He's Ordered His Horse...

And the Oval Office furniture. . .

St. Barack and the Titanic

Over at American Power blog, Professor Douglas calls attention to send-ups of St. Barack's "victory tour" in the Washington Post and in USA Today. The Sainted One's "presumptuous arrogance" Professor Douglas correctly notes, could lead to a stunning loss. Well, from the Professor's pen to God's pad, let's hope. In this same vein, commenter (and blogger) "Educated Shoprat" notes that: "They said that 'God Himself couldn't sink the Titanic' but down she went. Hubris is the enemy of the great, near-great, and self-deluded."

Maybe, but I dunno. . .

If St. Barack had been on Titanic, it would have been a totally different tale. First, St. Barack would have equalized the wealth of first class and steerage, thus assuring all that the voyage across the icy cold North Atlantic was total Nirvana for the poor immigrants seeking a better life in the New World (room for lots and lots more with St. Barack on board); and a wonderful happy crossing for even the ship's rats.

Then, the Great One would have used his tough presidential diplomacy to influence Captain Smith to ignore the evil demands of J. Bruce Ismay (symbol of the corporate greed fostered by Republicans) to go faster than a fuel-efficient 55 mph. The Man of Hope would have further prevailed on Captain Smith to reverse the failed lookout policies of the Bush administration, and to pay his lookouts a fair Union wage rather than outsourcing their work to China.

Once the ship hit the iceberg, St. Barack would have immediately implemented allocation of lifeboat space based on the best affirmative action principles. He would have convened earnest and determined academic study groups seeking input from all parts of the community to prepare a thesis on the best, fairest, most PC way to allocate lifeboat space, to ensure that the contributions of the poor, passengers of color, the differently-abled, and those of diverse sexual preferences were taken into account. (The target date for completion of the study would be mid-1913).

In the meantime, St. Barack's friend, Reverend Wright, could sermonize the passengers on the sins of America, leading them in rousing renditions of Nearer My God to Thee, St. Barack and the Internationale. Meanwhile, down in steerage, St. Barack's other pal, Bill Ayers, would be busily forming SDS ("Steerage for a Democratic Society") and planning the revolution against the first class passengers. Michelle's there too, inspiring the crew manning the pumps to truly Stakhanovite efforts: "Barack . . .will require you to work. . . come out of your isolation, that you move out of your comfort zones. That you push yourselves to be better. And that you engage. Barack will never allow you to go back to your lives as usual, uninvolved, uninformed."

With St. Barack aboard, the Titanic passengers have really Got Hope. On the boat deck, St. Barack gives up waiting on the blue-ribbon academic panel to come up with a lifeboat-allocation plan, reverse the rotation of the world, stop the Iranian nukes, and make the crops grow. He puts his "community organizer" persona into overdrive, leading the crew in rhythmic chants of "Yes We Can ! Yes We Can !" Inspired, the crew swings into action, patches the hole in Titanic and (powered by hot air from MoveOn.org) steams that puppy right into New York, running over Hillary Clinton as the ship makes port.

St. Barack saves the ship, and gets Kate Winslet (plus the "Heart of the Ocean" for good measure). Titanic, refitted, is renamed St Barack's Hope and given a new figurehead, that says "Vero possumus" and looks suspiciously like a presidential seal. A grateful world yawns, and gives St. Barack the keys to the White House, the Vatican and the Executive Washroom. Savior Barack is packed right off on a European tour, where Katie Couric and the world media swoon and go ga-ga as the Sainted One makes World Peace Surpassing All Understanding, for All Time to Come. . .

Exeunt Olmert

Ehud Olmert is stepping down as Israeli Prime Minister, as soon as his Kadina Party picks a new leader. Not before time: he made a hash of the Israel-Hezbollah war of 2006. Mr. Olmert's government dithered over its response to Hezbollah's rocket and prisoner-grab challenge; squandered an opportunity to crush Hezbollah with Israeli ground troops: opting to try to do the job on the cheap with air power and long range guns. The Olmert government turned to its ground option much too late, with much too little, when diplomatic time had expired.

Israel got all the bad press attendant on using any of its military options and suffered a major loss of military and diplomatic prestige. The war revealed major problems with the Israeli military system, but Israel was certainly strong enough to win in the field. That she did not was largely the fault of the national leadership -- in particular Mr. Olmert.

No doubt some caretaker Prime Minister will follow, but whenever the Israelis have elections. . . keep an eye on Benjamin Netanyahu. If he were a stock, he'd be a good buy about now.

