Ruminations

THANKS FOR THE VIDEO THOUGH: President Obama's vaunted video greetings to the Iranians to mark their "Nowruz" holiday was seen for what it was -- a sign of weakness. Now the Iranians have tossed American journalist, Roxana Saberi, in jail for 8 years alleging that she was a spy. Teheran sees a vulnerability and is now trying to exploit it. I'd be surprised if the back channels weren't being worked to determine a means of releasing Ms. Saberi. Perhaps thawing a frozen bank account or releasing a senior Qods Force operator who was captured last December in Iraq? Watch for a decent interval between the two.

MS'ING IN ACTION: You have to like the way Bill O'Reilly criticizes the left leaning MSNBC. He goes after NBC and their corporate masters GE instead. Obviously, why give Olberman, Maddow, and Matthews a plug on his show? Given the way that Jeff Immelt has run GE into the ground, he's a bigger and easier target instead.

CUT TO THE CHASE: I understand that ESPN and TNT have paid for a lengthy NBA playoffs -- they need something to put on the air other than poker tournaments and Law & Order repeats. However, it seems that everyone is expecting the finals to be between the Lakers and the Cavaliers. So let's can all these unnecessary and meaningless games and have these guys play it out and end the basketball season in early May rather than in late June.

PERCEPTION: I'm not a DHS junkie, but the only times I notice DHS Secretary Napolitano on the news is when she is explaining what a "man-made" disaster is and how it could be possible that disaffected vets may want to join right wing militias. Our adversaries are taking note as well.

PENNIES: James Warren a couple of weeks back on the McLaughlin Group observed that that the $200 million allotted by the federal government for teacher merit pay, was, to use his term, "pennies." I eagerly await to hear his assessment of Obama's $100 million budget cut.

US OUT OF MEXICO: Stanley Crouch a week or so ago, spent a whole column denouncing gun violence. Hard to argue with that. However, to add a sense of urgency to his need for greater gun control, he added this whopper:

We can add in the documented fact that weapons bought at unmonitored gun fairs are arming Mexican drug dealers who will end up fighting American troops very soon.

The "fact" may be documented but it's not true. Moreover, it seems that Mr. Crouch has an inside line to the Pentagon that is facilitated by wearing a specially designed tin hat. Perhaps, Mr. Crouch is unaware of this documented fact.