You Can Run, But You Can't Hide

And run he did right up until Sunday afternoon, yesterday.  Osama bin Laden, that scurrilous cockroach, born into untold Oil riches, who then turned those riches into a trail of bloody death, met his own bloody end - and his Maker, who I am sure will have a thing or two to tell him before his ultimate consignment to Hell.

RIP?  I think not.

Of course, 'tis odd that he was found hiding in plain sight, in a million dollar, security intensified residence, within a mile of a Pakistani military academy.  Mayhap our Pakistani friends will turn over a new leaf now that this embarrassment has gone public?  That is, assuming they are capable of embarrassment.

And beyond odd, Osama's remains were buried at sea?  What, our government wants to give the Birth Certificate brigade something to do now that our President has produced his long-form?  Expect many tedious Death Certificate conspiracies in the coming years.

All that said, this is a great day, too long in coming, and congrats are in order for our Commander in Chief.

A Quick Political Prediction

Comments and opinions are one thing, but how about a prediction or two?  Here's where I stick my neck way out: The Republican field for the Presidency has a gaping hole in its center.  Gingrich, Romney, Pawlenty, and Paul do not excite anyone, much less the base that will be needed in any national run.  With Barbour's exit and Christie and Ryan's adamantine-like refusal to run,  what are Republicans to do? Don't worry; Sarah Palin is on the way.  She has cleverly reduced her profile the last few months, to let the sharks and piranhas of the press turn their addled attentions elsewhere for a while.  She even convinced many of the conservative punditocracy that she preferred all the money from her media gigs and would not be running.   But she will run, and when she announces, it will be explosive. Watch for it.  And watch for her initial talking points to be the subject of national debate right up until election day.  She has a knack for such things, a knack that will enable her to do the most important thing in any Presidential run, the thing that no one else, Republican or Democrat (including our over-rated Communicator in Chief), has shown any ability to do: set the terms for debate. And she who sets the terms for debate shall win the debate.  And the Presidency.

Breaking: Divine Right of Kings is Back.....

....if the Church of the UN has anything to do about it.  That reverent organization is preparing to consider a global Treaty brought forth by its most zealous proselyte, Bolivia, which wants to establish the rights of Mother Earth against ..... oh, I don't know, I guess all of us.  I can't think of any other animal or vegetable who might care what the minerals need or desire. The formula is simple: pick a god, any god, and posit that its interests supersede the interests of human type people.  Of course, the god's interests can only be divined by the holiest of human type people.  These are then appointed King or 12th Imam or Commissar or President for Life or something, and proceed to make sure the god's Commandments are carried out on earth, usually from the comfort of some plush Palace.  For now, the God Gaia's will is being channeled through such devout stalwarts of human happiness as the beloved Leaders of Bolivia, Venezuela, Ecuador, and Nicaragua.  What could go wrong? Look for the next major revelation from the divinely inspired: God Gaia likes dinero, especially Yankee dinero.

Obama is Bad at Politics!

Then what is he good at?

Jay Cost at The Weekly Standard makes the case for Obama's ineptitude.

A good article, although about 1 1/2 years late. The Mercurial Pundit discovered our President's deficiencies way back in October of 2009.

The Other Shoe

Let's see, Mubarak, bad and he must go. Gaddafi, bad and he must go, and we'll send in the military to make it so. On the other hand, Iran, not so bad; nuking up and killing civilians notwithstanding. Syria, not so bad; nuking up, killing civilians, arming terrorists, notwithstanding. Is there a pattern here?

The Gaddafi one is the puzzle, not least because the Crazed One is not doing much more to his people than Iran did to the Green Revolution of 2009. Why is our President so willing to intervene militarily this time? But then I remember that this tin-pot dictator, thug, and murderer of the last 20 some years turned over a new leaf somewhere around 2005. He gave us all of his nuclear materials and has been a major, major source of intel and help in our fight against al Qaeda. In other words, he has been an ally, just like Mubarak. An ally who is now being pressed, not by "freedom fighters," but by al Qaeda backed forces.

Toss in the public contempt this Administration has shown for Israel over the last few years, and the puzzle pieces fall into place. America's allies, America's national security interests, the very underpinnings of American Middle-East strategy the last decades, are all being thrown under the bus. Does he really want the likes of Iran and Syria to dominate the region? Does he really think that would make things better in the world?

It really doesn't matter what he thinks, because we know what he is doing. And I think Saudi Arabia and others are following very closely Obama's other shoe - when will it drop and in what direction?

Sigh

Peter Wehner weighs in on the latest Presidential horse-race poll, and sadly veers off into increasingly tiresome peevishness.  There is a certain type of conservative who just can't abide Sarah Palin, which is to say, they can't abide any conservative who is high-profile enough to merit serious mainstream media push-back.  Chris Christie is a delightful exception to this rule, which Mr. Wehner makes abundantly clear, but I dare say if the Governor does enter the Presidential sweepstakes and the media does inundate him with 1/2 of the vitriol they have poured on Ms. Palin, Mr. Wehner will suddenly discover that Mr. Christie lacks the maturity" or the "temperament" or the "seriousness of purpose" required to top the Wehner like-o-meter.

