Forward! U.S. Business Investment Over the Cliff Amid Economic Uncertainty, Recession Fears

Well, the voters spoke a couple of weeks ago --- and the markets have been speaking ever since. More grim news, from the Wall Street Journal, "Investment Falls Off a Cliff: U.S. Companies Cut Spending Plans Amid Fiscal and Economic Uncertainty":

U.S. companies are scaling back investment plans at the fastest pace since the recession, signaling more trouble for the economic recovery.

Half of the nation's 40 biggest publicly traded corporate spenders have announced plans to curtail capital expenditures this year or next, according to a review by The Wall Street Journal of securities filings and conference calls.

Nationwide, business investment in equipment and software—a measure of economic vitality in the corporate sector—stalled in the third quarter for the first time since early 2009. Corporate investment in new buildings has declined.

At the same time, exports are slowing or falling to such critical markets as China and the euro zone as the global economy downshifts, creating another drag on firms' expansion plans.

Corporate executives say they are slowing or delaying big projects to protect profits amid easing demand and rising uncertainty. Uncertainty around the U.S. elections and federal budget policies also appear among the factors driving the investment pullback since midyear. It is unclear whether Washington will avert the so-called fiscal cliff, tax increases and spending cuts scheduled to begin Jan. 2.

Companies fear that failure to resolve the fiscal cliff will tip the economy back into recession by sapping consumer spending, damaging investor confidence and eating into corporate profits. A deal to avert the cliff could include tax-code changes, such as revamping tax breaks or rates, that hurt specific sectors.

President Barack Obama called a number of business executives over the weekend, including Warren Buffett, Apple Inc. AAPL Chief Executive Tim Cook and J.P. Morgan Chase's JPM +0.36% James Dimon, to promote his solution to the looming budget crisis. All sides in Washington, in a departure from a year of deep divisions, have pledged to work together and compromise to avoid going over the cliff.

"The whole world is looking for stability and clarity from the United States," said David Seaton, chief executive of Fluor Corp., a large engineering and construction firm. If uncertainty isn't removed, he said, "people will sit on their war chests of cash and return it to shareholders. You'll have a retarded growth trajectory."

Coach Lane Kiffin Will Return to USC Football

I watched yesterday's highly-anticipated cross-town matchup, and it was something else.

The Los Angeles Times reports, "UCLA snaps five-game rivalry losing streak with 38-28 win over USC."

But here's Bill Plaschke's column, "Double shock: USC falls, and Pat Haden says Lane Kiffin to return":

Not since Paul Hackett was the coach have I seen a USC team so humbled by the Bruins. Never would I believe a 50-0 score — last season's USC win — could turn around so far, so fast.

The biggest differences between the two seasons have been a quarterback and a coach. Here we all thought Kiffin and Barkley were this town's star duo when, in fact, it has become The Scowling Jim Mora and The Unstoppable Brett Hundley.

Is it any wonder lots of us have been critical of Kiffin? Is there any surprise that, with the Trojans down 24-0 midway through the second quarter, folks were calling for him to be fired at halftime? Heck, after a bad loss in this game last year, the Bruins' Rick Neuheisel was fired two days later. Before Saturday, the three bad USC losses, heaped on top of many distractions, led some university insiders to believe that Kiffin had to win his remaining games to keep his job.

And here's this from yesterday, "Lane Kiffin says he will be back as USC's football coach":

While his team has not performed up to expectations, Kiffin has found controversy off the field. He lied about voting USC No. 1 in a poll early in the season, became embroiled in a tiff about media access and the false accusation of a reporter who wrote about an injury, ruffled feathers by changing the numbers of players during a blowout win over Colorado and most recently denied he had anything to do with a student manager deflating footballs below regulation level during a loss to Oregon.

Oh brother.

Anyway, here's T.J. Simers on the new realities, "No question the Rose Bowl is Jim Mora's house now."

London's Daily Mail Previews Playboy's Marilyn Monroe 50th Anniversary Nude Photos

Well, this is something of a history lesson, even for an old-timer like me.

See: "EXCLUSIVE: Inside Playboy's special edition showing Marilyn Monroe's nude photos on 50th anniversary of her death."

Hamas Kills Children, Blames Israel

This story's been getting widespread coverage, at Elders of Ziyon, "Dead child cradled by Egypt's PM was killed by Hamas! (UPDATED)." (And check the blog for phenomenal comprehensive coverage.)

And Telegraph UK picked up the story:

...there were signs on Saturday that not all the Palestinian casualties have been the result of Israeli air strikes. The highly publicised death of four-year-old Mohammed Sadallah appeared to have been the result of a misfiring home-made rocket, not a bomb dropped by Israel.

The child’s death on Friday figured prominently in media coverage after Hisham Kandil, the Egyptian prime minister, was filmed lifting his dead body out of an ambulance. "The boy, the martyr, whose blood is still on my hands and clothes, is something that we cannot keep silent about," he said, before promising to defend the Palestinian people.

But experts from the Palestinian Centre for Human Rights who visited the site on Saturday said they believed that the explosion was caused by a Palestinian rocket.

Israel Prepares Gaza Ground Incursion

At the Jerusalem Post, "Israel prepares to send ground forces into Gaza: In spite of reservations of international community, PM says IDF prepared for expansion of Operation Pillar of Defense":

Israel continued to prepare to send ground forces into Gaza, in spite of warnings that the international community might not support the move.

On Sunday Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu held a meeting with Foreign Minister Avigdor Liberman and Defense Minister Ehud Barak for the third night in a row.

On Sunday morning Netanyahu told the government at its weekly meeting, “the IDF has attacked over 1,000 terrorist targets [since Wednesday afternoon] in the Gaza Strip and it is continuing its operations as we speak,” Netanyahu said.

“The IDF is prepared for a significant expansion of its operations,” Netanyahu said.

And see the Times of Israel, "Liberman: If Israel launches a ground incursion into Gaza, IDF needs to ‘go all the way’."

Israel is Beacon of Liberty Against Global Communist Solidarity and Mainstream Media's Enablers of Extermination

As I've said many times, one's position on Israel's right to self-defense --- the Jewish people's right to self-preservation --- determines one's position on freedom, universal right (goodness), and civilization.

With Israel's operation Pillar of Defense in its fifth day, the world again has divided into combatant blocs, with the enemies of Israel mounting a worldwide campaign of delegitimation, from San Francisco to New York, across Europe to Cairo and Jerusalem. It's an exterminationist's dream of global struggle against (the fiction of) "Israel apartheid." The Times of London reported previously, "Activists around the world hold rallies denouncing Israel’s campaign in Gaza." And check this morning's report from Anne Sorock, at Legal Insurrection, "Defending Israel, freedom, and the future of civilization." And following the links takes us to Rebel Pundit's report, at Big Government, "Anti-Israel, Anti-America Protest Outside Obama HQ in Chicago":

On Thursday night, Nov. 15, anti-Israel protesters gathered outside of President Obama’s re-election campaign headquarters in Chicago to protest what they call “Israeli war crimes.”

The protest was organized by the Palestine Solidarity Group, the Chicago Movement for Palestinian Rights , the U.S. Palestinian Community Network, and Ameican Muslims for Palestine. Ahmed Rehab of the Council for American Islamic Relations (CAIR), John Beacham of the Party for Socialism and Liberation/ANSWER Coalition, and friend of Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, Leah Bolger, the President of Veterans for Peace were featured speakers at the event.

None of the speakers were short on controversial comments; however, John Beacham and Leah Bolger’s remarks were particularly stunning. Beacham declared:

The biggest terrorists in the world today are in the Pentagon, they're in Washington and Tel Aviv… And we can win here in the United States for Palestine, by building a movement, that shakes the foundations of this country by building international solidarity with all those who are standing up to the terrorist acts of the U.S. and Israeli Government.”

Bolger echoed Beacham, asking the crowd, “You know who the real terrorists are? The United States, the people in the uniforms.”

Continue reading.

Zombie has more, at PJ Media, "As the war in Gaza heats up, so too do the anti-Israel protests in the U.S."

