White House Unbending on Plan to Send Gitmo Prisoners back to Yemen

Yemen is clearly the new hotbed and training center for Islamic terrorism; it's considered so dangerous that both the UK and the US have closed their embassies. The Chrismas Day "Underwear Bomber" was trained and supplied in Yemen.

With all of that in mind, the Administration is hell-bent on releasing Gitmo prisoners into Yemen:

On Fox News Sunday, top White House counterterrorism adviser John Brennan said the administration "absolutely" intends to keep sending Guantanamo prisoners to Yemen. The administration has sent seven detainees to the country, Brennan said, with six of those sent in December. "Several of those detainees were put into Yemeni custody right away," Brennan said. He did not elaborate on how many is "several" or where the other Guantanamo inmates sent to Yemen might be today. But he said the U.S. has faith in Yemen to handle the situation. "We've had close dialogue with the Yemeni government about the expectations that we have as far as what they're supposed to do when these detainees go back," Brennan said.

I don't see this ending well, and that's an understatement.

What do YOU See In These Pictures?

And the close-up image:

Do the words "arrogance", "contempt" and "narcissim" come to mind?

(h/t Instaundit)

TSA: Security or an Illusion?

Let me first say that the people on the front lines at TSA; the ones manning the magnetometers, organizing the lines of people and doing the screening are just doing their jobs as best they can. It must be a mind-numbing task and, given their thankless task, the majority of them are decent, hard-working people.

Are they necessary? Alas, yes they are. That being said, have all of the shoe removals, liquids in 3 oz. containers, accumulated in 1 qt. plastic bags, actually done anything?

The "shoe bomber" prompted us to remove our shoes, intelligence about liquid explosives prompted the ban on more than 3 oz of any particular liquid in carry-ons. As for the attempted "underwear bomber", I guess we can be thankful that we will all not be subject to careful examination of our underwear, yet. Instead, there are increasing call for "full body scanners" that may, or may not have detected the explosives used in the Christmas attempt.

Certainly, one can argue that all of these increasingly invasive security measures have kept us safer, just by their implementation, but I have one simple question:

Have we caught even ONE SINGLE TERRORIST at a TSA security checkpoint? JUST ONE?

All of these measures are taken "after the fact"; they use box cutters, we ban box cutters. They use shoe bombs, we examine shoes. They use liquids, we limit liquids. It's an ever-escalating war between "us" and "them" and their tactics change to overcome our security protocols.

How far does this go?

Checkpoint security in airports is part of the puzzle, but it's not the part that has kept us safe since 9/11. We must ramp up our intelligence, maintain "watch" and "no fly" lists religiously. Our intelligence services must communicate effectively and seamlessly. Lastly, we must accept the fact that those who are threats are Muslim men (and women) and focus on that profile relentlessly.

We must also begin to think ahead of the curve. We have seen a slight uptick of Americans (both men and women), for whatever reason, "going Jihad"; visiting places like Yemen, Pakistan, Somalia, Afghanistan, etc. These people should be viewed as potential suspects as well; non Middle Easterners will likely be the next weapon they use against us

Does all of this equate to "profiling"? Hell yes it does, and our lack of profiling is our most obvious weakness.

If we continue to wallow in half-measures, designed to not offend, we are not fighting the war; we are window-dressing. On the other hand, if we refuse to even acknowledge the existence of the war, we are doomed.

Winning consists of having the ability to change tactics to meet a changing environment, then dominate it.

So, what will it be, America, "Political Correctness" or survival? The clock is ticking.....

So, We're Getting Naked For Nothing?

From a report in The Independant in the UK, it seems the "Full Body Scanner" system that everyone sees as a panecea, would not have detected the explosives used in the failed Christmas attack:

The explosive device smuggled in the clothing of the Detroit bomb suspect would not have been detected by body-scanners set to be introduced in British airports, an expert on the technology warned last night.

The claim severely undermines Gordon Brown's focus on hi-tech scanners for airline passengers as part of his review into airport security after the attempted attack on Flight 253 on Christmas Day.

The Independent on Sunday has also heard authoritative claims that officials at the Department for Transport (DfT) and the Home Office have already tested the scanners and were not persuaded that they would work comprehensively against terrorist threats to aviation.

The claims triggered concern that the Prime Minister is over-playing the benefits of such scanners to give the impression he is taking tough action on terrorism.

And experts in the US said airport "pat-downs" – a method used in hundreds of airports worldwide – were ineffective and would not have stopped the suspect boarding the plane.

Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab, 23, allegedly concealed in his underpants a package containing nearly 3oz of the chemical powder PETN (pentaerythritol tetranitrate). He also carried a syringe containing a liquid accelerant to detonate the explosive.

