From publishing the Pentagon Papers to revealing the al Qaeda wiretaps to providing lengthy depictions on enhanced interrogation techniques employed by the United States, the New York Times has shown time and again they cannot keep a secret, except …
Except when it benefits one of their own.
New York Times reporter David Rohde was kidnapped and held by the Taliban in Pakistan seven months ago. Since that time, the New York Times has actively and effectively fought to have this information withheld from publication from all news sources, including al Jazeera.
The duplicity exhibited by New York Times executive editor Bill Keller of the New York Times is disgusting. Keller’s justifications for spiking the story for 7 months could apply to each of the stories the NYT was requested to withhold for national security reasons, but did not.
"All along, we were told by people that probably the wisest course for … safety was to keep it quiet." The al Qaeda wiretaps of international phone calls was providing a great deal of safety to all Americans, but the NY Times could not keep to the wise course and destroyed the program with their publication of the information.
"The more you talk about who did what ... the more you're writing a playbook for the [terrorists]." This would certainly apply to the playbook on enhanced interrogation techniques, but the New York Times wants to make sure terrorist world wide know exactly what we will do to get them to talk, and how far we will go to make sure they are not in any real danger during interrogations.
Publication "could increase the danger" to their reporter. The New York Times every day publicizes both information and misinformation that increases the danger to all Americans. Why is their reporter special?
What other information is the Times burying? I wager they are burying and not reporting who kidnapped their reporter and exactly where they were held. That might endanger the lives of the terrorists that took the kidnapper, you see.
When the New York Times published the classified Pentagon Papers, their justification was that they did not "feel like" the papers should be classified, and did not "feel like" they were giving secrets to a nation at war with the United States. Of course, they were wrong, but it really was about how they felt.
When the New York Times published details of the al Qaeda wiretaps, they did not feel the need to provide a justification for exposing a secret and effective anti-terrorist program.
Now they "feel" the need to provide a justification for NOT publishing (and spiking all other news sources from publishing) news that was indeed "Fit to Print" and in no way affected the security of the United States. Funny how things change over the years.
They certainly published stories about other journalists captured in Iran and North Korea during these past seven months ... what made the case of David Rohde special?
Monday, June 22, 2009
What an Activist Central Government Looks Like
Jimmy Carter has caused the loss of an entire generation of Iranians. If he had any shame, he whould give back his Nobel prize. Of course, being liberal means you never have to say "sorry" because, well, you know, he MEANT well.
Jimmy Carter's actions as President directly lead to this Statist, Islamist, Theocracy. The sad truth is that these elections are window dressing -- the Supreme Leader does not stand for the approval or consent of the citizens of Iran.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OjQxq5N--Kc
Jimmy Carter's actions as President directly lead to this Statist, Islamist, Theocracy. The sad truth is that these elections are window dressing -- the Supreme Leader does not stand for the approval or consent of the citizens of Iran.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OjQxq5N--Kc
Thursday, June 11, 2009
More of That “Smart Power” and Winning International Respect
President B. Hussein Obama continues his international campaign to damage relationship with our European allies by going behind the back of Great Britain and negotiating directly with Bermuda to “resettle” four Chinese Uighurs terrorists formerly held in Guantanamo Bay. They are now guest workers of Bermuda, with a path towards normalization.
The Foreign and Commonwealth Office of the British Government has responded with anger as the island tourist paradise is now crawling with Islamist terrorists, in a manner that thumbs their nose at China, and neither the Obama administration nor the Bermuda Governor General bothered to consult the British.
Bermuda, Britain's oldest remaining dependency, is one of 14 overseas territories that come under the sovereignty of the United Kingdom, which retains direct responsibility for such matters as foreign policy and security.
"We've underlined to the Bermuda Government that they should have consulted with the United Kingdom as to whether this falls within their competence or is a security issue, for which the Bermuda Government do not have delegated responsibility," a Foreign and Commonwealth Office spokesman said. "We have made clear to the Bermuda Government the need for a security assessment, which we are now helping them to carry out, and we will decide on further steps as appropriate."
