My Mexico article was published in Mexico!

Barnard Thompson, Editor, started MexicoData.info years ago.

We check the website often and have invited Mr. Thompson, Mr. Wall and Mr. Corcoran to our radio show.

We believe that Mr. Thompson's website is one of the finest places to learn about Mexico and US-Mex relations.

This week, Mr. Thompson added my article to the website: Why are we doing this to President Calderon and Mexico?

We are happy for two reasons:

We like exposure and new readers.....who does not?

More seriously, we are appalled at the Obama Administration's treatment of Mexico.

My article was written from a US national security standpoint.

All of us understand the national security implications of more problems in Mexico.

Unfortunately for our Mexican friends, and specially the ones who got hallucinated with chants of "si se puede", it was McCain, not BO, who spoke often about the importance of trade and stability in Mexico!

McCain was talking about Mexico. BO was doing "hope and change"!

BO was also telling union workers a bunch of lies about NAFTA.

We wrote a lot about this during the campaign!

NAFTA did not hurt Ohio. It was high taxes and unreasonable labor unions who think that businesses can just go on raising wages forever.

Let me say it again.

It would be a disaster to have more violence and chaos in Mexico, a country of 100 million people and commercial partner.

Mexico is also suffering the consequences of the US recession.

And tourism was impacted by the flu scare of a few months ago!

I ask again: Why are we making life more difficult for Mexico?

So we hope that someone at The White House rethinks the Mexico policy, from Mexican trucks to mindless human rights accusations.

Again, thank you Mr. Thompson!

P.S. Let's watch that video again about BO and NAFTA. It was one of the most irresponsible performances in presidential campaign history:

This is crazy: Pres BO stands with Chavez rather than democracy in Honduras and Colombia!

It's very difficult to figure out Pres BO's policy in Honduras and Colombia.

MARY ANASTASIA O'GRADY has a good column in today's WSJ:

"For Mr. Chávez, Mr. Zelaya's return to power is crucial.

The Venezuelan is actively spreading his Marxist gospel around the region and Mr. Zelaya was his man in Tegucigalpa."

So what are we doing supporting a Chavez' move in Honduras?

IBD goes further:

"The Obama administration further tightened the screws on Honduras last Thursday, declaring the ouster of President Mel Zelaya "a military coup."

According to Honduras' constitution, Zelaya's removal June 28 was neither.

Still, the hemisphere's third-poorest nation is being denied $150 million in aid."

So let me get his straight.

Pres BO's Latin America policy is as follows:

1) He sits back and listens to Daniel Ortega's hour-long rant about US policy. BO did not defend the US against the attacks. By the way, many of the attacks were directed at Pres Kennedy's Bay of Pigs policy!

2) He is silent about our State Dept's accusation of "human rights violations" in Mexico.

3) He violates NAFTA and won't complete The Colombia Free Trade Agreement.

4) And now we are declaring a diplomatic war against Honduras because they decided to enforce their constitution.

This is crazy. This is Obama!

And now for that tax increase in the middle class!

Pres BO will try and try to blame this one on Pres. Bush.

To be honest, some of his devout followers will buy into the Bush-bashing.

What else are they going to do?

Are they going to admit that they were hallucinated with meaningless hope and change during the campaign?

Most Americans will blame Pres. Obama. Check the drop in the all of the polls!

Why not? It was Pres BO who signed a US$ 787 billion "recovery" plan.

It was Pres BO who rushed "the cap and trade" bill, another huge tax increase for the middle class!

And it's Pres BO who is now proposing "the mother of all entitlements", the state-take over of medical care in the US.

In today's Wash Post, we see this:

"The result: deficits of well over $1 trillion through 2011, which will push the debt to 71 percent of the economy by the end of Obama's first term -- the highest since 1954 -- and cause the debt to keep rising in the years beyond." (WashPost)

P.S. Here is the video that candidate BO will regret deeply over the next 12 months. I guess that those were the days when candidate BO was just telling a lot of people what they wanted to hear:

Gingrich is right about AG Holder!

We have an unusual situation in Washington between AG Holder and Pres BO.

On one hand, Pres BO said "no" to any investigations. On the other hand, AG Holder has started one.

Who is running our government?

Pres BO needs to come clean and support AG Holder's investigation.

