Here’s the latest news out of Greece:

The European Central Bank has stopped providing liquidity to some Greek banks as they have not been successfully recapitalized, the ECB said on Wednesday, confirming news earlier reported exclusively by Reuters.

The news sent the euro lower against the dollar, fanning concerns among investors and in Greece that the country may have to leave the euro zone.

The development highlights the weak state of the banking sector in Greece, where Greeks are pulling euros out of the banks in fear that their country may exit the European single currency despite the declared determination of EU powers Germany and France to keep Athens in the monetary union.

The Greek run on the banks is capturing attention here in Europe:

Political leaders in Athens were due to discuss an emergency government Wednesday to deal with a possible run on banks as it emerged Greeks withdrew almost $900 million in a single day, fearing their country could crash out of the euro currency by the end of the week. . . .

Greeks are withdrawing euros from banks, apparently afraid of the prospect of rapid devaluation if the country leaves the European single currency and returns to the drachma.

There are no good option nor are there magical solutions or silver bullets. This is a crash and burn outcome. It may be slow motion but it will infect all of Europe and ultimately the world. It means that Obama will have another excuse for a faltering economy. But this is terrible news, not just for the people of Greece but the world.

Lest you think this is just a European problem check out California:

California’s budget woes combined with poor economic results have long made it a poster child for poor fiscal management. The state’s credit rating has been downgraded to an A- by S&P, the lowest rating for any U.S. state, and its budget and pension shortfalls are infamous. Even more so than in other states, the main political challenge for California’s politicians will be to put the state on firm fiscal footing. Given the state’s poor current condition the rotten condition of its non-Hollywood, non-Silicon Valley economy, this process is bound to take years.

Governor Jerry Brown returned to the state house in 2011 with a plan to at least begin to tackle the state’s deficit. Like many other Democratic governors in similar straits, Brown has had to break some hoary blue taboos and made serious (though evidently not serious enough) cuts in spending and public sector employment.

The only difference is that California’s economy far surpasses that of Greece. Greece is showing us the path that California will be following within the year.

Awful developments.

Even that wispy-waspy left loon, Rep. Ed Markey of Massachusetts, talks as if the use of drones for domestic surveillance could be alright with regulations imposed by Congress — oh those’ll keep the snoops in check. But NOT Charles Krauthammer (who unlike Eugene Robinson, feels properly introduced without reference to his Pulitzer Prize OR his M.D. degree OR his active license in the apt field of Psychiatry).

On May 14, 2012 — it’s now a historic day — Charles Krauthammer told Bret Baier, “I’m going to go hard left on you. I’m going to go ACLU.” Then, just before the end of this clip, he passes the ACLU. He goes ALL the way:

Chuck’s face eased into a grin, so crooked for such an upright guy, and he said:

Ahhhhhhhhhh. That nip was mighty tasty. B.B., that poker face of yours. It doesn’t work on me. I needn’t tell you why. And, nope. It didn’t have a thing to do with that nip we shared. Well, except that try as you might to conceal it, B.B., I can tell you loved it as much as I did saying “Bottoms up!” And then you said …

Chuck pauses, then recounts what B.B. actually said (even though he denies it now):

Come on, B.B. Oh yes you did. OFF-camera, B.B. YES YOU DID. You said:

We’ve hit the nadir of our lives, the bottom of our one barrel, Chuck. Hell, we’ve struck the base of our nation’s historic hogshead. Below where no man dare go.

You looked down at your notes, B.B. Then you picked up your pencil and pretended to write something. I was still trying to figure out why you’d used the word hogshead when it would have been alright to repeat barrel. I realized then that you were still fighting off the perception of some viewers that your type went out with My Three Sons jumped the shark. That you look too young to be an anchor. Don’t give me that look, B.B. I have a son. I know what “jumped the shark” means. Then you said:

“We’ve got nowhere to go but up, and with nothing to hold onto!”

Then, right away. Right away, I whispered, “Except each other.”

B.B., you leaned forward, and I told you to leave me at the bottom, with my brakes locked — a sturdy foundation so that then you could climb and stand on my shoulders.

You reached for NPRismist, but I grabbed you just in time, and rolled my eyes towards Tuck, who’ll bring along every one of The Daily Callers — until we get to the Last Call!”

Chuck and B.B. quickly realized that, once again, they’d proven they could simultaneously hear the other panelists, while just out of camera range and in voices so low that the talking heads to their right didn’t realize, they were communicating and plotting on their own level.

And now we know why Chuck always sits immediately to B.B.’s right.

Listen to the next YouTube if you care about another panelist forced to wait while an NPR hack tip-toed — except when the hack couldn’t resist MOCKING conservatives (oops, fellow panelists), equating worries over domestic use of drones with the black helicopter conspiracy theory.

