Wisconsin protests veer to the left

Althouse "The protests began with the teachers — well-paid, privileged Wisconsin professionals. After a few days, students took over, aided by union folk bused in from wherever. But the weeks wear on, and people have other things to do. The bill is passed. But the people still show up to the Capitol. Earlier today, there was an anti-war rally. And then, this evening, there were these muddle-headed lefties. A vivid public square is a fine thing. I love it. I celebrate diversity. But the cause of the teachers and the public employees unions brought out the crowds and made the Capitol square the cool place to hang out, and the opportunistic politicos have descended. "

Grievance Politics Barks, King Hearings Move On

Bruce Thornton  "But facts seldom inhibit grievance-politics mongers, whose power and prestige derive from incessantly replaying the melodrama of white racism, xenophobia, and other “irrational fears,” as Eugene Robinson put it in The Washington Post. Hence the panoply of false analogies, cheap pathos, and outright lies that has characterized King’s critics."

That 3 am phone call

http://wpcomics.washingtonpost.com/client/wpc/po/2011/03/17/

The Rise of Samantha Power and the risks for the American- Israel relationship  "As stories leak out regarding who was responsible for Barack Obama's sudden pivot from passivity regarding Libya towards military engagement (albeit with England and France being in the lead) one name has emerged as playing a key role in persuading him to push the button: Samantha Power.
"Her influence might cause qualms among supporters of the American-Israel relationship."

Obama’s Justice Department visual acceleration to global governance

Canada Free Press  "Whether you first learned about this change in the American Spectator which reportedly “broke” the story, or in an article penned by Stephanie Mencimer at Mother Jones who accuses “Obama-haters these days seem to find evidence everywhere of socialism creeping into the federal government,” this issue has never been more important than it is today."

More here

From Back to Basics :  "It is most telling that the quote has been generally attributed to C. Wilfred Jenks, a man “who facilitated a greater role for socialists and communists at the U.N., and the global ‘workers rights movement.’” In 1958, Jenks published a series of essays under the title The Common Law of Mankind, which is actually a compilation of his essays that favor the implementation of International law over the laws of individual nations. His legal writings are quite vast and complex, although his favoritism toward the integration of U.S. law under global governance is clearly evident in his writings.
"The fact that former Attorney General Janet Reno used that quotation in her 2001 address to the graduating class at Cornell is also quite telling. From members of the Council on Foreign Relations from FDR through Clinton, Bush 1.0 and Bush 2.0 and now under the higher octane Obama, the globalist agenda is fast moving and becoming more visible."

Hat tip to Joy Roeder, Garibaldi, Oregon in beautiful Tillamook County.

European governments “completely puzzled” about U.S. position on Libya

Foreign Policy  "Clinton's unwillingness to commit the United States to a specific position led many in the room to wonder exactly where the administration stood on the situation in Libya.
""Frankly we are just completely puzzled," the diplomat said. "We are wondering if this is a priority for the United States."
"On the same day, Clinton had a short meeting with French President Nicolas Sarkozy, in which Sarkozy pressed Clinton to come out more forcefully in favor of action in Libya. She declined Sarkozy's request, according to a government source familiar with the meeting."
 Hat tip to  Weasel Zippers

Charles Krauthammer on the social security fund

Et tu, Jack Lew?  "The relative ease of the fix is what makes the Obama administration's Social Security strategy so shocking. The new line from the White House is: no need to fix it because there is no problem. As Office of Management and Budget Director Jack Lew wrote in USA Today just a few weeks ago, the trust fund is solvent until 2037. Therefore, Social Security is now off the table in debt-reduction talks.

"This claim is a breathtaking fraud."


Jack Lew takes Issue with Krauthammer  "In today’s Washington Post, Charles Krauthammer calls into question the integrity of the Social Security trust fund and the integrity of statements I have made recently about the program. Let’s examine his charges."
Jack Lew is the Director of the Office of Management and Budget.

It’s still an empty lockbox  "Invoking the “full faith and credit” mantra for those IOUs in the trust fund is empty bluster. It does not change the fact that, as the OMB itself acknowledged, those IOUs “do not consist of real economic assets that can be drawn down in the future to fund benefits.” Yet Lew continues to insist that these “special issue” trinkets will pay off seniors for the next 26 years."

