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APRIL 18,  2011

MORE ON EGYPT – AT 11:56 P.M. ET:  This is our second report today documenting the rapidly deteriorating situation in Egypt.  The middle-class revolution of only weeks ago is clearly being betrayed.  What is happening is frightening, with potentially devastating effects on American interests.  From The Wall Street Journal:

CAIRO—Iran and Egypt's new government signaled Monday they were moving quickly to thaw decades of frosty relations, worrying the U.S., Israel and Saudi Arabia that the overtures could upset the Mideast's fragile balance of power.

Iran said it appointed an ambassador to Egypt for the first time since the two sides froze diplomatic relations more than three decades ago, the website of the Iranian government's official English-language channel, Press TV, reported late Monday.

Also Monday, officials at Egypt's Ministry of Foreign Affairs confirmed that new foreign minister Nabil Elaraby is considering a visit to the Gaza Strip—an area controlled by Hamas, a militant Palestinian Islamist group backed by Tehran and until now shunned by Cairo.

And, from AP:

Protesters led by hardline Islamists in southern Egypt held their ground Monday, saying they won't end their campaign of civil disobedience until the government removes a newly appointed Coptic Christian governor.

The protesters, many from the ultraconservative Salafi trend of Islam, have been sitting on train tracks, taken over government buildings and blocked main roads in the southern city of Qena, insisting the new governor won't properly implement Islamic law.

COMMENT:  Welcome to the 10th century.  A good time will be had by some.  Women, of course, need not appyl

It is very sad to see the promise of the revolution falling apart, but we had a very early hint of this when one of the heroes of the revolt – the guy who sent messages of revolution on Facebook – was barred from speaking to crowds once the new military government took over.

It is rapidly turning into an Islamic orgy.  There will be elections in the fall, but the Islamic parties are well positioned, the truly democratic parties are not.

As is being said more and more, the Arab spring may well turn into an Iranian winter.

April 18, 2011       Permalink

SNIPPET OF THE DAY – AT 2:42 P.M. ET: 

COMPTON, Calif. - There are drive-thru burger joints and drive-thru banks but now one California city offers the ultimate in drive-thru convenience: drive-thru casket viewing.  Yes, at the Robert L. Adams Mortuary in Compton, south of Los Angeles, it is possible to view the deceased resting in a casket display window while cruising past in your car, the Los Angeles Times reported Sunday.  "It's a unique feature that sets us aside from other funeral parlors," said owner Peggy Scott Adams.

For an extra $100, if you smile at the loved one while cruising by, the loved one will smile back.

April 18, 2011       Permalink

WE'RE IN THE MONEY – NOT – AT 2:10 P.M. ET:  Standard & Poor's has some concern about the future of the United States.  Are you shocked?

NEW YORK (CNNMoney) -- Standard & Poor's lowered its outlook for the nation's long-term debt Monday, even as it reaffirmed the agency's top-tier rating for the U.S. economy.

S&P maintained its 'AAA/A-1+' credit rating on U.S. sovereign debt, saying the nation's "highly diversified" economy and "effective monetary policies" have helped support growth.

But the ratings agency lowered its outlook for America's long-term credit rating to "negative" from "stable," based on the uncertain political debate around the nation's fiscal problems.

The outlook means that there is a one-in-three likelihood that it could lower the long-term rating on the United States within two years, S&P said.

COMMENT:  I suspect we'll see other stories like this as the gathering train wreck continues.  I like to compare this to the endless refrain of the educational establishment, in justifying out-of-control education spending, that we're doing it "for the children."

Look at the debts we're leaving to these same children.  I'm sure they'll thank us.

April 18, 2011       Permalink

TRUMPED – AT 10:04 A.M. ET:  In a head-to-head matchup, Donald Trump doesn't do very well against Barack Obama, but Obama doesn't do all that well himself.  From Scott Rasmussen:

President Obama leads Donald Trump by 15 percentage points in a hypothetical 2012 match-up, but the president is unable to top the 50% level of support even against an opponent some are deriding as a joke.

The latest Rasmussen Reports national telephone survey finds that the president earns support from 49% of Likely Voters nationwide, while Trump attracts the vote from 34%. Given that choice, 12% would vote for some other candidate, and five percent (5%) are undecided. (To see survey question wording, click here.)

