the
attacks.
And it would also appear that this information was not passed on to Congress in the briefings that followed.
More. "5 Lessons of Benghazi"
Were, and are, American arms being used to support radical Islamists? The evidence suggests that the Obama administration has not simply been engaging, legitimating, enriching and emboldening Islamists who have taken over or are ascendant in much of the Middle East. Starting in March 2011, when American diplomat J. Christopher Stevens was designated the liaison to the “opposition” in Libya, the Obama administration has been arming them, including jihadists like Abdelhakim Belhadj, leader of the al Qaeda franchise known as the Libyan Islamic Fighting Group.
Tuesday, October 23, 2012
2012 PRESIDENTIAL FOREIGN POLICY DEBATE
Jennifer Rubin's 10 point analysis. Neither candidate shone, but Obama seems to have made more mistatements.
Point 10: After all the talk in the primaries of Romney gaffes and misstatements (which continued into this August), Romney and Rep. Paul Ryan (R-Wis.) went through four debates, six hours total, with no noteworthy gaffe or mistake. (The closest was the missed opportunity on Libya in the second debate.) After each of the debates, the Obama team had more “cleanup” to do than the Romney camp.
Point 10: After all the talk in the primaries of Romney gaffes and misstatements (which continued into this August), Romney and Rep. Paul Ryan (R-Wis.) went through four debates, six hours total, with no noteworthy gaffe or mistake. (The closest was the missed opportunity on Libya in the second debate.) After each of the debates, the Obama team had more “cleanup” to do than the Romney camp.
CHRIS CHRISTIE
Chris Christie may be accused of ranting, but he is a great speaker and knows how to reach an audience.
EUTHANASIA IN THE NETHERLANDS
A story of a woman who took her life because she was suffering from an incurable disease.
Saturday, October 20, 2012
Joel Kotkin: Interesting thesis. Obama and Democrats are appealing to singles, including single mothers. Eventually this Democrat power base will collapse because they are not having children.
And even as the president has slipped in the polls, the fast-growing Single Nation has stayed behind him. Unmarried women prefer Obama by nearly 20 points (56 to 39 percent), according to Gallup, while those who are married prefer Romney by a similarly large margin.
Unmarried women (along with ethnic minorities, the poor and the workers in the public bureaucracy) are rapidly becoming a core constituency of the Democratic party, in a sense replacing the ethnic white working class.
But the Single Nation’s grip on power may not be sustainable for more than a generation. After all they, by definition, will have no heirs. This, notes author Eric Kauffman, hands the long-term advantage to generally more conservative family-oriented households, who often have two or more offspring. Birth rates among such conservative populations such as Mormons and evangelical Christians tend to be twice as high than those of the nonreligious.
As a result, Kauffman predicts that inevitably “the religious will inherit the earth” and ensure that conservative, more familial-oriented values inevitably prevail. Even among generally liberal groups like Jews, the orthodox and affiliated are vastly out-birthing their secular counterparts; by some estimates roughly two in five New York Jews is orthodox, including three quarters of the city’s Jewish children. If these trends continue, politics even in the progressive nirvana of Gotham may be pulled somewhat to the right.
EGYPT WANTS NUKES
An Egyptian poll show people want government to turn to Iran to get a nuclear weapons. Obviously this puts Israel into an increasingly dangerous situation.
A poll of Egyptians conducted last month shows that they have increasingly positive views of Iran, believe that both Iran and Egypt should obtain nuclear weapons, and still trust their own military more than any other institution in Egypt.
Iran's deputy defense minister said recently that the Iranian regime is seeking more military cooperation with Egypt. "We are ready to help Egypt to build nuclear reactors and satellites," he said on the occasion or Egyptian President Mohammed Morsy's meeting with Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad last month. Morsy's office has said the two didn't discuss military cooperation.
Friday, October 19, 2012
NAZI PERSECUTION OF DISABLED IN AUSTRIA
Graves have been exhumed showing evidence of the physical and mentally disabled being tormented in final days or months of their lives.
