Turning New Jersey red (RUSS SCHRIEFER, 11/7/09, Politico)
Just as important as the political environment being “open” to electing a Republican was the candidate and his message.For seven years Chris Christie earned a stellar reputation as a U.S. attorney, convicting over 136 public officials on corruption charges. His work earned bipartisan praise, even from Gov. Corzine. We believed from day one that Christie’s record as an independent crime fighter gave voters the permission they needed to believe he could change Trenton, particularly with taxes and the economy. This summer, when an FBI raid brought down numerous public officials, it was less about corruption and more about New Jerseyans once again being disappointed by a state government out of control.
In a time of economic uncertainty, voters, particularly independents, cared more about New Jersey’s status as the highest taxed state in the nation than Christie’s driving record or his weight (both of which were subjects of Corzine ads). By focusing on the economic message and not getting distracted by launching retaliatory personal attacks on Gov. Corzine, we kept talking to voters about issues they cared about.
The Rose Garden Path (Peggy Noonan, 11/06/09, WSJ)
[I]t's too simple to say this was a vote against Obama. Yes, he went to Jersey three times and draped himself like a shawl around the Democratic incumbent. But the crowds showed and nobody booed and everyone had a good time. What happened actually is more interesting. They just didn't listen to him.
She Ran to Gunfire, and Ended It (JAMES C. McKINLEY Jr., 11/07/09, NY Times)
The police officer who brought down a gunman after he went on a shooting rampage at the Fort Hood Army base here was on the way to have her car repaired when she responded to a police radio report of gunfire at a center where soldiers are processed before being sent overseas, the authorities said Friday.As she pulled up to the center, the officer, Sgt. Kimberly Denise Munley, spotted the gunman, later identified as Maj. Nidal Malik Hasan, brandishing a pistol and chasing a wounded soldier outside the building, said Chuck Medley, the director of emergency services at the base.
Sergeant Munley — a woman with a fierce love of hunting, surfing and other outdoor sports — bolted from her car, yanked her pistol out and shot at Major Hasan. He turned on her and began to fire. She ran toward him, continuing to fire, and both she and Major Hasan went down with several bullet wounds, Mr. Medley said.
Obama's Frightening Insensitivity Following Shooting (ROBERT A. GEORGE, Nov 6, 2009, NBC Chicago)
At about 5 p.m., cable stations went to the president. The situation called for not only his trademark eloquence, but also grace and perspective.But instead of a somber chief executive offering reassuring words and expressions of sympathy and compassion, viewers saw a wildly disconnected and inappropriately light president making introductory remarks. At the event, a Tribal Nations Conference hosted by the Department of Interior's Bureau of Indian affairs, the president thanked various staffers and offered a "shout-out" to "Dr. Joe Medicine Crow -- that Congressional Medal of Honor winner." Three minutes in, the president spoke about the shooting, in measured and appropriate terms. Who is advising him?
Anyone at home aware of the major news story of the previous hours had to have been stunned. An incident like this requires a scrapping of the early light banter. The president should apologize for the tone of his remarks, explain what has happened, express sympathy for those slain and appeal for calm and patience until all the facts are in. That's the least that should occur.
Indeed, an argument could be made that Obama should have canceled the Indian event, out of respect for people having been murdered at an Army post a few hours before. That would have prevented any sort of jarring emotional switch at the event.
Did the president's team not realize what sort of image they were presenting to the country at this moment? The disconnect between what Americans at home knew had been going on -- and the initial words coming out of their president's mouth was jolting, if not disturbing.
And, let's face it, not only is the UR not eloquent but he's Tom Hagen, not Vito Corleane.
Rival Lebanon factions agree on unity government (BASSEM MROUE, 11/07/09, Associated Press)
Hariri's Cabinet lineup appears to have given the opposition the seats they have been demanding for months, including the Telecommunications Ministry.A Hezbollah statement issued Saturday said the opposition leaders agreed during the meeting "to go ahead with the formation of a national unity government according to what was agreed upon during negotiations."
It added that they "hope that this step will be for the good of Lebanon and its people."
During the months-long negotiations, one of the most contentious points was the demand by Hezbollah and its allies that Jibran Bassil stay on as telecommunications minister, a sensitive post for security reasons.
Hariri refused to give the position to the opposition.
Hariri ultimately relented, but only if the minister was not Bassil, but rather another member of his party. Bassil will become Minister of Power and Hydraulic Resources in the future Cabinet, according to the daily Al-Akhbar that is close to Hezbollah.
