Appeasing Castro

Eight congressional Republicans on Friday alleged the Obama administration is trying to "appease" the Cuban government after the arrest in Havana of a Washington subcontractor, and called for the cancellation of bilateral migration talks now set for Feb. 19.

"We are greatly concerned about the manner in which the administration is handling the arrest of Alan Gross" and its impact on the U.S. government's pro-democracy programs in Cuba, they wrote in a letter to Secretary of State Hillary Clinton.

Gross, a Maryland subcontractor for the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID), has been jailed in Havana since his Dec. 4 arrest after delivering sophisticated communications equipment to Jewish groups on the island.

http://www.sacbee.com/847/story/2517378.html

A U.S. government contractor was arrested in Cuba for distributing cell phones, laptops and Internet cards to non violent civic and religious groups, including Jewish communal organizations. He was doing what the U.S. government pays him to do.

Why isn't Obama raising hell about this?

And, why are only congressional Republicans complaining? Where are the Jewish Democrats from N.Y. and Miami and L.A.?

No more White House celebration

The Dow Jones industrial average has closed below 10,000 for the first time in three months due to nagging concerns about debt loads in Europe.

The Dow fell 103.84, or 1%, to close on Monday at 9,908.39. Last Thursday, the Dow traded below the psychological barrier of 10,000 for the first time since November and it had not closed below that mark since November 4.

The broader Standard & Poor's 500 index fell 9.45, or 0.9%, to 1,056.74, while the Nasdaq composite index fell 15.07, or 0.7%, to 2,126.05.

Shares of big banks pulled the market lower, extending a slump which has led to four straight weekly losses.

http://www.google.com/hostednews/ukpress/article/ALeqM5jJdhCgnEf3chb3gwU4Awqmeqc54Q

Remember when the White House celebrated the Dow breaking 10,000 in the fall?

If you think Obama's popularity is falling now, wait until people get their 401K statements through 3/31/10.

The 401K statements through 9/30/08 are what sank McCain.

Washington, D.C. snowstorms

Some of the heaviest snow for decades has hit parts of the eastern US, paralysing air and road transport, and bringing Washington DC to a standstill.

The storm knocked down power lines and left hundreds of thousands of people without electricity.

Nearly 2ft (60cm) of snow had fallen by noon on Saturday in cities across the region, the Associated Press reports.

The mayor of Washington DC, and the governors of Virginia and Maryland have declared states of emergency.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/8501246.stm

Remember the blase attitude of many of those in the capital when Hurricanes Katrina and Wilma left people throughout New Orleans, the Gulf Coast and Florida without reliable supplies of food and electric for weeks? I guess it's only a disaster when it effects them.

More evidence of incompetence

The Obama administration knew that there'd be a lot of interest in the $7.2 billion for high-speed Internet projects it included in last year's huge economic stimulus package.

The goal was to quickly create tens of thousands of jobs and connect millions of poor and rural communities to broadband, a technology that's essential for economic development, modern medicine and education.

But officials had no idea that the demand for the cash would be so overwhelming. They also were bombarded with questions and challenges from large cable and phone companies including Comcast, Time Warner Cable and AT&T.

The combination has swamped the agencies in charge and created a bottleneck that might threaten disbursement. After nearly a year, about 7% of the funds has been assigned to specific projects.

As a result, "There's significant doubt as to whether the monies can be awarded before the end of September," when the funding authorization expires, says Dan Hays, who directs the communications practice at consulting firm PRTM.

http://www.usatoday.com/tech/news/2010-02-09-broadband09_CV_N.htm

They're giving away free money, but they "had no idea that the demand for the cash would be so overwhelming"?

So far, the only jobs created by the multi billion dollar high speed Internet promises of the stimulus bill are a few dozen federal bureaucratic positions (to incompetently administer the program).

More airline safety

Air travelers strongly approve of the government's use of body scanners at the nation's airports even if the machines compromise privacy, a USA TODAY/Gallup poll finds.

Poll respondents appeared to endorse a Transportation Security Administration plan to install 300 scanners at the nation's largest airports this year to replace metal detectors. The machines, used in 19 airports, create vivid images of travelers under their clothes to reveal plastics and powders to screeners observing monitors in a closed room.

. . . In the poll, 78% of respondents said they approved of using the scanners, and 67% said they are comfortable being examined by one. Eighty-four percent said the machines would help stop terrorists from carrying explosives onto airplanes. The survey was taken Jan. 5-6 of 542 adults who have flown at least twice in the past year.

http://www.usatoday.com/travel/flights/2010-01-11-security-poll_N.htm

Can we all agree to ignore the 20% who oppose stricter airline safety rules?

Speed vs. Safety

The government's plan to install body scanners in dozens of airports could lengthen security lines and congest terminals, airline and airport officials warn.

Scanners that look through passengers' clothing to find hidden weapons are significantly larger than the metal detectors they will replace. And they take at least five times longer to scan a single passenger.

http://www.usatoday.com/travel/flights/2010-02-09-airport-scanners_N.htm

If you don't like the lines, don't fly.

Personally, I'd rather fly safely.

No more bump

President Obama's approval ratings have slid to an average of 49.1% disapproval and 47.7% approval - - some of the lowest numbers of his presidency so far - - and Marist released a poll today that highlights the slide Obama has experienced among independents: 57% of independents now disapprove of Obama's performance as president, while 29% approve and 14% are unsure.

Compare that to Marist's last poll, taken in the first week of December, when 44% of independents disapproved, 41% approved, and 15% were unsure. Obama's disapproval rating among independents has climbed 13% among independents over the past two months, according to Marist's data.

It's the first time, in Marist's polling, that a majority of independents have disapproved of Obama as president.

http://politics.theatlantic.com/2010/02/independents_disapprove_of_obama.php

Obama had an anemic bump up in the polls after his State of the Union speech, because he gives a good speech.

His ratings are now the lowest they've been, because he's not a good president.