Getting schooled...

In this so-called "debate" about austerity and the-mess-that-is-Detroit, Charles Krauthammer hands a know-nothing Keynesian lib (Sally Kohn) her...backside.



Really, Ms. Kohn...you shouldn't engage in a battle of wits when you're unarmed.

Mission accomplished/promise fulfilled?

On Detroit and bankruptcy...



From the Washington Examiner: On October 13, 2012, President Obama boasted to Americans in his weekly address that he refused to “let Detroit go bankrupt.” “[W]e refused to throw in the towel and do nothing,” Obama said. “We refused to let Detroit go bankrupt, I bet on American workers, and American ingenuity and three years later that bet is paying off in a big way.” Of course Obama was referring to the auto industry – alluding to Mitt Romney’s unfortunate New York Times op-ed headline from 2008. With the news of Detroit filing for bankruptcy today, his line takes on new meaning.

That's some fine, fine work you're doing there!

Detroit's last gasp?

As if the once-proud city's problems weren't bad enough...

Today, another nail was pounded into the coffin of The Motor City.

Detroit, which has moved beyond ruin a long time ago, is now on the brink of utter ruin.

Today, the city that put America -- and the world -- on wheels announced that they're so far behind on their bills that they're going to shut off their own electricity.

According to a Bloomberg story, "Detroit, whose 139 square miles contain 60 percent fewer residents than in 1950, will try to nudge them into a smaller living space by eliminating almost half its streetlights. As it is, 40 percent of the 88,000 streetlights are broken and the city, whose finances are to be overseen by an appointed board, can’t afford to fix them. Mayor Dave Bing’s plan would create an authority to borrow $160 million to upgrade and reduce the number of streetlights to 46,000. Maintenance would be contracted out, saving the city $10 million a year."

There's a word for all this: depressing.

In The Line Of Fire...

From reports by The Daily and The Daily Mail:

Clint Eastwood's Super Bowl ad for Chrysler is under fresh fire from the GOP, after it emerged employees from firm behind the controversial spot worked on President Obama's 2008 campaign. The ad, which declares 'it's halftime in America,' has received mounting criticism from conservatives claiming it was a thinly-veiled nod to the president, who bailed out the auto industry during the recession.

(It's even spawned a host of parodies, including the one below...)

“I am certainly not politically affiliated with Mr Obama,” Eastwood told Fox News on Monday. “It was meant to be a message about just about job growth and the spirit of America. I think all politicians will agree with it.”

In a short statement to the network, the 81-year-old actor and director said he believed the ad was being “spun” by political partisans, though that was never the intention of the clip.

Now, ad agency Wieden+Kennedy is bracing for a backlash, amid reports two of its top creatives donated their time to make pro-Obama artwork. The Daily reports WK's global public relations director, Joani Wardell, also worked in the White House Press Office during the Clinton era and continues to work as a political consultant. Despite what may be perceived as political undertones in the ad, Chrysler CEO Sergio Marchionne insisted it has “zero political content.”

“We are as apolitical as you can make us... and I sincerely hope that it doesn't get utilized as political fodder in a debate,” Marchionne added.

Chrysler's commercial stood out as the automaker sent the veteran actor to strike a serious chord with viewers, among otherwise goofy Super Bowl ads. “People are out of work and they’re hurting And they’re all wondering what they’re going to do to make a comeback. And we’re all scared, because this isn’t a game,” “The Dirty Harry” star says in his roughened growl.

Last year, the Treasury Department reported that taxpayers likely lost up to $1.3billion in the Chrysler bailout. However, the agency touted the finding as a “major accomplishment,”as the government originally predicted that the government would lose $40 billion on the deal, CNN reported.

The parody...

And now the original (below)...

Predictions abound…

Now that 2010 is officially here, it’s time to trot out the Magic 8 Ball™ for our annual BlissIndex© New Year’s Predictions®.



