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Watching the 911 stuff made Mark Steyn a little grumpy.
Waiting to be interviewed on the radio the other day, I found myself on hold listening to a public service message exhorting listeners to go to 911day.org and tell their fellow citizens how they would be observing the tenth anniversary of the, ah, “tragic events.” There followed a sound bite of a lady explaining that she would be paying tribute by going and cleaning up an area of the beach.
Great! Who could object to that? Anything else? Well, another lady pledged that she “will continue to discuss anti-bullying tactics with my grandson.”
Marvelous. Because studies show that many middle-school bullies graduate to hijacking passenger jets and flying them into tall buildings?
Whoa, ease up on the old judgmentalism there, pal. In New Jersey, many of whose residents were among the dead, middle-schoolers will mark the anniversary with a special 9/11 curriculum that will “analyze diversity and prejudice in U.S. history.” And, if the “9/11 Peace Story Quilt” at the Metropolitan Museum of Art teaches us anything, it’s that the “tragic events” only underline the “importance of respect.” And “understanding.” As one of the quilt panels puts it:
“You should never feel left out
You are a piece of a puzzle
And without you
The whole picture can’t be seen.” …
Pittsburgh’s Jack Kelly says Obama and the unions are tanking together.
… the big things labor wants — card check, a bailout of the Pension Benefit Guarantee Corp., massive pork barrel projects — are out of reach. With GOP control of the House, the outlook even for “little nibbly things” is cloudy.
Labor’s problems stem from our massive debt and dismal economy. They are exacerbated by thuggish behavior, and by the unwillingness of unions to tighten their belts as other Americans must.
President Obama is polling in Jimmy Carter territory. Unions are less popular now than in many decades. Mutual weakness will draw Democrats and unions closer, despite labor’s discontents. But the closer to each other they get, the more swing voters will recoil from both.
Jennifer Rubin posts that the president says, “Do it my way, do it now, and we’ll pay for it later.”
President Obama took to the Rose Garden today, apparently unaware that his public appearances these days annoy and bore Americans rather than persuade them. (Actually, his skills of persuasion have never been robust, on any issue.)
Today he demanded: “On Thursday, I told Congress that I’ll be sending them a bill called the American Jobs Act. Well, here it is. This is a bill that will put people back to work all across the country. This is the bill that will help our economy in a moment of national crisis. This is a bill that is based on ideas from both Democrats and Republicans. And this is the bill that Congress needs to pass. No games. No politics. No delays. I’m sending this bill to Congress today, and they ought to pass it immediately.” His contempt for Congress runneth over. …
So, what do Huntsman and Obama have in common? Besides the fact that neither one will be nominated by the GOP. Debra Saunders says they both worship science.
… Consider Energy Secretary Steven Chu, a Nobel Prize winning physicist. In 2009, Chu’s staff approved $535 million loan guarantee to the Fremont solar company, Solyndra. Within two years, despite half a billion in taxpayer dollars, Solyndra announced last week it was filing for bankruptcy, shuttering its remaining plant, and laying off 1,100 workers. That was one miscalculation. Mistakes happen.
But the biggest blunder was not made by a scientist, but by a politician who so trusted the hollow promises of the climate-change lobby that he bet the U.S. economy on green jobs that never did proliferate. That was President Obama, and you see the fruit of his misguided faith.
Forbes contributor Charles Kadlec writes on the great African American depression.
… No group has suffered more than individuals within the black community. Nearly 400,000 fewer blacks are employed today than in February 2009, and their unemployment rate has shot up a gut-wrenching 3.1 percentage points to 16.7%. By contrast, white unemployment rates are up only one-half a percentage point to 8.0%.
The comparison would look even worse except that black participation rates have fallen to 60.4% from 63.1%. If participation rates had stayed where they were, black unemployment rate today would stand at 18.8%.
Even worse, black teenage unemployment now stands at an unconscionable 46.5%. That’s right, nearly half of all black teenagers seeking employment do not have a job.
Too often liberals ignore their policy failures by insisting on their good intentions. But, not even good intentions can excuse the disparate impact the policies championed by the Congressional Black Caucus in particular, and Democrats and liberals in general, have had on the black community.
The anti-discrimination laws that rule the workplace provide a relevant standard for assessing any Administration’s economic policies. Under the law, the consequences of employment practices without regard to motive are what matter.
Using this standard, Republicans should challenge Democrats based on the consequences their policies have had on Americans in general, and on minorities in particular. No matter its motive, the Obama Administration’s strategy of increasing the size and scope of government in the name of fairness and safety has had a disparate impact on black workers. The apparent tolerance of high black unemployment as collateral damage on the road to the liberal vision of a “more just society” is itself intolerable. …
Andrew Malcolm has late night humor.
Leno: President Obama named his new $447-billion legislation the American Jobs Act. Better than the original name, the Save My Ass Act.
Letterman: Don’t forget, folks, tomorrow is take your son or daughter with you to the Unemployment Office Day.
Leno: Government statistics show the U.S. economy created zero jobs in August. President Obama now says he’s confident this month he can double that.