Morning Round-Up 5-21
Posted by on 5.21.13 @ 9:48AM
“What is called poetic insight is the gift of discerning, in this sphere of strangely mingled elements, the beauty and the majesty which are compelled to assume a garb so sordid.” Hawthorne
Feature of the Day: The audacious plan to end hunger with 3-D printed food
**Obama To Deliver Statement on Oklahoma Disaster At 10 A.M. ET
Morning Headlines
Domestic
Associated Press
- Crews Dig Through Night After Deadly Okla. Twister
- President Obama to Speak On Oklahoma Disaster
- Former IRS Commissioner Heads to Hill Amid Scandal
New York Times
- Vast Oklahoma Tornado Kills at Least 91
- Arizona Desert Swallows Migrants on Riskier Paths
- Veteran Senator Emerges as Player on Immigration Overhaul
Politico
- How not to handle a scandal
- Primary colliders: David Axelrod vs. the Clintons
- More trouble for House immigration bill
Reuters
- Pentagon to take over some CIA drone operations: sources
- U.S. names envoy to combat anti-Semitism, warns of rising incidents
- U.S. panel votes to speed up airport fingerprinting of immigrants
Wall Street Journal
- Tornadoes Blast Oklahoma
- Treasury Knew IRS Was Planning Apology
- Role of Health-Law ‘Navigators’ Under Fire
Washington Post
- Obama’s rating steady in face of controversies, buoyed by rising economic hopes
- White House knew IRS probe findings earlier (5/20)
- Tornado kills scores in Oklahoma
Washington Times
- Group fighting voter fraud among those waiting on IRS; reams of documents still not enough
- Victims of sex assaults in military are mostly silent men
International
Associated Press
- 3 Hezbollah Fighters Die of Wounds From Syria
- Owner: Chinese Boat’s Captain Beaten by NKoreans
- After a Decade, Global AIDS Program Looks Ahead
New York Times
- Japan’s New Optimism Has Name: Abenomics
- U.S. Takes Steps to Add Security at Embassies
- Hezbollah’s Role in Syria War Shakes the Lebanese
Reuters
- Israel fires back at Syria after gunshots at its troops
- Russia says two rebels killed in Caucasus
- Obama to meet with China’s Xi June 7-8
Wall Street Journal
- Europe’s Recession Sparks Grass-Roots Political Push
- Syria’s Gains Renew Pressure on U.S.
- Pyongyang Frees Chinese Fishermen; North Fires Two Missiles
Washington Post
- Autobahn speed limit proposal revs debate in Germany
- Afghan peace lost in transition worries
- Attacks across Iraq kill 95 in hints of sectarian spillover from Syria
Top Conservative Stories of the Day:
Breitbart
- Why I Live in Oklahoma
- Rep. Sheila Jackson Lee Urged Feds to Investigate Conservative Org in 2010 (5/20)
The Daily Caller
- IRS targeted conservative college interns
- Democratic Senator uses Okla. Tornado for anti-GOP rant over global warming
- Over 150 conservative leaders, groups sign letter opposing Gang of 8 bill
CNSNews.com
- Did Obama and IRS Union Boss Talk Tea Party? WH Won’t Say
- Vietnam Again Escapes Blacklisting, As State Dep’t Cites ‘Positive’ Moves on Religious Freedom
Hot Air
1. OK tornado devastation: 51 dead, including 20 children
National Review
Washington Free Beacon
- Threat from Within: U.S. military braced for surge in Taliban ‘insider’ attacks after recent statement
- Conservatives Concerned About Immigration: More than 60 leaders sign letter pushing Republicans in Senate to kill bill
The Weekly Standard
Top Liberal Stories of the Day:
The Daily Beast
- Tornado Devastates Moore, Oklahoma: Photos, Video
- Moore, Oklahoma, May Be the Tornado Capital of America (5/20)
- Chris Christie Joins the Yahoos, Says No ‘Proof’ Climate Change Caused Sandy (5/20)
Huffington Post
- Oklahoma Senators Jim Inhofe, Tom Coburn Face Difficult Options on Disaster Relief
- Stephanie Pucheta, 10-Year-Old, On Dad’s Deportation: ‘Why Do They Have To Be So Cruel?’ (5/20)
Talking Points Memo
ThinkProgress
1. Arizona Congressman Wants to Expand His DC Abortion Ban To Restrict Reproductive Rights Nationwide
Impeachment Talk is a Mistake
Posted by on 5.21.13 @ 9:23AM
While driving to work this morning, I heard an ad (on Fox News’ Sirius Satellite channel — not sure if the same ad was running on Fox News television) from the Conservative Majority Fund urging people to sign a petition supporting the impeachment of Barack Obama.