Only 65% of Republican voters would vote for Trump over Obama. Among voters not affiliated with either major party, 48% prefer Obama, 25% Trump, and 20% would opt for some other candidate.

Regardless of what Republican is matched against the president, Obama earns between 42% and 49% support. Trump doesn't run as well against the president as the top tier of GOP candidates, but he does pick up more support than insider favorites Mitch Daniels and Jon Huntsman and entrepreneur Herman Cain.

COMMENT:  Trump is a celebrity candidate.  He can't beat Obama any more than Ross Perot could win in 1992, running against President George H.W. Bush and Bill Clinton.  (But Perot probably did cost Bush the election.)  I don't think Trump could get the Republican nomination.  He could be a factor, and a dangerous one, only if he runs as an independent, taking votes away from the GOP. 

At the same time, Obama can't break 50%, not exactly a vote of confidence in a president.  If Republicans concentrate on nominating an effective candidate, they can win this thing.  If they nominate the next guy in line, or someone who's borderline certifiable, an opportunity can fade away.

April 18, 2011       Permalink

THE FUTURE LIES AHEAD (WITH A HAT TIP TO MORT SAHL) – AT 9:45 A.M. ET:  Our taxes are on their way to Washington, an annual pain, and Americans are increasingly apprehensive over the future of tax rates.  The fact is that our tax base doesn't equal the nation's financial obligations.  Tax advisers are giving some grim news to taxpayers about the future.  From The Hill:

As many Americans finish their returns to send to the IRS, some financial advisers say that, with deep budget deficits and the Bush tax cuts set to expire at the end of next year, they are counseling clients to prepare for a rise in their tax bill in the coming years.

“We’re going broke,” said Clint Stretch, managing principal for tax policy at Deloitte Tax. “Whenever we’ve had big deficit-reduction measures in the past, it’s always had some spending cuts and some tax increases.”

Still, the advisers say that, even as President Obama has reiterated his call to allow taxes to rise on the wealthiest Americans, it’s difficult to forecast exactly how some clients will be affected by changes to the tax code — especially given the current push for tax reform.

And, they add, while the current fiscal situation is particularly stark, it’s also just the latest example of the uncertain tax situation they and their clients have dealt with historically.

COMMENT:  I'm afraid that some higher taxes, possibly in the form of sales taxes, are coming.  It is almost impossible to figure out how such a divided nation will agree on a budget that keeps us within our means.   Once again we will turn to tax increases, if only temporary ones. 

Bottom line:  This nation faces severe economic problems.  A president with character will have to tell the truth to the American people.  They will be prepared to sacrifice...but only if sacrifice is fairly distributed across the board.  That means Democrats will have to face the ridiculous pensions and salaries of many public-service workers, and Republicans will have to face the obscenities of Wall Street fast-buck artists and their fellow travelers in crony capitalism.  Not a pretty picture for either party.

April 18, 2011       Permalink

THOSE VILE PEOPLE – AT 8:36 A.M. ET:  My contempt for the so-called "anti-war" movement is total.  "Anti-war" activists, as we've pointed out before, are often nothing more than party-line leftists marching against any war America has a chance to win.  Their true nature has been covered up by the mainstream media for decades.

I well recall visiting "anti-war" demonstrations during Vietnam, when I was an editor at The New York Times.  I'd see these fools marching down Fifth Avenue in New York chanting "Ho, Ho, Ho Chi Minh," not exactly an anti-war chant.  I'd then return to my newspaper and see everything sanitized.  These old reds would suddenly become "anti-war activists."

They have sunk to many lows.  In May they may outdo themselves.  The prime minister of Israel, a country despised on the left because it's an ally of the United States, will be visiting Washington.  Leftist groups are combining to give him a hot reception.  These are the same groups who have remained silent in the face of the Arab revolutions.  And during this leftist insanity in Washington, Code Pink will give an award to one of its heroines.

Who will that awardee be?

It's Helen Thomas, fired from her White House press job because of open anti-Semitism, which she then followed by even more anti-Semitism.  A major journalism award named for her at Wayne State University was cancelled.

