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MARCH 14,  2011

BULLETIN:  THE LEFT HAS FOUND A CAUSE – AT 9:39 P.M. ET:  I couldn't be more delighted.  The left has found a cause that keeps it occupied and out of the way.  What is this momentous crusade?  Give a read, from The Politico:

Liberals have found another reason to be angry with President Barack Obama: the exit of P.J. Crowley, the State Department spokesman who resigned Sunday just days after criticizing the Pentagon over its treatment of WikiLeaks suspect Pfc. Bradley Manning.

So the heavy issue in liberalism now is the State Department spokesman?   Quite a comedown from "Bush lied, thousands died."  Ah, for the good old days, and the big time.

Jane Hamsher, an Obama antagonist at the liberal blog FireDogLake — a site that perhaps epitomizes former White House press secretary Robert Gibbs’s “professional left” epithet — is leading the charge. In a Monday post, she backed a march from the State Department to the White House to protest Manning’s alleged mistreatment and Crowley’s abrupt departure.

“With his firing of Crowley, Obama makes a mockery of his own claim to be a constitutional scholar who supports transparency in government,” she wrote.

Other commentators chimed in with disappointment and outrage at Obama’s careful statement on the matter at Friday’s news conference — and the subsequent resignation of a high-profile critic from within the administration.

Salon’s Glenn Greenwald compared Manning’s reported treatment with “the same detainee abuse against which [Obama] campaigned” and accused the president of “ongoing subservience to the military that he supposedly ‘commands.’ It is the way in which this Manning/Crowley behavior bolsters the regime of secrecy and the president’s obsessive attempts to destroy whistleblowing that makes this episode so important and so telling.”

COMMENT:  So Obama faces thunder from those citizens to the left of him – all 12 of them.  Look, this is good recreation for the left.  It's wholesome, doesn't involve controlled substances, and there are no come-hither women involved. 

Of course, what the left doesn't understand, and can never understand, is that public officials have responsibilities, not just rights.  Crowley violated his responsibilities, and was properly dispatched.  Starting a war with the Pentagon was not in his job description.

We should find other causes for the left, just to keep the true believers busy.  Like all children in a sandbox, they need supervision, and toys.

March 14, 2011      Permalink

THE SAUDI FACTOR – AT 8:57 P.M. ET:  It is hard for us to take our eyes off the coverage of Japan, with the high drama at the nuclear plants.  But other things are happening that may have long-term implications for the United States, including a rise in tension with Saudi Arabia, that great filling station in the sand.  From The New York Times:

WASHINGTON — Even before Saudi Arabia sent troops into Bahrain on Monday to quell an uprising it fears might spill across its own borders, American officials were increasingly concerned that the kingdom’s stability could ultimately be threatened by regional unrest, succession politics and its resistance to reform.

So far, oil-rich Saudi Arabia has successfully stifled public protests with a combination of billions of dollars in new jobs programs and an overwhelming police presence, backed by warnings last week from the foreign minister to “cut any finger that crosses into the kingdom.”

Monday’s action, in which more than 2,000 Saudi-led troops from gulf states crossed the narrow causeway into Bahrain, demonstrated that the Saudis were willing to back their threats with firepower.

The move created another quandary for the Obama administration, which obliquely criticized the Saudi action without explicitly condemning the kingdom, its most important Arab ally. The criticism was another sign of strains in the historically close relationship with Riyadh, as the United States pushes the country to make greater reforms to avert unrest.

Other symptoms of stress seem to be cropping up everywhere.

Saudi officials have made no secret of their deep displeasure with how President Obama handled the ouster of the Egyptian president, Hosni Mubarak, charging Washington with abandoning a longtime ally. They show little patience with American messages about embracing what Mr. Obama calls “universal values,” including peaceful protests.

When Secretary of Defense Robert M. Gates and Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton were forced to cancel visits to the kingdom in recent days, American officials were left wondering whether the cause was King Abdullah’s frail health — or his pique at the United States.

