Independent writers, and daily bloggers, often lose complete track of time.  Weekends are just other days.  Holidays disappear into the background.  Birthdays, forget about it.  But my trusty wife has slipped me a note suggesting that there's something tonight called New Year's Eve, and a holiday tomorrow, with no mail delivery.  She has supplied a compilation of thick paper called a calendar to prove the point, and I'm convinced she's correct.  Interesting invention, this calendar.  So, for all of you in the sane, normal world, Happy New Year.  The year coming up will be momentous, and we will be here to deal with it, laughing when necessary.

I have this holiday right, don't I?   

WEDNESDAY,  DECEMBER 31,  2008

WONDERFUL, WONDERFUL - AT 5:18 P.M. ET:  If any "journalist" deserves an artful dressing down at the end of 2008 it's the terminally obnoxious Joe Klein, whose arrogance, pomposity and paranoia have become world class.  Today, in his column for The Washington Post, Michael Gerson administers the medicine:

So far, Obama is attempting to be a unifying national figure -- in spite of his most insufferable supporters. "Indeed," explains Joe Klein of Time magazine, "as the weeks have passed since the election, I've felt -- as an urban creature myself -- less restricted, less defensive. Empowered, almost. Is it possible that, as a nation, we're shedding our childlike, rural innocence and becoming more mature, urban, urbane . . . dare I say it, sophisticated?"

Indeed. Is it possible for a pundit to be more like a college freshman who has just discovered the pleasures of wine, co-ed dorms and Nietzsche -- shedding the primitivism of his parents and becoming, dare I say it, an annoying adolescent?

Score one for Gerson.

SANITY PREVAILS - AT 2:45 P.M. ET:  From The Seattle Times:   Seattle Mayor Greg Nickels announced this morning that the city will reverse its policy and use road salt to melt ice in future storms.  The mayor set certain conditions for using salt: on hills, arterials or snow bus routes, and on routes to hospitals and other emergency facilities when at least 4 inches of snow is predicted, if ice is predicted, or if extreme cold is expected to last more than three days.  The city earlier refused to use salt, saying it's bad for the environment, and instead spread sand over the roads.

COMMENT:  The sand didn't work.  It was a disaster.  If you go to the link you can read the reaction of the environmental religionists to the new policy.  The mayor must be Satan.

HAMAS STILL DOESN'T GET IT - AT 9:14 A.M. ET:  From The New York Times:  JERUSALEM — Israel was expected on Wednesday to reject a proposal for a 48-hour cease-fire in its military onslaught in Gaza, saying it would keep up pressure on Hamas but was open to ways of increasing humanitarian aid.

COMMENT:  Rockets continue to crash down in Israel.  If they'd stop, Gaza could have a cease-fire.  But they don't stop.  Arab states, which increasingly seem disgusted with Hamas, are doing very little to help. 

EVENING OF THE LIMOUSINE LIBERALS - AT 8:01 A.M. ET:  From a New York Times report on a lavish debutante ball at the Waldorf-Astoria Monday night:

The biggest contingent was from Texas, 11 women who had perfected their signature curtsy, the “Texas dip,” which drew gusts of applause from the crowd. The most recognizable name in the pale pink program, which featured full-page black-and-white portraits of the evening’s stars, was a Huffington — Christina Sophia Huffington, daughter of Arianna, the founder of The Huffington Post Web site, and Michael, the oil heir and former California congressman.

COMMENT:  Wait, wait.  Didn't Arianna, former Republican stalwart, reinvent herself as a flaming liberal, woman-of-the-people type?  I guess there are evenings when we peasants get left behind.  Well, it's all among friends, I guess.  I'm going out to practice my Texas dip.  I'll post pictures.   

A FUNNY THING HAPPENED TO CAROLINE ON THE WAY TO... - AT 7:56 A.M. ET:  From the New York Post:   Mayor Bloomberg's top political aide is pulling back on his lobbying campaign to propel Caroline Kennedy into the U.S. Senate because "it wasn't working," according to sources.  "Everything was backfiring," said one source of the intense behind-the-scenes effort by Deputy Mayor Kevin Sheekey...

