So what can we expect many Gitmo detainees to do after the Obama Administration releases them? This.

Fahd Saleh Suleiman al Jutayli killed recently in a firefight between the Yemeni Army and al Qaeda-affiliated Houthi rebels in northern Yemen. The former Gitmo former detainee was captured in Pakistan after fleeing Afghanistan's Tora Bora Mountains in 2001. He was released from Gitmo and sent to his native Saudi Arabia in May 2006.

"We can't keep them locked up at Gitmo forever!" The Left squeals every time an inconvenient incident of this kind is brought to light. Oh, really? Why not?

Posted by tmg110 at 8:32 AM EDT

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Even by the not very distinguished standards of contemporary American political rhetoric, this outburst is noteworthy for its sheer vulgarity. Rep. Alan Grayson, Democrat of Florida, made a mockery of a great historical tragedy by comparing the American health care system to the Holocaust. He also opined that the Republicans want Americans to “die quickly.” All this on the floor of the US House of Representatives.

Mr. Grayson, Cicero you ain’t. What you are, is an absolute idiot. I can’t wait to see the chagrined voters of your district down there in Orlando fling you out of office in 2010.

Posted by tmg110 at 8:17 AM EDT

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If not precisely a must read, The World Encyclopedia of Flags and Heraldry is a must page through. Lavishly illustrated in full color, this book by Alfred Znamierowski and Stephen Slater is divided into two sections, one devoted to flags and one to heraldry. The flags section covers everything from flag origins and design principles to current flags of the world. The heraldry section describes in detail the origins of European heraldry, its development and its modern manifestations around the world.

Every private library should include a good selection of browsable books, of which this one is a fine example. And for those interested in learning more about the fascinating histories of flags and heraldry (which are, incidentally, related at many points) The World Encyclopedia of Flags and Heraldry makes an excellent primer.

Where to buy? If there's a Barnes & Noble in your area, you may be able to find this book in large-format softcover for a mere $10.00. That not a deal—it's a steal!

Posted by tmg110 at 8:28 AM EDT

Updated: Thursday, 29 October 2009 8:39 AM EDT

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For those addicted to the idea that a "public option" for health insurance would improve the quality of health care here in America, here's a cautionary tale from Canada:

When the pain in Christina Woodkey's legs became so severe that she could no longer hike or cross-country ski, she went to her local health clinic. The Calgary, Canada, resident was told she'd need to see a hip specialist. Because the problem was not life-threatening, however, she'd have to wait about a year.

So wait she did.

In January, the hip doctor told her that a narrowing of the spine was compressing her nerves and causing the pain. She needed a back specialist. The appointment was set for Sept. 30. "When I was given that date, I asked when could I expect to have surgery," said Woodkey, 72. "They said it would be a year and a half after I had seen this doctor."

Ms. Woodkey's story had a relatively happy ending, however—in Montana, where she got the necessary surgery done within two days of crossing the border. It cost $50,000, which she'll have to pay out of pocket since private insurance is outlawed in Canada. But the pain is practically gone now.

No one disputes that the US health care system has problems. But why we would want to exchange the problems we have now for the ones being inflicted upon Canadians like Ms. Woodkey? it's a question that advocates of the "public option," "single payer" and other stealthy routes to socialized medicine seem loathe to answer. 

Posted by tmg110 at 8:11 AM EDT

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It may seem remarkable that, with the example of ClintonCare before their eyes, President Obama and his advisers have so thoroughly botched their own push for health care “reform.” In its anxiety to avoid repeating the mistakes that sank Clinton’s effort, Team Obama has merely found new and creative ways to screw up.

In this case, however, the devil isn’t really in the details. Political aficionados may fantasize that if Senator X had supported proposal Y, then bill Z could have survived a committee vote, and so on and so forth. But I really don’t think that if the Obama Administration had done this-and-that instead of that-and-this, the present train wreck could have been avoided. No, the President’s problem is the sheer hubris of his belief that something as huge and sprawling and poorly understood as the American health care system can be “reformed” by 1,000-odd pages of congressional Newspeak.

The truth is that no one in Washington, DC, or anywhere else in the country, or anywhere in the world, is capable of envisioning such a system in all its complexity. Not even Barack Obama—“a sort of god” according to some in the media—possesses an intellect equal to the task. And so the debate has been driven, not by Obama or Pelosi, or Reid, but by the Law of Unintended Consequences. Control price X and you unintentionally stifle innovation Y while inadvertently lengthening the waiting lines for treatment Z. It’s the same collision with reality that sent ClintonCare to the bottom.

With typical arrogance, Obama still pretends, possibly even to himself, that he has his finger on the pulse of the system. But ordinary Americans have come to fear the probable adverse effects on the availability and quality of their health care, given sufficiently energetic efforts to “reform” the present system. They may not be as smart and well-educated as the President, but in this case they’re wiser than him by far.

Posted by tmg110 at 8:07 AM EDT

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While touting the benefits of "engaging" with the Islamofascist regime that controls Iran, Barack Obama was quite well aware of a fact that was made public just this week: the Iranians have a second nuclear enrichment plant, located near the holy city of Qom.