And it goes without saying that amid the left's renewed campaign against Israel, Western governments and media elites mouth hollow condemnations of Palestinian aggression with tepid support or Israel's right to self-defense. Melanie Phillips, always among the most penetrating on the left's media-backed anti-Semitic jihad, comments on the establishment's moral bankruptcy, "Between a rock and a hard place":

The reason why this conflict goes on and on in this interminable way, leaving Israel in a state of permanent siege, is quite simple. It is that the so-called civilised world, for all its empty pledges of support for Israel, actually leaves it to swing in the wind.

It persists in casting the conflict entirely falsely as a fight over land boundaries. It totally ignores the Judeophobic incitement to hatred and murder of Israelis with which the Palestinians indoctrinate their children; it totally ignores the Nazi-style (and yes , it is straight from the Nazi lexicon) deranged racist demonisation of the Jews as cosmically evil people responsible for all the ills in the world and controlling everything that moves in the west; it totally ignores the statements made even by so-called moderates such as Mahmoud Abbas that the Palestinians will never accept Israel as a Jewish state, thus committing them to permanent war against it; it totally ignores the fact that this is a religious war against the Jews (read the Hamas Charter); it totally ignores the gross inversion and misrepresentation of history by which the Arabs have concealed the fact that it is only the Jewish people for whom Israel was ever their national homeland.

Instead it ludicrously blames Israel for the impasse because of the ‘settlements’, thus taking demonstrably absurd Arab propaganda at face value; states that the Palestinians ‘deserve’ a state of their own (since when did racist aggressors deserve anything at all?); and insists that Israel must negotiate with the Palestinians to arrive at a solution (with increasing voices urging it to negotiate even with the Hamas). But the only solution that can be negotiated with fanatics committed to the eradication of a country is a final one.

And then see Barry Rubin, "Here’s How — As With This Israel-Hamas War — Western Elites Are Baffled by the Middle East."

More at The Blaze, "MSNBC Anchor Tells Israeli Ambassador Hamas Rockets 'Rarely Do Damage'."

And remember, MSNBC is "the voice of Obama's America."

Plus, "Obama, Muscling Netanyahu, Presses Israel Against Ground Invasion."

I'll have more, as always. But remember, never cave to the forces of world totalitarianism. Stand up for Israel and freedom. Your life depends on it.

Sunday Cartoons

At Flopping Aces, "Sunday Funnies."

Also at Reaganite Republican, "Reaganite's Sunday Funnies," and Jill Stanek, "Stanek Sunday funnies 11-18-12."

CARTOON CREDIT: William Warren.

'Hamas’s charter is itself a declaration of war, and all who join Hamas are automatically sworn enemies of Israel...'

Great letters to the editor, at the Jerusalem Post, "November 16: Readers react to Pillar of Defense":

Sir, – At long last, after so much restraint on the part of Israel, the Defense Ministry has taken much needed action (“IAF hammers Hamas targets in Gaza offensive, November 15).

The Palestinians in Gaza cannot wage an undeclared war against Israel without a real response.

Even the UN Security Council should understand that in no way can Israel exist under a constant barrage of rockets.

Ban Ki-moon persists in asking Israel to show restraint. Instead, he should call a meeting of the Security Council and state his point of view, which should be that Israel must be supported in stopping the hostile actions against it.

We have reached the point in our struggle for our very existence where we must take into account the anti-Israel hostility of practically all the nations of the world because the Palestinians have been so successful in blackening our name – to which we have allowed ourselves complicity.

We are right in doing something drastic about the need to defend ourselves.

We must state this constantly, with no ifs, ands or buts. God bless our soldiers, our citizens and the justice of our cause.

TOBY WILLIG
Jerusalem

Sir, – Hamas says the killing of one of its top terrorists was a declaration of war (“Hamas: This means war,” November 15). But who declared war first? The official Hamas Charter, written in August 1988, says:

1. “Israel exists and will continue to exist until Islam will obliterate it, just as it has obliterated others before it.”

2. “There is no solution for the Palestinian question except through jihad. Initiatives, proposals and international conferences are all a waste of time and vain endeavors.”

Hamas’s charter is itself a declaration of war, and all who join Hamas are automatically sworn enemies of Israel. The fact that Israel chooses not to attack for long periods of time does not in any way absolve Hamas of its guilt for being in a permanent state of war against Israel for the past 24 years.

When its spokesmen try to influence public opinion by accusing Israel of starting a war, they are the worst kind of hypocrites.

Let no one be deceived: Those who founded Hamas declared war on Israel in 1988, and no amount of media hype can change this.

ROBERT KLEIN
Beersheba

Still more at the link.

'Anonymous as an organization now must be considered a national security threat...'

An extremely interesting post, at The Other McCain, "Neal Rauhauser’s Sick Obsession and the #Anonymous #OpIsrael Hamas Scam."

BEWARE: #OpIsrael is a deliberate fraud. #Anonymous is being dishonestly manipulated by anti-#Israel activists.
— Robert Stacy McCain (@rsmccain) November 17, 2012

Read it all at that top link.

RELATED: At the Daily Caller, "Anonymous declares cyber war on Israel, targets The Other McCain blog [VIDEO]." And at Zero Hedge, "Israel Releases Another Gaza Pinpoint Strike Video, Anonymous Retaliates By Taking Down IDF Blog."

New Heidi Montag Bikini Pics!

At London's Daily Mail, "Another day, another bikini shoot! Heidi Montag shows off her $30,000 surgically-enhanced body in a sparkling blue bikini."

BONUS: From Bob Belvedere, "Rule 5 News Special Report: Lebanese Loreleis."

Obama Shill Susan Rice Caught Up in Furor Over Benghazi

A puff piece, at the New York Times, "Diplomat on the Rise, Suddenly in Turbulence":

WASHINGTON — Susan E. Rice was playing stand-in on the morning of Sept. 16 when she appeared on five Sunday news programs, a few days after the deadly attack in Benghazi, Libya, that killed four Americans.

Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton would have been the White House’s logical choice to discuss the chaotic events in the Middle East, but she was drained after a harrowing week, administration officials said. Even if she had not been consoling the families of those who died, including Ambassador J. Christopher Stevens, Mrs. Clinton typically steers clear of the Sunday shows.

So instead, Ms. Rice, the ambassador to the United Nations, delivered her now-infamous account of the episode. Reciting talking points supplied by intelligence agencies, she said that the Benghazi siege appeared to have been a spontaneous protest later hijacked by extremists, not a premeditated terrorist attack. Within days, Republicans in Congress were calling for her head.

In her sure-footed ascent of the foreign-policy ladder, Ms. Rice has rarely shrunk from a fight. But now that she appears poised to claim the top rung — White House aides say she is President Obama’s favored candidate for secretary of state — this sharp-tongued, self-confident diplomat finds herself in the middle of a bitter feud in which she is largely a bystander.

“Susan had a reputation, fairly or not, as someone who could run a little hot and shoot from the hip,” said John Norris, a foreign-policy expert at the Center for American Progress. “If someone had told me that the biggest knock on her was going to be that she too slavishly followed the talking points on Benghazi, I would have been shocked.”

And see Maureen Dowd, who gets it on Benghazi, "Is Rice Cooked?"

RELATED: At The Other McCain, "Harry Reid’s Benghazi Cover-Up."

Obama, Muscling Netanyahu, Presses Israel Against Ground Invasion

Israel Matzav reports, "It starts: Obama 'urging' Netanyahu not to allow ground invasion":

The New York Times is reporting that President Obama is 'urging' Prime Minister Netanyahu not to invade Gaza:

Though President Obama uttered immediate and firm public and private assurances that Israel has a right to defend itself from rocket attacks emanating from Gaza, administration officials have been privately urging Israeli officials not to extend the conflict, a move that many American officials believe could benefit Hamas. A protracted escalation, the officials fear, could damage Israel’s already fragile relationships with Egypt and Jordan at a time when both of those governments have been coming under pressure from their own populations.

...

A senior Obama administration official said the American message to Egypt had been “that we cannot have this conflict drag on, as it just risks greater threats to civilians.”

If Israel goes back into Gaza, both Egypt and Jordan — the only two Arab countries with peace treaties with Israel — would come under pressure from their people to break off ties, a move that would undoubtedly strengthen Hamas.

But to the relief of Obama administration officials, Mr. Morsi so far has not hinted at such a move, which would threaten the 1979 Camp David peace treaty between Israel and Egypt, a linchpin for stability in the region in Washington’s view. And administration officials say Mr. Morsi has indicated that he will try to calm the situation in Gaza before it worsens.