...Kennedy, a political novice, didn't help matters when she started granting interviews that demonstrated her inexperience, according to the source.  "She wasn't prepped enough," said the source. "She wasn't ready to do this."

COMMENT:  Eventually the truth comes out.  Now say goodnight, Caroline.

EMBARRASSMENT

Posted at 7:40 a.m. ET

No doubt the president-elect didn't want 2008 to end this way - with the ghosts of politics past lurking at his doorstep.  For Barack Obama, 2008 was a momentous year.  He was the first person of his background to be elected president.  But now some of those who helped get him there are involved in an unseemly series of maneuvers that remind voters that Mr. Obama's rise the highest office was fueled, partially at least, by the high-pollutant engine of Illinois politics.  The Washington Post tells the story:

President-elect Barack Obama spent yesterday afternoon in Honolulu, going to the zoo with his daughters and visiting his high school campus. And yet, he couldn't escape the political melodrama unfolding more than 4,000 miles away...

...First to the lectern was embattled Illinois Gov. Rod Blagojevich, who was arrested this month on federal corruption charges, and from whom Obama has worked to distance himself. Blagojevich then introduced Roland Burris, his appointment to fill Obama's seat in the U.S. Senate. Burris once held a fundraiser at his house for Obama and calls the president-elect "somebody whose career I really helped launch...

...Then, near the end of the news conference, Rep. Bobby L. Rush was beckoned to the front of the room, where he asked the public not to "lynch" Burris because of the charges against Blagojevich. Rush defeated Obama in a 2000 House race and chided him as an "educated fool" before eventually endorsing him for president and asserting that "I helped teach him."

Just a great group of regular guys.  What's wrong with that?  A man's got to have friends.

...if nothing else, the image of all three standing together in front of flashing cameras served as a reminder of the political environment in which Obama developed: Blagojevich is awaiting an indictment; Burris may be blocked from claiming the Senate seat by leaders in Illinois and Washington; and Rush pushed for a black senator to replace Obama, who prefers not to participate in "the politics of race."

At least the Rev. Jeremiah Wright didn't deliver the invocation.

After the news conference, Obama released a statement commending Burris as a "good man and a fine public servant," before arguing that he should not be given the Senate seat. Illinois, he said, is "entitled to . . . major decisions free of taint and controversy." Obama avoided mentioning race.

A good statement, and inevitable considering the embarrassing circumstances.

Yet the men giving yesterday's news conference served as important components in Obama's career.

Obama endorsed Burris in the Democratic primary for governor in 2002, which Blagojevich won. Burris said in an interview this month that he "probably introduced [Obama] to Blagojevich after that" and persuaded Obama to join him in endorsing their fellow Democrat. In 2004, Burris endorsed Obama for the U.S. Senate and held a fundraiser.

There has been friction among the amigos:

It wasn't the first time race had come up between Rush and Obama. Rush, a former Black Panther who represents Chicago's South Side, defeated Obama in 2000 because he dominated the black vote. During the campaign, he collected the endorsements of almost every major black politician in Chicago -- including Burris -- and depicted Obama as a foreigner to black culture. "Barack is a person who read about the civil rights protests and thinks he knows all about it," Rush said.

Finally...

Activist Al Sharpton said yesterday: "I think that Governor Blagojevich is trying to save himself and cynically trying to draw the president-elect into this. But President-elect Obama should stay out of this. The worst thing that he could do is be drawn back into Illinois politics."

First time I've ever agreed with Sharpton.

Now President-elect Obama must go further.  Whether appropriate or not, the mess in Illinois is tainting him because it's his Senate seat that's involved.  He has got to start pumping for some change we can believe in.  And his first step should be to have a little chat with Caroline Kennedy here in New York - the same Caroline Kennedy whose family gave him such a big boost toward the Democratic nomination for president, the same Caroline Kennedy who headed his vice-presidential search team.  He should gently advise Kennedy to withdraw her name for consideration for the U.S. Senate.  Her candidacy for the appointment to succeed Hillary Clinton has been embarrassing and amateurish, and, as in Illinois, her name is linked with Obama's.

