this is an adventure

Max Boot: “The Obama administration’s memo on Afghanistan lists seven objectives and no fewer than 46 metrics. Whew! The most germane is Objective 3a: ‘Defeat the extremist insurgency, secure the Afghan populace, and develop increasingly self-reliant Afghan security forces that can lead the counterinsurgency and counter-terrorism fight with reduced U.S. assistance.’”

Data revelation: “the government transfers and rebates have not stimulated consumption at all, and that the resilience of the private sector following the fall 2008 panic–not the fiscal stimulus program–deserves the lion’s share of the credit for the impressive growth improvement from the first to the second quarter.”

Is all dissent racist if some of it is? “Mr. Obama is the leader of a Democratic party that is now coming dangerously close to proclaiming that any fervent opposition to him must spring from a racist impulse.” Frankly, given the lessons of the Gates experience, we know this can’t end well for the accusers.

“In a letter to lawmakers, Justice Department officials said the administration supports extending the three expiring provisions of the law, although they are willing to consider additional privacy protections as long as they don’t weaken the effectiveness of the law.” If you check, Obama never promised to do away with these provisions.