The NPRismist was compelled to repeat “black helicopters.” Why? My guess: No one laughed the first time. There’s arcane NPR-speak that passes for humor, but only triggers out-loud but polite guffaws if you are INTO mockery of everything Republican, conservative, right, and overtly religious. Such NPR humor is never used against any liberal, Democrat, union leader or member, Central or South American dictators, and for god’s sake any black person …

That panelist was Tucker aka Tuck Carlson who DID reveal opinions, saluted Charles Krauthammer better than any of us could, and rattled off indisputable facts about drones that, well, I sure didn’t know much about.

That is, once the NPR hack had finally shut up, and Tuck could talk.

Carlson also managed, respectfully, to address the need for domestic law enforcement to have less costly air surveillance than helicopters.

With this video, you get to see the ONLY version I could find* that includes Carlson’s complete reply to Krauthammer as well as the Tuck’s considerable info on why drones are the latest domestic law enforcement toy. The video quality sucks, but it’s the sole complete version of Carlson’s remarks I could find. CARLSON’s remarks begin at 2:15:

*Footnote: Some idiot posted a YouTube video of Tucker Carlson, but excised the first part that included his thrilling homage to Charles Krauthammer. What in the hell was HE thinking? I almost sent him an e-mail complaint, but why waste time. Besides, his video had had only two views.

Btw. I hate to share this. That first video, all Krauthammer? It had less than 4,000 views as of last night, a full 29-30 hours after it had aired the first time. WTF?

Imagine that you’re running for president, labeled a moderate, probably because you oppose “the expansion of slavery,” not the stamping out of slavery everywhere. Somehow you win the presidency but, before you’ve been inaugurated, seven states secede from the Union and form the Confederacy.

To quell hot heads, you (Lincoln) direct your first inaugural address to the South, proclaiming once again that you have no intention, or inclination, to abolish slavery in the Southern states. …

MITT, THIS IS FOR YOU: Although it doesn’t destroy you, your perceived moderation — “blasted from all sides” — will maim you throughout your presidency, just as it did Lincoln. How is it then that in 1862, in the midst of a vicious civil war, Lincoln and Congress bonded to pass the following — and might you, Mitt, find a way to bond with sufficient members of Congress to pass at least two such items by the end of 2013/early 2014?

• Intercontinental Railroad System financing
• Homestead Act expansion system
• the Morrill Act land-grant university system
• U.S. Dept of Agriculture

This proves that it is remotely possible for the right person can assume the presidency if he/she is gifted in quickly picking up what leadership methods work and getting rid of what doesn’t.

BARACK, THIS IS FOR YOU: If you don’t have talent for leadership — and you’ve BLOWN four years, even with Congress aligned on your side, failing even to feign leadership — you do NOT get a do-over. No how. No way. You’re outta the Oval, and the new guy gets his four years.

And, I’ll be damned, Lincoln didn’t learn a thing about politics:

At the close of the war, Lincoln held a moderate view of Reconstruction, seeking to reunite the nation speedily through a policy of generous reconciliation in the face of lingering and bitter divisiveness.

Mitt, I’m not sure that will comfort you. But at least you have one worthwhile example.

And don’t worry. NONE OF US expects you to pull off a Lincoln. We just want you to be steady, competent, attentive to relationships, and action-oriented (aside from on the golf course).

Oh. How did I come to learn of this?

Megyn: “First. A bombshell in the CBS News/New York Times. The president’s vaunted LEAD AMONG WOMEN VOTERS VANISHING. Look at the numbers. Look at that. [Insistently.]

UPDATE: Megyn discusses the above shocking poll of women who were, not long ago, “favoring the president by 16 points.” And “look at the sampling used,” Megyn points out, in this brand-new, supposedly neutral CBS/NYT poll, “over-sampling the Democrats: 36% Democrats, 30% Republican.” The riveting anchor continued, “Still, the 16 point lead with women voters has completely evaporated and in fact now it’s a Mitt Romney lead. …” She asked, “What does the White House say about this?” Ed Henry responds, suggesting we follow future polls to see if the “switch” continues. If so, says Ed, it’s conclusive proof that the economy is #1 for women (independents as well, Ed adds).

Megyn: “Second. And this is just breaking now. A brand-new Rasmussen Reports poll shows Governor Mitt Romney with a commanding double-digit lead when it comes to who voters trust to handle the economy. Fifty-one percent believe [Mitt Romney] can best handle the economy. Thirty-nine percent say it is Barack Obama. …

Megyn returns to Ed Henry from his perch at the White House … Ed chats up a new “Gallup / USA Today” that displays “very mixed results” for POTUS.

ED HENRY (paraphrased): “Looking at the second number (58% by 2013), you’d think that that would be good for the president, but look at these numbers:”

What is really the #1 fear expressed by every woman I know?

Oh sure, the ones with common sense, concur that the economy trumps every other suit.

That, by the way, is why it was IDIOTIC for Obama to fixate on health care — but easily understood if one factors in The One’s lack of executive experience and his faith in his sycophants who gave him the cost-benefit analyses that he wanted to see, not the unadulterated analyses that he needed to see.

Did none of those sycophants and/or any of the highest number of White House czars in U.S. history ever work up the courage to tell the child King (aka The One) that he’d become revered, in time, for exhibiting the discipline to first tackle and stabilize unemployment.