Or, he should call on AG Holder to stop it immediately for national security reasons.

Newt Gingrich is calling on Pres BO to step up to the plate and act like an executive:

"If Obama won't uphold his fundamental duty as Commander-in-Chief to defend those who have been defending America, the least he can do is insist that his Attorney General uphold his fundamental duty to defend the rule of law.

If Holder and his senior team won't do the right thing and resign their positions, Obama should do the right thing and fire them."

O'Reilly has a good point!

Save Bill O'Reilly's column and re-read it in 2011.

Remember these words:

"It is too early to tell whether Barack Obama is in over his head as the world's most powerful man.

But his leadership profile is beginning to sag.

We are living in complicated, perilous times and Americans know it.

They want decisive, clear direction from their President.

Right now, it's not there."

It is not there and O'Reilly is right!

BO's choice: Do I keep the left happy or do I worry about low morale at the CIA?

Today, The Washington Post has a story that goes like this:

"Morale has sagged at the CIA following the release of additional portions of an inspector general's review of the agency's interrogation program and the announcement that the Justice Department would investigate possible abuses by interrogators, according to former intelligence officials, especially those associated with the program." (WP)

Question: Do we want low morale at the CIA?

I don't think so!

It's time for Dir Panetta to resign or to persuade Pres BO that the presidential campaign is over.

For two years, candidate BO bashed the CIA and got loud responses from the "yes we can" screamers.

Today, BO is the commander in chief and he has to protect the US from terrorist attacks.

Guess what? He can't protect the country with low morale at the CIA!

BO at 47% (a.k.a. Cheney is not the only with doubts about Pres Obama!)

Today, we wake up to a few bits and pieces from the political world:

1) Rasmussen has Pres BO at 47%. A few days ago, Gallup had him at 50%.

Take your pick. I don't know which one is right. However, I do know that the trend is downward.

2) POLITICO has a story about the interrogation techniques. According to Ben Smith, hardly a member of the right wing conspiracy, the techniques got some results: Post story bolsters Cheney!

Of course, we will never know for sure whether Technique A would have worked better than Technique B.

We do know that the country was not attacked again.

In the real world, results are more impressive than "hope and change" generalities.

By the way, Stephen Hayes hit a grand slam this morning: Acknowledging the Obvious

What is obvious? Khalid Sheikh Mohammad started singing after we water boarded him!

What does that mean? Innocent people were not blown up in commercial aircrafts or on The Brooklyn Bridge! (He gave us info about both threats and we acted immediately)

Hooray for weatherboarding! It may have saved my life or yours!

3) VP Cheney was back with another great interview. (Cheney Slams Obama's 'Politicized' Probe of CIA Interrogations)

Overall, it was a good morning, specially for those who believe that the world is very dangerous!

Is Charlie Rangel the latest Dem with a tax problem?

The Dems have another tax problem.

This is from The NY Post:

"Rep. Charles Rangel failed to report as much as $1.3 million in outside income -- including up to $1 million for a Harlem building sale -- on financial-disclosure forms he filed between 2002 and 2006, according to newly amended records.

The documents also show the embattled chairman of the Ways and Means Committee -- who is being probed by the House Ethics Committee -- failed to reveal a staggering $3 million in various business transactions over the same period."

OK. So Rep Rangel forgot to report a $ 1 million?

Let's be nice to Charlie!

He was probably busy helping all of the little people of New York! He was busy protecting the little people from all of those rich fat cats who don't report their income!

Chappaquiddick: The other very big chapter in Ted Kennedy's life!

(This map is from from C.M. Cannon's article: Mary Jo Kopechne and Chappaquiddick: America's Selective Memory)

Ted Kennedy was buried this weekend.

We think that everybody is entitled to a partisan-free funeral. His wife and family deserve respect and that's that.

No posts here during the funeral or mass.

However, I did want to say something about him at the appropriate time or after the ceremonies were completed.

By the way, I think that BLINDED BY A LIFE OF PRIVILEGE By HOWIE CARR is a pretty good summary of this man's life!

Frankly, arrogance and a sense of entitlement is what comes to mind when I think of Ted Kennedy' life.

Just check the way that Sen Kennedy tried to change the rules to name his successor.

It makes perfect sense.

