Our “Pay No Attention to that Man Behind the Curtain” Moment

Victor Davis Hanson  "An Obama speech echoing boilerplate themes such as “there are no red states, there are no blue states” today simply could not be given — the laughing in the audience would be far too much. After Eric Holder’s “cowards” outburst, the beer summit, Van Jones, the slurs against Arizona, and the video appeals targeted at particular racial groups, the public takes for granted that a Rev. Wright, the clingers speech, “typical white person,” and Michelle’s angst ... were disturbing premonitions rather than rightwing racialist paranoias."

Oh my: No invite for Obama to British royal wedding

Hot Air  "Exit question: Deliberate omission by the royal family aimed at repaying Obama’s chilliness towards the UK, or simple pragmatism aimed at keeping this mega clusterfark of security concerns surrounding the wedding from becoming a super ultra mega clusterfark? Or could there be … another explanation?"

Royal Flush: Obamas Snubbed, Not invited to Prince William's wedding  "Uninvited: Royal sources have revealed that President Obama and his wife Michelle are not going to be invited to the Royal wedding as it is not classed as a state occasion.

"But the decision to exclude the American premier and his wife Michelle from the celebrations marks a break from tradition.

"Prince Charles and Princess Diana invited then-American president Ronald Reagan and his wife Nancy to their 1981 ceremony – though she came alone because the president was too ill to travel following an assassination attempt on him."
"A senior courtier said: ‘It is certainly not the case that all foreign heads of state will be excluded. The guest list is still being drawn up and could change, but as things stand it’s right (to say Mr Obama will not be invited).’"  UK Daily Mail: Snub for Obamas as Royal sources reveal they will not be invited to Prince William's wedding


UK Daily Mail

  Maybe this is why:  Obama Disses Brits, Will Media Miss?  "It appears that President Obama is dissing the Brit's most famous and stalwart leader by quickly returning the most famous bust of the man loaned to this country by the United Kingdom in the aftermath of 9//11. The return of the bust of Churchill flustered the British government because they didn't ask for it to be returned. Our best ally was nonplussed and even quickly told Obama he could keep it in the Oval Office where Bush had displayed the piece of art. Obama told them no thanks which made the Brits even more amazed."

The Red Cross bans Christmas

UK Daily Mail  "Christmas has been banned by the Red Cross from its 430 fund-raising shops.
"Staff have been ordered to take down decorations and to remove any other signs of the Christian festival because they could offend Moslems.
"The charity's politically-correct move triggered an avalanche of criticism and mockery last night - from Christians and Moslems.
Via the California Chronicle, Santa Maria, Ca.

Cities May Not Ban Federal Military Recruitment Targeting Minors

The Volokh Conspiracy "The [Arcata, Cal. and Eureka. Cal.] ordinances purport to bar the federal government from “recruit[ing], initiat[ing] contact with for the purpose of recruiting, or promot[ing] the future enlistment of any person under the age of eighteen into any branch of the United States Armed Forces.” They also subject military recruiters to civil penalties for each infraction...."

Can Congress Force You to Be Healthy?

NY Times  "When the health care law makes it to the Supreme Court, the justices will ask, with varying degrees of concern, this age-old question: How do we define the limits, because limits there must be, on this federal power?
"Judge Hudson has presented a way for the court to finally answer this question. His opinion is the first prominent judgment to say that Congress can use its power over interstate commerce only to regulate “activity,” as opposed to a lack of action."
Jason Mazzone is a professor at Brooklyn Law School.

Ramirez on the Lame Ducks

http://townhall.com/cartoons/MichaelRamirez/

US eases military pressure on Iran, tries concessions

USS Truman is distanced from Iranian waters

DEBKAfile "Obama thus abandoned the military posture he adopted only six weeks ago to bring its rulers to heel by a buildup of naval strength opposite Iran's waters. It was then that he consigned the USS Abraham Lincoln to the Persian Gulf, raising the number of aircraft carriers deployed there to three, including the French Charles de Gaulle.
"But the US president decided to change tactics before the new round of nuclear negotiations between the six powers ((US, Russia, UK, France, China and Germany) and Iran took off."
In a related story, the British prime minister sent a conciliatory letter to Chancellor Hitler stressing his government's desire to reduce tensions.

Obama/Republican Tax Compromise Better for Low-Income Americans

Score: Tax bill: passed; spending bill: pulled. Two different bills, remember.

Tax Foundation " The current compromise tax proposal agreed to by President Obama and Republicans in Congress would be more generous to low-income workers than the competing proposal favored by Democrats in the House of Representatives, according to a new report by the Tax Foundation.
"Less affluent taxpayers would benefit in large part from the proposed one-year cut in the payroll tax, a key element of the White House compromise plan, but one that is lacking in the Democrat-supported tax bill passed earlier this year in the House. "

2011 TAX CALCULATOR "Last updated December 10th, 2010 - includes new compromise plan and payroll taxes.
"Fill out the left-hand column and click Calculate to estimate your 2011 tax bill under various scenarios: " mytaxburden.org

Congress Passes Tax Deal "In the bill's sweep, Congress signaled a return to tax cutting as a principal engine of driving economic growth, especially compared with Mr. Obama's 2009 stimulus bill, which put more emphasis on government spending. Coming after the Democratic losses in November's midterm elections the playbook this time was more in keeping with Republican orthodoxy."

