http://harnessracingfanzone.com/prince-charming/?fbclid=IwAR16Soqc4mgafaUd7c_sdIF4ekkf5jUBHVT2wwoU3lMoMYNjgM70daNPhmA Sphere: Related Content

I would like to make this an entirely different blog now.



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Whoops! Guess What Hillary Didn't Do While She Was Secretary of State . . . -- By Jim Geraghty, National Review

Boy, this is awkward:

Under Hillary Clinton, the State Department repeatedly declined to fully go after the terror group responsible for kidnapping hundreds of girls.

The State Department under Hillary Clinton fought hard against placing the al Qaeda-linked militant group Boko Haram on its official list of foreign terrorist organizations for two years. And now, lawmakers and former U.S. officials are saying that the decision may have hampered the American government's ability to confront the Nigerian group that shocked the world by abducting hundreds of innocent girls.

In the past week, Clinton, who made protecting women and girls a key pillar of her tenure at the State Department, has been a vocal advocate for the 200 Nigerian girls kidnapped by Boko Haram, the loosely organized group of militants terrorizing northern Nigeria.

What Clinton didn't mention was that her own State Department refused to place Boko Haram on the list of foreign terrorist organizations in 2011, after the group bombed the UN headquarters in Abuja. The refusal came despite the urging of the Justice Department, the FBI, the CIA, and over a dozen Senators and Congressmen.

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Obama Speaks to Hollywood Millionaires about the Menace of 'Inequality' -- By Jim Geraghty, National Review

Perfect:

President Obama on Wednesday raised money for House and Senate candidates at the home of Walt Disney Studios chairman Alan Horn and his wife Cindy, in an effort to boost Hollywood contributions in advance of what looks to be a difficult midterm election season for Democrats . . .

At one point, as he talked about the problems of inequality, a car alarm went off, and Obama quipped, "Sound the alarm, because we've got a problem."

Tickets to the event started $10,000 per person, including dinner and a photo op. Those donating $32,400 per couple got listed as "sponsors" and could take part in a VIP reception. Those donating $64,800 per couple were listed as "hosts" and could take part in a "VIP clutch."

Can you think of any better place to discuss the "problems of inequality" than at the home of a Hollywood mogul and hanging with movie stars who paid $64,800?

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Obama hangs with Spielberg, Springsteen at benefit -- By Sandy Cohen, Arizona Daily Star

President Obama shared a table with Steven Spielberg and Bruce Springsteen at a benefit dinner, but broke away to chat with Barbra Streisand and Samuel L. Jackson.

The president was the guest of honor Wednesday at a fundraising gala celebrating the USC Shoah Foundation, which Spielberg established 20 years ago to collect video testimonies from survivors of the Holocaust and other genocides. Inspired by the making of "Schindler's List," the video archive Spielberg created now includes more than 50,000 personal accounts and is available to schools across the globe.

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Obama Regime To Force U.S. Schools To Provide Equal Education For Illegals -- PatDollard.com, The Hill

Excerpted from THE HILL: The Obama administration announced Wednesday it would issue new guidance requiring U.S. schools to provide equal education to all children, regardless of their immigration status.

Attorney Gen. Eric Holder and Education Secretary Arne Duncan are expected to detail the proposal Thursday morning during a conference call with reporters.

The Justice and Education departments sought through 2011 guidance to ensure equal treatment for undocumented children in accordance with the Supreme Court’s 1982 Plyler vs. Doe ruling, which prohibited a school district from charging illegal immigrants extra tuition fees.

“The Obama administration continues to receive reports that school districts are adopting policies and practices that have the effect of discouraging, and in some cases preventing, undocumented children and children from immigrant families from enrolling in public schools,” the Justice Department said in announcing the follow-up guidance. “The new guidance is intended to help address these issues.“

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Keep the Benghazi Select Committee Select -- streiff, RedState

(text from within article)

When this idea didn’t take hold, John McCain floated a new idea:

Sen. John McCain (R., Ariz.) called for Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D., Nev.) to allow the Senate to take part in the Benghazi Select Committee Wednesday on Fox News.

