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Guests: Richard Wolffe, Amanda Drury, David Corn, Abderrahim Foukara, Danielle Pletka, Eric Boehlert, Josh Marshall, Jack Lew
CHRIS MATTHEWS, HOST: The right goes wild.
Let's play HARDBALL.
Good evening and happy Valentine's Day. I've got a tie for the occasion. I'm Chris Matthews in Washington. Leading off tonight: The far side. Whenever you think progressives need to calm down and get real, you should head over to something called CPAC. It's the right-wing jamboree that puts the zany in the same room as the zanier, where Ron Paul wins the presidential straw poll, where Dick Cheney and Donald Rumsfeld get booed—a rare moment of sanity over there—and where a real-life Mitt Romney shows up only to be upstaged by a fake Sarah Palin. Talk about switcharoos! Usually, it's Romney doing the pretending.
We missed a lot of the fun last week because of the revolution in Egypt. Well, tonight, what you need to know about how the right plans to run against President Obama. If this is the starting, lineup I can only imagine what characters they've got sitting on the bench.
And about that revolution in Egypt—it's spreading. Today the unrest erupted in Yemen, in Bahrain, and most delightfully, I must say, for all of us, Iran. There is no footage, of course, because they won't allow it, but NBC News producer Ali Aruzi (ph) reports thousands have gathered and fought with security forces in Teheran and fought tear gas and other methods used against them in other Iranian cities. Could we be witnessing the start of a new Iranian revolution, and you might even end up having a republic over there?
Also, Obama presents his budget. Is what he showed us and the Republicans today simply, a lure, a first attempt to bring both sides together and really cut the debt?
And Glenn Beck may be losing it. What else can you say when he say the communists are behind the Egyptian revolution and the Islamists are trying to infiltrate the American right wing?
Finally, "Let Me Finish" with the propaganda that got us to attack Iraq in 2003, lies so void of truth that even Donald Rumsfeld has stopped repeating them.
Let's begin with the right-wing jamboree called CPAC. David Corn is the Washington bureau chief for "Mother Jones" and an MSNBC political analyst and Josh Marshall is the founder and editor of Talking Points Memo.
Here's a taste, a little collage or montage, of what we heard at CPAC during—well, and interesting things were happening in Cairo. This is what we missed. Let's listen.
HERMAN CAIN ®, PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: The American dream is under attack. But the good news is we are fighting back!
ANDREW BREITBART, BLOGGER: I don't know why I decided to make my career trying to destroy the institutional left. I thought that would just be a fun thing to do and it would look good on a resume.
BREITBART: It's so fun.
JOHN BOLTON, FMR. U.S. AMBASSADOR TO THE U.N.: We do not accept an America that is weak and declining!
ANN COULTER, COMMENTATOR: What do you mean knowing that there are jailed journalists? I think there should be more jailed journalists!
MATTHEWS: You know, sometimes it's better not to comment, but I'm asking you guys to comment. David and Josh, that—you know, there's some people that you don't want to meet in a bar. That's for sure even, or if you're watching "Star Wars." But what an amazing group of people there, David. And I think what you're seeing there is—it's almost like a levitation, like in some carnival act, like they're levitating. It has nothing to do with reality over there.
DAVID CORN, "MOTHER JONES," MSNBC POLITICAL ANALYST: Well, maybe it's like the sideshow at a carnival...
MATTHEWS: Right.
CORN: ... where you go in and you see all these creatures (INAUDIBLE) if they're real or not. I mean, this is what—this is like a zoo where you're allowed to feed the animals. In fact, you're expected to feed the animals. So while you and I and Josh and others were spending Thursday and Friday thinking about Egypt, what were they doing? They were attacking Obama for being a socialist, for believing America is evil, for causing the economic downturn.
MATTHEWS: ... the words come from their mouths. Here it is, CPAC speakers on President Obama. Let's listen.
RICK SANTORUM (R-PA), FORMER U.S. SENATOR: President Obama, when he first came into office, went around the—went around the world and apologized for America. He didn't see America as good, he saw America as something that was a force for disruption, even evil, even sinister aims.
REP. MICHELLE BACHMANN ®, MINNESOTA: We have seen President Obama usher in socialism under his watch over the last two years!
NEWT GINGRICH (R-GA), FMR. SPEAKER OF THE HOUSE: And I hate to tell this to our friends at MSNBC and elsewhere, Barack Obama is no Ronald Reagan!
MATTHEWS: That's Newt Gingrich doing his Orson Bean impression. Nobody else talks like that. Anyway, Josh Marshall, that accent of his is just—I don't know where it comes from. But anyway, it's a strange character (ph). Newt Gingrich with his personal history, you got to wonder. He's running against Barack Obama. You've got them attacking him for his foreign—not loving America enough. I've never heard anybody speak so beautifully about America, at least going back to Reagan, as this president. What do they want him to say about America that would convince them that he loves this place and cares about this place? It made him, it was his opportunity for existence, and yet they keep knocking him, saying he hates America. What is that angle about, with Santorum and the rest of them?
JOSH MARSHALL, TALKINGPOINTSMEMO.COM: I think it goes back to what you were saying a few moments ago. They're just operating in an alternate reality. I don't think there's anything that President Obama could say that would change what they're saying in any way.
But you know, when you listen to those voices, what it shows me is that the kind of candidates and the kind of—you know, the kinds of slogans that can do pretty well for you in a mid-term campaign really don't play well in a national campaign, a presidential campaign. And I think that's the pivot that the Republican Party is dealing with right now, that these—a lot of these same people really helped the Republicans, you know, wallop the Democrats in the House last year.
MATTHEWS: Yes.
MARSHALL: But you know, going into a—going into a presidential, this kind of stuff, like the president hates America and he's brought us under socialism in two years—that sounds very out there, I think, to a broader...
MATTHEWS: Well, I think the "out there" is true.
MARSHALL: ... (INAUDIBLE) of people.
MATTHEWS: And I think here's a question. How much will the people who end up—the person, the team that ends up running against President Obama next year—how much will they have to kiss butt with this crowd to get to that nomination?
MARSHALL: I think a lot. I think a lot.
MATTHEWS: That's the scary part. Now, here's Congressman (INAUDIBLE) I've never met him before. I have an open mind for about 30 seconds here before I hear from him. And here's former governor Tim Pawlenty, who's doing more kiss butt than anybody I've ever seen. They're cracking birther jokes. He'll do anything to prove that he's insane. And actually, he's not. This is the sad thing about the Republican Party. Credible people like Pawlenty, the governor of Minnesota, have to act zany to get the nomination. Here he is. Here they both are. Let's listen.
REP. PAUL LABRADOR ®, IDAHO: I'm fortunate enough to be an American citizen by birth, and I do have the birth certificate to prove it.
TIM PAWLENTY ®, FMR. MINNESOTA GOV.: Now, I'm not one who questions the president's birth certificate and the existence of his birth certificate, but when you listen to his policies, don't you at least wonder what planet he's from?
MATTHEWS: You know, I have to tell you, you know, what it is—the idea that you use the president's American citizenship as set-up material for jokes—now -- (INAUDIBLE) like in Vegas, you tell a joke based on a set-up, and the set-up is somehow he's not really one of us. That's the chuckle.
CORN: Well, that's the whole theme of the conference, that we have to take our country back from this secret socialist Muslim who actually wants to destroy it because he hates it so much.
MATTHEWS: And if you follow Glenn Beck, who takes them all the way to Pluto, he says that, basically, the communists, the socialists, Obama...
CORN: Are working together.
MATTHEWS: ... and they're infiltrating the conservative groups.
CORN: Yes. I was at the meeting last Tuesday. But you know—but Mitt Romney, who's supposed to be one of the adults in the room, he came out—he came out and gave his speech, and he said that the economic downturn was caused by Obama and the Democrats. So they really are, as Josh says, creating this alternative world where there's no history no, there's no truth, and it's just about one liners and feeding the base.
MATTHEWS: Well, here's Ron Paul. He won the CPAC straw poll. They think he should be president. And actually, I respect his basic libertarianism. I don't think it really applies to real life, but I like the sentiment, at least, but it's not real. Here's Mitt Romney—now, let's take a look here. He took second. Look at these numbers. We're looking at the numbers now.
It's interesting there how poorly Palin did, Josh, I mean among the zanos.
MARSHALL: Right. Right. You know, I think she's...
MATTHEWS: She couldn't even win among the zanos.
MARSHALL: She's—and you know, that has to be her constituency. I mean, I think she's taken a real—she's taken a real hit over the last few months. And you know, she really has become more and more of, you know, sort of like a talk radio, a chat show TV person than even—you know, even the level of seriousness that she may have had as a presidential candidates, you know, six months ago or a year ago, which is not saying much.
You know, going back to what David was just saying, I think, you know, there's this very weird inverse relationship that's playing right now among Republican presidential candidates, that the more—you know, the more in the reality-based world you actually are, the crazier the things are that you have to say to inoculate yourself...
MATTHEWS: Yes! That's what I was saying about...
MARSHALL: ... against the relatively sane. You're absolutely right about Pawlenty. He is—this is a—you know, this is a fairly run-of-the-mill, you know, Midwestern Republican governor. But he's out there saying, you know, no raising the debt ceiling and the president's from Mars. He kind of has to crazy it up to even get into the game.