IMAGE CREDIT: Blazing Cat Fur.

Hillary Clinton and the Benghazi Scandal

At the Wall Street Journal, "Hillary and Libya":

David Petraeus told Congress Friday in closed hearings that the CIA believed from the start that the September 11 attacks on the U.S. consulate in Benghazi were by terrorists. That leaves one VIP who's still missing from Congressional scrutiny: Hillary Clinton.

GOP Congressman Peter King said Mr. Petraeus's testimony differed from what the former CIA director told Congress immediately after the attacks. Mr. King also said Mr. Petraeus said that the CIA's original talking points on the attacks were edited. The altered version became the basis for U.N. Ambassador Susan Rice's misleading and now infamous comments blaming the attacks on a YouTube video. Both that discrepancy and the issue of the altered talking points need further digging, especially if Ms. Rice is nominated to be the next Secretary of State.

But Mr. Petraeus wasn't responsible for lax consulate security or the U.S. policy that led to the Libya debacle. That's Mrs. Clinton's bailiwick. Last month in interviews from deepest Peru, the Secretary of State said "I take responsibility" for Benghazi.

Except she hasn't. She was conveniently out of the country for this week's House Foreign Affairs hearing, and Senate Foreign Relations Chairman John Kerry refuses to hold any hearings on Benghazi. His loyalty may get him a cabinet job, while Carl Levin's Armed Services Committee also pretends nothing much happened in Libya.

The targets of the attacks and its first victims were diplomats. Chris Stevens died of smoke inhalation in the blaze, becoming the first American ambassador killed in the line of duty in over 30 years. A junior colleague also died. These men were Mrs. Clinton's "responsibility." Several hours after the assault on the consulate, members of the jihadist militia Ansar al-Shariah turned on the CIA compound about a mile away, killing two of Mr. Petraeus's men.

In Congressional hearings last month, career State officials admitted that threat warnings from Benghazi were overlooked and requests for better security turned down. They said Foggy Bottom misjudged the ability of a weak Libyan state to protect them. It's not clear how high up the chain these concerns went, but over to you, Mrs. Clinton.

For over a week after the attacks, the Administration blamed the YouTube video. Mrs. Clinton didn't push this misleading narrative in public as enthusiastically as Ms. Rice. Still, she bought into it. The father of Tyrone Woods, a CIA contractor who was killed in Benghazi, told media outlets last month that Mrs. Clinton tried to comfort him by promising that the U.S.-based maker of the video would be "prosecuted and arrested"—though terrorists killed his son.

Beyond the Benghazi attacks is the larger issue of the Administration's Libya policy, a failure that Mrs. Clinton should also answer for.

Secretary Clinton has a history of sucking back the brews while administration scandals erupt in flames around her. The photo's from the New York Post in April, "Hillary Havana heck of a good time."

Israel Destroys Hamas Headquarters in Gaza City

At the Los Angeles Times:

GAZA CITY — Back-and-forth violence between Israel and Hamas left civilians on both sides digging out of rubble and broken glass Saturday as the conflict entered its fourth day.

After another night of Israeli air strikes, the death toll in Gaza jumped to 38 people, including 11 children, hospital officials said.

Israel expanded its targets to include several high-profile Hamas institutions, including Prime Minister Ismail Haniyeh’s headquarters, a police compound, the Interior Ministry and the home of an Interior Ministry official.

Israel Defense Forces released a video of the strike against the Hamas headquarters. They said a secondary explosion that took place after their missile struck proved that the site was being used to store munitions.

By Saturday morning, the building was a twisted pile of glass and cement, reeking of fuel from an exploded generator. Hamas supporters planted several Palestinian flags in the wreckage.

Here's the video of the secondary explosions.

And at the Times of Israel, "Officials say Israel ‘not interested’ in ceasefire yet, still has many Hamas targets to hit."

This Photo-Op Makes Sense: Obama's Presidency About as Great as McKayla Maroney's Blown Olympics Vault

Maroney, the world's premier vaulter, blew it when it mattered most.

And the president usurper, despite reelection, failed epically on his key campaign promises from 2008 --- like reducing unemployment, for starters. So there's more to this than meets the fawning media-gaggle eye. This administration's perfectly summarized by Maroney's blown Olymics vault clusterf-k.

Story at the Wall Street Journal, "McKayla Maroney and President Obama Are Not Impressed."

Photo Credit: White House Flickr page.

Hostess Unwinds Operations, Big Labor Costs 18,500 Workers Their Jobs

This story continues to amaze.

At IBD, "Manhandling Hostess, Big Labor Costs 18,500 Workers Their Jobs":

Union intransigence and unrealistic expectations at Hostess Brands have forced the bakery to shut its doors permanently and throw 18,500 people out of work. So much for Big Labor caring about the little guy.

A down economy and two restructurings in three years left Hostess, maker of Twinkies and Sno Balls, in dire fiscal straits. The company warned its workers, union and nonunion, to make concessions or everyone would go down in a liquidation.

Instead, one union, the AFL-CIO-affiliated Bakery, Confectionery, Tobacco Workers and Grain Millers International (BCTGM), imagined the company was bluffing and went on strike.

The decision contrasted with the majority of the workers who didn't delude themselves. The Teamsters, hardly pushovers, issued this statement:

"Teamster Hostess members and all Hostess employees should know this is not an empty threat or a negotiating tactic, but the certain outcome if members of the BCTGM continue to strike. This is based on conversations with our financial experts, who, because the Teamsters were involved in the legal process, had access to financial information about the company."

That didn't matter to the striking union, whose 5,000 members pull in as much as $22 an hour plus medical benefits, get nine weeks of paid leave and a company pension. It ignored the warning and Nov. 15 deadline and now will take 100% losses on salaries and benefits instead of the 8% requested by management. Some union brotherhood — the bakers' action took their fellow workers down with them.

And some of the unions types are cheering huzzahs at how big labor "stood up" for workers.

Right.

These people are literally looking to tear down the entire U.S. economy. See: "In Harsh Economy, Union Demands Put Crimp in Businesses Across the Country: Recent Stories Surrounding California Grocer."

Smokin' Penelope Cruz Rocks 2013 Campari Calendar

Very nice.

At London's Daily Mail, "Painting the town red! Penelope Cruz shows off staggering curves in spell-binding Campari Calendar shoot."

Another Leftist Admits the Real Goal Is Taxing the Middle Class

As I've been saying...

From Daniel Mitchell, at Townhall:

Obama has staked out a very dogmatic and inflexible position on class-warfare tax hikes and he obviously wants all of us to think only the “rich” will be impacted.

I think it’s foolish to penalize investors, entrepreneurs, small business owners and other upper-income taxpayers. What nation, after all, has ever prospered by placing obstacles in front of those who create jobs? France? Don’t make me laugh.

But I’m also amazed that anyone believes Obama isn’t going to screw the middle class as well. The simple reality is that there aren’t enough rich people to finance big government.

There are some honest folks on the left who admit that they want ordinary people on the chopping block.

* The New York Times endorsed higher taxes on the middle class in 2010.
* The then-House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer also gave a green light that year to higher taxes on the middle class.
* Earlier this year, MIT professor and former IMF official Simon Johnson argued that the middle class should pay more tax.
* The Washington Post also called for higher taxes on the middle class this year, as did Vice President Joe Biden’s former economist.
*I A New York Times columnist also called for broad-based tax hikes on the middle class this year.

Read it all at the link.

Kim Kardashian Apologizes for Pro-Israel Tweet

At Atlas Shrugs, "KIM KARDASHIAN TWEETS SUPPORT FOR ISRAEL, #SAVAGE DEATH WISHES POUR IN, TWEET HAS BEEN DELETED."

And at Twitchy "Kim Kardashian apologizes for pro-Israel, pro-Palestinian tweets."

I want to own up to and explain that earlier today I sent out two tweets about saying prayers for the people in Palestine and Israel and after hearing from my followers, I decided to take down the tweets because I realized that some people were offended and hurt by what I said, and for that I apologize. I should have pointed out my intentions behind these tweets when I posted them. The fact is that regardless of religion and political beliefs, there are countless innocent people involved who didnt choose this, and I pray for all of them and also for a resolution. I also pray for all the other people around the world who are caught in similar crossfires.

