A Godsend - Prager University - Watch This YouTube Video

(Click on the title above). Also go to townhall.com to find Dennis Prager's columns and his radio show. Dennis Prager is a brilliant man. As someone who has listened to his radio program for years, I can attest that the moniker "Prager University" is not an empty conceit. I have learned so much more from this man than I ever learned in my years of formal education, including my elite eastern university.

The Obama First 100 Days - The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly

The Good -

Pres. Obama has wisely walked away from the demagoguery of Candidate Obama on the subject of Iraq. This administration has thus far taken a principled and intelligent course in handling Iraq (they've stayed the course on George Bush's successful strategy, frnakly).

Pres. Obama empowered the Navy to take out the Somali pirates.

Geithner and Bernake's efforts to free up liquidity in world credit markets have thus far forestalled a catastrophe. We could and should argue with their methods, but applaud them for taking decisive action, and give them the benefit of the doubt that their actions were, on the whole, for the better.

The Bad

Nearly tripling the federal deficit, after Candidate Obama berated Pres. Bush for his deficits. Setting up our children and grandchildren to pay the bills for this administration's profligate spending. Dishonestly passing off massive liberal spending programs as "stimulus."

Projecting weakness all over the globe - offering to trade away missile defenses in Europe, bowing and scraping to Ahmedinejad, ignoring North Korea's provocative missile launch (on the same day as the President's no-nuke "I have a dream" speech), apologizing to and cow-towing with Latin thug dictators in Trinidad and Tobago, de-funding key missile defense programs, cutting major weapons systems, failing to spend any stimulus on Defense, in fact cutting Defense spending (under the cover of an accounting ruse with respect to how the current war is paid for)...

The Ugly

The President has shown a consistent pattern of walking away from opportunites to lead his party and moderate the influence of the left-wing crazies in their midst. For what it's worth, it remains to be seen if this is because he himself is a left wing crazy, or just because he lacks the the resolve to oppose them.

Pandering to the MoveOn crowd's blood vengeance by opening the door to politically motivated prosecutions of Bush administration officials who developed and implemented our post 9/11 interrogation policies. For political reasons, risking taking our nation down the Third World path to truth commissions and political prisoners. Undermining our ability to deal with similar threats to our homeland security in the future by disclosing in detail our past tactics. Endangering the lives of our brave personnel in Iraq and Afghanistan by supplying our enemies with grist for their propaganda mills.

Deferring to Nancy Pelosi and company in driving our fiscal policy. Blithely signing a budget bill with 9000 earmarks. Claiming to be post-partisan, while passively watching the Congressional democrats walk all over the budget process and resorting to extraordinary measures to deny the Republicans a say in major policy decisions, like re-making our health care system or potentially imposing a $650B carbon tax on our already struggling economy.

The Bottom Line

I am not "hope"-ful. So far, Pres. Obama seems to care first and foremost about his image and popularity. Domestically, he is either a leftist ideologue or one of the most cynical political players the White House has ever seen. Or both. On foreign policy, he is hopelessly naive and frankly, anti-American in his outlook. He doesn't seem, however, to be beyond help on foreign affairs. His ideas seem more fluid, and the influence of the left less potent than in domestic policy (yes, the "torture memos were released to placate the leftists, but I think President Obama mistakenly thought he could throw them a bone without opening Pandora's box). At least on the foreign policy front, I see the possibility that he could learn from his early failures and go on to be a decent foreign policy president. I don't see anything short of Democratic electoral defeat setting us back on a rational footing on the domestic front.

Good Riddance!

U.S. Senator Switches Parties - WSJ.com:

"By JONATHAN WEISMAN and GREG HITT

WASHINGTON -- Pennsylvania Sen. Arlen Specter said Tuesday he is switching parties, almost certainly giving President Barack Obama and the Democrats the ability to build a filibuster-proof majority in the Senate."

I feel cleaner already. I predict he loses his bid for reelection. This will actually put more pressure on Democrat senators in red and purple states to vote the right way.

The First 100 Days From a Foreign Point of View

Mark Steyn: Who will lead the 'post-American era'? | world, american, obama, exceptionalism, post - Opinion - OCRegister.com:

"Since January, President Obama and his team have schmoozed, ineffectively, American enemies over allies in almost every corner of the globe. If you're, say, India, following Obama's apology tour even as you watch the Taliban advancing on those Pakistani nukes, would you want to bet the future on American resolve? In Delhi, in Tokyo, in Prague, in Tel Aviv, in Bogota, they've looked at these first 100 days and drawn their own conclusions."

Foreign governments have been sizing up the Obama administration's first 100 days. They haven't brought a lot of "hope" to beleaguered democracies around the world.

