Digest

Friday, May 28, 2010

The Foundation

"Charity is no part of the legislative duty of the government." --James Madison

Government & Politics

Democrats Help Themselves to More of Your Money

Biden: "Let me explain why government is awesome"

"We have new ideas about how to spend government money wisely." So said Vice President Joe "BFD" Biden this week while discussing the $787 billion "stimulus" passed by Congress last year. He continued, "I'm very proud to say that there's been virtually no -- knock on wood -- virtually no fraud associated with the $787 billion program overall." Unless you consider that most of the money spent so far has gone to Democrat constituents, that is.

The occasion of Biden's comments was a Middle Class Task Force roundtable discussion on Wednesday with the aim of pushing the American Jobs and Closing Tax Loopholes Act of 2010. The bill would extend the Sept. 30, 2010 expiration date of the Emergency Contingency Fund, which in turn is part of the Temporary Assistance for Needy Families program created by The American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009. (Say that three times fast.) The extension would cost $2.4 billion over 10 years, but, hey, it's all about "jobs," which is apparently why we're stuck at 9.9 percent unemployment.

The price tag for the overall bill could be as high as $190 billion, the bulk of which Democrats aren't concerned about how to pay for. Paygo rules don't apply because, of course, this is another "emergency," a tune that will change before November as Democrats crow about their fiscal responsibility. The Wall Street Journal calls it a "grab bag of political payoffs, corporate welfare and transfer payments," including $65 billion for Medicare physician payments, $47 billion for unemployment insurance, $24 billion in Medicaid payments to the states (though this provision may be removed), and $1 billion for summer jobs for teens, to name a few.

Rep. Jim McDermott (D-WA) recently bragged on the House floor that such payments are "one of the most effective forms of economic stimulus" because "every unemployment dollar spent returns $1.64 of economic benefits." Sounds like we should be cheering higher unemployment.

Speaking of spending, Barack Obama sent legislation to Congress this week seeking a new kind of line-item veto. The Associated Press reports, "The legislation would award Obama and his successors the ability to take two months or more to scrutinize spending bills that have already been signed into law for pork barrel projects and other dubious programs. He could then send Congress a package of spending cuts for a mandatory up-or-down vote on whether to accept or reject them."

Though this serves to make Obama look tough on spending, toothpaste is pretty hard to put back in the tube.

As for the private sector, thanks to Democrat spendthrifts, it's shrinking while the public sector grows. "Paychecks from private business shrank to their smallest share of personal income in U.S. history during the first quarter of this year," according to USA Today. "At the same time, government-provided benefits -- from Social Security, unemployment insurance, food stamps and other programs -- rose to a record high during the first three months of 2010."

"The truth of the matter is that the Recovery Act is working," Joe Biden declared. All too well, as a matter of fact.

The BIG Lie

"The Democratic Congress and the Obama administration share a strong commitment to fiscal discipline and common sense in our budget, and we must continue to do everything in our power to boost our economic recovery, rein in the deficits we inherited, and remain responsible stewards of the public purse. After President Bush and Republicans in Congress turned record surpluses into record deficits and nearly doubled the national debt, Democrats are returning our nation to a course of fiscal responsibility." --House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) on her own party's quadrupling of even the worst Bush deficit

This Week's 'Braying Jackass' Award

Sen. John Kerry (D-MA) thinks that Democrats aren't getting the credit they deserve for all the work they've done for America by confiscating wealth and giving it to automakers, insurance companies and unions. "I think there's a comprehension gap," said Kerry. In other words, you stupid Americans, you should be thanking the Democrats, not denouncing them.

New & Notable Legislation

Sen. Bob Casey (D-PA) has introduced the Create Jobs & Save Benefits Act of 2010, which would in essence bail out union pension funds at a cost of $165 billion. Gold-plated union benefits contributed heavily to the bankruptcies of GM and Chrysler, as well as forcing many states and municipalities into serious budget crunches. Why shouldn't Democrats use taxpayer dollars for unions? After all, Big Labor spent $400 million on the 2008 elections and Democrats were virtually the sole beneficiaries. Socialist Workers' Party, anyone?