He became a US Senator in 1962 under special rules.....and now he wanted to change the law again to make sure that Pres BO had a Dem in the US Senate!

This is funny: In 2004, Ted Kennedy did not want Mitt Romney, the Republican governor, to name John Kerry's successor.

So he advocated a special election to replace Sen Kerry, if he was elected president!

Now, he wanted to change the rules again.

A week before he died, Sen Kennedy wanted the Dem governor to name a successor! (Massachusetts Kennedy-style!)

In July 1969, Ted Kennedy was very lucky to be a Kennedy, too!

Forty years later, Chappaquiddick is still one of the most outrageous political scandals in US history.

You can read so much about that night:

Chappaquiddick: No Profile in Kennedy Courage

What happened in Chappaquiddick? By Marc Sandalow

Chappaquiddick Revisited By R. P. George and D. Quinn

We know that Ted Kennedy left the cottage with Mary Jo, a campaign worker who was attending a party.

Where were they going?

His car went off the bridge.

Kennedy ran away and Mary Jo drowned.

Did he try to save her? Only Mary Jo knows and she died that night.

Kennedy did not report the accident for hours. How unbelievable is that?

What do you think would have happened to any other politician in the country?

Resignation......definitely!

Any common citizen? Jail time......very likely!

In the end, Kennedy got away with it because he was a Kennedy in Massachusetts.

You can not look at Ted Kennedy's legacy without Chappaquiddick.....

the cowardly way that he reacted......

the special treatment that he got....or that awful speech that he gave begging his constituents for mercy....I like the way that Scott Johnson writes about that speech........

the young woman named Mary Jo who drowned that night.....no autopsy was ever performed and it led to all of those rumors that Mary Jo was pregnant......by the way, I don't think that Mary Jo was pregnant.....she was just in the wrong place at the wrong time......

and now we hear from Ed Klein that Ted Kennedy used to joke about Chappaquiddick!

What happened that night?

Only Ted Kennedy and Mary Jo know.

Unfortunately, Mary Jo never got to tell her side of the story.

In the end, justice was done because Ted Kennedy's presidential ambitions drowned that night, too!

Watch this video:

The Beatles and a song from August 1967!

This is a summary of "All you need is love", a Lennon-McCartney song that hit # 1 all over the world back in August 1967:

"It was first performed by The Beatles on Our World, the first live global television link. Broadcast to 26 countries and watched by 400 million, the programme was broadcast via satellite on June 25, 1967.

The BBC had commissioned the Beatles to write a song for the UK's contribution.

Rolling Stone magazine ranked it at #362 in their 500 greatest songs of all time."

Later, the song was added to the movie "Yellow submarine".

"All you need is love" was the first single released after "Sgt Pepper's".

My favorite part of the song is the last minute when John & Paul go back and forth:

"Love, love, love, love, love, love, love, love, love.
There's nothing you can do that can't be done.
Nothing you can sing that can't be sung.
Nothing you can say but you can learn how to play the game
It's easy.
There's nothing you can make that can't be made.
No one you can save that can't be saved.
Nothing you can do but you can learn how to be you in time
It's easy.
All you need is love, all you need is love, All you need is love, love,
love is all you need.
Love, love, love, love, love, love, love, love, love.
All you need is love, all you need is love,
All you need is love, love, love is all you need.
There's nothing you can know that isn't known.
Nothing you can see that isn't shown.
Nowhere you can be that isn't where you're meant to be.
It's easy.
All you need is love, all you need is love,
All you need is love, love, love is all you need.
All you need is love (all together now)
All you need is love (everybody)
All you need is love, love, love is all you need."

A very beautiful Miss Universe from the land of the Very Ugly Mr. Venezuela

We congratulate Stefania Fernandez and Venezuela for back to back Miss Universe titles.

She is 19, very pretty and will represent her country well. I just saw a TV interview and she has a bright future.

We don't usually follow the Miss Universe pageant. However, Venezuelans need something to laugh and feel good about these days.

Venezuela under Chavez is a daily horror. Check out Daniel's blog!

Our Venezuelan friends deserve something better than the daily grind of living in "Chavez-landia".

P.S. Of course, the very pretty Stefania is a pleasant contrast to the very ugly Chavez!

Israel is not crazy about "hope and change".....wonder why?

