Message #162816

[Harconen]

While Cheney appears at the AEI, Obama gives a national security speech at the National Archives, where he says that closing the terrorist detainee camp at Guantanamo would “enlist our values” and make America safer. Obama does not mention the recent arrest of four Muslims jihadists arrested in New York who were planning the bombing of two Bronx synagogues and using Stinger missiles to shoot down planes at a National Guard air base. The New York Times criticizes Cheney because he “in effect argued that absolutism in the defense of liberty was no vice,” while praising Obama for his “nuanced” principles. (A poll of Americans might show that they prefer absolutism to nuance when it comes to keeping terrorists from attacking their homeland.) [2871, 2872, 2882]

 

Graduates of the U.S. Naval Academy in Annapolis, Maryland are ordered not to carry the traditional “ceremonial swords” for their May 29 commencement ceremony. Umbrellas are also prohibited, along with anything “…that might be considered a weapon or a threat to screeners.” Obama is delivering an address at the graduation. Many presidents have given commencement addresses at military graduations and have not been afraid of the swords—or umbrellas. (There is no word on whether Obama will order combat troops in Iraq and Afghanistan to relinquish their rifles.) [3208]

 

A report surfaces that the federal government has been keeping supplies of as many as 500,000 “coffin-liners” at several locations across the United States. One stockpile is near Madison, Georgia. [2866]

 

Polls show the popularity of former President Bush and Vice-President Cheney improving, with Cheney’s “favorable” rating improving from 33 per cent (in January) to 41 per cent. It is likely that the improvement is a result of Americans believing that Bush and Cheney prevented additional terrorist attacks after September 11, 2001, while they disagree with Obama’s decision to close the detainee facility at Guantanamo and release classified terrorist interrogation memos. [2869]

 

Defense Secretary Robert Gates calls the prison at Guantanamo, Cuba “probably one of the finest prisons in the world today”—but says it must be closed because it has become a “taint” on the reputation of the United States. Gates admits, “the question is, where do you put them (the terrorist detainees)?” Gates does not mention that it is the Obama, his fellow Democrats, and the media that is largely responsible for keeping up the criticism of Camp Gitmo and thus creating the “taint” on the nation’s reputation. [2873]

 

To insure “good press coverage,” the White House starts producing more of its own Obama stories rather than allow media reporters and cameramen to follow him. As an example, the winners of the NCAA women’s basketball championship meet Obama at the White House but the press corps was not allowed to attend the event. The administration prepares its own “news footage” with interviews of the athletes and shots of Obama shooting baskets. Members of the media complain. [2875]

 

By a vote of 33–25, the House Energy and Commerce Committee approves Obama’s “global warming” cap-and-trade legislation, called the “American Clean Energy and Security Act.” The bill still has to pass the full House and the Senate—where it will face tough opposition from Senators who fear (rightly so) that the legislation will impose extraordinary and unnecessary costs on businesses at a time when jobs need to be created, not destroyed. Co-sponsor of the bill Henry Waxman (D-CA) calls it “decisive and historic,” and says, “When this bill is enacted, we’ll break our dependence on foreign oil, make our nation a leader in clean-energy jobs and technology and cut global warming pollution.” Congressman Mike Rogers (R-MI) labeled the bill “…the biggest energy tax in the history of the United States.” According to the New York Times, the 930-page bill “…establishes a cap-and-trade program to control climate-altering emissions; dictates an increase in the use of renewable energy sources; and sets new efficiency standards for buildings, lighting and industrial facilities. It calls for a 17 percent reduction in emissions of heat-trapping gases from 2005 levels by 2020 and 83 percent by 2050.” Many argue that the legislation will be a burdensome tax on business that drives companies and jobs overseas, while doing little or nothing to influence the earth’s climate. [2876]

 

Marc Morano, former communications director for the Senate Environment and Public Works Committee, remarks on the passage of the Waxman-Markey bill, “This is one of those times where you’ve just got to scratch your head and marvel at the raw arm-twisting and bribery that took place. This was a bill that was literally not about anything other than saving face because Nancy Pelosi had said she was going to do it and she did it. But it was just amazing to watch the raw power and basically the sleaze in which they did it.” [3700]

 

Financial experts predict that the value of the dollar will decline even more against other world currencies, as the U.S. government continues its rampant deficit spending and payment of the debt by printing money. Thomas Hart, foreign exchange strategist with Standard Chartered Bank, says “We think it’s clearly the beginning of a downward trend for the dollar.” A declining dollar means that prices on imported goods will rise for American consumers, and their dollar will not go as far on trips abroad. The situation is not likely to improve, because the United States faces massive budget deficits of at least 10 per cent of gross domestic product for years to come. Billionaire Warren Buffet has warned, “A country that continuously expands its debt as a percentage of GDP, it’s going to inflate its way out of that debt.” At some point Americans will face massive inflation as a result of the debt Obama is now piling up. [2877]

 

Despite Obama’s continued popularity with the public, a Washington Times poll shows that Americans who consider themselves “conservative” (40 per cent) outnumber those who call themselves “liberal” (21 per cent) by almost a two to one margin. Another 35 per cent call themselves “moderate.” One reason for the poll’s results is that many liberals are reluctant to call themselves liberal, while conservatives are not embarrassed by their label. The results also show that the election victory by Obama was not indicative of any strong shift in American ideologies (the 40 per cent percentage of conservatives is the highest it has been in 40 years of polling), it simply reflected a weak opponent (McCain) and Obama’s ability to sell himself as something he is not. [2878]