Historians, anthropologists, physicians and archaeologists say the Hall project represents the first time that investigators can match hospital records with remains, allowing them to identify, for example, cases in which patients had broken ribs, noses and collarbones that were not listed in their medical histories, suggesting that the patients had been beaten by those responsible for their care.
MIDEAST POLICY A MESS
Rosa Brooks, who served in both the Departments of State and defense during the Obama administration, is quite critical of Obama administration policies and uses the word "dysfunctional" to describe it.
Despite some successes large and small, Obama's foreign policy has disappointed many who initially supported him. The Middle East initiatives heralded in his 2009 Cairo speech fizzled or never got started at all, and the Middle East today is more volatile than ever. The administration's response to the escalating violence in Syria has consisted mostly of anxious thumb-twiddling. The Israelis and the Palestinians are both furious at us. In Afghanistan, Obama lost faith in his own strategy: he never fought to fully resource it, and now we're searching for a way to leave without condemning the Afghans to endless civil war. In Pakistan, years of throwing money in the military's direction have bought little cooperation and less love.
Here is what she suggests:
Despite some successes large and small, Obama's foreign policy has disappointed many who initially supported him. The Middle East initiatives heralded in his 2009 Cairo speech fizzled or never got started at all, and the Middle East today is more volatile than ever. The administration's response to the escalating violence in Syria has consisted mostly of anxious thumb-twiddling. The Israelis and the Palestinians are both furious at us. In Afghanistan, Obama lost faith in his own strategy: he never fought to fully resource it, and now we're searching for a way to leave without condemning the Afghans to endless civil war. In Pakistan, years of throwing money in the military's direction have bought little cooperation and less love.
Here is what she suggests:
- Get a strategy.
- Get some decent managers.
- Get people who actually know something.
- Get out of the bubble.
- Get a backbone
Wednesday, October 17, 2012
OBAMA'S SECOND TERM AGENDA
After watching 2 debates I have been wondering what would Obama do? Romney, for better or worse, has some specific proposals out there. Maybe Obama was burned by his failed promises of 2008. Time's Mark Halperin also weighed on this issue.
After doing an internet search, I have found a number of other commentators and writers who are also wondering what he would do. For example:
Kimberley A. Strassel
The National Journal
Politico has some speculation on what he might do.
Megan Mcardle. I suspect that Obama's advisors knew all this months ago, and just figured it was too difficult to come up with a second term agenda that was both plausible and novel. Of course, it'll be even harder now. So Obama had better nail it in tonight's town hall
After doing an internet search, I have found a number of other commentators and writers who are also wondering what he would do. For example:
Kimberley A. Strassel
The National Journal
Politico has some speculation on what he might do.
Megan Mcardle. I suspect that Obama's advisors knew all this months ago, and just figured it was too difficult to come up with a second term agenda that was both plausible and novel. Of course, it'll be even harder now. So Obama had better nail it in tonight's town hall
Tuesday, October 16, 2012
OBAMACARE'S IMPACT ON MEDICARE
The Heritage Foundation documents how Obamacare raids Medicare to pay for other new programs. There is a problem waiting to happen. Stay healthy if you are over 65.
The money is cut from hospital services, Medicare Advantage, skilled nursing services, hospice services, and other Medicare services. To be clear, the cuts do not target individual institutions or medical organizations suspected of waste, fraud, or abuse.
Further, seniors will face greater barriers when attempting to access care. The Medicare actuary projects that over the next 10 years, Medicare Part A providers (i.e., hospitals and nursing homes) may stop accepting Medicare patients or 15 percent of them will become unprofitable due to the severe Obamacare cuts. If Obamacare remains on the books, the number of providers becoming unprofitable will reach 40 percent by 2050. A doubling of Medicare patients with a major reduction in the number of providers will guarantee access problems for senior citizens.
The money is cut from hospital services, Medicare Advantage, skilled nursing services, hospice services, and other Medicare services. To be clear, the cuts do not target individual institutions or medical organizations suspected of waste, fraud, or abuse.