The president elect must show decisively that he's above old-time machine politics.  He is, isn't he?

December 31, 2008.       Permalink          

TUESDAY,  DECEMBER 30,  2008

OBAMA COOL TO HOT ROD MOVE - AT 8:30 P.M. ET:  CHICAGO, Illinois (CNN) -- President-elect Barack Obama said Tuesday it is disappointing that Illinois Gov. Rod Blagojevich ignored warnings from Senate Democrats about appointing a successor to his Senate seat.

COMMENT:  That's the correct position.  Obama was careful to praise the nominee, saying this:

"Roland Burris is a good man and a fine public servant, but the Senate Democrats made it clear weeks ago that they cannot accept an appointment made by a governor who is accused of selling this very Senate seat," Obama said in a statement. "I agree with their decision, and it is extremely disappointing that Gov. Blagojevich has chosen to ignore it."

Rough political combat coming up.  Stand by.

WELL, YOU KNOW - AT 6:07 P.M. ET:  From an AP story on Caroline Kennedy:

Bloggers have torn into President John F. Kennedy's Harvard- and Columbia-educated daughter for such remarks as: "You know, I think, really, um, this is sort of a unique moment, both in our, you know, in our country's history and in, you know, my own life, and, um, you know, we are facing, you know, unbelievable challenges."

COMMENT:  Ask not what the English language can do for you, ask what you can do for the English language.

JUICY, JUICY, JUICY - AT 6:01 P.M. ET -  RICHMOND, Va. (AP) -- A Washington lobbyist sued The New York Times for $27 million Tuesday over an article that she says gave the false impression she had an affair with Sen. John McCain in 1999.  The newspaper stood by the story.

Vicki L. Iseman filed the defamation suit in U.S. District Court in Richmond. It also names as defendants the Times' executive editor, its Washington bureau chief and four reporters.

COMMENT:  I see a settlement coming, but I'd love to see this play out in court.

GIVING CREDIT - AT 4:39 P.M. ET:  As expected, Governor Rod Blagojevich of Illinois appointed African-American Roland Burris, a former state attorney general, to the U.S. Senate, replacing Barack Obama.  But, in act of statesmanship, the Democratic leadership of the Senate said that the Senate would refuse to seat him:

WASHINGTON (AP) - Senate Democrats said Tuesday they would refuse to seat the man Illinois Gov. Rod Blagojevich has picked to succeed President-elect Barack Obama, saying that the taint of scandal would follow the new senator to Washington.

"Anyone appointed by Gov. Blagojevich cannot be an effective representative of the people of Illinois and, as we have said, will not be seated by the Democratic Caucus," Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid of Nevada and his deputy, Sen. Dick Durbin of Illinois, said in a statement.

COMMENT:  The Senate can reject an elected or appointed member-to-be.  This is a gutsy move on the leadership's part, but follows its earlier declaration warning Hot Rod not to try to make the appointment.  However, the racial issue is touchy.  The news conference at which the governor made his announcement also featured Congressman Bobby Rush of Chicago, an African-American, endorsing the appointment.  Rush's presence was significant, as Barack Obama once tried unsuccessfully to oust Rush from his congressional seat by running against him in a Democratic primary.  This appointment can be seen as a challenge to Obama - either endorse Burris or risk the wrath of Chicago blacks.  The president elect has thus far not commented on Hot Rod's hot move.   

WEIRD, REALLY WEIRD - AT 2:58 P.M. ET:  We are awaiting a news conference called by Governor Rod Blagojevich, the embattled, ethically challenged governor of Illinois.  According to multiple news sources, Hot Rod will announce his choice to replace President-elect Barack Obama in the U.S. Senate.  The governor has the power to appoint in Illinois.  The choice will apparently be Roland Burris, the African-American former attorney general of the state.