Then, having knocked the socks off all the cynics for his wise fiscal discipline, he could have embarking on the daring live birth of universal health care, fulfilling another campaign promise by airing all the meetings on C-Span.

Team Romney counter attacks with an ad that illustrates the Romney (Bain) creation of a steel mill in Indiana. Dueling steel mills.

This suggests that the Romney camp is well informed of the Obama camp class warfare tools, and is prepared to answer blow for blow.

What is the subject of this debate?

Capitalism and how it creates out of destruction.

The Kansas steel mill failed in the 20th century and the Indiana steel mill rises in the 21st century.

Note that there is no Electoral College advantage to either side, as KS and MO are red, and IN is clearly red.

Team Obama aims to advance the case that America is too fragile to trust in the hands of a capitalist overlord.

Will boss-bashing work for keeping the vote blue? It will work in blue states. What about purple states? Who in OH and PA does not want that Indiana mill, Steel Dynamics?

– From the blog for The John Batchelor Show.

Today a breathtakingly handsome, shirtless young man scooped me up in his arms, and carried me to safety.

His chivalrous act was supposed to be told at the end of the post, but I can’t wait to share it that long. I don’t know his name. That’s right. He was a complete stranger. But I was in a dangerous predicament trying to walk uphill, very likely to fall, out of breath because I couldn’t carry my oxygen as well as my purse, my heart was pounding too fast, my 90-degree bent forward posture and inability to lift my head made it impossible so see where I was going, and I don’t have a cell phone nor was there any building within blocks. So I stuck out my thumb.

Many people avoided looking at me, and went by, even though the road exists solely to take people to/fro the large complex in which I live. The two people in the Jeep passed me by, and I sighed. But they apparently circled back because I could make out the Jeep again. I explained that I lived there too and briefly described my physical issues (rather evident anyway).

Then, I had to hand my purse to his girlfriend, another complete stranger, so that I could wrap my arms around the handsome stranger’s neck and shoulders as he lifted me off the ground and up, up, up into his Jeep. Yes, I had tried mightily myself, but I can’t lift my legs that high. I’d already told them to go on their way, insistently (!), and thanked them for trying. But … … they were determined not to leave me. That’s when his girlfriend offered to have him pick me up in his arms and place me in the front passenger seat while she held my purse, after which he grabbed the seatbelt and secured me — which was good since I was quite light-headed and shaking.

To think that a government worker could have saved me from being stranded, … but we’ll leave that part of the story for the end, when I’m able to finish. I need a break. There’s more I’ve already written, so I’ll leave that part below, then come back and add the missing section that explains how I got stranded.

This morning, I left home and drove the 15 miles, to drop my car off at the only mechanic I’ve ever allowed to touch it. A beautiful woman who can still turn eyes and a former race car driver. Along with her steadfast husband and son, they have survived. They used to have a gas station in an ideal location and were the only station to offer full service. But she could not find teenagers or young adults who she could rely on to provide that service to her satisfaction. Rather than waste more years having to babysit kids who couldn’t follow simple directions, they closed the station and moved their repair service to a place with larger bays. She has always driven me home, but not since I moved 15 miles away since, it’s true, it takes a minimum 90 minutes to make the round trip. She did save me Bus No. 1 by driving me to the town center’s bus depot.

Lucky me! I got there five minutes before the #40 bus that’d take me 13.5 miles. But there was no bus. The time came and went. No #40 bus showed up. Other riders and I were confused. We knew we had to wait an HOUR for the next bus. We were in front of the correct sign for #40 but the only bus, locked up with lights flashing, was two signs south of us, and we couldn’t see its number. A young surfer type, at my request, let me hold onto him. I had no choice but to trust him.

We asked and asked every rider, but they were confused too. Finally, a bus employee said the bus, which had NO number, was the one to get on. That didn’t ease my anxiety because I’ve been told too many times in my life, by government employees, that their instructions were correct but weren’t.

Since the surfer kid was a restless type, I also befriended an exceptionally tastefully dressed adult man who is black. No surfer gear had he. His hair was perfectly cut, his well-made white t-shirt was spotless, his fashionable shoes looked brand new. He was coming to my town to find work. I got bubbly with excitement, telling him where to go.

I only mention his being black because it is so rare to see a black person in these parts that they stand out, and it’s impossible not to look at them.

It’s as if I’ve gone back in time to my childhood. My parents heard rumors that a black man lived up in the hills of our valley and came to town once a month to buy groceries. We never saw him but were overcome with curiosity. This area is almost like that, except that there are many Hispanics, Native Americans, and Indians (who sadly had a rough time after 9/11 because some local ignoramuses assumed they were A-rabs.

Isolated German Chancellor Dr Angela Merkel - click image to read more from Fate of Euro at Stake in Top-Level Meetings, Sydney Morning Herald

The critical event was the vote that took place yesterday (Sunday) in Germany:

[where the party of Angela Merkel] suffered a crushing defeat on Sunday in an election in Germany’s most populous state, a result which could embolden the left opposition to step up its criticism of her European austerity policies.

