Fox's Tribute to Mark Sanford

It was only a matter of time before someone went here. My only reaction is that the column is horribly inappropriate, yet entertaining.

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Naturally, the video below from Madonna's Evita is dedicated to South Carolina's embattled Governor, Mark Sanford.

In honor of the Governor, please enjoy, "Don't Cry for Me Argentina."

Song of the Week: Beat It

In honor of the King of Pop, the resurrected Pax Plena Song of the week goes out to the newly late Michael Jackson.

From a child of the 80s, to the man who defined the decade, RIP.

Beat It
by Michael Jackson

They told him don't you ever come around here
Don't wanna see your face, you better disappear
The fire's in their eyes and their words are really clear
So beat it, just beat it

You better run, you better do what you can
Don't wanna see no blood, don't be a macho man
You wanna be tough, better do what you can
So beat it, but you wanna be bad

Just beat it, beat it, beat it, beat it
No one wants to be defeated
Showin' how funky and strong is your fight
It doesn't matter who's wrong or right
Just beat it, beat it
Just beat it, beat it
Just beat it, beat it
Just beat it, beat it

They're out to get you, better leave while you can
Don't wanna be a boy, you wanna be a man
You wanna stay alive, better do what you can
So beat it, just beat it

You have to show them that you're really not scared
You're playin' with your life, this ain't no truth or dare
They'll kick you, then they beat you,
Then they'll tell you it's fair
So beat it, but you wanna be bad

Just beat it, beat it, beat it, beat it
No one wants to be defeated
Showin' how funky and strong is your fight
It doesn't matter who's wrong or right

Just beat it, beat it, beat it, beat it
No one wants to be defeated
Showin' how funky and strong is your fight
It doesn't matter who's wrong or right

Just beat it, beat it, beat it, beat it
No one wants to be defeated
Showin' how funky and strong is your fight
It doesn't matter who's wrong or right
Just beat it, beat it
Beat it, beat it, beat it

Beat it, beat it, beat it, beat it
No one wants to be defeated
Showin' how funky and strong is your fight
It doesn't matter who's wrong or who's right

Just beat it, beat it, beat it, beat it
No one wants to be defeated
Showin' how funky and strong is your fight
It doesn't matter who's wrong or right

Just beat it, beat it, beat it, beat it
No one wants to be defeated
Showin' how funky and strong is your fight
It doesn't matter who's wrong or right
Just beat it, beat it
Beat it, beat it, beat it

Beat it, beat it, beat it, beat it
No one wants to be defeated
Showin' how funky and strong is your fight
It doesn't matter who's wrong or who's right

Just beat it, beat it, beat it, beat it
No one wants to be defeated
Showin' how funky and strong is your fight
It doesn't matter who's wrong or right

Just beat it, beat it, beat it, beat it
No one wants to be defeated
Showin' how funky and strong is your fight
It doesn't matter who's wrong or right

Just beat it, beat it, beat it, beat it
No one wants to be defeated
Just beat it, beat it
Beat it, beat it, beat it

Obama's Propaganda Machine

The Sanford saga is unfortunate, but we'll let it alone for a while. Lost in the hullabaloo, however, was the White House press corps' utter inability to hold President Obama accountable for planting questions amid its ranks during yesterday's presser.

Just to give the administration some credit, the stunt was pulled off in a way that would surely make Communist Russia proud.

Gov. Mark Sanford's Disappearing Act

South Carolina Gov. Mark Sanford disappeared the past several days.  According to his staff he was 'hiking the Appalachian Trail.' 

[Link]

The funny thing, no one really cared - chalking it up to Sanford just being a weird guy.

Given the Governor's penchant for odd behavior, it's only too bad that he bothered to come back.

Update: Well, turns out it was, indeed, all too bad that Gov. Sanford bothered coming back.

Not only was the covert time away from the office odd, but it was also immoral as Gov. Sanford admitted to having an affair earlier this afternoon. Video of the press conference is below.

Suffice it to say, Gov. Sanford's political career is effectively over.

Visit msnbc.com for Breaking News, World News, and News about the Economy

Kudos to Shepard Smith

Fox News' Shepard Smith has long been my favorite evening anchor. 