But Code Pink will honor her.

How low are these people willing to go?  Well, we know that it's pretty low.  In 1940 the hard left endorsed the Hitler-Stalin pact, essentially aligning themselves with fascism.  (One of the great myths is that the left opposes fascism.  In fact, the left will work with fascists whenever it's convenient.) 

We hope there are, somewhere in the mainstream media, some brave souls who will finally exposes Code Pink for what it is – an anti-American hate group made up of left-wing extremists, who now honor an unabashed bigot.  But we will probably hope in vain.  In all probability, we'll still see Code Pink described as an "anti-war" group.

April 18, 2011        Permalink

AS EGYPT GOES – AT 8:15 A.M. ET:  As Urgent Agenda readers know, we are increasingly worried about what is happening in Egypt, as the revolution of only weeks ago is being betrayed, day by day.  The latest report, from Britain's Telegraph, is particularly disturbing.  The trends in Egypt could have a profound effect on American interests in the Mideast:

The rapid spread of Muslim political parties ahead of September's parliamentary elections has strengthened fears that Egyptian democracy will be dominated by radical Islamic movements.

The Muslim Brotherhood, Egypt's largest Islamic movement and the founder of Hamas, has set up a network of political parties around the country that eclipse the following of the middle class activists that overthrew the regime. On the extreme fringe of the Brotherhood, Islamic groups linked to al-Qeada are organising from the mosques to fill the vacuum left by the collapse of the dictatorship.

The military-led government already faces accusations that it is bowing to the surge in support for the Muslim movements, something that David Cameron warned of in February when he said Egyptian democracy would be strongly Islamic.

Benjamin Netanyahu, the Israeli prime minister, warned on Sunday that the direction of Egyptian politics was anti-Israeli. He told diplomats last week that Egyptian officials – including Nabil al-Arabi, the foreign minister – were pandering to political militants by branding Israel as the "enemy".

"I am very concerned over some of the voices we've been hearing from Egypt recently," Mr Netanyahu said. "I'm especially concerned over the current Egyptian foreign minster's statements."

And...

As hardliners compete for street power, Egypt's Christians – who make up 10 per cent of the population – are emigrating in growing numbers.

Al-Masry al-Youm, an Egyptian newspaper, reported last week that the Canadian embassy had been swamped by visa requests from Coptic Christians.

Others are fighting back. Naquib Swiris, a Copt who is one of Egypt's richest men, has formed the Free Egyptians Party as a rallying point for a liberal democracy.

COMMENT:  Not exactly what we had hoped for in those heady days earlier this year.  But this is the Middle East, and anything that hints of the 21st century is attacked and often destroyed.  Let's see if the mainstream media will give us the straight story about what is happening in Egypt, or will hide behind the "multiculturalism" mask.

We are in for difficult days, and look who's leading the United States.

April 18, 2011     Permalink

APRIL 17,  2011

AND IN WASHINGTON, THE GENIUSES ARE AT WORK – AT 11:02 P.M. ET:  Guess what news organization is now shining at the White House.  New York Times?  Not quite.  NBC?  Not really.  Washington Post?  Not a chance.

No, the hot new fave at Barack Hussein Obama's White House is...Al-Jazeera.  You know, my dears, it's the very latest thing.

From The Politico:

In the halls of American power, the Arab Spring has brought Al-Jazeera in from the cold.

Seven years after then-Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld called the broadcaster’s reporting “vicious, inaccurate and inexcusable” and President George W. Bush joked about bombing it, Secretary of State Hillary Clinton praised it as “real news” in her recent Senate testimony.

Not only that, her staffers, as well as those of the CIA and the Obama White House, were attending the Congressional Correspondents’ Dinner as Al-Jazeera’s guests.

“They are a really important media entity, and we have a really great relationship with them,” said Dana Shell Smith, the State Department’s deputy assistant secretary for international media engagement, who speaks Arabic and has frequently appeared on the channel. “This administration has empowered those of us who actually do the communicating to be in a close relationship with Al-Jazeera. They understand that the relationship can’t consist of complaining to each other about the differences we have.”