This news begs the question: how much US taxpayer money was wasted on buying this “resettlement” to Bermuda?
Somewhere in Kenya, a village is looking for its idiot.
The Foreign and Commonwealth Office of the British Government has responded with anger as the island tourist paradise is now crawling with Islamist terrorists, in a manner that thumbs their nose at China, and neither the Obama administration nor the Bermuda Governor General bothered to consult the British.
Bermuda, Britain's oldest remaining dependency, is one of 14 overseas territories that come under the sovereignty of the United Kingdom, which retains direct responsibility for such matters as foreign policy and security.
"We've underlined to the Bermuda Government that they should have consulted with the United Kingdom as to whether this falls within their competence or is a security issue, for which the Bermuda Government do not have delegated responsibility," a Foreign and Commonwealth Office spokesman said. "We have made clear to the Bermuda Government the need for a security assessment, which we are now helping them to carry out, and we will decide on further steps as appropriate."
This news begs the question: how much US taxpayer money was wasted on buying this “resettlement” to Bermuda?
Somewhere in Kenya, a village is looking for its idiot.
Tuesday, June 9, 2009
Was This the "Hope" and "Change" You Wanted?
Today, a commentary in North Korea's state-run Minju Joson newspaper read as follows:"Our nuclear deterrent will be a ... merciless offensive means to deal a just retaliatory strike to those who touch the country's dignity and sovereignty even a bit."
All the Sunday morning talking heads -- those old inside-the-beltway elitists who know so much better than the unwashed masses in flyover country -- told us that the world was going to fall in love with America all over again if we only elected the Annoited One. Between Obama's magicness and Hillary's "smart power," the United States would be in a position to calm tensions all over the world and disarm rogue members of the Axis of Evil.
Yeah. How's that working out?
Monday, June 8, 2009
Friday, June 5, 2009
More Bad News in Obama's Economy - Misery
The unemployment rate today jumped to 9.4%, up half a percentage point from just last month. This means nearly three quarter million jobs were lost just last month under the Obama/Geithner/Bernake recession. Timmah!!
As a result of this news (which the White House and the MSM is spinning as "good"), interest rates have jumped up 1/4 point ahead of the market open, and oil prices increased by $7 per barrel.
This is what happens when governments overspend in a recession -- the recession continues unabated, and the government's printing money adds inflation to the mix.
Jimmy Carter is back at the helm of the nation's economy. Jimmy Carter's favorite index, the Misery Index, is back in play, although the MSM is religiously avoiding the topic.
The Misery Index is the sum of the unemployment rate plus the interest rate. The Misery Index now stands at 13.4 - higher now than at any point since 1982.
Along with the economic misery associated with the Misery Index, comes crime. There is a definite correlation between increases in the Misery Index and crime rates. Anecdotally, I have seen an increase in bank robberies and theft in my region of the country. I am certain this is a national trend, and will continue.
If the Obama "economic" team continues to follow Carter's imprudent path, the next step will be a soak-the-rich tax plan that will destroy wealth in the United States. Of course, Jimmy Carter never tried to add a Mandate, Cap, and Tax scheme on top of the economy, or a "Health Reform" plan that needs to increase taxes to fund cuts in spending (I'm still trying to get my head around that line of "reasoning".)
Objectively looking at the imprudent economic policies being implemented by the Obama/Geithner/Bernake economic team, my prediction is a full-blown depression. Citizens would do well to husband their economic resources and, to the extent I could invest, I intend to invest in commodities that closely track increases in inflation. Certainly lock down any loans into a fixed interest rate. When interest rates are back at double digits, single digit fixed rate loans will look brilliant.
Thursday, June 4, 2009
Tell the Truth About China, and Ourselves
Today marks the 20th anniversary of the violent Communist crushing of the peaceful demonstration for freedom being held in Tiananmen Square. Tiananmen Square, along with the crushing of Prague Spring, the Hungarian Revolution, and Polish Solidarity, remains one of the most visible examples of the freedom crushing nature of centralized government.