COMMENT:  I hold no brief for Saudi Arabia.  If countries were cartoon characters, Saudi Arabia would be Mickey Mouse.  It's an artificially constructed country living under tenth-century religious rules.  But it is also regular, premium and super premium (93 octane) all wrapped into one, even though they don't clean the windshields. 

Saudi women may not be allowed to drive, but American women do drive, and they often drive with Saudi oil.

So, for that reason alone, the relationship is important.  We see no sign that the Saudi monarchy is in immediate danger, but, as the story indicates, there are many signs that the Saudis are disgusted with Obama, and may go their own way in terms of oil production, setting prices, and foreign policy.  The Saudis have learned that Obama is a cold man with no permanent friends.  His motto appears to be, "Ask not what your country can do for you, ask what you can do for me."  This is not appreciated, and the sense of disappointment in Obama has clearly spread to the Saudi kingdom.

Given this state of affairs, how helpful will the Saudis be in keeping down gasoline prices?  Your turn.

March 14, 2011      Permalink

WHERE OBAMA STANDS – AT 10:28 A.M. ET:  There has been even further deterioration in President Obama's poll numbers.  His lack of leadership, and, at times, apparent indifference to the job, are having a devastating effect.  From Scott Rasmussen, this morning:

The Rasmussen Reports daily Presidential Tracking Poll for Monday shows that 23% of the nation's voters Strongly Approve of the way that Barack Obama is performing his role as president. Forty-three percent (43%) Strongly Disapprove, giving Obama a Presidential Approval Index rating of -20. That matches the president’s lowest ratings of 2011.

And...

Overall, 44% of voters say they at least somewhat approve of the president's performance. Fifty-six percent (56%) disapprove. The president earns approval from 77% of Democrats but disapproval from 89% of Republicans. Among those not affiliated with either major party, 44% approve and 56% disapprove.

COMMENT:  Once again, the key number is the "not affiliated" number, the independents.  It is in the middle where elections are won and lost.  The 12-point gap among independents is staggering.  Of course, we stress that this is one poll, and some have suggested that Rasmussen leans a bit Republican.  But still, even adjusting a bit, the president's decline must be alarming to those with jobs in the administration.  The copying machines will be alive with the sound of career resumés.

March 14, 2011      Permalink

BAHRAIN GOES CRITICAL – AT 9:57 A.M. ET:   Bahrain is the headquarters of the U.S. Fifth Fleet.  It also is across a causeway from Saudi Arabia, and the Saudis aren't about to let anything untoward – like democracy – occur in Bahrain.  From Reuters:

RIYADH - About 1,000 Saudi soldiers entered Bahrain early on Monday to protect government facilities following recent unrest by the country's Shi'ite Muslim majority, a Saudi official source said.

"About 1,000 Saudi soldiers have entered Bahrain early on Monday morning through the causeway to Bahrain," the source told Reuters. "They are part of the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) force that would guard the government installations".

COMMENT:  We were supposed to see a "day of rage" in Saudi Arabia last Friday, but Saudi authorities put a damper on it.  The Saudi monarchy is a serious, if ridiculous, business operation, and isn't about to let its power slip.  And with the Libyan rebellion in dire straits, the rulers of Saudi Arabia and Bahrain can't feel under any intense pressure to allow national political conventions anytime soon.

March 14, 2011      Permalink

SNIPPET OF THE DAY – AT 9:01 A.M. ET:

From Daily India.com:  Kabul, Mar.14: Al-Qaeda has launched a women's magazine Al Shamikha (meaning the majestic woman), which mixes tips on skin care with articles on 'marrying a mujahedeen' and carrying out suicide attacks...Its cover features the barrel of a sub-machine gun next to the image of a woman in a veil.  The magazine features exclusive interviews with martyrs' wives who praise their husbands' decisions to die in suicide bombings.

And American women are stuck with Cosmopolitan and Vogue.  No excitement.