Since the attack was foiled, body-scanners, using "millimetre-wave" technology and revealing a naked image of a passenger, have been touted as a solution to the problem of detecting explosive devices that are not picked up by traditional metal detectors – such as those containing liquids, chemicals or plastic explosive.

But Ben Wallace, the Conservative MP, who was formerly involved in a project by a leading British defence research firm to develop the scanners for airport use, said trials had shown that such low-density materials went undetected.

Here in the U.S., we're getting ready to spend enormous amounts of money on the very same technology. Is there any definative proof that it actually works?

Is There Something Here That I'm Missing?

December 18, 2009:

Six Yemeni detainees at Guantanamo Bay to be repatriated
The Obama administration is planning to repatriate six Yemenis held at the U.S. military prison at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, a transfer that could be a prelude to the release of dozens more detainees to Yemen, according to sources with independent knowledge of the matter.

January 3, 2010:

U.S., U.K. Embassies in Yemen Close Over Al Qaeda Threats
SAN’A, Yemen — The U.S. and Britain closed their embassies in Yemen on Sunday in the face of Al Qaeda threats, after both countries announced an increase in aid to the government to fight the terror group linked to the failed attempt to bomb a U.S. airliner on Christmas.

At one point, we have plans to release "dozens" of terrorists in Yemen, then, two weeks later, we are closing our embassy due to the danger. Has it just now dawned on us that Yemen has long been a hotbed of terrorism, and one of the most dangerous countries on earth?

This is a virtually failed state, incapable of even basic self-protection:

Hundreds of al-Qaeda militants are planning terror attacks from Yemen, the country’s Foreign Minister said today.

Abu Bakr al-Qirbi appealed for more help from the international community to help to train and equip counter-terrorist forces.

His plea came after an al-Qaeda group based in Yemen claimed responsibility for the failed Christmas Day airliner bomb plot.

Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab, alleged to be behind the attempt to blow up an American-bound aircraft, spent time in Yemen with al-Qaeda and was in the country only days before the failed attack.

Dr al-Qirbi said: “Of course there are a number of al-Qaeda operatives in Yemen and some of their leaders. We realise this danger.

“They may actually plan attacks like the one we have just had in Detroit. There are maybe hundreds of them — 200, 300.”

Dr al-Qirbi said it was the “responsibility” of countries with strong intelligence capabilities to warn states such as Yemen about the movements of terror suspects.

The United States, Britain and the European Union could do a lot to improve Yemen’s response to militants on its own soil, he added.

“We have to work in a very joint fashion in partnership to combat terrorism,” he said. “If we do, the problem will be brought under control.

“There is support, but I must say it is inadequate. We need more training, we have to expand our counter-terrorism units and provide them with equipment and transportation like helicopters.”

Mr Abdulmutallab is said to have told US agents that there were more people “just like him” ready to carry out attacks.

A logical question would be; were we given forwarning of this situation prior to the Christmans bombing attempt, or is the Yemini government being "suddenly cooperative" in an effort of CYA?

Even though Yemen seems to know quite a bit about these terrorist trainees, Obama's top terrorism advisor still claims that there was nothing that could have been done:

WASHINGTON -- U.S. intelligence agencies did not miss a "smoking gun" that could have prevented a failed attempt to blow up a U.S. airliner on Christmas Day, President Obama's top counterterrorism adviser said Sunday.

The adviser, John Brennan, told Fox News that there were a series of what he called lapses and errors in sharing intelligence about the Nigerian man accused in the unsuccessful attempt.

"There is no smoking gun," Brennan said on "Fox News Sunday." "There was no single piece of intelligence that said, 'this guy is going to get on a plane."'

Brennan is leading a White House review of the incident. Brennan didn't say whether anyone is in line to be fired because of the oversights.

Obama has said there was a systemic failure to prevent the attack, which he said was instigated by an affiliate in Yemen of the Al Qaeda terrorist network.

Obama ordered a thorough look at the shortcomings that permitted the plot, which failed not because of U.S. actions but because the would-be attacker was unable to ignite an explosive device. The president has summoned homeland security officials to meet with him in the White House Situation Room on Tuesday.

Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab apparently assembled an explosive device, including 80 grams of Pentrite, or PETN, in the aircraft toilet of a Detroit-bound Northwest flight, then planned to detonate it with a syringe of chemicals. Passengers intervened, and the plan failed.

The 23-year-old suspect's name was known to intelligence officials, and his father had passed along his concern about the son's increasing radicalization.

"We had bits and pieces of information," Brennan said on CNN's "State of the Union." The father's warning, he said, was "one set of data."

But Brennan said other information available didn't provide the details needed to map it and attach it to Abdulmutallab.

