President Obama and Bill O'Reilly; the interview

American Thinker  "The point of a good cross-examination is to lead the witness somewhere without the witness realizing where they are headed. This is done through a number of irrefutable leading questions that are easily answered. O’Reilly did this with Obama by starting out by asking if there was a war on terror. "Obama responded in the affirmative.
"The next question was just as crucial, but seemed innocent enough, namely identify the enemies. Obama followed with Al Qaeda, terror cells, and radical Islam coupled with a vague commitment to hunt these terrorists down and eliminate them.
"O’Reilly then did an extraordinary thing..."

UK Guardian

Breaking: Mubarak ‘on verge of quitting’ NO...WAIT!

Via Drudge  "The news came following repeated warnings by members of the regime of a military crackdown or coup.
"Some pro-democracy protesters reacted cautiously, saying they would only believe Mubarak was really resigning when he announced it on state television."

Mubarak Addresses Egypt, Will Not Step Down "President Hosni Mubarak finally addressed his nation after four days of unprecedented demonstrations—but he's not resigning as protesters have demanded. Instead, he's ordered his Cabinet to quit so he can appoint new ministers, reports AP. It's a safe bet that will not satisfy protesters who continue to defy a government-imposed curfew across Egypt. "Mubarak just blamed the government," one protester told CNN after the speech. "We will continue our demonstrations until we get our full demands. We want him to leave. His time is over.""

This is why Tunnel Wall should stay away from news and go with commentary on the news only.

http://townhall.com/cartoons/chuckasay

Obama and the Middle East

Factor this in when learning of Mubarack's actions in days to come.

UK Guardian on oil reserves:  "The US fears that Saudi Arabia, the world's largest crude oil exporter, may not have enough reserves to prevent oil prices escalating, confidential cables from its embassy in Riyadh show.
"The cables, released by WikiLeaks, urge Washington to take seriously a warning from a senior Saudi government oil executive that the kingdom's crude oil reserves may have been overstated by as much as 300bn barrels – nearly 40%."

Saudi King lays down the law to Obama on Egypt  "At a time when America needs a strong and wise leader handling extremely dangerous events int he Middle East, we have a president who has squandered our standing and is seen as weak and amateurish."   How'd that bow to the king work for ya?

Amateur Hour at the White House  "Then, on Tuesday, in another misstep; Obama personally phoned Mubarak and essentially told his Egyptian counterpart it was time to step aside. Mubarak once more declined to oblige, having just said in a speech to the nation he would step down in September. Mubarak’s refusal, however, prompted strong words the following day from Gibbs, who said: “Not September. Now means now.”
"On the weekend, the White House, however, backtracked on its policy regarding Mubarak’s immediate removal. Clinton told journalists removing Mubarak too hastily would threaten the transition to democracy, while Wiesner, who had just asked Mubarak a few days earlier to step down, said at a conference in Munich: “President Mubarak’s role remains extremely critical in the days ahead.”"

Lawmakers criticize Obama’s response to Egypt crisis  "In his conversation with Gen. Suleiman, Mr. Biden reaffirmed that the future of Egypt will be determined by the Egyptian people.
"However, Mr. Ackerman said: "Respecting Egyptian sovereignty is one thing. Maintaining a level of ambiguity so thick that ordinary Egyptians cannot discern whether or not we are on their side is something else altogether.""

The Obama Administration betrays Britain to appease the Russians over New START

UK Telegraph  "The Telegraph report clearly contradicts repeated claims by the Obama negotiating team that no side deals were struck with their Russian counterparts. Not for the first time, the current US administration has been eager to appease America’s enemies while shamelessly undercutting her allies."
Nile Gardiner

http://townhall.com/cartoons/michaelramirez

Top five regulations that American businesses hate most

Daily Caller  "Top GOP oversight official Rep. Darrell Issa asked 150 industry groups which of President Obama’s regulations they think are impeding economic growth.

....

"From more than 100 different new regulations either proposed or finalized by the Obama administration, these are the five business groups hate the most, based on the number of separate organizations that wrote Issa to recommend he look into them:"...

Rich Terrell on Eric Holder

http://terrellaftermath.com/

U.S. report finds no electronic flaws in Toyotas that would cause acceleration

Washington Post  "Government investigators have rejected claims that electronic defects caused Toyota cars and trucks to accelerate out of control, a finding released Tuesday that offers a measure of long-awaited vindication for the world's largest automaker and shifts blame to the drivers who reported the incidents."
The shame passes from Toyota to these litigants and their lawyers who made these charges . Now where does Toyota go to get its reputation back?

