Whither Turkey?

Turkey has long been held up by the west as an example of a moderate, secularized Muslim nation. Kemal Ataturk founded a secular republic in the aftermath of the fall of the Ottoman empire after World War I, and aggressively sought to limit the role of Islam in governmental affairs to spur the development of the nation.

A few years ago, an Islamic party, the Justice and Development Party (AKP) under the leadership of Prime Minister Tayyip Erdogan, came to power. The hope in Washington has been that the AKP could be an example to the Muslim world that freedom could co-exist during the rule of a Muslim-oriented political party. Moreover, the United States has sought to bring Turkey into the European Union to cement its ties to the West.

Unfortunately, a recent column in the Wall Street Journal raises concerns that such hopes could be trampled. Erdogan has used the power of government to reduce the freeedom of the press. A free press is critical to exposing and limiting abuses by any government, and most authoritarian regimes limit the press to prevent critical coverage of the government.

Let's hope the Obama administration is taking notice. Obama's attempts to reach out to the Islamic world have been long on criticism of America's actions and short on substantive measures to work for positive change in Islamic nations. Turkey is too important to ignore or fail to hold to high standards.

Iran-Venezuela Axis

Manhattan District Attorney Robert Morgenthau has undertaken the unusual step of writing an op-ed piece warning of the growing relationship between Iran and Venezuela. Morgenthau believes that Iran is interested in using Venezuela to launder money to purchase materials for its nuclear and missile programs, while Iran supports Venezuela's efforts to overthrow pro-American regimes and replace with Chavez-oriented dictatorships.

Remarkably for a district attorney, Morgenthau adds that law enforcement alone is not sufficient to deal with this threat, and he is no doubt correct.

But let me add what I suspect may be another long-term goal of the Iran-Venezuela axis. Caracas is less than 2,150 miles from New York and 1,400 miles from Miami. If Iran deployed the ballistic missiles it is developing, armed with nuclear weapons, to Venezuela, it would confront the United States with a direct, credible nuclear threat against the continental United States.

Every so often, a Chinese general will publicly ask, "will America sacrifice Los Angeles to protect Taiwan?" Someday Iran can ask, "will America sacrifice Miami to protect Israel or Saudi Arabia?"

If Barack Obama does not deal with the nuclear threat from Iran decisively with a military attack, it will be one of the greatest disasters in American foreign policy history.

Health Insurance 103

One of the many myths that Obama and the Democrats are spreading about health insurance is that there isn't sufficient competition in the insurance market, and therefore either a government-run insurance plan or government-led insurance exchange needs to be established to create such competition.

Reality so differs from this myth, it boggles the mind. There are many large, publicly-traded health insurance companies in America that compete aggressively with one another. The biggest include: United Health, Wellpoint, Aetna, Cigna, Humana, Healthnet, and Coventry.

But there are many other health insurance providers, and remarkably, some of the biggest providers in any given state are not-for-profit Blue Cross Blue Shield plans.

That's right: not-for-profit providers are already some of the leading providers of health insurance in America.

Now, the reality is, the not-for-profit health insurers need to operate profitably, so they can maintain and grow their capital base and have the financial means to serve customers properly. But that is just another way of saying, a proper not-for-profit insurance system has to reflect market realities and not the whims of politicians.

Obama and the Democrats know this, since the prominence of these not-for-profits in health insurance is unmistakable. So when they claim the need for government-provided competition, it is their excuse for ultimately creating a government-only insurance market. Because rest assured, the government will underprice insurance (as it always does, as evidenced by government-provided car and hurricane insurance) and ultimately drive the private insurers out of business.

So the public option, or its weakened version in the form of health exchanges, would slowly but surely lead to full government control of health insurance in America. And when the government eventually pays all the bills, it will then exert overwhelming influence over all aspects of healthcare, from drug development to how hospitals and doctors treat patients.

The Doomsday Clock is at 11:57 pm

The United States, UK, and France have sprung their "trap" on Iran by deciding to announce now the existence of a secret Iranian nuclear facility. Reports indicate we have known of this facility for some time, and that Barack Obama was briefed on it during his presidential transition.

Clearly, Obama and our allies are hoping that its disclosure, during the UN's General Assembly meetings and before the G-20 conference this week, will convince other nations to support tougher sanctions.

Unfortunately, it illustrates the depths of Iran's nuclear program and adds to the overwhelming evidence that Iran's nuclear efforts are designed to produce weapons and not energy.

If Obama were a bold leader, dedicated to protecting America's interests, he would seize on this disclosure to further justify an immediate attack on Iran's nuclear facilities.

Instead, Obama, having set September 30 as the deadline for constructive negotiations, has in the spirit of all efforts with Iran for the past seven years, extended the deadline another three months - rewarding Iran for its defiance with more time to harden its facilities to attack, build its defenses, and continue to develop its nuclear program.

America, not Israel, is the only nation that has a realistic chance of dealing a decisive blow to Iran's nuclear program. As this article by military analyst Anthony Cordesman suggests, Israel doesn't possess anything close to the military capabilities of the United States to devastate Iran's nuclear program.

