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Most of the headlines in the MSM related to the most recent unemployment data promote the jobs created nonsense. Here’s what the report actually describes:

In March, nonfarm payroll employment rose by 162,000. Job growth continued in temporary help services and in health care. Federal government employment increased due to the hiring of temporary workers for Census 2010. Job losses continued in financial activities and in information.

Employment in federal government was up over the month, reflecting the hiring of 48,000 temporary workers for the decennial census.

And here is more of the less encouraging information in the report.

The number of long-term unemployed (those jobless for 27 weeks and over) in creased by 414,000 over the month to 6.5 million. In March, 44.1 percent of unemployed persons were jobless for 27 weeks or more.

The number of persons working part time for economic reasons (sometimes referred to as involuntary part-time workers) increased to 9.1 million in March. These individuals were working part time because their hours had been cut back or because they were unable to find a full-time job.

About 2.3 million persons were marginally attached to the labor force in March, compared with 2.1 million a year earlier. (The data are not seasonally adjusted.) These individuals were not in the labor force, wanted and were available for work, and had looked for a job sometime in the prior 12 months. They were not counted as unemployed because they had not searched for work in the 4 weeks pre ceding the survey.

sources:
http://www.bls.gov/news.release/empsit.nr0.htm
http://www.bls.gov/news.release/empsit.toc.htm

Why don’t we all just simply admit the economy is not doing so well.

Stanford Matthews
MoreWhat.com

Let’s not get all excited about current news reports featuring ACORN. The organization now famous for registering cartoon characters and dead people to vote is bleeding profusely but not entirely dead yet. And with a community organizer-in-chief occupying the White House ACORN’S chances for revival are better than they should be.

Most of the 20 chapters of the Association of Community Organizations for Reform Now, which endorsed President Barack Obama during his 2008 campaign, have disbanded on their own and reorganized under new names, a source within the group said.

Funding dried up after a widely disseminated YouTube video last September that showed ACORN workers giving advice on how to flout the law to two conservative activists who posed as a pimp and a prostitute. A separate embezzlement scandal also damaged the group’s credibility.

Someone like George Soros or any number of other liberal sugar daddies could come to ACORN’s rescue, new names or not. It is to the benefit of all who support honest participation in public affairs and respect for the rule of law to be vigilant against the return of these ‘community organizers.’ Which is nothing more than code for a special interest scam willing to use any means to perpetrate their fraud.

Focus should not only be placed on ACORN. All one needs to do to find other sources like ACORN can be accomplished by reviewing non-profits, ‘volunteer’ or ‘charitable’ groups in their own locations. College and university campuses are a typical site for these groups. Even local chamber of commerce chapters have produced programs of a questionable nature.

Obviously not all groups described above are dishonest. But hiding among them as well as some in plain sight are groups with similar objectives to ACORN. And the methods to achieve those objectives are as suspect.

Don’t believe this? Look around.

Stanford Matthews
MoreWhat.com

Emotional appeals designed to pull at the heartstrings were an effective weapon unleashed on the uninformed for those supporting the latest fiasco in the US Congress. Americans have always been a generous group. But too often that generosity is abused by those with special interests having nothing to do with being kind to others.

The report below is a case in point. The first paragraph indicates it was published before roll call vote 165 on Sunday night last on the House ‘vehicle’ for the bill named the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act. And there is much in this report pointing to the decision process of many Americans.

In this instant society of fast food, mobile everything and the ‘on demand’ appetite developing unreasonable expectations comes with the skewed perception of reality that results from these behavior patterns. Not so different from the average spoiled child.

A basic concept in marketing defines salesmanship as satisfying needs and wants. Everyone should understand the difference between something you need and something you want. But more and more these days the two become confused. It is now common for people to believe something they need or want is a right and they are entitled to it. And to them it does not matter if someone else must be the responsible party in providing it. In other words, I need it therefore I want it and you must give it to me.

With the story below, where to begin? Why is Michele without health insurance? The author suggests 20 somethings are the largest uninsured group. She further suggests about half work only part-time. And their uninsured numbers are nearly twice that of older adults.

This will sound cruel. Michele claims she has a heart condition and it keeps her from working full-time. We are not told why she is a single mother but obviously having a heart condition did not interfere with getting pregnant. It may sound cruel but being sheptical is part of not being conned.

