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AUGUST 25,  2011

SHORT TAKES ON THE DRIFTING WRECKAGE – AT 10:20 P.M. ET: 

IRENE – There is a hurricane coming up the East coast.  The TV news operations are on top of every drop of rain.  And yet, from what I see here in New York, there is more calmness than dread.  In part I think this is because so many predictions of horrible storms – hurricanes and blizzards – proved to be wildly exaggerated.  I think we're seeing a "boy who tried wolf" syndrome.  The fact is that some news and weather operations hype every storm because, let's face it, it's great for ratings.  But when the catastrophe falls apart, people are less likely to worry at the next prediction of disaster.  I always wondered what would happen if the real thing occurred, and we really got slammed.  We may find out this weekend.

WHERE OBAMA STANDS – New poll results from the key states of New Jersey and Florida will not bring smiles to the summer White House in Martha's Vineyard.  In Florida, 51% would vote for Romney, only 43% for Obama, who carried the state in 2008.  Perry would lead 46-45.  In New Jersey, 43% in this Democratic state believe Obama deserves a second term, whereas 47% say no.  A New Jersey poll last week reported 52% of respondents disapproving of the president, with 44% approving.  If Obama loses both New Jersey and Florida, it's hard to see him winning.  But the election is still more than a year away, and these numbers are more fun than convincing.  The president knows what he has to do.  He is an excellent campaigner, with the media at his back.  Don't send the moving van to the White House just yet.

THERE GOES THE DO-IT-YOURSELF BOOKCASE – Sweden was officially neutral in World War II, and the Cold War, but some locals did their bit for the dark side.  Now there are charges that the founder of Ikea, Ingvar Kamprad, was heavily involved in promoting the Nazi Party in Sweden, and stayed in touch with Nazi supporters after the war.  Kamprad dismisses his Nazi activities as the product of youth.  I doubt if this will have much effect on Ikea, one of the more successful Swedish exports still owned by Swedes, but it reminds us that when American men were dying in the fight against fascism, some countries that now hold themselves up as moral exemplars had citizens engaged in some very nasty stuff.  

ELECTABLE? – Peggy Noonan is the latest member of the Republican establishment to raise electability questions about Rick Perry, arguing that voters may see him as narrow and mean-spirited.  There is clearly a growing split within the GOP, and a number of observers are looking forward to major Republican debates coming up to see how Perry performs.  Noonan recalled that Ronald Reagan was called a cowboy, and worse, by the media establishment, but destroyed that accusation by the grace and poise he showed in debates.  Can Perry do the same, or will he reinforce the image that opponents are trying to hang on him?  Look to September as the critical month for Perry.  If he does well, he can bring it home.  If he flops in the debates, he can be another flameout.

August 25, 2011     Permalink 

LIBYA UPDATE – AT 10:20 A.M. ET:  Rebels claim they have the famous Libyan colonel and his sons surrounded in an apartment complex.  From Reuters:

TRIPOLI - A group of rebels besieging a cluster of apartment buildings near the Bab al-Aziziyah compound of Muammar Gaddafi said on Thursday that they believed the man who led Libya for four decades was hiding in the buildings with some of his sons.

Rebels were exchanging fire with Gaddafi loyalists inside the buildings. They did not say why they believed Gaddafi and his sons were inside.

"They are together. They are in a small hole," said one of the fighters involved in the battle, Muhammad Gomaa. "Today we finish. Today we will end that."

Libyan commandos fighting Muammar Gaddafi came close to capturing the toppled leader on Wednesday when they raided a private home in Tripoli where he appeared to have been hiding, Paris Match magazine said on Thursday.

Citing a source in a unit which it said was coordinating among intelligence services from Arab states and Libyan rebels, the French weekly said on its website that these services believed Gaddafi was still somewhere in the Libyan capital.

Gaddafi was gone from the unassuming safe house in central Tripoli when agents arrived about 10 a.m. (0800 GMT) on Wednesday after a tip-off from a credible source. But, the magazine said, they found evidence that he had spent at least one night there -- though it did not say how recently that was.

Britain's Defense Minister Liam Fox said on Thursday that NATO is supporting Libyan rebels hunting Gaddafi and his sons and has stepped up air raids targeting loyalists.

COMMENT:  If Gaddafi holds out long enough, he could be a contestant on an American reality show.  In fact, "Catch the Dictator," with Donald Trump as host, could make a fortune.  Make sure to catch the tribute to Saddam Hussein.

Fighting is ongoing.  There's no evidence the colonel has left the country.  I suspect they'll get him eventually, maybe even today.