The answer, with all its attendant difficulties, is that we must bomb Iran now to disrupt and destroy as much of its nuclear program as we can - and continue to bomb Iran if we haven't destroyed their facilities or if Iran resumes working on its nuclear program.

How About That

Buried in the news is that the Obama administration has asked Congress to renew three provisions of the Patriot Act that expire at the end of this year.

Recall that Democrats attacked the Patriot Act as a violation of our civil liberties, while the Bush administration argued they were necessary to protect us from terrorist attacks while preserving our freedom.

So despite all the bombast directed at President Bush, now it is Barack Obama who agrees with the policy.

This is just part of a long litany of Bush terrorism policies Democrats opposed that Obama now favors. The responsibility to protect Americans no doubt now weighs on Obama. Too bad Democrats couldn't have exercised real leadership rather than engage in baseless partisanship when the country needed it.

How to Harm the Economy and Our International Relations

The "buy American" provision in the $787 billion "stimulus" bill is raising trade frictions and harming businesses, as described in the Wall Street Journal.

This is just one concrete example of how the "stimulus" bill actually harms the economy, and is harming America's relations with other countries.

Do you think this what Obama meant by "resetting" our relationships in foreign affairs?

The Great Depression of 2008-09?

With Ben Bernake saying that recession is "very likely over", it is time to take stock of the politically-inspired fear mongering that has surrounded this recession.

The Federal Reserve pursued policies in 2008-2009 completely contradictory to those pursued during 1929-1933. In 1929-1933, the Federal Reserve reduced the supply of money, creating a huge deflation and destroying the financial system. In contrast during in the past 18 months, the Fed has flooded the economy with money, with a predictable result: the recession would end led by monetary policy.

But the Democrats saw political gold in creating the impression that the economy was in terrible shape, and with a compliant press, succeeded. It was a critical element to Obama's victory last November and to passing the "stimulus" bill, whose effects have barely registered and for which most of its spending has yet to take place.

Monetary policy, along with government led subsidies for housing, got us into the financial crisis and recession. Now it is getting us out of the recession. Obama deserves no credit for this since he wasn't the architect of monetary policy - that is the Fed's job, which is an entity independent of the executive branch.

Instead, Obama's spending extravaganza, raising taxes, nationalizing the auto industry, proposing radical changes to the healthcare industry, opposing free trade pacts, and promoting cap-and-trade all serve to increase uncertainty in the economy and slow recovery and growth going forward.

How Much Do I Love Thee?

The Obama administration delivered another gift to labor unions, by imposing tariffs on tires imported from China.

So Americans can pay higher prices for tires and have worse relations with China - so Obama can deliver more favors to the unions.

A few days later, Obama spoke to union members in Pennsylvania and Ohio asking for their support for this health care plans.

If you think that's a coincidence, I've got a bridge you can buy.

Honduras Outrage

Barack Obama is pursuing "change" in our foreign affairs: he is punishing our friends and coddling up to thuggish regimes.

From pushing Israel to stop settlement activity to help the Palestinians, imposing trade restraints to help unions, and ending the missile defense system in Poland and the Czech Republic to help Russia, the Obama administration has decided it is easier to get "progress" on its diplomatic efforts by hurting our friends and helping our enemies.

No where is that more evident than Honduras. Mary Anastasia O'Grady of the Wall Street Journal has done yeoman's work on the Obama administrations efforts to pressure Honduras to overturn its constitution to force its former president back in office (see here and here). The administration has even threatened not to recognize the victor in the November presidential election, all the more stunning since the ousted president wasn't constitutionally allowed to run again.

The beneficiary of Obama's efforts is the Venezuelan dictator, Hugo Chavez.

Nice trade: out with the Honduras constitution, in with Chavez authoritarianism.

"You Lie" Takes on New Meaning

Barack Obama pushed back on George Stephanopoulos' questions by claiming it is not a tax if the government requires people to pay up to $3,800 if they don't buy health insurance.

Stephanopoulos is a former member of the Clinton White House, so is a partisan advocate of Democrats. Even he was astounded by Obama's tax denial, going so far as to say he looked up the definition of "tax" to criticize Obama.

So let's look at various definitions of "tax" from online sources:

Merrian-Webster defines a tax as "a charge usually of money imposed by authority on persons or property for public purposes."

Dictionary.com says a tax is "a sum of money demanded by a government for its support or for specific facilities or services, levied upon incomes, property, sales, etc."

The Cambridge Dictionaries Online say a tax is "an amount of money paid to the government, which is based on your income or the cost of goods or services you have bought."

Google's dictionary says a tax is "an amount of money that you have to pay to the government so that it can pay for public services."

Wikipedia says "to tax" is "to impose a financial charge or other levy upon a taxpayer."

The point is clear: Obama is completely wrong . He is proposing a large tax, directed overwhelmingly on those making below $250,000 - the very group he claimed during the campaign for whom he wouldn't raise taxes.

Not So Smart After All

It is now official: Barack Obama isn't that smart or verbally talented after all.