The election in North Rhine-Westphalia (NRW), a western German state with a bigger population than the Netherlands and an economy the size of Turkey, was held 18 months before a national election in which Merkel is expected to fight for a third term. (Reuters)

So why should you care?

Up to this point Chancellor Merkel has been the bulwark in Europe against the forces of irresponsible economic policies. She has been insisting that other countries get their houses in order and refused to commit Germany to paying off the debts of others. Her steadfast position played an important role in reassuring international creditors and buying time for the Euro.

Despite doubts about the political will of leaders in Greece, Italy, Spain and Portugal, Merkel was (and is) seen as an anchor that would keep the European Union from drifting into the economic shoals of unrestrained spending and mounting deficits.

Now Merkel’s political future and her commitment to holding firm on austerity measures will be in question.

This does not mean that she will cave or alter her policy position. But, the election in Germany now puts the question of “confidence” back on the table. Until Sunday’s vote there was the assumption among most economic observers that Europe would somehow muddle thru and the Euro would remain intact. Merkel’s political setback now has the potential to change all of that and the change will not be positive for the world economic outlook.

Greece is a trainwreck. There is no other way to slice it. Greece is now firmly on the road to abandoning the Euro and embracing political extremism. The odds are slim and growing slimmer that the Greeks will opt for a middle of the road, fiscally-responsible solution to their debt crisis. Instead, it is highly likely that they will stiff all of their creditors and will return to the drachma. While others in Europe will try to prevent this, the political realities inside Greece make sticking with the Euro increasingly unlikely. Merkel’s political rebuff in Germany, ironically, is likely to resonate in Greece and fuel those pressing to walk away from Greece’s prior commitments to pay creditors something.

What does this mean for the United States and its economy? A crisis of confidence in the international markets is likely to send more panicked investors seeking safe haven our way. But that kind of demand could have an inflationary pressure on our economy, which is the last thing we need in the midst of a failing recovery.

The turmoil in Europe will last through the summer and will roil the international currency and financial markets. The ramifications extend beyond Europe and will adversely affect Asia. When Asia catches an economic flu, you can be certain that the infection will make its way to our shores.

I wish I had better news for you, but it is what it is.

What we really ought to focus on is why Obama is ready to sell out the United States to Russia.

Obama has no moral or ethical core.

He is all about self-indulgence and self-worship. While this piece was crafted tongue-in-cheek, it contains an important kernel of truth. Obama is not about preserving or protecting America. He is ready and willing, once he can stretch out and get his flexibility back, he’ll sell out our country. That’s the meaning of this video.

A wag calls this the low point of the campaign (so far); however there may be utility to Romney’s campaign’s eagerness to have the candidate apologize for bad behavior when the candidate was a teenager in Michigan.

The positive is that the enterprising political reporters have completely run out of material on Mitt Romney.

This is the bottom of the pile. There is no there within fifty years. There is also evidence that Mitt Romney had a childhood. High school confidential is not the happy memory for any adult. Romney gets to apologize for being immature and a pack brat. Gee.

Meanwhile the Obama re-elect floats a rumor that it is ready to abandon NC (after the anti-same sex marriage vote) and give up the Charlotte convention site.

The White House uses the National Journal correspondent George Condon to put the story out in order to see who thinks it is a bad idea.

No evidence of pushback.

Meanwhile, Salena Zito and Lara Brown report talk of Obama weakness in IA and CO; and both regard PA as fragile for Obama re-elect.

It is not wedge issues. It is the economy showing hints of sliding again when the extended unemployment checks end. Ben Bernanke regards QE3 not out of the ordinary if inflation remains low and the transfer payments end without vigorous GDP.

– From the blog for The John Batchelor Show.

* UPDATED & Bumped Up May 12 (for Open Thread) * New Posts Will Follow Shortly *

Actor George Clooney gave President Barack Obama a warm welcome when he hosted a fundraiser at his luxurious Studio City estate on Thursday, May 10. ClLICK IMAGE to see more exclusive photos from Entertainment Tonight.

Beth Topinka and Karen Blutcher look just like the women who delivered poached salmon and organic salads to those brave OWS protestors. Who would have thought that a “random” sweepstakes would come up with such perfect winners, purely by chance!?

The remainder of the funds were raised via an online sweepstakes, which chose two random Obama donors to attend the event. Beth Topinka and Karen Blutcher won the contest. They're pictured below -- in these first pictures from inside the dinner via Entertainment Tonight -- with Clooney, Keibler and their husbands. Via Zap2It (CLCK IMAGE).

Original, May 10, 2012, after the party: I went to Huffington Post, sure I’d find the Clooney Hollywood house party the top story. But no! Here’s what bumped Clooney out of first view: “Breaking News: $2 BILLION GOES POOF (sic)– London Trader Known As ‘Voldemort’ Causes Biggest U.S. Bank Huge Loss“ [J.P. Morgan].

