Government Incompetence

The Abdulmutallab Travesty

Many innocent lives may be lost because of the massive incompetence of this administration and their idiotic mishandling of a foreign terrorist with ties to Al Qaeda. The terrorist was provided with legal counsel and Mirandized before we could extract critical information about other threats to America. This is criminal negligence!

NRO | by Rich Lowry | Jan. 26, 2010

Intending to die in the act of destroying a jetliner, Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab instead landed alive in Detroit as a kind of message in a bottle from al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula. He knew more about its recruiting, training, and operations than anyone who is ever likely to fall into our arms babbling like a scared 23-year-old.

But the Obama administration shut him down. It didn’t go so far as to tell the Customs and Border Protection officers to cover their ears and try not to listen when Abdulmutallab made incriminating statements on the initial ride to the hospital, but it came close. It had an FBI team inform Abdulmutallab of his right to remain silent, after which he predictably remained silent. [Read more…]

Terrrorism’s Victory

Human Events | by Herbert London | Jan. 21, 2010

As George Orwell noted the first duty of intelligent people is “the restatement of the obvious.” It is obvious or should be obvious that the goal of terrorists is terrorism. What that means precisely is not clear based on recent news accounts.

According to reports the United States escaped an enormous tragedy when a Nigerian, Umar Abdulmutallab, was apprehended when he attempted to blow up a KLM flight from Africa to America via Amsterdam. Alas, that is accurate as far as it goes. Overlooked in this calculus is that a terrorist who gains access to a commercial flight has already achieved his goal, i.e. promote the fear of terrorism. [Read more…]

Obama Rewards Losers, Punishes Winners

Townhalll | by Larry Kudlow | Jan. 16, 2010

President Obama’s misbegotten bank tax is precisely the wrong policy at precisely the wrong time. It will wind up backfiring across the board. Why? Because bank consumers and borrowers are the ones who will wind up paying this tax, creating an obstacle to economic recovery.

Obama is actually rewarding losers and punishing winners — exactly the reverse of free-market capitalism. [Read more…]

White House Blames Computers for Government Inefficiencies

The Hill | by Ian Swanson | Jan. 14, 2010

A big reason why the government is inefficient and ineffective is because Washington has outdated technology, with federal workers having better computers at home than in the office.

This startling admission came Thursday from Peter Orszag, who manages the federal bureaucracy for President Barack Obama. [Read more…]

“Notional” Security

Townhall | by Thomas Sowell | Jan. 12, 2010

The latest “screw-up” that let a man with explosives get on a plan on Christmas day is only part of a larger laxness and irresponsibility when it comes to national security. This administration pays lip service to national security and gives out with a lot of rhetorical notions that makes it notional security instead of national security.

The Muslim major who was arrested for the murders of American soldiers at Fort Hood had left so many clues to his hatred of this country that all you had to do was count the dots, without even connecting them, to see where he was coming from. But for a fellow officer to alert higher authorities to the danger would have meant risking damage to his own career moreso than to that of Major Nidal Hasan. [Read more…]

Socialist Norway Blesses Criminality as a Career Path

FrontPage | by Rita Karlsen | Jan. 8, 2010

What is Norway up to? The question can be put directly to the country’s Prime Minister, Jens Stoltenberg, because in his New Year’s speech he placed particular emphasis on the fact that it will be work that will make the difference in securing Norway’s future. Work, work, work – and now comes the news that criminal foreigners who serve more than a year in jail will henceforth automatically qualify for welfare. After three years in prison, they will have a right to a government pension and to health coverage. This will be the case even if they have come to Norway illegally. In other words, it pays for foreigners to come to Norway and commit serious crimes – and the more serious the crime, the greater the reward. [Read more…]

Modern Day Lunacy

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American Spectator | by Walter Williams | Dec. 30, 2009

Sen. John Rockefeller, D-W.Va., chairman of the Senate Finance Subcommittee on Health Care, and Rep. Joe Courtney D-Conn., a member of the House Education and Labor Committee, have introduced the Pre-existing Condition Patient Protection Act, which would eliminate pre-existing condition exclusions in all insurance markets. That’s an Obama administration priority. I wonder whether President Obama and his congressional supporters would go a step further and protect not just patients but everyone against pre-existing condition exclusions by insurance companies. Let’s look at the benefits of such a law. [Read more…]

Anti-Anti-Terrorism

American Spectator | by Robert Stacy McCain | Dec. 29, 2009

When Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab tried to detonate an explosive aboard Northwest Airlines Flight 253 on Christmas Day, liberals were quick to warn against the clear and present danger.

It wasn’t the threat of al Qaeda-trained bombers blowing up Detroit-bound planes that concerned them. Rather, liberals feared that Americans might blame the Obama administration for failing to protect them from terrorists or — perhaps even worse — demand action against the violent extremists who want to kill us all. [Read more…]

Liberals Sabotage Minority DC School Kids

Joy Tiz | by Joy Tiz | Dec. 21, 2009

Finally finding one government program they could do without, liberals passed the omnibus spending bill which included express language killing the successful Washington, DC school vouchers program.

Proposed by former President Bush in 2003, the DC Opportunity Scholarship (OSP) provides school choice to parents of the most disadvantaged students. Passed into law by Congress in 2004, the program provides up to $7500 in scholarship funds to approximately 1700 children who would otherwise be doomed to gang and drug infested academically deficient public schools run by incompetent union protected bureaucrats. [Read more…]

Democrats Kill Successful DC Voucher Progam

American Thinker | by Aaron Gee | Dec. 21, 2009

The Democrats have consistently cultivated a public image as the party of the little guy, the party that stands up against big interests and protects the rights of minorities. You would think that a program that helps minority students, lowers costs, and increases funds for public schools would be right up their alley. You would be wrong. [Read more…]