“Why Are Obama’ Critics So Dumb?” That’s the question posed by Andrew Sullivan in the cover story of this week’s Newsweek.

But you’d have to be stupid, fanatical, and dishonest to argue–as Trig Truther Sullivan does–that Barack Obama’s failures are part of an ingenious “long game” that is destined to succeed.

If this is the best Obama’s supporters can do, Obama’s only hope for re-election is the weak Republican field.

Sullivan, who claims to care about national debt, begins by arguing, contrary to reality, that Obama’s massive $787 billion stimulus (actually, $862 billion) turned the economy around. He offers no proof other than the post hoc, ergo propter hoc fallacy familiar from basic economics. Sullivan also ignores the composition of the stimulus, which shoveled cash to cronies and bloated big states with their massive public sector obligations.

In addition, Sullivan claims that Obama’s auto bailout succeeded–when in fact it pushed aside property rights and subsidized failed “green” cars, rather than allowing car makers to rebuild through normal bankruptcy. He also commends Obama for continuing George W. Bush’s bank bailouts–but does not mention the Dodd-Frank financial “reforms” that enshrine “too big to fail,” hurt small businesses and fail to address Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac.

Next, Sullivan tries to defend Obama on taxes, pointing out that the president passed tax cuts as part of the stimulus. He ignores the numerous new taxes and tax increases that Obama signed into law–from higher cigarette taxes to the many ObamaCare taxes–as well as the glaring fact that Obama has been campaigning for the past several years on the promise to raise taxes on the rich, and would have done so if not for Congress. (more…)

The Obama administration has responded in court regarding Judicial Watch’s pursuit of the CIA’s bin Laden death photos.  Given the administration’s open hostility to government transparency, it probably does not come as a surprise that the CIA is fighting tooth-and-nail to keep these photos secret.

Judicial Watch filed a Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) request with the Obama Department of Defense (DOD) seeking the following records: “[A]ll photographs and/or video recordings of Osama (Usama) bin Laden taken during and/or after the U.S. Military operation in Pakistan on or about May 1, 2011.” (We filed an identical request with the CIA.) When the government stonewalled, we sued.  Now we’re in the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia trying to force the release of the photos.

The DOD says it came up empty in response to our request, though I have good reason to believe that the Pentagon didn’t look hard enough.  But the CIA admitted it found 52 responsive records (photos and video).  Here’s a description of what they found according to the government’s most recent court filing:

These records contain images of Osama bin Laden’s body after he was killed.  Many are graphic and gruesome, as they depict the fatal bullet wound to bin Laden’s head.  Some of the images were taken inside the compound in Abbottabad, Pakistan, where bin Laden was killed.  Other images were taken as bin Laden’s body was transported from the Abbottabad compound to the location where he was buried at sea.  Several images depict the preparation of Osama bin Laden’s body for the burial as well as the burial itself.

So they have the photos and videos we’re after for sure.  But the agency refuses to release them to the public.  Why?

(more…)

Today, I’ll be thinking less about the World Trade Center and more about my father and the relentless – probably unique – ability of New York City to bury its dead and move on without a backward glance.

My father was born in Manhattan in 1923, in a tenement building off Columbus Circle. A few years later, he moved to Brooklyn, a borough that was considered the country back then, a place that had more horses than cars. By the time he left there for good in 1966, it wasn’t the country anymore, that’s for sure.

He worked for Sea-Land, a shipping company that was one of the World Trade Center’s original tenants, and one of my very earliest memories is of my older brother and me playing in the company’s unfinished offices in one of the towers before the complex opened to the public in 1973.

Like many, probably most, New Yorkers, my father hated the Twin Towers at first, preferring the Chrysler and Empire State buildings, which had gone up during his childhood.

He’d seen King Kong when it came out in 1933, he explained, and he just couldn’t see the big ape climbing the towers. By the late ‘70s – after Philippe Petit tightrope walked across them, George Willig scaled them, Owen Quinn parachuted from them, and King Kong himself had been shot off them in a 1976 remake – he’d come around.

