Down to Earth
— Slublog

Turns out Obama's mortal, after all.

It is simply wrong for commentators to continue to focus on President Barack Obama's high levels of popularity, and to conclude that these are indicative of high levels of public confidence in the work of his administration. Indeed, a detailed look at recent survey data shows that the opposite is most likely true. The American people are coming to express increasingly significant doubts about his initiatives, and most likely support a different agenda and different policies from those that the Obama administration has advanced.

Polling data show that Mr. Obama's approval rating is dropping and is below where George W. Bush was in an analogous period in 2001. Rasmussen Reports data shows that Mr. Obama's net presidential approval rating -- which is calculated by subtracting the number who strongly disapprove from the number who strongly approve -- is just six, his lowest rating to date.

It's not just losing Republicans:

Overall, Rasmussen Reports shows a 56%-43% approval, with a third strongly disapproving of the president's performance. This is a substantial degree of polarization so early in the administration. Mr. Obama has lost virtually all of his Republican support and a good part of his Independent support, and the trend is decidedly negative.

And it's not just Rasmussen:

Recent Gallup data echo these concerns. That polling shows that there are deep-seeded, underlying economic concerns. Eighty-three percent say they are worried that the steps Mr. Obama is taking to fix the economy may not work and the economy will get worse. Eighty-two percent say they are worried about the amount of money being added to the deficit. Seventy-eight percent are worried about inflation growing, and 69% say they are worried about the increasing role of the government in the U.S. economy.

What do you know? As it turns out, you can't break multiple campaign promises in a month and still expect the Hopeychangey armor to work. (h/t: Hot Air)

Update - Of course, the GOP has some serious work to do:

Virtually all Americans, more than eight in 10, blame Republicans for the current economic woes, and the only two leaders with lower approval ratings than Harry Reid and Nancy Pelosi are Republican leaders Mitch McConnell and John Boehner.

McConnell and Boehner should either communicate a simple, coherent economic message that will resonate with Republicans and independents or step down and let the party pick leaders who will.

Thanks to WTF Capital Investments for pointing out that tidbit.

Posted by: Slublog at 05:35 AM | Add Comment
Post contains 410 words, total size 3 kb.

The Power of "The Lobby"
— Slublog

Charles Freeman, after withdrawing his name from consideration for intelligence job:

The tactics of the Israel Lobby plumb the depths of dishonor and indecency and include character assassination, selective misquotation, the willful distortion of the record, the fabrication of falsehoods, and an utter disregard for the truth. The aim of this Lobby is control of the policy process through the exercise of a veto over the appointment of people who dispute the wisdom of its views, the substitution of political correctness for analysis, and the exclusion of any and all options for decision by Americans and our government other than those that it favors.

The Hill, today:

Republicans on the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence said pro-Israel lobby groups did not spur their opposition to Charles Freeman.

Rep. Alcee Hastings (D-Fla.), a senior member of the House Intelligence panel, also denied that the American Israel Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC) was involved in derailing FreemanÂ’s appointment to head the National Intelligence Council.

Like Jonah Goldberg says, this "just proves how powerful the Lobby really is."

Posted by: Slublog at 05:22 AM | Comments (5)
Post contains 181 words, total size 2 kb.

Overnight Open Thread: Slower Please! (genghis)
— Open Blog

I know you guys get tired of commenting on the impending doom of major newspapers night after night, but as a very smart military blog itÂ’s our responsibility to document their death spirals. I know how sad it makes you to read these stories. After all, when theyÂ’re gone, who will Decide for us? I fear the nation will become rudderless, not knowing who to turn to as we struggle to find opinions of our own. ItÂ’ll all be over soon enough though and then we can get back to the things that mean the most to you, such as this, this and this.

In the meantime, Time magazine helpfully provides us with a list of The 10 Most Endangered Newspapers in America.

”Over the past few weeks, the U.S. newspaper industry has entered a new period of decline. The parent of the papers in Philadelphia declared bankruptcy, as did the Journal Register chain. The Rocky Mountain News closed, and the Seattle Post-Intelligencer, owned by Hearst, will almost certainly close or only publish online. Hearst has said it will also close the San Francisco Chronicle if it cannot make massive cuts. The most recent rumor is that the company will lay off half the editorial staff. Still, that action may not be enough to make the property profitable.”

As we all know, editorials and opinion are the primary profit center in any major news-gathering organization. This is sure to be a crippling, and perhaps fatal, blow to the Chronicle, once considered a primary manufacturer and exporter of AmericaÂ’s editorial products. Sadly though, it appears to have fallen victim to global trade and cheaper foreign imports like so many other manufacturing sectors. There may come a day when the domestic editorial sector completely collapses and we have to rely entirely on imported opinion from such nations as China and Vietnam.

(thanks to Jubal Anderson Early for the tip)

A Seattle P-I update below the fold... more...

Posted by: Open Blog at 09:02 PM | Comments (1)
Post contains 1075 words, total size 7 kb.

SSD Geekery
— Dave in Texas

6 terabytes of solid state drives arrayed into an awesomely fast computer. GEEK CONTENT WARNING.

I want.

Posted by: Dave in Texas at 03:15 PM | Add Comment
Post contains 21 words, total size 1 kb.