McCain said allowing Senate participation will lend credibility to the committee and is appropriate because members such as himself, Sen. Kelly Ayotte (R., N.H.), and Sen. Lindsey Graham (R., S.C.) have been involved in the issue from the beginning. The Arizona senator cited his September, 11 2012 Face the Nation interview after Susan Rice appeared in which he cast doubt on her assertion Benghazi was a spontaneous attack.

McCain also added he was friends with Ambassador Chris Stevens and has participated in extensive meetings with individuals such as Mike Morell and David Patreus about Benghazi.

This is a profoundly bad idea from every possible perspective other than furthering the cover-up.

• The House Select Committee will have a partisan make-up of 7 Americans and 5 Democrats. This ensures some real investigative effort will be devoted to uncovering the truth. Adding a similar number of senators and saddling Mr. Gowdy with a Democrat co-chair would guarantee a whitewash.

• John McCain would be the worst possible addition to any committee. Not only is he well past his “use by” date, he is hopelessly compromised when it comes to dealing with Democrats in actual confrontations, and he simply does not play well with others. We could rely on McCain to sandbag Gowdy in order to raise his own profile.

• Adding more people to the committee, much less Senate-sized egos, would guarantee the entire effort would degenerate into a morass of inertia.

The Senate had its chance to act. The befuddled and corrupt Harry Reid decided that dead Americans were a small price to pay for protecting his party. Now that Mr. Boehner has formed a committee he should ensure that Mr. Gowdy gets the chance to conduct a fair and transparent inquiry.

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House Rams Through Another Corporate Welfare Bill -- by Daniel Horowitz, RedState

(text from within article)

Once again, they are using a shell bill and the suspension calendar to pass an unpopular program.  The “Electrify Africa Act of 2014,” which is part of a general foreign aid package to Africa and enjoys broad support, is being used to ensconce a three-year reauthorization of OPIC.   It is not enough that the government engages in venture socialism to pick winners and losers domestically; this program subsidizes corporate interests overseas.  The Washington Examiner’s Tim Carney has a great roundup on OPIC:

If you’ve ever visited Istanbul and stayed at the Ritz-Carlton, however, you’ve enjoyed the benefits of OPIC.

“This luxury hotel, set in the heart of the city and overlooking the Bosphorus, beautifully blends modern sophistication with historic Ottoman touches, found everywhere from the spa’s traditional hammam to the exceptional accommodations,” the hotel’s website reads. “[T]he graceful lobby is adorned in Turkish carpets, antique furniture and an oversized oil painting from contemporary artist Timur Kerim Incedayi.”

OPIC extended $50 million in financing in 2000 to subsidize the hotel.

More recent OPIC projects include $250 million in taxpayer-backed financing for Sun Edison to install a solar farm in South Africa, and $150 million in OPIC insurance for Citibank to open branches in Pakistan, Jordan and Egypt.

Citibank is America’s third-largest bank, with total assets of $1.8 trillion, yet it can’t line up insurance without taxpayer backing?

It has become a regular occurrence for GOP leaders to use the suspension calendar, which is designed for “non-controversial votes,” to stealthily pass big government legislation.   Ironically, as part of the GOP Pledge to America in 2010, Republicans pledged to tamp down suspension votes in Congress (page 34):

The number of House legislative days devoted to action on noncontroversial and often insignificant “suspension” bills is up significantly in this Congress by comparison with the past several Congresses, wasting time and taxpayer resources.  Of the bills considered under the suspension procedure – requiring 2/3 vote for passage – so far during this Congress,
more than half were bills naming federal buildings, recognizing individuals or groups (like sports teams) for achievements, or supporting the designation of particular days, months, or weeks.

Well, in some ways it’s better to use the suspension calendar for “insignificant” bills rather than use it to sneak through bad bills.  They already passed the feminist museum bill through suspension today.

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Harry Reid Sinks Deeper Into the Abyss -- By John Hinderaker, PowerLine

Harry Reid’s obsession with the Koch brothers has made him a figure of fun, but frankly, it has gotten past the point where anyone is laughing. After Reid’s foray onto the Senate floor today, his family, friends and colleagues should be concerned about his mental health. This clip is only 30 seconds long, but it speaks volumes about Reid’s state of mind:

(Click link below to view video)


“Pollution” isn’t causing global warming, the Koch brothers are not the “two richest people in the world,” and the idea that the brothers are somehow one of the “main causes” of climate change is delusional, even if you buy into the anthropogenic global warming theory. The U.S. is not the main emitter of CO2–China is–and within the U.S., Koch Industries is far down the list of CO2 emitters. Koch doesn’t do any coal mining or oil extraction, to my knowledge, and it doesn’t own power plants. No doubt refineries emit some CO2, as do all manufacturing operations, but Koch Industries is not one of the major emitters in the United States, let alone the world.

