The Case Against the Case Against Palin

[HT:GT]
A very good friend, who is a lifelong Alaskan and one of the smartest people I know, offers this word of caution to those (yes, like me) inclined to take Sarah Palin lightly: [snip]

"Wait until the big money starts coming in for Murkowski," I said. "Wait until the party machinery goes to work on Palin. They will eat her for lunch."

Murkowski, for his part, expressed a similar view. "If I decide to," he said, "I will run and I will win. It's that simple."

The folly, of course, turned out to be my own (and Murkowski's), as Palin slaughtered the incumbent in the primary--posting a 30 point margin of victory--and went on to win the general (over a former Democratic governor) without seeming to break a sweat.

She then quickly fulfilled an implicit campaign promise by slapping down ExxonMobil, BP, and ConocoPhillips in negotiations over a proposed Alaska natural gas pipeline, even though they, too, by all accounts, were well prepared to dine on her tender little frame.

Not bad for a 'lightweight'...

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As Anbar Returns to Iraqi Control, Will MSM Cite Surge Cynics?

Given Hurricane Gustav, the GOP convention—and the MSM's inherent inclination to underreport good news from Iraq—a major story is not getting the attention it deserves. Here's how President Bush described the development

[the photo shows U.S. Marine Maj. Gen John Kelly and Anbar Governor Maamoun
Sami Rashid signing the handover papers. (AP Photo/Wathiq Khuzaie, Pool)]

Today in Iraq, responsibility for security in Anbar Province was transferred to Iraqi civilian authorities. Iraqi forces will now take the lead in security operations in Anbar, with American troops moving into an overwatch role. Not long ago, Anbar was one of the most dangerous provinces in Iraq. Al Qaeda was in control of almost every major population center, and its leaders intended to turn Anbar province into a safe haven from which to plan and launch further attacks against Iraqis and others in the region, as well as here at home.

Today, Anbar is no longer lost to al Qaeda - it is al Qaeda that lost Anbar. Iraqis - like countless other Muslims across the world - witnessed al Qaeda's brutality first-hand and rejected it. As a result, Anbar has been transformed and reclaimed by the Iraqi people. This achievement is a credit to the courage of our troops, the Iraqi Security Forces, and the brave tribes and other civilians from Anbar who worked alongside them.

On this red-letter day, will the Old Media take a walk down memory lane and cite the various members of the media and the body politic who declared the surge a failure and Anbar lost?

Being the obliging souls we are, here's a handy compendium of citations, starting with one from the vice-presidential candidate so acclaimed for his foreign-policy expertise.

Senator Joseph Biden (D-DE): "Just thinking that somehow 30,000 forces are going to change the circumstances … what does that do to change the dynamic in Anbar province?" (Senator Joseph Biden, Conference Call With Reporters, 12/26/06)

[and] Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-NV): + Rep. John Murtha (D-PA): + Senator Jim Webb (D-VA): + Senator Chuck Schumer (D-NY): + Senator Russell Feingold (D-WI): ...

[and] the Media: MSNBC: Keith Olbermann: + CNN: Michael Ware: + CNN: Miles O'Brien: + CNN: Jamie McIntyre: + NBC: Jim Miklaszewski:

[Recommended > we should remember what they said when. They're certainly not going to mention it, and probably not stop them from doing it again]

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America Supports You: Billboards Build Gratitude for Troops

A troop-support group in a small southern Michigan town is working to raise public awareness and appreciation for troops and their families.

“‘Operation Never Forgotten’ bridges the gap between our military and civilian worlds by creating nonpartisan national awareness advertising for our troops, veterans and their families,” Linda Kelly, the group’s president and founder, said. “(The organization) has rolled out over 500 billboards across America on highways and in airports from Times Square to L.A.”

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5 buried alive 'tradition' - Pakistani pol

ISLAMABAD, Pakistan - A Pakistani lawmaker defended a decision by northwestern tribesmen to bury five women alive because they wanted to choose their own husbands, telling stunned members of Parliament to spare him their outrage. "These are centuries-old traditions, and I will continue to defend them," Israr Ullah Zehri, who represents Baluchistan province, told The Associated Press Saturday.

[but who are we to judge?]

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Preachers of separatism at work inside mosques

[HT:BD]
In a large balcony above the beautiful main hall at Regent's Park Mosque in London - widely considered the most important mosque in Britain - I am filming undercover as the woman preacher gives her talk.What should be done to a Muslim who converts to another faith?