The differences also have shrunk as the big story in the Middle East has shifted from the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan to the democratic movements sweeping the region. In the recent uprisings, U.S. interests tended to line up with Al-Jazeera’s, and President Barack Obama alluded to both the network’s influence and its pro-democracy bent in remarks caught on an open mic during a closed-door fundraiser last week.

COMMENT:  Al-Jazeera is owned by the government of Qatar, not exactly a democracy.  It is fundamentally a propaganda outlet, and some knowledgeable observers believe it's a front for the Muslim Brotherhood.  It is hardly pro-American.  As far as it being "pro democracy," we'll see.  I prefer to say that it has been in favor of the overthrow of some pretty bad regimes, but that's a relatively easy call.  What will Al-Jazeera say about the people who replace these regimes?

In Politico's story you'll see the name of Haley Barbour, governor of Mississippi and former lobbyist, who had a lobbying contract with Qatar.  Barbour's lobbying activities will certainly be a point of major contention should he come anywhere near the Republican nomination, and may very well disqualify him.

The respected American newsman Dave Marash took a job with Al-Jazeera in 2006, but quit in disgust in 2008 over what he alleged was intense anti-American bias at the news outlet.  I suspect that Marash came a lot closer to the truth than some of the new Al-Jazeera groupies in the air-headed Obama administration.

April 17, 2011     Permalink

DESPERATION – AT 11:14 A.M.  ET:  Barack Obama isn't the only president acting like an amateur these days.  The president of Syria is throwing out some crumbs in the hope of stopping the rebellion in his own country:

(CNN) -- Syrian President Bashar al-Assad said Saturday that the country's state of emergency, in effect since 1963, should be lifted by next week at the latest -- but that the final decision is up to the newly sworn-in Cabinet.

Al-Assad made the announcement Saturday hours after the Cabinet was sworn in, and two days after he announced the formation of a new government.

Opposition forces have been demanding the repeal of the emergency law, which allows the government to make preventive arrests and override constitutional and penal code statutes. the law also bars detainees who haven't been charged from filing court complaints or from having a lawyer present during interrogations.

"We (will) lift the state of emergency contrary to the opinion of many others who think this might lead to imbalance in the state of security," al-Assad said as he chaired a meeting of the new government. "I disagree with this, and I think this will consolidate the security of the country." 

And...

Al-Assad had already said he was studying whether to end the 48-year-old state of emergency and provide citizenship for stateless people in the Kurdish region as a way to placate the demonstrators.

Activists, however, say the government has cracked down violently on peaceful protesters. That claim is disputed by the Syrian government, which blames armed groups for attacking security forces and citizens.

Human Rights Watch, a prominent humanitarian watchdog group, issued a report Friday detailing "torture and ill-treatment" of protesters over the past month, and U.N. human rights experts released a statement deploring the crackdown on peaceful demonstrations.

Apparently, Assad's sales talk didn't have much effect.  The answer came today:

(Reuters) - Thousands of Syrians chanted slogans calling for greater freedom at independence day rallies on Sunday, witnesses said, a day after President Bashar al-Assad promised to lift emergency law.

"The people want freedom," several hundred people shouted at the grave of independence leader Ibrahim Hananu in Syria's second city Aleppo, which has been mostly free of pro-democracy protests that erupted more than a month ago in the south.

Hundreds also turned out in the southern city of Suweida, in the heart of the country's Druze heartland. They chanted "God, Syria, freedom, that's all," before coming under attack from Assad loyalists, a woman at the demonstration said.

"They came at us with sticks and also hit us with the pictures they were carrying of Bashar -- the same president who was talking about freedom yesterday," she said.

COMMENT:  Syria is critically important, but the United States, in another policy contradiction, has given Assad only a slap on the wrist, in contrast to its harsh criticism of ally Mubarak of Egypt.  Put a community organizer in the White House, you get a community organizer with better accommodations, and that's all.

