Category Archives: Foreign
Innocence of Muslims Review
The Interview is a satirical movie in which North Korean leader Kim Jong-un gets whacked. The N Koreans allegedly took great offense at this. In retribution they hacked Sony Entertainment. So they say.
One thing the Hermit Kingdom and many critics agree on is that the movie stinks. Sony agreed to pull it from theaters. President Obama was quick to criticize Sony for this. That only increased the appeal of the movie and now it’s a pirate hit.
When the US Embassy in Benghazi was hit by terrorists the White House was quick to blame the attack on another lousy movie, Innocence of Muslims. Our own Dear Leader’s passion for free speech blazed less fervently in those days. The movie’s producer was thrown in jail.
North Korea and Cuba
The president criticized Sony for giving in to North Korean blackmail by cancelling The Interview. Meanwhile he did a three for one prisoner swap with Cuba. It wasn’t quite Nixon to China but he did open the door to diplomatic recognition.
If you want to pay a visit to the 50s better book your trip now – before Cuba becomes “Americanized“.
Go it Alone
Three days after he was elected president Barack Obama told congressional leaders, “elections have consequences and I won”. He then proceeded to go it alone on an economic stimulus plan.
On September 9, 2009, Paul Ryan had the temerity to explain what was in the health care bill – before we passed it. Obama waited until April 13, 2011 (The Presidential Divider – WSJ) for payback. He invited Ryan to sit in the front row and then publicly humiliated him during a speech on the budget.
As a result of that and other insults, the Affordable Care Act was passed without a single Republican vote. Even at that, it required stunts like the Louisiana Purchase, the Cornhusker Kickback (later removed in reconciliation), and the illegal prosecution of Alaskan senator Ted Stevens (The 60th ObamaCare Vote – WSJ).
ObamaCare has never been popular with a majority of Americans. According to Jonathan Gruber Americans are a simple people who need to be lied to for their own good because they’re too stupid to understand basic economics.
Go it Alone
In January of this year Obama announced he no longer needed the serfs or Congress. He had a pen and a phone and he would go it alone on immigration reform. And so he did. Here’s the speech. When Congress refused to give him a bill he could sign – something David Harsanyi points out Congress has no obligation to ever do – he ordered immigration reform without a single vote from either party.
Silly Shirt Season
World leaders showed up at the APEC summit in China last week wearing silly shirts. It’s an annual tradition to distract us from the silly stuff they do.
China is filled with with smog. You can taste the PM 2.5 – little particles that go into your lungs to kill you. So what was the signing event of the week? A deal to reduce the carbon dioxide you exhale to cough those little buggers out. And the Chinese don’t even have to do it until 2030. If they’re still alive.
Silly Season
The agreement is for America to set the example by cutting co2 emissions right away. The really silly part is that it’s a deal about nothing. Carbon dioxide emissions in the United States have been falling due to increased use of natural gas and a decreased role for industrial production. We’re expected to reach the goals of the agreement by doing nothing. China will reach peak population growth by 2030 and it’s co2 emissions are expected to fall naturally by then too.
The other big news of the week was the revelation that our governing elites lack a positive attitude toward us voters. They think we’re stupid. Ok, so maybe they’re right. It’s certainly not a problem shared by China – a situation much admired by Tom Friedman of the NYT.
Panic Attack
Even hysteria is politically polarizing these days. Ann Coulter has a column claiming the media, usually purveyors of panic , now want everyone to chill about Ebola. It doesn’t appear that an epidemic is imminent. “The Science” is predicting an additional 1-130 new Ebola cases in the U.S. by the end of the year.
