March 25, 2010 4:00 A.M.

So, You Still Want to Close Gitmo?
Judge’s order to release 9/11 jihadist is a sign of things to come.

Mohamedou Slahi is responsible for the murder of thousands of Americans. He was a core member of the 9/11 conspiracy — the recruiter of Mohamed Atta and the other ringleaders. If he’d had his druthers, even more Americans would have been killed: He is almost certainly the al-Qaeda middle manager who activated the Canadian cell that attempted to bomb Los Angeles International Airport. On the scale of war criminals, he edges toward the Khalid Sheikh Mohammed range, as bad as it gets.

A federal judge has ordered that he be released.

Cassandra did not like being Cassandra. It is not enjoyable to foresee avoidable catastrophes again and again (and again and again and again) only to watch as no remedial measures are taken and disaster strikes. To repeat: The courts are institutionally incompetent when it comes to matters of national security, particularly the prosecution of war.

The Framers intended it that way. National-security decisions are the most important ones a political community makes, so our system of government was designed to have them made by the political branches — by those who answer to the voters, to the people whose lives are at stake. When the political branches abdicate this first responsibility of government, sitting by as it is usurped by politically insulated judges, they deny us the freedom to decide for ourselves what our security requires. We are then the subjects of judges rather than masters of our own destiny.

The courts, moreover, are the worst institution to which we could surrender this authority. Not only are we powerless to vote them out if they get national-defense matters wrong, they are guaranteed to get them wrong. This is not because judges are bad people; it is because they have no responsibility for protecting the country. They are generally good people whose job is to ensure that the parties before the court are given due process. When a judge does that job conscientiously, due-process rights are inevitably inflated. That judges do not run completely out of control in maximizing due-process rights owes not to judicial temperance but to the powers of the political branches.

http://article.nationalreview.com/429202/so-you-still-want-to-close-gitmo/andrew-c-mccarthy

http://townhall.com/columnists/JonahGoldberg/2010/03/26/the_definition_of_freakout

Did the world really change overnight? If you listen to some Democratic spinners, you might think that the same American people who opposed Obamacare for many, many months now support it.

This week the president's supporters embraced a quickie poll by Gallup/USA Today showing that more Americans say it was a "good thing" than a "bad thing" that the health care plan has now been passed. Based on that rushed and flawed survey -- among other things, Gallup asked the question in a different way than before -- some commentators pronounced it a new day. One suggested that Republicans need to learn "the Kenny Rogers rule: Know when to fold 'em."

But has public opinion really changed so much? A CNN poll taken over three days, the last of which was the day Obamacare passed the House, found that 59 percent of those surveyed opposed the bill, versus 39 percent who favored it. And a CBS survey done after the vote showed that more people believe it will hurt the health care system than help, and 89 percent of Republicans and 66 percent of independents believe the GOP should continue to challenge parts of it.

It's not a new day. "The margin prior to the vote was basically people disapproving of the bill by 10 to 12 points," says Republican pollster David Winston. "What I've now seen is that the gap has closed a bit, but that you still have more negative than positive."

And that is after the White House has had most of the week to drive a positive message. "Even after this significant push, they still can't flip the numbers," says Winston.

http://www.washingtonexaminer.com/politics/Message-to-Dems_-People-still-don_t-like-Obamacare-89180557.html

Via HotAirPundit:

Jobless Rate Rose in 27 States in February; Four Hit Records

Unemployment continued to rise several states in February—even breaking records in some states, according to government data released Friday.

Joblessness in four states—Florida (12.2 percent), Nevada (13.2 percent), Georgia (10.5 percent) and North Carolina (11.2 percent)—hit record highs.

In all, 27 states saw their rates increase in February over the previous month. Seven states and the District of Columbia reported a decrease and 16 states had no change in their unemployment, according to the Labor Department. It was a slight improvement to January’s report which showed 30 states and the District of Columbia reporting an increase in joblessness from the previous month.

The national unemployment rate remained at 9.7 percent in February, the same as the month before.

Michigan still had the highest jobless rate in the nation, though it dipped to 14.1 percent from 14.3 percent in January.

http://www.cnbc.com/id/36050839

Via HotAirPundit:

Democrats miss an obvious lesson plan for deprived children

By George F. Will

Sunday, March 21, 2010

Education Secretary Arne Duncan, like many liberals, seems afflicted by Sixties Nostalgia Syndrome, a longing for the high drama and moral clarity of the civil rights era. Speaking this month in Alabama at Selma's Edmund Pettus Bridge to commemorate the 45th anniversary of the "Bloody Sunday" march, Duncan vowed to unleash on public schools legions of lawyers wielding Title VI of the 1964 Civil Rights Act. They supposedly will rectify what he considers civil rights violations, such as too many white students in high school Advanced Placement classes.

Duncan said that "the civil rights struggle" has become "more complex since the days of Selma." He seems not to understand that today's complexities of equity are complex because they are not about "rights." He says his rights enforcers -- 600 of them, with a $103 million budget -- will "remedy discrimination," such as students being "treated unequally" by policies that have what is called a "disparate impact" on certain groups. For example, Duncan asks: "How can we assure that low-income Latino and African-American students get the same access to a college-prep curriculum, AP classes and college as other students?" But "access" obscures the problem.

The Supreme Court has held that Title VI bans "disparate treatment," meaning intentional discrimination such as denying access to minorities, not policies that have a "disparate impact" on minorities. No policy denies minority or low-income students "access" to AP classes.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2010/03/19/AR2010031903679.html

The Death of Fiscal Federalism

It’s been a long time since economic policy was forged in the states.