"What we need to do as an intelligence community, as a government, is be able to bring those disparate bits and pieces of information together so we prevent Mr. Abdulmutallab from getting on the plane."

He stood by Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano, although he acknowledged she has "taken some hits" for saying that the airline security system had worked. It didn't, and she clarified her remarks to show she meant that the system worked only after the attack was foiled, Brennan said.

It seems that CYA is rampant and the more they try to explain, the more foolish and incompetent they sound. These people aren't trying to protect our country, they're trying to protect their jobs.

From top to bottom this is a group that is clearly in over it's head and that fact becomes more evident by the day.

Chasing Shadows

Napolitano announces international airport security campaign

The Department of Homeland Security on Thursday announced it would launch a campaign next week to strengthen security screening procedures at a host of international airports.

The effort is part of the White House's heightened response to a Christmas Day attempt to bomb Delta Flight 253 in Detroit, a flight that originated in Amsterdam.

“As part of the ongoing review to determine exactly what went wrong leading up to Friday’s attempted terrorist attack, we are looking not only at our own processes, but also beyond our borders to ensure effective aviation security measures are in place for U.S-bound flights that originate at international airports,” Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano said in a statement Thursday.

Does this incompetent administration realize that all four of the 9/11 flights were domestic, not international?

Do they realize that all of the "red flags' were clearly visable?

Then this, from The Wall Street Journal:

A U.S. government that has barred the phrase "war on terror" has nonetheless acknowledged that a failed Christmas day bomb attack on an airliner was a terrorist attempt. Can we all now drop the pretense that we stopped fighting a war once Dick Cheney and George W. Bush left the White House?

The attempt by 23-year-old Nigerian Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab follows the alleged murders in Ft. Hood, Texas by Islamist-inspired Major Nidal Hasan in November. Brian Jenkins, who studies terrorism for the Rand Corporation, says there were more terror incidents (12), including thwarted plots, on U.S. soil in 2009 than in any year since 2001. The jihadists don't seem to like Americans any better because we're closing down Guantanamo.

This increasing terror tempo makes the Obama Administration's reflexive impulse to treat terrorists like routine criminal suspects all the more worrisome. It immediately indicted Mr. Abdulmutallab on criminal charges of trying to destroy an aircraft, despite reports that he told officials he had ties to al Qaeda and had picked up his PETN explosive in Yemen. The charges mean the Nigerian can only be interrogated like any other defendant in a criminal case, subject to having a lawyer present and his Miranda rights read.

Yet he is precisely the kind of illegal enemy combatant who should be interrogated first with the goal of preventing future attacks and learning more about terror networks rather than gaining a single conviction. We now have to hope he cooperates voluntarily.

What I want to know is how, or if, these "watch lists" and "no-fly lists" have been maintained during the last year and if the need to "not offend" has overridden our need to "defend".

Alas, I don't think, for one moment, that we will ever get an honest answer to that question; the rogues and charlatans that infest this White House, as well as our legislative branch, will see to that.

"The System Worked" Oh, Really?

Napolitano: "The system worked"

DHS Secretary Janet Napolitano said that the thwarting of the attempt to blow up the Amsterdam-Detroit flight this week demonstrated that "the system worked."

Asked by CNN's Candy Crowley on "State of the Union" how that could be possible when the young Nigerian who sought to set off the bomb was able to smuggle explosive liquid onto the flight, Napolitano responded: "We're asking the same questions."

Napolitano added that there was "no suggestion that [the bomber] was improperly screened."

And this is the woman who is in charge of Homeland Security? God help us.

Sen. Max Baucus (D-MT), Drunk on Floor of Senate

A man in this condition shouldn't be driving, much less trying to control a major part of the U.S. economy. What a pathetic display.

Is it too much to ask that these people at least be sober while they're screwing up the country? Apparently so.

Attempted Bombing Aboard U.S. Jetliner

Passengers Help Stop Possible Terror Attack On Detroit Bound Plane

"Possible Terror Attack"?

ROMULUS, Mich. — An attempted terrorist attack on a Christmas Day flight began with a pop and a puff of smoke — sending passengers scrambling to subdue a Nigerian man who claimed to be acting on orders from Al Qaeda to blow up the airliner, officials and travelers said.

The commotion began as Northwest Airlines Flight 253, carrying 278 passengers and 11 crew members from Amsterdam, prepared to land in Detroit just before noon Friday. Travelers said they smelled smoke, saw a glow, and heard what sounded like firecrackers.

"It sounded like a firecracker in a pillowcase," said Peter Smith, a passenger from the Netherlands. "First there was a pop, and then (there) was smoke."

Smith said one passenger, sitting opposite the man, climbed over passengers, went across the aisle and tried to restrain the man, who officials say was trying to ignite an explosive device. The heroic passenger appeared to have been burned.