That didn't satisfy the left's Nazis:

@kimkardashian kiss my ass and go to hell with Israel
— ENG.Mohammed Thwab (@thwab) November 16, 2012

More examples at Twitchy.

Obama Knew Armed Extremists Attacked Benghazi Consulate, Not Spontaneous Mob

We're being lied to.

President Obama himself has not been truthful.

From John Solomon, at the Washington Guardian, "President told within 72 hours Benghazi attack linked to al-Qaida extremists":

Officials divulge that Obama was told it was armed extremists, not a spontaneous mob, that killed Ambassador Chris Stevens.

U.S. intelligence told President Barack Obama and senior administration officials within 72 hours of the Benghazi tragedy that the attack was likely carried out by local militia and other armed extremists sympathetic to al-Qaida in the region, officials directly familiar with the information told the Washington Guardian on Friday.

Based on electronic intercepts and human intelligence on the ground, the early briefings after the deadly Sept. 11 attack on the U.S. consulate in Libya identified possible organizers and participants. Most were believed to be from a local Libyan militia group called Ansar al-Sharia that is sympathetic to al-Qaida, the official said, while a handful of others was linked to a direct al-Qaida affiliate in North Africa known as AQIM.

The details from the CIA and Pentagon assessments of the killing of Ambassador Chris Stephens were far more specific, more detailed and more current than the unclassified talking points that UN Ambassador Susan Rice and other officials used five days after the attack to suggest to Americans that an unruly mob angry over an anti-Islamic video was to blame, officials said.

Most of the details affirming al-Qaida links were edited or excluded from the unclassified talking points used by Rice in appearances on news programs the weekend after the attack, officials confirmed Friday. Multiple agencies were involved in excising information, doing so because it revealed sources and methods, dealt with classified intercepts or involved information that was not yet fully confirmed, the officials said.

"There were multiple agencies involved, not for political reasons, but because of intelligence concerns," one official explained.

Rice's performance on the Sunday talk shows has become a source of controversy between Congress and the White House. Lawmakers, particularly Republicans, have questioned whether the administration was trying to mislead the country by suggesting the Benghazi attack was like the spontaneous protests that had occurred elsewhere on Sept. 11, in places like Egypt.

Obama has defended Rice, and he and his top aides have insisted politics was not involved. They argue the administration's shifting story was the result of changing intelligence.

U.S. intelligence officials said Friday, however, the assessment that the tragedy was an attack by extremists with al-Qaida links was well defined within 48 to 72 hours.

"We knew this was an attack by extremists, a terror attack, and that this was more violent than the embassy protests we saw that day," one official said. "But it also had an element of spontaneous opportunity and disorganization."

The Washington Guardian was first to report just 48 hours after the attack that U.S. officials believed the attack was linked to al-Qaida sympathizers and may have evolved from spontaneous early attacks to a more organized mortar shelling.

Among the early evidence cited in the briefings to the preisdent and other senior officials were intercepts showing some of the participants were known members or supporters of Ansar al-Sharia -- the al-Qaida-sympathizing militia in Libya --and the AQIM, which is a direct affiliate of al-Qaida in northern Africa, the officials said.

The use of rocket propelled grenades and mortars also indicated the players were engaged in more than a spontaneous uprising, though ground reports also showed some of the attackers were somewhat disorganized during the early waves of attacks, the officials said.

More at the link (via Jennifer Rubin).

Kirsten Powers Slams Democrat Women Defending Susan Rice

At Twitchy, "‘GROW UP’: Kirsten Powers rips Dem women crying ‘sexism’ over criticism of Susan Rice."

House Women Defend Rice Over Libya Comments (by 'defend' they mean 'infantalize') claiming she is being 'battered' hosted.ap.org/dynamic/storie…
— kirsten powers (@kirstenpowers10) November 16, 2012

And see, "Boom! Rachel Campos-Duffy thanks Dem congresswomen for ‘setting us back 60 years’."

Unions Kill An American Classic — And 18,500 of Their Own Jobs

At the Wall Street Journal, "The Twinkie, a Suicide":

Hostess's owners have decided to liquidate rather than ride out a nationwide strike by one of the largest of its dozen unions, the Bakery, Confectionery, Tobacco Workers and Grain Millers International Union. The Texas-based company owned by the private-equity shop Ripplewood Holdings and other hedge funds essentially gave up. On Friday it shut down its 33 bakeries and 565 distribution centers and prepared to fire nearly 18,500 employees en masse and auction off its brand and recipe portfolio.

Hostess posted sales of $2.5 billion in 2011 but lost $341 million and lacked the cash flow to hold out through the bakers union work stoppage that had only lost a few days of production so far. One reason is a labor-rule burden that by comparison makes Detroit look like Hong Kong.

The snack giant endured $52 million in workers' comp claims in 2011, according to its bankruptcy filing this January. Hostess's 372 collective-bargaining agreements required the company to maintain 80 different health and benefit plans, 40 pension plans and mandated a $31 million increase in wages and health care and other benefits for 2012.

Union work rules usually required cake and bread products to be delivered to a single retail location using two separate trucks. Drivers weren't allowed to load their own vehicles, and the workers who loaded bread weren't allowed to load cake. On most delivery routes, another "pull up" employee moved products from back rooms to shelves.

This year management negotiated concessions from some of the unions, including the Teamsters, but the bakers rejected a last and best offer in September. Then the courts gave Hostess unilateral authority to modify collective-bargaining contracts, prompting the strike. So now it will liquidate, instead of attempting to emerge from Chapter 11 intact.

The 18,500 layoffs are equal to about 11% of the net new jobs the entire U.S. economy created in October. The unions are blaming private equity, or Bain Capital, or capitalism, but the election is over. And so is Hostess.

PREVIOUSLY: "Hostess Goes Down: Daily Kos Blames Corporate Greed and Mitt Romney-Style Liquidation."

Too Small to Fail

I keep seeing this advertisement on TV, so I decided to check it out.

The website's here.

And at the Sacramento Bee, "Too Small to Fail, A National Movement to Protect and Support America's Kids, Launched by The Center for the Next Generation."

I'd love to see the funding sources for this group. We need to help kids and families, but we should promote market incentives and personal responsibility as touchstones. We've got enough big government "Julia" types already.

Wall Street Journal Weekend Interview: Greg Lukianoff, 'How Free Speech Died on Campus'

At the Wall Street Journal, "How Free Speech Died on Campus":

At Yale University, you can be prevented from putting an F. Scott Fitzgerald quote on your T-shirt. At Tufts, you can be censured for quoting certain passages from the Quran. Welcome to the most authoritarian institution in America: the modern university—"a bizarre, parallel dimension," as Greg Lukianoff, president of the Foundation for Individual Rights in Education, calls it.

Mr. Lukianoff, a 38-year-old Stanford Law grad, has spent the past decade fighting free-speech battles on college campuses. The latest was last week at Fordham University, where President Joseph McShane scolded College Republicans for the sin of inviting Ann Coulter to speak.

"To say that I am disappointed with the judgment and maturity of the College Republicans . . . would be a tremendous understatement," Mr. McShane said in a Nov. 9 statement condemning the club's invitation to the caustic conservative pundit. He vowed to "hold out great contempt for anyone who would intentionally inflict pain on another human being because of their race, gender, sexual orientation, or creed."

To be clear, Mr. McShane didn't block Ms. Coulter's speech, but he said that her presence would serve as a "test" for Fordham. A day later, the students disinvited Ms. Coulter. Mr. McShane then praised them for having taken "responsibility for their decisions" and expressing "their regrets sincerely and eloquently."

Mr. Lukianoff says that the Fordham-Coulter affair took campus censorship to a new level: "This was the longest, strongest condemnation of a speaker that I've ever seen in which a university president also tried to claim that he was defending freedom of speech."

I caught up with Mr. Lukianoff at New York University in downtown Manhattan, where he was once targeted by the same speech restrictions that he has built a career exposing. Six years ago, a student group at the university invited him to participate in a panel discussion about the Danish cartoons depicting the Prophet Muhammad that had sparked violent rioting by Muslims across the world.

When Muslim students protested the event, NYU threatened to close the panel to the public if the offending cartoons were displayed. The discussion went on—without the cartoons. Instead, the student hosts displayed a blank easel, registering their own protest.