McGinn widens lead over Mallahan for Seattle mayor (The Associated Press, 11/07/09)
Environmentalist Mike McGinn has widened his lead over cell phone executive Joe Mallahan to 1,209 votes in the race for Seattle mayor.
Mike McGinn pledged this morning to bring a plan before voters within two years to expand light rail to more neighborhoods within Seattle.Neighborhoods that could be connected, he said: West Seattle, Ballard, Fremont, Queen Anne and Belltown. [...]
McGinn mentioned the possibility of funding the light-rail extensions with car-tab taxes, sales taxes or other taxes.
Unique homecoming to Vietnam for US commander: On the day his side lost the Vietnam War, Hung Ba Le fled his homeland at the age of 5 in a fishing trawler crammed with 400 refugees. Thirty-four years later, he made an unlikely homecoming - as the commander of a U.S. Navy destroyer. (BEN STOCKING, 11/07/09, Associated Press)
On the day his side lost the Vietnam War, Hung Ba Le fled his homeland at the age of 5 in a fishing trawler crammed with 400 refugees. Thirty-four years later, he made an unlikely homecoming - as the commander of a U.S. Navy destroyer.Le piloted the USS Lassen on Saturday into Danang, home of China Beach, where U.S. troops frequently headed for R&R during the war, which ended on April 30, 1975, when the southern city of Saigon was taken by communist troops from North Vietnam.
That was the day Le and his family embarked on an uncertain journey in a fishing boat piloted by Le's father, who was a commander in the South Vietnamese navy. They were rescued at sea by the USS Barbour County, taken to a U.S. base in the Philippines, a refugee camp in California and finally to northern Virginia, where they rebuilt their lives.
Revolutionary War hero becomes honorary US citizen (WILLIAM C. MANN, 11/07/09, Associated Press)
Finally, Gen. Casimir Pulaski became an American citizen on Friday, 230 years after the Polish nobleman died fighting for the as yet-unborn United States.President Barack Obama signed a joint resolution of the Senate and the House that made Pulaski an honorary citizen.
Whale Riders: a review of LEVIATHAN by Scott Westerfeld Illustrated by Keith Thompson (AUSTIN GROSSMAN, November 5, 2009, NY Times)
Scott Westerfeld’s “Leviathan” is a tightly paced young adult novel set in an alternate version of the First World War and a welcome addition to the steampunk genre: a neo-retro period adventure. Just as cyberpunk reimagined science fiction with computers, steampunk reinvents it through a fantasy of the technological past. Its signature style is a whimsical Jules Verne-ian, 19th-century take on high technology — gadgets, gauges and goggles take the place of circuits and fusion reactors. Its genteel heroes and heroines display both the pluck of idealized Victorian adventurers and their understanding of formal dress. [...]If it poses a big question, that question would be, Wouldn’t it be cool if the First World War had been fought with genetically engineered mutant animals, against steam-powered walking machines like the ones from “The Empire Strikes Back”? And the answer is, Yes, it would.
Troubling Signals On Free Speech: In his eagerness to please international opinion, President Obama has taken a small but significant step toward censoring free speech. (Stuart Taylor Jr., Oct. 31, 2009, National Journal)
It was nice to hear Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton say on October 26, "I strongly disagree" with Islamic countries seeking to censor free speech worldwide by making defamation of religion a crime under international law.But watch what the Obama administration does, not just what it says. I'm not talking about its attacks on Fox News. I'm talking about a little-publicized October 2 resolution in which Clinton's own State Department joined Islamic nations in adopting language all-too-friendly to censoring speech that some religions and races find offensive.
The ambiguously worded United Nations Human Rights Council resolution could plausibly be read as encouraging or even obliging the U.S. to make it a crime to engage in hate speech, or, perhaps, in mere "negative racial and religious stereotyping." This despite decades of First Amendment case law protecting such speech.
The abortion deal (Patrick O'Connor, 11/07/09, Politico)
Abortion opponents won a huge last-minute concession late Friday night after Democratic leaders agreed to grant them a vote on an amendment that would effectively bar insurers that participate in the exchanges from offering coverage for abortions.Members of the Rules Committee approved a vote on the amendment early Saturday morning after hours of negotiations in Speaker Nancy Pelosi's Capitol office, so the full House will get a chance to vote on it when the broader health care bill comes to the floor.
Leaders reluctantly made the decision after working for days to broker a truce that would garner a blessing from the Conference of Catholic Bishops. But the church, according to members and aides, wouldn't accept a compromise crafted by Indiana Rep. Brad Ellsworth that would have established a body to make sure private insurance companies don't use federal funds to pay for abortions.