Don't Expect To Hear This on Good Morning America!

EDITORIAL: Barack's in the basement - Washington Times:

"President Obama's media cheerleaders are hailing how loved he is. But at the 100-day mark of his presidency, Mr. Obama is the second-least-popular president in 40 years."

Don't let the MSM fool you. Obama is in a race to pass his agenda before his negatives catch up with him, and even the toadies at CBS, NBC, ABC, and CNN can''t provide him cover any longer.

Obama team reverses union transparency - Washington Times

Obama team reverses union transparency - Washington Times:

"The Obama administration, which has boasted about its efforts to make government more transparent, is rolling back rules requiring labor unions and their leaders to report information about their finances and compensation."

I kid you not, last night, I came across the following WSJ article while looking for info on how much money the teacher unions spent buying off the Democrat party in the 2008 elections:

If we told you that an organization gave away more than $65 million last year to Jesse Jackson's Rainbow PUSH Coalition, the Gay and Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation, Amnesty International, AIDS Walk Washington and dozens of other such advocacy groups, you'd probably assume we were describing a liberal philanthropy. In fact, those expenditures have all turned up on the financial disclosure report of the National Education Association, the country's largest teachers union.

Under new federal rules pushed through by Secretary of Labor Elaine Chao, large unions must now disclose in much more detail how they spend members' dues money. Big Labor fought hard (if unsuccessfully) against the new accountability standards, and even a cursory glance at the NEA's recent filings--the first under the new rules--helps explain why. They expose the union as a honey pot for left-wing political causes that have nothing to do with teachers, much less students.

I decided not to use it, because it was about contributions to other leftist organizations, not the Dem party, and also it is a few years old. But I thought to myself, I'M NOT MAKING THIS UP, "it won't be long before I read about these transparency rules for unions going away..."

Seems to me since we are bailing out teacher jobs, and police jobs, and fireman jobs, and autoworker jobs that we should all know exactly how much every union official makes, and be able to cap their earnings, shouldn't we?

National Health Care With 51 Votes - WSJ.com

National Health Care With 51 Votes - WSJ.com:

"Late last week President Barack Obama and Democratic congressional leaders agreed to use 'budget reconciliation' if necessary to jam a massive health-care bill through Congress... this decision is a deeply troublesome attempt to circumvent the normal and customary workings of American democracy...It's a radical departure from congressional precedent, in which budget rules have been designed and used to reduce deficits, not expand the size of government. And it promises bitter divisiveness under an administration that has made repeated promises to reach across the partisan divide."

Make sure your congressional delegation knows how much you oppose this unprecedented expansion of government, being shoved down our throats without even regard for the budgetary rules of Congress. Ask your liberal friends how they plan to pay for it.

This Foreign Policy Team Needs Adult Supervision

IBDeditorials.com: Editorials, Political Cartoons, and Polls from Investor's Business Daily -- The War On Terror Just Won't Go Away:

"how can we defeat them if we're on the verge of revealing dozens of photographs that purport to show U.S. military personnel mistreating captives in Afghanistan?

Surely, that will inflame Muslims in Afghanistan and Pakistan, making the job of our military now engaged in a life-or-death struggle for Afghanistan with the Taliban all the more difficult.

It will end up costing American lives. And for what? To score a few cheap political points against former President Bush's policy of pursuing terrorists to the hilt?

The problem is, the only reason Pakistan's government made a deal with the Taliban in the first place is, frankly, it doubts the bona fides of the Obama administration when it comes to fighting terrorism."

The same Islamic extremists we are fighting in Afghanistan edge closer every day to toppling a nuclear state in Pakistan, and we are going to assist them by supplying them photographs for their propaganda and recruiting, and by diverting the attention of our government from this imminent danger to focus on a partisan witch hunt over past policy disagreements. This administration is reckless.

Need MORE Proof the Left Doesn't Care About Educating Poor Kids?

Teach for (Some of) America - WSJ.com:

"This is a tragic lost opportunity. Teach for America picks up the $20,000 tab for the recruitment and training of each teacher, which saves public money. More important, the program feeds high-energy, high-IQ talent into a teaching profession that desperately needs it. Unions claim the recent grads lack the proper experience and commitment to a teaching career. But the Urban Institute has studied the program and found that 'TFA status more than offsets any experience effects. Disadvantaged secondary students would be better off with TFA teachers, especially in math and science, than with fully licensed in-field teachers with three or more years of experience.'"

The big government folks love to demagogue on education and pass bills to shovel more money into existing failed school systems. Ask them, however, to cross their big contributors, the teacher unions, by supporting successful voucher programs, and they run for cover. This story is even more breathtaking however. Their cynicism extends so far as to be willing to impede the flow of idealistic Ivy League-trained recruits into underperforming public school systems. They can't bear the prospect of having to compete with young teachers with energy, brains, and a desire to put students first.