This comment from Instapundit: "So can we expect an apology from all the politicians and journalists who jumped at the chance to dump all over Toyota? Perhaps we could have Congressional hearings in which the hacks publicly explain why they dumped on Toyota when it was pretty obvious that this was a rerun of the Audi 5000 hysteria."

An Interesting Prosecution

National Review "Yesterday, the Chronicle of Higher Ed reported that a local district attorney charged eleven University of California students with misdemeanors for disrupting Israeli ambassador Michael Oren’s speech at UC-Irvine last February."....
  "If a student believes they’ve been sexually assaulted, they should call the police, not their R.A. And if protestors rush a stage or commit misdemeanor civil disobedience, then they should answer primarily to law enforcement, not a student disciplinary committee. University students are just as much a part of the local community as any “townie,” and they should be subject to the same local justice."

UC Irvine students, local muslims and supporters, many with mouths taped rallied outside the Orange County District Attorney's office Feb. 1, 2011. They protested potential criminal charges against UCI Muslim student union members arrested last February after disrupting a speech in by the Israeli Ambassador to the United States. The sign says, "Stand with the 11."

Rather ironic photo from the OC Register, don't you think?



Unbiasing Academia

ThreeStooges.net

Megan McArdle in The Atlantic  "Meanwhile, liberals, who are usually quick to assume that underrepresentation represents some form of discrimination--structural or personal--suddenly become, as Haidt notes, fierce critics of the notion that numerical representation means anything.  Moreover, they start generating explanations for the disparity that sound suspiciously like some old reactionary explaining that blacks don't really want to go into management because they're much happier without all the responsibility."....
"Trying to be more conscious of one's own bias, and even to attempt to work against it, should not be such a hard task for people as brilliant, open-minded, and committed to equality and social justice as I keep hearing that liberal academics are. So it doesn't really seem like so much to ask."

Letting PATRIOT Act Provisions Expire Would Be Irresponsible

Heritage Research Report  "With at least 36 known plots foiled since 9/11, the United States continues to face a serious threat of terrorism. As such, national security investigators continue to need these authorities to track down terror leads and dismantle plots before the public is any danger. These three amendments—which have been extensively modified over the years by Congress and now include significant new safeguards, including substantial court oversight—are vital to this success. Congress should not let the sunset provisions expire and should instead seek permanent authorization."

Tea Party Defiance  "...This was the first test of the vote-counting abilities of the House GOP leadership. And either they knew this was going to go down and wanted to make a point, or they were surprised, which means their job in keeping their caucus in line is going to be as tough as the so-called 'Conventional Wisdom' crowd has been predicting."

House rejects measure that would extend key Patriot Act provisions through December  "The measure would have extended three key provisions of the Patriot Act that are set to expire on Monday, Feb. 28, unless Congress moves to reauthorize them. One of the provisions authorizes the FBI to continue using roving wiretaps on surveillance targets; the second allows the government to access "any tangible items," such as library records, in the course of surveillance; and the third is a "lone wolf" provision of the Intelligence Reform and Terrorist Prevention Act that allows for the surveillance of targets who are not connected to an identified terrorist group."

'I Didn't Raise Taxes Once' ; Refreshing the President's memory..

Wall Street Journal  "As for tax increases on individuals, perhaps he forgot the health-care bill's new 0.9 percentage point increase in the Medicare payroll tax for families making over $250,000 and singles over $200,000. That tax increase takes effect in 2013, as will the application of what will be a 3.8% Medicare surtax (up from 2.9% today) to "unearned income" for the first time. This is a tax hike on investment and interest income, which will reduce the incentive to save and invest."

There's this snarky little video done by an amateur.

Change! Feds Are Spying on US Citizens Based on Political Beliefs

Gateway Pundit  "The federal government is now spying on Americans based on their political beliefs. Daily Tech reported:"

The police are watching you. If you’re the wrong religion, they’ll spy on your every move. If you voice the wrong political opinions they’ll be watching you. According to Mike German, a 16-year veteran with the U.S. Federal Bureau of Investigations, this is happening right in the U.S.

But what political beliefs? One commenter writes: (Reproduced as is.)

He never states if the “religious” targets are Muslim extremists or Christians.He never revels(sic) the political leanings,are they progressive,communists socialists or what?
"I mean in some cases,I think the FBI has to do what it has to do."

Another:

But you know that’s not who Obama’s cronies are watching. They are watching conservative and libertarians, Christians, anti-abortion groups, the Tea Party groups, anyone who is opposed to the continuing growth of government and the continuing restrictions on American rights.

We must consider the pattern of this administration. Who would Bill Ayers, Rev. Wright and Bernie Sanders most dislike?