March 14, 2011       Permalink

JAPAN – AT 8:38 A.M. ET:  From CNN:

Sendai, Japan (CNN) -- In a nation already besieged with grief over mounting casualties, fears of possible radiation and the threat of more earthquakes, the nightmare grew for Japanese residents Monday as thousands of bodies reportedly surfaced and a government official confirmed another explosion at a nuclear reactor building.
The official death toll reached 1,833 on Monday. But the number did not take into account the 2,000 bodies that Japan's Kyodo News said had been found in the hard-hit Miyagi Prefecture on Japan's northeast coast.

If confirmed, the discovery would be the largest yet of victims from the 8.9-magnitude quake and devastating tsunami that hit Japan four days ago.

At least 2,369 people were missing on Monday, the National Police Agency said, and the number of dead is expected to go up as rescuers reach more hard-hit areas.

Meanwhile, a second explosion in two days occurred at the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant, officials said. The blast took place in the facility's No. 3 reactor building on Monday morning and injured 11. Hours later, the plant's No. 2 reactor lost its cooling capabilities.

COMMENT:  The Western press is obsessing over the nuclear issue, and there has been some radiation release from the failing nuclear plants.  However, thus far it has been very small.  The reactors in question are older models, obsolete by today's standards.  If radiation leakage can be kept at the level we've seen, the tragedy might well prove that nuclear plants, even ancient ones, can withstand the worst that nature can dish out.  But we want to be careful about judgments at this time, as the nuclear story is not over.

What you'll be reading about in coming days, in addition to the human tragedy, is the economic impact.  Many of Japan's leading companies, led by the auto companies, are shut down.  The nation faces a vast rebuilding bill, and will be spending more of its money at home.  Our economy here can be impacted.  Both our interest rates and employment pictures might be changed.

But this is first and foremost a human tragedy.  The death toll, though horrible, could have been much worse if the quake had struck at the heart of Japan, rather than in the less-populated northern region.  And Japan is a modern, efficient society that refuses to play the victim in a catastrophe like this, and gets right to work.

We will be watching this by the hour.

March 14, 2011      Permalink

DEPRESSING LIBYA – AT 8:24 A.M. ET:  The situation for rebels in Libya gets worse by the hour.  From The New York Times:

AJDABIYA, Libya — Military forces loyal to Col. Muammar el-Qaddafi cranked up military and psychological pressure against rebels on two fronts on Monday, offering an amnesty to those who surrendered their weapons while bombing a strategic linchpin in the east and surrounding a rebel-held town in the west.

Loyalist warplanes launched fresh strikes against this anxious town on the doorstep of the opposition capital Benghazi within grasp of a highway crucial to recapturing the eastern border and encircling the rebellion with heavy armor and artillery.

COMMENT:  At the same time, our much-reduced secretary of state will be traveling to Paris for "consultations" about Libya.  We're consulting the rebels right out of existence.  The consultations will undoubtedly be followed by more consultations.

Hillary Clinton's role here is intriguing, and depressing.  I really can't believe she goes along with Obama's knuckleheaded foreign policy.  She's a stronger man than he is.  And she's been reduced to being head of the administration's messenger and postage department.

We've wondered here before whether Hillary will resign.  If the Libyan rebellion fails, and we are humiliated, having demanded that Qadaffi leave, that would be a perfect time for her to say goodbye.  If she doesn't, she might go down with a sinking ship.

On the other hand, maybe she likes the perks and the free travel.  You never know.

If Obama's poll numbers collapse, Hillary can be waiting in the wings.  But she'd better be in the wings, and not onstage.

March 14, 2011     Permalink

MARCH 13,  2011

IT'S CLIMATE CHANGE, OF COURSE! – AT 10:07 P.M. ET:  The climate-change brigades are out of their barracks, or asylums, and are marching in lock-step, trying to link the Japan disaster to climate change.  From London's Telegraph:

Did 'climate change' cause the Japanese earthquake?

No.

But that hasn’t stopped one or two unscrupulous environmentalists trying to make the spurious connection. Top prize for shamelessness goes to one Staffan Nilsson, president of an EU offshoot called the European Economic and Social Committee.