August 25, 2011      Permalink

SNIPPET OF THE DAY – AT 9:40 A.M. ET:

BRISTOL, Tenn. (AP) - Police in Tennessee were called to a funeral home where workers found two intruders sleeping inside caskets.  The employees at Weaver's Funeral Home in Bristol called police around 10:30 a.m. on Tuesday after finding two men asleep in caskets. The men fled through a window after police were alerted, the Bristol Herald Courier reports.  One man escaped, but police caught and arrested Barrett Lance Hartsock, who was charged with burglary and vandalism over $1,000.  Police said there was more than $9,000 in damage done to the caskets the two men were sleeping in.

Now wait.  They're saying that $9,000 in damage was done to caskets...by sleeping in them?  What does that tell you about these caskets?  What does that tell you about the cost of funerals?  Are you feeling uneasy?

BREAKING THE SILENCE – AT 9:08 A.M. ET:  And it's about time.  The Martin Luther King Jr. memorial in Washington is being dedicated this week.  There's been a lot of soft buzz – political correctness prevents louder comments – that the sculpture of King is entirely inappropriate for an American memorial. 

The critics are right.  And now a black Washington Post columnist speaks out about a work of "art" that was sculpted by a Chinese sculptor loyal to the Beijing regime.  That in itself has raised eyebrows.  Was not an American artist available?  From Accuracy in Media: 

A Washington Post columnist has criticized the new Martin Luther King, Jr. monument, while his paper is publishing a 24-page special supplement hailing the unveiling of the “Stone of Hope” in the memorial that includes the 30-foot tall statue of the civil rights leader.

Black columnist Courtland Milloy writes, “Let’s face it: There really is something peculiar about having an artist from communist China sculpt the Martin Luther King Jr. Memorial statue. And, yes, it would have been fantastic had an African American sculptor been chosen instead.”

He is correct.  But you may be sure there'll be no questions asked by the mainstream media.  Anyone who questions will immediately be accused of "McCarthyism."

He adds, “The sculpture is based on a 1966 photograph of King taken in his office in Atlanta, standing at his desk, with a picture of Indian leader Mohandas Gandhi on a wall in the background. In it, King has soft eyes and an open face that conveys the blessed assurance of a man who walks by faith. Lei Yixin has turned those eyes into something of a steely squint. The result is a stern colossus, dressed no less in a style of suit similar to ones found on many statues of Stalin.”

Milloy goes on to complain about the fact that the sculptor and the monument are from China. He writes, “…the fact remains that Lei hails from a country that oppresses ethnic minorities, exploits its workers, and jails human-rights activists and the attorneys who try to defend them. In their day, King and civil rights lawyer Thurgood Marshall would likely have been taken by the Red Guard and never heard from again.”

Wonderfully said.

Back in 2008, another Post columnist, Marc Fisher, complained that the planned monument depicted King “in the arrogant stance of a dictator, clad in a boxy suit, with an impassive, unapproachable mien, looking more like an East Bloc Politburo member than an inspirational, transformational preacher who won a war armed with nothing but truth and words.”

COMMENT:  The monument is an embarrassment, but we must ask why this had to be.  Have we come to the point where the political left is so powerful that a monstrosity like this can be created with only token opposition?  I'm afraid it is. 

One of the sad but true aspects of the civil rights movement is that it was heavily influenced by the far left.  I recall, as a student at the University of Chicago, seeing this truth displayed all the time.  And yet, that too is an undiscussable subject. 

Let the discussion begin, if only in a whisper:

August 25, 2011       Permalink

CHINA CLOSING IN – AT 8:49 A.M. ET:  We are cutting our military budgets, and the cuts may go far deeper than military experts advise.  But now we have a detailed view of what China is doing at the same time.  Of course, we can't anger them that much because they hold so much of our debt.  What a mess we are in.  From the Washington Times:

China made impressive gains last year in its military buildup that pushed the Communist Party-controlled People’s Liberation Army closer to matching modern militaries, according to the Pentagon’s annual report to Congress made public Wednesday.

“Militarily, China’s sustained modernization program is paying visible dividends,” the report says. “During 2010, China made strides toward fielding an operational anti-ship ballistic missile, continued work on its aircraft carrier program, and finalized the prototype of its first stealth aircraft.”

The report cautions that the Chinese military continues to lack key military capabilities, is equipped with large amounts of outdated hardware, and lacks operational experience. But the report concludes that the army “is steadily closing the technological gap with modern armed forces.”