Ditto the Los Angeles Times home page: “JPMorgan Chase loses $2 billion; stock plunges” + the Nuggets win over the Lakers consume all above-the-fold space. (Photo link, more below.) Also: Memeorandum.com has a collection of articles on J.P. Morgan’s “$2 Billion Blunder.”

If you patiently scroll down HuffPo’s home page, you find the party, sans glamorous shots (on purpose?). The yawner title: “Obama Continues Gay Marriage Push At George Clooney-Hosted Fundraiser.” You’re assured the party had NOTHING to do with Obama’s “personally for me” statement: “Obama said Vice President Joe Biden got ‘a little bit over his skis‘ in publicly embracing gay marriage, forcing Obama to speed up his own plans to announce support for the right of same-sex couples to marry.” SEE, CYNICS?

Why such muted coverage? Via Memeorandum, TMZ’s headline screams, “CLOONEY’S HOUSE Under MEGA-Lockdown For Obama Event.”

As I closed the MSNBC page Popsmoke linked, I spotted this: “Suspected kidnapper Adam Mayes dead, girls found unharmed.” Curiously, Memeorandum.com chose the ABC News account that asserts Mayes’ fate is unknown. Yet, …… while I concede it is not political news even if Memeorandum linked it, and while I try to avoid getting sucked into these kinds of stories, this one grabbed me because every “adult” in their lives let those girls down. Therefore, it was impossible for me to let go until I knew the remaining two girls were alive. Albeit with a very uncertain future and what is really just the first chapter of their ordeal. Their story is vastly more real to me than anything The One says or does. Video and excerpt below.

[...]

Game wardens happened upon Mayes Thursday evening in a heavily wooded area behind a small church in northern Mississippi, about 45 minutes from the Tennessee border. As they approached, he shot himself. He was in critical condition as an ambulance transported him to Baptist Hospital in Alpine, Miss., where he was later pronounced dead, NBC News reported.

When reporters asked a law enforcement official if Alexandria and Kyliyah were all right and whether they had said anything, he replied, “We just tried to love them and feed them.”

[...]

Read all: “Suspected kidnapper Adam Mayes dead, girls found unharmed.”

Use this link to view all 9 photos of the Clooney event, such as they are.

BETTER YET: Check out “Steve Lopez: Clooney’s Obama party full of ‘Hollywood hypocrites’.”

LOPEZ’s riff on the hypocrisy of the Hollywood elites is brief, yet packs a wallop. Lopez is one of the few remaining muckrakers who’s unafraid of stepping on toes and smirks at the pretense. It was the ideal venue for Obama in which the attendees saw in Obama what they wanted to see. If they could see him, they’d realize he’s an empty slate. But Obama never has to worry. He knows they’ll cast him in a role alongside their own roles, all of which will flatter both Obama and themselves, while they all blithely ignore the REAL problems in Los Angeles:

Los Angeles is shutting school libraries, laying off teachers and shutting down fire houses. And VIPs are paying $40,000 for a Wolfgang Puck hors d’oeuvre and a silly photo with a president who only now has come to think it might be OK for gay people to have the same rights as straight people. …

Any sentient citizen of greater Los Angeles would feel ashamed of dishing out $15,000,000 — a paltry sum — that would achieve so much more if used to address real problems in L.A.

Fifteen million dollars -– a third of it raised by the local big shots -– is peanuts to Obama, really. Another drop in a bucket the size of Santa Monica Bay. And isn’t money the root of all evil in politics, whether it’s from out-of-control “super PACs” or wanna-be-seen moguls who might be expecting something in return for ponying up?

Steve Lopez’s column name and icon:

Steve Lopez's column icon and politically charged name. Of all the nerve, eh?

NOW, YOUR TURN:

News media are literally and figuratively all a TWITTER with the news report that a Saudi intelligence source who pretended to be a jihadist suicide bomber in order to deliver to the CIA an unexploded underwear bomb. The Saudis are reportedly livid that the United States so cavalierly divulged this news and, in the process, exposed the Saudi effort to recruit the mole.

Don’t doubt for a minute that this leak has the fingerprints of the Obama White House all over it. Most likely culprit? Our old buddy, John Brennan. White House could not wait to slip this info to the hungry press who, during a slow news week, could not wait to tell the public about this “dramatic” news.

Despicable. Here’s the story from the Washington Post:

The CIA and overseas intelligence partners disrupted an al-Qaeda plot to blow up civilian aircraft using an advanced explosive device designed by the terrorist network’s affiliate in Yemen, U.S. officials said Monday.

President Obama was made aware of the threat in April, U.S. officials said, and the plot was stopped before any aircraft or passengers could be put in danger. Obama “was assured that the device did not pose a threat to the public,” said Caitlin Hayden, a spokeswoman for the National Security Council.

The foiled underwear bomb plot in Yemen serves as a stark reminder of al-Qaeda of the Arabian Peninsula, or AQAP’s, primary mission – bring down an American plane, reports John Miller.