I remember hearing during the campaign that once Obama was installed in the Oval Office, "the grownups will be in charge." We were told that those savvy, seasoned foreign policy hands, scorned by the neocon-dominated Bush Administration, would once more take a steady grip on the tiller of the ship of state.

Look around at the disarray into which US foreign policy has fallen, and tell me how you think that's working out.

On the advise, one supposes, of the grownups, Obama didn't just suck up to the mullahs. He kept their secret for them, presumably because its disclosure would make nonsense of his Iranian policy. Now he and his administration are furious at the Iranian—for disclosing the secret itself. Well, why wouldn't they be furious? Iran's disclosure makes them look both clueless and dishonest. So having been made to look foolish, the Obama Administration is claiming that this new development provides "leverage" against Iran. As if! Someone should tell the grownups that the vertical obstruction in their field of vision is Iran's upright middle finger.

Posted by tmg110 at 8:48 AM EDT

Updated: Tuesday, 29 September 2009 9:05 AM EDT

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Back in 1977, the film director Roman Polanski fed booze and drugs to a 13-year-old girl, then sodomized her. This is what is known as rape—a heinous crime in the eyes of most Americans, especially when a child is involved. But I'm sorry to report that it's not particularly heinous in the eyes of some Americans.

Polanski, who fled the US for—where else?—France to avoid sentencing after pleading guilty, was recently picked up in Switzerland as a fugitive from justice. The US government is currently negotiating for his extradition to this country. And of course, the Hollywood Left is up in arms. Poor Roman!

There could be no better demonstration of the moral corruption that blights contemporary show business. Usually we see it in the toleration of such professional vulgarians as Kathy Griffin. But the case of Roman Polanski shows that the rot goes deeper than that. 

Yes, the case is three decades old. Yes, the victim herself (who sued Polanski and received an undisclosed settlement) now wants the case dropped. And yes, I suppose Polanski's a great director. But do any of those points—or all of them together—justify allowing a rapist whose victim was a little girl  to slither off the hook? I have a daughter myself, and it wasn't so long ago that she was just 13 years old.

Posted by tmg110 at 8:21 AM EDT

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Do you like food? Did you like Julia Child—and who didn’t? Then why haven’t you seen Julie and Julia? Meryl Streep—an actress I sometimes love, sometimes hate—is wonderful as the iconic Julia Child, who introduced French cooking to a vast American audience. Amy Adams is very appealing as Julie Powell, a New York City cubicle rat who with her husband occupies a tiny apartment above a pizzeria in Queens. The estimable Stanley Tucci plays Julia’s husband Paul Child, whose job with the US State Department was the catalyst for Julia’s astonishingly successful career.

In alternating segments, Julie and Julia chronicles the genesis of Julia Child’s career as she masters French cooking and goes on to write the hugely successful Mastering the Art of French Cooking, and Julie’s pilgrimage through Julia's magus opus. Thirtysomething, somewhat frustrated with life and condescended to by her more successful friends, Julie takes up a therapeutic suggestion from her husband (well played by Chris Messina). In one year, she will cook her way through the 500+ recipes in Childs’ book, blogging about it along the way.

Though Adams is a very appealing actress, Streep steals the show as Julia Child. She has Childs’ voice, accent, mannerisms and body language down pat, as anyone who has ever seen the original on TV can attest. Streep manages the trick—George C. Scott did the same playing Patton—of making you forget that that the face on the screen and the voice from the speakers are those of an actor. It was Julia Child herself up there on the screen.

Without disrespect to Amy Adams, whose performance was charming, I have to say that the Julia segments made this movie. Without Streep, this might have been just another chick flick. But gentlemen, do not fear. If your significant other drags you to a screening of Julie & Julia, you’ll thank her for it. In fact, you’ll probably want to take her out to dinner after the show…

Posted by tmg110 at 8:07 AM EDT

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Recent disclosures concerning Iranian nuclear facilities + recent Iranian missile tests = an Iranian finger in Barack Obama's eye. Way to go, Mr. President…

Posted by tmg110 at 9:16 AM EDT

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It isn't so much that when Barack Obama speaks, he invariably jams his foot in his mouth. Let's be fair and admit that the President has said some sensible things. No, his problem is that he won't shut up.

Like many people who suffer from an acute case of self-regard, Obama loves the sound of his own voice. And since it's music to his ears, he naturally assumes that the rest of us can't get enough either. But as pundits across the spectrum have sought to remind him, the presidential bully pulpit is a wasting resource. To over-use it is to leach away its power.

This explains why Obama's recent media blitz has failed to move the needle on health care "reform." People are getting tired of the President. Whenever they turn on the TV, it seems, there he is, bloviating for all he's worth—but with nothing new to say.

Most Americans are severely limited in their tolerance for politicians and their rhetoric, however eloquent, and Obama is beginning to grate on their nerves. Somebody should tell him to pipe down for a couple of weeks. The country desperately needs a break from this hyper-loquacious president.

Posted by tmg110 at 7:30 AM EDT

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