Further, seniors will face greater barriers when attempting to access care. The Medicare actuary projects that over the next 10 years, Medicare Part A providers (i.e., hospitals and nursing homes) may stop accepting Medicare patients or 15 percent of them will become unprofitable due to the severe Obamacare cuts. If Obamacare remains on the books, the number of providers becoming unprofitable will reach 40 percent by 2050. A doubling of Medicare patients with a major reduction in the number of providers will guarantee access problems for senior citizens.
SOURCES USED BY THE MEDIA
The Hill discusses the issue of how the media selects professors who are Obama supporters to get quotes and information for their election news coverage.
At least a half-dozen professors who gave political donations to President Obama have been quoted in news articles opining about his administration and the 2012 race for the White House.
The findings of The Hill’s months-long investigation come as Republicans have been crying foul, alleging a media bias for Obama and against Mitt Romney.
At least a half-dozen professors who gave political donations to President Obama have been quoted in news articles opining about his administration and the 2012 race for the White House.
The findings of The Hill’s months-long investigation come as Republicans have been crying foul, alleging a media bias for Obama and against Mitt Romney.
Monday, October 15, 2012
SYRIA: OBAMA DEBACLE
Jackson Diehl feels Obama's decisions on Syria are far worse than what happened in Libya.
The result is not a painful but isolated setback, but an emerging strategic disaster: a war in the heart of the Middle East that is steadily spilling over to vital U.S. allies, such as Turkey and Jordan, and to volatile neighbors, such as Iraq and Lebanon. Al-Qaeda is far more active in Syria than it is in Libya — while more liberal and secular forces are turning against the United States because of its failure to help them. More than 30,000 people — most of them civilians — have been killed, and the toll mounts by the hundreds every day.
Of course, Obama is not solely responsible for this mess. But his serial miscalculations have had the consistent if unintended effect of enabling Syria’s Bashar al-Assad — first to avoid international isolation, then to go on slaughtering his own population with impunity.
Obama’s Syria policy began in 2009 with the misguided idea of reaching out to the dictator. Within a month of his inauguration, Obama reversed the Bush administration’s approach of isolating Assad. He later reopened the U.S. Embassy and dispatched senior envoys, such as George Mitchell.
The problem with this policy was not just the distasteful courting of a rogue regime but the willful disregard of the lessons absorbed by George W. Bush, who also tried reaching out to Assad, only to learn the hard way that he was an irredeemable thug. Yet Obama insisted on reversing Bush’s policy of distancing the United States from strongmen like Assad and Hosni Mubarak — a monumental miscalculation.
The result is not a painful but isolated setback, but an emerging strategic disaster: a war in the heart of the Middle East that is steadily spilling over to vital U.S. allies, such as Turkey and Jordan, and to volatile neighbors, such as Iraq and Lebanon. Al-Qaeda is far more active in Syria than it is in Libya — while more liberal and secular forces are turning against the United States because of its failure to help them. More than 30,000 people — most of them civilians — have been killed, and the toll mounts by the hundreds every day.
Of course, Obama is not solely responsible for this mess. But his serial miscalculations have had the consistent if unintended effect of enabling Syria’s Bashar al-Assad — first to avoid international isolation, then to go on slaughtering his own population with impunity.
Obama’s Syria policy began in 2009 with the misguided idea of reaching out to the dictator. Within a month of his inauguration, Obama reversed the Bush administration’s approach of isolating Assad. He later reopened the U.S. Embassy and dispatched senior envoys, such as George Mitchell.
The problem with this policy was not just the distasteful courting of a rogue regime but the willful disregard of the lessons absorbed by George W. Bush, who also tried reaching out to Assad, only to learn the hard way that he was an irredeemable thug. Yet Obama insisted on reversing Bush’s policy of distancing the United States from strongmen like Assad and Hosni Mubarak — a monumental miscalculation.
ADVANCED PLACEMENT SCAM?
A column questioning AP courses for high school students.