The earthquake and tsunami will clearly have a severe impact on the economic and social activities of the region. Some islands affected by climate change have been hit. Has not the time come to demonstrate on solidarity – not least solidarity in combating and adapting to climate change and global warming? Mother Nature has again given us a sign that that is what we need to do.

That Mother Nature.  Always on our case.

And for our quote of the day, this qualifies very well:

The BBC, unsurprisingly, appears to have decided that potential nuclear disaster is the single most important aspect of the entire story. Its every TV news bulletin is now filled aeons of waffling from environment and science correspondent David Shukman on the state-of-play at the various troubled nuclear plants. Which might seem fair enough until you remember that in one town alone as many as 10,000 people may have been killed by the earthquake and the tsunami. Compare and contrast this with the two fatalities so far in Japanese nuclear plants. Perhaps this figure will rise but until it does, the coverage given to what might possibly happen in Japan’s nuclear plants – as opposed to the far greater and very real and present disasters happening elsewhere in the country – seems irresponsible, misleading and overdone.

COMMENT:  I call it "the 48-hour rule."  It generally takes 48 hours after some event, or some catastrophe, for the left to reorganize and start spouting the usual line, a line that never changes.  The rule is usually followed, and we're seeing it followed in the aftermath of the Japanese quake. 

Another accomplishment for the Prussian discipline of the political left.

March 13, 2011       Permalink

IN THIS DAY AND AGE – AT 7:31 P.M. ET:  Another contribution to American society from Barack Obama's Justice Department.  From the Dayton Daily News:

DAYTON — The city’s Civil Service Board and the U.S. Department of Justice have agreed on a lower passing score for the police recruit exam after it was rejected because not enough blacks passed the exam.

The city lowered both written exams a combined 15 points that resulted in 258 more people passing the exam, according to a statement released Thursday by Civil Service officials. The agreement allows the city to immediately resume its plans to hire police and firefighters.

COMMENT:  What is so outrageous is that African Americans and their "leaders" continue to accept this kind of pandering.  If there is a problem with blacks, or anyone else, passing the exam, the answer is some additional help before the test, not lowering the standards. 

Imagine being a black police officer in Dayton, knowing that everyone around you wonders how you got there.  That is the insidiousness of double standards and misplaced affirmative action.

Obama needs a new attorney general.  Eric Holder is a race man, first and foremost, and this kind of outrage is an example of his thinking.  But Obama doesn't realize the problem...because he doesn't think it's a problem at all.

March 13, 2011      Permalink

WHERE OBAMA STANDS – AT 10:58 A.M. ET:  We have several indications that the president is slipping again in the polls.  Gallup reported slippage earlier in the week.  Now Rasmussen's daily tracker is picking up the trend:

The Rasmussen Reports daily Presidential Tracking Poll for Sunday shows that 24% of the nation's voters Strongly Approve of the way that Barack Obama is performing his role as president. Forty-two percent (42%) Strongly Disapprove, giving Obama a Presidential Approval Index rating of -18.

Consider this:

Overall, 45% of voters say they at least somewhat approve of the president's performance. Fifty-four percent (54%) disapprove.

That's a nine percent gap, fairly close to Obama's worst past showing in the Rasmussen survey.  The 42% "strong disapproval" rating is especially significant because it registers passion – in this case negative passion – and passion plays an enormous role in who comes out to vote and who they choose. 

We stress again that polls are snapshots in time, and numbers float around.  But the White House cannot be happy with these results.  The president can be rescued by 1) an improvement in the economy, especially the jobs picture, and/or 2) a Republican suicide mission, which would certainly reflect a proud Republican tradition, starting with legendary loser Thomas E. Dewey in 1948.

Fascinating election year coming up.

March 13, 2011       Permalink

LIBYAN PICTURE GETS DARKER AND DARKER – AT 10:30 A.M. ET:  The rebels in Libya continue to get pushed back.  Yesterday the Arab League, itself a group of nations run by dictators, asked the UN to impose a no-fly zone over Libya.  Gee, wait a second.  Weren't we told by "experts" that the Arabs would resent any outside involvement?  Maybe there's a misprint here. 

