No, but down from AA to AA- on fears QE3 will harm the economy.

"From 2006 to present, the US's debt to GDP rose from 66% to 104% and will probably rise to 110% a year from today under current circumstances; the annual budget deficit is 8%," Egan-Jones said in a note. "In comparison, Spain has a debt to GDP of 68.5% and an annual budget deficit of 8.5%."

They also note the move does nothing to boost GDP (and thus our financial situation), and only serves to weaken the dollar and drive up commodity prices.

Posted by: Ace at 11:50 AM | Comments (239)
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Idle hands, we are told, are the Devil's playthings.

A lot of lazy, unemployable layabouts in these pictures.

Someone observed long ago that the Middle East is the place where you can watch working-age men sitting in cafes all day (rather than working) talking about how the Jews are crippling their economy.

@johnekdahl writes to suggest Jay Carney should speak to "US officials."

Press Secretary Jay Carney says the White House has no information to suggest that any of the unrest in the Middle East 'was pre-planned.'He says it's in reaction to a video that 'we have judged to be reprehensible and disgusting.' (Sept. 14)

contrast to...

The attack, which U.S. officials believe could have been planned in advance, emerged from a protest blaming America for a U.S.-made film they said insulted the Prophet Mohammad. The film has sparked protests, some of them violent, at U.S. embassies across the Muslim world.

Carney: These Protests Are Entirely About The Video. A nice, simple narrative for the sheep.

Hillary: It's All About This "Awful Video." Yup. And in one year it's about Charles Krauthammer.

Posted by: Ace at 11:29 AM | Comments (222)
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"Mercenaries," Kos sniffed. "Screw 'em. I feel nothing," he sniffed.

Maybe some "mercenaries" could have prevented four murders.

Under this agreement, extensive security precautions are put in place, including low-profile armoured vehicles, run-flat tyres, sufficient weapons, ammunition and trained personnel, as well as a tried and tested command and control system.

But sources have told the BBC that on the advice of a US diplomatic regional security officer, the mission in Benghazi was not given the full contract despite lobbying by private contractorsÂ…

Given the unstable security situation in Benghazi and eastern Libya that has developed this year, it is surprising that security precautions for such a sensitive diplomatic mission were not more robust.

Flashback to 2009: Obama says his mission is to defend Muslims from stereotype.

"That experience guides my conviction that partnership between America and Islam must be based on what Islam is, not what it isn't. And I consider it part of my responsibility as president of the United States to fight against negative stereotypes of Islam wherever they appear."

Some might say that this sort of thing might encourage a religious maniac. They might take Obama at his word.

Turns out, this one of the promises he meant to keep.

In his speech marking the murders he failed to prevent, he further talked up the film which supposedly caused them.

And, Flashback: the moment I'm elected, Muslim hostility will cease.

more...

Posted by: Ace at 10:55 AM | Comments (299)
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I see a pattern of siding with foreign autocrats and extremists over Americans.

Posted by: Ace at 10:14 AM | Comments (344)
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Some speech will be permitted, by the government's grace, on a case by case basis.

Posted by: Ace at 10:03 AM | Comments (220)
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They've asked YouTube to "review" if the trailer for Innocence of the Muslims violates YouTube's terms of service.

Obama administration officials also flagged the trailer to YouTube and asked the company to review whether it violated the website's terms of service.

If we're going to have anti-blasphemy laws, I want them official and passed by Congress and reviewed by the courts. I don't want this executive-only implementation of a despicable law.

By the way, the LAT does, yes, tell jihadists exactly where the filmmaker lives, so they can kill him:

But Duarte's deputy city manager said she had been told by sheriff's officials that the permits to shoot the movie had been issued to Media for Christ. An actor who appeared in the movie, Tim Dax, said he was paid $75 a day in checks drawn on the bank account of Abanob Basseley Nakoula — a name linked to the Cerritos property where Nakoula Basseley Nakoula resides. The home's distinctive front door with triangle windows in a half-circle pattern is visible in the 14-minute trailer for the movie posted on YouTube.

Posted by: Ace at 08:41 AM | Comments (628)
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The Foreign Policy President (TM),
by @johnekdahl

I'm linking Instapundit, not Rasmussen, because Rasmussen has that annoying autoplay thing that must die.

So... the bounce is over, it seems.

Oh, and can we at least agree on this? I'd like a great deal more than that, but baby steps.

Who's Political? As the world burns today, Obama is telling twitter followers it's not too late to be entered into his Beyonce/Jay-Z dinner raffle, and David Axelrod is pimping some other nonsense.

Because they avoid politics in a time of crisis.

They also avoid the crisis, but who's counting?

Posted by: Ace at 07:58 AM | Comments (407)
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Religion of Peace, etc.

US Embassies attacked in Yemen, Tunisia, Sudan. Protests in Lebanon and Egypt.

Protesters in Tunis broke into the U.S. Embassy compound there, set fire to trees and broke windows of embassy buildings, a witness cited by Reuters reports. In Sanaa, Yemen, security forces fired guns in the air to keep protesters from the U.S. Embassy, a day after its compound was broken into and looted.

In Tripoli, Lebanon, demonstrators burned down a Kentucky Fried Chicken restaurant and an ArbyÂ’s and attempted to storm a government building, according to news reports. Soldiers opened fire, killing at least one.

In Khartoum, 5,000 protesters gathered at the German and British embassies and stormed GermanyÂ’s, setting it ablaze, Reuters reported. Buses full of protesters were reportedly heading toward the U.S. Embassy, on the outskirts of the city, Al-Jazeera said.

Smaller demonstrations were underway in Indonesia, East Jerusalem, Malaysia and Qatar. And in the Kashmir region of India, at least 15,000 people — mostly Muslims — participated in dozens of protests, burning U.S. and Israeli flags, the AP reported.

Of course like all of you my first thought on hearing this news is, "What the hell did Mitt Romney say now?"

And in Londonstan....

WHOA: U.S. and Israeli flags being burned in LONDON according to Al Jazeera. Yes, LONDON.

Via Gabe, the US Embassy in Tunis. (Might be a US school)

RT @alihashem_tv: The American flag at the #USAEmbassy in #Tunisia was replaced with a black flag

— Jeff Emanuel (@jeffemanuel) September 14, 2012

Updated: This seems unlikely as al Qaeda doesn't give warnings but....

Man claiming to be with al-Qaida called bomb threat into University of Texas at Austin, according to university

Update [ace]: "Middle eastern accent."

I smell the Tea Party behind this.

Posted by: DrewM at 07:03 AM | Comments (495)
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Happy Friday.

Libyan forces have arrested four people in connection with the Benghazi attack, although "those arrested were not directly tied to the attacks that resulted in the deaths."

The Obama Administration has issued a non-denial denial of the report that it had 48 hours warning of the threat in Libya and Egypt.

There were NBC/WSJ polls out yesterday for Ohio and Virginia. The samples were D+10 in Ohio and D+5 in Virginia, so we can safely ignore them.

Posted by: Gabriel Malor at 02:50 AM | Comments (834)
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The National Political Conventions by Words

This word map pretty much tells you where the two parties are coming from. On the right you have mostly virtues and ideals and on the left you essentially have a menu of services.

Posted by: Maetenloch at 06:11 PM | Comments (721)
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