Fearful Symmetry
Nil desperandum
U.S. pulling out of racism conference
White House aides told Jewish leaders on a conference call today that the United States will boycott the United Nations' World Conference on Racism over hostility to Israel in draft documents prepared for the April conference.The aides, including an advisor to U.N. Ambassador Susan Rice, Jennifer Simon, and longtime Obama advisor Samantha Power, said the administration will not participate in further negotiations on the current text or participate in a conference based on the text, sources on the call said.
As Charles Johnson comments, this is good news. It also marks a path in foreign policy I would love to see followed by the Obama Administration.
---SOME!
Earlier this week, Secretary Salazar suggested America’s massive and homegrown reserves of oil shale held ‘great potential.’ Unfortunately, the Interior Department’s decision today may help ensure that potential never becomes reality – in the process, locking-away an American energy resource larger than the total reserves of the entire Middle East.
Well, it's not like it isn't exactly what we expected an Obama Department of the Interior to do.
The big mouth of Sen. Chris Dodd
The senator’s stupid comment is a reminder that it is hard to overstate the degree to which incompetence can be found in the overpaid senior levels of our life, whether in the corporate management suite or the halls of government.
It's been a while since I linked to a post by Victor Davis Hanson. He's still awesome.
Today he's channelling the Our Battered American
“And Mr. President,” the battered American would add, “When I add up my federal income tax, my state income tax, my Medicare, and my Social Security taxes, I am paying half my income to the government. Wait— far more than half my income, when I figure in my sales and property and car taxes. My accountant, when I can afford one, tells me to pay, not dodge, what I owe. And, oh, Mr. President I am so tired of all those taxes, so tired, but I am so lawful as well. And so I pay the bill, all of it. Every dime. Unlike your Treasury Secretary, who runs the IRS, I never cheat. I don’t write off my kid’s camp as a business expense—hell, I don’t even send him to camp in the first place. And unlike your cabinet nominee Mr. Daschle, I don’t have a limousine. And if I got a free one, I would think someone had to pay for it. If used it every day, why shouldn’t I pay taxes on it? And unlike your Labor Secretary nominee, I have no liens on my property, Mr. President. But if I did, I’d pay them off before you nominated me—or bow out if I didn’t.”
Pious gratitude to: Instapundit
Every Saturday, I make a list of things I'd like to accomplish over the weekend, and then set out mid-morning to run some errands. Here's what I did today:
Notice the lovely weather. It's great to live in Florida.
Very funny column at Big Hollywood: My Weekly Date with a Liberal
I parked around the corner for fear she might see the “Wounded Warrior Project” sticker on the back window of my SUV. The last thing I needed her to know was that I was grateful to our troops. My cover would have been blown immediately. My research sample…soiled. So I hoofed it.We arrived at the same time and promptly had the awkward hug moment, but being a professional journalist, I took the opportunity to confirm that my stats were correct: she did indeed have ample bosom.
Go read it all. I do hope this is a weekly column.
Thank God Obama's president (if that ain't redundant). Otherwise, this wouldn't have happened:
Iraqi Provincial Elections Succeed
The citizens of Mahmudiyah Qada went safely to the election polls Jan. 31 to vote during the provincial election. There were no reports of serious violence in the qada. The violence free election was a monumental effort and achievement for the Iraqi security forces of Mahmudiyah.