MATTHEWS: It's like the first primaries in crazy land. You have to go into crazy land and prove it. You have to be like Mitt Romney pretending you're funny. You have to (INAUDIBLE) Pawlenty and say you want to bring back DADT, bring back "Don't ask, don't tell," anything to appeal to the crowd.
MATTHEWS: But I do respect this guy because he's never tried to really run for president by saying—by pretending he's somebody he isn't. He is what he is, 100 percent -- 100 proof, really—libertarian. Here he is at CPAC, Ron Paul, the guy they love. Let's listen.
PAUL: What if I could offer you and say, Look we're not doing such a good job in government these days. We make promises and we don't know about the future. But would you consider opting out of the whole system under one condition—you pay 10 percent of your income, but you take care of yourself. Don't ask the government for anything!
MATTHEWS: So this is where they lose traction, when they get into practical stuff. You're never going to go onto a federal highway again. You're never going to go to an airport that is regulated by FAA. You're never going to eat a can of tuna fish (INAUDIBLE) inspected for ptomaine. You're going to do your own inspections for ptomaine. You're going to inspect the...
CORN: And your own cancer research. Don't forget about that. And you're going to defend yourself if we're invaded by Canada.
MATTHEWS: You're going to defend yourself from the enemy if anybody attacks America.
CORN: Listen...
MATTHEWS: And by the way, when you get old and sick and you need help, you're going to remember you made this deal, Josh. And of course, everybody—my dad and I used to have these arguments as a kid when I bought some of this libertarian -- (INAUDIBLE) wait a minute the very people who say, I'll just pay my 10 percent are the ones you're going to have to take care of later because they're all going to be older. They're going to be sick because everybody gets sick at some point. Everybody definitely gets old. And everybody needs help. And everybody gets on an airplane sometime. And everybody needs help. And they never want to admit it. It's this whole—well, it's a carnival.
Anyway, thank you. I do like the theory, by the way, of self-reliance, but when you get into the real world, it doesn't work. Thank you, David Corn. This has been too easy.
MATTHEWS: It's not fair. Josh Marshall—and by the way, sometimes I think this whole CPAC thing is put up by the Obama people.
MATTHEWS: This is what the alternative is.
Coming up, the battle over the budget. President Obama's proposing a budget that makes some cuts by calls for new investment in education, energy and infrastructure. We knew that was coming. Republicans say they want to spend less and have deeper cuts. Is the president trying to lure Republicans into a real negotiation? That's what I think he's up to, a few of these loss leaders, things that they want to cut, like CDBG and things like that, community block grants and community organizing so they know he's packing (ph) some paint (ph). He's trying to get them into a discussion. I'm going to talk to the smart new director of the Office of Management and Budget, Jack Lew.
You're watching HARDBALL, only on MSNBC.
MATTHEWS: One week from now, a big night on MSNBC. Catch the premier of my new documentary on the global phenomenon, Bill Clinton. It's called "President of the World" because no other politician has ever had Clinton's worldwide reach, rock star appeal and historic mission.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Ladies and gentlemen, please welcome the 47th president of the United States, William Jefferson Clinton.
look out beyond the world leaders and I see Barbra Streisand and James Brolin and I see Geena Davis, who played a better president than I did.
CLINTON: And I never thought in my lifetime I would be on this stage and the Rolling Stones would be watching me perform. So thank you, Mick Jagger. Thank you, Ronnie Wood.
MATTHEWS: Clinton moves at a whirlwind pace. I spent a week with him in the fall of 2010 trying to keep up. And propelling his global effort is just one part of what does. It's election season, and his party needs him. Bill Clinton can't resist the call of the campaign stump.
CLINTON: Hello!
MATTHEWS: It was what he was born for.
CLINTON: You know, the great thing about being a former president, you can say whatever you want.
CLINTON: And then, of course, the bad thing is nobody really cares anymore, but you can say it.
MATTHEWS: Hardly. Millions care what this former president has to say.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I think in his post-presidential phase, his legacy is in the power of his personality and the example he sets of somebody being willing to persevere. It's been one of the most consequential ex-presidencies that we've seen.
MATTHEWS: Well, if you want to have some fun next Monday night, get the popcorn, lots of homemade popcorn, lots of soda, whatever else you want to drink, and enjoy an hour feeling good about America and its ex-president, Bill Clinton. "President of the World" premieres next Monday night, a week from now, at 10:00 o'clock here Eastern time on MSNBC.
HARDBALL back after this.
BARACK OBAMA, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: The only way to truly tackle our deficit is to cut excessive spending wherever we find it, in domestic spending, defense spending, health care spending, and spending through tax breaks and loopholes. So what we've done here is make a down payment.
MATTHEWS: Welcome back to HARDBALL. That was President Obama selling his budget plan up in Baltimore today. It projects $1.1 trillion in savings over the next 10 years but doesn't go after the entitlements. Jack Lew is president—well, he's President Obama's budget director.
Jack, Mr. Director, it's great to have you on. You know, I have a sense watching you, knowing that you're an expert and have the best values of anybody I know, that this is just the beginning of a discussion in this country, that it's going to go on in the next months and years to try to find a bipartisan way to try to deal with the long-term debt problem. Am I wrong?
JACK LEW, DIR., OFFICE OF MANAGEMENT AND BUDGET: Chris, good to be with you. The president's budget is always the beginning of the process. And I think it's important that this year that we do begin the process with a comprehensive plan, which in the four corners of the budget that we present, would take on the real challenge that we face, which is to prove that we can live within your means, that we can cut spending, that we can also find the means to invest in the things we need to, to have a strong future, to invest in education, in infrastructure and innovation.
But we do have tough cuts that we have to make in order to achieve the deficit reduction and to make room for the new investments. We put together a budget that goes to every part of the budget. We don't have any illusion that Congress is just going to sign on the bottom line, but we think that it is an important budget that on its own stands up to the test of rigorous analysis.
MATTHEWS: Do you think this budget—well, you designed it, probably, or drafted it for the president. Do you think this budget is the best we can do right now to put people back to work? If you think about we've got a 9 percent unemployment rate—of course, a lot of people underemployed—how does this budget address that problem?
LEW: Well, this budget takes both the view towards the immediate needs but also a little bit over the horizon. You know, there are things in this budget—for example, the accelerated pace at which the infrastructure program would begin the first year with $50 (ph) billion of spending—that have immediate impact on job creation.
But the president is taking a longer view. And he's asking the question—and that's why he was in a school in Baltimore today with students who were studying math and science, engineering. The future requires that we teach our kids the skills that they need to do the work they will keep America competitive.
And we also need to do the science, so that we can continue to have to the greatest innovation of any country in the world. And we also need to have, you know, highways and ports and airports, so that we can both be a center of commerce and participate in commerce with others.
That's what this budget does. But it does make tough cuts in order to get that done.
MATTHEWS: Well, you know, I heard this wonderful story, Mr. Director, about President Reagan and Tip O'Neill. And it had to do with the fact of how they began that wonderful ability, the two of them, a bipartisan duo, if you will, to basically save Social Security for 30 years, for three decades.
And I was told that what happened was the president initiated that by saying that Tip O'Neill, our old boss, let's go for a walk on the South Lawn. And during that walk they sort of decided that they were going to deal with this issue. It ended up being a Democratic solution, more taxes than benefit cuts, of course, as you know.
But it ended up being a decision to take the heat, as there was, from the older folks that were going complain about it and whatever. And they put it together.
LEW: Yes.
MATTHEWS: And is there something like this in the wings—is there something like this in the wings down the road? Is it—can you imagine the president, your boss, meeting with Boehner and McConnell and at some point doing a walk in the woods and deciding, you know, we're all going get hit on this thing, but down the road, not right now during this recession we still have, but down the road, we can't have this imbalance between spending and outlays—I mean, spending and revenues; it can't go on?
LEW: You know, I think that, if you look back to the 1980s, we can learn some lessons, and from the 1990s too.
You find room for bipartisan agreement when you have leaders who are -
want to find that place where they can agree...
MATTHEWS: Yes.
LEW: ... who are willing to leave aside the things that are so polarizing and find that center where you can build a bipartisan consensus. It happened in 1983 on Social Security in part because—and you and I worked together on this—for the two years prior to that, there was a process drawing lines, but also leaving things on table.
I think what the president did in the State of the Union, what we are doing in the budget, is laying out a blueprint for the things that we need to do right away. On Social Security, that isn't an immediate issue. It doesn't address the deficit this year or next year or even in this 10-year window.
It's something that the president has said it's the right thing for us to do together looking down the road.
MATTHEWS: Right.
LEW: I think that we need to deal with the deficit in this immediate time. The president has put out a budget that would get us to a place where we have a sustainable deficit, we stop adding to the national debt in the middle of the decade.
I think we're going to need to work together on a whole host of issues, not the least of which is getting agreement on the immediate funding of the government in just a couple of weeks.
MATTHEWS: I got you.
Thank you very much, Jack Wolf (sic), budget director for the United States. Thanks for joining us today, the day the president puts out his budget.
Let's go Richard Wolffe, MSNBC political analyst.
You know, I think I know what they're saying. I watched this all day try to evolve.
RICHARD WOLFFE, MSNBC POLITICAL ANALYST: Yes.
