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Note to readers:  New Year's Resolution #1 for Urgent Agenda: We resolve to try to be on the internet a bit earlier each weekday morning, primarily to respond to requests from Eastern readers who want to read us while having breakfast.  We cannot, however, be held responsible for any resulting indigestion.  Remedies are available at local drug counters.

I appeared on Silvio Canto Jr.'s fine talk show from Dallas this morning.  The recording is here.

JANUARY 3,  2011

THE LATEST FROM THE IVY LEAGUE – AT 8:53 P.M. ET:  One of my favorite teachers in high school was a Brown University graduate who regularly sang the praises of his alma mater.  Today, he must be turning over in his grave.  From Commentary:

Concerned that North Korea is getting a bad rap, some Brown University alumni have actually started a travel program to give students an eyewitness experience inside the totalitarian state. The project apparently started as a short trip for students, but it has now been expanded into a semester-long study abroad program.  As reported by the BBC:

The Pyongyang Project was the brainchild of Matthew Reichel and Nick Young, who were inspired to counteract what they describe as the “one-sided” coverage of North Korea in the international media.

“The US and North Korea don’t have established relations, and talks are indirect at best. And what we believe is that there is a need for a grassroots level of engagement that we haven’t seen yet between citizens,” says Mr Reichel, a 23-year-old Brown University graduate. “We feel that education is the best ice-breaker.”

The naivete of these students — enrolled at one of the top American universities — is simply astounding. One participant was amazed that he was allowed to wonder freely around a beach and interact with North Koreans — apparently unaware that the visit was probably about as orchestrated as a Hollywood movie set.

And...

I’m not sure if the founders of the Pyongyang Project planned to make this a pure propaganda campaign for the North Korean government, or if they’re simply clueless. But there’s no doubt that Pyongyang officials are probably thrilled by the results, judging from the comically fawning “participant reflections” posted on the project’s website.

“The DMZ was my favorite. Mass Games, local restaurants were wonderful, Mt Myohyang was beautiful, USS Pueblo, Korean War Museum, Metro. All of it was fantastic. I commend the two of you for putting together such an action-packed, well-rounded program,” wrote Amy C., a 2009 Fulbright scholar.

Finally...

Well, I suppose we can at least we can be thankful that the unpleasant sight of emaciated North Koreans didn’t get in the way of their thrilling vacation.

COMMENT:  This is what passes for "educated people" among some of the elites in our society.  And some of these "educated people" will wind up teaching our children, giving us the news, or working in government.

Let's hear it for the Ivy League. 

January 3, 2011       Permalink

 

WELCOME TO HEALTH-CARE REFORM – AT 8:22 P.M. ET:  From The Weekly Standard:

Under the headline, "Construction Stops at Physician Hospitals," Politico reports today that "Physician Hospitals of America says that construction had to stop at 45 hospitals nationwide or they would not be able to bill Medicare for treatments." Stopping construction at doctor-owned hospitals might not seem like the best way to boost the economy or to promote greater access and choice in health care, but that exactly what Obamacare is doing.

Kenneth Artz of the Heartland Institute explains, "Section 6001 of the health care law effectively bans new physician-owned hospitals (POHs) from starting up, and it keeps existing ones from expanding." Politico adds, "Friday [New Year's Eve] marked the last day physician-owned hospitals could get Medicare certification covering their new or expanded hospitals, one of the latest provisions of the reform law to go into effect."

This little-noticed but particularly egregious aspect of Obamacare is, by all accounts, a concession to the powerful American Hospital Association (AHA), a supporter of Obamacare, which prefers to have its member hospitals operate without competition from hospitals owned by doctors. Dr. Michael Russell, president of Physician Hospitals of America, which has filed suit to try to stop this selective building-ban from going into effect, says, "There are so many regulations [in Obamacare] and they are so onerous and intrusive that we believe that the section [Section 6001] was deliberately designed so no physician owned hospital could successfully comply."

COMMENT:  Feel that reform, feel that improvement in the health-care system.  By the time the bureaucrats get finished with this, it will be a miracle if we get to see any physician.  On the other hand, who will want to go into medicine?

January 3, 2011       Permalink

 

THIS DOESN'T MAKE GOOD TV – AT 9:40 A.M. ET:  Hillary Clinton attended the inauguration of Brazil's new president, former Marxist guerrilla Dilma Rousseff.  And who does Clinton run into?  Why, Hugo Chavez, thug-in-chief from Venezuela, a man who recently took dictatorial powers on himself.