Interestingly, the evidence providing the clearest positive argument for AP participation is that high performance in AP courses correlates with better college grades and higher graduation rates, especially in science courses. But that's faint praise. It's the same as saying that students who do best in high school will do better in college and are more likely to graduate.
My beef with AP courses isn't novel. The program has a bountiful supply of critics, many of them in the popular press (see here and here), and many increasingly coming from academia as well (see here). The criticisms comport, in every particular, with my own experience of having taught an AP American Government and Politics course for ten years.
Interestingly, the evidence providing the clearest positive argument for AP participation is that high performance in AP courses correlates with better college grades and higher graduation rates, especially in science courses. But that's faint praise. It's the same as saying that students who do best in high school will do better in college and are more likely to graduate.
My beef with AP courses isn't novel. The program has a bountiful supply of critics, many of them in the popular press (see here and here), and many increasingly coming from academia as well (see here). The criticisms comport, in every particular, with my own experience of having taught an AP American Government and Politics course for ten years.
Saturday, October 13, 2012
RUSSIA'S GROWING INTEREST IN THE MIDDLE EAST
The news that Iraq was planning to buy Czech planes for its air force caught my eye. Iraq will spend $1 billion helping the Czech economy. But what caught my eye was the note that Iraq is now looking to forge military ties with other allies and nations, including Russia.
Iraq is also interested in purchasing Russian military equipment. Now Iraq, in addition to Syria and Iran, is interested in dealing with the Russians.
Iraq is also interested in purchasing Russian military equipment. Now Iraq, in addition to Syria and Iran, is interested in dealing with the Russians.
REDISTRIBUTION RECESSION
A recent book by Casey B. Mulligan (University of Chicago, Department of Economics) which argues that in helping people incentives to work have been undermined. There are no longer the same incentives to work.
The social safety net became more generous under Presidents George W. Bush and Barack Obama, and as a result massively altered employment patterns in the labor market.
The New York Times has a bio of the author.
The social safety net became more generous under Presidents George W. Bush and Barack Obama, and as a result massively altered employment patterns in the labor market.
The New York Times has a bio of the author.
Thursday, October 11, 2012
OBAMA'S WEDDING RING
Not sure anything is settled on what is inscribed on Obama's wedding ring, but the different views are intriguing.
NUKES & THE CUBAN MISSILE CRISIS
Some recent documents on how near Cuba came to getting nuclear weapons has surfaced.
Cuba would have become the first nuclear power in Latin America 50 years ago, if not for the dynamics captured in this remarkable verbatim transcript -- published here for the first time -- of Fidel Castro's excruciating meeting with Soviet deputy prime minister Anastas Mikoyan, on November 22, 1962. The document comes from the personal archive of his son, the late Sergo Mikoyan, which was donated to the National Security Archive and which appears for the first time in English this month in the new book, The Soviet Cuban Missile Crisis.
Cuba would have become the first nuclear power in Latin America 50 years ago, if not for the dynamics captured in this remarkable verbatim transcript -- published here for the first time -- of Fidel Castro's excruciating meeting with Soviet deputy prime minister Anastas Mikoyan, on November 22, 1962. The document comes from the personal archive of his son, the late Sergo Mikoyan, which was donated to the National Security Archive and which appears for the first time in English this month in the new book, The Soviet Cuban Missile Crisis.
Wednesday, October 10, 2012
OBAMA'S CHILDHOOD
A summary of a Frontline story which interviewed a high school of President Obama.
This week, PBS’s “Frontline” published the transcript from a June 27, 2012 interview with Kristen Caldwell, a woman who grew up with President Barack Obama and attended the Punahou School with him in Honolulu, Hawaii. Among other claims, she told PBS that, as a young child, Obama told his classmates that he was Kenyan royalty or an Indonesian prince — fascinating claims that she discussed in great detail.
This week, PBS’s “Frontline” published the transcript from a June 27, 2012 interview with Kristen Caldwell, a woman who grew up with President Barack Obama and attended the Punahou School with him in Honolulu, Hawaii. Among other claims, she told PBS that, as a young child, Obama told his classmates that he was Kenyan royalty or an Indonesian prince — fascinating claims that she discussed in great detail.
