Things are so bad . . .

that this is considered good news.

"The American economy shrank at an annual rate of 1 percent from April through June, the government reported on Friday, stoking hopes that the worst recession since the Great Depression was nearly over."

http://www.nytimes.com/2009/08/01/business/economy/01econ.html?_r=1

There was a time when that would be considered terrible news.

Obama's friend Chavez

"Chávez withdrew his ambassador from Colombia and threatened to break diplomatic relations to protest complaints by Colombian President Alvaro Uribe that three grenade launchers found in the hands of Colombia's biggest guerrilla group had been sold by the Swedish government to Venezuela in 1988. Chávez denied Uribe's charge, which seems to provide more evidence of ties between Chávez and the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia, or FARC, which has been waging a 45-year battle to overthrow Colombia's democratically elected government. Tommy Stromberg, the political counselor at the Swedish Embassy in Bogotá, said Wednesday that his government has been pressing Venezuela for weeks to explain how the three shoulder-fired AT4 grenade launchers and ammunition ended up with the FARC."

http://www.miamiherald.com/579/story/1163427.html

Neutral / socialist Sweden, by no stretch of the imagination a puppet of "U.S. imperialism", has proof that weapons purchased by Venezuela end up in the hands of Columbian terrorists.

Why does Obama still want better relations with Chavez?

Iraq: Your tax dollars at work

The Iranian government is a theocratic dictatorship bent on the destruction of western democracy.

Why are we paying for an army in Iraq (we pay their salaries, we buy their weapons, we train their officers) to fight and kill opponents of the Iranian regime?

"Iraqi military and police units clashed with members of an Iranian opposition group for the second day on Wednesday as security forces sought to seize control of a camp previously protected by the American military. At least six people who lived in the camp were killed during the assault, two of whom had been shot to death, according to the Iraqi government and residents of the camp. . . . The site, Camp Ashraf, is home to about 3,400 Iranian exiles committed to the overthrow of the Islamic revolutionary government in Tehran."

http://www.nytimes.com/2009/07/30/world/middleeast/30iraq.html?_r=1&hpw

The real Gates scandal

"The arrest of Gates for disorderly conduct in his own home by a white police officer sparked a national debate over racial profiling and police conduct. The controversy intensified when President Obama said police "acted stupidly" when they arrested Gates, his friend."

http://www.nydailynews.com/news/us_world/2009/07/29/2009-07-29_911_caller_in_gates_case_.html

The real scandal is that the president of the U.S. publicly attacked the cops and defended his friend before he knew any of the facts.

That's called an abuse of authority.

Another defeat for Obama - -

Political capital is limited.

If it is squandered early on one or two big ticket items (like multi trillion dollar stimulus and bailout packages that don't work as promised), it's gone.

In this case, the defeat was at the hands of his fellow Democrats.

"The U.S. House defeated a proposed sweeping reform of the federal food safety system on Wednesday amid complaints it would bury small farmers in paperwork with no assurance of an increase in inspections. . . . The bill would give the Food and Drug Administration the power to order food recalls, step up the frequency of plant inspections, require facilities to have a food safety plan in place and give FDA more access to company records."

http://www.boston.com/news/nation/washington/articles/2009/07/30/house_defeats_sweeping_reform_of_food_safety/

Health care cause and effect

The issue:

"[A] health care proposal that would cut costs by allowing generic drugs to compete sooner with pricey biotechnology drugs . . . ."

http://www.usatoday.com/money/industries/health/drugs/2009-07-28-biologics_N.htm

The cause:

"Rep. Anna Eshoo, D-Calif., whose district is home to dozens of biotech companies, is sponsoring a similar measure. Drug company employees and political action committees have donated $645,000 since 1992 to Eshoo — second only to the computer and Internet industry. This year, she is the biggest recipient of pharmaceutical money in the House, the data show."

http://www.usatoday.com/money/industries/health/drugs/2009-07-28-biologics_N.htm

The effect:

"This month, a Senate committee approved 12 years of exclusivity. Attention shifts to the House, where a companion, 12-year bill sponsored by Rep. Anna Eshoo, D-Calif., has 139 co-sponsors — compared with 14 lawmakers who back a competing measure that would allow generic competition after five years. Eshoo said she is working to incorporate her plan into the larger health care bill the House Energy and Commerce panel will consider when Congress returns in September."

http://www.usatoday.com/money/industries/health/drugs/2009-07-28-insidebiologics_N.htm?csp=34

In exchange for over $600,000 in donations, Eshoo's bill would insert a provision in the larger health care bill to guarantee that drug companies get 5 extra years of exclusivity, resulting in higher prices, higher costs and higher profits.

This is corruption, plain and simple.

The Taliban is untrustworthy?

"Pakistan on Monday began investigating the detained cleric who brokered a failed peace deal that put three million people under sharia law but was shattered by renewed Taliban fighting. . . . Sharia law was the key demand of Fazlullah's uprising. An initial ceasefire accompanied the February 16 deal -- widely criticised in the West and at home -- but his group refused to disarm as demanded by the government. When armed Taliban fighters advanced from Swat into the district of Buner, 100 kilometres (60 miles) from Islamabad, Pakistan launched a massive offensive under US pressure to crush Islamists considered a major threat."

http://news.yahoo.com/s/afp/20090727/wl_asia_afp/pakistanunrestnorthwest


Are our "allies" in Pakistan really surprised to learn that the Taliban terrorists can't be trusted to keep their word? And, did three million people have to be subjected to Taliban tyrants in order to learn that lesson?