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MAY 16,  2011

REPEAT OF 1962? – AT 11:55 P.M. ET:  Having experienced the Cuban Missile Crisis at the CIA, Langley, ion 1962, I have little enthusiasm for a repeat.  But we may get one.  A German newspaper is running a disturbing report:

BERLIN – The Iranian government is moving forward with the construction of rocket launch bases in Venezuela, the German daily Die Welt wrote in its Friday edition.

Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez is Teheran’s most important South American ally.

Iran is building intermediate- range missile launch pads on the Paraguaná Peninsula, and engineers from a construction firm – Khatam al-Anbia – owned by the Revolutionary Guards visited Paraguaná in February. Amir al-Hadschisadeh, the head of the Guard’s Air Force, participated in the visit, according to the report. Die Welt cited information from “Western security insiders.”

The rocket bases are to include measures to prevent air attacks on Venezuela as well as commando and control stations.

The Iranian military involvement in the project extends to bunker, barracks and watch tower construction. Twenty-meter deep rocket silos are planned. The cost of the Venezuelan military project is being paid for with Iranian oil revenue. The Iranians paid in cash for the preliminary phase of the project and, the total cost is expected to amount to “dozens of millions” of dollars, Die Welt wrote.

COMMENT:  The major worry, of course, is that these bases will actually be Iranian, just as the missiles put in Cuba in 1962 were Soviet missiles.

While there does not appear to be any immediate threat to the U.S., a significant threat can develop, especially if the Iranians perfect the technique of putting nuclear warheads on missiles.  We might then have another Cuban Missile Crisis.  And if we make the decision to take out those missiles, we may well kill Iranians, with all that implies.

Not quite as neat a world as Mr. Obama promised.  And, by the way, has anyone in the White House noticed that the administration's "outreach" to Islam has been a complete bust?

May 16,2011       Permalink

RETURN – AT 11:46 P.M. ET:  We apologize for our lateness tonight.  Regular readers know that we were in Virginia, and returned today via exotic Route 95, roadway to the stars.  I tried to do some posting from the car, with my trusty wife driving, but quickly realized that the surface of the New Jersey Turnpike wasn't designed for this kind of work.  You type a letter, then go through 28 bumps before getting to the next one.

We knew we were entering New York because the gasoline prices jumped immediately.  New York is so kind, so welcoming.  I'm convinced that the traffic jams on the other side of the highway was made up of New Yorkers getting out before the state taxes their children as well.

But we are back, and will resume normal office operations immediately. 

May 16, 2011     Permalink

ENTERTAINMENT BULLETIN – AT 10:08 A.M. ET:  Direct from the New York Daily News:

The show must go on.

"The Apprentice," a show based on getting a sought-after position with Donald Trump, won't end if the businessman decides to run for President, NBC announced Sunday.

The network's midseason schedule will include the hit show on Sunday nights with or without the Donald, executives said.

"It's such a strong franchise, not to minimize his presence in it because we love him, but I really do think it's all about the casting of that show and the challenges," NBC's chairman of entertainment, Bob Greenblatt, told The Hollywood Reporter.

COMMENT:  I'm just so relieved, aren't you?  And so awed by NBC's passion and commitment.  Why, who said there aren't great showmen around today? 

Now I can nap soundly.

May 16, 2011      Permalink

THE REPUBLICAN DILEMMA – AT 8:58 A.M. ET:  What a strange position the Republican Party is in.  It controls most state governments.  It controls the House of Representatives by a substantial margin, and that control is expected to continue with the 2012 election.  It stands a good chance of taking control of the U.S. Senate next year.  And yet, its presidential prospects are cloudy at best.

The GOP was saved by a candidate, Dwight Eisenhower, in 1952.  It was saved by a candidate, Ronald Reagan, in 1980.  Today, when it needs to be saved again, it looks at a presidential field that is decidedly weak.  Passion for Mitt?  For Newt?  For Mitch?

This dilemma requires political leadership at the highest level, the kind of leadership that encourages new people to get into the race, and which makes it clear that only an oustanding candidate will do.  But the GOP has a history of often, not always, choosing the next guy in line.  Recall President Dole.  It also has a history of moving very, very slowly.

Obama is already campaigning.  In fact, he's always campaigning.  I think he campaigns in his sleep.  I think, if he says prayers at night, he mutters, "Now I lay me down to sleep.  But the polls open in eight hours."

There must be a dramatic gesture by the chairman of the party, and the Congressional leadership, to open up the party, just as the Tea Party movement opened up politics for millions of Americans.  Maybe a series of national Republican forums, featuring current and coming stars, would draw attention to new blood.

It is new blood that is needed.  The time for transfusions is long past.  And the time for nutbags like Ron Paul is long past.  There is no Eisenhower.  There is no one in the current crop with the charisma of Reagan.  But there's got to be some young gun out there, maybe Chris Christie, who can get the juices flowing.