WHY REID HATES ROMNEY?
Interesting article on the reasons for Reid's attack on Romney, even to the point of calling a fellow Mormon a tax-dodger among other things.
Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid's scathing attacks on everything from Mitt Romney’s personal integrity to his devotion to his faith won't be going away for one simple reason, people close to the Democrat say: Reid personally, deeply loathes Mitt Romney.
Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid's scathing attacks on everything from Mitt Romney’s personal integrity to his devotion to his faith won't be going away for one simple reason, people close to the Democrat say: Reid personally, deeply loathes Mitt Romney.
CIVIL LIBERTIES UNDER OBAMA
Reason.com gives some of the "atrocious decisions" the Obama administration has made on this issue. There are over a dozen issues libertarians would like to debate him on.
CAN UNEMPLOYMENT STATISTICS BE MANIPULATED?
Jack Welch comments on the brouhaha he made when he questioned last month's 7.8% unemployment statistic. There is a certain subjectivity to these statistics.
The possibility of subjectivity creeping into the process is so pervasive that the BLS's own "Handbook of Methods" has a full page explaining the limitations of its data, including how non-sampling errors get made, from "misinterpretation of the questions" to "errors made in the estimations of missing data."
These three statistics—the labor-force participation rate, the growth in government workers, and overall job growth, all multidecade records achieved over the past two months—have to raise some eyebrows. There were no economists, liberal or conservative, predicting that unemployment in September would drop below 8%.
I know I'm not the only person hearing these numbers and saying, "Really? If all that's true, why are so many people I know still having such a hard time finding work? Why do I keep hearing about local, state and federal cutbacks?"
The possibility of subjectivity creeping into the process is so pervasive that the BLS's own "Handbook of Methods" has a full page explaining the limitations of its data, including how non-sampling errors get made, from "misinterpretation of the questions" to "errors made in the estimations of missing data."
These three statistics—the labor-force participation rate, the growth in government workers, and overall job growth, all multidecade records achieved over the past two months—have to raise some eyebrows. There were no economists, liberal or conservative, predicting that unemployment in September would drop below 8%.
I know I'm not the only person hearing these numbers and saying, "Really? If all that's true, why are so many people I know still having such a hard time finding work? Why do I keep hearing about local, state and federal cutbacks?"
Tuesday, October 09, 2012
IS THERE REALLY A TEACHER SHORTAGE?
Jay Greene, "The Imaginary Teacher Shortage." For decades we have tried to boost academic outcomes by hiring more teachers,
and we have essentially nothing to show for it. In 1970, public schools employed
2.06 million teachers, or one for every 22.3 students, according to the U.S.
Department of Education's Digest of Education Statistics. In 2012, we have 3.27
million teachers, one for every 15.2 students.
Saturday, October 06, 2012
REPORTING UNEMPLOYMENT: 2004 vs. 2012
Comparing how the media reported the job figures in 2004 and how they are reporting it in 2012! Morissey compares some of the major news outlets like PBS and the New York Times. It appears that it makes a difference if you are a Democrat or Republican. It is a lengthy article, but the quotes are there.
In 2004, a jobless rate of 5.4% “cast doubt” on the economy, and suddenly 7.8% is a sign of “a steadier recovery.” In 2012, the NYT never even mentions the need to grow jobs by 150,000 each month to keep up with expansion in the labor force. Not even once.
THE MEDIA & THE OBAMA REELECTION
Fred Barnes, "Obama's Boys on the Bus." He argues that the media is trying to get Obama reeelected and are not just reporting the news. It is interesting that Time has evidently discussed the implications of Romney's Mormonism, but it never evaluated Jeremiah Wright's impact on Obama's thinking. But he quotes from a number of individuals, including Democrats which seem to support his argument.