By the end of this decade, China will be able to project military power and sustain a modest-sized force of naval and ground forces for smaller conflicts “far from China.” That assessment was not included in earlier annual reports to Congress.

China recently began sea trials of a refurbished Soviet-era aircraft carrier and is developing a ballistic missile to target ships at sea, the report says.

It also is continuing aggressive cyber-intelligence gathering and has targeted numerous computer systems around the world, the report says, noting the intrusions “appear to have originated within” China.

“These intrusions were focused on exfiltrating information,” the report says, adding that the same skills can be used for “computer network attacks” in warfare.

COMMENT:  It takes years to develop modern weapons and train people to use them.  As we cut our budget, skills and lead time will be lost.  We have never had a situation quite like this – when a potential adversary builds its military force, we cut ours, and the adversary controls much of our national debt.

Getting out of this requires extraordinary leadership.  Last time we looked, the president was playing golf again.

August 25, 2011       Permalink

JOBLESS CLAIMS UP – AT 8:40 A.M. ET:  The spinners are already out, saying it isn't that bad, but jobless figures released minutes ago paint a picture of an economy that is sick.  From Bloomberg:

Claims for U.S. unemployment benefits unexpectedly rose last week, pushed up for a second time by a labor dispute at Verizon Communications Inc.

Jobless claims climbed by 5,000 to 417,000 in the week ended Aug. 20, Labor Department figures showed today in Washington. Economists surveyed by Bloomberg News projected a drop in claims to 405,000, according to the median forecast. At least 8,500 applications were filed by workers at Verizon last week, compared with 12,500 the prior week, a department spokesman said as the data was released to the press.

The report signals that excluding the communications dispute, companies are slowing the pace of firings, which may ease concern that consumers will cut back on spending. At the same time, an unemployment rate at 9.1 percent is a reminder that a sustained labor-market rebound has yet to develop two years into the economic recovery.

COMMENT:  Even taking Verizon into account – and remember that there are always strikes somewhere – these are awful figures.  Anything over 400,000 is considered bad.  I'm delighted, and warm all over, at Bloomberg's report that "companies are slowing the pace of firings."  I'm sure that makes the unemployed feel much better.  "Well, Captain Smith, the Titanic is going down at a slower pace than 20 minutes ago.  Enjoy."

August 25, 2011     Permalink

AUGUST 24,  2011

SHORT TAKES ON THE DRIFTING WRECKAGE – AT 10:35 P.M.ET:

AN ERA ENDS – Steve Jobs has resigned as CEO of Apple Computer.  Although he did not say so specifically in his letter of resignation, it was apparent from the tone that deteriorating health is the reason.  Jobs was diagnosed with cancer in 2004.  His resignation brings to a close one of the most remarkable comeback stories in American corporate history.  Ousted from Apple, the company he co-founded, by a group of, you know, "hard-headed businessmen," he was brought back when Apple was dying, and the butt of jokes.  He and the remarkable team he hired transformed Apple into the most valuable company in the world, giving us the iPod, the iPhone, the iPad and the sleek, much wanted Mac computers.  Oh, and also the Apple Store, now a cultural phenomenon.  Jobs understood what many corporate leaders don't – that great companies begin with great products.  This resignation is an American loss.

PERRY ROMPS – Rick Perry now has an impressive lead in popular polling for the GOP presidential nomination, according to Gallup.  Perry leads with 29%, Romney trails badly with 17%, and then there are the others.  If anything, the result shows Romney's weakness.  He just doesn't catch on with the base.  However, Perry's 29% is tentative, and getting to a majority may not be that easy.  He has many enemies within the party, and many who feel that his uncompromising Texas conservatism will play poorly among independents, who hold the balance of political power.  In addition, the national press loathes him.  He's outside their frame of reference.  This race has just begun.

STILL NOT READY FOR PRIME TIME – Our cell phone industry, that is.  It was quickly noticed during yesterday's earthquake, which barely did any damage, that many cell phone circuits were overwhelmed and largely useless.  In any disaster, whether it be natural or an act of terror, cell phones will provide a critical means of communication.  And yet, we seem to have not corrected the flaws in the system discovered ten years ago, on September 11, 2001.  The wireless companies are of course shrugging off yesterday's failures, but their failure to deliver will cost lives in a real disaster.  There are serious suggestions to develop a separate network for public safety personnel, but the idea has never been acted upon.  Maybe now.