MATTHEWS: I still think they are hoping to get a deal down the road, because the only way you're ever going to leave this presidency and call it a transformative president, which is he wants to be, an historic president, not just a get-by president, you get by in the short run, and you reduce the debts, deficit, but in the long run, everybody who looks at this says we're not paying for the government we're getting. We're just not doing it.
WOLFFE: Right. But this is also about politics. This is about setting up 2012 here. Look at how disciplined they are...
MATTHEWS: How—how—OK, tell me why this is a political document.
WOLFFE: Well, look how disciplined they are with the messaging, one thing they haven't been for the last two years, everything from Director Lew just then and the president, win the future, investments, yes, we will do some cuts, they are painful, but it's all about the future and investments.
That language has been repeated over and over and over again. That's not something they used to do. And what does that set up? Well, it's saying, we all agree on cuts. It's what you cut. Can you do it with a heart? Can you do it with a brain?
MATTHEWS: Who is listening?
WOLFFE: Who is listening?
MATTHEWS: Yes.
WOLFFE: Well, at the moment, it's not the broader public.
MATTHEWS: Who are they talking to?
WOLFFE: At the moment—well, they're talking to independents.
MATTHEWS: The netroots?
WOLFFE: No, independents. Independents care about deficits. They lost them in the midterms.
But the turnaround for President Obama in independents has been a double-digit turnaround. So, he's got—he's made up big ground with what we saw in the end of the last Congress. This kind of language says he's not just taking the sledgehammer to it. He's trying to use a scalpel.
MATTHEWS: So, you're talking to parents of kids in their 20s. You're talking to grandparents of kids in their 20s scared to death they can't get jobs because they can't compete worldwide. Is that who you're talking to? Or are you talking to the 55-year-old guy who just got bounced from a job he had for 30 years and wants to get back into that exact job he had?
WOLFFE: You know, he's not talking to the unemployed here. Here, he's talking to people who don't like the partisan bickering. They like the stuff—they have obviously got kids. This is about the future, but they are independents. They want to see both parties working together here. That's why they are taking this reasonable line.
And that's why the ball is now with the Republicans. What are you going to cut? And are you going to come to the table?
MATTHEWS: Did you hear Jack Lew earlier today? I didn't get to it.
He said, if you stick your neck out and say you are going to cut Social Security and Medicare, one of those things, you get killed.
WOLFFE: Right.
MATTHEWS: Because the other side always exploits it. It never gets you anywhere. It never gets to you a bipartisan agreement.
So, we always like to say courage counts, profiles in courage, and we would like to see them do it. But we know, the minute they do it, Boehner and Cantor and all those guys on the Hill will jump them.
WOLFFE: Right.
Well, that's the experience of health care reform, right?
MATTHEWS: Right.
WOLFFE: The ads against their cuts on Medicare. But the interesting thing, this is why it's a political document. Neither side is really dealing with the long-term deficit here.
Well, let's talk about the SEIU, the steelworkers, people like that, the unions out there, the ones that care about the unemployed, who want to get a largest membership, let's be honest.
WOLFFE: Right.
MATTHEWS: Are they going be happy with this?
WOLFFE: No. No, they're not.
MATTHEWS: Why? Tell me why.
WOLFFE: Because—because there are too many community grants...
MATTHEWS: CDBG, community block grants.
WOLFFE: They just don't want to see that go down.
But actually that kind of criticism is going to help this president.
You know that two-thirds of the money here in deficit reduction comes...
MATTHEWS: OK. They might like him in the infrastructure, because they accelerate public works and start putting people back to work, replace the smell of decay with the smell of construction, as I have said many times, quoting David...
WOLFFE: It's about choices. OK? So, they are going to still have some of that money. Republicans are still going to say cut the whole thing.
MATTHEWS: You know, I don't think the Republicans are right. I think people want government.
Anyway, thank you, Richard Wolffe. Thank you.
Up next, why don't—why won't John Boehner stand up to the birthers? Here's a guy who could lead. Why isn't he? He's the most powerful Republican in Washington right now. He has a real job under the Constitution to protect the Constitution. People in his zany right wing are saying the president is not an American. And he won't take them down. I thought he was leader. You got to take the job with the title. Check out the "Sideshow," because that's where he belongs today.
You're watching HARDBALL, only on MSNBC.
MATTHEWS: Back to HARDBALL. Now to the "Sideshow."
First, it's not my job. On "Meet the Press" John Boehner was asked about that Iowa focus group where 10 of 25 Republican caucus-goers said President Obama is a Muslim. Did Boehner step up and condemn the lies? Not one bit.
REP. JOHN BOEHNER (R-OH), SPEAKER OF THE HOUSE: It's not my job to tell the American people what to think. Our job in Washington is to listen to the American people. Having said that, the state of Hawaii has said that he was born there; that's good enough for me. The president says he's a Christian. I accept him at his word.
There's a lot of information out there. People read a lot of things.
GREGORY: You shouldn't stand up to misinformation and stereotypes?
BOEHNER: But I have made clear what I believe the facts are.
GREGORY: But is it because it weakens the president politically? It seeks to de-legitimatize him that you sort of want to let it stay out there?
BOEHNER: No. What I'm trying to do is to do my job.
MATTHEWS: It was a pretty good discussion there on "Meet the Press."
There is an alliance I believe today between the Republican establishment represented by that fellow who care about business and lower taxes, the usual stuff, and they want and need the backing of the people who have wilder politics, wilder hatreds, and even wilder fears. And they're willing to exploit them.
Next, Haley Barbour talked shop on FOX yesterday. The Mississippi tried spinning gold with his biggest negative.
GOV. HALEY BARBOUR ®, MISSISSIPPI: I'm a lobbyist and had a career lobbying. The guy who gets elected or the lady who gets elected president of the United States will immediately be lobbying. They would be advocating to the Congress. They'll be lobbying our allies and our adversaries overseas. They'll be asking the business community and labor unions.
You just—that's what presidents do for a living. Ronald Reagan was the—he was the ultimate lobby wrist, the great communicator.
MATTHEWS: Well, when you're stuck in quick, stop wiggling. Bobby Kennedy would have understood, however, that tactic. It's called hanging a lantern on your problem. You calling me a lobbyist? Damn straight I am one. We will see if it works.
Now for tonight's "Big Number." You can call Supreme Court Justice Thomas the quiet man. I mean it. When the court returns from its winter break this month, how long will it have been since Justice Thomas said anything during Supreme Court arguments? Five years. Five years riding the quiet car. Clarence Thomas, five years without speaking a word—tonight's "Big Number."
Up next: First Tunisia, then Egypt, and now it's happening in Yemen, Bahrain, and, yes, Iran. Unrest is spreading throughout the Middle East. Which regime will be the next to fall, and how far will this revolution go?
You're watching HARDBALL, only on MSNBC.
AMANDA DRURY, CNBC CORRESPONDENT: I'm Amanda Drury with your CNBC "Market Wrap."
Stocks ending mixed in very light trade, the Dow Jones industrials giving up five points, the S&P 500 climbing three, now up 100 percent in the last two years, And the Nasdaq finishing seven points in the green.
Well, no economic big news coming out today, but investors were weighing the impact of President Obama's budget proposal. Defense stocks were slightly lower on plans to cut $78 billion from the Pentagon over five years. But investors know this is just the opening gambit. They are waiting to see which programs will survive.
Well, Wal-Mart shares under pressure on a downgrade from J.P. Morgan. It says Customers may be heading back to higher-end stores as the economy improves. Netflix, meantime, soaring 7 percent, as investors gave up short positions on an analyst upgrade and relentlessly upbeat industry reports.
But FedEx shares slipping in after-hours trade. It lowered its quarterly guidance after the closing bell on rising fuel costs and weather problems.
That's it from CNBC for now. We're first in business worldwide—now it is back to HARDBALL.
MATTHEWS: Welcome back to HARDBALL.
The uprising in Egypt is spreading like a good contagion throughout the Middle East -- 2,000 protesters in Algeria clashed with riot police over the weekend and vowed to assemble again this coming Saturday.
In Yemen, hundreds marched toward the presidential palace before being turned back by security forces. Police in Bahrain fired rubber bullets and tear gas on more than 2,000 Shiite protesters at the anti-government rally there today.
And, in Iran, tens of thousands of demonstrators took to the streets of Tehran and other major cities. Look at them. Clashes with the militia were growing violent there, and Internet and phone lines were being blocked by the government. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton issued a clear call of support for the Iranian protesters this afternoon.
Let's listen to the secretary.
HILLARY RODHAM CLINTON, U.S. SECRETARY OF STATE: Let me very clearly and directly support the aspirations of the people who are in the streets in Iran today.
And I would add that what we see happening in Iran today is a testament to the courage of the Iranian people and an indictment of the hypocrisy of the Iranian regime, a regime which, over the last three weeks, has constantly hailed what went on in Egypt. And now, when given the opportunity to afford their people the same rights as they called for on behalf of the Egyptian people, once again illustrate their true nature.
MATTHEWS: Give it to them, Hillary. That was a great line from an American.
Can the revolution in Egypt embolden the Iranians to topple the regime?
Abderrahim Foukara is a Washington bureau chief for Al-Jazeera in
Washington. And Danielle Pletka is vice president of foreign and domestic
or actually defense policy studies at the AEI.
Gentleman and lady, thank you very much.
I want to start with my friend Abd (ph).