There's a picture going around the internet showing Clinton and Chavez, with Clinton shaking Chavez's hand and smiling broadly:

Despite a simmering diplomatic row, President Hugo Chavez and US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton were seen having a brief, friendly chat Saturday at the inauguration of Brazil's President Dilma Rousseff.

"They talked and smiled, at least for five minutes. It looked like a social conversation, both were smiling," a Brazilian official who witnessed the encounter told AFP on condition of anonymity.

The encounter came only three days after the United States revoked the visa of Venezuela's ambassador in Washington, in reprisal for Chavez's rejection of the US president's appointed ambassador to Caracas.

But Chavez and Clinton were all smiles as they mingled with the presidents of Chile and Colombia and the prime minister of Portugal while waiting to meet Rousseff.

At one point, Chavez extended his hand to Clinton, who shook it, smiling. They chatted for a few minutes before moving on to formally greeting Rousseff.

There were no reports on what was said between them.

Chavez on Tuesday reaffirmed his decision to reject diplomat Larry Palmer as President Barack Obama's ambassador-designate to Caracas, and challenged Washington to break off diplomatic relations if it didn't like it.

The State Department responded the following day by revoking the visa of Venezuelan Ambassador Bernardo Alvarez, who was in Venezuela on vacation.

Big mistake.

Yes, yes, I know, it's diplomacy.  But the Obama administration has a history of insulting American allies and appeasing our enemies.  You'd think Clinton, no fool, would understand the appearances of that picture.  There was no need to smile, or even be gracious.  A simple "hello" would have been fine.

Once again, the image of weakness is reinforced.  Contrast please with the rude treatment that Obama gave British Prime Minister Brown and Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu.

As they say, the whole world is watching.

January 3, 2011     Permalink

 

HEAD COUNT – AT  9:22 A.M. ET:  We bring you exciting news from the world of science.  The term "fathead" may soon be obsolete.  From London's Daily Mail:

It's not something we'd like to admit, but it seems the human race may actually be becoming increasingly dumb.

Man's brain has been gradually shrinking over the last 20,000 years, according to a new report.

This decrease in size follows two million years during which the human cranium steadily grew in size, and it's happened all over the world, to both sexes and every race.

This may account for the behavior at the UN, or at soccer matches.

However...

A recent study by anthropologist Richard Jantz of the University of Tennessee found that our brain size is on the increase again.

Yes, we noticed that in the result of our last election. 

COMMENT:  Don't worry about this.  Obamacare will have a provision for increasing brain size.  Or, you can just read Urgent Agenda. (No, no, no, I didn't mean that.  Yes I did.) 

This issue should not be on our priority list.

January 3, 2011       Permalink

 

POLITICAL DANGER FOR OBAMA – AT 8:44 A.M. ET:  It gives us no pleasure to report ethnic political divides among Americans, but they must be reported because they exist, and they affect elections.

Scott Rasmussen has a startling report on ethnic and ideological division, even within the Democratic Party.  These are danger signs for Mr. Obama:

While President Obama continues to earn sky-high job approval ratings among Democrats, there are significant enthusiasm gaps among various segments of the president's party.

Overall, data from the Rasmussen Reports Presidential Tracking Poll during the final week of 2010 showed that 51% of all Democrats Strongly Approve of the president’s performance. When you include those who Somewhat Approve, the president received positive reviews from 82% of those in his party.

Yet while 75% of Black Democrats Strongly Approve of the job he's doing as president, only 40% of White Democrats share that level of enthusiasm. That gap is much bigger than it was when Obama first took office in January 2009. During his first week as president, he earned Strong Approval from 88% of Black Democrats and 72% of White Democrats.

Among White Democratic men, the president now earns Strong Approval from just 33%. That figure is down from 70% during the president’s first week in office.

From an ideological perspective, 60% of Liberal Democrats Strongly Approve of Obama’s performance. Only 14% of Conservative Democrats agree (down from 49% during Obama’s first week as president).

Overall, including those who Somewhat Approve, the president’s job approval rating is now at 87% among Liberal Democrats and 42% among Conservative Democrats.

Among all White voters, including those who are not Democrats, the president’s overall approval rating is at 38%. Among all Black voters, 94% offer their approval.

