Seems that “courageous restraint” might not stick around quite as-is – from the Telegraph:

“There will be no change in overall policy but all aspects of tactics and implementation will be looked at afresh,” a Pentagon official told The Daily Telegraph. “The issue of ‘courageous restraint’ is a controversial one on the ground and there may be ways it can be modified.”

War is a brutal business and can’t be made otherwise – what is chivalrous in war is to not deliberately harm non-combatants. To offer mercy to the vanquished. But when someone starts shooting at you, “restraint” must be left aside and only once the shooting has stopped can restraint be exercised.

A dose of realty has been needed in Afghanistan policy, and its looks like we’re goig to get it.

John Mauldin rates it fairly likely:

…My take is that Bush cut taxes in 2001 and again in 2003 in the face of weak economic circumstances. Unless something changes, we are going to enact the largest tax increase in US history. And that will be matched by equally large tax increases and spending cuts by state and local jurisdictions. And we are going to do it at a time when the above research suggests that growth may be in the 1% range and unemployment will still be in the 9-10% range. Extended unemployment benefits will be long gone for many people. Housing will still be in the doldrums (more on that in next week’s Outside the Box) and housing prices are likely to fall from here.

Growth in the first quarter was revised down (again!) to 2.7%, or about half that of the 4th quarter of last year. Much of what passed for growth was inventory rebuilding and stimulus. The underlying economy may be weaker than the headline number reveals. And by the 4th quarter, there is very little stimulus.

Given the above, I think we have to increase the odds of a 2011 recession to 60%, and those odds will rise and fall based on the economic performance of the next two quarters.

Personally, I don’t think we ever really left the recession – in terms of real growth absent the massive, bankrupting bit of borrow-and-spend from Obama and his Democrats, my belief is that the private economy has not stopped contracting since 2007.

There is probably no way, at this point, to stop the GDP numbers from slipping back in to recession either later this year or early next. The only thing we can do is soften the blow – and the best means of doing so is to renew the Bush tax cuts.

This is not likely to commend itself to Democrats who are salivating over the huge tax increase – they think it will provide them the revenue to allow another round of vote-buying spending initiatives. They don’t realize that any revenue gains will be swiftly offset by renewed economic decline, and thus lower revenues.

Meanwhile, the debt burden remains – public and private. And once there comes a time when the money men figure that the governments of the world can’t meet their debt obligations, then there will be a run for the financial exits. We’re in for a long, rough year, at least.

Have a thing to do early Saturday morning, boys and girls, and so am unable to write something go for you in the AM.

Plenty to talk about – how about starting with just what make a person a crazed sex poodle?

The power of prayer?

A Raleigh abortuary that has seen constant prayer from pro-lifers with the popular 40 Days for Life campaign has ceased performing abortions.

The Raleigh News and Observer reported Wednesday that National Women’s Health Organization of Raleigh is, in the words of one local pro-abortion affiliate, “in transition.” The affiliate, Ann Rose, said that the last abortions would be conducted on Saturday, but she would not explain what other changes the “transition” would entail…

Did the endlessly repeated prayers work a chance in some one’s heart? We don’t know – and won’t be able to know while we live on this earth. But it is heartening to see such a miserable, anti-human place willing to change. However it was done, it was well done.

An unanswerable attack – and if this ends up being the way the immigration issue is framed in November, then the GOP will win it handily.

Townhall has constructed the list and you can view it here in PDF. I have to say, it hurts a bit – I figure that I’m hated more than Michael Barone (#100), and who the heck has even heard of Philip Anschutz (#89)? I mean, has anyone ever advocated having Barone beaten up, or suggested that Anschutz be strung up from a lamp post with a meat hook? I might not be as famed as some, but I really do get the lefty hate-juices flowing!

I pledge this to you, my fellow Americans, I will do all I can to make the list next year!

From the BBC:

US Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner has told the BBC that the world “cannot depend as much on the US as it did in the past”.

He said that other major economies would have to grow more for the global economy to prosper.

Geithner, you sniveling, little coward – what you are really saying is that because your tax and spend liberalism can’t fix America, America can’t be fixed. The world can depend on America – we just can’t depend on you and your boss.

Just another example of the spinelessness of liberals – and their willingness to consign average Americans to destruction, as long at rich, powerful liberals can remain rich and powerful. Geithner doesn’t care – he’s got his pile of money and once he’s out of DC, he fully expects to be re-hired in the corporate world where he can pile up even more money – and then cheat on his taxes some more, because taxes are for the little people to pay.

Have you had enough of these weak, worthless liberals?

Which wouldn’t be a bad thing, normally, but it stems from all the grim news for the United States – from the Wall Street Journal:

Americans are more pessimistic about the state of the country and less confident in President Barack Obama’s leadership than at any point since Mr. Obama entered the White House, according to a new Wall Street Journal/NBC News poll.

The survey also shows grave and growing concerns about the Gulf oil spill, with overwhelming majorities of adults favoring stronger regulation of the oil industry and believing that the spill will affect the nation’s economy and environment.