I'm so proud of our secretary of state, because she's caught these people as hypocrites. The fellow Ahmadinejad over there, this clown, is running around saying he supports the revolutions of the people. He wouldn't know what a republic is. Isn't this—Secretary Shultz, George Shultz, told me this again the other weekend. This is the great opportunity to point out it's not really an Islamic republic. It may be Islamic, but it's not a republic, that country.
If it were a republic, they would have democracy of some kind. What's going on over there, do you think? Is there a chance for change?
ABDERRAHIM FOUKARA, AL-JAZEERA: Well, clearly, what initially happened in Tunisia has happened in Egypt.
And the ancient political axiom in the region is that, if it happens anywhere else in the Middle East, it may not necessarily happen in Egypt. But, if it does happen in Egypt, you can be sure that it will happen elsewhere in the region.
Iran is no exception to this. The only difference is that the government in Tehran has been telling people that the revolution in Egypt happened because of the peace treaty with Israel, when, in fact, the demonstrators in Egypt, as we all followed over three weeks, they did not mention Israel. They did not mention the West. They had grievances with their own political regime.
That regime has fallen. But they are now saying the battle against the remnants of the regime is not over.
MATTHEWS: Do you think—we haven't been on this subject together, you and I, Abd (ph), but I want to—it's a tough question. When these leaders spend all their time talking about Israel, I can understand, I think, the Arab historic problem with Israel. It's not hard to figure it out. They see it as an interloper. They see it, to some extent, as a colonial enterprise.
I understand their arguments. But when they get up in the morning, is that really what they think about? Is that what's good for their countries? The Egyptians decided, under Anwar Sadat, you may have this as a disturbance in your life, but it is not something you get up in the morning and think about all day and run your country on the basis of.
Does Ahmadinejad give a damn, a rat's butt about Israel? Or is it just a good call to arms?
FOUKARA: I think Ahmadinejad knows that he enjoys a certain measure of support inside of Iran and that certain measure of support inside of Iran, obviously, is taking a hostile attitude vis-a-vis Israel.
MATTHEWS: Right.
FOUKARA: But, obviously, he has been trying to mobilize Iranian public support and a lot of people outside of Iran, including in the Arab world, they've been saying, well, the way he's using the Palestinian issue is obviously to capitalize on that hostility to Israel and put Arab public opinion on his side.
MATTHEWS: Yes.
FOUKARA: Obviously, the dynamics of this are shifting quickly. The Israelis have for many, many years been saying we are the only democracy in the Middle East. It's interesting to see if democracy does pan out in Egypt to what extent that will change the Israeli narrative, though.
MATTHEWS: Let me—let me go to Danielle, I never had you on, Danielle. Thank you for coming on—Danielle Pletka for the AEI.
You know, this whole thing about the "Freedom Agenda", it looks very good right now because the "Freedom Agenda" that George W. talked about, the former president, in this case seems positive. It's not a justification for a war in Iraq or wherever else. It's the idea that the Egyptian people, the middle class, the working class—the people you get to know if you go there and spend a week over there, people you actually come face with face—are real people with real aspirations and real desire for freedom and respect and dignity. And that's something you don't often get a chance to see on worldwide television.
DANIELLE PLETKA, AMERICAN ENTERPRISE INSTITUTE: Well, first of all, I think George Bush's "Freedom Agenda" was more than justification for war. But, look, this is a great thing for us.
MATTHEWS: I wish that wasn't the reason why he sold it. But go ahead. Go ahead. I'm sorry. Go ahead.
PLETKA: It wasn't the reason why he sold it and it wasn't the reason for the policies. They actually had a—they actually had a policy of supporting these kinds of people in Egypt and elsewhere. The problem was the Bush administration never followed through on it.
But this isn't about the past. This is really about the people. You rightly said this is about the aspirations of the people in the Middle East. And, you know, how it's going to come out is going to be a challenge. That's why we need to be in on this game from the beginning because it's not just about revolutions. It should be for the United States about supporting the evolution of all these countries towards a more pluralistic society, not a choice between, say, the Muslim Brotherhood and Hosni Mubarak. And we really need to be in on the game—
MATTHEWS: I agree.
PLETKA: -- from the beginning in every one of these places.
MATTHEWS: How do we do that without looking like we're calling the shots in their country politically?
PLETKA: Because it's not about calling shots. You know, the building blocks of democracy are not about telling people who to choose, how to vote, or picking winners. It's really about education people about choice. It's a lot about how we live in this country. It's about how you create a political party.
It's about using our moral, economic, and frankly, you know, diplomatic weight to have free press. It's to have freedom of religion. It's so emphasize our values, treatment of minority—those are the kinds of things that are the building blocks in a civil society that make things work.
We saw them at work in Egypt. We saw people stood up for that. Not as you said because of Israel or because of Islamism or certainly because of Iran. That's not interference. That's about standing for our values, and we can do that no matter who the president is.
MATTHEWS: But do you think that's as easy as said? I wonder if it's—we start talking about women's rights, we talk about freedom of speech, we're going right up against the people who are the most arch traditionalists, aren't we, in those societies?
FOUKARA: Look, the entire Middle East region seems to have been going in recent decades through a phase of, if you will, social and religious conservatism. And I think we've seen this manifesting in one way or another in what's happened in Egypt, although the revolution in Egypt has not been led by the Muslim Brotherhood. It has not been led by any religious sloganeering, if you will.
It has been by people who had enough of a regime they say has not been able to give them their freedom.
MATTHEWS: Yes.
FOUKARA: And about the democracy agenda, it's interesting that even in Iraq, we have seen now demonstrations against corruption and the like as the demonstrators have been saying. It is really ironic, Chris, that when the regime toppled in Egypt, there was euphoria throughout the Arab world that it happened peacefully in Egypt.
MATTHEWS: Yes.
FOUKARA: But there's also a lot of sadness that it happened in Iraq in 2003 and the cost, as many people in the region feel, was actually the destruction of Iraq.
MATTHEWS: OK, thank you. I'm with you.
Thank you, Abder Foukara. Thank you, Danielle Pletka, for the AEI.
Thanks for coming.
Up next: Glenn Beck still warning his viewers, you got to wonder about this guy's condition, that Muslim radicals were actually working for the communists and socialists. And, by the way, we're—by the way, the people in this country, the communists and the socialists. He believes the president of the United States is part of this communist, socialist overtake attempt out there to create chaos over there. He thinks there's an infiltration by the right, in fact, of the Islamists.
I don't know what he's selling. There must be somebody must be buying this stuff. We're going to talk about it. It is very crazy.
Back with HARDBALL in a minute.
MATTHEWS: Congresswoman—oh, there's a great news—
Congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords continues to make progress. She's now, interesting, lip syncing to songs and speaking by phone to a brother-in-law who's at the international—he's on the International Space Station up there. Doctors continue to caution that she has a long road ahead of her and her aides say she's not speaking as she once did, but she's improving every day.
And that's giving Democratic political strategists, the smart guys, hope that should her physical condition allow, she could be a candidates of the United States Senate out there in Arizona to fill the seat of retiring Republican, Jon Kyl. I'm still amazed that Jon Kyl is retiring, one of the most ambitious guys in the world here. If she's decided to run, her incredible story alone could actually make her a formidable candidate perhaps.
Meanwhile, on Republican side, U.S. Congressman Jeff Flake announced his candidacy for Kyl's seat, didn't let that get cold in what is expected to be a crowded field of contenders.
We'll be right back.
MATTHEWS: We're back.
Glenn Beck is still at it, warning his listeners and viewers that Muslim radicals, communists and socialists are still at work, creating chaos, and planning an insurrection right here in the United States.
Here to break it down with me is Eric Boehlert. He's a senior fellow of "Media Matters."
Sir, I think, Eric, you know what you're doing here. Let's take a look at some of this and let's do the analysis. Here's Beck on FOX on Friday. Here he is, reacting to the news that Mubarak has stepped down. Good news to most people, not to him.
Let's listen.
GLENN BECK, FOX NEWS: There's a lot more to it than just this utopian storyline being fed to you right now that it's just the average 1776 loving, you know, Thomas Jefferson kind of guy out there in the street that just wants change. Really? Is it? While the media cheers, they are completely oblivious to the fact that socialists, communists and extreme Islamicists all working together in Egypt to bring this about, along with the amazing technology and help of Google.
MATTHEWS: You know, is this his mental condition? His emotional condition? Is it good merchandising?
There's never any evidence presented. It's just these incredible scare tactics to get—is it older feel he's working on? He went to the Cold War.
Can you do an analysis of this guy and what he's up to?
ERIC BOEHLERT, MEDIA MATTERS: Well, I think the merchandising is a pretty good place to start. You know, this is Glenn Beck's shtick. He basically—he reminds me of those old performance on "The Ed Sullivan Show" where they're spinning the plates, you know, running around, covering the floor, hoping, you know, the plates don't shatter—because he's got so many conspiracies in the air.
I mean, with the Egypt thing, he's trying to tie it in with Van Jones and ACORN and all the stuff from 2009, 2010. So he continues to scramble. And, you know, Beck is just an absolute true conspiracist. And every new revelation proves he's right.
You know, last Thursday, when Mubarak didn't step down, that proved he was right. On Friday, when Mubarak stepped down, that proves Glenn Beck was right. So, he's got this sort of airtight bubble.