"The people who believe that colleges and universities are places where we want less freedom of speech have won," Mr. Lukianoff says. "If anything, there should be even greater freedom of speech on college campuses. But now things have been turned around to give campus communities the expectation that if someone's feelings are hurt by something that is said, the university will protect that person. As soon as you allow something as vague as Big Brother protecting your feelings, anything and everything can be punished."...

In his new book, "Unlearning Liberty," Mr. Lukianoff notes that baby-boom Americans who remember the student protests of the 1960s tend to assume that U.S. colleges are still some of the freest places on earth. But that idealized university no longer exists. It was wiped out in the 1990s by administrators, diversity hustlers and liability-management professionals, who were often abetted by professors committed to political agendas.

"What's disappointing and rightfully scorned," Mr. Lukianoff says, "is that in some cases the very professors who were benefiting from the free-speech movement turned around to advocate speech codes and speech zones in the 1980s and '90s."

Continue reading.

Pallywood

A don't-miss Melanie Phillips essay, "Pallywood, and the stench of an ancient score being settled":

Hamas and its acolytes are committing crimes against humanity twice over. They are deliberately targeting Israeli civilians with their rockets and missiles, trying to kill as many of them as possible including women and children. They are also using their own people as human shields, having deliberately hidden their rocket launchers among Gaza’s civilian infrastructure, thus deliberately exposing ordinary Gazans to the severe risk of being killed. In addition, the Hamas are committed not just to the destruction of Israel but also, by their own religious authority, to the genocide of the Jews, and indoctrinate their children accordingly into deranged, Nazi-style Jew-hatred.

Yet despite these Palestinian crimes against humanity and genocidal incitement British journalists have been outdoing themselves to blame Israel for what has happened...

Meanwhile, the Palestinians appear to be up to their old tricks in staging patently absurd theatrics to dupe credulous and lazy broadcasters into thinking they are transmitting pictures of Palestinians injured or killed by the wicked Israelis. They did it years ago with the infamous hoax over Mohammed al Dura -- the iconic Palestinian boy whose televised supposed killing in a barrage of Israeli gunfire incited terrorist atrocities across the world, but who not only miraculously showed no sign of injury whatever but after he was pronounced dead was filmed peeping through his fingers.

Now the BBC have fallen for a similar example of ‘Pallywood’. Honest Reporting captures here the relevant footage. At 2:11 minutes in, a Palestinian in a beige jacket and black T-shirt, presumably injured in the aftermath of an Israeli airstrike, is picked up and taken away. Yet at 2:44 minutes, the same Palestinian has staged a remarkable recovery and walks insouciantly away.

RTWT.

VIDEO: C/O Blazing Cat Fur.

Petraeus Testifies on Benghazi Attack

From Daniel Halper, at the Weekly Standard, "Petraeus ‘Knew Almost Immediately’ Al Qaeda-Linked Group Responsible for Benghazi."

Hostess Goes Down: Daily Kos Blames Corporate Greed and Mitt Romney-Style Liquidation

Well, you better munch down your last Twinkies treats, because Hostess and Wonder Bread are going down, largely because big labor bosses refused union concessions.

The Wall Street Journal has the main story, "Twinkie Maker Hostess to Close." (At Memeorandum.)

But check the extreme left Daily Kos for the "workers'" perspective, "Private equity-owned Hostess blames striking workers as it liquidates":

This is a Mitt Romney-style deal. Throughout the campaign, we read about Romney's past deals that went very much like what's happening to Hostess. Now we're watching it in real time—and seeing how when workers fight back, they're targeted for blame.

The socialists will always blame capital, but as WSJ reports, the overall business climate had turned against the company, and big labor's hammering the nails in the coffin. Geoffrey Norman has more at the Weekly Standard, "Taking Ourselves Hostage":

Hostess is the maker of, among other things, Twinkies, a snack food that consists of doughy yellow cake wrapped around some sort of gooey filling. The sort of thing, in other words, to give nutritionists heart attacks when they merely think about it. The Twinkie, though, had its followers. Now, they have lost their small, sinful pleasure and some 18,500 employees of the company will be out of work. The whole thing recalls the scene in Blazing Saddles where the sheriff takes a hostage – himself – whom he threatens to kill unless his demands are met.

Something like what is going on in Washington, where the people who created the "fiscal cliff" are now threatening to take the country over the edge.

IMAGE CREDIT: iOWNTHEWORLD.

BONUS: At Business Week, "Wal-Mart Workers' Black Friday Strike."

Newsweek Cover Features Re-Elected Barack Obama as Napoleon Bonaparte

Seems to me this wasn't the brightest idea, but it's Newsweek we're talking about. This magazine has less than two more months of hard-copy publication remaining --- out with a whimper, as they say.

In any case, Napoleon's successes were phenomenally grand but eventually overreaching --- in both 1813 and 1815 France was defeated by superior coalitions of great powers. Napoleon, by then a criminal outcast, died an ignoble death a short six years later while exiled to the island of Saint Helena in the South Atlantic. Perhaps such an inglorious dénouement will befall Barack Obama at some future date, hopefully sooner rather than later, God willing.

And of course Newsweek compounds its errors with a hack piece of journalism from turncoat David Frum, "How the GOP Got Stuck in the Past."

This juvenile reporting explains why such dead-tree magazines are on the way out. Seriously. This wasn't even a half-decent job of progressive demoralization.

The cover story, from Daniel Klaidman, is here, FWIW: "Fortunate One."

Charles Krauthammer: Obama Threw Intelligence Community Under the Bus

More outstanding commentary, at RCP: "Krauthammer: Obama Threw Intelligence Community Under the Bus to Push 'Al Qaeda Is Dead' Narrative."

Brad Woodhouse, DNC Communications Director, Says 'Give It a Rest' On Benghazi: 'We Won'

At Twitchy, "Brad Woodhouse: Give Benghazi cover-up a rest, people, ‘We won’."

These people are sociopaths.

Here's more mind-boggling indifference to the truth: "Why are Republicans flipping out about Benghazi? Scandal envy." Stupid dishonesty too. "Envy" means to covet someone else's possessions. That's not the point the writer's making at the essay, Paul Waldman at The American Prospect, an epic asshole. Pure mendacity and moral bankruptcy. I can't even --- I won't even --- call these people my fellow Americans.

'You would think it's kind of hard to ignore Kelly Ayotte...'

From Da Tech Guy, "Kelly Ayotte: The Invisible Senator at the Benghazi Event."

I noticed too how McCain and Graham totally dominated the press conference, but read Da Tech Guy's post in full. At the clip is Ayotte's later interview with Piers Morgan on CNN:

Israel, Hamas Escalate Hostilities

At the Wall Street Journal, "Israel Mobilizes Troops as Hostilities Escalate":

TEL AVIV—Israel pounded the Gaza Strip with planes and artillery for a second straight day and began mobilizing tens of thousands of troops, while Palestinian militants mounted their deepest-ever missile strikes into the heart of Israel.

The exchanges, which have killed 19 Palestinians and three Israelis, broadened a conflict that had erupted into the open the day before. Israel responded to escalating missile strikes from Gaza militants by launching a blitz of airstrikes Wednesday that killed the top military commander of Hamas, the Islamist militant group and political movement that runs Gaza.

It was unclear whether Thursday's troop movements were designed to intimidate Israel's foes or to lay the groundwork for an invasion. Israel's leaders have said they are ready to launch a ground assault if rocket fire continues.

"The situation has all the elements and dynamics that could lead us down the road to a place we haven't been before," said Steve Cook, a Mideast specialist at the Council on Foreign Relations. "It's a very dangerous situation, and it's difficult to say what the Israelis should do."

The conflict's course from here on out rests largely with Israel and its neighbor, Egypt—the two nations that form the cornerstone of U.S. policy in the region, but which have seen ties fray in the months since an Islamist government came to power in Egypt.

U.S. efforts to calm the situation depend largely on Egyptian President Mohammed Morsi, analysts said. Before becoming president earlier this year, he was a top leader in the Muslim Brotherhood, which has close ideological links to Hamas. With his election, he inherited oversight of billions of dollars in annual U.S. military support and a U.S.-brokered Israeli-Egyptian peace deal that has defined regional security for three decades.

