bin Laden speaks, Obama changes nothing and Democrats...well...

A new tape from bin Laden is calling for the ousting of Somalia President Sheikh Sharif Sheikh Ahmed. The tape claims Sharif has sold out to the infidels. Sharif has already called for, and received cabinet backing, for implementation of Shari Law. But, for those who think appeasement will be enough:

But the hard line Islamists rejected the move, saying it would not be a strict enough version of Islamic law.

Not strict enough? That should give serious pause to anyone thinking of negotiating with bin Laden and those like him. Even though Sharif has support from several Islamic groups, al-Qaeda linked al-Shabab still fights the government, and controls most of southern and central Somali. bin Laden was previously based in Somalia, so there could easily be large sentiment in his favor among extremists. And, the focus is on that word: extremists. As Sharif is finding, appeasement does not work with hard line extremists.

More concerning is the possible home connections of al-Shabab.

For several months the FBI has been investigating at least 20 Somali-American men from the Minneapolis area who traveled to war-torn Somalia, where some of them trained and fought with an Al Qaeda-linked terrorist group known as al-Shabaab, according to counterterrorism officials.

While there is no proof that these men are actually planning any type of attacks in the US, there is growing concern over the possibilities, especially since the latest bin Laden message. Several investigations are on-going.

Meanwhile, The Senate confirmed Obama’s nominee for Solicitor General, who just happens to be a former law school colleague. But, there are other indications in his continuing lack of change.

A former Clinton administration lawyer who's been the dean of Harvard Law School since 2003, Kagan is seen as a possible Obama nominee for any future opening on the high court.

Despite his call for change, and his claim to want Washington outsiders in his government, Obama continually seems to be picking former Clinton advisors and colleagues for his administration.

(…so much for any real change…)

Finally, another Democrat has been caught in a scandal.

A divided Ohio Elections Commission found Thursday that former Attorney General Marc Dann twice violated state elections law by using campaign funds to pay for an expensive in-home security system and a cell phone often used for personal calls.

His election was part of a Democratic near sweep of Ohio’s elected offices after state investment scandal involving Republicans. It is interesting to note that, in Clintonesque style, Dann had already resigned back in May due to a sexual harassment scandal.

Bad Decisions...And More Bad Decisions

Well…no surprise…but another Obama nominee appears to be in legal trouble.

Obama appointee Vivek Kundra is on leave from his White House post following the arrest Thursday of one of his former colleagues on suspicion of bribery and money laundering.

Now, to be fair, Kundra is not actually named as a party in any of the FBI actions. But, it once again raises the question of who Obama associates with. Pre-election, he was bothered by conservative calls for definition and repudiation of relationships with several unsavory characters. Since his election, he has appointed several who have had tax-evasion problems. And, it seems the circle just keeps repeating itself. My question for America is when does the love of personal charisma give way to legitimate skepticism?

Kind of makes you wonder about another Presidential nominee.

Prominent Wall Street lawyer H. Rodgin Cohen has withdrawn from consideration to become deputy U.S. Treasury Secretary, Democratic sources said on Thursday, dealing another setback to the department's efforts to fill critical positions.



Cohen is the second person to withdraw from consideration for the No. 2 job at Treasury after former Securities and Exchange Commissioner Annette Nazareth decided to drop out last week.

What is it about our President that keeps him from picking people for important positions who do not have legal or personal problems that unqualify them for office? When you add it all up, it appears that the conservatives may have been more correct in their judgments than the liberal left has been.

(...didn't we hear somewhere that there would be no double standard for Obama's appointments?...guess the media really does recognize a difference between a liberal and a conservative...check the coverage levels for yourself...)

01/25 Morning Report

There are more donation scandal problems facing Democrats. This time, it’s about Obama, the apparent closet Muslim. Along with taking donations from Antoin "Tony" Rezko, who is now under investigation by federal authorites on corruption charges, Obama also bought a piece of real estate from him while Rezko was under grand jury investigation. Obama claims everything was above board. But, even considering he gave all the campaign donations to charity, those are not actions that speak well of anyone running for the presidency.


Indiana’s voter identification law is being reviewed by the Supreme Court. Sure, the rules should not violate the constitution. But, without identification rules, what proof is there that someone really is the voter in question? Or is even a real citizen and entitled to vote at all? The AP does the usual media hack job of citing a couple of special cases, which do need to be addressed. Several solutions are avaialbe like states where

…voters can present other forms of ID - such as a Social Security card, a utility bill or a student ID bearing a photograph- or they can sign an affidavit affirming their identity.

But, in conjunction with “voter’s rights” groups, the writer, and MSM in general, totally ignores the larger issue. And, as usual, the fight breaks down along party lines. It’s pretty obvious this is going to get uglier as time goes on.


And, for those who think the sub-prime mortgage problem has been bad, it could get worse. Officials are now worried about bond insurer failures.

Regulators fear a possible chain of events in which the troubled bond insurers, MBIA and Ambac, might be unable to keep their promise to pay investors if borrowers default on their debt.

That could leave nearly $1 trillion in bonds, and their holders, uncovered in case of corporate default.

(…bet the Feds can’t cover that much with a bailout…time to get over our belief that government can solve all our problems…and regulate morality…)


On the subject of investing, have you ever wondered why the securities industry is the most regulated group behind nuclear power? Well, you could ask French bank Societe Generale. They just uncovered a massive fraud problem, supposedly caused by one man. The damage is approximately $7.1 billion. The suspected individual dealt in futures for the bank. The scariest part of the announcement?

Speaking to the BBC, [Nick] Leeson, [the rogue trader that brought down Barings Bank], said he was not shocked that the latest fraud had taken place - only its scale.

"Rogue trading is probably a daily occurrence within the financial markets," he said.

"What shocked me was the size. I never for one moment believed it would get to this degree of magnitude, this degree of loss."

(…that just fills you with confidence in the financial markets…doesn’t it?…)