The Senate passed a $58.8 billion defense bill Thursday that will fund the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, as well as Tennessee flood cleanup, Haitian earthquake relief efforts and various State Department endeavors.

On Thursday, the House approved an amendment to the defense bill that would repeal "Don't Ask, Don't Tell," at least after a review is complete and other conditions are met. The Senate Armed Services Committee voted likewise. A House vote on the full bill is expected Friday. The original plan was to hold off on legislative action until the Pentagon released its impact study on repeal, which is expected in December. The political climate, however, has driven leftists to renege on that deal because they recognize that after the November elections they likely won't have the votes needed, and anything closer to the election would alienate even more voters, with the exception of homosexual activists. Barack Obama and Speaker Nancy Pelosi called this new action a "compromise," but it's nothing of the kind, because they were in lockstep about repealing the policy from the start. Since leftists have no respect for the military in any case, the Pentagon report would have no impact on their decision no matter what it ultimately stated.

Immigration Front: 1,200 Troops to Border

In a show of "I'm doing something," Barack Obama ordered up to 1,200 National Guard troops to the U.S.-Mexico border for security, one-fifth the number George W. Bush sent. According to National Security Adviser James Jones, the troops will serve as a "bridge to longer-term enhancements," aiding with surveillance and intelligence while more Border Patrol agents are trained. Of course, re-relocating the 300 border agents that were relocated from the Mexican to the Canadian border a few months ago might also be an idea. Obama is also set to request another $500 million for border protection. Politicians of both parties are walking a tightrope when it comes to immigration. It will be interesting to see how they can thread the needle by securing the border (or at least appear to secure the border) while netting Hispanic votes at the same time.

Mexico, meanwhile, spun it this way: "[T]he Government of Mexico trusts that this decision will help to channel additional US resources to enhance efforts to prevent the illegal flows of weapons and bulk cash into Mexico, which provide organized crime with its firepower and its ability to corrupt." As we have noted before, Mexico's charge over the "flows of weapons" is bunk.

Notably, Obama left it to the Associated Press to relay his plan to Arizona Gov. Jan Brewer, one politician who is actually doing something to secure the border. She was unaware of the troop request until the AP called for comment.

From the Left: White House Says 'Trust Us' on Sestak Job Offer

Now that Rep. Joe Sestak is the Democrat Senate nominee for Pennsylvania, earlier accusations he made about a White House offer to accept a job in exchange for dropping out of his primary fight with Arlen Specter have picked up speed. Sestak refuses to elaborate on his claim and identify just who approached him and what he was offered, and the White House has mostly refused comment. Rep. Darrel Issa (R-CA) has taken up the task of pushing the issue because either a retired Navy rear admiral and Democrat Senate candidate is lying, or someone in the Obama administration has committed a felony.

As The New York Times notes, however, "the White House wants everyone who suspects that something untoward, or even illegal, might have happened to rest easy: though it still will not reveal what happened, the White House is reassuring skeptics that it has examined its own actions and decided it did nothing wrong. Whatever it was that it did." Barack Obama reassured, "There will be an official answer from our administration ... coming out shortly." He added, "I can assure the public that nothing improper took place." Nothing to see here; move along. So much for getting away from politics as usual by using the utmost transparency.

Djou Wins in Hawaii

Republican Charles Djou won the special election in Hawaii's 1st Congressional District last week, replacing retiring Democrat Neil Abercrombie. Djou faced two Democrat opponents, who split 58 percent of the vote in a bitter intra-party fight. State Senator Colleen Hanabusa had the support of Sen. Daniel Inouye, who has controlled Hawaii's Democrat machine for decades. Former Congressman Ed Case, on the other hand, was categorized as a "reformer" who had the tacit support of the national Democrat establishment.