JUST A SECOND – A Columbia University study has concluded that changes in climate can exacerbate civil conflict in many parts of the world.  In other words, weather is a factor in war.  Well, there's a headline for you.  I never would have known, and I wonder how many federal dollars went into this revolutionary finding.  It reminds me of a team of anthropologists, some decades ago who, after a year of study, concluded that children were interested in parents and parents were interested in children.  I will search for the exciting paper.

August 24, 2011        Permalink

THE GROWING CONCERN – AT 11:47 A.M. ET:   Concerns have been raised in the last few days about the control of the Libyan military arsenal.  There's a lot there that some very bad guys could use to devastating effect.  Now that concern is spreading to Syria, another country that spared no expense to acquire sophisticated killing machines.   From Foreign Policy:

The continued unrest in Syria, coupled with President Barack Obama's call for President Bashar al-Assad to leave power, has thrown the future of the country into flux. Among the most troubling uncertainties is the fate of Syria's chemical weapons arsenal, which, if not protected properly, could fall into the wrong hands, with catastrophic results.

Syria is one of a handful of states that the U.S. government believes possess large stocks of chemical agents in militarized form -- that is, ready for use in artillery shells and bombs. The arsenal is thought to be massive, involving thousands of munitions and many tons of chemical agents, which range, according to CIA annual reports to Congress, from the blister gases of World War I -- such as mustard gas -- to advanced nerve agents such as sarin and possibly persistent nerve agents, such as VX gas.

In the hands of Assad -- and his father Hafez before him -- these weapons have been an ace-in-the-hole deterrent against Israel's nuclear capability. The Assad regime, however, has never openly brandished this capability: It did not employ chemical weapons in the 1982 Lebanon War against Israel, even after Israeli warplanes decimated the Syrian Air Force. Nor have they been deployed, or their use threatened, in attempting to bring Assad's current domestic antagonists to heel. And although Syria is accused of providing powerful missiles to Hezbollah, including some of a type that carried chemical warfare agents in the Soviet arsenal, Assad has not reportedly transferred lethal chemical capabilities to the Lebanon-based Shiite organization.

So despite their many faults and deplorable record on human rights, the Assads have treated their chemical arsenal with considerable care. But as the country potentially descends into chaos, will that hold true?

COMMENT:  And, of course, that is the question.  The Assads, for all their monstrous ways, always kept the agreements they made with other countries including Israel, and were very cautious in dispensing weapons.  But the younger Assad's grip on power is weakening.  Once again, we know too little about the people fighting him.  We hope they will establish something resembling a modern democracy.  But if they go theocratic, and enhance Syria's already strong alliance with Iran, the Syrian stockpile, like the Libyan arsenal, could take a frightening trip. 

We note that all this is coming at a time when Democrats, and, sadly, some isolationist Republicans, salivate over the prospect of cutting our military budget substantially.  Unwise.  Possibly catastrophic.

August 24, 2011        Permalink

SNIPPET OF THE DAY – AT 11:03 A.M. ET:

From AP:  It took an undercover operation, but Greek police have blown a hole in a ring of alleged crooks who had cornered the doughnut market in a beach resort.  It started with complaints that two Bulgarian men and a former Greek wrestling champion were using violence to choke off the trade by other doughnut vendors on Paliouri beach in the Halkidiki peninsula near Thessaloniki.  So an undercover officer posed as a doughnut seller, police said Tuesday, and he was attacked, leading to the arrest of the three aggressive doughnut sellers.

Now you can rest a little easier.

ANOTHER DISGRACE TO JOURNALISM – AT 9:05 A.M. ET:  Is there really an audience for this?  From Reuters:

After weeks of speculation, MSNBC has made it official -- Al Sharpton will be its new host at 6 p.m.

The well-known civil rights activist and minister has been filling in at the time slot for much of the summer, leading most pundits to assume he would become the full-time host. The rumors have finally been verified, as MSNBC Phil Griffin made the announcement that Sharpton will host “Politics Nation” starting Aug. 29.

"I am very happy and honored to join the MSNBC team as we collectively try to get America to ’Lean Forward,’" Sharpton said in a statement. "It is a natural extension of my life work and growth. We all learn from our pain and stand up from our stumbling and one must either learn to lean forward or fall backwards. I'm glad they have given me the opportunity to continue my forward lean."

The sheer intellect just overwhelms us.  I, too, will now work hard to continue my forward lean.

The show, which will lead-in to MSNBC shows like "Hardball with Chris Matthews" and "The Last Word With Lawrence O'Donnell," will feature a disucssion of the major headlines. Sharpton's longstanding relationship with Griffin and the network was a factor in the decision.

