Top Global News Russian Prime Minister Vladimir V. Putin criticizes the FBI professionals for doing their job—BTW, Putin was a Soviet K.G.B. officer posted to East Germany in the 80s. See story.
Top U.S. News Financial “reform” bill that targets the wrong problems (ignoring FANNIE MAE and FREDDIE MAC) now stalled in the Senate. See story.
Top California News California’s pork-filled $11.14 billion water bond (I voted against it) may likely be delayed and pushed off the November ballot because of concerns that voters may reject it due to sticker shock. (The water bond includes money for bike trails in Tahoe and a golf course in L.A.) See story.
The FBI’s arrest of 11 on charges of spying for Russia has provoked an unusual response—from President Obama, who is said to be “not happy” with the timing, according to the New York Times. “Not happy”?
The FBI moved to arrest the 11 accused clandestine agents for Moscow after a seven year investigation because they were afraid of a flight risk. Indeed, one of those arrested was a Canadian citizen nabbed in Cyprus while trying to make a run for it to Budapest.
Which brings us back to the President’s reaction about the arrests of the Russian agents: “Not happy.” “Not happy” that the FBI is doing its job? “Not happy” that the arrests were made only days after President Obama had an “upbeat meeting” with the Russian president, Dmitri A. Medvedev? Both explanations betray an American President more concerned with the optics of “resetting” U.S.-Russian relations than with the manifold reasons why this relationship has been, and will remain, difficult.
A non-exhaustive listing of recent Russian challenges might be in order at this point:
Russia’s invasion and crushing of tiny, democratic Georgia in 2008.
Russia’s selling of nuclear know-how to the Islamic Republic of Iran.
Russia’s stonewalling of efforts to diplomatically isolate the same Islamic Republic for its nuclear program.
Russian’s military threat to Poland and the Czech Republic if the U.S. Missile Defense Agreement was implemented by those nations (Obama canceled the agreement in 2009).
Russia’s use of its natural gas exports as a hammer to keep European nations in line.
Russia’s selling of high-tech weapons to the People’s Republic of China.
Russia’s repeated efforts, often in league with China, to penetrate and damage U.S. computer systems via massive hacking attacks.
Russia’s long, slow slide back into authoritarianism, as evidenced by the jailing of rivals and the growing number of “mysterious” deaths of critics.
The bottom line is that Russia is reasserting itself as a reincarnation of its Czarist past—and there is little relationship for the U.S. to “reset” here. The Russians have their interests, we have ours—pretending otherwise won’t change that, other than to encourage the Russians with our weakness, as President Obama did when he made our allies in Poland and the Czech Republic “not happy” by unilaterally canceling the missile defense agreement the U.S. had with them.
Top Global News FBI arrests 11, breaks up Russian spy ring; Russian officials, and Pres. Obama, aren’t happy with the timing but the FBI feared flight risk after a 7 year investigation of spies living under deep cover. See story.
Top U.S. News Consumer confidence takes a big dip in June, job market slowdown cited as reason. See story.
Top California News California NAACP endorses marijuana legalization initiative, draws ire of pastor Ron Allen, president of the International Faith-Based Coalition, representing 3,600 congregations. See story.
Top Global News Taiwan and the People’s Republic of China sign a landmark trade deal that many in Taiwan see as a major step to giving up economic sovereignty in the face of a powerful China. See story.
Top U.S. News
Senator Robert C. Byrd (D-WV) passes away at 92, ambiguity over succession law open questions over how a replacement will be chosen. See story.
Top California News
The California Senate may vote today on a bill to improve medical coverage for those with preexisting conditions—but the federal funding only lasts three years. See story.
Top Global News CIA Chief Panetta sees power sharing between the Afghan government and the Taliban as unlikely until the Taliban have reason to want to negotiate. The proposed deal is being pushed by Pakistan. See story.
Top U.S. News
The federal judge who killed President Obama’s deepwater drilling ban is a hero to many in Louisiana as the ban has put thousands out of work. See story.
Top California News
California’s perpetually late budget and $19.1 billion budget deficits blamed on inexperienced lawmakers who cannot build expertise or forge working relationships because of short term limits. See story.
Top Global News North Korea Workers’ Party will hold a rare convention in September to validate dictator Kim Jong-il’s effort to install his son, Kim Jong-un as the new leader. Kim Jong-il took over from his father, Kim Il-sung, in the 1980s. He suffered a stroke last year. See story.
Top U.S. News
Democrats are close to total victory with their financial reform bill in Congress. The bill, which does absolutely nothing to solve the reason behind the financial crisis of 2008, government distortion of the free market caused by FANNIE MAE and FREDDIE MAC, will put further restrictions on banks and credit card companies. It also makes the Federal Reserve the most powerful financial regulator in the U.S. See story.