A quick look at their web site shows that they’re still angry about Obama’s “forged birth certificate.”
Personally, I think it’s most likely that Barack Obama was born in Hawaii, though it wouldn’t completely shock me if that were not true or, more probably, that he applied to schools and perhaps got financial aid, as a foreign student. Politically, all of this stuff is a huge loser for Republicans and should be studiously avoided by any group which really aims to create a “conservative majority” in Congress.
The same must be said of talk of impeachment.
First of all, unless Barack Obama actually ordered the IRS targeting of Americans, which is extremely unlikely, he is guilty of many things including incompetence, a lack of understanding or appreciation of the nation he leads, a lack of leadership, etc. But none of this is a “high crime” or otherwise impeachable offense.
Indeed, even if he personally ordered that no help be sent to Benghazi, again unlikely, that would not strike me as impeachable.
Few sane Americans would see discussion of impeachment as anything but hyperventilating hyper-partisanship.
Furthermore, many Americans remenber the impeachment of Bill Clinton. He may or may not have deserved it, though I’d argue that he was a much better president than Barack Obama. But it was a political disaster for Republicans.
So sane Americans would wonder about the sanity of Republicans who want to go down that same path, against a president whose personal popularity remains stubbornly high.
Americans basically hate Congress. That will not begin to improve until they see its members as working on behalf of the people rather than the political parties or their own power.
The current raft of “scandals” surrounding the Obama administration shines a perfect spotlight not just on the incompetence of the current administration but on the inherent risks in gigantic government. Behind the light on government failure is the pall cast on those politicians, namely Democrats, who support ever-larger government with the specific example of Obamacare and its pending enforcement by the IRS.
In order to create a conservative majority, Republicans and conservatives, and others (like me) who are neither Republican nor conservative but would much prefer a conservative majority to what we have now, must continually remind Americans that current events are a natural symptom of big government, and that they’re just the beginning of the abuses we will see if Democrats’ government-uber-alles vision for America takes even greater hold than it has so far.
Impeachment talk is an unnecessary, and frankly idiotic, distraction from what must really be done to try to regain Republican control of the US Senate. It makes Obama’s opponents look unserious and allows the media to use the silliness of groups like the Conservative Majority fund to paint all of us with a broad, unflattering brush.
Even for the most anti-Obama partisan, I urge you to avoid, and publicly oppose, discussion of impeachment. Once you support it, those moderate/independent Americans whom we most need to influence will no longer listen to anything you have to say.
Ray Manzarek, R.I.P.
Posted by on 5.20.13 @ 7:45PM
Ray Manzarek, keyboardist of The Doors, passed away today of bile duct cancer. He was 74.
Manzarek and Jim Morrison were classmates at the UCLA film school and would form The Doors shortly after graduation in 1965. Guitarist Robbie Krieger and drummer John Densmore were quickly recruited to join the band.
Between 1967 and 1971, The Doors charted with hits like “Light My Fire”, “Hello, I Love You”, “Touch Me”, “Love Her Madly” and “Riders on the Storm”.
When Morrison began missing live performances, Manzarek would often take over lead vocals as he did with “Soul Kitchen” during a 1968 concert in Amsterdam.
After Morrison died in Paris on July 3, 1971, Manzarek, Krieger and Densmore released two more albums as a trio but never replicated their earlier success. They broke up in 1973.
Manzarek occasionally reunited with Krieger and Densmore and spent the past decade touring with Krieger. In the late 1970s, Manzarek front a short lived band called Nite City. He also released six solo albums between 1973 and 2011. Over the years, Manzarek collaborated with the likes of Philip Glass, Iggy Pop and Echo & the Bunnymen.
While Morrison lived fast and died young, Manzarek was a devoted family man who was married to his wife Dorothy for over 45 years. Manzarek is survived by her, two sons and three grandchildren.
Here is an interview Manzarek did a few years back sitting at his keyboard. Manzarek begins the interview by saying, “You don’t make music for immortality. You make music for the moment, for capturing the sheer joy of being alive on Planet Earth.”
But as George Harrison wrote, “All things must pass away.” With that, I leave you with “When The Music’s Over”.