Democrats were quick to point out that this vote split was the only reason that Djou, a relative unknown, was able to win in the district, and they believe Djou will be ousted in November. That excuse may be more spin than truth. Hanabusa represents the establishment, which is very much out of favor this year. Case, who has a history of bucking the party line, has no intention of giving up the fight. No matter who wins what is likely to be a bruising primary fight in September, the victor is unlikely to pick up a lot of support from the vanquished. Djou has a lot of work ahead of him, but his defeat just a few months from now is far from assured.

National Security

War of Words Heats Up

The two Koreas lurched closer to an actual war this week as the fallout from North Korea's brazen and unprovoked sinking of a South Korean warship continued. An international investigating team, including U.S. experts, examined torpedo debris found among the wreckage of the ship and identified numerous markings and design features that prove beyond any doubt the origin of the weapon. The investigation report's key finding: "The evidence points overwhelmingly to the conclusion that the torpedo was fired by a North Korean submarine. There is no other plausible explanation."

North Korea predictably dismissed the report as being "based on fabricated evidence." South Korea has suspended all trade with North Korea, resumed the use of propaganda broadcasts along the DMZ, and increased the readiness of its military. North Korea also raised its military readiness and threatened various punitive actions in the event of "provocation" from South Korea. The U.S. Pacific Command and U.S. Forces Korea are also scheduled to conduct military maneuvers with South Korea in the coming days to signal the United States' enduring commitment to the security of our South Korean friends.

That signal may be weakened by the disjointed nature of the Obama administration's diplomatic response to this crisis. At the same time PACOM and USFK are sending a message of strength and resolve, Secretary of State Hillary Clinton is appealing to China and the "international community" to police the matter -- as if either one of those entities has a strong interest in doing so. "This was an unacceptable provocation by North Korea, and the international community has a responsibility and a duty to respond," according to Clinton. Good luck with that -- of all the problems in the world in which the "international community" has zero interest and no power to resolve, North Korea is at the top of the list. Maybe a UN resolution might do the trick.

There are precisely two nations, other than South Korea, that can do anything meaningful to punish North Korea for what is an act of war: the United States and China. Given that China has been North Korea's sponsor, protector and patron since 1948, we're not holding our breath expecting help from Beijing on this one. When no action is forthcoming from the "international community" or from China, what will Barack Obama do, go to Pyongyang and make a speech? Offer concessions to North Korea in return for this latest provocation? Neither is likely to be effective, but with an administration that eschews the exercise of U.S. power and prefers international involvement, they're probably all we're going to get. Maybe they would settle for another negotiation session with Jimmy Carter.

Warfront With Jihadistan: NY Times Does it Again

If the stakes were not life and death, and possibly the ultimate survival of our country, parts of the U.S. war effort would be comical. Instead, the whole situation is becoming ever more surreal. First, the treasonous New York Times once again splashed its front page with U.S. war secrets, reporting on Tuesday that last September Gen. David Petraeus signed a secret order authorizing American Special Operations troops to infiltrate both friendly and hostile nations in the Middle East, Central Asia and the Horn of Africa in order to gather intelligence and establish ties with local friendlies. The order also allows reconnaissance that could be used in military strikes against Iran's nuclear sites. It's worth noting that such an action during wartime under Democrat Saints Woodrow Wilson and Franklin Roosevelt would have gotten the paper closed and the editor jailed with no resort to habeas corpus.

While similar military activities were ordered by the Bush administration, the goals of this new order are longer term, building human networks that can "penetrate, disrupt, defeat or destroy" al-Qa'ida and other jihadi groups, while preparing "the environment" for future military strikes, although this order does not itself authorize any strikes. Thanks to the Times' news flash to al-Qa'ida, et al., our enemies will now be on the lookout for our Special Ops troops. Responding to concerns about troop safety it has compromised, The Times said it did withhold some details about how troops could be deployed in certain countries. Gee, thanks for "supporting" the troops.