May 16, 2011      Permalink

ANOTHER REVENGE ATTACK – BE ON GUARD – AT 8:30 A.M. ET:  There has been another revenge attack in Pakistan, retaliation for the killing of Osama bin Laden.  The question is when our turn comes.  From London's Telegraph:

A Saudi Arabian diplomat was shot dead in Karachi on Monday, in the second attack on the country's interests in Pakistan since the death of Osama bin Laden.

The Pakistan Taliban, which is linked to al-Qaeda, immediately claimed responsibility in telephone calls to media organisations.

"Until America stops chasing al-Qaeda and stops drone strikes we will keep carrying out such attacks," said a spokesman, referring to attacks on militants in the north-west of Pakistan.

Police in Karachi said the man – named by the Saudi embassy as Hasan Khatani – worked in the consulate's security department and was driving a vehicle with diplomatic plates when two motorcycle riders unleashed a hail of gunfire at a crossroads in the city's upmarket Defence neighbourhood.

Iqbal Mahmood, Chief of Police in the city, said gunmen fired four bullets and fled on their motorcycle, killing him on the spot.

"They came on a motorbike, they fired four shots. One bullet hit his head and he died on the spot," he told reporters.

COMMENT:  It has been ten years since 9-11, and I think many Americans have been lulled to sleep by the failure of Al Qaeda to attack us successfully again.  But that failure may not continue.  The war on terror is ongoing, and will not end with a signing aboard the battleship Missouri. 

May 16, 2011      Permalink

THERE GOES THE FAMILY FLATWARE  AT 8:20 A.M. ET –  It's come to this.  Now even conservatives are taking inventory and listing things America could sell to get itself out of trouble.  From WaPo:

With the United States poised to slam into its debt limit Monday, conservative economists are eyeballing all that gold in Fort Knox. There’s about 147 million ounces of gold parked in the legendary vault. Gold is selling at nearly $1,500 an ounce. That’s many billions of dollars in bullion.

“It’s just sort of sitting there,” said Ron Utt, a senior fellow at the Heritage Foundation. “Given the high price it is now, and the tremendous debt problem we now have, by all means, sell at the peak.”

But that’s cockamamie, declares the Obama administration. Mary J. Miller, Treasury’s assistant secretary for financial markets, said the U.S. should sell assets in an orderly, “well-telegraphed” manner, not in a “fire sale” atmosphere with a debt limit deadline accelerating the process.

“It would be bad for the taxpayers. It would be bad for the markets,” Miller said.

Another senior administration official, not authorized to speak for attribution, described the situation more bluntly: “Selling off the gold is just one level of crazy away from selling Mount Rushmore.”

COMMENT:  When they start talking about selling the family jewels, we're in trouble.  As for Mount Rushmore, I can just envision "Lincoln Condominiums, high above South Dakota."  All the residents would be Chinese businessmen.  Or the "Trump Rushmore."  Believe me, it just might happen.

May 16, 2011     Permalink

MAY 15,  2011

THE NEW EGYPT – AT 9:22 P.M. ET:  Welcome to the fruit of the revolution.  How much discussion do you see of this in the mainstream media?

CAIRO (AP) — An angry mob attacked a group of mainly Christian protesters demanding drastic measures to heal religious tension amid a spike in violence, leaving 65 people injured, officials said Sunday.

The Christian protesters have been holding their sit-in outside the state television building in Cairo for nearly a week following deadly Christian-Muslim clashes that left a church burned and 15 people dead.

More than 100 people rushed into the sit-in area, lobbing rocks and fire bombs from an overpass and charging toward the few hundred protesters sleeping in the area. Vehicles were set on fire and fires burned in the middle of the street.

COMMENT:  Please note the deep concern among "human rights" activists.   There was far more concern for the "rights" of Osama bin Laden.

The word from Egypt is not very encouraging.

May 15, 2011      Permalink

A WARNING TO FELLOW AMERICANS FROM THE PEOPLE'S REPUBLIC OF NEW YORK – AT 9:03 P.M. 

This is what happens when you mess things up too badly:

ALBANY - Escape from New York is not just a movie - it's also a state of mind.

A new Marist College poll shows that 36% of New Yorkers under the age of 30 are planning to leave New York within the next five years - and more than a quarter of all adults are planning to bolt the Empire State.

The New York City suburbs, with their high property values and taxes, are leading the exodus, the poll found.

Of those preparing to leave, 62% cite economic reasons like cost of living, taxes - and a lack of jobs.

"A lot of people are questioning the affordability of the state," said Lee Miringoff, director of the Marist College Institute for Public Opinion.

An additional 38% cite climate, quality of life, overcrowding, a desire to be closer to family, retirement or schools.

The latest census showed New York's overall population actually increased, though parts of upstate shed population and jobs.

A full 53% think the worst is yet to come for the state's economy, while 44% say things should start improving.