From Italy: Obama and Clinton: the Two Presidents (Obama e Clinton, i due presidenti)

terrellaftermath

Watching America "...Barack Obama has conveyed a very different message to his citizens; that of not being able to govern and of needing a public defender for his choices. And, moreover, he is conveying that he has lost the charm and communication skills which, two years ago, pushed him before the wind and drove him to the White House."


Can we win in Afghanistan?

Blackfive  "I have said for a considerable time that we couldn't afford to lose in Afghanistan as it would give the Islamists a huge propaganda victory and turbo charge their recruiting and fundraising. I still believe that, but I am forced to look at the reality of the situation, both in theater and back here."

Obama's post-election strategy has cost us the war "At the most important decision point of his tenure to date, Mr. Obama failed on multiple levels. His strategy was unsound, underresourced and crippled by having a built-in expiration date, and his two top diplomats remained in their jobs despite near-zero rapport with either Afghanistan or Pakistan. What a different position we could be in now if Zalmay Khalilzad had replaced Mr. Holbrooke, Ryan Crocker had replaced Mr. Eikenberry and Mr. Obama had sent the number of troops the military needed for the mission without announcing their return dates."  


The ditherer-in-chief; Obama's dithering has cost us in our war against al Qaeda allies and his dithering on the economy is costing us jobs and prosperity. If more people like Obama get into power, this entire nation will become California, the poster child for progressive rule.

The Tea Party is Back

Heritage  "Two hundred and thirty-seven years ago last night, a group of colonists disguised as Indians boarded British merchant ships and dumped an estimated £10,000 worth of tea into Boston Harbor. This Boston Tea Party, which John Adams described as the “grandest event which has ever yet happened since the controversy with Britain opened,” was not just a protest about taxation. Our forefathers did not destroy tea because of a simple tax dispute. The 1773 Tea Party were protesting the process by which the British government taxed them. They were fundamentally rejecting the way the British were governing them.
Last night, the spirit of the Tea Party won another major victory when ...Harry Reid ... was forced to drop his $1.27 trillion, 1,924-page omnibus spending bill. The problem with Reid’s omnibus spending bill was not just its size—although our federal government does spend far too much of other people’s money—but the way it was drafted and forced on the American people.

McConnell throws Reid under the Omnibus  "Michael Geer points out that with the omnibus bill pulled, the odious Food Safety Bill -- essentially a massive federal power grab -- also dies (at least for now). The next Congress will surely see similar legislation introduced, so we must continue to inform the public of the danger of putting unelected bureaucrats in the position of regulating the smallest details of food production."

How Republicans defeated a $1.1 trillion bill  "In the ensuing clamor to leave the chamber after a long-day’s work, senior Republicans hailed Reid’s shift as a capitulation — a move not only right, but necessary in this political climate."....
"Democrats looking for a silver lining may take comfort in the fact that the bill’s failure opens up time on the Senate calendar for deliberation on the DREAM Act, an immigration cause célèbre on the left, and repeal of the military’s ‘Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell’ policy on homosexuality. Reid said he intends to pursue weekend votes on both items."

Pork pulled, tax cuts passed, fiscal hawks ascendant.  "The swelling revolt among Democrats throughout this town will continue to propagate and grow. It will be fascinating to see how the political year unfolds. Will the wild wing of the party seek a primary challenger to Obama? Will a number of Democrats switch parties and join the Republicans as is rumored? Will vulnerable Senate Democrats cut new deals with the Republicans? And what will be the relationship between Speaker Nancy Pelosi and the White House when she is in the minority and out of power and Obama still is with his Mandarins in the Oval Office? Pelosi’s relationship is said to be frigid at best with Obama. How she reacts will be entertaining."

Beware of Lame-Duck Dems on the Verge of Losing Power

Pajamas Media  "Faced with what may well turn out to be the end of an era, they’re attempting to do what soon to be out of office Dems have historically done: milk the remaining time for all it’s worth, and take actions they would never dare if they had to face the voters again.
"Lame-duck mischief is indeed a time-honored Democratic Party tradition."

Christmas Without Christ

Wikipedia photo

Culture and Media Institute "Two years of Christmas coverage on three networks produced a scant 1.3 percent of stories mentioning the deity. The true message of Christmas, the miraculous birth of Jesus Christ, has simply been ignored by the mainstream media."

McDonald's suit over Happy Meal toys by California mom Monet Parham new low in responsible parenting

NY Post  "You’re probably wondering: How is this grounds for a lawsuit? No one forced Parham to take her daughters to McDonald’s, buy them that particular menu item, and sit by as they ate every last French fry in the bag (if they did).

"No, she’s suing because when she said no, her kids became disagreeable and “pouted” – for which she wants class action status. If she gets it, McDonald’s isn’t the only company that should worry. Other kids pout because parents won’t get them 800-piece Lego sets, Madame Alexander dolls and Disney World vacations. Are those companies going to be liable too?"

Obama's ego keeps getting in the way of politics

Rick Moran  "Once you start a list, and the evidence is right before your eyes, it is truly shocking to realize how much of an incompetent politician Obama really is. Forget his missteps as a statesman or as chief executive. This aspect of the Obama's failure is much more damning because it is directly linked to his ability to get things done.
"And in that department, he is found wanting."