In yet another "you've got to be kidding me" item, emails from U.S. officers in Iraq and Afghanistan say that troops on most bases in combat areas are not allowed to carry loaded weapons. That's right; soldiers on a war zone base cannot be armed! Why, you may ask? Well, because their PC commanders are more concerned about an accidental discharge than they are about defending against an enemy attack. As one soldier said, "The idea that anyone, anywhere, would carry firearms for serious social interaction, yet do so with them in any condition other than ready to fire at a moment's notice, is so stupid no 'discussion' appears necessary, at least among the sane." Indeed, nothing more can be said, except God help our troops.

DNI Resigns

Admiral Dennis Blair resigned his post as Director of National Intelligence last week. According to The Washington Post, "Obama has struggled from the beginning of his administration to find the right person for the job. The 2004 legislation that created the DNI does not clearly define what authority the office has, beyond stipulating that whoever holds it is the head of the 16-member intelligence community and the president's chief adviser on intelligence. Blair was the third appointee in five years."

The job resulted from the findings of the 9/11 Commission, which sought better cooperation among spy agencies, but apparently, it was conflict between CIA Director Leon Panetta and Blair that provoked Obama to fire the latter. Among those under consideration to take the post next is retired Air Force Lt. Gen. James Clapper Jr., who is currently serving as undersecretary of defense for intelligence. A number of possible candidates have turned down the job.

Another Broken Vow: Gitmo Stays Open

Moments after taking office, Barack Obama, to much fanfare, vowed he would close the military prison at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, within one year's time. Sixteen months later, it's obvious this was another feel-good promise without a plan to back it up. Which, by the way, is fine with us.

Nervous about importing terrorists to domestic soil, the House Armed Services Committee unanimously approved legislation that prohibited establishing a detention center within the United States. This ends the idea of bailing out Obama's adopted home state by spending $350 million to renovate a failed private prison near Thomson, Illinois, in order to transfer Guantanamo detainees there -- at least for the time being. Yet the same legislation called on Secretary of Defense Robert Gates to produce a report for Congress which "adequately justifies" the need for a domestic facility to replace Guantanamo. This would serve as the backstop for another effort to shut down the Cuban facility in the future.

Most Americans agree that leaving captured Islamic fanatics offshore where they can do little damage while providing us useful information is the best solution. Apparently though, Democrats are such moral cowards, they cannot simply say "no" to Obama.

Obama Takes Memorial Day Off

Perhaps this is just a story of symbolism over substance, but President Obama's decision to skip the traditional Memorial Day ceremonies at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier rankled veterans' groups and departs from a custom which dates back to President Warren G. Harding. Instead, Vice President Joe Biden will honor our fallen soldiers while the commander in chief returns to Chicago for a vacation. Obama will participate in a Memorial Day ceremony at the Abraham Lincoln National Cemetery in nearby Elwood, Illinois.

Business & Economy

Obama Bureaucrat: Don't Trust the Free Market

Obama's autocratic tendencies become more obvious each day. Dr. Donald Berwick, nominated by Barack Obama to head the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS), is "romantic about" Britain's socialized National Health System (NHS). In July 2008 he wrote an article published in the British Medical Journal, comparing the U.S. health care system unfavorably to the British system, and giving a list of 10 suggestions to the NHS. The first was this:

"Please don't put your faith in market forces [emphasis in original]. It's a popular idea: that Adam Smith's invisible hand would do a better job of designing care than leaders with plans can. I find little evidence that market forces relying on consumers choosing among an array of products, with competitors fighting it out, leads to the healthcare system you want and need. In the U.S., competition is a major reason for our duplicative, supply driven, fragmented care system."

