Monday, June 29, 2009

Lost Influence

The Hondurans coups is a sign that the current administration has no influence is the world, today. Not even a crack-pot central American general cares about what the US thinks. What happened in central America while Jimmy Carter was president? Oh, yeah. Cold War.
via Hot Air

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The efforts accelerated over the weekend, as Washington grew increasingly alarmed. “The players decided, in the end, not to listen to our message,” said one U.S. official involved in the diplomacy. On Sunday, the U.S. embassy here tried repeatedly to contact the Honduran military directly, but was rebuffed.

Friday, June 26, 2009

ObamaCare

Frightening accounts of national health care in Canada and the UK. (video)

Tuesday, June 23, 2009

This Sounds Familiar

I knew that President Obama's response to the Iranian unrest sounded familiar. It dawned on me, yesterday that it reflects his response to Russia invading Georgia during the presidential campaign. McCain immediately (and instinctively) recognized that Russia was the aggressor and he voiced this opinion. Obama generically called on both sides to stop. Today, it is no different - except Obama is president. LAT

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McCain's outspoken criticism of Iran's government for its violence mirrors his strong denunciations last summer when Russia invaded the democratic country of Georgia.

Obama, who was vacationing in Hawaii at the time, was more measured initially, calling on both sides to stop fighting. He later changed tone more in favor of the invaded democracy.

Saturday, June 20, 2009

Melee

Just when youthought you were watching all of the angles on Iran - the mullahs, the opposition, and how the US is responding. Hot Air.

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Update (AP): CNN is airing YouTube vids of today’s brutality nonstop, which makes me think American public opinion of the regime will soon be so poisonous as to make diplomacy impossible. The One simply won’t be able to justify shaking these cretins’ bloody hands. If that’s so, it means negotiations are dead and a desperate Israeli attack on Iran’s nuclear sites is assured — unless the regime is overthrown. The stakes couldn’t be higher.

One Big Mistake

It's all unfolding as history tells it will. Weak President of the United States and the rogue regimes of the the world are unafraid to act. North Korea feels free to lash out, unafraid of US consequences. And Iran is free to suppress an uprising. The protesters get no support from the US. It's going to be a very long presidential term. And much harm will be done in the world before it's over. Krauthammer on Obama and Iran:

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All hangs in the balance. The Khamenei regime is deciding whether to do a Tiananmen. And what side is the Obama administration taking? None. Except for the desire that this “vigorous debate” over election “irregularities” not stand in the way of U.S.-Iranian engagement on nuclear weapons.

Even from the narrow perspective of the nuclear issue, the administration’s geopolitical calculus is absurd. There is zero chance that any such talks will denuclearize Iran. The only hope for a resolution of the nuclear question is regime change.

That’s our fundamental interest. And our fundamental values demand that America stand with demonstrators opposing a regime that is the antithesis of all we believe.

And where is our president? Afraid of “meddling.” This from a president who fancies himself the restorer of America’s moral standing in the world.

Friday, June 05, 2009

Inflation not from Deficit

Larry Kudlow on inflation:

Rising inflation and interest rates are always a monetary problem. When Dick Cheney said a few years ago that deficits don’t matter, he was basically right. There is no clear relationship between budget deficits, inflation, and interest rates. In fact, for most of the’80s and ’90s, and much of the 2000s (excepting the 2003–05 bubble), interest rates and inflation fell while deficits averaged over $200 billion a year and got as high as 6 percent of GDP at some points. This is because Paul Volcker and Alan Greenspan restrained money-supply growth in a non-inflationary manner.

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With clear signs of economic recovery on the horizon, some are now calling for an end to the unnecessary stimulus package and a de-TARPing across-the-board. Along with a big rise in the money supply, there’s been a rebound in commodities, a stabilization in housing, falling unemployment claims, a booming stock market, narrowing credit spreads, and rising ISM manufacturing reports. All this is telling us that additional stimulus is unnecessary.