Florida circuit court judge allows case to proceed under Islamic law

Jihad Watch  "What was that Hamas-linked CAIR and other Islamic supremacist groups were saying about how it was utterly fanciful that Sharia would ever be used to judge cases in American courts?"
Via Atlas Shrugs.

Florida Judge who Permitted Case to Proceed Based on Sharia Law Appointed by Jeb Bush "Now he has to deal with his appointing a judge who has welcomed Sharia Law into our legal system. It would seem that Judge Nielsen might want to brush up on his knowledge about Article VI of his country's Constitution, which says:"

Clause 2: This Constitution, and the Laws of the United States which shall be made in Pursuance thereof; and all Treaties made, or which shall be made, under the Authority of the United States, shall be the supreme Law of the Land; and the Judges in every State shall be bound thereby, any Thing in the Constitution or Laws of any State to the Contrary notwithstanding.

Pursuing the Brazilian Dream

Powerline Blog  "Many liberals have an almost solipsistic* view of the world; they seen unable to understand that there is a big, wide world beyond our borders that we do not control. They somehow think that we can hobble our own economy, without consequences. They are wrong. Just as our ancestors came here for opportunity, our children and grandchildren may one day be forced to go somewhere else. Whether that happens or not depends on whether Washington continues the self-destructive policies that we have seen since 2007."  Democrats.

*sol·ip·sis·tic / sol·ip·sism Noun 
1. Philosophy . the theory that only the self exists, or can be proved to exist.
2. extreme preoccupation with and indulgence of one's feelings, desires, etc.; egoistic self-absorption.

The Uncivil Democrats

Saturday Afternoon at the Recall Petition ‘Drive Through’ in Wisconsin "Our recall supporters were a diverse group comprised of all races and age groups. I was surprised that a number of African-Americans lent their support to our recall petition drive. It seems that the best efforts of the mainstream media to play the race card in Wisconsin have failed to sway the well-informed. Meanwhile, back in Madison, the far more homogeneous mob of protesters welcome the Rev. Jesse Jackson and his old rhetoric with open arms."

Chilling threats made against Althouse  "I don't know what's scarier; that these people have obviously been following Althouse all around Madison or that they feel empowered enough to make these threats and get away with them.

"Not a word about this and similar thuggery from unions in Wisconsin directed against their opponents from President Obama or any national Democrat."

Wisconsin or Venezuela? "Doesn't this sound more like Venezuela, than Wisconsin. And that is exactly what is happening; we are, inch by inch, being frog marched down the path of progressive collectivism by the unholy troika of the leftist MSM, the Obama administration and the public employee unions.

WILL RECALL WORK IN WISCONSIN? THE SMART MONEY AT FREE REPUBLIC SAYS "NO!"
"Wisconsin Democrats' push to recall Republican state senators is only picking up steam now that the controversial bill to strip unions of most of their collective bargaining rights appears headed to passage.
""We now put our total focus on recalling the eligible Republican senators who voted for this heinous bill," said the Wisconsin Democratic Party in a statement". From the Washington Post

20 Days of Left-Wing Thuggery in Wisconsin: When Will Obama, Democrats, and MSM Call for Civility?  "...you’ll find a compilation of 20 days worth of the death threats, vandalism, and intimidation practiced by pro-union thugs opposed to Wisconsin Governor Scott Walker’s budget repair bill."

 Ignoring Death Threats to Wisconsin Politicians Is Media Bias "That tone of extreme hostility I experienced brings me back to the death threats in Wisconsin. Frankly, the bile and invective in that threat reminded me of the tone I saw directed at me from many so-called liberals because I committed the heresy of taking a different position from them on the issue of collective bargaining for public sector employees… based on something FDR said."

Israel and her allies

Bosch Fawstin

It’s tempting to think the Middle East’s problems are all Israel’s fault. "According to the illusion, the region should have exploded in rage at Jewish perfidy and American ineffectualness. It exploded for altogether different reasons. We witnessed revolutions in Tunisia and Egypt without a hint of upset at the Israeli settlements or America’s continued failure as a broker of peace. We’ve seen the Arab League petition the United States — whose sole function is supposed to be monitoring Israeli housing developments and paving the way for a Palestinian state — to undertake a military operation against another (recently suspended) member of the Arab League, Libya." Rich Lowry in NRO.

