America Rides Off into the Sunset; The only people excited about the “change” in America's foreign policy are the world’s bad actors.

Victor Davis Hanson ,NRO "But, unfortunately, national leaders themselves do not behave like excited concertgoers or European intellectuals. Instead, they have only long-term self-interests — not temporary emotional crushes — and so seek to expand their influence whenever they can.Obama had better understand that difference. A world without strong U.S. leadership really would become a far more dangerous place where the strong do as they please and the weak obey as they must. After World War II, a reluctant America guaranteed a global system of secure trade and encouraged free-market capitalism and democracy. Both Communist and fascist tyrants fought those efforts, eager to expand totalitarianism beyond their borders. Envious allies and neutral countries that benefited enormously from the American-enforced system resented the high profile of the United States. All that responsibility was unpopular and costly for the United States."

Why 'The Waltons' Are Still Worth Watching

From Breakpoint; "There is no way this show would be accepted as a new series today. In an era that offers seemingly endless violent crime shows like Law and Order, NCIS, Criminal Minds and 24; when we flip the channel to find hefty doses of cynicism and raunch-Desperate Housewives, House, The Family Guy, and South Park—what Hollywood executive would bet on a slow-moving, sex-and-violence free family drama? Who’d watch it?"

Another Obama snub of our European allies

Rick Moran, AT "Now, according to this Steven Erlanger piece in the New York Times, a presidential snub of an all European conference in May is showing European leaders that the US is simply no longer a reliable partner - and that Obama wants it that way:"

House Dem chairmen seek to block new EPA regs on CO2

Clarice Feldman ,AT We owe the founding fathers a great debt for making overreaching power grabs more difficult than they are in other places. Today The Hill brings more proof of their wisdom: House committee chairmen from Minnesota and Missouri are floating legislation to block planned EPA greenhouse gas rules..."

"No opinion" by Greyhawk

Mudville Gazette "One day last summer, in the back of a bug-like armored truck in southern Afghanistan, an American infantryman my own age asked me a question, one I've heard countless times from countless soldiers when they learn that at home, I study at an Ivy League college: What do they think of all this back there, in your world?"

Bruce, you ain't da boss of dis Garden Stater (from 2005)

Jack Cashill "The only kind of politics a Jersey boy could absorb here are the kind that have informed Springsteen’s lyrics ever since—elitist, leftist, and out of touch. He sure as hell didn’t learn about “economic justice,” the progressive code word for socialism, at my exit on the Garden State Parkway." I'm blogging this as a Springsteen fan with a collection of his CDs and XM Satellite channel 58 set as one of my favorites. But so many hours of this man and his "blue-collar schtick" can weigh on one's outlook.

Holocaust Mufti Demanded Slaughter of 400,000 Jews ....and got it

Atlas Shrugs "It is for this reason that I ask your Excellency to do all that is necessary to prohibit the emigration of Jews to Palestine, and in this way your Excellency would give a new practical example of the policy of the naturally allied and friendly Germany towards the Arab Nation. " ...."The Mufti Communicates Anger to Ribbentrop for the Germans' Release of Jews in 1944 ."

Ego, Obama's Achilles' Heel

Lloyd Marcus ,AT "In reality, the Republicans do not have enough votes to stop any item on Obama's unprecedented, far-left, radical agenda. Obama believed that he could silence all dissent from "we the people" by playing the race card. Yes, Obama the all-powerful seemed unstoppable. Who could have ever predicted that the weight of Obama's own arrogance would trigger his demise? "

Our Obama Saga—Part Two. Chapters Five-Six

Victor Davis Hanson "And each according to his station should be excited that he can, must rise to the occasion to ward off this latest challenge to the old notion of a republic of free and independent citizens — who aren’t quite yet willing to surrender what the great generations of the past suffered so much to pass on to us."

Professor of Contempt: The legacy of Howard Zinn.

NRO "In other words, what Zinn offers us is not a corrective, but a distortion. It is as if someone said to you, “Would you like to see Versailles?” and then took you on a tour of a broken shed on the outskirts of the palace grounds. “You see, pretty shabby, isn’t it?” " "Roger Kimball is publisher of Encounter Books, and co-publisher and co-editor of The New Criterion. This essay appears in the February 22, 2010, issue of National Review."

Roadmap to Solvency

Congressman Paul Ryan (R) "The CBO has certified that Ryan’s plan solves the long-term fiscal crisis. Ryan’s proposal has attracted the attention of the president and Office of Management and Budget director Peter Orszag. The Roadmap has proven attractive in light of the debt-exploding budget the administration has submitted to Congress. In a recent conference call with reporters, Orszag said the following:"

Mr. President, Words Matter

Victor Davis Hanson, NRO "In short, throughout the campaign and during the first months of his presidency, Obama globally made the argument that George Bush’s America had done wrong and was part of the world’s problem rather than its solution. But the world garbled Obama’s message, and instead came away with the distinct impression that America itself — whether Bush’s or Obama’s — was the problem. One cannot spend two years blaming America under Bush, and then suddenly claim, “That was then, this is now,” and expect the world to rally to the godhead of Barack Obama and his new, improved America."