Monthly Archives: March 2011

Whew, That’s A Relief!

NBC reports on the reaction to President Obama’s speech last night in Tripoli: I can tell you that the whole, the atmospherics here of the government officials and minders is very different. They had gone to ground for a number of days: very quiet, very tense. They’re looking much more themselves: much more bellicose, much more defiant in the past 24 hours. Why would that be? I would think, it’s »

How not to defuse anti-Muslim bigotry

Commentary’s Alana Goodman picks up one of the stranger moments of Senator Dick Durbin’s hearing on “Protecting the Civil Rights of American Muslims.” It came today when Senator Jon Kyl’s began questioning Farhana Khera, the executive director of Muslim Advocates, about whether she would condemn death threats against other minorities – and Khera undertook the dance to which he have become accustomed. As Goodman puts it, she “seemed to try »

Dilbert Goes Green

A friend emailed this Dilbert cartoon, which just came out today: »

Drill, Finally, Drill!

Doc Hastings, Chairman of the House Natural Resources Committee, introduced legislation today to try to reverse some of the Obama administration’s anti-energy policies: The Putting the Gulf Back to Work Act would end the Obama Administration’s de facto moratorium in the Gulf of Mexico in a safe, responsible, transparent manner by setting firm time-lines for considering permits to drill, which provide certainty and allow employers and workers to get back »

Marching Orders

This is pretty funny: a group of Senate Democrats headed by Chuck Schumer held a conference call with reporters to talk about the Dems’ position on the budget. Not realizing that the reporters were already on the line, and apparently not being familiar with the “mute” button, Schumer started instructing his colleagues: Mr. Schumer told them to portray John Boehner of Ohio, the Speaker of the House, as painted into »

How About Syria?

Of the multiple rebellions now going on across the Arab world, the one with most potential to damage American interests is in Egypt, with Yemen perhaps a close second. The revolt with the most potential to advance American interests is taking place in Syria. Strangely, the Obama administration has taken a negative attitude toward that uprising, apparently on the inexplicable ground that it considers Assad a “reformer.” Syria under Assad »

Obama’s Inner Bracket

Zombie is perhaps best known for documenting the looniness of the left in her home town of San Francisco. She also, however, is an astute observer of Presidential politics. Inspired by the remarkable media interest in President Obama’s NCAA bracket picks, Zombie decided to map the President’s “personal hierarchy of priorities, beliefs, behaviors and traits” in the form of a bracket. Here is the result; it is funny, but also, »

Wisconsin update

A faithful reader writes with a report from Hudson, Wisconsin, just across the St. Croix River from Minnesota, about 20 minutes from St. Paul: I was just talking with one of my co-workers here in Hudson as to an experience she had with someone canvasing her neighborhood looking for signatures to try and get a recall going against Sheila Harsdorf, one of our brave Senators looking out for the taxpayer »

Thumper Obama

No, that’s not his World Wrestling Federation handle. It’s a reference to his abominable speaking style. First, a time out to put this post in context. Forgive me for going to my favorite well, but I can’t help it. Query: Why was Reagan so good at Oval Office speeches (and other venues as well)? Among other things, he was very very spare in his hand gestures. This is a simple »

More slush from the limp, cont’d

President Obama took the podium tonight to reiterate the rationale supporting our participation in the limited attack on the Qaddafi regime. I was struck by the tone (literally) of Obama’s remarks. As I heard it, Obama’s tone was was angry and defensive. The speech was as a result extraordinarily uninspirational and even difficult to understand. John Hinderaker struggles manfully below. If you’ve been paying attention, the song remains the same. »

Obama on Libya: How Did He Do?

Tonight President Obama addressed the American people on Libya, something that he chose not to do when he initially ordered our military involvement there. Instead, he made a terse announcement and left for Latin America. Now, a couple of weeks later and with poll data looking weak, he decided to deliver the usual speech to the American people. Was tonight’s speech effective? You can read it here. In my opinion, »

Appearing Soon: the Twelfth Imam

The Iranian government has produced a propaganda film that argues the conditions foretold by prophecy are now being fulfilled, so that the emergence of the Twelfth Imam, the Mahdi, is at hand. CBN News reports: The propaganda footage has reportedly been approved at the highest levels of the Iranian government. It’s called The Coming is Near and it describes current events in the Middle East as a prelude to the »

Back to the Sports Desk

I’m clearly falling down on the job of keeping up the Power Line sports book, as promised back in January. And I gather there’s some kind of college basketball tournament under way at the moment, but I leave that kind of thing to better qualified collegiate analysts. Like Obama. Of much more interest to those who revel in carbon footprints is the Monster Jam World Finals that have just wrapped »

Veena Malik Speaks

Who is Veena Malik? She is a Pakistani entertainer, apparently very famous in that part of the world. Her web site is here. She has been threatened with death by the Taliban. In this MEMRI clip from Pakistani television, Malik mounts a fiery self-defense against a bullying Muslim cleric. Via Jonah Goldberg at The Corner. Pakistan needs many, many more like Veena Malik. »

Whose side is he on?

The Washington Post’s Jackson Diehl headlines his column on the administration’s renewed push for a Israel/PA peace deal with a question referring to President Obama: “whose side is he on?” Good question! I think I know the answer, and I think Diehl does too. Diehl writes: “Obama continues to believe that Israel’s government, and not the Palestinians, is the primary obstacle to peace.” Diehl quotes a story from last week »

Conspiracy Theories Take Over Key NATO Ally

The latest development in the saga of the Imam’s Army suggests a novel development in political history: Conspiracy theories–which you would not think capable of agency or intention–have quietly, secretly penetrated every organ of the Turkish body politic, where they have been lying in wait patiently, waiting for the signal from their hidden master. They have, as of today, taken control. Whoever we think we’re dealing with, they’re not really »

Free Enterprise vs. National Socialism

General Electric, along with General Motors, is the prototype of Big Business in the Age of Obama. GE bills itself as the world’s largest industrial company; currently it ranks #4 in the Fortune 500, with revenues in 2010 of around $156 billion. All has not been well at GE, however. Since 2002, the company has laid off around 20 percent of its work force in the U.S., while expanding its »