Worth Noting
The White House "Jobs-Saved" Deception
After nearly twenty years in Washington I thought I've seen every trick ever conceived, but the White House claims of "jobs saved" attributed to the stimulus bill is unrivaled. What causes the jaw to drop is not just the breathtaking deception of the claim, but the gullibility of the Washington press corps to continue reporting it.
News stories from President Obama's event last week hailing the 100-day mark since the stimulus was passed typically repeated the assertion that the stimulus has already "created or saved 150,00 jobs." ("And that's just the beginning," the President crowed.)
Here's an important note to my friends in the news media: the White House has absolutely no earthly clue how many job losses have been prevented because of the stimulus bill. None. Not Christina Romer. Not Jared Bernstein. Not Austen Goolsbee.
FULL ARTICLE: http://www.cnbc.com/id/31063979
Democratic Opposition to Miguel Estrada
The media and Democrats are driving the story line that Republicans will damage themselves with Hispanics if they oppose Ms. Sotomayor. What damage did Democrats face when they attacked Miguel Estrada's nomination by President George W. Bush to the D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals in 2001?
2009 Speaker Series: What Karl Rove wants now is to set the record straight
On Thursday at the Chicago Theatre, Karl Rove, former senior adviser and deputy chief of staff to President George W. Bush, will debate James Carville, the Democratic strategist and political consultant. Journalist Charlie Rose moderates. Rove spoke by phone to the Tribune; here’s an edited transcript.
Some Obama Enemies Are Made Totally of Straw
WASHINGTON — Democrats often complained about President George W. Bush’s frequent use of a rhetorical device as old as rhetoric itself: creating the illusion of refuting an opponent’s argument by mischaracterizing it and then knocking down that mischaracterization.
There was much outrage in 2006, for example, when Mr. Bush said that when it came to battling terrorists, “I need members of Congress who understand that you can’t negotiate with these folks,” implying that Democrats backed talks with Al Qaeda. That assertion was promptly, and angrily, disputed by Senator John Kerry of Massachusetts.
Now that there is a new team at the White House, guess who is knocking down straw men left and right? To listen to President Obama, a veritable army of naysayers has invaded Washington, urging him to sit on his hands at the White House and do nothing to address any of the economic or national security problems facing the country.
FULL ARTICLE: http://www.nytimes.com/2009/05/24/us/politics/24straw.html?ref=politics
In My Library: Karl Rove
Asked for the books that helped shape his philosophy -- political and economic -- Rove came up with a list that didn't include Machiavelli's "The Prince." Isn't that in his library, too?
"Oh yeah," he says. "It's supposed to be my favorite. It was Lee Atwater's favorite, but I reread it occasionally. I have a wonderful old copy, but it would not be in my top 10."
Here, four books that are.
No Job Growth Until 2010
Here's a good article by NYT's Joshua Brustein,"White House Forecasts No Job Growth Until 2010." The prediction that we won't have any job growth until next year doesn't bode well for the pledge the stimulus would create/save 3.675 million jobs.
Here are the latest job growth numbers released May 8th.
The Obully Pulpit
In announcing the Chrysler bankruptcy, President Obama launched a broadside attack on creditors who declined to buckle under White House pressure to cut a bad deal.
The assault on hedge funds, derided by the Bully in Chief as a small band of "speculators" seeking a "bailout", was more than President Obama's usual opportunistic populism - it's a signal of the pernicious effect of the increasingly intrusive federal role in the private sector.
FULL ARTICLE: http://www.cnbc.com/id/30517825
The West Coast Plot: An "Inconvenient Truth"
Critics of the CIA program are desperate to convince Americans that no valuable information came from the interrogations of Khalid Sheikh Mohammed (KSM) and other senior terrorists. They know that if our citizens learn the details of how enhanced interrogations stopped terrorist plots, most would support the CIA program. A recent Pew poll showed that 71% of Americans believe that there are circumstances under which torture (not just enhanced interrogations, but actual torture) is justifiable to get information from captured terrorists.
FULL ARTICLE: http://corner.nationalreview.com/post/?q=ZDE5YTNmZTg5OWUyOTlkMGUxOTk3OGMxY2I4ZDQ4YWQ
Decision to Release Interrogation Memos
President Obama's decision last Thursday to release U.S. Department of Justice memos outlining the Bush administration's use of interrogation tactics was a mistake. One that has undoubtedly made America less safe and has undermined the Central Intelligence Agency's ability to effectively gather information on groups that want to harm our country.
The declassified memos show the integral role medical professionals played in the interrogation process by making certain that detainees were "not likely to suffer any severe physical or mental pain or suffering as a result of interrogation." Now public, this knowledge is sure to serve as a psychological victory for future detainees and a barrier for the CIA in its pursuit for critical information about terrorist organizations.
I encourage you to read at least one of these memos. You'll be reassured about the precautions the Bush administration took to guarantee compliance with the federal prohibition on torture. You might even characterize its diligence as overcautious.
U.S. Department of Justice Memos Disclosed by the Obama Administration, 4/16/09 (PDF Downloads)
- Interrogation of al Qaeda Operative, Memorandum for John Rizzo, Acting General Counsel of the Central Intelligence Agency, August 1, 2002
- Application of 18 U.S.C. 2340-2340A to Certain Techniques That May Be Used in the Interrogation of a High Value al Qaeda Detainee, Memorandum for John Rizzo, Acting General Counsel of the Central Intelligence Agency, May 10, 2005
- Application of 18 U.S.C. 2340-2340A to the Combined Use of Certain Techniques in the Interrogation of High Value al Qaeda Detainees, Memorandum for John Rizzo, Acting General Counsel of the Central Intelligence Agency, May 10, 2005
- Application of United States Obligations Under Article 16 of the Convention Against Torture to Certain Techniques that May Be Used in the Interrogation of High Value al Qaeda Detainees, Memorandum for John Rizzo, Acting General Counsel of the Central Intelligence Agency, May 30, 2005
Perspectives:
The Post and Abu Zubaydah
The Washington Post ran a front-page, above-the-fold, story today alleging that the interrogation of Abu Zubaydah foiled no plots. Here's a powerful rebuttal by Marc Theissen, former chief speechwriter for President George W. Bush.
FULL ARTICLE: http://corner.nationalreview.com/post/?q=ZTEzMjc3YWU3ZmJiNzA3NThhNjdiMmY4MDkzNjRlMDY