Where Obama Gets His Ideas

Reading Fareed Zakaria's The Post-American World. Zakaria is a Yale alum with a Harvard PhD. From Zakaria's site for the book:

Zakaria describes with equal prescience a world in which the United States will no longer dominate the global economy, orchestrate geopolitics, or overwhelm cultures. He sees the "rise of the rest"—the growth of countries like China, India, Brazil, Russia, and many others—as the great story of our time, and one that will reshape the world.

Of note is this magazine interview (pdf).


In an upcoming article for Newsweek, Who is the Real Appeaser?, Zakaria slams President Bush for not talking to Hezbollah. I don't like his logic, but a thorough analysis will have to wait.

w/t Instapundit (via an AoSHQ comment)

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In Theaters This Fall

Here is a movie trailer, like many others you'll see. Yet another Harrison Ford movie about the White House.

The problem with movie trailers is that like this one, they seem all nice and uncontroversial. All light and airy, somewhere between a romantic comedy and a Disney "Wacky Kid Detective" flick. Then you watch it, and they hit you over the head with their political message.

Do you think this one would be political? Because I hate that, and you can never tell from the trailer.

w/t Simon at Classical Values

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House Votes Greater Dependence on OPEC

oh no, i am not making this stuff up

According to shortnews.com (which links to a Reuters story at yahoo):

The U.S. House of Representatives passed in a landslide legislation that would allow the Justice Department to sue OPEC for cooperating to set high oil prices and limiting supply, but President Bush said he will veto the bill.

The bill would attempt to subject OPEC to U.S. antitrust laws and would include Saudi Arabia, Iran and Venezuela. The vote margin, 324-84, is large enough to override a presidential veto, which was threatened in fear of retaliation by OPEC.

This attempt by Congress to extend our antitrust laws to cover an organization made up of other sovereign nations is wrong-headed for several reasons, some obvious and some not.

OPEC, as known to everyone not a member of the House of Representatives, stands for the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries. These countries, not being part of the United States, are not required to recognize our laws or courts.

However, the bill would leverage regulation of foreign-owned oil refinery and transport properties in the U.S to get cooperation from the individual OPEC nations, such as Saudi Arabia, Iran, and Venezuela.

The entire stated purpose of OPEC is to cooperate to set high oil prices and limit supply. Congress may as well say that the United States has authority over the treaties other nations may make with one another, or over the legal systems of any country doing business in the United States.

And their price-fixing scheme is not totally effective. The price of oil is set by the international oil market: sellers try to find the buyer willing to pay the highest price, and buyers try to find the cheapest source. OPEC is simply one group of sellers in the international oil market. The way to get them to lower their price is to buy from a less expensive source.

Another group of sellers is U.S. domestic oil producers. If Congress wishes to increase supply, it can allow domestic producers to drill for oil in places which are already known to have oil, such as the continental shelf off our own coasts and in Alaska.

But rather than stand up to the environmental lobby, Congressional Democrats would encourage OPEC to increase its supply, thereby increasing our dependence on foreign oil.

There is no rule or law that says an OPEC country must produce a single drop of oil. The only thing keeping them producing oil is the international market price. You can't sue someone into selling you something at your price.

What's next: legislating that pi henceforth will be equal to 3.0? Perhaps instead the Congress would like to ensure that the oil fields in Saudia Arabia meet OSHA requirements, or those in Kenya aren't harming the sensitive East African environment.

And if OPEC decides to retaliate against Congressional arrogance, they can turn off the spigot, or merely lower their output even further. That would be a minor inconvenience for them, and the consequences for us would be disastrous.

But perhaps the Democrats in Congress know that already, and believe they can blame President Bush for the economic depression that would follow their attempt to extend our laws to the whole world.

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Best Wishes for the Senator

When a political opponent suffers a personal crisis, especially one of health, we have a choice to make. When that opponent has been a powerful foe, strident and even demagogic at times, it's tempting to express pleasure. I, of course, am not above such low sentiments. I wish that I were, but it's one area where my humanity makes me appear inhuman.

But now it appears that Senator Edward "Ted" Kennedy has not suffered a stroke, but a seisure brought on by a malignant brain tumor.

Those saying "It couldn't happen to a nicer guy" or "Serves him right for doing X for Y years" need only know that they, too, will have an end, leaving behind people who love them.

My own father and I disagreed politically. He was a lot more liberal than I am, and an atheist. He contracted cancer and died after a long illness. Our disagreement on politics and religion didn't harm our relationship, as far as I know, and in his later years we would have discussions that we could not have had without our differences.

He was a good man, and Senator Kennedy reminds me of him. Dad was a hearty drinker, and never lost his small-town ways. Arrogant and something of an intellectual snob, he regularly bent over backwards to help those less fortunate than himself.

Though I think his policies are misguided, Senator Kennedy is at least genuine, and believes in what he professes. In a government full of windsocks, that is something to respect.

Now, those rejoicing over the Senator's pain may be convinced that they themselves are better people than he, and so are more deserving of health and life. Then surely their own loved ones will be all the more disappointed when those now rejoicing do themselves begin the universal struggle at the end of life.

For those who love us do not necessarily agree with us. Senator Kennedy may be loved by people who agree with you in every detail except for their affection for him. And you rejoice when they are stung by the news of his illness.

If you cannot think of those affected by his eventual passing, of which this hospitalization is a stark reminder, think of those who will be affected by your own. Who will weep? Who will miss your patronage?

If no one springs to mind, then I wonder who indeed has the better of whom?

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I Wanna Be a 'Raqstar.

Mike the Marine hits the target, capturing both the war-weary homesick irony and determined ass-kicking awesomeness that is the American fighting man. Click the title.
w/t Harvey.

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Obama Campaign Still Claims It Will Beat McCain

According to the front page at the official campaign web site, "Obama will beat McCain". Clicking on that link brings up this (screenshot):

"In the past two weeks, seven different organizations have polled the races and on average Obama beats McCain by 3.2%, while Clinton loses to McCain by 2%. Not a single [poll] has Clinton doing as well as Obama."

Tne New Republic, Feb 9, 2008

Of course, that was before anyone knew who Obama really was. After the Jeremiah Wright debacle, things have Changed. Perhaps they Hoped no one would notice.

Campaign web maintainance leader fired in 3 ... 2 ... 1 ....

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Friday Barry Facts

True Facts about Barack Obama

Barack Obama can light a match with his bare hands.

Barack Obama is so patriotic that he wears an American flag lapel pin.

Barack Obama hates abortion so much that he has never had one.

Barack Obama once smoked ... and that once is now.

Barack Obama can ride an escalator with no hands.

Barack Obama will be the President of all 57 States.

Barack Obama has never had public relations with Jeremiah Wright.

Barack Obama is so fast he can turn off the lights and be in bed before morning.

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