And sure, he's selling paranoia. He's selling fear. There's always a market in America. What's different now, you know, in terms of a couple of decades ago, you know, the Birchers, John Birch Society, they didn't have a cable news channel at their disposal.
BOEHLERT: They didn't have an irresponsible outlet. So, he's doing what we've seen over and over again in American history, but he's doing it on national TV.
MATTHEWS: I grew up with some of these Bircher stuff.
Here's Glenn Beck, by the way, on radio. He fuels the fire here that the Islamists and communist radicals are infiltrating conservative groups like CPAC, like we're just talking about them. Let's listen to this theory.
BECK: This could be a wild conspiracy theory or it could have some merit to it, or it could be absolutely true. I'm not sure what it is yet. Our organizations and our groups need to make sure that we haven't been infiltrated by, you know, communist or Islamic radicals.
MATTHEWS: This is what I said about as a kid watching "The Invisible Man" with Claude Rains and checking under the bed to see if there's an invisible man under there. You did this when you're a kid. But who's buying this now as grown-ups?
BOEHLERT: Well, you know, this is—
MATTHEWS: Grover Norquist, to some kind of Islamic eye for news (ph)? What are we believing here?
BOEHLERT: You know, this was pushed after 9/11, you know, the Frank Gaffneys of the world when there actually was true sort of fear in the air about what sort of infiltration there might be with the Islamic radicals. To try to base that now on a peaceful, you know, pro-democratic revolution in Egypt doesn't make any sense.
But he—you know, he's preaching paranoia, and he's reaching through a far right anti-Obama crowd, the one who thinks he's a racists, who thinks he is a socialist, he's sort of a black Manchurian candidate, you know, ready to take down America from within. All of this plays into that. And again, we've just never seen anyone irresponsible enough to broadcast it on television day after day.
MATTHEWS: OK. I can just imagine Roger over there watching this every night go, "I can't believe what we put on television."
Anyway, Eric Boehlert, thanks for joining us.
When we return, let me finish with the truth about why we attacked Iraq, why we're finally getting it after years of propaganda. This Rumsfeld book is unbelievable, what it admits, the confession.
You're watching HARDBALL, only on MSNBC.
MATTHEWS: Let me finish tonight with anger. It's hard for me to reconcile my faith in this country and its history with the ease with which the war hawks took us to Iraq. George W. Bush was not the great orator or persuader, but he persuaded us to attack a country that had never attacked us. He took us there with talk of mushroom clouds if we didn't. It was propaganda of the most potent type.
A thin majority of the American people bought it with the expectation that the costs would be light. It would be a cake walk. It turned it, by the way, over 4,000 Americans lost their lives there, where 100,000 Iraqis, civilians, were killed as the world watched.
Now, the books get written. The truth trickles out.
Donald Rumsfeld, the former secretary of defense, has a book. I looked for it a claim that Iraq had nuclear weapons in the run-up to war, the big propaganda campaign about mushroom clouds, about aluminum tubes, and Iranian yellow cake being bought in Niger—all that talk in 2002 and 2003.
Well, in 2011, now, Rumsfeld quotes from the October 2002 national intelligence report. Get this—quote, "Although we assess that Saddam does not yet have nuclear weapons or sufficient material to make any, he remains intent on acquiring them."
In her column, Maureen Dowd of "The New York Times" points to a memo Rumsfeld posted online dated September 9th, 2002, right in the middle of the push for the war. It's a confession by the director of intelligence for the Joints Chiefs that they have no knowledge of Iraq buying or even attempting to buy a nuclear weapon, or the location of any facility to build a nuclear weapon. So, it's not bombs he has, not bombs he's making, not bombs he has the intent, but only the bombs he has the intention of making or buying, whatever.
We went to war because the leader of another country had the intention to develop nuclear weapons. Try putting that in your high school history book, on the immediate causes of the war, try saying that our country, the enemy of aggression, attacked another, killed anyone who stood in our way, took over, and leveled its government, ran the place for x many years because we figured—somebody figured—that its president had the intention to get a nuclear weapon.
Rumsfeld doesn't even try anymore. With Diane Sawyer the other night, he didn't even claim or even bothered claiming Saddam had nuclear weapons or was building them. No more mushroom cloud, no more P.R., no more B.S., just a book with a cover. And that missing case for war, that got our—their argument, over the top with the American middle. They got them—well, that argument got them their war, didn't it?
Shame, shame, shame. All those people dead because words were spoken that had no truth.
Well, that's HARDBALL for now. Thanks for being with us.
More politics ahead with Cenk Uygur.
Copyright 2011 CQ-Roll Call, Inc. All materials herein are protected by United States copyright law and may not be reproduced, distributed, transmitted, displayed, published or broadcast without the prior written permission of CQ-Roll Call. You may not alter or remove any trademark, copyright or other notice from copies of the content.> PASTE THE TRANSCRIPT HERE
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Vintage 90s Punk Rock Hip Hipster Blue Purple Metallic 2 Piece Tie-up Halter Bikini Swimsuit
$112.00Ask a question
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It is made out of a metallic nylon material. The bikini top is a halter with ties around the neck and back. The bikini bottoms tie on both sides - see pictures. The makers tag has been cut off. It looks like it has never been worn. It is in excellent vintage condition.
I leave any cleaning, pressing, or restoration work up to the lucky buyer. I do not want to damage or detract from the original integrity of each item.
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subset: commoncrawl


text:
Sound Off for Feb. 14
Amend the 2nd amendment. We cannot own weapons of mass destruction: nerve gas, chemical gasses, various bombs, active rocket launchers, machine guns, etc ., etc., Now that thousands of Americans are irresponsibly misusing their weapons! Let's act! Initially, our forefathers had second thoughts and included a general arms statement so Americans could protect their new country as a militia. That is the function of our military. Our weak, spineless politicians, are leaderless to recognize and act on a national disgrace. The Right honors the militant sector- war, weapons, NRA and these politician, sheep bow to them. The right harps on welfare people to act responsibly, yet they turn their heads away regarding multi- thousands of gun murders every year. Someday we may all walk down a peaceful path but that day will not be soon.
To the guy who is complaining about the light out on Whiting Avenue, the town doesn't fix the lights you have to call CL&P and give them the pole number. So stop your whining and call CL&P.
I would like to say thank you and job well done for our road crews in Torrington. They did an outstanding job opening up our roads and getting us moving again. They have to be exhausted from all of this. Once again job well done.
I am responding to the Sound Off letter on Feb. 11, asking how do the residents feel about city employees using our tax money. There was someone cleaning his yard or sidewalk on Clarence Street. I think that is terrible. First of all, he shouldn't be doing this on city time; second of all, he is using city equipment and third of all, the mayor and the public works director should be notified on that. And the parks and rec director should also be notified to where it is on Clarence Street and who the person is. I think that he should be reprimanded for that. I don't think it is right, I think it is downright wrong. I think other residents should call in.
Thank you Torrington Fire Department. Saturday morning my dad had a heart attack shoveling snow and was rushed to Hartford Hospital. I was snowbound and unable to get to my father's bed side. Six firemen shoveled a path for me, so I was able to walk to the road. My dad is holding his own. Thank God.
What part of blizzard did some people miss? Reading some of today's Sound Offs some people have complaints about the job done by their street department during the blizzard. I would suggest the next storm that they get outdoors early, dress warmly and start shoveling their street to their satisfaction. Then they will have no complaints about how much snow is removed or where it is thrown."
I am always impressed by the work done by my town's highway department in the weather crises we have.
To the person complaining about the city and maintaining the street light. Are you sure it belongs to the city?? Most belong to the CL&P company so maybe you are complaining to the wrong people. Check on it and determine who owns the light.
The State of the Union and rebuttal speeches were great illustrations of where our political parties at right now. Obama's speech was confident, optimistic and did a good job at setting forth a strong liberal vision of America. It demonstrated that the Democrats have a vision for this country and have a plan to make that vision a reality.
Rubio's response was disappointing. It was too defensive and too oppositional.


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Reaching the top of something, be it rock n' roll or a mountain, seems to be in our DNA.
When The Beatles battled rejection in their early days, John Lennon pumped up the Fab Four by asking, "Where are we going fellas?"
The chorus: "To the toppermost of the poppermost."
Saddleback Mountain isn't the pop charts. But it is – by far – the toppermost thing in Orange County.
Every once in awhile, often around the new year, many of us gaze up at the summit of Santiago Peak, 5,687 feet above the ocean, and think this is the time to knock the beast off our bucket list.
One friend has an annual tradition of hiking to the summit with his daughters on New Year's Day. I won't recommend the trek after a night of revelry. But I do have some recommendations.
The first is to take the shortest hiking route to the summit – the Holy Jim Trail:
Big goal: Yes, this is a worthy mountain. Consider this: The highest mountain east of the Mississippi River, Mount Mitchell, is 6,684 feet – only 1,000 feet higher than Saddleback.
Fitness: This can be a slow enjoyable hike with friends and family. But some fitness is required.
Conditioning: As a warm-up or to get in condition, try hiking Harding Trail at the end of Modjeska Canyon. Hike to Laurel Springs, about nine miles round-trip. That's a little more than half what it takes to tackle Santiago Peak. Plan for about four to five hours.
Santiago Peak: Round trip it's about 16 miles with 3,947 feet of gain.
How long: Varies on conditioning and goals. Runners can blast this in five hours or less. Hikers should plan on about eight to nine hours.