We have no doubt that the UN will swing into action and plunge itself headlong into negotiations, studies, intensive discussions and multilateral talks. 

Meanwhile, the president of the United States was at the Gridiron Club dinner last night, doing stand-up.  Must be great reading for the rebels in Libya.  A million yuks.

Reporting from Libya, The New York Times's Anthony Shadid makes this observation:

Everyone here seems to have a gun these days, in a lawlessness tempered only by revolutionary ebullience. Young men at the front parade with the swagger that a rocket-propelled grenade launcher grants but hint privately that they will try to emigrate if they fail. Anti-American sentiments build, as rebels complain of Western inaction. And the hint of radicalization — religious or something more nihilist — gathers as the momentum in the three-week conflict clearly shifts to the forces of one of the world’s most bizarre leaders.

What's this?  Anti-American sentiment is building because of Western failure to help?  Whether you favor American intervention or not – and there are powerful arguments both ways – we should take that sentence seriously.  There is a body of thought that holds that two forces with different ideas can never unite because of their ideological differences.  That is nonsense, and ahistorical.  Opposites form alliances all the time.  Witness our alliance with the Soviet Union during World War II.  The rebels in Libya may not love everything about us, or the European countries.  They certainly resent the colonial era.  But they want to succeed...and they want to live.  And people yearning for success and life make deals for their own survival.  Churchill said he'd have made a pact with the Devil to defeat Nazi Germany.

We often quote Fouad Ajami of Johns Hopkins University here.  He is one of most solid of Mideast analysts, and he predicted that America would eventually pay a price for its inaction.  I think he's right.  When you're seen as weak, or uninvolved, and when your side loses, you do pay a price.

March 13, 2011       Permalink

JAPAN – AT 10:07 A.M. ET:  The Japanese prime minister laid it on the line to his people today.  From AP:

TOKYO -- Japanese Prime Minister Naoto Kan is appealing to the Japanese to unite in overcoming what he says is the nation's worst crisis since World War II.

Kan said Sunday in a television address that the nation's future will be decided by the choices made by each Japanese and urged all to join in their determination to rebuild the nation following a massive earthquake and tsunami.

You mean personal responsibility counts?  Can a prime minister still say that?

Estimates of the death toll from the disaster rose to more than 10,000 in one state alone, as millions of survivors remained without drinking water, electricity and proper food along the pulverized northeastern coast.

The force of the quake and tsunami is still being measured, but was enormous:

(Space.com) The massive earthquake that struck northeast Japan Friday (March 11) has shortened the length Earth's day by a fraction and shifted how the planet's mass is distributed.

A new analysis of the 8.9-magnitude earthquake in Japan has found that the intense temblor has accelerated Earth's spin, shortening the length of the 24-hour day by 1.8 microseconds, according to geophysicist Richard Gross at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena, Calif.

Watch.  The public-service unions in Wisconsin will ask for a schedule adjustment.

What is getting the most attention in the American press is the crisis involving possible meltdowns at several nuclear reactors.

KORIYAMA, Japan -- Japan's nuclear crisis intensified Sunday as authorities raced to combat the threat of multiple reactor meltdowns and more than 170,000 people evacuated the quake- and tsunami-savaged northeastern coast where fears spread over possible radioactive contamination.

Nuclear plant operators were frantically trying to keep temperatures down in a series of nuclear reactors -- including one where officials feared a partial meltdown could be happening Sunday -- to prevent the disaster from growing worse.

At this hour we really don't know the extent of the damage to the plants, or the amount of radiation released.  News reports say that the Japanese are going all-out to prevent damage to human health.  One of the plants in danger is 40 years old, and past its due date for being decommissioned. 

The usual suspects, led by The New York Times and Washington Post, are already running dark pieces about the danger of nuclear power and the implications of the Japan quake for the nuclear-power industry.  We caution that it is much, much too early to be making these judgments.  If Japan can make it through this crisis with little significant radiation release, it could easily turn out to be a testament to nuclear power.  Stand by.

March 13,  2011     Permalink