And on media fact-checkers: Media “fact checkers,” too, have been notoriously one-sided, to the detriment of Republicans. Paul Ryan’s speech at the Republican convention was flyspecked in a novel way: He was faulted not for what he said but for what he didn’t say. Meanwhile, Joe Biden’s constant stream of misstatements, goofy comments, and gaffes are routinely tolerated. “From insensitively telling a wheelchair-bound state senator to ‘stand up’ to not recognizing how many letters there are in the word ‘jobs,’ the media have let Biden get away with gaffes that would have gotten GOP VP picks pilloried,” says Geoffrey Dickens of the Media Research Center.
And on media fact-checkers: Media “fact checkers,” too, have been notoriously one-sided, to the detriment of Republicans. Paul Ryan’s speech at the Republican convention was flyspecked in a novel way: He was faulted not for what he said but for what he didn’t say. Meanwhile, Joe Biden’s constant stream of misstatements, goofy comments, and gaffes are routinely tolerated. “From insensitively telling a wheelchair-bound state senator to ‘stand up’ to not recognizing how many letters there are in the word ‘jobs,’ the media have let Biden get away with gaffes that would have gotten GOP VP picks pilloried,” says Geoffrey Dickens of the Media Research Center.
Thursday, October 04, 2012
FIRST PRESIDENTIAL DEBATE
There are a lot of different reactions out there, but I felt the Patheos blog were some of the better ones.
It was a substantive policy discussion, a debate worthy of this country. While it is the case, inevitably, that questions go unanswered and lots of faux facts are thrown out, the candidates did not focus on soundbites or scoring points against misstatements. They spoke in serious ways to serious issues.
It was a substantive policy discussion, a debate worthy of this country. While it is the case, inevitably, that questions go unanswered and lots of faux facts are thrown out, the candidates did not focus on soundbites or scoring points against misstatements. They spoke in serious ways to serious issues.
Wednesday, October 03, 2012
UNDERMINING US HISTORY
Analyzes the 2013 American Historical Association conference agenda in New Orleans and argues: If you doubt that leftist activists now dominate the study and teaching
of U.S. history, take a look at the program for the 2013 American
Historical Association conference in New Orleans. The pattern is
similar to the University of Michigan’s history department, discussed
here yesterday—a heavy emphasis on race, class, and gender, with more
“traditional” topics frequently reconfigured to conform to the dominant
paradigm.
Tuesday, October 02, 2012
CHILD SOLDIERS
"Obama Waives Sanctions on Countries That Use Child Soldiers." I totally oppose this decision even for reasons of Realpolitik.
DEATH PANELS
From the New York Times.
Well, maybe not death panels, exactly, but unless we
start allocating health care resources more prudently — rationing, by its proper
name — the exploding cost of Medicare will swamp the federal budget.
But when you get to the end of the article it is clear that some kind of rationing will be taking place. But how do you know when a medical treatment might allow someone 10 more years of life or if would just cause someone to end up on a machine for a year?
A POLLSTER UNDER OATH
From Politico: John Edward's pollster is put under oath and reveals how polls can be used for political leverage even for a candidate low in the polls.
When a pollster or strategist for a struggling political campaign presents what seems like a sugar-coated view of his candidate's chances, do you ever think: I wish I could give that adviser some truth serum, or maybe put him under oath?
Well, truth serum may be pushing it, but the put-him-under-oath part has actually happened. And when a pollster is required to tell the truth, the whole truth and nothing but the truth, under penalty of perjury, what emerges is quite a bit different than what you hear in the waning days of a presidential campaign.
When a pollster or strategist for a struggling political campaign presents what seems like a sugar-coated view of his candidate's chances, do you ever think: I wish I could give that adviser some truth serum, or maybe put him under oath?
Well, truth serum may be pushing it, but the put-him-under-oath part has actually happened. And when a pollster is required to tell the truth, the whole truth and nothing but the truth, under penalty of perjury, what emerges is quite a bit different than what you hear in the waning days of a presidential campaign.
Monday, October 01, 2012
STABILITY OF SAME-SEX COHABITATION
This British study indicates that the stability of same-sex cohabitation is worse than oppposite-sex cohabitation and much worse when compared to opposite-sex married couples.
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