On Thursday, Mr. Morsi ordered Egypt's prime minister to lead a delegation into Gaza on Friday, Egyptian state television reported. The visit would pose an unprecedented challenge to Israel, perhaps forcing it to scale back its military operations while the delegation is there. Mr. Morsi's activist response to Israeli-Palestinian violence marks a stark reversal from the more hands-off policies of his predecessor, Hosni Mubarak.

President Barack Obama and administration officials have been in contact with leaders of Israel and Egypt—staunchly supporting Israel's operation while pressing the Egyptians to rein in Hamas, officials said.

"I'm not going to speculate on where this might go, beyond saying that we all want to see a de-escalation of the violence and that the onus rests squarely on Hamas," said State Department spokesman Mark Toner. "It needs to stop its rocket attacks."

Continue reading.

Three Israelis Killed by Gaza Rockets in Kiryat Malachi Apartment

At the Jerusalem Post, "Devastation in Kiryat Malachi after deadly strike."

Ambassador Susan Rice Appeared on Five Sunday Shows at Request of the White House

Sean Hannity was on freakin' fire last night. I mentioned this yesterday, and it's something else.

See: "Sen. Graham: I blame the president above all others."

Watch it all. It's excellent.

The President's Tax Math

At the Wall Street Journal:

'You know, the math tends not to work," declared President Obama at his Wednesday press conference, as part of his explanation for why closing tax loopholes for the wealthy wouldn't provide enough revenue for a budget deal. Ergo, he says, tax rates must go up immediately for those making more than $250,000 a year, even if this means sending the economy over the January 2013 tax cliff.

The President must be getting bad advice because his math is mistaken in two ways. He's wrong on the revenue arithmetic of limiting deductions, and he's also wrong in claiming that raising tax rates as he proposes would do much better.

Regarding deductions, we refer readers to an October 17 study, in which even the liberal economists at the Tax Policy Center report that capping all itemized deductions at $50,000 a year for each tax filer under current policy would yield $749 billion in extra revenue from 2013-2022.

Reducing the annual deduction cap to $25,000 would raise an additional $1.286 trillion over 10 years. Lower the cap still further to $17,000, as Mitt Romney once suggested during the campaign, and the revenue increase soars to $1.747 trillion by 2022. Our preference is that Republicans hold out to use this revenue to finance a reduction in tax rates as part of a larger tax reform, but similar math applies in any case.

It's important to note that these revenue estimates are based on static analysis, a Tax Policy Center specialty that doesn't consider changes in behavior. But then that's the same kind of static analysis that Mr. Obama is insisting on. It's important to note as well that these estimates apply to capping the itemized deductions of all taxpayers, not merely those who make more than $250,000.

But the liberal class warriors at the Tax Policy Center also did the math for the distribution tables for this deduction cap when they were trying to defeat Mr. Romney. And, lo, they found that the top quintile of income earners would pay 96.2% of the higher taxes if deductions were capped at $50,000. The top 1% of earners would pay 79.9% of the higher tax revenue from capping deductions, and the top 0.1% would pay no less than 48.4%.

In other words, the rich would still be soaked and the middle class would largely be spared. Is that enough tax fairness for you, Mr. President?

As for Mr. Obama's implication that higher tax rates will bring a revenue windfall, he is simply being disingenuous. The Joint Tax Committee's budget score of Mr. Obama's proposal to raise taxes on capital gains, dividends, and income above $200,000 while reinstating the PEP and Pease deduction phase-outs yields merely $823 billion over 10 years.

That's barely more than the $749 billion from capping deductions at $50,000 a year. And at an annual average of $82 billion a year in revenue, it's merely 7.5% of last year's $1.1 trillion federal budget deficit. And that's assuming no negative impact on revenues from slower economic growth due to higher tax rates on savings and investment. To borrow a phrase, "the math tends not to work."

All of which makes us wonder why Mr. Obama is so insistent on raising tax rates now, even if he can get nearly the same amount of revenue from reducing deductions. Here's one guess: He really doesn't care if there's a budget deal this year that avoids the tax cliff.

Well, it's revenge, of course.

King County, Texas: The Most Anti-Obama Constituency in the U.S.

Obama got five votes in all of King County, Texas. Folks just don't like the president down that way:

RELATED: Saberpoint's been posting some interesting reports on the post-election successionist groundswell. See, "Has the American Union Outlived Its Usefulness?", and "Resistance Begins: Alabama Just Says 'NO' to ObamaCare."

BONUS: At Instapundit, "SECESSION Y’ALL: Why Texas Can Pull It Off."

Israel Supporters Mock Jihadists With #HamasBumperStickers, Progs Outraged

Epic lulz, at Twitchy.

Bill O'Reilly Talks With Jennifer Griffin About Petraeus Sex Scandal

First, check Allahpundit's post at Hot Air, "Bill Kristol: A source tells me Petraeus wasn’t completely honest in his Benghazi briefing to Congress." There's video at the link. Apparently Kristol claims a source told him that General Petraeus mentioned during his first congressional testimony on Benghazi that the administration's version of the events --- the anti-Muslim video story --- didn't square with the CIA's own intelligence, and that Petraeus wasn't sure which version he should spout when going before the congressional committee. That a big story, which we'll know a lot more about once Petraeus again goes before Congress. But here's this also from Allahpundit:

By the way, if you’re looking for the latest episode of “Real Housewives of CENTCOM,” here you go. Two sources tell Fox News that the e-mails between Gen. Allen and Jill Kelley were in fact a bit more than flirtatious and amounted to the e-mail equivalent of phone sex. I confess, as I was reading the story, I completely lost the plot for a moment as to why it’s newsworthy and how we arrived at the point where we’re all interested in it. It matters, I guess, because Allen has been nominated to be the U.S. commander in Europe and this reflects on his judgment. Or because maybe, depending upon how many e-mails there are, it shows he’s been spending way too much time dallying with Kelley instead of attending to his duties in Afghanistan. I’m not sure how the FBI stumbled onto their e-mail correspondence in the first place, though, or even whether it was the FBI at all or some Pentagon agent vetting Allen for the Europe promotion. (See Marc Ambinder’s list of questions about FBI behavior in this case.) Did Kelley invite the FBI to read her e-mail initially in order to track down Broadwell, and then they inadvertently intercepted e-mails to her from Allen? If that was a risk, why would Kelley invite them to read her e-mail in the first place? Or maybe there’s more here than meets the eye.

Actually, there's no need for all that speculation, especially if folks are keeping up with the investigations at Fox News. Here's Jennifer Griffin on last night's O'Reilly Factor, which clears up some of the points raised by Allah:

A stay with the video until the end. Griffin also discusses the issues with a military stand-down at the order of the White House. U.S. forces were not deployed for a firefight with the terrorist attackers at the consulate. This point is one of the other major story lines that is at the center of the administration's clusterf-k.

Charles Krauthammer: 'Then why in the hell are you sending her out there...?'

This is exactly the reaction I had while watching yesterday's press conference:

'That's One of the Dumbest Questions I've Ever Heard...'

At The Hill, "McCain mocks reporter for 'one of the dumbest questions I've ever heard'."

Israel Takes Out Ahmed al-Jabari

Some overnight war porn, via Israel Matzav:

President Obama's Benghazi Press Conference

The New York Times reports, "Obama Is Pressed on Petraeus and Holds Line on Taxes."

But I watched the clip and was wholly unimpressed. Most reporters called on by the president threw softball questions. Ed Henry came up with a fairly penetrating query but Obama just won't take serious questions seriously. He finagles and punts and finds ways to prevaricate. His main response to any question on Benghazi is that it's still under investigation and he can't comment --- which is another way of saying he won't answer any questions that get too close to the truth. The most dramatic moment is of course Jonathan Karl's question on Ambassador Susan Rice. Clearly the president needed a teleprompter on that one. Sean Hannity destroyed the president on Benghazi on his program tonight and I'll find that clip of that and post it later. The best news today is in fact the Republican senators' press conference this morning, and especially the comments from Senator Lindsay Graham. I'll have more on that later as well. Meanwhile, there's a number of articles at Memeorandum. The administration's Libya narrative has a thousand holes in it. There's simply no credibility on this in the White House. But politically, the president's achieved reelection and there would never be votes for removal from office in the case of impeachment in the U.S. Senate. Indeed, that talk today at the senators' press conference is how Majority Leader Harry Reid will undoubtedly sabotage the investigation. This is the state of democracy, and it's not good. More later...