"We kill him," she says, "kill him, kill, kill…You have to kill him, you understand?"

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Russia threatens to supply Iran with top new missile system as 'cold war' escalates

US intelligence fears the Kremlin will supply the sophisticated S-300 system to Tehran if Washington pushes through Nato membership for its pro-Western neighbours Georgia and Ukraine.

The proposed deal is causing huge alarm in the US and Israel as the S-300 can track 100 targets at once and fire on planes up to 75 miles away. That would make it a "game-changer", greatly improving Iranian defences against any air strike on its nuclear sites...

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U.N. Says Georgians Blocked From Homes

Tbilisi - Russian troops remaining in Georgian territory are effectively preventing Georgians from returning to their homes, a UN representative said Saturday. Melita Sunjic, spokeswoman for the UN High Commissioner of Refugees in Georgia, told The Associated Press that although it was not clear if Russian soldiers were actually preventing refugees from returning, the warnings block them from going home.

"If they say 'we can't guarantee your safety,' you don't go,"...

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EU to stop short of sanctions on Georgia

Europe’s dilemma over how to handle Russia will come to the fore today when EU leaders gather to condemn Moscow’s conduct in Georgia – but try to avoid upsetting the Kremlin...

[game over before it starts. Such are our Western Democratic 'allies'. They are inviting additional bad behavior ]

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Latest science debunks Hurricanes and Global Warming Link

Before the media starts predictably linking Hurricane Gustav and Hannah to man-made global warming a sampling of a few of the most recent studies should easily silence such chatter. See below report. M.I.T. Scientists:

Warming Will Actually Reduce Number of Hurricanes American Meteorological Society report contradicts claim tropical activity increases due to climate change.

[well that's MIT; a known den of conspiracy nut jobs... {that was sarcasm MC}]

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Trillions and Trillions...

As the debate over global warming rages, one thing has become increasingly clear: by any reasonable measure, the costs of attacking this problem will be enormous. The economics of global warming aren't uncertain; by almost all estimates, the costs will be staggering:

• The United Nation's Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change says 1.7 percent of the world's gross domestic product a year will be needed to pay for global warming -- an amount exceeding $1 trillion a year, and a sum greater in size than the total GDP of all but about 15 countries.
• The United States, as the world's largest economy, will be expected to pay at least $200 billion - a year -- possibly more.
• The Environmental Protection Agency, analyzing the recently failed Climate Security Act of 2008, estimates it would have cost American $1.2 trillion - a year - by 2030.

Suffice it to say, the estimates all basically come down to the same thing: cutting the world's output of CO2 by 80 percent by 2050 would be the largest project ever undertaken by mankind.

No matter how this is spun, proposals to battle global warming would be disastrous to world economies...

[it's not just about money. It's about a lot of money.]

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ENERGY INDEPENDENCE IS AN ILLUSION

[HT:HK]
According to Robert Ebel, head of the energy program at the Center for Strategic and International Studies,

"It makes absolutely no sense to talk about energy independence. … We cannot produce our way to energy independence, and we cannot use efficiency or conservation to achieve energy independence…"

Since some progress toward self-sufficiency could make our energy supplies more secure, policymakers should focus on removing public policies that restrict the development of domestic energy supplies, including nuclear power and domestic fossil fuel reserves. State legislators can take the following steps, suggests Bast:

• Support the repeal of federal and state restrictions on coal, natural gas and oil extraction from public lands and offshore.
• Remove regulatory barriers and policies that allow anti-nuclear and NIMBY ("not in my backyard") activists to stop or delay the construction of new facilities.
• End subsidies and preferences for all types of energy -- fossil fuels as well as renewable -- and allow energy technologies to compete on a level playing field.
• Repeal state "renewable portfolio standard" laws that force electric utilities to purchase highly subsidized wind power.

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Immigrant raid divides a Mississippi town

LAUREL, MISS. -- Fabiola Pena considered running away from her factory job when she realized she was being targeted in a federal immigration raid. She was deterred when she noticed the helicopters hovering overhead.

But helicopters were not what shocked Pena the most on her last, fateful day at Howard Industries, the largest employer in this small Southern town. It was the black co-workers who clapped and cheered, Pena said, as she and hundreds of other Latino immigrant laborers were arrested and hauled away.

"They need to go and do this in every little town," Tonya Jackson said.