Our Unserious Government

Despite staggeringly high oil prices, and the fact that we import nearly 70 percent of our oil from less than stable parts of the world, there is still no move by Congress to approve opening more of the continental shelf to oil drilling. Meanwhile, Fiscal Year 2009's US government budget deficit is going to break records at $482 billion dollars. That's not counting costs of operations in Iraq and Afghanistan. Don't worry, you, your kids, grandkids and their grandchildren's children will be paying.

Strategic thinking in Washington is on holiday. With the cancellation of most of the Zumwalt-class destroyer project (DDG-1000), the Navy's shipbuilding program is in disarray. Perhaps some disarray is justified: the Navy never seemed to know exactly what it wanted in these 14,000-ton "destroyers" that were as big as cruisers and as expensive as battleships. While this is going on, Congress is funding VIP "comfort pallets" in USAF aircraft so that flag officers and (more importantly) Congress-persons can travel around the world the cushy way. Hey, they need to be able to travel, since President-Faith Healer Obama, now on his victory tour, is a citizen of the world.

Oh, and there's a war on.

But don't worry, citizens. True, we're broke; our kids are going to be strapped to the eyes; regular unleaded is about $4.00 a gallon; and the vegetables, bread and milk you can buy will just about fit in the same space in your wallet formerly occupied by the worthless dollars you bought them with.

Still, there are glad tidings -- your Congress is on the case: yesterday the House of Representatives apologized for slavery (dead 140 years) and Jim Crow. Meanwhile, the House Judiciary Committee, its 20 Democrats anyway (voting along party lines of course) wants to cite Karl Rove for contempt of Congress.

Dolts. Fools. Useless nincompoops. Incompetents. (Add expletives here). Contempt of Congress is a badge of honor.

The Sainted One Goes Forth

A reading from the Book of Obama, the Light-Bringer to the world. . .

What if Obama Loses?

Wretchard, over at Belmont Club, has a very interesting piece today concerning, inter alia, the apprehensions of some of the brighter denizens of Big Media about the intentions of the political monster they have built. But Wretchard's most arresting thought on our coming Leader is how he is:

. . .no longer just running for President but striding forward to claim his destiny. Once the expectation of an Obama victory exceeds a certain point an actual electoral defeat would cause psychological damage to the trust mechanisms of [the] political system, like a long announced celebration party or holiday that unaccountably never happens. He’s a runaway. .

Now there's an interesting question. As I said the other day, it's like the media has held its election, and Obama has already won. In all but name, he is the President-Elect. We're just waiting till he takes office.

What if, in spite of all expectations, that turns out not to be true ? What if Destiny is denied; the hopes and expectations of right-thinging people all over the world dashed and Leader St. Barack actually loses come November? The odds of that look vanishingly small, at least at first blush. . .but the polls have this race looking tighter than the tone of the media coverage says it should.

So what if it happens? What if Obama is overexposed, and ordinary people, considering Obama, have the temerity, the pure gall to ignore the propaganda and what they're being told the world wants and decide that No. He. Can't? What if the bubble bursts?

Can the political system survive the anger of so many right-thinking people denied their Leader; their new Kennedy; their Messiah? Would the New Class that has taken over the Democratic Party and that constitutes the media and information elites that now rule us, take the defiance, the sacrilege and impudence of flyover country lying down?

I grant you that it's unlikely to happen. . .but it would be such fun if it did.

Iraq Today If Obama Had Gotten His Way

Comment is simply superfluous. . .I agree completely. (Hat tip: Confederate Yankee).

Didn't You Hear? Obama's Already President

Drudge reports today that the New York Times has rejected John McCain's proposed op-ed column -- just a week after it gave space on the op-ed page, gratis, to St. Barack of Obama. According to the Drudge piece, the Times op-ed editor says McCain's offering is deficient because it des not "mirror" Barack the Leader's column.

Hmmm, too bad we can't get all the Lefties to hold their breath waiting for Nancy Pelosi to denounce the one-sidedness of the Times editorial page the way she does that of talk radio. . .