April 17, 2011     Permalink

DEVASTATING – AT 10:52 A.M. ET:  The Washington Post proves once again how superior its editorial page is to the fading New York Times.  The Post picks up on the Obama-as-amateur theme, giving us a devastating editorial on the Obama Libya policy, or lack of one:

THE CONTRADICTIONS at the heart of U.S. policy in Libya are becoming more acute. On Friday President Obama joined the leaders of Britain and France in declaring that the NATO air campaign, which was launched in the name of protecting civilians, will continue for as long as dictator Moammar Gaddafi remains in power. Yet in an interview he gave to the Associated Press the same day, Mr. Obama acknowledged that the war between rebels and Mr. Gaddafi’s forces is stalemated, 10 days after U.S. ground attack aircraft were pulled from the operation on his orders...

...Let’s see if we can sum this up: Mr. Obama is insisting that NATO’s air operation, already four weeks old, cannot end until Mr. Gaddafi is forced from office — but he refuses to use American forces to break the military stalemate. If his real aim were to plunge NATO into a political crisis, or to exhaust the air forces and military budgets of Britain and France — which are doing most of the bombing — this would be a brilliant strategy. As it is, it is impossible to understand.

That is exactly right, and this is from a liberal newspaper.  More than two years into his presidency, Mr. Obama is still not at the professional level.  He is confused, no one actually understands what he's doing, and we are a mess as a result.  Other than that, he is a great president.

Mr. Obama appears less intent on ousting Mr. Gaddafi or ensuring NATO’s success than in proving an ideological point — that the United States need not take the lead in a military operation that does not involve vital U.S. interests. How else to explain his decision to deny NATO the two most effective ground attack airplanes in the world — the AC-130 and A-10 Warthog — which exist only in the U.S. Air Force and which were attacking Mr. Gaddafi’s tanks and artillery until April 4?

And...

We believed that Mr. Obama was right to support NATO’s intervention in Libya not only because of the risk that Mr. Gaddafi would carry out massacres but because defeating the dictator is crucial to the larger cause of democratic change in the Middle East. Yet having reluctantly joined the fight — and accepted the goal of Mr. Gaddafi’s ouster — Mr. Obama seems determined to limit the American role even if it makes success impossible. If the president is very lucky, Mr. Gaddafi will be betrayed and overthrown by his followers or somehow induced to step down voluntarily. We can only hope that the NATO alliance does not collapse between now and then.

COMMENT:  You know a president is in trouble when you can't distinguish the attacks by liberal editorialists from the attacks by conservative writers.  This president has hit an iceberg, but, like another captain a century ago, he believes his ship is unsinkable.

April 17, 2011     Permalink

MR. AMATEUR DOES IT AGAIN – AT 10:40 A.M. ET:  Is there an ally of the United States that this president hasn't insulted?  This is almost impossible to believe from an American president.  From The Politico:

President Obama told reporters on Thursday that his meeting with Qatar's emir was cordial and useful, complete with banter about tickets for the 2022 World Cup.

But he struck a different tone later that night at a Democratic fundraiser in Chicago, saying Hamad bin Khalifa al-Thani isn’t doing enough to promote democracy in his own country, even as the TV news network he sponsors promotes democracy to the entire region.

The diplomatic gaffe was the result of the same “open mic” problem widely reported Friday: Obama thought he was speaking in confidence to Democratic donors, but CBS News’s Mark Knoller was able to record an audio feed of the president’s remarks, which ranged from the brief mention of Qatar to Republican budget-cutting efforts.

Of Qatar’s emir, Obama said: “He is a big booster, big promoter of democracy all throughout the Middle East. Reform, reform, reform — you're seeing it on Al Jazeera." He continued: "Now, he himself is not reforming significantly. There's no big move towards democracy in Qatar.” The president noted that Qataris enjoy a very large per-capita income, which will "dampen a lot of conflict."

His candor was a departure from what he told reporters about the emir of Qatar earlier that day:

"I expressed to him my appreciation of the leadership that the Emir has shown when it comes to democracy in the Middle East and, in particular, the work that they have done in trying to promote a peaceful transition in Libya. ...

"And so, we've had discussions about how we can continue to promote democracy, human rights, increased freedom and reform throughout the Middle East."

COMMENT:  You wanna play in the mayor leagues, fella, play major league ball.  After showing disrespect for Britain, France, Israel, Australia, Canada, and just about everyone else on our side, the president adds Qatar, an authoritarian but moderate state.

Back to the farm team.

April 17, 2011    Permalink