Much of this is about choices. And it certainly is about rights and responsibilities. How many people CHOOSE not to have health insurance? How many of those described in the VOA report made choices which limited their options for their future? It is reasonable to suggest there are those who are in predicaments not of their own choosing. But it is just as reasonable to suggest the vast majority of people in predicaments are there through no one’s fault but their own.

And a swell of sympathy for those with limited options (through no one’s fault but their own) has once again been used to force legislation on the rest of us. Liberals were more than willing to use these emotional appeals in an attempt to further their flawed agenda and avoid political backlash this fall at the ballot box. To the GOP’s credit a practical and common sense set of objections were used to oppose dangerous legislation. However, to be fair, their motives may not have been entirely altruistic.

The point is, whether for the right reason or not, the GOP was on the correct side of this political battle. The Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act is a misnomer in more than title. If you do not understand or believe by now this measure can break the financial back of our nation you are not paying attention.

The instant society, a loss of values from our nation’s past and a failure to be the best we can be have all conspired to bring us to this point. If this trend is allowed to continue the future looks very dim indeed.

Stanford Matthews
MoreWhat.com

Democrats in the US Congress are racing to pass health care reform legislation. Currently, people in their 20s are the largest group in the United States without health insurance. With skyrocketing health care costs, those with low incomes often cannot afford insurance. Under the legislation, some 30 million uninsured will be able to buy insurance, and some will get government subsidies for it. And that could make health care more affordable.Michele Gomez is a 23-year-old single mother with no health insurance. She has a cold and came for medication to the Free Clinic in Arlington, Virginia outside Washington. Gomez also is having a blood test because she has a heart condition.

She says because of it, she can only work part-time and she doesn’t make enough money to pay for health insurance.

“I need medicine, and sometimes I get heart pains and I have to think about it twice before I go to the hospital because I don’t have insurance,” said Michele Gomez. “I normally get a big bill and I don’t have a way to pay for it.”

Nearly half of young adults work part-time and so they are less likely to be offered health insurance at their jobs.

The U.S. government estimates that 30 percent of young adults are without health coverage, compared with 17 percent of older adults.

Gomez says she is in favor of health insurance reform. But she says if she is required to pay for even a small part of her insurance, she can’t do it.

“I think they should have done this a long time ago,” she said. “It’s ridiculous how you can’t get insurance, especially if you are a U.S. citizen. I think that should be one of the major priorities is to get insurance for people, especially if they have a low income.”

Health officials say it’s important to insure young adults even if they have few health problems. Nancy Pallesen, head of the Arlington Free Clinic, says their issues can become chronic.

“It’s very important for these people to have health care, regular health care, and to have preventative kinds of health care because in the future this will save them a lot of anguish,” said Nancy Pallesen.

Currently, most insurance plans allow parents to claim their children as dependents until they are 22-years-old. Under the new legislation, young adults will be able to remain on their families’ policies until the age of 26.

Ronald Perry works in a grocery store and says health insurance is too expensive for him. He thinks it should be optional.

“Everybody can make their own decisions and if you choose to have health care you shouldn’t be forced to do it at 26 or 30,” said Ronald Perry. “If you want it at 45 or 50 you should be able to get it then.”

Young adults are more likely to work in small businesses that don’t offer health care plans.

Isidro Duran is one of them. He came to the U.S. from Honduras 10 years ago and works in a small restaurant in Washington. He says he would like affordable health insurance.

“I am nervous and I am very concerned about it because you never know when you will need it,” said Isidro Duran.

Kimlinn Pham, from Vietnam, is a manicurist in a hair salon in Virginia. She hopes health care reform will allow her to buy reasonably priced health insurance. Pham says even when she’s sick she avoids going to the doctor.

“The doctor and hospital are so expensive,” said Kimlinn Pham. “I know that they treat you very well. But later on when you get the bill, you are the one to suffer from the bill. The doctor won’t suffer from that.”

Even with new legislation, the changes in health insurance won’t begin for several years. By that time, some people in their 20s could already be burdened with medical debt and chronic illness.

Given the roll call vote (number 165) for March 21, 2010 with a time stamp of 10:49PM in the US House of Representatives the fat lady may not have sung yet on the outcome of healthcare legislation but the situation looks rather dismal.