COMMENT:  I'd say this man is a clown, but at least a clown is intentionally funny.  In truth, he's an old-time race baiter and bigot, who's been responsible for some of the most inflammatory moments in New York in the last 30 years.  I cannot see any contribution he's made, except to himself.

Fortunately, MSNBC has an audience of about 12 people, so Sharpton can't do that much damage.  And the new gig does keep him off the streets and away from megaphones.   But is this what NBC has come to?

August 24, 2011       Permalink

LIBYA UPDATE – AT 8:49 A.M. ET:  As many in the West worry that Libya's impressive arsenal might fall into the wrong international hands, fighting continues in the country.  Although the regime is pretty much washed up, its loyalists have not given up.  And we wonder:  Where is the colonel?

Tripoli, Libya (CNN) -- Despite dramatic rebel strides and momentum, pro-Moammar Gadhafi forces toughed it out on Wednesday, striking back at Libyan rebels in several volatile pockets across Tripoli.

Gadhafi forces shot at least seven mortars into Gadhafi's Bab al-Aziziya compound, a day after rebel fighters captured the symbolic heart of the Libyan ruler's regime.

Fresh clashes between rebels and loyalists broke out Wednesday outside the Rixos hotel, where about 35 international journalists were trapped.

Several rockets landed near the Tripoli International Airport and rebel Commander Mukhtar Al-Akhbar said four rebel fighters were found bound and executed nearby.

And...

Rebels control the hotly contested airport but were struggling to control an area east of it. The resistance caused them to speculate that loyalists could be protecting a high-profile figure in the vicinity.

COMMENT:  Despite earlier speculation, there is no direct evidence that Gadhafi has left the country.  The brochures from Martha's Vineyard were apparently not that convincing.  But he has become irrelevant, and I suspect he'll either be captured, or found dead. 

But what's next in Libya?  No one actually knows.

August 24, 2011     Permalink

GOOD QUESTION, SIR – AT 8:19 A.M. ET:  It is no secret, as the Soviet diplomats used to put it, that there is widespread discontent in the Republican Party, and for good reason.  Many conservatives feel that the Republican presidential field is weak, in some cases eccentric, and in all cases of questionable electability. 

Conventional wisdom has it that the race is now a battle between Mitt Romney and Rick Perry.  Neither rouses much excitement.  Romney's the old car in the garage, functional but hardly fit for a great date.  Perry is the dashing new candidate, dynamic and engaging, but carries more baggage than American Airlines.  His quotes are the stuff of Democratic dreams.  He's actually written that Social Security is unconstitutional.  There goes Florida.

Many Republicans believe that the party must skip a generation to get the right candidate.  They'd hoped Paul Ryan would take the plunge.  He didn't.

But there is someone else, as The Politico reports:

SIMI VALLEY, Calif. – Freshman Sen. Marco Rubio came to the Ronald Reagan Presidential Library on Tuesday night to make the case for smaller government. Many of the 1,000 guests attending the sold-out address came here to see a man who they hope one day will be president.

Just eight months into his first Senate term, the Florida Republican has repeatedly denied he’s eyeing higher office. But that’s done little to quell speculation – and excitement among supporters – that Rubio could be the GOP nominee’s vice presidential pick in 2012 or that he could mount a run for the White House himself four years later.

“My question is: Why isn’t he running now?” Thousand Oaks resident Bobbi Andersen said after Rubio’s address. “I understand it’s a lack of experience, but I can’t wait until he’s the next president.”

Yup, that's the question.  Why not now?  I think Rubio would electrify this field as none other. 

Moderator Gerald Parksy’s first question to Rubio was this: “If your mother asked you to accept the VP spot, what would you say?”

Rubio, a favorite of the tea party movement, deflected the question with humor.

“It’s a great honor to be thought of that way,” he replied. “I have no interest in serving AS vice president for anyone who could possibly live all eight years of the presidency.”

During his remarks – interrupted numerous times by applause – Rubio expounded on what he called the “proper role of government” in America, a vision shared by Reagan that balances free enterprise with compassion for those who can’t fend for themselves.

Some cite Rubio's lack of experience, but he's far more experienced than Obama was when Obama ran, so the Dems couldn't exactly use that issue.  Rubio was speaker of the Florida State House.  He actually works at being a U.S. senator, as opposed to Obama, who occasionally showed up when not dreaming of another office. 

I'm one of those unhappy with the field.  I'd be very happy if Rubio, who clearly is getting to like all the attention, would allow himself to be "considered," the first step on the way to a run.

We can dream, can't we?  Maybe there'll be some surprises ahead.

August 24, 2011     Permalink