The Associated Press has learned the CIA thwarted a plot by al-Qaeda’s affiliate in Yemen to destroy a U.S.-bound airliner using a bomb with a new design around the one-year anniversary of the killing of Osama bin Laden.

U.S. officials said the FBI is examining the device — modeled on the “underwear bomb” used in an attempt to bring down a Detroit-bound airliner on Christmas Day 2009 — to determine whether airport security systems would have detected it.

U.S. officials said the CIA and other agencies tracked the plot for about a month before moving to seize the device in recent days in the Middle East outside Yemen, where the bomb was built.

Who spilled the beans? My money is on John Brennan, Obama’s terrorism advisor. Do you really think thatthe Obama team, besieged with bad news about the economy, did not want to trot out their “WE SAVED THE DAY, STORY.’ They are counting on the inability of many Americans to focus on facts for more than 10 seconds and went for the quick score.

This is a dangerous game. Why? Not only have we helped publicly blow a source but we make it less likely that other countries will trust us with their penetrations. That lack of trust could turn into a future attack on America. This is politics at its worst and it puts American lives at risk.

More of Bronwyn Harbor’s reasons for bumping up Larry’s post:

… Media rationales: (1) Biden’s oops forced Obama out, (2) he intended to anyway once reelected, or (3) Obama couldn’t otherwise con Hollywood’s tight-ass hypocrites. Nobody anymore pushed demands that Obama cut the legs off international/domestic cries to find the source who aborted a brilliant clandestine op. Averting attention, an age-old magician’s gambit, worked. Probably with Al Qaeda too. Greg Gutfeld coupled Al Qaeda’s love of poetry*: “You couldn’t lose with non-straight news.” P.S. What became of Peter King and Diane Feinstein? Dare I also ask about the fate of the mole’s sponsor, family and friends? /bh/

UPDATE–(More from Larry) It is important to understand that this story was tightly held in intelligence circles. It was not published internally to the CIA so that everyone could know. Nope. This info was kept in “need to know” channels. It is the kind of information that would be briefed to the White House and senior Obama staff.

So the question is, “How likely do you think it is that the CIA decided to expose their source and leak this info to the press?”

That didn’t happen. By contrast, why would the Obama team leak this info?

Simple answer–gain more support from potential voters. The blame for this surely lies with the White House. Leave it to them–sacrifice national security for political expediency.

The people  cannot “know” what they don’t know. If they don’t “know” the truth, honestly, completely and without bias, they cannot make rational decisions.

Ergo members of the media that don’t do their job aren’t worthy of their First Amendment rights. I am not saying we should suspend those rights. Heaven forbid. I am saying they are unworthy. They will have become propagandists, not journalists.  And they will gladly protect other propagandists who share their ideology. They were intended to be the buffer between the citizenry and the government. Instead they’ve taken sides. No matter what side they take, it ain’t ours!

We have teachers who would brainwash our children in the name of their ideologies. Does our First Amendment-protected media voice any caution about such infamy? Not if the teachers are brainwashing in a liberal direction. And citizens, that’s just wrong!

I have become so jaded and cynical that I regard every new news cycle as another heaping dollop in bullshit. There is more lefty bullshit than righty bullshit because the majority of bullshitters are biased towards the left. Either bias still stinks. Bullshit and bullshitters stink even if the presstitutes haven’t the character or insight to know that.

We have always known that some people, whatever their occupation, will prostitute themselves for money, fame or ideology. Politicians are only the most egregious example. I actually believe that the media are worse. There’s a chance a corrupt pol will be voted out of office or incarcerated. A corrupt media outlet? Doubtful. 

 Media that perverts its occupation while tsk-tsking corrupt politicians are not only hypocrites, they are not doing the job for which they were given special mention in the Constitution. Many Most media types betray their occupation and their country every day. Many people don’t seem to care so long as the bias leans their way. Again, that’s just wrong.  It shows a lack of character that is truly frightening.

“Every man has a right to his own opinion, but no man has a right to be wrong in his facts” ~ Bernard M. Baruch

Nowhere is that quote more important than in the media that is supposed to inform us.

Polls show that a majority of the American People believe that the media is biased. Polls show that a majority of the American People don’t trust the media.

According to a  Rasmussen poll, media organizations have a big perception – or, ahem, a reality problem on their hands.  According to the polling data, 55% of U.S. voters believe that media bias is a bigger problem in politics than big contributions. Of the 55%, voters ages 30-49 are the most suspicious of the media’s influence.

 Most startling of all, this percentage of voter disapproval of the media hasn’t changed since August 2008 – the height of the presidential election between John McCain and Barack Obama.

 

According to Rasmussen polls taken just before the November 2008 election: 68% of voters said most reporters try to help the candidate they want to win, and 51% believed they were trying to help Barack Obama. Just seven percent (7%) thought they were trying to help John McCain.

Seems that those of us that don’t know what we don’t know, know enough to know that we won’t be reliably informed by our biased and corrupt media. Is that a hopeful sign?