*Even though the ObamaCare Healthcare er, Insurance Reform bill will continue to languish in Congress, the Democrats will trumpet having written a bill that contains more pages than all the Harry Potter books put together.


I see dead trees...

*Some of the changes that will be proposed in the Democrats’ House-Senate Conference Committee will mean that health care will not be rationed, per se. Medical procedures, however, will be approved by that stingy guy who doled out gruel in “Oliver.”



More - please? Anything??

*America’s military will continue to become more deeply involved in Afghanistan, but few Americans will give it much consideration (due to the fact that the education of many Americans is so poor that most are unable to locate Afghanistan on a map – let alone be able to spell it).


I know where that is...

*President Barack Obama will refocus his efforts on jobs and the economy. His efforts to improve the current situation will include a second Stimulus package, a raft of new taxes, and an innovative way to beef-up the U.S. Treasury: $10 piggyback rides on Joe Biden.


There is a weight limit...

*As the pressures of the job continue to wear on him, the president will become even more fanatical about getting out on the golf course. His handicap will improve by a couple strokes but the number of cigarettes he burns through will increase inversely.

Smoke 'em if you've got 'em...right Mr. President?

*The federal government will continue to print worthless money…and we’ll continue to spend it.


Spending it like there's no tomorrow...

*Hillary Rodham Clinton, our current Secretary of State, will contemplate resigning after catching heck for the State Dept. not doing more to prevent the Christmas terror incident in Detroit. It will be OK by her, making her next run against Obama that much easier.


Hillary - getting ready for another run?

*Janet Napolitano, Department of Homeland Security secretary, will continue to catch heck for her handling of the Christmas terror incident in Detroit. She will remain on the job but George W. Bush will be fired for the gaffes.


Ja-No...

*The swine flu epidemic will subside, but after another worthless season of horrible programming on NBC, it will be renewed for another run.


Hit me with your best shot...

*You’ll be stuck with another year of…me.

Happy New Year!

Tonight's radio show: the bombing attempt's aftermath

The attempted bombing of the Delta/Northwest airliner in Detroit on Christmas day will be the subject of tonight’s roundtable on The John Batchelor Show. I’ll be joining John and fellow guests Larry Johnson (No Quarter) and Craig Unger (Vanity Fair) at 7 p.m. PST for the discussion. You can listen to the show at KSFO-AM 560 San Francisco/Northern California, WABC-AM 77 NY, WMAL-AM 630 Washington, D.C., and on XM/Sirius Satellite Radio. If you’re not in one of the listening areas, you can tune-in via any of those stations’ websites.

See you on the radio!

Detroit Terror - BREAKING NEWS (Update 2:30 pm PST)

From the Associated Press - BREAKING:

WASHINGTON — The Associated Press has learned that a second Nigerian man has been taken into custody aboard a jetliner in Detroit after locking himself in the airliner's bathroom.
A law enforcement official tells the AP that the incident took place aboard the same Northwest flight that was attacked on Christmas Day. The official spoke on condition of anonymity because the incident was ongoing. A Delta spokeswoman says all 256 passengers have been safely taken off the plane. Delta operates the Northwest flight.

UPDATE - According to the New York Times: DETROIT — A Nigerian man who became ill on Northwest Airlines Flight 253 from Amsterdam to Detroit — the same flight involved in Friday’s terrorism attempt — triggered a security alert at Detroit Metropolitcan Airport after the pilots requested emergency assistance upon landing, the Department of Homeland Security announced on Sunday. The department said that the response to Sunday’s incident, which included informing President Obama, was “an abundance of caution.”

The Detroit Terror Plot - Day 2

Disaster averted in Detroit...

It's been a whole day since 23-year-old Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab, a Nigerian national bragging of ties with al Qaeda, attempted to bring down a Delta/Northwest Airlines flight landing in Detroit.