Weather: Check and double-check weather conditions. During a storm, it can be 30 degrees colder at the summit with wind chill. It can snow or hail. The trail can disappear. Be sure you have a clear day.
Clothing: Keep in mind it generally gets colder and windier the higher you go. In winter, dress in layers. Pack a wind-resistant jacket, gloves and beanie. Hiking boots or sneakers are fine. A change of socks can be nice. Comfort is key.
Food, drink: Snacks and lunch for the summit; minimum six liters of water per person. Hydrating is critical.
Other: Sun block, hat, camera, toilet paper, baby wipes, trekking poles, cellphone to brag (Note: cellphones won't work in lower canyons.), binoculars.
Fun tip: Bring a small mirror to signal friends when you're at the top.
Time to start: I'm not a big fan of early starts, but they make sense. Time it so you're on Trabuco Creek Road (see directions) by sunrise which means you'll start hiking about 7:30 a.m. and be home by dinner.
Tip: The sun sets early in winter. Avoid getting caught out in the dark. For backup, bring headlamps or flashlights.
Adventure Pass: You'll need an Adventure Pass to park in the National Forest. They are available at the grocery store north of the bridge and at most sporting goods stores; $5 daily; $30 annual.
Vehicle provisions: Store something to drink in your vehicle for your return. The drive out is a long one, especially when you're thirsty.
Directions: Drive Trabuco Canyon Road to where a small bridge crosses Trabuco Creek. Just south of the bridge, there's a dirt parking lot followed by a dirt road. That is Trabuco Creek Road.
Driving conditions: Thanks to the county, the first 2.5 miles of the 4.5-mile dirt road is rough but easily passable. Once the road is on National Forest land, however, it's exceptionally rugged.
Tips: Expect to drive through low-flowing streams and drive slowly to avoid bottoming out your vehicle. This portion can easily take 30 minutes.
Vehicle: It needn't be a four-wheel drive, but a high-clearance vehicle is recommended.
Parking: Just past the volunteer fire station on the left, there is a large lot with portable bathrooms.
Next: Hike the dirt road to the left past a series of cabins until you see the Holy Jim Trail sign.
Stream crossings: There are several. Generally, the water is shallow, but the going can be slippery. A hard-core athlete I know broke her arm in a fall. Be careful.
Tip: Use trekking poles or a walking stick for balance.
Poison oak: Our three-leaved enemy often has a red hue in winter, green in summer. It's common in Orange County near streams. Don't touch.
Dams: A series of small dams were built in the 1920s and '30s. Stop and check them out for the exact dates.
Holy Jim Falls: If you haven't seen them before, the falls are modest but fun. It's a short detour on the right just after a steep stream bank and a sign before a series of switchbacks.
Switchbacks: Enjoy the views as you ascend and appreciate rather than hate the switchbacks.
Views: The views of unfolding canyons is amazing. Yes, this really is Orange County.
Flora: Manzanita, chaparral, oak, pine.
Rest: There are plenty of spots with views. Take your time and appreciate the natural world.
Steep: The trail drops and gets really steep just before the Main Divide.
Turn around? This is a good time to assess how you feel, how much water you have, the weather and the time. If you're nearing exhaustion, turn around. The mountain will always be there.
Main Divide Road: You have a choice. Hike up the Main Divide to the summit. Or take better yet…
Upper Holy Jim Trail: This my favorite trail in Orange County with spectacular views from above 4,000 feet. It's a bit rocky, but you can see a series of lakes, including Elsinore, and the two highest mountains in Southern California, San Jacinto and San Gorgonio.
Plus, there is a twisted pine that offers a perfect bench (check for sap). I'll mention there are no vehicles here as there are on the Main Divide, and this may be shorter than the road.
For the trailhead, head right, south – downhill – about 75 yards. On your left, you'll see a well-groomed trailhead and a sign. (The trailhead used to be behind a concrete block, but it's changed.)
Main Divide: Eventually, the trail connects to the Main Divide Road at a hairpin turn. Now, it's just a slog to the summit.
Mess: Yes, the summit is a confusing mess of short roads, trails, bunkers, satellite dishes, towers, antennas. Just keep heading up. There is no right or wrong way. As you near the summit, turn around to get your bearings for your return.
Marker: The summit marker is on the east side of the main road. It's on a dirt knoll, the high point.
Best view: Head south toward the ocean where you get away from the man-made jungle of concrete and metal. Check out the Eagle Scout sighting tubes. Have lunch.
Orange County unfolding like a real-life Google Earth is an unbeatable treat. Pick out the Great Park's orange balloon, the Tustin blimp hangers…
Clockwise starting south: Catalina Island, Fashion Island, Palos Verdes Peninsula, Santa Monica Mountains, the San Gabriels.
Now, pick out your home. And wave.
If this were a regular column, it would end here. But you need to get down.
Mess: Remember that confusing array? After 100 yards, you will see two Main Divide Roads forking apart. The one on the left, as you are facing down, quickly turns and heads northwest. The one on the right heads southeast. That will take you home.
Footing: Going down can be tougher than going up. You're tired and your leg muscles take a beating fighting gravity. Take it easy. And watch your footing on loose rocks, especially the ones the size of marbles. If you didn't bring trekking poles, you may wish you did.
Is going down longer? You will wonder that, particularly the final several miles. Truth be told, forest elves stretch out trails so we don't come back.
Parking lot: Hug, fist bump, high five. Celebrate.
And congratulations.


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If you were wondering what happened to Oddpost, the early AJAX webmail service, wonder no more. Yahoo bought the project in 2004, and it has now resurfaced as the underpinnings of the recently released Yahoo Mail Beta (YMB). The new service has a fully AJAXified interface, a clean design, and the handful of new features you'd expect from a beta release.
Like Oddpost, YMB tries hard to look like a desktop application rather than a Web service. In fact, it looks like a direct Outlook ripoff in many ways, with roughly the same pane layout and a similar folder and service list on the left-hand side. The main difference is the advertising, of course, unless you're paying for ad-free premium Yahoo mail.
"This is the biggest revolution to Yahoo Mail in the decade of its existence," says Ethan Diamond, Yahoo director of product management and also former team lead for Oddpost. "It is all about ease of use and making the basic e-mail tasks faster and easier for the layman."
The new design fits right in with the frontpage overhaul that Yahoo went through earlier this year, and the AJAX functionality of the whole package is so Web 2.0 that it almost hurts. Oddpost is often cited as an inspiration for GMail, and it's easy to see the family resemblance. GMail doesn't try to look like a local app, though.
If you want to try YMB and already have a Yahoo Mail account, there's a fat link right on the main page of your existing service. Once you go there, YMB will become the default for every session, unless you switch back again using a tiny little link in the top-left corner.
The most obvious new feature is the RSS reader functionality. It's a simple reader that nestles right in the folder pane, and it will be populated with feeds from your My Yahoo page if you have one. Messages you want to keep can be dragged and dropped into any folder and will from then on be treated like e-mail messages. Mr. Diamond talks about mashups inside the mail application, such as weather forecasts and roadmaps relating to message content, but my testing failed to bring up any of these features. Perhaps they're planned for a later release.
One final point: YMB appears to be a resource hog. Simply loading the inbox with one solitary message brings my machine to its knees for a full minute. Maybe it's time for an upgrade, but you'd think an Athlon XP 2200 should be able to handle some mail. Other than that, YMB looks rather tasty, and there won't be much of a learning curve even for rather inexperienced users. But I'm addicted to GMail's "conversation" organization now, and YMB doesn't have an equivalent yet. Wake me up when that feature shows up.


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Collapse Review from a retired Marine Major General
General Higginbotham is a blog reader, and blogs on his own from time to time. He purchased a copy of the Coming Collapse of the American Republic, read it and sent this review to his mailing list. This old Staff Sergeant is honored by his comments. ~Bob.
FREAKY FRIDAY Meets Statesman & Marine Robert A. Hall
I'm to be interviewed about my book on Friday, July 15, at 2:00 PM EDT/1:00 PM CDT by Ann Ubelis on her "Southern Sense" talk radio show broadcast in Beaufort, SC. (Doubtless DIs at Parris Island will play it to abuse the recruits!) The call in number to speak with the host is (917) 889-3675.
Important: The West and the Tyranny of Public Debt
I cite this article in my book on the Coming Collapse. In light of the debt struggle in
, it is worth re-reading. ~Bob. Washington
Video: Finally, a Congressman Tells the Country why Obama is so Dangerous
Well done comments on
. ~Bob. Libya
Afghans say
firms cheat them US
Excerpt: Bryan Rhodes's newly minted business scored a US-funded contract last year to help build a power plant in
, perhaps the most dangerous and crucial city in the American war effort. Kandahar Rhodes hired Afghans to do the work, and his company, IBS, was paid about a half-million dollars when they were done, according to the prime contractor on the project. Then Rhodes left the country. Now his Afghan workers and vendors say that he owes them hundreds of thousands of dollars in unpaid bills and that he has stopped all communication with them.