In the years since the Tiananmen Square massacre, China remains a slave state. Its people cannot speak or work as they choose, cannot affect the direction or composition of their government, and cannot foresee a future for themselves where this will change. Fundamentally, China is North Korea with more lightbulbs.
The Chinese Statist government that controls all economic activity takes in billions of dollars from the United States, but instead of improving the lives of the Chinese people, it purchases American debt, American companies, and other production and transportation world wide. Communist China is not doing this to provide freedom and innovation to the United States or elsewhere. These are acts of control by a Communist government obsessed with control.
The control obsessed Communists are this very day blocking off access to Tiananmen Square, lest there be an expression of political freedom in that country. The Communists have shut down the Internet and social gathering within China lest freedom-minded citizens discuss the fact that they are still slaves to a corrupt, illegitimate, oppressive government.
The people of China have a dream. Their dream is the American Dream: the right as individuals to pursue their own happiness. The recognition by a government, which has the consent of the governed as the source of its legitimacy, that all people are endowed by their Creator with unalienable rights that provide individuals with the freedom to control their own destinies, own their own homestead, keep the fruits of their own labor, and choose their own way forward without being dictated to by a government. The American Dream is the freedom to choose -- what you buy, what you eat, who you employ, who you purchase goods and services from, and how you spend your own money. The American Dream also the dream of China’s people.
Freedom of the individual to choose his or her own way is the only path that provides productive innovation and economic prosperity. No central government can ever direct innovation or prosperity into existence. Statism always leads to repression.
It sickens me that in the 20 years since the Tiananmen Square uprising, China still has a repressive internal security service, no freedom of thought or speech or political expression, no sense or hope of a representative government. The Communist Statists in China’s dictatorial government show no more inclination towards freedom than their predecessors. The moment has been lost, and the United States is enabling the further subjugation of the Chinese people by sending our money there.
But it sickens me far more greatly that in the same time period, our own nation has moved away from the dream of China’s people and our national dream: we are less free to choose and seem destined to become even less so. How long will it be before the United States will require its own Tiananmen Square?
In the years since the Tiananmen Square massacre, China remains a slave state. Its people cannot speak or work as they choose, cannot affect the direction or composition of their government, and cannot foresee a future for themselves where this will change. Fundamentally, China is North Korea with more lightbulbs.
The Chinese Statist government that controls all economic activity takes in billions of dollars from the United States, but instead of improving the lives of the Chinese people, it purchases American debt, American companies, and other production and transportation world wide. Communist China is not doing this to provide freedom and innovation to the United States or elsewhere. These are acts of control by a Communist government obsessed with control.
The control obsessed Communists are this very day blocking off access to Tiananmen Square, lest there be an expression of political freedom in that country. The Communists have shut down the Internet and social gathering within China lest freedom-minded citizens discuss the fact that they are still slaves to a corrupt, illegitimate, oppressive government.
The people of China have a dream. Their dream is the American Dream: the right as individuals to pursue their own happiness. The recognition by a government, which has the consent of the governed as the source of its legitimacy, that all people are endowed by their Creator with unalienable rights that provide individuals with the freedom to control their own destinies, own their own homestead, keep the fruits of their own labor, and choose their own way forward without being dictated to by a government. The American Dream is the freedom to choose -- what you buy, what you eat, who you employ, who you purchase goods and services from, and how you spend your own money. The American Dream also the dream of China’s people.
Freedom of the individual to choose his or her own way is the only path that provides productive innovation and economic prosperity. No central government can ever direct innovation or prosperity into existence. Statism always leads to repression.
It sickens me that in the 20 years since the Tiananmen Square uprising, China still has a repressive internal security service, no freedom of thought or speech or political expression, no sense or hope of a representative government. The Communist Statists in China’s dictatorial government show no more inclination towards freedom than their predecessors. The moment has been lost, and the United States is enabling the further subjugation of the Chinese people by sending our money there.
But it sickens me far more greatly that in the same time period, our own nation has moved away from the dream of China’s people and our national dream: we are less free to choose and seem destined to become even less so. How long will it be before the United States will require its own Tiananmen Square?
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