Presidential Poison - WSJ.com

Presidential Poison - WSJ.com: "Mark down the date. Tuesday, April 21, 2009, is the moment that any chance of a new era of bipartisan respect in Washington ended. By inviting the prosecution of Bush officials for their antiterror legal advice, President Obama has injected a poison into our politics that he and the country will live to regret."

The Old "Public Option" Switcheroo

Judd Gregg: 'Elections Have Consequences' - WSJ.com:

"The Democrats, he [Judd Gregg] says, pulled the same public-private switcheroo before with student loans for college. Back in the late 1990s, 'there was a huge debate in the committee . . . between myself and [Senator Ted] Kennedy over a private plan versus a public plan.' In the end, they compromised -- the government would offer loans directly to students, but that program would have to compete with private-sector lenders. 'And the agreement was very formal, and the record shows this very clearly. We agreed to level the playing field, put both plans on the playing field at an equal status and see who won. Well, private plans won. Big time.'

Given the choice, most borrowers went to the private sector for their loans. But the Democrats who wanted to nationalize the student-loan market did not take defeat in the marketplace gracefully. 'They didn't like that,' Mr. Gregg says. 'So ever since then they've tilted the playing field back and now they're going to wipe out the private plans in their budget.'

When it comes to health insurance, Mr. Gregg expects more of the same. 'That's the scenario that you're going to see if you have a public plan for insurance that competes with the private plans. That's the game plan' -- call it competition at first, but tighten the screws until the private insurers leave the market or get forced out.

A great past illustration of how these apparently "modest" efforts to give taxpayers a "choice" are really just step one in the inevitable march to government control of yet another sector of the free market economy.

Keeping Repeating the Big Lies to a Lap Dog Press Corps and EventuallyThey Turn to Accepted Truth

Charles Krauthammer - Barack Obama's 'New Foundation' - a Sting in Four Parts - washingtonpost.com:

"The Whopper: The boast that he had 'identified $2 trillion in deficit reductions over the next decade.' It takes audacity to repeat this after it had been so widely exposed as transparently phony. Most of this $2 trillion is conjured up by refraining from spending $180 billion a year for 10 more years of surges in Iraq. Hell, why not make the 'deficit reductions' $10 trillion -- the extra $8 trillion coming from refraining from repeating the $787 billion stimulus package annually through 2019."

If you need any more evidence that the media are in the tank for Pres. Obama, the fact that these ridiculous claims are not met by derision in the press corps is all you need.

The Torture Memos - A Source of Pride

The Case for the ‘Torture Memos’ by Rich Lowry on National Review Online:

"The debate over the just-released Justice Department memorandums on interrogation techniques ended as soon as they were dubbed the “torture memos.” Forevermore, they will be remembered as the legal lowlights of a “dark and painful chapter in our history,” as Pres. Barack Obama put it.

Rightly considered, the memos should be a source of pride. They represent a nation of laws struggling to defend itself against a savage, lawless enemy while adhering to its legal commitments and norms. Most societies throughout human history wouldn’t have bothered."

Last torture post for a while, I hope. Read this important piece. The politics that Pres. Obama is playing with this issue belies his claims to be a uniter and non-partisan figure. But we already knew that. History will judge what he and his leftist cronies are doing now to have been far more contemptible than anything done by the Bush administration.

God bless all of those involved in these interrogations for caring enough to carefully consider and make the tough decisions, and do what they deemed necessary to defend our nation. Let's hope this episode doesn't discourage those we rely upon today and in the future for our safety.

The Most Transparent Administration, Covering Up Effectiveness of Interrogrations

Obama muddles torture message - Josh Gerstein and Mike Allen - POLITICO.com:

"President Barack Obama’s attempt to project legal and moral clarity on coercive CIA interrogation methods has instead done the opposite — creating confusion and political vulnerability over an issue that has inflamed both the left and right.

In the most recent instance, Director of National Intelligence Dennis Blair acknowledged in a memo to the intelligence community that Bush-era interrogation practices yielded had 'high-value information,” then omitted that admission from a public version of his assessment.

That leaves a top Obama administration official appearing to validate claims by former Vice President Dick Cheney that waterboarding and other techniques the White House regards as torture were effective in preventing terrorist attacks. And the press release created the impression the administration was trying to suppress this conclusion."

Contemptible.