Meanwhile, the Sainted Leader's trip abroad has occasioned what the Financial Times (and probably everybody else) calls a "media frenzy" in contrast to the "subdued coverage" of Senator McCain's campaign. We are further informed this morning that the Iraqi government and Obama agree on when US troops should leave Iraq. And as if that were not enough, Obama has said on CBS's Face the Nation (as reported in Dan Balz's Washington Post campaign blog): "The objective of this trip was to have substantive discussions with people like [Afghan] President Karzai or [Iraqi] Prime Minister Maliki or [French] President Sarkozy or others who I expect to be dealing with over the next eight to 10 years." (italics in original)

Gee, last I heard, the 22nd Amendment said you could be President for eight years, tops. I'm sure St. Barack will fix this in his first term.

Then again, maybe he won't. Why would he have to? The media's so in the tank for this guy, why are we even bothering with an election? As far as the press and right-thinking people are concerned, St. Barack is already the President-Elect, and we're all just sitting around marking time till he takes the throne next January. We don't need to have an election -- the media, which has given up reporting the news and gone full time into making it, is having the election for us, and if we don't vote the right way come November, the chattering classes will just up and elect themselves a new people.

Moreover, as far as these people are concerned, he can be President for Life if he wants. I'm not so sure I'd bet against him dealing with Sarkozy and company ten years off.

Real Men Vote for McCain

I LOVE IT ! Here's why Real Men Vote for McCain. . .

Wake Up Jefe (Gunkan March)

Not a lot of posting this week: real life has tended to interfere some, but I should have some time this weekend, and hope to catch up.

In the meantime, it's a warm afternoon here, and I'm wishing a nap was possible. If you need some waking up, give the Imperial Japan...oops, I mean the Japanese Ground Self Defense Force Eastern Army Band playing the Gunkan (Warship) March a listen (and, by the way, if you know where El Jefe can find the Gunkan March on CD, he'd love to know) . . .

Loons Bankrupting the Asylum

With the decision to rescue Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, the Federal Government is now effectively bailer-outer to the whole world; and, never mind the consequences to the dollar, the Government's balance sheets and the fact the Government, with scarcely any debate, is putting your grandkids in hock miles higher than their eyeballs (they were already in to their eyeballs). If you were looking for a way to guarantee $8.00 a gallon gas, this was it.

Clearly, the lesson here is that, if you're big enough, you can make the taxpayers pay for anything, forever.

But forget all that -- forget that the currency is being debauched and debased, and the country being bankrupted. Worry, instead, about a stupid magazine cover.

Missiles and Sabres Rattling All Over the Place

I was preparing a post on the Iranian missile firings yesterday, and again today, but I'm going to hold off a bit. Events are moving rather quickly.

The Iranians have threatened to close the Straits of Hormuz and set Israel "on fire" if they are attacked. The US Navy, in the person of the commander of the US Fifth Fleet (Vice-Admiral Cosgriff) says that Iran will not be allowed to do this. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice has sent a "message to Iran" that the US ". . .will defend American interests and. . .the interests of our allies." Defend how?

Meanwhile, the Israeli Minister of Defense, Ehud Barak, says that Israel is the ". . .strongest country in the region and. . .is not afraid to take action when its vital security interests are at stake." Meanwhile, the Iranians, Little Green Footballs reports, apparently photoshopped pictures of their missile launching, adding some missiles. Why? Maybe because, as the the International Institute of Strategic Studies thinks, the Iranians had a misfire.

On that subject, Haaretz reports that parts of the Israeli military-industrial complex don't appear particularly impressed with the Iranian toys: opining that the Shahab-3 ested is not a new variant of that missile but is the same old liquid-fueled version they've had for years. Liquid fuel can be problematical for a ballistic missile: fueling is not simple, is time-consuming, and produces easily observable plumes and discharges, as watchers of American liquid-fueled space launches can attest. Reliable solid fuel rockets are harder to produce, but the Iranians have models under development.

Naturally, the dollar's falling again, and oil's rising. Was that the object of the exercise to begin with? OPEC warns that if there is war with Iran, oil prices may rise by an unlimited amount, because the loss of Iranian production cannot be made up.

I suppose if there's not war with Iran, oil will go up by an unlimited amount also? When Iran gets its bomb, the Sunnis will have to have one too. How will that be paid for?

We are all moving into uncharted and very dangerous waters. It is not clear to me, and probably to others, that all the players really understand this.

Feckless

My good friends, this is the second time in our history that there has come back from Germany to Downing Street peace with honour. I believe it is peace for our time. We thank you from the bottom of our hearts. And now I recommend you to go home and sleep quietly in your beds.

Neville Chamberlain (1869–1940), Prime Minister of Great Britain. speech, 30 September 1938, Downing Street, London, on the occasion of the Munich Agreement with Nazi Germany.