(more…)

“…on a day when others tried to divide us, we can regain the sense of common purpose that stirred in our hearts 10 years ago. As a nation, we face difficult challenges, and as citizens in a democratic society we engage in vigorous debates about the future. But as we do, let’s never forget the lesson we learned anew 10 years ago — that our differences pale beside what unites us and that when we choose to move forward together, as one American family, the United States doesn’t just endure, we can emerge from our tests and trials stronger than before. That’s the America we were on 9/11 and in the days that followed. That’s the America we can and must always be.”
– Pres. Barack Obama, USA Today, Sept. 8, 2011

Ten year have passed since the Islamist attacks on the United States of America; attacks that killed 2,977 people in New York, Washington, DC and Shanksville, PA. Since that time we have routed the Taliban from their haven in Afghanistan, dispatched Osama bin Laden to the icy deep and lopped off many of the heads of the Islamist terror hydra. We have grown as a people to better understand the dysfunctional relationship that the Islamic theo-political dogma has with Western Culture. And we have done our best to attain closure, for ourselves, for our society and for our country.

But closure can be hard to attain when there are no bodies to bury and no pointed victory over a vanquished foe. And when closure alludes because of unresolved issues we must always re-examine the event; the moment; the realities.

At the ten year mark, an American president is foolishly stopping short of succeeding in a generational conflict with fundamentalist Islamists…or radical Islamists…or jihadists, you pick the politically correct term the Progressive-Left elitists are sanctioning as appropriate this week. To me, they are the enemy; bloodthirsty ideologues who are committed to ideological conquest by the sword in their quest to establish a global Caliphate existing under the exclusive stricture of Sharia Law. But then, that’s just me…educated on the subject and painfully realistic in my examination. You see, I dispensed with the self-imposed mental handicap of political correctness years ago…and I feel a lot better for having done so. I also see things a lot clearer without the fog of stupidity clouding every issue.

At the ten year mark, a secularist New York Mayor – along with the Progressive elites of his ilk – is advocating for the construction of a victory mosque within the footprint of the fallen World Trade Center. New York’s Mayor Bloomberg, about as self-righteous as they come, is so certain that a “kumbaya” inclusionist approach to fundamentalist Islam will heal the rift between cultures that he refuses to examine the Islamic traditions of conquest; traditions that include building great mosques over conquered lands and, in particular, conquered religious properties. One need only understand that mosques now stand over holy places meaningful to religions that existed long before Muhammad or the theo-political creed that is Islam, established in 610 A.D., to validate this reality.

(more…)

Talking points. Anyone standing in front of a group of people, representing an organization or focused message has ‘em, just in case the person speaking decides to veer off topic and start discussing the lunch that gave him heartburn.

Yeah, most of us see the need for ‘em.

But when our own government sends out a list of  9/11 talking points in order to curb and dilute the message of this terrible sacred day, it shows how far gone this administration really is when it comes to knowing the pulse and sentiments of its people.

According to a the New York Times report, the adminstration said its goal in issuing 9/11 talking points is to “present a positive, forward-looking narrative.”

“As we commemorate the citizens of over 90 countries who perished in the 9/11 attacks, we honor all victims of terrorism in every nation around the world. We honor and celebrate the resilience of individuals, families and communities on every continent, whether in New York or Nairobi, Bali or Belfast, Mumbai or Manila, or Lahore or London,” the guidelines state.

We all understand people of many different nationalities perished on 9/11. We also understand the global impact of 9/11 and how it changed the face of terrorism in the world. Suddenly, we were all acutely aware of the danger out there – the fact we, as Americans were being targeted and hated as a country for our beliefs in freedom, independence and liberty. So, to globalize the 10th anniversary into a memorial to victims of terrorism around the world seems to demean the significance and importance of this one, very real event in America’s history.

(more…)

Audio clip: Adobe Flash Player (version 9 or above) is required to play this audio clip. Download the latest version here. You also need to have JavaScript enabled in your browser.

Download Podcast | iTunes | Podcast Feed

On today’s edition of Coffee and Markets, Pejman Yousefzadeh and Kevin Holtsberry are joined by Daveed Gartenstein-Ross to talk about his book Bin Laden’s Legacy: Why We’re Still Losing the War on Terror. We’ll discuss how al Qaeda has been working to deplete American resources, forced us to implement non-strategic counterterrorism policies both at home and abroad, and the rope-a-dope strategy they have employed against the United States.