Afterward, the suspect was taken to a front-row seat with his pants cut off and his legs burned. Multiple law enforcement officials also said the man appeared badly burned on his legs, indicating the explosive was strapped there. The components were apparently mixed in-flight and included a powdery substance, multiple law enforcement and counterterrorism officials said.

Let's see, a guy has an explosive device strapped to his leg, tries to ignite it, and this qualifies only as a "possible" terror attack?

The White House said it believed it was an attempted act of terrorism and stricter security measures were quickly imposed on airline travel. Dutch anti-terrorism authorities said the U.S. has asked all airlines to take extra precautions on flights worldwide that are bound for the United States.

All four of the 9/11 flights were domestic, not international. Maybe we should take that into consideration.

Additionally, have you seen the people who work in airports these days? For a long time I have felt that there is a distinct possibility of explosive devices, or components of explosive devices "coming in the back door" and passed on to a designated passenger.

How about ramp personnel? I actually saw a ramper once, in Washington Dulles, with arabic letters written with a marker on his yellow reflective vest. This type of thing doesn't give me a feeling of security, no matter what it actually said.

The security levels vary wildly from airport to airport. Small airports simply do not offer the level of security, or the technology, that large ones do. Once you pass through security the first time, you have unlimited access to every domestic airport in the country, as long as your destination is domestic, without ever having to go through secuity again. In other words, you can board a flight at some 3 gate regional airport in the middle of Kansas and if you make it through security, you're home free.

Feeling secure yet?

Merry Christmas, 2009

Christmas is a joyous, but oft bittersweet time. We gather with those we love, but notice the absence of those who have left this this mortal existance. We longingly speak of peace, yet we look around us and find ourselves surrounded by hate, strife and endless war.

The one constant is Him, and faith that He will someday give us peace; peace on earth, and adequate peace within ourselves to deserve it.

For this Christmas Eve, I offer this bit of video -- one of my favorites. Though it is set to Mannheim Steamroller’s “Silent Night”, a traditional Christian Hymn, I would hope that all of us here can share it’s meaning. In our quest for peace, let us never forget there is such a thing as a “just war”; the struggle in which we are involved is one that is truly between good and evil.

May we always find solice with Him, for without Him, we will never know peace.

Merry Christmas, and may God’s purpose always be our own.

Another Step Toward Socialism

The invaluable Mark Steyn has a great post over at The Corner about health care.

The money quote from his piece, from Kim Strassel at WSJ:

So why the stubborn insistence on passing health reform? Think big. The liberal wing of the party—the Barney Franks, the David Obeys—are focused beyond November 2010, to the long-term political prize. They want a health-care program that inevitably leads to a value-added tax and a permanent welfare state. Big government then becomes fact, and another Ronald Reagan becomes impossible. See Continental Europe.

This isn’t about altruism; it’s about making their dreams of permanently socializing the United States a reality, just as is every move that this administration has made.

Newt Gingrich once said that “a culture can be lost in one generation“; we are now living in that generation.

At what point do we reach “the point of no return”, when these massive changes in the innate mechanics of our capitalist system are irrevokable? At what point do these malevolent liberals do such mortal damage to our beloved republic, that the republic, as we know it, ceases to exist?

Is America Awakening?

Whither Afghanistan?

The most important part of the Presidency is the function as CiC and it’s the very part of the job that modern Democrats have ignored. If you are not actively protecting our country, what the hell good are you?

Political calculations should never be a part of decisions made as CiC, and that is exactly what we are seeing. Does it really take 10 months to form a plan for Afghanistan? Of course not, but it does take that long to ascertain which way the political winds are blowing.

As RIX, a commenter on Blogmocray said, “They stand between us and the abyss and to see them misused & disrespected is painful.” They’re being used as pawns on a political chessboard and that’s not only painful; it’s disgraceful.

Here’s an interesting tidbit from Victor Davis Hanson’s recent article:

Here are American fatality rates in Afghanistan: 2001: 12; 2002: 49; 2003: 48; 2004: 52; 2005: 99; 2006: 98; 2007: 117; 2008: 155; so far in 2009: 301.

One can twist statistics in all sorts of partisan ways. But I do not think that any fair-minded student could suggest that the Afghan war—in which from 2001 through 2006 no more than 100 Americans died in any given year—was somehow lost—or even a war in the sense of WWII, Korea, or Vietnam.