Since Pres Truman recognized Israel in 1948, every US president has been a strong supporter of that nation.

Pres BO is having some "approval problems" in Israel:

"The number of Israelis who see US President Barack Obama's policies as pro-Israel has fallen to four percent, according to a Smith Research poll taken this week on behalf of The Jerusalem Post." (JPost)

Here is the problem.

Most Dems, particularly large city Dems, are very pro-Israel.

They represent districts with large Jewish populations, such as NY City or South Florida.

Beyond US politics, Israel is our strongest ally in the region and a democracy surrounded by hostile states.

Why is Israel concerned and worried about "hope and change"?

The answer is IRAN.

Rep Diane Watson needs to chat with Dr. Biscet about Cuba!

Rep. Diane Watson of LA just said this:

"And you know, the Cuban revolution that kicked out the wealthy, Che Guevara did that, and then, after they took over, they went out among the population to find someone who could lead this new nation, and they found…well, just leave it there.....an attorney by the name of Fidel Castro…" (MM)

What a piece of crap!

And this lady is a congresswoman from LA?

Rep Watson has insulted the thousands of Cubans tortured and murdered by the Castro regime.

She insulted my parents and all of the Cubans who stood up to Castro.

She insulted Dr. Ignacio Segurola, my dad's cousin, who spent 14 years in a Cuban political prison.

Again, Cong Watson is full of crap.

This is what Castro's Cuba is up to these days:

Castro's Cuba is putting young people in jail for walking around with "cambio" bracelets!

It's a shame that Rep Watson has never met Dr. Biscet, a black Cuban who is one of the world's most celebrated political prisoners:

Pres BO needs to break with the left or he will have huge CIA problems!

Mark Davis is a local radio host and columnist in Dallas. You can hear Mark on WBAP. He also sits in for Rush Limbaugh once in a while.

Yesterday, Mark blasted Pres BO and AG Holder in Obama Proving Incapable of Terror Fight:

"I can only imagine Attorney General Eric Holder choking back gasps as he heard of some detainees threatened with guns and power drills and others threatened with harm to family members.

Pardon my misdirected vexation.

I'm still pretty worked up about my countrymen dying in various ways at the hands of the 9/11 hijackers.

If, after careful evaluation of a suspect's value and demeanor, questioners thought a particularly intense method of interrogation would yield information that could save American lives, it is the height of moral idiocy to tell them not to do it.

The only thing more despicable is to prosecute them for it."

That's right!

Remember my post with the picture of that man jumping to his death back on 9-11?

This whole thing is insane. It shows how much Pres BO has to placate the left that got him nominated over Hillary Clinton.

Dick Morris has a good one about BO and the left:

"After refusing to pull out of Iraq and deciding to follow the Bush timetable for withdrawing and staying in Afghanistan and likely having to beef up our presence there, liberals might be wondering why they elected Obama.

After all, his opposition to the war in Iraq and his criticism of the Bush anti-terror policies were the hallmarks of his campaign in 2008.

And, on the domestic front, Obama likely realizes that he may have to pull in his horns on health care and accept some sort of compromise which may not endear him to his constituency.

So he has decided to throw a few CIA interrogators to the wolves." (OBAMA GOES AFTER CIA TO GAIN COVER ON THE LEFT!)

We understand politcs. We do not understand "politics" that puts all of us at risk!

P.S. The public is not buying the CIA investigation:

"Fifty-four percent (54%) of all voters, however, believe the investigation of past CIA interrogation practices endangers the national security of the United States.

Only 29% say it helps the image of America abroad, and 18% are not sure." (RR)

BO's latest Twilight Zone episode: "Cash for clunkers" was great for Japanese cars!

We must be watching another Twilight Zone episode.

According to Dick Morris, this is a list of the new cars sold under "The Cash for Clunkers" program:

"Top Ten New Car Purchases: Cash for Clunkers

1. Toyota Corolla

2. Ford Focus FWD

3. Honda Civic

4. Toyota Prius

5. Toyota Camry

6. Ford Escape FWD

7. Hyndai Elantra

8. Dodge Caliber

9. Honda Fit

10. Chevrolet Cobalt"

Don't get me wrong.

I believe that American consumers should buy whatever they want.