What it looks like from here is Obama will sign his Obamacare and the Senate has an opportunity to make fixes or changes. It also looks like Mr Stupak may have been duped. Accepting less than a million dollars in airport funding for his vote in exchange for an executive order from President Obama to protect Stupak’s claimed pro-life interests may be another healthcare scam.

While preparing to publish this post an unproductive search was conducted to determine who the other Congressman were in Mr Stupak’s little alliance. It is almost as if the others have effectively cloaked their names from the media. About all that was found so far was six more names to go with Mr Stupak at Wikipedia. A check of the roll call indicates they all did not vote one way.

But they are not the only ones who may deserve to be politically impaled for this travesty. You can start with the Republicans. Had they not squandered their last Congressional majority with a major fall from grace on conservative principles we wouldn’t be having these discussions.

Add to that the equally disgusting performance of the liberal agenda gone wild and a recurring theme in American politics emerges once again. Politicians are the largest impediment in politics and governing. They are the root of all evil in public affairs. They are what allows lobbyists to exist. For without the pursuit of power, election and re-election by politicians, lobbyists would have no reason to exist.

It’s the ageless battle between greed and corruption versus principle and virtue. So now the next chapter begins. What to do after the mindless tragedy that took place in Congress this past Sunday?

37 states will pursue opting out of Obamacare. Various entities will pursue legal action against Obamacare. And many politicians may have just signed their resignation papers with a vote for Obamacare. And some argue those who voted against it will experience the same fate.

Let the purging begin.

Stanford Matthews
MoreWhat.com

One report attributed to Reuters at the NYT fish wrap and a similar one at Reuters report the IPCC will be investigated by an independent board of review. Each report is slightly different yet share some text and the titles are not the same. Given the scam proportions of AGW and the IPCC this raises suspicion this blog will deal with right now as no time is available for further investigation. But it can make you wonder. Was the NYT taking a little creative license with the report?

Moving to the real problem, how do you convince the public everything is above board when you make a claim that irregularities related to scientists will be investigated by other scientists? Who cares if you claim they are independent? The ones under investigation were described that way too!

This blogger, for one, would like to report on at least one example where confidence is high that so-called scientific evidence on AGW is correct. As much as this issue smells of scam any skeptic worth their criticism would expect at least one example of scientific truth regarding global warming. Everything being false or fabricated is no more believable than everything being correct.

Okay, let’s go back to the report…..

“It will be [made up of] senior scientific figures. I can’t name who they are right now. It should do a review of the IPCC, produce a report by, say, August and there is a plenary of the IPCC in South Korea in October.

“The report will go there for adoption,” he told reporters on the sidelines of a UNEP conference in Nusa Dua, on the Indonesian island of Bali, where environment ministers have been meeting this week.

It would appear that the powers-that-be within the United Nations are simply seeking vindication by any means in advance of the next scam meeting. It is not difficult to believe those in lesser industrialized nations and the third world view the AGW issue as a great strategy for sabotaging their more successful counterparts. Launch initiatives like those suggested by Al Gore and his crew to destroy the economies of ‘rich’ nations to even the playing field.

Stanford Matthews
MoreWhat.com

Nothing like singleness of purpose to inspire others by demonstrating that hard work and determination lay the foundation for success. Who better to display those attributes than the King of Altruism, the man who invented the internet and is deeply devoted currently to saving our planet, Al Gore.

Last weekend with continued support from the NYT fish wrap former US Vice-President Al Gore presented an op-ed once again extolling the virtues of his own personal crusade. To express his concern for those who reject his money making venture this political doormat and newly minted snake oil salesman offered the following sentiment:

I, for one, genuinely wish that the climate crisis were an illusion.

But just as Mr Gore’s incompetence derailed his bid for President of the United States in 2000 it once again exposes his worldwide scam to profit from a crisis of his own making. Not an unusual strategy for a liberal. Attempt to create panic, fool the willing and laugh all the way to the bank in your corporate jet while criticizing others for destroying the planet.

Some more of Mr Gore’s ‘phrases’ will be supplied here demonstrating his folly. Of course libs will object to out of context use but then they are free to follow the link, search for the phrase and read the whole laughable thing for themselves. Why make everyone else suffer through Gore’s feeble pitch for his own wealth building scheme.