In 2004, 987 American soldiers died outside of both Iraq and Afghanistan, mostly to accident and illness. This year’s total of 301 fatalities is about the same as all the years’ losses in Afghanistan from 2001-through about half of 2006.
So if one were to define Afghanistan as “lost” by a standard of US fatalities, it surely was not until very recently. More troops, of course , from 2002-6 might have helped subdue the Taliban (and would have increased our own losses), but, nevertheless, I don’t think one can suddenly post hoc say that the Afghan war has been a disaster for years.

So, we have had TWICE the fatalities in Afghanistan under Obama (while he’s been dithering on “his plan”), than we had in the final year of the Bush administration. Were situations reversed, would this not be another “grim milestone” that were so in vogue during that past eight years?

To paraphrase one of my mother’s favorite sayings: Obama wouldn’t make a proper patch on a real President’s ass.

The Myth of "Settled" Climate Science

Science is, by its very nature, a process of continual learning.

Palentologists are still trying to figure out dinosaurs, even with the benefit of a pretty extensive fossil record. In the past, they reassembled bones in an effort to illustrate their appearance. In the past few decades, they have taken those assemblies apart and reassembled them and the picture became very different. First, they were big lizards, then, no they weren't lizards at all. They were more closely related to birds. In the past 30-40 years, our understanding of dinosaurs has radically changed and there is still a great deal that we still do not understand.

"Climate Science" is an incredibly new field of study. Back in the 70s, after a string of particularly harsh winters, we were being told that we may well be on th verge of a new Ice Age.

Many of you are too young to remember, but in 1975 our government pushed "the coming ice age."

Random House dutifully printed "THE WEATHER CONSPIRACY … coming of the New Ice Age." This may be the only book ever written by 18 authors. All 18 lived just a short sled ride from Washington, D.C. Newsweek fell in line and did a cover issue warning us of global cooling on April 28, 1975. And The New York Times, Aug. 14, 1976, reported "many signs that Earth may be headed for another ice age."

OK, you say, that's media. But what did our rational scientists say?

In 1974, the National Science Board announced: "During the last 20 to 30 years, world temperature has fallen, irregularly at first but more sharply over the last decade. Judging from the record of the past interglacial ages, the present time of high temperatures should be drawing to an end…leading into the next ice age."

Now, scarcely 3 decades later, that theory has been reversed 180 degrees. Were the scientists wrong then, or are they wrong now?

We have something like a century or so of hard climate data, and the Earth is some 4.5 billion years old. That, coupled with the fact that the Earth was undergoing radical changes in climate, prior to the arrival of man, makes the AGW theory tenuous, at best

From the same article:

While scientists march to the drumbeat of grant money, at least trees don't lie. Their growth rings show what's happened no matter which philosophy is in power. Tree rings show a mini ice age in Europe about the time Stradivarius crafted his violins. Chilled Alpine Spruce gave him tighter wood so the instruments sang with a new purity. But England had to give up the wines that the Romans cultivated while our globe cooled, switching from grapes to colder weather grains and learning to take comfort with beer, whisky and ales.

Yet many centuries earlier, during a global warming, Greenland was green. And so it stayed and was settled by Vikings for generations until global cooling came along. Leif Ericsson even made it to Newfoundland. His shallow draft boats, perfect for sailing and rowing up rivers to conquer villages, wouldn't have stood a chance against a baby iceberg.

Those sustained temperature swings, all before the evil economic benefits of oil consumption, suggest there are factors at work besides humans.

No rational person can deny the value of "science", on the other hand, how can any rational scientist honestly say the matter is "settled", when the area of study is still in it's infancy?

Medical science, perhaps one of the oldest of the scientific disciplines, is still fairly new and undergoes radical changes on an almost daily basis. One need only look at medical practices 50-60 years ago versus those of today to see the dark ages that was once called "medical science". 50 years ago, the discoverer of the lobotomy won the Nobel Prize in Medicine, today; it is a practice that is shunned by the medical community.

Now, we're told that "the science is settled". No, science is never "settled", science is a journey, not a destination. The nature of science is one of continual learning; placing blocks of knowledge upon blocks of knowledge in an effort to build a better understanding. Often, new discoveries are made that force the removal of some of those blocks thus forcing us to reconsider that understanding and begin again.

"Scientists" who do not understand, or who are unwilling to accept this basic precept of the discipline are not scientists at all; they are either intellectual whores or charlatans.

The More We Think of It, The Less We Think of It

The longer the debate goes on regarding Health Care, the less the American people feel that Obama and his sycophantic Congress are on the right track. Let the debate continue.

Forty-nine percent (49%) of voters nationwide now rate the U.S. health care system as good or excellent. That marks a steady increase from 44% at the beginning of October, 35%in May and 29% a year-and-a-half ago.

The latest Rasmussen Reports national telephone survey finds that just 27% now say the U.S. health care system is poor.