In case Berwick hasn't seen the reports on the NHS since the publication of his article, it's deep in debt and delivering substandard service, with new critical reports published almost daily. Adam Smith's invisible hand gave the U.S. the best medical care in the world. The people know this, which is why the vast majority reject ObamaCare, the American NHS wannabe.

Nevertheless, the administration wants to cram ObamaCare down our throats. Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius asked a federal judge to dismiss Virginia's lawsuit alleging Congress overstepped its constitutional bounds with the new health care "reform" law by requiring people to buy health coverage or pay a fee. In making her motion, Sebelius argued Congress "acted well within its authority under the Commerce Clause." This argument has been used ever since the Warren Court to continually expand the powers of the federal government into areas never intended by the Framers. Let's hope that this is expeditiously decided in favor of original intent. Cases such as this demonstrate why we need an independent, co-equal judiciary, instead of one that will rubber stamp decisions of an autocratic executive and a complicit legislature.

Income Redistribution: What Part of TEA Don't You Understand?

We're all familiar with the admonition, "It will take an act of Congress," as a caution to those who are attempting a difficult task. However, Congress is demonstrating that when it comes to its enrichment via power or money, it can act with lightning speed.

The well drilled by Deepwater Horizon off the Gulf Coast has been gushing oil for six weeks, and in that time the response of the federal government has been at best inept and at worst malignantly obstructive. Contingency plans that had been drawn up for such an event were not activated. A request by the state of Louisiana to form an artificial barrier island was greeted by the request for an environmental impact study. What does the EPA think the impact on the marshes and bayous will be when the oil arrives?

For its part, Congress is doing what Congress does best -- quadrupling the tax that funds emergency services for addressing offshore drilling disasters. Granted, a tax of $0.32 per barrel of oil works out to about $0.01 per gallon, but focusing upon the magnitude misses the point. Oil companies will simply pass the tax off on to consumers at the pump. Had the federal government implemented its own plans and procedures immediately once this catastrophe began, or had it responded to state and local government requests with anything other than impediments and evasions, the nightmare might be over now. Given the seeming incompetence demonstrated by the Obama administration over the last six weeks, the entire episode reeks of jaded opportunism. The only thing accomplished so far is that exploration in the Gulf Coast, as well as off the coasts of Virginia and Alaska, has been suspended. Never let a crisis go to waste.

Of course, Obama says that he's been in control the whole time. "The American people should know that from the moment this disaster began the federal government has been in charge of the response effort," he said at Thursday's press conference (the first press conference he has held since last summer). "Make no mistake: BP is operating at our direction." Apparently, he truly believes that the market can operate only at his command.

This Week's 'Alpha Jackass' Award

"One of my biggest differences with the Bush administration, and even with the Clinton administration, was that they overdid that. I have always been critical of this effort to equate a decent home with homeownership. I think we should have been doing more to provide rental housing. My efforts have been to try and get affordable rental housing. I was very much in disagreement with this push into home ownership, and I think the federal government should not be artificially doing that." --Barney Frank, May 21, 2010

Of course, in June 2005, Frank's story was quite different: "We have, I think, an excessive degree of concern right now about homeownership and its role in the economy. ... Homes that are occupied may see an ebb and flow in the price at a certain percentage level, but you're not going to see the collapse that you see when people talk about a bubble. And so those of us on our committee in particular will continue to push for homeownership."

Barney must not be aware that we can find what he said five years ago. For leftists, history starts with their current public statement.

Culture & Policy

Climate Change This Week: Hot News Flash -- the Sun is Hot

For years, it's been the elephant in the room (or the solar system): the 15-million-degree Fahrenheit ball of heat and light, which has been routinely ignored by global warming alarmists as a source of climate fluctuations on earth. Any scientist who dared suggest otherwise might as well have said the earth is flat. Well, unfortunately for climate change zealots, science is demanding the sun get some credit.