Top California News
Marin County, among the most affluent of California’s 58 counties, leads the way in whooping cough (pertussis) cases. One major reason: “personal belief” waivers that the parents there sign to opt out of vaccinations for their children in the mostly debunked belief that vaccinations can cause more harm than good. See story.
Top Global News Tensions and war talk run hot on the Korean peninsula on the 60th anniversary of the Korean War. See story.
Top U.S. News
Final first quarter economic growth number trimmed to a 2.7 percent annual rate, from a previously estimated 3 percent. Not to worry, one analyst whistled, there is no concern for a double dip recession as the massive debt-driven Stimulus is “burning off.” See story.
Top California News
California’s welfare recipients used $1.8 million of taxpayer money at casinos (that we know about) in less than a year. The welfare debit cards are supposed to be abuse-proof. See story.
On June 2, I debated against AB 1998, a bill that would ban single use plastic bags while forcing grocery stores to charge $0.05 per bag for paper. One of my arguments was that making consumers bring their own reusable bags to the grocery store would put people at risk to food-borne illness – something that already hits a massive 76 million Americas every year.
Now, along comes a study cited in today’s Los Angeles Times that says I was right. In an article entitled, “What’s in your shopping bag? Bacteria. (But, hey, it’s natural!)” we learn that in a test of 84 reusable grocery bags, 83 of them had massive amounts of bacteria, including coliform bacteria (common in fecal material), with E. coli in 12% of the bags.
Now, washing the reusable bags will take care of the problem, but 97% of the shoppers asked didn’t wash their bags (which is about the percentage of the contaminated bags tested, not surprisingly).
I wonder if the liberal do-gooders who drafted and voted for the bill considered the energy and water-intensive nature of washing reusable bags? I know the same folks have ignored this larger energy question in their quest to ban disposable diapers (cloth diapers take more energy than disposable when calculating cleaning).
Sadly, Gov. Schwarzenegger has already said he’d sign this bill which, if passed into law, will literally kill dozens of Californians every year due to salmonella and E. coli illness. But hey, it’s for the planet, more people dead via food-borne illness means less humans on planet Earth, something the far left greens have been advocating for years.
Top Global News The new Australian Prime Minister backs off on big new taxes on the mining industry, Australia’s largest industry. See story.
Top U.S. News
The Federal government again blocks LA Gov. Jindal’s effort to protect sensitive marsh areas from the Gulf oil spill by building protective berms – so much for “federalism” as envisioned by the Founders. See story.
Top California News
California sells Orange County Fairgrounds for $96 million to the Orange County Fairgrounds Authority, a newly-created government agency led by the City of Costa Mesa. This is exactly the outcome I was expecting when I voted for the bill that: raises badly needed money for the state; and lifts state control of a unique Orange County asset. See story.
The president’s relief of Gen. Stanley McChrystal, America’s former theater commander in Afghanistan, was simultaneously unfortunate and necessary.
President Obama usually governs as an ideologue for whom the Constitution is negotiable, but in this case, he got it exactly right: the American system demands absolute civilian control of our military, and it falls upon the president to enforce that. Though the now-infamous Rolling Stone article only contains arguable evidence of Gen. McChrystal’s insubordination, it indisputably shows that he tolerated a command atmosphere in which his subordinates felt free to disparage and deride their lawful civilian superiors. This isn’t just a violation of UCMJ Article 88 — it’s a challenge to our Constitutional system.
Gen. McChrystal bears direct responsibility for the conditions of his command, and he suffered a just penalty for it.
Now that Gen. McChrystal is relieved, we must turn to the questions raised by the Rolling Stone piece, and by the president’s war leadership in general. How did the military chain of command in Afghanistan come to lose confidence in the civilian leadership? Comparison is made to the conflict between Gen. Douglas MacArthur and President Harry Truman, but that was at bottom a substantive policy dispute. Gen. McChrystal, by contrast, got most of what he wanted from the president in the policy sphere.
If McChrystal bears responsibility for his own command atmosphere, then the dysfunctional relationship between him, the U.S. Ambassador to Afghanistan Karl Eikenberry, the president’s Special Representative for Afghanistan and Pakistan Richard Holbrooke, and Vice President Joe Biden are the president’s responsibility. One the basic principles of war that every U.S. Army officer learns is the need for unity of command. President Obama hasn’t established that in Afghanistan. It’s time he did.
America’s war in Afghanistan is a war worth fighting — and winning. The president has announced that Gen. David Petraeus is to leave Central Command and return to theater command as McChrystal’s replacement. President Obama has reconstituted President George W. Bush’s winning warfighting leadership, from Defense Secretary Robert Gates to Petraeus, he now needs to provide clear strategic guidance and leadership — the men and women in harm’s way deserve nothing less.
Assemblyman Chuck DeVore, R-Irvine, served in the California Army National Guard, retiring with the rank of lieutenant colonel.