On his weekend blitz of the Sunday morning talk shows, Obama was asked by Bob Schieffer of CBS if the extra costs of new health care legislation would be passed on to consumers.

Obama replied: "Here"s the problem, they're passing on those costs to the consumer anyway."

Huh? The president is saying that health care providers are passing on costs that don't currently exist?

And when pressed by Schieffer that "this would be more" costs, Obama said: "No, the difference is, they're making huge profits on it."

Here is an economics lesson for Obama: businesses must pass on to consumers the cost of producing their products or services, since if they don't they can't remain in business. Higher costs means higher prices.

This reminds me of an incident with my dentist, who expressed dismay with Obama's health care plans. My dentist believed that Obama was such a smart guy (and voted for him on that basis) he'd never do something so stupid as what the Democrats are proposing.

So for my dentist and all voters, the message from this and other incidents: check your premises. Democrats aren't as smart as you think, and the values they hold are inimical to prosperity.

Russia Wins Again

Barack Obama keeps on handing victories to Russia on important matters. The latest victory is Obama's decision to abandon plans to place missile defense systems in Poland and the Czech Republic to defend Europe against a missile attack from Iran.

Although the system would have had only 10 interceptors, far too few to thwart a Russian missile attack, Russia felt threatened by the system. So Obama has accommodated Russian pressure, at the expense of our allies who took risks to help defend the region.

Obama's decision comes on the heels of Russia announcing it won't support sanctions against Iran. Perhaps with this gift, Russia will change its mind.

This incident also highlights that bombing Iran is not just the only viable alternative to stopping its nuclear activities, but that the price we are paying to try to stop them through diplomacy keeps on growing.

Crime and the Economy

One of the left's shibboleths is that poverty and difficult economic times are a root cause of crime.

But facts are a difficult thing, and the facts tell a different story.

During the economic boom of the 1920's, crime increased significantly, while crime decreased in the 1930's during the Great Depression. The imposition of Prohibition in the 1920's, and its repeal in the 1930's, no doubt had an important role. But it illustrates that crime is not just about poverty and hard times.

And now we turn to today. The FBI recently announced that crime dropped in 2008, despite the difficult economic environment.

Don't expect the left, so disconnected from reality, to change its tune.

Medical Innovation

Obama's plans to increase government control of the healthcare system will further erode the incentives for medical innovation, which requires confidence by investors and entrepreneurs that they can profit from their long-term investments in new drugs and medical products.

It Was Only a Matter of Time

Nancy Pelosi's opposition to sending additional troops to Afghanistan means she opposes the "war of necessity" that Barack Obama has said is so important to American security.

It was alleged by many Democrats in the past few years of the Bush administration that they believed fighting in Iraq detracted America from its efforts in Afghanistan - implicitly or explicitly saying that Afghanistan was important to our security.

In reality, it was a convenient way for Democrats to look tough on national security by supporting more troops for Afghanistan while opposing the war in Iraq. Now that our military efforts are being scaled back in Iraq and increasing in Afghanistan, some Democrats are now voicing concern over our efforts in Afghanistan.

The one constancy by the left is an opposition to America protecting its interests and asserting its values around the world.

Russia to Obama: Nyet

Russia opposes Iran sanctions, after the Obama administration's "reset" of relations was designed to elicit Russia's support on issues of importance to America, such as Iran. On missile defense in allies Poland and the Czech Republic and on Georgia, Obama has suggested policies to help Russia while hurting our friends.

And Russia has rewarded Obama's efforts by saying it won't back new sanction on Iran, which has been the cornerstone of Obama's Iran policy.

As I have said, that leaves us with one viable option: bomb Iran now.

Goldman's Gambit

Goldman Sachs CEO Lloyd Blankfein seemingly took the high road by calling for a ban on multi-year contracts in the investment banking industry.

Instead, his suggestion, while appealing to the critics of Wall Street compensation, also helps Goldman.

Because Goldman is one of the most successful Wall Street firms, for other firms to recruit away its employees, they often need to offer multi-year contracts. So if such contracts were banned, it would help Goldman retain its employees and hurt its competitors.

In the part capitalist, part socialist economy we have, using the government to help one's competitive position has sadly become a common occurrence in business. That's one reason why business leaders shouldn't be seen as advocates of a capitalist system, since they will often embrace government interference with the market to advance their goals.

The Doomsday Clock is at 11:56 pm

The Wall Street Journal reports that Iran may have the capability to quickly develop a nuclear bomb. Meanwhile, Barack Obama continues to pursue a long drawn out diplomatic path that won't stop Iran from building the bomb.

While I believed when he took office that Obama would eventually seek to destroy Iran's nuclear facilities, not because he wants to, but because of domestic political necessity, his foreign policy to date has been alarming: apologizing for America's actions, appeasing Russia on a host of issues, doing Hugo Chavez's bidding in Honduras, and gutting missile defense.

The answer, despite all the risks and complications it will produce, is: bomb Iran now and threaten its leadership with greater destruction if they respond against Iran, Israel, or elsewhere with terror attacks or through its proxies.