Jackson, who is black, said that over the years she had applied numerous times for a job at the locally owned manufacturer, which employs about 4,000 workers. Jackson, 30, said she never received a callback. The raid, she said, was a welcome purge of illegal Latino laborers who had taken jobs they didn't deserve.

"We've been here all our lives," she said. "And it seems like they have just arrived and are getting the nice cars and the good homes."

Her stance puts her at odds with Obama. The Democratic presidential nominee's website describes such raids as "ineffective" measures that have "placed all the burdens of a broken system onto immigrant families."

[as usual, the majority of the piece is illegal-as-victim, and nowhere is there evidence of the town 'being divided' as the title implies - quite the contrary, given how many of the populace are the true victims of illegal immigration there's overwhelming support for enforcement... but focusing on that would be off (the media's) message.]

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Government & Health Care twofer...

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MAINE RESIDENTS ANGERED BY EXPANSION OF UNIVERSAL HEALTH CARE PROGRAM

Originally, voters were assured that Dirigo would never require an increase in taxes; however, that has not been the case:

• Dirigo Care has cost the state's taxpayers nearly $164 million in the four years since its inception.
• Although its intended purpose was to insure 128,000 people who had no health coverage, only four percent of that total, or just over 5,000 individuals, have been successfully removed from the rolls of the uninsured and into that state program.
• On April 15, 2008, Gov. John Baldacci (D) signed LD2247, An Act to Continue Maine's Leadership in Covering the Uninsured, expanding the Dirigo Care program by $28 million annually.

Moreover, taxpayer are footing the bill, as the state levied a 1.8 percent tax on paid insurance claims...

[as with Romney-care in Massachusetts, the majority (96% in this case) who signed up for the government programs did so to ditch those they were paying for - but hey, it's 'free', right? Predictable as the sun - but we fall for it every time.]

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ALABAMA HITS 'OBESE' WORKERS WITH FEE

The state of Alabama has given its 37,527 employees until 2010 to start getting fit -- or they'll pay $25 a month for insurance that otherwise is free, says the Associated Press (AP).

With Alabamans having one of the biggest weight problems in the nation -- 30.3 percent of Alabamans are obese [according to government BMI figures] -- the Board believes that they are justified in their actions.

[is this where we want government to go? That's where it's headed - and when we've a federal government run medical system? Consider: the government also controls the BMI (Body Mass Index) algorithm, so a cynical person might recognize that, when combined with programs like the one above, it would actually be profitable to constantly lower the 'acceptable mass' of the citizenry.

Nah - our government wouldn't do that. For money. Forge I mentioned it.]

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Watermelon Art at California Fair Said to Be Racist

Sacramento - Colusa County officials are defending their display at the California State Fair after a black couple complained that a caricature of a smiling watermelon seed was racist.

The ''Waldo Watermelon Seed'' drawing was removed this week after the couple said the image evoked negative stereotypes about blacks.

The exhibit was intended to celebrate Colusa County's seed-producing crops, which generate $30 million a year.

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A Good Economic Record

How does the performance of the U.S. economy really compare with other advanced economies over the eight years of George Bush's presidency? Data published by the International Monetary Fund (IMF), the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD), the World Bank, the International Comparison Program (ICP) (a cooperative venture coordinated by the World Bank) and the U.S. Census Bureau allow a nonpartisan, factual assessment. Here are some of the findings: [{my} top three:]

- Economic growth. U.S. output has expanded faster than in most advanced economies since 2000. President Bush will leave to his successor an economy 19% larger than the one he inherited from President Clinton. This U.S. expansion compares with 14% by France, 13% by Japan and just 8% by Italy and Germany over the same period.

- Employment. The U.S. unemployment rate averaged 4.7% from 2001-2007. This compares with a 5.2% average rate during President Clinton's term of office, and is well below the euro zone average of 8.3% since 2000.

- Debt interest payments. The IMF reports that the interest cost of servicing general government debt in the U.S. has averaged 2.0% of GDP annually from 2001-2008, compared with 2.7% in the euro zone. It averaged 3.2% annually when President Clinton was in office.

[more - all comparatively good - at a time of war {that only we are paying for} - Recommended > ]

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Venezuela Recognizes South Ossetia and Abkhazia Independence

The President of Venezuela Hugo Chavez, officially declared Saturday his country's support of Russia and of their decision to recognize South Ossetia's and Abkhazia's independence. With their President's declaration Venezuela became the second country to officially recognize South Ossetia and Abkhazia.

[definitely humor]

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