Turns out, the New York Times doesn't think Shep is half bad either. The NYT describes the Fox Anchor as follows:

At various points on his Fox News program, the anchor Shepard Smith irritated Rush Limbaugh, teased Glenn Beck and grilled Samuel J. Wurzelbacher (a k a Joe the Plumber) over his attacks on President Obama. But it was not until he forcefully confronted the topic of hateful e-mail — some from Fox’s own viewers — that he drew fire over his approach.

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Perhaps it's odd, but the very queries that cause Shep to irritate some of the base endear him to me all the more.

It's almost frightening...

Obama Approval Tanks

This makes President Obama's health care plan immensely more difficult to sell.

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The plan was already shaky when the President had soaring popularity. Now that the President's approval numbers are falling, centrist Democrats will be even more reluctant to invest using the President's political capital.

Rude Drunkards

This has disaster written all over it.

MADRID (Reuters) – A Spanish bar is encouraging clients to insult its staff and offering free drinks for original or hilarious abuse.

[Link]

How could this possibly go wrong?

Let me count the ways...

Father-in-Chief

Around these parts we are quick to take aim at the President's policies.  Rightly so.

But the President deserves credit when credit is due.  Since President Obama has assumed office he has consistently set a fine example of fatherhood for the rest of the country. 

The photos from Daily Beast show a man who clearly loves his children.  It is admirable that he has remained so devoted while trying to fulfill his obligations both to country, and to family.

[Link]

To all fathers both at home and abroad, Happy Father's Day from Pax Plena.

Obamacare in Trouble

After only a week of debate, Obamacare Hit a bit of a speed bump.

The AP Reports:

WASHINGTON – A Republican senator seeking a bipartisan health deal spoke Sunday of "dialing down" expectations while one of President Barack Obama's Democratic allies questioned whether the White House had the votes necessary for a such a costly and comprehensive plan during a recession.

The opening paragraph frames the issue well. But really the AP Headline said it all:

Obama's own party worried health plan lacks votes

In truth, Republicans did much to put Democrats on the defensive in the initial debate. As soon as the bill hit the floor, Republicans led by Sen. McCain rose in opposition. Certainly, the sky-rocketing costs of the plan, and the fact that it yet leaves so many uninsured did nothing to help its cause.

Really, it boils down to another half-baked idea by Congressional Democrats that people just aren't buying.

USS John McCain Set to Intercept North Korean Vessel

Does anyone else find it a bit ironic that the USS John McCain is poised to intercept the North Korean vessel carrying illicit munitions?

[Link]

When Ego Runs Amuck in Washington

The video below was posted on Drudge, but it strikes me as a stunning example of a politician with an out of control ego.



Should Sen. Boxer ever team up with this staffer, heaven help all of the poor folks on the Hill.

The Dems Real Agenda on Health Care

Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders offered an interesting and thoughtful commentary in the Christian Science Monitor, outlining word-for-word the Democrats' agenda and core values in the health care debate.

Sen. Sanders explains:

The main reason we get such bad results is that the function of private health insurance companies is not to provide quality health care for all, but to make huge profits for those who own the companies.

[Link]

The Senator's premise is that profitability and quality care are anathema to one another.

But one could easily suggest the opposite. It is in the interest of insurers to provide quality care lest their profits fall.

While fundamentally incorrect, Sen. Sanders is to be admired for his candor. The Dems real agenda is to move America toward universal, nationalized health care as quickly as possible - before anyone realizes what has happened.

Recession Proof Weddings

According to the Associated Press, weddings and their attendant gifts are recession proof.

[Link]

With my own wedding coming up in Mid-August, here's hoping (for once) that the AP got it right.

The Plight of the Indian Health Service

The AP ran an interesting article (if not editorial) this morning on the current state of the Indian Health Service. Citing the story of young Ta'shon Rain Little Light from Crow Agency, MT, the story outlined the general plight of the Indian Health Service.

In brief the problems boil down to poor quality of service, lack of resources, long-waiting periods, and lack of funding. The young girl ultimately lost a battle with terminal cancer after she was misdiagnosed by the IHS five times.

"Maybe it would have been treatable," says her great-aunt, Ada White, as she stoically recounts the last few months of Ta'Shon's short life. Stephanie Little Light cries as she recalls how she once forced her daughter to walk when she was in pain because the doctors told her it was all in the little girl's head.