I believe in free markets.

Our family drives two Fords (Focus)....great cars......well made and I'm proud of the fact that it is made in the USA, although it was probably assembled in Mexico.

Again, I'm OK with that.

At the same time, I think that it's stupid to give people cash that end up supporting foreign manufacturers.

What genius at The White House came up with this one?

It must be the same one who created the special e-mail address to snitch on your friends who don't support BO-Care.

Morris also writes this:

"So Obama can boast of a great success in taking American cars off the road and replacing them with foreign cars.

Great going!"

Wonder what all of those labor union workers, who voted for BO to renegotiate NAFTA and end the outsourcing of US jobs, feel about "hope and change" now?

They probably agree with me!

This is "The Twilight Zone" with BO as the moderator!

Why are we doing this to Pres Calderon and Mexico?

The NY Times is running this article: Mexico Drug Fight Fuels Complaints

Sadly, the article reminds us that The Merida Plan money will be withheld for now:

"..... until the State Department verifies that the government is meeting four human rights requirements, including the prosecution of police officers and soldiers responsible for abuses."

We say it again:

Why is Senator Leahy running our Mexico policy?

Where is our Sec of State Clinton? Can someone "google" Hillary and find out where she is? How in the world can our Sec of State be so quiet about a liberal senator from Vermont hijacking our foreign policy with a neighbor and key trading partner?

To be sure, Mexico's military is now performing police functions in Mexican cities. It happened because Mexico's police is too vulnerable to corruption. It also reflects the reality that Mexico's military is well regarded by most Mexicans.

It is probably true that some excesses and human rights violations have taken place. (How can you unleash 30,000 soldiers without some problems?)

Here is the larger question:

Why is the Obama administration going public with these accusations?

Can't we bring these complaints to Pres Calderon confidentially?

Here is another question:

How are these public accusations helping Mexico?

They are not!

Who benefits from these public accusations?

The cartels do.

Here is another question:

Does the BO administration want Mexico to win?

I am not sure because BO's public embrace does not match what his State Dept is doing!

Mexico is in the middle of a brutal war against a well-financed ruthless enemy that doesn't respect any human rights.

Shouldn't we take Mexico's side, support its military efforts, and applaud the heroic work of its soldiers? Shouldn't we celebrate the good work of many rather than focus so much on the mistakes of a few?

As we posted before, BO's world is hard to understand.

BO is silent about young people killed in Iran but tolerant of his State Dept running stories about human rights violations in Mexico.

I don't get it! Of course, I didn't vote for "hope and change"!

Nancy Pelosi, a woman that Pres BO needs to stay away from!

As we navigate in "the reality stage" of Pres BO's presidency, we can detect two trends:

1) BO is dropping in the polls. He is now dropping at historic levels. The honeymoon is over and it divorce papers may follow soon.

According to Gallup:

"Barack Obama's latest job approval rating is 51%, according to Aug. 23-25 Gallup Daily tracking.......

If his rating falls below 50% before November, it would represent the third-fastest drop to below majority approval since World War II, behind the declines for Gerald Ford (in his third month as president) and Bill Clinton (in his fourth month)."

Let me add this historical note: Pres Ford pardoned Pres Nixon and that killed him politically. Historians now agree that it was the right thing to do to put Watergate behind us.

2) Nancy Pelosi is dragging down Democrats! (Republicans Maintain Steady Lead on Generic Ballot)

This is a video regarding Pelosi & the Dem Congress:

Hoven is right! "Size is everything" when it comes to deficits!

We've had Randall Hoven on our radio show before.

We've enjoyed his articles in The American Thinker. Check out his archive!

Today, Hoven has another good one: Worse and Worser

"In Reagan's eight years, 1981-88, the deficit averaged 2.4% of GDP, with the worst year being 6.0%.

Under George W. Bush, 2001-2008, the deficit averaged 2.0% of GDP, with the worst year being 3.6%.

Now let's look at CBO's forecast of Obama's deficits for 2009-2016.

The average deficit will be 6.3% of GDP, with a worst case of 13% and a best case of 3.9%.

And these are the rosy predictions, the June predictions -- before being updated in August as the baseline scenario was.

Do you get the size and endurance differences?

Obama's average will be worse than Reagan's worst single year.