You know who would be far higher on the list? The Democrats’ number one donor, Tom Steyer. As we wrote here, the billionaire hedge fund manager has invested an estimated $1 billion to $2 billion in developing and expanding coal mines and coal-fired power plants in Asia and Australia.

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Watchdog: White House hiding more Benghazi documents -- By Oren Dorell, USA Today

The Obama administration continues to withhold documents that could shed light on how U.S. officials produced its false narrative that the attack on the U.S. Consulate in Benghazi arose from a non-existent protest over a video, according to a conservative watchdog group.

The documents reveal "that the Obama administration is still refusing to provide the full details of how top officials arrived at the now-discredited talking points released to the public following the deadly assault on the U.S. Mission in Benghazi, Libya," Judicial Watch said in a statement.

"Though the State Department document repeatedly describes the material as 'Unclassified' or 'Sensitive But Unclassified,' it nonetheless justifies scores of extensive redactions and exemptions," the statement said.

The claim comes as the House prepares to vote Thursday on a resolution to create a select committee that will investigate the Sept. 11, 2012, attack.

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Hospitals Get Bigger, America Goes Broke -- By Walter Russell Mead & Staff, The American Interest

When hospitals purchase doctors’ practices, we all lose. New research by Stanford University scientists confirms that consolidation raises the price of care by giving hospitals more market power over insurance companies. Kaiser Health News has more:

The study, published Monday in the journal Health Affairs, was based on an analysis of 2.1 million hospital claims from workers of self-insured employers between 2001 and 2007.  The analysis by Stanford University researchers found prices were most likely to increase when hospitals bought physician practices, as opposed to hospitals forming looser contractual relationships with physicians [...]
The Affordable Care Act has accelerated the trend by encouraging the establishment of Medicare accountable care organizations that pay large groups of providers based on how well they control costs and improve quality.

The Kaiser story speculates that this news could spur the Federal Trade Commission to more closely watch hospital mergers, and perhaps more vigorously apply anti-trust legislation to them.

 We hope so, because it’s past time. The Affordable Care Act is focused on access issues rather than cost issues, so very real cost drivers like hospital consolidation have been largely absent from our national conversation about health care.

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$1.9 Mil to Help Food Stamp Recipients Make Healthier Choices -- By Corruption Chronicles, Judicial Watch

It’s not enough that the Obama administration spends a mind-boggling $79.8 billion on food stamps, now it’s funding a special research center that will find ways to help recipients of the welfare program make healthier and wiser food choices.

It will be called the Center for Behavioral Economics and Healthy Food Choice and Uncle Sam will distribute at least $1.9 million—possibly more—to create it. The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA), which spent an astounding $108.9 billion on food and nutrition assistance in fiscal year 2013, is doling out the cash. Food stamps account for the largest chunk of the agency’s nutritional assistance spending, which is aimed at eradicating food insecurity in the United States.

But it’s not enough to give a record number of people living in the U.S.—some illegally—free groceries, the government has a duty to ensure the food is healthy and nutritious. At least that’s the argument behind this brilliant project. “The USDA Center will facilitate new and innovative research on the application of behavioral economics theory to healthy food choice behaviors that would contribute to enhancing the nutrition, food security, and health of American consumers,” according to the agency’s grant announcement.

The focus will be on finding ways to facilitate healthy and cost-effective food choices for food-stamp recipients and those who get other types of government-subsidized meals. This is expected to be done by establishing an “innovative research program on behavioral economic and healthy food choice that addresses questions of public policy interest and importance,” according to the agency. To do this a network of social scientists will research ways to improve what poor people eat.

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Charlie Crist didn’t leave the Republican party because of racism. He left it because he couldn’t win a primary -- By Chris Cillizza, The Washington Post

Former Florida Gov. Charlie Crist made waves this week when he told Fusion's Jorge Ramos that one of the main drivers behind his decision to leave the Republican party in 2010 was race. "I couldn’t be consistent with myself and my core beliefs, and stay with a party that was so unfriendly toward the African-American president, I’ll just go there,” Crist said. “I was a Republican and I saw the activists and what they were doing, it was intolerable to me.”