Thoughts on The Tornado in Moore, Oklahoma
Posted by on 5.20.13 @ 6:43PM
I was out most of the day and did not learn of the devastation of the mile wide tornado in Moore, Oklahoma until about an hour or so ago.
At this point, the casualties are unknown. But a woman who spoke with Bret Baier told him there were children being pulled out from under cars on the roof of an elementary school.
How absolutely awful.
If there’s a silver lining in all of this is that we can be confident that Americans from across the country will donate their time and money to help those devastated by this storm.
UPDATE: The death toll is at 51 and is expected to rise.
Evangelical School Gets Salvation from Controversy
Posted by on 5.20.13 @ 5:32PM
The lesson coming out of South Carolina these days seems to be that people don’t like being told what to do by outsiders. South Carolinians know what they believe and outside outrage isn’t going to change that.
We saw it when Mark “I’m Hiking the Appalachian Trail” Sanford beat Elizabeth Colbert Busch by a whopping nine points, despite Sanford losing funding from the NRCC and Colbert-Busch being funneled seemingly endless money from national Democrats.
And we’re seeing it again on the other side of the state. Blue Ridge Christian Academy, a tiny private school in the Appalachian Mountains received endless mockery and criticism from people on the social media site reddit after a fourth-grade quiz on creationism was posted on the site.
As the Greenville News is reporting, the quiz correct answers directly contradicted accepted facts in secular textbooks:
It was labeled “4th grade science quiz. Dinosaurs: Genesis and the Gospel.”
Eighteen questions. The first four were true or false.
The earth is billions of years old. A lopsided pencil mark circled false.
Dinosaurs lived millions of years ago, another circle: false.
It went on from there, testing students on the beginning of the world according to creationism, the belief that the literal interpretation of the first book of the Bible explains it all. Both were marked correct.
With that kind of content, the redditors, most of whom are definitely not from South Carolina, responded with scorn and disdain.
And of course, South Carolinians responded like true South Carolinians. Instead of being angered, people have started donating. Blue Ridge Christian Academy, which was scheduled to close on May 31 due to loss of funding, has received thousands of dollars in donations and continues to get more daily. All of the money might just save the tiny school.
Lesson learned: Leave South Carolinians alone.
Open letter to Anré Dárel Washington
Posted by on 5.20.13 @ 4:36PM
Hello Anré,
Congratulations on your college graduation. I enjoyed your interview on CNN, but would offer one suggestion for your consideration:
You said that you want to go to Washington to learn about Progressive policies.
Why not open your mind to the possibility that actually reaching a good outcome is more important than being able to simply feel good by calling yourself “Progressive.”
After all, decades of Progressive policies have done absolutely nothing for African-Americans, other than destroy black families and force black kids into failing schools. (And then there’s the bipartisan disaster of the drug war’s impact on black Americans.)
It may be fashionable among the left to demonize Republicans or conservatives (I am not a Republican, and I am politically libertarian, not conservative). It may make some people you know feel good to call certain people mean or selfish or racist — without any evidence at all. (And to be sure, I am not suggesting that you would do this yourself, but I guarantee you know people who fit my description.)
But results matter. While “Progressives” spend so much time talking about their good intentions, their results have been a disaster for the most vulnerable in America. Meanwhile, it’s conservatives who fight, for example, for school choice — while Barack Obama once killed the school choice program in Washington, D.C. which was helping thousands of some of the nations neediest (especially needy of a good education) black children because he found it more important to support a teachers’ union. (He has opposed it again since then, while Speaker of the House (Republican) John Boehner fought hard for it.)
You may consider it heresy, but I urge you to open your mind to thinking about “what policies will actually reach the outcome I want?” rather than thinking “what Progressive policy should I support today?”
I would suggest to you that you read “The Law” by Federic Bastiat. It’s great…and it’s short! (You can read it in one sitting.) Indeed, if you send me a mailing address, I’ll gladly send you a copy at my expense. I also recommend “Free to Choose” by Milton Friedman and “Economics in One Lesson” by Henry Hazlitt.
America is not in great need of another smart young black Progressive/liberal. What we need is more smart young black leaders who are willing to think outside of the liberal dogma and actually do things that WORK instead of things which play on people’s worst instincts.
If you’re open to investigating ideas which are smart, effective, and supportive of the best of human instinct, I’d be happy to introduce you to think tanks oriented in that direction in DC. I hope that the results of your college education have not been to permanently install intellectual blinders on your very promising future.
I wish you health, happiness, luck, and prosperity in the next phase of your life.
Ross G Kaminsky
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