JEFF JACOBY: John Kerry is smarter than Barack Obama. Well, yes, but that’s still not saying very much.

FIREBIRD SPY PLANE: the pilot is optional.

FROM MY EMAIL, a reminder:

George W. Bush, after the capture of Saddam Hussein:

The success of yesterday's mission is a tribute to our men and women now serving in Iraq. The operation was based on the superb work of intelligence analysts who found the dictator's footprints in a vast country. The operation was carried out with skill and precision by a brave fighting force. Our servicemen and women and our coalition allies have faced many dangers in the hunt for members of the fallen regime, and in their effort to bring hope and freedom to the Iraqi people. Their work continues, and so do the risks. Today, on behalf of the nation, I thank the members of our Armed Forces and I congratulate 'em.

Barack Obama, after the killing of Osama bin Laden:

And so shortly after taking office, I directed Leon Panetta, the director of the CIA, to make the killing or capture of bin Laden the top priority of our war against al Qaeda, even as we continued our broader efforts to disrupt, dismantle, and defeat his network. Then, last August, after years of painstaking work by our intelligence community, I was briefed on a possible lead to bin Laden. It was far from certain, and it took many months to run this thread to ground. I met repeatedly with my national security team as we developed more information about the possibility that we had located bin Laden hiding within a compound deep inside of Pakistan. And finally, last week, I determined that we had enough intelligence to take action, and I authorized an operation to get Osama bin Laden and bring him to justice. Today, at my direction, the United States launched a targeted operation against that compound in Abbottabad, Pakistan.

Not a hint of narcissism in that last speech, is there?

MARK STEYN ON NATIONAL HEALTH CARE: the usual oozing pustuled behemoth of drearily foreseeable unforeseen consequences.

KRAUTHAMMER on Demagoguery 101.

GREENLAND: maybe this global warming thing isn’t so bad after all.

HUCKABEE DECIDES not to run (on Fox News, moments ago). I rather suspected that would be the case. It'll be interesting to see how the other candidates, potential candidates (Palis?), and the polls respond.

HEH. THE WAGES OF (UNION) SIN: “[P]ublic employee unions in Wisconsin may just choose to decertify instead of facing the yearly recertification votes required by Gov. Scott Walker’s budget bill. The [Milwaukee] Journal-Sentinel reports: ‘Under Walker’s legislation, public employers could no longer collect membership dues on behalf of unions and workers would no longer have to pay dues to unions if they decline to do so. All that leaves little incentive for unions to keep their official status.’ Instead, government unions may reorganize as voluntary organizations that would advocate on other issues important to members."

CELLPHONES TAKE THE WITNESS STAND: you may have a Fifth Amendment right not to incriminate yourself - but your cell phone doesn’t.

RAND PAUL: Making health care a ‘right’ turns doctors into slaves.


Not quite true, as a doctor still retains the right to quit practicing medicine, but close enough for all practical purposes (that's engineering-speak for essentially correct).

“I WAS VERY ANTI-BUSH. I’m a Democrat, I’ve got the canceled checks to prove it, and suddenly I’m the enemy? Me? Me?” Heh. That light at the end of the tunnel was an oncoming train. And judging by the tax money it needs, it must have been Amtrak (the Obama Express).

Linked from Instapundit.

MORE REASON to lock the cell phone in the trunk of my car. Just how far will the nannies go?

Just a thought: if the warning were for say, Times Square, wouldn't it be faster to just grab a bullhorn and shout "Get the hell out!" (4 syllables and 16 characters, excluding the exclamation point).

Update & bump to top: Chris Muir isn't fond of the idea either.

FIRST THERE WAS THE LASER, now there’s the anti-laser.

TALKING POINTS MEMO asks if there are any pro-choice Republicans left in Congress. That’s a fair question. So is this: Are there any pro-life Democrats left in Congress?

I don’t have answers to either question.

GOOGLE’S BLOGGER OUTAGE makes the case against a cloud-only strategy. Amen to that. I’ve never been a fan of “cloud computing” since in its essence, it is nothing more than a return of the “dumb terminal” strategy that pre-dated personal computers/computing.

SAVE THE ENVIRONMENT: ban the World of Warcraft.

MITCH DANIELS FOR PRESIDENT?

[There was] no real news came out of last night’s Indiana state Republican Party dinner. Cheri Daniels gave a well-received speech, but offered no insight into which way she is leaning. If anything, Mitch threw cold water on the possibility of a run saying, “You ought not underestimate the fact that there’s not one woman involved – there’s five,” referring to Daniels four daughters.

The reason for his families hesitation has been amply demonstrated this week with the Indianapolis Star, New York Times, AP, Wall Street Journal, and Washington Post, all doing profiles of the Daniels family, including his divorce and remarriage to Cheri. The Post reported that a rival campaign even offered up contact info for the other man’s ex-wife. Daniels potential rivals clearly want the Daniels family to know that the primary will be every bit as dirty as they think it could be (emphasis added).

Meanwhile, CBS News reports that if Daniels should run, he has an impressive list of endorsements lined up including New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie, Mississippi Gov. Haley Barbour and Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker. CBS also reports that former First Lady Laura Bush has called Cheri personally with support.

My sympathies are with the Daniels family. What decent family would want to subject themselves to the vicious slander sure to come from the opposition just to run for public office? Nevertheless, I hope Daniels has the courage to to so - and the willingness to “punch back twice as hard”.

From the Washington Examiner’s daily email.

AIRSHIPS FOR THE 21ST CENTURY


Long-duration, heavy-lift designs breathe new life into the world's oldest aircraft technology.

IT HAS BEEN MORE THAN 700 DAYS since Senate Democrats have voted on a budget.

IS MICHELE BACHMANN RUNNING FOR PRESIDENT? In a word, yes. If you want to encourage her, answer ‘No’ to this poll and then contribute $50 or more to her campaign.