Americans with what seems an obsessive fear of silence demand more and more media and social media.

If we had a moments silence, a moment without a cell phone tucked in our ear or some “tweet’ before our eyes we might, I say might, have a moment to think. Without that, which I find highly unlikely, we are at the mercy of our so-called “Main Stream Media” which actually isn’t mainstream at all.

Unless and until all those people who answered the polls by saying they didn’t trust the media stop listening, reading, tweeting and supporting the corrupt media outlets those outlets will continue their biased ways.

And we still won’t know what we don’t know.

Playing golf:

Sending the family on pricey vacations:

These aren’t cheap shots. Hell, you’re helping pay for them.

Obama does not remember at times we are in the midst of a massive, widespread economic crisis?

If he has early onset Alzheimer’s then he is not medically qualified to continue as President. If he’s just a self-absorbed dumb ass then let’s help him remember what is truly important and send his sorry ass back to Chicago as an unemployed President.

Picture: Ken Avidor, City Pages

 
The Bachmann Timeline

• 1978 became, in her words, a Swiss citizen by marriage
• 2006 elected to Congress. [Did she disclose her dual citizenship? Did she violate her oath to the U.S.?]
• 2008 questioned Obama’s Americanism, citizenship, and eligibility to be president
• 2010 began championing Tea Party
• 2010 secured a seat on the House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence overseeing the CIA, NSA, and US intelligence community [Again, did she disclose her dual citizenship? Did she violate her oath to the U.S.?]
• 2011 became presidential candidate in Republican Primary
• January 4, 2012, dropped out of presidential primary
• January 25, 2012, announced plans to run for re-election to the U.S. House of Representatives
• February 15, 2012, requested formal Swiss citizenship [Yes, just 10 days after announcing her plan to run for re-election]
• March 19, 2012 was granted formal Swiss citizenship (but failed to defect from U.S. and renounce U.S. citizenship) [Did Bachmann notify Congress of her now official dual citizenship and loyalties? Why did she not withdraw from her seat on the House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence overseeing the CIA, NSA, and US intelligence community?]
• May 8, 2012, Bachmann finally publically announces she is really a Swiss citizen as of March 19 (for her family)
• May 9, 2012, Bachmann clarifies she’s actually been a Swiss citizen since 1978. “I automatically became a dual citizen of the United States and Switzerland in 1978” and “I have been a dual citizen since I was married in 1978”
• May 10, 2012, Bachmann renounces her Swiss citizenship

I hereby nominate Michelle Bachmann as the biggest loser among the Republican Party presidential candidate also rans. Yes, she actually even makes Santorum, Gingrich, Cain, Perry, and the rest not look so bad. Okay, no, they don’t get off so easy. Every one of these people, hypocrites like Bachmann, had problems with transparency, honesty, and integrity.

 

And, I’d love to hear her explain when she first disclosed her 1978 citizenship to Congress, especially if she did so when joining the House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence. As well, did she notify them in February when she formally applied for citizenship papers?

Bachman repeatedly demonstrates a disconcerting and scary level of craziness. At what point does the House leadership remove her from the House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence and appropriate agencies revoke her security clearance?

And, finally, those poor citizens of Minnesota. Bachmann was elected by them to represent Minnesota in Congress. She instead dissed them all last year with broad claims of being an Iowan, then announced her intent to run for re-election in Minnesota followed just days later by secretly applying to formalize her Swiss citizenship. At this point I suspect Keith Judd, if he could get on the Minnesota ballot, would beat her in a vote for re-election to the House.

You do know that Charles Krauthammer is a psychiatrist. Right?

First there is Charles Krauthammer on Bret Baier’s Special Report, May 9, 2012, a moment or so after 6:40 p.m. ET:

Second there is Charles Krauthammer on The O’Reilly Factor, May 9, 2012, televised @ 9-10 p.m. ET:

Read The Daily Caller post.

Here’s more via Bret Baier’s “Charles Krauthammer: The Signaling Is Clear That After Election Day President Obama Will Come Out in Favor of Gay Marriage“:

Last Sunday, Vice President Joe Biden made some waves when he sort of went against the White House’s official position on same-sex marriage. Biden said he was “absolutely comfortable” with gay marriage, but President Barack Obama has stopped short of any such declaration.

On Tuesday’s “The O’Reilly Factor” on the Fox News Channel, Washington Post columnist Charles Krauthammer explained that Obama is only hinting at his support for same-sex marriage

“I’m not sure that the Biden remark was planned — with Biden you never know,” Krauthammer said. “I mean, he is a loose cannon. He can go off at any time. So, I wouldn’t ascribe it to a strategy. However, it’s very clear what the administration is doing. They are telling the American people with a wink and a nod that, of course, we are going to support gay marriage.”