COMMENT:  Unbelievable.  First, what decent man would, first of all, take an appointment from a sleazeball governor?   Second, Dem leaders in the U.S. Senate have said they would reject any appointment by Hot Rod, and the Senate has the power to refuse to seat an appointed or elected member.  Third, by appointing an African-American, the governor is injecting the emotion of racial politics.  How will black leaders react?  Fourth, it's an insult to the president-elect, who surely doesn't want to be involved in this.  Yet, if he expresses approval, he's giving a pass to the governor.  If he expresses disapproval, he can anger fellow African-Americans.  This is change only Hot Rod can believe in.

STUCK IN "PARK" - AT 9:35 A.M. ET:  NEW YORK (Reuters) - The auto sector is expected to be the most financially troubled industry in the United States next year, taking the top spot from the homebuilding group, according to a survey of restructuring and bankruptcy professionals released on Monday.

COMMENT:  Just when we're lending money to GM and Chrysler. 

PULL THE PLUG, PULL THE PLUG - AT 9:14 A.M. ET: 

NEW YORK (CBS/AP) — Caroline Kennedy's second act as a Senate hopeful didn't get much better reviews from New York's press than her first.

A New York Daily News columnist said "the wheels of the bandwagon are coming off." New York Post State Editor Fred Dicker already put her on his list of 2008 losers. And The New York Times said "she seemed less like a candidate than an idea of one: eloquent but vague, largely undefined and seemingly determined to remain that way."

COMMENT:  These are the worst reviews I've seen for a Democratic candidate in recent times.  How in the world can Governor David Paterson appoint Caroline to the Senate, succeeding Hillary Clinton, after she's been such a flop?  It's sad, because Caroline has a fine personal reputation here in New York, but it's clear that she's not ready for the majors. 

FROM THE LEFT?  REALLY?

Posted at 8:46 a.m. ET

How often do we praise a leftist group here?  I don't know if it's ever happened.  But there's a remarkable story out of the Netherlands about a leftist political party that has come to its senses about multiculturalism.  There are occasional moments when some Europeans actually forge ahead of us in confronting the threat of radical Islam, because they are more immediately threatened, and this appears to be one of those moments.  From the International Herald Tribune: 

AMSTERDAM: Two years ago, the Dutch could quietly congratulate themselves on having brought what seemed to be a fair measure of consensus and reason to the meanest intersection in their national political life: the one where integration of Muslim immigrants crossed Dutch identity.

But a funny thing happened to the Dutch on the way to paradise.

Two weeks ago, the country's biggest left-wing political grouping, the Labor Party, which has responsibility for integration as a member of the coalition government led by the Christian Democrats, issued a position paper calling for the end of the failed model of Dutch "tolerance."

And...

If judged on the standard scale of caution in dealing with cultural clashes and Muslims' obligations to their new homes in Europe, the language of the Dutch position paper and Lilianne Ploumen, Labor's chairperson, was exceptional.

The paper said: "The mistake we can never repeat is stifling criticism of cultures and religions for reasons of tolerance."

Government and politicians had too long failed to acknowledge the feelings of "loss and estrangement" felt by Dutch society facing parallel communities that disregard its language, laws and customs.

Newcomers, according to Ploumen, must avoid "self-designated victimization."

Well, some clarity of thought, and common sense, from the old country.  Of course, this means no invitations for Ms. Ploumen to deliver commencement addresses at American colleges.

She asserted, "the grip of the homeland has to disappear" for these immigrants who, news reports indicate, also retain their original nationality at a rate of about 80 percent once becoming Dutch citizens.

Instead of reflexively offering tolerance with the expectation that things would work out in the long run, she said, the government strategy should be "bringing our values into confrontation with people who think otherwise."

Send this woman's statement to the Daily Kos, and watch her come out a right-wing, nativist, Bush-loving, Zionist pig.

There was more: punishment for trouble-making young people has to become so effective such that when they emerge from jail they are not automatically big shots, Ploumen said.

For Ploumen, talking to the local media, "The street is mine, too. I don't want to walk away if they're standing in my path.

"Without a strategy to deal with these issues, all discussion about creating opportunities and acceptance of diversity will be blocked by suspicion and negative experience."