We’re brought to you as always by BigGovernment and Stephen Clouse and Associates. If you’d like to email us, you can do so at coffee[at]newledger.com. We hope you enjoy the show.

Related Links:

Bin Laden’s Legacy: Why We’re Still Losing the War on Terror
Book Review: Bin Laden’s Legacy by Daveed Gartenstein-Ross
Daveed Gartenstein-Ross
Daveed Gartenstein-Ross at the Foundation for Defense of Democracies

Follow Pej on Twitter
Follow Kevin on Twitter
Follow Daveed on Twitter

When Deputy Attorney General James Cole released a letter on July 11^th announcing that the Justice Department’s fix-it-all for “Fast and Furious” would be new gun control measures aimed at keeping better track of long guns, I thought hypocrisy had hit its limit. (After all, hundreds upon hundreds of long guns are currently in the hands of criminals in Mexico and along our southern border because of the duplicity of the Justice Department and the ATF.)

But 10 days later – July 21^st – I realized that Deputy Cole’s hypocrisy was nothing compared that demonstrated by Big Sis and her video crew at the Department of Homeland Security (DHS). I say this because the DHS just released a video ostensibly designed to encourage Americans to report suspicious terror-related activity when they see it: however, the message of the video is not actually about terrorism the way we’ve experienced it in the real world. Rather, it’s a public relations stunt in which every terrorist is depicted as white and almost every one who reports the suspicious activity is black, Asian, or Middle Eastern.

And early in the video, as the narrator describes the tragedy of terroristic acts against our nation, pictures of Ted Kaczynski, Tim McVeigh, and other white criminals are shown on the screen.

I actually believe that deep down inside, some of the hardcore lefties are thrilled with what McVeigh did because it finally gave them an example of a white bomber they can flash on the screen every time a Muslim extremist attacks the U.S.S. Cole or the World Trade Centers or the Pentagon or tries to blow up a plane with an underwear bomb or a shoe bomb or opens fire on Ft. Hood or shoots recruiters at the Little Rock recruitment center or blows himself up in a roadside attack against out soldiers, etc., etc.

The theme of the DHS video is, “If you see something, say something.” But to be honest with you, they should have called it “middle class white guys with bad intentions,” because it is completely framed around the idea that middle class white guys are the gravest threat our country faces (as far as terrorism goes).

(more…)

Audio clip: Adobe Flash Player (version 9 or above) is required to play this audio clip. Download the latest version here. You also need to have JavaScript enabled in your browser.

Download Podcast | iTunes | Podcast Feed

On today’s edition of Coffee and Markets, Brad Jackson and Ben Domenech are joined by John Yoo, former Department of Justice official under President George W. Bush to discuss how enhanced interrogation techniques lead to Osama bin Laden’s death, how Bush administration policies have helped the war on terror, and what missteps lie ahead for Obama.

We’re brought to you as always by BigGovernment and Stephen Clouse and Associates. If you’d like to email us, you can do so at coffee[at]newledger.com. We hope you enjoy the show.

Related Links:

Robert Gates on America’s Role in the World
Robert Gates: ‘If America Declines to Lead in the World, Others Will Not’
John Yoo: Tough interrogations worked
From Guantanamo to Abbottabad
Libya and the War Powers Abdication
John Yoo’s Book – Crisis and Command: A History of Executive Power from George Washington to George W. Bush
John Yoo at AEI

Follow Brad on Twitter
Follow Ben on Twitter

By now, you’ve all seen it.  Gawker has reported on it, as has Huffington Post and Jake Tapper, among others.

It was tweeted this afternoon from the official Secret Service Twitter account and subsequently deleted by its author.  But Twitter has no mercy…delete can only delete if no eyes ever saw it in the first place.  Unfortunately for one Secret Service employee, eyes saw it.

