Mixed Feelings

Although I disagreed with him on nearly every public policy issue and think he benefited from treatment/forgiveness that would never have given to a Republican, I was a little bit sad to hear that Ted Kennedy had passed. I genuinely think he had the best interests of people at heart. Politics Daily had a well-written post by Alex Wagner about a touching experience her family had with Sen. Kennedy. Her father had worked on his presidential campaign, and a few years later her mother went through terrifying surgery for a tumor in her throat. Kennedy called the hospital several times to help ensure she was getting the best care, which was quite a decent thing to do and beyond what one would expect him to do for the spouse of a former campaign aide. It also highlights exactly what I and a lot of other people who aren't closet Nazis fear about government involvement in health care. When my mom gets sick, will she get the same care under a heavily government influenced system as the mother of someone who worked on a presidential campaign? I fear not.

A positive impact in Mexico?

Our nation's chief law enforcement officer, Eric Holder, on the renewal of the ban on the sale of guns with cosmetic features that scare liberals:

"As President Obama indicated during the campaign, there are just a few gun-related changes that we would like to make, and among them would be to reinstitute the ban on the sale of assault weapons. I think that will have a positive impact in Mexico, at a minimum."

Intelligence?

While everyone else in the free world was rooting for the protester in the famous photo from the Tiananmen Square protests, the man Obama has chosen to lead the National Intelligence Council was rooting for the guys in the tanks.

Probation Period

Wow! The stock market indices have fallen to the same point they were at when I was in law school 12 years ago. Trillions of dollars of wealth have been destroyed (including about half of the money my wife and I have been saving for retirement) since late last summer when it became clear that a socialist might become president of the United States. Now that a socialist is president, the pace of destruction has accelerated.

Most jobs I've held have had a 30- or 90-day probation period. The understanding has been that if you really are a bad fit, you and your employer will amicably part ways at the end of the period. Of course, the American presidency comes with a 4-year probation period, but I think it's time for us to consider whether we ought to begin to apply political pressure for Obama to step aside. He has shown he is not a good fit to be president, and it's time for Mr. Obama and the country to amicably part ways.

Best Wishes?

There seems to be a split among conservative and libertarian writers as to whether they want Obama to succeed (with many of them publicly saying they do). I think it's a more nuanced issue -- I wish him success in protecting the nation's security, winning the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq, ending the recession and protecting people from violent and financial crimes that cross state borders. I want him to fail on every other public policy issue.

JMK was wrong

This is the best explanation I've seen as to why Obama's apparent Keynesian assumptions about government spending as economic stimulus are wrong.

Moran Acting Boorishly (as usual)

My Congressman, Jim Moran, once again shows he is a thug.