And that comes from the heart of the traditional, democratic European left, where placing the onus of compatibility on immigrants never found such comfort before.

Now this is change we can believe in.

Indeed, Ploumen says, "Integration calls on the greatest effort from the new Dutch. Let go of where you come from; choose the Netherlands unconditionally." Immigrants must "take responsibility for this country" and cherish and protect its Dutch essence.

Not clear enough? Ploumen insists, "The success of the integration process is hindered by the disproportionate number of non-natives involved in criminality and trouble-making, by men who refuse to shake hands with women, by burqas and separate courses for women on citizenship.

"We have to stop the existence of parallel societies within our society."

You can hear leftists fainting all over the world as those words come out.

Why is this being said now?  Well, political advantage may be one reason.  But there's another:

A kinder, gentler explanation (that comes, remarkably, from Frits Bolkestein, the former Liberal Party leader, European commissioner, and no friend of the socialists, who began writing in 1991 about the enormous challenge posed to Europe by Muslim immigration):

"The multi-cultis just aren't making the running anymore. It's a brave step towards a new normalcy in this country. "

Now if we can get some of that new thinking to penetrate the skulls of our "intellectual" elites, maybe we can make some progress.  President-elect Obama, study what's happening in the Netherlands. 

December 30, 2008.      Permalink          

GAZA - DAY FOUR - AT 7:31 A.M. ET:  New York - Israel's offensive in the Gaza Strip will push on as long as needed until it ''destroys completely'' the ruling Hamas militant group, the Israeli ambassador to the United Nations said Monday. Ambassador Gabriela Shalev also played down international criticism of the offensive and ruled out a return to the terms of a recent cease-fire with Hamas that collapsed in violence over the weekend.

COMMENT:  Destroying Hamas would be a major step toward peace and progress in the region.  The question is whether Israel has the internal will to do it, in the face of the usual mounting criticism.  The same tut tutters who denounce the Israeli attacks were silent when thousands of Hamas rockets were sent into southern Israel.  The New York Times, of course, is blaming both sides.

HEALTH UNCARE - BRITAIN

Posted at 7:14 a.m. ET

With the age of Obama about to begin, and the incoming president pledging universal health coverage, cautionary tales are in order.  Surely we want every citizen to be cared for, but how it's done is critically important.  This story is from Britain, which boasts a national health system.  But the tales of horror keep coming.  Is this what we want?

Clearly suffering, Stewart Fleming was clutching a note from his doctor saying he must be seen IMMEDIATELY.

But the railway signalman, 37, was left to die as a deadly virus ravaged his body and one by one his organs collapsed.

He was not admitted until six hours after arriving at the Medway Maritime Hospital in Gillingham, Kent, by which time it was too late.

This was not a wrong, snap decision by a hospital.  This was a problem with a bureaucratic culture.  His wife comments:

"I can't stop thinking that the last hours of his life were wasted. They were spent waiting around for help.

"His doctor obviously realised the severity of his condition. His life might have been saved if the hospital had given him something to fight the infection sooner."

She adds:

"I was told we had to go through the normal process, even with the letter from the doctor. We got to A&E before 5.30pm. He was finally called through to be examined at 11pm.

And what was the reaction of the people who run the hospital?  Get this:

A spokesman for the Medway NHS Foundation Trust said it was “saddened to hear of the death of Stewart Fleming”.

The spokesman added: "Mr Fleming came to Medway Maritime Hospital's Emergency Department on a day when it was experiencing long waits due to a high number of admissions.

"The situation was not unique to Medway - hospitals across the country were all experiencing a rise in demand for their services at the time.”

Do these people know the meaning of the term "emergency"?  Do they understand the concept of "priority"?  Can they read a physician's note?  Do they have any sensitivity?

I've noticed that the socialist left maintains a remarkable indifference to human life.  The ideology always comes first, and in this case the ideology requires government health care, no matter what the result.  We do, of course, have needless tragedies in the United States, even with private health care.  But the situation in Britain is dire.  We've reported on it here before.  It is not change we can believe in.

December 30, 2008.       Permalink