I called the Secret Service Office of Public Affairs to ask for a comment.  I asked the question and almost immediately after identifying myself, was transferred to the voice mail of spokesman Robert Novy.  Luckily, Jake Tapper had already reached the office and received an official statement:

“An employee with access to the Secret Service’s Twitter account, who mistakenly believed they were on their personal account, posted an unapproved and inappropriate tweet,” Special Agent in Charge Edwin M. Donovan said in a statement to ABC News. “The tweet did not reflect the views of the U.S. Secret Service and it was immediately removed. We apologize for this mistake, and the user no longer has access to our official account. “

My first question was, ‘why is the Secret Service monitoring FOX News in the first place’?  But then I realized that such agencies monitor news outlets all the time – if they didn’t, they wouldn’t know which person in Congress just said something stupid that might prompt a foreign entity, or perhaps terrorists, to get really pissed at us.  And for other generally harmless reasons, too, of course.  It’s their public affairs staff doing the monitoring.  And besides, it’s Twitter.  We all know, Twitter is a public sandbox – you get in and play, and anyone can see you, and play with you.

I will admit however, I was slightly irked when I saw this in Jake Tapper’s report:

(more…)

Sorry Mr. President, the party is over. Less than two weeks after Osama Bin Laden was killed by a squad of hero Navy Seals, the bump in Obama’s ratings has disappeared, in fact the latest Rasmussen poll shows that some of his numbers are worse than before.

For example the chart below reflects the President’s approval index from the day the Bin Laden news was released though today.  Approval index represents the people who strongly approve of the President’s performance minus the people who strongly disapprove. So it is an indication of the people most passionate about President’s performance, these are the people who are most likely to work toward/against Re-election of the present POTUS.

Keep in mind, the Bin Laden news was released well after the May 2nd sample was taken and released. Rasmussen numbers reflect three days sampling ending with the day prior to the numbers being released so, for example for the May 4th numbers only one third of the sample was questioned after the Bin Laden death was reported.  It was not until May 6th that the entire sample had the possibility of being aware of the death of Bin Laden.

On May 2nd, the day Bin Laden was killed the President’s approval index was at a -12. From there it generally rose through May 7th, and started falling through today’s report which shows him back at a -12.

Overall approval and disapproval numbers show the same pattern.

(more…)

On Sunday the world was again reminded that the American military, when given a clear and specific mission, is the most potent force in history. The daring mission, conducted deep inside Pakistan was the culmination of a decade-long manhunt. While the brave men on the ground enjoyed the satisfaction of killing the world’s most wanted terrorist, hundreds of other military and intelligence personnel were also rewarded for countless hours of intense and stressful work.

They all have the earned their place among the country’s heroes.

All Americans are grateful for their dedication, professionalism and commitment to protecting our nation and her people.  So, it was no surprise that the United States Senate took time on Tuesday to honor these men and women by discussing and passing a resolution expressing the nation’s thanks for a job well done.

It was also no surprise that similar resolutions were introduced in the U.S. House, the “peoples’ chamber.” Although slightly different, resolutions from Reps. Thaddeus McCotter, Sheila Jackson Lee and Bill Owens also expressed the nation’s deep appreciation of the men and women who played a role in this dangerous mission.

But, a funny thing happened on the way to passage; House GOP leadership decided not to pass ANY resolution honoring our service personnel. They simply went about their normal business and then left town yesterday, ignoring all of the resolutions. It is unlikely the House will ever get around to, you know, saying thanks for doing such a great job.

(more…)

I tuned in for the first GOP debate held in South Carolina. Everyone did fine. I laughed, I cried, and had some chicken nuggets. A few at the podiums were more polished than others. Pawlenty seemed to distance himself from the pack in key places. Overall, the opinions and styles were as numerous as the questions being asked. Having said that, none present tonight showcased the ability or the talent to go all the way. Even a wounded Obama is still a formidable Obama, and a sitting president has a four year record to run on — good, bad, or indifferent. And when you don’t point out the bad, that leaves the good and the indifferent.