It is interesting to note that confidence in the system has improved as the debate over health care reform has moved to center stage. The latest polling shows that only 38% favor the health care legislation currently working its way through Congress.

Most liberal voters (51%) now rate the current health care system as poor. However, 62% of conservatives say it’s good or excellent. Among political moderates, 44% say the health care system is good or excellent while 26% say it's poor.

The Age of Bread and Circuses

There are a lot of correlations between the United States an the Roman Empire. We take many of our concepts of governance from the Romans. They were once a proud and noble people and were an example of power and prestige in the ancient world.

The Roman Empire declined and is now no more than history. Their fate is instructive; let us not be seduced by "Bread and Circuses":

This phrase originates in Satire X of the Roman poet Juvenal (circa 100 AD ). In context, the Latin phrase panis et circenses (bread and circuses) is given as the only remaining cares of a Roman populace which has given up its birthright of political involvement. Here Juvenal displays his contempt for the declining heroism of his contemporary Romans:

… Already long ago, from when we sold our vote to no man, the People have abdicated our duties; for the People who once upon a time handed out military command, high civil office, legions — everything, now restrains itself and anxiously hopes for just two things: bread and circuses

Juvenal here makes reference to the Roman practice of providing free wheat to Roman citizens as well as costly circus games and other forms of entertainment as a means of gaining political power through populism. The Annona (grain dole) was begun under the instigation of the popularis politician Gaius Sempronius Gracchus in 123 BC; it remained an object of political contention until it was taken under the control of the Roman emperors.

Spanish intellectuals between the 19th and 20th centuries complained about the similar pan y toros ("bread and bullfights"). It appears similarly in Russian as хлеба и зрелищ ("bread and spectacle").

Aldous Huxley used the phrase in Brave New World Revisited as an example of one of the ideas he used as a theme in Brave New World.

Lipstick on the Pig

The Washington Post tries to put a good face on the state of the economy, but for me, it's just not happening:

Economy limping back to strength

The unemployment rate will remain elevated for years to come, according to a forecast released Tuesday by the Federal Reserve that addresses for the first time economic conditions at the time of the next presidential election.

It paints a grim picture. Top Fed officials expect the unemployment rate to remain in the 6.8 to 7.5 percent range at the end of 2012 and said it could take “about five or six years” from now for economic activity to return to normal. The jobless rate was 10.2 percent in October.

That sober forecast came on top of a revised government estimate also released Tuesday of economic output in the third quarter showing that the recovery got off to a slower start over the summer than previously thought.

Government efforts to prop up the economy — including the $787 billion stimulus package passed in February, the “Cash for Clunkers” program to support auto sales this summer, and a zero interest rate policy by the Federal Reserve — are helping. The contribution of government spending to gross domestic product in the third quarter was actually higher than originally reported, the Commerce Department said.

But so far, the impact of these efforts has not been enough to engender a strong rebound.

“It is a slow-motion recovery,” said Stuart Hoffman, chief economist at PNC Financial Services Group. “It sure doesn’t look like the beginning of a normal, rapid recovery.”

The math is simple: The U.S. economy is capable of growing at roughly 2.5 to 3 percent a year, thanks to population growth and technological improvement, and needs to grow faster than that to create large numbers of jobs and significantly improved standards of living.

Following the last recession of comparable depth for example, in 1981-82, gross domestic product growth averaged a 7.8 percent annual rate for four quarters.

In this recession, by contrast, the five current Fed governors and 12 presidents of regional Fed banks expect growth of 2.5 to 3.5 percent in 2010 — which would be enough to bring the unemployment rate down only slightly.

Sorry, but this doen’t paint picture of “limping back to strength”; it sounds like an economy on life support. A pig is a pig is a pig, regardless of cosmetics.

Oh, and who was President during the ‘81-’82 recoverery of which they speak? Let’s see, ummmm…..oh yeah, a fellow by the name of Ronald Reagan.

Alas, this time, all we have is Obama for three more years.

Disgraceful Naivete

Obama demanding release of additional 1,000 terrorists

Arutz Sheva is reporting that President Obama is demanding that in connection with the terrorists for Gilad trade, which is being made with Hamas, Israel release an additional 1,000 terrorists as a 'gesture' to 'moderate' 'Palestinian' President Mahmoud Abbas Abu Mazen.

In response to U.S. demands that Israel free an additional 1,000-some terrorists as a "gesture" to Palestinian Authority chief Mahmoud Abbas, Lieberman said that previous releases of Fatah terrorists "have not proven themselves. The Olmert administration did this several times and it did not work, and we do not plan to allow it to happen," Lieberman said.

What right does Obama think he has to make demands on Israel regarding imprisoned terrorists? He has been no friend to Israel and continues to make her life difficult, while extending the hand of friendship to her enemies.