From Mr Gore:

-It is true that the climate panel published a flawed overestimate… (read the rest for yourself)

-But the scientific enterprise will never be completely free of mistakes.

-Because these and other effects of global warming are distributed globally, they are difficult to identify and interpret in any particular location.

In each of the examples above Mr Gore admits his case for AGW is flawed. He has drawn an absolute conclusion from vague, ambiguous or simply flawed data. And on that thin or non-existent evidence he expects the world to act on his recommendations. His position for personal gain from investments and partnerships points to the hypocrisy of his quest.

Hey Al, if you want to make a boatload of money on eco=business knock yourself out. But don’t expect the rest of us to buy what you’re selling, literally. The financial turmoil of the last few years and what may last for some time is nothing compared to the economic destruction your holy war would cause if we let it. Your money connection to your environmental crusade betrays your claim of genuine concern. As does your personal choices for producing the carbon mess you describe. You’re simply not believable. Nor are your cronies in the pseudo-science game. They’re in it for the money too.

Are there problems to solve with regard to ecology and the environment? Certainly there are. And good folks have been quietly working on them for a long time without the help from Al Gore’s personal search for the Holy Grail. Gore’s personal agenda will do more to harm those efforts than any other source. When you lose the public trust through selfish motivation support for otherwise noble endeavors declines.

Thanks for nothing, Al Gore.

Stanford Matthews
MoreWhat.com

BTW, it is interesting that Gore chose the word ‘enterprise’ to describe science.

What a ridiculous arrangement this is. And its widespread use is even more laughable. Those accepting this questionable practice would like you to ignore the obvious drawbacks. Like how useful is information provided by someone without the stones to disclose their identity? Or the ‘journalistic’ sin of avoiding the scrutiny of full disclosure? All this practice does is raise more questions for the skeptical and attempt to place value on gossip. Something all too common in media reports these days.

Media organizations lament the rise of citizen journalism and the fall of their business model. As more and more newspapers and other mainstream media outlets lose advertising dollars to support their enterprise criticism is misplaced. Many blame the internet and free resources rather than to perform an introspective analysis focusing on lack of integrity.

So how common is the practice of using anonymous sources? A Goole search of the phrase ‘condition of anonymity’ delivers a results count of twelve and a half million. In Google news, the phrase ‘they spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to release the information’ returns over five thousand hits.

Never mind the results available in these searches is tiny compared to the stated total (who could review milions of results?). The point is the practice as well as ‘media’ willingness to use it is more telling than any report including it. Citizen journalism may be suspect but that is a given. The role of the ‘fourth estate’ was to provide a source of objective information to the public. The failure to meet that standard is nothing new. There are many accounts demonstrating that fact throughout history.

So what’s the real reason mainstream media is failing? It’s obvious. They are no longer believable. At least citizen journalism, e.g., the blogosphere, provides passionate accounts on virtually any topic to promote discussion and foster further investigation.

Something lost on those allowing the demise of journalism in traditional sources.

Stanford Matthews
MoreWhat.com

Just a brief post on the summit to this point. (1PM EST).

Just when Eric Cantor and others were getting to the meat of the issue President Obama said rather than go on with a ‘back and forth’ others should be allowed to speak.

Interpretation: When about to lose ground on reform the President side-stepped the very debate he said he wanted to have.

The Dems have cited anecdotes for an emotional appeal while members of the GOP have tried to move the discussion to the real debate of why we cannot afford the legislation as it will only make healthcare more expensive through taxes and other excessive regulatory restrictions.

Now they broke for ‘a House vote that has to be taken now’. They knew this summit was on for today. With all the days Congress takes off, why did they have to have a vote now. Sounds like step two in the dodge and weave to regroup as the GOP had the stronger arguments.

And if you listened to Washington Journal this a.m. prior to the summit you could have listened to Congressman Clyburn express the Dems goal is to provide unlimited coverage to Medicare as well as private insurance.

Then how do they expect anyone to believe we can afford healthcare reform? The answer is they don’t. They expect as most believed to takeover healthcare as a major step in bringing European socialism to the United States.

That is not a wild accusation. The evidence for the argument is all around you. All you have to do is open your eyes and observe. It is not that difficult.