'S high streets are in deeper crisis now than they were at the height of the last downturn even though the economy as a whole is not in recession, a report today suggests. The number of profit warnings issued by retailers listed on the London Stock Exchange in the first six months of the year was almost double the tally for the whole of 2009 when BRITAIN was mired in the worst recession since the Second World War. Britain
Boiling Frog Alert: Congress Wants Automatic Wage Deductions To Pay Down The Debt
Excerpt: On July 6th, just two days ago, at least a dozen busybody Congressmen sponsored the introduction of HR 2411, the "Reduce
's Debt Now Act of 2011." They always come up with fantastic names for these pieces of legislation… and rest assured, the better/more patriotic the name, the more ominous the bill. This one follows the pattern. HR 2411 states that every worker in America should be able to voluntarily have a portion of his/her wages automatically withheld and sent directly to the Treasury Department for the purposes of paying down the federal debt. (Hitting Americans With Automatic Wage Deductions To Pay Down The National Debt? What could possibly go wrong?? --Steve.) America
Good Column: See no evil: A nation where no one is held responsible and no one takes responsibilityhttp://www.nypost.com/p/news/opinion/opedcolumnists/see_no_evil_3TmEGhkSpmDQ5Ep9g5Wt1O#ixzz1RhgenSeG
Excerpt: "It is not only what we do, but also what we do not do, for which we are accountable." — Moliere ... When did accountability become such a quaint idea? It's as old as civilization, the bulwark upon which governments and financial transactions have always been set. Every major world religion espouses it as a mark and essential component of true maturity. It motors the social contract — without believing that each person or institution you interact with has a sense of accountability, there is no trust — and yet, in ways big and small, it seems to be further eroded on a daily basis. In a June 2010 piece on Psychology Today's blog, psychiatrist and psychologist Steven Reiss theorized that current modes of parenting and education — in which discipline has softened into negotiations with toddlers and losing teams are awarded trophies for simply showing up — have left younger generations with a sense of entitlement that overwhelms, if not replaces, appropriate feelings of shame, regret or apology. Technology, too, has loosened the parameters of societal shame meant to keep even the ugliest id in check: Read through the comments section of any blog or newspaper, and the level of vitriol found there never fails to shock, the vicious attacks on everything from an individual's race to political leanings to personal attractiveness, all unleashed under the anonymity of the Web.
Here All Along
Powerful Palin campaign video.
Excerpt: Altogether, about $800 million in military aid and equipment, or over one-third of the more than $2 billion in annual American security assistance to
Pakistan, could be affected, three senior officials said. This aid includes about $300 million to reimburse Pakistan for some of the costs of deploying more than 100,000 soldiers along the Afghan border to combat terrorism, as well as hundreds of millions of dollars in training assistance and military hardware, according to half a dozen Congressional, Pentagon and other administration officials who were granted anonymity to discuss the politically delicate matter. (…) And some is assistance like the reimbursements for troop costs, which is being reviewed in light of questions about United States 's commitment to carry out counterterrorism operations. For example, the Pakistan United States recently provided with information about suspected bomb-making factories, only to have the insurgents vanish before Pakistani security forces arrived a few days later. Pakistan
Despite revolution, US set to approve tank sales to
We call them the "Abrams," but they call them "The Jew Killer." ~Bob. Excerpt: If approved, the deal would increase the number of Abrams tanks in
from around 1,000 to 1,130; Congress must approve deal. The US signaled last week that it plans to continue business as usual when it comes to arms sales to the Egyptian military, despite the recent revolution in Egypt and continued anti-government demonstrations there. On Friday, the Defense Security Cooperation Agency notified Congress of a possible sale of 125 M1A1 Abrams tank to Egypt – the first large arms deal since Hosni Mubarak was ousted from power in February – including associated weapons, equipment, parts, training and logistical support at an estimated cost of just over $1.3 billion. If approved, the deal would increase the number of Abrams tanks in Egypt from around 1,000 to 1,130. Egypt
Dear GOP leadership
Excerpt: Are you feeling principled today? How about gutsy? Are the wishes of voters — the same voters that afforded you a 2010 landslide victory — at the forefront of your minds? I certainly hope so. As conservatives across the country await a decision as to whether or not there will be an increase in the debt ceiling, we can't help but wonder if you will dig in your heels and stand for something. Will you prioritize significant — and I mean significant — spending reductions? Will you refuse to accept tax hikes and stand firm against class warfare? Will you fight for a balanced budget amendment?
Interpol issues "red notice" for four Hizballah suspects in Hariri assassination
Excerpt: What remains to be seen is whether there is any political will to hold the four accountable in
, which is now under a Hizballah-dominated government. Left unchallenged for far too long, Hizballah's parallel state has become a sort of suicide vest wrapped around Lebanon , and an instrument of blackmail whereby Hizballah can threaten to blow the country apart Lebanon
Excerpt: Conspiracy theories are a handy thing in that they don't have to make sense, and they allow one to abdicate responsibility for a situation, because it is ultimately in the hands of the supposedly hidden puppeteers. Bad economy? Blame
. "Sectarian strife?" Blame Israel . Bad hair day? There's probably a way to pin that on Israel Israel, too, even if you live in across the border in and Hamas put your hairdresser out of business. Gaza
Jihad In
Redux Sudan
Excerpt: On July 9, the mostly Christian South Sudan will legally and officially separate from the Muslim north and become a new, independent and free country. Fearing loss of its iron clad grip of other non-Arab regions in the north, whose people likely envy the freedoms won by the South, Arab/Islamist leaders in
Khartoum have launched a military assault on the , a mixed Christian, animist and Muslim region. Reports from the area are gruesomely reminiscent of the decades-long assault Nuba Mountains waged on the South. These include forced conversions to Islam, mass displacement, bombing of civilians and mass slaughter. Anticipating the effects of Christians winning freedom from his rule already in December of 2010 Sudan's President Omar Hassan al-Bashir, who is indicted by the International Criminal Court for genocide and crimes against humanity, laid out a vision for the future of his nation: "If south Sudan secedes, we will change the constitution and at that time there will be no time to speak of diversity of culture and ethnicity... Sharia (Islamic law) and Islam will be the main source for the constitution, Islam the official religion and Arabic the official language", he told a group of supporters. Khartoum
Excerpt: What did Joseph Adams say that was inaccurate? What did he say that was false? If Muhammad was not "the first terrorist of Islam," did he not say that he was, according to Islamic tradition? "I have been made victorious through terror" (Bukhari 4.52.220). "Lib adviser sacked after anti-Islam web posts," by Heath Aston for the Sydney Morning Herald, July 10: THE O'Farrell government has been embarrassed by a Liberal adviser who posted anti-Islamic comments online, including a description of the Prophet Muhammad as ''the first terrorist of Islam''. Joseph Adams, who worked in the electorate office of the Smithfield Liberal, Andrew Rohan, was sacked on Friday. Mr Adams, pictured, had angered some of his 1000 Facebook friends - which include 15 state government MPs and four ministers - with selected excerpts from the Koran which he said prove Islam promotes killing, not love. He was labelled a ''bigot'' and the ''biggest f---ing racist ever'' by shocked friends. (Islam is the only "race" you can join by making a statement. ~Bob.)
Iranian commander: US carriers target if attacked
Excerpt: A senior Revolutionary Guard commander threatened Saturday that
U.S. aircraft carriers would be targeted if Iran came under attack amid a standoff with the West over 's nuclear program. Tehran Iran has often warned of major retaliation if they faced a military strike from or the West, but the latest comments appear tailored to emphasize the expanding range of Iranian missiles following 10 days of war games. The exercises included unveiling underground missile silos that Israel says is capable of multiple launches. "Aircraft carriers ... are moving targets. If the enemy threatens us, we will target them," said Amir Ali Hajizadeh, the commander of the Guard's aerospace force, in comments broadcast on state TV. Hajizadeh also confirmed that Iran Iran secretly conducted missile tests in February that he claimed hit targets at the "mouth of the Indian Ocean"—an apparent reference to areas near the at the southern end of the Gulf. Hajizadeh gave no further details. In April, the commander of the Revolutionary Guard said Strait of Hormouz Iran's arsenal is capable of striking "remote regions outside the Persian Gulf." Iran has tried to project its military might outside the Gulf, where the U.S. has several air bases and the home port of the Navy's 5th Fleet in . Bahrain
ObamaCare, ObamaCars, and Government-Mandated Broccoli
Excerpt: … [N]one of the three panelists could answer whether the six word provision giving Congress the power to "regulate commerce . . . among the several states" means it can require obese people to sign up for Weight Watchers. The editor/author said he did not know; one professor said the answer is whatever the Supreme Court says it is; the other said it was great we are having this debate. The whirring sound you could hear in the background was the Founders spinning. Will's question was a modified "Broccoli Mandate" query: if Congress can mandate every individual to purchase health insurance, can it also mandate that people eat broccoli, or join a health club? (…) Chemerinsky's answer highlights the difference between liberals and conservatives. Liberals favor expanded federal power to direct society toward good things and if government goes too far — directing us what to eat — some judge, searching through the penumbras of the Constitution will surely create a right not to eat broccoli. Conservatives believe freedom lies in limiting government to its enumerated powers. The right not to eat broccoli (and to decide whether to join Weight Watchers) comes not from beneficent judges but from the limitations inherent in the language of the Commerce Clause.