Coolest Article of the Day: The Untold Story of the $100 Million Diamond Heist from Antwerp's "Impregnable Vault"
— Ace

Reads like a movie, but with two problems:

1. It seems it was too damn easy to get into the "impregnable" vault.

2. It was too easy for the police to catch all but one of the clever thieves. Stupid criminals make stupid mistakes; clever criminals also make stupid mistakes. Like not burning the evidence that tied them to the heist, instead choosing to just dump it beside a road and hope that no one would notice.

Well, someone noticed. Here's what makes it a bit more movie-like again: They happened to dump the evidence in a patch of woods that was watched over by a guy who really hated litterbugs, and was always calling the cops if kids should happen to leave behind beer bottles and such. Whoops. Picked the wrong dump-site.

It's a bit like the Brinks Job that way.

Definitely worth your time.

Inside Job? Just thinking -- as far as I know there is no "King of Keys" proven to exist. And the key to the vault just happened to have been left behind? And they had all this inside information from another diamond merchant?

I'm thinking the "King of Keys" and the diamond merchant -- both of them -- were really just a single employee of the bank.

Posted by: Ace at 02:02 PM | Comments (1)
Post contains 249 words, total size 2 kb.

Allahpundit may be an "Eeyore"...But He's a Damn Good Sport
— Russ from Winterset

Allahpundit, you Magnificent Bastard! I read your comment!

She said the other day she wants a guy who’s “center leaning right.” My question: Should we sit the boss next to Maverick at our wedding?

Allahpundit on March 12, 2009 at 5:22 PM

I'm thinking that he got the joke. Well played, sir. Well played indeed.

Posted by: Russ from Winterset at 01:36 PM | Comments (3)
Post contains 75 words, total size 1 kb.

Remember Deb Frisch?
— Ace

I avoid posting about her because she's a sad lunatic and because she's a stalker, something I need like I need to pick another fight with my readers.

But someone sent this, and I cannot believe the insane shit she's been up to.

And this is all from this year. This year! I had to check the dates again for the first half of the timeline; how does someone find the time to do all this crazy shit in a mere three months?

January 29, 2009--Deb Frisch posts a lewd message on Eugene CraigsList, describing one city leader as "Chair of the Public Sucking of Cocks Club."

And even worse -- no hat-tip for me.

There's a Jerky Boyz Sol Rosenberg quality to her arrests -- every time she gets arrested, she attempts to extort the state out of money (she's usually unemployed) by threatening to sue for punitive damages.

Posted by: Ace at 12:50 PM | Add Comment
Post contains 156 words, total size 1 kb.

Corzine on the Ropes?
— Ace

Imagine if one of the wealthiest states in the US were competently managed.

New Jersey’s Democratic Governor Jon S. Corzine, who hopes to win a second term in November, has now fallen behind Republican challenger Christopher J. Christie by 15 points – 49% to 34%....

Corzine trails another potential GOP challenger, former Bogota Mayor Steve Lonegan, 43% to 35%, while seven percent (7%) like another candidate and 15% are not sure whom they prefer. New Jersey Republicans will chose a candidate to run against Corzine in a primary on June 2.

The survey was taken Tuesday, the day Corzine was announcing $916 million in new and increased taxes as part of his $29.8 billion state budget for 2010.

A Quinnipiac University poll taken just prior to the governorÂ’s announcement found him trailing Christie by nine and leading Lonegan by four.

"There are no good numbers for Gov. Jon Corzine in this poll, and since it was taken before his Draconian budget was released, his numbers could be even worse today," Clay F. Richards, assistant director of the Quinnipiac University Polling Institute, said in the release accompanying the poll.

Most of the fall in his numbers seems to be a growing antipathy to Corzine, rather than attraction to the Republican challengers. Though that doesn't really cut in his favor.

Also beating Jon Corzine? A dildo attached to the business end of a Sawz-All.

Posted by: Ace at 12:41 PM | Add Comment
Post contains 240 words, total size 2 kb.

Details of the Bribery Scheme
— Ace

Standard issue graft and kickbacks.

In one scheme, a quantity of goods is ordered by OCTO from a vendor such as Advanced Integrated Technologies Corporation (AITC). The vendor actually orders a lesser number of the item from the distributor, but bills the DC government for the full amount originally requested by OCTO. An OCTO official, such as YUSUF ACAR, falsely certifies that the greater quantity was actually received and the vendor bills the District of Columbia Government for the greater amount and is paid accordingly. The co-conspirators then split the proceeds of the crime.

A second scheme involves billing for "ghost employees". These are contract employees supposedly hired by a vendor, such as AITC, to perform work under a specific contract for OCTO. However, these ghost employees never actually perform any work under the contract. The vendor, who is involved in the scheme, bills the DC government for the employees' hours. An OCTO official, such as YUSUF ACAR, approves the timesheet so that the vendor can be paid. The money is then split between the co-conspirators.

You know what we need? We need these guys running the federal health insurance system.

Thanks to Anti-Harkonen Freedom Fighter Geoff.

Posted by: Ace at 11:41 AM | Add Comment
Post contains 207 words, total size 1 kb.

Solution proposed for CA: STUPIDITY SEQUESTRATION
— Purple Avenger

Split the joint into two states. Coastal counties from LA to Marin, and everything else.

I'm down with that. When I lived in CA there was little evidence of intelligent life along the coastal areas. I do have fond memories of places like Taft, Coalinga and such in the central valley though, and San Diego was reasonably sane, other than the leftist enclave at UCSD

Posted by: Purple Avenger at 11:00 AM | Add Comment
Post contains 77 words, total size 1 kb.