Stay tuned to Cspan to ‘observe’ the liberal conspiracy first hand during this so-called healthcare summit. How many more times will Obama side-step the real debate when confronted by the GOP on the flaws of the Democratic majority’s healthcare component of their liberal agenda?

Currently we have witnessed side-step one and two (see above).

Stanford Matthews
MoreWhat.com

related:

“A Reading Guide to the Senate Bill’s Backroom Deals” (Michelle Malkin) 

Watch the video and use these notes to understand the self-interest and folly of the religion of peace.

-There’s a limit
-I cannot do this job
-if you live in the United States you are already an infidel
-it’s not our job to do that
-we are here… because we have better opportunities here….
-….not fair to this community….

This vid and the phrases listed above betray what Muslims claim is unfair and that they pose no threat to others. The tired old excuse of being in the US for ‘opportunities’ is the great liberal myth. To express sentiments designed to exploit the guilt of weak minds residing within their target area Muslims work the ‘po lil ol me’ fallacy.

Stanford Matthews
MoreWhat.com

Given the current political climate you would be hard pressed to find anyone to suggest the government is competent. At least in matters of public policy and foreign affairs few agree with public officials in the US. Boots on the ground and others who serve in the armed forces and are getting it done when allowed are the exception rather than the rule these days.

Is it possible that over the last several years a bipartisan scheme between the executive and legislative branches of the US government is coming to fruition? The political left and right had a minor media frenzy over Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s meddling in Middle East affairs in 2007 with a trip to Syria and elsewhere. Most reports then suggested President Bush opposed the trip as well those raising legal questions about official roles and capacity.

A post on this blog suggested it was political theatre of a bipartisan nature. Again, bipartisan meaning anything but its standard definition. Typically it is used for covering the political backside of both parties by mutual consent. And the Pelosi trip may have been a classic example. And you can expect both sides had hopes of a political upside for themselves and their opposition taking a hit. Here’s a link to the older post featured on this blog.

President Barack Hussein Obama’s World Apology Tour and other appeasement strategies suggest US State Dept outreach to Syria is coincidence and has no connection to the earlier Pelosi trip reported as annoying President Bush in 2007. But you have to wonder if it was one of those seeds planted with hopes of a later harvest. Pelosi’s trip may have thwarted some development that was brewing and hurtful to both parties and a scheme may have avoided that plus provided options for the future both parties wanted. Yet no public announcement of such an agreement was an acceptable political strategy for either party.

It’s still appeasement.

Stanford Matthews
MoreWhat.com

Here’s the brief report on the US kissin’ up to Syria.

US Official, Syrian President Meet in Bid for Improved Ties
VOA News
17 February 2010

One of the highest-ranking U.S. officials to visit Syria in years held talks with Syria’s president Wednesday, one day after Washington nominated its first ambassador to the country since 2005.

The U.S. Under Secretary of State, William Burns, said he and Syrian President Bashar al-Assad spoke candidly while meeting in Damascus. Burns said they discussed both areas of disagreement and common ground.

On Tuesday, the White House named long-time U.S. diplomat Robert Ford to serve as ambassador to Syria. Ford, who is fluent in Arabic, now serves as the U.S. deputy ambassador in Iraq.

Burns called the appointment a “clear sign” of America’s readiness to improve relations and to pursue a comprehensive peace between Arabs and Israelis.

The United States said in June that it planned to reinstate its ambassador to Syria, as part of the Obama administration’s efforts to improve relations with Syria and advance the Middle East peace process.

Ford’s nomination will have to be approved by the U.S. Senate.

The United States withdrew its last ambassador to Syria after the assassination of former Lebanese Prime Minister Rafik Hariri in 2005. Many countries have blamed Syria for the assassination, but Damascus has denied involvement.

The U.S. has long accused Syria of supporting Islamic militant groups Hamas and Hezbollah, both of which the U.S. considers terrorist organizations. Washington also has voiced concern about Syria’s human rights record and its role in neighboring Lebanon.

BEIJING (Reuters) - China urged other powers on Tuesday to show more flexibility in dealing with Iran’s disputed nuclear programme, playing down prospects of sanctions after six countries met to discuss the standoff.

While Western powers have looked to further sanctions against Iran over its rejection of a U.N. plan to rein in Tehran’s nuclear ambitions, Russia and now especially China have resisted such steps and called for more negotiations.