Certainly, President Obama will have the biggest and shiniest trophy in which to hold and parade around the country: Osama bin Laden. And what a trophy it is. President Obama was in charge when the most wanted person on earth was finally brought to justice. Obama will go down in presidential history as the owner and author of one of the greatest foreign policy achievements in our nation’s history. Undoubtedly he should win an easy ….. Wait a minute: Didn’t George H.W. Bush also receive similar praise for assembling and leading a multi-national military force against Saddam Hussein in the first Persian Gulf War?

The Republican candidates must not fall for the trap of having the foreign policy angle used against them. As if questioning the president on his foreign policy agenda is now all the sudden not an option. There are plenty of past and current decisions in which to choose from that shows President Obama’s lack of strategic insight. More importantly, they must not allow it to prevent them from discussing the real issue in America and for Americans.

The Republicans may not have a trophy such as OBL but they do hold kryptonite and it’s called the economy.

(more…)

Even before Osama Bin Laden was killed by U.S. soldiers, his brand of anti-modern, anti-pleasure Islam was under attack by Bollywood, India’s pop culture juggernaut that boasts a global audience of 3 billion people.

As Reason Foundation Senior Analyst Shikha Dalmia explains, Bollywood movies and videos appeal to young men and women in Muslim and Arab countries because they dramatize the sorts of tensions between traditional and modern ways of living. “Who should decide who one should marry – is it the parents or is it the boy and girls themselves?” asks the Indian-born and raised Dalmia. “In the West, in Hollywood movies, it’s not even an issue. But it’s a huge issue in that part of the world and all of Bollywood movies deal with that one central question.”

Dalmia also notes that Muslims are among the most popular – and sexually suggestive – performers in Bollywood productions. “When you have Muslims succeeding in Bollywood as Muslims, it makes them feel, well, we don’t have to give up our religion in order to be modern,” observes Dalmia. “That’s very, very subversive…of Islamic demands and Islamic extremism….If you can have a good time in this world…and still be religious, why do you have to strap suicide bombs to your chest and blow yourself up?”

(more…)

It would be the ultimate irony if the one courageous and decisive act by President Obama turned out to be yet another liability. Quite frankly, it would not be surprising either.

Questions about how the death and burial of Osama bin Laden came about are mounting. It is becoming increasingly evident that the White House is now backing off, changing details, and spinning to its political advantage an event that should primarily celebrate a decade of U.S. policies of intelligence-gathering and military strategy, as well as the strength and competence of the best-trained military in the world.

CIA Chief, Leon Panetta, now appears to be at odds with the White House, regarding both the release of photos of bin Laden’s body and whether waterboarding was used to extract intelligence information from detainees of Guantanamo.

White House spokesman Jay Carney, and now the president himself, has said that the White House is reluctant to release the photos of the body because of concern about “sensitivities.” The question is, whose “sensitivities?” Other radical jihadists who may be enraged further with the United States? American citizens who have already witnessed gruesome photos of dead civilians- courtesy of the main stream media- in Iraq and Afghanistan? Or, the liberal base of the Democratic party, who can’t quite get their heads around the fact that their president- who is supposedly of such superior moral character, and has already done such a thorough job of apologizing to the world for the “transgressions” of the United States- actually made a decision to kill the apparently unarmed terrorist within sight of his wife (or child), to defend and preserve American freedom and security?

(more…)

Audio clip: Adobe Flash Player (version 9 or above) is required to play this audio clip. Download the latest version here. You also need to have JavaScript enabled in your browser.

Download Podcast | iTunes | Podcast Feed

On today’s edition of Coffee and Markets, we’re joined by D.B. Grady, a correspondent for The Atlantic, author, paratrooper, and veteran of Afghanistan, to discuss the regional fallout from the death of Osama bin Laden in Pakistan.

We’re brought to you as always by BigGovernment and Stephen Clouse and Associates. If you’d like to email us, you can do so at coffee[at]newledger.com. We hope you enjoy the show.

Related Links:

D.B. Grady’s Website
The Atlantic: Veteran’s Day
DC Examiner: Pakistan’s Role as Bin Laden’s Protector
RCW: Pakistan’s Osama Problem
RCW: In Osama’s Death, a Vindication of Obama’s Choices
RCW: Should Obama Have Captured Bin Laden?
(more…)

From CBSNews:

In an interview with Steve Kroft for this Sunday’s 60 Minutes, President Obama says he won’t release post-mortem images of Osama bin Laden taken to prove his death.