Krauthammer then drew a parallel between Obama’s pledge to outgoing Russian President Dmitry Medvedev back in March about post election “flexibility” and the White House’s winks and nods at the gay community-

“A president announces ‘I’m evolving on the issue,’” Krauthammer said. “You already get high officials in his government saying they are in favor of it. You think Obama is going to announce after Election Day my evolution stopped short of Arne Duncan and Joe Biden? Of course not. Everybody understands that after Election Day he’ll say he’s in favor and it’ll be a done deal. “

SAY WHAT, CHARLES? What in the heck is a “done deal” here? That phrase presumes that Obama is actually going to do something about gay marriage.

He said he doubted Obama’s support for gay marriage would hurt the president’s standing among African-American voters. And he said he also doubted it would sway the Hispanic-American vote, which he said would hinge on immigration policy, but Krauthammer still summed up Obama’s current position on gay marriage as a “dodge operation.”

“As I say, there is no upside for him to announce himself right now on this,” he said.

What? How about all those millions that the GLBT donors have been holding? Doesn’t Obama now expect those funds to be dropped in his lap? Otherwise, he could have written off Biden’s remarks as you described them — the ramblings of a “loose cannon.”

“Those people who support gay marriage know where he is going. All they have to do is wait until after November 6. And those who oppose it he will say, ‘You know, I haven’t changed my position. I am still evolving.’ This is a dodge operation and it will work.”

Air France ad:

From Zimbio’s “Benjamin Millepied & Virginie Caussin in an Ad for Air France“:

Benjamin Millepied seems to have won the lottery. After being chosen as the face of Yves Saint Laurent’s new fragrance, L’Homme Libre, Mr. Natalie Portman is now the new model for an Air France ad. Nice to see how the French stick to their people, no matter where they are based or how long they have been away from their native country. The last ad that Air France released was in 2006 so this one is a big deal. They are probably hoping Mr Natalie Portman will get them more passengers. Shot in the desert in Ouarzazate, the set looks great. For a second, I thought it was water. Also in the ad, a dancer named Virginie Caussin who gets to be up close to Benjamin as well as makeout lightly with him. The Air France Ad will be out by September 14 on social networking sites.

The set for the Air France ad. YES! That is a MIRROR! Click this image to see several more photos of the set and the two dancers.

How dissimulating. Obama’s one discernable skill. From Dr. Leo Strauss’s stop the spirit of zossen 2.0 (A Diary of the Imperial City):

Very little actually happened during Obama’s stunt visit to Kabul. His mastery of obfuscating optics [AS SEEN ABOVE] remains unmatched: America is leaving in 2014 to rebuild at home, except we are staying to ‘finish the mission’. The most cheeky line? His declaration that ‘the mission is on a clear path to success.’ Do tell.

Pure focus group gold. The twinkle in Obama’s eye during his speech seems to say ‘This is how you do it.’ Soaring verbiage for all persuasions and voila – Afghanistan politically neutralized for 2012. After that, not really his personal problem. Who says he can only slow roll news?

We’d prefer a more honest and coherent withdrawal. And an open rejection of nation-building, COIN and (add your list here). Afghanistan as an even moderately functioning society should be far more pressing for Moscow, Beijing, Islamabad and whoever is the next Mayor of Kabul/Afghan president. …

The scale of American profligacy over 13 years understandably makes a clean walk away difficult. Lives and a trillion dollars thrown away, mostly for nothing. A pointless surge that cynically bought time but accomplished little. An entire generation of national security bureaucracies and personal careers built on the whole Islamo-Terrorist/Drink-Tea-Complex. That’s a lot of inertia for Obama to take on. Particularly for one instinctively prone to compromise. So Decent Interval today is a more drawn out affair.

[...]

Dissimulation.

It’s how the cool president does it.

Hence the pathos of one Navy SEAL:

[...]

You do not speak for me or any American military man because though you may now be Commander in Chief, you are not the man to whom we can point our sons and say “This is the American dream, this is American exceptionalism, this is what I wish for your future”, because you Sir are NONE of these things. You Sir, are the antithesis of American Exceptionalism. Your idols are Saul Alinksi and Karl Marx and your revolutionary dreams and anti-American ideals poison your every policy. Your every action betrays the fact that in your soul you do not understand what it is to be an American, not what America truly is. Your agenda from the beginning has been to get rid of and kill everything that is and ever was American. You who so easily dismisses America’s greatness and bows to foreigners… YOU DO NOT SPEAK FOR ME. YOU DO NOT SPEAK FOR THE NAVY SEALS. YOU DO NOT SPEAK FOR THE MILITARY MAN AND you SHALL NOT claim as your prize that which you have not earned. The Navy SEALS are NOT a campaign slogan to be bantered about for play. Nor are our accomplishments, including the demise of Osama Bin Laden, yours to claim.

So you DO NOT speak for me. And I will not stand for your use and abuse of my brethren the SEALS. …

From Radio Patriot’s blog. H/t to HelenK2 (I must check that.)

Substantiation is so old-school.

These days the cool president figures out what people want and gives them a taste of it, and keeps them hankerin’ for more. Every con job works that way. Earnest honesty and patriotism are laughable to the cool president.

That’s why dissimulation works so well. It’s a tool to use on the tools.

What would Aristotle say?