Um, not exactly.

 Having closely covered the 2010 Senate race, Crist's assertion that the Republican party's views on race -- and, in particular, its views on President Obama -- are what led him to leave the party doesn't jibe with what actually happened. "He was happy as a Republican when the polls showed him leading Marco Rubio by 20 points," said Adam Smith, the political editor at the Tampa Bay Times. "Apparently he discovered racism in the party after the polls showed him trailing Rubio by 20 points."

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Presenting The President's New $1.2 Billion Helicopter -- By Tyler Durden, Zero Hedge

Today was a good day for United Technologies: its subsidiary Sikorsky Aircraft Corp was awarded a $1.2 billion contract by the Naval Air Systems Command to build the VXX: also known as the new Presidential Helicopter. Initial fielding is planned for 2020, with production concluding in 2023.
From the press release:

The $1,244,677,064 fixed-price incentive engineering and manufacturing development (EMD) contract, with production options, culminates a full and open competition to contract for integration of mature mission systems into an existing in-production aircraft in order to minimize the cost of developing and testing a new design.

“Throughout the entire proposal process, we emphasized cost as well as technical performance,” said U.S. Navy Capt. Dean Peters, program manager for NAVAIR’s Presidential Helicopters Program Office. “Our contract objectives are directly tied to mission requirements and long-term sustainability. We are committed to a cost-effective acquisition strategy and prudent use of existing technology. Sikorsky’s proposal adequately supports this commitment and together we will efficiently deliver the next Presidential helicopter fleet in an affordable and timely manner.”

Hopefully $1.2 billion at least buys the president an ejection seat. Because truly the one thing that is preventing the president from doing his duties is being able to fly from point A to point B in a new, improved and far spiffier helicopter. And by point we of course mean "golf course."

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China Demands Gold As Collateral For Zimbabwe Loans -- By Tyler Durden, Zero Hedge

China, as we noted here, is happy to provide the financing to turn Africa into Disneyland - Monorails and all - but there is one catch... the loans must be backed by gold as collateral. As The Source reports, China wants Zimbabwe to use its mineral proceeds to guarantee any future loans having already extended nearly $1.5 billion in the last three years to Harare’s ailing economy. Various minerals have been discussed to back the loans "but we feel gold is more stablee," Zimbabwe's Mines Minister noted. Of course, China is defending the demand, claiming "it’s in accordance with rules and regulations when granting any loan" and adding that "it doesn’t mean that we will use the collateral."

As The Source reports, Gold may be used as guarantees for existing, future loans...

China wants Zimbabwe to use its mineral proceeds to guarantee any future loans, a Chinese official said on Tuesday, adding that Beijing had already extended nearly $1,5 billion in the last three years to Harare’s ailing economy. In February, Finance Minister Patrick Chinamasa said the two countries were negotiating what he termed a comprehensive financial rescue package.

...

“We are discussing whether we can take proceeds of sales for some minerals as collateral for the loans,” said Han.

“The bank and the team from the ministry of finance are now working at a technical level on how they can set up such a mechanism, how much the collateral would be and how much loans they (Zimbabwe government) can get.”

In principle, the funding request and use of minerals as collateral has already been accepted, Han added.

He said Chinese loans to Zimbabwe were nearly $1,5 billion over the last three years – about 37 percent of the 2014 national budget at $4,1 billion – and that it was now burdensome for the government to repay.

China explains this is business as usual...

“We are asking for collateral because it’s in accordance with rules and regulations when granting any loan, but it doesn’t mean that we will use the collateral. This is the concept that we are now discussing with the Zimbabwe government,” said Han.

So not hollowing out another nation's reserves at all. But Zimbabwe adds...

“We have looked at gold and diamonds, which we are considering as part of the securitization,” Deputy Mines Minister Fred Moyo says in phone interview from capital, Harare.

Government may also consider using chrome, “but we feel gold is more stable,” Moyo says

But one has to wonder how likely it is that Zimbabwe will promptly repay billions of dollars of loans - given their track record - and what a great way for China to transform its excess USDs to Gold (and get paid interest while it waits).