HAPPY THANKSGIVING!

We all have something to be thankful for this Thanksgiving. Yes, there are a lot of us going through very difficuly times right now, but we still live in the greatest country on Earth.

Let us be thankful for our military men and women, particularly those serving in God-forsaken places this Thanksgiving, and acknowledge that God has not forsaken them and neither should we; they are the protectors of all we hold dear.

Certainly, the landscape in America has undergone a profound change during the past year, and not for the better, but it cannot change who we are, or what we stand for, unless we allow it. There will be a dawn, there always is. Americans instictively look toward the horizon, let us follow that instinct.

In closing, a retrospective:

Navy SEALs Face Assault Charges for Capturing Most-Wanted Terrorist

March 31, 2004: Iraqis chant anti-American slogans as the charred and mutilated bodies of U.S. contractors hang from a bridge over the Euphrates River in Fallujah, Iraq.

Is this any way to fight a war?

Navy SEALs have secretly captured one of the most wanted terrorists in Iraq — the alleged mastermind of the murder and mutilation of four Blackwater USA security guards in Fallujah in 2004. And three of the SEALs who captured him are now facing criminal charges, sources told FoxNews.com.

The three, all members of the Navy's elite commando unit, have refused non-judicial punishment — called an admiral's mast — and have requested a trial by court-martial.

Ahmed Hashim Abed, whom the military code-named "Objective Amber," told investigators he was punched by his captors — and he had the bloody lip to prove it.

Now, instead of being lauded for bringing to justice a high-value target, three of the SEAL commandos, all enlisted, face assault charges and have retained lawyers.

I am the first one to say that our troops should behave honorably. Rapes, mutilations, civilian massacres and the like are simply not acceptable and should be punished to the full extent of the UCMJ.

What we have here, however, is a bloody lip of a man responsible for not only murder, but the hideous mutilation of the murdered. And these SEALs are being Court Martialed for this monster's bloody lip?

This is a ridiculous and disproportionate reaction on the part of the Navy.

Musings on "My Generation"

I think a lot of our problems started in the 60s, when young “Boomers” (like me) became involved in politics. The problem was that they (we) let uninformed idealism (which we had in abundance) outweigh good sense (which we had not yet developed).

The problem was exacerbated when people actually started to listen to us. The worship of “youth” is a dangerous thing when picking leadership.

Every generation that comes along thinks that they have “discovered the answer”, only to realize, with time, that their lofty convictions were merely the foolishness of youth. That’s not to slam young people; foolishness is part of the charm of youth.

We seem to have lost the healthy respect for wisdom over the past 30 years or so.

I wince every time I hear polls of “what young people” think. I mean, think of what your outlook on life was when you were 18, 19, or in your early 20s versus what it is today.

I also wince when people talk about “getting more young people involved in the system”. This is the very thing that beget us Obama; people who knew nothing, but were intent on electing “the fist black President” because they wanted to “make history”.

I hate to say it, but from what I’ve seen of a lot of people, I would prefer that they don’t vote; they are woefully uninformed on practically every subject and are far too easily swayed by empty slogans and emotionalism.

The much maligned newt Gingrich made some very good points in a book he wrote back in the 80s. He said that the maintenance of civilization is the handing down of values to succeeding generations, and that a civilization can literally be lost in the span of one generation.

Boomers came from good stock; the WWII generation. Alas, many of us neither respected or emulated the accomplishments or fortitude of our parents – we rebelled. While rebellion is a natural outgrowth of youth, at some point, it should be replaced by the acceptance of the standard of preceeding generations. Not nearly enough of us accepted that standard and we have endangered the republic, as a result.

In the case of the Boomers, due to our large numbers, we overwhelmed society and actually felt that we were the leading edge of a societal revolution….and we were, only not for the better.

Many of us DID accept the standard, eventually, and I am proud to be one of them. We became the Neo-Cons who were instrumental in the “Reagan Revolution”. Still, I am ashamed at many of my co-generationalists, and what they have wrought through their abject refusal to accept their mistakes and acknowledge the damage.

But oh, how I still love the music from those days; it was a bit of a renaissance that still echos to this day.

I think that what gave me the clue though, and steered me away from the Leftist preaching from these people was the fact that, while they constantly criticized capitalism and “big business”, they were all under contract with major record labels and were making $Millions for themselves as well as the record companies. That fact seemed to have been lost on many who took their political words as gospel.

Where are they now? Likely still living a soft, cushy life off the royalties. That’s all fine with me, it’s the sheer hypocrisy that is troublesome.

The 60s/70s were nothing short of an ad campaign; “big business” sold us the music, the clothes and the entire lifestyle, neatly packaged for a gullable, foolish generation, so that we could think that we were “rebelling against The Man”. “The Man” was deeply grateful for the business!