COMMENT:  I hate to see a racial divide.  The fact that Mr. Obama had the strong approval of 72% of white Democrats during his first week in office would seem to demonstrate that his drop among whites isn't do to racial prejudice, but the disappointment independents and Republicans feel.

The 94% of approval for Mr. Obama among black voters reflects racial pride and solidarity.  While we can criticize it, at least it's understandable.

The president's popularity, right now, is being propped up by strong minority support.  Far from being a unifying president, he's been divisive.  I'm sorry to say it, but the ethnic divide can provide some ugliness during the 2012 campaign, something we didn't see in 2008.

January 3, 2011      Permalink

 

 

THE PRESIDENT'S ILLUSION – AT 8:11 A.M. ET:  Mr. Obama took, as he said, a "shellacking" in the November election.  And, while that says nothing about his own prospects for 2012, he clearly is worried that the shellac could spread over that year as well, sticky and gooey.  So, what does Obama do?  He channels the Gipper himself, as The Australian notes:

STUNG by criticism he is aloof and out of touch, Barack Obama has turned to the great communicator for inspiration.

He has used his Christmas holiday in Hawaii to read a biography of Ronald Reagan.

The icon of the Republicans and the Tea Party may seem an unusual choice of subject matter for the Democratic President, who spent the first day of 2011 with wife Michelle and daughters Malia and Sasha at Pyramid Rock, a secluded beach at Marine Corps Base Hawaii...

...Like Mr Obama, Reagan suffered a huge drop in popularity and heavy losses in mid-term elections, yet managed to bounce back to win a second term.

Reagan, like Mr Obama, endured what was until then the worst recession since the Great Depression of the 1930s and saw unemployment rise to more than 10 per cent.

Voter disenchantment led to a large swing to the Democrats in the 1982 mid-term elections.

As the economy recovered, however, he went on to trounce Walter Mondale, his Democratic challenger, in the 1984 presidential election, winning almost every state.

And...

White House spokesman Robert Gibbs revealed the President's holiday reading included Lou Cannon's account of Reagan's administration, "President Reagan: The Role of a Lifetime."

"Like Obama, Reagan greatly valued his privacy and was not naturally gregarious," noted Bradley Bloch on The Huffington Post, adding Reagan was a master of "the personal relationship".

"Reagan knew that at the end of the day politics -- even (and perhaps especially) at the global level -- is ultimately about people," Bloch wrote. "As Obama looks to get his groove back, Reagan may be his most accessible role model."

COMMENT:  Earth to Obama:  Learn it right.  With President Reagan, it was far more than an engaging personality.  He personified, to many, the spirit of America.  His greatest gift was not a tax program, or a renewed economy, but a renewal of American morale, shattered by the dreary Jimmah Carter.

Like Carter, Obama is an international appeaser and an arrogant, self-absorbed man. He thinks little of his countrymen, a fact made evident by his off-the-record comment during the 2008 campaign about Americans who "cling to their guns and their religion."  That alone should have gotten him defeated.

Reagan loved America, thought it special, and it showed.

My wife and I sat three rows behind Ronald and Nancy Reagan at a performance of the Gershwin musical, "Crazy for You," in the early nineties.  During intermission, the former president was surrounded by well-wishers in the audience, and he greeted each one.  To watch him interact with ordinary people was a remarkable experience.  But behind that charm lay a man whose values meshed with those of his nation.  He was an American, not a "citizen of the world."

Listening, Mr. President?

January 3, 2011      Permalink

   

 

OUR WORKING YEAR BEGINS TODAY – AT 7:37 A.M. ET:  We know that because the next tax estimate deadline is only 12 days away.  Get those payments in.  The Obama administration is going to need bucks to take over even more of the economy.  Help out, would you? 

No.

The new Congress is arriving today and will be sworn, and sworn at, on Wednesday.  Republicans plan to get right down to work, as The New York Times reports: 

WASHINGTON — Soon after the 112th Congress convenes Wednesday, Republicans in the House plan to make good on a campaign promise that helped vault many new members to victory: voting to repeal President Obama’s health care overhaul.

The vote, which Republican leaders pledged would occur before the president’s State of the Union address later this month, is intended both to appeal to the Tea Party-influenced factions of the House Republican base and to emphasize the muscle of the new party in power. But it could also produce an unintended consequence: a chance for Democrats once again to try their case in support of the health care overhaul before the American public.