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The story strikes me as an astounding argument against the nationalized health care plan the Obama Administration hopes to enact. Native Americans have long availed themselves of health care on the federal dime.  And in exchange for their patronage, Indian people have endured misdiagnoses, long waits, and the prolonged effects of poor health care - including diabetes and obesity.

In a touch of irony, the health care afforded Native Americans was supposed to be a type of fulfillment of the Federal Government's trust obligations toward the tribes. It is little wonder, then, that like most Federal programs, the IHS has been incompetently managed, producing vast inequalities in health care among Native communities across the country.

The problem of course, stems from the President's plan to introduce a government insurance plan that would compete with private insurers.  The move, would force insurance costs down, and provide an public alternative that would grow exponentially as private insurers are driven out of the market. The end result of the proposal would lead to a nationalization of the health care system - with Medicare covering the elderly, Medicaid for the poor, and Obamacare for the middle class.

[Link]

But if the lessons of Crow Agency are any indication, the middle class may be in for a ruse. The one lesson to be taken from the plight of the IHS is that government cannot manage the health care for 1.37% of the population while keeping costs down, and delivering quality service.  How, then, can government possibly manage the health care for the entire nation?

Six Flags Tragedy

As a former resident of Southwest Oklahoma, my family and church group took many a trip to Six Flags over Texas in the Dallas suburb of Arlington.

Alas, the owners of the Texas Giant have filed for chapter 11 bankruptcy protection.

[Link]

The fine print, according to the AP, is that Six Flags hopes to 'reorganize' and shed some debt. Here's hoping the parks stay open, or open again soon.

Fox News & Shepard Smith Take on the Birds

This nugget from Fox News last week was too fun to pass up. Having walked by an angry pigeon or two, I'm inclined to agree with Shep.

Iranian Election Fallout

The poll results from Iran's election were released over the weekend.  Despite my somewhat optimistic query early last week, the results most Western nations had hoped for was not to be.

Iran's Mahmoud Ahmadinejad won an 'overwhelming' victory that has invariably been believed by none.

[Link]

The rub, unfortunately, is that there seems to be very little that can be done outside the Islamic Republic.  At least, if one believes the Obama Administration.  Secretary of State Hillary Clinton's response to the election was fairly muted:

In brief remarks in Canada, Clinton cited "the enthusiasm and the very vigorous debate and dialogue" in the run-up to the vote. "We obviously hope that the outcome reflects the genuine will and desire of the Iranian people," she said.

[Link]

On the domestic front, one cannot help viewing the election results, whether fixed or no, as a direct blow to the 'smart diplomacy' of the Obama Administration.

Simply put, how can one engage in smart diplomacy with patently unreasonable fellows such as the regime in Tehran - to say nothing of the saber rattling out of Pyongyang. The question, of course, is rhetorical. Smart diplomacy assumes our enemies are reasonable. In this case, the outcomes indicate the opposite.

Obamacare Unveiled

With President Obama fresh off his jaunt in Europe, the socialist-democrat agenda will seek a resurrection here in the US after taking a drubbing in the polls across the pond.

The obvious point of departure will be President Obama's plan for mandatory, universal health care.  The AP sums matters up as follows:

Senior House Democrats drafting health care legislation are considering slapping an unspecified financial penalty on anyone who refuses to purchase affordable health insurance, a key committee chairman said Monday.

In addition, officials said Democrats are considering a new tax on certain health insurance benefits as one of numerous options to help pay for expanding coverage to the uninsured. No details on the tax were immediately available, and no final decisions were expected until next week at the earliest.

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Just to be clear, the plan is: 1) make the purchase of health insurance mandatory whether you actually want it, or not; and 2) if you already have coverage, then the plan is to tax it.

Put differently, and conjuring my worst German voice inflection, "you 'vill have coverage, ja!" Or as they said in the former Soviet Union, 'workers of the world unite.'

Apparently, nothing will help reign in our ballooning national debt quite like creating an additional multi-trillion dollar entitlement program. Bloody brilliant.

