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November 2011

BRET STEPHENS: AH’JAD IS THE MOUTH….NOW MEET THE THE CONSIGLIERE OF IRAN

http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052970204190504577040190007689600.html?mod=WSJ_Opinion_LEFTTopOpinion
On President Obama: “Either he was incompetent or he didn’t possess a vision.” On the revolts in the Arab world: “The success of these movements [reflects] a failure of the policy pursued by the U.S. year after year to support dictators.” On economics: “The private sector needs more support within the Constitution.”

Am I nodding off to the sound of my own thoughts?

There were moments yesterday morning, as I sat around a conference table at Iran’s Mission to the United Nations, when I almost thought so. But not quite. The speaker is Mohammad Javad Larijani, secretary-general of Iran’s High Council for Human Rights and older brother to both Sadegh Larijani, Iran’s chief justice, and Ali Larijani, the speaker of Iran’s parliament and a perennial contender for the presidency. The Larijanis, favorites of Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei and sons of a famous ayatollah, are often compared to the Kennedys, which is especially apt if you think there was a dark side to Camelot. Then again, none of the Kennedys could hold an intellectual candle to this guy.

SOUTHERN COMFORT FOR THE GOP: MORE REPUBLICAN THAN EVER: VALERIE RICHARDSON.

http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2011/nov/15/elections-give-gop-a-solid-hold-on-south/?page=1

The South, once solidly Democratic, is more solidly Republican than ever after the 2011 elections.
Elections give GOP a solid hold on South
Switch of key states could trouble Obama

As the last state legislative races were called this week from the Nov. 8 votes in Virginia and Mississippi, the party of Abraham Lincoln now controls both chambers of every state legislature in the 11 former states of the Confederacy, with the sole exception of Arkansas. And Arkansas Republicans need to flip only a handful of seats in 2012 to make the trend unanimous.

None of this comes as welcome news for President Obama’s re-election campaign. In 2008, Mr. Obama was propelled to the White House in large part with breakthrough victories in such states as Florida, North Carolina and Virginia, but all three states now have Republican-led legislatures, with the GOP’s biggest gains in the 2010 elections.

The shift means that in swing states such as Florida, the GOP 2012 nominee will have a home-field advantage given the local balance of power.

The 2010 midterm vote was “a record-breaking year for Republicans in the state legislatures. There were a couple of benchmarks set that made it a banner year, and what the last election showed is that it hasn’t died down,” said Adam Temple, a spokesman for the Republican State Leadership Committee. “It doesn’t paint a pretty picture for Democrats in 2012.”

SUPREME JUSTICE KAGAN HELPED ON OBAMACARE WHEN SHE WAS SOLICITOR GENERAL….SHOULD SHE RECUSE HERSELF? STEVE DINAN

http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2011/nov/14/court-announcement-raises-recusal-questions-kagan-/

The Supreme Court’s announcement Monday that it will hear challenges to President Obama’s health care law put a spotlight on Justice Elena Kagan, who worked in the administration while the law was being written and, conservatives argue, helped craft its legal defense.

“Before the Supreme Court case is heard, we need to know if Justice Elena Kagan helped the Obama administration prepare its defense for Obamacare when she was solicitor general. The Justice Department must answer serious questions about whether Justice Kagan has an inherent conflict of interest, which would demand that she recuse herself from the Obamacare case,” said Rep. John Fleming, Louisiana Republican.

At the same time, liberal groups and Democrats in Congress have been pushing for months for Justice Clarence Thomas to recuse himself, citing his wife’s stated opposition to the law as an indication that he cannot rule impartially.

CHINA’S POISONOUS EXPORTS: DECKER AND TRIPLETT

http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2011/nov/15/chinas-poisonous-exports/ The following is an excerpt from “Bowing to Beijing” (Regnery Publishing, Nov. 14, 2011): The following is an excerpt from “Bowing to Beijing” (Regnery Publishing, Nov. 14, 2011): The Chinese have peddled numerous toxic products to American consumers, including everything from children’s toys to adult vitamins to pet food. The U.S. government regularly stops […]

SOLYNDRA AND KEYSTONE: DUAL DEBACLES

http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2011/nov/15/solyndra-and-keystone-dual-debacles/print/

President Obama is sticking by his policy of declaring the producers of trendy, impractical energy sources “winners,” leaving taxpayers to be the losers. Take the case of the Keystone XL pipeline, which the administration is effectively shutting down in the wake of the scandal surrounding solar-panel maker Solyndra. Stubbornly clinging to environmental fashion over a practical boost to America’s energy supply will further cloud America’s economic horizon.