As I look around, many young people are adopting “the look” of those days; the bell bottoms, tie-dyed shirts, etc., and history, thus repeats itself.

Khalid Sheikh Mohammed: Welcome to New York!

Then again, maybe not. Rep. Peter King (R-LI) is the ranking member on the House Homeland Security Committee, and he brings up some interesting points in a column published on Saturday:

Unfortunately, President Obama may have set into motion a process that could result in Khalid Sheik Mohammed walking free. By moving his and the other cases from the military-commission system to the civilian courts, the president has granted KSM constitutional rights -- which defense attorneys will certainly seek to exploit in order to bog down the pace of the judicial process.

Whenever the case actually comes to trial, we're likely to see a circus-like proceeding potentially lasting years, in which the attorneys will undoubtedly try to paint the brave and selfless US military and intelligence community as the terrorists.

The cases against these and other terrorists are, not surprisingly, based significantly on classified intelligence gathered over many years. By prosecuting these men in civilian court instead of a military commission, the government will have a more difficult time protecting the sources and methods of gathering that intelligence -- disclosure of which would place American lives in jeopardy.

For example, a civilian court judge could throw out Khalid Sheik Mohammed's confession because the intelligence operatives who captured him failed to read him Miranda rights. The bottom line is that, because of Obama's decision yesterday, KSM could be acquitted for any of a host of reasons -- both foreseeable and unforeseeable.

It just makes one wonder "what the hell is Obama thinking?".

A Little Perspective, Please?

And, of course, Victor Davis Hanson provides it:

What Bush Inherited, and What He Left Left Behind [Victor Davis Hanson]

George W. Bush inherited a recession. He also inherited the Iraq no-fly zones, a Middle East boiling after the failed last-minute Clintonian rush for an imposed peace, an intelligence community wedded to the notion of Saddam's WMD proliferation, a Congress on record supporting "regime change" in Iraq, a WMD program in Libya, a Syrian occupation of Lebanon, Osama bin Laden enjoying free rein in Taliban-controlled Afghanistan, a renegade Pakistan that had gone nuclear on Clinton's watch with Dr. Khan in full export mode, and a pattern of appeasing radical Islam after its serial attacks (on the World Trade Center, the Khobar Towers, U.S. embassies, and the U.S.S. Cole).

In other words, Bush inherited the regular "stuff" that confronts most presidents when they take office. What is strange is that Obama has established a narrative that he, supposedly unlike any other president, inherited a mess.

At some point, Team Obama might have at least acknowledged that, by January 2009, Iraq was largely quiet; Libya was free of WMD; Syria was out of Lebanon; most of the al-Qaeda leadership had been attrited or was in hiding; a homeland-security protocol was in place to deal with domestic terror plots; European governments were mostly friendly to the U.S. (unlike during the Chirac-Schröder years); and the U.S. enjoyed good relations with one-third of the planet in China and India.

The fact that in the Bush years we were increasingly disliked by Ahmadinejad, Assad, Castro, Chávez, Kim Jong Il, Morales, Ortega, and Putin, may in retrospect seem logical, just as their current warming to the U.S. may prove to be cause for alarm, given the repugnant nature of these strongmen.

Bottom line: Obama's second year as president is coming up, and it is long past time to move on and let historians judge the Bush years.

The Cadidate vs. The President on KSM

The Obama Justice Department has decided to try Khalid Sheikh Mohammed in New York City. In other words, a foreign national, the man who admittedly planned the 9/11 attacks, will be afforded the same rights and privileges as an American Citizen, in a civilian court.

Back in 2006, he believed that Mohammed should receive a military trial:



Just as in the case of Afghanistan, the Candidate and the President differ wildly in their opinions.

This, clearly, is no small issue. This man is not a "mass murderer"; he's a war criminal and should stand trial before a military tribunal just as was the case during the Nuremburg Trials after World War II.

This approach sets a dangerous precedent in delivering justice to terrorists in the future.

Who's in Charge of Protocol?

Seriously, isn't it a bit unseemly for the American President to be bowing like this before the Emperor of Japan? While I understand the "the bow" is customary in Japan, the depth of the bow is wholly dependent on each person's status; the deeper the bow, the lower your status.

In Japanese culure, the depth of one's bow is highly calculated and symbolic.

Obama is bowing to this imaginary "Emperor" as though he were a common Japanese citizen, or perhaps the garbage collector!

As an American President, a simple head nod would have been more than sufficient in the interest of politeness. The depth of this bow is absolutely demeaning to the The Office and our country.

Lest you think I'm exaggerating, note how other world leaders handled the same situation (H/T IMAO):