Obama's speech = Bush's speech.

In order to prepare Americans for Obama's Afghanistan escalation speech tonight at West Point (at least he's not wearing a fighter pilot costume), White House officials have been dispatched to speak to the media (anonymously, of course) to preview all of the new and exciting aspects of the President's plan. As a result, media accounts are filled with claims that there are major changes ordered by Obama that will transform our approach there. But to anyone with a memory that extends back for more than a few weeks, all of this seems anything but new. In January, 2007, George Bush delivered a speech to the nation announcing his escalation in Iraq -- that one only 20,000 troops, compared to the 30,000-40,000 Obama has ordered for Afghanistan. It's worthwhile to compare what Obama officials are excitedly featuring as new and innovative ideas with what Bush said; I'm not comparing the Iraq and Afghan escalations: only the rhetoric used to justify them...Link

Moore sours on Obama...............

America is warming to Ron Paul.................

Pull US troops out of Afghanistan. Leave Iran alone. Legalise drugs. Get the government out of people's private lives. Say no to the bailout of Wall Street fat cats. As a menu of policy prescriptions, you might think that this all puts Ron Paul on the Soviet wing of the Democratic party. But you'd be wrong. The 74-year-old Congressman from Texas, with his skinny frame and his hangdog face, is about as unlikely a poster child for the future of the Republican party as you are likely to find, but his ideas have struck chords with libertarian-minded college kids. Dismissed last year as the token nutjob in the line-up of Republican presidential candidates, his insurgent campaign proved surprisingly tenacious. Young people at music festivals wore "Dr Paul cured my apathy" badges, he spawned an internet fund-raising movement that had echoes of Barack Obama from the other side, and to this day he has a stronger YouTube presence than any other Republican politician...Link

Federal Reserve theater ads...........Fun.

Reporting from Washington - The Federal Reserve isn't too popular these days, what with its failure to predict or prevent the financial crisis and recession, not to mention its involvement in last year's bailouts. Rep. Ron Paul (R-Texas) has a bestselling book out called "End the Fed," and some lawmakers are looking to cut back the central bank's power. It sounds like a perfect time for an ad campaign...Link

Ron Paul: Bernanke's defense of Fed a 'hoax'.

Fed Chairman Ben Bernanke's warning that further regulation would "impair" the economy is a "hoax," according to Rep. Ron Paul (R-Texas). Responding to Bernanke's op-ed in The Washington Post this past weekend, in which the Federal Reserve chairman said that Paul's bill to audit the Fed would harm the U.S. economy, the Texas congressman accused Bernanke of dodging responsibility for his role in causing the recession. "He claims that they're rescuing, and making things better. But he takes no responsibility for causing all the problems," Paul said during an appearance on the Fox Business Network. "So I think it's a hoax for him to talk about financial stability," the libertarian Republican added. "I mean, how could it get much worse?"...Link

The case against military tribunals.............

In the uproar caused by Atty. Gen. Eric H. Holder Jr.'s announcement that the alleged planners of the 9/11 attacks are to be tried in U.S. District Court in New York City, and the suspects in the attack on the U.S. destroyer Cole will go on trial before military tribunals at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, the public discourse has lost sight of the fundamental principles that guide the government when it makes such decisions. Unfortunately, the government has lost sight of the principles as well...Link

The surge to begin by Christmas..............

After months of debate, President Barack Obama will spell out a costly Afghanistan war expansion to a skeptical public Tuesday night, coupling an infusion of as many as 35,000 more troops with a vow that there will be no endless U.S. commitment. His first orders have already been made: at least one group of Marines who will be in place by Christmas. Obama has said that he prefers "not to hand off anything to the next president" and that his strategy will "put us on a path toward ending the war." But he doesn't plan to give any more exact timetable than that Tuesday night...Link

Rumsfeld decision let Bin Laden escape...

WASHINGTON (AFP) – Osama bin Laden was "within the grasp" of US forces in late 2001 but escaped because then-defense secretary Donald Rumsfeld rejected calls for reinforcements, a hard-hitting US Senate report says. The report, set for release Monday, is intended to help learn the lessons of the past as President Barack Obama prepares to announce a major escalation of the conflict, now in its ninth year, with up to 35,000 more US troops...Link

Jason Chaffetz: Bring home Afghan troops.

Saying it’s time for Republicans to do more than “take pot shots at ACORN,” freshman Utah Rep. Jason Chaffetz will call on President Barack Obama on Monday to bring U.S. troops home from Afghanistan. Chaffetz’s push for a troop withdrawal — to be unveiled in a speech at the Hinckley Institute of Politics in Salt Lake City — runs counter to the position of House Minority Leader John Boehner of Ohio and other leading Republicans in Congress. But it also reflects the divisions within the conference about the question of Afghanistan. Chaffetz told POLITICO the issue “has been probably the most difficult one as a freshman in the minority.”...Link

Ron Paul gains mainstream steam...........

Is libertarian rock star and Texas Republican Ron Paul going mainstream? He’s got everyone from South Carolina Republican Sen. Jim DeMint to Minnesota moderate Democrat Collin Peterson to California liberal Barbara Boxer on his side in his audit-the-Fed crusade. He’s drawing liberal support in his push to rein in the cost of the war in Afghanistan. Senate candidates like Democratic Rep. Paul Hodes of New Hampshire are finding Dr. No’s populist economic anger to be useful in the campaign, echoing Paul’s criticism of the Federal Reserve. Even Financial Services Committee Chairman Barney Frank (D-Mass.) is delivering backhanded compliments, taking credit for merely allowing a vote on Paul’s amendment to audit the central bank...Link

Hulkamania from Keith Loutit on Vimeo.