Obama’s Selective Anger "The president is mum about the Palestinian culture that celebrates savagery." Mona Charen.

Genocide in Israel "They were killed “while they were sleeping in their home on the Sabbath evening,” as Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu said in denouncing the act of terrorism.
"In truth, as horrific as it was, the attack was far from foreign to the lives of Israelis. As is the widespread lack of outrage internationally."

An Open Letter to Benjamin Netanyahu  "What were you afraid of? You had (and have) the support of the vast majority of the American people. You had (and have) the Republican Party and the Congress behind you. You are dealing with a president who, having polarized the nation, steered it toward bankruptcy, and become a laughing stock on the geopolitical stage, is in considerable trouble with his electorate. And all this apart from the palpable fact that every concession you make deprives you of another fragment of residual authority and renders you progressively less effective and respected."
Pajamas Media

Naming the Dead  "And it’s not only Hamas. It is also us — us Western liberals who somehow manage to turn a blind eye to such butchery. “Responsibility for the evil atmosphere which incites such pogroms does not rest solely with the Arabs of the PA or Hamas,” Phillips observes. “It must also be laid at the door of those left-wing Israeli and western journalists and intellectuals who are obsessively egging on these Jew-hating exterminators. Roger Kimball

Obama delivers a clunker of a statement

Debra J. Saunders  "At Friday's news conference, President Obama tried to connect with the common man coping with rising gasoline prices. Instead, the president left little doubt that he is clueless about cars. "

BARACK OBAMA: THE WEAKEST PRESIDENT IN HISTORY?

UK Daily Express "Obama’s campaign slogan was mesmerisingly simple and brimming with self-belief: “Yes we can.” His presidency, however, is turning out to be more about “no we won’t.” Even more worryingly, it seems to be very much about: “Maybe we can… do what, exactly?“ The world feels like a dangerous place when leaders are seen to lack certitude but the only thing President Obama seems decisive about is his indecision. What should the US do about Libya? What should the US do about the Middle East in general? What about the country’s crippling debts? What is the US going to do about Afghanistan, about Iran?
"What is President Obama doing about anything?"

http://terrellaftermath.com/

Hillary’s Moment  "Inside the Obama administration, a debate is raging. In the face of the uprisings in the Middle East, Barack Obama has opted to sit on his hands. He has a talent for that. Robert Gates, who is extremely wary – one might even say, excessively wary – of commitments abroad, is happy about the President’s passivity; Hillary Clinton, who had hoped that we would act to tip the balance in Libya, is not. It would not be hard to imagine her resigning from the cabinet over this issue. The tensions are starting to mount."

Obama's indecision on Libya has pushed Clinton over the edge  "“Obviously, she’s not happy with dealing with a president who can’t decide if today is Tuesday or Wednesday, who can’t make his mind up,” a Clinton insider told The Daily. “She’s exhausted, tired.”" Also here.

Updater-in-chief  "President Obama has a number of annoying verbal tics, repeating phrases like "let me make myself perfectly clear" and "make no mistake" in every speech and press conference. Another tic came up in today's speech on the Japanese nuclear misadventure."

Obama’s On the Wrong Side of History  "Talk of the “wrong side of history” can only induce passivity. And it also invites the charge of arrogance. After all, who is this president to decree which way history is going?
"So far, the history of this administration in foreign policy has been one of muddling through. It’s hard to be on “the “right side of history” (if such there could be) when most of the time you are straddling the fence." Ken Blackwell  in Big Peace

Obama dodges the big decisions to keep his approval ratings up.  "Obama advisers are spinning their excuses for the president's absence (he needs to stay above the fray, he believes in international agreement). Conservatives, for their part, are beginning to argue the "incompetence" line. A combination of all is probably at work, along with an even greater impulse: political safety. Mr. Obama got a taste of falling approval ratings last year. The White House has worked hard to get those numbers back up and wants to keep them there until Mr. Obama has a GOP opponent and can go into campaign mode—where he's at his best. "  KIMBERLEY A. STRASSEL