The Surge

NOVEMBER 17, 2009 - 11:44 PM

It was January of 2007. The war in Iraq was going badly. Very badly.

U.S. General David Petraeus advocated an audacious counterinsurgency strategy. It would involve a massive troop surge. Senator Barack Obama disagreed, calling for a “surge in diplomacy.”(1)

Few thought the Iraq surge would work. The vaunted Iraq Study group dismissed the suggestion as inane.(2) A Republican Senator called the idea “Alice in Wonderland.”(3) Senator Obama voted against the surge, predicting failure.

Fast-forward to 2008. The violence in Iraq had plummeted. Sectarian killings had gone down by 50 percent nationwide and by more than 80 percent in Baghdad.(4) Even then candidate-Obama admitted that “the surge” had “succeeded in ways that nobody anticipated.”(5)

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Civil Servants

NOVEMBER 13, 2009 - 12:55 PM

Let’s talk about civility.

Remember the civil days of George W? The days when you only had to speak his name, and people would laugh, roll their eyes, and throw out a phrase about warmongers, idiots, and Hitler? Those civil days…

I bring this up, because of Vince Beltrami’s latest Alaska Voice blog. Mr. Beltrami, wrote about Obama’s “patriotic” Elmendorf speech. The bulk of his article, however, concerned the “loss of civility” in American politics – especially, since Obama came to office.

Which is why I brought up GW…

To his credit, Mr. Beltrami admitted his difficulty in refraining from “vehement disrespect” towards Bush. He also admitted that Democrats “weren’t much better” to Bush.

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At least it's historic...

NOVEMBER 8, 2009 - 3:53 PM

Score 1 for Obama.

The President’s Bankrupt-America-in-Return-for-Sub-Par-Health-Care Bill passed the House by 5 votes.

Yes folks, we’ll finally get to take our seat among the nations of medical mediocrity… Oh goody.

This bill is such a tragedy, that it’s difficult to know where to begin…

Let’s start with the price tag: $1.2 trillion. Right off the bat, this bill breaks the president’s spending cap of $900 billion. Obama, though, doesn’t seem to mind (a shocker...).

That price tag does not include the $250 billion in Medicare physician payments. No, the House will vote on that bill separately (oh yes, they’re sneaky).

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Office Banter: The Day After the Loss... err, win...

NOVEMBER 5, 2009 - 2:06 PM

(Knock knock)

Pelosi: Come in.

Aide: He-hello?

Pelosi: What is it?

Aide: Um, Good morning, Madam Speaker. The, um, election results have come in.

Pelosi: And?

Aide: And… well, Madam, it’s not good.

Pelosi: Not good?

Aide: We lost, Madam. Big time. Virginia and New Jersey both went to the Republicans.

Pelosi: Hhmm… What about New York?

Aide: Good news! We won -- by 4%.

Pelosi: Yes! What a great night! Dems won, they lost!

Aide: Um… really? Madam, we lost two governorships in states that voted for Obama. How is that a win?

Pelosi: Young man, did we win New York?

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A Beautiful Win

NOVEMBER 2, 2009 - 3:36 AM

He was born into a world at war. At the edge of a tormented continent, in a place called Eritrea.

It was a nation where 12 year olds were routinely used as soldiers. Where a civil war was the half time show in a 30-year war for independence from Ethiopia…

And these were just the external conflicts. Internally, the boy’s family lived without electricity or running water. Life was hard.

Wanting a better life for his family, the boy’s father walked 600 miles to Sudan. With the help of a relative, the father was able to fly to Italy. Five years later, he sent for his family.

Two years after the Italian move, the family immigrated to the United States. To California.

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Stated Rights

OCTOBER 27, 2009 - 10:20 PM

The speed has been breathtaking. In ten short months, the federal government has thrust its tentacles into the very fabric of America. From the internet, to automobiles, to compensation, to health care – nothing is sacred before Uncle Sam.

It makes you wonder if our President – a former law professor -- has forgotten about the 10th Amendment…

For the record, the 10th Amendment guarantees that all the rights not given to the federal government in the United States Constitution are reserved to the states, or the people.

What powers are given to the federal government? No many. According to the Constitution, the federal government is given the right to tax, coin money, regulate commerce, create a post office, make war, and sign treaties (for a full list see: the U.S. Constitution. Many of the powers are listed in Article 1, Sections 8 and 9).

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Uncle Sam Saves the 'Net

OCTOBER 25, 2009 - 4:31 PM

You’re a leader of a communications company. You are successful.
You have invested hundreds of millions of dollars into creating an incredibly fast and efficient Internet network.

Having invested so much money, you want to give priority to your customers -- since they’re actually paying for your service. You may even charge top dollar to customers who want the fastest internet service (yes, they’ll spend it). On occasion, you may slow down the service of a potential-competitor (Google, for instance) who is parasitically living off you (After all, such companies don’t invest money in the infrastructure).

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