The Politics of Marriage in Iran

Here in the US the very word marriage is enough to ignite the loyal opposition from both ends of the political spectrum. Certainly in these United States the debate is not so much about the financial wherewithal to marry as it is about the definition of the word and whether homosexual nuptials qualify under said definition.

But a world away, in the Islamic Republic of Iran, a very different debate is conjured by the word marriage - one that according to Time Magazine could very well bring down Iran's firebrand President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad.

According to Time, young Iranians of marrying age (the notion seems archaic here in the West but Iranian estimates put roughly 13 to 15 million of its population in this category) have more or less been "priced out of the marriage market."

[Link]

For the jaded, such a proposition may not seem like such a bad thing, but Iranian culture utterly forbids dating and premarital sex with stiff penalties for those who trespass, so millions of young Iranians find themselves unable to support a themselves much less a family - to say nothing of any attendant...frustrations.

The problem stems from rising inflation, and interest rates that have led to a spike in the cost of real estate (quite the difference from the American economy where real estate prices continue to fall). In Iran, the government 'stimulated' its economy through loan schemes aimed at reducing interest rates and increase state construction projects. Oddly, the program was a resounding success that led to increased costs of real estate overall, as materials for construction suddenly became high in demand. The success of the program, and the cost of materials put homes out of reach for many. As a result, some young couples have had to move in with their in-laws while hoping to amass enough money to afford a home. Surely a more dire prospect one can scarce imagine.

At any rate, frustration with the housing situation and Iran's plummeting marriage rate has led to a stronger than anticipated lurch toward President Ahmadinejad's political opposition. As Iranian government officials have concluded, "The sexual bomb we face is more dangerous than the bombs and missiles of the enemy." Tom Jones couldn't agree more.

The elections in Iran are slated for this Friday. I suppose we will know soon enough whether the limits of marriage were enough to bring down the Ahmadinejad Regime. Perhaps such an outcome would reinforce the notion that love really does conquer all.

Obama Beach

Blogging was fairly slow this past week. My work schedule has taken an unexpected turn for the worse and my ability to blog in the evenings after a long day has proved problematic. It's fairly easy to read the news and go online, but not so easy to blog.

Regardless, the President's trip to Europe merits a few comments.

Nowhere in all the world, other than California, are people so enamored with our President as in Europe. And nowhere in all of Europe are people so enamored with our President as in Britain. And perhaps no single person in all of Britain is more enamored with our President than embattled British Prime Minister Gordon Brown.

So giddy was he at sharing the stage with his counterpart that he inadvertently renamed historic Omaha Beach where 125,000+ allied soldier lost their lives, "Obama Beach." It was a moment of high European pandering at its finest.

Enjoy!

Cheney & SNL

Unfortunately, SNL has been a bit hit and miss in recent months.

But the video clip over the weekend poking fun at Vice President Cheney's sudden embrace of the limelight is too funny not to pass along. We all have a case of the Mondays from time to time. Below is a cure. Enjoy!

Reagan Statue Unveiled in the Capitol

Yesterday, California dedicated a statute to its most famous son- the late President Ronald Reagan.

CNN has video of the event below.



And, not that yours truly is a tourist but...

Whither Waterboarding?

The article below from the Daily Beast had some interesting insights into our recent National Security scourge.

According to NYU Law's Robert Windrem, the waterboarding techniques used by CIA interrogators at the Guantanamo Bay detention facility consisted largely of dousing detainees with up to five bottles of water at a time.

[Link]

Perhaps this speaks to my 'insensitivity', but isn't waterboarding supposed to be torturing someone? My sisters and I did worse to each other with our Super Soaker 50s back in the late 1980s.

Apparently, the technique was not so much about leaving our enemies in mortal fear for their lives at is was about mildly annoying them on a regular basis.

Photo Courtesy of Melton.ca.

Summertime Blues

Apologies readers. The past few days have found me settling into my new digs here in our Nation's Capitol City for my summer legal internship.

While working, I suspect that my ability to comment on my job is probably, fairly limited given the access interns have to government offices, and policy makers, but I have not received an admonishment against blogging so I expect that our conversations will continue throughout the summer.

But just in case, I would never wish my views on any government official, and all of the regulars here are acutely familiar with the fact that yours truly, and yours truly along publishes these posts. Read at your own risk. Here's hoping for a more consistent posting schedule!