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."

We Are Winning in Afghanistan, Though Work Remains to Be Done

Max Boot  "I do not, by any means, suggest that all the news from Afghanistan is great. As Mansoor and I note, governance and Pakistan sanctuaries remain difficult challenges, and the eastern part of the country — where there are a lot of Pashtuns — has not yet seen the kind of concerted counterinsurgency campaign that has taken place in the south. (There simply aren’t enough troops even now to pacify both south and east at the same time.) But overall, we are making great progress with the surge, which, after all, has only just been completed."

NATO Push Deals Taliban a Setback in Kandahar  "As the Obama administration reviews its strategy in Afghanistan, residents and even a Taliban commander say the surge of American troops this year has begun to set back the Taliban in parts of their southern heartland and to turn people against the insurgency — at least for now. "

The socialist president plays host to capitalism

Dana Milbank, Washington Post  "Obama has a long climb to overcome the reputation that he is hostile to business; the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, inflamed by health-care reform and Obama's climate-change policy, is on record accusing him of a "general attack on our free enterprise system." But on Wednesday, he began to implement his pro-business business plan.
"Before walking to meet the 20 corporate chiefs, Obama delivered a speech that, in the space of just four minutes, included seven mentions of jobs, six of growth or growing, and two of hiring. "Spurring economic growth is what I'll talk about later this morning when I meet with some of America's top business leaders," the president said. (READ: I am a capitalist!) "That includes Jim McNerney of Boeing, who also heads up my Export Council, and several members of my Economic Recovery Advisory Board." (READ: Some of my best friends are capitalists!)"

The Decline of Marrige in the Middle Class

Heritage  "In what he terms the “separate and unequal” state of marriage among socioeconomic classes, Wilcox found that middle-class Americans (those holding only a high school diploma) were much more likely to experience divorce and to have children out-of-wedlock than more highly educated citizens. While many Americans still hold a high regard for the institution of marriage, they are also increasingly tolerant of pre-marital sex, cohabitation, and non-marital childbearing. These attitudes are most prominent in the middle class, where the cultural battle for the health of marriage is raging."

… And Baby Makes Two   "Studies have found that children born to single mothers are vastly more likely to be poor, have behavioral and psychological problems, drop out of high school, and themselves go on to have out-of-wedlock children."
Slate