How about this for a conspiracy theory? China and Russia have ties with Iran. They could care less if the US or its allies view Iranian nukes as a problem. China is hell bent on being a dominate force on the planet and has achieved much in that regard. Russia has lamented the fall of the Soviet Union since it happened and Putin is determined to regain that status as a world power.

Imagine Russia wants to relive the Missiles of October scenario from 1962 and allow Iran to be their proxy and provoke a nuclear standoff or worse, launch a strike against Israel? Israel may well be able to react in advance and preempt a first strike. Add to that any reaction that would come from China and others with nuke capability and Armageddon is poised to occur as the end of the Mayan calendar approaches in 2012. Coincidentally, the year President Obama is up for re-election and the VPOTUS warning of a test shows up late.

Even without the conspiracy theory, the so-called international community continues its impotent policy toward the current nuclear threat.

Stanford Matthews
MoreWhat.com

Turnout could hit as high as 70 percent Tuesday in the high-stakes U.S. Senate battle between Democratic Attorney General Martha Coakley and GOP state Sen. Scott Brown, according to some local election officials.

Absentee ballot requests have increased - on par with levels ordinarily seen in a presidential election - some town clerks say. And town and city halls were buzzing last week with people voting and asking questions about registration in advance of the election to fill the late Sen. Edward M. Kennedy’s seat, said Theodora Eaton, president of the state’s city and town clerk’s association.

Under normal circumstances anticipation of high voter turnout for an election, any election, would be a good thing. It may still be a good thing for the special election in Massachusetts. But in light of the crazy spectacle surrounding last year’s senatorial election in Minnesota between incumbent Norm Coleman and challenger Al Franken an uncertain immediate future for the winner of the election to fill Ted Kennedy’s vacant senate seat may arise.

Since a win by Scott Brown would represent the 41st vote against Obamacare there have been rumors that he would not be seated instantly while the Democrats in Washington continue to force their version of healthcare reform on a wary public. That suggestion was met with another related to political suicide for liberals in the 2010 elections. Seems a risky proposition given all the seats that will be contested given retirements and public discontent.

If Coakley wins it seems reasonable that she would swiftly be seated to advance questionable healthcare reform. But then, that is what was expected in the Minnesota fiasco last year. And there’s always the question of vote early and vote often given ACORN, the new black panthers intimidation scandal and SEIU thug tactics at Tea Parties and elsewhere. Fiction, conjecture or actual fact there will be plenty of debate on every aspect of this relatively historic election that may put Camelot to a long overdue rest.

Stanford Matthews
MoreWhat.com

“Building a robust clean energy sector is how we will create the jobs of the future,” Obama said in prepared remarks. “The Recovery Act awards I am announcing today will help close the clean energy gap that has grown between America and other nations while creating good jobs, reducing our carbon emissions and increasing our energy security.”

The excerpt above is from ABC News. The expose’ below is from Michelle Malkin.

“Green Jobs” = SEIU/Union Jobs

Via Inside Charm City, Maryland’s Democrat Senators dole out green job funding to an SEIU partnership… 

Via Morgen at Verum Serum, a closer look at the latest round of Big Labor’s green pork grant recipients:

All of this is nothing more than paying off your accomplices, Mr President. Beyond the obvious culture of corruption this represents, adding insult to injury, you’re doing it with taxpayer money.

But somehow you cannot bring yourself to do the right thing.  Give the tax money back to those in the private sector who really create jobs and fuel the economy.  They always have and always will.  Your make work scams and union payoffs will do nothing for the taxpayers whose money you divert to your cronies.

Man up and do the right thing.

Stanford Matthews
MoreWhat.com

The critical issue these days when discussing political parties should be national security as without effective defense every other debate is moot. The GOP fall from grace preceding two election cycles of defeat merely allowed the continuation of flawed governance. The only difference is party blue rather than party red.

Michael Leiter is a Bush appointee. Obama did not replace him. Leiter is in the news due to the Flight 253 terror plot. There are conflicting reports between at least three sources, the NY Post, the NY Daily News and US News & World Report. The conflict is whether Leiter was on vacation before the event and declined to return or that he left the day after the botched national security that allowed the botched terror plot.

from the NY Post….