Author and environmentalist Lawrence Solomon writes, "Earlier this month, the link between solar activity and climate made headlines throughout Europe after space scientists ... linked the recent paucity of sunspots to the cold weather (a.k.a., "climate change") that Europe has been experiencing." According to the University of Hawaii's Institute for Astronomy, research into sunspots "may ultimately help us predict how and when a changing sun affects Earth's climate."

Indeed, Solomon notes solar scientists are "becoming assertive" and "increasingly conveying a clear message on the chief cause of climate change: It's the Sun Stupid." Doesn't it say something about the dogma of climate change that, until recently, scientists feared pointing out that the sun is hot?

Judicial Benchmarks: SCOTUS on Juvenile Life Without Parole

One month before his 18th birthday, Terence Graham committed a home invasion robbery, holding the victim at gunpoint and barricading him in a closet. Based on Graham's prior record, he received a sentence of life imprisonment without the possibility of parole (LWOP). Last week, the Supreme Court held that the Eighth Amendment precludes sentencing minors to LWOP for non-homicide crimes. Read more here.

Village Academic Curriculum: Bullying is Discrimination

"Uh," "um," "I guess." That's pretty much the gist of Sen. Al Franken's (D-Comedy Central/Minnesota) description of his proposed Student Non-Discrimination Act, which, according to Minnesota Public Radio (MPR), "would prohibit discrimination based on actual or perceived sexual orientation or gender identity." Or at least Franken kind of sort of seems to think so.

When MPR's Cathy Wurzer asked Franken for specifics on what the bill qualifies as "harassment," he answered, "[U]h, it's one of these things that you know it when you see it." Well, that clears it up. And when Wurzer pressed the issue, Franken responded, "I don't, uh, believe we have the language in it to define bullying, but maybe I do. I'm not -- I'm not sure about that aspect of, of the bill. I know that it's, it's, it's defined the same way as it is for, um, race or for religion, or, um, the, uh, disability -- the other reasons that are outlawed in, in -- nationally. In other words, all these other things, uh, are, are national, uh, but not, uh, gay and lesbian."

It's bad enough not to read a bill before voting on it (think health care overhaul) or before criticizing it (think Arizona's immigration bill), but for a senator not to know what's in a bill he himself has proposed, well, the inmates really are running the asylum. At least schoolyard bullies will think twice before discriminating.

To Keep and Bear Arms

An 80-year-old Army veteran and his wife were in their Chicago home when a robber entered the house. After seeing the armed intruder enter, the homeowner shot and killed the suspect after both exchanged gunfire. This was after the same man was robbed at gunpoint just a couple of months ago and decided to buy a gun. Because they live in a neighborhood where robberies are common, the community praised the couple for their self-defense (and for getting rid of another criminal), saying that it's a good thing they had a gun, or they may have been killed. Neither the homeowner nor his wife was hurt.

Currently, however, Chicago has a statute that prohibits the possession of any handgun. A ruling by the U.S. Supreme Court on the legality of the firearm used by the homeowner is imminent. Yet prominent Chicago attorney Joel Brodsky has already offered to take up the case and represent the Army veteran pro bono if the courts decide to prosecute him. Brodsky says, "Self-defense isn't just a right, it's a duty. If this man is prosecuted for saving his own life, it's not just a travesty, it's justice turned inside out."

And Last...

Around our humble shop, we're occasionally cheered by reports of jihadis accidentally detonating IEDs and blowing themselves up. We call them "self solvers." That was nearly the case in Gaza this week when an attempted bombing 60 meters from a concrete security barrier separating Gaza from Israel went awry. "A small Syrian-backed terrorist group in Gaza said its activists blew up a donkey cart laden with explosives close to the border with Israel on Tuesday," The Jerusalem Post reports. "The donkey was killed in the blast, but there were no reports of human casualties." We mean no disrespect to the poor animal, but we think Wall Street Journal columnist James Taranto pinned the tail on the donkey: "Wow, they literally blew up their own ass!"