Democrats, who in many cases looked on the law as a rabid beast best avoided in the fall elections, are reversing course, gearing up for a coordinated all-out effort to preserve and defend it. Under the law, they say, consumers are already receiving tangible benefits that Republicans would snatch away.

The repeal vote will be symbolic.  The Dem-controlled Senate can stop any repeal effort.  Even if repeal passed the Senate, with the help of moderate Democrats, the president would veto it.  Repeal is a shock tactic designed by Republicans to announce, "We're here."

Charles Krauthammer has, correctly, urged caution on the GOP.  Some aspects of Obamacare are attractive, and those are the ones the Dems will advertise during a repeal battle.  (Examples: allowing "kids" to stay on parents' health plans until they're 26, or prohibiting insurance companies from rejecting applicants with pre-existing conditions.)  And, the Dems have gamed the system by introducing desirable reforms now, but putting off new expenditures until 2014, creating a financial deception, something at which they're superb.

The real GOP strategy, as reported by The Politico, is to attack the Obamacare obamination piece by piece after a repeal vote.  Incoming House Energy and Commerce Chairman Fred Upton (R-Mich.) described the battle plan on Sunday:

“If we pass this bill with a sizeable vote, and I think that we will, it will put enormous pressure on the Senate to do perhaps the same thing,” he said. “But then, after that, we're going to go after this bill piece by piece.”

Upton specifically called out the requirement for businesses to complete 1099 tax forms, the individual mandate and the amendment on abortion introduced by Michigan Democratic Rep. Bart Stupak. "We will look at these individual pieces to see if we can't have the thing crumble," he said.

And...

“The more the people learn about Obamacare, the less they like it,” said Rep. Michele Bachmann (R-Minn.) on CBS's "Face the Nation." She added, “It's very costly; it's unwieldy. So we will put forth a clean repeal bill of Obamacare. And you'll continue to see us make that fight because that's what the American people want us to do.”

COMMENT:  Note to Republicans:  Be careful, as Krauthammer advises.  Because Obamacare is a mess doesn't mean there's no health-care problem.  The system needs reform.  Republicans must be ready with alternative ideas that capture the public's imagination.  Just saying no to aspects of Obamacare, without solving problems, will make the GOP House as unpopular as the Democratic House just buried.

Republicans have a chance now to show the creativity they've lacked in recent years.

January 3, 2011     Permalink

 

 

 

JANUARY 2,  2011

A PUBLIC SERVICE FOR YOU – AT 10:11 P.M. ET:  We always look for opportunities to serve our readers, and so we pass this on to you, just in case you're planning a romantic visit to Iran.  Send this to friends or relatives.  From AP:

TEHRAN, Iran -- Cupid beware: Iran says it's cracking down on the symbols of Valentine's Day.

The annual homage to romance on Feb. 14 has become popular in recent years in Iran and other places in the Middle East.

But Iran's semiofficial ILNA news agency reports Sunday that a state directive now bans any cards, gifts, teddy bears or other tokens of the day - which tradition says is named after an early Christian martyr.

The backlash in the Islamic Republic is part of a drive against the spread of Western culture.

Other Muslim countries such as Saudi Arabia also have sought to stamp out Valentine's Day. But it's celebrated widely in nearby places such as Dubai.

COMMENT:  Now remember, we must be tolerant of other cultures.  I can easily understand how Valentine's Day might be considered a threat in Iran, since one never knows what subversive thoughts a Valentine's Day card might contain.  Do you know what your own children are reading?

I, for one, believe we might someday have to apologize for Valentine's Day, and all the horror it has brought to the world.  Remember the St. Valentine's Day massacre in Chicago?  That's probably what the Iranians are afraid of.  Who are we to judge?

(Anyone who believes the last two paragraphs needs help.  Call a hotline.  Any hotline.  Even the one that tells you how to match paint colors.)

January 2, 2011      Permalink

 

INTERESTING TAKE ON THE NEW CONGRESS – AT 11:20 A.M. ET:  Pelosi hands the gavel to Boehner on Wednesday.  Republicans have a number of ideas on how to govern.  They also have an interesting view on the relationship of the new Congress to the military.  From Stars and Stripes, the storied newspaper for the armed services, which I think we're quoting for the first time today:

WASHINGTON — When the new Congress is seated later this month, it will boast the largest number of Iraq War veterans ever, but will have a lower overall number of members who’ve served in the military.