The White House acknowledged Thursday that Michael Leiter, director of the National Counterterrorism Center, had taken six days annual leave after the Dec. 25 attempted plane bombing but said he remained intimately involved in the U.S.’s response to the thwarted terror attack.

It was reported Thursday that government sources were upset that Leiter had gone on a ski trip following Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab’s attempt to destroy a Detroit-bound plane.

“People have been grumbling that he didn’t let a little terrorism interrupt his vacation,” one of the sources is reported to have told the newspaper.

from USN&WR…

Terror Chief Michael Leiter Wasn’t Vacationing Through Attack

Only later did he head out of town. “Only after explicit consultations with both the White House and the Director of National Intelligence and considering the current threat environment did Director Leiter take six days of annual leave after the event, which again did not affect in any way his ability to remain engaged with all elements of the United States Government,” he said.

The piece above critcizes the NY Daily News for reporting Leiter was on vacation and declined to return to work after the Flight 253 incident on Dec 25th. But Alex Kingbury at USN&WR misses the point.

The stumbling US national security ‘team’ seriously botched this one. Liberals in Congress criticize conservatives for holding up a critical confirmation of Obama’s nominee to head TSA. Napolitano’s no help. So having the head of another national security ‘resource’ take to the slopes AFTER a security breach is equally disturbing. Not like they fixed what’s wrong before he left.

At the very least this supports Senator Jim DeMint’s ‘holding up’ the confirmation of Erroll Southers as the head of the Transportation Security Administration. These national security vacancies require very special people to lead the effort. One could say there are vacancies in leadership roles that are filled not to mention other positions throughout government.

Nearly a decade after 9/11 everyone should be able to expect better than this from US national security. Among other things Bush bashers love to draw comparisons. Any criticism expressed toward the current administration is met with rebuttals concerning the Bush years. The point those arguments fail to recognize is 9/11 publicly exposed national security vulnerabilities and placed the topic front and center. Much was corrected by the Bush adminisstration and not without excessive opposition from the left. Now that the left is once again in the majority in Washington they are not allowed a pass to make earlier mistakes over again.

US national security failures started with Clinton and ended with Bush. Let’s not have a do over.

Stanford Matthews
MoreWhat.com

First homeland security princess Janet Napolitano said the systems worked in the Flight 253 incidents. Second, President Obama was uncharacteristically silent as an opportunity to pontificate presented itself. Third, Napolitano initiated damage control for her earlier pathetic appraisal of national security. Fourth, President Obama, for reasons we can imagine, broke his silence on the matter and part of a report from the Obama hijacked VOA News is below.

The president’s demeanor was serious as he faced reporters in Hawaii, where he is vacationing with his family. He talked about the steps that have been taken to improve airline safety since the attempted attack. And he sought to reassure the American people, saying that the government is doing all it can to keep the public safe and secure.

He said extra law enforcement officers will be put on many flights, and that the passenger screening process is being reviewed - including revising the computerized lists used to detect high risk individuals.

The president added that he is conferring with his national security team. He spoke of their determination to deal with the terrorist threat. “We will continue to use every element of our national power to disrupt, to dismantle and defeat the violent extremists who threaten us - whether they are from Afghanistan or Pakistan, Yemen or Somalia or anywhere where they are plotting attacks against the U.S. homeland,” he said.

President Obama urged Americans to be vigilant but confident as they travel during the current holiday season and throughout the coming year

Sorry Mr President but it appears the only ones concerned about national security are those you and your cronies have labeled violent fringe right wingers who attend tea parties. As far as extra law enforcement goes Barry, there is no extra. There’s what you have and what you use. There’s no extra. Review this if there is something you want to review. See below.

Attorney General Eric Holder’s decision to appoint a special prosecutor to investigate CIA interrogations of high-value detainees came under attack Sunday from key figures in both parties.

The intelligence community has every reason to doubt your sincerity.

The White House will not weigh in on the case of the three Navy SEALs facing court martial for allegedly mistreating an Iraqi terror suspect believed to have been behind the slaying of four Americans in 2004

And it is fortunate those who serve in the military have their own leadership who inspire them as their Commander-in-Chief has abandoned that role.

Why do 2010 and 2012 keep coming to mind? Sorry, it’s just another rhetorical question. But feel free to answer if the notion strikes.

Stanford Matthews
MoreWhat.com