Video of the comments will appear on the CBS “Evening News” on Wednesday.

Republican House Intelligence Committee Chairman Mike Rogers said Wednesday that the Obama administration should not release the gruesome post-mortem images, saying it could complicate the job for American troops overseas. Rogers told CBS News he has seen a post-mortem photo.

“The risks of release outweigh the benefits,” he said. “Conspiracy theorists around the world will just claim the photos are doctored anyway, and there is a real risk that releasing the photos will only serve to inflame public opinion in the Middle East.”

(more…)

Audio clip: Adobe Flash Player (version 9 or above) is required to play this audio clip. Download the latest version here. You also need to have JavaScript enabled in your browser.

Download Podcast | iTunes | Podcast Feed

On today’s edition of Coffee and Markets, Brad Jackson is joined by Pejman Yousefzadeh and Elizabeth Blackney to discuss the importance of Osama bin Laden’s death photos, and why waterboarding is an important tool in the war against terrorism.

We’re brought to you as always by BigGovernment and Stephen Clouse and Associates. If you’d like to email us, you can do so at coffee[at]newledger.com. We hope you enjoy the show.

Related Links:

Closer look at bin Laden’s compound
White House Weighing Release of Bin Laden Photographs from Pakistan, Afghanistan, and Deck of Aircraft Carrier
‘Cheney’s assassination squad’ just killed bin Laden
Pej: Means To An End
Republicans note harsh interrogation helped bin Laden operation

Follow Brad on Twitter
Follow Pej on Twitter
Follow Elizabeth on Twitter

Congratulations to President Obama for the gutsy call regarding the killing of Osama bin Laden. I didn’t know he had it in him.  His campaign pledge of going into Pakistan unannounced – once met with derision by John McCain and the Republicans – was fulfilled and is precisely what it took to get the bastard.

Obama is riding the positive wave for all it’s worth. John Brennan, homeland security advisor, was dispatched to the briefing room to regale the media with the administration’s heroics.  The LA Times provided the right amount of reality:

“Sunday was, Brennan revealed to his eager audience, ‘probably one of the most anxiety-filled periods of times in the lives of the people assembled here.’ Poor, poor bureaucrats. Extra Tums all around. Did someone order dinner?”

Obama will be visiting Ground Zero Thursday.  According to FoxNews.com, the president explained:

“I know that unity that we felt on 9/11 has frayed a little bit over the years, and I have no illusions about the difficulties, the debates we’ll have to be engaged in in the weeks and months to come,” Obama said. “But I also know there have been several moments like this during the course of this year that have brought us together as an American family, whether it was the tragedy in Tucson or most recently our unified response to storms that have taken place in the South.”

It is this type of response that leads me to believe these kinds of events, Tucson specifically, are used by politicians to marginalize legitimate critics.

As the president said, it was a “good day” for America when Bin Laden’s last memory was apparently the barrel of an American gun.

(more…)

Audio clip: Adobe Flash Player (version 9 or above) is required to play this audio clip. Download the latest version here. You also need to have JavaScript enabled in your browser.

Download Podcast | iTunes | Podcast Feed

On today’s edition of Coffee and Markets, Brad Jackson and Ben Domenech are joined by Dan McLaughlin to discuss his experience on September 11, 2001, and what the death of Osama bin Laden means to him, the country and the legacy of 9/11.

We’re brought to you as always by BigGovernment and Stephen Clouse and Associates. If you’d like to email us, you can do so at coffee[at]newledger.com. We hope you enjoy the show.

Related Links:

WHY BASEBALL STILL MATTERS: My September 11 Story
Bin Laden Announcement Has Highest Sustained Tweet Rate Ever, At 3440 Tweets Per Second
Osama Is Dead. Don’t Believe It Makes Obama Invulnerable to Defeat
Coffee & Markets: The Symbolism of Osama Bin Laden’s Death

Follow Brad on Twitter
Follow Ben on Twitter
Follow Dan on Twitter