American Optimism on Economy Over the Cliff in Post-Election Survey

At IBD, "Economic Optimism Plunges In Post-Vote IBD/TIPP Poll":

If newly re-elected President Obama was hoping to float into his second term on a cloud of renewed national optimism and bipartisan goodwill, he's likely to be disappointed.

The latest IBD/TIPP Poll shows that, at least as far as economic optimism is concerned, America very much remains a house divided.

The bellwether Economic Optimism Index for November plunged 10%, from 54 in October to 48.6 in November, as a major part of the electorate took stock of the vote's outcome and didn't like what it saw for the economy.

The partisan breakdown for optimism is telling. Not surprisingly, sentiment among Democrats improved — 4.2%, from 70.8 in October to 73.8 in November.

But Republican poll respondents, who for months were below the break-even level of 50 for optimism , expressed an even gloomier outlook over the economy's future.

The optimism index for this group plunged 41.1%, from an already-low 42.1 in October to 24.8 in November — the lowest reading ever for Republicans.

Independents, who mostly voted for GOP standard-bearer Mitt Romney, likewise saw a slump in optimism, but not nearly as much as Republicans. They fell 8.1%, from 47.9 in the October reading before the election to 44.0 in November.

And see The TaxProf Blog, "President Obama Calls for $1.6 Trillion Tax Increase."

Yeah, that's lift optimism. Forward!

CARTOON CREDIT: Legal Insurrection, "Branco Cartoon – Foundering Principles."

Tampa Social Scene at Center of Petraeus Scandal

At the New York Times, "Tampa Is Seen as Social Link for Unfolding Scandal":

TAMPA, Fla. — Jill and Scott Kelley moved here about a decade ago, taking up residence in a huge redbrick home with a spectacular view of the water on Bayshore Boulevard, the city’s most fashionable street. They quickly established themselves as social hosts to the powerful four-star officers who run two of the nation’s most important military commands.

The Kelleys were known for their lavish parties, with extravagant buffets, flowing Champagne, valet parking and cigars for guests from nearby MacDill Air Force Base, including David H. Petraeus and Gen. John R. Allen, who now commands troops in Afghanistan. “Tampa is the kind of community where, if you’re new to the community, you can carve out your own niche,” said Pam Iorio, the city’s former mayor, who recalls mingling with Mr. Petraeus and his wife, Holly, at the Kelleys’ home. “They decided to carve out a niche with the military.”

Now the social link between Tampa’s military and civilian elite is at the center of an unfolding Washington scandal that has already cost Mr. Petraeus his job as director of the Central Intelligence Agency and has ensnared General Allen, who was Mr. Petraeus’s deputy when he was here from 2008 to 2010.

At the heart of the investigation is the Tampa woman who prompted it: Ms. Kelley, 37, who received threatening anonymous e-mails that set off an F.B.I. investigation revealing that Mr. Petraeus had an affair with his biographer, Paula Broadwell. On Tuesday, General Allen was caught up in the scandal, when the Pentagon said that it was investigating whether he had engaged in “inappropriate communication” with Ms. Kelley; associates of the general say the messages were innocent, and President Obama voiced support for him.

Records show that Ms. Kelley and her husband, a doctor, have been subject to a string of lawsuits over debts, according to a report in The Tampa Bay Times, which said the Kelleys owed a bank nearly $2.2 million, including attorney fees, on a building they own. They also ran a cancer charity, which appears to be defunct. A 2007 tax filing, the latest available, shows the charity raised $157,284 that year, but spent just $58,417 on program services, described as conducting research to improve the lives of terminally ill adult cancer patients.

Their parties, though, were the talk of the town. In February 2010, a gossip column in The Tampa Bay Times reported that Mr. Petraeus and his wife arrived escorted by 28 police officers on motorcycles to a pirate-themed party at the Kelleys’ home, to mark Tampa’s Gasparilla Pirate Fest, an annual event. Guests dined on lamb chops and crab cakes, beside hot dog and funnel cake carts, the paper said.

It's interesting. In the end though, it's what the scandal reveals about Benghazi that matters. Petraeus' downfall is tragic, but the administration covered-up the deaths of the Ambassador and his rescuers. And Americans need to know the truth about that.

Israel Air Strike Kills Hamas Leader in Gaza

At the Washington Post, "Hamas leader in Gaza killed by Israeli strike."

At at The Times of Israel, "IDF assassinates Hamas military leader Ahmed Jabari, readies for ground operation in Gaza":

Army bombs multiple terror targets in the Gaza Strip, killing up to six, as Operation Pillar of Defense commences against Hamas and Islamic Jihad targets; Hamas’s armed wing warns assassination of top activist has ‘opened the gates of hell’.

Petraeus Will Testify on Benghazi

At Fox News, "Petraeus agrees to testify on Libya before congressional committees."

Ed Morrissey has commentary, via Memeorandum.

The Current American Electorate Is Hardly Stacked Against the Republican Party

An encouraging piece from left-wing polling guru Andrew Kohut, at the Wall Street Journal, "Misreading Election 2012":

Despite their weak candidate, Republicans increased their share of the presidential vote among many major demographic groups. Compared with 2008, they made significant gains among men (four percentage points), whites (four points), younger voters (six points), white Catholics (seven points) and Jews (nine points). Mr. Romney also carried the independent vote 50% to 45%. Four years ago, independents voted for Mr. Obama 52% to 44%.

Republicans can take some solace from these gains. In addition, only 43% of voters this year said they wanted an activist government (compared with 52% in 2008), and 49% continued to disapprove of Mr. Obama's health-care law (compared with 44% approving).

In short, the current American electorate is hardly stacked against the Republican Party. But Republicans should recognize that, on balance, Americans remain moderate—holding a mix of liberal and conservative views. They generally believe that small government is better and that ObamaCare is bad. But the exit poll shows that 59% believe abortion should be legal, 65% support a pathway to citizenship for illegal immigrants, and a surprising plurality support legalizing same-sex marriage in their states.

Threading the ideological needle with this electorate is vital for the Republicans in the future—and for the Democrats, too.

There's still a lot of work to do, but I think digging down into the data will help Republicans (if not conservatives) grapple with their loss last week. That said, I think spirits are still pretty depressed on the right, so it's going to take a lot more than a few poll analyses for a lot of folks to snap out of it. Of course, this Petraeus scandal is dramatically weakening the credibility of Obama's reelection, so there's promise not only in congressional investigations, but in the invigoration of the grassroots against the historically corrupt administration. People gotta start taking this country back. It can be done and it will be done.

The Forgotten Borough

I can't tell you how heart wrenching this is, "A Starting Line and a Dump: Staten Island, the Forgotten Borough":

“This is all Staten Island is to them – a starting line and a dump,” Chris Rich, a Staten Island firefighter tells us as he cleans up debris and mud from his gutted house. Throughout his neighborhood today, New York City marathon runners prance through decimated streets, leaping over piles of donations yet to be distributed, bringing severe congestion to a community just beginning to regain its senses after the catastrophe. To place it in even sharper relief, according to Rich, it was only that very morning that authorities had gotten around to removing three bodies floating in Bay Street Marina. One was tied to a pier to avoid it washing down shore. The person who reported the bodies was told that they would be left for the time being as efforts were to be exclusively “rescue” oriented, eschewing “recovery.” While the Staten Islanders were, and are, still counting their dead, they felt as if they were expected to indulge catastrophe tourism.

An amazing post, a classic of citizen's journalism.

RTWT at the link (via Instapundit).

Forward! L.A. City Council Seeks Tax Vote on March 5th Ballot

It's never enough with these tools.

At the Los Angeles Times, "L.A. City Council votes to put sales tax hike on March 5 ballot."

Obama Meets With Labor Leaders

At WSJ, "Obama's Left Flank - Their advice to the President: No spending cuts, only more taxes":

Last week House Speaker John Boehner offered to increase tax revenues as part of a tax and spending deal, but AFL-CIO President Richard Trumka has said that isn't good enough. The President must settle for nothing less than raising taxes by letting the Bush tax rates expire.