Wash Post Says Hill Briefed on Waterboarding in 2002

Hill Briefed on Waterboarding in 2002: "In Meetings, Spy Panels' Chiefs Did Not Protest, Officials Say

By Joby Warrick and Dan Eggen
Washington Post Staff Writers
Sunday, December 9, 2007; A01

In September 2002, four members of Congress met in secret for a first look at a unique CIA program designed to wring vital information from reticent terrorism suspects in U.S. custody. For more than an hour, the bipartisan group, which included current House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.), was given a virtual tour of the CIA's overseas detention sites and the harsh techniques interrogators had devised to try to make their prisoners talk."

They are Shocked, Just Shocked, To Hear That KSM Was Waterboarded!

Top legislators knew of interrogations - Washington Times:

"The CIA briefed top Democrats and Republicans on the congressional intelligence committees more than 30 times about enhanced interrogation techniques, according to intelligence sources who said the lawmakers tacitly approved the techniques that some Democrats in Congress now say should land Bush administration officials in jail."...

Those who were briefed included current House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, Sen. John D. Rockefeller IV of West Virginia and Rep. Jane Harman of California, all Democrats, and Sen. Pat Roberts of Kansas, Sen. Richard C. Shelby of Alabama and Rep. Peter Hoekstra of Michigan, all Republicans.

This is probably the biggest reason the President will only go so far in placating MoveOn.org.

Texans - Write Your State Rep!

The Texas Senate has voted to accept the $555M in federal stimulus money for unemployment. This is the $555M that Governor Perry has vowed to veto on the grounds that taking these funds will commit Texas to future unfunded expenditures which will force the state to raise taxes.

The bill goes now to the House, where it is currently expected to pass. Write your representative to urge them to oppose this violation of our sovereignty. Here's my email to my rep:

I am writing to urge you to oppose the acceptance of $555M in federal stimulus aid for unemployment benefits. The reason for my opposition is that the stipulations that go along with the money require Texas to expand state programs indefinitely into the future, with no promise of continued federal funding. The federal government has no business dictating to TX what to do with OUR money - we did send it to Washington, after all. We have a right to live within our means.

You, I presume, took an oath of office to uphold the constitution and sovereignty of the State of Texas. That oath trumps any personal devotion to your party or to the President. Do your duty. Stand up for Texas.
Thank You

Also, it looks like the bill will pass the House. Governor Perry is expected to veto it, and his veto is expected to be upheld. Please write to the Governor to support him in this controversy.

What Do These Cities Have in Common?

Notes from the Lege: "Forbes Magazine ranks Austin as the “Best Big Cities For Jobs” in it’s recent issue. In fact all of the top 5 cities in this category are from Texas.

1. Austin
2. Houston
3. San Antonio
4. Fort Worth/Arlington
5. Dallas/Plano"

Despite our horrible schools, terrible health care system, low taxes, big carbon footprint, and offshore drilling, somehow Texas' economy comes out on top, again and again. Just think how great Texas' economy will be after we start to benefit from the President's many "investments" in economic growth!

Insulting the Intelligence of the American People - .0028% !!!

IBDeditorials.com: Editorials, Political Cartoons, and Polls from Investor's Business Daily -- Fiscal Nanosurgery:

"When President Obama directed his Cabinet to cut $100 million out of the budget, it looked at first like a misprint. That's barely enough to count as a rounding error.

Indeed, the only hard part about meeting the president's goal will be finding programs small enough to fit under that bar. In making the announcement, Obama talked about earning the public's trust on spending. Apparently, he thinks people put a low value on trust.

Measured against the $3.6 trillion budget Obama issued weeks ago, the cuts amount to 0.0028%."

The President thinks you're stupid enough to take this seriously.

Thought police muscle up in Britain | This is No Joke!

Thought police muscle up in Britain | The Australian:

"In September 2006, a 14-year-old schoolgirl, Codie Stott, asked a teacher if she could sit with another group to do a science project as all the girls with her spoke only Urdu. The teacher's first response, according to Stott, was to scream at her: 'It's racist, you're going to get done by the police!' Upset and terrified, the schoolgirl went outside to calm down. The teacher called the police and a few days later, presumably after officialdom had thought the matter over, she was arrested and taken to a police station, where she was fingerprinted and photographed. According to her mother, she was placed in a bare cell for 3 1/2 hours. She was questioned on suspicion of committing a racial public order offence and then released without charge."

Political correctness run horribly amok. Before you tell yourself it couldn't happen here, look at what happened to Miss California at the Miss USA pageant. She was ambushed by a gay rights activist judge, Perez Hilton, and held up to public ridicule for daring to say, in response to his question at the pageant, that she believed in the traditional definition of marriage (after asserting that she accepted the fact that others had a different point of view).

Hat tip to Mark Steyn for the article from the Australian. Listen to Dennis Prager's show yesterday and/or today for his thought on this incident and its larger social implications.