COMMENT:  We started to see this trend several decades ago.  The most creative, imaginative people are leaving New York.  These are the entrepreneurs, the dreamers, the risk takers.  They simply can't afford to dream in New York, and New York isn't paying much for dreams these days. 

New York, New York.  If you can make it here, you'll probably still prefer to live somewhere else.

May 15, 2011     Permalink

QUOTE OF THE DAY – AT 11:14 A.M. ET:  I don't think we've ever quoted Ted Koppel here.  He's a journalist about whom I've had some mixed feelings.  But in a Washington Post piece Koppel makes a great deal of sense, and I hope other journalists read his words:

"Democracy." Let's dump it; toss it on the scrap heap of history. The concept remains worthy, but the word is rapidly being exhausted of all residual value.

Democracy is much more than the elimination of an undemocratic leader. What we have seen this year, unfolding on our television screens and laptops, looks like democracy, but as any Parisian schoolchild can recount, the path from the barricades to a functioning parliament can be tortuous. After the Jacobin terror sent more than 14,000 victims to the guillotine, France (and most of Europe) got Napoleon, whose excesses ultimately led to a restoration of the monarchy. Five years from now, we are more likely to see another Hosni Mubarak in Egypt, or another Ali Abdullah Saleh in Yemen, than to see a functioning representational government in any of the countries now undergoing the "Arab spring."

The instant transfer of political power is intoxicating, but it should not be confused with democracy itself. Neither can a functioning democracy exist without fair elections, and a social compact that accepts representational government and the discipline of abiding by its decisions.

Koppel is right, and let's remember what he says.  Before we shout "democracy is coming" as we watch images on television, let's find out what the "democracy demonstrators" are really for.  We might wind up horrified.  We became horrified over Iran, but by that time it was too late.

May 15, 2011         Permalink

REVERTING TO FORM – AT 10:54 A.M. ET:  I've seen improvement in CNN's international reporting recently, probably reflecting the departure of Christiane Amanpour, who now bores us on ABC.  But today, sadly, CNN seemed to revert to form in some real third-rate reporting from the Mideast.  Christiane would be proud:

Jerusalem (CNN) -- Clashes erupted between pro-Palestinian protesters and Israeli forces in multiple locations along the country's borders Sunday as tensions flared on a Palestinian mourning day marking the birth of the Jewish state.

Whenever you see a lead like that, the reporter either isn't doing the job or has his thumb on the scale.  Clashes don't "erupt."  They're started by one side.  But, too, often, biased reporters don't want to tell you which side started the action.

Syrian state television said four protesters were killed by Israeli gunfire in the Golan Heights area, where Israeli's military said dozens were wounded.

The idea that anyone can seriously quote Syrian state television after what we've seen in Syria recently is ridiculous.

The conflicts broke out on "Nakba Day." Nakba, meaning catastrophe in Arabic, marks the period when more than 700,000 Arabs were displaced from their homes during the fighting following the creation of Israel in 1948.

Again, conflicts "broke out."  And the Arabs were displaced not "during the fighting," but as a result of the Arab invasion of the new state of Israel in 1948. 

Different accounts were emerging Sunday of clashes along the Israel-Lebanon border, where ambulances stood by as the steady crackle of gunfire filled the air.

Yeah, I'll bet.  How about finding out what happened before you file the story.

These events have been long-planned by radical Palestinians and their little helpers.  It's actually been in the papers.  Someone tell CNN.

May 15, 2011         Permalink

RIDICULOUS RON – AT 10:29 A.M. ET:  Ron Paul, the certified nutbag running for president in a party whose views he rarely shares, exposes himself every time he opens his mouth.  He claims to be a libertarian, but isn't.  He is running as a Republican, but doesn't qualify there either.  His foreign policy views share much more with the hard left than any other faction.  Yet, people get sucked in.  Consider this, from The Politico:

Rep. Ron Paul (R-Texas) refused on Sunday to back down from comments last week that the United States should have informed the Pakistani government that American officials knew where Al Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden was hiding.

Right.  And the Pakistani government would have alerted bin Laden within seconds.

"Why are we having trouble with the [Pakistani] government, why are we stirring up a civil war in Pakistan? It's because we've been bombing it," Paul said on "Fox News Sunday."

No, Ron, the trouble preceded the bombing.  That's why we're bombing in Pakistan, but not in, say, England.

The libertarian Paul, who's running again for the Republican presidential nomination, said his opposition to the U.S. mission to kill bin Laden demonstrates the principles of his non-interventionist foreign policy.

"I'm saying that when you bomb a country, you violate their national security and sovereignty," Paul told host Chris Wallace. "We're doing that [in Pakistan]. At the same time, we're giving them billions of dollars. And you wonder why the [Pakistani] government gets in trouble with the people."

The Obama administration should have relied on the Pakistani government to arrest bin Laden and turn him over to U.S. authorities, Paul said.

That is the view of a child.  Or a member of some Marxist group on a college campus.

The man is dangerous.  We assume the GOP will realize that.

May 15,  2011     Permalink