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The Shocking Increase Of College Tuition By State -- By Tyler Durden, Zero Hedge

It is common knowledge that in the hierarchy of bubbles, not even the stock market comes close to the student loan bubble. If it isn't, one glance at the chart below which shows the exponential surge in Federal student debt starting just after the great financial crisis, should put the problem in its context.


And while we have previously reported that a shocking amount of the loan proceeds are used to fund anything but tuition payments, a major portion of the funding does manage to find itself to its intended recipient: paying the college tuition bill.

Which means that with student debt being so easily accessible anyone can use (and abuse), it gives colleges ample room to hike tuition as much as they see fit: after all students are merely a pass-through vehicle (even if one which for the most part represents non-dischargeable "collateral") designed to get funding from point A, the Federal Government to point B, the college treasury account.

It should thus come as no surprise that in a world in which colleges can hike tuition by any amount they choose, and promptly be paid courtesy of the federal government, and with endless amounts of propaganda whispering every day in the ears of impressionable potential students the only way they can get a well-paying job is to have a college diploma (see San Francisco Fed's latest paper confirming just this) there is no shortage of applicants willing to take on any amount of debt to make sure this cycle continues, that soaring tuition costs are one of the few items not even the BLS can hedonically adjust to appear disinflationary.

End result: tutitions have literally expoded across the country in both public and private colleges.
But while we know what the answer looks like at the Federal level, the question arises just how does this price shock look at the state level?

....

 
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China Signals Plan to Sanction North Korea for Tests -- Harsh anti-US rhetoric by North Korea indicates pressure to curtail nuclear, missile tests -- By Bill Gertz, The Washington Free Beacon

China has signaled that it will impose international and unilateral sanctions on North Korea if Pyongyang follows through with announced plans to set off a fourth underground nuclear test.

Meanwhile, North Korea has stepped up anti-U.S. rhetoric, issuing an official government statement that referred to President Obama as a “wicked black monkey.”

The over-the-top verbal attacks are viewed by U.S. intelligence analysts as a response to international pressure not to conduct nuclear or missile tests that would further destabilize the region.

The indication China will impose sanctions on North Korea for another nuclear test appeared in a pro-Beijing news report from Hong Kong April 30 that quoted a Chinese professor.

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Report: Pentagon Paid $150 Per Gallon for Green Jet Fuel -- GAO report notes exorbitant prices act as de facto subsidy for biofuel firms -- By Lachlan Markay, The Washington Free Beacon

The Department of Defense (DOD) paid $150 per gallon for alternative jet fuel made from algae, more than 64 times the current market price for standard carbon-based fuels, according to a report released on Wednesday.

The Government Accountability Office (GAO) noted in its report that a Pentagon official reported paying “about $150 per gallon for 1,500 gallons of alternative jet fuel derived from algal oil.”
GAO’s report examined the financial challenges facing increased purchases and use of alternative jet fuels by federal agencies. “Currently, the price for alternative jet fuels exceeds that of conventional jet fuel,” the report noted.

The price for conventional jet fuel is currently $2.88 per gallon. GAO’s report reveals that federal agencies have paid significantly higher prices in an effort to promote biofuels in commercial and military aviation.

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FEC chair warns that conservative media like Drudge Report and Sean Hannity face regulation --- like PACs -- By Paul Bedard, The Washington Examiner

Government officials, reacting to the growing voice of conservative news outlets, especially on the internet, are angling to curtail the media's exemption from federal election laws governing political organizations, a potentially chilling intervention that the chairman of the Federal Election Commission is vowing to fight.

“I think that there are impulses in the government every day to second guess and look into the editorial decisions of conservative publishers,” warned Federal Election Commission Chairman Lee E. Goodman in an interview.

“The right has begun to break the left’s media monopoly, particularly through new media outlets like the internet, and I sense that some on the left are starting to rethink the breadth of the media exemption and internet communications,” he added.

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House holds ex-IRS official Lois Lerner in contempt -- By Sean Lengell, The Washington Examiner

The House on Wednesday voted to hold a former Internal Revenue Service official in contempt for her refusal to answers questions about the agency's conservative-targeting scandal.