Veronique de Rugy from the April 2010 issue

Last May the Obama administration forced South Carolina not just to take its share of federal stimulus funds, but to spend the money on new programs rather than paying down the state’s debt. I was horrified. Obama, I felt, had killed fiscal federalism. Then I realized that fiscal federalism has been dead for a long time. 

Fiscal federalism is the idea that states should set their own economic policies rather than following directives from Washington. Libertarians have a particular attachment to the concept. If states can differentiate themselves on the basis of taxes, spending, and regulation, that gives Americans more leeway in deciding the rules under which we live. If we’re dissatisfied with the policies of the state we live in, we can register our discontent by voting with our feet and moving to another jurisdiction. This competition for residents helps keep lawmakers in check, giving them an incentive to keep taxes and other intrusions modest.

For decades, alas, fiscal power has become increasingly centralized, making a joke of federalism. Washington has taken over more and more state functions, largely through grants to state and local governments, also called grants-in-aid. Figure 1 shows federal grant spending in constant dollars from 1960 to 2013. As you can see, total grant outlays increased from $285 billion in fiscal year 2000 to a whopping $493 billion in fiscal year 2010—a 73 percent increase. Grants also account for a bigger share of federal spending: 18 percent in 2009, compared to 7.6 percent in 1960.

http://reason.com/archives/2010/03/17/the-death-of-fiscal-federalism/print

Personal Income Drops Across the Country

By SARA MURRAY

Personal income in 42 states fell in 2009, the Commerce Department said Thursday.

Nevada's 4.8% plunge was the steepest, as construction and tourism industries took a beating. Also hit hard: Wyoming, where incomes fell 3.9%.

Incomes stayed flat in two states and rose in six and the District of Columbia. West Virginia had the best showing with a 2.1% increase. In Maine, Kentucky and Hawaii, increased government benefits, such as unemployment insurance and Social Security, offset drops in earnings and property values.

Nationally, personal income from wages, dividends, rent, retirement plans and government benefits declined 1.7% last year, unadjusted for inflation. One bright spot: As the economy recovered, personal income was up in all 50 states in the fourth quarter compared with the third. Connecticut, again, had the highest per capita income of the 50 states at $54,397 in 2009. Mississippi ranked lowest at $30,103.

http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052748703409804575144033573666238.html?mod=WSJ_hpp_MIDDLETopStories

Upset Vote Reshapes Iraq

Scramble Is On to Form a Ruling Coalition as Minority Sunnis Take First Place

By MARGARET COKER

BAGHDAD—Ayad Allawi's predominantly Sunni alliance won Iraq's national election, narrowly edging out Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki's list to become the largest bloc in the country's next parliament, and kicking off a scrum among political and religious blocs to
form a majority government.

The Allawi upset threatens to end the lock on power that Iraq's majority Shiites have enjoyed since 2003 after decades of oppression under the Sunni-led government of Saddam Hussein, and could severely test the country's fragile institutions. In the two weeks between the March 7 election and the vote tallies Friday, Shiite politicians warned of violence should their parties lose the election.

http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052748703416204575145952052909276.html?mod=e2tw

PM: No change in policy on Jerusalem

By JPOST.COM STAFF
26/03/2010 12:32

5-hour long 'Septet' discussion on US demands yields no decisions.

Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu convened his senior ministers in Jerusalem on Friday afternoon to discuss the demands made by US President Barack Obama and his overall trip to Washington – a trip that, because of negative atmospherics and amid a paucity of hard information, has been widely characterized as among the most difficult in recent memory.

Late Friday evening, Israel Radio reported that Netanyahu holds to the view that Israel must not change its policy in Jerusalem, despite the fact that this was the main point of contentions between Israel and the United States.

http://www.jpost.com/Israel/Article.aspx?id=171889

Charges Reduced In Phone Caper At Senator's Office

North Korea vows 'nuclear strikes' in latest threat

By ASSOCIATED PRESS
26/03/2010 08:51

SEOUL, South Korea — North Korea's military warned South Korea and the United States on Friday of "unprecedented nuclear strikes" as it expressed anger over a report the two countries plan to prepare for possible instability in the totalitarian country, a scenario it dismissed as a "pipe dream."

The North routinely issues such warnings. Diplomats in South Korea and the US have repeatedly called on Pyongyang to return to international negotiations aimed at ending its nuclear programs.

http://www.jpost.com/Headlines/Article.aspx?id=171883

2nd pick for transportation security chief is out

By EILEEN SULLIVAN Associated Press Writer © 2010 The Associated Press

March 26, 2010, 8:55PM

WASHINGTON — President Barack Obama's second choice for transportation security chief has withdrawn from consideration because of questions over his background as a defense contractor.

Retired Army Maj. Gen. Robert Harding took himself out of the running Friday night as head of the Transportation Security Administration, another setback for Obama after his first choice withdrew in January.

http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/ap/top/all/6932326.html

TUCSON, Ariz. – John McCain sought to nullify the energy his primary challenger was getting from the Tea Party movement by bringing in its biggest star for a major endorsement rally in Tucson Friday.

J.D. Hayworth, the former congressman challenging McCain from the right, has tried to harness the energy of those affiliated with the anti-tax, anti-government Tea Party groups. But Sarah Palin rode to her former running mate’s aid.

In a speech to a boisterous crowd of some 4,000, Palin portrayed McCain as a champion of the movement's views.

http://thehill.com/blogs/ballot-box/senate-races/89391-palin-woos-mccain-supporters-in-tucson