As for spending, well, Mr. Trumka said that Mr. Obama and Congressional Democrats must oppose "any cuts to Social Security, Medicare or Medicaid benefits." His comrade, Max Richtman of the National Committee to Preserve Social Security and Medicare, explained that what should be "on the table" for "deficit reduction" are "tax cuts for the wealthy." Variations of this theme were expressed by MoveOn.org Director Justin Ruben to Afscme chief Lee Saunders.

Yet as President Obama knows, all the higher tax revenue he is asking for would only raise $82 billion a year under the most optimistic circumstances. The deficit last fiscal year was $1.1 trillion, and that's before ObamaCare kicks in and the baby boom cohort keeps retiring. Everyone talks about Republicans and taxes as an obstacle to bipartisanship, but the liberal delusion that entitlements can be financed by taxes alone is something Mr. Obama needs to address if he wants a successful second term.

Petraeus Used Draft Emails for Secret Communications With Paula Broadwell

At C-Net, "Petraeus reportedly used draft e-mails to converse with mistress":

In an effort to cover a trail of messages between him and his mistress, former CIA Director Gen. David Petraeus reportedly used a tactic favored by terrorists and teenagers -- communicating via draft e-mail.

That sounds so freaky in the context of Petraeus. But then again, all of this is freaky in the context of Petraeus. But RTWT.

NewsBusted: California Tax Increase

Stupid Californians, and more. Via NewsBusters:

Toronto Remembrance Day Protest

Now this is just sad.


At the Toronto Sun, "Remembrance Day protest an insult to Canada's war dead."

And Blazing Cat Fur has video, "Taliban Loving Bitches Protest at Toronto's Remembrance Day Services."

'The Sword Was Lowered on Election Day...'

Nice Deb has a devastating report, "Charles Krauthammer: White House ‘Held Affair Over Petraeus’s Head’ – “The Sword Was Lowered on Election Day”."

The video is here, at NewsBusters, "Krauthammer: White House 'Held Affair Over Petraeus's Head' For Favorable Testimony On Benghazi."

Obama's Secret CIA Prison in Benghazi

Okay, what a day in L'affaire Petraeus.

Folks can get caught up at The Other McCain, "If You Were Saying to Yourself, ‘This Petraeus Scandal Isn’t Crazy Enough …’"

But see especially Katie Pavlich for some phenomenal reporting at Townhall, "Sex Scandal Reveals Why There is a Benghazi Coverup":

Since the 9/11 attack on the U.S consulate in Benghazi, we've been told an anti-Islam YouTube video was to blame. We know the consulate was attacked multiple times throughout 2012 and U.S Ambassador Chris Stevens had received multiple threats from al Qaeda before being killed on 9/11 with three other Americans. From the beginning the story never added up and the YouTube video excuse has been proven a complete lie, but the recent revelations of an affair between General David Petraeus and biographer Paula Broadwell may have given us the missing link to this whole thing. It isn't the affair itself that gives us more information, but the affair bringing attention to words spoken by Broadwell in Denver on October 26. She said the CIA was holding prisoners at the annex in Benghazi and Fox News has confirmed with another source this was the case.

This explains two things. The U.S. consulate in Benghazi was being repeatedly attacked because prisoners were being held and because President Obama signed an executive order in 2009 banning secret CIA prisons, they had to find an alternative story to cover-up what really happened, hence the YouTube video.

Here's the report referenced there, at Fox News: "EXCLUSIVE: Petraeus mistress may have revealed classified information at Denver speech on real reason for Libya attack."

Plus, here's Jennifer Griffin's interview on this from earlier today, at the link.

'For all its issues and faults, California is the closest thing that the U.S. has to European-style social democracy...'

A mind-boggling blog post and comment thread at the communist academic blog, Crooked Timber, "Open up your Golden Gate":

I think it’s important to situate “California is ungovernable”–which has *never* been true in any recognizable sense–in the broader political discussion about American political life. For all its issues and faults, California is the closest thing that the U.S. has to European-style social democracy. It has strong state-provided social services, such as a very robust state OSHA program, relatively pro-worker wage-and-hour laws, and a massively successful (if declining) public university system–which provides far more to state public life than in other states with premier universities, such as Massachusetts, where such are privatized. It has politically active unions like the CTA and CNA on the winning side. It has strong environmental protections and lots of public lands and public trusts. It has a broadly politically empowered populus in its major cities; and so forth.

This isn’t to say that California is perfect, by any means. But it is to say that reiterating the discourses without situating them in those broader conversations often tends to legitimize a discourse that implies that social democracy is “ungovernable” and neoliberalism is a neutral, invisibile, natural state of affairs.

This state's bankrupt, but for these idiot commies, it's like heaven on earth.

Meanwhile, "Prop. 30 Won't Quench California's Big Government Thirst."

The Democrats own it now, as if they hadn't already. The state's going down. Ten percent unemployment still after almost four years, and listen to these shitbag progressives sing the praises of the bankrupt blue state morass. We're about as close as you'll get to a European social democracy, alright. Take your pick: Greece, Spain. Shoot, Italy, the San Bernardino of Europe, came close to dragging down the entire European project all by itself. No matter, let's raise taxes. Yeah, that'll work. Forward! To growth and prosperity!

Wake me up from this nightmare. This country is populated with chest-thumping pinhead progressives who haven't got a freakin' clue.

This Blog is an Amazon Associate

The holidays are coming. If you're doing any shopping online you can help this blog with no extra cost to yourself.

The Amazon widgets are here at the post and at the sidebar. I'll be updating periodically with reminders throughout the season. Thanks for your readership and support!

Click the link for more shopping choices.

Thanks.

'Social Security has run out on you and me...'

"When the Shit Hits the Fan," from the Circle Jerks' "Golden Shower of Hits" LP (1983).

The studio version is here.

Obama's pissing his golden shower right now, so you better duck while you can.

In a sluggish economy
Inflation,recession
Hits the land of the free
Standing in unemployment lines
Blame the government for hard time

We just get by
However we can
We all gotta duck
When the shit hits the fan
10 kids in a cadillac
Stand in lines for welfare checks
Let's all leach off the state
Gee!the money's really great!

Soup lines
Free loaves of bread
5lb blocks of cheese
Bags of groceries
Social security
Has run out on you and me
We do whatever we can
Gotta duck when the shit hits the fan...

Counting on Election's Momentum, General Secretary Obama Will Mobilize Party Apparatchiks for Tax Increases, Spending Cuts

Well, the emphasis of course will be on tax increases. We need "more revenue," dontcha know?

At the Wall Street Journal, "White House Plans Public Appeal on Deficit":

WASHINGTON—The White House plans an aggressive public campaign to build support for its approach to reduce the deficit through tax increases and spending cuts, a sharp contrast to its private talks with Republicans that faltered last year.

President Barack Obama will meet with labor leaders Tuesday and a number of chief executives on Wednesday, in an effort to solidify backing for his proposals.

Both groups carry sway with different segments of lawmakers on Capitol Hill. Mr. Obama also plans to travel outside of Washington to try and broaden national support for his proposal that includes tax increases on the wealthy—which White House officials believe won public backing in last week's election.

His meetings with labor and business leaders come before he meets with congressional leaders Friday, evidence the White House believes Mr. Obama can use momentum from his re-election to marshal outside support and heighten pressure on Republicans to agree to tax increases on upper-income earners.

The strategy comes as many Republicans appear to have softened their antitax rhetoric in the wake of the election, with many openly acknowledging that higher taxes will likely be part of any plan to reduce the deficit.

Mr. Obama has planned the meetings as policy makers start work to craft a package of deficit-reduction measures that could come in place of the so-called fiscal cliff, the mandatory spending cuts and tax increases scheduled to begin in January.

Several Republicans, including House Speaker John Boehner and Rep. Tom Price (R., Ga.), have said in recent days higher tax revenue could be part of a deal. They have refused to consider higher tax rates, saying that new revenue should come instead from new limits on deductions and other tax breaks, suggesting one potential approach to a deal.

Republicans also say significant changes to entitlement programs such as Medicare and Medicaid would have to be part of any package.

Continue reading comrades!

MORE: At Weasel Zippers, "Obama to Meet With Top Union Thugs, Leaders of Leftist Groups After They Drop Hundreds of Millions of Dollars on His Re-Election Campaign…" Secretary Obama will consult the apparatchiks on the administration's Five-Year Plan.