The timing of two announcements out of Washington is hardly coincidental. On Thursday, the White House said it would end its heated standoff with House Republicans. Members sought documents related to the administration’s decision to shower Solyndra with $535 million in taxpayer funds. Before the sun set at Foggy Bottom, the State Department spread word it had ordered a new environmental review of TransCanada Corp.’s proposed Alberta-to-Texas pipeline, effectively delaying any possibility of approval until after the 2012 election. The takeaway from the dual decisions: There’s a price for messing with the not-so-jolly green giant.

FINALLY!!!! LAWMAKERS DEBATE FOREIGN AID TO CHINA…..SEE NOTE

AT THE LAST DEBATE PERRY BROKE NEW GROUND WHEN HE SAID HE WOULD CUT ALL FOREIGN AID TO ZERO AND STUDY CASE BY CASE…..RSK http://www.breitbart.com/article.php?id=D9R1DOLG3&show_article=1 WASHINGTON (AP) – Lawmakers demanded to know: Why should China, a major foreign competitor and America’s biggest creditor, be receiving millions of dollars in development aidfrom the U.S.? A House […]

POLL: TROOPS LOSING CONFIDENCE IN OBAMA…ELAINE DONNELLY

http://bigpeace.com/edonnelly/2011/11/15/poll-troops-losing-confidence-in-obama-commander-in-chief/

President Barack Obama is working hard to shore up his liberal political base, but military voters may be less likely to lend support for his re-election. According to the 2011 Military Times Poll of active-duty subscribers, confidence in the overall job performance of the Commander-in-Chief has plummeted from 70% to 25%. The steep decline was illustrated with a multi-color bar graph on a page 10 of the September 19, 2011, Navy Times print edition, and in a secondary link in the web-posted article available to non-subscribers, titled “A Souring Mood.”

HOT TOPICS FROM FSM

http://www.familysecuritymatters.org/publications/id.1685/pub_detail.asp Solyndra: Energy Dept. pushed firm to keep layoffs quiet until after midterms [WA PO] New emails: DOJ, Eric Holder manipulated press for favorable ‘Fast and Furious’ coverage [DAILY CALLER] GOP senators rip Iraq pullout plan: McCain, Graham fear ‘losing the peace’; Panetta: Baghdad left us no choice [WT] How Can The American People Ever […]

WHAT DOES DIRECTOR OF NATIONAL INTEL JAMES CLAPPER HAVE TO DO TO GET FIRED? RYAN MAURO

http://www.familysecuritymatters.org/publications/id.10830/pub_detail.asp The International Atomic Energy Agency’s incriminating report on Iran’s nuclear weapons program should be the last straw—not just for Iran, but for Director of National Intelligence James Clapper. The country simply cannot afford to have him in charge of overseeing our entire intelligence community any longer. In March, Clapper stood by the controversial National […]

ZUHDI JASSER: THE CENTER FOR AMERICAN PROGRESS REPORT…A ROADBLOCK TO AMERICAN PROGRESS

http://www.familysecuritymatters.org/publications/id.10832/pub_detail.asp

The Center for American Progress Fear, Inc. Report: A Roadblock to American Progress
The Center for American Progress (CAP) recently issued a 132 page report entitled “Fear, Inc.: The Roots of the Islamophobia Network in America” (pdf). The report’s supposed objective is to “expose—and marginalize—the influence of the individuals and groups” that CAP claims are a part of an “Islamophobia network in America.” The report was immediately seized upon by many Muslim organizations and enablers on the political left as well as the Iranian government’s Press TV as proof positive of the victimhood of American Muslims.

This report portends to be an in-depth investigative analysis that connects the dots of a supposedly sinister anti-jihadist movement. But a glossy cover around 132 pages of political blog material does not make a report either journalistically or academically sound. From my perspective, CAP lost all journalistic and academic credibility when it failed to contact me to corroborate, refute or even respond to any of the accusations the report levels against me and our organization- the American Islamic Forum for Democracy. This would not be considered acceptable for a college term paper, let alone a report that is being billed as useful in-depth analysis.