Obama's best will be worse than Bush's worst single year.

Obama's average will, in fact, be worse than any year since 1930 except for World War II.

That means unprecedented in peacetime."

Well, I hope that you forward this one to all of those who used to complain about Bush's deficits!

Pres BO can not be on both sides of the CIA investigation!

VP Cheney came out swinging yesterday. Good for him!

Pres BO responded but kept a little distance between AG Holder and himself.

Sorry. It does not work that way when you are the president.

The AG is appointed by the president. He can be fired by the president!

AG's do not investigate the CIA on their own.

Pres BO either said "yes" or he has lost control of this government.

I agree with Power Line:

"So, if the president thinks Holder made a good decision, he should stand behind it.

If he thinks Holder erred on a matter this important, he should reverse that decision."

Make a decision Mr President.....publicly support the AG or stop him.....that's what executives do!

Pres BO owns the next attack!

We are still hearing reports that CIA Chief Panetta threatened to quit over the latest CIA investigation.

Did her or didn't he?

Frankly, I can't prove it but something did happen when Panetta went over to the White House. (Obama White House v. CIA; Panetta Threatened to Quit)

Panetta is not happy.

Panetta is the man running the CIA.

Panetta also understands that the war on terror is not over.

In other words, our enemies did not go back to coaching "little league soccer" because "hope and change" won the election.

Michael Goodwin is concerned, too:

"Pull together the loose threads of recent events and President Obama's vision for fighting the war on terror becomes one very scary picture.

Scary, that is, for innocent Americans."

Scary indeed!

AG Holder is wrong twice:

1) This is bad for national security. Just ask Panetta! He is still screaming!

2) This is bad politics. The White House owns the next attack. They will be blamed for lowering our guard.

What is this all about?

The WSJ got it right this morning:

"The outrage here isn't that government officials used sometimes rough interrogation methods to break our enemies.

The outrage is that, years later, when the political winds have shifted and there hasn't been another attack, our politicians would punish the men and women who did their best to protect Americans in a time of peril."

Again, Pres BO will regret AG Holder's actions.

Pres BO owns the next attack and that's political suicide!

The liberal Wash Post has another message for Pres BO: Stop blaming Bush!

In a previous post, we made reference to the "serious liberal" Washington Post in sharp contrast to the "in the tank for BO liberal" New York Times.

I enjoy reading Wash Post editorials because they are written by serious liberals.

This is what the serious Washington Post tells Pres BO:

"........it is time to stop crying "we inherited it."

The Obama administration needs its own clear, credible plan for restoring fiscal sustainability once the worst of the recession has run its course.

Unless it can at least limit the growth in debt to the growth of the economy, investors will gradually lose faith in Treasury obligations, increasing the government's borrowing costs -- and turning a deficit crunch into a deficit spiral.

In the worst case, unchecked debt could trigger a return to the double-digit inflation and interest rates of the late 1970s, only this time with massive U.S. obligations to foreign lenders such as China and Japan." (WP)

Isn't that nice to hear?

Stop blamng Bush and start governing!

Remembering Ellie Greenwich's songs!

We learned today that Ellie Greenwich died:

".....Songwriter Ellie Greenwich, who co-wrote many of the classic hits of the girl group era, has died at age 68.

According to her niece, Greenwich died of a heart attack at St. Luke's Roosevelt Hospital in New York, where she had been hospitalized for pneumonia.

Greenwich's songs, mostly written with her then-husband, Jeff Barry, include such '60s girl-pop standards as 'Be My Baby' and 'Baby I Love You,' by the Ronettes, 'Da Doo Ron Ron' and 'Then He Kissed Me,' by the Crystals, and 'Leader of the Pack,' by the Shangri-Las.

Her songbook also includes penning 'Chapel of Love' for the Dixie Cups and 'River Deep, Mountain High' for Ike & Tina Turner."

That's a lot of good songs.

Ellen Greenwich was a big part of the "girl groups" era of pop-rock music. Her songs were generally about girls singing of love and that man of their dreams! (Again, great songs that still sound great!)

She was inducted in The Songwriters' Hall of Fame in 1991.

We remember Ellie with "Be my baby" by The Ronettes, "Then he kissed me" by The Crystals and "Chapel of Love" by The Dixie Cups:

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