* * *

Gorman: Apone! Look... we can't have any firing in there. I, uh... I want you to collect magazines from everybody.

Hudson: Is he fuckin' crazy?

Frost: What the hell are we supposed to use man? Harsh language?

Aliens (1986) William Hope as "Lieut. Gorman," Al Matthews as "Sgt. Apone," Bill Paxton as "Pvt. Hudson," Ricco Ross as "Pvt. Frost." Directed by James Cameron.

St. Barack of Obama to Matt Lauer (NBC Today Show), on the Iranian missile firings:

There is no doubt that we're seeing rising tensions in the area. . . It's part of the reason why it's so important for us to have a coherent policy with respect to Iran.... It has to combine much tougher threats of economic sanctions with direct diplomacy, opening up channels of communication, so that we avoid provocation but we give the Iranians strong incentives to change their behavior. . .Part of what we have to do is get the Europeans, the Chinese, the Russians to recognize that it is in nobody's interests, including Iran's, I believe, to have a nuclear weapon that could trigger a nuclear arms race in the region.

See, Iranians, St. Barack knows what's in your interest better than you do, just like he knows what's in our interest better than we do. Put away your mean toys now, and quit building nukes, or he'll whip out the "tough, direct presidential diplomacy" and drop the ultimate weapon -- corner you in some diplo-fest and bore you to death.

Then there's Nancy Pelosi, Speaker ad nauseum of the US House of Representatives:

Iran's provocative test launching of long-range missiles is detrimental to a resolution of the issues that separate Iran from the international community. Widespread condemnation from around the world should send a clear signal to Iranian leaders that such actions hinder diplomatic efforts to bring stability to the Middle East.

Wow, I bet she was on her elementary school's Safety Patrol. Be warned, Mullahs, unless you want to be separated from the international community or hurt Middle Eastern stability -- both big concerns of yours. Worse, you might have to endure her generalities in person, like poor old Boy Assad in Syria. Wise up, and sing Kumbaya now, or at the very least she'll send Code Pink over to hold a sit-in demonstration.

"Go Hang," Dead Man Mugabe Says

Former Zimbabwe President Robert Mugabe (legally deposed in Zimbabwe's presidential election last 29 March, but hanging on to power as long as the troops obey) is in Sharm El-Sheikh, Egypt for an African Union summit conference.

The former President, but still murderous usurping tyrant, is very upset that the world has taken a small degree of notice of his faked results, his attacks on voters and his sham run-off election. The tyrant's "Presidential" spokesman, a George Charamba, says that the western countries demanding that his master be called to account ". . . can go hang. They can go and hang a thousand times."

Mr. Charamba should perhaps remember that others can, and probably will, hang, or be defenestrated, shot, decapitated, or any number of other grisly possibilities. Mouthpieces of tyrants often have a good time before the real world catches up to them. Just ask Joe Goebbels, when you see him.

"Go Hang," indeed. Poor choice of words, Mr. Charamba ! Whatever happens to you, it can hardly be a worse fate than the murder and torture your (very old) evil master is handing out to thousands of your innocent fellow countrymen. But don't worry: when the string runs out, you can tell whatever kangaroo court you wind up in front of that you were only a "Presidential" spokesman, only following orders, and that you didn't know what your boss's rougher minions were doing to your fellow citizens. Maybe it'll even work -- although the court told those who tried it at Nuremburg to "go hang." If you're very unlucky, you'll get relatives of your master's victims as judges.

Act now, Mr. Charamba ! If you jump first, and help others worried about the future to arrange a quick end for the tyrant, you (and your family) will be living the high life in New York or Paris, taking the call from your memoir publisher; having students call you "professor;" or hearing the same smarmy journalists laughing at you today addressing you as "ambassador" and begging you to include them at your next expense-account-paid party in Restaurant Le Meurice or Le Bernadin. If you delay, you'll wind up at the side of a road someplace, staring at the mud in the ditch, waiting for the bullet in the neck, with your family (if they're lucky) penniless refugees someplace.

Think on this, Mr. Charamba, on the long trip back to Harare, as the living dead swill their Euro champagne and outdo each other telling your doddering old bastard of a boss that he's still got it. He's done man, and so are you, if you stay with him. Come to think of it, it's a long, long flight from Sharm el-Sheikh to Harare. . . Choose wisely, and soon. Mr. Charamba. Happy trails.