Veterans groups and the new slate of lawmakers hope that the influx of younger veterans — eight House members and two Senators, all Republicans, have served in Iraq — will help bring a new perspective to the legislative session, helping keep the focus on Iraq and Afghanistan even as financial reform issues dominate the headlines.

“I think you’ll see the House Armed Services Committee become more of a war committee than it has been in the last few years,” said Rep. Duncan Hunter, R-Calif., who served with the Marines in both the Iraq and Afghanistan wars.

“We need to be more focused on Iraq and Afghanistan. And we need to make the military a leaner, meaner fighting machine.”

Yes, and the old problem of a bloated Pentagon bureaucracy is rearing its head again.  We must avoid drifting in the direction of Britain, where there recently were more employees in the Ministry of Defence than there were members of the Royal Air Force.

Hunter and Colorado Republican Rep. Mike Coffman are the only two returning Iraq veterans in the House, but they’ll be joined by six freshman lawmakers with current war experience, including three who’ve been appointed to the House Armed Services Committee.

“If you’ve been in the military, you can take policy proposals and think about how that change is going to play out, not from an academic standpoint but from an experience standpoint,” said Rep. Tim Griffin, R-Ark., one of those three newcomers and a major in the Army Reserve.

COMMENT:  Good common sense.  Each succeeding Congress has fewer and fewer members who've served in the military.  And that adds to the disconnect between the armed forces and the civilian population.  It appears that the GOP will make the most of the experience of those who've served, a sharp contrast to the Dems, who never seemed to give the matter much attention.

January 2, 2011      Permalink

 

SNIPPET OF THE DAY – AT 10:44 A.M. ET:

From London's Telegraph:  A MUSLIM claims to have found a message from God – in a tomato.  Salman Gul discovered the apparent Arabic words as he munched on a roll bought from Subway in Normanton Road, Derby.  When a slice of tomato fell out he saw what appeared to be the message "Muhammad is God's Messenger" formed in Arabic text by the tomato's veins.

Look, we don't question religious beliefs here, and we respect the man's devotion.  But somehow I don't see Subway as quite on the level of Fatima, Mecca, or the Wailing Wall.  I mean, will there be pilgrimages?  How does Subway explain this in New York?

January 2, 2011       Permalink

 

WHY DO I HAVE TO READ THIS IN THE TIMES OF INDIA? – AT 10:35 A.M. ET:  Because I haven't found it anywhere in our mainstream media.  So, from The Times of India:

WASHINGTON: Indian-origin Louisiana leader Bobby Jindal is the most popular serving governor in the United States, an opinion poll has said.

Jindal has an approval rating of 58 per cent approval rating, along with 34 per cent disapproving of his job, shows a survey by Public Policy Polling.

One of the top ranking Republican leaders of the country, Jindal is seeking re-election next year.

Jindal is closely followed by Jodi Rell of Connecticut, who has an approval rating of 55 per cent.

California's Arnold Schwarzenegger is the least popular Governor in the country with an approval rating of just 25 per cent.

COMMENT:  Jindal has been a fine governor, and handled the BP oil spill with intelligence and ability, unlike the Obama administration, which didn't handle it at all.

However, Jindal's presidential star has dimmed somewhat, possibly because of a speaking style that's a bit rushed and "unpresidential."  Too bad.  I think he could do the job very well, and far outdistance the incumbent.

January 2, 2011       Permalink

 

THIS DAY – AT 10:14 A.M. ET:  This is an important day in our holiday season, marked on calendars all over the nation as TDTRGH...The Day the Relatives Go Home.  Tomorrow brings the serenity of quietude.

But there's time for one last toast – to Texas Christian University for winning the Rose Bowl, showing that a small school can do it, and deserves to be counted in the big leagues.  I had a slight leaning for Wisconsin, since half the population of New York State attends the University of Wisconsin, but I take pleasure in TCU's victory.

Of course, I do remember, if only via history books, when our Columbia University, dear to our family's heart, played in the Rose Bowl, and won – in 1934.  Okay, that was only 77 years ago, and my parents weren't even married.  But Columbia did win, under legendary coach Lou Little.  Then Columbia turned left, and football become a secondary sport, losing out to campus riots. 

My daughter was a Columbia football cheerleader.  I'll ask her if she recalls any victories.  If I remember correctly, all the players were under 5'6" and wanted to be entertainment lawyers. 

But three cheers to TCU.

January 2, 2011     Permalink