Mr. Wehner concludes:

Ms. Palin has also suffered in contrast to other Republicans, and most especially Republican governors, many of whom embody a maturity, a proper governing temperament, and a seriousness of purpose. Compared to what Christie, Mitch Daniels, Scott Walker, Bob McDonnell, Bobby Jindal, and other lawmakers are doing, Palin seems to be shrinking before our eyes.

For what it's worth, I would ask Mr. Wehner to take a seriously objective look at Ms. Palin's career both before and after she was tapped for the Vice-Presidency and the national spot-light, and he might find the very definition of maturity, temperament, and seriousness of purpose. He might start with the way she took on the entrenched governing elite of her own party and won. Then he might take a look at the way she broke the back of the corporatist oil lobby in Alaska and successfully put together one of the largest pipeline projects on record - all to the benefit of her State and it's citizens. Then he might ... well, again, just look at her record.

Mr. Wehner's problem is not that he has a problem with Ms. Palin. It's that he brings to his analysis of the poll a non sequitor. Governor Christie is doing remarkable work in New Jersey; but instead of lauding the Governor, Wehner focuses instead on tearing down Ms. Palin. Why are her poll numbers down near Reid and Pelosi? There are myriad reasons, not least of which is that she herself has withdrawn from the public spotlight. For a politician as canny as she is, this ought to give a serious pundit pause to wonder. But instead of enlightening us with some learned speculation, Mr. Wehner resorts to two year old cliches that she lacks "basic knowledge about public policy," and WTF claims that she is unable "to articulate a compelling case for conservatism."

Again, just look at her record, and also the compelling performances she gives that draws crowds of conservatives in numbers never before seen. She makes the case for conservatism, boy and how!

Sigh.

Repeal

The House passes a repeal of Obamacare by a margin greater than the original enactment.  Democrats predict the repeal bill will be DOA in the Senate. If so, yesterday was a good day to die.  A very good day.  We'll see what the post-mortem judgment will be for the Democrats after the 2012 elections.

Hot Time in Cancun

The Climate Conference has taken it's carbon emitting show on the road again, this time to Cancun. After several long, lazy days frolicking in the sun, you would think it might occur to them that a big, hot ball in the sky plays some role in warming trends on Planet Earth. However, you would be wrong:

The Cancun deal commits all countries to keeping temperature rise below 2C (3.6F) by reducing emissions. Rich countries have agreed to consider an extension of the Kyoto Protocol while poor countries will sign up to emission cuts for the first time. There are also a series of key decisions on setting up a green fund to help poor countries cope with climate change and halting deforestation.

"Reducing emissions." That's climate-speak for "reducing economic activity," which is in turn a policy wonks way of saying "reducing human attempts to survive and prosper."

These Climate worshippers are nothing more than Luddites with expense accounts.

 Continue.....

Christian Values

Although there is something a little chilling when Germany veers towards a renewed nativism, nevertheless, German Chancellor Angela Merkel recently made some of the healthiest comments I have heard in a long while regarding Muslim immigration and assimilation, comments that bear strongly on our own immigration issues.

Of particular interest is her demand that immigrants adopt "Christian values."  Contrary to the inevitable hysteria from the Left warning of an incipient theocracy, Merkel is referring to Christian societal prohibitions on forced marriages and the like.  As such, she is equating Christian values with Western liberal democratic values, as opposed to, say, totalitarian systems like Sharia.

Translating to America, this is no less true.  As Calvin Coolidge reminded us in one of the great Presidential speeches of all time, our founding principles of tolerance, freedom, and democracy were born out of decades of preaching from the Christian churches enunciating just those same principles.  For instance, Coolidge tells us that it was the Rev. John Wise of Massachusetts who wrote a book in 1717 on the principles of civil government.  Reprinted in 1772, this book was declared to "have been nothing less than a textbook of liberty for our Revolutionary fathers." 

Christian values in the American sense are precisely the founding principles of the Republic as expressed in the Declaration of Independence, the Constitution and the Federalist Papers, and there is simply no reason to take any immigrant into this country who has a problem with such things.

And for the same reason, there is simply no reason to exclude religion and religious talk from the public square, as has been the goal of our societal betters since the 1960's.  But that is another subject that I shall leave for later.

Obama Audaciously Suspicious

This just in from your President: Citizens who decide to engage in the public debate prior to an election are ..... suspicious.

White House press spokesperson Robert Gibbs (D., Stay Puff Marshmallow Man) responds to Jake Tapper yesterday about the Administration's attacks on the Chamber of Commerce with the following:

This isn’t just the Chamber. American Crossroads. American Groups for Blue Skies, Mom and Apple Pie. There are all these great groups out there, that we now know they’re doubling down on even more money in this election to influence its outcome.

Funny he didn't include the AFL, CIO, SEIU, and a slue of other alphabet groups out there pumping money into the electoral process. And as far as questionable funding sources, was there anything that topped the suspicious meter like the almost $1 billion raised by Mr. Obama himself in the 2008 elections? Curious how so much of that money came from people with gobble-degook names, located in foreign capitals, and/or in amounts just below the requirement for specific identification. But, well, nothing to see here, people; move along now.

"Spending money to influence the outcome of elections" is another way of saying "getting involved in the democratic process." Which is sub-specie the First Amendment and all those other rights which the President took an oath to uphold and protect.

But I guess the President's oath was just another one of those promises which come with an expiration date.