Lois Lerner headed the agency's Exempt Organizations division when it controversially targeted conservative nonprofit groups applying for tax-exempt status. But she has repeatedly refused to answer questions when called before Republican-led House committees investigating the scandal, citing her Fifth Amendment right to remain silent and avoid self-incrimination.

The GOP-run House, along a partisan-line vote of 231-187, passed a resolution holding her in contempt of Congress for not cooperating with the committees. Only six Democrats voted in support of the charge, while no Republicans voted against it.

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Ted Cruz releases 76-item list of ‘lawless’ Obama actions -- By Cheryl K. Chumley, The Washington Times

Sen. Ted Cruz released a list that details 76 different ways President Obama and his administration have committed "lawless" actions: "The Legal Limit Report No. 4: The Obama Administration's Abuse of Power."

In it, he includes this brief statement, reported by The Blaze: "Rather than honor [his] duty, President Obama has openly defied it be repeatedly suspending, delaying and waiving portions of the laws that he is charged to enforce. When President Obama disagreed with federal immigration laws, he instructed the Justice Department to cease enforcing the laws. He did the same thing with federal welfare law, drug laws and the federal Defense of Marriage Act."

The Daily Caller reported on some of the 76 items on the list.

Among the actions: Mr. Obama has taken an executive piecemeal approach to implementing the DREAM Act and immigration reform. Mr. Obama's "illegally delayed Obamacare verification of eligibility for healthcare subsidies," the report stated.

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House Republicans find 10% of tea party donors audited by IRS -- By Stephen Dinan, The Washington Times

Despite assurances to the contrary, the IRS didn't destroy all of the donor lists scooped up in its tea party targeting — and a check of those lists reveals that the tax agency audited 10 percent of those donors, much higher than the audit rate for average Americans, House Republicans revealed Wednesday.

Republicans argue that the Internal Revenue Service still hasn't come clean about the full extent of its targeting, which swept up dozens of conservative groups.

"The committee uncovered new information indicating that after groups provided the information to the IRS, nearly one in 10 donors were subject to audit," Rep. Charles W. Boustany Jr., Louisiana Republican and chairman of the Ways and Means Committee's oversight panel, told IRS Commissioner John Koskinen at a hearing Wednesday.

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Obama vs. the World -- It's given him reason to feel disappointed -- By James Taranto, The Wall Street Journal

(text from within article)

The Nobel press release pretty much acknowledged that Obama's accomplishments were notional: "Only very rarely has a person to the same extent as Obama captured the world's attention and given its people hope for a better future." The Norwegians awarded Obama "the world's" highest honor simply for being who he was--or what they imagined him to be.

That sums up the story of Obama's early relationship with "the world." He was showered with adulation just for being himself. But somewhere along the way "the world" changed its expectations. Now he's being judged for what he's done, or hasn't done. Why shouldn't he feel let down? He thought they loved him for him.

"The world," of course is disappointed with Obama too. It gave him all that attention, invested in him all that hope. "His diplomacy is founded in the concept that those who are to lead the world must do so on the basis of values and attitudes that are shared by the majority of the world's population," said the Nobel press release. Such a vaporous sentiment was never going to have any real power in the hard world of diplomacy.

Obama's relationship with "the world" was based on reciprocal self-deception. It was bound to end eventually in mutual disappointment.

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Obama Unleashes the Left -- How the government created a federal hunting license for the far left -- By Daniel Henninger, The Wall Street Journal

(Martin Kozlowski illustration)

In the U.S., the politics of the left versus the right rolls on with the predictability of traffic jams at the George Washington Bridge. It's a lot of honking. Until now. All of a sudden, the left has hit ramming speed across a broad swath of American life—in the universities, in politics and in government. People fingered as out of line with the far left's increasingly bizarre claims are being hit and hit hard. 

Commencement-speaker bans are obligatory. Former Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice withdrew as Rutgers's speaker after two months of protests over Iraq, the left's long-sought replacement for the Vietnam War. Brandeis terminated its invitation to Somali writer Hirsi Ali, whose criticisms of radical Islam violated the school's "core values." 

Azusa Pacific University "postponed" an April speech by political scientist Charles Murray to avoid "hurting our faculty and students of color." Come again? It will "hurt" them? Oh yes. In a recent New Republic essay, Jennie Jarvie described the rise of "trigger warnings" that professors are expected to post with their courses to avoid "traumatizing" students.

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