Sixty-two percent of adults in the survey feel the country is on the wrong track, the highest level since before the 2008 election. Just one-third think the economy will get better over the next year, a 7-point drop from a month ago and the low point of Mr. Obama’s tenure…

The real kicker for the Democrats is that 57% prefer to have someone else in Congress come next year. Polls are polls, of course, and there is a long way from here to November, but it is abundantly clear that without a major game-changer, Obama and his Democrats are in for a long election night.

A couple days ago I was up talking with the Mrs about the overall state of the world and we agreed that it seems like we’re all holding our breath, waiting for a plunge in to disaster. Being a bit impoverished these days, we don’t get out of Las Vegas as much as we used to, so I can’t speak much from first hand experience outside of my town but what I can see here indicates spreading disaster. This manifests itself in large and small ways.

The largest thing we see is that “Space Available” seems to be our booming industry. That sign is popping up with great regularity in business parks, malls and commercial properties. Among the smaller things are the fact that I used to get annoyed by regularly getting stuck behind slow moving cement trucks on my way to work – the other day I was startled to see one on the road…the first in about a year, I guess.

Other things are seeing signs for new homes starting in “the low 100s” when four years ago you couldn’t find anything for less than “the high 200s”. The Mrs’ hairdresser is very stressed by her collapsed cash flow. You can go to the mall and get a parking place steps from the entrance.

I don’t care how much happy talk the banksters and bureaucrats put out – the economy just isn’t happening. Couple this with the abject failure of Obama’s leadership and the rank, nauseating corruption emanating from Congress, and you get a powerful political stew. The sort of thing which ushers in generational change.

We’ll have to see how it all comes out. Keep faith in God; say your prayers. Do the right thing, day by day – and don’t worry about the rest. But, my friends, I do believe we are doomed to live in interesting times for at least some years.

HAT TIP: Mish’s

On the House Democrats criminal refusal to pass a budget for Fiscal Year 2011 – from NRO’s The Corner:

…Without a budget, “Americans will not know the consequences of the spending spree,” Ryan says. “They won’t know what the tradeoffs down the road will be. They won’t see how this will make us borrow more money overseas, how it will push up interest rates, how it will lead to inflation problems, and how it will demand much, much higher taxes in the future.”

What’s left is a weak promise on paper. The Democrats’ draft for 2011, The Economist notes, lacks any “substantial cuts.” Instead of making actual cuts, Ryan says House Democrats are simply “talking up” spending limits without committing to any real budget guidelines. “It’s the new convenient out for the Democrats,” Ryan says. “If you want something to happen, but you don’t want to take responsibility, then you just deem it — no budget, no priorities, and no restraint. It’s just turning on the spending spigot and ignoring everything else.” …

This is Congress’ primary responsibility – producing a budget for the United States government. Believe it or not, they are not there primarily to pass the Obama agenda…they are there, first and foremost, to decide national spending priorities for the coming year. And they are refusing to do it.

Why? Because they will be either forced to make massive cuts in spending, or reveal a gigantic deficit for FY 2011 and they simply don’t want to do that until after the election, if even then. America can fall apart and die for all they care – their only concern is their power, perks and wealth. All is to be subordinated to keeping Pelosi in the Speaker’s chair and keeping the grafting heads of committees in possession of their gavels.

Now I don’t just want these people defeated in November – I want them jailed for the complete crooks that they are.

UPDATE: Over at Zero Hedge an article on the Fed’s possible plan to massively print up more fake money in one last Keynesian spasm of idiocy. Things are about to tip over in to recession, but it won’t show up until the fourth quarter, at the earliest – so look for any such move to happen after October 1st (ZH thinks after the mid-terms).

I’m sure that everyone has heard by now of the accusations leveled against Al Gore by a masseuse. On the face of it, there’s something definitely there. I don’t know about the rest of you, but if I had a masseuse come to my hotel room without my wife around, I’d be in quite a jam with the Mrs over it – even if nothing really did happen. Additionally, it wouldn’t occur to me to call in a masseuse while I’m staying at a hotel – that is the sort of thing done by someone who’s got cheating on his mind.

So, it seems that our Al Gore got off the ranch a bit – and that, perhaps, lets us know why Tipper is looking for new digs. But that isn’t what I’m on about – Gore is a private citizen and his sexual proclivities are his business. What I’m fired up about is this from Politico:

Portland’s Oregonian today printed a police report echoing a National Enquirer story that a masseuse accused Al Gore of sexual harassment in 2006.

The woman did not wind up pursuing her complaint, for reasons unclear. It’s also worth noting that the Portland Tribune had the story two years ago, and writes that it “chose at that time not to publish a story.”(emphasis added)

Two years ago! If Gore were a Republican, this thing would have led the national news coverage. Can you imagine what would happen if Dick Cheney were caught in such a scrape? Do you think the MSM would be at all reticent with running the story? That they’d wait until they had an air tight case before publishing?

Next question: what else is the MSM hiding in order to protect Democrats? I think we should all subscribe to the National Enquirer – it does seem to be the only outfit which is willing to run true stories about Democrat corruption.