Thanks to the clear-headed, quick thinking of Jasper Schuringa, a filmmaker from Amsterdam who subdued the alleged terrorist, the explosives Abdulmutallab tried to detonate on board Northwest Airlines flight 253 failed to properly detonate.

The would-be terrorist was held by passengers and crew and held until he could be taken into custody (photo/report below). Today, a federal judge told Abdulmutallabtold he was charged with trying to blow up the Northwest Airlines plane on Christmas Day. U.S. District Judge Paul Borman read the charges in a conference room on Saturday at the University of Michigan Medical Center in Ann Arbor, where Abdulmutallab is being treated for burns.



Byron York at The Washington Examiner writes, "The Obama White House has been aggressive in its press outreach regarding the Northwest Airlines terrorist incident. Some of the earliest stories on accused terrorist Abdul Farouk Abdulmutallab's attempt to set off an explosive device on board Northwest Flight 253 were sourced to the White House, and White House officials were quick to label the incident an 'attempted act of terrorism.' The White House wants the public to know that President Obama, on vacation at a luxurious oceanfront home in Hawaii, has received conference call updates and is keeping close tabs on the situation."

According to the Los Angeles Times, "Federal authorities have called on airlines and airports around the world to tighten security measures, including frisking all passengers headed to the U.S., performing additional searches and limiting passenger movements during the latter part of a flight."

A report at Politico.com sites "Growing evidence that the Nigerian man charged with trying to blow up a commercial airliner as it landed in Detroit Friday spent time in Yemen and may have been fitted with customized, explosive-laden clothing there." Politico.com also notes that the attempt "could complicate the U.S. government’s efforts to send home more than 80 Yemeni prisoners currently at Guantanamo Bay."

Add Yemen: Howard Altman over at The Daily Beast writes that “An al-Qaeda magazine published a how-to article in Yemen outlining the same terror techniques that marked the attempted Christmas Day bombing."

Since the flubbed bombing, little has changed at most U.S. airports but security measures have greatly increased at foreign airports with flights inbound to American locations. "Travelers taking international flights to the United States on Saturday faced pat-down searches, new limits on carry-on luggage and more thorough screening at airport checkpoints.Federal authorities have called on airlines and airports around the world to tighten security measures, including frisking all passengers headed to the U.S., performing additional searches and limiting passenger movements during the latter part of a flight." (h/t: Los Angeles Times)

On John Batchelor's nightly broadcast tonight, "Douglas Laird, retired Northwest Airlines security director, and Larry Johnson of No Quarter, explained that no airport security extant is correct to apprehend what is presumed to be the mode used by the suspect at Amsterdam's airport, where the suspect passed through three first-rate screenings. What would defeat the mode is a body scan machine, which are not in use. Possibly a full body pat down, but not necessarily. The body scan is not practical because of cost per machine (more than $250k each); and the full pat down is not practical because of time, unless you also permit profiling. In sum, the suspect defeated all the screens between Lagos, Nigeria and wheels down at Detroit airport."

While U.S. airports have yet to make significant, "visible" changes, some immediate differences may soon be in effect on flights. According to the New York Times, "Federal officials on Saturday imposed new restrictions on travelers that could...limit the ability of international passengers to move about an airplane."

What's next? "The Obama team [is] now faced with walking backward the man's route...what airports and when, who passed him through, how he was connected to an inbound USA flight?"

These questions and more - along with their answers - are sure to come in the days, weeks and months ahead.

Radio show tonight - late notice!

Late notice: I know you’re busy recovering from Christmas festivities, but I’ll be on The John Batchelor Show around 9:05 p.m. PST tonight to discuss news surrounding the attempted bombing of the Delta Airlines flight in Detroit yesterday. You can listen to the show on WABC-AM 77 NYC, WMAL-AM 630 Washington, D.C., and... on XM/Sirius Satellite Radio. If you’re not in one of the listening areas, you can tune-in via those stations’ websites. And as always...thanks for listening (or not).