We are right to take alarm at the first experiment upon our liberties. -- James Madison
3D Printer
I must be officially a dinosaur. I can't believe it. ~Bob. I'm pretty sure it's real. I actually saw this on TV (on the Nat Geo channel) within the past two weeks. Some thoughts: They haven't mentioned any costs. That wrench's materials (highly specialized plastics) may only cost a few thousand dollars (as opposed to perhaps 75 cents for a good 12" dinner plate with a nice floral design, two or three of which would use about the same mass of less-dense plastics). But the machines (scanner and "printer") that make the wrench must be well over a million. Of course, when the nearest hardware store is several hundred miles down a gravity well, that's a bargain. There are size limitations as the finished product must fit into the production cavity. Did you notice all the output was mechanical with no electrical parts?. All output is plastic, of course, with plastic's blessings and curses. A major problem I see is clearing off all that "dust" in weightless conditions while in close quarters; it'd overwhelm the AC/LSU. The total combined machinery might be too large for anything much smaller than the ISS, too. Ron P
Energy Department gives $105 million subsidy to ethanol plant
Excerpt: They call it "Project Liberty," but it's certainly not a free-market undertaking. POET, the politically connected ethanol giant, has just pocketed a $105 million Department of Energy loan guarantee for an ethanol plant in
. If this plant -- the first to turn corn waste into fuel -- fails, Iowa taxpayers foot the bill. Even if it doesn't fail, there's a cost to the economy: absent this DOE loan guarantee, Poet's lender would have leant to someone else -- someone not as politically favored, but whom the bank thought more promising economically. So, DOE is diverting resources from the economically promising to the politically favored. Poet employs plenty of revolving door lobbyists including former Reagan aide David Bockorny, and Nicole Venable, former chief of staff to convicted congressman William Jefferson. (Don't bother me with this stuff--I'm busy trying to figure out why we have a huge deficit. ~Bob.) U.S.
You did know Democrats got more money from the defense industry, didn't you?
Excerpt: The folks at the Center for Responsive Politics remind us today that Democrats have pocketed more money from the defense industry -- both individuals and PACs -- than Republicans have. This isn't the sort of thing you would know from reading most of the mainstream press. In the 2010 cycle, the Democrats picked up 55 percent of defense PAC giving, up from 2008, when Dems got 53 percent.
Conrad budget cuts $800B from Defense
Secret? The Democrats haven't been able to pass a budget for two years. May be a reason. The numbers don't work. ~Bob. Excerpt: The secret Senate Democratic budget resolution drafted by Senate Budget Committee Chairman Kent Conrad (D-N.D.) and shared with the White House relies heavily on cuts to the Pentagon which would see its budget slashed by more than $800 billion over 10 years, according to sources. Overall security spending is cut by $886 billion in the budget which Senate leadership is still mulling making public. Under law the Senate was to have agreed on a budget by April 15. This compares to $178 billion in security cuts in the House-passed budget resolution, only $78 billion of which is not reinvested in the defense budget. President Obama in his April deficit reduction framework called for $400 billion in security cuts over 12 years.
The Great Madness of 2004-10
Excerpt: During the years of insanity, Al Gore won both a Nobel Prize and an Academy Award for his propaganda film An Inconvenient Truth — before the disclosures of ClimateGate, new data on everything from the Himalayan glaciers to polar bear populations, realization that temperatures had not risen in the last 12 years, and the rather blatant and various money-making schemes of Gore, Inc. (that parlayed green advocacy into a billion-dollar, medieval exemption/carbon offset empire, several homes, and a propensity for carbon spewing private jet travel). Give Gore credit: he understood brilliantly that anger over Iraq and Katrina, his own popular vote victory in 2000 but subsequent lost presidency, his vein-bulging "he lied" screeds, and puppy dog pouts had combined, in perfect storm fashion, to locate Gorism at the nexus of anti-war, anti-Bush madness. (Yes, I know the piece is quite lengthy but try this: give it the old Harry Cohn Scratch Test. During
's golden era, the 1930s and 40s, Harry Cohn was head of production at Columbia Pictures. His method for judging one of his productions was to watch it in the screening room. If, as the movie played, if he became of an itch in the seat of his pants he knew he'd become distracted from what was happening on the screen -- a warning that the movie-going public would likely also lose interest. If Cohn made it all the way to the end credits with no itch he knew he had a hit. I read this VDH piece without the hint of an itch. --Jed) Hollywood
E-mail quote, not verified
Warren Buffet said he could fix the deficit problem "in five minutes." "You just pass a law," he said, "that says that anytime there is a deficit of more than 3 percent of GDP all sitting members of Congress are ineligible for reelection." I don't know whether that would fix the problem, but, hey, I think we should give it a try!
Palin Plots Her Next Move
Excerpt: Sarah Palin hasn't jumped into the race for the White House (yet), but she believes the prize is there for the taking. In a conversation with Peter J. Boyer, Palin warns Boehner not to raise the debt ceiling, proclaims that Obama is beatable—and says the 2012 field is far from settled. ... 'I believe that I can win a national election,' Sarah Palin declared one recent evening, sitting in the private dining room of a hotel in rural
. (Politicians often suffer from the "echo effect." They are surrounded by supporters who tell them they are wonderful, doing great, everybody loves them. On the day after the election, the losing politicians are often the most surprised. I worked very hard as a senator to be sure I was getting unfiltered input. In addition, people are able to convince themselves that what they want is possible--witness the number of posts on my "'m Tired" essay urging me to run for president! Palin is not as good as her true believers think, but is no where near as bad as the impression created in the minds of a majority by the haters in the leftist media. But perception is reality. witness recent polls showing her losing to Obama--in Iowa . I think she can do more good as a non-candidate. ~Bob.) Alaska
Tampa Division Walked Guns to and to MS13 Gang Members Honduras
If true, people this stupid shouldn't be allowed out without a minder, never mind employed by the government. No, let me correct that. They shouldn't be allowed out even with a minder--they should be imprisoned for being accessories to murder. ~Bob. Excerpt: Leaders of the transnational organized criminal gang Mara Salvatrucha (MS-13) even ordered a hit on a U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agent in
. There are now reports that the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives Tampa Field Division, ran a gun-running investigation that was walking guns to New York using the techniques and tactics identical to Fast and Furious. 1,000 of those guns were sold to MS13 buyers. Congress gave the ATF $29 million in 2009 including $10 million in stimulus money for "project gunrunner," the predecessor of "fast and furious." A year later it got $37 million more to expand gunrunner. Honduras
Who wants a Gunwalker T-Shirt?
Gotta love it. ~Bob.
: Triumph of a Dysphemism Reading
It's not a 'bug," it's a "feature"! ~Bob. Excerpt: While "new revenue" has triumphed as a euphemism for "tax hikes," "loophole" has triumphed as a dysphemism for "intentional tax policy." Our tax code is not really all that riddled with loopholes. Loopholes, properly understood, are unintentional ambiguities in a system that can be exploited to undercut the intent of the system's designers. What we're talking about in the tax code is not, for the most part, a collection of loopholes. The mortgage-interest deduction is not a loophole; it is the product of intentionally (and stupidly) constructed public policy, an attempt at social engineering through the tax code. Likewise, most of what Democrats dishonestly describe as special breaks for oil companies are in fact tax subsidies designed to encourage domestic manufacturing, and available to any firm that engages in anything that can be defined under the law as manufacturing. This is not an accident, either: The geniuses in
think that they can politick good manufacturing jobs into existence. ... But for the most part, what everybody is calling "loopholes" are intentional features of the tax code. And all of the tax subsidies Democrats want to add to the tax code — for "green energy," "protecting American jobs," "energy independence," or any other sort of ignorant superstition — will one day be "loopholes," too: just as soon as some politically disfavored business (say, an oil company) begins to make use of them. Remind me again why we just put the geniuses who designed our tax code in charge of our health care. Washington
Supreme Court and Legislature help Rick Perry cloak travel security expenses Texas
Texas on the Potomac regularly offers you political commentary from across the political spectrum. Today, as part of our ongoing Perry Watch feature, we share an editorial first published in the print edition of the Houston Chronicle. Gov. Rick Perry has had a penchant for foreign travel during his record-breaking stint in office, taking 23 trips abroad as of last year. Now he's doing a lot of domestic traveling as he tests the political waters for a possible run at the Republican presidential nomination. And most everywhere that Perry goes, a squad of Department of Public Safety officers accompanies him at taxpayer expense. Unfortunately, the Texas Legislature and the state Supreme Court have teamed up to make it almost impossible for journalists to access details of those expenditures, even months or years after the trips are concluded.
Citizens Arming Against Flash Mobs
Signs of the Collapse. Guy thinks it's wrong to defend yourself. Better to be killed than "shoot kids." ~Bob.
By the end of his first term, President Obama will have added as much debt as all the prior 43 presidents combined.
Excerpt: At a roundtable of small business leaders in Salem, N.H., former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney was asked what he would do about the corporate tax rate, whether he would cut government spending or raise taxes and whether it was possible to do both. Romney said he had a plan to lower the corporate tax rate but noted the nation's huge debt. "What I would like to do is bring the tax rate down and eliminate some of the special breaks that go to the big businesses that have found ways to take advantage of loopholes," Romney said. "So, I'd take that corporate tax rate down at least from 35 down to 25 percent. Then we can talk about where we can go from there. I'd like to get it a lot lower, but what I don't want to do is add to the deficit. I don't want to come back with a tax rate so low that we end up seeing our deficit go shooting up, because what we don't want to have happen is the circumstance where we have larger and larger deficits.


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